❝The world is on fire
and no one can save me but you.❞

Chapter Nine:
The Silver Jubilee
(cont'd)

I sighed, knowing my words had reached him but it was when he bowed his head to stare at our hands clasped together that I knew he really understood. Because at that moment, his hand squeezed mine. It held on, a little tighter and the gesture acted as an unspoken promise.

My face shot up to look at him, happy with the turn of events but in the process, bashed against his jaw. With a loud, ear-cracking groan, Hans let go of my hand and stepped back, his hands cradling his lower chin.

"Are you kidding me right now?" he sputtered, his eyes squinting in pain. "First my nose, now this?"

"I didn't mean to, I'm sorry!" I squeaked, rushing forward and Hans nearly jumped back in fear at my running. "I'm sorry," I repeated, feeling my cheeks flush as he looked down at me with apprehension that quickly gave way to his famous smirk.

"You're insufferable, Henderson," he muttered, turning away.

Hold it, was he blushing? That would make two of us. I was about to apologize a third time when we heard a cranky meow escape into the air. Turning simultaneously, we saw little Miss Munchkin standing proudly yet small in her box, glaring at us both. I swear, her little kitty-brow was raised.

"We woke her up," I said, giggling to myself.

"You think?" Hans rolled his eyes at me. "Come on." I watched as Hans picked up the yet-to-be-named little cutie who purred happily, and followed him into the kitchen. The next ten minutes were spent scrambling around trying to find something feasible for her to eat before Hans settled on a small bowl of milk. I tried not to make it painfully obvious that I was checking out the kitchen and the rest of his home, picking up on small and useful details but Hans caught on without even looking at me.

"This isn't what you expected, is it?" He wasn't even looking my way when he asked me that question, giving his undivided attention to his new pet.

Embarrassed, I answered, "Not exactly."

"Disappointed?"

"No. Pleasantly surprised."

Hans met my eyes from the other side of the kitchen counter and shared a smile.

"What do you think I should name her?"

I glanced at the playful ginger kitten, who was now taking a break from lapping the milk to lick Hans' open palm.

"Crookshanks," I grinned at Hans who gave me a blank stare. "Oh come on. From Harry Potter?"

"I'm not a Potterhead."

I wish I could say that the sound that came out of me was a mock gasp but it was not. It was a 100% legit.

"Another one of your flaws I'll have to accept," I murmured under my breath but Hans caught it and shot me a death-glare. "Not ready to make jokes about it yet? Okay." I hummed under my breath, tapping my chin in thought.

"What about...Nozo?"

Hans repeated, puzzled at the suggestion. "No...zo?"

"It's short for Nozomi, a Japanese name. I think it's cute."

"Don't tell me you're an anime fanatic."

I jut my chin out and gave him a tight-lipped smile. "Got a problem with that?"

Hans shook his head, chuckling to himself. "Not at all. But let me remind you that you're a twenty-six year old professional closer who has the power to make grown men cry."

I rolled my eyes and crossed my hands over my chest defensively. "That only happened once. The guy was a wuss and his negotiator an even bigger one."

"I was talking about me." My mouth closed at Hans' words and I glared at him. He sure had some nerve. "Not ready to make jokes about it? Okay," he jibed mockingly, turning his attention away from me. "Here, Nozo," he whispered, holding his finger out to catch the kitty's attention. I raised an eyebrow at him but couldn't help for a smile to make its way to my face when I realized just how happy he was about my gift. She ran to his finger, wrapping the tip around her two paws as she meowed contentedly up at her master. I didn't realize that Hans had spoken until I noticed him looking at me with a smile.

"Sorry, what?"

"I said thank you for Nozo." She was busy rolling away on the counter and showing Hans her talent to notice our exchange. "I haven't had a pet since-"

"Pip." I cracked a grin. "I remember."

Hans' smile widened into a full-toothed grin that matched my own. He looked so much freer, like a proper birthday boy without any worries or burdens pressed on his shoulders. He might have me to thank for his own liberation as he'd said so himself, but I knew I owed my own gratitude for tonight's events to Jasper. I made a mental note to thank him.

Soon after, little Nozo-chan (as I liked to call her) went back to sleep. The sleep must have been induced by the full bowl of milk she'd drunk in eagerly as within minutes, her mischievous acts of vying to get Hans' attention died away to soft purring before she fell into a deep sleep in her temporary box. Hans and I sat at the dining table and I watched with my face in my hands as he stroked her belly for a bit to lull her into sleep before simply watching her with adoration in his eyes.

"She must have cost a fortune," he whispered, grinning at the precious meow she let out.

"Are you happy?"

He nodded, eyes twinkling.

"Then it was worth it."

I don't know how long we sat there, just smiling at each other like two fools in silence before the smiles faded away, replaced by a seriousness that settled into the air between us. From the corner of my eye, I could make out his hand, clenching and uncurling, again and again on the desk.

"Tris," he started. Hans paused, licked his lips and then continued, staring into my eyes in a soulful, genuine manner. "I don't think I properly apologized for how I treated you the past couple months. I...I never meant to hurt you the way I did." He sighed and broke our eye contact, staring at Nozo. "I truly mean it when I say I don't deserve your kindness. You're better off without me in your life."

The sound of the wooden chair screeching lightly against the floor caused Nozo to stir in her sleep but it was Hans that I paid attention to. I stood up, walked forward and grabbed his hands, giving him a meaningful tug. He looked at me a little skeptically but didn't say anything, following my lead. I didn't think as I walked down the unexplored hallway, and Hans didn't say anything. Not even as I led us both into his bedroom and pushed him down gently on the edge of his bed, making him sit. I would have taken a while to admire how personalized and well done his room was made but this was more important.

"Tris..."

My name died on his lips as I started to unzip the back of the white dress, breathing in and out evenly all the while. It was the most calm I'd ever been in front of him, knowing what we were about to do but the calmness gave away to something else within my heart, something I wouldn't have forgiven myself for feeling before if not for the man before me.

Hans' eyes were transfixed, not on my body but my face as I stepped out of the pool of the dress at my feet. Reaching up, I undid my bun and felt my soft, black hair cascade over my shoulders till my waist.

"Tris," he repeated, voice huskier. "We shouldn't."

I didn't see him stopping me as I drew closer to him on the bed, propping a knee on either side of him as I settled down onto his lap in a straddle. Hans' hands immediately flew to my waist, steadying me against him and although he thought this was wrong, his eyes told a different story.

"Tris, I-"

I closed the distance between us, sealing his words off in a soft, gentle kiss. We both sighed into it, having forgotten just how amazing it felt to feel his mouth against mine. It had been too long. When we parted, and he started to speak again in protest, I wasted no time in kissing him again. And again. And again, until all his thoughts had died away to enjoy this moment of our reunion.

Hans moved away smiling, and surprised me by pulling me closer by my hips into a more comfortable position over him.

"I just want to make sure you're okay," he whispered, uncertainty streaking his voice. "I don't want you to make a mistake." His hand pushed away the strands falling in front of my eyes. He tucked them behind my right ear, his hand resting along the length of my neck there.

I looped my arms around his shoulders, and ran my hands through his hair.

"You're not a mistake." I pressed my lips against his cheek. "You never were. Not to me." Pulling back, I gave him a stern look and said in a tone of finality, "So shut up and let me love you, okay birthday boy?"

Hans gave me another one of his quirky, adorable smiles and nodded, a scarlet blush spreading through his handsome face.

"Okay."

From there, it was easy.

We kissed. He touched me, and explored me like it was the very first time. He was unbearably patient, despite how long it had been. Trailing and tasting along every inch of my skin until he was satisfied, all the while exploring the contours of my body with his hands in a way that told me this was more than just the raw, carnal need with which we'd feel each other before. His hand at the curve of my lower back pressed firmly there, close enough to feel the dances and contractions of each and every muscle. We had all the time in the world now, and Hans would not be one to waste a second.

Our clothes lay tossed behind us, forgotten on the floor. My hands on his shoulders squeezed gently to get his attention and he stopped cradling and teasing the hardened peaks of my breasts in his palms, eyes chasing mine for my next wish. With a small smile, I pushed him gently back onto the bed and he didn't say anything but watch me in utter devotion as I settled above his hips.

Had he always looked at me like that?

The thought made me smile as I hovered over him, my black hair falling like a blanket over our sides. Hans cupped my face in his hands and pulled me close, kissing me slowly enough to make the world slip away from under us. The warmth of his lips lingered on my own as we separated only to be brought together again when I glided down onto him.

I hadn't realized just how full Hans was capable of making me feel until the moment he entered inside, breaking and completing me at the same time. The long sigh that whispered out my lips was the ghost of a desire finally fulfilled. I relished the feel of his hips snug against mine, the hardness of him inside me but it wasn't that which made me feel whole. It was the way I found Hans watching me when I opened my eyes, staring up at me with complete reverence in his gaze. It was the way he took my hands in his, interlacing our fingers together and squeezing them in an unbreakable clasp as I begun to move. It was the way he sung my name, like a near mantra of worship meant for a goddess.

It hung between us; in the air that shrouded itself in mutual longing and pleasure, in the heat rolling off our bodies as we moved in one synchronized motion; in the way we whispered each others' names, loud enough for our hearts to hear.

I love you.

I couldn't bring myself to close my eyes as the waves of pleasure slowly enveloped my body; heat spreading from my toes to my core leaving a visible sheen of sweat to coat my skin. Hans never once looked away from me either, undulating his hips below mine till he was filling me up with every essence of his being. His lips quivered, sometimes whispering my name, sometimes gasping in the euphoria that unfurled. His brows were covered with sweat, the layer of perspiration trickling down the scarred trail to the side of his face, down to his jaw that clenched with every thrust. But his eyes said the most.

When the soaring, agonizing chase toward the light ended, I found it in the shattering climax in those eyes. The walls of ice crumbled into the warmth of the Earth, molding together to form the ultimate image of paradise. I fell deeper into Hans, knowing his orbs were as close as I'd ever get into peering into Eden. They held me there, in that garden of ultimate bliss till it all but faded into the two orbs that tethered me to the world.

As I broke apart in his arms, I could never have sworn that sin could be so...beautiful. 

_____

Song: Wicked Game by Gemma Hayes

Vote goal: 70

Sorry for the long wait, everyone! I was busy with mid-terms but I had my last one today so thought I could sneak in a new update. This is probably not as spicy as the previous scenes written but definitely the most intimate one I've written so far. 

I hope you all liked it!