Author's note: There was no way I was going to let a line like "The darkness likes how you taste" pass and *not* write a Golden Queen based on it.

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Like A Dark Paradise

When Regina arrives at the dark castle, not one-second late and dressed entirely in black leather: Rumpelstiltskin does nothing to hide his delight at the sight of her.

And when she dispenses entirely with pretense, marches up to him, and ravages his mouth with hers that delight skyrockets into lust in little more than a heartbeat.

He grins against her lips, digs his fingers into the dark silk of her hair, and yanks her closer, their bodies pressing tightly together as he backs her up against a nearby bookshelf.

Regina hisses when he slides his free hand up under her coat, his fingers burning through the thin leather vest that shields her skin from his underneath.

He pulls back from their embrace to pepper her neck with soft kisses, and she shivers when he laves at her collarbone with his tongue.

A smirk graces his striking features when he brings his eyes to hers, and her breath catches in her throat when he purrs: "I told you the darkness likes the way you taste."

"So you're the darkness, then, am I right?"

He chuckles and traces over the shape of her jaw with one sharp fingernail, though the touch is remarkably gentle. "In a manner of speaking."

She arches an eyebrow, but any response she could come up with is quickly swallowed by another kiss, and she decides that there are more pleasant things to focus on.

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Regina is quickly proved right when Rumpelstiltskin transports them both to his bedroom and she finds herself reclined onto a soft mattress.

She pulls away from kissing him to shove his coat down his shoulders, and he retaliates in kind before attacking the buttons of her vest.

In little time at all, the soft leather is cast aside, and he takes the time to appreciate her half-naked form.

When he brings his eyes back to hers and she sees the desire burning in those unusually colored irises, something in Regina snaps, and she lunges: hooking her fingers around the collar of his waistcoat and dragging him forward as their lips collide.

She claws at his clothing in her determination to get it off him, and he growls in approval when it's finally skin against skin and nothing is between them any longer.

A battle for dominance quickly ensues: the pair exchanging bites and scratches as often as kisses and caresses, until Rumpelstiltskin manages to assume the upper hand and pins his Queen against the sheets, their bodies entwining instinctively.

His lips claim hers the same instant that they join together, and then nothing exists save for the exquisite pleasure that they share.

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Hours pass while they discover one another, and by the time they stop to rest, there is sunlight beginning to filter in through the curtains.

Regina sighs and stretches, resting her head upon Rumpelstiltskin's chest and listening to the still rapid beat of his heart.

He glances down at her when she starts tracing invisible figures along the lean tone of his chest, and smiles when she draws a heart right over his own. "Feeling poetic?"

She tilts her chin to look up at him. "More like celebratory. After all we've been dancing around each other for months now. It was only a matter of time before one of us made a move."

"Oh, storming into my castle and accosting me is making a move, is it?"

She slaps him half-heartedly on the arm. "You liked it. You practically tore my clothes off then and there."

"Actually as I recall, you were the one who did all the tearing."

Her eyes narrow, and in a sudden, swift movement: he finds himself on his back with her straddling him.

Her eyes spark with a hint of danger as she leans toward him. "Again…you seemed to like it."

"No argument here," he mumbles, before those talented fingers of his begin to inch up her thigh. "Nor am I minding my current position."

She's torn between rolling her eyes and kissing him again.

She opts for the latter.

The End