For Love or Freedom

A quiet tapping on her window nearly scared her out of her wits. She turned away from the water boiling on the stove and looked, making out a faint shadow on her back porch. He pointed to the nearby door, and she grinned. She shut the stove off, but left the water there as she walked to the door and turned the deadbolt. It opened with a slight squeak, and she leaned in the frame, facing him. "What's the matter?" she teased. "Door being locked never stopped you before."
"Mmm." He took the two steps toward her and kissed her. Hard. He was in no way being gentle or romantic. She could feel the tension from him, irritation probably not aimed at her, but she knew better than to press his buttons. She didn't know him well enough to know how he'd react.
"You okay?he whe whispered, stroking his cheek lightly. "You seem upset."
"Forget it," he growled, pulling away. "I just needed to get out. You got a beer?"
She half expected him to invite himself into the apartment, but he didn't. He stayed out on the deck, walking to the railing as she turned back into the kitchen. She crouched down and opened the fridge, grabbing a bottle out of it. She debated whether or not she wanted one, and decided she didn't. A moment later, she returned to the doorway just as he jumped up onto the railing on all fours, his feet on the outside of his hands. She tensed as she watched him, but knew he probably wouldn't have done it if he was going to fall. He turned, half-jumping, and somehow managed to catch his balance seated along the railing, his shell up against the support beam for the overhead canopy.
She studied him for a moment, then stepped out into the cool night air, pulling the door closed behind her. The thin, silk robe around her only went to her knees, and there wasn't a whole lot underneath it. But it was late, and if he felt safe enough, being what he was, sitting out on her balcony, she figured the coast was pretty clear. She walked to him and offered the bottle. He took it and opened it on the side of the wood rail beneath him. "Thanks, babe," he mumbled, cold and distracted.
She ran a hand up his thigh, from his knee up along the tensed muscles. She knew he didn't want to talk, and she didn't bother to ask if he did. Instead, she just leaned in and kissed his cheek, pressing her breasts up against his bicep. She hadn't seen him in a week, but that wasn't going to make for very good conversation, either. Not with the way he was acting right now.
Her fingers brushed his cold sais and pulled back. But her eyes drifted down. He watched her carefully as she eyed his weapons, then glanced back up. There were a lot of things she wanted to ask him, but at the same time, she didn't want to invite questions about herself. One step at a time. "So what do you study?" she asked quietly. She smiled slightly. "I assume you know how to use those things."
He couldn't help but grin as he took a long drink. "Yeah, I can use them."
"Where'd you learn?"
He shrugged. "Raised with it."
"What's 'it'? Aikido?" she guessed.
He studied her for a moment, not totally sure he wanted to answer that question. "Ninjutsu."
She blinked. She hadn't been expecting that. "Here in the states?" She only knew of one clan operating anywhere near here and if he was involved with them, he had no business talking with her.
He looked away, but didn't answer. Any further explanation would lead to talk about his family, and that was the last thing he wanted to talk about. "What do you study?" he asked. He glanced back at her. "I saw your weapons rack. You familiar with all those?"
She shrugged slightly, forcing her uneasiness aside. "I studied jui-jitsu. Learned weapons mostly from freestyle sparring. I'm vaguely familiar with all of them, but I can only really use the sai and nunchakus."
He nodded, and looked away again, his eyes falling to the yard. He spent a few minutes in silence, and tensed just slightly as her arms wrapped around his neck. She nuzzled him gently. "Anything I can do to help you relax?" she whispered. "Tea? Massage? A nice long, slow fuck?"
"Mmm. Long and slow wasn't quite what I was thinking," he mumbled, more to himself than to her.
She grinned. "Well, I'm all outta ice cream so yer gonna have to get creative if you wanna try some more kinky shit."
He glanced at her, raising an eyeridge, and she smiled. He couldn't help but grin back at her. He drained a few ounces of alcohol and dropped both feet down onto the deck again. His hands held her hips as he walked to the lounge chair and sat down, pulling her onto his lap. She smiled, and rested her head against his shoulder, kissing his neck lightly. Slowly, his fingers began to brush back and forth over her arm, sliding up underneath the loose edge of the robe to massage at her shoulder. "What you got on under this?" he asked quietly, nudging her hair aside.
"Camisole, thong, soft lace..." she mumbled, disinterested. "I dunno if it's much your style, but I wasn't really expecting to see you tonight. Just something comfortable to wear to bed." She grinned. "'Course I normally just sleep naked but I kinda... felt like being sexy tonight."
He laughed quietly as she snuggled against him. "Naked isn't quite sexy enough for you?"
She shrugged. "I don't know. There's just something about lace I really like. And most of my lingerie is comfortable 'cause I tend to sleep in it."
"Mmm. Nice to look at, not all that fun to take off?"
She smiled. "Well, sometimes. This one's not fun. I'vI've got a few of the lace-up things with the garters and the stockings. Crotchless panties. The works." She pulled away and smirked at him. "I've got the whips and chains, too. Handcuffs, liquid latex... Of course none of it was bought with kinky stuff in mind, but it's all perfectly adaptable."
He pulled her in again and kissed her hair. "You'll have to show me sometime," he gri.
.
She reached up and touched the side of his face gently. "Sometime when I'm expecting you. Just about anything that's fun to take off is a pain in the ass to put on. And handcuffs aren't fun to sleep in."
He grinned, catching her wrist in a warm, wet kiss as her hand lowered. He took her hand as she brought it down, fingers massaging at her palm as his thumb stroked slowly back and forth over the inside of her wrist. She moaned quietly. "Mmm... that feels good."
"What does?" he questioned, nuzzling his face into her hair.
"My wrist. I love that."
"Really?" he mumbled, amused. This one talked to him, and he was glad. He would much rather be told what she wanted than to have to guess.
"Mmm hmm..."
He locked his fingers in hers and slowly raised her hand to his mouth again. He kissed gently at her pulse, sucking and licking over the sensitive skin. She moaned, and he smiled as he slowly pulled away and nuzzled his beak into her palm. He kissed once more, then pulled back to look at her. She smiled as their eyes met. "You just found my favorite spot."
He raised an eyeridge. "Oh did I?" He kissed her lips lightly. "Just as foreplay or for climax, too?"
She considered that for a moment. "No, more for foreplay. I don't think it'd have quite the same effect when my whole body's on fire. But I'd never object to you touching me there."
He grinned. "I'll have to keep that in mind."
He slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her in close, crushing her against his chest as he kissed the side of her face. "So what about you?" she whispered.
"Eh?" He glanced up. "What about me?"
She rested a head against his plastron. "Where are your erogenous zones?"
He smirked. "Wouldn't you rather explore and find 'em on yer own?"
She laughed quietly. "Well, I gotta confess to you... I did a little research. And I'm fully ready to explore." He raised an eyeridge, his curiosity instantly piqued. "But you tell me. What's your favorite? As foreplay, I mean."
"What kind of research?"
She ignored him. "Or maybe not even foreplay, just... something that'll always feel good. Always relax you."
"What kind of research?" he asked again.
She grinned. "You answer my question first. Then I'll show you."
He considered that for a minute, and decided he'd play her game. "I dunno," he mumbled. "Prolly my sides. But I gotta be real careful 'cause if you get too high it gets too thin."
"And then, what, it hurts?"
His eyes narrowed just slightly, though not really in anger. "I don't know. It could very easily."
"Mmm," she acknowledged. Her fingers traveled down to his hips, where he'd allowed her to touch him before, and she brushed lightly. "So... if I promise to be really gentle... would you let me touch you there?"
He studied her for a minute, seriously considering that. His interest in this research of hers was growing. He wasn't totally sure what to expect from her. "I dunno. Maybe."
"Please?"
He eyed her for a moment, then slowly reached down and took her wrist. He held very still, then gradually brought her hand up, a centimeter at a time. She let him guide her, brushing his skin with feather light touches, and smiled as he came to the end of his reach. He eyed her carefully, then slowly took his hand away. He was still rigid, ready to pull away at the slightest indication that she might try to hurt him. But she didn't. It was the furthest thing from her mind. Aside from the fact that he could probably kill her before she could blink - where the hell had he learned ninjutsu? - she was much more interested in gaining a positive reaction than a negative one.
Her fingers ran up further, then all the way back down, brushing just lightly. He shifted a little, but she doubted that it was any indication of discomfort. A small smile crept across her lips as she pressed just a hair harder, more of a caress than a tickle, and ran back up. She watched him for any signs of discomfort, but his reaction was quite the opposite. His eyes slid closed, and he shuddered, a quiet, barely audible moan escaping his throat.
She leaned into him and brought her lips to his lightly. "That feels good?"
"Mmm hmm."
She smiled as she pulled away and repositioned until she was straddling his thighs. His eyes opened and he studied her for a moment as she continued to brush his sensitive side, all the way up and back down again. Her otarm arm reached for the tie at her waist and pulled it loose, but the robe stayed closed. He raised his hand, opposite the side she was stroking, and slowly parted it.
The camisole was black, soft lace. It hugged her body, which had by now filled out enough so that he couldn't see her ribs, and was pretty much transparent. His eyes ran down further to where it ended just above her navel, exposing a few inches of skin before the matching panties began. He cast a questioning look at the dark patch beneath them, and she sighed. "My last..." job "boyfriend had a problem with pubic hair. My relationship with him was..." short-lived "exclusive. You don't get the option."
He laughed quietly. "I don't mind it, baby," he reassured her. "Now what's this research shit about?"
"Well..." she started hesitantly. "You are a turtle and... I thought... if I'm going to be screwing you on a frequent basis, I should probably get to know your body as well as you know mine."
He raised an eyeridge. This was new... He'd never been with anyone who gave a second thought to his not-so-human form after they'd had sex. Usually it was before, in the form of hesitation. None of this research shit. It had never crossed his mind to research on his species. How much you wanna bet Donny has...? Yeah, okay. But he wasn't Don. And he didn't research. And he was curious. "So what'd you find?" he prodded.
She grinned. "Want me to show you?"
"Yeah."
"Right here?"
He nodded. "Right here."
She smiled at the thunder that rumbled overhead. "You gotta trust me, you know."
He eyed her carefully. "Yeah, okay."
"You sure?"
"Yeah."
She pushed herself up and stood with her legs on either side of the lounge chair. Her fingers trailed down over his plastron. "Be right back."
He nodded slightly and watched as she found her balance and walked back into the house. He sighed deeply and rested his head back against the scratchy fabric of the outdoor chair. She was gone for a few moments, then she returned with a small bottle. He frowned. "What is that?"
She laughed quietly. "Just relax. You ain't gotta know everything right now. Close yer eyes and let this feel good."
He arched an eyeridge at the repetition of his words from their earlier encounter, and wasn't entirely sure how he felt about her saying them. He had no intention of closing his eyes, but he shut up. She set the bottle on the wood floor of the patio, and straddled his legs, standing over him. Her hands slid down between his thighs. "Open."
He complied, more out of curiosity than willingness to follow her orders, and she smiled as she sat down on her knees between his legs. He was hidden up under his shell, and she could see only a hint of his tail, but not much else. Okay. She could handle that. She glanced up and saw him watching her, and she smiled. "Anything hurts, just tell me. Preferrably before you kill me."
He smirked just slightly. As long as it was an honest mistake, he wasn't going to hurt her. "Yeah, a'right."
She reached down and grabbed the bottle, and coated her hands in its contents until they glistened in the light coming from the kitchen window. "It's baby oil," she informed him. "It won't hurt you."
He relaxed now that he knew what it was, and she massaged it into her palms. "Take off yer belt," she ordered. "An' yer pads. I don't care 'bout the mask. But my hands are gonna be too slippery when I'm done here to do it myself."
He complied, feeling a little impatient at all this preparation. When he laid back, she ran her hands up the length of his arms. Her hands were softer than before, and nice and warm. She moved up along his shoulders and over his neck, then dragged her nails down over his plates. "You feel that?" she asked.
"Yeah. The vibration."
One hand came to a stop, and the index finger of her other hand found the crease between his plates. She dragged her finger down slowly, using her nail to lightly trace the indentation. Raphael's eyes slid closed, and he relaxed. "That feels good?" she guessed.
"Mmm hmm. Kinda tickles."
She leaned into him, and ran her tongue along one of the creases until she came to the place where four of his plates met. She probed the indentation slowly, and he sighed deeply, but didn't otherwise react. She pulled away, and her hands moved to his sides, back to skin. "Now, if you were a regular, six-inch-big turtle, you wouldn't have skin here," she mused. "An' I'm guessing that's probably why it's so sensitive."
"Mmm." He tensed just slightly as her soft, gentle fingers ran up and down his exposed sides.
"But I'm thinkin'... if it's sensitive there... and the body is supposed to protect its most vulnerable places..." Her fingers slipped back, under the lip of his carapace at his side, as far as she could before she reached a very thin layer of skin.
He tensed noticeably as she ventured to a place he'd not allowed anyone to touch before, then relaxed again almost involuntarily as she stroked his sensitive nerves with the pads of her fingers. She heard a quiet moan escape him, and she smiled. Success. "How's that feel?" she whispered, feeling her way slowly up and down. Her fingers had slipped further underneath his shell than she'd expected them to reach. They were just past halfway.
"S'good," he murmured.
She moved down, along his sides and over his hips. Then her hands moved along the tops of his thighs. Instead of exploring him any further, they came to her own waist, and she separated the robe, letting it fall off her shoulders and exposing the sexy camisole underneath. He smiled, but didn't speak.
Her hands came back to his thighs, and she massaged deeply. He sighed deeply as she found a slow, steady rhythm. The sigh turned into a moan as her hands came to the bottom of his plastron and began to massage there, against his hard plates. She watched his reaction carefully as he seemed to melt into the chair. A smile crept across her face, and she ran her hands up and down his lower plates, pressing hard. His hips were beginning to move in time with her. He wasn't sure exactly why his body was reacting the way it was, but he wasn't about to fight it. He could feel his cock growing more and more firm with each passing second, and pressing up hard against the inside of his plaston. "Mmm... god, baby..."
She watched as his tail seemed to lengthen and she could see just a hint of his balls before he stopped, and she felt him tense. She smiled. He'd done that involuntarily. "Relax," she whispered. "Just let your body do what it wants to. You're okay..."
He sighed deeply, and relaxed, allowing his shaft to drop out from underneath the places she was rubbing at. Her hands slid down and cupped him in her palm, stroking two fingers up the side of his erection and bringing him to fullness. His eyes closed, and he groaned. She smiled, her hand moving to clasp over his. She locked her fingers around his and guided his hand to his cock. "Here," she breathed. "You know how to do this part."
He only hesitated for a moment before his fingers closed over himself and he began to slowly stroke up and down. Her now-free hand moved down until she found his tail. He gasped audibly as she touched the soft underside of it, close to his body where it was thicker. His hand stopped, muscles tensing. She watched as the tip of his tail spiraled just slightly, and brought her other hand down, extending her finger and curling it around him. Still stroking slowly over his ridges, she allowed his tail to wrap tightly around her other finger. "That feel good?"
"Mmm..." He wasn't sure what he was feeling right now, but it did feel good. It felt... right. Natural. She pulled gently, still stroking the sensitive underside. He groaned, and his hand began to move up and down over his shaft. "God damn, baby..."
She smiled, and continued to stroke and massage, tugging gently. His breathing deepened, and she listened carefully, watching his hand move up and down over himself. Slowly, she slid back and lay down on her stomach, with the bottom of her legs off of the chair. Her hands remained at his tail as she lowered and kissed all around the head of his erection. Raphael swallowed hard, and breathed slow. "Mmm... no baby," he sighed. "Take yer mouth where yer hands are." This was her bright idea to start with, and if she was gonna explore over things he'd not thought of before, he was damn well gonna give her some direction.
She grinned, and licked once up the length of his shaft, avoiding his hand, then nuzzled the inside of his thigh as she moved down lower. She uncurled her finger from around his tail and he let go. He sighed deeply at the feel of the soft pads on her fingertips as they ran up and down the ridges on his sensitive underside. He'd never been touched this way before, and he was very quickly realizing just how much he liked it. He could feel her warm breath against him, and the wet heat of her tongue as it swirled around his tip.
She'd guessed that this would be a sensitive spot, but she wasn't entirely sure what to do with it. So she treated it like she would his cock, licking and kissing and teasing along the soft tissue. But unlike his cock, it responded much more. There was muscle here, and he could manipulate it, feeling along the side of her tongue and curling around. She couldn't help but laugh. It kept trying to spiral, instinctively. She could hear him panting, feel his hips jerking. He groaned loudly and she felt his hand on her shoulder. "Baby..." he gasped. "I'm gonna..."
She ran her teeth over him one last time and then moved up. Both hands remained at his tail as she lowered over his cock, letting him feed it into her mouth. He felt his balls tighten even before she'd drawn him completely inside. "Nnnnnnghaa!" He released, shooting into her mouth, and she struggled to swallow fast enough. It wasn't just a simple matter of opening her throat when she hadn't taken him in that far yet. But she managed, and remained there as he slowed, her fingers still tracing over the ridges of his tail.
She listened for a moment as his moans turned to a soft churring somewhere in the back of his throat, and let him ease down at his own pace. Very gradually, he pulled away from her, and held her shoulders as he pulled her up to face him. His eyes blazed with hidden excitement as he drew her lips to his and tasted her deeply. Her mouth was still salty from his release, but he didn't mind in the least. "Damn..." he breathed against her as she pulled away just slightly.
She listened for a moment as his moans turned to a soft churring somewhere in the back of his throat, and let him ease down at his own pace. Very gradually, he pulled away from her, and held her shoulders as he pulled her up to face him. His eyes blazed with hidden excitement as he drew her lips to his and tasted her deeply. Her mouth was still salty from his release, but he didn't mind in the least. "Damn..." he breathed against her as she pulled away just slightly.
She smiled as she nuzzled against him. "More where that came from, stud," she breathed. "You wanna come inside?"
He smirked at her, his mind playing back over that phrase a few more times before he managed an answer. "Oh yeah..."
***
Raphael remained perfectly silent as he stroked her hair, watching her sleep. He would never get over just how vulnerable people looked when they slept. How vulnerable they were. He could kill her right now, and she'd never even know the difference. Not that he had any violent feelings toward her. She was safe. If anything, she was safer now, with him lying beside her, than she'd ever been alone. But she didn't know that. She couldn't know for sure that he wasn't a threat. Still she slept.
It was something that had amused him in a sad sort of way, over and over again through the past few years. Women trusted far too easily. All people did, really. Perhaps they simply couldn't accept the thought that someone they were so intimate with willingly would want to hurt them. But Raphael accepted it. He knew full well how dangerous trust was, even in someone you didn't think was a threat. It was that person who could hurt you tremendously.
He brushed the side of her face gently, kissing her forehead. No, he was no threat to her, regardless of her potential threat to him. He'd just never give her a chance to hurt him and everything would be fine. He wasn't much of a threat to any n hen he was with. If they pissed him off, he left. It never came to the point where he actually thought he'd hurt them.
Ivy.
He frowned. Okay, so Ivy was kind of an exception to the rule. He'd held a weapon to her throat knowing full well that he could care less if she walked away from the encounter. He hadn't particularly wanted to hurt her, but he would've. If Leo had pushed it... he couldn't tell what he might have done.
He sighed as he turned onto his back, resting against the blankets, and stared up at the ceiling. He hadn't really meant to put her in that position. He wasn't at all happy about the fact that she'd decided to follow him down into the lair when he was drunk. He'd be even less happy about it if he discovered she'd planned it that way. But it wasn't worthy of death. Putting a blade to her throat wasn't really the smartest thing he'd ever done, and he had to admit, he almost felt bad about it. Not that she didn't deserve it, but he wasn't really sure just how bad he'd scared her and he didn't want to think she'd be scarred for life from this.
He glanced once more at the figure sleeping beside him and pushed himself up from the bed. She stirred, but didn't wake up, snuggling deeper into the blankets. He stood, left the room, and moved soundlessly into the kitchen. He sighed deeply as he drank down a glass of water, then yawned and stretched upward. He grabbed his belt and weapons off of the floor of the kitchen, where they'd been kicked in their hurry to get to the bedroom. He redressed, then slipped out her back door without a word.
***
"Omigod! Raph!"
He remained still, leaned against the wall of the hallway as she held her robe closed over her chest. Her eyes darted to her closed bedroom door and she tensed like a wound spring. "What are you doing here? You shouldn't be here."
"Now where have I heard that before?" he asked, walking toward her slowly.
"Oh, please be quiet," she begged. "I have... company."
"Yeah, I know," he answered, his voice emotionless. "You don't live alone. I won't stay long."
He stepped onto the couch and with both feet on the cushion, turned and sat on the armrest. "We have to talk," he informed her.
She swallowed hard, her eyes nervously darting down the hall once more before she realized there was nothing she could say or do to make him leave until he was damn good and ready. Best to just play along. "I... I know."
He sighed deeply, folding his hands between his knees and watching her eyes intently. "What you did, following me home and showing up without telling me anything about it, was probably the single most stupid thing you've ever done in yer life."
She pressed against the back of the sofa, cringing at the ice in his tone. "I..." she struggled.
"Not only for me," he continued, ignoring her. "But my brothers could've seriously killed you without a second thought before they even realized you weren't there to cause trouble."
"I..." she stammered. "I'm sorry."
He nodded. "Well, you damn well will be sorry if anyone finds out what you know now."
She stared at him, not sure if he was threatening her, or merely explaining the threat. He leaned forward slightly, his head dropping between his shoulders. "You can't change what you did and I'm not here to make you try to," he explained. "That's just stupid. I don't want your apologies." He glanced up at her and their stares locked. "I just want you to be very careful. Because it don't matter if you're a friend or an enemy. If people think you know anything, they will take that information from you and then they will kill you. Understand?"
She nodded slightly. She understood completely. He slid off the arm of the chair, one knee raised and the other against the cushion as he leaned in and kissed her lips slowly, gently probing at the inside of her mouth. She blinked in surprise, then opened to him, more than willingly. She relaxed as his hands ran down from her cheeks, over her neck, and to her shoulders. He held her still as he very slowly pulled away from her, just enough to meet her eyes.
"I care about you, Ivy," he whispered against her lips. "I don't wanna see you hurt."
She nodded again, not speaking, and he kissed her cheek before standing and jumping down to the floor. He didn't say a word as he walked to the open window, likely the one he'd come in. She suddenly realized he was leaving. She didn't want him to leave. Not yet... "Raph?" she called quietly.
He stopped and breathed out slow. Good god he was going to need a drink when this was over... What more did she want? He turned to her and raised an eyeridge questioningly. "Will you...?" She swallowed hard. "Will you stay?"
He watched her intently for a moment and determined that yes, she was serious. She was also very stupid. "You have company," he reminded her. "Remember?"
"Well, we could... go somewhere," she suggested, standing up. "I could get dressed..."
He considered that for about as long as it took him to blink, then turned away from her and headed out the window. Yeah, a good stiff drink was definitely what was needed right about now...