Regina couldn't pinpoint exactly when things had changed. She couldn't recall much at the current moment. She probably couldn't form a coherent sentence if her life depended on it. Her heartbeat thrummed against her rib-cage, breath hitching and chest heaving as her thoughts became increasingly cloudier. How she got here, she didn't have a clue...or couldn't bring herself to admit that she had played a considerable part in it. Not right now. Not when there was such a violent war waging between her desire and self-control.
Friendship with David Nolan had been effortless. He had taken every opportunity she allowed for him to be a friend in the last two months. Things had evolved past him simply helping her with Emma, though they hadn't yet acknowledged it. A dinner here and there turned into dinner a couple nights of the week. A couple nights a week turned into his broad shoulders and charming smile at her table nearly every other evening. On the days he didn't come to dinner at her apartment he would find a reason to bring her lunch instead. They had made fast friends. Close friends. Too close.
She had been fooling herself to think she would be able to stick to the boundary she initially set with him. Flirting she'd allowed - it was only harmless banter after all. Who didn't flirt with a friend every now and then? Flirting had been fine because they still remained on their respective sides of said boundary. At least for a while...until the flirting, as it tends to, became physical.
A playful nudge in the side when he teased her. Her fingertips grazing his bicep when she thanked him. His hand brushing her lower back as he navigated around her in her small kitchen. Accidentally bumping into the other and lingering playfully. Their fingers brushing unnecessarily when she handed him his coat to leave. All harmless gestures that could be considered platonic had they not been paired with warm looks and teasing smiles.
Then slowly, the small physical gestures evolved as their topics of conversation deepened. He'd held her after she tearfully admitted Daniel's death had hit her so hard that she barely remembered her daughter being a baby. She had cupped his face and reassured him when he confessed he felt like a failure for his marriage ending and having no family of his own. They shared a happy embrace when they found out she'd been approved to be a foster parent. Reassuring hugs were had when her daughter would get upset and David knew Regina felt like she wasn't enough.
After that came the physicality that they couldn't explain away. Touches that no one else would see and they wouldn't openly discuss. It was holding one another's hand under a table. Tucking her feet into him for warmth when they shared her couch. His hands playing with her hair or grazing her back. Her hands skimming his waist, fingers looping through his jeans and tugging him closer.
There was a clear, incriminating trail of mutual actions that had led them to this point. This moment with his labored breath near her ear and his lips against her neck as he pressed her into the stable wall behind her. Her head swam with arousal, her skin painfully sensitive to his touch and her hips rocking against his on their own accord. They'd shared lingering touches and intimate embraces before, but this? It was something else entirely.
This was stifled sexual tension imploding after nearly three months of getting to know one another, working towards a common goal, having a friend in the other. Here was a man so kind and eager to help her out of the goodness of his own heart. The first man since Daniel that gave her butterflies and could make her breath hitch with a simple touch. The pull she felt towards David was simultaneously terrifying and intoxicating as she felt a part of her come alive in a way it hadn't in years.
When he walked into her stables today his eyes were a darker blue, his gaze heavier on her body than he normally allowed it to be. He lacked the bags of takeout he usually carried in with him and she knew immediately he had arrived with a different kind of appetite. He gave her a frazzled speech about how he had been struggling to honor his promise that he would not cross that line and comprise her honor. He admitted to all of the same feelings she had found herself having for him and that he had been constantly thinking and dreaming about them being together despite his best efforts not to.
David seemed so distraught at the idea that he had let her down. That by not being able to ignore his desire for her or make his heart respect the boundary of friendship between them he had wronged her in an unforgivable manner. He was worried that she would not trust him and think ill of his character. That she would believe his kindness had been a ruse to get her into bed and that he didn't care about the position it would put her in.
Regina was only able to stare with wide eyes and listen to his rambling, her heart battling her mind while he poured out his feelings and apologized for his inability to control them. Like he was unforgivable for his weakness for Regina when his wife had still not granted him the divorce he desperately wanted. Like he had taken advantage of Regina in some way when in reality she'd been an eager participant in inching them closer to crossing this line.
Before she gave conscious thought to it, her feet closed the space between them and she had reached to cup his stubbled jaw with both hands, pulling him down to shut him up with a firm kiss. Her body molded into his firmer one as her fingers curled around the back of his neck and her nails dug into the skin there. She had waited so long for it. To kiss him in such an unbridled way that it left no denying his feelings were reciprocated. To make him understand that she did not hold his inner struggle against him. To make him aware that she was losing the battle herself.
She slipped her tongue against his lips and they parted invitingly, allowing it to brush with his own. A throaty moan escaped her at the contact and made the rest of his resolve crumble, his arms coming around her waist and pulling her into him with delicious strength. It had been much too long since she felt hands caressing her. A thigh rubbing between her legs. Lips on her collarbone. Breath near her ear.
She had missed the feeling of a man's body pressed against her own and knowing that she was desired and everything that happened in between. For years she had been able to stifle her inner craving for this kind of connection. To suppress her longing for someone who smiled at her in that way. She had been able to ignore this part of herself for years until he came around with his good nature and charming grin and godlike body. Damn him.
Fool. She had been a fool to think they wouldn't end up devouring each other with heated gazes and hungry lips and roaming hands.
"I want you so much," David murmured hoarsely, his fingers trailing over her hips and thighs in exploration as he pressed his forehead to hers gently. His lips were flushed from their kisses and his eyes a deep heated blue that had her stomach coiling in response. Witnessing the sheer lust in his normally lighthearted gaze made her nipples tighten against the fabric of her bra and she pressed the bridge of her nose against his impatiently at the battle inside of her.
"Don't you?" He implored breathily when she didn't respond.
"Of course I do," She gripped the back of his neck, moaning softly as his leg that kept her against the wall shifted between her thighs and created friction she desperately needed. "Do you have-" She choked on her words when he dipped his head again and pressed chaste kisses over the sensitive skin behind her ear, "-have any idea how long it's been-"
"God, don't tell me that," He let a growl of urgency against her neck, the sound shooting a lightning bolt of pleasure through her body and striking her throbbing core. "I can't remember the last time for me either-" He admitted and ran his hands along the underneath of her thighs, lifting her legs from the ground so that his bulging jeans pressed firmly against the apex of her thighs.
Regina moaned into his mouth when he lifted his head and pressed a slow kiss to her lips. Her gaze met his briefly and she searched his eyes for the truth, "Really? And you've never...gone elsewhere?"
"Never," He grunted when he pulled her hips against his in a slow grinding motion, "I hadn't considered it until I saw you. Then I tried to ignore it, but you are so gorgeous-" He exhaled and pressed his lips to hers again. "And kind-" he murmured between kisses, "-and funny-" he tilted his head and kissed her once more, "and did I mention gorgeous?" He smirked and hovered over her parted lips, "How have you not?"
"I was raising a baby," She attempted to steady her breathing, faces a mere inch apart as their noses and lips grazed, "I didn't have time and even if I did, men aren't usually interested in taking that on."
"Those men are insane-" David pressed his forehead to hers with a frustrated breath. "If I wasn't still-" He began and the haze of arousal immediately lifted from her brain, the words hitting her like cold water. He was about to promise he would be with her already if not for his marriage. That he wouldn't mind taking on her daughter. It was too much to hear when the reality was so far from it.
"David, don't-" She moved her hands from his neck to his chest, pushing his face back from hers, "Don't say it. Not like this."
"Do you not believe me?" A frown pursed his lips and his brows furrowed with concern. There was an honesty in his expression that made her want to believe him but she knew how this story played out for so many women before her.
"You don't say things like that to a single mother," Her tone was gentle but warning, voice barely audible from the aching in her chest. She wanted more than anything to trust that this would work out in her favor but she had more than herself to consider. "Don't tell me that you want to be with me and take on my daughter."
"But I...that's how I feel. I don't know how any man could deny you...how they could see your daughter as anything but a wonderful bonus like I do. I know it's a lot and-" He locked gazes with her, his pained expression speaking to his own torment over the matter, "I just meant that if things were different for me right now I would already be trying to make you mine...Do you think I would just say this so you would let me have you?"
"No. I don't think you have any ulterior motives in what you say David, but it still isn't fair-" She pushed against his chest again, enough for him to ease her down onto the ground this time. "I don't think you would lie about divorcing her just to sleep with me, but things change in these situations. Men go back to their wives and couples reconcile. The reality is that you are married and you shouldn't promise commitment to me when you aren't available."
"But I am!" He stepped back, shoving a hand through his hair as he visibly tried to rein in his reaction. She knew his frustration was not at her for denying him but with his own situation and she waited quietly as he continued. "I want you so fucking bad it hurts. I want to be free of her and I've told her that so many times now. I'm living in a shitty motel and trying to find a divorce attorney but she has connections with everyone. I just want to move on with my life. To live my life for once. I didn't even know how miserable I've been until I met you and now I can't go back to that. I can't walk away from this-"
Regina hated that she understood. She hated that she believed him. It would be so much easier if he were untrustworthy or dishonest. If he had been helping her and saying these things so that he could sleep with her. But she'd come to know his character and receive his kindness too many times to believe he had underhanded intentions with her. He was trapped and just as unhappy about still being married as she was.
"I know-" She replied softly and troubled her bottom lip before closing the space between them once more. Damn her feet. His head remained downcast until she ran her hand under his chin and directed his defeated gaze back up to look at her. "I know...Lets both just...cool off for now, okay? And I'll see you at dinner this week?"
"Of course...I'll be there," He nodded apologetically, reaching up to gently grip her wrist and rub his thumb over her palm as he studied her expression for a long, quiet moment. "...I'm sorry, I didn't bring lunch," He glanced over to the small table in the stables as if he'd just remembered that he came empty handed.
She couldn't help but let out a small smile at how his thoughtful nature remained intact despite the rejection and frustration she knew he currently felt, "I'll forgive you this time."
"I think we should chat. Don't you?" Zelena smiled bitterly at Albert Spencer after the town council had cleared the room following their weekly meeting. He didn't bother looking up at her when she spoke, instead casually flipping through the paperwork in his grip and purposely delaying his response.
"Should we, Madam Mayor?"
"I agreed to leave your memories intact so that you could keep up your end of the deal. I asked one thing of you in return."
"If you had to spend more than a moment around that spoiled princess you would've slapped her too," He raised an eyebrow, unaffected by Zelena's mood as he stood to gather his paperwork. "The women of this new world are rather entitled and brazen. I was simply putting her in her place."
"You think I care that the King's eldest daughter has an attitude problem?! I trusted YOU to keep a firm rule over her so that she did not cause any trouble. I never dreamt you'd be stupid enough to do so in a way that left evidence!"
"I think I did more than my fair share before this curse even began," Albert eyed her as he pushed his briefcase lid down and snapped the locks shut. "The war I put my kingdom through against King David's kept them distracted from what you and Rumple were up to. You should be thanking me."
"You were already out for revenge against David. Don't act like that war was about you trying to destroy him for any other purpose but your own," She scoffed and rolled her eyes, "If you would've had the resources necessary to take their kingdom you'd of destroyed them yourself."
"Precisely. You can't be foolish enough not to realize you were Rumple's last resort."
Zelena squinted, "Excuse me?"
"Had I been able to declare war earlier, your sister might've been widowed before her marriage with David became a happy one. It was precisely what Rumple wanted so that he could continue to manipulate her into dark magic and help him with this curse. Which would've left you entirely irrelevant as you've always been. You should be grateful that gathering the resources for war is not an easy feat and you were allowed this opportunity at all."
"You owe me!" She snapped, tone shrill and speaking to her rapidly depleting self control. "I gave you a privilege and power here and the satisfaction of knowing David would be miserable. This is how you repay me?"
"I have cooperated with every step of this charade that the foster system has put me through," He replied evenly though his voice was tight with irritation. "You gave me a pristine fake background when you created this ridiculous place. You've even threatened Dr. Hopper enough to ensure that his expert opinion will be that the girl made this up for attention. No judge is going to come after me. The worst that will happen is the princess goes to another foster home when the investigation is over."
"Exactly," Zelena grit out. "And do you know who is her temporary guardian? Who is vying to be her permanent foster parent? My sister herself. My sister who David has been helping along through this entire process since the girl reported you. My sister who he's been spending his evenings with and likely already fucking. Do you see the mess you've caused? The more he is around his children, one of which is the savior, the greater the chance they unravel this entire curse-"
Albert let out a slow breath and then shrugged frankly, "It sounds like the solution is simple. Do away with the child. Her mother would never be the same and it would certainly throw a wrench in her budding romance with the sheriff-"
"As easy as that sounds, Rumple said it could do more harm than good. He said that an attempt on the Savior's life would likely awaken her or Regina's magic. That an event like that could make the curse unravel even faster."
"And you believe him?"
"Why wouldn't I? This is his curse."
"Precisely, this is Rumple's curse. He clearly wanted to get to this land for a reason," Albert eyed her knowingly and leaned back against the desk. "You said that he oddly enough regained his memories. Why do you think that is? What has he accomplished since he came to Storybrooke? As far as I know, he hasn't gained anything but a dusty old pawn shop."
Zelena clenched her jaw, wheels visibly turning as she followed Albert's clues, "He said that he regained his memories when hearing the child's name because she was fated to be the Savior of the curse."
"And if her existence was fate then how did Rumple not know she would be born and brought to this land? If he did not plan it then how did he know her name? It sounds to me as if your dear mentor wanted a fail-safe to this curse. Perhaps to wake him up and give him the option of breaking the curse if coming to this land did not achieve his intended goal."
"I left my sister to enact the curse just moments after she started shrieking in labor pains," She shook her head, "It would've barely given her enough time to give birth let alone for the child to be named and for Rumple to find out if that was his plan. You think I did not thoroughly interrogate him on this when we got to this land and found out the bloody child existed? He said it was fate that she ended up here and that no magic could've changed it."
"It may have been fate that she be born and brought to this land as the Savior of this curse," Albert gave a casual tilt of his head, "But is it fate she remain here long enough to break it?"
"Here it is!" Violet exclaimed when she jumped the last step and ran across the loft apartment to where David was on the couch to waiting for her. He gave a glance at Regina in the kitchen, smiling at her briefly over her daughter's excitement before opening his arms as the child sailed onto his lap. It was an immense relief to find that his invite for dinner hadn't been revoked after their heated encounter at the stables that week. Regina had smiled at him rather warmly when she opened her front door but her daughter had demanded his attention almost immediately, giving them no chance for discussion. He had reassured Regina he would entertain Violet while she fixed the remainder of dinner and he knew she likely agreed because she did not know how to approach the subject either.
"The infamous book-" David chuckled as Violet made herself comfortable in his lap, grasping the hardback that was almost heavier than she was. The miniature brunette had begged her mother to go fetch the book from her room and bolted upstairs as soon as Regina's exasperated permission left her lips. After months of hearing about their fairy-tale world, Regina had given up on trying to phase out her daughter's obsession. He didn't mind and found Violet's imagination rather amusing, though he had supported Regina in her attempts to avoid the subject when the girl had asked to show it to him previously. For Regina it was a reminder that her daughter craved more family than she could provide for her and he knew no amount of reassuring her as a mother would lessen the guilt she felt over it.
"Once Upon A Time-" Violet pointed to each word, reading it slowly and loudly as if she were worried he may be illiterate. He stifled a chuckle, nodding once and biting down on his bottom lip as he helped her open the cover and balance it on their laps, "See it starts with mommy-" She pointed out, "She liked to ride horses and one day she saw a runaway horse-"
David raised an eyebrow, seeing the likeness between the brunette on the page and the woman in the kitchen. He couldn't blame a child's imagination for correlating the two, "And who is that?" He pointed to the illustration of the blonde girl on the runaway horse.
"That's Emma! Your daughter," She sighed exasperatedly as if he should already know, "Mommy saved her that day and that's how she met you. Then you got married and had me!" Violet scrambled to skip a few pages and show him the part of the book she referenced, "See that's me the day I was born and the wicked witch cast the curse-" She pointed then to the clouds seen through the castle window of the illustration, foreshadowing the fate of the couple in bed with a newborn.
David stared intensely at the illustration as a weird feeling began to seep into his gut. The king shared an odd likeness to him and the situation depicted in the photo made a sliver of anxiety course through him. He had a sense of deja vu that he couldn't quite place and then suddenly the familiarity hit him. He'd dreamt something just like this the same night after he kissed Regina in the stables. They were in a different time and Regina was his wife, showing him a red faced newborn that he knew was their own. He'd woken from the dream rather shaken, cursing himself when he looked around to see the reality of the motel room he lived in. It wasn't unusual for him to dream of her recently but most of them had faded from his memory within a few hours, only being able to recall certain flashes of them that stuck out in his mind. This scene was one that still lingered in his memories and it made his heart beat faster as he tried to process the strange coincidence.
"This the mean witch that cast the curse-" Violet's voice brought him from his uneasiness and he focused once more on the book. Another rush of anxiety coursed through his veins when a small finger pointed to a redhead with piercing blue eyes and facial features alarmingly like Zelena's. He glanced towards the kitchen to see if Regina was watching in fear she may see his alarm. He was being foolish but he could not seem to help his reaction to their strange likeness to these characters.
"Oh! I forgot to show you," Violet suddenly scrambled to turn pages back towards the middle of the book, clearly having forgotten a part she wanted him to see, "This is when you got hurt in the war with King George-" she tapped her hand against another illustration that made him freeze. It was the man Violet claimed was him, in the middle of a battle field and engaged in a sword-fight where his opponent's sword grazed his forearm. "That's when you got your scar-" The blue-eyed brunette was looking up at him with confidence when he managed to tear his eyes from the book.
"All right, who's ready for pizza?" Ruby barged in the front door then with stacked pizza boxes in her arms followed by Emma who carried two bottles of soda.
"Me!" Violet perked up immediately, thankfully losing concentration on the book as she closed it and maneuvered off of his lap to run to them. He was grateful for their interruption, taking a deep breath as he stared at the cover before setting it on the coffee table and pushing it to the back of his mind. It was best he didn't dwell on a few coincidences from a storybook and have Regina thinking he was completely insane if she knew he had been unsettled by it.
"But I was just starting dinner-" Regina turned, raising a disapproving eyebrow at the soda Emma carried. Both Emma and Ruby shifted on their heels and looked at one another to respond, causing David to smirk. She was such a mom.
"Yeah but you worked the stables all day by yourself today-" Emma raised an eyebrow after Regina had given her the day off, "The least we can do is handle dinner."
Regina softened then, rolling her eyes with a hint of a smile as she began to clear the counter for them to set the unhealthy meal down, "You mean you spent all day playing video games and then craved junkfood."
"Pretty much, yeah," Ruby nodded dryly before noticing David standing up and making his way over. "Well well if it isn't the sheriff. Are you like, always here now?"
"Ruby-" Regina's eyes widened as she sat down the plates for their pizza rather abruptly.
"I'm just kidding," Ruby rolled her eyes with a laugh. "C'mere Violet and pick out what kind of pizza you want," She turned to the girl and picked her up on her hip.
"He just came for dinner," Regina raised an eyebrow before looking at him apologetically as they all gathered near the counter to make their plates. "Which was going to be a bit better than pizza-"
"Honestly, pizza is fine by me," David smiled and held up his hands reassuringly to make her feel at ease before picking up a plate and handing it to her with a wink.
"Yeah besides I'm sure Regina has some kind of dessert in the oven if she knew you were coming-" Emma piped in with a smirk and a glance at Ruby who bit down on her bottom lip to suppress a laugh.
"Oh please," David laughed it off, noticing Regina's face turn pink as he attempted to extinguish her discomfort over Emma and Ruby's teasing, "With the way she cooks? I doubt it's just for me. I'm sure you guys get dessert with every meal."
"Oh no-" Violet looked up at him then, holding the plate Ruby had given her dutifully, "Mommy doesn't let us have dessert very often. She says sugar is bad for my teeth. We only get dessert on birthdays or Christmas or when you come over-" The child educated David, causing Emma and Ruby laugh out loud.
"So what is it tonight? Chocolate cake?" Ruby grinned.
Regina clenched her jaw and glared at Emma and Ruby for a long moment before giving up her charade with a sigh, "Apple turnovers."
"So," David grinned as he watched Regina coming down the steps from the loft.
She had agreed to let Emma spend the night at Ruby's after the pair had rattled on about a game they wanted to finish over the weekend. He watched in amusement as she packed them a to-go box with leftover pizza and instructions for Emma not to ruin her sleep schedule by staying up all night. After Ruby and Emma left, Regina's attention returned to Violet who had crashed on the couch from her soda-induced sugar high and she had carried her upstairs to tuck her in.
"So-?" She raised an eyebrow for him to continue but David could tell she was suppressing a playful grin. She made her way back to the living room where he sat on her couch and slowed as she approached the sofa.
"About that dessert-" He teased with a wag of his brows, referencing the way she had been called out earlier by Emma and Ruby.
Her mouth dropped and she laughed, gently kicking the side of his leg with her own foot, "I think it's time for you to go, David Nolan."
"Sending me home without leftovers?" He acted wounded, putting a hand on his chest as he sat forward on the couch in preparation to get up. "Not even one of those turnovers you made for me?"
"You heard me," She crossed her arms but amusement sparkled in her eyes despite her attempt to remain authoritative.
He suppressed a grin when her expression didn't change, prompting him to flip the script on her. "All right," he sighed dejectedly as he stood slowly from the couch and looked down at her, "You're probably right. It's getting late-"
Regina's brows nearly furrowed but she kept her expression even as she looked up at him, "Very late..." She added but her arms fell from their crossed position and she ran her hands over the front of her jeans, eyes flickering down to his shoulders before looking back up at him.
"You're right. Time got away from me tonight," He nodded slowly and watched her shift on her feet. "Sorry for overstaying my welcome-" He added before smiling smugly when her expression faltered with the knowledge she'd lost their little game and would have to admit that she didn't want him to leave yet.
"You're a jerk-" Her face broken into a grin and she hit him in the chest gently, causing him to reach out and pull her up against him with a satisfied chuckle.
"I know," David replied and bit back a wider smile as he pressed his forehead to hers. "I just don't want to be a burden to you if you ever really did not want me here."
"I wish that were the case. It would be so much easier-" Regina admitted quietly, gaze locking with his own as her arms looped around his neck. Her expression was longing, maybe a hint melancholy, but he didn't fail to notice the heat lingering in her dark eyes. "Which is...frustrating..."
"Hmm, I know," He hummed under his breath and nuzzled his nose against the bridge of her own. "Leaving here after all of us spending the evening together, saying goodbye to you...going back to that empty motel room. It's the most depressing thing I've ever experienced," He admitted with a humorless chuckle.
"I wish things were different," She whispered, her eyes wide with vulnerability and piercing his heart further with each passing second. He wanted so badly to hold her and make promises to her and just be with her. He wanted to explore the connection between them and know more about her. He wanted to learn her body and give her pleasure and watch her take it.
David tilted his head down then and pressed his lips to hers, kissing her slowly as his hands rounded her hips to her lower back, "Me too," He whispered gruffly, feeling her body lean into his. "I'm a bastard for putting you in the position."
"I didn't exactly discourage it," Her breath quickened and she kissed his bottom lip once before grazing it with her teeth, causing him to moan deeply at the gentle tug. "I trust your intentions, David. I know that you are trying to leave her. I'm just...worried and I've just never...done this-"
"Neither have I-" He let out a heavy breath through his nose, hearing her sharp gasp when his warm hands began sliding over the curve of her bottom.
"I mean-" Regina hesitated and let her lips hover against his. "Not just with a married man but...with any other man," she admitted quietly, gaze flickering up to his with a hint of uncertainty.
"Violet's father...he was the only one?" David nodded slowly, being sure he kept his expression neutral. He didn't want her to think he pitied her or that he judged her in any way, or that he would be turned off by the fact she didn't have a worldly amount of sexual experience. He watched her nod once and his chest ached at the familiar loneliness her eyes reflected. "That's okay, Regina. I would never push you into something you aren't ready for."
"I know that...I-" She began before shaking her head as she seem to give up on explaining how she felt and decided to show him, leaning up to kiss him with renewed energy. He groaned when she wrapped her arms around his neck and he pulled her closer against his body. The back of his legs hit the couch and he swayed backward, making the quick decision to lift her up against him and sit down on it.
"We don't have to do anything," He reassured her when she landed on-top of him, his hands cupping her bottom as she straddled his lap. Her breasts were dangerously close to his face but he looked up at her face, trying not to come off too eager for whatever she intended to do.
"I know-" She reassured again, her dark hair disheveled as she ran her hands up his biceps and to his shoulders, seeming to allow herself to enjoy his physique. He found it hard to believe no one had approached her since Daniel and that someone so beautiful could remain neglected this long. He wanted to peel the clothes off of her and give her the pleasure she'd gone years without but he forced himself to refrain from initiating anything more than kissing and touching until she had made it clear she wanted more.
Regina leaned her head down then and kissed him with a hungry urgency that had him immediately paying eager attention for that very signal. He groaned into her mouth, hands running over her thighs and ass, squeezing and massaging the flesh. The movement encouraged her to rock forward on him, both of them groaning at the friction provided when the crotch of her jeans ground against the bulge in his own.
"You are so gorgeous," David whispered against her lips, bringing a hand up to run fingers into her hair and tilt her head so he could kiss her firmer and deeper. His other hand remained gripping her bottom, pushing and pulling her hips against his own, quickly finding a rhythm that appeared to be satisfying them both. She pressed herself more firmly into his lap and began rolling her hips fervently, testing his willpower not to lay her on her back that very moment and take the control he knew she'd eagerly give.
She moaned a needy little sound when he tore his lips from her mouth and started peppering her neck, spurning him on to find out which area was most sensitive. His nerve endings were on fire with every moment of her hips and his cock began to throb against the pressure of his jean zipper. She reacted to the touch of his hands and lips so eagerly that he ached to give her the release she needed. David continued to kiss and nip at the skin of her neck, teasing it with kisses, biting it gently and then soothing the skin with a quick swipe of his warm tongue. His mouth trailed down her chest, looking up at her for permission when his stubble grazed the top of her breasts where her first button had worked itself loose with their movements.
"God, David-" She sucked in a breath and nodded, her voice raspy with desire as he sucked down on the top of her right breast before dipping his tongue between them and doing the same to the left. He blew gently against her chest, seeing the goosebumps break out over her olive skin when the air met the wet trail of his tongue. He kept one hand on her ass, guiding her rocking hips against his crotch and slid his other up her stomach under her blouse.
"You're perfect," He groaned when she gripped his hand and pushed it further up her torso to her breast, letting him feel her pebbled nipple against his palm through the lace of her bra. "Fuck, can I?" His fingers curled over the cup of her bra and met her gaze again.
Regina's face was flushed and she nodded eagerly, eyes dark with desire as her arms crossed and gripped the bottom of her blouse, pulling it up and over her head in one swift motion. He swallowed a groan at the sight of her and quickly pulled the cup he gripped down, making the strap fall over her shoulder and allowing him access to her full breast. "Oh, oh, fuh-" She stuttered when he began nibbling and kissing around the nipple before his tongue flicked over it. "Oh!" She gasped before he felt one of her hands grip the back of his hair to keep him there and her other grip his bicep, nails digging into his flesh.
He brought both of his hands down over her hips, grinding them harder for better friction as he teased her nipple in his mouth with his lips and teeth. Her hips began to jerk unsteadily under his hands as he moved her against him and he almost came at the knowledge he had her on the brink of an orgasm without even touching her sex. "Christ, Regina," His lips released her pebbled nipple and his voice was audibly strained, "Do you want me to touch you?"
She panted, gaze filled with lust and hips squirming and rolling on their own accord, "Yes, yes-" Her tone was throaty and desperate and made his dick throb painfully, "Touch me. Please, I need it."
David groaned at the way her words tumbled out of her mouth in a strangled plea. He pressed a kiss to her nipple before he moved his right hand between them, undoing the button on the top of her jeans, "Are you sure? I don't want you to regret this-" He asked as his fingers nimbly undid the button and he slowly pulled down the zipper, willing himself to keep eye contact with her until she reassured him instead of looking down at her body like he wanted to.
"I'm sure, David. Hurry," She almost whined and he wasted no time with leaning up to kiss her hungrily and shift them so he sat up straighter and could more easily move his right hand between her legs. Her arms wrapped around his neck as he turned his palm upward and began to push his fingers down the top of her panties. "Oh god-"
"My god, Regina-" David choked on his words as soon as his fingers felt her soaked lips and pushed past them, finding an equally swollen clit, "You have no idea what you're doing to me-" He said breathlessly as he began to rub his fingertips over her clit slowly, hand snugly tucked between her sex and her jeans that gaped open in the front to accommodate him.
"Mmmmmm," She moaned and he captured her lips in a kiss to muffle the sounds she made. Her sofa was tucked out of sight of the loft and staircase, but he knew they wouldn't have much time to detangle should her daughter wake so he continued to stifle as much noise as he could. "Just like that, David, oh my go-"
"Fucking hell," He muttered against her lips, foreheads brushing when her body tightened and her ability to make noise was stolen by the building intensity of her impending orgasm. He heard her whimper impatiently, prompting him to push his fingers down her lips to probe her slowly. She gave a new, barely audible moan from the back of her throat that told him she approved so he pushed one finger in slowly, feeling a jolt of pleasure shoot straight to the tip of his cock at the way her walls contracted around his single digit. "You are so tight," He murmured and withdrew one finger almost all of the way before adding his second finger, slowly pushing them both inside of her dripping sex.
Regina tucked her face into his neck and cried out when he pressed his thumb to her clit and began slowly pumping his fingers in and out of her wetness. She was making sounds that vibrated against his skin and had him excruciatingly stiff but he kept his focus on her, wanting to give her the kind of release she'd been in need of. She panted near his ear, choking on moans and whimpering when she began to move her hips in time with his hand. He curled his fingers just enough to reach her front wall when she rocked forward, keeping a thumb massaging firmly against her clit.
"Oh, I'mgoingto-" She half-sobbed into his neck, her hip movements becoming uncoordinated when his fingers pushed deeper against her g-spot. Her walls gripped his fingers tightly, her slickness allowing his fingers to move within her easily and he could feel her entire body growing tenser with each forward rock.
"Let me feel you come," He encouraged with a quiet groan near her ear, letting her keep her face tucked into his neck as he wrapped his free arm around her waist to help her keep rhythm. The added security of his arm around her faltering hips allowed his fingers to thrust harder and he began moving his thumb on her clit in a faster circular motion. She gasped as it almost immediately sent her over the edge and she let out a strangled cry into his skin when she went stiff. Her muscles clenched around his fingers, her hips jerking and limbs twitching, her fingers clutching at him desperately as the pleasure radiated from her core and exploded throughout her body.
"Mmmhmm," She half-whimpered, half-murmured in satisfaction. Her nails gently scratched his scalp and the back of his neck as he began to slow the movement of his fingers to bring her down from the pleasure. Her undulating hips eventually stilled and she panted in his neck to catch her breath.
He let his fingers slip from inside of her once her walls stopped clenching, moving his left hand from her lower back to cup the back of her head and his right hand to her lower back. Her thighs trembled against him and it did nothing to relieve the painful hardness protesting the confines of his jeans. He marveled at how intensely she had just come and that she had trusted him enough to be the one to pleasure her. "Are you okay?" He murmured near her ear.
"Hmm," She hummed a yes and slowly lifted her face from his neck, looking down at him with eyes that were heavy lidded from pleasure, "Do you..do you want to stay?"
"I think we both know that if I agree to stay that I will take you to bed and remove all of your clothes and fuck you senseless...but-" He explained quietly, voice gruff as he forced the words out despite his body screaming in protest. "-I do not want your decision to have sex with me to be because you were endorphin happy after coming on my fingers."
"But what about-" Regina's lips parted in surprise when he wrapped his arms around her thighs and stood with her in his arms, slowly walking over to her bedroom behind the brick partition. "What about you-"
"I'll be fine," He couldn't help but grin at the way her brows furrowed in concern but he continued to carry her to her bed, not wanting to give her time to protest as he didn't quite trust his own self-control to hold up if she tried to change his mind, "I didn't expect anything in return. That was for you."
"Are you sure-" She looked up at him in shock when he sat her down on her bed and reached down to re-adjust her top for her. He saw a hint of uncertainty in her expression, like she was afraid she'd done something wrong and wasn't sure if she'd see him again.
He knew he was making the right decision to go home and give her time to think about what had happened but he sensed she needed reassurance, "Regina, when and if you make the decision to have sex with me I want to be sure that it is a decision you've made with a clear mind. Just a few days ago you expressed that you were unsure about this and I don't want to take advantage of how you may be feeling right now. I think you can see how much I want you but I need to know you are ready."
Regina bit down on her bottom lip as she processed his explanation and her expression slowly grew warmer as she seemed to understand he was considering her. That he was exercising some self-restraint for the both of them when her mind was foggy and logic compromised by pleasure. "You are something else, David Nolan..."
He grinned at the subtle compliment and leaned down, cupping the back of her hair and pressing a kiss to her forehead, "Goodnight, Regina."