When The Devil You Know, Ch. 2

"Jennifer! Get away from me!"

It was the only warning she would ever really get. She should have listened.


But still, as much as she hated herself for it, she was still attracted to him. And his awful duality, in being so fierce but so gentle when he handcuffed her in place here on the bed still managed to arouse her. Now, he was sleeping next to her. One arm draped over her almost like a lover. Almost. Since she was still clothed and handcuffed. He'd left her for a couple of hours to deal with Wade's and Jordan's bodies. When he had returned, he had showered and fallen into bed wearing what she supposed were a pair of courtesy cut-offs because she had squeezed her eyes shut at his nakedness.

"Stay back," Nathan had warned.

"What if he's dying?" She had asked. She just wanted to hold him, hold him and be held in return.

"He could still be dangerous," Dwight had had said. And she had thought to herself then, that Duke could always be dangerous to anyone or anything he wasn't trying to protect. She had also thought to herself that he would never be dangerous to her. 

That day was probably the day that started all of this, really. When he had absorbed all that Troubled blood. And there had been so much of it. Jordan had called him an evil sponge and her taunt had hurt him. Jennifer could see it in his eyes as he'd looked at her and then she had understood why he had looked so remorseful when she'd worried aloud to him about how she might be just crazy instead of Troubled after all. At any time, he could have done a little Troubled Blood Test and assured her that she was sane. Nice and sane and Troubled. Instead, he played her like he had all along. Working her one way or another to get what he needed or wanted from her. No wonder Jordan had hated them all so much. Instead, she had to be held back by Nathan to keep from rushing to his side to comfort him. She had forgiven him then. It was so understandable that he wouldn't want to talk about his Trouble. Especially because it reminded him of heroin. Now he was addicted again. And not to the heroin. And now she was handcuffed to his bed. Presumably a sustainable source for him. At least, she hoped he had a plan for sustainability.

His dreams kept twisting around on him. Moving from bliss to horror.

"Hey, back off. I'm sure Duke had a reason. Right?"

And he knew that was a memory and that what followed next was NOT him taking a willing Jennifer in his arms and kissing her until they were both naked and on his bed. He knew that what happened instead was that Jordan had killed Wade and went for Jennifer but his nightmare was that Jordan had already killed her and so soon he saw Jennifer's lifeless body on the floor and for some reason he was able to absorb her blood they way he could Mike Gallagher's blood and it made him strong enough that Jordan's bullets bounced off of him and only then was he able to kill Jordan.

There was little to inform her that his dreams had taken a bad turn. She had heard him whisper her name like a lover as his hand smoothed over her rib cage, and then her name as a choked and anguished cry as his hand clenched and her shirt bunched in his fist.

"Duke!"

That voice didn't sound like part of his dream.

"Duke! Wake up!"

His eyes fluttered open to the relative nightmare he had created. Jennifer, handcuffed to his bed. Unwillingly handcuffed to his bed and no longer trusting him or seeing him as a hero. She looked at him with pained anger. Really, she was one more person he was disappointing. It's just that it was so much more bitter tasting in his mouth this time.

"Duke. I need to go."

It took him a few seconds to get it. He was emotionally and physically exhausted and not in the mood to listen to her demand to be set free because it was not going to happen. He wasn't going to let her go. Then he realized there was that particular inflection in her voice. The one you used when 'go' meant use the bathroom.

"Okay. Okay. Just... hang on a sec."

He had left the key to the cuffs in the kitchen drawer because he wanted it far out of her reach. He had the feeling that Jennifer could be very resourceful when she set her mind to it. He was going to have to come up with a more permanent solution though. He had a few ideas and absolutely none of them would be acceptable to her.

He sat next to her on the bed and stared her down for a moment. When her eyes stopped spitting fire, he leaned down close to her.

"Don't try anything."

His voice was low and harsh and she shook her head. She hadn't been thinking of trying anything anyway. At least, not yet.

He waited again for her to say it, and sighed at the small and defeated sound of it.

"I won't."

He leaned over, poised to unlock the cuffs.

"Clasp your hands together."

She did and he removed the cuffs, but kept his position over her for a moment longer before helping her up, letting her have control of her arms and hands back slowly. She winced with the discomfort of the change in position and he held her hands while she rolled her shoulders, his thumbs rubbing back and forth over her palms and wrists. He didn't bother to tell her he was sorry. It wouldn't have mattered.

She was relieved when he walked her to the bathroom door and stopped there. Letting her take care of herself alone. He only opened the door as she finished washing her hands.

"I'm going to need to take a shower soon."

She was sullen, but factual. And he knew she would be alert to any possibility of escape. Jennifer Mason was not the kind of woman who conceded victory easily.

"Yeah. I know."

There was no way out through the bathroom. Guarding the door while she was in there was an easy matter. At the moment, she didn't have a change of clothes and he wanted to go back to sleep, not negotiate wardrobe necessities and captive's demands.

"I'll bring your clothes and everything to you later. I promise. Right now, let's get some sleep."

"How do you expect me to sleep when - "

He leaned in and kissed her. It was urgent and sad and demanding and needing all at once. She should have rejected him but found that she didn't want to, because he felt so good. He was warm and he tasted like the sun, sea, and wind all at once along with something slightly spicy. She could feel his hand at her cheek, fingertips just grazing along her ear before caressing down to her neck and it felt like she knew it would the day he smiled at her after she tossed her pills and he promised her that "Troubled - we can fix. Usually."

He pulled away from the kiss and stared down at her. She still wanted him. She may not like that she still wanted him, but she had responded to that kiss in almost the way he would have hoped. Wrapping a hand around her wrist he pulled her back into the room and released her in the middle while he went to stand in front of his door, facing it.

"There are some shirts in the top drawer, you can sleep in one of those."

"What? I'm not going to - "

"You have thirty seconds Jennifer or I'm going to finish the job for you, myself."

He immediately heard the familiar rustle of clothing and he would have sold any part of his soul he might have left to be invited to watch. Instead, she had longer than the thirty seconds he'd threatened.

"I'm done," she huffed.

He turned around and tried not to really see her, standing there in his shirt. This wasn't the way he imagined her ending up in one of his shirts.

"Go sit on the bed."

She stomped over and dropped herself down, glaring at him. He held her glare with one of his own while he walked to stand in front of her, too close for comfort.

"Turn around."

"What?"

"You heard me."

Her eyes shifted toward the door.

"You won't even get your feet under you. Now turn around, and kneel on the bed."

"Duke, don't -"

"DO IT!"

She had never heard him talk like that to anyone. Tears stung her eyes and she wasn't sure if it was because she was humiliated or hurt or both that he had raised his voice to her like that.

His eyes slid shut as she obeyed him, but just for a moment and he shook his head. Not just to clear it but to also extinguish any doubts that wanted to try and voice their opinions right now. Holding the cuffs ready in one hand he leaned over her and bit his lip at feeling her shudder.

"I'm not going to hurt you."

One side of the cuff latched around her wrist.

"But I'm not letting you go, either."

The other side went around his own and then his free arm was wrapping around her at the waist and pulling her back toward him. It took a little maneuvering, and she wasn't exactly cooperative, but soon they were back in bed and she was in his arms, and she wasn't going anywhere without him.

She was trying to keep her crying from him, but soon enough she felt her own hand follow his up to her face and then the brush of his thumb across each of her cheeks to wipe away the tears, and a kiss pressed to the top of her head.

"I'm sorry, Jennifer. I am."

He didn't say anything more. And she gave up trying to hold it in. He clasped her to himself and pulled her hand up to his mouth where he kissed her palm and then her wrist, before letting her wipe her own tears away. But they just came back and soon she was sobbing in his arms and all he could do was hold her through it and whisper his regrets to her.