Chapter Text
Hope was sleeping blissfully when something sparked against her senses. It was a harsh sensation. Like a hammer striking a nail. She bolted up right then was pulled back down. Her love, Daniel Gregori, launched himself over her and to the edge of their bed. It wasn’t really a bed. Daniel didn’t like high bed or mattresses. He kept rolling off the former and the latter didn’t feel good to him. What they slept on was essentially a pile of furs and quilts. It had taken some getting used to but Hope had found some of her best sleep on piles like this with Daniel.
“Sweetheart, nothing’s here.” Hope yawned. Daniel, gloriously naked studied their room with his sword out and eyes glowing fiercely. In the dark, something that hasn’t bothered Hope for a long time, Daniel cut a terrifying figure. Well, more attractive perhaps, but the last idiot who broke into their house while their were sleeping got his throat ripped out by a naked Daniel. Hope thought it was one hell of a sight to die to.
“Someone breached the school’s wards.” he said. His sword, the blood red blade of his family, shimmered with an ethereal light. He once had another blade, seemingly regular but anything made by Daniel and his father was far from it. It had broken years ago. He never made another.
“I know.” Hope said, “I’m linked to it as well.” The two of them had moved a lot in their lives. The last ten years, six of which, both had carved their way through Europe and Eastern Asia. She had experience the life Daniel had lived for the majority of his life. Once both of them achieved a measure of safety, they settled in England. Starting another branch of the Salvatore School in the highlands of Scotland. They basically built a modern Hogwarts except it had wifi and the kind of arcane defenses that would have repulsed the Dark Lord with ease.
“Remind me why becoming school teachers was a good idea?” Daniel asked. Hope chuckled as he padded back into bed with her. It had not been her preferred career choice either but both of them couldn’t return to America and neither of them wanted to settle in the land of Daniel’s ancestors. Scandinavia had been a consideration but the Mage City of Drontheim wouldn’t allow Daniel in. Apparently, any child of the Dark Smith, adopted or otherwise would never be allowed in.
“Its a quiet job and we get the weekends off. Plus with the children off with their grandfather, we have the whole place to ourselves.” Daniel grinned at her. Neither of them had planned for children. Which wasn’t really a surprise to Hope. They never had been remarkably careful and with the amount of sex they have it was more of a surprise that Hope didn’t get pregnant earlier.
“I fear what they’ll learn under that cranky old Fae.” Hope had met the Dark Smith several time and liked him immensely. He was indeed cranky and old but he was remarkably kind to those he cared about. He was also a sly bastard and all who stood against him were quick to suffer and die. Aside from her own family, there was no place safer for their children than the castle of the Dark Smith.
“Can it be worse than what you learned?” Hope shifted as Daniel laid down next to her. He froze; his back an inch from the blanket. His eyes held a terrified light in them. Hope cracked up as she settled against him. She welcomed the warmth of his body again. His arm wrapped around her and Hope sighed. Out of all the things she expected out of her life, Hope didn’t expect motherhood nor a married life that was borderline idyllic.
“Who broke the ward?” Hope asked quietly. Magic brushed by her, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. It also made her burn. The magic faded and Hope followed it. She ended up draped over his chest looking into his scarlet eyes.
“Cameron is in the garden again.” Hope shook her head. The druid kid was a pain in her ass. Still it didn’t distract her from the fact that her husband was looking at her with that particular heat in his gaze. She nipped at his chin and the rumble in his chest made her smile. Hope sat up, straddling him. She ran her hands up the rough and scarred skin of his chest before burying her fingers into his soft hair. Leaning down, Hope kissed him gently. The barest taste of him on her lips did more to turn her on than him though Daniel seemed to share her lust.
“It’s the weekend.” His voice dropped into a deeper register. One full of power and intent. He’d lost the layered voice when he came into both parts of his lineage. Now it was a regular bass voice that seemed odd out of such a lean body but Hope loved it and when he decided to let it sink into what it was now, it made her glad they were already naked and she didn’t have to drag him off to an empty office for some quick fun.
“Yes?” She asked leaning forward just a bit. His eyes flicked down to her chest and his lips split into a sharp smile. Full of fang and danger.
“The kids won’t be home till tomorrow night.” His hands trailed a path of heat and magic over her skin. She pressed her core against him arching her back. She needed more. More of him and his touch. His hands split, one continuing upward to toy with her breasts while the other dipped down to her center and touched her. Hope jerked as he played with her. Pleasure curled through her, winding tighter and tighter between her legs. A moan echoed through their room and Hope realized it was hers. Daniel remained silent as he brought her closer to the edge. His magic scorched through her, igniting every nerve and causing her to writhe on top of him.
“Oh god.” Hope gasped as his fingers dipped inside her while his thumb continued to play with her clit. She put a hand over his as it tugged and twisted her nipples. She tried to return the favor but the magic wound around her and bound her to immobility. She fought against it, even going so far as to use her own magic. The cold snap of her magic met the inferno of Daniel’s. The room around them lit up as blue fire met red lightning.
Hope climaxed in a maelstrom of magic and passion. Daniel didn’t stop. He continued pushing farther until she’d shattered at least two more times. She collapsed on his chest and let out a long sigh. She was blissfully floating through the aftershocks when she was suddenly moved. Gravity forgot to work and she spun in the air until her back it the furs. Daniel loomed over her. His eyes were two rings of burning blood in the deepest black.
“Good Morning, my Heart.” He said. Hope smiled and kissed him. Magic, male and hers. She wound her arms around him as they made out. His length sat against her stomach and just the sensation of it against her brought a moan out of her. Daniel chuckled as he kissed down her throat.
“Mm, you’re taking your time.” Hope groaned as she arced her back. Sharp point of pain scrapped over her skin. It was the best kind of torture; teasing her like he did. He took one of her peaks into his mouth and she sighed. Some part of her mind mocked some of the mothers that came around the school to pick up or drop of students at the school that complained about their marriages. Daniel moved down her stomach. His tongue touched her core and Hope jerked. All thought melted away as pure ecstasy bombarded her. It took him no time at all to throw her through a climax, then another. After the third, Hope dragged him up. He smiled at her and if she had the presence of mind to think, she would have tried to slap that smug grin of his face but she couldn’t seem to move her body among the post orgasmic tremors. He kissed her with the taste of her on his tongue and pulled back.
“Breakfast?”
Hope stalked down the stairs in a oversized sweatshirt. She was angry. Clean but angry. Daniel had left her in the bed before she’d come down and vanished. She had been in the shower when she smelled cooking meat. She found him making bacon and eggs naked with the dawning rays painting his skin a golden bronze. He moved with a kind of grace usually found in apex predators and the loose pair of sweats did little to hide his erection. She felt him watch her as she came down the stairs. He didn’t do it overtly or even with his eyes but Hope felt it. His Beast was awake and watching her.
There had been some concern when she first got pregnant with the twins if they’d inherit their father’s Beast but both Kain, the King of Beasts and Josie, confirmed that the children would not be Beasts. Kain had settled down as much as he could with Penelope with all people. Hope didn’t really understand that one but they were happy so she didn’t question it while Josie married Susanna, a Spanish witch, who was one of the few people on this planet that had a Beast inside them, and they worked at the Salvatore School in Mystic Falls and the five kids between those two families didn’t show a single hint of a Beast manifesting in the children. Her own children definitely had Daniel’s magic and her temperament but no sign of an extradimentional terror.
“Enjoy yourself?” He asked as Hope walked up to him and grabbed him by the dick. A savage sound born of something beyond this realm and over two decade of being borderline feral. His eyes flashed with a dangerous light as the black returned, devouring the white. It lasted only a moment before turning into a low, curious growl as Hope stroked him; feeling the soft skin over the engorged length of steel.
“If you don’t fuck me right now, Daniel Sigurd Gregori, I will bury under the oak out back.” Daniel looked at her for half a second, the shock on his face, a delicious treat before he bared his fangs to the ceiling and laughed. She was about to reiterate her threat when he moved. It was a blindingly quick sequence of actions. He picked her up, set on the counter and entered her with brutal speed while sinking his teeth into her neck.
Bliss tore through her and she came with ragged growl. His magic sparked and her snapped out like a whip, binding them together on a level deeper than physical. He pulled back slowly, leaving her achingly empty than began moving. He built up a punishing rhythm as quickly as he could and left Hope gasping for breath. Her nails raked down his back. She squirmed and writhed in his arms as he held her still enough for him to have his way with her. Daniel pulled his fangs out of her neck and kissed her. The taste of blood mixed with the pain of his teeth cutting her lips swirled into an intoxicating. There was a brief thought that pushed through the assaulting pleasure. Did she like pain?
“That would be my fault.” Daniel whispered in her ear as he bent his knees a bit and drove up into at a new angle, causing her thoughts to scatter for a moment. They reformed to the sound of him letting out a grunting laugh. He was in an awkward position but Hope couldn’t find a care in her body. He was right where he belonged.
“Mea...meaning?” She managed. The heat and magic were pooling in her core, growing with every stroke inside her body. He slowed, drawing a groan out of her. He chuckled and came to a stop buried as deep in her as he could get forcing a pleased sigh out of her.
“When we mated, we took on qualities from each other. I can now shift closer to my Beast than before and you can now wield Old Magic without thought. However a bit more bleed through the connection. I now have an undeniable taste for cake.” Hope laughed. Daniel had no taste for deserts. Now that he mentioned it, he has eaten more deserts since they settled and she had a chance to start baking again.
“And what do I get?” Daniel cupped her face in his hands and kissed her gently. She followed it as he pulled back and took a few more tastes of him before she allowed him to fully retreat.
“A strange love/hate relationship with pain. You don’t like it though I believe everyone has that but you now have my tolerance for it. It makes you feel weird about it.”
“Weird how?” Daniel smiled at her and placed his index finger in the valley between her breast. She looked at him. It was a nice start but she didn’t feel any pain. Just wound up and he still wasn’t moving. Hope began rocking her hips in an attempt to get some motion but Daniel’s other hand held her completely still. Red burst from his skin and sheathed his hand in a clawed gauntlet before turning into a strange silvery white color. He dragged his finger down, drawing a sharp like of pain and Hope clenched as her whole body responded.
“You only react when you are in the throes of lust so I may have accidentally made you a masochist but I’m not sure.” Hope gripped his hair and wrenched his head back. She bit down on his shoulder as she came. She hadn’t meant to. Hope just kind of came undone and she didn’t want to scream in his face. Daniel snarled and his body went rigid. She felt him spasm and empty inside her. Their magic shared the pleasure between them, prolonging their shared orgasm. There was several moment where they just breathed, drinking in the other’s scent and letting it soothe them.
“Throes of lust?” She asked, “You know you can just say horny.” Daniel lifted his head from the crook of her neck and just looked at her.
“That word is pathetic. Seriously when did lust or passion start getting described as a body part humans don’t even have?” Hope just laughed. Daniel snapped his fangs at her in mock anger. She shook her head and pulled the sweatshirt off. Daniel’s eyes widened. Well, his irises thinned since the whites were still black. A rush of womanly satisfaction pulsed through her. A decade and two pregnancies and Daniel still looked at her like she was the most beautiful woman he’s ever laid eyes on. The small part of her brain that led all her insecurities nagged that it wasn’t true. She’d seen some of the beings he associates with and their beauty could crack stone. She stuffed that little voice back into its corner. Daniel loved her. She felt it, saw it and nothing anyone could do would change that.
“The kids won’t be home till tomorrow night.” Daniel’s eyes narrowed and a smile stretched across his lips. It was full and gave him a predatory tilt to his face. She tapped at his chest. He took a step back, sliding out of her. The ache that accompanied the emptiness wouldn’t last long. Hope had plans. She slid of the counter and struck. It helped that he stepped to her. Gave her the perfect leverage to throw him over her shoulder. He landed with a grunt and Hope settled over him.
“You and I are going to make up for lost time till they come home.” Daniel thought it over and in the middle of his thought process, his hands snaked out and Hope gasped as he filled her again. She rode him as he thought about it. She placed her hands on his chest and dropped down on him harder.
“I often wonder at your sex drive, Hope.” Daniel said offhandedly. She arched an eye brow at him.
“You think about how often we have sex?” Daniel expression turned wicked and his fingers found her clit. She growled. He grabbed a tit and pawed it roughly. He planted his feet and started jackhammering into her. She tried very hard to keep her thoughts during that but it was a challenge. He kept it up until she came then slowed to let her recover.
“I think more about us having sex that the regularity it happens.” Hope dug her fingers into his chest. She didn’t answer. Hope glared down at her husband. He smirked at her. Oh, so he wanted to play. Hope said a word and Daniel’s eyes burned brighter. There he was hers to play with. She took her time. Riding him for more his pleasure than hers. The sensation of his length inside her and the look on his face as he strained against her spell. He’d be angry with her later. He had a violent dislike of being bound. It was something they had to play around in the bed room. He allowed a certain degree of it and she couldn’t completely immobilize him. If she did, Daniel would tear the house apart trying to get free. They had a small home in France that was still smoking after the time Hope tried it and he hadn’t talked to her for a month after he blasted the home to rubble. She knew his boundaries and respected them. Didn’t mean she wasn’t going to have fun.
“You talk to much.” Hope smiled and neither spoke for the next several hours as they communicated purely through touch and magic.
Hope was sitting in the living room, nursing a cup of mocha when her children burst through the door. Hayley and Loan dashed about, speaking too fast for her to follow before converging on her. The twins had her hair and eyes but Daniel’s face and fangs. It was actually adorable to watch them with their father. Barely anything was said but there was a great deal of hissing and snarling at each other in good nature.
“Mama, Mama, Grandpa made us a metal dog.” She was far to sore for this and the last three hours, Daniel had taken his revenge in the shower. She could barely put a coherent thought together in her head let alone deal with the excited balls of magic and craziness that were her children. Daniel swept into the living room, carrying Erra in his arms. Barely over one years old, their youngest daughter was already speaking in complete sentences and was a terrorist of the highest level when it came to cookies. He took half a second to witness her trying to calm them down before shooing them out with a smug grin. He set Erra down and she padded after her siblings with deft quickness.
“Did I live up to expectations?” he asked. Hope flipped him off and he laughed. Daniel walked over to her and kissed her. It was a long, slow kiss full of passion and love. They broke apart and Hope sighed.
“You need to go make sure that your father didn’t give our children a death machine.” Hope did not want to deal with that. There were enough artifacts forged by the Dark Smith around the house already and she didn’t need another heart attack waiting to happen within these walls. Daniel chuckled and kissed her forehead.
“I love you, Hope.” He said as he moved away. Hope caught his arm and pulled his back for another kiss.
“I love you too, Daniel.”