InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Charrrrrrmed"

Sᴀᴍɪʀᴀ Aʜᴍᴀᴅɪ (fire_and_air) wrote in nevermore_logs,
@ 2022-05-02 22:08:00

Entry tags:

prince john, samira ahmadi

WHO Samira & John
WHEN Monday, 2nd May
WHERE Their apartment building
WHAT Greetings, fellow upstanding citizen
WARNINGS

In late January, Samira’s father had a heart attack.

When the call came, Samira found herself surprised by how shocked and upset she was to hear that he was in hospital. She had come to assume that she didn’t really care about her father, but the realisation that he had almost died was like being slapped across the face: surprising and sharp.

So Samira got herself a flight home and when her father was let out of hospital, she found herself staying to make sure he was doing everything the doctors told him to. Did Samira actually… love her father? She’d been so apathetic, so quick to distance herself from him. But now she wondered how much of that was just because he’d distanced himself first, not knowing how to parent her after her mother had died.

She resented him for all of that, but it turned out that maybe she still cared anyway.

God, how Samira hated the idea that she might care.

Samira spent three months back in Iran, running the house (and taking a sneaking look at the business) before he seemed well enough to get back on with his life. As soon as that happened, Samira didn’t really want to be around anymore. Maybe she didn’t love him. Maybe she was just endeared to him because of the suffering.

Back in New York she took a taxi home and checked to see if John had replied to her text about how she was coming back, and that she’d be interested in meeting up with him.

Two weeks before she’d left New York, Samira had found herself strangely opening up to John and showing him her real face. She still didn’t know why, but she had. And then they’d gone to dinner together, twice, and it had been pleasant not to hide what she was or the things that interested her. She didn’t have to pretend to be dull, to be simple, to be easy. She had her suspicions that there was more to John than he was letting on as well, and Samira couldn’t help but be intrigued by that.

Back at the apartment building, Samira left her bags to the doorman and headed for the elevator. That was where she ran into John in the flesh, he coming from the direction of the restaurant.

“Fortuitous timing,” she stated, letting her gaze travel up his fine suit. Her own outfit was a neat white skirt and blouse, her headscarf white as well. There was a power move to traveling long distance fully in white.

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phony_king
2022-05-03 01:33 am UTC (link)

The thing was, was that John was starting to get bored.

There had been something interesting just starting to happen with Samira, and then she'd had to leave, and then fucking Gisborne was AWOL, and the Sheriff was still missing, and Locksley was laying pretty fucking low at the moment too. He'd lost the election so he didn't even have political intrigue to invest in, just the same old law firm shit, the same old clients, nothing new, nothing exciting. He'd been on the verge of considering packing it all in and starting fresh somewhere else, when Samira had told him she was coming back.

He went to eat while he was waiting, treating himself to some duck à l'orange and a dainty crème brûlée for dessert, and some champagne to wash it down. He was feeling a little French today, why not? The French were the worst of course, but their food was good.

Finishing his glass, he headed back towards the elevator of his apartment building, and who should step in, all in white and fresh as a daisy straight off the plane? "Ah, Samira," he said smoothly, his hands that had been loosely in his pockets coming up to take hers in greeting and raise her knuckles so he could kiss them in welcome. "I trust your father is well?"

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	fire_and_air 2022-05-04 02:23 am UTC (link)
	"He yet lives," Samira said, watching him with that old fashioned action of kissing her hands. That sort of gentlemanly treatment was so rare these days, but with the right sentiment behind it Samira thought she could really get on board. "Sturdy as a ox, he tells me. But we'll see." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

phony_king
2022-05-04 05:53 am UTC (link)

"Yes indeed." John looked down at her with a nod. "Well that is good news. And you- you look stunning as usual." He kept hold of her hand, holding her at arm's length to get a look at her. He would have to find out how his own relationship with her father stood now, before he did something her father might not like. "Have you eaten?" he asked with a smile. "I just finished, but if you want to..."

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fire_and_air
2022-05-04 08:04 am UTC (link)

It was intriguing the change in him, from when he had thought her the dull daughter of a client to seeing her as... well, perhaps as close to her true face as she'd shown anyone for a long time. Yes, she was keeping some things to herself and, yes, it was also questionable that Samira even knew what he true face looked like anymore. She spent so much of her time being someone else that it became second nature to lie.

"I ate a little on the plane," Samira said. "But even first class airplane food is airplane food. How about a drink instead?" She didn't feel like sitting and being watched while she ate.

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	phony_king 2022-05-04 12:31 pm UTC (link)
	"A drink we can do," John replied with a nod. He gestured with his head back towards the bar, letting go of her elegant hand and going to get the door for her. Travel could be exhausting, but flying business class really took the sting out of it. "Your father must have been sorry to lose you. Having you there could have only hastened his recovery, I'm sure." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

fire_and_air
2022-05-05 11:01 am UTC (link)

"Perhaps," Samira said, finding a return to her usual caginess when it came to her relationship with her father. If she could only work out how she felt about the annoying old man. She'd been so sure she was just waiting for him to die to claim her inheritance and now the relief at him being alive was... annoying. "He doesn't like to be told what to do, especially not by his daughter. Few men like to be told what to do, even when it's in their best interest." Samira was sure John was exactly that type of man as well.

At the bar she ordered a Manhattan and turned her attention back to John. "And how are his finances appearing on this end?" Samira asked, remembering clearly that John had been somewhat massaging them.

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phony_king
2022-05-06 11:53 am UTC (link)

"Oh, healthy, of course," John said, and gave Samira a wink. He hadn't wanted to interfere too much while the man was, by all appearances, on his death bed. That would be far too obvious, and too many other people were eyeing up his millions. "And what of you? Going back to study, or taking a break until next term? I'm sure you have other directions to put your many talents into."

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	fire_and_air 2022-05-08 09:58 am UTC (link)
	"I do feel like taking a break from study," Samira nodded, nodding to the barman as he handed over her drink. She held the glass by its rim and turned it slowly on the bar. "I've not yet decided what that might suggest for my current direction. Something entertaining though. I've been bored playing dutiful nursemaid." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	phony_king 2022-05-09 01:02 pm UTC (link)
	John looked at her thoughtfully. "Ever considered law?" he asked with a little smirk. He could see her marching down the halls of his firm, her sharp heels stabbing the concentration of everyone else. "You'd make an excellent legal secretary." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	fire_and_air 2022-05-12 10:12 am UTC (link)
	Legal secretary? Hmmm, it wasn't something she'd considered but she could see the (at least temporary) appeal. It would grant her access to information on a lot of powerful people through John's firm. "Are you offering me a position?" Samira asked after taking a drink, dark eyes on his. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

phony_king
2022-05-12 10:40 am UTC (link)

John gave her a smooth, smooth smile. Oh, the positions he could offer her- It was funny, it was only really since she'd revealed her ruthless side (and then been absent for months, being very hard to get) that John was finding himself really quite a lot more interested in her. Especially in that white number which suggested her figure just perfectly.

"Perhaps we could go upstairs and talk it over," he suggested. "You must be tired after your long journey. You will be wanting to get off your feet."

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fire_and_air
2022-05-13 08:41 am UTC (link)

Samira caught the expression behind that smile, caught its meaning. She wasn't entirely uninterested in his unspoken thoughts that were followed by a far more clear offer. "Yes," Samira said, finishing her glass in one go and putting it back down as she stood. "I'd love to slip out of these shoes."

Then she walked towards the elevator with the complete confidence that he was following. In the elevator she turned, leaning against the wall and watching him. "Do you see yourself as a predator, Mr Haveland?" she asked as the elevator made its way upwards, her eyes drifting downwards a little. "Do you take whatever you want?"

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phony_king
2022-05-13 10:43 am UTC (link)

What a question. John turned his head to look at Samira, taking in the glint in her eye. "You should know by now," he said, his voice a low purr, "that I do not ask, I order." He leaned towards her, his body moving into her space, lifting a hand to adjust the edge of her scarf. He wanted to run his fingers down the curve of her body but he refrained for the moment. "And what about you, Ms Ahmadi? Are you predator... or prey?"

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fire_and_air
2022-05-14 10:06 am UTC (link)

Samira didn't shrink away from John, nor offer him any physical reaction to his closeness. He might have been a predator, but Samira wasn't scared of him. She was fairly sure that she was smarter than him, much smarter.

There was a term in biology: aggressive mimicry. It was when predators sent signals (either physical or behavioral) to convince prey that they were something else, something less dangerous. Northern shrikes had a song that imitated smaller passerines, drawing real ones in so the shrike could attack. Snapping turtles opened their mouths and wiggled their pink worm-like tongue until a dumb fish took the bait.

Samira, unsurprisingly, had discovered a great interest in all of this, seeing herself mirrored in nature as it were.

But she'd already made it clear to John that she wasn't prey, not like he'd pictured she might be. There was no need for birdsong or worms. At least, not right at this moment. It could still suit her down the line, and John may still fall for it.

She reached up and loosened John's tie with deft fingers, eyes on his. "I've already told you that."

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phony_king
2022-05-15 08:09 am UTC (link)

It was what he liked about her, her brazenness and confidence. He tilted his head and held her steady gaze with a proud sort of smile. Like a lion, he liked to think. (The strong, masculine type, not the weak and pathetic one, thank you very much.) "Like a lioness," he said. "I do not take you as any less than that." He lifted a hand to loosen the scarf under her chin, confident that she would not slap his hand away. And if she did, well... he could roll with that too.

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fire_and_air
2022-05-15 08:19 am UTC (link)

A lioness. Samira could live with that. Sure, she'd prefer to just be the lion and rule the pride, but nothing wrong with being the power behind the throne. Not that there were any thrones around here.

John's tie undone, Samira took one end in each hand and used it to pull him closer to her, the smell of whiskey still heavy on her breath. When she did breath her chest touched his, but she didn't make any further move on him. But she didn't let go of the tie either.

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phony_king
2022-05-25 02:08 am UTC (link)

Despite her father stepping close to death just very recently, the man was still very much trusting John to protect his daughter while she was in New York. That made this all the hotter. The tension between them was palpable.

The elevator was slowing down, reaching its destination, and John held Samira's gaze. "Come inside," he said as the doors slid open, his voice low and commanding. He brushed his fingers over her hairline as the scarf slipped back, his eyes flicking to her lips.

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fire_and_air
2022-05-26 10:49 am UTC (link)

The way John said it didn't really sound like an offer or a request and although Samira was loathe to give any man exactly what he wanted, Samira couldn't deny what she wanted either. And so she slipped past him, reaching up to take her scarf off completely. It made a soft sssss as it brushed over her dark loose hair beneath.

At his door, Samira turned back to look at John as she leaned against it.

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phony_king
2022-05-31 12:58 pm UTC (link)

Her hair was beautiful. It was probably the covering of it that made John want to run his hands through it. Anything he was denied made him want it more.

He followed her purposefully, opening the door and moving them through quickly, and once they were inside and it was closed he turned to her and backed her up against it.

"You're a beautiful woman," he murmured, tipping his head so his lips lingered tantalisingly close to hers. He brushed the backs of his fingers over her jaw and down her neck. "A woman like you needs a strong man who is able to take you on."

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	fire_and_air 2022-05-31 01:32 pm UTC (link)
	Samira could feel the heat of his breath as he spoke, just as she could feel the heat of his body. "And are you that man?" Samira asked him, her tone somewhere between arrogant and enticing. "Man enough to take me on?" (Reply to this) (Parent)