Chapter 9: Things Heat Up
Bash was doing push-ups when he heard his phone vibrating on the ground beside him. Wiping the sweat off his brow, he rolled over on his back and unlocked his screen.
Mary wanted him to meet her. He knew why, but the question was, could he contain himself long enough to treat her properly?
Pushing himself up, Bash dropped his towel over his shoulders and grabbed his water bottle. Drinking most of it, he poured it over his head to cool himself off.
He made his way back up to the main corridors of the castle. He walked up the steps and to Mary's door, where he brought his hand to the door then paused. He was nervous again, as he had the start of that day, but the feeling quickly faded when he remembered everything that had transpired between them. He knocked on her door resolutely, and waited, a determined look on his features.
Mary's head lifted at the sound of the knock, a smile crossing her features as her hand traced the fabric of the dress once more. "Come in." She called, moving her hand to her side as she turned her back to the dress and other presents upon her bed.
Slowly she made her way down from her bed, and stopped in the middle of the room, close to the door as she waited for who she knew would be on the other side. Her heart was thudding rapidly within her chest, and it took everything she had to keep herself grounded to that spot.
So much had gone on between them today, her thoughts drifted back to that kiss at the rest stop and she felt her cheeks darken with a crimson blush as she waited for him to come in. She couldn't move, she found herself much more nervous than she thought she would be. That was strange, considering she shouldn't be nervous, yet here she was as nervous as could be as she waited what seemed like an eternity for him to come through her door.
Bash looked to his Bulova watch. He had been off the clock for exactly four minutes and five seconds.
He pushed open the door as his eyes fell upon her figure near the door.
He pushed the door shut with his foot.
"You requested me?"
Mary watched as he pushed the door shut with his foot that was all it took. She made her way towards him, throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly.
"Thank you...it's so beautiful." She whispered, hugging him tightly as she closed her eyes for a moment.
She didn't mind the sweat, she didn't mind anything.
Right now this was perfect to her.
Bash raised a brow as she hugged him. He could still smell the vanilla from her bath and could tell her hair was damp. Didn't he smell? He wondered if Mary realized she'd have to shower again.
But she seemed pleased, and Bash felt the corners of his mouth quirk slightly.
With steady breaths, he slowly brought a hand to her hair. He cupped the back of her head, stroking the skin of her neck slightly.
He slowly pulled back and gently extracted himself from her embrace. He placed his hands on her upper arms and looked at her carefully.
"There's a lot, I think, we need to talk about," he started. "There are things that need to be properly sorted out."
Mary composed her face, nodding slightly as she looked towards the bench by the fireplace. "Let's sit, we'll discuss everything we have too." She said, unable to hide the smile from her face though she tried.
"Did you like your gift? I had seen you looking at it..." She said, reaching up and taking hold of his hand as she walked towards the bench.
She sat down, lifting a hand to tuck away a few stray curls behind her ear as she looked up at him. There was quite a bit they needed to discuss, and yet she had a feeling that things would be easier for them now that they had both obviously made their decision.
"I know that we have a bit of things to figure out, but just know that I want to make this work, because I want us to work..." She said sincerely, lifting her gaze to him from where she sat on the bench.
Bash looked down at her, and at their intertwined hands. At her words, he replied slowly, "For starters, you talk too much. There's no reason for your heart to be so far in your throat, Mary. Why do you think I was here this morning? I've been one step ahead of you in this," he said gently.
"But," he slid his gaze to hers, "really. You say too much sometimes. I had my determination all planned out, but when you say things like what you just did, I end up improvising."
Slowly, Bash sat down beside her. He tried to give her space on the small seatee, but it wasn't easy.
"I really do mean when I say we should talk, but, you said quite a lot more than I was expecting just now. When I'm pushed to my limits, my resolve easily waivers. So I no longer believe that this is the moment for talking."
Mary found herself at a loss for words, "I...see." She said, drawing her lower lip into her mouth and biting down upon it. She glanced at his hand within hers, and smiling softly she kept her voice quiet at the moment. Perhaps things were complicated, she did talk a bit much at times, but she was nervous.
She knew that when he was able to find the words to say, he would no doubt find them. She wanted to see what he had to say about this, and only hoped that things would take a turn for the best between them.
Her gaze drifted over to the dress and other items, her smile only growing as she admired them once more. Perhaps this had been the longest she had gone without saying anything around him, so he had been a step ahead of her this whole time? That was news to her, and she only wondered if that was in fact the reason he had been so nervous this morning.
Bash felt himself frowning to himself as he thought. "Having said this, I realize I'm not good company right now. Had I known this was going to happen, I'd have showered first. You were in the bath, weren't you? You hugged me." He frowned at their hands, gently trying to remove his from hers, lest she end up having to bathe again. He eyed the seatee and wondered if it'd be wiser to stand.
Mary allowed him to remove his hand, shaking her head as she sat there. "I don't mind...it was, worth it to hug you." She said, lifting her gaze to look at him. "Perhaps we should both take some time to clean up a bit more, then meet and try discussing things? This time you can go first." She said, shifting slightly as she kept her gaze on his face. It wasn't a big deal to her, he didn't smell that bad, and she actually was just grateful for his company at present.
"That sounds...novel," he nodded, but found he wasn't moving. Blinking twice, he stood, and let the young queen escort him to the door.
He made it down the first two steps before turning.
He knocked once, hands at his sides.
Mary blinked, turning to the door and tilting her head. She placed one hand on the handle and pulled it open, looking at Bash with a confused expression.
"Is everything alright?" She asked him, lowering her arms to her sides as she stood before him.
What had caused him to return?
Not that she minded.
He looked at her face carefully.
"Everything's not alright," he stated casually.
He kissed her before she could say another word, cupping her face in his hands and kissing her firmly. It was a closed mouth kiss, his lips sliding over hers, caressing hers and urging her to move past her surprise, a sound of approval low in his throat at his victory when she finally did.
After a moment, he pulled back far enough to look into her eyes.
"It's as I said. You talk too much. I warned you about teasing, and then you tell me you don't mind that I'm covered in sweat?" His darkened eyes narrowed on her lips, and he brushed his own against them again. Then he slid a finger to her lips.
"Shh. I'm going to shower now."
Mary was surprised at first, but found herself staring at him as her cheeks darkened slightly.
"A-alright..." She said, shaking her head as she brought a hand up to her mouth, her fingertips lightly touching her lips. It had been a shock, and yet a welcomed one at that. She had been curious about his kiss, and found it absolutely how she imagined it would be.
She composed herself, finding her eyes drifting over his chest and to the muscles that hid beneath the tank top he wore. Strangely enough she found herself unable to bring her eyes from his chest, one of her hands reaching out to rest on his chest slightly.
It wasn't alright for him to leave now, not after those kisses of his.
She lifted her hand from his chest to wrap around his neck, pulling him into her room so that she could close the door behind him. Once he was in, and her door was closed she found her hand wrapping around his neck and pulling him closer. She leaned up on her tiptoes slightly, pressing her lips firmly to his own as her fingertips danced along the back of his neck. Teasing was exactly what he had just done with those kisses, and she wouldn't be able to let him go until she finished with this moment of her own.
Her second hand moved to rest on his chest, keeping his lips against her own.
His brow quirked, and he found himself responding eagerly, his lips moving with hers, and his muscles tensing under her palm.
"You're too stubborn," he said against her lips. "Neither Jackson nor Connor will be able to handle you. Reily also. Your Grace, I think I'll have to make sure the King denies your request for a new tail. I think I may be the only one who knows just what to do with you."
Mary found herself shaking her head, her lips moving against his own. "Now you're talking too much, Sebastian." She whispered against his lips, pressing her own lips to his once more in a kiss. She found her hand roaming along his chest, the free motion of what she was doing almost liberating to her finally.
So much was going on in her mind, and she found her head tilting to the side to deepen the kiss they shared, granted it was still closed mouthed, but that may soon change as she found herself pressing her body against his slightly.
Bash growled low in his throat at the sound of his name on her lips. The feeling of her hand moving on his skin sent the temperature of his body rising.
He felt her curves mold into him, and moved a hand to her waist, and another to rest lightly over the hand on his chest.
Smirking darkly, broke their kiss and moved his lips to her ear.
"You're not slick, Queen," he chuckled against the shell of her ear. "You should really let me go. You don't know what you're getting yourself into. Though you may continue teasing if you'd like, I'm not sure I'm thinking rationally enough about what may be the fallout. I've wanted you for a long time, Mary. This is nowhere near enough for me. It's in your best interests to escape from me for the time being. I'm not the same type of sweet lover as Francis."
Mary found her cheeks darkening at his words, her body reacting almost instantly to his touch. How long had it been since she had been touched in this way? Could she let him go without repercussion at the moment?
The feel of his hand upon her waist, and upon her hand over his chest was sending small sparks throughout her body. A small shudder coursed through her, as she brought her lips to the side of his neck, kissing ever so softly upon the flesh. Whispered words escaped against the flesh of his neck, her body pressing against his a bit more. "And if I can't let go?" She spoke, letting her lips find the flesh on his neck once more and kiss yet again.
She didn't mind that this wasn't enough for him, she wanted more in her own mind as well. Perhaps behind the closed door of her room, perhaps right now she could finally feel what it would be like to have him entirely to herself. She let her teeth graze upon the flesh of his neck, nipping ever so lightly at the flesh before she kissed it once more.
His hands tightened on his hold on her. He clenched his teeth to stop the groan of approval from slipping passed his lips.
"I'm sure you can feel for yourself, the answer to your question," he stated, unabashed.
It took all his self-control to remain in their intimate, clothed positions. He said, "But even if that much is obvious, you really don't comprehend the depths of these feelings for you, Mary. I'd really like this to continue at a more opportune time. Perhaps when you're properly dressed for the occasion? I -" he took a sharp intake of breath at her ministrations, shivering, his self-control slipping a bit each time, "fully intend to ravish you, but I at least wanted to take you to dinner first. Though, I am very pleased to see you so eager..." He carefully started to push her back, away from him, "...my skin is sticky and salty. You taste it, don't you?" He chuckled as he removed her face from the crook of his neck. "You're grimacing, slightly."
"Don't presume to think it a grimace of displeasure." Mary said lightly, looking up at him. "But fine, go shower...I feel like trying this dress on for myself." She was excited at the mere words he had used, ravish? Well that sounded all too wonderful to her, she leaned up and kissed his lips once more. Savoring in the taste of his lips against her own, and found herself letting a small shudder course through her.
"I fear if you remain any longer...things may end up...a more compromising position than this." She admitted, her hand trailing down his chest and stopping at his hip. She found her eyes wandering, taking in every part of him and eagerly drinking him up in full. Finally she brought her gaze to his face, clearing her throat as she realized the blush was evident upon her features now. "And...I do look forward to this ravishing you speak of, one can only hope that...it won't be too long of a wait."
She took a step back, dropping her hands to her legs, trying her best to compose herself as she tried to not imagine him in the shower, naked and...She shook her head, her cheeks darkened exponentially more than before. "Your talk of a shower...well I think it best we part for now." She said, clearing her throat.
"Right," Bash said in dark amusement, a brow raised as he regarded her. Had he not just said the same things himself? As her eyes trailed down his body, he watched her expression and grinned in satisfaction, his male pride extremely pleased by the blush on her features, and not the least bit shy of she was seeing.
"All things happen in due time," he said gently.
He turned around and grasped the door handle, "And you, Mary, should shower as well, and drink plenty of water. You're looking quite flushed." Trying to keep the tease out his tone, he turned back to her and smiled gently. "I'll text you."
Mary found herself nodding quickly, lifting her gaze to meet his. "Of course, I'll see you soon." She said, placing a hand on her door as she watched him head off to clean himself up. She coughed slightly, unsure of just how much she had been blushing and knowing that she was definitely in need of a cooling off period.
She found herself walking towards her bathroom, splashing water on her face and neck and taking a few deep breaths as she tried to compose herself better.
