Numerous thoughts fleeted in his mind as the week slowly progressed. Some strange, some critical and calculating, but most bemusing and tiresome. The more he dwelled on it, the more he realized how much of a conundrum he had been in.
Korra had left him that night after a poor excuse of needing to use the powder room. He had sensed it was a lie, her expression of embarrassment and trepidation was enough of an indication, let alone her racing heartbeat. At that point, though, his judgment had been effectively dulled simply because of her ministrations. As sick and pathetic as it might've sounded, even in his own assessment of the situation, it delighted him that she was offering this form of intimacy in regards to him. Of course, it was feigned. He had to repeatedly remind himself of that small detail, as well as the fact that this was all for the sole purpose of her seducing that boy she was smitten with.
But he couldn't escape the other detail that made him a complete fool out of all this. He was a man of thirty-eight. Twenty years her senior.
The thought alone was disconcerting that he could even hold these emotions for someone her age, and of course, it had to be the Avatar, no less. His father must be rolling in his grave. Or maybe trembling with rage?
A wry cackle left him at the thought. Destroy the Avatar? How could he have been so foolish to hold such a fondness for her? It incessantly emerged to the forefront of his mind at the most inopportune times. Whenever she smiled or playfully insulted him - something of which caused a tingle of enticement to course down his spine - and he always cursed underneath his breath that Yakone must've cursed him from beyond the grave, just to make his life a living hell than when he was alive.
But by the spirits, was it tantalizing.
The teasing touch of her fingers against his long ones, the way her heated skin felt against his. He had to silently ponder whether or not she used some form of firebending to emphasize that detail, and if she did, he had to give her his praise. Then of course, her sipping from his glass of wine - the imprint of her lips, let alone the soft traces of that gloss surely was enough to get his thoughts racing as to how it'd feel against his own - and that nearly torturous trail of her foot.
The gall she possessed never ceased to amaze him, because one way or another, he assumed she'd be cowed by the mere notion of flirting with him. He acknowledged that he was hardly the type she'd go for. For one, he wasn't that firebender. And another, he wasn't an athletic probender. However, he was certainly surprised when she gave herself to that character, that facade of temptation. At some points, sure, there was some hesitancy, but for the duration of the lesson, she'd been doing well. A little too well, in his opinion.
It must've been enough to effectively grab his attention because the conversation, while superficial, was the complete opposite to her actions. A large part of him didn't mind the fact that she was focusing on the physical rather than verbal - it was only the third lesson, after all. What she lacked in speech she made up for in contact. Despite himself, he couldn't help but to get aroused by that.
It was sick. He acknowledged that, especially when this was for that firebender of hers, but he couldn't stop that familiar tingling coursing through his veins. He couldn't stop himself from reciprocating, after the whole night of being meddled with. There was only so much a man could take, but maybe he was focusing on his sex drive rather than rationality.
However, when he realized she wasn't returning, he had to bitterly admit, it disappointed him. Not necessarily her, per se, but himself.
He knew it was because of his actions that she panicked. And it was one that he adamantly refrained from occurring. Previous lessons, he allowed her to take it at her pace, though he guided her with a gentle push. That night, he had the tenacity to match her despite his brain from telling him he shouldn't.
And in retrospect, he shouldn't have done that.
It was a hit to his ego and pride, but he knew her well enough that he knew she'd come crawling back to him. She'd been completely enamored with that boy that she wouldn't have any other choice but to come back to him, lest she decided to pursue another teacher. All in due time, he guessed.
But when she'd been pointedly avoiding him, Tarrlok's patience dwindled. It wasn't the fact that she was avoiding him that made some spark of ire slowly rekindle in his body, similar to her refusal to join his task force weeks prior.
No.
It was the mere fact that he could detect her heart rate hastening at every sight, let alone mention of his name in her vicinity. Was it out of anger? Annoyance? Nervousness? He first noticed it when she walked the corridors of City Hall with Tenzin.
He quite literally caught sight of her from the other end of the hallway, and within a fraction of a second, Tarrlok detected the stiffness in her shoulders as they drew up and her heartbeat followed accordingly. Another time it had been him merely making his way to the briefing room he used for the task force. He had heard one of the members hurriedly announce his arrival - Shhh! Tarrlok's here! - from the threshold, and that familiar spike of tautness immediately followed.
Tarrlok was fascinated, curiosity piqued, because it was the complete opposite of how she ended their previous lesson, though vexation quickly replaced it.
It'd been halfway into the week that the task force was called for an emergency briefing. Not even an hour into the meeting, they were dressed in their uniforms, and quietly yet hastily making their way to Dragon Flats Borough. Odd was it that this raid reflected what he recalled imagining from their first lesson, a training ground for chi blockers in a hidden warehouse, but maybe he was remembering it differently. The raid had been a success, but even he couldn't conclude it wasn't without a few hiccups.
A few that very nearly pissed him off.
Of course, that ire was directed towards the one person who intrigued him in many contrasting ways. Korra. She'd been distracted, as she had been the past handful of days. Yet he desperately wanted to grasp her wrist, pull her aside, and ask what in Koh's name was wrong with her, considering she got a shallow cut on her cheek from a nearby Equalist with a dagger.
Those irate musings came to an abrupt halt when she nearly got captured a moment later, cornered by two of Amon's goons. Fortunately, he kept an eye out for her, but when he came to send two large waves of water towards the masked idiots before freezing them with a clench of his fists, Korra's brow twitched and her mouth curved into a scowl.
Never in his life had he dealt with someone so volatile as the young Avatar. How he still managed to hold some emotions of adoration towards her was even more of a mystery. One minute she was flirting with him - genuinely from what he could sense, or if not, a very elaborate aim of acting, though he highly doubted she was capable of that - then the next tense as a rock and shooting him obvious glowers. Him coming to her aid wasn't any different.
She scoffed at him, uttering some words that she 'could've handled it on her own'. He had to reel in his patience then, biting his own tongue from letting a few insults spill that he tasted blood.
Regardless, her gratitude didn't come, much less her explanation as to why she was acting the way she was. And he didn't expect to hear it on her own volition, mainly due to her own stubbornness that matched his own.
He'd been itching to pull her aside at every opportunity they were in the same room. But she made it a point to avoid him, slipping past him all the more ardently. However, as he dwelled on these events within the near week since their previous lesson, Tarrlok duly noted one thing that confused him wholly.
Korra almost always had been jesting about sex, or anything in regards to crudity.
As raunchy and vulgar as the jokes were - it truthfully made him wince as he'd walk past her and some other member of the task force - if she wasn't tense, she'd be throwing her head back, slapping her thigh, and tearing up from laughter. Then, as soon as he'd be out of sight, everything would return to relative normalcy.
It bewildered him to no end.
At this point, though, the dull throbbings at his temples ached more than he could bear, and he didn't dare question anything that could be brushed off as frivolous. Instead, he supposed it was merely her attempting to get a reaction out of him.
—-
It's been exactly a week since the last he was able to speak to her alone. The last everything seemed to be cordial. Until their last lesson ended rather roughly, and it weighed on him more than it should.
Strange was it that he knew her aggression was directed towards him - when had it not, he had to question sardonically - yet there was something tickling the back of his mind that he couldn't quite pinpoint. This was different from what he was accustomed to. There wasn't the genuine degree of hostility he knew she could possess, similar to the times before his requesting her assistance with the task force.
No. There was something more to this, but he wasn't quite sure what it was. He tried to explain it away as some idiotic angle of her projecting her irritation onto him. Maybe it was, and maybe it wasn't.
There was just something completely odd about this that he couldn't let go.
Even as he perched himself against one of the empty tables, Tarrlok's mind wandered. He was waiting for the right moment to approach her, not wanting to corner her, nor did he want to resort to coercing her just as he had at the gala, but he needed to speak with her, if not for some form of a truce between them, but surely for his sanity.
Korra leaned against a wall across the room and spoke with another member of the task force, Tseng, just within his ear shot. Deliberate or not, he had to clench his teeth at that. She grasped the strap of her duffle bag with one hand while the other gestured in vague movements as she mumbled something trivial to the younger man. Well, older than her and certainly younger than Tarrlok, that was for sure.
Tarrlok didn't want to admit to himself that her deliberately avoiding him, offering her attention elsewhere, and intentionally doing everything in her power to spark some ire in him seemed to produce that grotesque green streak of envy. Jealous of what exactly? Other than her on speaking terms with quite literally everyone else, compared to him, he wasn't sure.
He chalked it up to the fact that she wasn't complying with his plans. That she was a brat who couldn't accept reality, let alone responsibility. That she was simply avoiding him out of some foolish reason to get him angry, and despite himself, it was working. But maybe he was letting his true feelings for her obstruct what might have been going on. Maybe he just needed some cactus juice to drown out his frustration.
Absentmindedly, Tarrlok sifted through the report of a successful raid near Cabbage Corp headquarters, though his thoughts lingered on the young Avatar. However, even as his attention never swayed, he had to nod to himself with a sly smirk. It'd been a productive night - from briefing the team to the excursion of a small warehouse that'd been hiding new Equalist garb, from the raid running smoothly to triumphantly indulging in the press with the Avatar at his side, posing, holding up an Equalist glove that in many ways, symbolized their power combined.
It was exhilarating to say the least.
This was what he wanted with her. To save the city from the shackles of criminals, terrorists. From people like Yakone. To bring justice and peace. To bounce off one another in an unspoken rhythm, that had them moving in tandem. And having her do so willingly after all week of shooting him vexed glares, intrigued him. It had to be today that he pulled her aside. She seemed to be in a good mood, considering she laughed much more freely around him, her heart rate only hastening the slightest bit as he neared, but he didn't sense it was from anything that he needed to approach delicately.
In fact, he might've presumed it was the opposite.
Pale blue braved a glance up at the young woman as she released a bark of laughter at some joke the other man muttered. Even he had to admit, her laugh, as boisterous as they were, was something he knew he could get used to hearing, especially if it was at his expense. Tseng nudged her bicep and embarrassingly enough, he flushed a bright crimson before looking away and appearing as though he wanted someone different to accompany him after she replied with something Tarrlok couldn't catch.
It was probably for the best he didn't, in any case.
Taking that as a sign, Tarrlok closed the file with a snap and made his way to the two, head held high.
"Tseng," he said, bowing his head in greeting as the younger man followed suit. Turning to Korra - whose smile was already faltering - Tarrlok grazed his fingertips to her elbow and regarded her with an overly diplomatic smirk. "Avatar Korra, I'd like to speak with you alone, if you have a moment."
Cerulean flickered reluctantly between him and Tseng for a moment, and abruptly heaved a suffering sigh. "Y-yeah, sure." She stuttered grudgingly. She muttered a few words to the other man with a roll of her eyes before following behind him, and above all else, slouching.
He had to give her some praise for doing all the things he pointedly instructed her to refrain from.
As much as he tried not to, he focused on the subtle beat of her heart, much less the constant, hypnotizing, thrum of her blood. Similar to the past week, he detected the slightest spike in that pounding muscle at the center of her chest. Tarrlok assumed it was due to some irrelevant thoughts of hers, but considering the span of a week, he had a strong inkling it was simply because of his presence that her breathing became even the tiniest bit erratic.
For what reason, other than his gall that matched her own that night, it was still completely beyond his comprehension, and he doubted he'd figure it out on his own when she was still stubbornly silent.
It was eerily quiet between them. Even more so now than when she requested these lessons a few weeks prior. The dull sound of their footsteps reverberating within the corridors of City Hall grated on his nerves, but he pushed it to the back of his mind when he heard a large inhale behind him.
Once he unlocked his office doors, and gestured for her to take a seat as he comfortably took his own, he eyed her critically. Almost childishly, Korra dropped her duffle bag to glossed tiles before plopping herself into the seat across from him. She was frustrated - that much was obvious - but also impossibly nervous. For what? He wasn't quite sure. Her muscles were stiff, pulled taut, despite the fact that her legs were splayed languorously in front of her and she slouched considerably low in the chair. Her eyes strayed on the corner of his desk rather than meet his own in silent challenge as she was prone to. Her arms were crossed underneath her bust and her brows furrowed with a deep dip of tension.
Spirits, if he didn't know any better, he would've assumed Tenzin revealed yet another reason why he loathed him, and Korra being the impressionable girl that she was, believed her mentor without hesitation.
Tarrlok had to shake his head and take a leveled inhale of oxygen to refrain from escalating their predicament, and ultimately furthering her ire towards him. Well, it seemed as though he was wrong about her good mood with a single glance to her face. Undignified was what it was.
As if sensing his intense scrutiny, Korra blurted a vexed, "What?"
There it was. An uttered question that had her voice tainted with displeasure.
Smirking, Tarrlok tilted his head to the side, pale blue orbs never leaving her. "You know, I rarely get rendered speechless, much less intrigued with other people. But you have successfully done both within the span of a week." He said with quelled perplexity.
It was then that Korra glanced up at him, bemused. "You're welcome…?" She drawled, evidently undecided whether or not it was a compliment or insult.
Truthfully, it was both, but he wasn't about to confirm her suspicions.
Leaning forward and steepling his fingers, Tarrlok lowered his lids. "Korra, as much as I hate to admit it, my patience is running thin. Did I do something to offend you? Are these lessons something you still want to pursue? You did leave rather abruptly last week, and have clearly been avoiding me."
Again, she was doing exactly that, avoiding him. Not him altogether - because she was still responding despite everything - but his eye contact as she glanced at anything but him, shrugging and swiping at her nose with the back of her hand. "It was nothing. I suddenly remembered Tenzin needed me to babysit the airbending kids. I was just trying to fulfill a promise. And yeah, I still want to go through with these lessons."
Judging by her heartbeat, it was a lie. In regards to the former, at least. Tarrlok wanted to rub his hands over his exhausted face, because time ticked by and she was still acting like the childish girl he saw on the newspapers. It was as if these lessons were completely useless, and her brashness and stubbornness returned tenfold.
"Right," he sighed with a clench of his jaw, doubtful. "I must ask. If that was the reason, why did you look as though you saw a ghost? Or go through the whole ordeal of telling me you needed to use the powder room and never came back? It was disappointing to discover my student left me in such a rush, let alone lied to me. Am I that abhorrent?"
"Of course not." She denied. Just to check, and out of his morbid curiosity, it was true. Even he deemed it as odd, the obvious lies and contradictions in her behavior and words. "Completely the opposite, in fact." She uttered hastily underneath her breath.
It was just audible enough for him to hear, though he couldn't make any sense of it considering her attitude, let alone the fact that she acted as though she never said a word. Because if she could, she would've been whistling at that moment, but instead, she opted to frustratedly look out the window to her right.
"Pardon?" He questioned, utterly fascinated.
"Nothing!" She shook her head.
Narrowing his eyes a fraction, Tarrlok leaned back into his chair with a slight creak and deadpanned, "Really?" Judging by the squeak in her voice, it certainly wasn't nothing.
"Mhm," Korra nodded. "Maybe you really are old and you're just imagining things I didn't say."
He wanted to roll his eyes, but had half a mind to refrain himself lest she punched him - again - or even decided to repeat bending some water onto his face. They were going around in endless circles if this continued. Above all else, she was proving his point. What point exactly, he didn't know, but it was enough to chalk it up to her odd behavior that he needed answers and he loathed going about this conversation in such a meandering way. Utterly exhausted, he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Okay, then why have you been avoiding me like the plague?" He asked. When all he was met with was a purse of her lips and utter silence, Tarrlok sighed. "No answer?" He pressed.
It was then that she finally looked at him, and held his gaze for more than a few seconds at a time, and shook her head. "No. There's just other stuff going on in my life that I need to put my attention to rather than you all day, every day."
He hummed in response, considering her words. Who claimed he needed her attention 'all day, every day'? In all honesty, they saw each other a maximum of two times a day and sometimes not even at all, though that's simply because of Tenzin insisting on taking her to City Hall as though she was the one that needed babysitting, and her respected duties with the task force. A large part of him wanted to bring up the fact that she acted strangely when he was around - the vulgar jokes yet the juxtaposing tautness of her body language - but Tarrlok deemed it unnecessary when he heard her audibly gulp.
He supposed it could wait for another time.
Sighing, Tarrlok eyed her once more and conceded. "Well, since you're clearly hiding something from me, and since you're here, we could kill two raccoon-crows with one stone, and do a lesson now, if you're willing."
Oddly enough, Tarrlok duly noted her muscles loosening. He didn't know what to make of the young woman. An enigma, surely, but that's to say he wasn't either. He was accustomed with subtly picking apart any man and woman that came his way, deceiving and manipulating them, in order to get what he wanted. Of course, this began solely for his benefit on the Council, but even he had to admit that now those lines blurred. Tarrlok assumed this would be the case, in regards to Avatar Korra, despite his feelings for her.
She was an open book, utterly easy to read. And it almost disappointed him that she wasn't that much of a challenge when he first met her on Air Temple Island. She wore her emotions with brute force and rashness, but now, he was surely misreading this, right? That there was something surreptitious about her, and he was only proven further as she scrutinized him critically in return.
Nodding, Korra readjusted her position and relaxed the slightest bit in the chair. "... Fine."
What?
Tarrlok narrowed his eyes, reluctance prickling at his nerves.
What made her agree was beyond him, though it was enough to have his thoughts race, contemplating at what this could possibly mean. No, no, no. He internally shook his head. He was getting ahead of himself. Leaving it behind, he decided it wasn't worth racking his brain over at the moment.
Mirroring her, Tarrlok heedfully nodded once. "Good, lesson four: getting comfortable with physical and verbal intimacy. Because our last lesson ended so abruptly-" he gave her a pointed glance, and instead of sheepishly looking away, Korra merely allowed a mocking small smile to curve her lips that only irked him further. "We'll be continuing it, and more than likely next lesson as well, though a more advanced form, if you will. Now, this lesson is rather short, considering I went over the concept of it last time. This time, however, it involves shifting from subtlety to a slight tenacity. It's a small shift to something greater. I recall mentioning it isn't obvious groping, because even that alone is just grotesque, and that is still applicable, but this is more playful." He instructed, still watching her for any indication that she'd flee just like last time.
There was none. Rather, there was something she deliberately hid from him behind placid cerulean. Almost as if that irate mood of hers just moments prior had washed away, and was replaced with something he couldn't decipher.
"Playful? Was what we were doing not considered playful?" She asked, stretching her limbs with a delightful pop and crossing them at her ankles.
"Yes and no. The atmosphere was certainly more serious than I intended, but that was due to factors out of my control, and that in its own way affected both us and the lesson. While your actions were in of itself playful, because most of the time, flirting is playful, it was leading to something profound too quickly." Tarrlok thought back to his assumption on why exactly she left - him matching her flirtatiousness with his own, even though he shouldn't have done anything, in retrospect. Regardless, he continued. "If you wanted to merely have sex with that firebender, then this lesson would've been the turning point to make your intentions clear through tenacity, and maybe within the night, or even the next lesson, you'd be fulfilling that wish." Korra's brows rose a fraction, and her heart rate increased accordingly. "But because you want to keep the person's attention, you advance to bolder actions with subtlety. You planted that seed of interest in the other person - me, in this case - and you want to continue that."
"Did I really, though?" Korra enunciated, a glimmer of something cunning in her eyes.
Taken aback, Tarrlok froze for a mere second in thought. She was obviously baiting him, and he wasn't sure whether he was proud or perplexed, or maybe even a combination of both, considering she ignored him for the better part of the week and was utterly frustrated with him only a few minutes ago.
"I'm not going to answer that." He replied slowly.
Smiling, Korra leaned back comfortably in her chair. "You don't have to." She quipped cheekily.
The gall this woman had was astounding. In fact, he was teetering the slightest bit from the sudden contrasts of her behavior. Almost pained, he nearly pinched the bridge of his nose to reel in what little patience he still had left.
Regardless, he continued with his lesson. "Verbal seduction and physical contact are a lot more frequent. Based on my experiences, it intensifies as the dates continue, though that's to say you want something lasting with the other person rather than something superficial. It can be casual contact, such as simply a hand on theirs, or an arm around their waist. But if you want to be a tease about it, touches need to be lingering, heavy with implications. Eye contact, too." He instructed, before clearing his throat and feeling that irritating tinge of heat slowly crawling up his neck. Why this was happening despite his years of experience, Tarrlok didn't know. "You did well enough last time with taking my wine or… footsie, if you will, and even before, however, the same examples I offered are still credible. This is less on the lesson and more on practice, just as the previous one, but if you need any guidance, feel free to ask."
Korra nodded.
Abruptly, they lapsed into silence, the only sound coming from the waterfall behind him. Tarrlok narrowed his eyes, his mouth opening and ultimately closing at the sight of her resolutely standing from her seat and slowly meandering her way around the perimeter of his office.
If he didn't know any better, he would've presumed she was attempting to pass time rather than confront him, just as she had with her lackluster reasoning with leaving and ignoring him. But he held his tongue. Hostility wasn't necessary when she seemed to be adequately cordial to hold a conversation. Well, maybe a little too cordial judging by the evident sway of her hips.
"Actually, can I ask you a question?" She asked, peering over her shoulder almost coyly.
Despite himself, warmth flickered low in his abdomen at the familiar lilt in her voice, let alone the familiar expression directed towards him. It was the same expression he'd seen from past lovers, and odd yet strangely welcoming was it that it came from her. Regardless, it was gone just as long as it was present, but it was enough to have him continue with some wariness. "Of course," he replied, reluctant in ways that he tried not to think about.
She stopped at one of the few shelves, trailing the pads of her fingertips along the spines of each book, feeling and appreciating the raises and dips between each one. "What are your motivations behind this?" Korra questioned, eyes flickering up and down the titles, as though it intrigued her wholly.
Mouth left slightly ajar, he was utterly confused. Tarrlok was at a loss at what exactly she was playing at. Why did that matter when they - she, he corrected - was supposed to be practicing, much less loitering and dragging this longer than intended.
"I beg your pardon?" He leaned forward, bemused.
A terse exhale of amusement left her nose as she caught sight of his expression and offered him a sidelong glance from over her shoulder once more. A knowing smirk lined her lips and her eyes glimmered with gaiety, though that only bewildered Tarrlok further. "I mean, why did you agree? I didn't force you to do this, I just asked because I thought you're one of the only people I know that had a firm grasp on seduction." She said, returning her attention to the books before lethargically continuing in her trek.
Flattered, though immensely wary, Tarrlok wondered how he gave her that impression. He knew she mentioned it when she first requested, and it wasn't not true, however, considering the flirtatious gazes she sent his way, he didn't know what to make of it. Could he match her? Did he need to refrain for both of their sakes? "Care to enlighten me with that?" He shot back with a smirk that mirrored her own.
Korra stifled an entertained chuckle by chewing at her lower lip. "Only after you answer my question." She replied firmly, stopping at one of the windows and gazing out of it as she stretched her arms above her head. An almost inaudible moan escaped her as she arched her spine, though he tried not to dwell on that detail that sent a shiver down his nerves.
Abruptly, it made sense. Everything clicked.
Cautiously, Tarrlok eyed her in thought, utterly fascinated as he realized she was already practicing. The intonations and insinuations from her voice, her words, her body language, certainly were not lost on him.
It was such a contrast to the Korra he'd been irked at for the past week, yet he couldn't be bothered to remain vexed at the young Avatar. Much less snub her for her reckless behavior.
Because she even had him fooled.
"I agreed because you're the Avatar. I'd feel guilty for not obliging in your request, even though it is rather inconsequential considering the circumstances with the current political climate. But I digress. It's a request that you couldn't have the courage to ask Tenzin about despite him being your current mentor. Any opportunity or information I have to hold over his head or even get a reaction out of him, especially one that you came to me for about brings me joy." He explained with a sly smile, playing along.
In a sense, it was true, but it leaned more in regards to the broad aspect that he held an unfathomable amount of delight when he had the upper hand compared to that bald-headed airbender that happened to be his colleague. The fact that he could teach the Avatar something was an honor in itself. But when it was something completely intimate, let alone confidential, hidden behind closed doors, he couldn't possibly deny her. Of course, some part of it was due to his inexplicable feelings for her, that he could play at that sick fascination he had for her, but that wasn't something he should be dwelling on. Especially when she tore her gaze from the glowing city to slowly saunter her way towards his increasingly tense form.
No. Of course, not.
"So, it has nothing to do with your feelings about me?"
Had he said it out loud? Was he making it obvious?
Heartbeat hastening against his chest, Tarrlok wondered if it was a terrible idea that he was considering bloodbending his own heart to some state of relative normalcy. However, he had an inkling, simply judging by the way her critical eyes were still on his, that the longer he remained silent, the more he was as transparent as she usually was.
"I-I'm sorry?" He stammered.
Spirits he was turning to the babbling mess he used to be before he took an interest in politics. Over years of practice, of perfecting that skill that it was second nature to him, Tarrlok couldn't fathom that his deposition was due to a brazen teenager that just happened to be the Avatar.
Offering him a cock of her head with half lidded eyes, Korra accentuated the sway of her hips further, moving her way towards his side. "C'mon, Tarrlok. You seriously can't tell me that you don't enjoy my company because you did flirt back last lesson… or was I hallucinating all that?"
"Our relationship is purely professional, Korra. I'm merely reciprocating for your benefit in practicing. Nothing more." He said, though it sounded unconvincing to his own ears.
Maybe if he repeated it enough, he'd believe it.
"Sure," she replied, evidently skeptical. Firm yet soft hands settled on his shoulders as she stopped behind him, before leaning down to whisper into his ear. "But you do enjoy my company, or at least, want it, right? I mean, the gifts… the gala… the task force. By the way, I think you did an excellent job with the briefing tonight." She breathed, her hot breath stirring what little strands were loosened by the day's events and her lips brushing even the slightest bit against the shell of his ear.
As much as he willed his body to resist, a delicious shiver coursed down his spine at the mere sensation of her soft lips brushing his skin. Never in a million years did the thought ever cross his mind that that'd occur, much less hearing an inkling of her moaning at something as trivial as a stretch of her arms.
Even if it was all for the sake of practicing and utterly feigned, he couldn't stop his body from acting accordingly to her ministrations.
It took immense willpower, resistance, to not look her in the eye. For if he did, he knew cerulean would be swimming with mirth, goading him to slip and for once, make a mistake in front of her. He only knew this due to the fact that if their roles were reversed, he'd do the same.
Despite everything in his brain screaming for him not to, his body moved against his will and glanced into vivid blue. He swallowed over the dryness in his throat. Their faces impossibly close, if not by a few centimeters. "Thank you...although from your recent behavior, I'd assume you want nothing to do with the task force, let alone with me." He quipped, baritone hushed.
Her smirk turned into an outright grin as she straightened her spine, her hands still on his shoulders, maybe even tightening her grip a bit. "Tch, I'm just broadening my horizons and talking to other people, Tarrlok. I didn't know it was a crime to listen to other people's concerns. And I certainly didn't know you'd be jealous."
Jealous? Him? An absurd notion, surely.
Releasing a chuckle that rumbled at the back of his throat, Tarrlok shook his head. "I can assure you, Avatar, I'm not." It was an utter fib, but after years of claiming a seat on the Council, he'd grown accustomed to spewing white lies that truly held no consequence… even though it felt as if he were losing that skill when he was in her company.
A responding hum filled the silence. "You never answered my question." She prodded, unfazed.
As if sensing his own demise, Tarrlok felt something in the pit of his stomach drop. He wanted to curse underneath his breath. It was merely the tone in her voice, nothing note-worthy, considering she was still determined as ever, but it held more authority.
It was something he expected from her in regards to her title.
A part of him relished how demanding she was. How much she poked and prodded for information that, really, was meaningless in the grand scheme of things, yet she held her ground. Relentless, headstrong. It was fascinating that it was so similar yet completely divergent from her arrogant personality. Suddenly, something dark, something familiar flickered behind her gaze that he immediately recognized and sensed was genuine. It was the same sensation he felt exactly the week prior, their last lesson, for the latter half of her practice.
Bemusing was it that Tarrlok attempted to rationalize it, blaming her interest in him simply due to her own questions, her own curiosity that relentlessly bested her if their lessons were of any indication.
But considering the atmosphere - simultaneously playful and serious - especially the fact that she still touched him, his claim didn't feel just.
"... My feelings are irrelevant to this. Those were simply an initiative to have the Avatar actively pursuing a serious threat such as the Equalists rather than spend all her time probending. But in regards to this, I'm only obliging what you're requesting simply because you want to seduce that firebender." He answered levelly, duly noting the subtle hastening of her heartbeat.
Korra made a noncommittal sound in response and bent down once more. "So, if I wanted to do this-" Nimble hands leisurely roved from his shoulders to the clothed expanse of his chest, her fingers nearly catching on the clasps of his vest, "you're only allowing it out of courtesy?" She questioned mischievously.
The playful tone in her voice told him that she was obviously having fun baiting. And the fact that her nails dug the slightest bit into his skin, raking up a fraction before releasing him entirely, caused a spark of heat that played at his nerves.
Clearing his throat, Tarrlok nodded once. "If that's what you feel is best to get you more comfortable with seduction, then yes." He said, pale blue following her movements as she stood at his side with arms folded underneath her bust accusingly. "But I am curious. What does that make you in regards to all this?"
"What do you mean?" She nudged his chair away from the desk a mere few inches with her booted foot. Before he could question it, she was already moving into the meager space between his legs and the desk, deftly perching herself directly in front of him as if she had every right to.
Amused and intrigued, Tarrlok shrugged. "Well, you're the Avatar. You don't need to give me the time of day. Yet you're here, with me. Still wanting my instruction as though you couldn't study this on your own with the use of books."
Truthfully, if it'd been anyone else, he would've brushed that foolish request to the side and guided them towards a library, or even a bookstore, if they were more inclined. But no. This was Korra, and he had to be the pathetic idiot to go along with all of this rather than stand his ground, though he blamed that entirely on his clandestine fascination with her.
Sighing, Korra leaned back with her hands propped against the desk's cold surface. She looked absolutely delightful, if he had to admit, though the fact that her bottom was crinkling rather important documents about the night's raid weighed at the back of his mind. "Oh-so-senile, Councilman. Did you forget that I already told you my motives, and why I specifically chose you. You should be grateful that I'm still interested in these lessons and still interested in your instruction. But that's besides the point. I need practice. Nothing more." She pressed, repeating his own words slyly, that he tilted his chin up as he regarded her.
"Cheeky," he uttered with lowered lids.
Smiling in response, Korra tore her eyes away from his and instead, cerulean strayed almost too innocently on the flowing waterfall behind him, admiring the carvings of Tui and La hovering menacingly over them. "Speaking of books, though it's not necessarily a book and more cheap magazines, but the other day I was walking around the park with Naga and found a stand of them. Are they of good use to study?"
"What are?"
"The ones that have columns for sex advice." Korra added happily. Maybe a little giddy, though he may have been reading into this wrong.
Bemused, Tarrlok's brow twitched.
Those were nothing but exaggerations in poor attempts to act sultry. In fact, some even were rather painful pointers for men and women, based on his experience with experimentation. Shaking himself of recalling a specific tip a past lover tried of 'milking him like a hippo cow', Tarrlok cleared his throat and attempted to stifle the flush creeping up his neck from that trainwreck of an evening. "Forgive me, but I thought you wanted to seduce that firebender, not merely have sex with him."
She chuckled, for whatever reason that was beyond his comprehension. "I do want to seduce him, but I do want to fuck him, too. Think of it as some sort of initiative for me to get more comfortable with sexuality in the future, not just for him." Tarrlok tried to refrain from showing his displeasure at her very colorful language and instead, opted to slowly blink at her vulgarity. Evidently amused at his expense, Korra's smile grew into a teasing grin once more. "It'd be good to get a head start with studying, don't you think?"
What caused her to think they were anywhere near the topic of sex in these lessons, were beyond him. She could barely string ongoing flirtatious banter without blushing just in the previous few lessons, what more initiating physical contact without giving herself away. But then again, she was currently doing exceptionally well that he was tricked, even if it was for a mere few minutes.
… And for the exception of his feelings for her that made things easier for her benefit, and worse for his demise. But that wasn't the point.
Resolutely, Tarrlok shook his head once. "No. Those are tasteless takes on sex. It'd do you good going to the library if you want some stock knowledge and real advice, but you're getting ahead of everything. We're nowhere near what you're supposedly eager to learn about, Avatar Korra, and it'd be best if you focused on improving what we already went over." He dared, stretching his limbs underneath his desk as she tilted her head to the side, considering him.
Pursing her lips, Korra nodded, eyeing him critically. Cerulean dipped lower than she did before, and it took all his strength not to smirk at her flagrancy.
"You're right." She said after a moment of relative silence.
"I am?"
"Mhm," she smiled in affirmation, before grasping the edge of his desk and leaning forward. Her face was a mere few centimeters away from his once again and it took all his willpower to not close the meager distance between them and indulge in his fascination with the young woman. Regardless, he refrained, watching her with curiosity. A part of him realized if she'd worn a different shirt, or even that dress he had sent the week prior, he'd be able to catch yet another peek of her cleavage. But that was inappropriate. Everything about this was inappropriate. Reverie broken, Tarrlok unknowingly flickered his gaze from her face to her covered chest and back again. She was smiling triumphantly once more. "Aren't you always, Councilman?" She breathed, her gaze roving over his face .
When he kept quiet, opting to keep his mouth shut before he uttered something he knew he'd regret, let alone something ridiculous, Korra released another terse exhale of amusement and leaned back.
She slid off his desk, caged between his limbs and firmly nudging them apart for her to slip away. "Team Avatar is waiting for me, so it'd be best if we continue this next time." There was nothing in her that indicated she was lying to him, except for the slightest hint, the tiniest hastening of her heartbeat that told him she was enticed, indulged, and utterly anticipating more.
Quietly, he watched her. She flipped the file that laid limp and crinkled at his front open and tore a corner of the first page of his report. A mutter about destroying important documents was halfway out of his throat when it effectively died as she bent forward and wrote something he couldn't catch.
But it didn't matter when the lighting from the waterfall behind her played at her features almost too lovingly.
Suddenly, she was looking at him expectantly.
Pinched between her fingers was the small piece of paper. "Here, for next lesson," she offered in a brief explanation. Tarrlok took the note, warily scanning her sloppy penmanship and discovering it'd been the name of an establishment, its address, and the time for their next meeting - lesson, he corrected. She was already grasping her duffle bag with one hand while the other gripped the knob to his office when she shot him an authentically sultry expression that left him both utterly aroused and bemused. "Goodbye, Tarrlok."
It was only when she was gone, out of his range of detection, that he couldn't stop himself from dwelling on the fact that everything about her language - physical as well as verbal - was genuine. She wasn't that good an actor to feign that physical reaction he sensed brewing within her, even though it was only by the recognition of her blood flow and heart rate.
Regardless, Tarrlok glanced up at the ceiling in thought. What in spirits' name was going on?