Chapter Text
Raphael stared at Tav; her eyes were round and filled with vulnerability and longing. It should have sent a shiver of pleasure down his spine, but instead it all felt delicate. It was like he was walking along a phase spider's web, taking calculated steps. He needed to tread carefully to not trigger vibrations that would lead to his death. In this case, death was a symbol for Tav discovering the depths of his desire for her.
While Raphael pondered his next steps, Tav was debating what would hurt more. Throwing herself over Raphael's balcony—letting her bones crush against the Avernus' hot floor—or asking Raphael to send her home? It would feel shameful, but it would save her from facing the humiliation of his rejection
"I am flattered, my dear."
Raphael’s voice lacked sincerity. The artificial sound was a ghastly reminder that he may not feel the same way. But the flirty looks and the nicknames—everything Astarion had warned her about—meant something. Didn't it?
"Don't be ashamed," Raphael reassured. The sound of glee penetrated his tone, adding to Tav’s feelings of shame. "You're hardly the first mortal who has desired me."
Like a needle pushed into a pincushion, disappointment pricked her heart. He was brushing her off. Perhaps Raphael viewed her as a beautiful rose—only to be admired but never touched.
Raphael gestured towards the bed, inviting Tav to take a seat. The gesture was not suggestive in any way. Instead, it was like a mentor was inviting their students to sit before lecturing them. In anticipation of the long lecture that was about to come, Tav sighed.
Now that there was no incubus to run from, Tav let herself sink into Raphael's bed. She leaned back on her hands, crossing one leg over the other. The flimsy material of her stockings ripped further, exposing another large portion of her leg.
If she had any pride left, she would have felt embarrassed. Revealing her feelings for Raphael had left her feeling vulnerable—naked and exposed. Raphael didn't seem to appreciate that fact, as he looked at her through narrowed eyes.
If something sounds too good to be true, then it is. Raphael ruminated, internally battling his own paranoia. The object of his desire sat in front of him, offering herself to him. The words 'I want you too' sat on the tip of his tongue but refused to be spoken.
“Have you been trying to seduce me?” Raphael asked. He eyed the hole in her stockings. “I am not a mortal man; you’ll have to offer me more than sex if you want the Orphic Hammer.”
A strange look crossed Tav’s face—a mixture of pity and confusion. It irked Raphael; he was not something to be pitied.
“No.”
Raphael took a seat beside her. The bed rocked, causing Tav to sit up straight. Despite the lack of physical contact, she could feel Raphael’s presence. It felt as if his hands were hovering above her skin. Her stomach flipped.
For the first time (that Tav had seen), Raphael was quiet. His eyes were glassy as he sat in contemplation, stroking the top of his thigh. The silence was more irritating than any condescending comment he could have made. She almost wished that he was laughing at her, telling her how foolish she was for desiring him.
“I don’t expect you to feel the same,” Tav continued. Although the words left her mouth, she wasn’t sure if that was true. “I’m no Haarlep. Well, I’m no mirror image of you.”
Raphael chuckled, amused by the obvious statement. He turned his head to look at her, their eyes instantly meeting. The intensity between them made his fingers twitch; she was so close.
“True, but one vexing incubus is enough.”
Any vulnerability she had hoped to hide flooded out of her mouth. “Then what do you want from me?” She asked.
He placed his hand on her thigh, touching her bare skin through a hole in her stockings. Tav held her breath, and a fluttery sensation began in her stomach.
Like ice slowly cracking, a sense of anticipation spread throughout the room.
Raphael caressed her thigh, moving his thumb in small circular movements.
The anticipation continued to build until Tav couldn’t take it anymore.
She broke the ice.
“Do you want to have sex?” she asked. Strangely, it sounded like an announcement rather than a question. “With me.”
Drastically, the temperature of the room changed; it felt blistering hot. Heat pooled in Tav’s cheeks, and her heart pounded away in her chest.
Time seemed to stand still.
Slowly, Raphael nodded.
“Yes, I do.”
Swiftly, Tav hoisted her body up and onto his, straddling him. While her arms looped around his neck, Raphael placed his warm hands on her hips.
Just as a smirk was spreading across his face, Tav kissed him.
His lips were softer than she had imagined; they were warm and malleable.
Raphael deepened the kiss. The taste of cherries flowed into her mouth, joined by his tongue, as he invited her to taste him. His hands pushed her hips down, causing her to grind on his erection. Her skimpy shorts, that already scarcely covered the tops of her thighs, rode up further.
The intensity of his affection was a pleasant surprise. How long had he felt this way? Tav wondered.
Even in this moment, Raphael could not escape himself. As he sucked on her bottom lip, a small internal voice began shouting at him.
“She is a mortal!”
“She is tricking you!”
“What are you doing?!”
He disregarded the pestering voice. Instead, he allowed his past fantasies—the ones he had hastily dismissed days ago—to flood into his mind. Her eyes glazed over in ecstasy. Her hair in ruins. Her glossy lips parted.
The delicious thought demanded that he grip her tighter, and Raphael saw no reason not to comply. Possessively, he wrapped his arms around her waist, squeezing her.
More.
Harder.
More.
A primal, feral urge awoke within Tav. While she was grinding on him, she roughly tugged at his clothing. It needed to come off.
Immediately, Raphael noticed the shift. Although her desperation satisfied him greatly, he was concerned about the buttons on his shirt. If his little mouse could defeat Orin, she could have no trouble destroying his second favourite shirt.
“I can snap my fingers. Make our clothes disappear,” Raphael offered.
A thrill shot through Tav’s body. It was a mix of excitement, desire, and anxiety. Going from fully clothed to nude in an instant (with a man that she had never seen naked) felt jarring. But she wanted it. She wanted him.
Tav leaned back, creating space between their bodies so that she could meet his eyes. His pupils were dilated.
“Good idea,” she agreed. “But let’s get comfortable first.”
They shuffled towards the head of the bed, giving their limbs space to sprawl out. Tav took initiative, lying back against the mattress. As she sunk into the comfortable bed, her body thanked her by sending a pleasurable shiver down her spine.
Raphael joined her, climbing on top of her. As he hovered over her, Tav could smell charcoal and cherries; her mouth watered.
“Wait,” she blurted out.
Raphael paused, only seconds away from snapping his fingers. His eyebrows rose quizzically. Had she changed her mind? The possibility brought him more disappointment than he cared to admit.
“Do you prefer this form? Or…” She averted her eyes, looking down at his red bedsheets.
Ah, Raphael realised, recalling the way Tav had looked at Haarlep. She wants his cambion form. A genuine surprise.
“Do you understand what you’re asking for, little mouse? My cambion form is bigger and warmer; it might cause you discomfort.”
Inside of her, the feral urge roared. She enthusiastically nodded; she wanted all of him.
Snap.
The torn stockings, the scandalous shorts, and the apple-red corset all vanished from sight. An immediate feeling of comfort and freedom washed over her, relaxing her limbs as if she were in a drunken daze.
Heat radiated from Raphael’s cambion form. It reached out to her, coating every inch of her skin and melting into her insides.
Her breath quickened as she met Raphael’s gaze. His eyes were no longer a warm chocolate brown; they had transformed into a fiery orange colour. As if his eyes were ablaze, they glowed. Long, dark, curled horns adorned the top of his head. His skin had become a sinful red, almost matching the bedspread below them.
If there was a way to tell Raphael he was beautiful without sounding romantic, Tav would have found it. But she couldn’t, so she bit her tongue and let her hands talk for her.
She explored his arms, feeling his bulging veins and biceps.
Then she rubbed her hands over his hard and smooth chest. She travelled towards his lower body, enjoying the ridges around his ribs and the grooves between his abs.
Raphael’s eyes shut as he enjoyed her worshipping touch. Being admired so intensely was just as arousing as her lips around his cock. Well, perhaps that wasn’t completely true; he would have to find out later.
He embraced her, a contented breath leaving his mouth. He savoured the feeling of her bare breasts squishing against his chest. A passing through went through his head. If this is how marvellous she feels, imagine how marvellous the Crown of Karsus will be.
Their bodies rubbed together, the friction fuelling their fervour. Raphael's rigid erection pressed into her inner thigh, and her breath caught.
“Cold feet?” Raphael teased, his voice dripping with smugness.
In defiance (and because she really wanted to), Tav bit his bottom lip. Teasingly, she dragged his lip downward with her teeth. Raphael groaned.
It was possibly the sexiest sound that she had ever heard.
“You’re a tease,” he smirked.
Tav grinned. “Do you have cold feet?”
He didn't verbally answer. Instead, he placed a single claw below her chin. He pressed down firmly, but not painfully, as he dragged his claw down her body. Trailing down through the middle of her breasts and over her belly button until he reached her mound.
Suddenly, his claws seemed bigger and sharper than they had a moment ago. Tav’s muscles tightened, anticipating pain.
“Don’t worry, little mouse,” Raphael reassured. There was something genuine about his tone that made Tav believe him. “I’ll be gentle with you.”
One of his clawed fingers began to prod between her slick folds.
“Only if you promise to be rough with me,” he added as he entered her.
The absence of pain caused Tav to sigh in relief. Comfortably, she clenched around his thick finger. Steadily, Raphael added another two digits. Giving her time to relax and stretch around him.
Rhythmically, he began to pump his fingers. She felt warm, wet, and wanton as she mewled against his neck.
Saliva, sweat, and slick mixed together. The fluids smeared down his neck and her inner thighs.
Clarity struck as her teeth grazed his skin. She remembered her wordless promise to not be gentle and bit his neck. Despite his skin’s smooth texture, it was tougher than human skin, so her teeth didn’t quite sink in. But it was enough to pinch, she assumed, as he hummed in approval.
In frenzied moments, she placed firm kisses and bites on any surface of his skin that she could. Her hands reached for his head, feeling his husky horns and silky hair.
Raphael noticed the signs of a building orgasm: quickening breathing, toes curling, hands clenching, and incoherent sounds slipping from her parted lips.
“Look at me,” he commanded.
Without resistance, Tav obeyed, staring up into his orange eyes.
“Say my name.”
“Raphael.”
Pressure built inside her body.
“Raphael.”
As the sensation climbed higher and higher, her desperation grew.
“Raphael.”
Finally, pleasure washed over her. A warm tingle spread from her abdomen down into her lower limbs.
“Raphael.”
As she came undone while looking into his eyes, Raphael’s lips curled into a smile. Pity, he couldn’t get the image painted.
But Raphael didn’t dwell on it. Instead, he lined his cock up with her glistening entrance.
“Are you ready for me, little mouse?”
“Mm-hmm."
Raphael kept his word. With gentle and gradual movements, he inserted his cock. As he buried himself inside of her, her walls stretched to accommodate him.
Involuntarily, she clenched around him, the tension making them both groan.
“Moaning already, little mouse?” Raphael teased, each syllable sounding distorted as his voice was doused with lust. “I haven’t even begun yet.”
Tav’s hands curled around Raphael’s biceps as he began to thrust. At first, the movements were slow but strong, almost teasing. Nevertheless, the motions felt pleasurable. She wouldn’t have minded being impaled on his cock forever.
Leisurely, he built momentum, his thrusts becoming faster, harder, and deeper. He was becoming wild and voracious, like he was both lust and gluttony personified.
Her body shifted up and down against the bed as he pounded into her. She pushed back against him, the lewd sound of bodies smacking spreading throughout the room.
“Raphael!” Tav moaned. She liked how his name felt on her tongue; it’d quickly become her favourite curse word.
Beside her, Raphael’s claws dug into the bedsheets. The fabric tore, causing a long, slow, ripping sound to pierce the air. Too absorbed in enjoying how his cock felt within her warm walls, Raphael barely noticed the noise.
Then it all happened very quickly. Raphael pulled out of her, her pussy pulsing from the echoes of his thrusts. Next, she felt hot cum splatter onto her stomach. A deep moan exploded from Raphael’s chest.
Abruptly, all was silent, except for Tav's uneven breathing. As if her head were underwear, life suddenly sounded both loud and quiet.
Raphael rolled on to the bedding he had just destroyed. With the snap of his fingers, a fresh towel materialised.
Tav wiped the coat of cum off her stomach, impulsively wondering how it tasted. Once she was finished, she rolled onto her side, letting Raphael snap the towel away.
Instinctively, (forgetting the nature of the man she had just slept with), Tav planted a soft kiss on Raphael’s lips. To both their shock, Raphael dragged her into his arms and let her head rest against his chest.
A sense of accomplishment surged through him. The world seemed brighter. The air seemed to glitter, like it possessed pixie dust. He had done it. Strands of hair stuck to the sides of her neck and face. Saliva glistened on her slightly swollen lips. And her eyes were doe-like and dazed from ecstasy.
Everything felt completely and faultlessly perfect. His little mouse was in his arms, the Crown of Karsus was on its way (not that she had said yes yet), and he was sexually satisfied.
What will tomorrow be like? Tav worried. Laying on the devil’s chest felt a little too comfortable. She stroked his arm, not sure why she felt the compulsive need to touch him. There was something bittersweet about this moment turning into a memory.
Did Raphael want this to happen again? Tav wasn’t sure, and she sensed that Raphael didn’t know either.
More importantly, was she now obligated to give Raphael the Crown? She clung to the fact that she hadn’t signed a contract.
She couldn't help but wonder, what about Gale? Was there a future for her in Waterdeep? She could wake up to the smell of old books, burnt wax, and lavender. She could spend her time exploring his library and conversing with Tara. At sunrise and sunset, they all could watch the sky, pretending that the colour orange didn’t remind her of Raphael’s eyes.
She could love Gale, Tav briefly thought. Starry nights were just as beautiful as a vibrant sky.
But what did she want?
The thoughts drifted away as Raphael began stroking her hair.
Right now, it felt like she was lying in the safest arms in Faerun. And that was enough, for now.