For justthistwice over on tumblr - your Summer Secret Santa gift. Enjoy!

Jupiter had been toying with the idea of relieving Vladie's debt – and a lot of Bolotnikov-style complaining – by giving him the money he'd spent on the ludicrous television that currently overwhelmed the living room.

It was both like (giant and loud) and not like (distinctly indulgent) her family. But it wasn't as though no one got any use or pleasure from it. Vassily took it over every Saturday and insisted that everyone participate in a family movie night. Jupiter actually thought that might actually be fun until the first one, where she discovered both that Vassily's movie choice was a B-grade film that he'd gotten from the library, and that he'd listen to no argument against it.

Moltka and Irina often wrestled control of the behemoth from Vladie in the evenings to wage a rowdy Mario Kart competition. Occasionally they'd be joined by Aleksa and Nino. These often ended in a lot of sore hands and upturned popcorn bowls, but it also ended in affectionate hugs good-night.

Mikka figured out how to adjust settings so that Lyudmila could easily read her email on the big screen, and they'd watch documentaries together.

But Jupiter got the most out of the thing when Caine brought her home from their evening dates. Most of the time, following her outings with Caine, she needed a little time to settle in before trying to sleep. (Chasing a winged Lycantant through the air on space boots was a great way to get the adrenaline pumping, as it turned out.) Usually, everyone else was already in bed. Only Vladie was ever still awake, and he was still so intimidated by Caine that he cleared out pretty quickly.

It had taken a while for them to find something to watch. She only needed about a half hour or so, and didn't want anything too interesting.

"Why would you watch something if it isn't interesting?" Caine had asked.

"I let myself get hooked on Sherlock," she'd replied. "It broke my heart and I'm still waiting for new shows. Never again."

Caine hadn't the slightest idea what she was going on about, but gave it up as a Tercie thing and continued to watch her flip through channels. He couldn't have cared less what was on the screen in front of them, as long as Jupiter was tucked into his side and he could enjoy her scent from where he sat, with his chin resting on top of her head and his arm secured around her waist.

At first, Jupiter would watch anything having to do with space or space exploration, even though Caine occasionally snorted at the content. But one evening she insisted that he choose.

He knit his eyebrows and tilted his head. "Jupiter, I don't. . . ."

She rose her eyebrows, willing him to continue. "What? Watch TV?"

Caine flicked his eyes toward the mini movie screen. "No."

"Not even Space TV?" she asked. "I know it exists; Kiza goes on about the stuff she watches all the time."

He lifted a shoulder in an uncertain shrug. "It's just not something that I particularly enjoy."

Jupiter was genuinely horrified. "So . . . you've been sitting next to me, bored to tears, every time you bring me home?"

"Not bored," he said quickly. "No – just not engaged in the programming. But I don't need to be – in fact it's better if I'm not. The programming is for you. I enjoy . . . other things."

A slow smile spread across Jupiter's face. "Like what?" she asked, curling closer to him.

Caine returned her slow smile with one of his own and breathed a little deeper to catch the notes of arousal that began to swirl into her scent. He caressed her cheek with the backs of his fingers. "Being close to you," he said.

"Just being close?"

His smile morphed into more of a wolfish grin. "I like the things we do when we're close," he clarified.

The lovely musk of her arousal faded as her left eyebrow peaked. "Kissing? Because really that's all we do when we're this close."

He'd forgotten it was a touchy subject. She kept pushing for more, but he demurred every time.

It had been six months. She was getting antsy.

Caine didn't blame her; he was, too. Although if she hadn't brought the subject of intimacy up, he'd simply wait until she did. But that didn't change two things.

Firstly, their respective places in the gyre: he was a Splice; she was Entitled. She was just starting to learn what that meant to be Entitled, in her discussions and lessons with Advocate Bob and with Kiza; to some extent, with Stinger and himself as well. But he felt she was being particularly stubborn about his place as a Splice, insisting that it didn't mean anything to her.

But it did mean something, which was the crux of the second thing: Every Splice was bred for a purpose. At one time his had been to soldier; then, it was to hunt. But now, he was Juipter's protector, and he'd never had a purpose he cherished. Aside from the fact that he still felt like he didn't deserve to touch her, if he were to lose himself – really lose himself, like he wanted to, in the tastes and textures of Jupiter and her body, he wouldn't be alert. She wouldn't be safe. If anything happened because he couldn't control his most base urges, he'd never forgive himself.

"Jupiter, I just want to keep you safe."

"From what, Caine?"

Frustrated, he replied without thinking. "From anything that would take you away from me. There's so much interference in the city; I don't know how I'd ever monitor everything, even if I had the equipment."

Jupiter scowled back at him. "Nothing is coming for me. Even if something is, how would they find me in an abandoned utility room at the top of the Willis Tower?"

Caine lowered his voice. "The same way I found you under an assumed name, in a questionable medical facility, wearing a paper gown," he replied. "I'm not the only Lycantant in the universe."

She groaned and leaned into him, knowing he was right. He wasn't sure whether the puff of her scent that he was treated to helped or not. But he lifted her chin and met her eyes. "I know what you want, Jupiter. I want it, too. But . . . sharing your space, holding you, having your trust-" He didn't know how to explain it to her. "I could be satisfied. If this is what we share it's more than I'd ever. . . ."

He let the words trail off, and her look softened. "But don't you want more?"

The corners of his eyes crinkled. "I want whatever your Majesty wants."

Jupiter's eyebrow peaked again. "I want you to bite me."

The way his eyes darkened was all the response she needed to know that he really did want the same thing she did. She reached up and ran her fingertips along the edge of one pointed ear; he closed his eyes and suppressed a shudder as much as he could before almost growling in her ear.

"I want you to bite me."

And just like that the musky scent of Jupiter's arousal was in his nose again, he inhaled greedily and opened his mouth. His queen took this opportunity to press her lips to his gently; when he opened his eyes she was smiling serenely, and there was a little mischief in her eyes.

"I can make that happen."

"And what about your security?" he countered.

She shrugged a little. "That I'll have to think about." Jupiter kissed him again, and snuggled a little closer, and turned back to the behemoth of a television. She felt Caine's chin rest on the top of her head as she flicked through the channels.

"Hey everybody! Pete Nelson here from Treehouse Masters on Animal Planet. I have just completed a treehouse in Woodenville, Washington. . . ."

Jupiter rolled her eyes. She liked treehouses – she'd wanted one desperately as a child, mostly as a place to get away from Vladie – but the ones on this show were ridiculous.

"What's a treehouse?" asked Caine beside her.

"It's a house in a tree," she replied. "Usually they're rickety things, hideouts for kids. But the people on this show build them as second luxury homes for people who already have luxury homes."

Caine tilted his chin toward the screen. "That one looks cozy."

It was a small one for sure, smaller than Jupiter had ever seen. But she chuckled as she watched Pete show off the little nest – it was built to look like a beehive, and they'd mostly succeeded.

"All the hexagons are a bit much. I'm all for a theme but don't beat me over the head with it."

Caine nudged her temple with his nose. "Stinger would like it."

Jupiter chuckled. "Yeah, he would."

"It looks cozy," said Caine again. "It might make a nice den if you got rid of all those big chairs."

Jupiter peered up at him thoughtfully. He'd lived a lifetime before they met, so sometimes she was reminded that despite how certainly she knew that he was made for her, she didn't know him as well as she wanted to. But she did know that as reserved as he was, repeated phrases meant something. And she also knew that when he talked about a den, he didn't mean it as a posh reference to a living room. But as she watched Pete Nelson show off the hive he'd built, an idea was starting to bloom in her mind, one that might just get both her and Caine exactly what they wanted.

After many hours of watching more than just Treehouse Masters on Animal Planet, and quite a few doing online research, Jupiter had arranged an entire weekend getaway. Caine had agreed only because she'd reassured him that Captain Tsing would be in orbit and would know exactly where they were.

Also, Jupiter hadn't disclosed the fact that she fully intended to get laid at least once that weekend.

She'd worked that morning, and Caine had been away for almost two weeks, recruiting with Stinger for her security detail. She missed him, but it suited her fine – she could put the finishing touches on their weekend away. When he picked her up at the house, she met him on the front step. He enveloped her in his arms and silently held her close, breathing in, his nose buried in her hair, every muscle taut.

She had a feeling that if she put her hands in just the right place, he'd come undone. Instead she waited, and let him take his fill.

"I missed you," she whispered, turning her head to kiss his chest.

But apparently even that was too much – she'd no more finished speaking than she felt his breath on her ear, and his tongue was glancing over the lobe, and his lips found that spot just underneath, and then, just barely, his teeth pressed against the side of her neck.

"Your Majesty," was his low, rumbled greeting, before his lips found hers.

It was several long moments before the clearing of a throat reminded them that they were standing on a very public street.

"Oh! Hi, Mama." Jupiter smiled, and had the good sense to look embarrassed, even if she wasn't.

Aleksa glared at Caine. "You'll be home Sunday," she said to her daughter.

I am a grown-ass woman and a fucking literal queen, flashed through Jupiter's impatient head briefly. What she said instead was, "Yes – Sunday night, probably late."

"What time does your flight land?"

"I'll have to check the tickets. I'll call you, all right?"

Aleksa nodded and patted both of their arms. "Be safe, both of you. And you, Pointy-Ears, take good care of my Jupiter."

Caine nodded reverently. "As always, Mrs. Jones."

Satisfied, Aleksa kissed Jupiter's forehead and went inside.

They'd driven out to Stinger's farm and were collected by Captain Tsing's ship, which whisked them the relatively short distance to orbit over Vermont. Once they arrived, and the caretaker departed, they took a moment to walk around the dwelling and the grounds beneath them.

The treehouse was perfect. Its rustic, log-cabin look was perfect against the backdrop of the sleepy pine forest into which it was nestled; the remote location in northern Vermont soothed most of Caine's security concerns.

In the kitchen, Caine shrugged out of his jacket. "If your Majesty doesn't mind," he said, smiling softly, "I'd like to stretch these. I haven't been out to fly since I left."

"Her Majesty doesn't mind a bit," smiled Jupiter. "It'll give me a minute to get ready."

He approached and gathered her in his arms. He flared his nostrils and filled them, watching a blatantly aroused smile spread slowly across her face. "Your Majesty is ready now." I can smell it on you, went unsaid. They both knew. "I won't be long," he promised, and leaned in to kiss her.

"Let me see them," she purred when he pulled his mouth away. "Please. I haven't seen them in weeks."

This particular treehouse had been chosen because of its incredibly secluded location, nestled in a valley right on the shore of a small, brilliantly clear lake. There wasn't a soul within a half-mile, and even then it was just the caretaker. With a roll of his shoulders and a satisfied rumble in his throat, Caine closed his eyes and unfurled his wings, slowly, and held them out tight before relaxing them, and pulling back in a little with a sigh. He opened his eyes to find her lower lip pinched firmly between her teeth. He waggled his eyebrows at her, and she laughed.

Another quick kiss and he was off, out the sliding glass doors with a furtive look around; a leap, and he was airborne.

It was a glorious sight to see, and if she hadn't had anything else to accomplish, she'd have watched him. As it was, she had to get busy.

Jupiter sat down at the dressing table in the bedroom. The nude nail wraps on her fingers were removed, very carefully, to reveal black polish underneath. She washed her face, and then lined her eyes in black kohl and shadow. She took her hair out of its ponytail and brushed it, letting it fall loosely, tousled, about her shoulders.

Her silver silk pajamas consisted of a spaghetti-strap crop top and a pair of loose boy shorts; she skipped the panties altogether.

In the living room there was a couch pressed against the wall that faced the big windows which looked out over the lake. Jupiter moved the couch aside, and then collected every blanket from every nook and cranny in the cabin. She arranged them, with every pillow she could find, on the floor in the couch's place. She dimmed the lights in the room. And then, just as Caine was landing, she slipped into the bathroom with the extra little box she'd picked up the day before.

"Jupiter?"

When she came out of the bathroom, Caine was standing in the room, his back to her, staring at the bed she'd made. She sneaked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his middle.

"Do you like it?" she asked, rubbing her cheek against his back.

She felt his fingers brush against hers softly; his voice caught in his throat. "It's . . . it looks very cozy."

One of her hands slid across his ribs to his back, and she unfastened the back of his shirt. With gentle hands she coaxed him into turning around so she could work on the buttons in front. She felt the steady in-out of his breath, too even for her tastes. But when his shirt was off, crumpled on the floor, and he lifted her face to his, any steadiness fled.

"Jupiter. . . ." he breathed, drinking in her face. His hands shook; she turned in to one of them and left a light kiss. She moved a hand up to take one of his, to stop the trembling, and he noticed the black nail polish.

His eyes darkened as he sucked in a breath; it sounded to Jupiter like his throat was still tight.

"Let's go make ourselves cozy," she suggested, and kissed his fingers one more time. She turned to sashay toward the bed she'd made on the floor, and his eyes followed her. He felt a little dizzy when she paused a few feet from the edge of the blankets, sank to the floor, and crawled into the bedding. As soon as she made herself comfortable, she laid on her back, feet tucked under herself, and arched to look up at him. Her throat was on display. And then she smiled.

He knew they weren't real – they couldn't have been – but sweet mother of Neptune were they glorious.

She giggled in delight at the growl he let out as he fell to his knees and closed the distance between them in a few strides. He joined her on the blankets, kissing her, upside down, harder than he ever had. One hand kept him steady on his knees while the other went straight for one of her breasts, and he squeezed the soft pillow of flesh possessively.

"Jupiter," he muttered, and pulled away slightly. He reached inside her open mouth and fingered the artificial canines she had snapped into place – one set on her upper teeth and one set on her lower teeth.

She kissed his finger. "I can't feel them, so I'll have to be careful. But do you like them?"

Caine's breath seemed caught in his throat permanently. "Your Majesty is very generous."

Her hands caught Caine's face and she maneuvered hers to meet his eyes. "Ju-pi-ter," she said. "If you please."

"Jupiter. . . ."

"I don't know what I have to do to get you to understand, Caine. I love you. When I'm with you, I'm not a cleaning lady . . . I'm not a queen . . . I'm just a woman in love."

"Jupiter, you're beautiful just exactly as you are," he said. "You didn't need . . . if I'd realized-"

She laid a finger against his lips. "I know," she said. "I just wanted to encourage you a little."

He knit his brow. "And you're sure. . . ?"

Jupiter giggled a little. "You really don't pay attention to what I watch on TV, do you?"

He laughed, and lowered his head to apply his lips to her jaw. "No."

"Animal Planet has been a wealth of information," she replied. "All kinds of stuff on wolves and their mating rituals."

"I'm not an actual wolf," he reminded her, pulling away just a little.

"I know," she replied. "But it led me to all kinds of detail on dens," she kissed his chin, "and lady-Lycantants," she kissed his jaw, "and how to catch my own personal half-albino winged Lycantant." And then she mirrored his movements from earlier that day, and pressed her newly-enhanced teeth against the side of his throat, and grazed downward toward his collarbone. She kissed the path she'd made and delighted in the sharp hiss that came from Caine, even though she'd barely bitten him.

And then she was on her back, being divested of the silver silk-satin pajama shorts, and it was so sudden that all she could do was laugh as Caine sat her up and urged the top off of her as well.

After a fierce tangle of their lips, Caine settled his hips above hers and met her eyes in all seriousness. "You must know, your Majesty . . . you have already caught me. I'm yours – employment and contracts and gene-debts aside. I've always been yours."

Jupiter smiled at him, and he kissed her gently. He inhaled deeply again when he pulled away, and she brushed her thumb against his brow as she ran her tongue across her shiny new canines, a smile liting her face.

"Show me how to use these things."

It was deep in the night when Caine woke to Jupiter's shifting. When she'd had her fill of him they'd huddled up together in the den she'd made; Caine was her pillow and her warmth and it hadn't taken long at all for her to drift off into slumber, her body sated and sore in places – not just due to Caine's teeth.

But Jupiter was used to sleeping in a bed, and he would be comfortable anywhere her naked body was wrapped around him, so he bundled her in blankets and carried her to the bed. She was only vaguely aware of being moved, mostly asleep even as he climbed into the bed next to her.

"Better?" he asked once they were both settled, not expecting a response.

"Mmm. Thanks." She snuggled closer, making herself comfortable. After a moment, he heard a mumbled, "Caine?"

He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Yes?"

"Remind me to ask Advocate Bob for a bunch of money."

"I will," he replied. "What's it for?"

Jupiter opened her eyes, and held his for a long moment. "This has been the best night of my life," she explained. "I'm gonna pay for Vladie's TV."

Thanks for reading!