Rory sighed as she walked to Music Room three. Kyoya Ootori, otherwise known as the infamous "shadow king", had been acting very strange of late. His eyes, usually keen on observing the finances of the club on his laptop had very recently been painted on her. Whenever she caught his eye, he would raise an eyebrow at her and give her a devilish smirk, scattering her wits to the furthest corners of the corners of the world and causing her heart to beat just a little quicker.
She pondered over the possibility that he might have discovered a juicy bit of information on her that he would probably use in the future but, somehow, it didn't seem plausible. She didn't have any particularly scandalous habits and besides, if this were the case, what reason would he have for staring at her? Despite her most imaginative musings on the subject, she couldn't figure out any motives which would cause him to act in this manner.
While she was thinking, who else would join her but the shadow king himself. Lost in her revelries, she didn't even notice until he cleared his throat.
"Kyoya!" she said "I...didn't hear you."
That smirk once again appeared on his face and he replied, "Why not? Were you busy imagining that you were a starship captain again?"
Her face turned scarlet and she protested, "No, I wasn't! I was just thinking about the paintings that were requested. I have to get some done today."
"Oh?" he asked nonchalantly.
She nodded vigorously as she added, "Everyone seems to want to see the host club members painted in fantasy scenes now. You know, princes, knights, dra..."
Rory stopped when she realized that somewhere during her explanation, Kyoya had managed to slip his hand on the small of her back. Her eyes widened and she stared at him in shock. Kyoya's only response was to give her a bored look back and reply, "Those girls would buy pictures of us if we were dressed in trash cans. It's ridiculous."
"But at least they pay for it," she said, uncomfortably conscious of the warmth of his hand on her back. She tried to remove herself from the compromising position without being noticed.
He gave her a look and responded dully, "True, but it seems that most of the money goes to funding the cosplays that they clamor for. It's an endless cycle really."
Rory was so focused on attempting to escape his touch, she didn't turn in the correct direction until Kyoya's hand gently pressed her to the left. All right, I feel like I'm been prodded like a cattle, she thought as he led her down the ornate hallway. Her face turned redder when his hand started to stroke her back gingerly.
"B-but at least you're getting some profit," she cried out nervously.
"Yes, I suppose," he said thoughtfully "But there have to be easier ways for woman to be pleased."
"Oh, believe me, there are," Rory answered, without thinking.
Kyoya abruptly turned to face her and with another eyebrow raise he asked coyly, "Oh? And how might we do that?"
Her face flushed, she murmured, "I, uh, don't know."
With another smirk, he began walking closer to her and pointed out, "Really, Rory, you don't know? You're still a woman and I'm quite sure you would know exactly what you would like for a young man to do for you."
He lifted up her hand, brought it to his mouth and tenderly kissed it. Rory's heart was beating so fast, she was surprised it didn't just leap out of her chest and escape down the hall.
"That, for example," he explained "Would be something that some of the young women who frequent the club would enjoy."
The devilish look on his face turned even wider as he added, "But you're not a client so I suppose that wouldn't do for a passionate young woman like you."
He moved his head so that his mouth was right next to her ear and murmured, "For you, I may have to put a little more fire in my technique."
Rory felt a shiver move down her spine as she listened to him. Kyoya placed his finger on her jawline and gently tilted her head to the side.
"You have a beautiful neck," he commented as his eyes roved over that particularly desirable body member.
"M-my family has a history of long skinny necks," she answered weakly. Of all the explanations for Kyoya acting strangely, this was furthest from her mind. She nearly jumped out of her skin when he began to pepper her slim neck with kisses.
"I'm very grateful to your family," he mumbled, competely enamored with her fresh light scent. After spending some time caressing her neck, he began to gently kiss her ear. "Your ears are lovely too."
"I have my father's ears," she pointed out, still red.
"Well, I'm very grateful to your father," he whispered as he once again moved his hand to her back and resumed stroking it.
A warm feeling began to blossom in Rory's heart as she felt his arm wrap around her. Impulsively, she shot out a hand and began stroking his face with it.
Kyoya gazed in surprise and awe at her soft caress. He hadn't quite expected her to reciprocate his feelings, he had hoped for it, nay longed for it but certainly hadn't expected it. He placed his hand on top of hers and gave her a genuine smile. She shyly began running her fingers through his dark hair and laid her head upon his chest.
"Can you hear my hearbeat?" he inquired, his voice filled with affection.
She nodded slowly and, looking up at him with solemnly, added, "It's beating in sync to mine."
Kyoya took both her hands and kissed them gingerly.
"There is...one more thing I've forgotten to do," he said, hesitant for the first time in his life. Yes, for once, Kyoya was afraid. Afraid that, somehow, this beautiful dream would be shattered.
"What is that?" Rory murmured.
He wrapped his arms around her and looked into her emerald eyes. At that moment he knew. Her eyes, the "windows into her soul" were sparkling with love and adoration and there was no way she could possibly fake that.
He gently brought her closer to him and closed the distance with a tender kiss. Rory's blush spread to her neck as well but she still lifted her arms up and wrapped them around his neck. They lingered in this intimate expression of love for a time, both feeling jolts of electricity traveling along their skin. Finally, they broke the kiss and gazed at each other for a while.
Kyoya gently smoothed the hair away from her face and pointed out softly, "I guess we should be getting to the host club already. They'll start to wonder what happened to us."
She smiled and nodded wordlessly. He took her hands, kissed them again, and gently walked beside her as they continued on their way. As they held hands, they could feel each other's pulses. They were still perfectly in sync.
