Work Text:
Despite the late hour, the streets were bustling with life. Bars, restaurants, and cafes never closed, hosting for as long as patrons were willing to spend money. After all, the Upper City was built on gold, and with gold it flourished—a never-ending ferry of colors, sounds, and scents of entertainment the wealthy sought.
Unlike the scrubs in the Lower City, they had no fear that if one wandered out during the night, they could meet with an unfavorable end. What danger could lay in the streets where the lights never went out?
A vampire, for one.
Dangerous for sure though focused on a particular willing victim.
Their little game of cat and mouse had started in the Lower City. After all, that was where Astarion had hunted for centuries. But while reclaiming his autonomy went along the seedy alleys and dark nooks and crannies, he soon realised he had outgrown his old hunting grounds. At last, that’s what he’d told her as he suggested moving to a location more… pleasing. Or maybe, more challenging. The implication was surely there.
Because Astarion was no longer a slave to Cazador, delegated to luring the poor and the weak. Lurking only in the shadows. The thrill of the hunt was sparked anew, the vampire’s very nature in its full glory. But there’d been a change in him, too. Preying on the unwilling was not something he’d ever want to relieve—nor did he desire to only move on the well-known paths.
Tav was more than willing to indulge him. Consensually, though she soon discovered the thrill of being hunted was as potent as if he’d been a stranger in the night.
It was safe to say, the bustling streets provided no sense of security. They should have, with the warm bodies, and the laughter, and the clinking of plates and glasses, but she felt nothing if not singled out. A woman with a target on her back.
And though she never saw him, as often as she looked around, she knew he was there. Stalking. One with the shadows, but never further away than at hand’s reach it seemed. Her body tuned to his presence, all around her yet untraceable, and she tensed with every step onwards.
The adrenaline was a potent drug indeed, its influence enveloping her skin in a cascade of goosebumps. The good type. The ones that made every brush of air and every gaze sliding down her body burn on her skin. Her nipples hardened in turn, peaking through the thin fabric of her dress.
She took a detour, turning into a quieter alley, though as with most routes in the Upper City, there too were lights and lightly imbibed patriarchs passing her by. And maybe that was the point. The darkness lost its appeal as soon as you realized no-one mattered. Not a drunkard, or a brawler, or a woman screaming for her life. What was the thrill of cornering your victim if you knew there’d be no one willing to help her, no matter how much she pleaded?
But here… Oh, here, there were countless white knights just waiting for their chance. The guards. Shadowed places so sparse one had to be extra careful. She shivered in excitement.
Then, she realized there were fewer and fewer people around. Maybe it was the path she had chosen or maybe just her luck, but it would run out way too soon if she didn’t pick up her pace. At first, it was a firm strut. But once the hairs on her body rose due to the looming presence at her back, she ran.
Ran down the street without looking back, heart thumping in her chest. Turned suddenly between buildings, her stomach clenching as she passed through a small area with no light. Turned again, between residential buildings this time, all cozy and quiet, and safe. She took a sudden spin but as her heart lowered to her stomach in expectation, she learned there was no one behind her.
Tav huffed, slowing her pace—navigating out of the maze of perfectly manicured gardens. Once they turned into an alley full of closed shops with a few guards patrolling the premises lazily, she almost dared relax.
“A delicious treat out all alone,” she suddenly heard Astarion murmur into her ear and all but screamed in response.
One of the guards down the street stopped, turned around, and looked in her direction.
“Everything all right, ma’am?” He shouted and she frantically pulled herself together.
“Yes, sir!” She shouted back, her voice hoarse. “I thought I saw a—a rat.”
The guard’s arms slumped, and he nodded his head almost in disappointment. Once he returned to duty, slowly disappearing from her view, she turned around ready to give Astarion a scolding.
But just like before, there was no one behind her.
“Are you serious right—”
The words were cut off by his hand placed firmly against her lips. The next second, she lost her standing as he grabbed her around the waist, dragging them into the ally between the shops. She trashed against his hard chest, driving her nails into his arm.
“Shhh…” He crooned. “Don’t make it harder than it needs to be, darling.”
The words turned her dread into excitement. Excitement and a healthy dose of mischief as in the middle of her wiggling, she pressed her ass hard against his crotch. Astarion choked on a breath, but his grip tightened and in no time, he had her face against the wall.
“Please,” she attempted to beg. “Don’t hurt me. I have gold, I can—”
“Oh, no,” he muttered while kicking her legs apart, one of his hands holding her wrists in an iron grasp behind her back, another sliding the hair away from her neck. Heat pooled into her undergarments. “No, no, no.” He clicked his tongue. “I’m not after your gold. I’m only after what’s… here.”
Astarion tapped on the side of her neck, blood pumping in force beneath his fingertips. “In your lovely little…” He inhaled with a satisfied groan, his nose sliding down her warm skin. “…neck.” Her clit throbbed in response, but there was no relief to be had with her legs spread like this. A delicious torture indeed.
“My neck?” Tav acted confused. “Why would you…” As if a realization suddenly settled in, she started trashing against his hold. “You’re a monster,” she spat. This only made him come at her harder, pressing her body painfully into the cold wall. She felt his cock jerk against her back, and she pressed against it in turn, biting her lips to not mewl at the sensation.
“Naughty,” he whispered into her ear, rolling her hair around his palm. He pulled them back, her neck perfectly accessible now. Her entire body was strung like an arrow, muscles and bones locked in place against the dark presence at her back. The expectation was unbearable.
“Please, stop,” she begged though her voice was quickly losing conviction. “I’ll do anything. Anything if you let me go.”
Instead of answering straight away, Astarion let go of her wrists and placed his hand on her lower stomach, pulling her flush against the length of his body. He pressed his palm against the sensitive spot, not unlike the way he would do it while feasting between her legs. All the obscene gesture lacked was something to release the overwhelming tension it created at the very center of her cunt. She shivered as the fabric of her undergarments rubbed against her hot, slick skin.
“Scream,” he said against her neck, and her arousal was momentarily replaced with confusion.
“Wha—”
Astarion sunk his fangs into her neck. Unlike the gentleness that usually accompanied his feeding, this time, he made it hurt. The sting spread from her neck to her chest, the discomfort making her gasp.
He let go of her neck, the blood trickling down her dress.
“Scream,” he said again, but this time it was not a suggestion. As his teeth grazed against the two fresh wounds he’d just created, she did. Screamed as she dug her nails into the wall, though the pain was soon dissipating, giving place to dizzying pleasure caused by his tongue stroking languidly along her neck.
Once he got to sucking, he slid his hand from her stomach to her cunt. He ripped the flimsy fabric away and cupped her unceremoniously, a groan escaping her throat in response. It mixed with the sound of rapid footsteps coming from the main street.
“Hello?” The guard from before was looking for the source of the bloodcurdling noise she’d let out mere seconds earlier. Astarion chuckled against her neck.
They were between the buildings, sure, but as everywhere in the Upper City, it was hardly a place to hide. The two of them were barely disguised by the minuscule amount of shadow. The prospect of doing it in a place like this was titillating but the very real risk of being charged with public indecency…
“Maybe we should come out and pretend—” Tav couldn’t finish her suggestion because Astarion drove his fingers into her heat, curling them inside for good measure. She choked against the sudden intrusion.
“Not a word, love,” he warned as he started to lazily thrust in and out of her. “Not a single one.”
She obliged, clenching around his fingers because despite the tension, her body was melting under his touch.
The guard continued his investigation, calling out every so often. But the anxiety of it was only ramping up her desire.
She arched her back like a cat in heat, trying to push herself down further onto his fingers and she got a nip on her neck in response. As he suckled on the sensitive skin, letting the blood drip onto his tongue, he was all but fucking her, pumping his fingers in and out of her slick cunt until her legs were shaking.
And when they were about to give up, he slid out, turning her body around.
It was the first time that evening that she’d seen his face, and the sight almost finished her on the spot. Because he looked feral, his gaze hungry and touch punishing as he lifted her with ease. Though the pretense of an unwilling victim was now all but dust, he carried on with his act and, truth be told, if it wasn’t her Astarion, she’d be fighting with all her might right about now.
The thought died and got replaced with another gush of heat between her legs when he pressed his fingers against her lips. She sucked on them all too willingly, up until he replaced them with his mouth. Those were bloody and eager to consume her as his tongue stroked against hers while his hands worked on the fastening of his pants.
Tav groaned into his mouth, overcome with need. She tangled her fingers in his soft hair, pulling on them at the root as her hips bumped against his.
“Is that what you want?” Astarion whispered into her mouth. “For me to take you? Here, where anyone could see?” He swallowed her moan, his hand stroking the hard cock he’d just pulled out. She didn’t see but felt it and tightened her legs around his hips in a silent plea. “How very willing. Yet I don’t think I’m quite satisfied.” He tutted. And then: “Beg.” The word was harsh. Final.
Tav swallowed hard, so frenzied with lust she’d crawl had he asked. “Please,” she said against his mouth, driving her nails into his scalp. “Plea—”
He pulled her down on his cock mid-word. Without an ounce of mercy, he started to move—the pace fast enough for her to momentarily lose her grip on him. But that didn’t matter because he held her tightly, burying himself so deep she was held in place by the force of his thrust alone. Her body relented, coating him thoroughly.
She pressed her lips against his, forcing him to open his mouth and swiping her tongue inside. He tasted divine, somehow even better than before, and she sunk into the kiss very much in the same way she sunk onto his cock, with the ferocity of a woman who’d been teased a little bit too much.
High on lust and adrenaline, Tav attempted to take control of the situation. She tightened her grip on him, forcing him to slow down, enjoying how he jerked inside her. But that victory was momentary. An illusion of it really, because in seconds, Astarion had a hand around her throat, forcing her to meet his gaze from behind the half-lidded eyes.
It was vicious and she gasped, the sound almost pained. His next thrust was deep and pointed, her cunt spasming around it, unable to contain the size or the force. He did it again, her back rubbing uncomfortably against the wall. Soon, she was not being had but fucked—pillaged with a single-minded focus by a man not only much stronger than her but also way more reckless.
And each time he enforced his will on her, he was pushing her closer to the peak. So close, her thighs were now shaking uncontrollably, the promise of oblivion caressing her skin. It was the kiss that brought it about. A messy, wet kiss with his hand still around her throat and his pulsing cock buried inside her to the hilt. She came all around it, the wetness spilling from their point of connection and dripping to the ground.
The sensation was overwhelming, dizzying—drowning her body in pleasure that was only intensified by the last of his thrusts. When he came inside her, she had to stop herself from shaking.
They stood joined for a minute more, his touch no longer hard but still possessive, a kiss on her lips soft but filled with emotion.
“We’ve made quite a mess, my love,” he said as he finally put her down on the ground.
From his jacket, he took out a piece of cloth—clearly prepared for this very occasion. He gently helped her clean her lips and neck, though her dress needed a thorough washing. And then, to her amusement, he handed her a fresh pair of undergarments.
“What?” He asked as if offended though his tone was playful. “Gods know you would not think of it.”
“Very true indeed,” she said as she quickly put them on.
Once they were both out of the state of total disarray, he gently grabbed her arm and turned her in his direction.
“Thank you,” he said, his gaze brewing with emotions. “Yes, I know, I have nothing to thank you for, but… thank you.” Before she could answer, he pressed a sweet kiss on her lips. “I love you,” he whispered, and she felt it deep in her heart.
“And I love you,” she answered, the words as true and precious as they’d always been.
“Well, now.” He unceremoniously lifted her off the ground, one hand firmly under her back, the other under her knees.
She wiggled in his hold. “You cannot be serious,” she said but he was already walking. “I’m more than fine to walk myself, love,” she insisted.
“I’m faster,” he said simply though it was obvious he had only her comfort in mind. “And the faster we get into the bath, the better. I don’t even want to think about how sweaty we both are.”
“So, you intended to carry me all the way home?”
“All the way home.”