Chapter 46

Waiting until everyone was settled down for the evening, Melyssa left her bed and made her way to Rean's door, pushing it open. There he was, his hand on the handle of his Tachi, bare from the waist up, with a lit candle in front of him. He was in the Eight Leaves stance, his eyes closed and she watched the Tachi slice through the flame, not touching the candle. Melyssa shut the door, making him whip around to see who was in his room and walked up to him, pushing his Tachi to the side gently.

"If something happens to me tomorrow night, I don't want any regrets. And my one regret is pushing you away, Rean." Very softly, Melyssa leaned up to brush her lips against his, her hands pressed against his chest and sighed at the feeling of them, of him.

Admittedly, Rean's first impulse was to shut her down. Tomorrow was going to be insane enough without the added distraction of her. Of losing her after… if this went that far, his mind refused to compute that possibility. Then there was the concern that she was doing this for the wrong reasons, he knew how that went before a major 'battle', making impulsive 'this may be my last night' decisions. Then the rest of him was shutting himself down, knowing if he pushed her away now, she would take it badly and he would never have this opportunity again. Never mind that she was likely to regret it after she did survive tomorrow and realized what she had done, and with who. He draped an arm around her waist, pulling her into his body, his lips feathering hers.

"I didn't mean what I said in the clearing." Melyssa spoke against his lips, kissing him again, this time a little harder, and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I was scared…and I still am because you're my Instructor. You said Thors frowns upon students and Instructors being together and I don't want to cause you any problems." It would be a huge liability for him to be with her. "It was…wrong of me to use your judgment against you, for what I said about you having problems separating Instructor and friend among us. You proved tonight you won't let your personal feelings get in the way of what needs to be done and I should have trusted that from the beginning. I just never thought someone like you would want someone like me." A nobody from Jurai, whose father was an Enforcer of Ouroboros. "I rejected you out of fear and I'm sorry, Rean."

"Apology accepted and I appreciate it." He rumbled, blinking down at her as he moved back to sit on the bed. Rean pulled her with him, her legs automatically straddling him as she sat on his lap. "And someone like you?" If she couldn't feel how much he wanted her, the way his body was beginning to shake from desire and restraint, the erection he was sporting in his loose pants… the woman had to feel it. She shifted and he groaned, trying to focus as she explained, reluctantly, what she had meant by 'somebody like her', shaking his head. "Melyssa… most of us start out as 'nobodies'. Or in my case, nothing much was expected of me because…" He shrugged slightly, he had been sort of nobility. "You are… astonishing, you work twice as hard and come from less, including less resources, and you are making something of yourself. How could I not want a woman like that?"

Their differences were major and they were cut from different cloths of life, different families. Rean was the son of a Baron and his biological father had been Chancellor Osborne while she was born and raised as a fishmonger. She didn't even know who her father was because he had kept this secret with Ouroboros away from them all these years.

"I don't…" This was hard to say and she swallowed hard, shifting again because she could feel him through the leggings she had on. "I'm not experienced when it comes to…this. All I've done is kissing and…it was only with Crow and you." Her cheeks turned red with embarrassment at her confession. "I figured you'd want a woman with more experience and someone who is older…" Not one of his students.

Rean raised one curious eyebrow, wondering if she thought he was worldly or something when it came to matters of the heart and the bed. Did he give off that aura or something? Or was she assuming because of his many titles? Rean was suddenly feeling very pressured right now, wondering if he was supposed to be some stellar lover or something.

"I'm not… overly experienced myself," He admitted, feeling color blooming in his cheeks and was grateful for the candlelight, anything brighter and it might show.

He had been intimate before, but not excessively so.

It suddenly dawned on Melyssa what he was saying, what he was confessing to her and her teal eyes grew wide in perplexity. HOW was this man not experienced when it came to intimacy? "So, you've never…" He shook his head immediately, not allowing her to finish that question and her hands rested gently on his shoulders. "You're such a great kisser, though. I thought you'd had at least a few women in your bed before…"

Something new blossomed inside of her and Melyssa couldn't figure out what it was, but it made her connection, her need for Rean, much stronger and intense. He had been intimate in regards to kissing, making out… he had even gone down on a woman and vice versa only once, that was not exactly a world of experience nor was he a knowledgeable lover. He was sort of amused, sort of chuffed, that the Ashen Chevalier had such a reputation. Or he was assuming so anyway, given her reaction to him. Fortunately, he didn't have to live up to that unearned reputation, not if the way Melyssa was looking at him was any indication. He reached out, running his fingertips down along her cheek, his thumb finally brushing against her lips.

Instinctively, she pressed her lips against the tip of his thumb and they both shivered at the contact. It made Melyssa feel more at ease knowing he was almost as inexperienced as she was. They could learn together, if Rean wanted to be with her long term. How would that work once they were back in Leeves, back at the academy? Melyssa didn't want to think about any of that right now, knowing it would end up being a problem, but first, they had to protect Jurai.

"Rean…" She breathed his name and softly kissed him, no sense of urgency in it this time, opening her mouth to let him taste her again.

Rean would retire, step down, do something… just because she was his student… she was also of legal age, didn't that count for anything? He had before saw the necessity for that rule, but he had also said there were exceptions to it. Rean felt like they were an exception, which startled him because that meant he was thinking long term and not just a night. Maybe not so startling, he had known for a while he wasn't the one night kind of guy. Gripping her gently beneath the upper thighs, Rean shifted Melyssa, not wanting her to crush his erection or scare her with it, grunting when her body responded by arching.

The kiss broke when he shifted her and Melyssa frowned, hoping she didn't do something wrong. "I-Is everything okay?"

Her breathing was slightly ragged and her chest rose and fell from how hard her heart pounded. That was the type of effect Rean had on her. He nodded, pulling her back against him and captured her mouth this time, moving to where they were lying in his bed. Rean hovered partially over her and Melyssa welcomed it, both unable to get enough of each other.

"I want to stay with you tonight, Rean…" She murmured, arching her neck as his lips sealed to her skin, his strong hands gliding down her sides to lift her leg to hook over his. In a way, he had her pinned to his bed and Melyssa was at his mercy.

"Are you sure?" He asked just as softly, kissing down along her collarbone, moving material aside so he had access to her soft, lightly scented skin.

Was he wrong for wanting to do this? She was going to face potential death tomorrow, seeing her father, the man who had murdered her beloved grandfather… no. Melyssa knew everything that was at stake, what she was going to be up against, and she was still here.

"I don't know if I'll be able to stop… once we reach a certain point." Which was his way of letting her know if they got to the point of proper sex, his control was going to be iffy.

"Then don't stop. Go all the way with me." Melyssa brought him down for another searing kiss, gasping in his mouth with his hand delved beneath her leggings and panties. "Yes…yes, Rean, touch me…" Her panting and moaning got louder as he began thrusting his fingers in and out of her, his mouth sealing to her neck again.

"Mmm kill me…if you can." Suddenly, it wasn't Melyssa he was with, it was the fiery redhead Shirley beneath him and her chainsaw weapon came up, slicing his head clean off. "Or maybe I'll just kill you. Nighty night, Ashen Chevalier..."

Rean bolted upright in bed, drenched in sweat and immediately clutched his neck with his hand, making sure his head was still attached. It was an insane feeling, pretty sure he was missing his above head, it even felt like he had been sliced on his neck and then sporting an erection. That went away very quickly as he rolled out of bed, peeling off his damp shirt and sleeping pants, wearing boxer-briefs beneath. Pretty sure everyone else was asleep at this hour, he crept out of his room, needing some fresh air and maybe a stiff drink. Definitely needed the stiff drink, was there any alcohol in this warehouse? His hand at his neck, he moved to the kitchen area.

Fortunately for Rean, Sara brought the booze with her since she knew there wouldn't be any liquor. She had a bottle of booze in one hand while reading a book by firelight, not wanting to disturb anyone by turning the warehouse lights on. They were very bright. She turned her head to see Rean trudging toward the kitchen and cleared her throat, raising a brow when he actually jumped.

"Whoa there, hot stuff, what's got you all jumpy this morning?" She asked, turning in the chair to look at him and rose from the table, the smile on her face turning to a frown. "Rean, what's wrong? Are you okay?"

"Morning?" So people were going to be getting up and he was out here in his boxers, soaked in sweat from that night terror and pretty certain his penis had confusion issues because it wasn't sure what the Gehenna had just happened. "Bad dream."

He glanced at the time, EARLY morning, nobody would be up for a while. Grunting, he retrieved his own bottle, figuring he would drink a bit and then he'd try going back to bed for a few hours. Looking at Melyssa today was going to be all shades of awkward on his end. Sara raised a brow when he cracked open a bottle and folded her arms in front of her chest.

"Since when are you a heavy drinker? Not that it doesn't do my heart good to see you kick one back, but…" She recalled several times when he was a student he would berate her for drinking too much. It was cute in its own way. Now to see him actually knocking one back was…disconcerting. "You're drenched in sweat…it must've been a horrible dream. Wanna talk about it?" She wasn't surprised when he shook his head. "Come on, you know you can tell me anything and if you keep it bottled up inside, eventually, it'll come roaring out."

Heavy drinker from one bottle and only a few sips? Rean sometimes forgot that Sara was an odd one, which was saying something when you took in the entirety of their motley crew. "Wrong, it will not."

Rean had had plenty of nightmares in his time and they did not come 'roaring out'. Women were so strange. Feelings and terrible thoughts, those tended to come out roaring and always at the worst of times. His thoughts meandered to the one woman who was currently on his mind. Melyssa. She had turned into Shirley in his dream, he frowned slightly, turning his head away from Sara.

"I'd rather not, thank you." He muttered, shaking his head.

"Hmph, suit yourself."

Sara wouldn't press him and leaned back in her chair to start reading her book again, halfway through her beer. She didn't sleep much these days, only when her body physically told her enough was enough. Fie was sleeping like the dead, as usual, with not a care or worry in the world. Flipping the page, Sara noticed Rean was staring at the door to Melyssa's room and raised a slow brow. Something was going on there, but she couldn't put her finger on what it was.

"Worried about your student, huh? I admit, I'm not totally on board with the plan, but I do feel better knowing Crow is going with her now."

"That in itself is a gamble, it's Crow." Rean said without any malice, his fuchsia eyes moving to Sara and then back to the fire. "He's flipped so many times, not many trust him and I doubt Ouroboros will either." He was betting they would probably try to take him out before he could get them first, or offer him a job. Rean trusted Crow with his life, he was gambling Melyssa's now based on their history and growing up together. "His presence may have the opposite effect of what we want."

"Then why don't you go with her instead?" Sara smiled when Rean's eyes snapped from the fire to look at her and she merely shrugged. "Think about it, kiddo. You're the Ashen Chevalier AND, more importantly, her Instructor. She's your student. It would make more sense for her Instructor to accompany her than Crow." She wanted to say that during the meeting, but also didn't want Rean thinking she was stepping on his toes. This was his class and his decision and she respected it. "I think it would go down a lot smoother if you went with her instead of Crow because of his past, as you just mentioned. Up to you though, I'm not trying to tell you what to do."

"I'm more of a liability than he is." Rean smiled humorlessly, shaking his head. He had already thought about it, but he had also always been on the side of what he considered to be 'right'. He was a target, he imagined there was a bounty of sorts on his head with Ouroboros. "He also knows Robert, if he was considered a son by the man, he may be of more use to Melyssa than I." He'd wind up getting her caught in the crossfire at best. "No, it is best Crow goes, Emma will have it so we can hear what is happening in live time and move in if needed."

"You just said Crow is as much of a danger to go as you are. Are you sure Crow is the right person to go with her? What about another student, one of her classmates? That blonde seems to be protective of her…" Sara immediately dismissed that idea and shook her head. "Never mind, he's TOO protective of her. Crow will have to do." Standing, she tossed her now empty beer bottle in the trash and grabbed another one before walking over to stand in front of Rean. Lifting his chin with her hand, she leaned down to kiss his cheek in a purely platonic way. "You're doing great as an Instructor. You're giving me a run for my money, just so you know." Then again, Sara was never one to be an Instructor…Bracer work was more up her alley. "Everything will be fine and work out." Ruffling his hair, she grinned at his groan and sat back down at the table.

Rean wasn't entirely sure he was cut out to do this instructor gig either, there were too many restrictions and he was learning he wanted some freedom. Of course, what he wanted it for... He did require talking to Melyssa. That dream had terrified him, the end of it anyway, but up until that point… But she had also rejected him. He rubbed his forehead with the palm of his hand, drained his beer and got up to throw away the empty bottle.

"I'm going back to bed. Thanks for the talk, Sara."

"Anytime." She waved at him, watching as he walked off.