When she wakes up, the Queen frowns as she keeps her eyes stubbornly closed; her internal clock nigh on impeccable and telling her that the skies outside will still be hazy with the bloodied tinge of dawn.
So then, what has awoken her?
Moving ever so slightly, she becomes aware of a dull cramp in her left thigh and an ache in her neck due to being cricked at an odd angle.
That, and the heat.
She is uncommonly warm.
Stretching out a little more, her brow furrows deeper when she realises that her cheek seems to be pressed against something hard and sharp, while the top of her head brushes against some sort of barrier. Moving the fingers that rest close to her face in a tentative manner, she plays with her soft locks idly as she continues to toe the line between dreaming and reality.
She winds soft silk around her fingers.
...But then... That's not right...
When was the last time I was able to play with my hair in such a way?
Lashes fluttering drowsily open, she blinks in surprise as her sudden sneaking suspicion is confirmed.
She has indeed spent the remainder of the night slumbering, lain out over the Sheriff's- rather uncomfortably- slender frame.
The reality of her discovery surprises her. Other than the evening she had spent battling her drunken stupor, it has been a long time since she has fallen asleep in someone's arms; Daniel being the only other person with whom she would have felt comfortable in doing so.
For herself it is a rarity, but for Emma... She wouldn't think it harsh to admit that this is not a scenario in which she would have seen the blonde partaking.
Moving carefully, she raises her head as far as her current position will allow and observes delicate lids flickering curiously with REM sleep.
She fiddles with golden curls absently-mindedly, thinking on the younger woman's words the previous evening.
She had caught her.
And she had expressed a gratitude for feeling the need- the want- to do so.
"You're welcome, dear."
The words are barely audible; the Mayor silenced by the fact that she should be thanking the blonde for the exact same thing... But then, Emma knows this well enough.
As it is, they had left the words uttered from pale, pink lips lingering between them as the brunette had lowered her jaw- exhausted- to rest comfortably at the younger woman's sternum, Emma's pale fingers stroking her spine lightly, while her own hand-
...
Her serene expression as she studies the Sheriff's fine features breaks into a smirk as she looks down to where her right hand still rests with the fingers slipped beneath cheap cotton; the tips pressing gently against the lowest ridge of a sharp hipbone.
Placing a soft kiss on the delicate skin of the blonde's sternum, she moves herself carefully down the bed; ignoring the protest of her limbs as she rouses them from their uneasy resting place.
Dusky lashes flutter, but nothing more.
She pushes at the Sheriff's legs ever so slightly to allow enough space for her to kneel in the cradle of skinny thighs, and studies Emma for a moment longer; sharp features so curiously tranquil in contrast to the fire that had ignited them during their sordid activities.
She decides she doesn't possess a state in which she prefers the blonde.
She enjoys them all.
Well...
There is one way in which you are easily the most... Fun...
Smiling, she dips her index fingers gently into the waistband of the younger woman's shorts and proceeds to edge them stealthily down long, slim legs; struggling to slip them out from beneath the swell of her ass, but managing in the end with a little cautious exertion.
Mouth twitching with amusement as she catches the beginnings of a confused frown alight pale features- lashes still quivering with whatever fantasy lies behind them- she slowly works to spread the blonde's thighs just a little further before lowering herself and finding a comfortable position.
She begins slowly; running her tongue gently over velvet skin to provide a little moisture, her fingers playing out feather-light patterns on the soft flesh of the Sheriff's inner thighs.
A slight shift in position from the blonde as her brow furrows a little more.
Dipping a little deeper, the brunette increases the impact of her affections; taking delicate flesh between her lips and working her hands ever higher.
A low, shuddered breath.
Focusing her attention more directly on the areas the Sheriff most needs it, Regina smiles into glistening folds as the muscles of slim legs begin to twitch tellingly.
A soft sound dampened by clamped lips, and Emma closes her legs ever so slightly; her knees cradling the Mayor's shoulders as the darker woman continues to work her mouth sweetly; delicately cleaning the Sheriff of her own oblivious excitement.
"Good morning to you, too..."
Emma sarks, rubbing at her eyes sleepily before pushing herself up onto her elbows to regard the Queen with an unconvincingly bemused expression.
"How long have you been awake?"
"Pretty much since you decided to non consensually strip me of my shorts."
"You have complaints on the matter?"
"... It was a little cold."
A grin, and the rolling of beautifully dark eyes in return.
"I believe I took care of that, did I not?"
A raised brow, and the Mayor sighs; giving in to the blonde's jesting and lowering her head once more to blow pointedly over soft flesh.
She smirks as Emma shudders.
"You did..."
A smile and then the slow descent into a frown, and Regina furrows her own brow in confusion.
"...Emma?"
Leaning forward, the younger woman pulls at the brunette so that she lies once more between taut limbs; the Queen's hip pressed up against her newly exposed flesh.
"It's still there..."
The blonde mutters, running her finger gently over the soft skin of the Mayor's shoulder. The flesh there is slightly tender, and Regina slowly recalls the sharp pain of the Sheriff's brutal bite that had preceded her undoing.
"How obvious?"
"Not very... Just a mark... It will fade in a day or two... I'm... I'm sorry..."
Glancing down at the faint bruises that litter the younger woman's own skin as a previous result of their love making, Regina sighs, lowering her mouth to alabaster flesh at the soft swell of the Sheriff's left breast, and biting down with measured force. Pulling back, she watches as angry red fades to leave just the darker imprint of her teeth.
"Don't be. As you said; I wasn't the Queen."
"You'll always be the Queen."
"... You're rather poetic of late, Sheriff... Are you ill?"
She expects a rolling of glittering green and a caustic remark, but Emma merely frowns, regarding her pensively as she remains cradled between pale legs.
"...No. I just... I just keep thinking... I like you an awful lot..."
Ignoring the awkward blush that creeps across high cheekbones, the brunette simply agrees.
"I'm glad, as I like you a lot also... But you know this... As I know that you like me."
"... I didn't want you to come at first. I thought it would be best for Gold and I to work things out alone so that I knew you were safe in Storybrooke... But I'm.. I'm glad you came."
"You are?"
"It's... It's nice having you here."
The Mayor frowns; touched by Emma's words, but a little confused by them. The blonde is not one to favour such vulnerable honesty, and she imagines there is a reason behind her confession.
"... How so?"
"I dunno... I just have this bad feeling, I guess."
The Sheriff shrugs, and her expression switches flawlessly from pensive to stoically sarcastic, but the brunette isn't going to let such things slide.
"A bad feeling? What about?"
"I don't know... About this whole 'deal' thing I guess..."
"You're scare-... Worried about Gold?"
"No, not Gold."
"Then...?"
"Gold I know, and I can somewhat handle... Who's to say his son's the same?"
"You're nervous of Baelfire?"
"... I guess... I guess it's just not being particularly fond of people I don't know on pure principle... But, yeah, I just..."
"... You have a bad feeling."
"Yeah."
"Don't. It will be fine."
"... You've changed your tune."
"And you've changed yours! Emma, there's a reason I came with you on this trip."
"My raw, animal magnetism?"
"... If you wish to call it that, then that provides an advantage to my having accompanied you, yes... But, no. I'm here to help you do this deed for Gold. For Rumplestiltskin. You and I... We're quite a force to be reckoned with, dear... It will be fine. The powers of the Dark One are not genetic. Baelfire will most likely be of no interest nor trouble to either of us."
"Okay... Cool."
"If you say so, dear. Now come; I have little wish for Gold to go knocking for you, only to come searching to find myself wedged where I currently lie."