You're my safe haven (Stryker and Walker)

John and Hecate had gathered up as much weapons and ammo that they could bare to carry and were almost back to the camp of the guards and soldiers, just down one last corridor, when the first shouts came there way from the scouts who were manning the barricade that spanned the width of the corridor over to the end,

"Seems they recognise you..." he teased Hecate a little bit before frowning a little bit when more guards appeared on the barricade with guns, "I'm pretty sure they should all be out of ammo by now but I really don't want to have to risk it... best we call out."

Waving a hand over his head, he called out to the people on the barricade,

"Hello the camp!" he called out, "It's me, John Stryker! Me and Miss Walker here bumped into each other and she's been a really great help to me, and us, in helping me gather these supplies for us. Can we come in?"

There was muttering for a few moments before one of the guards, that John recognised as having once been in charge of solitary, moved closer with two armed guards flanking him. He paused in front of John before almost flinching when he spotted Hecate,

"You did good Stryker. Better than we'd thought by a long way." he told the soldier, causing John to seethe at being so casually dismissed by some prison guard. But he took solice in the fact that all three guards were eyeing Hecate with concern and large amounts of fear. Smirking a little bit, John just stood there. In the end the head of solitary, a man who had seen Hecate Walker more than anyone else, swallowed thickly and took a few steps back from her, "And what are your intentions Miss Walker? Are you peaceful?"

Hecate's eyes surveyed the corridor with a coldness, she had been keeping her eyes and ears open so that she could be alert if they did need to fight any more of the zombies which she did actually but there weren't many and they didn't encounter any more of the infected that seemed to multiply for no apparent reason, she thought she had managed to kill most of them around here weeks ago.

As soon as they approached the barriers, Hecate couldn't help but let her lips turn into a smirk, they really didn't know what to do when they saw that it was her coming towards them. The guns troubled her, but only because there was two of them, if she took out one of them she would surely be shot by the other, so, Hecate merely stayed quiet and didn't act.

Recognising the officer who came out, as the officer in charge of her solitary confinement unit, Hecate's eyes sparkled with mischevious glee, he knew her well enough not to offend and be polite even if she was on his territory she was pretty sure that she could give the man a run for his money. Possibly even topping him right here and now if he was a problem.

His fear was rather intoxicating to her and she allowed a slow, serpentine smile to appear on her lips;

"As long as John fucks me in an acceptable manner, I shall be quite docile there is no need to worry." she stated with that same smile "Besides, you know you only need fear me, if you have done something wrong, have you done something wrong, Officer?" Hecate asked with a devilish grin.

Slipping her hands into her short pockets she sighed; "Either you let me in or I take back my ammunition, this is the deal me and John agreed upon, so, it is your choice in the end."

John got the distinct impression that Hecate was going to get along with the boys from the prison guards in a way that he had never seen anyone get along with before. He chuckled a little bit at the reactions of the prison guards. Thankfully he had spent enough time with her to figure out what she was like, in the most general of terms of course.

And then she spoke.

The guards all gasped in shock and backed away from the both of them, looking between Stryker and Walker quickly. John himself spluttered rather indignantly before he paused for a second and took the time to give her another once over. Well... he wasn't actually against that in the slightest,

"No pressure there at all I see? It's a good thing I want some release just as much as you do my lil' darling!" he teased her with a wink while the guards looked a mixture between angry and flustered, almost like they were jealous of him. Smirking a little bit, he nodded a little bit, "You know... I think he might have done. If memory recalls he has a thing for the sauce."

The prison officer growled in annoyance at John before Hecate mentioned the ammunition. His eyes widened and he thought for only a second before nodding and nodding to let the other two guards take the ammo. John motioned for Hecate to allow this. The officer nodded before pausing as he turned to go back,

"You two can come in but Stryker..." he paused before saying, slowly, "Make sure you fuck her in an acceptable manner."

John smirked a little bit as the officer walked away before turning to Hecate,

"I suppose that means we can come in." he noted with amusement before pausing, "So... how much is an acceptable manner?"

Hecate couldn't stop herself from smirking happily at the expression on all of the people's faces when they heard what she said, she was still a woman after all she was just a rather blunt woman when it came to expressing what she wanted in life. Right now she wanted to have sex and none of the other people seemed to be able to appeal to her...they all seemed very unattractive.

Blinking when she heard Stryker call her 'lil darling' Hecate raised her eyebrows and shouldered her gun that she had decided to keep with her, shifting it so that it was resting on her shoulder better than it was before. When they were permitted inside she began to stalk her way into the confines of their little camp, but not before she turned to him and rather blankly stated;

"Don't call me lil darling, we aren't in Texas Stryker." Hecate stated, as she wandered inside.

As she heard that her former guard had done something wrong, Hecate stopped and she turned on her heel, the leather of her boots creaking a little as she did so. That same rather wicked grin was placed on her lips, she would have to do a little digging about this it seemed, and it would be fun to send her former punisher to his own punishment in Hell.

"Oh really?" she asked, silkily "I shall look forwards to finding out more about that, I hope I like what I find otherwise...you know what's going to happen."

When she heard John talking to her about what was acceptable, Hecate turned and looked at him with a soft burning in her golden eyes, before her lips quirked into a little smile and she asked quietly; "The manner in which our unions will take place is private, and I want to be away from prying ears and eyes when we discuss it, so, where do you suggest we go?"

Stryker sweat dropped a little bit when she instructed him to not call her lil darling. To be honest he had just been trying it on for size but that wasn't too bad a reaction if he was honest. Chuckling a little bit, he nodded in agreement though. It wasn't the best for her, he was sure that he could find one much better for her and she would accept it with open arms. Perhaps a more personalised nickname would be in order?

Or maybe she just didn't like nicknames at all?

"True enough my little goddess." he teased her a little bit as he followed her inside before humming a little bit to himself, "Or does that one not feel right either? Mmm I'm just trying to see what kind of nickname you would prefer. A term of endearment of course Hecate."

The prison guard officer shuddered ahead of them, having apparently heard what Hecate had said, before shuffling along away from them much faster. It was obvious that the officer had something to hide and John was looking forward to Hecate finding out what it was. He had never liked the smug little prick and it wouldn't surprise him if he did do something that warrant Hecate's brand of justice,

"I hope you find something on him." John told her with a small scowl, "That prick was always smuggling in alcohol and drugs to the prisoners. Because he was an officer he was untouchable though... not anymore though, right?"

Seeing the soft burning in her eyes, John licked his lips a little bit in nervousness before directing her over to the cell that he had taken over to be his room. It was actually rather homely, with some posters from his old room in the barracks (before it had to be abandoned). And the sheets and matress were both a lot better too,

"Well here's my room." he told her as they both entered, before closing and locking the door, an addition since the outbreak. It used to be a solitary cell so it was a solid door so no sound would escape and no one could come in now that the door locked from the inside. He sat down on the edge of the bed, "So I'll ask again... what is acceptable for you Hecate? Assuming you wish to start now and not wait of course..."

Hecate, now in the room that she was going to have sex with John looked around it and found it to be quite sweet, it was rather homely for a prison cell, she didn't have a lot of things in her cell but then again that was the way she had liked it. There had been plenty of guards who would have slipped her some posters or something like that if she had asked, but, she hadn't, such things never interested her really.

Standing in the center of the room, Hecate's eyes widened a little when she heard what John said, he was looking for a term of endearment for her? A term...of endearment? Hecate didn't think she had ever had a term of endearment, not even when she was a child. Maybe her father had tried to call her something sweet before she killed him, Hecate didn't really remember it was all fuzzy because of the drugs...

"A term of...endearment?" she asked softly, her voice was quiet as she mulled over the idea, before her eyes hardened a little and she shook her head "No, Hecate will do just fine for the time being, such...trifles don't really interest me so don't trouble yourself."

Turning to John Hecate took a deep breath and for the first time in a while she felt...vulnerable. She was allowing someone to see her vulnerable and Hecate wasn't sure if she really liked it. Although she knew she needed to tell John this, they couldn't hope to proceed without him knowing it. Crossing her arms about her chest she leant against the wall nonchalantly.

"My perimeters are simple, and they are absolute. You are not to touch me anywhere above or below my torso without first telling me, and you are not to touch my torso or back under any circumstances...or I will kill you." Hecate stated simply "So, do you acknowledge this?"

John had no idea why but with her standing here he was more nervous than he ever had been before when it came to asking a woman back to his place. Perhaps it was because the woman had asked him? Or maybe because the woman in question could kill him without breaking a sweat? Either way, he had this unmistakeable feeling of being weighed, measured, and just generally judged. But he was hoping that her lack of disgusted expression meant that he was doing well to pass such judgement.

He couldn't be sure but she looked very... surprised, by his decision to try and find a term of endearment that fit her. He hoped that he was just over-reacting because he really didn't want to think about what it meant about her past if she was surprised by that,

"Yes... something friends and people close use." he told her, his concern growing when she just shut out the idea completely. He smiled faintly, "Well it's no trouble for me and they tend to make the person feel better so I'll keep trying to find one for you."

John could see that she wasn't exactly as confident or as cold as she had been outside of the cell. It was like she was stripping away her emotional armour before she could let him in. When she told him the perimeters his eyes widened a little bit. Surely she couldn't be serious? How was he to make love to her if he wasn't allowed to touch much of her body? But that wasn't the most distressing part. The most distressing part, potentially, was why she felt the need for such rules,

"I acknowledge this and accept this but..." he paused for a moment, looking down at the ground for a moment, "If you ever want to explain the reasons behind the rule I'm here. I don't need to know them now, don't worry. Just... if you ever wanted to share."

Hecate blinked to herself and looked down at her leather boots. It was all strange to her being around people again, being around people and being free to do so without having to worry about them locking her in bars again, maybe she could even redeem herself of her prior deeds before she had been put in here. Although...it would be much easier to form another identity for herself now that all of this had happened, people would think she was dead, or, undead.

What took her by surprise was the fact that John was thinking of a term of endearment for her, because he thought that she was his friend, or that she was close to him. Hecate hadn't been close to anyone...not that close anyway, even her father had been cool and more than a little twisted towards her.

"I wouldn't know if it made someone feel better." she stated with a small frown "I suppose, if you want to that badly you can continue thinking of one, although I really don't much care." Hecate shrugged slightly and ran her hands through her hair.

Seeing his eyes widen, made Hecate a little ashamed of herself to be honest. How stupid could she be to think that she would be able to have any sort of normal physical relationship when she was so fucked up inside, and on the outside? Frowning again she moved away from the wall and walked towards the door. She shouldn't have thought that was even possible, or someone would even want that with her.

"I do not want to explain. I will not want to explain. If you expect that you are going to be sorely disappointed. I apologise I realise how...odd this must be, please forget that part of our deal. I was incorrect in my assessment of my wants." Hecate stated quietly, facing the door.

Now John was beginning to get really rather concerned. How could it be that she was unable to see what terms of endearment did for people? Was it really that bad that she didn't even know what terms of endearment were supposed to inspire in people? Apparently it was and he was disgusted that she needed to learn something so simple to him.

For some reason this just made him more determine to find a term of endearment that would suit her as well as it could. He wanted her to experience the little glow you got when people referred to you as a nickname, something that close and personal friends gave to you and imbued with meaning that was unique to you. She needed one because he was her friend and he wanted to give her that glow,

"Well before long you'll be able to tell first hand how it makes someone feel better." he told her with a little grin, "Don't you worry one jot Hecate, I'll find the best nickname/term of endearment for you and you'll love it and cherish it I know."

When she made towards the door, so dejected and so very sad, he couldn't bare to let her wander out like that. He would cheer her up at least back up to her regular self. In the end what he did was he moved faster than her and blocked the door with his body. Reaching out slowly with his hand, he gently stroked one of her soft cheeks,

"You don't have to explain it to me - It's alright." he assured her happily before cupping her cheek gently with one hand, stroking it with his thumb, "I still want to keep our deal but I also want to help you when you're like this... I want to protect you completely after a... I want you to be comfortable and safe around me."

Hecate blinked a little bit, why did John even care? The man barely knew her and her heard all of those things from the guards and the news, maybe he could even tell for himself now just how fucked up she was. She had only really been this bad since she had been abused again and again in prison, before she was here it wasn't so bad but...to tell someone not to touch you felt so odd, so glacial she was surprised he hadn't called their deal off.

Although...she was excited to find out what this term of endearment might be, did it really do all the things that he said that it could do? It seemed odd that a name could do so much for someone, it seemed silly when she thought about it.

"Alright then..." she stated "If you insist..." almost a little wary of John and his intent now, he was being so nice to her, too nice, she wondered why.

As John slid in front of the door, Hecate began to panic a little bit, he was blocking her exit path, immediately she began to calculate what she would need to do to dispose of him if he tried to do anything to her, her knife was still sheathed on her leg and the gun on the other side of the room. Hecate could see his hand coming closer and she blinked, looking cautiously at it, her golden eyes were wide and shimmering as she felt her jaw tighten in apprehension.

Feeling him touch her cheek she clenched her jaw tighter and closed her eyes, her body locked slightly and she didn't know why she just didn't kick him, get him out of the way, stop him from doing this. But she wanted to be touched, deep deep down, Hecate wanted him to do this.

"Can...can you stop that?" Hecate asked quietly, her eyes opened again and they were blazing with a fearful expression, backing away slowly she touched her cheek "You...you didn't tell me, I, I told you to..."

John wasn't even sure why he cared so much, all he knew was that he did care and he cared a heck of a lot more about her than he did about any of the inmates or guards here. He knew that for definite. But he wasn't sure why he knew that was certain, especially not why he knew it so strongly, so passionately that there was no shaking it. He wanted to help her to heal from what he could tell were serious 'injuries' to his mind and feeling of self.

He smiled a little bit when she relented. It wasn't quite what he had been hoping for (where she asked him to make one for her because she wanted him to see her that way) but it was definitely enough for him to make one up for her,

"I do insist." he teased her with a wink before grinning a little bit, "Don't worry, I'll try not to make it too corny or anything like that."

The panic in her eyes was clear but he was going to show her that he meant her no harm and he was going to do it his own way. He was very aware that his touching her cheek was "against the rules" so to speak but he just wanted her to know that he was there for her. He was very glad that she hadn't taken his hand off at the wrist for daring to touch her against her wishes. When she asked him to stop he nodded a little bit and carefully moved his hand back from her,

"Alright Hecate... I'll stop it." he agreed quietly before smiled to her reassuringly, "I'll make sure to tell you next time I do it alright?"

He paused for a moment before gesturing back towards the bed and gently, without touching her, leading her to sit down on it with him. Sitting down on the bed next to her, he smiled a little bit before holding out his hand for her to take,

"May I hold you hand?" he asked her quietly before pausing again and speaking, "I just wanted you to know that I'm here for you. I know it might not make much sense but... if you need any help against the guards I'm with you. If you feel the need to leave; I'll leave with you. I don't know how to explain it but... I'm not leaving you. Is that alright by you?"

Hecate didn't know what to say, now that John had touched her and she hadn't been hurt by it she wanted to be able to do more with him, although she no longer felt like having sex she could do other things. Perhaps that would be best, to get them both used to something like this, after all Hecate hadn't been in a relationship before she had come to the prison, or while she was 'working'.

When he said that he would make sure to tell her next time he wanted to touch her, Hecate's tense body relaxed slightly, even if it was ever so slightly and she nodded at him with a little smile on her lips. She appreciated the fact that he could understand why she was so tense about the touching, even if he wasn't going to question it, like she knew he wanted to. Hearing that he wanted to hold her hand, Hecate blinked, but nodded slowly and languidly placed her hand in his own.

"I would not ask you to do something like that, but thank you, Stryker." she stated with her smile turning into a little bit of a smirk "You know, I like you, I'm glad I didn't kill you."

With that she wandered a little closer to him and paused, before allowing her hands to gently touch his chest, through his clothes, he was warm and it made her eyes glitter happily. To touch someone, willingly and enjoy it was a novel experience to her and Hecate wanted it to last. Softly her hands trailed up and down his chest, just enjoying gently touching him.

"You have a very nice body, you're very warm." Hecate commented softly "I like it."

Gently she raised her head and kissed John slowly on the lips, it was a passionate burning kiss, but one that smouldered instead of setting their lips alight at a fast pace, it set her desire running alongside his own at a seductively slow pace. Pulling away gently, Hecate locked her eyes with John's and felt her desire blossoming within her.

"May I...touch your skin? Please?" Hecate asked, looking a little nervous.

John wanted to believe that he was beginning to help her get over the mental blocks that she had in place when it came to touching but he wasn't sure how much he was actually succeeding in doing that. After all, she might just be saying that to get him off of her back or something like that. But he liked to think that she was liking it, enjoying it, because of what he was doing with her.

He could see that just telling her when he was going to touch her did wonders for the tenseness in her body, that unhealthy sensation that he knew was something that would hurt her in the long run. When she actually agreed and placed her delicate hand in his own he grinned a little bit. He had honestly expected her to reject the offer he had extended to her,

"It's not a problem for me to offer it at all Hecate." he assured her before chuckling a little bit and nodding, "Well seeing as I am rather enjoying being alive with you, I'm also glad that you didn't kill me."

When she gently touched his chest, through the clothes he was wearing, he smiled a little bit down at her hand before looking up to look her in the eyes. He wanted to know how much she was enjoying it because he wanted to make sure she loved it as much as possible. He smiled a little bit when she trailed her hand up and down his chest. He squirmed a little bit when she stroked his ribs a little bit,

"Sorry, it was ticklish." he explained to her before grinning a little bit, "Why thank you Hecate, I'm sure that you can explore it when you're ready to do so."

Kissing her soft, luxurious, lips, he moaned lightly in enjoyment. It really was nice to know that he was able to kiss such a beautiful woman. When she pulled away and she looked at him with those big, desire filled, eyes, he couldn't help but melt a little bit and nod,

"Of course you can." he agreed with her before slowly taking his shirt off to leave him bare-chested, "If this what you wanted?"

Hecate blinked a little bit when John wiggled under her touch she thought that it was rather odd, she didn't know why he had wiggled, she hoped that she hadn't done something that he had found unpleasant for him, that was the last thing she wanted. To be like those men who had done things to her that she didn't want and had found unpleasant.

Although...

When she found out that it was because he was tickling, Hecate let a slow rather mischevious smile appear on her lips and she swiftly took out one of her bandages from her pockets and tied up John's hands loosely, just while she was getting to know him she didn't trust him not to touch her involuntarily. She was ready to begin to have some fun.

"Don't worry I just...while I get to know you, just in case." she murmured softly into his ear as she gently let her eyes wander from his own to the bare chest that he had exposed to her "Yes I...it is."

Allowing herself to straddle his hips lightly, Hecate smirked happily and gently allowed her fingers to run across his chest, tracing his muscles as she gently tickled his ribs once more, before dipping her mouth to run her tongue along his navel, dipping into his bellybutton before moving downwards to his pant line.

Taking things slowly, to crank up his pleasure she moved back to his lips and placed her hands on his shoulders, softly kissing his lips, gently nibbling and sucking on his bottom one as she pulled away. Hecate's eyes gazed into John's and she felt her heart beat softly;

"Are you sure you want this with me?" she asked, tenderly, and her voice was tinged with her vulnerability.

John could tell that she had been confused, perhaps even afraid, about whether or not she had hurt him enough to make him wiggle. But as soon as he had told her that it was because he was ticklish he couldn't help but chuckle a little bit nervously. She was making it seem like he was going to regret telling her that, especially with that mischievous smile of hers in place.

But it seemed that he needn't have bothered worrying about that when she was going to tie him up like this instead. When she told him not to worry he nodded in understanding and relaxed a little bit, loosening his body up to better enjoy what she was going to start doing to hi. Or what he assumed she was going to do to him anyway,

"It's alright... I thought you'd just jumped straight to experimenting there with me for a moment." he teased her with a wink before smirking a little bit at her reaction to his naked chest, "Well I hope I live up to expectations."

When she straddled his hips his eyes widened a little bit in surprise. She was ready for such touching now? In the end though he just grinned a little bit and let her play around with him. Of course he wiggled and laughed a little bit when she tickled him like that. He moaned lightly at the way she kisses down from his navel to his trouser line.

Kissing her back softly, he moaned lightly when she nibbled and sucked at the bottom lip. Licking it after a few seconds, he nodded in agreement,

"Yes I'm very sure that I want this with you." he assured her before gently leaning forwards and giving her a little smile, "I've never been more sure of anything else in my life."

Hecate, as soon as she heard that she had John's reassurance, began to get to work like she would have normally, she didn't know what had come over her when she had first came in here. It might have been the atmosphere of the room, so homely and sweet, or it could have been John himself and how sweet her was to her, how understanding. Maybe it was a factor of the two. But this was definitely gearing up to be the best sex she had had, period.

*********

Half an hour later, Hecate lay panting softly on John's chest, he was so warm and so soft under her skin and she found herself remembering after a while that she had tied him up, she rather liked him like that as it meant that he wouldn't be able to touch her but...

But after that she felt like she should trust him, at least that little bit. It had felt like nothing she had ever felt before and so she thought maybe he was different to the rest of the men she had met in her life, he definitely seemed it and she wanted...she wanted it so badly to be true. Reaching her hand up she undid the bandage and let it drop to the floor.

"Thank you, John." Hecate whispered softly into his ear, displacing a few strands of hair as she did so "I hope that you enjoyed yourself."

Gazing into her eyes with her burning gold ones, Hecate wasn't sure what emotion this was she was feeling, maybe John would know, maybe it was something embarrassing that she wouldn't want to be told what it was. Hecate was sure that in time he would want her to be naked in front of him, but she had kept her tshirt on throughout their sex, she didn't want him to see her just yet, to ask her questions, to want to touch her in those...places.

"I guess...we should be going now." she stated with a little uncertain look as she climbed off his hips.

James had to admit that although neither of them had had much practice (what with it being the end of the world and all that), they had just spent an amazing time together that was definitely his best memories of ever having sex. He moaned a little bit as he sighed happily and enjoyed having her soft weight against his chest, resting on top of him.

Although she hadn't taken the bandages off during the sex, or her top for that matter, he couldn't help but feel like he had gotten to know her in such a deeply personal way. He wanted to be able to wrap his arms around her, to cuddle her to him, but he wasn't sure how she would react to that considering he wasn't supposed to touch her torso at all,

"Oh it was my pleasure Hecate." he assured her with a soft whisper of his own, kissing her gently on the upper neck before grinning a little bit, "Oh I loved it don't you worry about a thing. It was amazing and I loved every second of it."

Looking into her eyes, he shook his head a little bit when she said that she thought that they should have been sent along on their ways. That wasn't how it worked when they had spent such a lovely time together. Reaching up, he held her hand gently in his own before tugging her gently back down onto the bed, moving over and holding the covers open in invitation,

"We could just lay here and talk if you wanted to..."

Hecate blinked a little bit when she felt John kissing her, even on the areas she had told him to tell her if he was going to touch her there, and she realised that she didn't mind that at all. She didn't mind him kissing her there like that without having to ask her, it felt...almost normal and like him asking her would be very strange all of a sudden although it had been like that throughout their time together just then.

Hearing that he had loved it, Hecate looked up at his eyes, her own were a little confused and more than a little bit vulnerable, she had never had sex consentingly before, and it was definitely more amazing than she would have thought it would have been. It would be special to her for a long time that John was the one to share this with her, even if they were trapped in the middle of a zombie apocalypse.

"I'm glad, it was...it was nice for me as well." she stated with a little twitching smile, it was a big compliment from her and she hoped that John would find it acceptable that she had told him that, she wanted him to be happy with what he had done too, although he couldn't touch her, she had been pleasured none the less.

As she was tugged back onto the bed, Hecate gasped softly and looked into John's eyes, her own golden orbs were large and startled, although they were still molten from the pleasure that she had just received, normally she would be punching his lights out for grabbing her but...it was John. So Hecate merely regarded him with her wide eyes, warily watching him.

"Is that what...what we're supposed to do?" she asked with a soft whisper "That's never happened to me before, it...it might be nice." Hecate thought, whispering to herself more than anything "What do we talk about?"

John knew that he hadn't asked her permission to kiss her on the neck but it seemed that she didn't really mind all that much. It seemed that she had grown used to his touch a lot faster than he would have thought, something he was incredibly thankful for. He didn't want to have to keep asking her if it would be alright for him to hold her hand or just be close to her if she relaxed up on the "no touching" rule.

He could see it in her eyes; she had never had sex before. Of course her body hadn't been that of a virgin but he was almost positive that it hadn't been through choice. She just seemed to have the confidence of a recently deflowered virgin... but he supposed this was her virginity. You gave away your virginity after all and it was more than a physical thing,

"Well then I'm glad that we both liked it so much." he told her with a smile before thinking about all the ways that he could make the next time even better for her.

Perhaps tugging her towards the bed like that hadn't been the best of ideas considering how jumpy and skittish she was but in the end it worked rather well to bring her to him and she hadn't tried to kill him or kick him to the curb yet. He blinked a few times when she asked if that was what they were supposed to do after sex,

"Well... it just feels good to have a little bit of a cuddle after such a long day's work." he told her with a small wink before his smile dimmed slightly in concern, "To cuddle I have to wrap an arm around your waist... is that alright then?"

Hecate blinked a little bit, as she usually did, so unsure about most things when it came to interaction and most especially around sex. Closing her eyes she wanted to be able to make sure that she got everything right, she didn't want to continue her life the way it had been going, on her own, without having anyone or anything to rely on. Maybe she could learn to rely on John.

When she heard him saying that he had been having a long day at work, she gazed calmly up into his eyes attempting to assess if it was a joke, she didn't want him being with her to be like work, she wanted it to be as fun for him as it was for her. After a few beats she realised that he was joking, his wink made her twitch her lips up into a small smile.

"I think it was I who was doing most of the work." she stated with a little smirk playing on her lips "So I wouldn't look at me like that, if I were you."

Cuddling...this was something she had never done.

Hearing what it entailed made her open her mouth, taking in a small gasp of air, she wanted to be able to try this, but, her heart pounded relentlessly in her chest as her fear grew and grew. Hecate wasn't ready for him to touch her there just yet, not even her waist, she wasn't ready for it! But she wanted to experience this cuddling...what you were supposed to do after sex.

"Can you wrap it around my hips? I would find that more comfortable." she asked quietly shifting up a little in the bed so his head was going to lie on her chest and his arms would easily wrap around her hips, and placing a small blanket between her and John she looked down at him with her smouldering golden gaze, her eyes were tinted with a distrust, a fear "Okay...we can try it now."

He could tell that she wasn't used to his sense of humour just yet but she would no doubt get it soon enough, it wasn't like he was going to be subtle about it. He wanted her to laugh and he wanted her to enjoy being around him. And one of the best ways to do that was to make jokes that she would enjoy. Of course he had to change his material often so that she would know that it was fresh and she would laugh just as hard at the jokes each time. He had never heard her laugh properly and he was honestly looking forward to making her laugh like that,

"Mmm yeah I suppose you were going most of the work." he agreed with another teasing wink before he smirked a little bit and nodded, "Well maybe next time I could be on top? Who knows... whatever you're comfortable with on the day Hecate."

Hecate had never cuddled before.

It was painfully obvious even to him but he was glad that she had decided that she wanted to try it out with him rather than some random nut-job. When she told him that she would be up for it if he was able to wrap his arms around her waist, he smiled a little bit. To be honest he would have been happy just to have her let him cuddle on arm after all,

"I sure can." he agreed, shifting down so that he was hugging her waist. Now in the right place he rested his head on her hip bones and he waited for her to finish the divider. When it was up he hugged her hips to him happily and sighed contentedly, "Much better yes? Well I just wanted to talk about... well... us if you have the time."

Hecate didn't think that she was going to be comfortable having him on top of her any time soon, but she was sure looking forwards to the day that she would be able to have a man make love to her whatever way they decided without being worried about anything. Men...they hadn't been the kindest of creatures to her but John had done nothing but made her happy and pleasured...maybe they weren't all as bad as her experience would have dictated.

"You are assuming I found this enjoyable enough for there to be a next time." she stated blankly before she cracked a cheeky grin, showing that it was just a joke, although the idea that there was going to be a next time made her feel happy, for a reason she didn't really understand.

Looking down at John as he hugged her hips, Hecate allowed her eyes to calm slightly although she didn't take her eyes off of his body she wanted to be able to make sure that she could see if he was going to do something that she wasn't comfortable with. Despite what they had been through just then, Hecate was still deeply unsure about everything...all this physical emotional stuff.

"It's...nice." she stated with a little shy smile on her lips "Your skin feels warm against mine, I would like to do this more often with you, if you would agree that is." Hecate added with an almost bashful undertone as she looked away from him, afraid he might reject the idea.

Unable to stop her eyes from widening she looked down at John with an unreadable expression, she didn't know what to think, instead she merely whispered in a rather incredulous voice; "What do you mean...us?"

John had assumed that there would be some resistance to the idea of them having another go with him on top this time and he was prepared for it. The poor woman bore all the markings of someone who had been raped after all. But he grinned when she cracked a joke much in the same way that he had done. She was getting better and better at making jokes he had to say,

"Ouch!" he joked a little bit, placing a hand on top of his heart to mimic being in pain, before smirking a little bit when she flashed that very sexy cheeky grin at him, "Well call it a hunch shall we? But I think we both loved it."

He could tell that she wasn't quite as relaxed around him as she could have been. After all, she was very aware that he was touching her jus by holding her. Not to mention that it was an entirely new situation for her to be faced with like this. He grinned a little bit and nuzzled his cheek against her upper inner thigh, loving the softness of her skin,

"Well I would definitely agree to that." he agreed with a grin, "I wouldn't miss cuddling you for the world Hecate, you're very soft and huggable after all."

When she seemed to be so confused, so scared, by what he meant he held up his hands to calm her down. Once she was reasonably calmed down he explained,

"Well we've slept together and kissed and that lot... does it make us a couple of something?" he asked before blushing ever so slightly, "If we were a couple... I would like that so very much."

Hecate gasped a little bit when she felt John nuzzling against her thigh, she hadn't really been touched gently in these sensual area's before she wanted to be able to feel this way more and more but she was unsure whether she would be able to deal with it in a situation where he was allowed free reign with her body...he could touch anywhere he wanted and she wasn't sure she trusted him that much yet.

His compliment, had a very odd effect on Hecate and she snapped her mouth shut, merely staring wordlessly down at John, she was soft, and huggable? Was she...warm like he was? Hecate hadn't had a sincere compliment in, well in a very long time, and even something so simple as saying she was soft made her feel...odd. It was a feeling she wasn't sure she liked it was alien to her.

"Why?" she asked quietly "Why would you want to hug me, when you could hug someone else...properly?" Hecate asked, her eyes not giving away any emotion but underneath she was vulnerable, she didn't want him to leave but she fully expected John to when he came to his senses.

As he held his hands up to calm her down Hecate blinked and merely continued to look down at him her breathing was calm as she listened to what he had to say, but her heartbeat increased faster and faster as she thought about the possibilities of what he had suggested to her. Hecate didn't know if she wanted to be a couple...she didn't know what being a couple meant.

"What would it entail, being a couple?" she asked cautiously "What would you have me do?" Hecate tilted her head to one side "Would you...need me to let you touch me sometimes?"

He glanced up at her from his resting place when she gasped a little bit about the way he had nuzzled her. John didn't want her to be uncomfortable but he was going to gently keep pushing her until she was able to enjoy more and more physical contact with him. He wanted her to be able to have such happiness that he had been granted too. Call him an old softie but John did have a bit of a thing for mending the hearts of hurting women.

Her mouth snapping shut was not the reaction he had been expecting to his statement if he was being honest. If he was honest he expected her to dislike his statement and try to push him off or (very unlikely) like it and ask to experience more hugs. Or maybe it was the fact he had paid her a compliment? He wasn't sure,

"Why would I want to hug you?" he asked her before shaking his head a little bit with a soft little smile, "Because you seem like you need to feel the simple comfort that can come from a hug... is that alright of me to assume?"

He could see that she was being cautious because she was afraid of what he was going to say being a couple entailed. Although he was reasonably sure that she knew what he was hinting at just through observing other couples. He smiled a little bit,

"Being a couple we would be exclusive to each other. No other lovers. And I would have it be an equal partnership..." he told her quietly before smiling faintly, "I would like to touch you sometimes, yes. But we'll move at a comfortable speed... I won't push you too hard too fast."

Placing a finger on his chin, he hummed a little in thought before adding,

"Like... I would like to be able to hold your hand without having to ask for permission to do so." he told her with a soft grin, "Would that be alright by you?"