Early the next morning, Moira woke up and looked at Auron...he had been watching her.

"Why do you watch me sleep? I can't think of any situation where I'm less attractive." Moira smiled as she said this but in the back of her mind a voice whispered she was right. "I probably have drool on my chin, my hair is a mess and I know I snore!"

"I can't think of any situation where you are not attractive," Auron replied as he gently swept a strand of hair behind her ear. He laughed softly at her shiver. He loved how reactive she was. Not satisfied with that, he slowly leaned in to kiss her lips. Just a gentle brush but she clearly wanted more. She moved with him as he pulled back to release her. She intensified the kiss and ran the tip of her tongue over his lower lip. She followed that up with a small nip.

Auron mentally cancelled his plans to work out that morning as there were more pressing matters. He cupped the sides of Moira's face and returned the increasingly fevered kiss. She opened her mouth to allow his tongue to explore.

Moira rose up on her knees, snaking her hands into his thick black hair. Feeling a rush of bravado, she clenched a handful and pulled his head back from her soft willing mouth.

"I have a much better use for that tongue," she whispered.

Auron was surprised at this new role Moira had taken on. She released his hair and he nuzzled her neck causing her eyes to roll back in her head.

"Yes my love," he said huskily, his mouth a hair's breadth from her ear.

Meeting her gaze again, he pushed her back on the bed.

"What does my lady wish?" he asked. His fingers traced path from her bottom lip to her chin, throat and stopped between her breasts.

"I need you to..." Moira's voice drifted off as she tried to think of a way to ask what she so desperately needed without making it too porny. She settled for placing her hand on her upper thigh.

"Kiss me here."

Auron obeyed. His lips were always so surprising soft and a couple days of beard growth scratched her inner thigh in the most delicious way.

"And here," she said working her way higher. Auron obliged her every request and thankfully took over the matter at hand.

Moira gasped as his tongue slowly traced its way through her folds.

"You are so wet," Auron whispered into her flesh. He ran his tongue around her clit as he slowly penetrated her with two fingers. Gently he curled them upwards as he stroked her. Moira almost lost control right then. She moaned his name, her hands raking through his hair. She sighed and squirmed as he gently nipped her flesh.

"There! There!" she cried.

As she reached climax, Auron reached up and grasped both her hands and held on as wave after wave of pleasure went through her. It was a new intimacy in the moment that caused Moira's heart to skip a beat. She wasn't just a lump of flesh to him. She was to be cherished, worshipped and treasured.

He released the tender nub he had suckled as she came and looked up to see her face. Her eyes were closed, her lips parted waiting to he kissed again. But he wasn't finished with her yet. He raised himself up and placed his hardness at her entrance, silently asking for entry. Moira gave a breathy laugh and opened her legs further to allow him in. She shivered in anticipation as he just barely pushed in the tip. He knew that the delicious pressure of that first entry was a thrill to her.

Moira whimpered as Auron was in no hurry to continue his onslaught. She raked her nails down his back trying to elicit a response but it was no good. Auron had woken up that morning and chosen torture. Moira decided to take matters into her own hands.

He intended to gently and slowly make love to her but suddenly his senses seemed to be in overdrive. His thrusts came faster than he had planned and when he couldn't slow himself down, he looked up at Moira. Her hand was pointing down on him as he realized she had cast haste on him.

"Moira!" He gasped. "Did you cast a spell on me?' His breath came in gasps as he plunged into her over and over.

"Yes."

"Holy Yevon!" Auron cried as he buried himself even deeper into her. "Please!"

Moira cast a slow spell over her lover and mourned the loss of intensity. She sheepishly looked at him and wondered if she had gone too far. He growled at her as he lifted her up and turned her over. Without ceremony, he entered her from behind, pushing his way inside with a triumphant growl. Moira cried out as he reached around to rub two clever fingers through her slick folds. She shuddered at the conflicting pressures; the bruising thrusting from behind compared to the gentle rubbing of her tender clit. She buried her face in the bed and screamed her ecstasy. Auron gave three almost violent thrusts before he came, collapsing on her back, his hand still rubbing her furiously. Moira climaxed and screamed again into the mattress before relaxing under him. Completely sated. Auron removed his hand from her folds and made to roll off her.

"Don't. You. Dare. Move." Moira panted.

They lay in heap enjoying the aftershocks of their morning's exercise. Eventually, Auron did roll off her and gathered her into his arms, placing small kisses on her forehead. They were both completely out of breath.

They dozed for a while and then Moira looked up at him. Her curiosity was still piqued. The voice in the back of her mind kept torturing her with reasons as to why he wouldn't tell her. Most of them centered on his not really being in love with her. She needed to know if the voice was right.

"Auron," she whispered as she traced her fingertips over his muscular chest.

"Hmmm?"

"I need to ask you something."

"I'm not quite ready for another round but I'm working on it."

Moira laughed and smiled.

"It's not that."

"You don't want to go another round?" Auron asked wickedly.

"At this precise moment, no. I need to ask you a question."

"Ask me anything, my love." Auron said sleepily.

"Why did you call Lulu a harlot?" she asked quietly.

He didn't reply. He had regretted his choice of words as soon as he had said them.

"It's not important," he said quietly.

"I think it is. I think you had your reason for calling her that, and I think you should tell me what it is." Moira wondered if it had anything to do with the story that Rikku had told her about Lulu offering herself to Auron at the beginning of the pilgrimage.

"Moira, no. It's best left in the past." There was a warning in his voice.

She sighed.

"Just tell me."

He sighed. He could feel his thoughts start to cloud and that same tightness in his chest.

"At the beginning of the pilgrimage she and I had an encounter. I was weak and she was willing. Understand that I don't truly think of her at all."

"You had sex with her?"

"No."

"Then what happened?" she asked, sitting up a little.

"It was a mistake. I don't want to get into it." He turned away from her and walked across the room.

"Tell me!"

"No."

"Auron!"

Auron had had enough. The tightness in his chest was like a vice. His mind screamed at him to just shut her up! He couldn't think clearly and what thoughts did make their way through the red mist were terrifying. He was losing the fight with the intrusive thoughts which ranged from rape to murder and back again. He hardly had the chance to wonder where they were coming from. He felt outside himself, a spectator to his own actions.

He closed the gap between them with a ferocity that she had never seen. He grabbed both her arms roughly and stared into her eyes; one russet sphere glaring into her icy eyes. He shook her as he yelled,

"I TOLD YOU IT WAS A MISTAKE! Leave off!"

"You're scaring me Auron!"

"Oh well we wouldn't want to scare poor Lady Moira!" Auron shouted. "Poor little Moira!" There was a darkness in his eyes that she'd never seen before. It was frightening and all consuming. Moira had to tear her gaze away.

"Auron stop it now!"

"Oh, I'm done following your orders. You want to know what happened? I'll show you," he said as he tightened his grip on her arms.

Auron still held onto her arms as Moira, via their connection, was shown the encounter in its entirety. She watched as he was tentative at first but responded to Lulu's reactions. She could feel the mage shudder at the swordsman's touch. She could see, hear and smell what had happened between them.

Was it more intense than what she experienced with him? Was he let down with her in comparison? The voice in the back of her mind said yes.

It told her that he was never as satisfied as he could have been with the gorgeous mage. Lulu's slender body with ample breasts was far more pleasing than Moira's own small breasted plump form. They were mismatched but he was being too polite to say so.

Oddly enough this voice seemed to forget the way Auron had worshipped her plump small breasted form just moments before.

She struggled in his grip and almost broke away but Auron overpowered her and backed her up against the wall. He pressed the full length of himself against her and she realized to her horror that he was aroused again. She couldn't understand what was happening. How could he be excited when she had made it clear over and over that he was hurting her, scaring her half to death? She tried to back away but there was nowhere to go. For a few sickening moments, her body responded to his familiar arousal but her mind brought her back to reality. Auron was not himself and she had no clue why. Did she call for help? What would any of the group think seeing them in such a position? She couldn't face that.

The unwanted peep show continued via their connection. Moira tried to fight fire with fire and send memories of their time together through the link but he forced them out.

"YOU WANTED TO SEE THIS!" Auron shouted at her. "Pay attention, maybe you'll learn something you can use, if I ever lower myself and return to your bed."

Moira gasped as her lover voiced the very worries from the back of her mind. It was as though he was in tune with her every doubt.

She was helpless. She was forced to experience every moment of the swordsman moonlit encounter with the black mage. A tear rolled down her cheek as she cursed her own weakness.

NO MORE TEARS! Moira's mind screamed. She summoned up all her strength.

Just as Auron's fingers breached Lulu's most secret place, Moira jerked herself out of Auron's grasp and broke the connection. She shoved him as far from her as possible and glared at him. He crashed into a table casing a mirror to hit the floor, smashing into pieces. Moira flinched at first but then seeing Auron's inexplicably smug face she changed her tune.

"A mistake?! Is that what it was? Is that what you call getting a girl all hot under the collar and then walking away? You had your fingers inside her! You'd gone THAT far Auron!"

"Are you jealous?" Auron hissed.

"WHAT?!" Moira screamed. "Do you think I'm that type of insane woman who would be jealous of something you did long before I met you? Do you think so little of me?"

"At least she was a challenge!" he yelled.

"How can you say that? I thought you loved me," Moira said her voice shaking with emotion. This wasn't her Auron. This wasn't the man she had fallen in love with. This wasn't the man she had decided to give up her entire world for.

Auron just laughed, a thin, vindictive sound. There was no sign of his usual deep resonating chuckle that she had grown to love.

"Get out!" she said. "I can't take another word from you. Just get the hell out!"

Auron stepped towards her again, this time with true menace in his eye. He was reaching out towards Moira when he caught sight of himself in one of the mirror shards. He stared in fear and wonder as he could see what the darkness had made him. Rage and cruelty had twisted and altered his features.

Auron was visibly shaken and was brought back to himself. He once again felt that he could breathe and it came out as a frustrated sigh. He realized what he had said, and worse what he implied. He looked towards Moira as he opened his mouth to speak, to apologize, to say anything but he saw he had gone too far. Moira was cowering in the corner of the room, shattered glass at her feet. He had no words for what had happened. How could he explain that it wasn't him? He couldn't tell her that he had watched it all happen. He hung his head in sorrow and shame as he simply turned and left the room.