Begun by blood: By blood, undone by MrsJohnReese

“What is it this time, Finch?” John said from between clenched teeth as Lena flopped back on the bed; heaving a sigh of exasperation.

“Am I interrupting something, Mr. Reese?” his boss replied in an irritatingly cool and detached tone; his fingers clacking away at the keyboard as usual.

Trying to think of what to say in response without biting the poor recluse’s head off, John bit back a groan as he realized Lena had moved to sit on her knees behind him; and was beginning to run her hands up and down his back in a light massage. He threw her a look that said quite clearly that he intended to pay her back for this little distraction; before returning back to the conversation with Finch, saying:

“Out with it, Finch. What have you got?”

“I managed to pick up some more detail on our mystery woman after pulling a couple tricks from my sleeve and giving them a whirl. Can you put me on speaker? Miss Burton needs to hear this too.”

John gave the phone a quizzical gaze before pressing the speaker button and turning to face Lena; who sat back on the bed, listening and eyeing him intently.

“Go ahead, Finch; she can hear you too.”

“Miss Burton, do you know of a Margaret Sellner?” Finch’s voice asked.

Lena looked puzzled for a moment, before she replied:

“No…never heard of her. Why?”

A brief pause followed, filled only with the continuous sounds of Finch’s typing; before the billionaire finally spoke again.

“How about a Lena Kirchner?”

Fixing John with a confused expression that was met with a look of equal uncertainty from the ex-op; Lena took a deep breath before responding:

“No. What is this all about?”

“Miss Burton, Margaret Sellner is the woman responsible for drugging you in the bar the other night. Security feeds from the bar confirm it. We also have footage showing her meeting with the other families regarding this war you’re wrapped up in. Apparently, she was just recently discharged from a mental institution upstate; where she was formerly known as Lena Kirchner.”

“And what does she have against me?” Lena asked, wondering how in hell this woman even knew who she was; and why she was holding such a grudge. Was it all a mistake? Or was this someone from her past that she had long forgotten? Her thoughts were broken by Finch’s voice filling the silence in the room; as he spoke.

“I spoke to some of the hospital staff where she was being treated; and they mentioned her repeatedly talking about “that kid being her downfall.” When asked about who this “kid” was, she mentioned your name. It seems that she believes you are the reason she was committed. She was hospitalized for exactly 32 years; the date of her admission coinciding perfectly with your date of birth.”

A look of horror swept over Lena’s face then, as a long forgotten snippet of a memory from her past came to mind.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………….
She was only 4 years old; and it was just after the birthday party her father had thrown her. She recalled walking up to him and asking:

“Daddy, why don’t I have a mommy like all the other girls?”

Her father had looked at her curiously for a moment, before he replied:

“Because sweetie. God made you so special that he decided to give you to me; to keep for myself.”

“But Daddy, Susie says that God made her special too; and she has a mommy.”

“Well, Lena; sometimes, mommies get sick. And when that happens; they have to be taken away. You see, they aren’t safe for their little girls when they’re sick. And you know that we need to keep you safe, don’t you sweetie?”
…………………………………………………………………………………………………..
That had been enough of an explanation for Lena then; and she had learned from that moment on to avoid mentioning the “m” word around her father. She never stopped being curious, but after realizing that her dream of her mother coming back for her was just that…a dream; she did her best to forget about the woman altogether.

“Sometimes mommies get sick” She repeated to herself; unconsciously standing up and roaming over to the window to look out at the scene below with blank eyes.

John fought to control his concern for the young woman; only barely keeping himself from going over to wrap her in his arms as he began speaking once more to Finch.

“So this woman is her mother? And she wants Lena hurt or killed…for what purpose?”

“My guess is, Elias is the one who had her put away. She gets out years later; fully aware of the fact that she had a daughter; and is trying to either eliminate her to get Elias’ attention, or she truly blames Lena for her predicament, and wants revenge against her personally.”

“But she was just a child, Finch. She had no control over her mother’s mental state, or what happened to her because of it.” John said, astonishment at the unusual desire of a mother to harm her own child sweeping over him in waves. Most mothers would go to any length to protect their children; and this one was doing just the opposite. It just wasn’t…natural.

“Well, Mr. Reese, you and I both know that there are all sorts of irrational ideas out there that fuel people to do what they do. It is entirely possible that Miss Sellner truly does believe that Lena is responsible for what happened to her. And if she is really mentally ill; logic has nothing do to with it.”

“So what do we do, Finch? How can we stop this woman from actually harming Lena?” John asked, getting up from the bed to walk over to Lena; looping an arm around her waist and drawing her back against his chest.

“There’s nothing we can do, Mr. Reese. Nothing besides wait, and make sure we are there when she makes her next attempt.”

John disconnected the call then, tossing the phone back in his pants pocket and wound his other arm around Lena’s waist as he rested his chin on her shoulder.

“You’ll probably smack me for this, but…you okay?” He asked her.

After a brief pause, Lena turned around in his arms; resting her head against his shoulder as she said:

“Nothing like having a messed up family, right?”

John felt her smile slightly against him; and he used a hand to draw her chin up so he could look her in the eyes as he said:

“You know I’ll do anything I can to protect you from this? From your mother…from the war…from everything.”

“I know that, John” Lena replied, smiling up at him in earnest. Even from the beginnings of her encounters with this man; she had known that he was a force to be reckoned with. A safe haven for her throughout whatever life would throw her way. And standing here, now…in his arms; she had never felt safer, despite the fact that her world appeared to be crumbling to pieces around her. Reveling in the feel of his arms around her; she felt a renewed eagerness to get back to what they had started before Harold’s call interrupted. Right now, she wanted him; and only him. The rest of the world and its assorted troubles could wait until tomorrow.

The calm smile Lena wore turned to a smirk as she continued watching John from beneath her eyelashes; and said:

“But I wonder, John…who will protect Harold?”

The ex-agent eyed her curiously for a moment; obviously unsure what she was referring to. Laughing a bit at his obvious confusion, Lena continued speaking; even as she leaned her body closer to his.

“Who will keep him safe from you? If the look on your face was any indication; his phone call came very close to ending his life.”

John shook himself slightly as he adjusted to this new direction of the conversation. He was surprised at how quickly Lena had regained her composure; and at the way that she seemed every bit as willing as he was to pick up where they had left off. The ex-op spared a brief second considering that she may not be in the best frame of mind to make decisions like this now; but hell…he had practically written the book on compartmentalization; hadn’t he? So what if she was good at it, too?

Bending his head down to graze a light kiss at the junction of her neck and collarbone; he smirked, and lowered his voice, saying:

“I’m not quite sure that I remember what we were doing before that call, Lena. Perhaps you could remind me?”

Laughing, Lena happily obliged; pushing him backwards until the backs of his knees made contact with the edge of the bed. She shoved him lightly, watching with an almost cat-like smirk as he fell backwards. His eyes darkened as she crawled over top of him; and she shivered in pleasure as his hands grazed up either side of her thighs to come to rest on her hips.

“Do you… remember…now, John?” she asked in between the kisses she feathered on his forehead, down his face, over his nose, and to his chin.

“Mmmmm…nope” Was his reply; causing her to smirk even wider as she placed both hands on either side of his body to steady herself as she continued kissing a path down his neck, stopping briefly to nip playfully at his collarbone.

“How about now?” she questioned, reveling in his sharp intake of breath. She sat back a bit so she could see his face; settling her weight more securely over his waist and wiggling around a bit, just to tease him.

John’s eyes were closed, and he found himself involuntarily grinding his hips upward into her own as she moved around; knowing full well that she was every bit aware of what she was doing to him, and loving every minute of it. He slid both hands up her arms slowly; smiling to himself as the simple act caused her to pause in her efforts to torture him. Using this opportunity to his advantage, he tightened his grip on her arms; flipping her over so that he was on top, with his knee between her legs. He laughed at the squeal his sudden action had elicited from her, before saying:

“I think I remember now, Lena.”

Wasting no more time, John sealed her lips with his own; swallowing her moan with his mouth as he moved a hand down to finish undoing her pants. Breaking his contact with her only briefly, he slid the offending garment down her hips and off of her feet; before tossing the jeans aside and returning his attention to kissing her. He could feel his erection straining against his pants; but he was determined to prolong the moment where he fully lost control; wanting to be absolutely certain that this was what actually Lena wanted; and not just the shock and grief of her recent discovery fueling her desire.

Sliding her legs open, almost involuntarily; Lena savored the closeness she shared with this amazing, protective, mysterious man as they continued kissing. The weight of him over her felt different…right. Unlike anything she had ever known before. And the feel of his manhood pressing against the thin layer of her underwear served to further cement in her mind that she wanted this. She had been unsure before, but now…

Lena was broken out of her musings as John looped both arms around her back; rolling them both over so that she straddled him again. She barely had time to comprehend this sudden change, when his hands were at the clasp of her bra; undoing it with ease and tossing it aside before she could even protest.

“Hey now, mister; don’t go getting all…oooh” She said, cut off from her statement as his lips latched around her left breast and he rose to a seated position; his hands planted firmly on her back, holding her to him. The sensation his lips were generating caused her to arch forward into him; simultaneously rolling her hips into his groin. He was forced to break away from his attention to her breast then, closing his eyes as he absorbed the feel of her against him and tried to regain control over his not so intelligent brain downstairs.

His hands began moving in tiny circles, kneading the flesh of her back as he pressed his forehead against her chest; asking:

“What were you saying, Lena?”

Lena held his head to her; and attempted to tame her ragged breathing as she replied:

“Just that, it seems we’re back in the stage of me being…the…only one…getting…undressed.”

A small part of her hated how out of control he was making her; rendering her unable to speak coherently with just a back massage. And yet, the larger part of her decided that she would give anything in the world for him to never stop touching her. If she could just stay here forever; and never have to go back to the real world and all of its problems…well then, she would really be in heaven.

John leaned back onto the bed then, moving both arms out so that they rested by his sides as he said:

“Have it as you wish, my lady.”

Trying, and failing to hold back a giggle; Lena scooted backwards so that she was straddling his knees, busying herself with undoing his belt and swatting the buckle aside as she set to work on the button and zipper of the pants. Finally succeeding in undoing the barrier keeping him partially hidden from her; she purposefully ghosted her palm over the bulge in his boxers, smirking at his moan as she used both hands to pull down not only the suit pants, but the underwear as well.

She was just about to pull the clothes completely over his feet, when he surprised her; once again knocking her on her back as he simultaneously kicked off the pants and settled over her once more to begin licking and biting a trail down her neck.

“John” She moaned, placing both her hands on his scalp and running her fingers through his hair as he continued his trail downward. She found herself wanting nothing more than to feel him inside her; and as though he could read her mind, he removed her underwear, only to replace the garment with two fingers sliding into her heat.

There were no words to describe the feelings sizzling through her body at his invasion of her core…Lena could only let out a breathy moan as he began pumping his fingers in and out of her in earnest; and try her best to hold on for dear life. He made his way back up to her face, regaining hold of her lips even as he ravished her with his fingers; and she could do nothing but hold onto him and return his kisses, even as she tumbled over the edge into her climax.

Moving his lips down to her neck, John fought to remain in control as he felt her tighten around his fingers; savoring the feel of her breath gusting over his hair as she came down from her high. As he continued kissing her neck; he withdrew his fingers from her, sliding a knee back between her legs as he hovered over her.

“John…please” Lena breathed, running her fingers over his scalp and eliciting a moan from him as he broke away from her neck to look her in the eye.

“Lena…if we do this…you have to understand that there’s no turning back. I want you to want this as much as I do.”

“I do, John. Who wouldn’t want this, with you?”

“I’m being serious, Lena” John replied, trying his best to hide the smirk that wanted to come out despite the seriousness of the matter before them. Of all the women he had known, Lena was the only one who could make him laugh at just about anything…and though he wanted to deny it; he loved that about her.

She removed a hand from his hair to cup his cheek, looking him in the eyes and smiling up at him before she said:

“So was I, John. I want this…I want you. So please…please…just…”

Taking that as the answer he needed, John wasted no time entering her; letting out a moan of satisfaction to match her own, as he allowed her to adjust to the size of him before setting a slow and steady pace. He returned his focus to kissing her after ensuring that he was not hurting her; alternating back and forth between her lips and her neck as the pleasure of what they were doing engulfed them both.

Lena began rolling her hips up to match the tempo of his thrusts; letting out a whimper or a moan every now and then as she savored how perfectly they came together. She wrapped her arms around his back, holding him tightly to her as she urged him to quicken the pace; yearning for the release that was building up within her.

All it took was a sharp bite on the side of her neck, and one more well timed thrust from John; and she went tumbling over the edge a second time, taking him with her as his own climax hit. They rode it out together, sharing a few gentle kisses as their breathing slowed; only separating long enough for John to withdraw from her heat and roll onto his back to pull her so that she was cradled against his chest.

Lena eagerly cuddled into his embrace, astonished at the warmth and contentment she felt with this man; despite all that had happened recently. She smiled softly as he kissed the tip of her nose; squeezing her even tighter against him before they both fell asleep.