By the time the last person left, it was late. His head swam with the effects of the liquor. Standing unsteadily, he made his way into the kitchen, looking for his wife. A pile of clean dishes stood in her place, but she was nowhere to be seen. He frowned. Tiredly, he made his way up the stairs and into the bedroom.

She sat curled against the headboard of the bed, absorbed back into her book. His eyes grazed across her soft hands, supporting the weighty literary brick. She was already in her bedclothes, her lithe legs poking out under the hem, her feet tucked beneath her. He stepped into the room. She looked up distractedly.

"Finished playing the good host?"

Grumbling, he pulled off his dress clothes before falling flat on the bed beside her.

"If you need to get glasses, I'll never forgive you."

She looked down at him questioningly.

"It'd be a perfect waste of a pretty face." He rolled onto his side and pinched her chin between two fingers. She rolled her eyes, pushing his hand away, annoyed at his behavior, but continued to read.

Irritated, he grabbed at the book, lifting it out of her hands.

She pursed her lips, folding her hands in her lap. "Can I help you?"

He shrugged teasingly. "Sorry, can't risk you leaving me for a dead tree."

She glared at him for a quick moment before reaching for her book. He lifted it out of her reach.

She looked at him, exasperated. "Can I have my book back? Please?" She placed a tired pleading emphasis on the please before reaching for it again.

He rolled further away. A slow grin spread across his face. "It'll cost you."

She didn't like the tone in his voice.

"What do you want?" Her voice rang with resentment.

He purred, turning the book over in his hands. "Well I guess it depends on what you want. After all it's a buyer's market." She stared at him stoically. "I'm feeling generous. In fact, because I am so charitable and kind, I will make you a simple trade. For the low, low price of one kiss, I will allow you... one page."

She looked at him incredulously. "You are selling me my library book... one page at a time?"

"To be ripped out in an order of my discretion." He skimmed through the pages.

An easy way to determine the character of any person is to look at the way they treat books. Violet, who had spent a good amount of her time growing up in a home with loving parents, had a healthy reverence for books. Granted, sometimes when she had stayed up too late reading, she would use her open book as a pillow, or other times she might utilize a separate, smaller book as a bookmark, but she never made a habit of destroying, damaging, or even misplacing books.

Olaf, on the other hand, was more interested in a book's monetary than literary value. Since the book in his hands was a library book in relatively poor condition, this placed it in great peril.

"Don't!" She held her hands out to it, but he pulled it away quickly, holding up a warning finger. He smiled wickedly.

She sighed. "How many pages are there?"

He flipped to the end, frowning at the small print. "578." He looked up. "Of course," his tone was slow, mock-contemplative, "you could buy it back all at once and save yourself the hassle of trying to piece it all together in the right order. I will also accept payment in larger denominations, if it so pleases you." She leaned back, glaring at him. He shifted towards her, placing a hand on her thigh. "Don't act so put out. It's unbecoming." He began kissing at her neck. She hummed a sour note in response.

He shifted her closer, pulling himself up into a kneeling position. Moving her so that she was more easily accessible, he placed one of his legs between her knees, still holding her by the thigh. "Last I checked, it wasn't so very terrible at all." Tilting her head upwards, he moved to her lips, kissing her fiercely. She leaned into the touch subconsciously as he moved his hand to the small of her back.

He pulled back just far enough that she could still feel his breath, heavy with liquor, on her face. There was a glint in his eyes that made her nervous. Grasping at the fabric of her nightdress, he began to pull it over her head. She shivered in the cold light.

He ran his fingers down her side, pressing his face to hers once again. His long fingers pressed into her back, eliciting a gasp from her. He took the opportunity to deepen the kiss, his other hand running across her leg. It made her feel self-conscious in a weird way. She began to lean forward but he pushed her backwards, and then, holding her by the waist, slid her down so that she was on her back. "That's a good girl." He whispered into her neck, nipping at her jawline. The words made her skin crawl. She pressed up against him, her hands to his shoulders, in an attempt to re-situate herself, but he took advantage of the space between her back and the mattress to get a better grip on her, pulling her closer to himself. She rolled her shoulder forward, pushing herself up and away from him in order to shift back up into a sitting position. He sat up as well, humming his displeasure. "I rescind my statement."

She looked over at him, making accusatory eye contact. "You're absolutely ridiculous."

He lulled his head, pleased. "Someone's in a mood." He smiled, a slow toothy smile, "How delectable."

And then his hand was on her upper arm, pulling her towards himself. He gripped her from behind, holding her so that her shoulder blades were pressed to his chest as he continued his work on her neck. She rolled her head to the side reflexively, affording him easier access. His hand slid down to her thigh, his fingers running across the delicate skin. Her heart quickened pace at the sensation, thrumming along to her shallow breaths. His other hand, pressing her to him, wandered over her shuddering ribcage and dragged his thumb across the base of her breasts. She sharply inhaled as he touched the tender skin. Slowly, purposefully, he fanned his fingers across her, savoring the warmth of her softness. She moaned, deep in her throat, her eyes closed. He pressed his erection into the base of her spine, pushing himself against her as his other hand began to wander further up her thigh, into the throbbing heat between her legs.

She rolled her hips instinctively at the touch as his arm spilled past her waist, pressing against the sensitive skin of her leg. An urgency was building inside her as he worked methodically across her body, biting at her neck and ear as his hands teased her. His fingers fluttered higher and higher up her thigh until they were slipping past the elastic of her undergarment, teasing at her. She pressed back into him, arching her back. He gripped her tighter, firmly holding her breast in one hand while his other explored her, playing her like a strange instrument, trying to see what sounds he could get her to make. Her fingers fluttered on his jawline, trying to pull him closer, pushing her hips towards him. His erection pressed hard into her back, causing her to jump slightly. He took advantage of her surprise, swiftly laying her back down and then immediately placing himself above her, holding her down by the wrists so that she wouldn't push him off again. She twisted her arms lightly to no avail. He smiled, satisfied. "You're not very good with submission, are you?"

"That should hardly come as a surprise." Her tone was biting. He didn't seem to care. If anything, he seemed to like that. He pressed his lips back to hers, using his angle of advantage to slip his tongue past her teeth, pressing his knee up between her legs. She resented the needy moan she made in reply.

She felt him drop one of her wrists as he began fumbling for the bedside table, no doubt looking for a condom. That was one thing she was glad for- that was not a fight she had ever wanted to have with him.

He made up for the lack of physical restraint by kissing her deeply while simultaneously moving his leg upwards in a way that had her arching against the sheets. He let go of her other wrist, holding her by her ribs as he began kissing a line down her throat, between her breasts, and across her stomach. He nipped at her occasionally, causing her to gasp and pull backwards. He ran his hands down so that he was gripping her by the hips, sliding her back into place whenever she flinched away at his bites. When he finally reached the level of her hips, he slid off her undergarments, and, placing one last kiss on her mouth, slid one long finger inside her. Her body hummed with the welcome pressure, gripping at the back of his neck as she gasped. His chest rumbled with pride at so strong a relation. He pushed her back down onto the mattress, biting at her lip, quickening his pace before pulling out and smoothly sliding his now urgent erection inside her. Her moan was muffled by the sudden presence of his tongue, as he kissed her lustfully. He thrusted into her, rocking her into the mattress, moaning his own pleasure into her open mouth. As he picked up speed, causing her to gasp in time to his movements, he made his way back down to her chest, leaving dark purple marks on her tender breasts. She grabbed at the sheets, rolling her hips in time with his. She felt an orgasm impending, struggling at the cusp of its boundaries, not quite ready to spill over. He panted heavily against her skin, his own moans becoming closer and closer together. Damn it all if she was going to let him come before she did. Bracing herself up by her elbows, she pushed them both over, leaving him looking dazed beneath her. She held him down by the shoulders, keeping the rhythm of her hips constant, savoring the new, pounding depth. His eyes were wide in surprise, but his countenance soon changed to one of hungry glee as she leaned over him. The extra sensation pushed her over that brink, sending radio static pleasure through her veins, unleashing a shuddering, tumbling river across her. Making use of her distractedness, he yanked her down to himself, holding the sides of her face, kissing her deeply. As he came, he groaned into her open mouth, feeling her smile.

"You're not very good with submission, are you?" She rolled to the side, stretching her arm above her body, tiredly, her heaving breaths pressing at her ribs as she waited for him to catch his own breath. "You hardly know what to do unless I'm telling you to go to hell."

"Only vocally, my dear. The scratches on my back tell a very different story."

He stretched out, his hands clasped behind his head. If he had a cigarette, she thought bemusedly, they'd look like a couple in a movie.

She reached across him, grabbing her book back.

"You're reading again already?" He looked at her incredulously, his breath still ragged. She held it up.

"Can you blame me for taking it back before you use it as bribery again?" He closed his eyes, grunting. She turned to put it on her night stand.

"Read me something from it."

She looked over at him.

"Pardon?"

He was watching her, hands still behind his head. "If you're so caught up in it, it must be somewhat okay. Read me something." He turned his face away again, shutting his eyes.

She paused, confused, before settling in beside him, opening to her marked place.

"For the most wild, yet most homely narrative which I am about to pen, I neither expect nor solicit belief..."

He closed his eyes, listening to the sonorous sound of her voice gradually get hazier and hazier until he drifted off to a deep sleep.

..

...

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AN-

In honor of the impending snow threatening to cancel classes tomorrow, have a back-to-back update including smut.

Cheers