InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "I want you safe."

Justine Baptiste (savageallure) wrote in haunted_roads,
@ 2008-05-07 19:38:00

Entry tags:

justine, mikkos

Week Seven - Monday
Who: Mikkos and Justine
When: Mid-evening
Where: Chroma - Her office, specifically
What: A return visit

It was the start of a new week, the debut of a new sculpture display at Chroma and, so far, Justine was having a wonderful evening. The turn-out was already much more than either she or the show's collaborators had intended to draw in and, given the early hour, it was likely that people would continue to stream in the entrance for hours to come. Business was good, as always, and so far there hadn't been any unusually note-worthy events. Given the guests she'd had within the premises in the past few weeks, the mundane nature of the evening was a welcome return to the norm. As always, she was dealing with the knowledge of Mikkos' return with the utmost grace; she had even managed to messenger her long-unworn engagement ring back to him with a note that said everything she could not. Whatever romantic fantasies her mind might have been entertaining over the years, it was time to cast them aside, to face reality as it was now: she and Mikkos were not together and had not been for quite awhile – it was time to move on.

Truly, she had carried a torch long enough. Sure, it had been fueled by a messy mix of hate, love, desire and disgust, but now that some sort of closure had come, she could feel the first stages of all of that beginning to slip away. As painful as it had been to see him again, to hear him speak so affectionately of the family he had started, it was what she needed. Chloe had been all over her for years about establishing a life for herself outside of the penthouse, one that extended beyond her duties at Chroma….perhaps it was time to take her youngest sibling's advice into consideration. The occasional step outside of her comfort zone truly couldn't be that mortifying – granted, she had no idea how one went about establishing an active social life nowadays, but Justine was sure that Chloe would be eager to offer her assistance. Whatever nerves already rising could be soothed at the knowledge that, if nothing else, it would be an excuse for time with a beloved sibling….surely that was tolerable?

Justine had worn a beautifully casual red dress for the evening, standing out against the elite crowd packing her establishment as she went about conducting her usual walk through of all the lounges. Tonight it would take longer than expected, given the crowds gathered to see the new collection debut but the wine was flowing, the food was constantly replenished and with Chroma's staff at the helm, the place could nearly run itself. Pausing at the main bar, Justine waved over her assistant manager, leaning over so that she might be heard over the din around them, "I'm going to retreat to my office for a bit – there's a stack of paperwork with my name on it and I'm afraid it has no intention of completing itself. You'll call me if there are any problems requiring my attention?" Marlowe nodded, a warm smile touching his lips, "Of course, Miss Baptiste. I'm sure things will be fine, no worries." Justine nodded as well, gave his hand a light squeeze and turned to take her leave of the main festivities, vanishing down the secluded hallway that would deliver her to her office.

It was just as her hand hit the doorknob that the scent caught her attention – he was back. Now that her memory had been refreshed, never again would she mistake that scent for anything else. Obviously she had been wrong in her assumption that anything worth being said had come out the last time they had seen one another. Squaring slender shoulders, she took a deep breath of preparation and entered the code that allowed her office door to swing open. Her eyes swept the familiar lay out of her office, knowing that if he intended to remain unseen he would be quite capable of doing so. "You must be aware that I know of your presence already," she closed the door behind herself, crossing the short distance to move behind her desk, "there's no need to remain hidden." Justine lowered herself into her seat, crossing one slim leg over the other, and waited for the confrontation to come.

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from_the_beast
2008-05-07 11:17 pm UTC (link)

When they’d last parted Mikkos had been up in the air about coming back here. He knew he shouldn’t, that it would be best for all involved, if he just kept his distance, for get about any thoughts of coming back. Despite Justine’s own words to the contrary he knew she was just as torn as he. Of course it had had been on his mind. Of course she had been on his mind.

And with the arrival of the ring, he knew he had been on her mind too. So strong, so dignified, so proud, but also so very shallow. At least to him. He could see right through all her words to the contrary. Even if she thought she meant it, it was not an easy choice. She struggled in it.

She loved him still.

It hadn’t been a difficult thing in finding his way into her office. The first numbers he’d tried had been exactly correct. The date of her turning. Yes, he did know her all too well.

Once inside, he’d helped himself to some ancient scotch and slipped into the darkest recesses of the room. Seeing better in the dark than in light, he used the quiet moments in waiting to look around, to get to know her by her furnishings (luxurious yet practical), her decorations (sparse but tasteful), her music…

The more things changed, the more they stayed the same. Even the room smelled of her. A smell that grew stronger as she neared the quiet office. He grinned in the shadows as she spoke aloud to him.

“So eager to see me, are you, Justine? And here I thought you’d had enough.” He cocked his head. “Or so you said.”

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savageallure
2008-05-07 11:34 pm UTC (link)

"Not eager to see you," Justine corrected, not bothering to glance up from the paperwork she'd withdrawn from her desk drawer, "but I thought we were in agreement in that the last time we saw one another would be the only time during your stay up here." Pen in hand, she idly flipped through the contract before her, signing off on her approval for the new art show, the one to follow her most current display. She hadn't bothered to adjust the lighting upon entering, given that they were both rather fond of the darkness, though the dim illumination that was present glinted off the ruby earrings she wore as she lifted her head. A gift from Chloe, they danced against her slender neck, left bare as her dark hair was pinned up for the evening.

"I had assumed that anything left unresolved between the two of us had been dealt with the last time you stood in my office, was I incorrect in that?" her gazed fixed on him expectantly, though it gave away surprisingly little. Yes, he could see through her the majority of the time, but Justine was a creature prone to adaptation. Over the years she had learned to hide things more completely than she'd been able to in their years together. Now, if determined enough, it seemed that she was able to block him out as well. Truthfully, it was a face she was quite proud of. It didn't always work and generally not for long, but she took each small victory as it came.

Glancing back to her work at hand, Justine carried on almost as if he wasn't standing a few feet away. "I've returned the last of what was yours that had survived our years apart, is there something else you seek by returning?" This time she didn't raise her eyes from the contract before her. She was playing much better at ignoring him, though the tension sat in the delicate brace of her slender shoulders. "I've told the others you are here, I suppose you should know that. I've also asked Chloe not to cause any trouble where you're concerned, but given her lowly opinion of you, I wouldn't count on that bearing any merit. I'll ask you to leave her be, regardless of whatever she might attempt. Keeping things as separate as possible seems the best option." Her life had always too easily intertwined with his and it was that that she now saw to prevent. He had moved on, started a family, what now did he want with her?

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from_the_beast
2008-05-08 03:45 pm UTC (link)

“Mhmm. Keep saying it, you might convince yourself.” Staying within the shadows, Mikkos watched her from within the folds of gloom, seeing her where she could not see him. She really was beautiful. The scarlet glint upon her skin reminded him somewhat of blood. He could remember the taste of hers. He wondered if she still remembered his with fondness. The beat of his heart increased, if only just to tease, a little.

“Could call it an agreement I suppose. There was no pact, no contracts, not even a hand shake. I changed my mind.” He’d circled around to come up behind her. His hand trailed delicately up the back of that slender, so tender neck before moving away again. “What did you think I would do when you sent me the ring?”

He continued, moving around until he stood before her.

“Had it? Funny, I don’t feel so resolved.” He cocked his head slightly, studying her, seeing far more than she allowed. She most certainly had gained in strength, he’d give her that. But then, she always had been a strong woman. Only now she was even more rigid, that stick got shoved right back up, making her more rigid then ever. Always made her all the more exciting when she let loose. Let her hair down, as they say. “Maybe in my world resolution comes with more of a bang. Angry words are nothing more than foreplay. Returned gifts are slaps meant to provoke.” His eyes intensified, dark orbs boring a hole straight trough to her soul, if it were possible through that icy exterior.

Funny thing about ice, Mikkos rather liked it.

“If you really didn’t want to see me again you’d have disposed of the ring yourself.”

He glanced around, feigning concern. “Should I worry they might come after me now? Kill me where I stand?” He shook his head. “Tsk tsk, Justine. Chloe perhaps, for all the trouble that teensy waif might try, would be the sort to judge without trial, blame unconditionally. But not Dimitri and Juliette. They are far more just are they not? Even where their beloved Justine is concerned. They would not strike a man down on circumstantial evidence, or without first seeking the truth.”

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savageallure
2008-05-08 06:58 pm UTC (link)

"It seems you are the only person I need to convince," she corrected, pen pausing only momentarily as she heard his heart rate increase. It returned to the page soon after, scrawling her elegant signature across yet another page. What had that little slip up meant? Surely it wasn't an affect of her presence, she must have been reading too much into it. It did bring to mind his blood, though, and oh how she remembered the taste of it across her tongue. No one had ever tasted as he did.

"And what exactly is it that you feel remains unresolved?" she set her pen aside and closed the folder before her. Elegant hands lifted to rest atop it, her vision following him until he left her peripheral. "You have a son, obviously you've moved on. What is it that you feel you can gain from me?" The feel of his fingers against the back of her neck stopped her breath for the brief duration of that caress. It was been lifetimes since he'd touched her in such a way and the effect was still undeniable. Damn him, damn her...

At least she could take a bit of pride in knowing she still got to him as well. When talk turned to the ring, the effect it's return had had on him showed clearly in his darkened gaze. "I regret informing you that my intention was not to provoke you, but simply to return what was yours." She chuckled lightly, pushing to stand and move to the drink cart in the corner. She uncorked a bottle of the vintage they had shared the time before, pulling herself a glass, "The ring was never mine, I realize that now. I felt it appropriate to return it to you and, in case you've forgotten, you had never been in contact with me before to allow me to do so."

She paused, raising the glass to her lips, "I worry only that Chloe might do something rash in an effort to protect me." Such talk of her siblings made her smile slightly, he truly had no idea how things had changed. "After what occurred with Julien, I wouldn't be so positive that each of us wouldn't do whatever necessary to protect one another."

Justine sighed and moved to stand before her desk leaning back to rest her hips against it as she faced him head on. She quickly she tired of these games, "Why did you come back? What are you truly seeking to accomplish?" Keeping those shields up seemed to have no effect. In fact, she should have remembered that she often affected him more when she allowed herself to be open. Her eyes, the anguish contained within them, had always been her trump card where he was concerned. So when her gaze turned back to his, she let the weight of the years be carried with it, "I'll ask you seriously this time, then: if you ever truly felt anything for me in our years together, you'll not return after tonight. It isn't fair to me, Mikkos, you returning like this. You leaving wasn't fair either, but I couldn't control that. This I can."

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from_the_beast
2008-05-11 12:21 am UTC (link)

Mikkos arched a brow at her sudden insistence the ring was not hers. Now perhaps, it was her time to get to him. He remained slent though, allowing her time to speak her mind without interruption. Not that he didn't have plenty to say himself, for now he simply was watching her movements, and pehaps weighing his words. No, he had no want to lash out. Not yet. Even if he were provoked. No, his temper was not one any wished to see, but neither did he flash it about needlessly. He had a reign on it, far more so now then before. He had grown after all, she was right in that. Time had changed all of them. Experience had a way of doing that.

"Yes," his jaw tightened, though it had nothing to do with Chloe, or her childish temper. "Probably best that you do worry for Chloe. Her little tantrums too often have a way of backfiring. She never seems to know when she's in over her head."

Throwing their past back in his face, denying a gift he'd given with far more care than she could know, and now she thought to play that same old game with his heart. How could she melt what had no feelings? "Pretty senseless game, isn't it? After all, I don't give a shit about your feelings, so why would flashing them so openly now do anything to me?"

In a flash he closed the distance between them and growled softly, his lips sneered as he scented her. "I didn't loan to you, or give it to you for safe keeping. The ring is and always was, yours. Or maybe you never read the engraving.

"You say I need to be convinced, then convince me." He growled, his presence, closing in... heavy, palpable, demanding. His heart quickened but did not race, but merely pounded forcefully within his chest. A low, loud, insistent pulse. "Convince me I have no reason to return, Justine."

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savageallure
2008-05-11 07:39 pm UTC (link)

She wanted to be angry at him for his behavior, wanted to lash out for the cruel words he tossed at her even as she knew it was what he wanted, but suddenly there was just too much of him. He invaded her senses...the smell of him, that strong thudding of his pulse, the heat that radiated from his body...all of it was so close, invading her space to a level that rendered her unable to concentrate on anything else. His closeness alone seemed to be sparking memories long since buried, her brain running through them like a long-forgotten film reel.

"I read the inscription," she countered, raising her gaze once her equilibrium seemed to have returned, "I read it numerous times...the night you gave it to me, the night you were supposed to have married me and a hundred times after that. Eventually it stopped meaning anything." She'd forced the words to stop meaning anything to her, had read them until the sight of the script alone made her numb. The hurt was too deep to deal with, it was better simply covered over.

That growl so often sent a chill down her spine and this time she willed every nerve ending in her slender body to just resist it. Thankfully she managed, though the heat from his broad form seemed to penetrate the crimson satin her figure was swathed in and made for a much more tempting draw. He needed convincing, did he? Mikkos was rarely convinced of anything and generally thought whatever he damn well pleased. She didn't believe for a moment she might be able to change his mind, but surely she should at least try. "I don't know why you even came in the first place. You claimed it was to see me and you have done that. You have a son, you have a life and I have nothing to do with either. There is nothing for you here. What is it that you still seek to find?" Perhaps the words were meant to convince her as much as him, but they sounded strong and with the way her gaze managed to hold his as they were delivered, they were nearly absolute.

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from_the_beast
2008-05-15 06:05 pm UTC (link)

Mikkos was close for a reason. But that closeness put him just as much at risk for the consequences of that nearness. Her scent did things to him he hadn’t expected. Her emotions, those he scorned her for attempting to sway him with, very nearly crushed him. These things he’d not admit, nor would he allow. He was demon. He was Aristedes. With women, he took and he used, and he occasionally found more, but no… he’d never be what she wanted, what she needed… what she deserved. So why was he here, indeed. Why did he waste his own time along with hers?

What did he still seek to find?

The piece that made him feel whole. The part that completed him. The thing that could never exist in hell.

His jaw was so tight that all the veins nearly bulged. His eyes nearly smoldered as he suddenly seemed as angry as she. The space between them, though tight, closed completely almost as powerful hands gripped her slender arms and pulled her closer. “I think you know.” What he wanted, of course, that he would admit. But more… it was what he needed, what he’d always needed. A need that stood in stark contrast to who he was, and all he stood for. “Nothing?” he sneered, his lips hovering over her own.

Such fierceness in his eyes, in his words, in the very air around them. And such fierceness in his lips when finally they pressed to her own, crushing almost, a passionate ravaging need that spilled out unspoken by word, but shown in every increasing touch.

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savageallure
2008-05-16 02:24 pm UTC (link)

His nearness had always effected her in ways she both loved and hated. The pure size of him, the bulk of his form overshadowed her own slender build, overwhelming her in the physical sense first and foremost. And then of course, more frustratingly, was his ability to break through the icy shell of hers. So many were content to let her simply be the lady she presented herself as, to never try and lift that veil that seemed to hide whatever less than ideal attributes she might possess. Mikkos, for some reason, had been the sole person that had wanted more, that had demanded it. And if she had refused to give? He'd simply broken down her barriers, forced his way in until he'd seen all he wanted.

Even now, even after all these years, he still wasn't content with what she gave, what she showed him. At one time she'd loved that he wanted more, that he'd wanted to know her as no other did, as no other had sought to. Now it frustrated her, crippled any semblance of strength she might have had. Justine took every inch between them to be a gift, one he swiftly did away with by seizing her arms to pull her closer. They were nearly touching now, close enough that her breasts brushed against the solid trunk of his chest with every breath she took. He made her head swim with proximity alone, the heat of his body luring her own closer, making her want to bow into him gracefully. She resisted, fought against every single urge.

Before realization struck, let alone the opportunity to try and stop him, he'd seized her lips in a violently passionate kiss. His grip against her arms rendered her unable to lift a hand, to slap him for being so forward with her or even to press her hands to his chest to try and regain the space that had previously been between them. Initially she wanted to bite into his lip, to give him cause to draw back until she remembered that Mikkos had always enjoyed such a thing and that the taste of his blood might be her undoing.

Justine, for all her claims to the contrary, was prone to a moment of weakness now and again. Traditionally, such moments had always been tied to him - a fact, it seemed, that hadn't changed as much as she would like. She fought against him at first, tried to pull out of the kiss even as he wouldn't let her. But eventually, in a victory she was sure he'd make her regret, she gave in. One kiss meant nothing in the long run, perhaps they both needed it for closure. She gave herself over to him for that brief interval, parting her lips to grant him a taste of what he'd been so long denied.

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from_the_beast
2008-05-16 09:09 pm UTC (link)

So many overlooked the pristine, the ladies who seemed so far above the filth of a man’s mind, especially the mind of a demon. Mikkos however, knew better. He knew that once the hard shell was peeled away he’d be presented with the sweetest nectar from deep inside. That the most timid women had the most voracious, peccant appetites and were the most ferocious in feeding them. Such women needed a strong man, not a weak, insipid creature to suck the life out of them. Mikkos took like a lion, and Justine fought, and gave in, just like a lioness. Had she merely bowed in his presence he might not ever have looked twice.

Had he done the same, neither would she have.

And still she fought. It made his loins hunger for her. Mikkos reacted with a growl, a pleased hiss as the game picked up and the heat increased. Unfortunately she resisted the urge to bite. Always so smart, and even now, still… always denying what she really desired.

One kiss. It could mean nothing. It could mean everything. It was Mikkos to shift, to bring them closer, to groan into the deepening kiss. It was Mikkos finally, who shed first blood... his own. A slide of his tongue up and into the fang he knew so well. Hot blood sprayed out suddenly to flood her mouth, her tongue, her senses.

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savageallure
2008-05-16 09:34 pm UTC (link)

He was right to think that one single kiss could be the start to everything...it could unravel the careful calm that Justine had built, that spine of steel that she had worked so hard to erect in his presence, to shield herself from any further hurt he might cause. To bear such pain again was something she wasn't sure she could do, wasn't sure she had the strength to build up that perfect facade once more. He seemed as though he wouldn't be content until he'd ripped away what little control she'd clung to, tossed it to the wind to leave her without those barriers she clung to.

She fought against him for as long as she could, for as long as she could bear given everything he threw in her direction. There was only so much resistance even she had, only so much a person could take before their desires overtook them. Did she want him? Of course she did, it was something that she wished now had faded with time. Instead, the touch of his lips against hers was enough to spark that familiar fire between them.

He pulled her closer and Justine went without realizing it, savoring the familiar heat of his body, the taste of him once more against her tongue. With the shift to draw her near, he broke the one last wall she'd built between them with a single laceration, flooding her mouth with the one thing she couldn't live without. She couldn't control the low moan that slipped free of her as that warm, delicious, crimson substance slid down her throat. She tugged her arms from his grip and relished the skin-on-skin burn, slipping them around his neck to pull his body further up against her slender form. She wanted him now on more than one level, as more than just one thing...they'd crossed that line that had been blurred so many years ago between lover and mate, between predator and prey. Something had broken away in her office, something that Justine would feel the loss of later.

Even this loss of control, this overwhelming of all her good sense could only take them so far. After a few more moments of hot, blood-laced kisses, Justine's hands slid to his chest and she shoved herself away from him, giving him her back as she turned to wipe at her lips, now stained a deep crimson. "That....cannot happen...again..." she managed after a moment, unable to turn around and look at him. If her moment of weakness was thrown in her face, used against her at her most vulnerable a moment, there would be no coming back from it.

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from_the_beast
2008-05-16 11:05 pm UTC (link)

The kiss may well have been enough to convince him, as he had urged her to do… to convince them both that all that once had been no longer was. A single kiss might have done that. If it were true. Turned out it wasn’t. And so, what the kiss did was something far different. A kiss was never just a kiss. It was a revelation of the truth. Whether the truth was love, hate, lust, or need, a kiss spoke the truth.

And the kiss, once started, was not a calculated thing, but led strictly by emotions, by hunger and need, by what he’d not even realized he’d missed as much as he had. Or needed. He needed her to taste him, to remember him, just as he did her. Cruel perhaps, but he gave no thought to that. When did he ever?

She pushed away from him, turned away, rejected him and his advances, but Mikkos was having none of that. Despite her words, he knew what he felt, what she felt, and it was this that he acted on. The body was a far more powerful master than the mind after all.

Hands on her shoulders, he brought her back around, ignoring her words, his lips pressed to hers once more in kisses at once more frenzied and less frenzied, hungry and needful, demanding and yet tender in turns. He pressed closer and brought his hands to the soft curve of her ass, lifting her to her desk as he pushed back the few things she kept atop it.

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savageallure
2008-05-16 11:26 pm UTC (link)

She needed space before he made her cave, needed to be away from him to get things straightened out in her head. He was too close, too invasive of her personal space....she couldn't think with him there, pressed against her, kissing her like that, like old times. It wasn't old times, she wasn't as willing to hand over her emotions to him as she once was. She'd agreed to marry him, after all, had gone through the planning process, had intended to be his wife. And now? Now she knew he had a son, knew that whatever had gone down on the eve of their supposed wedding was far more complicated than she'd originally thought and a part of her knew there was so much more to the story of just how much he'd moved on.

She'd pushed away from him so she could breathe, because she couldn't kiss him anymore and she knew it. He paid no mind to her warning that such a thing couldn't happen again, she knew as much the moment his hands closed around her shoulders and forced her to face him again. He seized her lips again, surprising her this time with the varying types of kisses he pressed to her lips. If she'd been thinking he'd wanted to hurt her with all of this, to teach her a lesson or perhaps demonstrate the power he still wielded over her, she knew in that moment that there was so much more to whatever he sought from her. His kisses held some emotion, she could feel it in the alternatingly gentle kisses he pressed to her lips, intermixed with those bruising, intense lip locks they were used to.

Before it had even dawned on her to draw back, to stop this before it went too far, she felt his palms cup the curve of her ass, lifting her upwards only to set her to rest atop her desk. In the background she was vaguely aware of the sound of all her things crashing to the ground. There was perhaps a kiss or two in the mix she returned but the desk beneath her jarred her before she could lose herself again. "Mikkos..." she breathed against his lips, hands sliding to his chest to let her draw back as much as he would let her, forehead nearly resting against his, "...this can't happen..." She moved to tug the skirt of her dress back down, unable to slide off of the desk because of how close he still stood. "We can't do this...I can't do this..."

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from_the_beast
2008-05-19 01:38 am UTC (link)

This… all of this, was far more complicated than either understood, or ever wanted. Even this moment was more complicated. Just as the kiss was complicated. Mikkos hadn’t thought, he only acted. She’d always had a way of bringing out such passion in him.

Now? Well he couldn’t exactly claim the spell had been broken, but she did speak logic.

Sometimes Mikkos really hated logic.

He sighed, a slightly growled sound, and brought his hand to hers, closing the ring inside it before she could argue. Another kiss to her lips, softer perhaps than any before, and fleeting.

And then he was gone, disappearing within the shadows to make a complete exit from the building.

He had no thought in that moment as to whether he’d be back. He knew what he wanted. But that fucking logic. He really should just let things alone.

Even if he knew he wasn’t going to.

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