Xion's hands immediately fell to my waist, pulling me in against him. His lips moved slow and tender against mine, a small sigh leaving him as he eased me back.

The gentle way he touched me made me realize how feral I was. his warm palms stayed on me, thumbs moving in small soothing patterns, eyes crinkling at the corners when he smiled at me. I wanted to rake my fingers through his hair and throw myself at him.

What was happening to me?

"Did you come find me just so you could kiss me?" he asked with a teasing grin. "I thought you would be training with Devlin for at least another few minutes."

Right, Devlin. It was like he stopped existing. I felt like I should apologize or maybe go back out there and explain myself to him. But then I felt Xion's hands start to slide up and down my sides. He touched me as if I were wearing the finest dress, something jewel encrusted that would fall apart under a harsher hand. My thoughts about anything or anyone else stopped right there.

"I got distracted," I admitted.

"By me? I wasn't even around darling," he murmured.

I knew that, but somehow none of it mattered.

"Is it so wrong that I want to be with you?" I pressed, already knowing the answer he would give me.

"No, certainly not. I'm just a little surprised is all. Did everything go okay with your training? Devlin said that you've been progressing nicely."

"This isn't about training," I stated firmly. I felt like I couldn't drag my gaze away from the curve of his lips. "This is about you."

"Me?" he whispered. He swallowed hard. "Perhaps we should find another space to talk. This is one of our board rooms. The last thing we would want is someone coming in to talk to me about taxes or trade agreements."

I wanted to complain but was silenced when he released me only to grab my hand and lead me out of the room. His strides were awkward, like he wanted to sprint, but had to remind himself over and over again to slow down. I didn't care, all I could focus on was the warmth of his palm against mine.

I didn't question any of his intentions when he pulled me into a room.

It was a similar space to my own room. It held a massive bed, had enough room for two, a seating area off to the side with two chairs and a small table, and a fireplace that would have warmed the room on the coldest of nights. But where my room was fresh and airy with bright colours and stained wood, this room was dark and heavy, like crawling into a cave made of black stone. Dark walls, dark sheets, the only colours were splashes of red fabric and gold accents.

"I had it designed to remind me of Mount Hexe," Xion admitted, hesitating a little now that he saw me frozen at the door, taking it all in.

This was his room. I was in his bedroom.

"Oh."

"Sorry," he blurted immediately. "I wasn't trying to assume anything. I just thought this would be the last place someone would come looking for either of us. Please don't read into it. We can just sit and have some tea and snacks and chat, if you'd like."

There was something about his sputtering that softened all the kingly edges of this vampire, made him more of a man than ever. And there was something about knowing that I did that to a king that made me feel like a vixen. Even in my training clothes, he couldn't keep his eyes off me. Even in my training clothes, I could turn him into a mess.

"I don't think I'm really in the mood for chatting," I confessed. There was an extra sway to my hips as I approached where Xion stood.

He was still, scarcely breathing when I put my hands on his chest. I wished that I had been this confident when I had seen him in the hot spring for the first time. He had been all arrogant smiles then, but I was certain that would change as soon as I touched him. Now, I didn't even have to ask. I rose up onto my toes and tilted my head.

He kissed me like I knew he would: eager and nervous. Wanting but a little unsure.

I didn't want any of that hesitation now. I captured his lower lip between my teeth, unable to withhold the smile when I heard him groan. He dove for my mouth now, harder and stronger, the grip that had been so kind and respectful earlier was now captivating and demanding. I pushed myself up against him, moving him backward until his back was pressed against a wall.

"Lark." Hearing my name fall from his mouth like that was divine.

"Xion," I purred back. His knees seemed to weaken a little bit. I took the opportunity to grab the bottom of his shirt, tugging it upward.

"Little dove," he groaned. His hands wrapped around mine, the moment feeling so similar to our time in the glasshouse when he stopped me. "I'm not saying no. I just need to know what you are okay with before we get too far, do you understand?"

"I'm fine with everything. I want everything," I promised, already stretching up for another kiss.

"Have you ever been with a man, Lark?" Xion asked.

"No, but I want to be with you." And I wanted to kiss him. And I wanted him under me or maybe over top of me, I wasn't quite sure, didn't really think it mattered. He kept his distance, seeming to think that he needed his mouth free for talking. I slid my hands beneath his shirt and stroked down his abdomen, watching him shiver.

"I need you to promise me that you will talk to me through this, okay?" He kept his eyes shut as if just a glance at me would make him crumple. "You have to tell me what you do like and what you don't like. And if I even remotely hurt you, we stop, do you understand?"

"Yes."

I tugged his shirt over his head and tossed it to the floor. Daisy could give me hell for it another day, if I even bothered to care then.

He was perfection, all hard lines and rigid muscle. I kissed him again, hard, but allowed my hands to roam softly over his skin. I felt like I was discovering sacred, uncharted territory. He deserved my slow exploration, when I called on this moment as a memory, I wanted to remember everything, like how smooth his skin felt, how he contracted and relaxed beneath my palms.

"Are you comfortable taking some of your clothes off?" Xion asked when he pulled away.

My mouth felt deliciously bruised as I licked my lips. And while I knew that I would have appreciated this sweetness in another moment, I didn't answer him in this one. I grabbed the bottom of my shirt with both hands and lifted it up, off, and tossed it aside.

I had always known I was pretty. I was the girl in the village that the boys wanted to keep around like a trophy set of antlers. I was a rare beauty, something that I could enhance with the right clothes, but there was no hiding my peasant upbringing when I was bare. Eating palace food and being away from physical tasks like gardening had softened some of my harder edges. But my ribs were still visible, my collarbones still exposed, my arms rather spindly.

"Fuck," Xion whispered through clenched teeth.

And right then, I felt like a holy being, too perfect for this world.

I needed no more encouragement to slip off my bottoms.

Xion stared at me as if I were the moon and stars.

When I reached for him again, he captured my wrist in his hold and led me over to the bed. My heart thrummed, but confusion wafted in when he had me sit on his lap. Sure, I wasn't particularly well versed in this area, but this didn't seem right. Certainly not with him still wearing pants.

I wiggled, attempting to twist around. Xion held me firmly, but gently, keeping me locked in place.

"You are making it increasingly hard to act like a gentleman," Xion said directly into my ear. I wondered if he classified the way he nipped at my neck as gentlemanly.

"Then don't," I encouraged.

"I want to do this right, darling. And I think that doing things right and doing them slowly can sometimes be the same thing."

I wanted to complain, I really did. But then his mouth was on my neck. Soft and teasing, pulling down my feral energy into something that was easier to tame. I melted against him. He took his time with me, acting like tomorrow would not come if we did not wish it. I was bare in his arms and he started at my shoulders of all places, trailing his fingers down my arms, the touch so light I shivered. After he traced the back of my hands, he swept in to my thighs. As he moved up my thighs, over my stomach, and to my ribs, I felt like I couldn't suck in a proper breath. And when he touched my small breasts, I tipped my head back onto his shoulder and groaned.

"I need more, Xion," I whispered.

"Tell me what you need, Lark. Tell me how to make you feel good," he rasped.

I didn't know the words, had never been taught them. It wasn't proper for us women to know them after all. But I knew what I needed, knew how to make myself feel good. I grabbed his hands in my own, pushing one of them between my thighs and cupping my breast with the other.

He moaned against my hair.

I had always wondered what it would be like to have another touch me. Some women said it was a chore, others complained of pain or boredom. I could not fathom that now. Not with Xion's heavy breathing in my ear, not with his slender fingers teasing my nipple, not with his other hand getting closer and closer to my center.

He was slow and teasing. I felt myself winding up tighter and tighter. He didn't seem to care. He took his time exploring the curves of my thighs, listening to the sounds I would make as he got closer and closer. I squirmed, I bucked. He didn't seem to mind.

But when his fingers slipped into my wetness, he let out something like a snarl. "Fucking hell."

He started with slow circles. It was heaven to have him touch me and I knew immediately that no man would ever compare to him, no man would make me feel the way he did. I wouldn't want to sink against anyone else, wouldn't want to have their hands between my legs. It started with him. It would end with him.

But he was moving too slowly, too softly. Treating me like I was made out of glass.

I meant to adjust his touch, to show him what I needed in that moment. Instead, I gripped his wrist so hard that all of his movement stopped. He said something to me. I didn't hear it. I lifted my hips, rocking back and forth. I marveled at the feel of his chest behind me, his thighs around me, the pressure of his finger against my sensitive little bud. And I moved until I felt that tightening start to loosen, until my legs started to tremble and my eyes rolled back.

I felt as if I were exploding. Nothing was nothing else in the universe besides the two of us. Nothing besides his shapeless whispers and my sounds of pleasure. I shivered and shook in his arms.

"My little dove," he murmured, kissing just below my ear.

I couldn't respond. I felt weak and boneless, my mind unable to form words. I released his arm, grateful that he was keeping me upright. I felt his erection throbbing against my back.

"Here, I can--"

"Just relax, Lark," Xion whispered. He adjusted us, moving my limp body for me, until we were lying down on his bed, side by side. He tugged a light sheet over us. "I've got you, darling."

~~~Question of the Day~~~

What song sums you up?