Stockholm \Moriarty\AWKIF BK2\

7

Clarice hesitantly clicked on the URL Jim had given her, grimacing when the page revealed a lewd picture of a brunette woman. Irene Adler, or The Woman, had contacted Jim last night and they were going to meet today over tea. According to Jim, nothing had gone wrong but Irene posed a potential problem.

With a sigh, Clarice logged off the site and pushed the laptop away from her. She could already tell she wouldn't like her. She tensed when she felt a hand on her neck and turned to find Jim smirking down at her as he removed her hair from her left shoulder. "Adler will be here soon," he said softly.

"Do I get to choose to not be part of the meeting?" Jim shook his head, his smirk growing when Clarice sighed. She turned her head to gaze out the window, unaware of Jim's actions until he had his lips on her neck. "What the hell are you doing?" she asked quietly.

"You saw her website. I can't have her waltzing in here and making a claim on you. I'm just leaving my mark," he mumbled innocently against her skin. Without warning, he took a small portion roughly between his teeth . Clarice gave a small gasp and grabbed a small handfull of his hair, gently pulling it to try to relieve the minor pain in her neck.

She hardly struggled but her discomfort was clear. At least, it was until Jim stopped biting her to suck on the skin instead. Her hand slowly eased it's grasp as her fingers laid against his scalp and her head tilted back. She could feel his smirk but kept her own sealed tightly, lest he should hear the small sounds threatening to escape her.

With an ever growing smirk, Jim stood upright and straightened his blazer, watching Clarice frown at the loss of contact. Her eyes were slightly glazed when she finally opened them, glaring as best she could. Her fingers traced over the spot that would surely be left with a dark bruise and her frown deepened with Jim wordlessly turned away from her.

\\

Irene arrived about two hours later, giving Clarice's hicky just enough time to completely darken and stand out against her pale skin. Jim had placed her on tea duty, allowing her to miss the first few minutes of the meeting. Not his maid... Make his own bloody tea. Clarice set mugs on a tray and poured the tea into them, a scowl set into her face.

She easily grabbed the tray and made her way back to the sitting room, her feet stopping on their own when she found the Adler woman straddling a rather bored looking Jim. Rolling her eyes, she set the tray on the coffee table with a small clatter and moved so she stood in the corner of the room, her eyes on anything but the two people looking her way.

"Aw," Irene pouted with a snicker. "She's shy, that one." Clarice only turned away from the woman, a sneer perched on her face.

"A bit antisocial," Jim agreed. "Come sit down, Carly." By the time she looked back to Jim, Irene was seated across from him and watching her expectantly. She slowly walked over and was going to sit on the sofa until he motioned to the arm of his chair. Taking a deep breath, Clarice took the short steps and begrudgingly sat where she had been told.

"Oh, and obedient, too," Irene hummed. There wasn't much Clarice could do to hide the glare she aimed at the other woman, so she did nothing. "And a temper. You would be so much fun."

Jim slid an arm around Clarice's waist and pulled her from the arm and into his lap, his fingers drumming impatiently on her thigh. Irene raised a brow but said nothing, her red lips curling upwards. "What is it you want?" Jim asked, his tone light but his irritation evident.

"Information on Sherlock Holmes," Irene answered simply. Jim's fingers stilled mid-tapping and he shifted, leaning on his elbow with his cheek in his hand.

"A fan of his?"

"You could say that." Jim began drawing slow circles in Clarice's thigh, his interest clear. "I'm willing to give you anything you want for it."

Jim sighed and waved his hand in dismissal. "You don't have anything I want, but I'll give it to you anyway."

Irene raised her eyebrow and tilted her head. "Why would you do that?" she asked, leaning forward.

"Cause trouble," Jim shrugged. Irene stood, since business was easily done, but Jim showed no signs of wanting to stand. When Clarice tried, he put his hand on her hip and used his arm to pull her back, much to her obvious irritation. "I'll contact you with what you'll need to know. For now, get out of my house."

"Pleasure," Irene smirked, her eyes traveling over Clarice once in approval before settling on the bruise on her neck. Giving the blonde a wink, she turned and showed herself out, her heels clicking obnoxiously as she went.

"Will you let go of me, now?" Clarice sighed. "Unlike you, I actually want tea." Jim lifted his arm and shot a grin in response to her glare. He watched as she sat considerably more comfortably on the sofa, avoiding his stare.

"Are you jealous again, sweetheart?" he chuckled. When Clarice remained silent, he began giggling. "That woman sleeps with people to get by, I don't want anything that's just been passed around." 'Kill her.' No. I have no reason to. 'When has that ever stopped anyone?'

"I'm not jealous," Clarice said in a calm voice, her teeth clenched together.

"Of course not." His words were dripping with sarcasm and amusement. With a sigh, Clarice put her mug on the tray and turned to face Jim, her face completely unconcerned.

"I'm not. If you can believe it, I'm a terrible liar." Jim rolled his eyes and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

"Sure you are. You took a year to plan the murder of your parents, you'd have to be a good liar to hide that." Clarice closed her eyes and when she opened them again, her facade dropped and she gave Jim an unamused look.

"I'm not jealous, there's no reason for me to be."

"Exactly! That in itself is a reason. Trust me, honey, I felt your pulse beating a mile a minute earlier. All I have to do is look in your eyes and I can practically read your mind." Clarice frowned and Jim's grin grew impossibly larger. "You're good at masking things but after a week I've figured you out. I'm the only person who understands you."

"Really?" she scoffed.

"You've got OCD. You only do things that have a purpose. You've secluded yourself so you don't lose yourself in emotions." Jim paused and raised his eyebrow for confirmation.

"You're starting to sound like Sherlock," she answered instead.

"Babe, I can give you all the emotions you've been denied. You don't have to hide who you are with me. Stop just dealing with me. Fight back once in a while. Otherwise you'll get boring." Clarice's eyes snapped from the floor to his eyes, struggling to find anything in them.

"What if I don't want the emotions?" she asked in a low monotone. Jim laughed and smirked as he searched her eyes.

"Trust me, honey. Once you got that first little taste, you were hooked. You don't want to leave. You've already proven that." His eyes darkened impossibly when Clarice's gaze grew timid. "I'm not that meatsack you took care of last year. If I'm going to hurt you, I'll have a damn good reason for it."

Silence fell after Jim's words as Clarice was left staring at him with her mouth slightly ajar. Jim stood and straightened out his suit, grabbing the mug from the table and pressing a chaste kiss to Clarice's temple. "Thanks for the tea, love."