Chapter 17

Dousing the Flames

After over 2000 years, he still couldn't decide which act he preferred. The intimate enjoyment of feeling how a woman's body yielded and moulded to him, allowing him entry after being expertly coaxed to accept him. He was fully aware that his physical size could be imposing, even to the tallest of women. For his role as a warrior and the head of a vampire clan, it suited him well to be seen as a physical force to be reckoned with.

With a large frame came a large everything else, at least as far as he was concerned. For women, this could be a blessing or a curse. Athena thankfully enjoyed what the gods had given him, though in this precise moment, she was enjoying the talents of his capable tongue.

No, he could never decide if this was his favourite act to perform, though right now, as his nose was buried in her blonde curls, his tongue sliding within her rhythmically and then moving to circle and flick over her clit, he could easily say it was. He would never tire of how Athena's hand tugged on his hair as another twisted in the sheets, her thighs clamped tightly around his ears.

A particularly precise flick with his tongue had her thighs trembling and earned such a delicious moan from her that he couldn't help but grind his hips into the mattress, the bed creaking loudly at the unnatural force against it. A vampire's strength could easily break furniture if left unchecked by civilised control. In truth, he'd broken many pieces of furniture over the years with his many girlfriends. Of course, most were vampires and such antics were par for the course. With mortals, care was always needed, not that it was ever a problem after 2000 years of working with humans.

He rather enjoyed taking his gentle time with mortal flesh, committing to memory every shudder, every muscle twitch, every quickening of a heartbeat. Where most men relied on the moans and groans of their partners to affirm their actions, Baldwin only needed the body itself to give up its pleasure, grunting delightedly as his tongue was coated in her arousal, her hips rolling upwards as his repeated the same desperate action into the mattress.

A sharp tug on his hair signalled her building pleasure as he moved his lips over her clit, applying a gentle suction and earning a strong shiver from her and sudden bucking of her hips against his mouth. He could easily hold her hips to the bed, but he much preferred to feel how her body responded to him as he slid his tongue back into her, prodding against the sensitive spot in an almost blurred speed as his nose rubbed against her clit and a hand smoothed over her belly and up to her breast, a cool thumb brushing repeatedly over a nipple.

Athena cried out as her pleasure finally crashed through her in a sudden crescendo, her thighs flexing as she tried to crush his head and her hand pulling hard enough on his hair that, were he human, would surely be ripped free.

As soon as he had untangled her fingers from his hair, his lips were against hers, wet from her climax as he shifted his hips, slipping into her with a firm thrust, swallowing the groan that erupted in her throat as her ankles locked around him, his large hands framing her face as they undulated together. He felt her nails cling and scrape at his back, desperate for purchase but finding none in his unyielding skin. There was a distant part of him that wished she could leave a mark on him, though he wasn't ready to pick at that complicated thread yet.

He'd been known to be rather vocal with past lovers, his natural flare for orders and demands expressing themselves easily in the bedroom, spouting all manner of vulgarities. With Athena he found no need to be. They had very quickly found a natural rhythm to their coupling that hadn't needed many words of encouragement.

"Don't stop!" Athena panted against his lips, her body beginning to tire under him as the exertion took its toll, even as she chased a second orgasm.

"Never…" he responded, coaxing her tongue with his own.

He shifted the angle of his hips as he flicked them sharply, ensuring to hit the best spots every single time. He groaned with every movement, feeling how her heated flesh rippled and quivered, how the blood rushed under her skin. The best part for him was detecting the faint signs of her orgasm before she had truly registered that it was happening, giving her a few shallow thrusts so the head of his cock brushed firmly over her engorged g-spot.

He watched her face contort as her second climax crashed through her, clenching over and over around him and finally drawing his own orgasm from him with a loud grunt.

He remained within her as she caught her breath, stroking his fingers over her face.

"Did I wear you out?" he murmured against her lips.

Athena grumbled and pushed on his hips so she could get up. Baldwin chuckled and moved off her. He watched her move into the bathroom to clean up and decided to check some messages whilst she did so. Opening the first one, he saw an invitation to yet another birthday. He groaned.

Then he noticed the invite included Athena.

To Baldwin & Athena.

He was up and out of bed instantly, pacing the living room as the reality of their current situation truly hit him for the first time. He'd been so focused on keeping her safe and ensuring her comfort, he hadn't noticed just how domestic things had gotten. He'd barely set foot in New York and had been putting off meetings for months. Thankfully, his company ran like clockwork, but his neglect would be noticed eventually.

He was not used to all this domesticity. He was used to his life back in New York and flying in occasionally to put out whatever fire Matthew's damned scion had started. Athena was a variable he'd not fully counted on. A decision needed to be made.

A week later, they were at Clairmont House. Diana had congratulated him on his continued relationship, which earned her a grumble. Matthew quickly explained to her that although he was clearly still sleeping with Athena, they had not mated. Matthew knew too well that Baldwin was having some internal struggle with such an idea and didn't want to poke the bear and cause a fight.

During the meal that had been put on Baldwin was uncharacteristically quiet, barely responding to his niece's demands for lap bouncing. His mind was busy running through everything that had happened since he'd set foot in that abandoned station. Athena had managed to unwittingly sear her way into his life and upend it. He wasn't altogether sure how to right himself. He could go back to New York and stay there until the next invitation came, but even as his mind considered it, his chest constricted painfully.

He could split his time between New York, Berlin, and London, but he wasn't sure if that would appeal to Athena. He could often be gone for months at a time, and given that she was still mortal, they didn't often do well being apart from who they were with for too long.

His life was in New York. The answer was there.

Athena's hand on his thigh shook him from his thoughts. "Did I wear you out?" she whispered, referring to their lovemaking earlier in the morning and repeating the quip he'd used on her previously.

Baldwin let out a chuckle and took a big swig of wine. "Just work things. New York demanding my attention as always."

Athena nodded. She'd expected him to have needed to visit New York more than he had over the months they'd been together. "Need to go back for some meetings?"

"I need to get back to running my company," he responded, popping some venison into his mouth.

Athena froze. "For how long?"

"It'll be a while, so we should probably pack up the apartment soon. Move everything to the apartment on Fifth Avenue."

Athena was confused. What did he mean by pack up the apartment?

"But, I don't live in New York, I live here. I work here. My life is here."

"And my life is in New York. There are dance companies in New York, you can find another," he stated, his mind clearly made up.

Athena was furious. She'd felt his change in behaviour the day the invite arrived, but had dismissed it as just work worries, since he spent so much of his time on his phone or laptop and had jetted off to Berlin once or twice for meeting that he simply couldn't reschedule.

His easy comments that she could simply uproot her life and move to his New York apartment, taking her away from everything she had known, had infuriated her. She was starting to see that life with Baldwin always had to be on his terms. She'd witnessed how he interacted with his family and had convinced herself that it surely couldn't be that way with her. She had apparently been wrong.

She'd had enough.

She pulled her napkin from her lap and tossed it onto the table, kicking her chair from under her and walking decisively towards the door to the dining room.

Baldwin was on his feet and after her in a flash, utterly confused. He reached out and grabbed her arm to stop her, but she whirled round and slapped her hand onto his forearm, her skin glowing and burning right through his shirt, singeing his skin with her witch fire and causing him to let go.

He reeled back in shock, clutching at his burned arm. Her eyes were glowing furiously.

"Don't ever fucking grab me again!" she yelled, then turned on her heel and left.

Too stunned to even contemplate following her, he just stood gripping his arm. Matthew had had the presence of mind to get the children out the second Athena had stood up to leave. He'd done foolish things before admitting his true feelings to Diana, so he understood what was happening.

Diana did her best to try to heal the blistered hand print Athena had left on his forearm, but as Athena had once explained, it would never fully heal. He'd be left with a red scar.

"I don't understand what the problem is," he said quietly, to no one in particular.

Diana opened her mouth to respond, but Matthew gave her a look that indicated that it was for Baldwin to solve. If he could never truly understand or admit what he'd done was wrong, he'd never be able to progress further in whatever relationship they were meant to have.

When he returned to the apartment later that evening, it was dark and empty. Athena hadn't been back. He was tempted to call her or go and track her down, but it didn't seem the wisest thing to do given how their last interaction had ended.

Perhaps space was a good idea.

He packed his things up and called to arrange his jet to take him back to New York. He wasn't going to sit in the apartment and brood. He needed to get back to some semblance of normalcy. He'd be thinking clearly then.

The following morning when Athena decided to return, she found that Baldwin was long gone. All of his clothes and electronics were gone. The dining table had been returned to its previous empty state. She hadn't honestly known what to expect when she returned. She had thought that she'd be asked to leave, given the apartment belonged to him, but it seemed he'd done the leaving.

She sat down heavily and sighed. Perhaps vampires and witches really didn't mix well and Diana's relationship with Matthew was truly an anomaly.

Perhaps Baldwin had decided it simply wasn't worth the trouble.