Disclaimer: I take no responsibility for whatever damage this fic does to your brain. It was brought about by the fact that I spent too much time on watch yesterday at work, and that there are too few Xel/Fil lemons in the world *last I counted, there were SEVEN. That's right, you can count them on both hands* Just a forewarning -- this lemon contains chocolate syrup. And ANGST. I don't know WHY it has both, but it does. Oh, and I didn't make these characters. I just made the chocolate syrup.

Feedback: Or the Darklings will come get you…. ~ sailorN1@aol.com

Dark Chocolate Kisses

by Crystal Dawn Phoenix

It was a gray, rainy day outside. Filia had a good view of the weather from her kitchen window. It had been raining lightly all day, keeping her from doing any work outside. At that particular moment in time, she was washing up the last of the lunch dishes and putting them away. Across her kitchen counters were scattered various baking ingredients and flour, in particular.

Satisfied that the last dish was clean, she wiped her hands on her apron, and stood back to look at the mess she still had left to clean. There were prodigious amounts of flour in particular scattered across her counter, as well as a basket of eggs, various utensils, and cake ingredients. The result, a large chocolate cake, was baking in the oven at that very moment. Filia smiled to herself, proud of her work.

Since it had been raining that day, she decided to shut the shop up until the weather cleared. It also gave Jillas and Grabos time to run a few errands for Filia in the next town over since the weather wasn't too bad to travel in. Val had been put down for his nap nearly an hour ago, leaving the house quiet. Filia had decided to use the sudden spare time to practice her baking skills, and had made the cake as soon as she finished her lunch.

Ready to wait on the cake to finish baking, Filia sat down in a chair beside her kitchen table. Everything was quiet, and for that she was grateful. Xellos hadn't even decided to 'grace' her with his presence today, and for that, she was exceedingly grateful. He had been visiting at random intervals since she'd opened her shop a year and a half ago, and no matter what she did, she simply couldn't get him to stop popping in.

She wondered about this. It had always been her reasoning that he only came around because he had orders to, or he was interested in Val. But if that were so, she couldn't figure out why he wasn't there all the time, and why he would disappear for weeks sometimes.

Even stranger was the fact that since he'd started visiting, he'd become increasingly friendlier. This was the part that worried her. Now, every time he came over, he made it a point to flirt with her, and once he'd even pinched her bottom. Of course, that was the one time that Filia had managed to actually strike him with her mace, too. Thinking about it, though, she couldn't fathom why he'd do such a thing. He had never acted that way toward Lina or Amelia when they were traveling with them.

Actually, Filia would have been flattered by his attention. She did find him rather attractive, even as irritating as he could be. But she knew he couldn't be serious about it in the least. It was common knowledge among her people that Mazoku could not feel love, and that their positive emotions were always very muted, at best. That fact would always outrule any attraction she felt toward him. It was simply common sense, and Filia had always been far too intelligent to ignore her common sense.

Filia sighed, fidgeting. She got out of her chair, smoothed her knee-high skirts out, and walked over to her oven to check on the cake. Curiously, she opened the oven door and peered in. The cake was rising perfectly. She smiled and took a toothpick off the top of the oven, then took a dishtowel from the counter and used it to pull the cooking rack out, with the cake on it. Carefully, she inserted the toothpick in the middle, then pulled it back out. There were tiny bits of doughy cake sticking to it. Sighing and realizing that the cake wasn't done yet, Filia pushed the rack back into the oven and shut the door.

"Oh, my," she heard a familiar and annoying voice from behind her, "You're certainly being a little temptress today. I like the garter belt, by the way. Nice touch." Filia's eyes went wide as she realized that her skirt must have been short enough to show off the tops of her thighs when she bent over. And worse, she'd been wearing white stockings with a black garter belt to hold them up, and now they were in plain view. Blushing and wide-eyed, Filia snapped back up, holding down the back of her skirt with both hands.

She didn't even need to turn around to know who'd shown up.

She looked over to the large, wooden dining table she'd just been sitting at. In the chair she'd occupied a minute earlier sat a man dressed in a long, black cloak. His straight, violet hair fell over to one side as he leaned his chin on the hand he'd propped on the table. His eyes were closed as he grinned crookedly, twirling a long, dark wooden staff with a blood red orb on its tip in the other hand.

"Xellos!", she growled, face burning, "How many times have I told you not to sneak up on me like that?" He chuckled mischievously.

"But you're so cute when you're angry!", he replied, giving her a wink, "Why don't you come over here and have a seat?" Filia begrudgingly did so, holding the back of her skirt down as she did.

"Why are you here, Xellos?", she asked, glaring at him as she sat down in the chair beside his. He continued smiling as he picked an apple out of the basket in the middle of the table and began polishing it.

"Do I need a reason to come visit you?", he asked innocently. Filia gave him a sour look that said "yes". He took the message and continued talking. "So," he said, pausing to take a bite out of his apple and chew it. After swallowing, he continued. "What has my little dragon been up to today?", he asked, smirking. Filia's face turned as red as a beet as she slammed her hands onto the table and stood leaning against it.

"I am not your anything!", she yelled, "And furthermore, I ought to smack you for looking up my skirt! Why are you such a pervert!?" The ranting continued as Xellos continued to sit serenely before her, eating his apple. After a few moments, she finally stopped yelling and sat back down, continuing to glare at him.

"You're going to wake little Val up with all that yelling," he said calmly, before taking another bite out of his apple. Filia blinked, then glared at him some more. She hated it when he was right. "So," he went on, "What have you done today? Judging from the looks of your kitchen, you haven't been cleaning." Filia's eye twitched, but she managed to keep her temper this time.

"I'll let that one go," she said deliberately, "If you must know, I've been cooking. I'm making a cake for dinner." Xellos looked around, then found a small jar of chocolate syrup sitting on the dinner table with a spoon in it.

"Chocolate cake, I assume?", he asked, picking the spoon up out of the syrup and letting the chocolate still clinging to the spoon slowly drizzle back into its container. Filia looked at him boredly as he set down the spoon and went back to eating the apple.

"That doesn't go into the cake, that's only for the topping," she replied, watching him eat his apple. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but there was something about the way he was eating it that felt like he was trying to be suggestive. She could tell he was looking at her out of the corner of his seemingly-closed eyes. It almost felt like the kind of look a wolf gives a deer its about to hunt: predatory and intense and deadly.

He'd been giving her similar looks a lot lately. Filia really didn't know what to make of it. For all intents and purposes, it seemed to her like he was trying to be tempting and sensual, but she couldn't understand why. If his intention was to attract her, he was accomplishing that task. Filia reasoned to herself that if he wasn't so obnoxious and a Mazoku, that he might actually have been trying to flirt with her. And if it wasn't for those very same reasons, she might have taken him up on it.

Filia noticed that not only were Xellos' eyes now open and staring at her, but he was also finished with his apple. She blushed when she realized she'd been staring at him and turned away. Xellos grinned and held the apple core up before causing it to disappear and reappear above the kitchen trash can. It fell in with a small 'thud' as he continued to smirk at her.

"What are you looking at, Filia?", he asked, the smirk evident in his voice. She turned back to face him, still red in the face. Slowly, he began to lick the apple juice off of each of his fingers, causing Filia to hesitate in what she was about to say. He was giving her the look again. She shook it off as best she could, remembering his earlier question. She tried to hide her embarrassment with a self-assured smirk.

"A piece of Mazoku trash who won't quit annoying me and leave my house when I ask him," she replied smartly, crossing her arms. Xellos continued to smirk at her, his arrogance visible on his face.

"Is that so?", he asked slowly, "If you really want me gone, you're not doing a very good job of getting rid of me. I think you rather enjoy my attention, actually." Filia's blush deepened as he picked up the spoon that was in the chocolate syrup jar and lazily began to stir its contents. "Am I right?", he asked, his smirk never wavering, as he regarded Filia's blush.

"Of course not!", she replied, feeling the heat creeping across her cheeks, "I… just don't think you're worth the effort of throwing out, that's all…" Silently, she cursed. 'He's doing it again,' she thought, 'He's trying to toy with me and make me admit I like him. But… he seems more serious this time.' Xellos put the spoon back into its container, leaving it there and resting his now free hand on the table.

"Then why are you blushing?", he asked simply, smiling at her with only one eye open this time.

Xellos watched her intently as she fumbled for the right words. It was obvious that she was attracted to him. At least Xellos thought so, anyway. He always enjoyed flustering her, and right now he was doing a fine job of it. The dragon continued to blush and look nervous, staring into her lap like a small child that had gotten caught doing something naughty. He smiled to himself, assured that if he wanted her, she was his.

There was a certain satisfaction to that thought, too. He had wanted to make the little dragon his for a long time, almost like a boy would capture butterflies or lightening bugs to take home in a jar. The thought occurred to him that if he so desired, he could have her in bed in a relatively short amount of time. Which he fully intended to do. Soon.

"Stop trying to bait me," she said quietly, looking away. Her voice was low and almost venomous. When she spoke, it was almost as if she knew her plea was falling on deaf ears. Xellos smiled inwardly.

'Oh, it won't be long now,' he thought, running his finger along the rim of the chocolate syrup jar. "Anyway," he said dismissively, eager to keep prodding at her, "Where are those two beast-men servants of yours? The house is awfully quiet." Filia turned to look back at him, a little surprised.

"That's because Val is asleep," she amended, "And they're not my servants. They're my assistants. Jillas and Grabos aren't here. I sent them to run errands for me. I don't think they'll be back before dinner. Why do you care?" Xellos noted that she seemed a little suspicious of him. But she wasn't maddened by his question, and that was a good sign. He closed both his eyes and smiled cheerfully at her.

"Oh, so we're alone right now," he remarked, almost off-handedly. He could sense and see Filia's surprise at his observation. She looked a little nervous that he would make such an observation, but also began to blush again.

"Yes," she replied slowly, sounding as if she were unsure what she should say, "Why? What do you intend to do?" There was an accusatory tone in her voice, like she expected him to be up to no good. Xellos found this amusing. He was sure she thought he intended to kill her or some other such silly thing.

"I merely thought I'd stop by and have lunch before continuing my mission," he remarked innocently, "I figured I hadn't visited in a while and that you might have started to worry. And goodness knows I wouldn't want to worry such a violent, selfish dragon, now would I?" At first Filia blushed, then she twitched at being called selfish. Then, a few seconds later, she blinked and looked as if she were thinking.

"You have a mission?", she asked, sounding puzzled. Xellos raised an eyebrow.

"It's not really any of your concern," he replied dismissively, with a wave of his hand, "But yes, I have a mission. I won't be missed for at least another hour, so I thought I'd stop by." Filia looked truly confused now. He briefly wondered what could be causing her confusion, but simply dismissed it as another case of a paranoid dragon thinking too much.

"Then, your master didn't send you here?", she asked, her voice matching her confused face. Xellos raised both eyebrows this time. So that's why she thought he was here. In truth, Lord Beastmaster had no idea Xellos came here as often as he did. But it wasn't interfering with his work, so he doubted she'd have a problem with it.

"No," he replied, sounding a little surprised by her question, "She doesn't know I'm here. I suppose you could say I'm on a lunch break." He smiled and wagged a finger at the confused-looking dragon. He could tell she couldn't make heads or tails out of what he'd just told her. He wondered that perhaps the idea had never occurred to her that he might have been visiting her simply because he enjoyed her company and found her attractive.

"Do you…", she asked haltingly, looking like she wasn't sure what to do next, "Do you want me to make you something to eat?" Xellos grinned and took the spoon out of the chocolate syrup jar. It was coated with the syrup, with a large pool of it resting in the middle of the spoon.

"I don't need to eat," he replied, putting just the slightest emphasis on the words as he grinned mischievously, "And besides… I think I'll be just fine with this chocolate." Filia looked at him in disbelief.

"I was going to use that for my cake," she replied, trying to take it from him. He pulled the jar out of her reach and held it away from her.

"There's more than enough to go around," he answered. She was beginning to get irritated again now.

"But that's not for lunch!", she protested, "Why would you want to eat it straight like that?" Xellos grinned as a particularly wicked idea occurred to him.

"Because it tastes good, of course," he said simply, "Haven't you ever tried it like that?" Filia blinked at him in disbelief.

"Of course not," she replied, "It's a topping. You're only supposed to eat it on other food." A very simple plan began to form itself in Xellos' mind. He scraped the bottom of the spoon off on the side of the jar, making sure it wouldn't drip, and offered it out to her.

"Try it," he said, sounding particularly devious, "You like chocolate, don't you?" As he watched her give him a suspicious look, he willed a small bit of his essence to imbue the spoonful of syrup. He grinned inwardly. Once she ate the syrup, the bit of himself he'd put into it could easily weaken her resistance to his suggestions. She would become a little less morally inclined than she normally was, as well. It would be only the slightest change, but not enough to erode her personality. Technically, he knew it was morally wrong, but since when had such tiny things as morals kept him from what he wanted?

"You know I do," she replied carefully, "Otherwise I wouldn't be baking a chocolate cake." Xellos continued smirking as he held the spoon closer to her.

"Then try it," he said, trying to sound tempting, "It's good!" She looked hesitant for a few more seconds before finally letting him put the spoon in her mouth. He could feel her licking the chocolate off the spoon before finally sliding it between her lips and out of her mouth. There was the slightest blush on her cheeks, and he could tell it had worked.

"Now it's your turn," she remarked, taking the syrup from him. He was a little taken aback by that suggestion and didn't resist her this time. Curiously, he watched her take a spoonful out of the jar and scrape the bottom of the spoon to keep it from dripping. She held the spoon out to him. "It's only fair," she said, smiling, "You made me embarrass myself by making me let you feed me. Turnabout is fair play. Now come on, open up."

Xellos looked at her curiously. What was she getting at, if anything? Deciding that he might as well humor her, he took the spoon in his mouth, making sure to look up at her from under his bangs. He sucked a little at the metal and gave it a final lick before releasing it. He could see the blush spread across Filia's cheeks again as he did so, noticing the effects his subtle actions were having over her.

"There, was that so bad?", she asked, smiling. She sat the syrup jar down on the table and sat back down, smoothing her skirts out over her knees. Xellos adopted his familiar grin again as she did so. It was time to test his limits with her and see if she would resist him, or if she would willingly give herself to him. He smiled inwardly at this thought. He'd waited patiently and for a long time to have her.

"No," he replied quietly, his voice little more than a husky whisper, his eyes open and trained on her, "Filia..." She straightened and looked at him wide-eyed, almost frightened. The intimate way he'd spoken her name had taken her by surprise. Her face had the countenance of a deer caught before a predator. He gave her a smug smirk as she backed away a little.

"What?", she asked, equally as quiet. It was obvious that she was a little frightened, but a little excited as well. He could sense her pulse quicken as well as her breath. The part of him that now resided inside her told him that not only was she anxious, but curious as to what he'd say, as well. Satisfied that all was going well, he continued.

"Come over here for a second," he said slowly and quietly, observing her every motion. She regarded him with her familiar suspicion. He could feel her tugging away from his influence in his mind. She was still very much in control of herself. He could see that her natural instincts had the better of her at the moment, and that she did not intend to come near him.

"No," she replied softly, "Why do you want me to come closer to you? What are you going to do?" Xellos' smirk turned into an amused grin as he continued to stare open-eyed at her.

"Nothing at all," he replied, "But if you don't come over here, I'm going to get up and walk over to you." She continued to stare at him in confusion. He could sense her emotions conflicting. At least some part of her did want to come over to him. Her natural 'fight-or-flight' instincts, however, continued to tell her that he was, in fact, dangerous, and would not allow her to budge from her seat. He found this knowledge at once intimately fascinating and bothersome.

"Xellos, stop it," she said, trying to sound firm, "You're not funny. I don't see why you flirt with me when you're not serious." His eyes stayed trained on her figure, analyzing it. He could tell that behind the veneer of her firm words, she was still indecisive and nervous. And more than that, the tone of her voice suggested that she was also disappointed with him for his lack of seriousness. A quick check of her emotions confirmed that suspicion as well. This was interesting. He'd known she was attracted to him, but he hadn't realized she had wanted more.

He decided it would be best to let her comment slide. He dared not answer it directly, lest he give too much away. Instead, he gave her a devious look and stood up. He slowly walked over to her chair, watching her expression become more and more anxious. She was confused and didn't know what he would do next. He smirked in satisfaction at that thought.

"I told you that if you didn't come to me, I would come to you," he said quietly, almost an impatient tone apparent in his voice. Filia rose from her chair and took a step away from him, finding herself backed up against her kitchen table. She looked up at him, startled and still a little nervous.

"Xellos!" she exclaimed, as he took one of her hands into his, "What are you - -?" She was cut off mid-sentence as he suddenly brought down his lips to meet hers. Xellos kissed her carefully, making sure not to be too forceful or too passive. He was unused to doing this, and carefully observed her reactions to take his cues. She didn't resist the kiss at all; in fact, after the initial shock wore off, she began to kiss back.

Satisfied with her response, he kissed her harder, wrapping his free arm around her back and pulling her against him. He used his other hand to place one of her hands against his chest and immediately felt her other arm hesitantly go over his shoulder and behind his neck. Slowly, he slipped his tongue between her lips and felt for her reaction. She hesitantly pressed her own tongue against his in response. The thought occurred to him that she wasn't very experienced at kissing at all. However inexperienced she was, though, she seemed not to mind too much. She was now kissing him with equal fervor, if not a little more.

However much he happened to be enjoying finally being able to kiss her, there was a small voice nagging at him in the back of his mind. The thought that this was not truly Filia kissing him, that it was in fact the part of himself inside her that was making her kiss him, continued to present itself to him. Normally, it wouldn't have bothered him. He briefly wondered why it was now nibbling at his thoughts. He pushed it back and continued to kiss her, enjoying the little moans and pants she would occasionally give.

However much he tried to fight it, the tiny voice continued to protest as he moved his hand down her back and over her backside. Filia gasped a little in surprise, but didn't pull away. He took this as a sign that she didn't mind, and continued his advance. He lightly felt the curve of her bottom through her skirts, subtly pressing her forward and allowing the bottom of her stomach to rub against his groin. The little voice in the back of his mind grew more vocal as they both realized exactly how excited he'd become.

Filia didn't stop kissing him, though. Instead, the hand she had planted on his chest clutched at his shirt, keeping him close. Part of Xellos was stunned by her reaction and congratulated himself on making it this far with her. The other part, however, admonished himself for tricking her. He fought it back once again, this time reaching underneath her skirt to feel her skin. There was no indication of surprise or resistance as he did so; in fact, she pressed against him more firmly and kissed him more feverishly. The voice spoke up again, insisting that this could not be her, and again, he quieted it.

Slowly, giving her time to protest, he undid one of the straps in the back of her garter belt that was holding up her stockings. Once those were undone, he'd be able to remove her panties. Filia either didn't notice, or didn't mind. She continued kissing him as though nothing had happened. This in mind, he undid the strap on the back of her other leg. The voice continued to gnaw at him as he reached down and liberated one of her stockings from the front, and then the other. Now the straps that had just seconds ago been holding up Filia's stockings swung freely against her thighs. The voice grew stronger as his hand slipped up her thigh and under her skirt.

He gently ran his thumb underneath the elastic band at the bottom of her panties. There wasn't a sign of resistance from her; instead, she moved the hand she had placed on his chest down to the sash at his waist. She hesitantly slid her fingers between his shirt and his sash and kept them there. Regardless of what she did, or the feelings he could pick up from her, the voice that doubted the sincerity of her actions grew louder. He fought it again and moved his hand up to the waistband, gently pushing it down and sliding her panties down around her hips. Filia gasped a little this time, but nothing about her kiss changed. Encouraged, and finding her gasp utterly charming, he slid the piece of flimsy cloth over the tops of her stockings. It fell to the floor when Filia moved her leg a little.

The voice in his head was practically screaming at him now. There was no way he could continue to ignore it any longer. It had already taken the fun out of what he was doing, and worse, he began to fear it was right. He pulled himself away from her, breaking off the kiss reluctantly, and looked at her.

Filia was blushing softly, her eyes wide with confusion. She was leaning against the table, her skirts ruffled from where his hands had been a few short moments ago. Her lips, rosy and slick from the kiss, parted slightly as she took in deep, even breaths. He found her utterly lovely, but that damned voice wouldn't be pleased until he'd admitted to the trick he'd played.

"Xellos?", she asked uncertainly, "What's wrong?" Her voice was light and trembling. He looked at her open-eyed, and took a step back.

"Filia," he said slowly, "I... I have a confession to make." Filia blinked at him. He reasoned that she certainly had to be thinking how very unlike him it was to make anything resembling a confession. He looked at the ground, his bangs shading his eyes as he closed them. "The syrup I gave you before," he said hesitantly, hating the way the words tasted, "It... I... I put... a little of myself into it... I've been making you kiss me." He looked up, expecting to find her giving him an angry or hurt look.

Instead, he found Filia leaning against the table, smiling attractively. "No, you've not," she said sweetly, taking him off guard.

"What?", he asked, surprised.

"It's alright, Xellos," she said reassuringly, "Because I blessed the syrup I gave you." Xellos blinked at her, genuinely taken aback.

"You..." he started, disbelieving what he was hearing.

"Blessed it," she finished for him, "I could tell what you were doing to my syrup. I just wanted to see why you were doing it." He stood staring at her in disbelief for a few moments longer as she leaned against the table and smiled serenely.

"Then, were you kissing me because you wanted to?", he asked, not making sense of it all. She nodded.

"I was," she admitted, "It was only your conscience bothering you because I blessed you. I would have kissed you anyway once you told me that you're not under orders here." Xellos didn't let it show, but he was slightly surprised. He knew she was attracted to him, true, but he hadn't suspected that she had really thought about it.

"Why would it matter to you if my orders involved you or not?", he asked, cracking an eye open, "Other than the obvious reasons, of course." Filia blinked in surprise.

"If your orders don't involve me," she reasoned, stepping toward him, "Then that means you're here of your own free will. And most likely, it's because you want to see me. Am I mistaken?" She smiled sweetly, pointing a finger at his chest. He reciprocated with a mischievous grin.

"I admit nothing," he replied, smirking and holding his hands up, palms facing outward. He wanted to be angry at her for blessing his syrup like that. But try as he might, he still couldn't manage to bring himself to be mad at her. As a matter of fact, he was almost secretly pleased with that knowledge. It was almost as if they were even. He watched the smiling dragon look up at him as she drew closer. After a few more moments of silence, she spoke up.

"So," Filia finally said, "What do you intend to do now?" Xellos opened his eyes as he continued to smirk. He noticed that Filia flinched a little at that action, but she didn't back down. He took that small gesture as a cue that she was probably willing to continue what they'd started a few minutes ago. Slowly, he brought a hand up to her face, feeling the curve of her jaw and drawing her closer as he bent down and caught her lips again. His other arm slid around her waist, pulling her closer to him. He noticed that she didn't seem to mind; instead, she deepened the kiss. He did note with some interest that she had seemed to be getting markedly better at kissing since the beginning of the first kiss.

Filia shyly wrapped an arm around Xellos' back, the other coming to rest on his chest again. She felt so many strange, conflicting emotions as they kissed. There was relief in knowing that he wasn't under orders to visit her and disbelief that he cared enough to visit on his own. There was surprise, and maybe a little disgust, that she was not only allowing him to kiss her, but was actually kissing him back. There was a new feeling, too, that made her truly enjoy the kissing and touching. She thought she had felt it sometime before, only not as strongly, while he was flirting with her. She wasn't exactly sure, but she thought it might be what the elders at her temple had referred to as 'lust'. It didn't seem anywhere near as sinful as they'd made it out to be.

Xellos' hand trailed along Filia's jawline, around to the nape of her neck. He felt the ribbon that tied the top of her apron around her neck with his fingers. Slowly, he tugged it loose, untying the knot she had made to hold the apron around her neck. The front of the apron fell down to hang from her waist, still held in place there by the ribbon that tied behind her back. His hand rested on the nape of her neck for a few more moments before coming back around to the center of her collar. Her blouse had a row of buttons down the front which held the shirt together.

Xellos toyed with the top button at the collar of her blouse, the annoying voice in his mind having been quieted, or at least appeased. He subtly slid the button out of its buttonhole as he ran his tongue along her lips. He worked his way down the row of tiny, pearl-shaped buttons as he slowly backed Filia against the table again. He gently pressed her against the edge of the table, undoing another button. He gave her a gentle hoist, and by the time he was finished with the new button, she was sitting on the edge of the table, her knees on either side of his waist.

Finally, Xellos reached the last button just above her waist band. He quickly dispatched it, pausing briefly to devote his full attention to the kiss he and Filia were indulging in. She didn't seem to be hesitant that he was undoing her blouse. On the contrary, she was kissing him just as eagerly as he was kissing her. It occurred to him that perhaps she was curious about what he intended to do, or about what lovers do when they're alone. Of this, he'd be more than happy to inform her. He was all too aware of her naivety, and was certain she'd never even kissed anyone before.

Slowly, he slid his free hand into the opening in the front of Filia's shirt. She gasped a little, but didn't stop kissing. Instead, she clutched at him, startled that his hands were fairly cool. She thrilled at his touch as he pushed the top of her corset down to run his fingers across her breast. His fingers were smooth and felt like satin or some other fine cloth against her skin.

Filia felt her breath catch in her throat a few times as he pushed aside her shirt and ran his chilly thumb along her nipple. She briefly wondered why she was allowing him this liberty, but the warm feeling spreading across her chest and between her thighs provided all the answer she really needed at the moment. In truth, she didn't want to stop him at all. It would have shamed her to admit it, but she actually wanted him to continue what he was doing, and maybe even go a little further with it.

Filia caught her breath as Xellos moved his kisses from her lips, down her jaw, and onto her throat. She felt a small, barely audible sigh escape her lips as he began nibbling at her neck, his sharp teeth sending tiny jolts of pleasure through her.
The little nibbles continued, tracing a line down Filia's neck and collarbone. Eventually, Xellos reached her bare breast, causing her to gasp from his cool kisses. He took her pale pink nipple into his mouth and ran his tongue along it. He began to suck at it, being careful to rest his teeth against her areola so as not to bite her too hard.

Filia held her breath, almost unable to breathe at all. When air did manage to escape her mouth, it came out as small pants and gasps. She had never experienced anything like this before in her life. Slowly, she threaded her fingers through Xellos' fine, dark hair, grasping at the back of his head. He pushed aside the other side of her shirt, baring her other breast. In one fluid motion, his hand glided from her chest to the syrup jar that sat beside her on the table. Filia noticed and wondered what he was doing as he slid the jar right next to her.

"What are you--?", she asked groggily, barely managing to speak as he continued his ministrations with his tongue. He looked up at her from underneath his bangs, devilish humor playing in his eyes. She regretted that he had to stop what he was doing to speak, and almost wished she had stayed quiet.

"I'm going to eat you all up," he said sweetly, a devilish smile on his lips. Before Filia could ask what he meant, he'd picked up the jar and was holding the spoon above it, allowing a small stream of syrup to fall back into the jar. She sat still as he trailed the spoon over her bare chest, allowing the chocolate to drizzle onto her fair skin. Careful not to get any of the sticky liquid into her hair or on her clothes, he slowly covered both breasts, then put the spoon and jar aside.

Xellos took his time as he began to lick the syrup away. He wanted to savor every little pant his dragon made. After all, there was no telling when he'd be able to do this with her again. Slowly, he bathed her with his tongue, taking in the strong taste of the chocolate and the scent of her own arousal. He thought briefly that she quite probably didn't even realize that she was becoming aroused, and that this might have been the first time she'd ever done anything even remotely like this. He continued lapping the dark syrup away, a low moan escaping his own throat. He wanted to be buried inside her right then, his own impatience causing him to ache. He chided himself, though, deciding instead to go through this slowly and make her feel every bit of the need he was feeling at the moment. Judging from her reaction to each of his licks, she didn't have much further to go.

Filia's head was reeling. Xellos' tongue left her nearly breathless and there was a decidedly hot feeling between her thighs now. She found that it felt quite good to keep his waist against that area, so she'd wrapped her legs around his back and crossed her ankles there. Anytime he moved against her, it nearly drove her mad.

The thought occurred to her that he was going to make love to her. For a second, she was shocked and afraid. She hadn't the first clue how to do anything of that sort properly. What's more, she'd always been told that it hurt and that those who did so without the bonds of a ceremony would be punished by the Gods. Her doubts were erased a few seconds later when he pressed his waist against her again. If love-making felt anything like this, she seriously doubted it was going to hurt.

It didn't take much longer before Xellos was done with the syrup. He nearly decided to go for seconds on the chocolate, but had to remind himself that he only had so much time. He silently swore at the recent assignment he'd been given and how it never allowed him much free time. That irritation, however, didn't diminish his enthusiasm.

Satisfied that Filia's breasts had been thoroughly cleaned, his kisses once again began to move lower. She opened her eyes and looked down to find him kneeling on the floor and kissing her belly through the opening in her shirt. She briefly wondered what he was doing and lay her hand on his head lightly. He moved lower, pushing her skirts further up her thighs until they were gathered around her waist.

'What in the world is he doing?', she thought. Her curiosity was immediately quelled when his lips met the sensitive bundle of flesh at the top of her opening. She was more than a little embarrassed at having him right between her inner thighs like that, but that thought was shoved from her mind as he gave her a tiny nip before continuing. She nearly squealed from the powerful new sensations as he ran his tongue down from the tip of the small collection of nerve-laden skin and over the slick outer walls of her vulva.

Xellos pressed the his tongue flatly against her, nearly grinning as he did so. He knew he was in absolute control of her at the moment, every sensation she felt right then entirely dependent upon his whim. He snuck a devious peak upward to glance at her face for a moment. Her head was tilted back, eyes half-open and lips parted. He could tell that she was enrapt at the moment, her breath coming in short, audible bursts. He returned to his machinations, satisfied that she was nearly entirely his now. His tongue penetrated her, causing her to clutch at his hair and take in a breath in a sharp gasp. He relished her taste, salty and thick, as she pressed against him enthusiastically. He tickled her as his tongue trailed along the folds of skin that were now sticky and slick with her desire.

She obviously wanted him badly, but he doubted she realized it. There was an almost maniacal satisfaction in knowing this. Every little sound she made excited him even more with the knowledge that he was the one solely responsible.
Xellos thrust his tongue into her as far as it would go. He could hear her cry out and feel her move against him. He moved upward, licking her roughly and giving the little folds at the top a gentle nibble. As he began to apply a bit of suction to the skin, Filia gasped again loudly and pressed harder against his lips. It hit him that she had to be nearing a climax just then. Unwilling to let her claim an orgasm before the real fun had even begun, he pulled away, leaving her breathless.

Filia sighed as her pulse slowed a bit and her body cooled momentarily. She looked down to see Xellos rising from his place on the floor. He stood directly between her legs and leaned in close to her. Filia looked up into his face, managing to fully open her eyes for almost the first time since they'd began. His eyes were open only a fraction, his features nearly expressionless and calm. It was the same dangerous look he'd been giving her on each of his visits. There was a moment of stillness as she waited for him to do something. The moment ended as he leaned forward and kissed her hard, wrapping his firm arms around behind her back. Filia melted into the kiss, relieved that they were continuing. She could taste herself on his lips, arousing her even more. He pressed against her hard, stopping just short of actually hurting her. His kisses stopped suddenly as he pressed his cheek against hers, placing his mouth next to her ear.

"Tell me how far you want to go, Filia," he demanded quietly, his cool breath tickling her ear, "Say I can go all the way." Filia's eyes widened in surprise as she managed to actually catch her breath.

"Yes..." she finally managed to answer, wrapping her legs around his back. He gave her a small kiss on the ear as he pressed harder against her. She could feel his erection pressed firmly between her legs and wondered briefly why he hadn't taken his pants off if he intended to couple with her. She briefly recalled the time that Valgaav had cut him from shoulder to toe and the way that the cut revealed nothing but blackness beyond his garments. It occurred to her then that he didn't need to remove any clothing, and probably didn't have the time to bother with it, anyway. She gasped as she suddenly felt him position himself to take her.

"This will hurt the first time, you do understand that, right?", he asked, his voice hurried and soft. Filia bit her bottom lip and nodded, clutching at his back with her hands. She wanted him to go ahead and start whatever it was that he was going to do before she lost the lovely warm feeling she'd had a few moments ago.

Filia didn't have to wait long. Another second went by and he was buried deep within her, biting her earlobe to steady himself. Filia nearly screamed as she dug her nails into his back. Instead, though, she merely gasped and bit her bottom lip. It did hurt a good deal, but Xellos restrained himself, keeping still long enough for her to get used to the feeling of having him within her. He wanted to growl, so infuriating was the stillness. He could hear her gasping for breath and wanted to take her roughly, so enticing was she. But again, he held back, opting instead to slowly pull his head around to kiss her fiercely. He had no fear of being bitten by her, as the initial shock and pain had worn away. He did notice, however, that there were small wet spots welling up in the corners of her closed eyes, obviously tears from the pain.

Filia was kissing him back now and moving against him, the pain having subsided for the most part. He could tell some still resided within her simply by his nature as a Mazoku. But at the moment, her excitement was getting the better of her as she tried to move against him in small, jerky strokes. Encouraged, he slowly established a rhythm, listening to her moans as cues, and trying to be gentle with her. How else would he ever be able to convince her to do this a second time?

Filia's whole body was burning up. Gods, it hurt, but at the same time, she could overlook the pain for the other sensations she was feeling. She hadn't noticed it at the time, but the shock of Xellos' entry had caused her to lose a bit of control over her form, causing her tail to erupt unbidden from her backside. Now it gently swished against the tabletop, making a soft 'thud' noise as it did so. Xellos apparently noticed as well, using one hand to reach behind her and caress it.

"Careless dragon," he remarked fondly, his lips still pressed against hers, "You should learn more restraint." He gave her a particularly hard thrust, testing her limits, and relishing her pleasure-soaked moan. He could barely stand it anymore, her inexperienced motions and sounds turning him on far better than the most finely crafted aphrodisiac any apothecary had ever concocted. He became intensely aware that he wasn't going to be able to hold out for much longer before he finally capitulated and reached his climax.

He wasn't going to allow that to happen. Not yet. He had waited far too long for this, and he intended to enjoy it as much as possible. His pace had quickened involuntarily, but Filia had responded, accommodating him. Neither of them really registered the loud banging noise of the kitchen table they were using striking the wall with the force of their coupling. He began to moan as well, accompanying her.

A few more moments passed before Xellos noticed something else that began to distract him. The tabletop had become slick from Filia's blood and their activities, and was causing her to slide a little bit. This would do them no good, he decided. He wrapped his arms tightly about Filia, binding her close to him.

"Hold on a second," he managed to breathe, grateful for the momentary break in the action that might allow him to creep away from the verge of ecstacy, "You're starting to slide. I'm afraid you might fall." Filia breathed something unintelligible, so enrapt was she as she took him completely inside and then held still. Xellos closed his eyes and caused them both to vanish.

Filia reappeared a moment later, confused and bent over her kitchen counter at the waist, her rump in the air and her bare breasts covered in sweat and mopping up some of the stray flour she'd left over from when she'd mixed her cake batter. A second later, she felt Xellos' hands on her hips before he reentered her, causing her to cry out. This felt much different from what they were doing a second ago. Each thrust seemed to hit a certain sweet spot that he hadn't been touching before. The force of every motion made her cry out in pleasure as he struck that special place again and again. Did he even realize what he was doing to her or how unbearably delicious that felt? Filia decided that he probably did and was grateful for it. She found herself calling out his name, almost screaming, even as she could hear him groaning close behind her. She couldn't even tell if she was touching the floor anymore, or if she was on her tiptoes, or flat footed, she was so oblivious.

Xellos was ready to give up his control. He knew that much already. Filia's body was entirely too warm and accommodating and snug for him to last much longer. But it was a matter of pride to him that she be fulfilled first. Judging from the sounds of her raptured cries, she was dangerously close as well. He knew that he had little time to act, so he grabbed her roughly around the waist and pulled her up to a standing position and back toward him.

Filia's cries became high pitched and shrill at once when he jerked her backwards. This was almost too much to bear. He was pressing hard into the soft spot inside her that he'd struck before, causing a horribly enthralling pressure to build behind it. Filia stopped trying to hold back the enticing sensation he was causing and felt her own warm fluids rushing out and down between her legs. She barely realized she had forgotten to breathe until a few seconds later when she felt an unbearably hot feeling begin to overtake her.

"What's happening?", she gasped, her voice strained, "I feel warm..." Xellos bit the tip of her ear and held her tight, not wanting to lose his grip on her.

"Shh," he said, hushing her and slipping a couple of fingers between her legs to rub the wet bundle of nerves that resided there, "Just let it happen." Filia's back arched as he touched her, the warmth having fully engulfed her now. She opened her mouth to cry out, but found herself too stunned to do anything other than lean into him. Filia thought for more than a few seconds that she would pass out from the pleasure for sure. She slumped against Xellos, her back pressed against him, and simply allowed the warmth to leave her body, a gentle echo of it left in its wake.

Xellos had been at the verge of losing control until a few moments ago. When the orgasm had hit Filia, her muscles had begun to tighten against him. The pressure was unbearable and after a few seconds, he finally relinquished his control, giving in and finding release within her.

The sensation sent Xellos reeling. He had to concentrate simply to remain standing and keep the both of them from falling in the floor. Filia felt as limp as a ragdoll in his arms. He thought for a moment that she was perhaps unconscious, but was reassured by the twitching of her tail and the slight movement of her hands. He withdrew from her, still keeping her back pressed against his chest for support, and began placing small kisses on her pointed ears and neck. He could barely think straight, and he suspected Filia was no less disoriented. Her breaths began coming in deep, audible sighs, causing her flour-caked, bare breasts to heave.

They stayed like that for what seemed like an eternity while they regained their bearings. Filia's hands journeyed up to caress the arms Xellos had wrapped around her waist. Finally, Filia startled Xellos by breaking the unnatural stillness.

"I think my stockings are ruined," she commented sadly, her voice barely audible and quite drained.
Xellos chuckled quietly beside her ear. He nuzzled into her soft hair, enjoying the quiet peace between the two of them.

"You should probably go change them and clean up, then," he suggested, equally as quiet, "You might want to check on the baby while you do so. He may have been disturbed by all the racket." Filia was almost too exhausted to be surprised by his sudden thoughtfulness. The only explanation Filia could think of for it was that he must have been equally as drained as she. And she realized, of course, that he was right. She still hated that. She also hated that she had to leave his embrace to make herself decent just in case her assistants came home unexpectedly.

"What will you do?", she asked absently, not wanting to give up and go upstairs to her room to tidy up yet. He continued to nuzzle into her soft, sweet-scented hair.

"I'll tend to myself down here," he replied, releasing her. Filia's dress fell down to its proper length when he let go, her legs a little unsure and wobbly from the odd positions they'd just been in. She shook her head a little and looked back at Xellos. He had the strangest look on his face. She was used to seeing him being cocky or devious or malicious. But there was something strangely mellow about his features at the moment. Filia dismissed this notion and did as she was told, making her way to the stairs and unsurely making her way up them.

* ~ * ~ * ~ *

Filia came back down the stairs a few minutes later, situated a little better than she had been when she left. She had dusted and cleaned herself off, opting to wear the same dress and apron as before. She had taken her stockings off to wash them, as they had indeed been terribly soiled and bloodied. She had replaced her panties with a fresh pair, seeing as how she had forgotten to bring the ones from earlier with her, and probably didn't want to anyway. She had ran a comb through her hair, untangling it for the moment and making it feel at least a bit more presentable. She looked over the kitchen from halfway down the stairs and immediately noticed three things: all signs of her and Xellos' recent exertions had been cleaned away as well as the majority of the flour, her cake was out of the oven, and Xellos was sitting calmly at the kitchen table, eating another apple. She was really quite glad that he had stayed. She had been afraid that he would leave without saying goodbye while she was getting straightened up.

Filia blushed as he turned to look at her. "I took the liberty of taking your cake out of the oven," he said, "I think it almost burned, and you're probably lucky it didn't fall." Filia didn't say anything, instead choosing to sit in the chair across from him quietly. "Well," he said, finally, "Aren't you going to thank me?" Filia looked at her knees, not quite sure what she should say. Xellos looked slightly insulted. "What's the matter?", he asked, sounding half-concerned and half-impatient.

"I just...", she replied, looking awfully thoughtful, "I'm afraid... that you might think I'm easy..." Xellos raised an eyebrow. The strangest things troubled that dragon. He figured he'd never understand that righteous streak of hers.

"Why?", he asked jokingly, cracking an eye open, "Because you almost let your cake burn?" Filia looked up at him, startled and almost horrified.

"No!", she protested quietly, "Because I just gave myself to you so easily! I don't know if what I did was right..." Xellos studied her, secretly not wanting her to regret their actions.

"Why would I think you're easy?", he asked sternly, almost seemingly angry with her, "It isn't 'easy' to wait to take a woman to bed for over a year and a half. And why would I think you were easy when I just finished doing the same thing as you?" Filia played with a strand of her hair, not wanting to look at him right then. She felt incredibly shy and embarrassed at the moment.

"But..." Filia protested, hesitantly, almost as if she were looking for a reason to worry now, "What if I'm carrying your child now? This is where children come from, you know." She looked up, her eyes pleading and worried. She found Xellos looking undeterred, eating his apple.

"Well, I really don't think that's possible right now," Xellos replied, taking a bite of apple and chewing it. Filia began to feel the slightest bit angry with him.

"And why not?" she asked indignantly, anxiety straining her voice, "We just... We just made love, didn't we?" She thought he wasn't taking her seriously at all, and she was genuinely worried. She simply knew the Gods were going to bestow some curse upon her for this. She wished she'd thought a little further ahead earlier, but at the time these concerns felt so far away.

Xellos simply raised an eyebrow and swallowed his bite of apple. "Because I would have to have been investing an enormous amount of concentration in the process of conception," he replied simply, "And to tell the truth, I really wasn't all that interested in it. It would take a lot of work for me to be able to impregnate you. It's rather difficult for an individual of my... constitution, you know." Filia sat up and stared at him, wide-eyed.

"So...", she finally said, startled, "You only did this for fun?" Xellos raised both eyebrows as he took another bite of apple and chewed it. He swallowed before answering.

"Why else would I do this?", he asked, giving her an incredulous look. Filia looked a great deal less worried than before. "My time is almost up, you know," he said finally, "If you're going to frost that cake, I'd suggest you do it now." Filia was almost relieved he'd steered the subject away at that point. He was probably nervous about revealing too much about himself right then.

"I will," she said, rising from her chair and taking the lovingly-used jar of chocolate syrup over to the kitchen counter with her where the cake lay on a cooling rack.

A few short minutes later, the cake was frosted with coconut frosting and had tiny cross-hatched lines running over the top of it in chocolate syrup. Filia smiled proudly at her creation, in its place on her counter. She was startled from her admiration as Xellos possessively wrapped his arms around her waist and gave her a hug from behind. He gave her a small kiss on the ear, causing her to blush.

"Well, it seems my little dragon is quite a good cook," he commented, giving her a devilish grin. Filia glared sideways at him, but failed to truly be angry with him.

"I'm not *your* anything, Xellos," she amended for the second time that day, "Just because I let you..." She was cut off abruptly as he began to speak over her.

"So, are you going to cut me a piece off to take with me?", he asked serenely, almost oblivious to her protests. Filia blinked before wriggling out of his embrace and fetching a knife and a piece of wrapping foil.

Filia carefully cut the cake, making sure not to crush its still-warm surface. She took the piece she cut away from the body of the cake with the broad side of her knife and lay it on the foil. She wrapped the foil around it, taking care not to rub the icing off with the wrapping.

Xellos watched all this with some satisfaction. This had not been a bad lunch break at all. He'd gotten to enjoy his dragon, and he was getting a piece of chocolate cake out of the deal as well. Filia handed him the foil package, making sure he didn't crush it, and smiled.

"Here you go," she said kindly, "So you'll have a piece of me to take with you on your mission." She smiled up gently at him, and he grinned back mischievously.

"I'm afraid I have to be on my way back now," he said playfully, "But I'll be back as soon as I can get away. I'm afraid I'm already late as it is." Filia gave him a pitiful look when he said this.

"You won't be punished, will you?", she asked, concerned. Xellos grinned, both eyes closed, as he leaned over and gave her a brief kiss on the lips.

"Oh, no," he replied, "I can always charm my way out of punishment. Take care, now. I'll be back later." He stepped away from Filia and disappeared, leaving her staring, puzzled, out into space.

* ~ * ~ * ~ *

Xellos had been just a few minutes late getting back into the royal court that Lord Beastmaster had sent him to corrupt. The young, thin-willed king was impatiently awaiting his return when he finally walked into the throne room to report to him.

"You're late, priest," the young man called, not moving from his lazily reclined position on the throne, "You are a lazy one, aren't you?" Xellos resisted the urge to grievously injure the arrogant young human. He was always saying haughty things to irritate him. Xellos decided to take this opportunity to needle the youth he was currently assigned to control as a puppet ruler. He stopped beside the throne and leaned against it.

"Me, your highness?", he asked innocently, "Never, never." He removed his piece of Filia's cake from his cloak and unwrapped it. "Oh, my," he said, holding it out in the young king's plain view, "This cake smells delicious! This is why I was late, your highness. I had to wait to get a piece of this from the kitchen wench who was baking it." The frail, young king looked slightly interested as Xellos took a bite of the cake. He chewed it slowly, noting that Filia's baking skills really were improving a good deal.

"Where was the wench that you said baked that?", the king asked, leaning over to watch Xellos eat contentedly, "I think I should like a piece. It smells delightful."

"Oh, the pretty young kitchen wench?", Xellos asked before taking another bite, "I'm afraid she was only visiting her cousin in your kingdom for the day. Why, I'm sure she's gone back to her own kingdom now. It was a pity, your highness... She was a very fair girl. She had the finest flaxen hair. It fell nearly to her waist! Very nice figure, too. She couldn't afford an expensive dress, but the one she had showed off her figure quite nicely. And her eyes were the most lovely shade of blue. I do believe she was rather taken with me." The king snorted.

"Why would you think even a peasant girl would favor you, when one such as I resides in this kingdom?", the arrogant young man asked. Xellos grinned sadistically. He could tell the boy was becoming jealous of him. He reasoned that maybe it would teach the snotty brat some humility.

"Oh, I know she favored me," he replied, smirking, "She did bake a lovely cake just for me. Alas, though, I couldn't take it all with me. I had to resort to taking just this one piece. She was quite sad to learn I am a priest, though. Had I not taken a vow of celibacy long ago, I believe she would've made a fine wife." The king snorted, turning away from the self-satisfied priest.

"Who wants a lowly peasant wench, anyway," the young man said dismissively, "I have princesses to chose from." Xellos continued grinning, swallowing the piece of chocolate cake he'd been chewing on.

"Oh, this girl was as fine and pious as any princess," Xellos replied, twisting the knife a little more, "It's a pity I can't see her right now. I should have liked to have spent a little more time with her."