It starts with sex and ends with sex, but there's other stuff in-between :)

A/N: Chapter updated (02/15/2023)


She woke up wrapped up in his arms, just like she had gone to bed. All night, she hadn't moved an inch and her back was stiff as a board. Yet, the feel of him against her was worth it, and not just because his skin never ceased to give off a pleasant tingling sensation. Although she told herself differently, it was the closeness and intimacy she sought. Maybe that's why her heart sunk when he asked when he'd no longer have to be near her. She fooled herself to think that this was more than a fun way to pass the time, and forgot that they had made no promises. Yet, something tugged at her heartstrings when she glanced at his arms around her. Even in his sleep, he held her as if he cared. Or maybe she was just seeing what she wanted to see and deluding herself that she was more than a distraction to sate his lust.

She tried to shift her position without waking him, but her hair slipped from behind her ear and brushed his chest.

"Mm, that tickles," he said with a crooked smile as he lazily opened his eyes.

"Sorry," she hummed, placing a kiss on his chest. "I didn't mean to wake you..."

"But..." he said, sensing she had more to say.

"But... I need to stop using you as a pillow. It's probably not very comfortable for you..."

"I don't mind..."

"... and you're not exactly soft, to be honest..."

"That's usually a compliment. I doubt you'd like it very much if you found me... soft!" he said, laughing.

"Oh, you're so right," she replied, grinning. "I do enjoy finding you hard."

Her hand trailed lower, under the sheets as she placed more kisses over his chest, licking and biting from time to time. Her fingers traced down his length, more a tease than anything else.

"Someone woke up in the mood," he said, curling his hand around her nape, then gently caressing down her spine.

His touch was tender. Too tender. Thoughts of caring crept back into her mind and she needed to keep them at bay. She needed him to be rough.

"Who says I'm in the mood?" she replied mischievously. "Maybe I'm just checking your normal morning reflexes."

"Mm, and how are you finding them?" he asked as she got on top of him.

"Umm," she hummed with her eyes on the ceiling, pretending to think about it. "I think I may need to do some more extensive testing. Any preference?"

He quirked an eyebrow, keeping a serious composure as his eyes skimmed over her whole body, pausing on her breasts, but resting in the end on her lips. She smiled. Out of all the things he could lust for, her mouth was what he desired the most.

She leaned over him, letting her lips travel across his chest, nipping him playfully, slowly advancing towards his neck as her hips moved back and forth, her groin stroking his hard length until the tingling sensation rippled through her whole lower body, making her hum against the crook of his neck.

He attempted to shift under her, his hand reaching out to direct himself in, but she put her hands firmly on his shoulders and shook her head, smiling.

Not yet. She wasn't done teasing him.

She covered every inch of skin on his chest, shoulders and neck with kisses, but she never advanced towards his lips. The pace of her slow grind picked up and he exhaled loudly as his hands latched onto the back of her knees in a desperate attempt to hold back from thrusting inside her. She hovered for a moment above him, bringing her mouth close to his. His lips opened in eager expectation, but she pulled back instead.

Frustration built in his eyes, yet he was patient, even if her teasing was slowly driving him crazy. He wasn't giving her the roughness she craved, so she leaned forward, bringing her breasts over his lips. His tongue drew delicate circles around her nipples before latching on and his hands caressed her thighs, going up to her ass. Without a doubt, lust bubbled inside him.

Once again, she moved out of his reach.

"Stop teasing," he groaned, his hands stopping the torturous grind of her hips.

He was on the edge; he just needed a little push.

"Make me," she provoked him.

"Make you?" he asked with eyebrows raised.

"Mhm. Sometimes you need to take what you want."

A dark sparkle lit up his eyes as he finally understood what she wanted. His hand slid up from her ass, up her back and into her hair, wrapping it around his forearm and pulling her head back. He wasn't going to let her move away again. His teeth sunk into the side of her neck without breaking the skin while he rolled on top of her. Still pulling on her hair, his other hand ran up from her hip to her breasts, squeezing them firmly.

"Like this?" he asked, before biting her again.

Finally.

She gasped and moaned wantonly. His teeth dragged upwards, her lips their next target. She caught a glimpse of his eyes; his pupils were blown out, almost eclipsing the gold of his eyes. He was mad with lust, his cock pressed against her and, with one hard thrust, he could have hilted himself inside her. She waited for him to claim her mouth and fill her, forcefully taking everything she had denied him, but instead, he closed his eyes, and took a deep breath, his forehead resting against hers for a moment before pulling away.

"Is this what you want?" his voice a provoking low growl.

"You want me to be rough with you?" he persisted when she didn't answer him, this time opening his eyes and searching her face for a reaction.

"Mhm…" she sighed, yearning to feel him bury himself in her.

He raised a single eyebrow. "I'm not in the habit of taking what hasn't been offered. I need to hear you say it…"

He licked the side of her jaw, going up to her ear.

"Tell me what you want…" he whispered in a sultry voice.

His hard cock pressed up against her again, a sweet reminder of what waited for her. His teeth caught her earlobe in between them and tugged lightly. Just his breath on her skin made her swallow hard and lose reason.

"I want you," she moaned and hitched her hips against his. It wasn't enough.

"Perhaps if you were more specific..." he continued to tease in his smoky voice, his eyes fixed now on her breasts while his free hand moved lower to rest on her hip, caressing all the skin that laid in its path.

She looked at him defiantly, the last sliver of pride within her not letting her say what she really wanted: for him to fill the void inside her soul.

"Come on, Geralt. You know what I want. Fuck me. Make me come, make me scream your name. Don't make me beg for it."

"Mmm, after all your teasing, perhaps I should make you beg."

With one hard thrust, he dove into her, making sure she felt every inch as it went inside her, rough and raw. He smiled and grazed her jaw with his nose.

"My little nymph…" he whispered in her ear, each of his words punctuated by a slow thrust.

"Asking to be fucked..."

A slow thrust.

"You're so sweet…"

Another slow thrust.

"And so fucking dirty…"

He ended with a hard thrust that made her gasp.

"You'll get exactly what you asked for... and nothing more."

He nipped her ear again.

"Unless you beg me for it."

It was his turn to tease her. He avoided her mouth, throwing her one of his smug smiles, then licked along her ear and she couldn't help but moan. It was his petty vengeance for her earlier teasing. She was going to get only what he deigned to give her when he felt like giving it to her, but she was getting exactly what she asked for. He hit all the right spots, thrusting harder and deeper, making her lose her mind.

He caged her body on one side, still holding on tight to her hair. Caught underneath his body, all she could do was claw at his biceps as she found herself on the brink of an orgasm, but unable to reach it without him kissing her. She arched herself towards him, yearning for his lips, but he pulled away. He tutted with a slight smile and moved his hand from her hip to her arm, pinning it above her head.

Biting her lips, her eyes begged him to kiss her, but he ignored her silent plea and ran his lips over her neck instead. The touch of his lips, and then his breath ran over her skin before he licked up to her ear just to nip at it. His eyes met hers again.

"Kiss me," she demanded.

"I thought you only wanted to be fucked," he taunted her.

"I need you to kiss me."

"Need, huh?" he asked between two firm thrusts. "Maybe if you ask nicely... I'll consider it."

She drew in a deep breath, preparing to relinquish her last sliver of pride.

"Please… please kiss me..." she moaned.

"When you beg like that..."

A sharp pull on her hair made her open her mouth and his tongue slipped in for a second, licking deep into her mouth before he caught her lower lip between his teeth. Just that small lick of his tongue almost made her come. She clenched around his cock and whimpered.

"More, please..." she begged.

He alternated his kisses with bites and hair-pulling until the mixture of pleasure and pain drove her mad with lust. Her moans got louder and his name became a chant to a merciless god that wanted to be worshipped, her pleasure the offering he expected; her begging the flame that lit his altar until she came undone in his arms, her body quaking under him in uncontrollable spasms, being ridden relentlessly through the high. Only then did he release her from his hold. She searched, hungry for his mouth, and, when she found it, he relented; his lips opened to welcome her. She sucked on his tongue and nipped at his lips, pushing him over the edge and swallowing the deep moan that left his chest as he spent himself inside her.

Her legs wrapped around his hips even tighter, keeping him in place, silently ordering him to not leave her, to keep kissing her until they melted into one. He obliged and his lips continued to seal hers in an increasingly tender kiss.

His kisses drifted from her lips to her jaw, neck and shoulders, soothing all the places he had mercilessly bitten. Their eyes met, and she smiled.

"We should play this game more often," she joked, still pinned under him, still feeling him throb between her legs. Her thighs released their hold on him. He kissed her and rolled onto his back, exhaling hard.

"I might have overdone it a bit," he commented as his eyes moved over her naked body. She looked down, not able to see anything amiss.

"I left teeth marks."

His fingers ghosted over a few areas of skin and his eyes followed, an unspoken apology in them.

"You can barely see those," she replied, but he didn't look convinced. "Not everybody has your eyes. You can overdo me like that anytime you want. I like it when you're assertive. Though, I didn't expect you to make me beg."

She kissed him and rested her chin on his chest.

"And I didn't expect you to avoid kissing me," he said, pinning her in place with his golden eyes.

"I was just trying to rile you," she replied looking away.

"It felt more like it was more than that."

"I didn't want you to be tender this morning, but..."

"But what?"

"But it backfired. I couldn't come without it."

He smiled crookedly at her words.

"You must think me pathetic," she said, rolling her eyes and leaning away.

"Not at all," he said with a laugh.

"Then why are you laughing at me?"

He shook his head still smiling.

"I'm not. You're not the only one who wants to be kissed during sex and I've never thought of myself as pathetic," he said leaning in and covering her lips with his. "Without kissing, it feels..."

"Impersonal," they both said at the same time.

"Mhm," he hummed, kissing her again before tucking her against his chest and tracing his fingers down her spine.

Whether this was pretend or real, she didn't care anymore and cuddled even closer, breathing in his scent with eyes closed.

His hand moved higher, lazily running his fingers through her hair, absentmindedly arranging it behind her ear before brushing his thumb over her shoulder, humming once more. She gazed up and caught him staring intently at one spot on her collarbone.

"What's the matter?" she asked.

"This one bite," he said, brushing his thumb over it. "It's almost gone."

"I heal fast," she replied with a shrug.

"Other than a freshly fed vampire, I haven't seen anything heal this fast without help." His eyes moved to hers.

"You make it sound like I'm a monster," she said with a chuckle.

"That wasn't my intention. But I can't help wondering what you are."

"I'm just another soul inside a body, that's all."

He looked at the ceiling. "So you won't tell me."

"There's nothing to tell, as far as I know, I'm human. If some long lost ancestor was something else, I wouldn't know."

She was silent for a moment, contemplating how to ask for his discretion without sounding distrustful.

"You know more about me than most. There are plenty out there who would like nothing more than to use such knowledge for their own benefit."

"I won't willingly divulge anything, but I can't promise Yen or the other Lodge members won't scour my mind. They make it a habit to read people's thoughts and their agenda always revolves around power. Normally, I'd avoid them like the plague, but at the moment, our interests are aligned in keeping Ciri safe. And I'm not in a position to scoff at anyone's help."

"Would you like me to teach you how to shield your mind and thoughts?"

"You'd do that?" he asked with raised eyebrows.

"It's a spell, but it's not difficult, although it takes some practice to make it second nature. But you'd never have to worry about anyone reading your mind."

"Not going to lie, that sounds like it's worth the work."


After work, they headed to the shops, in search of a new suit of his choice.

He came out of the dressing room sporting a tux and her breath caught in her throat.

"We're definitely getting this one!"

"I feel a little ridiculous," he said, looking at himself in the mirror.

"Why?"

"This is the third one, Criss. How many is enough?"

"But they all look amazing on you!"

She handed him another one to try on, but he didn't budge.

"Please," she begged with her best puppy dog eyes.

"Fine," he said, taking it. "But this is the last one."

Several hours of shopping later, they ended up leaving with more than one suit along with an assortment of shirts, ties, a bowtie and some cufflinks. He was still unenthusiastic, but at least he agreed that these didn't chafe or bother him.

"You overdid it," he commented grumpily as they left. "I'm surprised you didn't just buy the entire shop. You forget I'll be here for a short while, I probably won't ever wear these."

"I'm sorry. I might have gotten carried away a bit. You looked so good in all of them... No, I take that back, I'm not sorry at all!" she said, laughing.

He rolled his eyes and pulled her hand towards the exit.

"Let's go home! If we go into another shop..."

She laughed at his annoyance but followed him out of the building.


Later that evening, he put on one of the suits and headed to the restaurant with her on his arm. They got there before Elly and Darren so, after being led to their table, they ordered some drinks and waited.

"So about that spell you mentioned today," he whispered. "When can we get started?"

"I was thinking maybe Saturday, after training. Does that work for you?"

"Not sure after training is the best choice. If it's anything like last time, I might not have it in me to do anything else."

"You'll have plenty for that spell, but I admit it'll be weird training with you now that we're... closer."

"I hope you won't start taking it easy on me. That would be insulting."

"No, but for the duration of the training, I'll have to detach from my feelings. I don't want you to think me coldhearted because of that."

"You being coldhearted... would be something new."

He discreetly pointed to her left.

"They've arrived, we'll talk about your icy heart later," he said with a smile.

He stood to shake Darren's hand and bowed his head to Elly, who outright hugged him and kissed his cheek before moving on to greet Criss in the same way.

"It's so good to see you both! Sorry we're late, we had to wait for the babysitter, and the traffic is a nightmare even at this hour," she explained before rushing to introduce the two men.

Her husband was a jovial-looking man with a well-kept bushy beard. His dark eyes smiled along with his entire face, despite being shaded by large and equally bushy eyebrows. Alongside Elly's petite frame, he was a giant, yet somehow they matched each other well.

"For a while, we thought Criss had sworn off men," he joked as he sat down. "We're happy that doesn't seem to be the case after all."

"I'd also thought you'd sworn off going out and I'm still not convinced that's not the case," Criss quipped back.

"If it was only up to me, I'd make it at least a weekly event, but with work and the kids it's just increasingly difficult to find time for us." He looked at his wife and squeezed her hand lovingly. "Anyway, thanks for getting tenure and giving us a reason to celebrate! I hope you know I'm gonna make all of this about me, right?"

His resounding hoarse laughter filled the room and made some heads turn towards their table.

"In that case, what can I say except you're very welcome," she replied, laughing. "I'll hope to have many more achievements that get you out of the house! Would hate for you to become a hermit on my account."

"Hey, I'm not the one who's been celibate for a decade!"

"Damn, you went straight for the kill! I'll bow out before I get completely murdered."

"Oh, I'd never do that! You're too good of a friend to murder," he said and winked at her. "But a little burn makes you stay on your toes."

Their banter continued until the waiter brought their drinks and took everyone's order. After that, they settled into a more peaceful conversation about work. Geralt learned that Darren was a pharmaceutical rep, which explained his frequent absence from home. Unavoidably, the conversation came to the topic of Criss and Elly's work.

"So how does it feel now that you finally have tenure?" Elly asked.

"I feel more secure, sure," she replied with a shrug. "But the students don't care either way."

"There's no need to downplay it," she said. "I remember how thrilled I was when I got mine. And mind you it was before you-know-who's time, so I didn't even have to deal with that creep."

"Maybe some of the big donors will care once the Christmas fundraiser party comes around," Darren chimed in.

"Oh, yes! That's so close now!" Elly gushed. "I've already gotten a dress and I can't wait to show it off. Have you gotten anything?"

"Mhm, I bought it a while back, but I'm not sure I'll be attending," she said, swirling her drink with downcast eyes.

"Why not? You haven't missed one yet."

She glanced at Geralt without a word.

"What's this fundraiser about anyway?" Geralt cut in.

"She hasn't told you about it?" Elly asked with raised eyebrows.

"This is the first I'm hearing of it."

"The university holds it every year two weeks before Christmas. They get big donations for the school, people mingle and network, but part of the money always goes to orphanages, so it's for a good cause." She turned to Criss again. "If you don't come, it'll be dreadfully boring! I hope you both come!"

"Hey, it's not up to me. I haven't received an invitation. For all I know, she might not want to bring me along, although the shopping spree she went on today says otherwise."

She blushed to the tip of her ears. "I was planning on asking you... But I wasn't sure you'd want to go."

"Why wouldn't I?"

"You might find it horribly boring. It's going to be a lot of schmoozing and talking about work. It won't be very fun for you."

"Yes, that doesn't sound very fun," he teased. "But at least I'll get to parade around with you as arm candy and I wouldn't miss that for the world," he said, putting on a charming smile.

"Alright, then I guess we're going," she replied with a girlish giggle.

"Great! So I'll have someone to talk to while the wife's chatting up a storm about whatever new design is on-trend now," Darren said, slapping Geralt's shoulder before listing off the perks of going to the charity event.

Making use of her husband's distraction, Elly snorted and pulled Criss's arm to get her closer.

"Oh my God! I haven't heard you giggle like this in years. And what's with all the blushing?" she whispered. "I don't know what he is doing to you, but I like it!"

"Please don't start," Criss groaned. "Let me enjoy this as it is."

"All I'm saying is that I'd be on board if this turns serious."

Criss leaned back with an awkward smile and glance at Geralt, knowing he heard every word of the exchange. Did she think he'd be bothered by her friend's assumptions? He took her hand under the table and reassuringly rubbed his thumb over her knuckles while pretending to pay attention to Darren's rant. He was giving them a detailed account of the previous party that had ended with quite a few drunken rants posing as speeches and a few funny mishaps.

"The open bar is one of the best features of the whole thing. Though, some people need to learn to take it easy. Last year, they found one assistant from urban development passed out in the coat closet and someone mistook him for a wild cat escaped from the zoo. He was wrapped in some lady's fur coat and neither he nor the one who found him was exactly sober. He ended up with a few bruised ribs from the panicked kicks he got. Talk about picking the wrong time to roll over in your sleep!"

Darren regaled them with a few more stories and Geralt found himself comparing his storytelling abilities to Dandelion's and wondering if he had the same gift of embellishing the truth. Even so, the whole affair promised to be anything but boring if even half of the stories were true.

The rest of the evening passed by quickly. Darren entertained them with work stories and even Geralt had fun listening to him. He was well matched by his wife's outgoing personality, and Geralt imagined there weren't many quiet moments at their house.

The night came to a close when the hour approached midnight and they had to say their goodbyes.

"I must admit, this was more fun than I'd imagined it would be," Geralt confessed, as they were on their way home. "And I was wrong about their marriage."

"You already had an opinion about their marriage? You hadn't even met Darren!"

"Yeah, but I met Elly," he said with a chuckle, remembering Elly's first assumptions about him. "I thought he probably needed to... spank her more. I imagined he was probably spanking someone else since she was so eager to hear about our exploits."

"And now, what do you think?"

"I still think he probably needs to spank her more often, but they seem genuinely happy together."

They got home well past midnight and they were both tired, but as her dress fell to the floor, he couldn't help but lust for her body.

She was standing in front of the mirrored doors of the wardrobe when he came up from behind and wrapped her waist with one arm while moving the tips of his fingers lightly over her neck, down to her breasts. Her skin reacted instantly to his touch. His lips latched onto the crook of her neck and sucked lightly before moving up, placing kisses all the way up to her delicate ear. His eyes drifted over her shoulder into the mirror to see her gazing at him with a bold look, daring him to continue his exploration.

So he did.

He watched her enraptured face in the mirror as her body melted into his. She clung to his neck as her legs gave out. Slowly, all her walls fell apart as she gave in and lost control over her body, arching into him.

Each time he made her come, he felt stronger, his senses sharper. It was as if he was consuming her. He looked at her in the mirror and light was swimming under her skin, he could hear her moans inside his head, he could feel her pleasure. Looking into her eyes felt as if he was looking at himself. It was as if it was another mirror inside a mirror inside a mirror... endless... in an endless ocean... an endless echo. A burst of light, then complete darkness.