This was a moment of truth. Not the moment of truth; they would have more of those. Tses could have been a passing fancy, but there was something about her. Her reservations. Her history with Chrysanthemum. Her contentious relationship with pleasure. The busy woman she was, she rarely had the time for long-term projects these days. Occasionally, it was worth taking the time to invest in something that intrigued her.

Tses was intriguing. This could have gone wrong. In the momentary break from sensory overload, she could have lashed out at the hand Chrysanthemum offered. If she told the puppeteer to fuck off, it would not be the first time. She was one of the few people who could get away with it.

The swell of pride came when Chrys felt Tses leaning into her touch. It was the start, and Chrysanthemum could take it and see how far Tses would let herself be taken. Her neatly manicured fingernails ran themselves into soft blonde locks. Using her hand, she tilted Tses’s face up, waiting for the proud woman to look up at her to meet her big green eyes. ”Oh poppet. There’s beauty in broken things. I started piecing you back together already. Let me keep taking care of you.”

Leaning down, Chrysanthemum took Tses’s bottom lip delicately between her teeth, before pressing into a kiss. In a hushed voice, she asked, ”I don’t want you out there lost when I can just keep you instead.”

This felt different. Tses already knew it would, considering her only relationship was with a boy. Ty was a thief, but still a little soft around the edges. Chrys was the opposite, threatening but her touch was feathery, the feeling of nails against Tses’ skin strange but not unpleasant. The racing of nerves turned into a strange fluttering heartbeat that washed to the surface, a flush in her cheeks. She wasn’t entirely against this, but there was still resistance to break behind.

The nip came unexpectedly, the feeling of teeth bringing a low growl from her throat until it turned into a kiss. She felt awkward, uncomfortable by that. She had minimal practice, after all it wasn’t like she sat around making out with her boyfriend. Although, had it felt like this, she may have reconsidered. The intoxicating sensation of feeling Chrys enjoying this made her own emotions follow. Heck, this was grade A level cheating. She felt the ache in her gut again, hand sliding to clutch the other girl’s, dazed by the feeling of smooth skin held by her own rough hands.

”People are liars.” She let the words press back to Chrys instead of a return kiss. She was holding their hands tighter, but her mouth was still fighting. ”They stab you in the back, hell, they shoot you in the back. They claim they want to help you but they only want to change you.” she looked back at Chrys, a blaze of emotions in her own irises. It was the look of someone who knew the first taste of love, countless stings of betrayal, and the empty guilt of assuming you were never worth it to begin with.

”Take care of me?” the pads of her fingers were tracing Chrys fingers now, as if against her will. She was letting the contact with her hair and face prevent her from running. ”The last person couldn’t even keep me alive.

For a moment—a beautiful moment—Tses was letting this all happen. She may have growled at the initial nibble, but she did not fight Chrysanthemum’s delicate touch. Chrys smirked against Tses’s mouth, because it was a very “Tses” reaction.

Things were going well until the thief understood what Chrys was offering and her defenses flared up again. She was skeptical; people who were hurt the way she was doubted the intentions of others. If not the intentions, Tses would doubt Chrys could do what she promised.

Chrys did not flinch at the hand grasping tightly. Her focus was entirely on Tses’s eyes. The brunette’s gaze was genuine and intense. ”Don’t compare me to the people you had before, Tses,” she warned seriously. ”I’m not some hormonal young man with no control over his own emotions. I’m not lovestruck or looking to enjoy you because that’s the current impulse handed down by my id.”

Getting down almost to Tses’s level, but making sure to keep the slightest height advantage, Chrys leaned in, pressing body to body, chest to chest with Tses. ”I’m not here for some puppy-love girlfriend and I’m not looking for something from you beyond your total submission.” A small request, to be sure.

Chrys’s voice was low, and as she shrunk the space between them further, each word was a breath brushing against Tses’s ear. ”Where has stubborn defiance gotten you? Shot and burdened by insecurities. I don’t want you to just be my doll; I want you to be my greatest treasure. I see so much beauty in you, but you fear it.”

Tses thought people wanted to change her. Most might. Chrysanthemum thought that missed the point. The only hand she had left unclaimed by Tses’s grip placed itself on Tses’s thigh. ”Everything stunning about you is already here behind those walls.” And walls could be broken. Who was better at breaking things than Chrysanthemum Van Hart?

Tses looked into Chrys’ eyes and her pulse raced again. The words were said with confidence and assurance. Tses was inclined to trust them, if for no other reason than her last history with Chrys. The voodoo doll woman was a little twisted, but she had always been very clear about what she wanted and what would happen. Now Tses craved such clean lines. Do or don’t. Yes or no. Survival was exhausting and she was yearning just as the other girl said she was.

Chrys drew closer, the fabric of her shirt giving coverage for Tses momentarily while also living little to the imagination. She was feeling both of their senses being tested now. Her arm trembled slightly in involuntary response. Submission... Tses twisted her head, as Chrys whispered in her ear. Each word continued the sirens song to lure her in.

She felt her head dip, her lips grazing Chrys collarbone. Her own nerves told her how nice it felt. She let her teeth collect a tiny patch of skin and bite gently, letting the faint sting travel through her senses. Letting go, her tongue flicked once to lick the mark. She felt that too, warmth traveling through her. She was never that aggressive before. Never that forward. Her mind was captured by these small sensations she never allowed to happen.

This, this was why people wanted to be close, wanted romance. To feel safe, protected, wanted. Don’t leave me. she ducked her head into Chrys neck, breathing in her scent. The girl called her stunning. Tses felt such words were wildly misplaced, but she left the hand where it was. ”I...I can learn.” What could she learn? To stop fighting? To be protected? To be cared for? Or how to keep this equally volatile woman happy?

I can learn. Just please, don’t leave me too.

So much of Chrys’s life involved lying. It was not her fault; her interests were the kind you had to be selective with. She could not share these desires with just anybody, and that was not even touching her need for violence. When she could be direct with someone like Tses, she preferred it. Chrysanthemum always knew what she wanted; it was just a matter of being allowed to express it.

There was an ebb to Tses’s resistance. The blonde showed her first signs of proactivity. Promising. She was inexperienced, as was to be expected, but Chrysanthemum was the perfect test partner. A soft moan escaped her lips as she bared more of her collarbone, letting Tses feel out her actions in the reflected sensations along her own bare body.

> ”I...I can learn.”

Music to her ears. Grinning, Chrysanthemum looped her fingers under the hem of her loose crop top. ”Mmm, good girl.” Slowly, she pulled the top up her body, the cotton caressing her skin until it was pulled over her head and discarded. ”Now that you’re really here, I think I should reward you with your first lesson.”

Chrysanthemum’s lips started with one soft kiss before straying away from Tses’s lips. From the corner of her jaw to that fair neck, Chrys made a point of nibbling the same spot Tses attended to on her body. From there, the kisses traveled down and down and down again… Tses was finally vulnerable, and Chrys wanted her to know exactly how good vulnerability could feel.

FTB

Chrysanthemum was shaking and gasping for air. Even with Tses’s lesser sense of pleasure, the sheer sensation of two bodies in the throes of passion was enough to knock anyone off their feet. Panting and glistening with beads of sweat, she did not have to worry about that. She was already off her feet, laying on the floor of her study entangled with Tses.

The bonded sex hit Chrys like a truck, but she was used to it. Tses had never even had that sense of release once before. Chrys tried to take things slowly for her sake, but when they both started to get lost in the heightening ecstasy, it became impossible to control the escalation.

When Chrys had her wits back, more or less, she kissed Tses’s forehead and asked in a weak voice, ”Pet, are you okay? Can you speak yet? If not… just nod for me, and I’ll take it from there.” Honestly, Chrys could still feel the aftershocks running through Tses. It would not shock her if it took some time for Tses to be verbal again.

Tses was beginning to wonder if there was some mistake when she bypassed by death’s door. As her heavily scared knuckles reached for the handle, what had caused the other side to turn her back? Was it for this? For this reward that a life of crime never deserved? For her to experience these feelings, so intense her throat felt raw from held back whimpers and her muscles ached along her stomach and legs but she didn’t mind.

Her head was pressed into the soft place of Chrys collarbone, where little red bite marks were fading. Her skin was slick and sticky, her long forgotten requests for clothing slowly returning. ”Pet, are you okay?” hmm, was she? She was coming back from a world of new sensations, amplified by Chrys powers. She had gone from a place where she was reluctant to be touched to begging for it not to stop. Her, beg? What had possessed her in those moments?

What was still possessing her that caused her to sleepily press a kiss to Chrys skin, eyes shut, face calm. She felt gratitude. This foreign sensation of belonging. Wanting. Wanting to be wanted. Wanting to be cared for. Wanting to please. This was the hook, the drug, drawing her into something equal parts dangerous and wonderful.

”Exhausted.” she murmured.

Coming down from a high like this was a gradual process. Being able to share sensation was a helpful way to connect with someone, but Chrysanthemum could not read her partner’s mind. How was Tses handling all this? The girl just came back from the dead. From the brink of death to an overwhelming amount of life; how does anyone process that? Chrys worried she might have actually broken the girl after all.

Chrys’s question was met with a sheepish, almost docile kiss. This was a new side to the woman and it would be interesting to see how long it lasted. How well Chrysanthemum could nurture it.

”Mmm, I bet,” she murmured, slowly getting to her feet from the floor. ”I could feel you responding intensely. I’m glad you appreciated it. You deserved to,” she assured her as she picked Tses’s still trembling form up. Chrysanthemum was by no means big or strong, but Tses was of similar height and build; she could handle carrying the blonde a few feet.

Walking from the study toward the bedroom ,she ran her fingers through Tses’s hair. ”You’ll stay in my room,” she commanded, if her intentions were not obvious already. She did not put a timeline on it; would she stay tonight or indefinitely? Much of that depended on how Tses felt in the morning. ”I’ll get you a snack and maybe even something to wear. You were a very good girl, after all.”

You deserve to.

Tses had been told she deserved a lot of things in her lifetime. She was told she deserved to die, she deserved to be taught a lesson, deserved jail. And once, that she deserved better. But this was the first time someone told her she deserved to feel good. She never thought life would bring her someone that could tear through her walls, make it through her resistance and trace their fingers on her heart. The feeling made her nervous and unsure.

Chrys surprised her by carrying her into the other room. The other woman always seemed to have a polished appearance, and being strong enough to lift Tses did come as a shock. Well, not that Tses was particularly heavy, but Chrys did not seem the type to exert so much energy on someone else. Her next words concerned Tses more. You'll stay here.

"For...how long?" Tses asked before she could stop herself, feeling the phrase was open ended. After being set down, she found herself pulling her knees to her chest, watching Chrys with eyes that were much more alert now. Her powers flickered, green light slowly crawling along her arms, crisscrossing her chest, snaking around her neck. They were like spider webs, creating a cocoon, the green light making shadows that amplified what she was refusing to say. How long would Chrys keep her? How long until she got bored? She shut her eyes, wondering why she was feeling anything but relief at the idea of one day getting away.

She was just a doll, a toy. Chrys would bore of her soon. She would realize the broken creature she brought home was fun for reactions and to test, but eventually that would grow old, and she would be removed. She had to keep guarding the only part of herself she had left, keeping the feelings from penetrating her heart. This was a game, she was safe if she played along. Chrys would get bored.

Like everyone else. Don't get attached. She is like everyone else.

Most people would not call Chrysanthemum a tender person. She was not ruthless in business like her father was, but she was practical when she had to be, empathy be damned. Employees, even high on the ladder, were as good as their competence, and their employment hinged in the ability to justify them. They were the pieces of her project, Van Hart Enterprises.

Her direct reports were a different story. Directors made it to their positions by demonstrating both competence and unquestioning loyalty. Secretaries and personal assistants were also treated specially by the CEO, because these people were hers. Maybe it was unhealthy that she put so much value on control and ownership, but it did lead to the few genuine human connections she found herself comfortable making. She never crossed inappropriate lines with those work subordinates, (well, okay, maybe one time,) but she would do anything to keep those loyal to her happy and appreciated.

Maybe she was being hopeful, but she could see the broken pieces that made up Tses in need of care. She always liked Tses, as odd as she was with her troublemaking habits and questionable approaches to relationships. She was convinced there was plenty to nurture in this broken woman with the right hand to guide her. The first hurdles were the protective walls she kept up and her fear of letting herself enjoy something.

Now that they were making slow starts toward progress, Chrysanthemum wanted to keep the thief close to keep this progress… well, progressing. ”As long as you wish, kitten. As long as you want to stay by my side, I’ll keep you,” she assured her, brushing away plastered blonde strands from Tses’s forehead. ”We can even be cliché and have a contract written up if it lets that lovely head rest easy.” It would not be the first time she had to justify to legal council why she needed a legal document for her private affairs.

”Let me fetch you some water and leftover lobster mac and cheese from the fridge. I’m fairly certain I spent all the strength in your still-recovering body.” In hindsight, she should have attempted to be more careful. Eh, the past was the past. She could get Tses clothes as well, but if she was going to do that, she was going to control that. She had to get Tses used to the idea of letting Chrys push her out of her comfort zone. ”Maybe even get you a nightie.”

Before she left, Chrysanthemum leaned in and planted a soft, almost tender kiss on Tses’s cheek. ”Until I return, just rest and enjoy and think about whether you want this. You aren’t like other dolls, Tses; you get to make the choice to be mine.” With a grin, Chrys stood straight and headed out of the room to get to her kitchen.

The answer came unexpectedly. Tses was waiting for something mocking, sarcastic even. Yet Chrys was being genuine. As long as you want to stay by my side, I'll keep you.

This was strange, confusing coming from someone with powers like Chrys possessed. Tses had come to see the other girl as manipulative, possessive in nature. True, they were friends, in a weird, somewhat twisted way. Yet that never prepared her for a softer side. It was the same side that rescued her body, pieced her back together. This spark of tenderness made Tses feel a spark of greed herself. She didn't want to share it. She didn't want Chrys to look at someone else that way, call someone else that way. "No contracts." Tses said, her voice somewhat stronger. She looked up, a small fire lit behind her eyes. The lights seemed to curl around Chrys' hand when it came to touch her face. Mine... It was like a growl inside her heart becoming stronger.

What...what was it? Maybe the truth was, she was the one who was a bit on the possessive side.

The kiss caused her to stiffen from reflex, then her muscles relaxed once more. The parting words hummed through her brain. You get to make the choice...

Chrys disappeared to the kitchen and Tses felt her hands shaking ever so slightly. She shut her eyes, gripping her hair and trying to stop the odd quake in her chest. Stop it! Get a grip! The turmoil in her brain caused her to stumble out of the bed, eyes catching on the large window stretching on one end of the room. With unsteady feet she walked over, sinking to the ground in front of it. The city spread out in all directions, a view even better than any rooftop had brought her. She almost forgot she lacked clothing, eyes too blurry with tears that had started falling. I'll keep you... Rage, pain, dismay, emptiness. Love and loss, memories swept away with a bullet.

Mine.

No, this time, this time it wouldn't be taken from her. This time, she knew where she wanted to be.

Like a ghost she found her way to the kitchen, reaching around behind Chrys and pulling herself to the warmer body. She buried her wet face into the other girl's hair and breathed. Her teeth found a little piece of skin and bit, the sensations traveling down her own spine. Mine.