A/N: Thanks for checking out my story! This is the first time I've ever written anything ... of this variety. So, let me know how I did!

Disclaimer: I don't own The Darkest Powers trilogy.

Hard to Resist

Once certain lines were crossed, it was hard to stop before crossing them again. What would first be something that they would hesitatingly start, but both wanting, would later become a stepping stone to the next phase.

Emotions and feelings weren't logical. Desire especially wasn't.

There would be times where something as innocent as looking over to see what he was doing would light the first embers of desire.

They had been good at not letting things get too out of hand. Some days it was a real struggle. Making out during a movie would lead to intense kissing, hands roaming, and bodies shifting positions in synchronization to maximize contact.

Once their spell was broken, unasked questions hung in the air. Should they do it again? Escalate things? Where would they stop? Would they stop?

They managed to hold off on the seemingly inevitable. They both agreed that they should wait. They didn't need to let their passion push them into making spontaneous decisions. It wasn't easy. Desire is something that cannot be reasoned with. Desire is pure instinct, a driving force full of life. Giving into desire would be easy, resisting was not.

Every first was a milestone that gave temporary relief to the aches desire left. Cautious fleeting touches over clothes led to bold embraces, hands finding flesh.

It was hard, not giving in immediately. Would it have been as sensational if they had given in the first time? Or did all of the time they spent resisting add to the pleasure? Of finally embracing passion, desire, wanting and letting them drown in it all of the pleasures they had denied themselves for so long.

Thinking about the first time always brought a smile to her face. Memories of pleasure were so vivid that she would swear she was feeling them in the present.

It was simply another night Derek had to Change. He had come a long way from the sixteen year old that puked in the bushes after only making it partway through. He was 20 now. His large muscular frame had grown larger and filled out. The only traces of his teenage blemishes were acne scars on his face. Looking at him now, it seemed preposterous that he had tried to hide his form for so long. His body was enviable, similar to the ideal male physique displayed in magazines. There were some perks to being a werewolf after all.

He didn't need her to Change now but she came anyway. It was a rare quiet moment they could enjoy. No one would interrupt them. Despite their attempts, Simon and Kit never could get past their nervousness when Derek Changed. They could handle seeing him in wolf form, but the transformation and those first few moments he spent adjusting to his new form still made them uneasy.

He had spent the evening doing his usual routine in the woods, scouting, patrolling, and engaging in mock hunts. He still hadn't caught anything, but there were times that he came tantalizingly close.

He Changed back to human form but he wasn't exhausted like he usually was. She had fallen asleep waiting for him, curled up in a blanket.

She awoke to him caressing her.

"Is it morning already?"

"No, you just took a little nap," he chuckled.

"You're ready to go," she asked, sitting up and rubbing her face. When she looked at him, she noticed a very distinct difference from how he looked when they came into the woods.

He had a gash on his arm. The bleeding had stopped but the flesh had not yet scabbed over.

"What happened? You might need stitches."

Derek scooted closer to her and gave his arm a passing glance. He smiled at her.

"Just a miscalculation, that's all," he said into her hair. She felt his hot breath against her neck.

She pulled away from him but he followed her.

"What are you doing," she laughed.

He brought his hand and ran it up her leg. He moved the hair covering her neck and proceeded to kiss it.

"Just ... experimenting."

His kisses escalated. They became more forceful; his hand snakes to her inner thigh, goose bumps snaked down her body.

He came up for air, his breaths erratic.

"Chloe," he said huskily, "if ... if you want, we can stop. We'd need to stop now because..." he trailed off.

Chloe looked at him, really *looked* at him. Desire was written plainly on his face. His chest heaving, body shaking, she could tell that he was telling the truth.

Was this it?

Was this how it was going to be?

Only then did she notice that he wasn't covered. She could see every inch of him.

"Okay," he muttered, taking her silence, her lack of movement as a sign that she wanted things to stop. He pulled away and the air grew chilly in his absence.

"It's not that I don't want to ... I just thought things would be ... different."

"Yeah ... Sorry. I just wasn't thinking. You deserve better than just fooling around in the woods."

Chloe grabbed his hand. "It's not that just ..."

She leaned over, squeezing his hand. She used her other hand to pull his face to look at her. She tentatively kissed him and he responded. She let her tongue find his and she felt his body move. His hands were now caressing her back, pulling her towards him. He intensified the kissing and she matched him.

In a flurry of heightened senses, she found that her clothes being snaked off her body. She was chilled only for a moment. Derek moved closer and the heat radiating from his body stopped any worry about growing cold.

She found herself lost in all of the sensations. Touches here, lips over there, it all felt so wondrous.

She was lying on her back now without a memory of that actually happening. Derek hovered over her.

"I … I just want to make sure," he stuttered out slowly, breathing heavily. They had fooled around plenty before but this would be the first.

They had talked about it a lot. It had crept into more of their conversations as they discussed the new intimacy their relationship was experiencing and making sure they were comfortable with what was going on, not feeling pressured in any way. It took Chloe by surprise in the beginning, when he was hesitant to start anything. She had first chalked it up to him not being sure about them, about her, but after talking it through, it was because it was her that he was nervous. He didn't want to hurt her or try to get her to do something she wasn't comfortable with. He wanted to make sure that she felt safe with him. Everything had to be right for both of them or it would be wrong for them.

"Derek," she trailed off, staring into his eyes. There were times that she swore they almost had some sort of unspoken language. They could just look at the other and know what they were thinking.

This was one of those moments.

Derek shifted and she could feel the tip at her entrance. He was still for a moment before slowly pushing in.

He stopped when she took in a deep breath.

"I'm fine," she said, kissing him, running her hands down his back.

"You're taking your pills, right? One time?"

She rolled her eyes. "I think you would know if I wouldn't," she laughed. Derek had brought up birth control several years ago and suggested that things would be easier if she considered taking some. When pressed, he confessed that it was because of how close they were and his damn sense of smell. He could smell when she was fertile and they were nowhere near ready for sex.

"I just wanted to double check," he replied and he finished entering her.

Chloe shifted her hips some, trying to adjust to the feeling of being full and trying to enjoy every moment.

He started to ask her something but she cut of him off, kissing him. He responded, his tongue meeting hers, as he slowly started to thrust.

Chloe could feel that he was trembling and she smiled. She could make him tremble, a response that could only be caused by her.

Derek started picking up speed and Chloe dug her fingernails into his back. He kissed her, harder than before.

He lasted a few more thrusts before he came. He blushed with embarrassment.

"Sorry about that … I … It just snuck up on me."

Chloe grinned, kissing him. "It seems as though you enjoyed yourself, and that's what matters."

"Yeah but –"

"It just means that we have some practicing we need to do."

"Chloe, you ready?"

Derek's voice snapped her back to the present.

"Almost," she called back to him. She grabbed her jacket and looked around for a blanket. It was autumn now and the nights were growing chilly.

"I already grabbed a blanket."

"Oh really," she called back to him, walking towards the front door where he was. "What is on the agenda tonight? Will I finally have my game of fetch? Or tug?"

"I was thinking more … hunting."

Chloe laughed as they headed out to the woods. She didn't mind these hunts.