InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "teh love owns me!"

poeticmisery (poeticmisery) wrote in manchester_rpg,
@ 2010-07-17 12:29:00

Entry tags:

desmond, raina

"...I'm the only one that's vulnerable..."
Who: Desmond and Raina
What: How all my characters escape into alcohol (part 1)
When: Mid afternoon
Where: University Park
Rating: R... jeebus!
Status: COMPLETE

Desmond had been rather surprised when he'd walked into a "Liquor" store, and found the sorts of assortments of alcohol inside of it, but did not find a single bottle of truly aged wine. It amazed him as well when he was told exactly how much a bottle of such things would cost. It was true that everything was more expensive in this day and age, but the relative expenses were quite a bit more as well. Ages ago, finding a good bottle of finely aged wine was not a task that only they wealthy could undergo, but rather, anyone who had a fine occassion. In fact, back then, it was easier to find it by the barrel rather than finding something that had been stored in smallish looking bottles.

After enough searching, however he found a bottle of sufficiently old vintage for $500 a piece, and promptly bought a couple of bottles of it. Once, in a rather interesting state, Balthazar had keenly told him that only the classless got drunk on anything short of a fine wine. Desmond had not necessarily bought that at the time, but then, given the fact that he had not tasted anything in hundreds of years, he supposed that he should probably do it in the manner suggested by an old friend. Upon buying the wine, he bought also a couple of large mouthed wine glasses to go with it, and quietly headed out to a park bench on campus to drink. It was something of a matter of necessity given the fact that without daylight his body would rather quickly oxidize anything except a thick blood...

Sitting down, Desmond quietly pulled out one of the bottles of wine, undid the cork, and slowly poured himself a glass before pouring another glass on the opposite side of him. It was an odd custom that Balthazar had taught him, perhaps for fear of one actually drinking alone. He wasn't certain what it meant, but in the times before he had ever tasted alcohol he saw Balthazar doing it several times, so he simply went with it without asking the origin of the tradition. Now he really wished that he knew all of what there was to know behind it. Raising one glass to Balthazar, a tradition that he did know, he inhaled deeply to appreciate the bouquet of the wine before taking a sip. Finding his thoughts wander, sadly, to a less than happy place.

The pens stunk worse than animal cages, and when ones sense of smell was enhanced, it only made it that much worse. Several of the slaves had emptied their stomachs recently having only been fed on minimal gruel and moldy bread that they had eaten without thinking for being starved for days. The dark haired slave amongst them, a boy not more than a summer or two past his tenth felt his stomach growl as well. Though while the others had feasted upon the bread that was there he had managed to catch himself a rat. Though he had never considered such a thing he'd actually been forced to hide it, for he was not the only one who was hungry enough to eat a rat amongst the slaves, not by half. Though he was the only one who would drain it of it's blood rather than eating the flesh of it.

Looking around, he could see that he was not the only boy here, in fact, there were actually several. He did not envy the other ones, however, as several of them were being fondled by the parade of people that was in front of them, before their mouths were opened. There was a darkness in the men's eyes who touched them, and they sensed it, their young bodies shivering as their mouths were pried open and their teeth checked, before the men would move onto the next one of them. None of the men went near him, however, and their eyes instead of having that dark glare when they looked at him looked more like the boy's eyes, frightened and scared of what might happen if they were left alone with him.

Slowly they were brought up to the platform, lined up 5 at a time before they were bid upon. 'D' as he had come to refer to himself did not know what was going on in the slightest. Quietly he watched as 5 a time packs of slaves were sold off at a time. Slowly then he was lead up upon the platform. The person was shouting out numbers, that much D did recognize. They were amounts of coin. He had watched it happen in the marketplaces as he'd passed through. People would shout numbers back and forth at each other over things, and then one would give shiny metal disks to the other in exchange for what they wanted. Usually the numbers referred to the numbers in the trade... D did not know what it was that the numbers meant here.

Finally he was lead up onto the platform along with 4 others. Numbers began to get shouted as he stared blankly into the crowd. Out of the crowd a pair of dusky blue eyes stared at him from beneath a hood. They did not blink the way that most peoples did. They were beautiful, though he could not see what they belonged to. They made him feel... vulnerable. No other eyes in the entire room were looking at him, only those blue eyes dared to stare at him. He could see the crowd pointing at the other slaves beside him, and some were lead off of the platform, but he stayed up. When the auctioneer stared to point towards him, the yelling in the room grew so silent that D could hear their hearts beating.

From the back of the room then, a soft feminine voice said a number and mentioned something about a "cursed one". D did not know what number was offered, but he recognized the look of distaste on the auctioneer's face. The actioneer attempted to haggle, but the same number was presented again. As it was presented again D could hear as the older man next to the owner of the blue eyes told her in a heated whisper to pick another slave, that there was no point in getting something that had been cursed by the gods themselves. The owner of the blue eyes' tone seemed to grow more agitated with the older man:

"You told me I could have whichever I picked. And I choose him. Are you retracting your word, Father?" came the accusing tone. There was silence then, and before anything else was said the actioneer begrudgingly accepted the offer, roughly throwing D towards the crowd, causing him to stumble a little. The people around him backed up violently as he stumbled close to them, and the cloaked figure came up to take the chain that held his shackles, tugging him roughly through the crowd, which parted as he passed, staring at him, and more importantly the person who had paid something for him.

D was lead out towards a large cart which had a covering over the back. As he got closer to it, he could see that it was a cell. Without much ceremony he was tossed into the back of it, and was exposed to a sea of legs that at first roughly pushed him back until realizing what it was that he was. At which point the other slaves inside of the cart did their best to press to the opposite side of the cell than him. D quietly sat down and tilted his head at them, trying to offer a smile, showing his gleaming fangs as he did so. The reaction made him stop smiling and quietly lower his head.

"I do not see why you had to buy the cursed one, Maris." Came a gruff voice from the front of the wagon as it started to move. D had learned to recognize tension in a voice, and the older man's voice had plenty of it. His pale blue eyes moved towards the front of the cell, where there was a small slot with bars on it. What was on the other side of those bars made him gasp. It was those dusky blue eyes that had been staring at him intently, now looking at him with something else, an intense look of pleasure as they stared at him.

"You said I could pick whichever slave I wanted for my own. Besides, I have black hair and blue eyes too, do you really think that I am marked by Hades?" her voice was commanding and yet soft, alluring. D found himself wanting to reach towards the bars when the eyes vanished but they soon returned, looking at him as if he were some gift waiting to be unwrapped. "He's looking at me. I think he's more intelligent than the other ones are." the soft voice said with a hint of excitement.

D tried to smile at her, displaying his teeth as well. The blue eyes blinked rapidly for a moment, but they did not look away the way that other people's eyes did. D felt a little warmer as he pulled his knees to his chest and let the long ride drone on.

When they got to the villa, D blinked as he stepped out. He'd never seen such an amazing landscape, it was literally breathtaking. As he looked out over the land he could see slaves being whipped as they tended the fields. Wide eyed, he wondered at the people who worked out there, wondering if they were going to whip him as well, or if he would be still allowed out at night in order to find the small creatures to drain of their blood.

He walked silently down the path until one of the masters picked him out of the line and forced him out of it. Not explaining, they dragged him to a cobble stone path where he had water tossed upon him and was stripped. his hands forced above him by chains he wiggled slightly as other slaves washed him, the sensation of their hands cleaning him strange in a way that would not have been unpleasant were it for the fact that he was unable to control it, and even when he cried out they scrubbed his skin until it felt raw.

When they were done he was dressed, again without his consent, in strange wrappings around his waist. The shirt that he had once had was left behind, leaving him bare from anything save the midsection, and a pair of sandals that they put upon his feet. The only other raiment they gave to him was a polished collar that looked as if it were silver, but it was not, as he testing tugged at it, it suggested that it was made of some form of steel and yet mad another metal on top of it to make it look prettier than it's true intention.

"Do you speak?" The slave master said gruffly, and then slapped D when he did not respond immediately. "DO YOU SPEAK?" He growled again.

"Yes." D replied, having taught himself learning based off of others. "Very little."

"Good, then you are not so stupid as to not understand my words. The mistress has taken a liking to you, and you are her pet. If you try to hurt her, you will die. If you disobey her, you will die. Your life before now has no meaning, you are hers, without question. Do you understand, rat?"

"Yes." D said quietly, though he was not certain that he really did.

With a grunt the master motioned to two surly looking slaves who unshackled him and then dragged him towards the large house. D gaped at it so much that he almost tripped on the steps as he was forced up them, and through the halls until he was tossed into a room. It smelled of sweet spices that tickled his nose. At the center of it stood a girl, neatly wrapped in a dress that was fitting for the time, but fit her lean frame amazingly. Black hair like midnight itself uncoiled around her shoulders as she stared at him with those deep blue eyes. D gasped a little as he remained on his knees in front of her.

She was the most beautiful thing that he'd ever seen.

"You look somewhat damaged, slave. I shall have to instruct them to be more gentle the next time they give you a bath." the girl said softly as she lowered herself in front of him to look him in the eye. She didn't look more than a few years older than he, but there was a confidence in her eyes that was ageless. D blinked up at her, as her lips pressed to his own.

The most beautiful woman in the world was kissing him. He could feel his eyes close as he leaned into it, feeling his heart racing like that of a wild beast being chased, the rest of him remaining dead still for fear that she would move back from it. It made his head spin, feeling as if the earth was moving itself, like electricity was flowing from her to him. When the dryads had kissed him, it was, pleasant... but this was... this was something else.

But then she was pulling from him, and he was pressing his hands to the ground to keep from falling forward, looking at her wide eyed.

"Hmm, that was more fun than I expected it to be." The girl commented idly as she touched her lips, smiling down at him as she stood. "You may have heard my father calling me Maris, but it is a stupid name, I think. Mari is much nicer, don't you think? I think that you and I are going to be good friends, little slave boy."

Desmond blinked a little as he snapped out of his reverie, looking at the bottle that he had opened. It was already most of the way empty, and as he stared at the glass in his hand he realized that he had forgotten how many times he had refilled it a little. Much like back then, his head was starting to swim, though this time it was for an entirely different reason. He realized, with a little bit of a chuckle, that he was indeed far past a little bit tipsy, and the realization of it made him smile softly.

For once though, it felt as if the past was not quite as painful as he remembered it being, and a girl named Beth who had burned at his heart for the time that he had come here now felt like a hazy dream that he couldn't quite recall. Laying his head down on his arm as he poured the remainder of the first bottle into his glass, he smiled a little. Drunk as he was, anyone could sneak up on him at this point, but it didn't feel like mattered. Maybe this was why people became drunkards in the first place...

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raina_maris
2010-07-21 03:26 am UTC (link)

She was standing beside the pond, bare feet pressed against a large rock. The skies were covered in dark clouds that looked angry. The wind roared through the trees as they rocked back and forth like some macabre dance. Her hair whipped around her face as the dark water crashed up towards her slender legs. She turned her face to look down at the choppy surface. Taking one step back, she jumped at the loud crack of thunder. It made the ground tremble beneath her, the feeling rolling up through her legs and into the storm she felt in her stomach. A flash of lightning lit up the entire night sky as chaos unraveled around her. It was a second lightning strike that gave her just a moment to see the large wave before it crushed on top of her.

Her body crippled to the ground, crushed beneath the weight of the unapologetic sea. As the water receded, she found her white dress clinging to her soaked skin. The legs she'd once stood upon had changed now into the fin that she would often claim to be her best attribute. But now it just frightened her as she was stuck on the ground and the feeling of an ice cold stare ran down her spine. With fear lingering in the pit of her stomach, she looked over her shoulder and saw an animal like creature growling just feet from her. With saliva drooling from elongated teeth, Raina instantly recognized the face of the vampire that now looked at her like she was just something to eat.

And to him, she was. She could see it in his eyes and feel it pulsating from his rounded back as he stalked in a circle around her. All she could hear was his growling with the background of the storm raging around her. Her heart jumped in her throat as she pushed her hands down into the dirt surrounding her. She pushed back to try to get towards the water but in an instant, he was racing towards her. Raina turned on her stomach to try and get away but he was on her just as quickly. Long, dagger like nails gripped the back of her neck. Nails dug into the skin but before she had a chance to scream, he pulled her back. She was plucked off the ground like she were a doll and thrown back into the grass. She felt her body crack as she rolled until she was stopped by a large tree trunk.

Whipping her head up, she watched the vampire run towards her again. She tried to back up but the tree stopped her. Her eyes widened as he closed in on her. But something happened. Amidst the treacherous storm, a figure in black jumped from the darkness behind her in time to intercept the creature. A fight broke out in front of her and all she could do was watch as she closed her hand over the wound in her neck. Warm blood poured out of her neck, staining the white dress as the two creatures fought until the head of one was torn off with the greatest of ease. Raina tried to stand but the rain falling from the black clouds kept her tail in place. The blood dripped down from her wound just as quickly and she felt slightly woozy from the combination of the blood loss and the adrenaline.

"You saved me." She said, hoping her voice was heard over the storm. She looked at the back of the creature that was now dripping from the rain but he didn't move at first. "Are you okay?" Her voice wavered lightly as she tried to move a few feet closer.

A deep, rolling growl came from the man. "Leave." Confused, she didn't move. He must have known as he spun on his heal. His teeth were long but it wasn't his face that she recognized at first. It was his eyes, stunningly beautiful and filled with storms of his own.

Gasping, Raina jumped up so quickly that she fell out of her computer chair and landed on top of her backpack. Slightly disoriented, it took a moment for her to realize she had drifted off in the middle of reading. The sky wasn't dark as she had seen just moments ago, but instead sunny and warm. She looked down to the pages of the worn book she had been halfway through reading. The storms from her dream still raged in her mind as she forced herself to touch her hand to her neck. Slender fingers drew along the untouched flesh. It had all been a dream.

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raina_maris
2010-07-21 03:27 am UTC (link)

Her heart was still slightly racing in her chest and the first thing she could think to do was leave the dorm room. Right now she wanted to feel nature around her, and the warmth of the sun's rays against her skin. She hovered over a familiar white dress she considered wearing. In the dream, she remembered the way it felt clinging to her body. But she decided against letting those thoughts dictate her. As an rebellious statement against that dream, she pulled the dress out and decided to put it on. After grabbing a pair of sandals, she left her room and stepped outside. She went barefoot, but kept the shoes in her hand as she walked out into the vibrant blades of grass. It felt good to be outside.

She walked through University Park without a thought in her mind until she found herself staring at the dark haired man who sat on a bench with wine around him. She considered just walking away. The last time they spoke, she felt she may have made a bit of a fool of herself. But on the same token, she hadn't been able to get Desmond out of her mind. He'd been finding his way into her drawings and now, too, her dreams. Maybe talking to him would be a good way to fill this urge she had to be around him. It was much like the drawings. She had hoped putting his image on paper would sate her wandering thoughts but they hadn't been enough.

She knew she wanted more and at least talking to him might help. So she made her decision and started to walk towards him. She stopped only a few feet away from the bench as she thought how he'd saved her in her dreams. Taking a short breath, Raina spoke in a small voice. "Hey stranger." Slowly she walked a little closer and touched her hand to his shoulder to get his attention. "Do you mind if I join you?" She looked at the empty wine bottle but hadn't known that he could get drunk. She guessed there was a lot about him she didn't know--and a lot she wanted to.

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poeticmisery
2010-07-21 06:14 am UTC (link)

"Mmm, I'm bored today, slave..." Came Mari's voice as she paused, and checked her nails to make sure that they were in pristine condition, then she sighed a little and flopped onto her bed. D sat nearby crouched and on his knees, listening to her. To do anything else would be to potentially incur her wrath. Not that she really did anything like whip him, the way that other slaves were whipped. But she would not talk to him for days, and to him that was a torture worse than anything else he had endured in his young life... excepting, of course, the pit. Even though it felt like everything would end sometimes when he could not speak with her, the memories of that place, as hard as he tried to block it out, kept him grounded in the idea that there were in fact worse fates for him. But as time went on the memory of the pit seemed to fade, whereas the memory of offending Mari kept coming up, mainly because he kept offending her.

"Maybe I should have you eat something in front of me again. Maybe you'd like to try eating one of my little maidens in waiting? The little creatures don't seem to struggle against you after their first bite, I wonder if it actually feels good to have your blood drained out of you like that." Mari said as she stood up, coming towards him, her hips swaying in a sultry way that D often dreamed of. He had lost count of his time with her here, but he could remember pristinely the way that she had looked at him when she'd first seen him, and the first view he'd ever gotten of her body. Since then her form had taken on natural curves that only made her more beautiful, the swell of her chest more brazen and inviting.

When she put her hand down to him he brushed his cheek against it invitingly, looking up at her with blue eyes, watching as she bit her lip looking at him. There was something intoxicating about his eyes, she would often tell him, and then, if he was lucky, she would kiss him, or let her hands wander across his muscled body. When she had seen that he was getting scrawnier from the lack of exercise she had ordered him to a duty in the fields every day, to run supplies back and forth until he had gotten well muscled for her, which seemed to make her happy. She'd demanded to see him disrobed the day that she had realized he was far more built than he had once been, and had nodded appraisingly while her ladies in waiting had simply blushed, but not looked away themselves.

"No... I think I don't like the idea of you kissing them." Mari decided finally. "Not even on the neck. You're mine... my best friend in the entire world, and the only one that I can trust, aren't you?" D nodded vigorously. "The others, they serve me, but they also serve my father, but you, slave, I know that you would do anything for me, you would never do something to hurt me. You're mine, forever and ever... I don't want you to forget that..." she said softly to him as she stroked his cheek, watching the glaze in those soft blue eyes of his. D felt himself slipping into those blue eyes, and slowly leaned forward to kiss her.

He felt her give a soft muffled cry as he pulled her towards him, now standing, and kissed her like a man, the way that he had seen some of the slaves doing to one another once, behind a shed when he had been hunting in the night. He could feel Mari start to melt into his arms as he did it, his blue eyes fluttering closed after a moment to shut out everything but the feel of her lips against him, the heat of her body, the smell of her all around him. The spices that she put into her hair filled his nose as he shifted his hand into her hair to feel it, grip it lightly as he held her body to him, feeling her tremble for a moment. It was in these moments where he felt her... that he knew that she was his too..

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poeticmisery
2010-07-21 06:15 am UTC (link)

But then she was pushing back from him, giving him a frown as she touched her lips, staring into his eyes. "W-what has gotten into you? If my father were to have caught you doing that, you would have been beaten, even I would not have been able to prevent it. You go too far slave. While it is true that I have kissed you in the past..." It was more than just in the past, and D opened his mouth to protest but thought better of it, and stayed silent. "We can't do this, we're friends, slave. You're the only friend I have... would you truly want to hurt me, and leave me without a single friend in this world?" Mari asked, a frown deep upon her features.

"No..." D said softly, frowning a little as he lowered his head.

"Now..." Mari said as she pushed away from him, frowning. "Father says that I need to decide on a suitor that best fits me. There is one that I want to come to court me, but he just... won't do it, slave... and I am uncertain of what to do. It would be improper for me to provoke him into seeking my hand, would it not? Yet, I find myself more attracted to him every time I see him ride by on that amazing white stallion of his. It is perhaps the most impressive beast I have ever seen, with a rider to match..." she gushed softly.

"I think you should follow your heart." D said softly, feeling each word carve itself into his chest as he stared at her.

She flung herself into his arms and gave him a hug that a moment earlier would have made him forget any pain in the universe. Now it just felt as if she were pressing salt into the knife holes he had carved into his chest. "You're the best, friend... you truly are the best. I could not count on the handmaidens to give me such a straight answer, but you, my friend, you don't lie to me. You're absolutely right, too, I should leave him a note... you will sneak out and deliver it for me once the sun sets in the sky, won't you, slave?"

"Yes." D whispered quietly, watching as she skipped off to write it. The journey would be refreshing at least, it would give him a chance to shed the tears he kept blinking back now, for fear of her reaction if he were to shed them.

Nearly three centuries later, the slave boy sat upon a table, oblivious to the past that he had once lived. A bit of old wine had seen to that. Blinking a little he wiggled the bottle, noticing the little bit of it that swished around at the bottom. It was funny that it was like that, yet he was sure if he tipped the bottle it would take forever for even a drop of it to come out and that would just be so very boring to hold up his arm like that. Also, it would be a little sad. He'd already proven that he could easily get drunk, perhaps having lost the tolerance that he'd gained up in the dark ages, instead now he was well and truly a few sheets to the wind as it were.

When she said 'Hey Stranger', he didn't actually turn, not thinking that anyone was talking to him. He was actually pleasantly closing his eyes and enjoying the feel of the breeze on his face, and the pleasant wooden smell of the bench beneath him. As he felt a hand upon his shoudler he blinked his eyes open for a moment, pausing as he sat up, feeling his head buzz a little as he swung his legs to turn around, sitting away from the table part of the park bench, looking at the girl who was standing in front of him.

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poeticmisery
2010-07-21 06:15 am UTC (link)

Her question to whether she could join him brought a slow smile creeping across his features as he reached down and took her hand, kissing the top of it softly, his blue eyes staring up at her for a moment as he then tugged her hard enough to pull her off balance towards him, twisting her body as she came close so that she'd land, sitting in his lap. His grin widened a little and he showed her fangs as he put his arms loosely around her waist to hold her there in his lap, looking at her eyes with his haunting blue ones.

"Of course you can join me, madamoiselle..." he said lightly, with a little bit of a chuckle. "It would be a shame for me to turn down the attentions of a lady as ravishing as you are, Raina. I should think that I would not be able to live with myself should I do something that might offend thee, especially when you look so fetching in this dress..." he said, leaning in a little bit. She would be able to smell the sweet smell of wine on his breath as he smiled at her, staring heavily into her eyes.

"Tell me... what can I do for you today?" he whispered, his voice seeming to hint at the fact that he might go out of his way to please her...

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raina_maris
2010-07-21 03:37 pm UTC (link)

He lifted his head slowly but she did not move. There was something inside of her that screamed, loud voices begging her to move closer. She had been just as intoxicated as she could have ever imagined. It wasn't that he was the only one she could see. She looked. She could see everyone around her. There was something special about Desmond that stuck to a place deep inside her body she hadn't known truly existed. To call it a crush would be an insult to those feelings, but to say it didn't have any romantic undertones would be a lie. He was interesting and full of thoughts and feelings about everything around him. He opened her eyes to new ways of thinking. Many she had met could awaken her body, but not many at all awakened her mind.

He kissed the back of her hand like a true gentleman and when he pulled her onto his lap, she found the flashes of thoughts to be most distracting. His body was strong beneath hers and she very much remembered the way his muscled had gleamed in the moonlight the night they met. She knew the desire to touch them and felt it coil in the pit of her stomach like a serpent that spread his venom through her veins. It slowly worked its way through her body until she felt herself go slightly mushy. When she looked at his face, it was her chest that hitched tightly, knotting away the feeling of fear when she spied those fangs that he showed. She remembered seeing them in her dream but now, with his arms around her, she couldn't remember being afraid of them. Her head screamed that she should back up, but it was other parts of her anatomy that wouldn't allow her to.

For a moment, she pictured him laying her down on the grass. The heat from the ground covered her back as he rest atop her. She could feel his hand brush through her hair so there wasn't a strand in her face before he would lean in and kiss her. His lips would he much softer than she expected. To contrast the softness of his kiss, she'd feel his strong hand grip at her thigh, raising her leg to his waist. Her whole body would tremble with the sinful touches and she'd wrap her arms around his back, gripping herself to him as if to keep the moment real. She wouldn't want it to float away like some dream.

Her heart raced with the thoughts that filled her mind and she felt the pink blush across her cheeks. "What has put you in such a good mood?" She questioned, and she had to struggle to keep her voice from quivering. She forced the memories out of her head so she could look at him without imagining how he could look without his clothes. He spoke though and it became all too clear. "Ah, I see." She reached over for the empty bottle, curling long fingers around the neck. "Did you finish this on your own?" She asked, then turned her head to look at the second glass of wine he'd left on the other side of the bench. "Or did you have company?" Raina looked around but didn't see anyone walking back.

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raina_maris
2010-07-21 03:37 pm UTC (link)

She did indeed smell the wine as he spoke but it didn't frighten her away. She stared into his eyes but the feelings she felt weren't just from his gaze. It was just from being around him. She bit down on the plump part of her bottom lip. One arm wrapped around his neck to hold herself up and the other touched his elbow. "You're drunk, aren't you? I didn't know dhampir's could get drunk. I guess there is a lot about you that I don't know." It happened without her thinking as she gently drew her nails through the longer pieces of his dark hair.

She wondered what it was that lead him here but figured that one question at a time would be enough. Besides, the way he spoke about what he could do for her made her skin tingle. It was like his voice and those words actually ran along her flesh like rich honey, moving slowly and coating every part of her. It was a struggle to keep from thinking of the dirty things she wanted to do when she was around him. Raina tried not to let them get the best of her but that wasn't an easy task to accomplish. "I don't think you want to know the answer to that." She said with a small chuckle as she looked down at her bare knees that curled over the side of his legs. Her bare feet hung over the edge of the bench and she had dropped her shoes when he pulled her.

"I was hoping to see you around. I have your book of poems from Rilke. I found it before I left the pond the night we met." She felt her breath raise her chest and flush her skin as she felt how easy it would be to ask him back to her room. "I wanted to return it to you."

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poeticmisery
2010-07-22 01:31 am UTC (link)

Desmond would watch her quietly as he pulled her into his lap, watching the bashful expression that she had upon her features. He remembered having done such before to young ladies in waiting in the halls of great princes in his youth, watching as they blushed and would then quietly whisper what to do if he wanted to sneak into their bed chambers after the darkness hit and relieve them of their 'solemn duty'. Some, however, like Raina, would be a bit more bashful about such desires, and a relative few simply played along because they thought it was expected of them. Desmond would easily let those go, there was no point in forcing his affections upon others when there were more that simply wanted his attention.

Still, he could see that Raina wasn't by any means put off by his flirtations, but instead, something more. He could see the way that her chest started to rise and fall, pushing out her white dress a little further as it started to get heavier, and his pale blue eyes caught the way that she looked at his fangs, then looked down at his chest. It was not perhaps as good of a view as she had the other evening, however, where he had been shirtless, but she would see that the dark shirt that he wore was stretched tight over his muscles, dark indentations revealing where hardened muscles were, giving her perhaps a flawless mental image of what exactly she had seen the other night, allowing her to picture what lay beneath.

He could see her breath start to increase as she looked at him, her eyes unfocusing as she seemed to drift off into her own little world of fantasy perhaps, or a world of thought. Though the distinction over which it was seemed to be clear as her cheeks began to color that soft hint of colored hue, which caused Desmond to smile a little, then gently raise a hand up to touch the bottom of her chin to guide her face up to face his own, his own face leaning in softly a few inches. There were still a good 6 between the both of them, perhaps sadly for her, but even so there was that look of potential there, his eyes half lidding as if at any moment he might claim her lips for his own.

"I hope m'lady is not off fantasizing about me when I am right here before her..." Desmond said with the most eloquent tone as his leather gloved hands brushed across her cheek lightly. "After all, why trapse off into the land of dreams when you have the power in your hands right now to make them a reality?" he whispered in a soft husky tone, watching her face as he did it. It was a deep flirtation, true, but then, Desmond had come from a time when a woman was less likely to leap upon you and actually take what she wanted as well, rather than simply giggling and whispering a private location in the hopes that affections might be returned. Likewise it was not quite as expected that one would give into ones desires either as it was in this day, but Desmond of course, only had the faintest inkling of that.

"A rather fine wine..." Desmond answered quietly as he glanced over at the bottle of the stuff, and smiled back at her. "It is rather good, if you would like me to pour the other bottle, the bouquet is rich enough that it is still probably perfectly chilled from being in that cellar where I bought it. Alas, there is nothing to go with it, but I did not expect to have the companionship of the fairer sex this fine afternoon." Desmond said softly, watching as she took the bottle in her hands, studying it. "I must say though that I do find it interesting how very expensive it has become to get a good wine these days. Balthazar, and old teacher of mine, had taught me that I should invest things in gold rather than paper currency, but now I wonder if it is not simple enough to store a few good bottles of wine away some place and sell them for a fortune after a hundred years..."

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poeticmisery
2010-07-22 01:31 am UTC (link)

The way that Desmond talked about a hundred years would be similar to the way that she talked about a week. To him, it was nothing more than a fraction of time now, another grain of sand in the huge hour glass of his lifetime that seemed to have limitless supply. He followed her eyes to the glass of wine, and smiled a little. "I did not even think of it, but I suppose that it sends a message that I might have a guest. Happily, I do not. That used to be sadly, until a fetching young woman in a breath taking white dress decided to allow this rogue to pull her into his lap for purposes most sinister..." Desmond teased lightly, a broad smile touching his face again.

She would watch as his pale blue eyes trailed down to her lower lip as she bit into it, watching the plumpness of it for a moment before those eyes slowly crept back up to her own, staring into her eyes as she asked him the question about whether or not he was drunk. "I am, in fact, quite drunk, m'lady Raina. I believe the term I over heard them use was... smashingly? No, it was smashed. I am smashed drunk." Desmond said, still not quite getting it right, though he seemed oblivious to that fact. "But, I would like to say for a drunk I am wonderfully in control of my faculties, and in fact, quite above the average in terms of charm in relation to the population of drunk people who may be about us now." Desmond said with a happy little nod to finish off his thought.

"Yes! The book of poetry. I had not realized that I had left it behind. And how thoughtless of me, I should apologize for the way that I acted, I... just could not trust myself around you then." Desmond said, leaving it unclear as to whether or not he could actually trust himself around her now. He tilted his head at her gaze though, watching as she started to drift off a little again which caused his smile to widen. "You can keep the poems, if you want. Books, unlike wine, it seems are rather cheap in this day and age. It is hard to imagine that I could buy almost 120 of them for a single one of those bottles of wine. Or an Ipod touch. Oh, what fantastical things those are..." he said, realizing he was digressing.

Without warning then he leaned in, and she would feel his hot breath against her neck as he whispered into her ear. "You still have not told me what I can do for you, Raina." He whispered heatedly in her ear, his voice becoming soft and low, like a purr. "And you were wrong when you presumed that I don't... really..." that last word was practically moaned in a way that would likely cause her face to become scarlet. "...want to know. It is a bit unseemly to make me beg, Raina... will you please tell me what it is?" he whispered, pulling his face back a good 3 inches or so from her own to watch her reaction as he looked into her eyes.

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raina_maris
2010-07-22 02:10 am UTC (link)

"What makes you think that I'm fantasizing about anything at all?" Raina asked with a slight tease hanging on her words. She must have been far to obvious in front of him if he could tell that it was a fantasy that reddened her skin. But his words brought yet a darker shade to her rounded cheeks. "You say that like it is all too easy to just act on impulse. As though desire and passion is just something that can be exposed to the world. But what really would happen if I were to act on some more.. carnal desires?" It was horribly tempting though. The urging inside of her to tug at the well fitted shirt so she could once again feast on his bare flesh was almost painfully difficult to just brush off. While fire may look pleasing to the eye, it would burn when you touched it. Sure the flames danced and sway but the brilliant colors had teeth and they liked to bite. "Besides, giving away something as special as my virginity would be a great gift, Desmond. One you would have to be keen to hold for all time." It was very important to her, whom she chose. But her body had never felt such a tug towards any man as she felt to him.

There definitely was something intriguing in the way he spoke about years as those they were just seconds. She hadn't questioned him before but it now made her wonder exactly how many years he had been wandering this world. She placed the bottle of wine down in the grass and while she didn't care much to speak of things she did not know well, she found a few things of importance. "It's actually rather interesting what gains value over the years and what can became an important part of history. A simple pocket watch may have meant nothing more than having a fancy way of telling time to one man, but could, many years in the future, find it's way into a museum." He must have seen so much in his many years of living.

He probably had some of the most amazing stories. Maybe not all wonderful, as the look he sometimes had would convey, but she could see herself laying in the grass beside the pond one dewy morning while he spoke to her of lives past. She would try to image the world and see it through his eyes, maybe even able to feel the experiences he had gone through to become the man who know intoxicated her so.

The blush, she felt, burn her cheeks a little brighter when he spoke of the reasons he pulled her onto his lap. "Oh, sinister, really?" Because she couldn't contain herself from touching him, she let her fingers raise up the line of his muscular arm and touch the side of his face. It would be soft, but linger as the seconds past and her fingertips traced the line of his jaw. "You are far too enchanting for your own good." She told him with a bashful smile lingering on her lips. "Exactly what kind of sinister purposes do you wish me for?" This type of flirting was intense. Raina had never quite found herself feeling this way and she was quite taken with the words and how intoxicating they had become to her, much in the way the bottle of wine had managed to get it's hooks into Desmond. His breath moved across her like two hands that wanted more than would be polite in public, and it whispered and darker deeds that would be performed in private places with closed curtains.

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raina_maris
2010-07-22 02:10 am UTC (link)

"I don't mind returning it." Raina informed as she thought about the book that had taken up post on her bedside table. "I actually looked online and had another one of his collections sent to me." Curiosity took over her like a cat and she had to ask, "What do you mean you couldn't trust yourself around me? What would you have done?"

His slight mix up of the words had her chuckling but not as though she were making fun of him. "Smashed is drunk, sweet heart. You needn't say them both." She whispered, finding herself leaning in towards him. The fingertips that had trailed his jaw turned acutely so she could touch the pad of her thumb against his bottom lip, almost to just test the softness of them. As excited as she found this, she was also recognizing that he wasn't acting as he had the night they met. Then, he wouldn't have caught himself in these moments. At least that's how she had viewed him. Part of her wanted more, while another part told her this wasn't how Desmond would normally conduct himself. She found the war between her thoughts and the rest of her body a bit distracting.

He leaned in and her breath caught in her throat. She looked away from his eyes so she could stare then at his lips. Her toes curled as she thought of leaning in and kissing him. Of course she wouldn't make him bed. It was hardly lady like, in her mind. "Perhaps you did catch me in the middle of a fantasy. You put your hands around my body and held me close to yours." Taking a breath, she exhaled slowly, "You laid me on the grass and let your mouth.." She was only slightly embarrassed when she whispered the next part, "consume me." Perhaps consume wasn't the right word to say. "I've dreamed of you kissing me, everywhere." It was honest and that's all she knew how to be around him.

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poeticmisery
2010-07-22 03:58 am UTC (link)

Desmond could not help but smile a little bit as she asked him whether or not he knew that she was fantasizing about her. "mmm, did I forget to tell you that I can actually read minds?" Desmond said, waiting for her cheeks to color as he expected that they might, before he chuckled a little and smiled at her. "Well, I did not divulge it because I do not have the slightest clue what is going on in your mind beyond my own deductions, though I must say youre reaction to my little joke was somewhat... telling." he teased lightly. "There are other ways I can tell... of course... but perhaps such things are left for more private discussions, m'lady..." Desmond couldn't help but raise his eyebrows as she mentioned her virginity, his gloved hand stroking her cheek lightly, pondering what it was that she said, but then decided to grin and not make too much weight of it. "Hmm, I do not know that I believe you, m'lady Raina. After all, it is slightly unusual for such a pure lady to have such... dirty... dirty thoughts."

"You can relax though, m'lady, I promise you that I would not be so uncouth as to try to rob your innocence from you, regardless of what fantasies you may have had to the contrary..." Desmond said softly, though it was obviously clear that he had not mentioned anything about what he might do if she were to offer it to him. Still, he kept that bemused smile as he looked at her, enjoying the banter with her more than anything else. It reminded him of days long since passed when he had not felt the weight of obligation upon his shoulders, suffocating duty pushing every ounce of fun from his body. Now instead of duty there was only heartache, pain that he longed to ease in the arms of Raina, even though for the moment he was just being a deliciously terrible flirt.

"Some things gather value over time... others just simply waste away. How strange is it that wine only gets sweeter with age while the flowers and even trees eventually wither and die..." Desmond said, frowning a little as he thought about how terribly depressing that thought was. He didn't really want to think about depressing things right now, not when he had a beautiful comely young thing upon his lap, in his arms. And so he was rather teasing about the reasoning why he had pulled her into his lap. It was far far easier to be teasing than it was to look back on things in the past that caused his heart to nearly rupture with the pain of them.

"Completely sinister. I am, in fact, a devilish rogue in the guise of an unseemly dhampir." Desmond said, cracking a brilliant smile as she touched his skin, letting his head tilt slightly into hand. For some reason it felt familiar, though what it was that felt familiar about it escaped him, just an odd tugging at the back of his senses as he let himself be touched by her. As she did it, he felt silent and looked into her eyes. When she asked him what sinister purposes that he wished her for he only smiled knowingly as he lightly bit the edge of his lip. "Why, I fear if I were to tell you all the sinister things that I had planned, m'lady, you might turn bright red with embarassment. Or worse yet, try to stop me from doing them..." he hinted at her with a truly wicked smile that promised other things might be in store.

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poeticmisery
2010-07-22 03:58 am UTC (link)

"Online..." Desmond blinked a little, frowning. "I am certain I have heard the term before, but I do not think that I truly understand what it means. I am glad if you are having a collection of his sent to you though. His writing is amazingly deep." Desmond said, being genuine instead of flirtatious for a moment, his smile fading slightly. When she asked him what he would have done to her, Desmond blinked slightly as he looked at her, and then grew back that flirtatious wicked smile as he stared out into the distance, pursing his lips for a moment before he looked back at her, raising one of his dark eyebrows slowly at her. "I would imagine, m'lady, that you were picturing something very similar in your mind a few moments ago..." he whispered softly to her.

His eyebrows raised slightly as she admitted to the fact that he had in fact caught her in a fantasy. As she started to relay the exact details of her fantasy to him, she would feel him start to breathe a little heavier too as his eyes glazed, picturing exactly the way that he would devour her, the way that her hands might grip his hair as he consumed her, his blue eyes seeming almost more radiant as he pictured it, his breath misting against her lips in something closer to a pant than he had been before, eyes watching her somewhat hungrily. Of course, there was another indicator of how he felt that she might feel against her ass as well, but that depended upon how thick that dress of hers was.

Swallowing lightly, he blinked slightly, and let his arms fall from her sides so that she could get up if she wanted to, his eyes looking away from her for a moment as he tried to cool himself down a little bit. Teasing was one thing, but he was dangerously drunk at the moment, and he was afraid that he might do something if provoked that he might regret when sober. "I fear I might put your purity in danger if we continue..." Desmond said honestly. If she glanced down she would see his gloved hands roughly gripping the bench beneath him, his eyes hungrily wandering her body now, practically devouring her chest with a gaze before he focused on her eyes wantonly again.

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raina_maris
2010-07-22 04:56 am UTC (link)

Despite the flush that colored her face, when he spoke of reading minds, she simply shook her head. A wave of light pink hair fell over her shoulder as she looked back at Desmond, knowingly. "Trust me, if you could read my mind, I wouldn't be the one blushing." It was painfully true as well. Raina had been having such thoughts that it would make anyone who knew about them turn red with embarrassment. She, however, wasn't embarrassed of her thoughts. They were simply hers, which made them private and meant the world did not get to know them. Desmond could, of course, and it made her feel violently alive, and somewhat sinful. As if she'd walked into a church with a smirk on her lips that seemed friendly to a stranger's eyes but inside was the cause of the most decadent of sins.

She felt like the chaste virgin who was looking for that dark, beautiful man to sweep her into his arms, lay her down and possess every inch of her body until she prayed for release. Raina could tell this was something Desmond would be able to do and it was getting difficult to keep herself from asking him to take her back to his room. She wanted to know what it felt like to be beneath his body, her sweat slick skin rubbing against his. His hard body pressing needily against hers, taking her most prized offering. The white dress seemed to fit all to well into that imagery, as would the process of him peeling the fabric from her body.

Her breath quickened and she had to avert her emerald eyes to the ground so she wasn't staring at hungrily at his form. She wasn't an animal, she was a woman. She had to conduct herself better than this.

"I would," she finally whispered. "I don't understand it but if we were alone.. if you put your hands on me, I would give myself to you." She could feel his body reacting, and hers was as well, only there weren't such obvious signs when it came to a woman. She didn't move from him but the feel of him pressed so tightly against her did make it difficult to manage full sentences. "It would happen just like I dreamed." Her fingers moved down from his face, slowly lingering lines along his neck and to the dark shirt that stretched along his lean body. "Like a scene out of a romance novel. It would be night time, the moon hanging low in the darkened sky. I'd be standing in a window, looking out at the way the wind gracefully danced through the tree tops. You would walk up behind me," To illustrate, Raina only moved a little so she were facing forward and her back pressed against his chest. Then she took the hand he had curled on the bench and put it against her side, just above her ribs. "and wrap your arms around me. Like this."

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raina_maris
2010-07-22 04:56 am UTC (link)

She closed her eyes as she let the thoughts take over, her other hand moved his free one to her stomach. "You'd hold me against your chest and kiss from my shoulder.." With his hands in place, she reached back to flick her hair away from her neck. In the same motion, she lowered the thin sleeve of the white dress. As she spoke, she drew her nail from her shoulder to the nape of her neck. "to here." Raina gently licked her lips. She put her hands down so she could, against her own wishes, pull herself from his lap enough that she could turn and face him better. "You'd turn me so you could cup my face and when you do, you'd bring your mouth down against mine, trapping my gasp with your lips. And you would walk me backwards, laying me down on the bed before teasing this white dress off of my body."

She was flustered with desire and almost out of her mind in need of his touch. She had to think clearly and it was almost impossible to do. "I fear something else may be in danger if we do continue." Part of her wished she would just shut her mouth and let him have her. "You're drunk, Desmond. I want you when I'm not under the influence of alcohol, or under any spell." And this was where the dreaming had to end. At least, it would if she were correct in her assumptions. "I do not think that you can say the same."

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poeticmisery
2010-07-22 06:19 am UTC (link)

Raina's confession in fact made his cheeks flush slightly, though he didn't stop smiling then. He could see the confidence in her eyes and it was wildly attractive, even had he not been drunk. Indeed it only made him desire to know what sorts of torid thoughts were going on in that head of hers even more. There was definitely something between them, something he had felt at the lake previously, an attraction that he had been... afraid of. Because attraction did not mean love... and when there was that fire without love to control it's blaze, it often burned out of control, and then put itself out before there was any tempering it. She was dangerous, he only vaguely realized, but the daze of the alcohol made it so that he didn't really care. Consequences seemed so very far away from his actions right now, and the rewards for them seemed full of promise and hope.

He could see the animal gaze in her eyes and he returned it, though the unspoken agreement he was giving her he had no idea how to fulfill. Yet more than a single part of him wanted to give into that desire, that heady wonderful haze of lust that was settling over him. He had been told it was in his nature to desire the comforts of a woman in order to strengthen him against such desires, but a chain smoker admitting that they were an addict did not necessarily mean that they could simply quit smoking either.

Her confession, that she would offer herself to him caused him to shudder beneath her lightly as he looked at her with an even more heated gaze then before, visions of her mouth pressed against his own, his hands tugging down her dress eagerly, wantonly slipping it from her body before he claimed her starting to fill his own mind as he looked at her, his hands that were touching her starting to grip her a little tighter as his breath increased, taking in the scent of her. She smelled wonderful, and the fact that she smelled as good as she did made him want to taste the salt of her skin, and to take off his gloves and let himself really... feel her beneath his hands. He knew though, if he did that, if he let himself touch her without that layer of dampening to his sensese he would wind up giving into his desire, he wouldn't be able to stop himself.

"Ah..." Desmond started to say as she pushed herself into his lap, feeling the shift against his groin which made him groan a little, though Raina might not know the real reasoning behind it. She would feel the hands that were at the sides of her ribs slowly slide around to her front, dangerously close to the swell of her breasts as he started to breathe a little deeper with each word that she said. Then as she started to say something else, she would feel those heated lips upon her shoulder where she'd eased her dress down lightly, his lips hot and warm against her skin as he kissed a little higher, and a little higher still. As his lips traveled along she would feel the lightest dragging of his dangerous teeth against her skin, so tender and yet deadly at the same time.

She would feel as he followed the line that her nail had traced exactly, groaning a little against the nape of her neck lightly. As he kissed her she would feel that hand near the swell of her breast finally slip up to cup it lightly as his hot breath misted against the nape of her neck slowly. He kissed the nape of her neck with an open mouth, his tongue tantalizingly teasing her flesh to taste her, memorizing the moment of it, the feel of her skin against his tongue as his eyes opened to watch the way that her body reacted to his gaze as he heard her finish her little fantasy of what it was that she had envisioned him doing to her. For a moment he truly considered doing it as well, looking at her almost questioningly as if to ask her if it was something that she really wanted him to do. If she was not careful she would fan the flame between the both of them to the point where he could not control it.

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poeticmisery
2010-07-22 06:19 am UTC (link)

And then she mentioned that he was drunk... and that she wanted him even when she was sober, but she didn't think that he felt the same way. How could he really explain it to her so that she would understand. He realized that anything he could possibly state outloud would sound silly, the simple whinings of a man that was trying to get inside of a woman's undergarments rather than love her the proper way that he should. Somehow telling her that he lusted after her didn't seem the same and he knew that it would only hurt her to hear it, make her feel cheap. He was thankful that the wine had not gotten him so drunk that he was out of his senses enough to try to force himself upon her and not heed her words.

"I'm hurting you..." Desmond whispered lightly, "And that is truly not what I want to do..." he said as he stood up, faltering very slightly but so much so that it was hardly noticeable. Desmond was very good at keeping his balance under conditions far more severe than him simply being a bit tipsy. "I'm sorry... I should... I should go..." he whispered softly as he turned from her and started to walk away, leaving the unopened bottle of wine behind him, not really caring about it. He needed to get someplace underground, out of the sunlight where his body would force itself to sober up at a rather alarming rate. Getting drunk was foolish, he'd nearly... nearly...

Still though, if Raina wanted to catch him, she easily could. Unlike the time before he could not speed away from her, and was instead simply walking from her at a somewhat brisk pace.

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raina_maris
2010-07-22 03:26 pm UTC (link)

Raina hadn't expected the kisses along her neck and they only served to tighten parts of her body that brought chills to her spine. All she could think of was having him take her in every way possible. She wanted to feel him touch her in her most sacred places. But what she wanted was Desmond to want her that way. If this was just the wine speaking, it wouldn't be the same. And she didn't want to shame the more incredible things they could do together by doing it when it wasn't all him.

Still, the kisses made her drunk as well.

It was almost too quick when he apologized and said that he should go. She stared for a moment and thought that he would disappear just as quickly as he had that first night, when she found herself looking in the space that was suddenly absent from him. She'd wandered around for a moment before finding the book that he had been reading from the moment he fell into the lake and she had come to his aid, however unneeded it was at the time. But he didn't take off at that speed. Knowing he was still there, she rose from the bench. "Wait." Whether he would or wouldn't, she closed the distance between the two of them and put her hand on the bend of his elbow. "Desmond, stop." This needed to be cleared up right now.

Once she had a hold of him, she walked around his body so she could face him. The warmth from his kisses on her neck and hands on her body still lingered on her flesh as if he was still there. But she knew he wasn't, no matter how much she wanted him to be.

Raising her eyes to his, she met those sparkling blues. She did feel a pull when she looked in them but it didn't dictate her actions. Not completely, at least. Her hands held out to make sure that he didn't go anywhere. "Look at me, Desmond. Do I look like I'm hurt?" She asked with a small shake of her head. "You have to let go of this ridiculous notion that you're hurting me. I'm not that fragile." It was easy to let the words just slip out of her. "Yes, I know what I want. I know that I want you. But if you don't feel anything more for me, you aren't going to end my world. I can handle it. I'm a big girl. And you certainly don't have to walk away every time you think you may be hurting my feelings."

"I like you," She whispered in a small voice. "I like that we can talk and I actually really like those dreams I'm having," The confession brought another rosy blush across her cheeks. "I like that you talk about a handful of centuries like most people calculate hours in a day. And I love that you are opening me to a whole new way of thinking every time we run into each other. If you really think you're hurting me, then tell me why I used to be afraid of anything with fangs and yet just moments ago you were able to touch them to my neck and I didn't flinch." Stepping in to close the distance between them, she put her hand against his chest lightly. "I'm not afraid of you, Desmond. And it's not because I'm under some.. vampire spell or whatever."

Dropping her hands slowly, she looked around the park and wished they could be alone instead of out here in the open. "If you really want to leave, go." She took a step back, "I can't stop you. But I really think you should give me a little more credit.. and maybe yourself a little more as well."

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poeticmisery
2010-07-23 12:31 am UTC (link)

Desmond didn't wait though, as she told him to. Right now the only thing that was on his mind was escape, to get away from the situation. It seemed a rather cowardly thing to do, but he couldn't trust himself with a clouded head around her. He didn't know if he could trust himself around her at all. His black duster flowing behind him lightly as he moved he could hear her calling after him but didn't pay it any heed, instead moving faster, forcing her to jog a little to catch up with him. Still, it was sooner than he had expected that he felt a hand tug at his arm and turn him around to face her, looking at him with a look that seemed to be calling out to him.

Desmond didn't meet her gaze at first, instead looking down towards the grass until she insisted that he looked at her, his eyes slowly coming up to look into her own. There was such a sadness there that she had seen the other night, a cold deadness inside of him that no fire of passion could truly thaw, reflected in the ice of those eyes as they stared into her own, watching her quietly. His face was a devoid of any smiling, his lips pursed tightly as he looked into her eyes, waiting to hear what it was that she had to say. She couldn't possibly understand the past that he had gone through, possibly understand the life of heartache that he had endured. Nor would she ever, really. Human lives, even those of most mythical creatures were far too short, and Desmond was uncertain if it was a blessing or a curse, that fact.

But it was what she said that caused his eyes to widen slightly, blinking at her, as he took them in. His head was cloudy, but not so much that he had no idea of what exactly he was doing. Just enough to dull his inhibitions a bit. And her logic there, laid out before him caused his breath to still in his chest. She was right, of course, she was not some fragile china doll that he could break simply by dropping her. He blinked a little at how clear she made this for him. He could see the emotion there in her face, he could feel it radiating from her, and though a part of him wanted to turn away from it he found himself still just staring down at her, looking at her with a quiet expression of wonder, listening to how confident she was in that moment.

He closed his eyes quietly as she continued to talk, gripping the sides of her hips lightly in order to show her that he wasn't planning on leaving her again while she was talking to him. He would not dishonor her as such. Quietly he opened his eyes to stare at her face as she finished talking, knowing that he did not have an answer for any of her questions. She of course could not understand what it was that he feared, but she also had a point, that him treating her as if she could not take the slightest affection without breaking was patronizing to her. She was strong, clearly, and had lead a life before she had met a dark and mysterious dhampir that had been just as filled with danger as he could bring her.

But what also went unspoken was the fact that Desmond had already experienced this conversation, so very many years ago, when a girl had rather roughly grabbed him by the collar and demanded to know why he thought that she was such a shrinking violet that she had no say in who it was that she wanted, and laid out the fact that he was being stupid and silly. To be called immature by someone who was only a mere fraction of your age was something of a horrific wake up call, after all, and Desmond was very glad that Raina had not done it, for it would have stung all the more to hear it twice in his lifetime.

When she tried to push away from him his hands gripped her hips, stopping her from going, looking at her for a moment, and then without so much as a word to what she said, his hands pulled her tight against him, his lips coming down to meet hers. She would feel his strong arms pull her up against his firm muscled chest as they slipped around her, one hand resting on her lower back while the other slid up to the nape of her neck, leather trailing against the nape of her neck where he'd been kissing her moments ago. It was a heated kiss that she knew he was capable of, practically seeming to come out of her dream itself. 3 centuries was a pretty long time to perfect kissing, after all...

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raina_maris
2010-07-23 02:21 am UTC (link)

There definitely was a darkness inside of him that Raina wanted to know about. When it came to caring about someone, if it was real, you didn't just want to know the good parts. She wanted to understand what it was that he had lived through that turned him into the man she was desperately trying to convince she could stand on her own. While it was true that Raina had not lived as many years as Desmond, or as one in a similar position as he, but she had experienced a lot of life in her few years. Sometimes time wasn't the only teacher. And for Raina, she'd had a myriad of educators. Ranging from her parents and close family, to random people she met as she traveled her life's path. He was one of those people and he had a way of awakening her mind.

She wanted him to open up for her but that wouldn't be something she would ask now. Besides, it wasn't her place to pry. If that was information he was comfortable sharing with her, then she would be happy to listen. But Raina wanted to let that be his decision. However, to say the curiosity wasn't there would be a lie and she couldn't manage to do that, even when she was the only one who would hear it.

His silence spooked her a little because she couldn't tell what he was thinking. Was he standing there, wishing that she would stop talking so that he could continue on his way? Was he wishing that she would stop with the talk of liking him and just ask him back to her room? She wanted to ask him that too, but when she parted her lips to question him, she was taken by surprise. His arms barely had time to move up to his chest, palms flattened against him, when he pulled her in. Her stomach did a flop as she was suddenly closer to him, her head tilting back as his hands rolled across her dress.

Her breath caught in her throat and when he kissed her. Her arms instantly relaxed and moved up so she could wrap them around his neck. It seemed like she had literally just disappeared from the park. For her, it felt like they were completely alone. The sound of her heart racing echoed in her ears and she held herself against him. A small sound escaped from her throat but didn't make it all the way past her lips.

And it had been everything she dreamed that it would be. More than everything. She hadn't been able to truly feel the strength of his body and desire pounding through his flesh in her night time ventures. Her skin felt like it was tingling, and that ball of passion that had coiled in her belly released throughout every inch of her form. Her knees felt weakened but she didn't worry about falling. Raina knew he wouldn't allow her to crumble into pieces, despite the fact that she felt that she could happily melt into a puddle at his feet and be perfectly sated.

He was incredible, and it stole her breath away.

Reaching up, she let her fingers sink into the dark strands of hair at the back of his neck so her nails could gently travel along his scalp. Her head tilted to the side only slightly so she could return his kiss with the same kind of frenzied appetite. Raina had dreamed of this every night for much longer than she would like to admit. He was an amazing well of information, knowledge and life, and she just wanted to breathe all of it in, to drink it like the wine he had indulged himself in. She wanted to soak in every last drop of him with a reckless abandon that even lovers in her storybooks couldn't duplicate.

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poeticmisery
2010-07-23 09:10 pm UTC (link)

A part of Desmond had been afraid that Raina would push back. It was true that she had professed her interest in him, and yet still, in the heat of the moment, a forward movement could seem perhaps too forward, or avoiding the issue at hand. He still hadn't given her a definitive answer on his feelings, after all, aside from the kiss he was moving to give her. And even when things seemed so very right, there was still that moment before every first kiss that would cause hesitation, that knotting of one's stomach when the lips first met. That tentative feeling of pleasure from the contact, held back by one's own hesitation on how someone would react. No one wanted to give everything into a kiss only to be pushed away.

But almost instantly he could feel her melt into it, feeling her hands wrapping around his neck, her lips moving against his own eagerly, wantonly. As she did it, she would hear him breathe in slowly as those floodgates that were holding back pleasure for fear of rejection burst open and let the sensation of that kiss surround him, a soft moan coming against her mouth as he pressed to her. His arms tightened around her once he knew that she would give into him, let him taste her lips, claim them for his own in this moment in time.

As her fingertips entwined in her hair she would hear the soft popping of leather stretching as his hands desperately gripped her back and her waist, tilting his head as well as she started to kiss him back with a fiery passion that was addictive. If he had not already been drunk off of wine, this certainly would have made him out of his mind to feel her pressing to him in such a way. He could feel her desire practically radiating out of her in the way that she kissed, feel the culmination of dreams becoming reality, of her pure... want of him in a way that he was uncertain that he himself matched, and yet all the same he felt himself being swept away by it, nearly giving into it claiming him altogether.

But after a moment he pulled from her lips, softly, resisting the urge to meet her lips again, to hungrily kiss her over and over again, because if he did, her fantasy of him taking her here, regardless of the circumstances, regardless of who might be watching, could come very true. She would see the hunger there in those blue eyes that looked at her as though to warn her that she stood upon the precipice, and he slowly caught his breath as he looked at her, trembling ever so faintly from the sudden rush of his own hormones.

Soft leather touched her skin as a gloved hand caressed her cheek lightly, and he offered a soft knowing little smile as he leaned forward to rest his forehead against her own, staring down at her as he breathed in quietly. "You are right, Raina... I had not given you enough credit. I apologize." he said quietly, nodding lightly. "I have lived a long time, but love is not something I think I was ever particularly good at, even though I have felt it consume me before. I will not walk away from you needlessly, if you give me your patience in figuring all of this out." he said softly, his eyes imploring her. Of course, he had no idea what he would do if she just threw herself at him...

No, that wasn't exactly true... he had a pretty good idea of what would happen... but not what would happen after he was done...

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