continued from

Jupiter's arm curled around Xavia and he held her a little closer...was this how easy it was supposed to be? is this why Venus came home with a different woman...or man every night?

Jupiter tossed some cash to the Cabbie who obviously didn't know if he should even ask the big red man for money....stupid racists. He hated it, it was what kept him fueled with anger all day, every stare, every mother that avoided him with their children. every cabby who tought about hightailing it instead of getting their fair. he wanted to destroy them all.

He chased dryad as she moved quickly away from him and he stumbled remembering that he was still a bit tipsy. he saw her attempt to move up the trellis and grinned as he put her again on his shoulder this time she got to sit up though. and his tail was there to ensure she stayed safe as he moved. up the building with ease. The only worrisome part was the groaning and complaining the building did as he moved up it. he wasn't afraid to fall threw the house, but he doubted that she would appreciate it. any time the trellis threatened to break he simply pushed his fingers into the wall he was climbing instead, leaving indentions as he went. they got to the third story and he located a beam under the roof to support his weight.

"so what are we looking for?"

As they made the top of the building, she stayed on the awning for a moment to say a soft “thank you,” before climbing into the house through the attic window. She poked her head out then, and said, “Not the roof…” And for the first time Xavia gave a smile to him, and disappeared inside. Traces of nettle bushes still lingered in the room, and she ignored them to wander into the room. The floor was sturdy enough to hold his weight, and if not, she would see to it later, when she had strength again, to make it work.

If he followed, she would move back to the window to help him climb in, and then lead him toward the second storey of the house and into the only bedroom that still had anything resembling a bed. It was a large room with plenty of space, and sturdy floors. By the lack of dust, it seemed she had spent quite some time in that room before being chased out by a couple of meatheads.

She did not know what had spurred her to let this stranger into her world, it was either the accidental slip of the tongue they shared earlier, or the fact that he wasn’t going to kill her. There was a pile of stolen blankets from the clotheslines of NYC on the old mattress, and she pulled one around her with the “seam” in front, turning her back on him and promptly stripping out of the wet clothing so she could warm up faster. “You should get out of those wet clothes, if you don’t want to get sick,” was thrown over her shoulder toward him.

Xavia then moved to the broken down recliner that had seen better days, sat down, and strained to pull the lever so the foot stool would come up. “Bed is all yours.” He would break the recliner, and she was not about to climb into bed without clothes on, with a complete stranger… She was so tired, though, that she didn’t even blush as was her wont to do when the innocence in her came into play. She wanted to sleep in the haven she had created over the many months she had been in this house before the meatheads rushed her out. And with the big monkey man at her side, she wasn’t afraid of them bothering her tonight. Maybe that is why she asked him to come. He started out as a a thorn in her side, and is now ending up as her protector. Go figure.

She said no more, and if he started to speak to her, or turned to look at her, he would find her sound asleep, curled up in the chair with a blanket wrapped tightly around her to ward off the chill.

~~ “thank you,” “Not the roof…”

“well I should hope not, we could have found tha from the ground.

Jupiter was careful not to smash the pretty little nymph as she attempted to help him inside the window, it wouldn’t due to smush her at all.

Jupiter watched as she wrapped a blanket around her and was soon nude, under the blanket.

~~!“You should get out of those wet clothes, if you don’t want to get sick,” “Bed is all yours.”

He doubted he could get sick, seeing as he cleansed himself with alcohol as often as he did. It made sense to him that germs wouldn’t survive in him…. He wasn’t as nearly as modest as she was. He kicked off his boots sending them toward one wall of the room and peeled his wet socks from his feet after that looking directly at her un did his belt, the button on his pants and then the zipper of his pants from there he simply walked forward step and the wet pants fell to the floor, the last to go were the black boxers. His large red form closed the rest of the gap between them and he scooped her up to find she was already asleep, with a light begrudged laugh he, carried her to the bed and laid her there wrapping a blanket around his lower half. He then got in the bed scooting her close to his chest. She would not be getting sick from cold either. He would keep her warm…just not as warm as he would have liked to…so much for Venus’s sage advice of ‘if a woman is willing to undress in front of you is willing to do things with you while undressed.’ Of course it wasn’t that easy.

Unaware that Jupiter was stripping with gusto, and unabashedly so, Xavia slept on. Even when he lifted her from the rickety recliner, she slept. Her small form curled up closer to his as they lay together, and her shivers abated after a time. She eventually nuzzled her face into the crook of his neck and shoulder, and slid a foot between his ankles as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

Some hours passed and she lay still, sleeping without snoring, her breath deep and even. Sometime in the night, however, she rolled away and began to toss and turn as a nightmare plagued her. (See: Dream a Little Dream Post #5) The dream was so real to her that she spoke out a few times, but the words were hard to make out because they were slurred from her sleep. After the dream was over, she didn’t immediately wake up, but when she did, she sat up, gasping for breath and lifting a fist to bite down on to keep from crying.

Whether he was asleep or not she looked at his form for a moment and blushed almost as red as he was. She knew, though, that he hadn’t taken advantage of her because she wasn’t ignorant to life science. Xavia pulled away quietly, slipping out from under the blanket because she thought by that point that he was asleep. In the dark of the room, she sought out another stolen article of clothing, a simple brown, sleeveless dress that was maybe a size bigger than she was.

She tiptoed from the room and headed for the stairs, taking them silently down, barely making the old boards creak in the process, thanks to her slight weight. The “nymph” sought the comfort of the old piano, which she had not touched since the day the bad men had come to try and take her from this place. She picked up the bench, which was left untouched from where she had kicked it, and sat down.

The first chords came out with fumbling fingers, but she took a deep breath and began to play the out-of-tune instrument. It wasn’t horrible sounding, but it would have been better if she had taken the time to tune it. The familiar swell of notes from Jewel’s Foolish Games began to come out. She rocked and swayed with the beat, closing her eyes as she became lost in the tune, and even began to sing in her sweet voice.

“You took your coat off and stood in the rain… You were always crazy like that… As I watched from my window, always felt I was outside looking in on you… You were always a mysterious one with dark eyes and careless hair, you were fashionably sensitive but too cool to care… You stood in my doorway with nothing to say, besides some comment on the weather… *Crescendo* Well in case you failed to notice, in case you failed to see… This is my heart bleeding before you, this is me down on my knees… And these foolish games are tearing me apart… And your thoughtless words are breaking my heart… They’re breaking my heart…”

She played on whether he was awake or not, and didn’t notice if he came down, she was so lost in the comfort of the old piano. It would be easy to understand why she wanted to come back here instead of going to the Sanctuary right away…

Jupiter was sound asleep there was something perfect about having a woman's soft quiet breath on your chest and her tiny frame pressed close to yours his hands my have explored the most comfortable place to rest as he slept she was an a pleasure to touch, but he kept his hands out side of the sheet, so the most scandalous thing that he tress passed was when he sleepily let his hand find way to her bottom and rest there. He didn't squeeze it, though he was now sure that was what it was meant for. He happily drifted off to sleep when he felt her skin pressed against his, some how she had found her way out from under the sheet. The dimly lit room offered little to no detail on the flesh that was near him, not that he was looking any way.

He awoke to being alone, but there was a tiny spot curled in front of him that still held the heat of the little dryad, and soon his ears noted a tune, he lay there for a moment not wanting his heavy foot fall to ruin the music, she could have been shy about music...he then spotted the wet dress still on the floor, and he hadn't noted any other clothing around...and the possibility of a still naked Xavia down stairs propelled him to his feet, he attempted stealth and might had succeeded if there was a thunderstorm to cover his entrance, or perhaps playing a piano with all their heart and soul. he reached the bottom step and note that she had indeed found another dress. and he then felt somewhat embarrassed for his brazen boldness. He set down on the third to the bottom step so that perhaps his legs might obscure his nakedness for the time being.. his shoulders however disagreed and set back further on the fifth step nearly canceling out any polite discretion he might have offered.

When ever she was finished with the song, he applauded quietly and then complimented. " you sing wonderfully."

She was startled when he started to clap and tell her how beautifully she played. She turned to look in his direction, the light of the moon bathing him from the window behind, making him look like a silhouette. Her pupils dilated some as she focused on his shadowed form, and she didn’t reply right that second. Her throat closed some, and she could feel her heart pick up in pace.

No, damn it, she thought. He wasn’t supposed to make her belly flutter, he wasn’t supposed to invade her dreams. She didn’t even know his name, yet she sat transfixed like some mooning maiden from days gone by. She looked at his face, her lips parting as silver light filtered in through another window, closer to her, giving her a bluish cast, her tangled curls highlighted and shining, now that it was dry and cleaner than it had been.

Xavia swallowed heavily, as his face took on the face from her nightmare. Squeezing her eyes shut, she looked away and shook her head, and said softly, more to herself, and possibly too soft for him to hear, “No, he’s dead… Dead and gone… He has no right to tell me how to feel.”

The fact was, she felt some spark for this stranger, though unwanted, and was sure he felt the same way. She remembered the feel of his palm resting where it shouldn’t have been, vaguely of course, could actually almost feel the heat of his body on her skin still. Oh, god, but she was so conflicted inside now.

Finally she stood, turning around to look at him again, and she took a hesitant step forward. The closer she got, the more detail she could see, and she saw he hadn’t put anything on before coming downstairs. Normally, she would have bolted by then, but they were way passed that.

“I am sorry I woke you…” she whispered loud enough for his ears, almost sure that he could hear her heart beating a staccato against her ribcage. Scarred hands lifted and raked through her long hair, and she bit at her bottom lip as she regarded him with a wide eyed stare that was neither disgusted, nor scared.

~~“I am sorry I woke you…”


“Like I said it, your music was worth waking for.” She drew her self closer to him like a willow to a river. She bit her hand while looking at him with interest, his hand slowly but surely reached out for hers to pull her into his less than clothed lap. He wasn’t sure where she got the dress but he wouldn’t be opposed to it going the way of the other. For a moment he considered the idea of tearing it off of her, but he wasn’t sure how much clothing she had and new first hand that it could be frustrating to ruin clothes you liked.

If she stopped looking like she wanted him and simply took what she wanted he would start by picking up where they left off, her lovely little lips. Why was it that he felt so at ease with his woman? was it because she knew what it was to live the mutant life, because she spurned him and then excepted him? regardless he was fond of the woman in a mere few hours time.

At first she couldn’t resist his draw, the way he held his hand out to her. One hand found his and she let him draw her into his lap, then found her face just inches away from his… He would be able to tell that she wanted him by the way her eyes half closed, the way she continued to worry on her lip(not hand ). It felt so natural to her to be near him, even after they had acted like a couple of fools before hand. Maybe it was because he saved her life instead of walking away and being done with her, maybe it was some connection they shared that she didn’t know about. All she knew was that she wanted him to feel the same way she felt.

Her eyes closed and she hesitantly leaned forward, lips so close to his he would be able to feel the soft waft of her breath. Not quite touching, but so temptingly close. “Thank you…” was her next statement, low and husky. In the end, it was she who closed the space between the two of them and brushed her lips ever so slightly across his mouth. She stopped thinking altogether.

She did not go any further than the soft brushing of the lips, did not push it, but knew if he wanted her the way she wanted him, he would not settle for the mere touch. As she was “kissing” him, she moved her hand up to trace a finger over his bright red cheek up toward his hair.

~~“Thank you…”

“the pleasure is all mine.” Man that sounded cheesy, but somehow was right… his interest in her was apparent by action and at a glance. And apparently mutual.

He hung in suspension as he wasn’t sure how much control he had over himself, he would have to tread lightly to ensure that he didn’t simply let instinct wash over him. He wasn’t absolute sure of the amount of control he had.. His hands urged the dress up her thighs… carefully and cautiously giving her plenty of time to retreat or reprimand him for moving too quickly. His breathing was heavy from excitement, would she be the one to usher him into a world of intimate encounters? What would come later? What would she expect…he then promptly tossed all consideration to the side. His hands slide around her now bare thighs as he lifted her and carried up the flight of stairs to the room with the bed and the nest of blankets. His lips stayed hungrily up against hers all the way to the point where her back met a mattress. He backed away only momentarily to take a breath and give her a chance to call foul. His body hovered above hers encompassing her in a world of red his arms to her sides possessively. His head hung there for a moment, accessing the situation and trying to figure out signs he had never seen before. Waiting for anything to show a sign that she wanted less instead of more

Her head was swimming as they kissed, as he touched her thighs, which had never been touched by a man before. She felt him easily lift her and carry her upstairs as if she weighed no more than a feather. When he lay her down and moved over her, and lifted his head away from her mouth. She opened her eyes and looked up at him for what seemed like a suspended moment. She lifted her head and kissed him more firmly and hungrily for a moment, before tearing herself away from his mouth and turning her head.
“No!” she said suddenly, though it took her some effort…

Her chest rose and fell to the rhythm of her deep, gasping breath. She pushed at his chest, and when she could, rolled away, then stumbled to her feet. Xavia walked toward the door where she sagged against, and she tried to calm herself down. He made it so hard to think clearly.

“I… I don’t even know who you are,” she rasped out.

Her lips attacking his gave him the go ahead and as he was moving the dress further up her body, the kiss was rescinded by a single word.

~~“No!”

He immediately retreated to insure that she knew she was safe with him. She pushed at his chest and it was unnecessary. He wouldn’t force himself no matter how much he wanted her. He looked up at her as she fled to the doorway. And listened for an explanation…perhaps she could have made it clear that they wouldn’t be doing anything before he she started kissing him.

~~“I… I don’t even know who you are,”

oh “We have all the time in the world to get to know one another, but you are right… we should probably at least know each others names.” Venus would have disagreed thoroughly; a physical interaction need not bother with mental or even society’s expectations. A physical exchange of pleasure could be as casual or complicated as you made it.

“I am Jupiter, and you are safe with me, I wouldn’t do anything to harm you, I was under the impression that you were interested. I’m not….worldly, so If I moved to quickly I apologize, I just find my self utterly attracted to you.” He grabbed a sheet and wrapped it around his lower half, giving him a make shift skirt of his own. “ and honestly I find you a bit mysterious and more so like it.”

She sagged against the door and said softly, “I… Did not mean to kiss you, but…” Xavia lifted a hand to her trembling tiers, she could still feel the heat from his own. “I didn’t mean to go as far as I did, but you were sitting there watching me, and you saved my life even though I made you angry, and…” And I want you, she thought. But she was an innocent, had never been with anyone before, not even her high school sweetheart. Heat still pooled in the core of her abdomen, shockwaves of desire still coursing through her spine.

But he showed her she didn’t need to run. He understood. She did not apologize for kissing him, though, because they both felt the intensity of their nearness, not just her. “I am Xavia.” Her sigh was soft as she regarded him with a heavy stare, sunlight beginning to filter through the slats of the boards to bring more light to her features. He would see she was incredibly beautiful, but not in the way of a supermodel or actress, but more like a flower. He would be able to see what color her eyes were, a rich caramel surrounded by the thick fringes of her long lashes. She had hair as black as midnight, and she was delicate looking, as flowers look. The light was just starting to brighten up enough that he would see that clearly.

He would also be able to tell just by looking at her that she was interested. Boy, was she interested… But to her, he was forbidden fruit. She knew without a doubt that she wanted him for more than just a meaningless fling, and didn’t think he wanted the same. She wanted to be cherished and loved, and protected from the evils of the world, yet she did not think he was the type that would handle that. That was only an assumption though, and she did not voice it.

She had to smile, though, because he called her mysterious, and wanted badly to open up to him and tell him the wild ride that landed her in New York City. But what would he do? Would he think she was a coward? Would he think worse of her? The possibilities did little to stop the ricocheting of her heartbeat off the walls of her chest.

~~ “I… Did not mean to kiss you, but…” “I didn’t mean to go as far as I did, but you were sitting there watching me, and you saved my life even though I made you angry, and…” “I am Xavia.”


“If that was you kissing me accidently, I think I would like to know what you kissing me on purpose is like…I…just, It feels right with you. If that makes sense.”

It sure didn’t to him, He hadn’t been attracted a female like this…ever, she was fiery and powerful and vulnerable and delicate. They couldn’t have contrasted more, She was a flower like he was a demon, she was all grace and beauty and he was all danger and malice. She was earthen where he was hellish.

Xavia would note the signs that she had already taken in red eyes in a red head with black hair, his for was a mass of muscles ontop of muscles that were on yet more muscles. He wanted plenty with this girl he just wanted to skip a few steps on the way to getting to know her.

He rose to his feet unable to bear the space between them much longer. He pulled another move out of observations of Venus, he took her delicate petal of a hand and raised it to his lips. Placing them delicately on her soft hand al the while keeping eye contact. “I want to know you Xavia. I want you to know who I am.” He winced slightly. “I hope you don’t run when you find out.”

The sun filtered through the room reminding him that he had indeed had a long day and night, had he been asleep long before the out of tune music nudged him out of bed and his first failed attempt at bedding her. the smile on her lips warmed his skin. He was having trouble resisting attempting to sedduce her...she already said no once, she wouldn't have to tell him again.

Jupiter’s head tilted as a rustling sound echoed on the first floor.

>>> “Are you back in our house?” a malicious voice called up the stairs. “We heard you playing the piano! “It’s no use running to the roof! Someone is already up there. We’ve got you this time.”

Jupiter’s eyes immediately flared into anger. He hesitated only to observe Xavia’s reaction to the males down stairs. he put a large red finger to his lips and headed toward the stairs.

She smiled a little more as he kissed the scars that crisscrossed the back of her hand, where normally she would have snatched her hand away because of the puckered white lines that marred her flesh. She trusted him. Why? She did not know…

She was just about to reply to him when she heard the men downstairs, and her heart leapt into her throat in that instant… Xavia pulled away from the door and looked at him with fear in her eyes, they had come back for her! She gave him a pleading glance and shook her head as he started to walk down, opened her mouth to speak but snapped it closed.

The plant mutant was yet too weak to be of use in this new danger, she hadn’t slept well enough to gain enough energy to be able to attack with anything that would bring them down, perhaps a few minor offences, but that was it. She wished they would just leave her alone, hadn’t they already done enough to her? They had taken her away from her home once after killing a bunch of teenagers, they took her away again after smacking chloroform over her mouth and nose, she was experimented on, tested, poked, prodded, treated like a guinea pig and left to wonder what had happened to her. If they took her away this time, she was afraid whatever was left of her sanity would die away and she would have to be put into institution where the cycle would repeat itself.

Xavia hesitantly began to follow, silent behind him, but then thought it would be better to hold herself back this time. He looked plenty strong and would be able to do more than her, and she would just be in the way, she thought. A distraction. While he headed downstairs, she wracked her brain for answers. What should she do?

Eventually she knelt behind the railing that lined the loft, peering between the bars while she observed the action.

Where Jupiter was quiet as he could be while trying to sneak up on his breath taking pianist, he let his foot falls thud all the way down the stairs… the pair of men in the living room were already backing away nervously. He leapt down the last few stairs…one of the men had a roll of duct tap and a can of wd-40, the other had a baseball bat. They were obviously not meant to survive the the morning, fate had brought him to Dryad and so fate had delivered these foolish humans to him as well.

The man with the base ball bat lunged forward swing the bat toward Jupiter’s head. Jupiter grinned as the bat smashed into his skull…it would leave a bruise. Jupiter merely shook his head. His arm struck out removing the bat from the fighters hand. The man with the tape had already began to flee for the window that they had broken out. Jupiter launched the bat toward the fleeing foe like a tomahawk, a satisfying crack echoed through the mostly empty room. His body smacked into the wall just under the window that he had been running for. The baseball player was stuck to the ground where he stood, a deer in the head lights, watching unable to even scream as the suv’s grill hurtled toward him. Jupiter’s open palm smacked against the side of the mans head. The slap leaving a bright red out line of his hand, almost as if he had slapped him so hard the color of his flesh transferred onto his foe. The already unconscious body bounced off the floor.
Jupiter turned around and calmly made his way up the stairs,
“you have nothing to worry about Xavia.” He said as he turned to head to the attic window. He made way up the next flight as he entered the attic. A shadow the size of a crouching man cast its self across the entrance, his tail snaked out the window and batted the man off of the roof just as he was cursing at the red furred snake that appeared.