Claimed

DISCLAIMER: All hail Joss Whedon, UPN, the WB, FOX , Mutant Enemy and 20th Century Fox Film Corporation. Theirs not mine I slammed the door shut with my foot and moved to set down Tara on her bed. She clung to me, unwilling to let go. The silk of her robe was completely sodden, and she shivered. “I won’t leave you, baby,” I assured her, “Just let me get you warmed up.” I set her on her feet gently and moved my hands to the sash of her robe. She trembled at my touch and I stopped. ”Do you want to keep that on?” I asked uncertainly. She opened her eyes. “I want to get close to you again,” she said, her voice raw with need. I quickly untied the sash and the robe fell to the floor. She stood before me, gloriously naked. Her breasts were full and lush, her belly smooth and white. Her beauty shone so glimmering and bright, and I wanted to taste her, to touch her. I looked away, conscious of my nudity and the fact that she could certainly see the affect had on me. I turned her away from me and pulled the quilt off of her bed. I gently wrapped it all around her, and tucked and folded it to keep her modesty intact. I had to cover her up, to conceal her body before I did something stupid, something to make her hate me. I pulled her into my arms and lay down with her on the bed. “I’ve got you, ducks,” I whispered. I pressed my face to her neck, and luxuriated in her scent. I peered closely at her skin, and it looked like fine lace. I could clearly see the delicate traceries marked in her skin. They outlined a pattern, a collar of roses. With my fingertip, I traced the curves of the flowers on her neck, and she purred and moaned. The noises that she made inflamed my senses, and I struggled with my need.  She turned in my arms to face me. “Your neck is made of lace,” I said to her. She swept her mouth across my jaw, and I felt the delicate flutter of her eyelashes whisk across my skin. Locks of her hair fell across my face, and I watched the world through a sheer golden net. “And your hair is spun of gold,” I said dreamily. The strands moved away, and I saw Tara’s eyes. Golden sparks flared amidst tranquil blue. There was so much need in them, and desire, and love. I moved to nuzzle her neck and her mouth came down on mine. She tasted like honey. The second I tasted her, I needed more. I tightened my arms around her back, and held her close to me. Her lips were so soft, so smooth. Her tongue flickered hesitantly into my mouth, and I groaned and let her in. We kissed deliberately, thoroughly. I had never kissed like this, deep kisses that were an experience unto themselves, an act of intimacy all their own. We kissed in every way.  We embraced slowly, and hard, and gently, and passionately. We’d move and stir and the pitch would rise until I just had to have her, had to claim her, and then she would change the pace, and we’d sink back down together to tranquility and contentment. She pulled away from me, and I was filled with a sense of loss. “Oh, Tara,” I said. “I need you. Please don’t go.” She sat up and pulled off the quilt and shook it out so that it covered us both. She grasped the edge and pulled it over our heads. She snuggled into my shoulder and we lay there, in the dark tent she had made. I reached out for her hand and held it, my thumb moving over her soft palm. We lay that way for a long time, and it was so serene and peaceful in the bed, with her scent and her heartbeat and her hand in mine. “When I was a very little girl,” she said softly. “I would hide underneath this quilt. It kept me safe from monsters.” “You were afraid of monsters?” I asked. She nodded. “I was afraid of monsters and the dark too.” “I’m sorry that you were scared, pet,” I said to her. She looked at me with her wide blue eyes. “When I touch you, I feel like I did here, under my quilt. I could believe that everything was good, and I was safe, and bad things would never reach me.” I pulled her mouth to mine and kissed her. Her mouth was so good, so perfect. It was hard to break away, but I did. “Anything hurts you, love, I’ll snap its bloody neck,” I told her seriously. She laughed, and the sound was sweet and rich. She rested her head on my shoulder again, and placed her hand on my chest. “I have my own monster now,” she said softly. When I turned to look at her, she was asleep. I rested my face against hers, and smelled her special Tara scent, and I fell asleep too. I awoke to the feel of a warm human body on mine. Tara had wrapped herself around me in sleep, her leg thrown over my stomach. Her breath wafted gently across my cheek. She looked beautiful as she slept.  I kissed her lips, and she smiled. I moved to roll over her, and was startled by pain. I looked down at my chest, and saw large yellow bruises that mottled my skin. I remembered everything that happened the night before. I threw on my duster, grabbed my boots and gently closed her door behind me. In the bathroom, I found my pants folded neatly on the floor. The shower we had used still ran, and I turned it off. I had my pants on one leg when a sleepy looking girl in a bathrobe wandered in. She looked at me oddly as I got my pants on and shoved my feet into my boots. “Morning, love,” I said with a smile, as I walked past her and out the door.