Slow Burn

A/N- Fair warning- here's where the lemon starts - hope it's hot enough! If you don't want to read then stop now! Can you see the direction this is going? I'm so bad- heheh! I'm such a loony, drooling fangirl.

6- Temptation


Amon paused outside Robin's apartment door, suddenly and uncharacteristically nervous. What would she say? What was he going to say? Why the hell hadn't he practiced this little speech beforehand? This was likely going to be one of the most important things he ever did, and he had no clue how to handle it. He'd never felt so uncertain in his life, like an awkward, goofy adolescent with a monster of a crush on the unattainable prom queen. There wasn't a doorbell, so he raised his hand to the door and knocked.

No answer. Maybe she didn't hear it, he thought, a trickle of worry already snaking down his spine. Amon knocked again, a little louder.

Still nothing. The trickle fast becoming a torrent, Amon knocked one more time and waited again. Was she okay? She'd been hit on the head earlier after all. What if her injury was more serious than Dr. Nuri had told them?

Robin still didn't answer. His earlier trivial concerns forgotten, Amon was really worried by now. What if she was passed out on the floor with a concussion or something? What if she needed medical attention? Or what if some prowler had broken in and hurt her? His fists clenched in white-knuckled rage at the thought. If there was an intruder in there, he'd kill the little shit. No questions asked, no hesitation, no mercy.

But that was unlikely, he reasoned, logic cooling his temper and calming his fears somewhat. Robin had used her expert knowledge of runes and circles to place ward-offs on her front door and all the windows, which were set up to keep out any unwanted intruders who might attempt to break in. Anyone who tried would automatically be repelled by a strong force field. There was a very short "safe list" of people who were allowed unlimited entry into Robin's apartment, even by force, in case of just such an emergency. As her partner, of course Amon was at the top of that list.

He passed his hand over a spot on the door frame, right next to the knob. The rune, normally invisible, glowed white for a few seconds and disappeared again upon recognizing his aura.

The ward-offs were working, as far as he could tell. That meant that Robin was indeed alone inside- then why didn't she come out? Maybe she was injured...

Amon couldn't stand it anymore- he had to get in there! He had to see for himself if Robin was all right. After coming so close to losing her earlier that day, Amon was determined not to lose her now.

He decided not to just break down the door, it would not win him any points with Robin if he destroyed her door and she turned out to be fine. Her landlord, Mr. Ochida, was a cheap old tightwad. He'd replace the door, but only with the lowest quality available model and then charge her three times as much for the cost of the replacement. Robin stayed in this building, even though she disliked her landlord, because she loved the apartment, it was close to work and she had friendly, quiet neighbors. She had admitted to him more than once that her landlord gave her "the creeps", as she put it. She solved the problem by avoiding Ochida as much as possible, due to her natural politeness and not wanting to get into a confrontation over something she would consider a minor inconvenience.

Amon suspected the old fart was something of a lecher, he had caught the man staring at Robin in a most vulgar way on the handful of occasions he had bumped into him in the hallway. Ochida was 58 years old and unmarried, lived alone, and didn't seem to have any family or much of a life to speak of. He always seemed to show up at or near Robin's door when she came out to go with him to work. He was always, always staring at her in the nastiest way. He just struck Amon as a smarmy little weasel of a man.

One morning last week Amon had seen the pervert crudely undressing Robin's svelte form with his eyes, yet again, when he picked her up for work. Watching this horrid old man drooling over Robin almost on a daily basis was revolting. That asshole! Amon clenched his teeth so hard they ached, and the temperature of his usual death-glare plunged to a whole new level of coldness that even HE never knew existed.

Wait a minute, aren't you doing the same exact thing? Amon's conscience chose that moment to nag, firing up his inescapable guilt in the process. Hypocrite. How many thousands of times a day do YOU fantasize about having Robin asleep in your arms in your bed, with your black sheets tangled around her naked body after hours of steamy lovemaking? You really are a shit, you know that?

But I care about her, his heart protested vehemently. I love Robin, and would never do anything to her without her consent. I would never just use her like that, I wouldn't hurt her in a million years! I don't want just a screw from Robin, I want her every night, to wake up to those gorgeous green eyes of hers every morning. I want to make her mine and me hers. That Ochida is just a rutting animal. That filthy old scum only has one thing on his mind, that's for damn sure, thought Amon with a quiet, protective growl deep in his throat.

Amon recognized wryly that he was indeed a bastard, at least according to his own strict conscience; but he also knew his love for Robin was strong and true. So much so that he even felt a constant need to protect her from himself; at the same time longing to claim her for his own. That alone, Amon thought, put him light-years ahead of Ochida on the moral-character scale.

The last time it happened, Amon had decided it was time to do something about this hairy little sewer rat Robin called a landlord. He normally didn't like to show emotion, diligently maintained his mask of aloof composure, but in this case a long-overdue lesson on respect for women was in order. After all, ignoring his crass behavior certainly wasn't helping Ochida get the message, and the last thing Amon wanted was for the man to become bolder in his unwelcome advances, assuming Robin was unprotected and therefore an easy victim. Of course he knew Robin could defend herself with her flames if it came to that, but Amon was determined to stop this creep now, before the situation had a chance to deteriorate that far. Amon smirked to himself as he contemplated what he was about to do. This will be fun, he thought with a ruthless smirk.

Then, instead of quickly ushering Robin out to the car under his sheltering arm, and blocking her from Ochida's beady-eyed view with his own body as he would have done normally, Amon hung back in the hallway while Robin headed downstairs to the car ahead of him. He kept his smoldering charcoal eyes focused on the landlord as Robin walked in her usual graceful way past him and down the stairs, thus making it impossible for the sleazy bastard to "enjoy" leering at her like he usually did. The man was far too distracted- scratch that, he was too- frightened- by the menacing vibes radiating off the tall, dark man to have his usual hentai fantasies about a girl young enough to be his granddaughter; if he'd ever managed to get a woman to willingly bear him children, that is.

Ochida gulped audibly, but it didn't help. All of a sudden his throat was as dry as the Sahara.

While smirking malevolently on the outside, Amon was laughing viciously on the inside. He deserves this, the pervert! He could almost hear what the idiot must be thinking...

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The landlord turned and started back to his apartment, hoping to flee the scene before the scary-looking young man noticed him. Unfortunately for Ochida, as soon as he turned his back, he felt a steel-like vise grip on his upper arm, and was forcibly spun around to face the tall, dark man. The iron hand that had seized his arm now gripped his throat.

"M-may I h-help you, s-s-sir?" Ochida stammered, desperately wishing the earth would swallow him whole. He was a watcher, a peeper, a loner who lived more in his fantasy world than in real life. Because of this, Ochida had no experience with actual confrontation and preferred to run away back to his own little world at the first sign of challenge.

Amon, by contrast, had damn near been raised on conflict.

"Listen closely, bakayarou, because I'm only going to say this once," the iceman hissed directly into the terrified old pervert's face, "That young lady is mine, if I see or hear even the slightest hint of you anywhere near her... there won't be enough of you left to fill a paper bag after I get through with you. Understand?" the scary man snarled. A slight shift of movement drew Ochida's gaze downward, and his eyes widened even more; nearly popping out of his head.

The movement Ochida had seen was the iceman's black-gloved hand, oh-so-casually, coming up to rest on the butt of a gun, concealed under his trench coat. It looked like a mere accident, but Ochida took it for what it was- a warning.

Ochida whimpered in terror, not even noticing the sudden rush of warm liquid flowing between his legs, soaking the front of his pants.

The iceman sneered in disgust, and abruptly released the older man, who crumpled to the floor as his jellied knees refused to support his weight, gasping for air.

Ochida remained on the floor, eyes squeezed shut, shaking and sobbing, reeking of urine, convinced he was about to die at the hands of a cold-blooded Yakuza. When nothing happened, he opened his eyes a mere slit and peeked.

The hallway was empty.

Praising every deity he could think of, Ochida dragged himself upright and stumbled as fast as he could on shaky legs, back to the relative safety of his apartment. He would only be seeing sweet little Robin-chan in his dreams from now on. Oh well. His fright already waning, he started picturing the stern, but handsome young man and his pretty tenant naked and sweaty, fucking like animals. Or maybe the thug would rough her up a bit while he fucked her, maybe even rape her, he certainly seemed like the violent type. Ochida felt himself hardening as his hentai imagination took flight once again. Mmm, now there was a show he wouldn't mind seeing.

Ochida was distracted from his fantasy, feeling chilled. To his mortification, he remembered wetting his pants earlier; now they were drenched and stinking. Ochida shuddered with plenty of fear and an unhealthy touch of arousal at the memory of the altercation... the dark man was hot too. Evil and terrifying, but sexy. Damn, too bad the guy didn't at least hit him. That could have been fun.

Even though he could no longer look his fill, no one could take Ochida's dirty little dreams away.

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That day, Amon had waited until she was just out of sight before grabbing the greasy little man roughly by the collar and warning him in no uncertain terms to leave Robin alone. To prove he meant it, Amon let his coat fall open, allowing his gun to show, and let the fool assume he was a Yakuza. Amon knew he looked dangerous enough to pose as a criminal, so he used it. The ploy certainly seemed to work on the landlord- upon seeing the gun he looked like he was going to wet himself! Sure enough, a moment later Amon had to quickly step back from the pathetic fool to avoid the sudden emptying of his bladder down the front of his pants. Fortunately he was far enough away to prevent getting anything on his own clothing- that would have been too disgusting. Amon had to bite his tongue to hold back a laugh at the moron's expense. Much to his relief, Ochida took care to avoid them both like the plague ever since the incident, and Robin never mentioned his "creepy" behavior again.

Amon was secretly relieved when Robin had put up the runes shortly after she'd moved in, he wouldn't put it past Ochida to be one of those stalker types who snuck into his pretty female tenants' apartments to steal panties or set up hidden cameras. It wasn't such a big leap for a deviant sort like Ochida to cross the line from fantasy to reality. Amon didn't want his Robin anywhere near Ochida if the bastard's urges were no longer satisfied by his dirty imagination.

Young women who lived alone were targets for all kinds of freaks. Even Amon knew he was being overly paranoid, but Robin was still a bit sheltered to know that things like that existed and how often they happened in the cold, cruel world. Being a lot more worldly than his kind, pure-hearted partner Amon felt a need to guard her from such ugliness, even after all this time he was still her loyal "watch dog". He knew Robin could handle herself, but he still wanted to protect her- not because she couldn't, but because she was so important to him. Whatever hurt her would hurt him as well. Needless to say, the icky landlord was NOT on Robin's safe list.

She could move in with me, he thought automatically. My place is bigger, in a better part of town- abruptly he checked himself in mid-thought, once he realized what he was thinking. Slow down, dumb ass, you haven't even told Robin you love her yet! It's a little early to be thinking of moving in together and marriage- wait a second, did I really just think THAT too? He thought about it briefly, then answered his own question- yep, sure did. With a swift shake of his ebony-haired head, he dispelled the glorious mental image of a smiling Robin in a white wedding gown and forced himself back to the present.

Immediately, Amon called upon a wisp of his new craft to click the lock open instead of just kicking the door in. He did it without a second thought. It was as if he'd been a craft-user all his life instead of just a few hours. He'd apologize to Robin later for entering without her permission, once he saw for himself she was all right.

He stepped into the living room, silent as a breeze, drawing his gun. He quietly closed the door behind him and locked it again by force of habit, but there was no other sound. He saw Robin's signature red coat draped over the back of the couch. The aroma of coffee brewing drew his gaze to the coffee machine on the counter in her small kitchen. A tiny but affectionate smile curved his lips. Of course Robin couldn't go too long without a caffeine fix. It was still dripping, she must be fine if she had just started a new pot and it wasn't even done yet. Amon let out a deep, profoundly relieved sigh, and a huge weight seemed to lift off his shoulders. He hadn't realized how worried he was until it was gone. He slipped the gun back into its holster, his entire posture relaxing.

He was about to leave the way he'd come in when something stopped him. "Amon," the voice of his little bird was so soft he wasn't sure if he heard it in reality or only in his head. It definitely sounded like something straight out of his licentious imagination- just like her regular seductive voice, but made even more so by a quivering current of pure needy desire. It made every other thought fly right out of his head, save one- the urge to run to her and please her in every possible way.

With a will of its own, his body glided toward the door he knew led to her bedroom on soundless steps. All the while, his conscience was screaming at him to leave her to her privacy, this was wrong!! But he kept moving anyway, pulled like a moth to flame, until he was close enough to peer through the crack in the slightly open door.

Even the persistent scolding of his conscience was awed to silence by the heavenly vision that greeted his eyes.

Robin was in there, all right. And she was fine. Better, even, judging by what he saw. She was lying on top of her double bed, completely naked. Her soft, creamy skin glowed under the rays of the late afternoon sun that crept in through the closed blinds in the room, touching off the blazing lights in her dark golden hair as it lay strewn over her pillow. Her head was thrown back, eyes closed, her full lips slightly parted, her breath coming in shallow pants and low erotic moans. Her breasts were flawless- round and firm but not too big, but larger than he'd expected, the perfect size to fill his hands, crowned by taut rosy nipples that he wanted very badly to kiss and suckle. Even as he watched, she reached up with one hand and gently fondled one of those tempting mounds, then flicked the sensitive nipple with the pad of her thumb. He could feel his cock twitch in response, as his pants became increasingly confined.

The long, toned legs he'd been admiring earlier were spread apart, enough for him to see the sheen of wetness on the swollen lips of her sex as she caressed them with her slim fingers. The soft curls that framed them were as strawberry blonde as the hair on her head, he noticed. Amon unconsciously licked his lips. His mouth watered with an overwhelming desire to taste her there, to replace her fingers with his own mouth and tongue. He just knew she would be delicious. Robin's delicately curved hips thrust involuntarily against her hand as she slowly slid one finger inside her center and began drawing it slowly in and out, her mouth fell open and she moaned a little louder.

She was so breathtakingly beautiful, utterly exquisite, just like the angel he always thought of her as. Even in his fantasies he hadn't done her beauty justice. But he was sure that no angel had ever done what Robin was doing to herself- maybe some ancient pagan goddess, but not an angel. He almost grinned- who knew that sweet, shy, good little Catholic girl Robin knew how to do... that? She seemed pretty good at it too- by what he was seeing and hearing, Robin was enjoying... ah, herself... immensely. He could smell the musky scent of her increasing arousal, making his blood roar so loudly in his ears he worried she might hear it. She was getting him hotter than he'd ever been in his life. The lust he had been fighting off all day was instantly renewed, his cock stood at full attention, swelling with need, harder than ever. This time he knew it wasn't going to go away. He needed release as badly as she did.

Almost against his will, his own hand reached down and unfastened his pants, just enough to slide his hand inside. He leaned weakly against the wall, still staring through the crack in the door at Robin, as he gripped his aching member and started his own rhythmic strokes, pressing his lips together in a tight line to hold back his own moans so she wouldn't hear him.

His conscience reasserted itself with a vengeance. You're no better than that slimy Ochida, it told him. You're even worse. Watching her like some peeping tom! What's wrong with you? She trusts you, and here you are, spying on her and jerking off like a dirty old hentai!!

He knew it was a terrible violation of Robin's privacy, not to mention how painfully embarrassed she would be if she knew he had seen her like this, but Amon just couldn't help himself. Even the halfhearted protests of his better judgment couldn't force him to stop the feverish pace of his pleasure, or to look away from her. It was just asking too much of his body, subjected to denial for so long, to walk away from something he'd wanted so much for all this time...

"Amon," Robin's voice touched his ears again, tenderly, like before. Amon nearly jumped out of his skin in shock and stopped the motions of his hand, looking closer into the room, trying to see her face. Shit! Did she see me? I am about to die a fiery death... With a bit of confusion he noticed her eyes were still closed, she hadn't stopped what she was doing either. She didn't seem to know he was there- but didn't she just call him? Even as he watched her, the question was answered.

"Amon," she purred again, as she teased her clitoris with one finger. "Mmmm... oohhh, Amon..."

This time he really did smile. I see, he thought, his smile widening. She was saying his name, thinking of him as she touched herself. Maybe she did still feel something stronger for him than just friendship. A very encouraging sign, indeed. Maybe we should have our little talk now.

Let's just hope she doesn't know anyone else named Amon.


To be continued...

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Author's Note: That italicized section from Ochida's POV was a flashback, in case you were confused. Sorry if you were, but I try to make it so the reader can figure out when there is a flashback or a POV change within the story from reading it, not from putting in a great big "Ochida's POV" note in the text. If it's done right, a reader should be able to tell when things like that happen without being it spoon-fed to them. That part was added later, I just couldn't resist writing it, but when I finished I couldn't figure out how to work it in there, and I really wanted to use it! It's still a little awkward, but I think it works. Sort of. It still doesn't quite fit, but I hope it was okay. I thought it was kinda funny, and yet a little disturbing at the same time! :p

Sorry this took so long, I was on vacation and then I hit a snag with trying to write the extra part into the story. The next chapter will be the main lemon, I am working pretty slowly through that one too, but it will work out So don't expect it to be out too soon, but I am making progress. I am not abandoning this story.

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