Prompt: A kiss; behind the ear (#13/25)
Prompt: Jeffy gives Regina a back rub
Setting: Storybrooke

She was stressed — she always was for one reason or another. And while usually he would have taken to helping her release some of that stress in a far more mutually enjoyable fashion, as she sat at her dining room table pouring over documents that in reality were not her job to be pouring over any longer, a different sort of approach rose to his mind on how he could be a distraction from it.

He came to stand just behind her, hovering a bit to look at what all she had laid out before her, none of it appearing to be half as interesting or important as her posture implied it to be. Two hands came to rest just on either side of her neck, rubbing ever so gently as if to test the waters of what she was willing to tolerate from him.

"I'm busy."

That was all she had to offer him. Her tone not all that welcoming to this touch of his but he ignored it, and dug his fingers in just a bit harder to stimulate her nerves, knowing that if she let him long enough the sensation would begin to do his work for him.

"Jefferson — stop it…"

Said her words, the command halfhearted as his thumbs were already tending to a kink at the base of her neck.

"I have things to do."

She spoke again, even less commanding than before, her hands stilling and coming to rest on the table, giving in despite her words' insistence that she didn't want or need to.

"Stop resisting,"

He said without any attempt at sounding like she was to obey him. It was a request, a request to trust him and let him relieve some of the tension built up within her. A request to let him do so without just ripping her clothes off.

His fingers danced along the sides of her neck, tracing across the bottom of her hairline before descending down and going their separate ways — each hand curling over a shoulder, fingers and thumbs kneading the tight muscles just beneath the surface.

He could feel the way each simultaneous motion set her to relaxing a bit more, shoulders gradually slumping as her heartbeat slowed beneath his fingertips, coming down from its usual rapid-fire thrum. Her skin no longer pulsing for the thunder that rumbled inside.

Why don't we, go upstairs and get comfortable so I can tend to you properly

He leaned down to press a kiss to the side of her neck, speaking the words softly against her until a little hum escaped her lips, then dragging higher to the soft spot just behind her ear, feeling her shudder just faintly as he made contact with it.

"I will carry you if necessary."

After plenty of coaxing on his part, and just enough wavering resistance on hers, they ended up in Regina's bedroom. He shed her of her shirt and nothing more — she was the one who let the zip down on her skirt, not wanting the wrinkle it when she laid on the bed. Were he not so determined to prove himself honest and able to do anything else with her, he would have caved then and there.

She knew what she did to him. Liked it, he'd decided, more than she'd admit. And he liked it too. To be cornered by desire instead of the suffocating feelings he usually possessed — it was a good trade. Being run by your want of a person was better than just about any alternative. Even when that want sometimes made any other activity hard to stick with. But he was determined, even as he watched her settle onto the bed, testing him; his commitment.

"Are you sure this is all you brought me up here for?"

A hand smoothed against her back in place of an answer, tracing the ridges of muscle and vertebrae as he settled next to her. Large hands encompassed her slight waist, pushing upwards to her shoulder blades as both palms laid flat against her, moving against her skin until they came up over her shoulders once again.

At his insistence she finally rested her head against the bedding, allowing him his touches as her eyes slowly fell closed. He was not good at all that many things, fewer still for her, but one thing that never failed to disappoint was just how talented he was with his hands.

They were much larger than hers. Two could nearly take up the expanse of of her back on their own. Making this process all the more thorough for how much ground he could cover with kneading fingers and pressing thumbs. Down the length of her spine, to the dip in her lower back, the very starting point for the curve that resided below. Sweeping upwards once again his fingers curled over her sides, causing little shudders and shivers to escape her, as he stimulated as many nerve endings as possible, all in order to allow the maximum amount of tension be released, as with every pass across her skin it became harder not to venture further, and release some tension of his own.

In a foolish attempt at doing so without doing too much, he leaned down to press his lips to the very center of her spine, feeling her skin, all of herself come a little more alive for it. He snickered against her, the warm breath exhaled in the process bouncing back off of her as she shifted under his touch, taking up the smallest fistful of sheets to steady herself. But with a second kiss, and a third, following his movements as his hands continued to work over her, the combining sensations were already becoming too much to bear.

"I should have known this wasn't all you dragged me up here for."

Her voice came out wanton, muscles just discernibly buzzing despite his attempts at lulling all tightness away.

"Are you complaining?"

He spoke against her, a fourth kiss placed between her shoulder blades as he continued trailing up whilst his hands traveled down, zeroing in on her lower spine, then ever so not so subtly moving beneath her.

"No…"

She said within a breath and bitten lip, arching herself just enough to allow his hands better room to descend.

Author's Note: I got a prompt to do a back rub and this is what happened. Since it lent itself to the ear kiss so easily I decided to let them combine instead of trying to find *another* way to get them into that sort of position. I don't like being so redundant. Thank you to all who have reviewed the last few drabbles. HeroineGauddess you were exactly right about the chapter titles! And my Guest, I don't approve reviews they just post themselves so anything not here didn't go through. I hope you enjoyed the last dark!verse post tho :) I fear I might be running out of steam on the remaining kisses now so I might be posting a new set of prompts here soon, it will be the same situation of different verses and whatnot so the only difference will be a new list to go from. We shall see.