Pairing: Red Beauty
Romance
Rating: T – M for Coarse Language and Sexual Themes
Word Length: 1216
Summary: Ruby tastes like maple syrup and coffee. And her body is radiating a magnetic heat in the cool fall breeze. You don't really know how you got here, but you are certain of one thing— you don't want to leave. *Picks up immediately after Part One, but from Belle's POV.*
The Little Librarian and the Big Bad Wolf (Part Two)
Ruby tastes like maple syrup and coffee. And her body is radiating a magnetic heat in the cool, fall breeze. You don't really know how you got here, but you are certain of one thing— you don't want to leave. Practically falling into her lips, you experience a massive expulsion of stress, which manifests as a cascade of Goosebumps across your skin. It feels like you have been liberated from the seemingly endless onslaught of expectations, duplicity, and disappointment that you have experienced in this world, or the last.
Prompted by a gentle bite on your top lip, you part your lips and allow Ruby to deepen the kiss. This is much better than any of your secret daydreams, which you tend to fall into while watching Ruby work during your lunch breaks at Granny's. The taller woman takes advantage of your willing lips and deepens the kiss by slipping her tongue gingerly across yours. A low moan escapes from your chest, the vibration races to your lips and runs straight through Ruby's. It feels like tiny, painless sparks dancing on your flesh.
In an effort to move deeper into the heat of the kiss, you shift your hand slightly from the back of Ruby's neck to cradle her jaw. But the heat of her skin against your hand is unexpectedly warm. Reactively, you retreat from the kiss to inspect the source of your surprise.
Ruby elicits an audible whine upon separation from your lips. She opens her eyes with her brows furrowed in disappointment. Fleetingly, you catch her irises reflect a golden yellow before returning to their usual pale blue— or are they green? It's impossible to pay attention when she looks at you.
"You are burning up," you whisper.
Her eyes flick upwards from their concentration on your mouth to meet your own in an epiphanic gaze. Ruby's eyes widen as she steps back, causing your hands to fall, empty, to your sides. You feel yourself frown at the loss of her proximity and heat. You recall the coldness of the chains on your wrist two days ago, when you thought that you had seen Ruby for the last time.
"Shit!" She spins away from you, raising her hands above her head and running one through her hair. "Shit! Shit-fuck!" You hear her mutter. She's halfway through stammering out another chain of curse words when she notices that you are laughing uncontrollably. She whirls back around to look at you. Her left eyebrow shoots upwards as she cocks her head to the side like a confused puppy.
When you manage to gain some control over your amusement, you half giggle, "I—I have never," a burst of laughter escapes your lips but you suppress it to continue, "I've never heard such language." In fact, you've read everything from Descartes to Shakespeare to J.K. Rowling, but never have you experienced such exquisite word choice. Shit-fuck, you muse, Where does one find such eloquence? A few more giggles escape your body before you notice Ruby's distress. "What's wrong?" you prompt.
"You should be pissed at me!" she exclaims as desperately as if she is telling you that the sky is falling. Her confliction is clear as she searches your eyes frantically. "You should hate me," she appears to shrink as she speaks, "you trusted me and I betrayed you. I locked you up like you were some sort of possession!" Ruby's voice strains as she looks away from you and focuses on the ground, revealing a single tear forming in the corner of her left eye. Quickly wiping it away, she murmurs, "I just didn't want to lose you too."
Her voice reverberates in your mind for a moment. As you process the woman's words, you can't help but ogle at her beauty, which is stunning even amidst her clear emotional distress. Studying her face, you decide that her sharp, angular features and her soft, deep eyes emphasize her wild but kind nature. And never have you experienced someone so entrancingly sincere.
You step closer to her, prompting her to stand up tall in order to maintain eye contact. Her brows are pulled together in a display of confusion and concentration— you can't stand how troubled she looks. You reach out and hook a piece of her soft, black hair behind her ear, letting your hand linger on her collarbone afterwards. "Then," you speak as softly as you can, "I won't let you lose me." You smile up at her before you seal your promise with a light kiss at the base of her jaw, where it meets her long and supple neck. Feeling the tiny hairs on the back of her neck stand up on edge, you smile as she breathes you in.
Within an instant, you are off your feet.
Ruby has her warm and supportive arms behind your knees and cradling your back as she scoops you up in a swift exhibition of strength and grace. She looks down at you with what you can only delineate as a wolfish grin. You can feel your whole body pulse lightly as a state of transcending awareness washes over you. You want her. Akin to no one else, you crave to be close to this beautiful wild-woman. An uncontrollably wide smile takes over your face, which causes Ruby to rumble with a quiet laughter. "Well, if that's the case, will you let me walk you home?"
Like an adolescent swooning over their first love, you giggle into her chest, throwing your arms around her neck. Reflecting on the scene, you can't help but make a mental allusion to a few of the fairy-tales and love stories that you've read since you began reopening the library. But caught up in the moment, you tease, "only if you promise not to leave." You feel Ruby's body hum as she lets out a mischievous growl.
Oops.
Her grip on your body tightens as she suddenly lurches forward; propelling you through the cool, fall air.
Once you notice that you have stopped moving, you open your eyes to find yourself on your own two feet again and at the entrance to your apartment above the library. You look up at Ruby baffled and still slightly dizzy from your "walk" home. She just gives you that same wolfish smile.
"Well, should I huff, and puff, and blow the door down?" She winks seductively, but bursts out with laughter shortly after, clearly proud of her pun. You try not to laugh as you shake your head in mock disapproval. "My, my, what bad jokes you have…" you taunt as you slip your hand around Ruby's wrist, push open the door, and lead her upstairs. You smile to yourself as it crosses your mind that, tonight, you really wouldn't mind being chained up by Ruby.