Title: The Seduction of Jenny Thorton
Author: truthoftherose
Email: remember.the.ballet@gmail.com
Rating: 18
Warnings: mild sexual references
Spoilers: Is set between the first book and the second. References to
the both books are made.
Disclaimers: The concepts and characters of The Forbidden Game belong
to L.J. Smith.

Summary: Julian comes to Jenny through a 'dream' looking for a way to
stop her tears.

Comments: Musing from the song Bleeding Love from Leona Lewis.

-=-

The shadow wolf paced in front of his long legs as they were stretched
out in front of him. The encasing vinyl was shinning under the lights
of Joy Land Park. An exasperated sigh was expelled into the night air,
and the wolf whined in response, eager to begin the chase. But it
wasn’t time just yet. He could feel it in his blood, its vicious
methodical song droning on and on. It wasn’t time yet. The Game wasn’t
ready yet. “No.” His elemental tone rang out, and the Lurker laid down
with a snort, settling its head between its forelegs, its eyes full of
disappointment. “I’m going to go see her now.” And with that Julian
crossed from the Shadow World to Earth’s shadows, crossing the gap
just as the sun set and the sky was lit the same brilliant blue as his
electric eyes.

Jenny was attempting to do her math homework and looked up just as the
sun was setting. In that instant, she thought she saw a glimmer on the
horizon, that split second of blue before the setting sun had given up
the land to darkness. /Julian/. Her mind’s eye flashed his features up
from her memory before she could stop herself. She shook her honey
touched hair before the memories could overtake her. They bubbled up
from somewhere deep inside, small moments to hurt her. Moments of his
eyes looking into hers, his hands on her skin, touching her cheek, or
his lips brushing hers always so very gentle. Tom wasn’t that gentle.
Tom hadn’t been gentle like that since they were younger. Once they
had entered high school, Tom’s advanced had taken a turn, and while
she didn’t mind the extra attention, he hadn’t stopped to wonder how
she felt about it. If he wasn’t hurting her, Tom assumed she was
enjoying herself, and Jenny didn’t have the heart to tell him that it
wasn’t as wonderful for her as it had been for him. Maybe that was why
the memories hurt so much. Maybe it was because Jenny wanted Tom to
act like that with her. She wanted all the intimate moments they had
to be more like what Julian had been for her and what he seemed to
want to be more of.  Her imagination started to take those thoughts,
thoughts of Julian and his tender kisses that gave her electrical
shivers all over her body, thoughts of intimate possibilities, and
turn them on her. What would it feel like if he-

“Thorny?” Tom’s questioning voice pulled her from her reverie. Jenny
felt the heat rising to her face as she dipped her head to cover her
cheeks. Math, focus on the math. “Are you okay?” Jenny turned toward
Tom’s concerned tone. The both of them had been awkward around each
other ever since the first game had ended. Tom was attempting to avoid
her, but she hadn’t let him get away with the usual excuses for this
study session, even though it wasn’t about the math. It was about
their relationship. She still loved Tom with the same great and loving
affection she had since she was young, but she couldn’t figure out why
Tom was acting so different towards her. It wasn’t like she was living
on a different planet or in a different body since they came back from
that hellish house. She just couldn’t help but thing about that place,
about /him/ sometimes. It didn’t mean anything. They still loved each
other, …didn’t they?

“I’m alright, Tom,” Jenny sighed reluctantly. “I’m just tired. All
this homework and catching up to do is tiring me out. I’m sorry…” The
rest of the sentence died on her tongue. Summer was usually the one
who helped her in math. Instead of waiting for Jenny to finish, Tom
stood up. 

“Then we should quit for the night.” He turned towards the door and
moved to put distance in between them. His mind hammered at him while
his heart yearned to turn around and hold her tight. “I’m sure you’ll
learn better in the morning…” Tom paused as Jenny’s hand grabbed at
his sleeve. He turned, somewhat surprised only to meet the scared
longing in her eyes.

“Don’t go.”

It was a simple request, and a short while ago Tom would have granted
it to her without a second thought. He might have rolled his eyes or
shook his head before doing so, but he wouldn’t have done what he was
about to do. Tom looked down, turned silently, and walked out of the
room, leaving Jenny alone.

Julian watched the coward turn tail. He knew Tom was a horrible loser
and that the words his musical tongue had wagged into the jock’s ears
had messed the kid up in the head. He knew it would break him down
until there was nothing left of him, but he hadn’t realized how fast
it would take root in the moron’s brain. The Shadow Man would have
scoffed at his stupidity if it wouldn’t have given away his position
in the corner of Jenny’s room where the shadows were heaviest. Jenny,
however, wouldn’t have noticed anything; she was too busy crying
herself to sleep.


::+::

Days passed, and Julian waited, letting the movements for the next
Game formulate themselves before he struck. The Lurker and the
Creeper, his wolf and snake companions, had become increasingly
anxious. Their hunting grounds had become barren and boredom had set
in. Both of Julian’s ever present companions had not only taken over
his generalized favorite places, but had also started nipping at him
for something to do. They would gather behind him and push him until
he chided them. This was annoying. More annoying then Jenny’s constant
ebb and flow of tears over her sudden and abrupt loss of the man she
thought deserved her love. Watching her cry at night was heart
wrenching. She deserved better. He needed to find a way to make that
obvious to her. To make it impossible for her to not see what a
useless piece of human existence her boyfriend was. Maybe then she
would turn to him and accept him. Maybe that was what it would take.
Julian sat up and moved. He needed to see her again. He needed to hear
her heart beat. It gave him patience. The Creeper hissed at him from
his spot near Julian’s chair before rising up to stand almost face to
face with the white haired male. “I am not taking either of you with
me. If you ask me again it’s going to make me angry….go play a game or
something.” The snake writhed in place for a moment before retreating
into the darkness. This situation was getting worse.

It was another night of tears for the woman of his heart, and what was
worse was there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it. They didn’t
know he was out of the encasement from the last game, and he wasn’t
ready to start another one just yet. They all needed a few days to
talk themselves into some semblance of normalcy. Only then was it
satisfying to pull the rug out from under their feet. A small cruel
smile played over his mouth, but not before he felt a tug from Jenny’s
thoughts. Sometimes it was as if they shared a connection wrought of
the love and affection he had for her. This was one of those times. He
turned, focusing all his attention on her form lying amongst the
covers. She was starting to lose weight, he noticed. She had lost that
healthy glow she usually carried and was starting to let the grief
take her down a long dark road. His light was losing her glimmer and
the shock of it was like a stabbing sensation in his heart. He used
his powers to slip his voice into her ears. /Jenny…/ 

She stirred a bit and sat up, tears streaking her face. It was him. He
was here. But that wasn’t possible. She had locked him up in the paper
house only a few days ago. The police had just started giving the
search up for Summer to a local response group and they were only now
beginning to organize a center to find the poor missing girl. He
couldn’t have gotten out that fast…

/Jenny…/ he changed his tone. He longed for the fear in her eyes to
turn into pleasure or even an equal longing to his own.

It was unmistakable. That elemental sliding on water sound was
definitely his voice. Jenny shook her head. I’m imagining it. I’m just
scared and imagining it. Didn’t I learn my lesson in class? Just
because I think it’s there doesn’t make it real. I’m imaging it.

/Jenny…/ He was losing the intensity and trading it for some of his
internal desire. He wanted to fix the small tears in her innocent
heart. He wanted to bundle her up into his arms and kiss her until all
the pain melted off of her face and she would stop crying. Tom wasn’t
worth this kind of pain, and Julian wanted to prove it to her.

It changed again, but was still him. Why is he doing this? Jenny sat
up fully, huddled against her head board, and curled the blankets
around her neck. Julian couldn’t stop himself from chuckling at the
movement.

This time, Jenny did notice. She turned to where he was standing,
focused her eyes as best she could, and peered deep into the darkness
of her bedroom. Suddenly the light next to her bed turned off. The
usually calm honey blonde jumped but managed to not scream in terror.
When she turned back to the corner, Julian had moved. At least he
wasn’t in the corner anymore; he was now standing next to her bed. She
could tell from the darker shadow standing out from the lighter
darkness of the room. A part of her wanted to scramble out of bed,
shove him as far as she could, and run for help screaming bloody
murder through the halls of her house. The other part of her wanted to
reach up and take him by the hand. She did neither of these and froze
like a deer caught in headlights.

/I’m here to take the pain away…/ was all he had to explain himself
by.

“I’m dreaming.” Jenny retorted. Julian wasn’t kind. Julian was evil.
He didn’t want to help her, he wanted to own her and kill her friends.
It had to be a dream because the real Julian would never say something
like that. “I’ve got to be dreaming.” The shadow froze in its place
for a moment.

She was so cute in her welcomed ignorance. However the more he thought
about it the better that would work out. Yes, a dream. It was all just
a dream. Julian smiled in the darkness, letting the shadows hide his
amusement. /You’re dreaming./ He replied, knowing full well that if
she were thinking logically that would be the last response you’d want
from someone lurking through your bedroom at this time in the evening.

“If I’m dreaming, then maybe I can control it.” She was thinking out
loud now. It’s not like it mattered; there was no reason to be shy
about it. It was a dream after all. Jenny went quiet and started
thinking. Maybe she should take the time to prove what she had been
thinking about a few days ago. There were so many warnings against it
in her mind, but it didn’t matter because it was a dream after all…

She was so intent on thinking that she didn’t notice Julian had sat
down on her bed and was inching his body towards her slowly. He could
feel her thinking, smell her scents, and the knowledge that she was
right there in front of him was starting to slowly drive him mad like
it always did. This was his Jenny, and he wanted to make her his.

She was so focused on what thoughts were driving their way through her
mind that she didn’t pay any attention until his hand lifted her chin
delicately so that he could look into her eyes. His electric blue gaze
pierced her through with so much love and adoration that for a moment
Jenny forgot how to breathe. Julian didn’t pause to wait and moved in
fast, kissing her tenderly.

Jenny closed her eyes as starts burst in her vision and through her
body. His kisses were always like a wildfire spreading through her
body. Sometimes they didn’t create any response within her. This
wasn’t one of those times. Heat flooded her body, making her aware of
every inch where his form met hers. His chest was bare, she started to
realize, and she could feel the movement of smooth muscle ripple under
his skin as he shifted to hold her closer to him. A delightful shock
shivered itself straight down her spine when he slid a hand up the
back of her shirt, connecting with her and slowly deepening the kiss. 

Her skin was like silk dancing across his fingers and the thrill of it
sent shudders through him. His simple adoration began to move from
chaste desires of discussion and light kisses to a deeper feeling that
he understood but couldn’t describe. He lost track of thought as Jenny
wound her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to her. Her scent
began dragging him into the sensuality of blankets and skin in the
darkness and he only stopped moving when Jenny grabbed him by the arm
and let out a small whimper of pain.

Julian moved sharply, suddenly worried. What had he done?

Jenny slowly moved her hand to her neck where Julian had been
lavishing his attentions, and drew it away with a slightly dark liquid
dotting her fingertips. He had bit her. The Shadow Man let out a
whoosh of air in relief. That was all. Jenny, however, took that as a
sign to start conversation.

“…this is a dream…” She had deeply enjoyed it so far, but she had
never dreamed of being bitten by someone. It wasn’t something she had
ever thought about, nor something that Tom had ever attempted. She
looked up into Julian’s face, his eyes almost glowing in the darkness.
“..this is a dream?”

“Do you want this?” The real question was if she wanted him, but if he
asked her that, she would reject him. She would push him away. She
would make him leave, and while he never wanted to leave, right now
that was especially the case.

Jenny paused. The question took her by surprise, not because of its
nature or because of the situation she found herself in, but because
of the answer that came from her core. Yes.

Julian felt the answer. He could see it in her eyes before him and
hear it in the pause of her voice before she said anything. He leaned
forward and kissed her tenderly. For the first time, Jenny kissed him
back without regret. For that moment, Tom was forgotten, and for that
evening, everything was masked under the guise of being a dream.

::+::

Julian sighed contentedly as he lay naked against Jenny, holding her
to him as if she were the most precious thing in all the Realms. And
to him, she was. He could hear her breathing settle and knew she was
fully asleep. She would remember this as a dream and let herself
forget it all when daylight arrived. That thought gave him a pang in
the chest, but it was the price one paid for letting yourself get this
far entangled without a game. Things without rules hurt. If there was
a rule, at least there was a reason for it to be like this. The memory
of Jenny calling out his name in ecstasy played through his mind. At
least he still had a reason to keep going. In some measure, she did
care for him, maybe even love him. This very night had proved it. 

It started the wheels in his mind turning. There it was the very
necessity of the second game. It would give him a reason to exercise
his companions, as well as pull Jenny back to him. He pried himself
away from his lover, wishing he didn’t have to. There was too much to
be done and not enough time in which to do it. He smiled silently
thinking of knowing that in the morning she would wake up and while
she didn’t remember, he did. Let the Game begin.


Fin.