[ It takes her a moment to piece together what Claude says to her in Almyran. Having only ever hearing her own (probably very incorrect) pronunciation, she's never heard it properly spoken to her. The snippets that she heard from time to time between merchants who did business in Almyra couldn't be counted either because the moment any of them had seen her curious, bright eyes flitting to them they had switched back to their common tongue.
Worry lingers in the back of her mind - about butchering what she's said or completely saying the wrong thing and misconstruing her feelings - and a part of her waits for laughter at at her to follow the surprise. Instead his expression melts into something akin to the ones that are quickly becoming so familiar and precious to her. It's one that she knows in her heart of hearts that she'll never tire of seeing.
It takes her a moment to piece together what he's saying. Almyran is beautiful on its own when it isn't being absolutely butchered by her attempts. But it's made more so coming from him and the meaning behind the words that she manages to understand which is only further solidified by the intent in his kiss. It is a promise filled with intent, one that she intends to give and keep right back. When they parts it's with no amount of small reluctance on her part. ]
Maybe a couple of months. [ She nuzzles her nose against his, a tender, somewhat shy smile, flitting to her lips as she catches her breath from the kiss. ] Is this the part where you tell me my pronunciation was awful?
[ No hesitation before that answer as if he's really weighing up some sort of supposed consequence here in the wake of knowing not even he'd managed to hide what this had meant to him. A final tearing down of whatever guards he'd had remaining, and ones he's not sorry to see go nor is the desire to put them back into place anywhere near being on his mind. There's nothing about that he wants to criticize even playfully when the meaningfulness behind the gesture could never be forgotten.
It's tempting to continue to stay right here and continue basking in the glow of her smile as warm as any sunlight, but Claude lets a thoughtful expression cross his face like something's just occurred to him. Like it's not going to be recognizable to her as yet another one of his usual ploys from being used so many times before, but he doesn't linger where he is. He'd been interrupted in what he was doing before, after all.
So it's easy, then, to bend again to drag his lips along her jaw as if picking just where to stop before skimming teeth just as lightly along the curve of her throat down to her collarbone as if still deciding. At the same time he shifts the hand on her back down along it, another deliberate trail moving even slower southward to catch the hem of what she's wearing to run it between his fingertips with no particular rush in any of his movements with the words pressed into her skin in between leisurely kisses left behind. ]
Or maybe later. I can think of other things I'd rather do first.
[ Whatever feigned whine that would normally make an appearance in the wake of supposed criticism is swallowed by gentle intake of breath as he journeys south along her warm skin. As his mouth skims her jaw she bares his neck to him, a motion she's done so many times before in the past. There has never been a need for her to be so closely guarded, even physically, or to think twice about baring herself like that. Even if she had, the time for hesitation for that has long since passed because it's always felt so natural and right with him.
The sentiment that had danced across her mind and settled on her heart so many months ago when they had made up in the spa remains ever present and truthful now: so much of her is his. Wholly, and fully, in this timeline or whatever timeline lay before them. Something else makes that thought soar as she feels his fingers tease the hem of her thin slip: she can start to believe that he feels the same too.
Her hands trace long lines down the lines of his neck, fingernails scraping lightly against the planes of his chest. A pleased noise hums from her throat as she feigns innocence. ]
[ A laugh gets pressed into her shoulder at what he recognizes could be the start of a whine as a preface to more. It might've been, if not for that inhale betraying her and it's with a smile his lips meet her skin next. Another time he would've given into it and gladly so to start their round of supposed squabbling back and forth when the fondness of falling into old and beloved routines.
Like this one, also, as Claude nudges the strap of her slip off her shoulder until it falls slack to the side and out of his way. Better for leaving more kisses behind as if he's decided to cover everywhere he can with a kiss as a small shiver of pleased delight runs its way down his spine as her hands move across him with the light scratch of fingernails in turn. All the more reason to switch to open mouth kisses as he shifts down to reach the curve of her breasts without moving her nightgown away.
Claude distracts himself when he lets her hem fall from his fingers to instead run those fingertips along her skin beneath in a lazy pattern winding to nowhere in particular. No rush in taking time to map out what he knows from touch alone or to trade it for sight (yet) all over again with touch varying to featherlight as he moves over her hip. ]
I suppose that depends on whether I should tell you or show you.
[ The way her heart skips a beat as warmth pebbles her skin is hard to go unnoticed. Not that she has half a mind of doing that. The entirety of her is awash in thoughts of him, of the way his fingers trace patterns against her skin and it feels to be underneath his gaze.
Indulgence is something she’s found herself grappling with as their time spent in Abraxas has gone on. Being selfish has proven to be a hurtful thing not necessarily to her, but those around her. And where she had once been able to turn a blind eye to the consequences, time, both during a time of war and then briefly as a god, has taught her that there was a time and place for both. She would always be selfish and she knew that. Digging her claws into those she deemed as hers would always be instinctual because they were hers as much as she was theirs.
But when else would she indulge if not right now?
She settles herself back against the pillows, languidly pushing him down in the process. Her lips curl while still managing to keep that perfectly feigned innocence on her face. ]
[ This time rather than simply let laughter work its way into her skin or the fabric of her slip, Claude leaves one more kiss behind before tilting his head up just enough so Hilda can see the widely present smirk as he shifts to move down the length of her body slowly and with ease. There are some things too permanently etched in his memory to ever forget, there as permanently as ever as they were when they'd spent many a night learning each other.
It's with that in mind that he's content to take his time. Another part of the game they're playing and one he can play his part in. ]
And what is it you'll be learning tonight?
[ Innocence matched for innocence even as he settles himself between her legs and lets both hands slide down her sides with one at one hip and the other paused at the back of her thigh. At her hip where those hands beneath the fabric have worked it up enough to ride up to expose more skin, he leaves behind another kiss with a bit of teeth before sitting up just enough to look at her with eyes half lidded in contemplation. Only partly feigned this time, since Hilda before him is a sight distracting all in itself. ]
I seem to remember you having a few ideas we never got to.
[ That hand beneath her thigh lifts it to prop her leg against his shoulder, and as he speaks he moves the hand still beneath her slip with fingernails this time dragging against the skin beneath. This time his destination isn't so meandering as he cups her breast. With the pad of his thumb he draws unhurried circles around her nipple in touches deliberately not enough even if she moves into them as he turns his head without breaking their gaze to kiss the inside of her thigh by her knee in another intentional tease. ]
[ Hilda can't help the splutter of laughter as she goes to hook her other leg over his shoulder, letting it rest against his back with the one he'd moved earlier. ]
I thought you could read my mind. And I don't really feel like I'm equipped to come up with a lesson plan.
[ The chiding is a thin veil that barely covers up the slight stutter of her breath as he drags his fingers excruciatingly along her exposed skin made all the warmer by his touch. Whining with Claude usually got her what she wanted (eventually) but she had a distinct feeling that that wasn't going to be enough for him tonight. Her body responds keenly to him just like it always had, just like it always will. At his touch her back arches as a needy sound from the back of her throat is pulled by the way his lips slowly make their way up her leg and decidedly not anywhere near where she wants it to. If he wanted to play that game then she supposed she could oblige. ]
But if you don't have any ideas in mind I could always just...
[ She never completes that sentence, her own hand trailing idly between her thighs to hoist the hem of her slip further up to expose her belly. The only fabric left in his view are her underwear and it wouldn't be difficult for him to imagine where her hands travel to next. Teasingly she drags a finger against the thin fabric, cocking her head to the side as she watches him. ]
[ Hilda's movement gets him to pause with lips still pressed to her skin as she protests having no ideas and them proceeds to demonstrate one. The reveal of skin he'd left untouched as of yet for tonight is effective.
So is the trace of her hand in a suggestion even as she'd moved into the touch he was intentionally keeping light in what certainly isn't enough for either one of them. But his deliberate semi-stalling continues as he moves his gaze back to hers while simultaneously moving his fingers again, first to cup her breast more before no longer teasing alone but teasing her nipple with proper touch in search of more of those sounds. ]
Hmm, I think that's not clear enough. I bet you can be more specific.
[ Like wherever her hand might go next while he plays at patience with her thighs parted around him and the smallest bit of fabric left to be moved. He can wait when it will be well worth whatever her next move is, Claude decides as he moves further up her inner thigh before stopping short of the destination they both know he intends to reach. This time when he pauses again it's to slowly worry a light mark into sensitive skin, something to last until the morning and proof of a smoldering desire.
[ And he earns one - although she does what she can to muffle the noise by biting down her lip never once allowing her gaze to leave his. It's not long before her nipples are pert perks, the exposed skin of her belly and chest now pebbled not because of the warm summer air but ignited because of his touch.
It's his teeth against the sensitive skin of her thighs however that finally coax another soft needy sound from her. Her hips jerk involuntarily and the hand that had been teasing the quickly dampening fabric presses against herself a little harder. Hilda can't help but let out a breathy laugh as her fingers slip underneath the delicate lace of her underwear this time. A hand slips underneath the pillow behind her head, as her back arches her body quietly calling out for him in spite of what her words say otherwise. But she wouldn't give in that easily. ]
More specific? If I have to be more specific then you might have to go sit at the other end of the bed. Maybe it would inspire you or encourage you to think a little faster on your feet.
[ Her knuckles stretch the fabric as her fingers begin to play with her clit, eyes shining with that unspoken challenge. ]
[ Not even Claude with his control over showing or feeling something can pretend like those noises and that needy lift of her hips doesn't affect him, half hard as he is already inside his sleep shorts. And Hilda's challenge? It's a successful one: Claude withdraws his hand again, this time to slide it beneath her underwear as well. His hand comes to rest over hers with her free fingers curled into his palm as his other ones join hers around her clit. Much as he's enjoying her legs over his shoulders he leaves them around his waist now as he moves back up the bed to lean over her. ]
Like this end of the bed instead of where I was?
[ Asked with a heavy dose of faux innocence - of which they both know well he has none and this isn't what she meant by sitting back to watch. But Claude's choosing to find his own inspiration as he moves their fingers at pace which gets incrementally quicker every few seconds while watching her reaction considering he knows it's still not quite enough.
Which is why with a slight smirk he bends his head down, this time foregoing teasing her with his (other) hand to run his tongue over that bud of her nipple a few times in time with the strokes of her clit before pausing as he keeps their hands moving together while trailing his other fingers along her heat in more teasing than intent without further permission first. ]
Seems to be working out okay right here, unless there's something else you want.
[ She'd huff more at his cheekiness for twisting her words in a way that best suits him in this situation, but she can't say that she's particularly bothered by it. Not when it also benefits her too. Such was the nature of their back and forth. There were few times when they were together like this that they actually meant what they said and expected the other to abide by it. And even if she wouldn't have had any problem playing with herself while he watched, it's immediately lost in the form of a pleased hum when his weight shifts and his hands come to join hers in stretching the fabric even tighter.
Any clever quip or retort is lost to his dexterous fingers and warm mouth. Every slight menstruation against her folds and clit make it increasingly difficult not to moan and buck into his touch to the point where her mind forgets that her own fingers are still there. They're simply being moved by Claude's will. Her gaze is half-lidded as the dampness and need for him between her legs grows. A flush spreads down her chest as legs tighten around his waist, her other hand finding purchase in his hair at the nape of his neck so she can draw him close and press her lips to his.
The next quick touch against her swollen clit has her head pressing back against the pillow, eyes fluttering closed. Of course he knows what she wants. But she isn't about to beg yet. He hasn't done enough for that. ]
[ Her legs tightening around him as a different kind of betrayal to the need, the desire, the want already being telegraphed in all those noises and all those motions is enough to bring a smirk to Claude's face. One which is short lived when her fingers in his hair in a grasp he knows she knows he likes get his lips to part on an exhale. It's not until she pulls him down for a kiss that a noise slips out and gets lost between their mouths as he meets her just as insistently.
For that Hilda earns another sweep of his fingers and he's rewarded with her falling back against the pillow with a look on her face he never gets tired of memorizing. Her petulance never fails to be something he finds endearing even as he risks a breathy laugh. ]
Not doing a good enough job showing you, am I?
[ A question he's not looking for an answer to as he's admiring that flush where it stands out even in the room's dim light. Where it'd been teasing before, now his touch quickens to take over for her fingers that've lost focus. That suits him just fine as he keeps his focus on her clit to keep those smaller waves of pleasure that could be bigger still as he leans down again, but this time to murmur into her ear in a low voice. ]
Should I make it up to you by making you come now or later?
[ Quickly becoming lost in her own pleasure still isn't enough for her to miss the noise that Claude lets out. Knowing that she can still pull those sounds of pleasure from him makes her toes curl and a little jolt of satisfaction runs through her.
Although her legs are wrapped securely around his waist, her fingers wound through his hair feel like a lifeline tethering her here to the present. Hilda knows that it's only a matter of time before she loses herself completely if things continue this way. As her own fingers fall to the wayside and emerge from beneath the fabric of her underwear they're slick with her desire and how much she needed him. His teasing and tactics were effective - not that either of them had any doubts.
Her fingers find purchase on her other breast, kneading it and twisting and teasing her other nipple in time with Claude's fingers. But it's his breath tickling her ear and the low cadence of his voice that has her letting out another keen from the back of her throat as her hips buck up into him. Her body demands it now, but the look she gives him from under half-lidded eyes says something else. How is she supposed to pick? ]
Claude - [ Her hips buck again as another wave of heat washes over her and she draws in a sharp breath. ] don't be mean. I'm not sure you've earned making me come now.
[ That noise after his question like the words dragged it out of her ignites the feeling already running through his veins more than when she'd given herself over to his touch alone. Claude has to swallow back his own need when his focus stays on Hilda and altering each movement to tailor it to each reaction. His name on her lips as her hips jerk again as he keeps his fingers moving nearly erases the thoughts from his mind despite his resolve from seconds ago, and same for the sight of her beneath him as he sits up enough to watch her resisting an edge he's working her carefully towards. Ready to bring her over it right then and there, in fact, but then there's another option she's just presented him with. ]
No? Well, if you'd rather wait...
[ Slowing it down for just a very impatient minute is valid, right? A couple more strokes of her clit and then he withdraws his hand from her underwear and with a smirk that says he knows that's exactly what she wasn't asking for. Before she protests - with any luck - he leans down to kiss her deeply before catching her bottom lip between his teeth when he breaks it. Not long enough for his liking, but: the whole point of being difficult was with something else in mind as he reaches for her nightgown with the intent of finally taking it off her. ]
If I have to earn it, then I want back between your thighs. I'm sure I can think of something that'll count as later instead of now.
[ The strokes of his fingers coax more minute shockwaves through her body, the muscles of her stomach tightening as she fights against the desire to break. It's difficult considering how devious he looks staring down at her like that like he plans on devouring her whole. Her throat works, making the scars left behind in the wake of their fight with the dragon visible in the moonlight. But none of that phases her, fixated on the knowledge that if Claude wanted to devour her all of her newly acquired scars and all, she would let him.
The thought and ensuing protest he correctly guesses on her lips are captured by his muffling the unintentional whimper. Anticipation wracks her and as he pulls away it breaks as a gasp fluttering from her swollen lips. Still reeling from the loss of his touch it takes her a moment to recognize his intent. But as she props herself up on her elbows to help him remove the rest of her clothing she grabs his hand, pulling the fingers that has been playing with her clit and sucking what remained of her from them.
Gazing at him from beneath her lashes she takes her time working his fingers with her tongue. When she finally drags her lips up the length of them a thin line of spit is left in their wake. ]
[ The nightgown gets bunched up in his hands to toss aside with all intentions of it being forgotten until later - much later if he had any say in it - and Claude tosses it aside unceremoniously. Maybe he would've put a little more flair into it simply because he can, but for now his attention stays riveted on Hilda.
At first when she moves he almost thinks, what with his own mind beginning to whirl even without being the one on the other end of the teasing what with orchestrating it, she's sitting up for another kiss. Something he leans forward for in a near surrender to keeping her beneath him like this, but then she takes his hand. If Claude thought he'd been engrossed before, the rest of the room fades away now to nothing but her gaze pinned on his as she works over his fingers in a way which makes him ache.
Fitting considering he'd just done the same to her and by the time she releases his hand there's something between a strangled laugh, a breathless curse, and a groan which rumbles its way out of the back of his throat. ]
Has anyone ever told you you're very convincing?
[ He might have before. There's no pretending it's not with a swiftness he lowers himself to her hips after unwinding her legs from around him. With a practiced move Claude skims both hands down her lower back to her ass for a gratuitous squeeze before hooking his fingers into her underwear to tug them down. Even moving with quickness won't stop him from skimming his mouth along her thigh he hadn't teased before along the way, just to make sure he earns it. ]
[ Hearing that choked sound of desire come from him only further proves to stoke the glint of smugness in her eyes. Fair was fair when it came to them; anything that Claude doled out to her was probably likely to come back to him in some fashion too. The bedroom was no exception to that rule. ]
You have, actually.
[ There's a rumble of a laugh in her voice, a smugness to it that says quite plainly that she knows she can be when she chooses to exercise that power she apparently has over select individuals, present company included. There's no time to linger on that however. Not when she's given him a command and he moves to act on it.
A spark jolts through her as he moves with the motivation of a man on a mission. She barely has time to kick her underwear off to the side of the bed where she'll likely have to search for them in the morning before letting out a soft keen at the touch of his lips to her thighs. A hand finds purchase on her nipple, playing and teasing herself as she settles back onto the pillows to watch. ]
[ Another laugh gets pressed into her thigh where he's still busy moving his lips along it at wouldn't mind hearing it again. Enough so that Claude tilts his head to look up at her as he skims an open mouth kiss along what he learned long ago is a sensitive spot guaranteed to get another reaction when the noise she'd made sent a shiver through him.
Though he might be distracted for a brief moment since of course that means taking a second to skim his gaze up the length of her body until he meets her gaze as she teases herself, and it strikes him all over again how he could never get tired of this sight. Not because she's beautiful though she very much is, but because of all the winding ways in which they've ended up here as Hilda looks at him with want he doesn't have to second guess.
Getting lost in thought won't do anything but gratify some part of his brain he can use to think about all of this later - like after, because he's got plenty in mind as better ways to put that rush of affection to use here and now. ]
I'll keep that in mind.
[ Those words get paired with bringing forward his hand with those fingers still slick from her mouth to slip one inside of her with soft strokes, ready to add a second in mere moments. And as as tempting as it is to continue his devotion to leaving marks along her thigh, he'd meant it about being between them. After one last kiss to her hip he shifts that leg back over his shoulder once more and leans down to run his tongue lightly over her clit in time with those strokes. ]
[ The touch of his lips against that particularly sensitive part of her thigh does earn him the reaction he wants. Her hips jerk inadvertently, fingers tugging hard on her nipples as she lets out a sharp breath. That alone isn't what has warmth pooling in her core. Rather, it's the knowledge that he knows her so well like the back of his hand to be able to fray what little restraint she otherwise has when it comes to him. Because what was love but to be known in every way? This makes everything they've gone through, everything they'll face and experience all worthwhile. It seems impossible to her that she was this lucky to have earned an ounce of affection. And yet.
Whatever clever quip she has ready flies from her mind as she feels him slip his fingers inside of her. His tongue lapping at her clit draws another gasp from her, thighs and walls clenching tight. She already knows that this won't be enough for her. The insatiable desire for more, for him, has her bucking into his mouth, a hand coming to bury itself in his hair as he continues to tease her.
Every swirl of his tongue over her sensitive bud drives the need for him higher and her lips part wordlessly with an exalted exhale. Her lashes flutter as she watches him worship her through half-lidded eyes, the mounting need quickly rising to where it had been before their brief interruption. ]
[ The noises slipping from her one after another are a good start as each one sounds better than any music. A trail to be followed and one he never tires of when it means pleasing her, even if as always it comes with the desire to have his hands everywhere at once. Like joining hers in where they play with herself in tandem or pinning her hips down to the bed as he intentionally doubles and triples down on what made her arch to bring more of it.
As his mouth moves along her folds Claude changes pace based on her reactions for more of this or that to drive her more and more to the edge. Hilda's hand finding purchase in his hair gets another noise of desire all but strangled in the back of his throat but felt no less even as it'd been an unconscious reaction. Of all the things Claude might pretend to feel or not feel, this will never be one of them when moments like this of her beneath him all but etch themselves in his memory much like so many other moments with her.
Though his fingers have been moving ever faster to those clenches around him, it's a curve to them he adds in now while closing his lips around her clit again as he looks up the length of her body once more with a deliberate smirk meant to hold her gaze. ]
[ The curve of his fingers is what she needed to send her from teetering to tipping right into her orgasm. Hilda's thighs grip firmly around his head, her fingers that had been twisting and tugging at her nipples pulling it taunt like she does with his hair. The muscles of stomach clench as wetness gushes between her folds as she shakes caught in that brilliant, devious gaze of his between her legs. She is unabashed in her release, eyes only shutting at the very last moment because she wants to sear this moment into her memory just like they had so many times before this.
It's something she never tires of though. Not this. Not him. Not them. She cherishes every moment that they spend together and that hasn't changed in the time that they've shared. Even before they had grown to each other intimately, before daydreams had blossomed into feelings that would forever change and leave their mark on her in ways she couldn't have imagined.
Needy whimpers escape her throat as the tension slowly begins to ebb from her body. Her grip loosens both on his hair and her nipple but the aftermath of her orgasm leaves shudders in their wake. Hilda's chest rises and flutters as she slowly opens her eyes to gaze down at him with unfiltered fondness. Despite catching her breath she somehow she manages to look every bit the part of a smug cat. ]
Okay, showoff. That was so good that I might have to selfishly keep you down there the rest of the night and maybe tomorrow too.
[ Claude keeps both his fingers and mouth in motion as she rides out her orgasm to intensify it if not bring her even more pleasure as he watches her all but arch against the bed. It occurs to him again and again, just as it always has that her fingers' grip in his hair, the way her thighs hold him there as she comes could be a work of art if only he had a paintbrush. And wasn't otherwise occupied exactly where he wants to be as her eyes shut.
Those whimpers ignite more sparks inside him with the need and pleasure in each shudder of breath as Hilda relaxes back against the bed and for a second Claude's well reminded of his own intense desire. He'd do something about it if he didn't have something else in mind as he sits up enough to press a light kiss to her inner thigh before taking a second to wipe his mouth and looking up to catch that satisfied look on her face. ]
Is that a threat or a promise?
[ Or both when it comes to where he should stay; either one would be effective on their own, and adding them together doesn't just double it but makes it exponentially so. Even if he's already spent time pressing adoration into her skin over and over tonight, it'll never be enough. Claude takes his time working in reverse as he moves up her stomach, between her breasts, on a collarbone until he's back even with and over Hilda to look down at her with a smirk. ]
Or should I hear that more as 'don't stop'?
[ Since he's not withdrawn his hand, after all, and kept it moving in even slower strokes to play on oversensitivity and send more shivers through her in the aftermath. Maybe a more accurate question is who will stop teasing who first. ]
[ Try as she might to not give him the satisfaction of having her squirm as sensitive as she is under his touch it's a useless endeavor. A wanton sigh flutters from her lips and it takes her a moment and a bitten lip to collect herself before she can continue, body still reeling from the shockwaves that come at the expense of his fingers working exactly how she likes against her folds.
Her eyes flutter open, the stars behind her eyelids slowly fading and replaced with the glimmering emerald ones of Claude full of mischief and glee. Though pleasure begins to ebb away her body still seems to lean into him, wanting and needy for more. A hand snakes between them, easily finding his length that she wastes no time teasing and working. ]
How much do you want my mouth around your cock or between my legs?
[ At the mention of it depending Claude's already eying her, if only because it's a (welcome) sign the games they usually play are going to continue even as Hilda moves beneath him and that flutter of her eyes is enough for him to memorize like he could immortalize it into a portrait. At least until that train of thought is disrupted several times over as her hand moves to grasp him at last. A noise somewhere between relief, considering he's long past achingly hard, and frustration, not from the motions of her hand he's rocked his hips into to match her pace but for the question, escapes him. ]
An impossible choice and you know it.
[ His favorite kind, really, considering there's no wrong answer. Also a taste of his own medicine at the same time what with how he'd turned that 'logic' on Hilda not long ago, and Claude pretends to consider it - as much as a man seriously distracted can, anyway. Whatever sounds he was planning on keeping tucked behind his teeth end up as anything in those few seconds of supposed thought. Two can continue to play this much beloved game between the both of them as even though it takes another moment to remember, to focus.
Whatever lazy motions his own hand was making against her become anything but as Claude matches her and moves to tease her clit again, this time with a hum which doesn't hide how much he's affected. ]
I'd rather fuck you unless you're suddenly feeling patient.
[ It should come as no surprise to him when she chooses to tease him right back. ]
I do. But you love impossible choices.
[ As much as Claude loved his impossible choices however, she loved watching him make them even more - but only when it was in situations like this. Ones where the consequences of his choices didn't really quite matter in the end because it meant that she'd be able to see him awash in pleasure and where his inhibitions and guards were fully let down. There was no such thing as lives lost or accounted for, no noble egos to balance, no prayers to answer. It was just them tangled together with their warm skin pressed against one another in the night.
Her own patience as it were is rewarded by the feeling of him wet and hard making it more than easy for her hand to expertly work him. Just at that moment his fingers brush against her swollen clit and she lets out a brief sound that has her head pressing back into the pillows. ]
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Worry lingers in the back of her mind - about butchering what she's said or completely saying the wrong thing and misconstruing her feelings - and a part of her waits for laughter at at her to follow the surprise. Instead his expression melts into something akin to the ones that are quickly becoming so familiar and precious to her. It's one that she knows in her heart of hearts that she'll never tire of seeing.
It takes her a moment to piece together what he's saying. Almyran is beautiful on its own when it isn't being absolutely butchered by her attempts. But it's made more so coming from him and the meaning behind the words that she manages to understand which is only further solidified by the intent in his kiss. It is a promise filled with intent, one that she intends to give and keep right back. When they parts it's with no amount of small reluctance on her part. ]
Maybe a couple of months. [ She nuzzles her nose against his, a tender, somewhat shy smile, flitting to her lips as she catches her breath from the kiss. ] Is this the part where you tell me my pronunciation was awful?
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[ No hesitation before that answer as if he's really weighing up some sort of supposed consequence here in the wake of knowing not even he'd managed to hide what this had meant to him. A final tearing down of whatever guards he'd had remaining, and ones he's not sorry to see go nor is the desire to put them back into place anywhere near being on his mind. There's nothing about that he wants to criticize even playfully when the meaningfulness behind the gesture could never be forgotten.
It's tempting to continue to stay right here and continue basking in the glow of her smile as warm as any sunlight, but Claude lets a thoughtful expression cross his face like something's just occurred to him. Like it's not going to be recognizable to her as yet another one of his usual ploys from being used so many times before, but he doesn't linger where he is. He'd been interrupted in what he was doing before, after all.
So it's easy, then, to bend again to drag his lips along her jaw as if picking just where to stop before skimming teeth just as lightly along the curve of her throat down to her collarbone as if still deciding. At the same time he shifts the hand on her back down along it, another deliberate trail moving even slower southward to catch the hem of what she's wearing to run it between his fingertips with no particular rush in any of his movements with the words pressed into her skin in between leisurely kisses left behind. ]
Or maybe later. I can think of other things I'd rather do first.
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[ Whatever feigned whine that would normally make an appearance in the wake of supposed criticism is swallowed by gentle intake of breath as he journeys south along her warm skin. As his mouth skims her jaw she bares his neck to him, a motion she's done so many times before in the past. There has never been a need for her to be so closely guarded, even physically, or to think twice about baring herself like that. Even if she had, the time for hesitation for that has long since passed because it's always felt so natural and right with him.
The sentiment that had danced across her mind and settled on her heart so many months ago when they had made up in the spa remains ever present and truthful now: so much of her is his. Wholly, and fully, in this timeline or whatever timeline lay before them. Something else makes that thought soar as she feels his fingers tease the hem of her thin slip: she can start to believe that he feels the same too.
Her hands trace long lines down the lines of his neck, fingernails scraping lightly against the planes of his chest. A pleased noise hums from her throat as she feigns innocence. ]
Other things like what exactly?
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Like this one, also, as Claude nudges the strap of her slip off her shoulder until it falls slack to the side and out of his way. Better for leaving more kisses behind as if he's decided to cover everywhere he can with a kiss as a small shiver of pleased delight runs its way down his spine as her hands move across him with the light scratch of fingernails in turn. All the more reason to switch to open mouth kisses as he shifts down to reach the curve of her breasts without moving her nightgown away.
Claude distracts himself when he lets her hem fall from his fingers to instead run those fingertips along her skin beneath in a lazy pattern winding to nowhere in particular. No rush in taking time to map out what he knows from touch alone or to trade it for sight (yet) all over again with touch varying to featherlight as he moves over her hip. ]
I suppose that depends on whether I should tell you or show you.
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Indulgence is something she’s found herself grappling with as their time spent in Abraxas has gone on. Being selfish has proven to be a hurtful thing not necessarily to her, but those around her. And where she had once been able to turn a blind eye to the consequences, time, both during a time of war and then briefly as a god, has taught her that there was a time and place for both. She would always be selfish and she knew that. Digging her claws into those she deemed as hers would always be instinctual because they were hers as much as she was theirs.
But when else would she indulge if not right now?
She settles herself back against the pillows, languidly pushing him down in the process. Her lips curl while still managing to keep that perfectly feigned innocence on her face. ]
I’ve always learned better by watching first.
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It's with that in mind that he's content to take his time. Another part of the game they're playing and one he can play his part in. ]
And what is it you'll be learning tonight?
[ Innocence matched for innocence even as he settles himself between her legs and lets both hands slide down her sides with one at one hip and the other paused at the back of her thigh. At her hip where those hands beneath the fabric have worked it up enough to ride up to expose more skin, he leaves behind another kiss with a bit of teeth before sitting up just enough to look at her with eyes half lidded in contemplation. Only partly feigned this time, since Hilda before him is a sight distracting all in itself. ]
I seem to remember you having a few ideas we never got to.
[ That hand beneath her thigh lifts it to prop her leg against his shoulder, and as he speaks he moves the hand still beneath her slip with fingernails this time dragging against the skin beneath. This time his destination isn't so meandering as he cups her breast. With the pad of his thumb he draws unhurried circles around her nipple in touches deliberately not enough even if she moves into them as he turns his head without breaking their gaze to kiss the inside of her thigh by her knee in another intentional tease. ]
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I thought you could read my mind. And I don't really feel like I'm equipped to come up with a lesson plan.
[ The chiding is a thin veil that barely covers up the slight stutter of her breath as he drags his fingers excruciatingly along her exposed skin made all the warmer by his touch. Whining with Claude usually got her what she wanted (eventually) but she had a distinct feeling that that wasn't going to be enough for him tonight. Her body responds keenly to him just like it always had, just like it always will. At his touch her back arches as a needy sound from the back of her throat is pulled by the way his lips slowly make their way up her leg and decidedly not anywhere near where she wants it to. If he wanted to play that game then she supposed she could oblige. ]
But if you don't have any ideas in mind I could always just...
[ She never completes that sentence, her own hand trailing idly between her thighs to hoist the hem of her slip further up to expose her belly. The only fabric left in his view are her underwear and it wouldn't be difficult for him to imagine where her hands travel to next. Teasingly she drags a finger against the thin fabric, cocking her head to the side as she watches him. ]
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So is the trace of her hand in a suggestion even as she'd moved into the touch he was intentionally keeping light in what certainly isn't enough for either one of them. But his deliberate semi-stalling continues as he moves his gaze back to hers while simultaneously moving his fingers again, first to cup her breast more before no longer teasing alone but teasing her nipple with proper touch in search of more of those sounds. ]
Hmm, I think that's not clear enough. I bet you can be more specific.
[ Like wherever her hand might go next while he plays at patience with her thighs parted around him and the smallest bit of fabric left to be moved. He can wait when it will be well worth whatever her next move is, Claude decides as he moves further up her inner thigh before stopping short of the destination they both know he intends to reach. This time when he pauses again it's to slowly worry a light mark into sensitive skin, something to last until the morning and proof of a smoldering desire.
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It's his teeth against the sensitive skin of her thighs however that finally coax another soft needy sound from her. Her hips jerk involuntarily and the hand that had been teasing the quickly dampening fabric presses against herself a little harder. Hilda can't help but let out a breathy laugh as her fingers slip underneath the delicate lace of her underwear this time. A hand slips underneath the pillow behind her head, as her back arches her body quietly calling out for him in spite of what her words say otherwise. But she wouldn't give in that easily. ]
More specific? If I have to be more specific then you might have to go sit at the other end of the bed. Maybe it would inspire you or encourage you to think a little faster on your feet.
[ Her knuckles stretch the fabric as her fingers begin to play with her clit, eyes shining with that unspoken challenge. ]
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Like this end of the bed instead of where I was?
[ Asked with a heavy dose of faux innocence - of which they both know well he has none and this isn't what she meant by sitting back to watch. But Claude's choosing to find his own inspiration as he moves their fingers at pace which gets incrementally quicker every few seconds while watching her reaction considering he knows it's still not quite enough.
Which is why with a slight smirk he bends his head down, this time foregoing teasing her with his (other) hand to run his tongue over that bud of her nipple a few times in time with the strokes of her clit before pausing as he keeps their hands moving together while trailing his other fingers along her heat in more teasing than intent without further permission first. ]
Seems to be working out okay right here, unless there's something else you want.
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[ She'd huff more at his cheekiness for twisting her words in a way that best suits him in this situation, but she can't say that she's particularly bothered by it. Not when it also benefits her too. Such was the nature of their back and forth. There were few times when they were together like this that they actually meant what they said and expected the other to abide by it. And even if she wouldn't have had any problem playing with herself while he watched, it's immediately lost in the form of a pleased hum when his weight shifts and his hands come to join hers in stretching the fabric even tighter.
Any clever quip or retort is lost to his dexterous fingers and warm mouth. Every slight menstruation against her folds and clit make it increasingly difficult not to moan and buck into his touch to the point where her mind forgets that her own fingers are still there. They're simply being moved by Claude's will. Her gaze is half-lidded as the dampness and need for him between her legs grows. A flush spreads down her chest as legs tighten around his waist, her other hand finding purchase in his hair at the nape of his neck so she can draw him close and press her lips to his.
The next quick touch against her swollen clit has her head pressing back against the pillow, eyes fluttering closed. Of course he knows what she wants. But she isn't about to beg yet. He hasn't done enough for that. ]
You're awful. I thought you loved me.
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For that Hilda earns another sweep of his fingers and he's rewarded with her falling back against the pillow with a look on her face he never gets tired of memorizing. Her petulance never fails to be something he finds endearing even as he risks a breathy laugh. ]
Not doing a good enough job showing you, am I?
[ A question he's not looking for an answer to as he's admiring that flush where it stands out even in the room's dim light. Where it'd been teasing before, now his touch quickens to take over for her fingers that've lost focus. That suits him just fine as he keeps his focus on her clit to keep those smaller waves of pleasure that could be bigger still as he leans down again, but this time to murmur into her ear in a low voice. ]
Should I make it up to you by making you come now or later?
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Although her legs are wrapped securely around his waist, her fingers wound through his hair feel like a lifeline tethering her here to the present. Hilda knows that it's only a matter of time before she loses herself completely if things continue this way. As her own fingers fall to the wayside and emerge from beneath the fabric of her underwear they're slick with her desire and how much she needed him. His teasing and tactics were effective - not that either of them had any doubts.
Her fingers find purchase on her other breast, kneading it and twisting and teasing her other nipple in time with Claude's fingers. But it's his breath tickling her ear and the low cadence of his voice that has her letting out another keen from the back of her throat as her hips buck up into him. Her body demands it now, but the look she gives him from under half-lidded eyes says something else. How is she supposed to pick? ]
Claude - [ Her hips buck again as another wave of heat washes over her and she draws in a sharp breath. ] don't be mean. I'm not sure you've earned making me come now.
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No? Well, if you'd rather wait...
[ Slowing it down for just a very impatient minute is valid, right? A couple more strokes of her clit and then he withdraws his hand from her underwear and with a smirk that says he knows that's exactly what she wasn't asking for. Before she protests - with any luck - he leans down to kiss her deeply before catching her bottom lip between his teeth when he breaks it. Not long enough for his liking, but: the whole point of being difficult was with something else in mind as he reaches for her nightgown with the intent of finally taking it off her. ]
If I have to earn it, then I want back between your thighs. I'm sure I can think of something that'll count as later instead of now.
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The thought and ensuing protest he correctly guesses on her lips are captured by his muffling the unintentional whimper. Anticipation wracks her and as he pulls away it breaks as a gasp fluttering from her swollen lips. Still reeling from the loss of his touch it takes her a moment to recognize his intent. But as she props herself up on her elbows to help him remove the rest of her clothing she grabs his hand, pulling the fingers that has been playing with her clit and sucking what remained of her from them.
Gazing at him from beneath her lashes she takes her time working his fingers with her tongue. When she finally drags her lips up the length of them a thin line of spit is left in their wake. ]
Now you can earn it.
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At first when she moves he almost thinks, what with his own mind beginning to whirl even without being the one on the other end of the teasing what with orchestrating it, she's sitting up for another kiss. Something he leans forward for in a near surrender to keeping her beneath him like this, but then she takes his hand. If Claude thought he'd been engrossed before, the rest of the room fades away now to nothing but her gaze pinned on his as she works over his fingers in a way which makes him ache.
Fitting considering he'd just done the same to her and by the time she releases his hand there's something between a strangled laugh, a breathless curse, and a groan which rumbles its way out of the back of his throat. ]
Has anyone ever told you you're very convincing?
[ He might have before. There's no pretending it's not with a swiftness he lowers himself to her hips after unwinding her legs from around him. With a practiced move Claude skims both hands down her lower back to her ass for a gratuitous squeeze before hooking his fingers into her underwear to tug them down. Even moving with quickness won't stop him from skimming his mouth along her thigh he hadn't teased before along the way, just to make sure he earns it. ]
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You have, actually.
[ There's a rumble of a laugh in her voice, a smugness to it that says quite plainly that she knows she can be when she chooses to exercise that power she apparently has over select individuals, present company included. There's no time to linger on that however. Not when she's given him a command and he moves to act on it.
A spark jolts through her as he moves with the motivation of a man on a mission. She barely has time to kick her underwear off to the side of the bed where she'll likely have to search for them in the morning before letting out a soft keen at the touch of his lips to her thighs. A hand finds purchase on her nipple, playing and teasing herself as she settles back onto the pillows to watch. ]
But I wouldn't mind hearing it again.
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Though he might be distracted for a brief moment since of course that means taking a second to skim his gaze up the length of her body until he meets her gaze as she teases herself, and it strikes him all over again how he could never get tired of this sight. Not because she's beautiful though she very much is, but because of all the winding ways in which they've ended up here as Hilda looks at him with want he doesn't have to second guess.
Getting lost in thought won't do anything but gratify some part of his brain he can use to think about all of this later - like after, because he's got plenty in mind as better ways to put that rush of affection to use here and now. ]
I'll keep that in mind.
[ Those words get paired with bringing forward his hand with those fingers still slick from her mouth to slip one inside of her with soft strokes, ready to add a second in mere moments. And as as tempting as it is to continue his devotion to leaving marks along her thigh, he'd meant it about being between them. After one last kiss to her hip he shifts that leg back over his shoulder once more and leans down to run his tongue lightly over her clit in time with those strokes. ]
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Whatever clever quip she has ready flies from her mind as she feels him slip his fingers inside of her. His tongue lapping at her clit draws another gasp from her, thighs and walls clenching tight. She already knows that this won't be enough for her. The insatiable desire for more, for him, has her bucking into his mouth, a hand coming to bury itself in his hair as he continues to tease her.
Every swirl of his tongue over her sensitive bud drives the need for him higher and her lips part wordlessly with an exalted exhale. Her lashes flutter as she watches him worship her through half-lidded eyes, the mounting need quickly rising to where it had been before their brief interruption. ]
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As his mouth moves along her folds Claude changes pace based on her reactions for more of this or that to drive her more and more to the edge. Hilda's hand finding purchase in his hair gets another noise of desire all but strangled in the back of his throat but felt no less even as it'd been an unconscious reaction. Of all the things Claude might pretend to feel or not feel, this will never be one of them when moments like this of her beneath him all but etch themselves in his memory much like so many other moments with her.
Though his fingers have been moving ever faster to those clenches around him, it's a curve to them he adds in now while closing his lips around her clit again as he looks up the length of her body once more with a deliberate smirk meant to hold her gaze. ]
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It's something she never tires of though. Not this. Not him. Not them. She cherishes every moment that they spend together and that hasn't changed in the time that they've shared. Even before they had grown to each other intimately, before daydreams had blossomed into feelings that would forever change and leave their mark on her in ways she couldn't have imagined.
Needy whimpers escape her throat as the tension slowly begins to ebb from her body. Her grip loosens both on his hair and her nipple but the aftermath of her orgasm leaves shudders in their wake. Hilda's chest rises and flutters as she slowly opens her eyes to gaze down at him with unfiltered fondness. Despite catching her breath she somehow she manages to look every bit the part of a smug cat. ]
Okay, showoff. That was so good that I might have to selfishly keep you down there the rest of the night and maybe tomorrow too.
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Those whimpers ignite more sparks inside him with the need and pleasure in each shudder of breath as Hilda relaxes back against the bed and for a second Claude's well reminded of his own intense desire. He'd do something about it if he didn't have something else in mind as he sits up enough to press a light kiss to her inner thigh before taking a second to wipe his mouth and looking up to catch that satisfied look on her face. ]
Is that a threat or a promise?
[ Or both when it comes to where he should stay; either one would be effective on their own, and adding them together doesn't just double it but makes it exponentially so. Even if he's already spent time pressing adoration into her skin over and over tonight, it'll never be enough. Claude takes his time working in reverse as he moves up her stomach, between her breasts, on a collarbone until he's back even with and over Hilda to look down at her with a smirk. ]
Or should I hear that more as 'don't stop'?
[ Since he's not withdrawn his hand, after all, and kept it moving in even slower strokes to play on oversensitivity and send more shivers through her in the aftermath. Maybe a more accurate question is who will stop teasing who first. ]
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[ Try as she might to not give him the satisfaction of having her squirm as sensitive as she is under his touch it's a useless endeavor. A wanton sigh flutters from her lips and it takes her a moment and a bitten lip to collect herself before she can continue, body still reeling from the shockwaves that come at the expense of his fingers working exactly how she likes against her folds.
Her eyes flutter open, the stars behind her eyelids slowly fading and replaced with the glimmering emerald ones of Claude full of mischief and glee. Though pleasure begins to ebb away her body still seems to lean into him, wanting and needy for more. A hand snakes between them, easily finding his length that she wastes no time teasing and working. ]
How much do you want my mouth around your cock or between my legs?
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An impossible choice and you know it.
[ His favorite kind, really, considering there's no wrong answer. Also a taste of his own medicine at the same time what with how he'd turned that 'logic' on Hilda not long ago, and Claude pretends to consider it - as much as a man seriously distracted can, anyway. Whatever sounds he was planning on keeping tucked behind his teeth end up as anything in those few seconds of supposed thought. Two can continue to play this much beloved game between the both of them as even though it takes another moment to remember, to focus.
Whatever lazy motions his own hand was making against her become anything but as Claude matches her and moves to tease her clit again, this time with a hum which doesn't hide how much he's affected. ]
I'd rather fuck you unless you're suddenly feeling patient.
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I do. But you love impossible choices.
[ As much as Claude loved his impossible choices however, she loved watching him make them even more - but only when it was in situations like this. Ones where the consequences of his choices didn't really quite matter in the end because it meant that she'd be able to see him awash in pleasure and where his inhibitions and guards were fully let down. There was no such thing as lives lost or accounted for, no noble egos to balance, no prayers to answer. It was just them tangled together with their warm skin pressed against one another in the night.
Her own patience as it were is rewarded by the feeling of him wet and hard making it more than easy for her hand to expertly work him. Just at that moment his fingers brush against her swollen clit and she lets out a brief sound that has her head pressing back into the pillows. ]
Do I get something else for being patient?
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