Dresden Files White Christmas

No matter if you do it to celebrate the birth of Christ or to revel in capitalism, Christmas is a time to spend with your family. I've never had any to celebrate with and so I've gotten used to spending it alone.

This year, though, I actually had plans other than Christmas lunch with the Carpenter family. Thomas had taken Mouse for the day and would be coming over later in the evening and to celebrate. It wasn't something I had a great deal of experience with, but there'd be gifts, at least. How hard could it be?

At the moment, I was celebrating the holidays as I usually did, with a good book and an even better beer. Or at least I was until someone knocked on my door.

I gave it a suspicious glance. Thomas wasn't supposed to arrive for a while longer and though my brother tended to arrive on time, he never ever arrived before he was supposed to.

I labored for a second to heave open the banged up steel security door I'd installed myself and was rewarded for my effort with a vision that simultaneously scared me more than Jehova's witnesses and shrunk my pants a couple of sizes.

Lara Raith was… A lot of things. Beautiful, sexy, smart and one of the more dangerous people, or sort of people to be perfectly accurate, that I'd ever met.

She wore a big fur coat that, unfortunately, concealed a lovely body and would have had PETA declare a Jihad on her. Her hair was black, curly and the snowflakes that had gotten stuck in it shone like purposefully adorning diamonds.

Her eyes were somewhere in between grey and periwinkle blue, but they were steely in every sense of the word. I avoided them and waited, trying to look casual where I stood.

"Where's Thomas?" She asked, looking past me as if expecting him to be hiding behind my couch.

"Not here," I said and stepped aside to offer her a clear view of my basement apartment's living room. Lara Raith fits in about as neatly into the "Necessary evil" column as Marcone does and I avoid her whenever possible.

"Obviously," she said with a sardonic little smile. "But he is going to be later, isn't he?"

I wasn't sure whether Thomas wanted me to lie on his behalf, but if he had wanted that, he should've told me. I don't make it a habit to lie to people.

"He is. What do you want?"

She reached into one of the pockets of her coat and pulled out a small wrapped box with a little bow on it.

"It's Christmas. I want to give him his present." Her smile turned a little wry and she cocked her head to one side. "You're not going to leave me standing out here in the cold, are you, Harry?"

She rolled her tongue around the syllables of my name like foreplay. Damn it. Lara wasn't playing fair. She knew very well about my gentlemanly streak and had attacked the weakness with surgical precision.

"No, of course not," I said through gritted teeth. "Come on in."

Lara stepped inside and shrugged out of her coat. I tried my damndest not to stare, but there was only so much I could do. Seriously, if you'd ever seen her, you'd back me up on that.

She wore a slinky red dress that fell about halfway down her thighs and clung to the curves of her body. I looked at her, briefly, and then towards my kitchen.

"Do you want something to eat or drink?"

I shouldn't known better than to ask, of course.

"What are you offering?" Lara asked, eyes sparkling mischievously, her voice full of wicked suggestion.

I glared at her. She wasn't using the powers that all of the White Court vamps had. I'd felt the effect of those before and this wasn't it. That meant that my raging –er- hormones, were caused only by the fact that I was more or less being propositioned by a very, very beautiful woman.

"The only rod you're going to be seeing tonight is my blasting rod if you don't cut out the come-hither. Is that clear?"

I sounded a lot calmer than I actually was, which was good. Lara seemed to get the message and accept it, which was better. Ever since Luccio, I didn't have the protection I'd been given by Susan from being fed upon, as Madeline had proven on Demonreach, and I really didn't trust myself to act rationally.

Or, I should say, I didn't trust certain parts of me to act rationally.

"Perfectly," Lara replied smoothly, a little smirk gracing her lips. "A cup of coffee would be greatly appreciated."

Making a proper cup of coffee over a wood-burning stove was a pain, so I mostly stocked the instant stuff you mixed with water. It might not satisfy Lara's advanced palate, which I just felt terrible about.

Once the coffee was finished, I brought over the two steaming cups and settled next to Lara on the floor. I kept a bit of distance between us, both as a precaution against lunges of any sort, and to remind both myself and the succubus that we weren't be going to have any physical contact.

"So…" I said, awkwardly trying to make conversation. "How's whole the White Court doing?"

"Oh, our plan for world domination is coming to fruition any day," she said lightly. "As soon as I've removed you .But I have to tell you the entirety of my master plan first."

I grinned at her and sipped at my coffee.

"Seriously, though," I said. "Do you do stuff for fun? Or is it all work and sucking the life out of poor innocent people."

She frowned at that. I'm pretty sure I was the first person to ask her that question in a damn long time. Or, at least the first person who asked it knowing what she was.

"You're not a closet DnD player, are you?" I probed. To my great surprise, she blushed. I shit you not, she actually blushed. Interesting.

I was just about to ask the follow-up questions and get to the bottom of the potentially hilarious mystery when someone began to push against my door. Judging by the amount of effort required, it wasn't Thomas this time either.

A few seconds of shoving later, my apprentice stumbled inside and closed the door behind her.

"Oh," she said and the pink flush that was already touching her cheeks spread further. "I didn't know you had – er- guests."

"I wasn't expecting any," I told my apprentice. "But they tend to pop in when you least expect it."

Normally, Molly would've shrugged out of her heavy winter coat and thrown it somewhere that wasn't the coat rack, but now just stood there. She'd put on a Santa claus' hat and dyed a few red streaks into her hair, no doubt in the spirit of the holiday – And to piss off her mother.

I gave her an expectant look and she seemed to realize, finally, that she had come here for a reason. A present appeared from one of her pockets and she stepped up to me, without brushing the snow off her shoes, and held it out.

"Thanks kid," I said, standing up to give her a hug. Her cheek was fever hot against my neck and she held on to the hug a second or two longer than she normally would. "I dropped off yours yesterday so it should be under the tree. Do you want to come on in?

Molly hesitated a moment, her gaze lingering on Lara and her attire.

"I guess I get to say 'hohoho' a bit earlier than planned," she said in an acidic voice, tapping her red and white hat for emphasis.

She considered Lara for a few seconds more and then pulled off the heavy winter coat. Underneath she wore a white shirt and a pair of jeans that were a little bit tighter than what she'd usually go for.

"My my," Lara said, her voice throaty purr. "She's a pretty little thing, isn't she?"

I joined Molly in giving Lara a steady look, though with less of a blush on my cheeks.

"Yes, she is," I said simply. "Now leave her alone."

My teacher-voice didn't do a damn thing to deter Lara. She just laughed.

"Is she yours?" She asked with a slow sensual smile. "Or is she open game?"

"Neither," I growled. "Back off."

"Harry," Molly said, her voice quavering. "Who is she?"

"She's dangerous and pushing her luck, that's who she is," I grumbled, then sighed and went about with the introductions.

"Lara Raith, meet Molly Carpenter. Molly, meet Lara." I tried to step in between the two of them. I didn't quite make it before Lara had time to grab hold of Molly's hand, bring it to her lips, and place a soft kiss on the back of it.

My apprentice shuddered at the contact and so did Lara, which I'll admit was pleasant to look at when she was bent over and had the fabric of her dress outlining her shapely posterior.

"And a virgin, too," Lara sighed as she slowly drew back from Molly's hand, leaving a mark of her lipstick and saliva glistening on the skin.

My apprentice's breathing was a bit too quick, which was also pleasant to watch, but her eyes were only a little bit distant as she met mine.

"Wow. I didn't even think I was curious," she said and grinned somewhat sheepishly at me. "Maybe I should've done the whole college thing."

I tried to keep my mind from going places where Molly and Lara were engaged in various sexual acrobatics, but my subconscious is kind of a jerk and it didn't go very well.

Judging by the smug look on Lara's face, she knew very well what she was accomplishing. The bitch.

"Do you know what she hungers for, Harry?" Lara asked, her voice as silky and smooth as the rest of her. "Do you want to know her deepest, darkest desires?"

"No," I lied. "To both."

Hey, I'm just human. Being curious is kind of what we do as a species. Denial? Certainly not.

Lara knew, of course. You don't survive for hundreds of years in a family of backstabbing mindbenders without knowing when someone lies to you. Her grin was telling and she leaned in close to my ear to stage-whisper.

"She wants you to have her right here, right now. She wouldn't care if I watched. In fact, she'd like it better."

I tried to swallow and noted that my mouth had gotten very dry. Alcohol did have a dehydrating effect so the beer was probably to blame. I would've told Lara she was lying, but I knew Molly pretty well by now and I didn't need to do more than look at her to know that the succubus had been telling the truth.

Her cheeks were rosy and it wasn't just embarrassment that was the cause. Her breaths came in short nervous pants and she stood there like a deer caught in the headlights while Lara moved in a slow circle around her to take in every detail. When the tour was complete, she leaned in to whisper something into the younger girl's ear.

I wasn't fast enough to Listen to what was being said, but it made my apprentice's eyes drifted closed for a second as she pictured whatever sweet perversion the succubus had shared with her. As she shifted her weight from one leg to the other, I could see her rubbing her thighs together.

This was really spinning out of control fast and once it got beyond a certain point, I was pretty sure it was going to snowball all the way down the hill and to maintain the metaphor, roll straight off a cliff or something.

The worst part? I was pretty sure the ride would be worth it. I fought through the haze of mundane lust along with whatever supernatural additions Lara brought to the party and managed to regain my senses. Mostly. I had to act to stop this before it went too far, but a look at Lara's chrome eyes made me suspect she might not agree with the idea of stopping.

If it had been just me, I probably wouldn't have hesitated to toss Lara across the apartment until she stopped, but with Molly around, I didn't dare risk it. Fortunately, my home was prepared for all kinds of visitors, wanted, unwanted and anything in between.

Molly moved over towards me with slow measured steps. It wasn't the confident stride of a predator, but more like a drunk kid trying desperately not to bump into anything that might wake her parents. I should've stopped her, but the way she wrapped her arms around me in a hug seemed perfectly innocent. Well, it started off that way, anyways.

Pretty soon, though, the tight embrace we'd share several times before turned into something else entirely, with Molly pressing her generously curved body against mine. I looked down at her about at the same time as she looked up at me, timing which she did not hesitate to make the most of.

Our first kiss was a tentative thing, but only for a few seconds. Soon, it turned into a heated, almost desperate exchange of tongues, teeth and lips, as years of built up tension surfaced. I'd be lying if I'd said that it was all on Molly's part.

I didn't note Lara's presence again until she'd made her way behind Molly, sandwiching the girl between us. Which was good, in more ways than one.

Lara's pale slender hands dipped underneath Molly's shirt and pushed the fabric up all the way to her ribcage before they reached they reached her breasts. I was a bit jealous of her, but there just wasn't any room for me. Instead I ran my hands up the Lara's smooth strong thighs to her barely- there underwear.

I pushed the obstacle out of the way and set to satisfy years of curiosity. I'm not sure how long that went on, but a needy little sound from the back Molly's throat drew my attention away from Lara's perfectly rounded posterior. I needed to a distraction. I put my hands on Lara's wrists and pulled her hands out from under my apprentice's shirt, pressing a kiss at the pulse point of each and investing the kiss with a tiny surge of magic.

Then I gently turned Molly around to face Lara and guided her hand up between the older woman's thighs. The succubus' chrome eyes drifted shut and it didn't take her long to reciprocate, deftly unbuttoning Molly's jeans and maneuvering her hand inside.

They kissed, which I had to take a moment to appreciate before moving along with my plan. Maybe that moment dragged on for a several long minutes while Lara teased Molly, bringing her towards the edge of release and letting her hang. Maybe. Either way, the delay did what I intended it to, it kept Lara thoroughly distracted.

I reached out with my will and felt my way through the basket by my door, in which I stored things like sword canes, staves, holy swords and, of course, my party favors.

For a hungry and probably uncooperative vampire, I had just the thing. I'd even used it before. I reached out for the slender length of rope with my will, moved Molly aside without any hurry, my hands roaming her body to sell the act and for no other reason.

Then I cried out. "Manacus!"

The enchanted rope of unicorn hair soared through the air and towards Lara and… By God was she fast. Despite everything, she still managed to react to the spell. If I had it aimed at where she'd stood, I would have missed. But I hadn't. I'd locked the spells to her wrists and the magical link I'd placed there earlier.

The bonds tightened and with a shout of "Forzare", I locked them to the hooks in the roof. I'd originally intended to use the ropes to contain an ogre. Lara was strong, but not that strong. She struggle for a few seconds and then went limp.

Meanwhile, I pulled my apprentice well away from the reach of the vampire's legs. It took me a few moments to realize that I hadn't actually stopped touching Molly. In point of fact, the girl's jeans were now pushed down her hips about an inch and my fingers were pressing her white lace panties against the wet heat beyond. Even after realizing this, it still took me a few seconds to stop. I did, which clearly wasn't appreciated.

"Molly?" I said gently, turning her so that I could look her in the eye. She didn't respond. "Molly," I said again, more firmly. Still nothing. Lara had gotten to her, in more ways than one.

I gave her wrist a light slap. Not hard, just enough pain to cut through the haze or arousal and whatever White Court powers Lara had used. It did break Molly out of whatever spell Lara had over her… Just not in the way I'd expected. The girl didn't wince, or blink as if I'd just awoken her from a deep sleep.

Instead, she cried out softly and though she tried to hold on to me, slowly slid to the floor, where she slowly relaxed as a silly little smile spread across her face.

"Molly, did you just do what I think you did?"

Maybe she nodded, I'm not sure. She was still shaking a little bit and I hadn't the time to investigate any further before the door opened up for a third time and my brother and dog came in.

Thomas' eyes went from Lara, who hung suspended by the ropes fixed to the ceiling, with her underwear at her knees and the straps of her dress hanging loosely on her arms to reveal marks Molly's lipstick. Then onwards to Molly, whose shirt was more or less unbuttoned, whose pants were pulled down, and who had not yet recovered from her orgasm.

And to me, standing there with an erection the size of the Eiffel tower.

Even under the circumstances, I should've been able to come up with something better than "Hey man. Merry Christmas. Uh - This isn't what it looks like."


End file.

Dresden Files, Humor, Romance