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Karen's hands were shaking and covered in her own blood. It seemed so much easier sewing someone else's skin together, hell, she had so much practice on Frank by now she should be a professional. An honorary nurse. As it was, she could barely thread the needle much less start to put herself back together. She was still bleeding pretty heavily, maybe she made a bad judgement call, not going to the hospital. But at the hospital they would ask a lot of questions and she couldn't afford that at this point. She had pushed a little too hard on the lead for this Smithson case and really didn't want to hear from Mahoney, once again, that if he caught her trespassing for information one more time he was going to have her locked up. He may actually mean it this time. Not to mention Matt would start with the preaching and she just didn't have the energy for it right now.
So there she sat, on the edge of her bathtub trying, for the sake of clean up later, to bleed into the tub and not on her floor. A knife wound on her side that she had to bend awkwardly to access and a needle with no thread clutched in her blood slicked hands. The blow to the head she had received exacerbating the lightheadedness from her blood loss. However, a last ditch effort to thread the needle was successful and she gave a quiet woop before having to steady herself, clutching the tub tightly with her free hand.
"Easy does it. I don't think Frank tips himself out of the tub every time he stitches himself up." The image made her giggle before she hissed, starting the first stitch.
--
Frank seemed to have a sixth sense when it came to Karen Page and trouble. He was working on cleaning his arsenal when he got that itch, an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. That's how he found himself at her door, getting ready to knock when he saw the smear of blood on the door handle. It wasn't a small amount, it looked as though a hand had been completely soaked with blood when it gripped the handle.
Cursing, he pushed the unlocked door open, his gun in hand. He scanned the room with the proficiency of a soldier before looking down and seeing the drips of blood, a morbid trail to the small bathroom of her apartment. Fear gripped his heart. It was too much blood. He didn't let the panic take over, still watching for potential threats and only once he had cleared the apartment did he enter the bathroom.
That's where he found her, painting her bathroom with her own blood. Her beautiful blonde hair was matted with a mix of dark red and fresh bright red at the temple. She was in a pair of jeans that she had opened the button on and a bra, her shirt discarded by the door. One small capable hand gripped the side of the tub while the other was braced against the shower wall, still holding a needle. She was slumped awkwardly and when Frank got to her side in a rush, he realized she was just barely conscious.
"Goddamn it Page. What the hell did you get into now?" He tried to sound scathing but he's pretty sure it came out softer and more panicked than he had intended. She gave a slight jump, her delicate brows coming together as she looked at him fuzzily, as if she couldn't decide if he was actually there.
Her voice was thick and quiet, "Frank?" He moved quickly, taking the needle out of her hand and dropping to his knees to inspect the wound on her side. It was deep, thankfully not deep enough to hit any organs but enough to bleed excessively.
She had managed to get several stitches in but still had several more to go. His voice was rough with restrained rage when he answered her, "Yeah, it's me. Want to tell me why you are bleedin' out in your bathroom?" Her eyes closed as he pushed the needle through her skin. He let the anger drain away all at once. He could be angry after, feed his bloodlust later. He needed to focus now. Putting as much authority into his voice as he could muster, Frank ordered, "Eyes open, Page." When she didn't comply he spoke louder, "Karen. Open. Your. Eyes." She did, sluggishly, turning her head to look down at him.
"Why are you in my bathroom?" Her voice confused but she followed his hands as he pulled another stitch through.
"See my previous statement about you bleedin' out in your bathroom." He grabbed some gauze from the open first aid kit and used it to dab away the blood that was now sluggishly seeping from the remaining open wound. "Are you hurt anywhere else?"
"Uh...someone hit me in the head pretty good with something. I'm not sure but I think I might have gotten a broken finger somewhere along the way too." She waved the hand closest to him around almost drunkenly and, sure enough, her pinky was at an odd angle. Snipping the string on the last stitch, Frank cleaned it up and smeared salve over it before putting a bandage in place.
He stood, ignoring the protest in his knees to look at her temple. Karen's large blue eyes followed him as he stood which nearly caused her to tip over the side. Frank had both hands on her quickly to steady her, raising an eyebrow when she let out a small laugh. Even in her disoriented state she must have sensed his look because she simply stated, "That's not the first time that has almost happened tonight."
There was a sizable bump on her temple just inside the hairline and a gash to go along with it. This one, thankfully, didn't look like it would need stitches and had stopped bleeding on its own. Carefully, Frank used fresh gauze to clean away dried and crusted blood before prodding gently at the area to check her skull for cracks. Karen hissed and made an unsavory comment about his lineage.
Despite himself, Frank let out a bark of laughter, "Now, now Page. That kind of abuse and I may have to take my nursing skills and go." He wouldn't dream of it. Lord knows how often she had dealt with his cranky ass, stopping by for help patching himself up. Bleeding all over this very bathroom. Hell, he considered it a privilege to be verbally abused by Karen Page.
Guilt twisted in his guts though when she grasped his hand, broken pinky and all and whispered quietly, "Please don't go." She wasn't looking directly at him but he could see the pain and grim acceptance she always had in her eyes when he made himself walk away.
Christ, he was an asshole. He should stay away for good but instead he keeps coming back, reopening their shared wounds every time he turns around and leaves again.
"Hey," he spoke quietly, his voice full of gravel. He rested a blood covered hand on her cheek before setting his forehead gently against hers, "I'm not going anywhere, yeah?"
A few small tears seeped from the corners of her eyes before he felt her give a slight nod. Giving his own nod, he set back to work. Looking over the rest of her, head, torso, arms and legs he didn't see any more injuries. That meant it was time to reset her pinky.
He switched back to business, feeling around the digit to sort out the best way to set it. "Alright Karen, I'm going to reset this finger. I'm gonna count, okay? On three. One..." He snapped it back in place as he said two, making her curse loudly. He showed up often enough with dislocated and broken fingers that there were splinting materials in the first aid kit as well. However, before he did that he wanted to get her cleaned up a bit.
Frank had her lifted from the edge of the tub and had her sitting on the toilet before Karen could register so she just sat there dazedly as he ran a shallow bath. When he turned back, she was still unsteady but he could see some of her usual alertness returning. He realized that the next step would be getting her clothes off and suddenly his handle on the situation slipped a bit. She needed to be cleaned up, less of a chance of infection and she would just feel better not being covered in blood and grime.
Frank had always been very careful about keeping that distance between them. Hell, they held so much intimacy between them without getting physical he was afraid of what would happen if those barriers were gone. He was terrified he wouldn't be able to make himself walk away after that.
This is not the time to be a brooding asshole, just help her get cleaned up idiot. She's your patient. Just another soldier needing some first aid. He told himself a lot of things to rationalize his thoughts when he was around Karen Page.
His voice was rough when he finally spoke, "We uh...need to get you cleaned up." Karen blinked at him owlishly for a moment before she reached the arm with all five working fingers behind her to unclasp the bra and let it fall to the bathroom floor. Frank was frozen in place for a second before mentally slapping himself into action. She had attempted to pull her jeans down but they were tight and blood loss had left her weak and uncoordinated.
Frank knelt again, this time in front of her and rested his hands on her waist, over her smaller hands. He couldn't seem to find the words but she read the question in his eyes. Even with a head wound she never missed anything with him.
Her voice was quiet as she rested a careful hand on his cheek, "It's okay Frank. It's not exactly how I imagined it would happen but it's okay." If he hadn't been so gobsmacked by that statement he would have laughed at how she managed to become even paler, despite blood loss, at her statement.
He did manage a small smirk, "Thought about it, have you Ms. Page?" Before he could stop himself he continued, "Yeah it's not how I would have hoped either." Fuck . He really hopes she didn't catch that.
He kept careful eyes on the bathroom tiles as he peeled the denim from her legs, taking her underwear with them. "Alright, stand up, real easy. I'll help you in." Karen stood, a touch too quickly and swayed unsteadily at her full height. Frank placed steadying hands on her, gaze involuntarily trailing down her body to assess potential injury from the movement.
He was struck dumb. Frank knew he shouldn't be ogling her in such a state but goddamn she was beautiful. The blood splashed across her body a stark contrast to her beautiful pale skin. Her long, graceful legs standing her at equal height to him, her long blonde hair laying over straight shoulders and determination in her crystal blue eyes. She looked like a valkyrie, straight from the battlefield, standing tall and proud before him. Karen Page was a survivor, a warrior. It's no wonder he couldn't stay away from her.
Before he did something stupid, like tell her she was most incredibly thing he had ever seen, he helped her lower herself into the tub. With a clean washcloth he began gingerly wiping the blood from her face before moving down her body. Carefully removing every bit of grime he saw. He placed another cloth over her bandaged side to keep the gauze from getting wet but he knew it was going to have to be changed either way. Once he was satisfied he'd removed the dirt and blood from her body he shifted his focus to her hair.
Thankfully her showerhead was detachable, so he drained the tub, pulling the showerhead down to wet her hair. Karen was pliable in his hands, shifting at gentle nudges or instructions from him. Her unwavering trust in him always astounded Frank. He didn't feel like he deserved it but she always offered it, no questions asked.
Eventually he had worked the last of the blood from her hair, shampooing it quickly before shutting the water off and pulling a large towel from the rack. Karen managed to look both rejuvenated and completely exhausted. He helped her stand, wrapping the towel around her shoulders.
"Can you dry yourself while I go get you some clean clothes?" When she gave a nod, Frank waited for just a moment to assess how steady she was on her feet. She was shaky but he wouldn't be gone long. He went straight to the drawer in her bedroom he knew she kept her sleeping clothes, wondering for only a moment when he became comfortable enough in Karen's apartment to know where she kept her things.
She had managed to dry herself for the most part but he could tell the effort had sapped what little energy she had left. Frank helped her dress as quickly as he could, careful of her injuries, rewrapping her side with a fresh bandage before sliding the shirt over her head.
Without preamble, he had an arm under her legs, the other supporting her shoulders as he bridal carried her to her bedroom. She made a noise in the back of her throat in protest. Good, she was coming back to herself little by little.
Frank was glad he had the foresight to pull back her covers when he came in for her pajamas because he was able to lay her down easily, pulling the covers back over her. Karen snagged his hand, meeting his eyes clearly for the first time that night.
Her voice was exhausted and quiet, "Thank you Frank. I'm sorry you had to do all this."
Frank didn't need a lot of things but he definitely never needed gratitude from her, he most certainly didn't deserve it, "Don't mention it. You've put me back together enough times I think I owe you this." He didn't mention that he would walk through Hell to get her bag for her if she asked him to. "Just get some rest."
She didn't let go of his hand, "Will you stay?"
He gave her hand a light squeeze, mindful of her splinted finger, "I'm not goin' anywhere. Rest."
"I mean will you stay in here with me?" Her voice was even quieter, like she felt she was asking too much of him. His brain screamed at him that he shouldn't do this, he would be closing that distance even more, succumbing to his weakness for her. His body, the traitorous prick it was, had already sat on the corner of the bed to strip off his boots and socks. The gun he had tucked in the back of his waistband rested on the nightstand by the opposite side of the bed and his shirt draped over the footboard. He slid in next to her with his pants still on. They were damp from helping her bathe but he didn't mind.
She rolled, looking at him with tired eyes, he saw the aching question in them as he tucked some hair behind her ear, "I'll be here when you wake up. You can tell me how you got in this shape in the morning." His voice was gruff and he found he was tired as well as the adrenaline drained from him.
Karen gave him the sweetest smile, a mix of relief, gratitude, affection and something so profound he couldn't bring himself to name it. But it made his heart ache in the most terrifying and exhilarating way. Who knew the Punisher could be brought to his knees with a pretty smile from a beautiful blonde. Of course he knew that not just any pretty blonde would do.
"Yeah, yeah, don't think being cute will keep you from telling me everything tomorrow." He tried to hide the tightness in his throat by pulling her flush against him, mindful of her injuries. She huffed out a laugh and it sounded like she attempted a reply but it turned into a light snore before she could finish.
Frank lay completely still, letting the weight of her head on his shoulder ground him. He thought back to a time several months ago when he was lying in a hospital bed and Karen held his hand. A time when he pushed her away with what little strength he had left. A time when he told her he didn't want to find someone else to love.
As he lay there with her pressed against him, her breath sliding over his collarbone, reaffirming her life to him, Frank heard his own words echoing around in his head, 'I don't want to .' He vividly remembers the flash of pain and defeat on her face before it turned into frustration. He was good at letting her down. But she believed him, because Frank didn't lie to her. She was very clear that was something she appreciated most, honesty. Of course, the whole gesture was wasted when a couple of months later they crossed paths again, and just as it always happens with them, they stayed in each other's orbit.
What Karen didn't know is that, while he absolutely did not lie to her, Frank was proficient at lying to himself. He told himself he didn't want to but lying here with her curled around him shook Frank to his core. That distance he so carefully crafted between them had disintegrated in a single blood soaked night and what he was going to do with that knowledge, he had no idea.
---
Frank woke to a deep ache in his shoulder, his arm asleep and Karen stirring awake beside him with a groan. He had slept fitfully, waking up periodically to check on Karen. He had enough concussions in his life to know how serious they could be so it wasn't until the first rays of light started to come in through the window did he finally fall into a deeper sleep.
With concentrated effort, Frank pulled his arm gently from under her and made his way to the bathroom. He was back in a matter of minutes holding a couple of tylenol and a large glass of water. Karen was squinting in the morning light, she took the glass of water and watched as Frank made his way back around the bed to lay on top of the covers.
She placed the medication carefully on her tongue before downing half of the water. Her voice was hoarse when she spoke, "Did you sleep in jeans the whole night?"
Frank raised an eyebrow at her as he laid back reaching an arm over his head to bury it under the pillow. He did his best to ignore the liquid hot gaze Karen trailed over his bare torso before he answered, "Maybe I like sleeping in denim." He didn't but if he woke up with/ended up with a hard on while in bed with her, it would be much easier to hide with jeans on. Besides, the hot look she had just given him paired with her bed head and flimsy tank top, he had made the right choice.
Karen gave a hard scoff but cut it off quickly with a wince as she sat up against the headboard. She took assessment of her own body, feeling gingerly around the cut on her temple, lifting her shirt to prod gently at the bandage there and finally looked over her splinted pinky. Finally she said tiredly, "I feel like someone tossed me off a building, my everything aches."
That reminded Frank that he had not yet gotten an explanation out of her as to what happened the night before. "What did happen Karen?" Her eyes shifted away from his quickly. Frank was having none of it, he leaned down to catch her eyes and looked at her expectantly.
With a sigh, Karen rubbed a hand over her face. Her voice was steady as she recounted her evening. "I went to a factory on the east end for a case we are working on. It's a clothing factory and one of the workers came to Nelson, Murdock and Page to file an unsafe work environment lawsuit. He had been injured due to improper maintenance on the machinery. So I went down last week to ask some questions for the case." She gave him a rueful smile, "They weren't exactly happy to see me. Wouldn't even let me in the door and had some choice words for me as a I left. So of course, I went back last night to see what they were hiding."
Frank clicked his tongue but didn't comment. Karen eyed him irritably before continuing, "I knew there was something else going on. They reacted too strongly for it simply to be negligence on machinery maintenance so I spoke to one of the night guards and convinced him to let in to look around a bit."
Frank was drawn in as he always was when Karen talked about a case she was working on. Her eyes always lit up with determined fire and her passion rekindled a little bit of his dead soul as she filled him in on the details.
"I was looking for the maintenance records when I came across a file that listed very generic products, something that this particular factory shouldn't be dealing with, so I went to the storage facility to check it out." The way she paused to take a drink of water told him he probably wasn't going to like this next bit. "When I got there, there were firearms everywhere. I mean, some big money, definitely not legal firearms. I took a few pictures and was about to leave when, uh..when someone grabbed me."
Frank was scowling, he knew he was but it didn't slow her down, "One of them hit me pretty hard," she gestured loosely to her temple, "I think it was a billy club or something. I managed to get away from him but the guard that let me in was at the door waiting." Now she was scowling, "Dickhead. I pulled out my gun but they managed to grab me again. Somewhere in the struggle I got my pinky caught. I was kinda out of it from where they hit me but I'm pretty sure I winged one of them with a bullet which made everybody take a step back. That gave me enough time to book it out of there. I guess adrenaline kept me moving for the most part cause I was halfway back here when I realized I had been stabbed. I didn't realize how bad it was when I decided to patch it up myself, it was hard to check while I was driving." She looked like she had more to say but paused when she looked at his face.
Before she could continue he said roughly, "You know, if you knew it was something suspicious you should have given it to Red. Or me. We could have looked into it."
The glare she set upon him was so fierce it made his breath catch. He knew he was going to regret that statement but, god, that look was exhilarating. Her voice was sharp, "I was already there, I could handle it. I can take care of myself Frank."
He knows she can, he never made the mistake of underestimating Karen Page. So many often did, among them was a dead man and another behind bars, hopefully for life. It didn't mean she couldn't ask for help. Damn stubborn woman.
Frank figured she was already fired up, why not stoke it, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "Yeah, right, you really had it covered last night. The morning light really shows how well you took care of yourself, 31 stitches in your side, a broken finger and a busted up head. I'd say you really had it under control." He let a bit of his earlier anger bleed into his voice.
"That's really rich coming from you Frank. You've definitely never showed up here beat all to shit after running headlong into something." Her lip was drawn up in a snarl, a little color had risen to her cheeks, not that she had much to spare after last night but he was a master of bringing up her ire.
Frank shook his head sharply coming up to his elbow to face her more fully, his voice growing rough with intensity, "Yeah, Karen, I get beat to shit, that's my job, that's what I do. You-,"
"THIS is my job Frank! It's what I do!" She put heavy emphasis on 'I' to fire his words back at him, "I was there doing my job. I'm not going to sit behind a desk and pretend like stuff like this isn't happening around me! No, it's not safe but it has to be done and I am not going to be sorry about that." She was leaning towards him, breathing heavy, her full lips parted still as her clear blue eyes burned with hellfire.
Christ, this woman was going to be the death of him and what a sweet death it would be. Before he realized what he was doing, Frank had a hand around the back of her neck, burying his fingers in her long hair and cradling her skull. He jerked her towards him and covered her mouth with his, devouring her anger.
Karen didn't miss a beat, matching him at each turn of his head. He let out a rumbling groan when she gripped his deltoid to steady herself before nipping and licking at his bottom lip. Frank opened his mouth and then her sweet tongue was sliding over his and he was lost.
He surged forward, pushing her back as gently as he could, still conscious of her injuries. She made the most beautiful keening sound as he trailed down her jaw then her neck with dragging kisses and nips. Frank had half covered her with his own body when he reached the neckline of her tank top with his mouth. Resting his chin on her sternum he looked up at her, lips swollen and red, breathing hard and obvious desire in her eyes. He almost didn't recognize his own voice when he spoke, and he had to force the words out like they were jagged glass, "We should stop, you just got attacked, injuries are still too fresh."
Karen brought a soft hand to his face, giving him a small smile before sliding her hand up into his hair and giving it a rough tug, she had his undivided attention, her voice low with need and so sexy he now regretted opting to keep his jeans on, "We should most definitely not stop." To punctuate her point she pulled her tank top from under him before pulling it over her head. She winced when it stretched her stitches but gave him a challenging look.
He really should push back harder. Re-establish the distance he needed to have between them, let her know how bad of an idea this was but as he set his mouth to work on one of her perfect breasts he couldn't bring himself to do it. Frank nipped and sucked at one dark pink nipple roughly while his hand worked the other breast over, feeling the weight of it in his palm. Her hip was pressed into his erection and as she squirmed under his ministrations it caused him to let out a low moan into her skin.
She wasn't in any better shape, letting out gasping moans with every tug of his mouth, her hand still in his hair, dragging over his scalp slowly which only fed his growing need. He rocked his hips into her seeking the glorious friction it granted him before he released her nipple with a wet pop. He surveyed his handiwork for a moment, little red marks mottled her pale skin from his teeth and lips, he growled in satisfaction. Sure, maybe it made him caveman to be so turned on by leaving his mark on her but goddamn, she looked so good under him. Despite his alpha male bullshit, he knew he was only able to do this because she allowed it. Karen Page wasn't one to be owned or controlled but she allowed him this and it made him want her even more. If that was even possible.
Pulling the blanket off of her, he rolled himself between her legs. Frank laved a slow kiss to her sternum before slowly working his way down, looking up at her through his lashes as he went. She never broke eye contact with him but he saw and felt every breath hitch in her chest with every new kiss to her abdomen. He reached her waistline, the hands he had been slowly running down her sides stopped at the swell of her hips but his thumbs continued little circles, dipping below the elastic of her sweatpants from time to time.
"You sure about this?" He wanted to kick himself, he'd rather run himself through than stop now but if Karen didn't want to continue he would not hesitate to step away. "If you want me to stop, you just gotta say it, yeah?"
A little bit of mirth flared in her eyes behind the desire, "This is more how I imagined it happening."
Frank let out a low chuckle before sliding his large hands around her hips, under her waistband to firmly grip her ass. He drug his teeth over a now exposed hipbone making her moan prettily. As he began sliding her pants down he growled into her skin, "Yeah this is more what I was hoping for too."
He slid her pants past her feet, kicking his off in the process. He let out an almost imperceptible sigh when his cock sprung free of the confines of his pants. Karen had her bottom lip drawn prettily between her teeth as she took him in, when she realized he was commando she raised an eyebrow at him.
He settled back between her legs, running his tongue up her inner thigh before he mumbled into the crease where her leg met her body, "I had a bad feeling last night so I showered quick and threw on some clothes before I came over without really thinking." She let out a slow gasping laugh but it cut off to a sharp intake of air when he ran the flat of his tongue over the seam of her pussy.
"God Frank." The breathy way she said his name made his heart stutter in his chest before he began to devour her. She tasted as sweet as she smelled and it was a humbling experience, going down on Karen Page. One he never thought he would have the privilege of experiencing. He intended to take full advantage. He brought one of her long legs up over his shoulder pressing the calloused hand on that side into the flat of her stomach. He felt every flex and twitch in her abdomen move in time to the attention he was giving her clit.
He nipped and teased, listening to her moans amp up before slowly pushing a finger into her. Frank let out a rough moan when he felt how wet she was, he was nearly dizzy with the heady feel and taste of her. He added another finger, pumping both into her in a steady rhythm. Karen had a hand fisted in the hair at the crown of his head and when he glanced up at her he felt his ego swell a little. Among other things. Her head was thrown back against the pillow and she could only get gasping pleas past her lips.
"Please, I'm so close... fuck ." Her hips were lifting to meet his strokes so Frank began curling his fingers, giving a few firm licks to her clit before sucking hard. He felt her body go rigid just as he felt her clamp down over his fingers and then she was falling apart around him. It was one of the most beautiful things he has ever seen. Frank rutted into the bed a few times just to relieve the incredible pressure that had built up.
Karen slowly came down with heaving breaths, she placed a gentle hand to her bandaged side but otherwise didn't show any pain. He didn't miss the gesture though. Climbing up her body, careful to keep most of his weight off her he gave her a languid kiss. She hummed appreciatively into his mouth, wrapping both hands around his neck. After a moment he pulled back, asking softly, "Are you alright? Didn't hurt your side did I?"
She prevented him from pulling away, keeping her hands locked around his neck before she rolled her hips into his arousal. Frank's eyes closed as he drew in a ragged breath. Karen's voice was low and sultry when she answered, "I'm way more than alright." She kissed and nipped at the underside of his jaw, raising her hips again until she felt him at her entrance.
Frank was wrecked, every muscle taut with hard won self control but before he could say anything, Karen cut him off, "If you ask me if I'm sure, I will personally shoot you with your own gun. Don't make me wait any longer than I already have Castle."
He settled his hips lower, bracing himself on his elbows while he ran a line of kisses from the juncture of her neck to the shell of her ear, "Yes, ma'am."
And then he was sinking into her. She keened in his ear as he fought hard to control the urge to slam into her. She was hot and slick, cinched around his dick like she was made just for him. "Fuck, Karen, you feel so goddamn good." Once he was fully seated against her he paused. She turned her head to look at him, her crystal blue holding his coffee brown eyes and it seemed like everything stood still.
There wouldn't be distance between them anymore, they both knew that. He was fooling himself if he thought he could walk away from her for good. A flurry of unsaid words passed between them in that gaze and after a moment Frank gently rested his forehead to hers, closing his eyes to the bliss as he began to move inside her.
In the beginning he wanted to slam into her, be rough, re-affirm that they were both still alive despite their attempts to the contrary. But suddenly the urgency was gone and he savored the slow drag of her walls against him. Their breaths mingled as they stayed close together, every once in a while he would twist his hips just right and she would gasp, rewarding him with a dragging kiss across his lips.
He felt the telltale tingling in his spine, Karen felt so exquisite around him, he knew he was going to be able to last much longer. Especially not with the way she was dragging her nails down his back so deliciously.
Frank sat up, pulling her hips to him. He braced her with one arm to, hopefully, keep from jostling her side too much and his other hand moved to run an urgent thumb over her clit. He snapped his hips forward.
" Frank . Fuck, do it again." Anything for her. He pulled out slowly before slamming back into place, his thumb keeping pace all the while. Another tantalizing pull and then he was bottomed out inside her again. Karen had been running her hand down his chest when her orgasm hit her. She gave a breathy scream, sinking her nails into his hips as he snapped them into her again.
Watching her come undone ruined the rest of Frank's control. He slammed into her in quick succession, leaning back over to press his head to hers. It was only a few strokes before he was spilling into her with a low growl, his hands buried in her hair on either side of her head, holding it in place. As he came down he realized her hands were gently stroking his jaw, her eyes were wet and her mouth was set in an adoring watery smile.
Frank's chest ached. He told himself he would never feel this again. That he didn't deserve it and he still believes he doesn't. But it didn't change the fact that he felt it.
Instead of telling her everything that was roiling around in his head, 'You're incredible. I don't deserve this and definitely don't deserve you. You're the strongest person I know. I fucking love you.', he gave her a long, slow kiss. Trying to put everything he was thinking into it, hoping she understood him with this like she did with everything else.
When he pulled back, her smile was no longer watery but firmly in place as she ran gentle fingers from his brow bone, down his cheek to cup his jaw. She understood him, she always did.
Frank helped her clean up in bed before checking her stitches, thankfully none pulled. He settled back in beside her. She nestled back against him much like last night this time resting a hand over his heart. He had his larger hand over hers, absentmindedly running a thumb over her wrist.
Her sleepy voice filtered up to him, she was still low on blood and the exertion of their activities left her exhausted. "You'd better be here when I wake up, Frank. And then you should feed me."
He laughed low in his chest, watching a slow smile form on her lips. His voice rumbled quietly, "I'll be here. I'll feed you if you're nice. Get some rest, Page." She huffed out a laugh before her breathing evened out.
As she slept, Frank prepared himself for the next row they would have before long. He had every intention of finding and killing the men who attacked her. He was still the Punisher after all and his retribution was swift. She probably already knew it was going to happen, the arguing about it was just a formality at this point.
Resting his cheek against her hair he began to doze off as well. Last night he wasn't sure what he was going to do with the knowledge that there was no more distance between them. Today, he knew he was going to use it to love Karen Page.