CONTAINS CONTENT:
Strong sensual themes.
{{Unedited}}
“What do you want for breakfast, darling?” Marielle asked.
“Maybe you let me make it, today?” Austin replied with a smile.
“I thought you didn’t cook.”
“It’s kind of hard to screw up some eggs and toast,” he chuckled.
She flushed. “Okay, I’ll allow it if that’s what you want.”
“I want to take care of you,” he whispered, pressing his forehead into the side of her temple and grinning.
She knew somewhere inside that so much of this was him trying to show her how good he’d be for her if she just let him. Some of it was to try and sway her, and some really was him. He’d spent many years taking care of himself. Equal, he’d said. We’re equal. Partners.
She showered quickly and dressed for the day, making sure to wear a red long-sleeved shirt. He smiled at her when she wandered into the kitchen and he gestured to the coffee sitting at her table already made for her and to her liking…- red… Are you telling me that you love me today, or that you want me?
-Yes. She picked up her mug and drank. He gave her a playful smirk as he put a plate in front of her and sat down with his own. Scrambled eggs, toast, coffee the way that she liked it.
She looked it over and smiled adoringly. It was enough.
She ate, he ate. “I fed Felix,” he whispered. She glanced down, Felix was eating. “Yes, you did,” she replied. “Thank you.”
He gave her a diminutive smile and reached over the table, taking her left hand with his. “I love you so much.” The next words came out weird, like they were bitter in his mouth. She knew that they were. “What do you want to do today?”
“Everything.”
“I wish there were time to do everything, Marielle. I wish that we had several weeks, months, years,” he said distantly.
“You pick.”
“I’m going to take you to a coffee shop near the water, where I first started realizing that I had deep feelings for you. Then to the sand to watch the waves, and later tonight to the opera.”
She agreed, beaming. “You started to realize that you had deeper feelings for me on that coffee date?” She balked.
He rubbed his bottom lip with his finger for a moment. “Yes,” he whispered.
“Do you remember when?”
“I remember exactly when,” he replied. There was a pause. “It was when you walked away from me at the cash register. I knew that you knew that I was trying to get under your skin a little with the barista- but my reaction to you walking away was unexpected. I’d wanted to make you jealous, but when you left, I felt…” his voice trailed off and he looked like he was searching the recesses of his mind for the right word. “Lost.” Her eyes met his. “Alone. Apart. Other. I don’t know, I wasn’t sure what it was, it just opened and got deeper and wider.” There was a pause as she moved her eggs around her plate a little, waiting for him to continue. He sensed it. “The rest of the night all that I wanted to do was repress what was happening. I couldn’t.”
She put her hands over her face with a large sigh, feeling the weight of everything that had happened between the two of them all over again, even questioning these decisions now. She briefly thought of Vincent, and he looked away, not wanting to order her to stop, but feeling the bitterness roll around his stomach that her thoughts were straying to Vincent.
A hand drifted to her lower stomach and she exhaled shakily. “I sense how upset that just made you,” she whispered. “I’m sorry. My intention isn’t to hurt you.”
“This hurts, though,” he replied. “You have to know how much this hurts.”
“I do. I can feel it a little.” She rubbed her abdomen. “I hate it,” she admitted.
-Then run away with me.
-We’re not little kids.
-But don’t you want to be?
She gave him a smile filled with tears. “Tell me what else we’ll do today.”
He lightly cleared his throat and picked up where he left off. “Then we’ll go back to my place, you can make dinner, and we’ll just spend some time together.” He was chewing, and he stopped long enough to take her in and smile at her, desirously. “Spend the night with me?”
“I plan on it,” she replied scooping some eggs into her mouth.
He smirked, wanting her in his bed so desperately that he felt he might shatter. “We need to go back to my place briefly… I have nothing to wear,” he chuckled, and drank his coffee down before going and getting into her shower.
She cleaned the meal up and put everything into the sink before glancing down at Felix who was sitting, licking his lips and looking up at her with an expression that seemed like he was trying to communicate. She could read people; cats were a bit trickier sometimes… I like him, Felix was saying with a shrug.
“Hush,” she replied, grinning. She glanced toward the bathroom as if Austin could see through walls. “I like him, too.”
-Did you say something? From the shower.
-Don’t worry, darling, talking to the cat.
She put a little mascara on, and applied a layer of red lipstick while he was in the shower as she sat on her bed.
She shrieked, and covered her eyes, giggling as he walked back in in nothing but a towel. He bent, “forgot my shirt,” he said giving her a sly smirk as he picked it up from the floor. She shook her head at him from under canopied hands on her forehead. He paused, leaning down into her face, “want me to ruin that lipstick?”
“Not… while you’re in that towel,” she replied. Then her eyes bugged and she lifted her hand, “oh my gosh, I don’t mean take it off!” she squealed, delightedly.
He laughed, and removed his hand from the edge of it. Both guffawed heartily. “You want to see, don’t deny it,” he taunted.
“Yes, I do… but-,” she shook her head, her face five shades redder. “No, okay?”
He bent, kissing her nose, and went back to the bathroom to dress.
She fell back against the bed and sighed dreamily, “Austin Michael Rancor, you’re going to kill me.”
–You’re already killing me, Marielle Jeanne Chaenes.
He came back in dressed, but in what he’d come in the night before. “I was thinking, what if we went back to that dress shop?” He asked. “I want to get you a dress for tonight.” He crawled onto the bed and lay next to her, leaning his upper half over her as his fingertip moved over her mouth, “I want you dripping in red tonight,” he breathed. “Outside, and underneath,” he hinted.
“You won’t see it,” she reminded.
“I don’t care,” he said gruffly, “I want to know it’s there.”
She blushed. “Okay.”
“Let’s go find you a dress that you love in red,” he purred, nuzzling into her right ear.
She giggled when his breath tickled her. “Oui, mon amour,” she whispered.
It was a moment that felt a little broken. She was French, he knew that she’d speak French sometimes… but the words briefly reminded him of Vincent and his chest hurt a little. She saw this, and grabbed his face, pulling him down into a passionate kiss. Then she moved to his ear, “Si, amore mio,” she corrected.
His eyes danced wildly. “You spoke Italian.”
She shrugged a shoulder, “It’s a recent interest,” she replied dismissively.
He buried his face against her shoulder, “I love you so much, Marielle. I love you so much.”
They arrived at his house and he dragged her in, kissing her wildly, and putting her against his living room door. “Remember when I stopped you that night?” he panted between kisses that he was starting to run down her neck. “When you tried to run out because you were scared of your feelings and you could read me like a book?”
“Yes,” she murmured, straining against him as his words came out between kisses, and deep huffs.
“This is what I wanted to do to you,” he growled, biting her gently, his hands snaking back up her spine and to her face and hair as he pressed his entire body into her. She groaned, and grabbed fistfuls of his dark hair. “Then this,” he added, picking her up and taking her to his table, where he lay her back on it and got on his knees. She lifted herself to stop him. “Don’t worry, I won’t… but you get the idea,” he said, giving her a wink as he stood again.
She clasped a hand over her thudding heart and gasped.
He smirked at her, knowingly, and wandered to his bedroom as she came off the table barely able to stand on her own shaky legs.
“I’m just going to throw on some jeans, a t-shirt and a button up over that,” he popped his head out and smiled at her as she leaned on the wall in the hall, “but I’ll leave it open,” he said with a wink.
A smile softened her features.
He only took about a minute before he emerged, lifting his hands, “look okay?” He asked. He’d put some sunglasses on, and they were holding some of his hair back on top of his head.
She was giving him the kind of look that said that she was thinking about him in all the ways that he wanted her to be. “I don’t think you could ever look bad, Austin.”
He came to her and kissed her, quickly. “You look incredible, by the way. I wanted to say that earlier, but got lost in your eyes for a moment.”
They drove to the dress shop. The women there recognized him and she saw them whispering instantly. “You’re mine this time,” she whispered, leaning into his body, and kissing him.
“That’s right, darling… make them talk,” he whispered against her temple.
The truth was that the last time they’d been here, he’d hardly noticed the girls. He’d noticed them, yes. But he was so focused on her that they weren’t his main concern. He’d wanted to watch her try on dresses and give him a fashion show. Of course, in his mind at the time she was wearing less and less each time she pulled the curtain aside… or had that been in his mind? Weren’t those dresses getting shorter? She had been looking for Vincent, though.
He remembered how he had so badly wanted to kiss her shoulder in the large dressing room. This time, he wouldn’t stop himself or freeze his wrists. He’d just kiss her. He did.
The second dress that she tried on for him, he made her come out to the mirror and stand in front of it, “look at yourself,” he breathed against her temple, his hands on her forearms. “You’re gorgeous,” he placed a hot kiss on her cheek, then her neck, then went to her shoulder and bit, gently. -Do you remember when you tried on dresses for me before?
-Yeah.
-This was what I wanted to do to you… so badly that I was freezing my wrists to stop myself.
-Is that why you looked so lost?
-Yup. He continued his little torturous bites until she groaned a bit, and begged him to stop.
She turned to him, reaching up and putting her arms around his neck, “I think we’re supposed to be talking about this dress.” She flicked her gaze to the mirror, then back. “Do you like it?” It was knee length with a pencil skirt and a heart shaped neckline.
“I love it, do you like it?” She looked at herself again and cocked her head. “You don’t, okay,” he said, flatly.
“What?” She asked, shocked.
“You don’t love it,” he replied, concretely.
“I like it,” she pressed.
“But you don’t love it. Ergo, we need a different dress.” He took her hand and led her out to the dresses again, going to the rest of the red department. He gestured with his head, “Something you love,” he said. She glanced at them, then back to him, “something you unapologetically, completely, and utterly love- something that makes you feel entirely like you, no matter how gawdy, shocking, expensive, or even bland. I want you to feel like you’re in a second skin, hugging your every curve. I love red… I love you… Something you love,” he reiterated.
She bit her bottom lip and tucked them in for a moment, feeling the rush of his words move over her.
She darted to the rack and began to flip through them. After six or seven, she came across one that was long, the deep red of fresh blood, and a sweetheart neckline with straps that exposed a large portion of her shoulders. It flared a little at the knees. She looked at it, looked at him, and he smiled. -Is that the one?
She cocked her head and retreated to the dressing room; he pursued. She emerged a minute later, in it, but the back was still open. She urged him to her to help zip it up, when he did, they both stood in front of the mirror, stunned. “This one,” she breathed, excitedly.
He was broken for a moment, staring at her. Maybe it was because this was the dress that she truly loved and wanted to wear for him, maybe it was simply because she was gorgeous in it and it accentuated her curves in ways that were hard to imagine before it was on her, but all he did for a moment was gawk to the point that tears started to rim his eyes. “This one?”
“This one.”
He slid his arms around her front. “This is our dress, Marielle… You don’t wear this for anyone except me. Understand?” She nodded. “Only me. Only mine.” He held her for a moment, trying to hold back another wave of tears. She’d never wear it again, after tonight. “Now let’s go buy it before I tear it off of you,” he whispered, leaving her alone and quickly so that she didn’t see him wipe his tears away. It didn’t matter, she knew he was crying, and she briefly lost herself as well. -You…are breathtaking.
After she forced her calm, they went back to his house, and left the new dress there along with a pair of heeled boots that she’d bought.
“I forgot jewelry,” she whispered, realizing.
He shook his head, “No, we didn’t.” He turned to her, taking her hand. “I want to be very clear about my intentions when I give this to you,” he said, quietly. She looked around, feeling a twinge of anxiety. “I had this made a long time ago when I thought that I was going to enter a certain kind of community… I didn’t, which again is me telling you that I can and have walked away from things,” he whispered, brushing some of her hair behind her ear. “This was for no one, so I’m not giving it to you because someone else rejected it… I’m giving it to you because I want you to wear it tonight,” he explained, slowly taking her to his nightstand and opening the drawer there. He pulled out a long jewelry box, and handed it to her. “Again, let me be clear- I’m not telling you that you’re my slave, I want you to wear it only if you want to play a little,” he said with a salacious smirk. “You and I both know that you’re a submissive… I’m a dominant. You also know that you have the power in this relationship, right?” She nodded, swallowing as she looked down at the velvet box. “Be mine?” She smiled softly, and cracked the box open, unsure of what to expect. Leather and chains? Something spiky?
Neither.
She put her fingertips to her mouth. It was definitely from the specific community that he was talking about, but it was extremely beautiful, and discreet. There were three pieces, a silver necklace that was a choker covered in red rhinestones, a bracelet that matched with a small silver ring at the clasp, and earrings that were silver rings also married with red rhinestones. It was dazzling. “Again, I’m not suggesting you be my sub, or something. I just think it’ll be sexy if you wear it for me,” he chuckled, shyly. He fingered her neck, “your neck is so beautiful, I just…”
She shook her head, “No, no, Austin, I’ll wear it,” she whispered.
“There’s…also a bit of a secret to it,” he whispered excitedly.
“Oh?”
He took the bracelet out and clasped it around her wrist, tightly. Then he smiled up at her, leaned in, and kissed her. After a few moments, he undid it. When the bracelet fell away, she was shocked to see his name with an apostrophe and an S on the inside of her wrist. It was an impression from how tight the jewelry was, and would fade in a few moments, but it made her blush. “I’ll wear it,” she said with a nod. That was that.
He grinned, “The necklace does the same, but here,” he ran the tip of his finger up the back of the right side of her neck. He bent and placed a burning kiss there, “You…are…mine…” he exhaled, icy breath, frosting her skin where his lips just were.
“I am,” she replied, gently rubbing her wrist where his name was fading.
He took her wrists into his hands and pressed them against the wall, leaning fully into her and taking a few moments to go at her again with his mouth, teeth, and tongue. “Mine,” he whispered, biting her shoulder. She nodded. “Mine,” he said, biting her neck. He thumbed that imprint of his name, feeling the ridges and dips that read Austin’s. She groaned. “Mine…” kissing under her chin. He went to her lips, “Mine,” he breathed against them.
“Austin, until six AM tomorrow, I am yours. I am desperately in love with you, and I will do what you request, my king.”
He growled and leaned into her, pressing in, needing to move, grind and twitch against her, stopping himself only for the contract which burned on his nightstand as it stared at him, mocking him. “I want to burn that thing,” he hissed, glancing at it. “Let me burn it, Marielle, so the fire in me can burn us both,” he begged. She wanted to say yes. “Let it consume us.” He ran his thumb over his name again, which was fading; just as their relationship would fade within hours.
Tears pricked the corners of her eyes and her head rolled back as she let out a pained and pleasured sound. “I want to, Austin… I want to,” she panted.
“Let … me… do it…”
“I can’t.”
His jaw tensed and he pressed even more into her so she could feel how desperate he was as he groaned in angered frustration. He squeezed her wrists. “Why?”
“Please… I need you to understand.”
He pulled quickly away, telling himself no before he lost the ability to control himself anymore. There was a pause as both tried to catch their breath. He swiped his hand over his face as if trying to wipe away an expression, and investigated it as if he’d see the expression still there on his palm. “I want you to marry me,” he admitted. “Does that mean anything?”
“Yes,” she breathed, silent tears streaming down her pale cheeks as she eyed the contract. “It means the world.”
He glanced over his shoulder at her. “You are my world.”
She steeled herself, “I want to be very clear about this, Austin… I will not change my mind. This is it. We’re not going to the end of this and saying ‘screw it’ and ending up together anyways. When you ask about someday, I cannot promise you that, either. I know Vincent, and I know that he’ll forgive me for this,” she said shakily, another wave of tears flooding her eyes. “He’ll even forgive you because he wants me and loves me so much. But I will not continue to willfully hurt him after this.”
Austin was staring off as her words sunk in. He knew it, but he kept ignoring it. He kept secretly hoping, praying, begging that she would change her mind; that somehow this was all a test and a cruel joke. -Please, just say you’re testing me, darling.
-I’m not. This is it. And with these words it finally happened, something opened inside of her and she felt it for the first time; his pain, and she gasped, and doubled over in agony.
He rushed to her, bending, and pulling her against him to steady and hold her. “Are you okay?”
“Oh, God,” she was panting, “Oh, God… Oh, no, Austin… I feel it,” she barely got out.
“You feel what?”
“Your pain. I feel it,” she wrapped her arms around his neck, and buried her face against his chest. “Oh, God it’s like-” she stopped herself.
He eyed her angrily, “Tundra’s…”
She grabbed his face, “You’re not him. You’re not. Please, don’t go down that path… please.”
He grabbed her face and pulled her back from his chest so he could look into her eyes, “what are you doing?” He asked, referring to this situation and whatever game she was playing. She shook her head and broke away. “I know you’re doing something, Marielle. I can tell… I’m trained to see these things,” he shook his head, “but I don’t know what,” he said brokenly. “You tell me that you’re not going to change your mind. Is that so? Are you really not going to? This really isn’t a test?”
“This… is not.”
“There is a test, though,” he noted under his breath. She shut her eyes, realizing that the way she’d said that gave him too much information. “You’re testing me?” He came to her, again pressing her against the wall, “tell me,” he breathed. She shook her head. “Tell me, come on, tell me.” She shook her head, refusing to even think it. His face contorted in agony, and again, her insides twisted with his. “Tell me, dammit!” He pounded the wall above her head. She wilted, and went to her knees. He looked down at her, broken and small and realized how badly he’d just frightened her. “Oh, God, I’m sorry,” he slowly came down to her level. “Oh, my God… I’m so sorry.”
“You’re desperate,” she noted.
“No, Marielle, that’s no excuse.” He gently took her against him. “I won’t be this person. I won’t… I won’t be the person who forces and demands you, but you have to understand that what I’m feeling-”
“I know what you’re feeling, Austin… I just started feeling it, too,” she reminded, crumpling and sobbing.
He shook his head slowly, and drew her to him. “You can feel me?”
“I can…” She was shaking a little as he held her closer and closer. “Austin, when I went through Tundra, I could feel him. I could feel it all. He was in so much pain; emotionally and physically. I hated that I understood him in those moments. He never really understood why he did the things he did… and yes, I saw many of them, too. The murders, at least.”
“I knew that you saw that much.”
“But he was in…” she looked distant, lost, “so much pain. He wasn’t lying when he said that he loved her more than anything. He never understood himself, he only ever understood his own pain.”
Austin pulled her into him again, and held her. “Marielle…” he sighed, breathing out. “I’m so sorry,” he repeated. “I’m so, so sorry.”
“You’re desperate,” she repeated.
“Do not… make excuses for me.” He was running his fingers gently through her hair, “I don’t know my own strength sometimes.” He rocked her. “You deserve to be talked to with dignity and respect.”
“I deserve it, now will you give it to me? We don’t have a lot of time left,” she said through foreboding sobs.
He sat next to her on the floor and let his head flop against the wall. “I hate this,” he whispered. His jaw tensed and he clenched his teeth. “I hate it.” She was silent. “This is torture. Chamber tortured me, you’re torturing me.”
“You can do this,” she whispered.
He scoffed and rolled his head to look at her. “Yeah, well, at least Chamber eventually gave me some relief for my agony.”
“To build that bond.”
He put his hair behind his ears with both of his hands. “I am so in love with you. I will do anything… I think this is proving that.”
“I’m taking it all into consideration, Austin,” she whispered. “Can we please enjoy the rest of the day?”
He took a minute to breathe as deeply as possible and try to calm himself. “Vincent is so calm about everything…so controlled. I’m unhinged. I want to learn to do that. I want to learn to be that way. I’m jealous,” he admitted. She took his hand and squeezed, understanding. He looked down, his name was gone from her wrist, and she felt his ache when he noticed this twist in her own stomach. “Where do you want to go, darling?” he whispered.
“Coffee? To our favorite place?”
He nodded. “Then we’ll start there.”
He stood, glancing at the contract one last time before he reached for her hand and lifted her into a soft hug; but for as soft as it was, she felt the rise in him… of rage, of rancor. –I’m going to kidnap you. I’m going to take you somewhere where no one can hear you. You love me, and I love you, and that’s the end of it. We’ll be together. You are mine.
He looked down, as if he’d just realized that she’d heard those thoughts, and she let out a shaky breath. “I know you heard me… I will not do that to you. They’re just thoughts.”
“I know, Austin.”
“I’m sorry for even thinking it,” he sighed. “Guess that’s the curse part of this situation, huh? That sometimes we think things that we don’t mean or even intend on doing.”
She nodded. “We don’t have to listen to one another.”
He let out an exasperated breath. “No, but sometimes it just happens.” He was already heading for the door and getting his keys. He paused, turning to her, “I’ll do better,” he said shamefully. They left, heading for the coffee shop.
When he opened the door, Austin reached for her hand and she took it, squeezing it tightly in hers. They went in and the little blue haired girl behind the counter smiled at them as they approached, looking over the menu.
“Cinnamon latte?” Marielle whispered to him.
He smirked. “I’ll go get us our favorite seat.”
The little girl behind the counter smiled at her, “Oh, you,” she said with a small chuckle.
“Me?” Marielle asked, confused.
She giggled, “Yeah. I remembered the two of you,” she said.
Marielle’s eyes flicked to her name tag. Right. Janice. She’d been their barista back at the beginning of August when she and Austin were here before. “Right, you remembered him,” Marielle corrected with a small chuckle as she threw a glance at gorgeous Austin, sitting in a familiar seat.
“No, both of you,” she replied, taking Marielle’s money and fishing out the change.
Marielle cocked her head at her. “Why both of us?”
Janice half rolled her eyes. “Because he’s cute, you’re hot, and you both looked so in love.”
Marielle’s heart stopped for a moment. It had always been, hadn’t it? She had never once successfully hidden it from anyone. She felt stupid. Had she always been in love with Austin Rancor?
“You-You’re in l-love, right?” Janice stammered.
Marielle swallowed, and forced a small smile. “We are, yes.” She took the silver from Janice and dumped all of it into the tip jar before going to sit with Austin.
Marielle slid in next to him, sharing his plush chair and stared out the window, distantly. “You never had anything to worry about, you know?” He asked, tenderly.
She flicked her gaze to him. -What?
“When we were here last, you were briefly jealous.” He gestured to Janice with his head, “She’s a lesbian.”
“I just worked that out,” Marielle replied. “But… she remembered us.”
“Right,” Austin said as if he already knew everything. “Because we were desperately in love,” he explained.
Her eyes stung with the tears that she quickly hid.
She hardly remembered how, but they found themselves under the pier leaning against one of the big wooden beams; their deep breaths hidden against the sound of the crashing waves just yards from them.
His forehead was pressed to hers as he endlessly combed through her hair. -My Marielle… he whispered over the roaring ocean and over his strangled breaths. -My sweet, beautiful, tender, deep, romantic, sensual, strong Marielle.
-My Austin. My darling, gorgeous, deep, strong, honest, funny, brave, nerdy Austin.
He chuckled silently. He didn’t try to press into her or lip wrestle with her neck or shoulder, he just brushed through her hair and planted tender kisses on her forehead over, and over again as the time slipped through the corners of his mind like sand through his fingers. Some of the sand that they were standing in now would be stuck to him longer than their relationship would last. He’d find some in a few days still in his pocket, or on the bottom of his shoe. He’d smell the softest whiff of roses on his pillowcase a few days from now and he’d fall apart. He was falling apart… he was crying, silently. So was she.
-I love you… I’m so in love with you, Marielle. Please never forget. I love you.
-I love you, too.
-My Marielle… my adorable, childlike, smart, cunning, intelligent Marielle.
-My Austin. My Austin… My Austin.
He gently kissed her forehead and nuzzled the tip of his nose against hers. “Let’s go back to my place… we need to get ready for the opera. It’s at thr-,” he almost couldn’t say, “three,” he forced a smile at her. She nodded. “What do you want me to wear to match that gorgeous dress?”
“What you did for the announcement,” she replied without hesitation.
“You’ll have it, and whatever else you want tonight.”
She bit her bottom lip through the continual silent tears as they paused, trying so hard not to say what they were both thinking and feeling, trying not to think about how time was vanishing. “Make it snow,” she whispered.
He closed his eyes with a deep sigh and suddenly, little white flakes of lace were gently falling onto them both.
She smiled and reached up into the air, giggling like a child and sticking her tongue out to catch them. He was watching her with his temple on the wooden beam with strange mix of extreme sorrow, pain, joy, and elation in his tear-filled eyes. She went back to him and caressed his cheek. “My ice king,” she breathed with a tearful grin.
He smiled at her… hours… not days… hours; at some point soon, and far sooner than he wanted to imagine, minutes, seconds, moments.
***
When she came out of the bathroom in her opera dress, Austin shook his head at her with awe. “That’s more beautiful on you now than it was earlier today,” he whispered, curling a finger on her cheek.
Her face lit up with delight. “Thank you, and thank you for buying it for me.”
She opened the box that he’d given her and pulled the earrings out, examining them a little, before putting them in her ears and glanced over her shoulder at him. “Help me?” She asked, gesturing to the rest of it with her head. He came to her and helped fasten the necklace in a few places in the back. His insides twisted knowing that that piece of jewelry was gently carving his name there, same with the bracelet. Austin’s…
She turned to him, smoothing over the dress a few times. “How do I look?”
“Perfect.” He lifted an eyebrow. “Me?”
“Perfect.” She leaned into him and pulled his black tie from the inside of his vest, tugging it a little. “Mine,” she whispered.
He paused. “Always, Marielle.” He cupped her cheek, “Do you understand?” She nodded, tearfully. “This contract will end, my love for you will not.” He closed the gap between them. “I am not going to wake up tomorrow morning and be cured of the heartsickness that I am experiencing now,” he whispered against her temple.
“I know.” She wanted to say neither will I… but she left it at that. She wrapped her arms around his neck, anchoring herself to him. “You are…gorgeous,” she breathed.
“Yeah?” His grinned at her boyishly. She bit her lip, still fingering the end of his tie. “Want to talk to me about the first time you saw me in this suit?”
“I wanted you.”
“I wanted you,” he replied. “It physically hurt.” She nodded; she knew that as well. She could sense how much pain he was in when he’d briefly left her on the elevator. “My heart was breaking when I danced with you. I knew that’d be the only time you were in my arms that night.”-Where you belong. He pressed his lips to hers and they melted against one another for a moment. When he lingered, he breathed. “You’re killing me, Marielle,” reminding her of exactly the way he’d felt in that moment. Her knees weakened, and she felt dizzy. His fingers trailed down the rhinestone choker that she was wearing now and he pulled them back, reaching down into his pocket and retrieving something. -One last thing. Her heart began to speed up when she saw him slip on the black gloves from that evening. He’d known that they’d affected her, hadn’t he? -Yes… I did.
She breathed out through rounded lips. “Let’s not get so serious. Play with me, Austin,” she purred in his left ear.
He smirked at her, raising a brow. –Play like how?
She hummed at him, dragging her fingers up into his hair. “I’m still getting you back for last night,” she said with a salacious smirk.
“Oh, I’m getting you back for last night right now,” he murmured, gently biting the space on her neck just above where the necklace ended. “My name is all over you,” he whispered, rounding out each word. She gulped as he breathed icy air onto her neck. Her skin pricked and her flesh rose. -You stop that, or you’re going to be sorry, later.
-Can’t wait. He smirked and pulled back. “Let’s go, we’ll be late,” he said lifting his arm to her.
“I don’t have any make up on,” she said, feeling her cheeks.
“Don’t put any on. This is all I need,” he said, handing her the lipstick.
She took his arm with a soft smile and they went off to the opera house.
When they got there, they paused and looked at the weird liquid silver statue again that seemed like a man or something resembling a man was trying to break out of the middle while also holding on to stay within. “It seems to make more sense now.”
Austin looked it over. “Yeah.”
“What are we seeing?” She whispered. “More stuff that’s going to make me cry?”
He gestured to the poster. “Probably,” he replied.
La Traviata. “It’s in Italian?” He nodded. “Are you translating again?”
He nodded again, staring at her mouth. Leaning in, he brushed his lips against hers, –do you want this kiss?
-Si.
He grinned and gently pressed giving her a feather kiss. “What do you want to drink?”
“You,” she breathed.
“Drink me all night if you want.”
She smirked. “Something with rum.”
He nodded and went to the bar, bringing back rum with pineapple. It was the same drink that he’d gotten her before when they were here and she wondered if he remembered and if both were thinking the same thing. They smiled at one another; they were.
Once again, they were marched into the gorgeous room and everyone took their seats. Austin loved getting a place right in the middle of the theater for shows like this, and a few rows back as they were before. They stood, taking the room in. They weren’t alone; several other groups were similarly in awe of the hushed, almost reverent atmosphere.
He leaned into her neck and gently kissed. “My red queen,” he breathed.
“My ice king,” she smiled secretively. He was breathing cool air on her again, and she tilted her head, -I told you that you were going to pay for that if you kept it up, now stop it you brat.
–Make me. He taunted, and he leaned down and did it again, right before planting a tender kiss. Her entire body chilled and her breasts hardened. She smirked, and glanced at him, and he gazed at her with a longing smile. -You’re mine tonight. He reminded.
-I know… I am.
He put another tender kiss, closer to her neck, and once again giving her a little of his icy breath. She shivered. -What else are you thinking, darling? She asked.
-I’m thinking about how much I want to make you squirm right now.
She smiled; she’d always wanted to get him back for that initial Marielle, cool off… so many months ago, and she’d always wanted the freedom to play with him openly… make him squirm right back.
So, she waited until he wasn’t quite paying attention because he was kissing that curve that led to her neck and picked the biggest ice cube from her drink out. Turning to him, with a grin, she leaned against him, his hands pressing against the small of her back, and after a moment she quickly hooked her fingers into the top of his pants, pulled them away from his body a little, making sure she also caught what was underneath and dropped the ice cube in.
Then she turned away, grinning wildly.
He gasped realizing his exact situation. He was ten shades of red and the look of horror and surprise on his face melted into an incredulous grin. –Austin… cool off.
-Oh, is that how we’re playing? She sipped her drink innocently. The lights went down… they had to sit. She chuckled silently; this was getting good.
Grinning like the devil, she sat with him and watched him trying to readjust. She smirked and shrugged a shoulder, putting her chin to it, and glancing at his face, then his crotch, then his face again. –Okay, that might be the hottest thing a girl’s ever done to me. He swallowed hard, biting the back of his curled finger.
-You mean coldest?
He grinned, tonguing the inside of his bottom lip. -That won’t hurt me, you know.
-I know. I’d never do anything that hurt you, Austin, I’m just playing.
Again, he swallowed hard, digging his tongue into his upper right teeth. People were already sitting to his left… lots of them. He was so stuck. -I’ve never done this. He chuckled as he continued his list of nevers. She smirked, mischievously, putting her hand over her face as it filled with color. –What exactly do you want me to do about that, Marielle?
She shrugged again and sipped, eyes wide. –You could take it out.
He glanced up, that look of credulity still all over his face. –You… brat. She couldn’t stop laughing. -So, do I get to do this to you? She squeezed her eyes shut as she continued to try and hide her chuckling from the people directly to her right.
-I told you that you were going to be sorry…
-I’m not sure that I’m sorry…
Both were giggling like little kids. A burst came out of her nose as she continued her silent chuckling. People were starting to look at them and for whatever reason, this sent them into a bigger wave of laughter as their temples smacked together.
-I’m um… wet.
-I’ll walk in front of you after. He was in stitches over that, and both were hiding their strangled laughs behind their hands.
Then their eyes met and he became more serious, momentarily forgetting entirely about the other situation. –I love you. So much.
“I love you, too,” she whispered.
The musicians came out and their attention was drawn. –Welp… I’m not gonna forget this anytime soon.
-Just getting you back for all of the times you’ve done it to me.
-Oh, is that what this feels like? Remind me to do it like fifty times more to you.
-Austin.
-Austin.
The maestro came onto the stage and bowed. Everyone clapped, the situation, the ice cube, how desperate it all made him fading to the back of his mind a little as he stared at her… She was perfect; his red queen.
He leaned in, he translated, he whispered, he said I love you ten more times, the clock ate him alive in small spoonfuls, he was able to clean up a good amount at intermission, they laughed abashedly about it again, he kissed her. They cried at the end, and walked to the car in companionable silence.
Once inside, he leaned over the center console and took her lips for his, his fingertips hooking under her dress strap and squeezing it as if he wanted to pull it down, but refusing due to the other people going to their cars.
It was already dark out and his anxiety was starting to twist in his middle. Thirteen hours. She felt the twist, and groaned, uncomfortably. He looked at her with an apologetic expression as he combed her short hair back from her face.
“Take me back to your place, Austin… let me spend the night with you.”
He nodded. “I want you to.”
He started the car, hating the fact that he had to focus on the road, driving, and the minutes home took time away from his gazing at her, touching her, kissing her, and telling her how he felt about her. He knew that he could do that anyways, in his mind. But he wanted to watch her face, see her eyes.
Only about twenty-five minutes had passed before they reached his house, but he felt liked he’d lost ten hours.
Marielle cried softly when she took her dress off in the bathroom as she hung it back on the hanger and put it on the door. This is our dress, Marielle. You don’t wear this for anyone but me. She fingered it gently; she’d never wear it again.
She cleaned her face and came back out to him. He’d changed into her second favorite outfit. The black jeans and the teal button up. She smirked at him remembering him lifting that shirt to lie and tell her that teal was his favorite color.
He smiled back. “Dinner?” she asked.
He didn’t want to eat; it was starting to hurt too much, but he forced a nod. “What are you making me?”
“What do you want?”
-Nothing but you. He scoffed and looked down like he hadn’t meant to let that thought slip. “What do you want to make me?”
-Nothing but me… They fell into one another’s arms.
“Do you know how hard this is going to be for the next eight weeks? Have you thought about it?”
She nodded. “I have no idea how we’ll-” she was sobbing now.
He rocked her. –I love you.
After a silent moment, she pulled away, “I’ll make us some spaghetti.”
“Do you make spaghetti?” he asked, narrowing his eyes at her.
“It’s a recent interest of mine.”