The Heir

*** Chapter Five ***

An hour after sundown, Integra called Seras and Alucard to her office. Whilst Seras arrived promptly, Alucard, as usual, took his own sweet time. When both stood before her, she gave them their orders for the night.

“We are expecting a dozen new ex-military soldiers this week. I want the two of you working with our current team to devise an orienon aon and integration program. We also need to look at better training methods. We far far too many soldiers – there must be a better way of training them so they survive!”

“Yes, Sir,” agreed Seras. Alucard simply smirked.

“I’ll leave you in charge of this. I am not to be disturbed tonight. But in any case, I’m sure you two can handle this without screwing up.”

“Of course,” replied Alucard smoothly.

“Dismissed.”

Once the two vampires had left the room, Integra activated her intercom to Walter’s office. “I’m turning in early tonight,” she advised him, hoping he would get the message without her having to spell it out.

“As you wish.”

Integra switched off the intercom, gazing blankly at it for a moment. ‘Well,’ she thought. ‘This is it.’ She got to her feet and headed out of her office. She paused as she passed her father’s portrait. “I’m doing this for you, Father,” she murmured. “For all of us Hellsings.”

***
As she walked into her rooms, the first thing Integra noticed was the bottle of champagne on the small table, resting in a silver bucket of ice. Beside it were two glasses. She peeked into her bedroom, wondering if Walter had added more ‘romantic’ touches there. If he’d filled the room with fancy candles, she’d beat him over the head with them! Thankfully, her room looked as it always did. The bed was neatly made, the dressing table was neat, containing only a clean glass and her water jug, hairbrush and covered mirror.

A soft knocking at the doorway to her sitting room made her turn around, in time to see Walter standing in the entrance. “Integra?” At her nod, he came in, closing the door behind him as she crossed the room and sat down in one of the dining chairs by her ta

From behind his back, Walter produced a long-stemmed white rose. Shaking her head slightly, she nevertheless took the rose, turning it between her fingers. “All this isn’t really necessary,” she remarked, using the rosebud to gesture at the champagne on the table.

Walter inclined his head. “I’m somewhat a traditionalist at heart. You may just have to bear with me on that.”

Integra half-smiled, and set the rose on the table beside the glasses. Her face resumed a more serious look. “To be completely honest, I’m not quite sure where to begin.” She looked a little uncomfortable.

“We don’t have to rush. This will all take time, you know.”

She sighed. “I’m aware of that, Walter. But, as you surely recall, I’ve not exactly been in this position before. I’ve no idea just how we’re going to go about this.” At Walter’s raised eyebrow, her cheeks flushed pink. “Well, I know the basics, of course,” she amended.

Walter chuckled, and in that moment, Integra was acutely aware of how much older - and presumably more experienced - he was. “Why don’t we just take a moment to relax?” he suggested. He uncorked the champagne and poured it into the glasses, amazingly not spilling a drop. He passed a glass to Integra, and she accepted without complaint. She raised the glass toward Walter, proposing a toast. “To the Hellsing heir,” she said. He smilnd tnd touched his glass to hers. “To the Hellsing heir,” he repeated.

Sitting in the second chair by the table, Walter sipped the champagne, watching as Integra did the same. He knew well her ‘let’s get it over with’ attitude, but at the same time, he felt he’d somehow be failing in his duties as her husband and as a man if she didn’t at least slightly enjoy the evening. But how could he make her enjoy something she thought of as a chore?

“Integra,” Walter ventured, “perhaps I could give you a shoulder massage? You might feel more at ease.” He set down his glass, moving around to her chair as she unfastened the buttons of her coat. He took hold of the shoulders of the garment, drawing it gently off her shoulders, waiting for her to stand so he could slip it from her arms. He draped it carefully over the back of the chair he had been sitting on and cracked his knuckles in preparation.

Integra sat herself sideways on the high-backed chair, so that Walter could have easy access to her shoulders. She winced as he cracked his knuckles. It was always such a vulgar sound, but she supposed his fingers must be getting slightly arthritic, and probably needed loosening up. Then again, it may just have been a bad habit of his.

Walter’s warm, strong hands began kneading at her shoulders, seeking out tight knots of muscles and coaxing them into submission. She closed her eyes. It had been a long time since she had let him do this, but on occasion in the past, she had accepted his offers of a professional massage. His expert manipulation of her tense shoulder muscles had at those times been just the thing after a long, tiring day. She let herself relax slightly, leaning back against his chest.

Walter smiled to himself. The tried and true method of relaxation was certainly working. He could feel Integra’s muscles loosening beneath his careful ministrations. The leader of Hellsing wasn’t fully relaxed, and due to the kind of life she led, probably wouldn’t relax completely unless sedated, but the massage was definitely making a big difference. The beauty of the art of massage, he considered, was that a simple relaxation massage could become subtly sensual with only the barest alteration of strokes. He moved his hands slightly, beginning to release the tension in her neck. With one hand, he brushed her silk-soft hair aside, pushing it over her shoulder to allow him better access to her neck. His thumbs ran gentle but firm strokes up her spine to her hairline and down again. Slowly and gradually he eased his touch from firm pressure to gentle strokes, still following the same patterns along her neck and shoulders.

Integra sighed almost inaudibly. Walter’s massage was, as always, extremely relaxing. She felt the tension of the last day or two just melting and leaving her body via those warm, ever-moving hands. And when those hands moved ever so slightly on her neck, the strokes becoming soft caresses around the side of her neck, beneath her ear, along her throat, under her jaw... she didn’t protest.

***

Walter looked down at Integra’s closed eyes and her slightly parted lips. Her whole face had relaxed quite a lot and no longer looked so tense and angry. She was comfortable with his gentle, soothing caresses; perhaps even enjoying them. It was time to incr his his attentions slightly and ease her into a more intimate situation.

He leaned over her, bowing his head so his mouth rested beside her ear. Softly, he brushed his lips over her earlobe. At the warm breath of air over her ear, Integra shivered, tilting her head slightly to the side. Walter took this to be an invitation, and pressed a soft kiss just behind her ear, beginning a trail of kisses along the line of her jaw.

Integra let her head fall back, sighioftloftly in approval. This was relaxing, as the massage had been, and yet, there was something different about it as well. The kisses along her jaw, the warmth of his breath on her face, these things started a strange quivering feeling low in her belly. It was like a kind of tenseness, only more pleasant, and still relaxing in a way. Walter’s lips traced their way down to the underside of her chin, and then began a slow journey upwards until they pressed against her own.

Integra’s eyes fluttered open at the contact, but Walter’s face was too close to focus on properly. She let them close again, just as she felt his hand cup her cheek gently, his fingertips caressing the edge of her jaw. Instead of pulling back once his mouth had brushed hers, as he had at the conclusion of their wedding, Walter gently used his lips to coax her mouth open. She let out a surprised gasp when his tongue ran over the edges of her teeth, then slid past them, the tip of it tracing the sides of her own tongue.

Walter shivered himself when he felt Integra responding to the deep kiss, her tongue gently nudging at his, finally venturing forth to lick at his lips. He withdrew his tongue from her mouth so that she could explore his, and this she did, following his example remarkably well. She raised a hand to hold his head steady, her fingers resting on his cheek.

It had been a long time indeed since Walter had kissed a woman like this, and Integra’s power of learning coupled with her natural skill was quickly making the older man aroused. He pulled back from the kiss, allowing them both to catch their breath, and regarded Integra for a moment. Her eyes were much slower to open, and when they did, there was a smouldering fire within them that he had never seen before. Her cheeks were flushed hot and pink, and she licked her lips before leaning in for another kiss. As tAs their lips separated this time, Walter bent his knees and slid an arm beneath Integra’s knees. The other he wrapped around her back, and then he lifted her carefully into his arms. Holding back a gasp, Integra put her arms around his neck for balance as she was carried across the floor into the bedroom. Walter set her down on her bed, laying her down with care. He unlaced her boots, pulling each one off and setting it on the floor beside her bed, before letting her stockinged feet touch the bedspread. He removed his own shoes and sat on the edge of the bed beside her, reaching down to stroke her face again.

Integra looked up at Walter, feeling a mixture of emotions. The first and foremost was the desire that his kisses and caresses had awakened in her. It begged satisfaction, made her want to keep exploring, to see what other wonderful feelings there were to discover. The second feeling was a blend of fear and uncertainty. Never before had she done this and she was a little afraid, though not of pain or anything trite like that. She was more worried that she wouldn’t know what to do; that she wouldn’t be able to bring Walter the same pleasure he was bringing her. The final feeling was guilt. She had practically forced this on poor Walter and he, the ever-faithful servant, was obeying her wishes - no more than that. And yet that she could derive such enjoyment from it... it just seemed wrong to her.

“Integra...” Walter’s voice gently interrupted her inner reflection. “Is something wrong?” She shook her head. He appeared unconvinced, so she pulled him down to her for another deep kiss. While he held his full weight off her with one arm braced against the bed, his other hand slid again into her hair, then down her neck, this time continuing down further. He deftly unfastened her cravat, placing it on the bedside table. He opened the top two buttons on her blouse, letting his fingers lightly brush the exposed skin there.

Walter sat back a little in order to remove his waistcoat and tie, now clad in just his shirt and trousers. Integra watched him, debating whether or not to tell him what was on her mind. Finally she decided to give voice to her worry. “Walter?”

“Yes, Integra?”

“It occurs to me that I’ve forced you into this, for my own purposes, and haven’t allowed you a say in the matter. And while I’m enjoying this, I feel I shouldn’t be, especially if you’re not...”

Walter, looking aisheished, hushed her with his fingertips. “I’m enjoying this more than you could know,” he murmured. “And I want this to be pleasurable for you as well.”

A small smile crossed Integra’s lips. “It is that,” she confessed. “I like this more than I thought I would.” She kissed Walter’s fingers, which rested beside her mouth. On impulse, she took the tip of one of them into her mouth a little way, sucking it gently and prodding it with her tongue. Walter let her do so, a small groan of pleasure escaping him. Integra smiled to herself. Perhaps pleasing him wasn’t going to be so difficult after all.

*** End Chapter Five ***