| Title: Cherished Authors: Jo & Brenda Series: Claimed Pairings: Karl Urban/Orlando Bloom/Harry Sinclair Rating: NC17 Summary: Vampires and pets and sex, oh my. Yeah, it's an AU. Disclaimer: As far as we know, vampires don't exist. Cha. Author's Notes: *Brenda points to Jo* It was all her fault. I just went along with it. *Jo points back at Brenda* Her Karl had designs on my Orli. She liked the idea so we let them play. This is what happened. *mwah* *Brenda & Jo look around, then whisper* But it's really *all* Harry's fault and if he says otherwise, it's a lie! For the other 1/2 of the Quartet. *mwah*
Orlando started with light kisses across Karl's collarbone, traced his open mouth over the slope of Karl's shoulders. Dark and exotic, clove and Karl, a taste Orlando would crave until his dying day. He wiggled, so he was only partially on Karl now, giving his mouth more flesh to explore, as he moved his way to Karl's chest. Orlando tantalized the skin with butterfly kisses, light as air. Kisses meant to worship, kisses meant to tease. "I was wondering when you were going to wake up." Orlando looked up into amused eyes. Karl smiled, pulled Orlando up to him for a thorough kiss, filling his mouth with the taste of spice and clove as he sucked Orlando's tongue with gentle motions, lightly scraping his teeth along Orlando's lower lip. Orlando sighed when their lips parted, opened slumberous eyes. He framed Karl's face with his hands, running fingers over defined cheekbones and a strong jaw. "I love you, Karl." Karl turned his head and bit softly on Orlando's thumb, smiling at the small shiver that went through Orlando's body. "I love you, Orlando." It felt heavenly to simply drift in Karl's touch, lose himself in knowing hands that ran over his body in smooth strokes, learning him all over again. Orlando allowed his mind to open at Karl's soft request, and the rainbow of feelings twisting inside him made everything unbearably bright. So much need, lifetimes of waiting, of wanting, all fulfilled with a kiss, a soft moan, hands bringing him to orgasm with steady movements. And the feelings continued, tangled up with his own so Orlando didn't know if he was Karl or himself. Didn't matter, as long as they were here, cocooned together in need, with Orlando's hands racing over Karl's lush skin, paying homage to needy flesh, coaxing groans and sighs of encouragement, of completion as Karl came, moaning, into Orlando's mouth, the taste filling him. "Truly your mouth will undo me," Karl murmured, stroking damp curls back from Orlando's forehead, leaning up for a slow kiss. "I'm happy you enjoy my humble efforts." Bright eyes flashed with laughter as Orlando grinned the words against Karl's mouth. "Imp. I'm not sure if you even know what the word humble means," Karl said, rolling them so he was leaning over Orlando, dark hair falling around his face, framing it. Orlando only grinned again, traced Karl's back with long fingers. He breathed in deeply, inhaling the scent of sex and Karl, the smell making him ache all over again. He could stay like this forever, protected, secure in Karl's love. Except...Orlando groaned to himself as he thought about the revelations from earlier in the evening. Funny how he'd managed to forget. Guess it was time to find out if Dom's advice really would work. "We need to talk." Karl closed his eyes, let out a slow breath. "I suppose we do." He rolled back over, taking Orlando with him so that Orlando was sprawled against his chest, thighs intertwined with each other and silk sheets. "What's on your mind?" God, where to start? Okay, with the most obvious one...and the most painful. Orlando forced himself to look at Karl, into those beautiful eyes. He could do this. No matter what, he knew Karl loved him. "Why didn't you tell me you and Harry are lovers?" Karl let out a short laugh. "Fearless. I should have known that would be the first thing you'd ask." Goddamn right. What, Karl thought he'd forget that bit of life-altering information? "I'm trying to figure it out in my head, but it's not making any sense." Karl started stroking his hands up Orlando's back, the touch light, soothing. "This is going to sound rather lame, but I mainly didn't tell you because I was waiting until after you met him." Okay, keep calm, keep calm. He's talking, this is good. But he couldn't help the edge in his voice at his next words. "You've got to be kidding." Karl sighed. "No, actually. I'm not." "You're right. That is lame." "Unfortunately, it's also the truth." Karl paused, hands still continuing their lazy back on Orlando's skin. "I made a mistake. I'm sorry." Well, at least he apologized. But Orlando wasn't quite finished. "It never occurred to you that I might want to know this information before binding myself to you?" "No, it didn't. Although Harry did say I needed to talk to you." Karl looked unsure of how to proceed. "Harry and I just are. More than friendship binds us, more than love, more than time. It's not something I've ever needed talk about, and not something that could be easily explained." He wasn't going to get jealous. That would be a waste of time. Orlando chewed on his lower lip, trying to think of his next question. He really wanted to sink back into the cool of the silk sheets and the warmth of Karl's body, but he had a feeling Dom would kill him if he didn't talk to Karl. And if Dom didn't, Elijah certainly would. And if neither one of them did, he'd probably off himself. He needed answers. "Tell me about him." "Who, Harry?" "Yeah. Help me to understand why you..." he tripped only a bit on the next word "...love him. Because, right now, I don't get it." "Oh, little one, he never meant to hurt you." Karl kissed Orlando's forehead, stroked his cheek. "He meant to scare you, yes, unsettle you. But he was never going to hurt you. He can't hurt you." "Could've fooled me." "Harry loves me. Just as I love him. He is just as much my soulmate as you are. He would no more hurt you than I would. The two of you simply got off on the wrong foot." "Yeah, well, that's a mild way of putting it," Orlando snorted. "You always such a master of understatement?" Karl's laughter was bright. "Probably yes. Are you sure you won't get jealous?" He'd do his best. It helped that Karl was continuing to hold him and stroke his back. "That would be a waste of energy. He's had you for centuries." "Well, I already told you he was sent by his father to be my squire." At Orlando's nod, Karl continued. "Many of the ruling houses were eager to align themselves with vampires in those days, since we were skilled warriors and wealthy." Karl's eyes softened in memory. "Harry was the most arrogant, ruthless, cutting son of a bitch I'd ever met." "Sounds like love at first sight." Karl chuckled. "He fascinated me. Everything about him. His open attitude, incredible body, razor-sharp mind. Oh yes, I wanted him." "And?" "Well, I had to wait for him to grow up, first. He was only 14 when we met." Orlando sensed there was more to it than that. "And?" Karl's voice was amused. "He hated me." Orlando remembered the love in Harry's eyes when he spoke of their bond. "I find that hard to believe." "Oh, it's true. He'll tell you. Hated me. Hated my immortality, hated that I drank blood, hated my wealth, position, attitude, enigmaticness, everything. But he especially hated that he wanted me." Karl's low voice wrapped around them as he spoke, drawing Orlando into the story. "Ah, one of those." "Exactly. Harry loved women, still does. And he was very Catholic. And intimate relations with the same sex was an offense punishable by death back in the Middle Ages. It was hard for him to reconcile all of that with his feelings for me." Orlando could understand that. History had, more often than not, been cruel to mortal homosexuality. "So what changed it?" Karl shrugged, shifting his body a bit under Orlando's. "I decided I'd had enough of this stand-off and challenged him to a duel." "Do what?" Orlando popped his head up, eyes wide. Karl nodded, put Orlando's head back on his shoulder. "Told him if I beat him, he'd come to my bed willingly, and if he beat me, I'd give him enough lands and money so that he'd never have to deal with the world, or me, again." "A bit unfair don't you think? I mean, I'm sure he was strong, but you're..." Karl's chuckle was low. "Ah, but see, I told him I'd fight him blindfolded." This time Orlando's eyes threatened to pop out as his head bounced back up. "Did I hear that right?" Karl nodded again, his eyes almost fey. "Mmhmm." "Blindfolded?" "Yeah." "Fighting? With swords?" Orlando couldn't even imagine it. Another small shrug, full of insouciance. "Yeah." Orlando had bound himself to a madman. Madvampire. Whatever. "You really are crazy, you know that?" "Harry thought so, too," Karl said, eyes still full of mirth. His whole face fairly glowed with it. "But he accepted, nevertheless." "And then what happened?" Orlando asked, almost afraid to hear the answer. He didn't remember seeing any scars on Karl's body, but he knew vampires were very quick healers. Karl's white teeth gleamed in the candlelight, and small fangs crested his lower lip in a feral smile. "I won." Orlando waited a beat. "That's it?" "Would you like details?" "Um...no." Orlando could just feel himself turning red. //You're very sweet when you blush.// Orlando blushed harder, rushed the next words. "Okay, so no details. But, really, that's it? You took him to bed and the two of you are bonded for life? So, I should've just saved myself a bit of time and challenged you to a duel, is that it?" "Not quite," Karl replied, chuckling again. "It's a bit more complicated than that." Orlando snorted. "Somehow I'm not surprised. So?" "Enough questions for now." Karl's voice was still low, still intimate, but the tone was firm. Orlando knew he'd be getting no more answers tonight. "Come up here and give me a kiss," Karl told him. "It's dawn soon, and I would have you again, trembling, shouting your love for me, before morning." Well, hell, faced with an offer like that...Orlando's lips were on his before the last word. Once again, talking could wait. |