Shalimar could feel the pulse of the music in every vein of her body. She knew she shouldn't be there but she promised herself she wouldn't let her feral side run her life. She ignored the urge to rub against something and smiled at whatever the man next to her said. She excused herself from the bar and carried the two drinks to the table. She placed the margarita in front of Emma and the murky green mixture in front of Brennan. She reclaimed her seat next to him, forcing him further into the corner. If he wasn't so tall, it might actually be a comfortable fit. She looked at his glass and made a face at Jesse. It didn't go unnoticed.
"What's wrong?"
"What is that?" Jesse pointed to the foggy green concoction.
"It's called a Hulk."
"That's disgusting." Emma said, shaking her head. Guys were just weird. Why would you drink something named after a comic book character? Bloody Marys were bad enough.
"You haven't even tasted it yet."
"Or ever. Are you sure it's supposed to look like that?" Brennan sighed. He wondered why he even bothered.
Shalimar smiled. They did this every time Brennan ordered an unusual drink, or when they went to restaurants, when he ordered unusual foods. It was tradition to pick on him, he took it better than any of them. She glanced at him. He was staring at the dance floor, completely ignoring the faces Emma and Jesse were making from across the small table. She had an unbelievable urge to kiss him. To lick him places she shouldn't be thinking about. She looked down, concentrating on the fishnet stockings she decided to wear. The holes were fascinating.
"Hey, Shal, wanna dance?" Brennan's voice brought her back from her intent study on the design of the stockings. She looked up at him. He was smiling brilliantly. Everything in her rational mind told her she should say no. She wasn't herself and she didn't want to make a fool out of herself.
"I'd love to." Before she knew it, she was sliding out of the small booth and being led to the dance floor. She shouldn't be doing it. She felt every part of her human side protesting, telling her to get out while it still had control. Her feral side, however, was telling her something entirely different. She could smell him flowing around her, she could feel every breath, she could feel the slightest of touches and she couldn't help but fall into it. Suddenly there was no rational thought. There was only Brennan. There was only the perfect specimen for a mate and she was dying to let everyone know that. She would fight anyone who wanted him and she would win.
When they were in the middle of the dance floor she turned her back to him, seductively sliding down his body, careful to smooth her hands down his thighs and back up with the rest of her body. She thrust, slightly, backwards, coming in contact with her target. She stayed in that position and swayed her hips, never breaking contact. She shouldn't have but her mind couldn't tell her why. However, the small moan from behind her did. Something in her mind clicked and her eyes briefly flashed yellow before she was smiling like a lion on the trail of a wounded animal. She knew what she wanted and she was going to get it. She turned around, intentionally grazing her thigh over the bulge in his pants. His eyes were trained on hers and she smiled again, sliding down the length of his body and then back up, making sure to drag her nails along his thighs. He pulled her a little closer, lowering his head a bit. She could tell from his eyes that she almost had him. She pulled him down until his mouth was less than an inch from hers. She slid her tongue along his bottom lip, tasting the faint trace of alcohol and something distinctly Brennan. She needed more of whatever it was he tasted like. She wanted to lick all of him, to see if the rest of him tasted just as good. She moved a little closer, smiling to herself as she felt the change in his breathing. She licked his lip again, this time pulling it into her mouth. She sucked gently, tracing patterns with her tongue. His hands were on her hips and she could feel them tighten slightly. She pulled back and looked into his eyes. She saw all the need she was feeling reflected back at her with a trace of concern.
"You ok?"
"Yeah…why?" She smiled at him, turning on her full charm. Something about the way she was standing; pressed against him and unconsciously swaying her hips to the music, bothered him.
"You seem a little…off." That wasn't the right word he wanted. Unnaturally sexy was a better term. Shalimar never went for sexy with him. She went for hot girl who could kick some serious ass. She used her sex appeal to lure bad guys to her. He wasn't a bad guy. Well, not the last time he checked.
"Off?" She cocked her head to the side, unnervingly similar to a cat listening for something.
"Like you're not yourself."
"I'm more myself than I've ever been." She thrust forward to punctuate her sentence.
"But of course, if it's bothering you, I can always find someone else to dance with."
'Or not'. Brennan reached out as she turned around. He grabbed her arm lightly.
"No, that's not what I meant."
"Really?" She drawled. She had him. She could feel it. She moved back, once again pushing herself against him. She wanted to rub herself against him, nuzzle him, lick him until he wanted no one else. She slid her hands up his arms and locked them behind his neck. She rested her head on his shoulder, inhaling deeply. She loved the scent of him. He smelled like leather, aftershave…him. He smelled like no other she knew. She could smell the electricity crackling just beneath the surface of his skin and she wanted to be the one to bring it out. She pushed closer, forcing him to lean down just enough for her to gain access to his neck.
Brennan jumped at the sudden feeling of Shalimar's tongue on his neck. Broad strokes from the junction of his neck to behind his ear. He shuddered and pulled her closer.
All pretenses of a platonic relationship disappeared in that moment.
They danced in synchronicity, bending, twisting and curving with one another. The rest of the clubs occupants disappeared, as if they had all faded into shadows just outside of the Shalimar and Brennan's peripheral vision.
Shalimar's back was once again against Brennan's chest and their eyes closed of their own accord. One of her hands reached up to cup his face while the other rested above his, on her waist.
It was no surprise that Shalimar was an expert dancer; her body lithe, unnervingly cat like in some aspects but undeniably feminine, undoubtedly sexy. Brennan, on the other hand, was more talented than she imagined. She'd never danced with him like this.
On the many occasions they went clubbing, they danced as friends, as teammates. But now, Brennan couldn't see anything but Shalimar. And his body could feel nothing but the movements of her against him, muscles, tendons and ligaments tensing and relaxing, finding their counterpart in his own structure and moving in tandem.
They were liquid, pouring into each other, swirling and mixing until there was only one, new, unique, color, substance; energy, flowing and dancing. Neither created nor destroyed, merely them and so much more superior than the corporal beings writhing just outside their range of vision.
And Shal…Shalimar was…lava. Burning everywhere she touched, making him sweat and shake, leaving endless marks, invisible to any eyes but theirs.
In that moment, Brennan knew he was blessed. A man granted miracle after miracle, waking up to see this…perfection of everything he had dreamed of.
Shalimar tangled her fingers in the soft hair at the nape of his neck. She could dance all night if it would be in his arms. Somewhere in her mind, she thought, with a girlish giggle, that if she relaxed against him anymore, she'd be a puddle pooling at his feet. She let the small chuckle escape into the pulse of the music.
"I'm not that bad of a dancer, am I?" And just like that, they were back in the club. Another couple among the unending mass, all but having sex on the dance floor. The humid air made Shalimar's clothes uncomfortably tight, and her hair stuck to her forehead, despite her best efforts to keep it tamed. The blue, red, white and green lights above danced across the crowd, illuminating select scenes.
Brennan bit his lip against the groan demanding its release. The lights had centered in their area and the white one was dancing behind him. The broken lines reformed, falling on every inch of Shalimar not covered by him. The white landed delicately on her shoulder, almost glowing when reflected within the light sheen of sweat on her skin.
It took everything in his power not to thrust his hips forward, or lean down, just once, and let his tongue do what it wanted.
"There's no one else I'd rather be here with."
If he knew Shalimar could purr like that, he would have begged her not to answer. His hand tightened around her waist. She responded, cupping his neck, fingers gently stroking the delicate skin.
"Good. Didn't want to have to kick anyone's ass." Shalimar answered with a hum.
~~
Jesse looked around.
"They've been gone a long time."
"Jess, don't worry. They're fine."
"Uh huh." Jesse took a sip of his drink. He always got edgy when they were separated. He supposed someone might call it a dependency.
"Would you like to go look for them?" Emma rolled her eyes when she felt him contemplating the idea.
"Look, how about you call one of them on the comms?" Jesse looked at her and then to the ring on his finger. Then back to her. She sighed. "Go ahead." He lifted his hand to his mouth.
"Shal, Bren, you guys ok?"
~~
Taking his hand in hers, Shalimar lifted it to her mouth. Brennan fought against the shiver creeping up his spine from the tickle of warm breath on his skin.
"Yes, Jesse. We're perfectly…great." She sighed. Thank God Jesse didn't have any of his equipment. He might ask why, exactly, Shalimar was using Brennan's comm link when hers was perfectly operational.
"Good. You've been gone for about an hour and Emma was getting worried." Emma rolled her eyes. Guys were such…guys!
"Nothing to worry about here. Just…discussing…the finer points of dancing." Jesse raised an eyebrow. Before he could respond, Emma snatched his hand away from his mouth.
"I think Jess and I will be leaving in a bit." The look in her eyes left no room for argument. "You guys coming?"
"Nah, I think we'll stay a little while." Emma blushed at the sound of Brennan's husky voice.
"Alright. We're taking Kitty. Bren, you've got the keys to Alex, right?"
"Uh huh." The hitch in his breath lead her to think that maybe, now was a great time to stop talking.
"See? They're fine." She threw back the rest of her drink.
~~
Shalimar was…if he'd been sitting down, it would have been called a lap dance. But standing up, it was called torture and wrong. And blindingly right. Perfectly logical.
Brennan hands were roaming her body of their own accord, trying harder than humanly possible not to…grope her. This was Shalimar and her body, though designed to take as good as it gave, was something to be treasured…worshipped. Handled with a care he Brennan knew only he could manage. And he'd be damn if he would treat her like any other ignorant bastard on the dance floor would, groping and grasping and squeezing like…like she was a 'test before you buy' item at a market, and suddenly Brennan wanted nothing more than to electrocute every single male in the place.
Shalimar inhaled deeply. She could smell Brennan everywhere. But something smelled…wrong? No, that wasn't the right word. Different. Something smelled different. Entirely Brennan and entirely new.
He smelled…
Upset?
But that couldn't be right either. She'd been around Brennan in some of the worst of times and it was never like this. Not even when he went into 'I hate Adam' mode. She ran her fingers through his hair, bringing him down so he could hear her.
"You ok?"
"Yeah. I'm fine. Why?" His voice soft and reassuring against her skin.
"No reason."
Part 2
Back to Mutant X Fanfiction
Back to Main Page
Email me:
SarcasmsRival
