Burying his hand in her hair, John pulled Clarice to him, kissing her fiercely. Clarice returned the kiss with exuberance, tangling her fingers in John's hair, just like she had thought about doing a thousand times before. John moaned, free arm wrapping around her waist, holding her to him.

Clarice practically whimpered, pressing forward, trying to get as close to him as she could. After so long of holding back, of keeping her distance and resisting every urge, she was practically drunk on the freedom of being able to touch him, of being able to press into his hold, legs wrapped around his waist as he devoured her.

"Clarice," John murmured, finally pulling back for air, cupping her face in his hand, thumb gently stroking her cheeks as he leaned her forehead against hers, staring into her eyes, brown eyes so deep that Clarice felt like she was going to drown in then. "Gods, I've been wanting to do this for so long... You are so amazing, Clarice. Strong and fierce and kind and smart and so, so breathtakingly beautiful... I care about you so much, Clarice. You know that, right?"

"Yes," Clarice replied, overwhelmed for a moment that there was no hesitation in her answer. She did know, all the way down to her core. "I knew when you found me after I left. You said the Underground needed me, but –"

"I was afraid," John admitted, tightening the arm around her waist, pressing her to him, like he was worried she was going to disappear. "I couldn't tell you that I needed you, not then, not with everything still so... complicated. But I do. I need you, I want you, I... I want to be by your side, through whatever may come."

John looked into Clarice's eyes, their bodies still twined together, every wall pulled down, baring his soul to her. Clarice almost wanted to cry, but instead she kissed him. She kissed him with all the words she couldn't say yet, with everything that had been building between them from that first moment she had laid eyes on him.

Leaning backwards, Clarice pulled John down to the bed, still kissing him, her legs wrapped around his waist. John went easily, following her down with a smile Clarice could feel against her lips. The weight of him on top of her should have been terrifying, a crushing trap, but Clarice had never felt safer in her life. She could feel every angle of John's body where it lay against hers, a vessel for indestructible strength that held her gently, almost reverently. Clarice ran her hands down his neck and over his shoulders, finally able to touch John in the way she had been longing to for so long.

"Tell me if I'm crushing you," John murmured, pulling back only enough to begin trailing kisses down Clarice's cheek and neck, making her gasp.

"You're good," she assured him breathlessly, the feel of his lips against her neck almost robbing her of speech entirely. "You're great, you're perfect, I will kill you if you stop." John chuckled, a deep, masculine sound rumbling from the center of his chest as he pointedly placed another kiss directly on Clarice's pulse, making her moan. She ran her hands down his back, fingers reaching the hem of his shirt, which had ridden up slightly, exposing a strip of warm skin.

"May I?" she asked, tugging lightly on the hem of his shirt. John, who was still busy pillaging her neck and shoulder, nodded. Clarice let her hands move down to his warm, soft skin, sliding her hands under his shirt and pushing it up, dragging her hands up his back.

"Off," Clarice said, tugging at the shirt pointedly where it had bunched up under his arms. "I want to see you." She could feel John smile into the side of her neck before he shifted, pulling back slightly and yanking his shirt off.

"Wow," Clarice said, staring at John as he knelt above her, torso bared to her hungry gaze. "You are... wow." She looked up at him, grinning when she saw he was blushing. Leaning up, she put her hands on his hips, stroking the hollow of his hipbones. John's eyes fluttered closed and he groaned. Leaning forwards, he captured Clarice's lips in a crushing kiss, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her against him. Clarice wrapped her arms around his neck, hands splayed out across the muscles of his back.

"My turn," John murmured against Clarice's lips, looking at her with eyes eclipsed by black. In one swift motion, John flipped them, rolling onto his back so that Clarice was above him, straddling him. Clarice let out a rather undignified squeak at the sudden motion, but wrapped up in John's arms she wasn't afraid, not of anything.

Pulling back, Clarice sat up, looking down at John spread out beneath her, his hands resting on her thighs, thumbs tracing small, idle circles. She marveled that this amazing man let her see him like this, his face soft and bare, body completely relaxed and open to her.

"I love this," Clarice murmured, reaching out and running her hands up John's stomach and chest, up his neck to cup his face. "I love that I can finally touch you, that I can say everything I have been thinking for so long. John..."

"I know," John murmured, covering one of Clarice's hands with his own, turning his head slightly so that he could nuzzle her palm. "Me too. Gods, Clarice, me too." Clarice leaned down and kissed him, slow and sweet, savoring the taste of him, the softness of his lips against hers. John's hands rubbed up and down her thighs, soft and comforting, touching just for the sake of touching. His thumb brushed the hem of Clarice's shirt and he stopped, pulling back slightly and looking at her, eyes serious.

"Only if you want," he said, touching the edge of her shirt again lightly. "You don't have –" Clarice cut him off with a gentle kiss, then leaned back, grabbing the edge of her shirt and pulling it off in one smooth motion, tossing it into the corner. She shook her hair, running her hands through it to settle it, then looked down at John.

The hunger in his eyes almost took her breath away. He was looking at her with such open wanting and love that her heart seized in her throat. Gently, John moved his hands from her thighs to her hips, then up, skin hot against hers as he ran his hands up her sides to brush his fingers along the undersides of her bare breasts.

"You are so beautiful, Clarice," John said, looking up at her as he slowly curled his hands up over her breasts, fingers brushing her nipples, making Clarice gasp. She leaned her head back, arching into his touch. The movement pressed her even more firmly into his lap, allowing her to feel the full length of the hardness she had felt nudging at her. Grinning to herself, Clarice shifted again, grinding down, twitching her hips in small, minute movements.

John groaned out her name, sitting up and wrapping his arms around her, crushing their bare chests together. The feel of him against her, skin to skin, made Clarice moan. She wrapped her arms around John, burying her fingers in his hair, not stopping her small, grinding movements. She wanted him, wanted him like she never had wanted anyone before in her life. This carnal desire... it should have frightened her, but instead it just made her feel alive.

"Clarice," John whispered into her neck, talking in between planting small, butterfly kisses on her tender skin. "Clarice, I – We don't have to rush this. I'm not going to disappear tomorrow, or the day after. I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere."

Clarice pulled back just enough so she could see John's eyes. They were black with desire, pupils blown so wide she could barely see any of the warm brown she loved so much. But he was serious. Clarice knew that if in that moment she said no, that she didn't want to continue down this path, that she just wanted to curl up in bed, pressed to his chest, he would accept it easily. There was no pressure, no expectations. Just John, looking at her tenderly, his hands stroking up and down her back, impossibly strong hands easy and gentle against her.

"John," Clarice murmured, leaning her forehead against his, smiling as she looked into his eyes. "I want this. I want you. I want to feel you, all of you, around me, inside of me. If you want that too, then..."

"Oh I want it," John replied, grinning at Clarice, squeezing her lightly. "I just... I want you to be sure."

"I am," Clarice assured him firmly, kissing him gently. "I have never been more sure of anything in my life."

"Well, in that case..." John trailed off, devilish grin creeping onto his face. Twisting, he pinned Clarice to the bed once more, kissing her like he wanted to devour her. Clarice arched into him, pressing as much of her body as she could against his. John moved to her neck, trailing biting kisses down the long column to her shoulder, then gently down her chest, pausing only briefly to flick her nipple with his tongue. Clarice watched him through hooded eyes, her body practically vibrating under his ministrations. He continued his way down her stomach, kisses gentler now, gentle and warm, his hands steady on her sides.

"May I?" he asked when he reached the top of her pants, looking up at her with a wolfish grin, his fingers curling into her hips, thumbs rubbing gently. Rendered speechless by the sight of him, Clarice nodded, lifting her hips to help. John grabbed hold of the top of her pants, which were the soft sweats that she slept in, and pulled them slowly down, hooking his thumb into her panties and dragging them down as well. Clarice lifted her feet, wiggling, trying to kick the pants off faster. John chuckled, obliging her and yanking them off, tossing them into the same corner Clarice's shirt had landed in. Then he looked down at her, spread before him, completely naked.

"Clarice..." John said softly, running his hands along her bare thighs, making her shiver with anticipation. "You are so beautiful, and strong, and vibrant, and –"

"You're gonna make me blush," Clarice teased, stretching her hands up above her head, arching her back slightly, reveling in the feel of his hands on her, of the complete safety she felt with his eyes on her. She knew he could see the scars, the stories of a life spent first as an orphan than as a runaway. But she didn't care. He had seen her break, had seen her rage, had seen her cower and run. A few marks on her skin didn't mean anything to those brown eyes that held such warmth, those strong hands that touched her so reverently. She felt at peace, free from anxiety and uncertainty. It was just her, John, and the connection between them.

"Oh de'nzhone, I haven't even begun to make you blush yet," John countered, grinning at her, his hands moving around her thighs, brushing the insides of them with his fingertips. Heat curled up through Clarice's body and she felt her heart stutter.

"Pants first," Clarice ordered breathlessly, too distracted by John's hands to form complete sentences. "I want to see you." John smiled at Clarice, then pulled away slowly, getting up off the bed. Clarice wanted to whine, her body missing him already, but then his hands went to the top of his jeans and she didn't mind as much, though he was still far too far away for her liking. John undid his pants and bent, pushing them down. He kicked them off easily, then stood.

"Holy fuck," Clarice said, propping herself up, eyes drinking him in greedily. The strong, lean lines of his body continued downwards, tracing strong thighs and calves that would have made a runner whimper in envy. His skin was that warm, oaky brown she loved so much, smooth and unmarked. Hard to get scars when you're indestructible. And his cock... Clarice's mouth practically watered at the sight of it. Long and thick, it bobbed proudly before.

"Good holy fuck or bad holy fuck?" John asked, moving back towards the bed.

"Good, absolutely good," Clarice replied, rising up so that she was kneeling on the bed, her hands reaching for him, looking up into those brown eyes she loved so much. "John, you are honestly unfairly attractive. Goddamn Apache Adonis."

John snorted, grinning at her as he cupped Clarice's face in his hands, pulling her up so that he could kiss her. Clarice went eagerly, steadying herself with her hands on John's hips. Leaning against John's chest, Clarice trailed her hands down, fingertips brushing his cock. John groaned into her mouth, body pressing into hers, eager for her touch. Clarice wrapped her hand fully around his cock, her fingers just barely able to make the distance. She moved her hand slowly, enjoying the feel of him heavy in her hand.

"Clarice," John whispered between kisses, his fingers flexing into her back. "This feels amazing, but if you keep doing that, this is going to be over far too quickly."

"Well then, any suggestions?" Clarice asked, nipping at John's lower lip, giving his cock a gentle squeeze, grinning when he groaned and half thrust into her hand. John didn't reply, just reached down and grabbed the back of her legs, scooping her up as he moved forwards, laying her down on the bed, legs wrapped around him.

"My turn," he murmured, giving Clarice one last scorching kiss, then sliding down until he was laying between her spread thighs.

"Oh fu-" Clarice gasped, her words cut off as John licked a long stripe from her center to her clit, fastening his lips over the bundle of nerves when he reached it and flicking it with his tongue. Clarice's back arched, only John's strong hand keeping her pinned to the bed. He devoured her like a starved man, sending wave after wave of pleasure coursing through her body. One hand kept her hips pinned to the bed, the other moved so that John could gently slide a finger into her.

"John, oh fuck, John," Clarice panted, one hand buried in his hair, the other clinging to the blanket. "Fuck that feel so good, holy fuck, yes..." She felt John grin against her, his tongue still working her clit, his finger sliding in and out of her steadily. Soon a second finger joined the first, making Clarice gasp in pleasure.

"John, I want you," Clarice said, tugging gently on his hair to get his attention. John looked up at her, two fingers buried in her, mouth devouring her and holy fuck, Clarice was going to hold onto that image forever. "I want your cock inside of me, now."

"You sure?" John asked, barely pulling away enough for his words to be heard, crooking his fingers inside her, making Clarice gasp.

"Yes!" Clarice said forcefully, grinding down on his hand even as she spoke. "I want you inside of me, John, I want to finally be able to feel you, all of you."

"I want that too, de'nzhone," John murmured, placing one final kiss on her clit before pulling away, sliding his fingers out of her slowly, making Clarice whine. "But I want you on top. I want to be able to watch you." Clarice shivered, the thought of sinking down on John's cock with him spread out beneath her, dark eyes bearing into hers, sending a fresh wave of heat through her body.

"Hell yes," Clarice said, pulling John up to her and kissing him fiercely, the taste of her wetness still on his lips. She pushed him onto his back, straddling him. John held onto her hips, steadying Clarice as she rose up, taking hold of John's cock and bringing the tip of it to her dripping center.

Clarice paused, the tip of him pressing into her. Taking one of his hands off her hip, Clarice tangled their fingers together, holding tight to John's hand. Electric green eyes met deep brown. Then Clarice slowly sunk down onto John's cock.

"Clarice..." John groaned, his eyes fluttering as Clarice sank downwards, holding tight to her hand as she took him fully into herself. "De'nzhone..."

"John," Clarice murmured, throwing her head back, the feel of his cock inside of her, filling her, driving all rational thought from her mind. "Fuck, John..."

"I'm right here, beautiful," John said, rising up and wrapping his arms around Clarice, the movement rocking his cock inside of her. "I'm right here with you, always." Clarice looked at him, knowing that her eyes were saying more than her words ever could. Wrapping her arms around him, Clarice kissed him. Kissed him like he was the last solid thing in the world, which at that moment he was. She rocked into him, moaning breathlessly as his cock shifted inside of her, sliding over a spot that made her see stars.

John curled a hand into her hair, cradling her head as he began to move. He set a slow, deep rhythm, pressing as far into Clarice as he could. They rocked together, clinging together on an endless sea. Every stroke of John's cock filled Clarice, stroking her over and over again. She was spiraling upwards, John pushing her higher and higher. She would have been afraid, but his arms were around her, protecting her, steadying her even as his speed increased, sending her ever higher.

"John," Clarice gasped, looking into John's beautiful brown eyes. "I'm going to..."

"Come for me, love," John murmured, resting his forehead against hers, never looking away. "Come for me, Clarice, de'nzhone, beloved, come –" Clarice gasped, her whole body tensing, walls spasming around John's cock. John groaned, Clarice's orgasm pulling him over the edge. Their eyes never left each other as John buried his cock deep inside Clarice, spilling himself inside her, body trembling. The feel of his cum inside her sent Clarice over the edge again and she clung to John, body shaking with a pleasure so deep that she could feel it in her soul.

Spent, the two fell backwards, John cradling Clarice to his chest, his softening cock still inside her. Turning her head up, Clarice kissed him, slow and sweet, mind still heavy with pleasure and body humming agreeably at the feel of him still inside her.

"I should go get us some wet towels to clean up with," John said softly between kisses, his fingers winding idly through Clarice's hair.

"Leave and I will kill you," Clarice replied, giving John a stern look, then kissing him again, pressing herself into him, legs tangled with his.

"Then I won't leave," John promised, his words holding so much more meaning then putting off a trip to the laundry room. "Not until you want me to, Clarice."

"Hope you're ready for forever, then," Clarice replied, looking up at him, her expression fierce, almost a challenge. John looked down at her, overwhelmed by how much he felt for this beautiful, amazing, fiercely strong woman. He kissed her, wrapping Clarice up even tighter in his arms and holding her to him.

"Forever sounds good to me."