These aren't going to be in any specific order, because I haven't been able to write them in one, but I do hope you all enjoy!
Also! Any NSFW chapters will be marked at the top in an A/N so you can skip them if you want. ^.^
Music floated out from the open doors and onto the balcony where they made a slow circle. She contemplated putting her head on his shoulder, but thought better of it since she wasn't sure she could keep up with even his measured steps if she let her mind wander. She may have done alright dancing with the Duchess, but that had only been after hours of practice and harsh language with Josephine.
Instead, she tilted her head back and stared up at the man who currently led their sedate pace. He had a look of utter concentration, his mouth pulling down in a frown as his gaze rested just over her shoulder.
He was thinking too hard about it; maybe he should have practice with Josie also. Either way, she wanted him to smile again. She liked his smile almost as much as she liked the determined set of his jaw when he was studying a problem, but she got to see it less often so always seemed to want it more.
She was working on that. Well, working on it in terms of trying to find ways to get him to simply relax for more than a single moment a week.
"So… Cullen Stanton."
His eyes moved back to hers and she watched, amused, as they grew wary. "Yes…"
"Ser Cullen Stanton Rutherford." She said the name as if she were tasting it, rolling the syllables around in her mouth, and doing her very best to try and not laugh. "I didn't know you're full name before."
"It's a perfectly normal name."
"Is it? Then why didn't I know it before now? It was always just Cullen, or Commander Cullen. Shouldn't it have been Commander Rutherford?" She was smiling, a little too widely she knew, but she couldn't help herself.
"Nell…" He said her name as if he wasn't quite sure what to do with it, then simply sighed and drew them into a turn.
"It's a very proper sounding name. Does it have any numbers or suffixes at the end?" She had learned about those recently, one of the millions of things Josephine had been making her study. She almost hoped it did. It would make the revelation all the better.
"No, and I'm not sure how I should take you being amused by my name."
"Well, you should take it well. It's very impressive. I'm in absolute awe of it, and the only reason that seems like amusement is because otherwise I would be so overwhelmed by it I would probably collapse into a puddle of admiration on the floor."
She grinned up at him even as he rolled his eyes at her words. It was almost enough, but she still saw how his focus went just a bit too much back to the steps of their dance.
"I wonder how it would sound if I was yelling it in a fit of passion."
That did it. His footsteps faltered, his grip tightening on her hand and waist, even as a bright red blush bloomed over his face.
It made her laugh, a too loud sound that would probably draw the attention of every courtier within a mile radius. She didn't care, it was too perfect. Surprisingly though it was almost immediately cut off by the unsuspecting pressure of his lips.
Their steps drew to a stop, postures dropping as she ran her hands up over his shoulders and his arms tightening enough around her waist to lift her almost off her toes so he didn't have to bend to reach her. The kiss was long, and lingering, and deep enough to have her mind going a bit fuzzy before he finally pulled away and let her drop back to her feet.
He made a point of carefully putting them back into the correct positions to start dancing again. Once he had taken them around in almost a complete circle, and she had begun to sort out her thoughts, he leaned in a bit so that his breath brushed over her ear as he spoke low enough to cause her to shiver. "You can yell that if I can yell, 'For Honnleath'."
He so rarely tried to be funny that it still always surprised her when he was. That was the only reason she could think of that she was the one who stumbled after his words, her mind reeling a moment before she started laughing again.
"Yes," she finally managed in a strangled hiccup. "That would be perfect."