Disclaimer: see Chapter 1
A/N: Well, apparently, people liked the first chapter of this so I decided to post any other work I did with it on here again, please review (constructive criticism welcome) and if you'd like to see anything let me know and I'll try to work it in – besides the general plotline I'm making it up as I go along
Huge thanks to my beta again: you're awesome Sammy!
The Evil Queen had reached the end of her very short temper. Snow and Charming, being the caring people that they were, had spoken to Regina about concerns with her magic. Apparently, they were worried her powers could lead her down the wrong path again. Despite the fact that they had all been here for several months and she had yet to kill—or even injure—anyone. That was an incredible surprise, given Regina's intolerance for stupidity and everyone else's stunning capacity for it. Regina had been putting up shields and practicing her defensive magic. Yet, because she was obviously missing her son and it was common knowledge that she did not deal well with loss, they still viewed her as a possible danger to those she ruled over. She wasn't; for all the damage she caused her subjects as the Evil Queen it was about time she protected them.
And of course, since that kiss between herself and the outlaw in the corridor a few days prior, Robin had impressed the un-Charmings and managed to secure himself a place in their inner circle. This made it exceedingly difficult for Regina to concentrate on anything other than him and his damn lips during their meetings.
She had left the last one wanting to kill him; he had started off sitting beside her with a stupid smile on his stupid face and every so often, when their eyes met, he would smirk and bite his lip. She could have—and probably would have—turned him into a cockroach if she wasn't trying to prove to everyone that she wasn't a danger to anyone but her sister.
But for now, all she wanted was for everybody to leave her alone; she wanted a hug from her son and she wanted to plot all the ways she could get her hands around Zelena's neck.
Being left alone was out of the question, as a certain thief was following a few feet behind her. Her son was not here, so she couldn't have the hug she desperately wanted. But as there was nothing stopping her from planning the demise of her sister, Regina did so with glee.
"Your majesty," Robin called, apparently tiring of trying to sneak up on her.
"What do you want?" Regina snapped, not wishing to have anything to do with him until she had cleared her head a little.
Robin jogged a few paces until he could stand in front of her, causing her to halt. "I just wanted to see if you were alright, milady. You seemed a bit…"
Upon seeing Regina raise her eyebrow in a silent warning, Robin quickly tried to find the right word that wouldn't cost him his head.
He settled for "tense".
The Queen scoffed, not quite an acceptable reaction for a royal, but she paid civility no mind. Really? 'Tense?' He hadn't seen anything yet.
"Did I now?" Robin took her lack of murder attempt as a positive sign, though he wasn't too fond of the wicked glint in her eyes. "Well, in case you haven't noticed, I'm trying to protect my kingdom from the imminent threat that is my sister. I have Tweedledumb and Tweedledumber trying to tell me that everybody will be better off without my magic, and I have you distracting me at meetings because now, apparently 'you're trusted' and 'could be useful'."
Robin took this opportunity to try and divert her attention onto him.
He grinned, "If I remember correctly, your majesty, you wanted me to distract you." Moving closer to her, Robin placed his hands onto her hips, only for her to take a step away from him. His hands dropped to his sides as the smirk fell from his lips.
"That didn't mean I wanted you to try and look out for me," she said. Her hands clenched into fists, remembering the outlaw's attempt at sticking up for her when David made a particularly harsh comment in the Queen's direction. After everything she had put both of the Charmings through, she could cope with a few idle threats and any of their snide comments. Besides, she didn't need anybody to fight her battles for her, especially not this damned thief.
Robin truly hadn't meant any harm; he had just seen the slight hurt in the Queen's eyes when the stress of the whole situation made David snap at her and suggest that ruining lives ran in her family. The outlaw understood the strain the man was under; trying to keep everybody safe, maintaining order and hope amongst his subjects. But that did not excuse what he'd said to Regina and Robin couldn't allow the comment to go unacknowledged. The action had earned him a few surprised looks from the group and a fierce glare from Regina herself.
The Queen tried to walk past him, but he swiftly put his arm out to catch her by the waist and gently pull her toward him. He stared into her eyes for a few seconds, seeing a swirling storm of emotions behind chocolate brown. Whilst she may have tried to put up a blank façade, her eyes betrayed her; showing the feelings she desperately tried to keep hidden.
Regina felt slightly uneasy under his scrutiny, Robin looked at her like he understood everything she felt and that was not in the cards for her.
"What are you doing?" she asked, voice quiet and slightly apprehensive. Definitely not the cold, authoritative tone she was aiming for. She watched as his eyes flickered down to her lips before he gradually leaned forward and capturing them between his own.
All of the thoughts that flashed around Regina's head dimmed until the only thing that she could concentrate on was the feeling of his lips on hers. Before she could tilt her head to deepen his kiss, he slowly pulled away, arms still locked firmly around her and gazing back into her eyes.
"I'm distracting you," Robin stated with a sly grin. "Is it working?"
Regina's thoughts were muddled by the intense desire to kiss him again. Evidently, it was working. But unwilling to inflate his already huge ego further by saying so, she simply raised herself onto her toes and pressed her lips to his, wanting more.
He felt more than saw her smile, and Robin happily took that as an affirmative response. Snaking one arm to meet his other around her waist, Robin trailed his left hand up her back before clutching at her soft hair—which cascaded down her back in an elegant half up-do—and tugging, forcing her back down to her normal height with a short gasp escaping her lips. Apparently hair-pulling was a sort of fetish to the Evil Queen. Robin chuckled into her mouth and reminded himself to exploit that at a later date. Right now, however, his attention was drawn to fingers delicately unfastening the top button on his shirt. He pulled away and saw the Queen looking at him with an expression he'd never expected to see on her beautiful face; uncertainty. Robin was confused; after all the seduction, the kisses and the sensual looks he had been throwing her way, she was still searching for any sign of his hesitation. Robin smiled, brought his hand up to hers and undid the second button with her.
The Queen hadn't anticipated this; an honourable man looking at her like he wanted nothing more than to take her to bed and have his way with her. She looked for any hint that she was taking this too far, that although her body was desperately aching for the feel of his bare skin on hers, he didn't feel the same. But all she saw was want and lust in his eyes… for her. Only her.
With renewed passion Regina reclaimed Robin's lips, undoing the third and fourth button whilst his hands fumbled for a way to remove her dress.
Voices floated down the corridor and just like the incident days before, Regina's first instinct was to pull away and dust herself off. At least it was, until she looked back at Robin and caught sight of his hungry gaze. No, she wasn't going to stop this now; she wanted him to take her, and from the heat in the outlaw's gaze, he wanted to take her too.
And she wasn't going to let anything stop him.
With a flick of her wrist, Regina moved them to her room, leaving no trace of their presence apart from the dissipating wisps of purple smoke.
Robin didn't even take a moment to survey at his new surroundings; he was too busy attaching himself to Regina's lips again. He finally found the clasp at her side and pulled it downward at a torturously slow pace. The Queen sighed as his knuckle traced her newly revealed skin and she shrugged her shoulders to dislodge the straps keeping the dress in place. When Robin lifted his hands off her body to clutch her hair, the dark navy fabric pooled at her feet, leaving Regina standing in nothing but sheer, black lace protecting her modesty.
Pushing Robin backward and stepping out of the pile of fabric at her feet, the Queen kicked her dress to the side and grabbed hold of him again, removing his jacket and the other layers separating her from his skin. Opening his now-unbuttoned shirt and dragging her nails up his torso with the sole intention of pushing his shirt off, Regina dove for his lips once more. But before she could make contact with them, Robin gently pushed her back until she was held at arm's length.
If Robin was going to bed the Queen he wanted to make the most of the experience. He didn't know if this was going to happen again but he desperately hoped that it was; he wanted to see her, all of her. So, he spent a moment drinking her in; trying to memorize the sight of her flushed cheeks, her olive skin and her gorgeous hair cascading down her back. The outlaw had heard many tales about the great and terrible Evil Queen; a woman who would stop at nothing to get what she desired, her savagery only rivalled by her beauty. But those tales did not do her justice, not in the slightest amount; from where he stood, she was one of the most beautiful women Robin had ever seen. He would have told her so, had he been brave enough, but there were no clear boundaries for what he was allowed to say and what he wasn't. So he kept quiet; the limits were up to the Queen and, until she informed him of where those limits stood, he would take all that she was willing to give him. And at that moment, she was giving him her stunning body. And that was more than enough for him.
Regina watched his eyes practically devour her, his hands caressing the path his passionate gaze took. She could visibly see the thrumming of his pulse increase. And when she moved to take a step closer to him with a coquettish grin, getting impatient with keeping her hands to herself, he let her. She bit at his pulse point, drawing a groan from him as her hands gripped his biceps and her hips ground against his. Deciding she couldn't see nearly enough of him, Regina fervently pushed his shirt off his shoulders and tossed it to the floor behind her. Robin pulled the Queen closer and eagerly kissed her as her hands made their way to his trousers, tucking her fingers into the waistband, enjoying his laboured breathing and the desperation in his kisses.
Regina was just about to remove his remaining clothing when there was the unmistakable sound of a knock on her door. Robin groaned as Regina dropped her head to his shoulder with a frustrated sigh, both of them breathing like they had run a hundred miles. The knock sounded once more with an accompanied "your majesty".
"One moment!" Regina shouted before pulling away from the outlaw and clothing herself again. Robin took a moment to appreciate the view as she turned and located her dress, bending gracefully to retrieve it. After she had hurriedly re-zipped it, she picked up his crumpled shirt and tossed it behind her in the thief's direction. Making her way to the door, she paused at the large mirror on her dresser to correct her appearance, taking a second to right her hair and lipstick. She expected to see mussed hair, smeared make up, slightly swollen lips and the pink flush to her cheeks. She did not expect to see the brightness in her eyes and the small smile that graced her lips that she had not seen in a mirror since she had arrived in the Enchanted Forest.
It meant nothing, she thought, absolutely nothing.
After checking that the outlaw was outside the range of view of the door, the Queen made her way to whoever had interrupted them. She was contemplating the ways in which they would pay for spoiling her fun.
As he was buttoning up his shirt, Robin strained his ears to catch the conversation between the Queen and the person who had ruined his plans for her majesty. He didn't hear much; there was a request for the Queen's presence at an 'incredibly important' meeting between Snow, Charming and herself. She told the messenger to give the message that she would be down shortly, then closed the heavy door more forcefully than she had probably intended.
There was an awkward pause as Regina looked back to Robin and let out a small, self-conscious laugh, rubbing a hand over the back of her neck as she looked down. The outlaw, however, comforted her with lustful eyes and a small smile. He slowly walked away from his spot near the bed until he was right in front of her, tentatively reaching for her hands and lightly stroking his thumb across her knuckles before she glanced up at him.
"Some other time, your majesty?" he said in a low voice.
Regina nodded slightly with a breathy "yes". Her gaze shifted from his eyes to his lips and back again. He kissed her once, slowly, left her wanting so much more.
Then he pulled away and walked over to the doorway, checking that the coast was clear before he made his way down the corridor.
The Evil Queen breathed heavily, replaying everything that had happened. She had come to the realization that this game that they were playing was a dangerous one. If she was of right mind, she should stop before it became something too difficult to put an end to. But the outlaw was getting under her skin; he had this magnetic pull about him, and she simply couldn't refuse his advances. And as she caught a glimpse of her content reflection again, she realised…
She had no desire to turn him away.
