A fire crackled lowly across the room, its inconsistent light breeding shadows in the corners and across the ceiling.

Lounging on the four-poster bed, Chase studied the girl sleeping peacefully next to him.

Curled up on her side, she seemed content to sleep forever, hair tumbling off the bed and nightgown riding up her thighs.

The wood popped rather loudly, and her entire body tensed, as if she was ready for a fight.

Interested, he ran a hand up her thigh, surprised at the softness of her flesh.

She twitched as Chase's hand moved further up, and digging his nails into her skin made the girl moan.

His lust was ignited by the sound, but, unfortunately, the sensation caused Ace to wake up.

Mind foggy after a few hours rest (which was more than she'd had in two weeks, considering her insomnia), Ace stretched the fuzziness out of her muscles, blinking focus back into her eyes.

"Jeanie Mac-!"

Startled by being in a bed with a half-naked man after clearly remembering being abducted, Ace pushed herself away, falling over the edge with a 'THUD'.

"…I hate you so much right now…"

"Strange, considering you threw yourself off the bed."

Pushing herself up into a sitting position, Ace rubbed her head where it had hit the floor and resisted the urge to start cursing in Irish.

Those were the only words she had retained of her 'native tongue' after a summer spent in Ireland with her paternal grandparents as a child, after all.

Looking down at the girl, Chase's lust woke up and purred.

Her eyes were trained on him, like a wary cat, and the way her knees were pressed together, as if she was trying to keep him out…

It was so sinfully virginal that he wanted to ravish her.

But Chase restrained himself, knowing better.

Not only was he not fond of rape, but he was certainly less fond of getting shocked through a rather sensitive part of his anatomy.

The sweet scent of her fading arousal, however, made keeping his lust in check a bit difficult.

"Breakfast will be ready soon. You should get dressed."

Ace did not want to ask why she was in a nightgown in the first place, or why he was only wearing pants.

Slowly standing, Ace scanned the room, her instincts urging the discovery of an escape.

The redhead nearly had a heart attack when hands gripped her hips from behind, pulling her into Chase's bare torso.

"I hope you're not thinking of escaping, little Dragon."

"Can you blame me?" She retorted, finding her voice.

Her breathing hitched when one hand removed itself and moved up to her shoulder, toying with her hair.

"I suppose not…"

Ace resisted the urge to sigh in relief when she was released as Chase moved past her to the closet.

Trying to slow her heartbeat, and ignore the burning in her gut, she blinked in confusion at the dress he threw on the bed.

"Get dressed."

"Where are my clothes?"

With a snap of his fingers, Chase was wearing his customary armor.

"Being cleaned."

Noticing that she had yet to move, arms crossed defensively over her chest, he decided Ace needed a little…push.

"I could dress you myself, if you prefer."

Not trusting her traitorous body (which was already heating up uncomfortably), Ace took a cautious step back.

"I can dress myself." She replied icily.

"But I prefer doing it in private."

Chase considered doing it himself anyway (the urge to uncover all of that soft, unmarked skin was strong), but decided against it.

This was about gaining trust (or at least desensitizing Ace to his presence), not sating his lust.

"…I have some things to attend to before breakfast. Once you're done, one of my warriors will show you to the dining hall."

Ace released a heavy breath once he was gone, having just realized she'd been holding one in out of nerves.

Scolding herself for being so edgy, she walked up to the bed and tested the dress' fabric.

It was silky and smooth, slipping between her fingers like water, and she sighed in resignation before pulling the nightgown off over her head.

Thankfully, she was still wearing her own bra and underwear underneath.

Once dressed, Ace hesitated in looking at herself in a full-length mirror hung up in the adjacent bathroom.

The dress, purple a gold-designed, ended around her mid-thigh, with uncomfortable slits up both sides and a small window just above her chest.

Resisting the urge to pull down on the hem, Ace braided her hair over one shoulder and went in search of shoes.

Her combat boots were nowhere to be found, much to her frustration, but she did stumble across a pair of black ballet flats.

Growing annoyed with this subtle prodding, since she particularly disliked dresses and never wore anything on her feet besides combat boots, Ace angrily tugged the slippers on.

The door opened slightly, letting in a black panther that sat patiently next to the bed.

Blinking at the feline in mild surprise, Ace sighed.

"I get it. Lead the way."

Seeming quite happy with the understanding, the panther stood and walked to the door, Ace right on the feline's heels.

The hallways were large and winding, lined with heavy doors and intersecting each other at unexpected intervals.

Ace had to admit that the lair was beautifully decorated, though only to herself.

The panther stopped just outside of an open archway, looking back at her expectantly.

"You must have better things to do than lead me around." Ace noted, crouching down to scratch just under the feline's jaw.

Purring and practically becoming a puddle of goo on the tiles, the panther seemed to consider following her after all before remembering his duties.

As her guide walked away, Ace pulled the dress' hem down as far as it would go before stepping inside.

The room was cylindrical in shape, with a higher level ringing the walls with columns and a long table in the lower center of the room.

Sitting at the far end, waiting patiently, Chase was surprisingly pleased with what he saw.

The inward curve of her waist and long legs were highlighted tantalizingly by the purple silk, with the window over her chest giving a teasing view of the soft skin still hidden.

Judging by the glare, however, Chase suspected she didn't appreciate the new wardrobe.

"I'm not a doll for you to dress up however you like." Ace growled, clearly at the end of her patience.

"And if I don't get my things back, I won't be happy."

Chase would have been more amused by her bravado if it wasn't for the fact that she was untrained and had the raw power to possibly injure him.

"You're really in no position to threaten anyone." He reminded, standing.

Ace visibly stiffened as the everlord approached, arms crossed defensively.

"Do you think I came up the Lagan in a bubble?" She retorted sharply, falling back on the idioms of her heritage.

"Then why abduct me in the first place?"

It was clear that the Irish temper Ace had inherited from her delinquent father was starting to flare.

Amused, Chase circled the girl like prey, leaning into her ear from behind and placing a hand on her hip.

"I think we both know why I brought you here…"

The low, seductive words made a shudder race down Ace's spine like heated lightning, and she was ready to retort rather heatedly when-

BAM!

"CHASE!"

Recognizing the voice, Ace face-palmed and sighed.

"Eejit…"

Chase was just as upset, though for different reasons, as Jack Spicer ran in as if he had seen a soul-eating ghost.

"Chase! Thank God you're alright! I thought she'd killed you in your sleep-!"

The 'boy genius' paused when met with Ace's glare, and he smiled guiltily.

"Uh…Hi, Ace."

"What the bloody hell are you doing here, Jack?"

The albino flinched; he knew that once Ace started using Irish sayings, she was ticked.

"Well…you see…I was just…"

Jack paused, just realizing something.

"Are you wearing a dress?"

The twitch of her eye was not a good sign.

Luckily for Jack, Chase had a rather good grip on the irate young woman, keeping her from going for the boy's throat like she wanted.

"Is that all you noticed, wick? Besides the fact that I'm being held against my will?"

Jack laughed nervously.

"Um…kinda…"

Chase got the feeling that things would be much more entertaining when Spicer came over from now on…

Irish Sayings:

'Jeanie Mac': the equivalent of 'Jesus, Mary, Joseph, and all the Holy Martyrs!' or 'Holy crap!'

'Do you think I came up the Lagan in a bubble?': Do you think I was born yesterday?

'Eejit': Idiot

'Bloody': Less harsh form of 'F***'

Ace's Dress: ..