Chapter
16: Wants and Needs
“Van,
what’s up with you, man? You’ve been pacing ever since we got back,” Deaq
observed when he realized that his partner was still walking back and forth in
the show room, his head down, his eyes focused on the floor.
“What?”
Van replied, hearing only bits and pieces of what Deaq said. He shot him a
glance and added, “Could you repeat that?”
“Van,
something’s up. What is it?” Deaq answered, looking at him directly.
Van
waved a hand up in the air trying to tell him it was nothing, but there was
something bothering him: Sara and her boyfriend. She was too good to be
connected with a hired hit man. For crying out loud, she was a cop! How that
relationship was even possible baffled Van, which was why he continued pacing
until Deaq stood up and finally stopped him.
“What’s
bothering you, Van? Gallo? Sara? Ian? A combination of the three?”
“Sara
and Ian, alright?” Van finally snapped. “How could she possibly like him, or
even be dating him for that matter? He’s a hit man! He kills people for a
living! What is she doing with him?”
“The
girl’s probably fallen deep for him,” Deaq reasonably concluded.
“But
that’s the thing, she doesn’t love him. She told me so herself!” Van shot
back.
“What
if she does and she’s afraid to admit it? Did you ever think about it that
way?”
“No,
Sara’s still hung up over another guy who was killed, and is blaming herself
for his death,” Van said aloud, but soon thought, ‘because he skewered
himself on her mythical weapon.’
“You
know what I’m thinking? I’m thinking you have a thing for her,” Deaq
assumed, watching Van as his face turned a shade of pink brighter. “You have a
thing for her!”
“It’s
not a thing,” Van protested, even though his feelings were telling him
otherwise.
“Yes
it is.”
“No
it isn’t.”
“Yes
it is.”
“No
it isn’t.”
“Yes
it is!”
“If
I told you it was a thing, would you shut up?” Van asked, finally stopping the
stupid volley.
“I
knew you had a thing for her ever since she walked in here Friday,” Deaq
replied, finishing his thought before he even got a chance to say anything.
“Okay,
maybe I did, but that won’t change the fact that she’s with Ian,” Van
said, feeling defeated as he slumped down into one of the theater seats that
looked out over the entire first floor of the Candy Store.
“No,
it wouldn’t. Maybe you’re better off at a distance. I don’t think Billie
would like you two dating, seeing what happened between me and Alexa,” Deaq
answered, sitting down beside his partner and instantly feeling his pain.
“I’m
sorry about Alexa. I didn’t know
“Yeah,
well, if Sara gets a vision about her own death, you’d better listen to her.
She saved your ass; maybe you’ll be able to save hers, unlike me.”
They
sat together in silence for a long time, each one thinking about what had
happened ever since they started their jobs at the Candy Store. Nothing was
routine anymore, nothing was ordinary either. Van stood up and sighed.
“I’m
going home. I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said, making his way towards the
door.
“Yeah,
see you tomorrow,” Deaq called.
Van
took his time walking to his car, thinking about what he would do that night.
Drinking was definitely out of the question, so was clubbing. The last thing he
needed was someone to see him and rat him out to Gallo. He decided on heading
back to his apartment and sleeping for once. As he drove into the lot at the
side of the apartment building, Van could see Ian exiting Sara’s apartment and
turning to kiss her goodnight. He shook his head and let it fall onto the
steering wheel as he sighed in frustration.
Once
Ian had left the parking lot, Van exited his car and headed to his place for
another sleepless night wondering why Sara would want to date a hit man. He
would never figure her out, and the same was true for the Witchblade.
*~*~*
Sara
awoke the next morning to the scent of coffee and food floating in the air.
‘Ian,’ she thought with a smile. She ambled out of bed, grabbing the robe
she had set out at its edge the night before and wrapped it around her as she
walked into the dining room.
“I
take it you found your way in already. I should have…” her voice trailed off
as her mouth flew open. Standing over the stove she found Ian clad in his usual
assassin outfit of plain black, wearing a white granny apron with a ruffled
fringe. Quickly recovering, Sara finished her sentence, “known.”
She
walked over to the table while Ian scurried to put her chair out for. As she sat
down, she flicked a ruffle and grinned, “Where did you get that? It’s so
becoming of you.”
Noticing
he still had on the apron, Ian turned a deep shade of candy apple red. “I
found it by the door of the kitchen when I left the mansion. I didn’t want to
ruin this outfit yet. It would be unprofessional to show up at Gallo’s hotel
in a dirty outfit,” he explained as he slipped out of the offending article.
Ian poured her a cup of coffee and dished her a plate full of eggs, bacon, and
two slices of toast, setting it in front of her.
“Thank
you, Ian,” Sara replied as he backed away to grab his own plate. “This is so
sweet of you.”
Ian looked
at her and grinned as he said, “You’re welcome. This is to thank you for the
lessons last night.”
Sara
blushed, remembering quite clearly the events of the previous night. It had been
an unexpected and welcomed lip lock that kept her awake the entire night, making
her realize that this wasn’t the way she wanted to continue to tease him. Sara
knew she had Ian in the palm of her hand, but taking it to this level was
something she couldn’t do especially if their relationship wasn’t a real
one.
“About
that, Ian… I decided I was gonna tell the guys we were no longer an item, but
we were still friend who had… extracurricular activities at night,” she
said, trying to convince herself that this was for his own good, if not for hers
also. “It would take the pressure off you and explain why I’m still seeing
you so often.”
Ian looked
at her a little puzzled as she continued to explain, “I’m telling them that
we’re gonna stay friends by have sex often. It would explain you being at my
apartment at all hours of the night.”
“Oh,
okay,” Ian replied as he looked down at his plate, a little disappointed and
furious as he picked at his food. Sara stayed quiet, not sure of what to say
next.
They
stared at each other for a tense few minutes before Ian stood from the table and
made his way to Sara’s side, grabbing her wrists and pulling her off her seat
as he swung her around so that their eyes met. In the midst of her twist,
Sara’s robe had spilled open exposing the matching pair of lace undergarments
beneath.
Ian was
unable to take it any longer. He pulled Sara closer to him, his right arm
encircling her waist as his other hand found its way to her hips. His lips
descended to hers in desperation, but soon relaxed as his confidence grew. He
traced the lines of her lips with his tongue encouraging her to open her mouth.
Feeling the feather light touch of his tongue, Sara moaned into his mouth and
his tongue slipped in to wrestle with hers.
Ian’s
hand slowly explored upward and found the clasp of her lacy black bra and
released it, letting her breasts fall free. Dropping the unwanted undergarment,
he reached up and cupped one in his hand, testing how well it fit into his palm.
Ian slid his hand to the side as his thumb and forefinger found Sara’s nipple
and worked a tender assault upon it. His mouth released hers and descended down
her chin, past her neck, and to her chest, leaving tiny, feather light kisses in
its wake. Ian found her nipple and gently swirled his tongue around it, savoring
the taste of her soft, bare flesh.
As his
mouth made its way over to her other breast to bestow upon it the same mercies
as the first, Ian’s hand dipped down into the waistband of her lacy black
panties and softly rubbed the triangle of curls beneath it. Sliding even lower,
he found the opening of Sara’s lower lips. Her legs parted, allowing him to
enter as her hips thrust at him, pushing her tiny bud into his hand and groaning
with pleasure.
The sound
startled Ian back into reality. He jerked his hand out of Sara’s panties,
pulling them down in the process and releasing her completely. He yanked the
robe shut, not wanting anymore temptation from the woman he wanted and loved.
Ian fell to the floor at her feet and cried, “My Lady, I have let you down.”
Sara
quickly realized what had just happened and blinked several times before getting
her bearings. She dropped to her knees beside him and gently took his face into
her hands. “Ian, no,” she whispered. “You haven’t let me down. If
anything, I’ve let you down.” He stared deep into her emerald green eyes,
puzzled. “I led you on when I knew I should have stopped this before it even
started. I’m so sorry.”
Ian took
her face in his hands and gently kissed her forehead. “Never, my Lady. You
could never let me down,” he replied. Sara wrapped her arms around him for a
tight hug, a smile on her face. She soon escaped his warm embrace when she
realized she needed to get to work before the boys got into any trouble.
Sara stood
up and ran into the bathroom, yelling over her shoulder, “I have to get ready
or I’m gonna be late for work. Just give me a minute and I’ll be right out
to help you with the dishes.”
As she ran
out of her bedroom in a black tank top and khaki
“Bye,” Ian called as Sara ran out the door towards her bike. She hopped on, not bothering to put on her helmet, and sped off.