"I'm just sayin' that you could use a FWB. You've been single a few months now." Angel said. He and Charlie were having a quiet drink at the bar one night.
"A what?"
"Friend with benefits."
"Oh! I've gone that route before. That's not a bad idea. Though it would have to be someone I trust." Charlie smirked and wiggled her eyebrows.
"Sorry doll, I'm not taking on new clients."
"Oh, darn!" Charlie smiled.
Angel's phone started ringing. "Aw crap. I've gotta take this. Hey, do you want me to pick somebody I think you'd like?"
"Absolutely not."
"No fun!" He walked away and Charlie sipped her drink.
"Pick someone for what?" Alastor suddenly appeared behind the bar, nearly causing her to choke.
"Al, we've talked about this! You've gotta give people some warning."
"Well that's not fun at all." He leaned on the bar top and smiled. "So what's going on?"
"Uuuum, it's kind of personal." Charlie felt her cheeks burning.
"Didn't you recently state that we were friends?"
"Yes?"
"So wouldn't I fall into the personal category?"
Charlie sighed. "It's just awkward. Angel said I should get a friend with benefits and I'm not sure where to start."
"Benefits as in supplying insurance coverage?"
"What? No, benefits as in…never mind."
"If it's not insurance, I don't understand what you mean by benefits." He refilled Charlie's drink and she was thankful.
"So basically…it means a friend that you have sex with, but there's no strings attached, no romance. Just sex."
Alastor gave it some thought. "Hmm. I suppose that sounds practical."
"It is, but feelings almost always end up getting involved anyway, and then it's a mess."
Alastor poured himself a glass of gin and sipped it. "I suppose I could volunteer my services."
This time Charlie DID choke on her drink. "I'm sorry?"
"I don't form emotional attachments, and I, like almost every other being, occasionally have sexual desires. It seems to me like it would be a convenient arrangement."
Charlie had clearly drunk too much, because he was starting to make sense. "It would just be too weird, we both live and work here."
"That makes it all the more convenient, does it not?"
"I don't know, Al."
"Do you not find me attractive?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
"What?! No, that's not it. It's just too complicated. You're my business partner."
"Fair enough. Should you change your mind, you know where to find me."
Charlie tried not to think about it, but for the next week it was all she could think about. And she was part succubus and had needs. Saturday night came and the hotel was empty, aside from her and Alastor.
Charlie was sitting at the front desk, slowly spinning around in her desk chair. Alastor came down the stairs and gave her a wave. "Big Saturday night?"
"You're looking at it." She spun again. "You?"
"Not a thing, unfortunately. I thought perhaps you could use some company."
"Really?" Charlie was surprised.
"Why do you look surprised?"
"Um, I just thought…I didn't think I'd be a person you'd want to willingly spend time with."
"On the contrary! You're one of the very few people I enjoy spending time with."
Charlie smiled brightly as he took the chair beside hers. "How do you normally spend your Saturday nights?"
"You'd probably rather not know." He grinned.
"Hopefully nothing that would reflect badly on the hotel."
Alastor chuckled. "Do you really want to know?"
"I do."
"Now I must ask that you keep this secret."
"Oh god, how bad is it?"
He motioned for her to come closer. "I play cards with Rosie and some of the other overlords."
Charlie blinked at him. "You can't be serious."
"Oh but I am! Rosie is quite the card shark. Unfortunately she was unable to host the game tonight."
"Wow. I assumed your Saturday night involved bloodshed."
"Oh sometimes it does. Velvette is a sore loser."
Charlie spun around again. "Hey Al?"
"Yes, dear?"
"I was thinking about what we talked about last week."
"We talked about many things last week. Could you clarify?"
"You know, the, um…friends with benefits thing." She spun again to avoid facing him, only for her chair to be stopped in front of him.
"And?" He asked. She'd never seen him look quite this intense.
"I mean, if you were still interested-"
"I am."
"Oh! Ok." She hadn't expected him to answer so quickly. "I'm interested too."
"Excellent." He gave her a grin that felt almost predatory.
"But I wanna establish some ground rules, obviously."
"Of course!" He motioned for her to continue.
"I don't want anyone to know. They'll just gossip and tease and make a big deal out of it. That means no visible marks."
"That makes sense."
"Never during work hours."
"Of course."
"And there's something about me you should know. I'm part succubus, so I have a pretty high sex drive."
"You're saying that as if it's a bad thing!"
"And I don't know what you're into, but I'm a switch, so I can be a top or a bottom. I like to get kind of rough but again, no visible marks."
"Everything you've said sounds perfectly reasonable."
"Soooo what about you?" She was extremely curious as to what he was into.
"I'm open to experimentation. Every sexual encounter I've had has been bland. The minimum required to scratch the itch."
"Ok, cool. We need a safe word."
Alastor picked up the closest object. "Stapler?"
"That'll work." Charlie cleared her throat. "So, um, do you want to start now?"
"Well preferably in one of our bedrooms, I don't think the front desk is the best idea."
Charlie laughed nervously. "My room?"
Alastor quickly reached out and grabbed her, then they were in her room. She barely had time to process what had happened before he'd slammed her into the wall and was kissing her. She'd been nervous about how to start but it seemed like that wasn't going to be a problem.
"I've been hoping you would take me up on my offer." He said quietly as he ripped her blazer off, sending buttons flying. "Frankly I haven't been able to stop thinking about it."
"Me neither!" She couldn't believe how he was almost frantic.
"I find you very, very attractive. I'm rarely, if ever, attracted to anyone." He kissed a spot below her ear that made her melt.
"Really?" It came out squeakier than she intended. Coherent speech was becoming more difficult.
"Oh yes. You drive me wild, Charlotte." He ripped her shirt open, revealing her red bra. "Absolutely wild."
Alastor was having a very hard time not throwing her down and fucking her into the mattress. He'd been very confused when he'd realized he was attracted to Charlie. He typically wasn't attracted to anyone, but there was something about her that sent all his blood rushing south. He was waiting to wake up from this dream, but the feeling of her sharp claws reminded him that he truly was awake. She'd ripped his jacket off and was tearing at the buttons on his shirt. It popped and buttons seemed to explode as he hoisted her up to move to the bed. She'd wrapped her legs tightly around him and his hands cupped her bottom. He fell backwards onto the bed and she stayed in her position on top of him. He typically preferred to be the one in control, but he was flexible with her. She straddled him and sat up, reaching behind her to unhook her bra and toss it aside. Alastor's brain officially relinquished control and his dick was now calling the shots.
Charlie rolled her hips against him and let out a needy whining sound when she felt his bulge. He managed to sit up and focus his attention on her breasts. He snapped his fingers and her pants were gone. Now she only wore thin red panties. His fingers skirted over the damp fabric and pressed down suddenly.
"FUCK!" Holy hell, how did he know how to do that?! He doubled down on his efforts and she arched her back and cried out. Then he slipped one finger under the fabric.
It was like setting off a bottle rocket.
Alastor was certain that there was no substance in heaven, hell, or in between that was as intoxicating as making Charlie come. He'd never seen anything more beautiful and it just made him want to do it over and over again.
Charlie slammed him down onto his back and kissed him passionately. "Take your pants off."
He was happy to comply. He snapped his fingers again and removed the remaining clothing that separated them. His erection sprang up and Charlie grinned before giving it a slow lick from base to tip.
"I'm afraid I won't last long if you keep that up, dear." He was grinding his teeth.
She flipped over onto her back and pulled him on top of her. He didn't bother going slow, choosing instead to plunge straight into her. They both cried out, and Charlie locked her arms and legs around him. He pounded away, enjoying the feeling of her claws digging into his back.
"HOLY FUCK, ALASTOR!" Charlie was rapidly approaching orgasm number two. She sank her sharp teeth into his shoulder and he let out a shuddering groan. "Sorry!" She managed to squeak out.
"Don't apologize, do it again!"
She sank her teeth into his shoulder once more and he let out a gasping noise. "I'm not going to last much longer." He lowered a hand between her legs and found what he was looking for.
Her scream cracked the windows.
He could feel the blood running down his back and her walls clenching tightly around him. He finally let himself go with a shudder. "CHARLIE!" He screamed as he came, feeling slightly woozy. He collapsed on top of her, and they were both breathing heavily and dripping sweat. He managed to flop off to the side and on his back.
"We're doing that again, right?" Charlie asked.
"You'll have to give me a few minutes to catch my breath."
"I didn't mean NOW. I meant this situation."
"Oh, then yes we are absolutely doing that again."
Charlie sat up and gasped. "Fuck!"
"What?"
"I mauled you!"
"Yes you did, it was quite pleasurable." He grinned up at her.
"I'm so sorry! I get carried away."
"Darling, I'm not complaining. I rather liked it. You're one of the few that could actually cause me pain."
"Fuck, at least let me clean up the blood."
"If you insist." He turned on his side and watched Charlie walk to the bathroom naked as the day she was born. It was impressive how quickly he was hard again. This was going to be a fantastic night.
The weeks went on and somehow they managed to keep their little rendezvous a secret. Alastor felt himself longing for Charlie's touch, her arms around him, her body against his. And they'd learned so much about each other. Afterwards, they'd talk for a bit while they recovered, that was his (second) favorite part. He liked to play with her hair and hold her close while she talked. He began dreading the time they'd have to separate.
One evening, Charlie sat up after they'd had sex and began gathering her stuff. "There's no need to rush off." Alastor said.
"I'm really tired, so if I don't move now I'll fall asleep." She smiled at him over her shoulder.
"So? You can sleep here."
Charlie froze. "I can't."
"Why not?"
"Because that takes things to another level!"
"How so?"
"Have you ever slept with someone?"
"I believe you'd know the answer." He smirked.
"No, I mean ACTUALLY slept."
"In that case, no,"
"Exactly. It's intimate. If we're keeping things casual, we can't do that."
"I suppose you're right." He sat up and smiled at her. "Get out."
Charlie rolled her eyes and leaned over and kissed him. He opened a portal for her and she stepped into her room.
This is what she'd been afraid of. She was secretly wanting Alastor to say "I don't want to keep things casual!" She knew getting into this that it could never go beyond that. She flopped back on her bed and stared up at the ceiling. Shit.
Alastor laid on his bed and stared at his ceiling. He'd been testing the waters to see how she felt about moving things beyond casual. Clearly she wanted to keep things the way they were. He should've known this would happen. He should've known that Charlie was special. For him to be attracted to her was already incredible, but someone he regularly enjoyed having sex with? Unheard of. Of course his feelings had grown. He'd just have to find a way to deal with it.
Charlie was working the front desk when she heard someone clear their throat. She looked around and didn't see anyone. "Hello?!" An annoying voice screeched. Charlie looked down and smiled.
"I'm sorry, I didn't see you come in. How can I help you?"
"I'm here to see Alastor."
"Oh!" Charlie was visibly surprised. "I'll go get him."
"Mimzy! Hello, dear!" Alastor greeted the little woman as he came out of their shared office.
"AAAAAAAL!" Charlie cringed. That voice was like nails on a chalkboard. She watched the little woman fling herself at Alastor.
Alastor noticed the way Charlie had reacted when Mimzy hugged him and decided to push it. "Mimzy, my dear, you look more and more beautiful every time I see you!" He leaned down and kissed her hand. She let out a glass-shattering squeal. "Oh Al, you big flirt!"
"Come on back so we can have some privacy." He escorted her into the office and shut the door, giving Charlie a small smile as he did.
Charlie was furious. Who the hell was this woman?! And she hugged him?! He didn't hug anyone! And he wanted privacy? What was THAT about? She was tempted to just leave but no one else was around to work the desk.
When Alastor and Mimzy came out of the office, he kissed her on the cheek and said goodbye. Then he headed over to Charlie.
"Oh COME ON!" She slammed the jammed desk drawer in an attempt to close it. "What the hell is the problem?!"
"I don't know, but I don't think slamming it is going to be very helpful."
"It's just so fucking ANNOYING!" She slammed it again to no avail.
"Allow me-"
"No thanks. Don't you have a girlfriend to go flirt with?" She snapped and slammed it again. "OH FOR FUCK'S SAKE!"
"Oh, Mimzy? Yes, I've known her a long time. We ran in the same circles when we were alive."
"That's nice." Charlie ducked under the desk to look at the drawer from underneath.
"We used to dance together."
"Good for you. AHA!" She pulled something out, which turned out to be a screw. "Uh oh." The bottom of the drawer fell out and it rained office supplies. Charlie let out a frustrated scream and just laid down.
"She was always chasing after me. And I was always running away. Though perhaps I should give her a chance." He looked at Charlie to get her reaction.
"If that's what you want to do." Charlie mumbled under a pile of sticky notes.
"Would it bother you?"
"No."
"You're a terrible liar."
Charlie sat up and banged her head on the desk. She let out a frustrated scream and crawled out from under it. "Fine! It would bother me! And I'm sorry but it would! I never should've agreed to this because I always end up getting hurt. I can't do this anymore."
"I see. You no longer wish to be friends with benefits?"
"I just can't do it anymore, Al." Charlie sniffed. "I'm sorry."
"Well that's truly a shame, I've enjoyed our time together. By the way, would you happen to be free for dinner?"
"What?"
"I'd like to take you out on a date."
"But Mimzy-"
"Is obnoxious and drives me insane, but I'm an investor in her club. We have to have an occasional business meeting."
"Oh. I guess I was thrown off by you willingly touching her."
"Believe me, my dear, you're the only one I want to touch." Alastor put his hands on her waist and backed her up against the desk.
"Really?" Charlie smiled up at him.
"If we're no longer in a friends with benefits situation, does the rule about not fooling around during work hours still apply?"
"Nah."
"Excellent." Alastor lifted her up and sat her on the edge of the desk. He kissed her passionately and she wrapped her legs around them.
"Jesus, right by the front door? At least have the decency to go in a closet or something." Angel said as he strolled in, startling them both.
"Sorry, Angel." Charlie blushed. "Would you mind watching the desk for me?"
"As long as there's not any fluids on it."
"Thank yo-" Alastor had transported them to her room.
Angel sprayed the desk with cleaner and wiped it off. Better safe than sorry.