Howl

“It’s really so sweet of you to join us for trick-or-treating, Todd.”

“You keep saying that,” Todd replied. “I keep telling you it’s not that big a deal.”

“It is to Sam,” Blair pointed out as Sam knocked on another door in his shark costume.

“What about you?” Todd admired the figure Blair cut in her life-guard costume. She was easily the sexiest Mom out making the rounds with her kid. Hell, she was sexier than some of the high school girls roaming the neighborhoods dressed in barely there outfits. How many cat-girls and sexy nurses could there possibly be?

She sent him a warm smile. “It means a lot to me, too.”

Todd sighed softly as Sam came running back to show off his latest loot. Blair’s surprise at his behavior was both good and bad. Good because he liked surprising her in a positive way. Bad because his past behavior, particularly in regards to Jack, made it so that Blair would be shocked that he was nice to Sam.

“You look like you’re beginning to drag a little there, Jaws,” Blair remarked to Sam. He responded with a jaw-splitting yawn. “Maybe we should head home.”

“Not yet,” Sam pleaded. “A few more houses, please?”

Todd reached down and slung Sam up into his arms. “I’ll help you swim a little more, huh?”

He got that surprised warm look from Blair again. Hell, to get that look he probably would have done this even if he didn’t like Sam. But, really, how could you not like the kid? He was sweet and generous. It amazed Todd that he came from Victor and that lunatic that held him captive. Maybe Sam was an example of nature vs nurture. Certainly being around Blair was good for him.

By the time they got to the next house, Sam was sound asleep on Todd’s shoulder, his goody bag slipping slowly out of his grasp.

Blair took control of the bag and then gestured Todd to follow her up to the door with Sam. They knocked and it was answered by a woman who immediately swooned at Sam’s snoozing on Todd’s shoulder.

“Oh, how sweet... he wore himself right out.”

“We promised him one more house,” Blair explained, holding out the bag.

“Of course,” she dropped a couple of candy bars in the bag. “Cutest little shark I’ve ever seen.” She laughed at Blair’s matching costume and then faltered at Todd’s. “Well... happy Halloween!”

“People keep doing that,” Todd commented as they headed back to the car.

“It’s because you don’t match.”

“Well, what would I have gone as?” Todd asked, pointing at each of them in turn. “Shark... lifeguard... a dead surfer?”

Blair snorted a laugh. “I’m surprised you didn’t go as that. You like a taste of the morbid.”

“What a werewolf... beast... whatever doesn’t have the taste of the morbid?” They got to the car and Blair opened the door so Todd could strap Sam in. “Anyway, we kind of fit.”

“How’s that?”

“Well, I could be the Big Bad Wolf and you’re,” he reached over to flip her lifeguard hoodie over her head, “Little Red Riding Hood.”

“Is this where I tell you what big teeth you have?”

“All the better to eat you with,” he murmured huskily.

Blair’s cheeks colored instantly as she stared up at him.

“Your place or mine?” He whispered.

She swayed towards him slightly before shaking her head and snapping out of the spell. “Don’t you mean Viki’s or Dorian’s?”

“Dorian’s not there.”

“Viki is.”

“Dorian’s it is then.” He circled around and got into the passenger side of the car.

Blair shimmied out of the life-saver around her waist and got in the car as well, looking flustered. Todd watched her as she fumbled with the car keys before managing to get the car going.

“You can’t tell me a little flirting has you this off-kilter,” he said. “You’re the queen of seduction!”

Blair snorted at that. “How’s your shoulder? I hope carrying Sam didn’t do anything to it.”

“It’s healing nicely,” Todd replied. “And I appreciate the segue back to our time at the cabin. We do have some unfinished business to handle.”

“Oh, really? What business would that be?” Blair asked innocently. “I dug a bullet out of you. You bled all over the place and passed out a lot. You had a fever that made you say the craziest things.”

“Crazy or truthful?”

“Like I’d know?”

For the millionth time, Todd wondered exactly what Victor had done to Blair in the years he stole. There was a certain amount of bravado that Blair always had that was missing now and he felt its absence keenly. “I really am grateful for the way you came through for me up there.”

Blair was silent for awhile. “I’m glad I was able to help. Wish Viki would stock that place with some alcohol, though.”

“Tell me about it. When did she become a teetotaler?”

“Who knows?” Blair laughed. “Who has a secluded vacation cabin and doesn’t stock it with liquor? Especially a mountain cabin! It’s supposed to be where you hole up with a hot adult beverage!”

“Hot buttered rum?” Todd grinned.

She glanced at him with a familiar, playful glint in her eye. “I was thinking more like a Hot Toddy.”

Tell her you love her, tell her you love her, tell her you love her, Todd chanted to himself. Before he could say anything, Blair had pulled into the driveway.

“Time to get my sleepy shark into bed,” she cooed, looking back at her son with soft eyes. She popped out of the car and went to fetch Sam.

“Let me,” Todd offered, reaching in as soon as she had Sam unbuckled.

“You don’t have to...”

“I’d like to see it through,” Todd replied. “I missed too much of these days with Starr and Jack.” A melancholy feeling struck him. It wasn’t just Irene that had kept him from his kids. His own stupid brooding and awful mistakes kept him from enjoying what he had when he had it. Sam may not be his, but he was Blair’s and this was all important to her. And he was enjoying himself.

Irene had been good for something. She’d actually made him appreciate the little things after so long.

Blair led him up to Sam’s room and Todd held the child as Blair managed to wiggle him out of the shark costume. Todd laid him down on the bed and put his hand on the boy’s head before heading towards the door and letting Blair tuck him in and kiss him good night. As he followed her back downstairs, Todd considered the best maneuver to get Blair into his arms.

He wished she were in the same place she’d been when he came back from Ireland. Her relentless attempts to seduce him were heartfelt and varied. Even though he was too wrapped up in his own pain to succumb there had been a few times where he’d come close. Fact is, Manning, he told himself. She’s not at that place anymore. The walls are up and she’s not particularly interested in taking them down. You’re going to have to do the work this time.

It was fair, he figured. He’d made her do the heavy lifting before. He’d made all the excuses, not believing in love, playing jealousy games, manipulating her and her life until she had no one else but him and all to get her back. None of those ended well, usually due to stupidity on his part, and he didn’t want a repeat.

“I’m going to have a glass of wine,” Blair sighed. “You want anything?”

“Sure,” he said brightly. “I’ll have wine, too.”

She stumbled a bit a that, throwing him a curious look. “Since when do you like wine?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know that I ever hated it.”

“You always have beer. Or scotch.”

“It’s been a long time, Blair. I’m willing to try new things.”

That sorrowful, guilty expression that she got whenever he mentioned his captivity flashed across her face. “Okay,” she disappeared into the kitchen.

“Sack up, Manning,” Todd told himself when she left. “Tell her already. What the hell are you waiting for, the sky to fall?” He took the wolf gloves off his hands and tossed them on the bar then ran his fingers through his hair. He was still trying to figure out his approach to the whole thing when Blair returned with a glass in each hand and a bottle tucked under her arm.

He took one glass from her as well as the bottle and set it down on the coffee table.

“Happy Halloween, Todd,” she said gently, holding her glass up to him.

They clinked glasses and took a sip.

Todd gave his glass an appraising look. “I’ve never been sure what I’m supposed to be tasting with this stuff.”

Blair laughed. “You’re supposed to let it swirl around your tongue for a bit... to get all of flavors.”

“That’s really not what I want my tongue to be swirling around.”

That wide eyed look came over Blair again as she stared up at him. She really wasn’t used to him being so overt. Todd decided to make that work for him. He set his glass down. “You know, Little Red Riding Hood... you sure are looking good.” He grinned. “You’re everything that a big, bad wolf could want.”

Blair blinked. “Isn’t that a song?”

Todd snaked one arm out to catch Blair around the waist and pull her flush against him. “Wanna howl?” Then he kissed her.

She seemed so shocked at first that she didn’t respond out of sheer surprise but he was determined and kept kissing her until she responded by grabbing the lapel of his coat with one hand and leaning into his kiss. For a few moments, they just traded in open mouthed kisses as they clung to each other. When they parted, Blair asked breathlessly, “What are we doing?”

“We,” Todd said with assurance, “are making out.” He took the glass of wine from her hand and set it down next to his and them drew her towards the sofa. “I think we’re off to a good start, don’t you?” He sat down, pulling her with him, and leaned in to kiss her again. “You know, I wasn’t kidding when I said you had the best candy.”

Blair met him halfway that time, sliding one arm under his coat to wrap around his back and the other hand curling around his neck to tangle around the hair that curled at his nape. Todd has his hands on either side of her face, much like he did when he kissed her at the movie premiere. His thumbs caressed her cheeks and he happily could have sat there just kissing her like that for a good long time until she let out a soft moan.

He felt his temperature soar as her tongue slipped against his bottom lip. He sent his own to curl around hers, dropping one hand to her hip, spreading his hand so that his thumb settled against the crease of her thigh and his fingers splayed out across the swell of her bottom.

They parted this time panting heavily with eyes slightly glazed over in lust.

“You look hot,” she said, taking in his flushed face.

“Thank you.”

“No, I mean actually hot,” she tugged at the collar of the hairy pelt that was his costume. “Your face is all flushed.”

“Oh,” he shrugged. “Yeah, it’s getting a little warm.”

“We can go upstairs,” she suggested, her finger tapping his chin playfully. “Get you a little more comfortable.”

“Yeah, let’s do that,” he stood up as she did and followed her to the door of the living room.

As they made their way across the foyer to the stairs, the front door opened and a giggling Starr walked in with her boyfriend who was holding a sleeping Hope.

Starr stopped cold when she saw her parents, her eyes shifting between them quickly. A sly smile spread across her features. “What’s going on here?”
=====================================

A smug daughter was a major killjoy, Blair decided. Especially on Halloween. Starr’s knowing grin reminded her a little too much of when she walked in on her and Victor back when she thought he was Todd on a Halloween night when she was just about to succeed in seducing him again.

Blair may be the one being seduced, by Todd of all people, but Starr’s expression of smug satisfaction at having caught them was a huge turn-off. She scowled at her daughter and then looked at the slumbering Hope. “Looks like you wore her out,” she beckoned to Todd behind her. “You wanted to see her, is it okay if you don’t see her awake?”

Todd moved closer to get a look at his grand-daughter. “Nice costume.  How’d Peanut do?”

Starr shrugged, beaming at her daughter. “She did great. By the way, Dad, what are you supposed to be?”

“Who says I’m dressed up?”

She snorted. “Come on, leather duster and a poet shirt? And whatever’s going on there?” She gestured to the hairy ‘chest’ under the shirt. “What’s the deal?”

“It’s works better with the mask and the gloves.” Todd muttered, straightening the ruffles of his shirt.

“Uh huh... so what are you?”

“Big Bad Werewolf kinda thing.” He glanced at Blair. “Aaaaooooo,” he growled.

James and Starr both looked at Blair. “Does that make you Little Red Riding Hood?” James asked.

Todd’s eyes moved to James. “Who are you?”

“Dad,” Starr’s voice held a warning tone. “This is James Ford, my boyfriend.”

James struggled to free a hand in order to hold it out to Todd to shake.

Todd ignored it. “You done any time?”

“Dad!” Starr glanced to her mother for help.

Blair seemed disinclined to offer much. She was still annoyed with Starr’s attitude upon entering the house. She shrugged lightly and said, “You know how your father is.”

“Um,” James glanced at Starr. “No...”

“We’re done here,” Starr snapped, nudging James towards the stairs. “You two can get back to doing whatever you were doing.”

Todd watching them ascend the stairs and then turned to Blair. “Are they going to have sex?”

“She’s more than old enough, Todd,” Blair said patiently.

“The hell she is!”

“She has a baby. The jig is up. Deal with it.” Blair crossed her arms over her chest. “Speaking of which...”

“Oh no...” Todd groaned. “You’re not going to get all puritan on me, are you?”

“As if,” Blair rolled her eyes. “They dress horribly for one thing. But we should probably establish some ground rules.”

“Yes, I will still respect you in the morning.”

Blair’s lips twitched slightly at that. Todd took that as a good sign. “I appreciate that. But... let me just state right now that I do not want to wake up tomorrow with you trying to strong-arm me into marriage.”

“Blair, I’m not trying to get you to the altar. I’m trying to get you in the sack.”

A laugh burst out of her at that one. “I’m serious, Todd.”

“So am I,” he sighed. Of course he wanted to be married to Blair again but eight years of pouring over their relationship did clue him into the fact that railroading her into matrimony didn’t exactly pay off the way he wanted it to. He had no doubts that they’d wind up married again, no doubts at all, but he wasn’t going to push that aspect until Blair seemed more amenable. Plus, he had a lot of catching up to do in regards to what she’d been through while he was gone. Sex seemed like a far more likely occurrence and if he could get her into bed on a regular basis it would make her less likely to turn a proposal down whenever he decided to throw one at her. “I’ve been dreaming of you for eight years, Blair. You don’t want to get married tomorrow? I’m fine with that. Like I said, right now, I just want you.”

She stepped towards him, face upturned. “Really?”

He dropped a kiss onto her lips. “Really.”

She stepped up and kissed him back. “No games?”

He stepped up as well. “I’d be up for a little role-playing.”

She laughed and took another step up. “I’m guessing you’re just up period.”

He took another step. “You’ve got that right. What are you gonna do about it?”

She kissed him hard and then danced up a few more steps. “You’re just going to have to follow me and see.”
===============================================

Blair’s bedroom was just as Todd remembered it. Warm tones and an inviting atmosphere. He couldn’t believe they’d never done it in here. Well, that was about to get remedied.

“Why didn’t you move into Dorian’s room?”

“I like this one. Besides, I don’t want to have to move all my shit back whenever she’s done being a Senator.” She shut the door firmly and locked it when Todd followed her in.

Todd shrugged off his creaking leather coat and tossed it onto Blair’s chaise lounge. Then he reached behind his head to grab the back collar of his costume and pull it over his head. He wiggled out of it and tossed it on top of his coat, then raised his arms over his head to stretch. Having that thing off was a relief. He looked over his shoulder to see Blair leaning against the door eyeing him hungrily.

He turned to face her and her eyes went immediately to his shoulder where the dressed wound was still healing. She swept across the room to him and gently touched the bandages there. “How is it?”

“Healing,” he murmured, swaying towards her. “You did a hell of a job taking care of me.”

“Good,” she whispered.

“Now I’m gonna take care of you,” his smile was almost impish as he grabbed her hand and led her to the bed. He sat down drawing her down next to him. “But first, I’ve got some ground rules of my own.”

Blair blinked in surprise but then her expression shifted to wary. “Okay,” she hedged.

“We do this,” Todd nodded at the bed. “We’re together. I’m not going to shove you in front of a minister tomorrow but you damn well are going to be with me. I want this... I want us... I want... you...” His gaze softened as he reached up to touch her hair then he snapped out of it. “None of your wishy-washy bullshit. You’re with me? You’re with me. You tell Tomas to take a hike and find some other chick to moon over.”

“Okay,” Blair agreed. “You don’t rush me into marriage, I commit to you. That’s fair.”

“We’ve been apart eight years, Blair,” he reached down and lifted one of her feet into his lap, undoing the laces of her shoe and slipping it off. “Is it really rushing?”

She lifted an eyebrow at him.

“All right,” he ran his hand up her leg and under her shorts, teasing her with his fingers before switching to her other leg to divest her of that shoe as well. “I guess we’ve got time to argue over it.”

Blair shrugged out of her hoodie and fell back on the bed watching the curve of Todd’s back as he stroked her other leg and then turned towards her. He was still the most beautiful man she’d ever laid eyes on. He never got it but she had always seen him as some primal force of nature. Seeing him again after so long she realized just how much she had missed him. She’d replaced him with a lesser facsimile and had tried to believe it was him but the way he touched her, the way he looked at her, the way his eyes glittered like gold...

As he leaned over her, she touched his face and felt like crying. “I’ve missed you...” she whispered. “I’ve missed you so much.”

“I’m here,” he replied. “And I’m not going anywhere.” He fell upon her, kissing her deeply before they quickly shed the rest of their clothes and tangled together, touching and tasting and caressing and relearning each other’s bodies.

Blair was certain that there were scorch marks wherever he touched her. It had been so long since she’d been able to indulge in her greatest love. She couldn’t get enough of him, playing with his ears, running her fingers down his sides to his waist, feeling the muscles of his abs tighten under her touch, kissing and sucking on those beautiful full lips, licking his scar; she felt fairly drunk being in his arms again.

For his part, Todd could probably have gotten off just by looking at Blair’s beatific smile as he touched her. Or just by touching her. Her body was still slim even after all these years and her curves were still as dangerous as ever. Burying his face between her breasts he caught the exotic perfume she wore as well as the smell of her and it was intoxicating. Even getting a few hundred volts sent through his system for years on end hadn’t erased the scent of her from his mind.

When he sat back on the bed and pulled her into his lap, positioning himself and letting her get situated just right so she could sink down onto him, he was almost over-whelmed. He buried his face into her neck, holding her tight against him, trembling violently... the emotions stirred up just by being with her again threatened to drown him.

Blair stroked his back, her legs wrapped around his waist, crooning softly in his ear to soothe him as he trembled in her arms. Truthfully, she felt equally over-whelmed. It had been so long... it had been too long. No one was like Todd and she felt the gravity of their reunion down to her soul.

He looked up at her then. “I love you,” he whispered. “I always have. I always will.”

Tears slid down her cheeks at his fervent admission. “I love you,” she told him. “So much...”

He moved then, holding her against him, the intimacy of their position allowing them to kiss and touch. Blair threw her head back so Todd could lave her breasts with his tongue. Then she fell onto her back as he repositioned himself on top of her, hooking her legs with his arms to open her more fully to him as he moved inside of her with long, slow strokes. Blair twisted the bedsheets in her hands in her excitement moving her hips with his, their rhythm together as natural as the tides. Finally, he pulled out, flipped her over and entered her again from behind, curving his body over hers, increasing the pace of this thrusts and entwining their fingers together as they reached their climax, sweating and panting and satiated.

As their bodies cooled, Todd rolled onto his back. “I thought I might have been able to last a little longer than that.”

“God, Todd,” Blair panted. “It’s been eight years. I’m surprised you lasted more than five minutes.”

He tossed her a grin. “Impressed?”

“Yes,” she nodded, curling up next to him to kiss his shoulder. “You always did.”

He chuckled at that. “So, you wanna get married?”

She slapped him on the chest. “You son-of-a-bitch, you promised!”

“I promised I wouldn’t force you to get married, I didn’t say I wouldn’t ask.”

Blair shook her head. “Ask me again later.”

“Wife is so much easier to say than girlfriend. Especially at our age. We have a grand-daughter.”

“You want to get married so it’s convenient?”

“You’re not exactly convenient, Red Riding Hood.”

“Neither are you, Big Bad Wolf.”

“You know wolves mate for life.”

Blair laughed. “I’ve heard.”

“And we do have our own little pack to think about.”

“Todd, knock it off.”

He slipped his arm under her to pull her onto him. She stretched her body out and propped her chin in her hand looking down on him with a mischievous grin. “I could convince you,” he patted her bottom with both hands.

She laughed again. “I may need a lot of convincing.”

“How much?”

“Oh... weeks... months even.”

“You’re a cruel woman,” he craned his neck up to kiss her again.

“You love me.”

“I sure do.” He looked into her green eyes, feeling content and happy for the first time in almost a decade. “You’re mine, aren’t you Blair?”

“All yours,” she touched his lips with her fingertips. “Halloween isn’t over yet... Wanna howl some more?”

~End