The smoldering husk of what was meant to complement their dinner was beyond edible and more suitable as fertilizer now. Once the oven had opened the entire kitchen flooded with smoke, stinging their eyes and sending them both into fits of coughing. Opening the back door she grabbed her oven mitts and threw the blackened rock out into the dirt before grabbing a bucket of water and dowsing the fiery mound to finish the job. Fen'Harel stood back in the doorway waving a mat, trying to redirect the black fog out of the kitchen before it had a chance to spread throughout the rest of the house.
"All that messy work..." she grumbled as she walked back into the kitchen.
"You treat festering wounds and this is messy work to you?" he closed the door behind her and placed the mat back on the floor.
"Well the flour doesn't say 'thank you' and give me three silver pieces for turning it into bread, does it?"
"Well I'm certain that tomato you threw at me earlier would have preferred a different fate as well." Remembering the tomato from earlier had him looking down at his white cotton tunic for any stains.
"Dammit, I'm out a tomato and three cups of flour now because of you."
"I rub your aching shoulders and allow you a moment's respite and you throw a tomato at me and say it's my fault?" He was mildly irritated at the accusation, but once she pulled the pot from the fire and placed it on the table she turned her gaze to meet his with a fiery anger to match the hearth's glow.
"Neither of these things would have happened if you hadn't..." her annoyance began clouding her thoughts, words were not flowing as they normally would and this made Fen'Harel laugh, "i-if you hadn't done the thing! Gotten frisky! Distracted me!" the final words were the ones she had originally wanted, but the wider his smile got the more she realized she could not win this fight. His laugh came from deep within his chest and he looked away momentarily to spare her the humiliation it insinuated.
Once silent, he turned his gaze back to hers and began closing the distance between them with fluid strides until her back was pressed against the stone wall in an effort to somehow maintain her freedom. Grinning with confidence, he craned his head closer to her face until they nearly touched, "If I was wishing to distract you I can think of many other pleasing ways to get your attention." His smoldering gaze was met with an oven mitt.
She pushed his head back and away from hers, "What? Have you been drinking rotten elixirs? Who talks like that?" She could feel the heat from his breathe through the mitt with an audible sigh. "You don't have very many friends do you?" his voice muffled through the thick fabric.
"The hell sort of friends do you have? Don't tell me this is how you normally talk to your friends?"
He laughed to himself as he thought back to the day he tried something similar on Ghilan'nain once. Andruil put an arrow in his back just before he received a swift smack across the face. "I think my friends actually hate me to be honest." He took a step back and allowed her to retreat from his hold.
"I've had wonders with not being a sexually-assertive bastard." Her quips managed to get her a smirk and nod before he turned to walk back to his original position on the opposite side of the table.
"I don't know if I want to take your advice or not. By my count I only see one other person who genuinely appreciates your company. Two if I feel generous enough to include your stable hand." Sitting on the stool opposite from her at the table he watched her set their meals before them and gave her a playful wink.
"So your advice would be to actively engage people in a sexual manner to amass more friends?" she seated herself across from him and folded her arms on the table, waiting for her meal to cool.
"That's not exactly what I meant, but for you I think it could work better than you realize." Befuddled by the comment, she wasn't sure how to react. Was he teasing her or complimenting her? It certainly felt like both.
Turning his body to the side and propping his head up in his hand, he feigned interest. "I personally think you are too rigid to let yourself loosen up like that. Your body might seize up in rejection." He was clearly baiting her for a reaction, but the realization came too late when she bolt up from her seated position to stare down at him.
"You don't know me! I have..." she paused long enough to realize she almost let slip a little secret of hers. Recognizing his usual attempts to rile her up, she quietly sat back down and began stirring her soup with a calm expression. His curiosity had boiled over the moment she stopped mid sentence. "You have... What?"
"A secret." was all she said before taking a quiet sip from her spoon.
"A secret? One I assume you don't want to tell me." He spun his body around to its former position and leaned slightly forward at this new information.
"Perhaps..." she began, smiling on the inside at the fact she manage to turn this whole exchange in her favor, "...one day, I may let you know my little secret." Now it was her turn to smirk.
Being on the receiving end of the hook was not something he was use to experiencing before. Many women were usually very receptive to his particular charm when applied, but he knew his reputation is what garnered most of his admiration; however, she would have none of it. This was the first time in many years he was seen as normal man by a normal woman and he was unable to determine if his flirting was getting him closer or pushing him away from her good graces. But all that uncertainty shattered with her response and he didn't know exactly how to duplicate the reaction from her. He wanted to play this game, but he wasn't sure of the rules.
They quietly finished their meal and began cleaning the kitchen until the sun had completely set. Even though tomorrow was technically her day of rest she still wanted to complete her work back in her elixirs room and he, not feeling particularly tired, had followed her.
He lit the candle sconces in the room for her and reclined on the chaise in the back corner. She went through her cabinets and began writing down a list of herbs she would need and he quietly watched her work. With her back turned towards him he felt safe from her judgment and let his eyes wander over her dimly lit features.
He could barely help fantasizing about her in this light. Her dress was comprised of several layers of fabric which hung off her hips in various lengths; it reminded him of a wilting flower. The top however did not hang as loosely as the bottom and it was made to obviously accentuate the breasts. The entire dress was sleeveless, but he supposed that she added the shawl to help keep her warm as well as keep a person's focus on her eyes and not her let them wander, sadly. He wondered how many men were actually enamored with her but too shy or intimidated to compliment; he could definitely see how her attitude could make a person squirm.
She caught his reflection on one of her glass jars on the shelf and noticed he was watching her backside. While she continued to take count of her supplies she noticed how she repeatedly kept looking back at his reflection. She found him handsome enough she supposed, his physique was certainly quite impressive; even Yanos wasn't built like him despite all his hard work. Broad shoulders were masked by a loose-fitted cotton tunic and his leather breeches helped to accentuate the muscles in his legs. He practically radiated with power and charm, but she wouldn't let him try his games on her, yet. If Jun ever saw him she was certain she would have to cripple her to prevent her from trying her tricks. She wouldn't be surprised if she would try and climb in through his window.
Without turning around she called out to him, "What exactly are looking at with such a serious expression?" as though she had no idea.
His posture straightened in surprise as he discovered she had actually spied him watching her. There was no annoyance in her voice, in fact she sounded rather pleased with herself either by catching him in the act or realizing what he was staring at.
But he was not one to shy away when it came to these sort of things, "I enjoy watching you move." His voice was deep yet quiet; she could practically feel the sultry air of his breathe from even this distance.
"I move no different than any other woman." She continued her work but found herself distracted by the heat in her cheeks and her shallow breathing; even becoming more aware of how her heartbeat made her feel as though she were swaying.
"No. Your movements are powerful and confident. You see no reason to walk or act in a way that would please anyone but yourself. You have no idea how... sexy it looks."
The loud ringing of the jars as they clashed together from the slip of her grasp gave away her overwhelmed reaction. She silently cursed her shaky hands and continued to write on her parchment.
He quietly stood up from his seat and walked towards her, stopping behind her to rest his hands gently on her shoulder. She could not move. She felt as though the wolf she had seen once before had caught her like a weakened halla and all she could do is wait for the killing bite.
He nuzzled his face into her hair much like before as he made his way down through to her neck, taking in her fragrance once more.
"Your scent is also quite lovely." Putting her quill down on the parchment she tilted her head away from his to allow him better contact with her skin. As he craned his neck at the invitation a few ropes of his hair fell onto her breast and she leaned back against his chest, letting her head fall back onto his shoulder. His hands fell onto her hips and he gave them a gentle squeeze before biting her neck tenderly.
The gasp which escaped her mouth made her chest fill and expand her bosom against the confines of her clothes; exactly what he wanted to see. He could see her jaw clench just before she began to try and wriggle her way out of his grasp, he pulled his head back and let her go as she turned around to see him leering down upon her. Before she could object his hands had cupped her face and pulled her into a deep kiss, pinning her against the edge of her desk with his body. He placed his thumb on the soft curb of her chin and pushed down to allow his tongue to hers, deepening the kiss as she offered no resistance. The soft pads of her fingers gently caressed his jaw turning the once hard kiss into a slow and tender touch. Her hands fell to his chest as she gently pushed him away from her body, his breathing was labored from the upset of excitement and he calmly stepped away to give her the room she wanted.
"You are quite spirited." She said, trying to control her breathing along with him. He grinned at her, trying once again to initiate their kiss from before, "You have no idea."
She gently placed her hands back on his chest and fully extended her arms to ensure the distance remained between their bodies, "But I think this is as far as we are going to go for now."