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"You are a bitter, angry woman. And the damage you've already done to this child is unforgivable!" Daniel said, his anger at a full boil now. "How dare you use such horrible names, names that she doesn't even understand? All she knows is that they're 'bad'! Can't you see what you're doing to her? Do you even care? Instead of trying to protect her…love her…nurture her to become the incredible woman that she will become, in spite of you, your anger, your hatred for her continues to wound her, scar her!"

"Casey is not a possession, like a piece of furniture…or a mixing bowl! She's an individual, a person in her own right! She's just a child! How dare you attack a child who is unable to defend herself!" He turned to look at Casey. He had never seen her green eyes so wide. He realized, in that second, that never, not once in her childhood, probably never in her life before he had met her, had anyone stood up for her, stood against Helen. The thought broke his heart just a little more.

He opened his eyes. Although it seemed as if he had been…gone…in her mind, for at least an hour, perhaps longer, he knew that it had been merely minutes. He looked down at her, into green eyes shining with love. "I love you, Casey, so damned much," he whispered.

"I know. I'm so amazed at what you're willing to do for me, want to do for me." She wrapped her arms around his neck. "I'll probably always feel guilty for hurting you, even if it's not directly my fault. Because any pain you suffer, I suffer."

"I don't want you feeling guilty like that," he replied.

"You may not want me to, but it's the way I am. It's just…me."

He nodded slowly. "I love you just the way you are."

"Then don't get angry when I don't respond the way you think I should, or when I can't let go of something that I haven't worked out for myself," she said softly.

"Ouch," he said, smiling. "Is that what I've been doing?"

"That's the way it feels. I realize that I've-" she broke off, lowered her eyes. "There are fears that I have, things that terrify me, things that I never want you to see, to know about, because they would only hurt you. If…when…I need help dealing with them, I'll ask."

"No, you won't. You reach out to help everyone around you. But you'll hold onto guilt and pain and fear because you think that's what you're supposed to do. That you've somehow brought it on yourself. That it's your fault. That you…deserve…it. When I see that pain, that hurt in your eyes, I can't ignore it. I'm going to help you, anytime, every time you need it. Even when you don't realize that you do."

She looked at him, watched his eyes, the love that filled them, the concern that reflected in them. "I love you so much," she said softly. "I don't know how, or why you love me, but I'm so glad that you do!"

He pulled her close, hugged her tightly. "Let's finish cleaning up, so I can show you how much I love you, how much I need you…how much I want you."

She nodded, took the washcloth that hung on the bar between the two showerheads. She grabbed his soap, lathered it, and began to gently move it over his shoulders, his chest, down his arms. Nothing was said as she bathed him; every touch soft, tender, full of love.

When she had made sure that every inch of him was clean, and free of any lingering traces of soap, he took her scrunchy, applied a generous amount of the floral-scented body wash that she used, and moved it over her satiny skin. He breathed deeply as he bathed her, the scent familiar, soothing…arousing. His eyes locked with hers as he washed every part of her, his fingers trailing behind the soft, puffy, sudsy material in his hand. Just as she had done, he made sure that there was no trace of soap left on her soft skin.

They dried one another, then he brushed her hair, letting his fingers move through the silky tresses. He lifted a handful to his face, rubbed his cheek against the softness. They brushed their teeth, and then he led her to the bedroom, and the brass bed that waited for them.

Just as it had Saturday, they both felt as if they were coming together for the first time. She trembled slightly, looking at the bed, knowing what would be happening on top of it in just a few short minutes.

He felt the tremors beneath his fingers as his hand moved slowly over her shoulder, down her back. "Angel?"

"I'm just…I'm just so glad you love me," she whispered.

He smiled, pulled her into his embrace. "Can't be any more than how glad I am that you love me."

She shook her head. "That a man as handsome, as brilliant…a man like you…could love someone like me…"

He turned her to face him. Took her chin in his hand. Waited until those beautiful green eyes were focused on his. "When I saw you lying in that bed in the infirmary, so beautiful, so…delicate…yet so strong and brave, I…I was totally blown away. I sat there and held your hand, thinking that it would be the only time I'd be near you. Because I knew that a woman as beautiful, as special as you, would never see a geek like me."

Her eyes went wide. "You…you…you really thought that?"

"Yep. Women as beautiful as you don't go for geeks. Jocks, flyboys…really macho types are the men that always get the gorgeous woman."

"That is so not true! Daniel, you are the most handsome…beautiful…amazing man I have ever met. You're brave, you risk everything to protect those around you; you have the most amazing mind I have ever encountered, you're so brilliant…sometimes it intimidates me! You have the most incredible blue eyes…they make me smile every time I see them. You're built like Adonis…no …better than Adonis…I know because I found a couple of pictures of him! You're magnificent, Daniel."

His cheeks were flushed by the time she finished speaking. "Wow. That's a pretty amazing description."

"A very accurate description," she said firmly.

"I love you."

"I love you."

He lowered his head, his lips seeking, finding hers. He closed his eyes, sighed with contentment when his tongue worked the combination that opened her mouth, gaining entrance. Once again his mind declared her sweetness to him. He told her with every caress, every touch, how much he loved her, needed her. How much he wanted her. He reached out to her, wanting her to feel his love mentally as well as physically. Smiled against her lips when he felt that love returned. It wrapped around him, sweet and soft and warm.

She dropped her head back and offered more of her throat to him when his lips moved off of hers. Her body shivered in response to each kiss, each lick, each nip on her skin. Her arms wrapped around his strong, broad shoulders, one hand moving into his hair, her fingers playing with the short, dark blonde locks.

He pulled away from her long enough to scoop her into his arms, and lay her gently on the bed. When he settled himself on top of her, she smiled at him, her hands once again full of his hair. "My precious Angel," he whispered.

"My beautiful Heart," she whispered in reply.

He shivered at the endearment, saw in her eyes that she meant, believed, what she said. His mouth went back to that long, elegant neck. He could feel the response to his kisses in the quivers that her body made beneath him. Her nipples were hard and hot against his chest, and they were making him crazy each time they grazed his skin. Time to move on. He slid down, wrapped his hands around the beautiful breasts that drove him mad with desire, kissing and licking his way from one nipple to the other and back again, before finally suckling, one...then the other. Each firm orb received his full, undivided attention.

Her body arched toward him, eager…needy…the love she felt in every caress filling her heart, sending her soul spiraling ever higher. Her body was on Fire, the flames dancing up and down her spine, moving over her, through her. She closed her eyes when he began to suckle, the sensations racing from her breasts to the warm, wet, aching place between her thighs. Always, always he did this to her. Gave her such pleasure. Made her insane with need. Made her feel loved…safe…protected. That he loved her was still a mystery to her, a wonder that left her breathless…awed, and so happy that it frightened her at times.

Daniel smiled to himself when her body continued to push up towards him, the sign that she was enjoying his caresses. His tongue continued to tease, torment each hard nipple. When she began to gasp for breath, he knew it was time to move on. He left a moist trail of kisses from her breasts to her sensitive bellybutton. Thrust his tongue in and out of it, tugged gently on her navel ring. Felt the ripples in the muscles beneath his mouth. He licked around that sexy little 'inny', back to that platinum ring again, felt her jerk in response.

Every time, Casey thought, a smile on her face. He loved to make her crazy like this. Knew just how sensitive her navel was. Teased it until she nearly lost her mind. She knew that soon she would be returning the favor, that she would be driving him out of his mind with her mouth, her tongue, her caresses. That thought made her mouth water to taste him. Knowing that she could please him filled her heart with joy. Without her realizing it, her body was arching more…pushing against his face…her hands tightening in his hair, tugging gently. Sending signals that he could read as easily as the tablets he translated.

His mind, his body, began to rejoice when he slid down further. His hands wrapped around her slender thighs, gently pushed them apart. His favorite of places. He could smell her…sweet, hot, aroused. He lowered his head and drank greedily, unable to deny himself any longer. Her sweet honey coated his lips, his tongue, filled his mouth as he pushed against her, seeking more. He watched her, saw the Fire that filled her eyes, the love that reflected in the delicate features of her beautiful face. A goddess. He had found a goddess. And wonder of wonders, she loved him. As much as he loved her. That mind-boggling thought bounced around in his brain as he lapped at her, tasted her.

She smiled at him, his eyes full of love as he watched her. His mouth was doing such incredible things to her…for her, when he slipped his fingers inside her aching well and began to stroke her, her eyes fluttered shut, and a soft moan escaped her parted lips. Every touch of his tongue sent fingers of fire throughout her body, which returned to that aching center. He was building…fanning…a need in her that would not long be denied. Her body was already reaching for the sweet release that lay just beyond her grasp.

When her tongue moved over her parted lips, his cock throbbed so hard he gasped. Her eyes were closed, her hips were moving up and down against his face, pushing against his fingers. It was time. He licked those soft folds one last time, then let his tongue flicker over that hard, swollen nub that peeked from beneath its pink hood. When he sucked it into his mouth, teased it again with just the tip of his tongue, her thighs began to quiver. "Give it to me, Angel. Come for me," he whispered. His mouth went back to her body, gave her the pleasure she sought.

That whimper filled her throat, and before she had time to think about it, she was hurtling over the edge of the cliff, sailing straight for the clouds, rising above them, shooting towards the stars. Her body trembled, her well convulsed around his fingers, her hands clenched in his hair. The whimper of delight became a canticle of completion, echoing around them just before she began to sink back toward reality. The throbbing had not yet stopped deep within her when she pushed her hands against him, eager to give him as much pleasure as he had given her.

He grinned when her fingers dug into his shoulders, then began to push at him. He moved up, kissed those sweet nipples, then rolled to his back. She never…allowed…him to send her into flight without returning the favor. His body was already beginning to ache with anticipation, waiting for the sweet attention that it would receive from her hands and mouth. She wouldn't be satisfied until she had him moaning.

Her own body content, her heart and mind clamored to make love to him, to please him. She ran her fingers over his shoulders, down his chest. So strong. So damned sexy! Her mouth watered to taste him. She watched his eyes as she touched him, caressed him, thrilled at the look of love…of lust…of desire…that filled them. She moved up to kiss him, the lingering taste of her honey filling her mouth. She wondered, again…briefly…if that should bother her. Shrugged mentally. If he didn't care, why should she? She nibbled on his earlobe, sucked at the muscle behind his ear, licked her way around his neck, taking time to mark him. She pulled away long enough to watch his Quickening heal the bruise she had left. Her mouth blazed a trail to his collarbones, leaving his skin damp in its wake.

He closed his eyes as she began to make love to him. His hands filled themselves with blonde silk; he wrapped the long tresses around his fingers, clenched tightly when she began to tease his already hard nipples. He could feel her soft skin where her body was pressed against his. The touch scorched him, he could feel the flames burn him. It was an incredible feeling, those flames. Hot and intense, so full of pleasure that it was almost painful. He could remember making love to her before he was Immortal, before they had experienced the Ceremony of Fire. It had been just as wonderful. Perhaps not as…fiery, but every bit as enjoyable. He would admit, however, that the sensations were incredible now…acknowledged that the Fire that burned in him, in her…that surrounded the two of them when their bodies came together…made loving her, having her love him, all the better. She was kissing his belly now, her tongue teasing his belly button, making him gasp, his abs undulating.

She smiled against his skin as his body responded to her loving attention. As much as he loved to drive her wild, she enjoyed pleasing him just as much. She ran her fingers through the coarse hair that surrounded his throbbing manhood. Heard the soft sigh that happened every time she did that. She kissed his hips, his thighs, building up the need in both of them before she finally wrapped her fingers around him. When she took him into her mouth, she sighed silently. Reveled in the taste of him, that wonderful velvet and steel feeling in her hand, against her lips and tongue. Gloried in the control she had over him, over his body. She pressed her tongue against him, moved up and down, slowly, steadily, sucking gently, then with more pressure, then gently again. His hips were rising to meet her each time her head moved down toward them. Too close. He was too close. He was throbbing harder, faster. She didn't want to let him fly over the edge just yet. She let him fall out of her mouth, then began to lick him like an ice cream cone. She could feel him shiver when she teased the head with her tongue. She smiled again, took him back into her mouth, found the rhythm he needed, her hand working in concert with her lips and tongue.

He was going to lose his mind from the sweet, mind-altering attention she was giving his aching cock. His body was beginning to twitch, waiting for her to send him sailing into sweet oblivion. She pulled away again, teased him, her tongue making circles around the swollen head. He moaned, raised his hips, trying to force more of his throbbing flesh into her mouth. Her hands were caressing him, the sensations almost more than he could take.

Now, her mind told her. Now. She moved up onto her knees, took him as deeply as she could, felt that swollen head touch the back of her throat. She began to move her head up and down, taking as much of him as she could, swallowing when he was as deep as she could take him. He was throbbing so fast, so hard, that it was becoming difficult to keep her tongue pushed against him. She felt his hands on her head, holding her as he began to thrust his hips upward toward her. Yes! her mind rejoiced. She had driven him just as insane with her ministrations as he had done to her. 'Give it to me, Daniel. Come for me.'

The sweet whisper in his mind was too much. He lost control, and the climax he had been reaching for was suddenly his as his body rushed forward, raced over the edge and flew toward the clouds, spinning ever higher toward the stars.

She swallowed repeatedly, taking down everything that he gave her, unaware that the continued stimulation was making him come all the harder. When at last the throbbing subsided, she pulled away slowly, her tongue leaving no trace of his orgasm on his skin. She kissed her way back to his chest, let her tongue move over the tattoo that she so adored. She settled herself on him, rested her head on his shoulder. "How was that?"

He put his arms around her, held her tightly. "What you do to me, woman," he said softly.

She giggled. "I take it that you were…pleased?"

"Any more pleased and I would have passed out," he informed her, a grin on his face.

"Hmm…sounds interesting. Think I'll have to strive for that the next time," she teased.

"You are just bound and determined to kill me, aren't you?" he asked, teasing her in return.

She folded her arms across his chest, rested her chin on them, looked up into his eyes. "I dunno. It's never been my intention. But it could be interesting," she said, her green eyes dancing with mirth.

He couldn't help but laugh at the delight in her eyes. "I knew it! You realize that if I keel over, you'll have to wait for me to revive to…move on."

"Not necessarily. Barney and I could be finished by the time you wake up."

He cracked up. "You are too funny!" He hugged her closer. "Love you, Case."

"Love you, too, Daniel," she said softly. Her heart pounded her love against his chest. She felt the reply in the heartbeat beneath her. "Two hearts that beat as one," she whispered.

"Always and forever," he whispered in return.

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