#shara collab

[theladyofdeath]

The Viscount Who Loved Me {Two}

TVWLM Masterlist

An A Court of Thorns and Roses fanfiction, inspired by the first 2 seasons of Bridgerton.

Written alongside @snelbz

Ships: Nesta x Cassian x Elain (I said what I said) Feyre x Rhysand Elain x Azriel x Gwyn

Summary:

As the season begins, a new Diamond is named. She catches the eye of a prince whose feelings remain unrequited. However, the man who catches the eye of the Diamond remains off the market, refusing to get married as a jab to his late father.   Meanwhile, the Diamond of the Season’s sisters have found themselves in a bit of a quandary. The elder is pushing the younger to get married to help her move on from the horrid disaster that happened last season, but in the process, the elder catches the eye of the younger’s match, even though she is considered to be an old maid and far past her time to be wed at the age of six and twenty. As they say, all is fair in love and war. 

A/N: I don't think you all realize how excited I am to share this fic with you all. Like. I'm so excited. I'm even more excited now that Shelb has finished the series (all 2 current seasons, of course) and can now write it with me. Let us know what you think!

Tag list is at the end. If you’d like to be added, please comment below or submit an ask. :)

My lovely readers,

Join me as we all anxiously await the Queen's announcement of this season's Diamond. Is it just me, or after years past have we fallen in love with the tension of waiting for the Queen's announcement more and more? Whoever this season's Diamond may be, hopefully she brings us a season full of undeniable scandal.

I cannot wait to hear of whom will be in the spotlight this season. Hopefully Her Majesty has learned her lesson in picking fools.

Until next time,

The Suriel

“Has April always been so warm?”

Feyre pondered the unseasonable weather as their carriage meandered along the streets of Velaris. The fan in her hand was pointed at her face, but at her bosom as Nesta and Elain had drilled into her. Her chest didn’t feel like it was on fire, didn’t have what felt like an entire pound of cosmetics painted onto it.

“It’s just your bodice and skirts,” Elain said, resting a placating hand on her silk covered knee. “Last season, I nearly passed out on the ride over.”

Nesta said nothing, but nodded in confirmation. Their father was reading a newspaper across from them, not even acknowledging the conversation around him.

As she looked out at the fog filled morning, Feyre was conflicted. She’d spent the early hours getting prodded and pampered, much to her dismay. She wore a dress that she wasn’t fond of but, then again, she was not fond of most dresses. She preferred pants, although she only wore them when she painted. If she were to wear them at any other time, both her father and sisters would reprimand her.

“The key is to find an object just behind the queen and focus on it,” Elain was saying. Feyre was trying her best to listen. “When in doubt, just keep smiling.”

Feyre took a deep breath and met Nesta’s gaze. “Is that what you did?”

Nesta’s eyes narrowed and she quickly looked toward the passing streets as they hurried down the cobblestone path toward the palace.

Elain was participating in the season, as her coming out had only been a year before. Nesta, however, was no longer in the prime of her youth, and would be acting as both Elain and Feyre’s social sponsor, after this initial visit with their father. He would not be in attendance for the rest of the season. No, he would be working, amassing and growing their fortune.

“It doesn’t matter what either of us did,” Elain said, trying to quell the tension growing between her sisters in the tight quarters of the carriage. “What matters is that you be yourself, and let Her Majesty see the wonderful beauty that you are.”

Feyre wanted to roll her eyes but she didn’t, wouldn’t, never to Elain. While Feyre and Nesta had their fair share of squabbles, Elain had been through enough as of late and Feyre would not add to her own burdens by giving her a bad attitude. 

As they turned the corner, they could see the palace looming in the distance. It was clear they were not the only family on their way to pay a visit to Her Majesty, which only increased Feyre’s nerves.

She had a lot riding on this.

Her entire family did.

They had already been through enough scandal. It was now Feyre’s job to clear the air, to find a good husband and restore their family’s name. 

“Father,” Feyre began, although her eyes remained on the road ahead. “Do you have any advice?”

Isaac Archeron did not look up from his paper. “Listen to your sisters.”

She waited for him to say something more, but when he didn’t, the carriage fell into another tense silence.

For the last few minutes of the ride, Feyre closed her eyes. She imagined she was painting a calming picture of the ocean, but it quickly turned into the ocean in the midst of a storm and when she opened her eyes once more the carriage had come to a stop.

They had arrived.

Elain must’ve sensed the tension that had contorted Feyre’s body because a soft hand rested in hers as the footman came to the door and opened it up for them. 

Once her feet were on the earth below, she had to close her eyes to keep her body from swaying. Then Nesta was tugging her forward, tight-lipped as always, dragging her up the stairs and into the palace beyond.

Feyre had been inside the palace twice now, when both of her sisters were presented for Her Majesty, but this time it felt different. The walls blurred as they swept through the foyer and down to the sitting room where the young women of Velaris were anxiously awaiting. 

Feyre joined them but kept her distance.

“Elain, go wait with father,” Nesta said, looking warily at the girls in their frilly, white dresses.

Elain gave a quick kiss to Feyre’s cheek before scurrying out of the room, leaving Nesta alone with Feyre. As her eldest sister, the eldest woman in their family, she would be the one to escort Feyre before the Queen. Part of Feyre thought that she would reject the responsibility, but she didn’t even bat an eye.

Although Nesta had never found a husband of her own, it was almost as if she truly wished that Feyre would find a good man to walk with her through life. 

No one would ever realize it from the way Nesta stared at the golden-painted walls ahead of her, lips pursed and chin raised high. 

There were surely rumors spread of Nesta already that morning among the women they were surrounded by, a fact Feyre knew that Nesta was aware of. She would pretend it didn’t bother her, though, what other people said, the nasty hate they spew in her name. 

Nesta Archeron. The woman who no man could love. The woman who scared all men away. The woman who brought shame to her family.

The Diamond that did not wed.

The Diamond who brought shame to the Queen. 

Nesta never spoke of it, of her failed season as Diamond, of the year after when she was laughed out of every ball. Elain might have been embarrassed and heartbroken, but Nesta had been shamed. 

Yet she stood next to her youngest sister, straight-backed and proud, just as she had done for Elain the season before.

The murmuring in the room was more hushed than that of what was out in the presentation hall. They were sharp laughs and unexpected spikes of voices that signaled Her Majesty was not yet present in the large room and Feyre was thankful for the sounds of normalcy. Last year, she was among those watching, waiting for the Queen to make her decision as to who the grandest prize or the season would be. This year, she was to be judged.

She suddenly felt like a prized animal being taken to the country fairs, to be scrutinized and nudged and gazed at by far too many people. Still she kept the pretty, bland smile Elain had helped her muster on her face. No matter that Elain made the smile look pretty and genuine. Nesta had informed Feyre that it made her look like she had.

The whispers and conversations outside the closed door halted and Feyre stilled, her head turning towards the abrupt silence.

She met Nesta’s eyes.

Nesta’s jaw locked, but she nodded. 

It was time.

The doors opened and, one by one, the young women were led out of the room with their escorts and lined up before the doors of the throne room. 

Nesta held out her hand.

Feyre took it and for a moment it felt foreign, but she quickly pretended as if it did not.

It was not that Feyre didn’t love Nesta. She did. But, after so many years of bickering and disagreeing and growing apart, Feyre accepted the fact that they would never be the closest of friends.

A muffled voice came from the other side of the doors and Feyre knew the Queen was being announced. It was followed by silence, in which everyone bowed. 

Feyre couldn’t help but close her eyes.

She took a deep breath. 

The doors opened and Feyre got a glimpse as the first girl entered before the doors closed once more. 

Feyre and Nesta took a step forward, along with everyone else in line.

Two minutes passed.

They repeated the process.

Before she could gather her thoughts, Feyre and Nesta were standing behind the double doors, staring at the engraving, next in line. 

“Don’t be nervous,” Nesta said, although her words were clipped. “She senses fear. Act like you don’t have a care in the world. Be respectful, of course, but hold your ground.”

Her words had just left her mouth when the doors opened, yet again, and they entered. Feyre’s feet moved without her telling them to, and she was convinced that it was Nesta dragging her along.

When she looked up, she met the eyes of the queen.

Queen Amarantha did not smile as they entered.

“Miss Feyre Archeron, escorted by her sister, Miss Nesta Archeron.”

The room fell nearly silent.

Feyre averted her gaze, as she knew Nesta was likely doing as well, as they crossed the long hall. She felt the eyes of the entire ton on her, felt the weight of their gazes, the judgement and snobbery. Elain and her father were mixed into the crowd, but she didn’t look for them. She kept her eyes forward, found a gorgeous painting of a countryside landscape, the first fingers of night reaching across the cloudless sky. It was serene and peaceful and Feyre found herself longing for the solitude of their country home. The quiet there was different from the quiet she currently endured.

When they reached the front of the hall, they curtsied, Feyre careful not to let her skirts sweep out too far or to let the angle of her head drop. Once they stood, she once again allowed herself to look at the queen. Her dark eyes were already on her, but they slid to her sister.

“Miss Archeron,” the Queen said, the smile on her face not friendly in the slightest. “A pleasure to see you again.”

Nesta bowed her head, reverently. “Your majesty.”

The queen hummed, something like approval in the sound, and she looked back to Feyre.

“Miss Feyre,” the Queen crooned, and Feyre could feel her eyes raking down her body. “I have heard many wonderful things about you.”

Perhaps it was a moment of weakness, or perhaps she was simply a fool, but Feyre met Queen Amarantha’s eye and lifted her chin. The moment their eyes met, Feyre regretted it, but she didn’t back away. The Queen's eyes were merciless, cold, but there was a hint of mischief in there that caught Feyre’s attention. She couldn’t look away. “It is an honor and a pleasure to see you again, your Majesty,” Feyre said, hoping her voice didn’t waiver. She curtsied and was sure to stay low for a moment before rising again. 

Queen Amarantha’s lips turned upward. “I have high hopes for you, Miss Archeron. After what your sisters have endured, the ton has still spoken highly of you.”

“That’s wonderful news, Your Majesty,” Feyre said, even as Nesta’s body stiffened beside her. “I hope to be a wonderful example of what a man should expect of a wife. I see it as my duty to restore my family’s name.”

If what she felt radiating from Nesta was shock, than Amarantha looked positively delighted. It was clear that she wasn’t expecting someone to be willing to make a statement like that. Someone that would provide glorious entertainment and poise for the season.

“How old are you, girl?” The Queen asked.

“I’ll be twenty on the Winter Solstice, your Majesty.”

Queen Amarantha tutted softly, resting a pale hand over her chest. “So young, yet already so full of duty for your family.” She looked over Feyre once again and stood from the ornate chair she’d been seated in on the small dais.

The room collectively took a breath.

Nesta had become as still as a ghost.

As the Queen approached, Feyre tried to remind herself to keep her chin high, to stand tall. She’d ensnared the attentions of the Queen and now she must endure them. Each step rang out in the silent hall, echoing almost as steady as Feyre's hammering heartbeat.

As the Queen paused in front of her, she held a bejeweled hand out to Feyre.

Feyre only hesitated for a second before she took the Queen’s hand and kissed the backside of it, softly. 

“I see promise in you,” Queen Amarantha said, watching Feyre intently.  “You are different from the other young ladies, Miss Archeron. You speak honestly and outright, yet you hold your head high with poise and grace. Any man would be lucky to have you as a wife.” She snatched her hand away from Feyre’s, nearly making Feyre fall over where she stood. She didn’t, though, she stood tall next to her sister. It wasn’t until she was walking back up the dais that Her Majesty announced, “Perhaps that is why I will make you this season's Diamond.” 

<.>

Cassian was bored.

He was so bored that he was nearly ready to call it a day, even though he, Azriel, and Rhysand had only been in the woods for an hour. The sunny morning sky was now covered in clouds. He wouldn’t be surprised if they were soon caught in a rainstorm. Hunting in a rainstorm wasn’t uncommon in a Velaris spring.

“Excited for the first event of the season?” He asked, at last, and when Azriel hushed him, Cassian rolled his eyes. “We’ve been here for ages and haven’t seen a thing. I doubt me talking will make it any worse.”

“No, but what a glorious hour of silence it’s been,” Rhysand quipped, shouldering his own gun, standing and stretching.

“Prick,” Cassian said. “You’re both attending the Beddor Ball, yes?”

“Of course,” Rhys responded. “It’s the first event of the season.”

Azriel nodded begrudgingly.

The first event would be the talk of the ton and would set the tone for the rest of the season. Everyone would present, those looking for marriage and those who were looking for���dalliances.

“Given anymore thought to settling down, Az?” Cassian asked as he pulled a flask out of his inner pocket and held it out for him.

Azriel stared at the flask for a moment before taking it and taking a long swig. “No.”

“But—”

“You don’t badger Rhysand nearly as much as you do me,” Azriel interrupted. “Why is that?”

“Easy,” Cassian said, taking the flask back and draining half the contents in a single drink. “Because he lets me have unimpeded access to his cabin in the mountains, and I’m not inclined to lose that privilege. You, my land wielding friend, only have the one home in the country, and share the same title as I do. His Viscountship,” he drawled, letting his eyes land on their smirking friend, “technically has the power to shut me up. You do not.”

Azriel stared at him for a long moment before letting his inner child take over and punching Cassian playfully - for the most part - on his shoulder.

Even though Cassian let out a sharp laugh, he winced. “Besides. Rhysand will marry whether he wants to or not… You, on the other hand, refuse to and won’t hear otherwise.”

Rhysand gave Cassian a warning look before sneaking a glance at Azriel. “Az does not have to marry if he does not wish.”

Cassian opened his mouth to reply but thought better of it. At first, it was playful, but now it was entering dangerous territory. They all knew why Azriel didn’t want to marry, didn’t want to have children. And, although Cassian mostly understood, there was still a part of him that did not.

“Besides,” Rhysand began, breaking the silent tension, “with neither of us looking for a wife, we get to spend our season helping you find yours.”

“Oh, I have no need to look,” Cassian replied, crossing his arms over his massive chest. “I’m going to marry whoever Her Majesty names this season’s Diamond.”

Azriel scoffed, while Rhysand didn’t even try to hide his bark of laughter. “You and every other eligible bachelor in the ton will have your eyes set on her as soon as the announcement is made.”

“The Suriel will have to confirm it,” Azriel added. “You know how she kept us on our toes last season.”

Cassian snorted. “The Suriel. Rubbish gossip is all. The ton cares too much what the Suriel has to say.” 

“Including yourself,” Rhysand fought, grinning. “You’ve read every issue.”

“Only when bored,” he muttered, and even Azriel couldn’t help his spreading grin. “I never thought I’d see the day when the opinion of Queen Amarantha was outweighed by a petty, anonymous gossip.”

“You’re only angry because she called you a Rake in her last issue,” Azriel muttered. “As if it’s not true.”

Cassian didn’t deny it. He knew what he was called among the ton behind closed doors. “Doesn’t give me a solid foundation for this season, does it?”

“The only foundation you need includes your handsome face and your riches,” Rhysand said, looking up at the sky as a quiet thunder rolled in the distance. “Women will be lined up for a word with you, I assure you.”

“You think I’m handsome, then?” Cassian asked, batting his lashes at Rhysand who was setting his gun against a tree.

“And arrogant,” Rhysand added.

“But handsome, nonetheless?” Cassian pushed.

Rhysand just shook his head and scanned the horizon as Azriel unscrewed the cap of the flask, once more. “May the Mother bless the woman that ends up with you.”

Cassian had the audacity to look offended. “I will be a brilliant husband, thank you. I have money and, as Rhys says, I’m incredibly good looking. What more could a woman want?”

“Someone who doesn’t sneak off with a whore every night,” Azriel muttered.

Cassian wasn’t offended. “Ah, I did have to tell Tanwyn we won’t be getting on for much longer. It truly is the end of an era.”

“Ten more minutes of not seeing a thing and I’m leaving,” Rhysand muttered, crossing his arms, changing the subject.

“We won’t see a thing with all this talking going on,” Azriel mentioned, gulping from the flask. “And drinking.” 

“Then let’s not wait the ten minutes and head to the gentlemen’s club instead,” Cassian crowed, tossing his hunting rifle into the air and catching it again. Any animals that may have been nearby would certainly be gone thanks to his obnoxious volume, precisely what he’d wanted.

Azriel stood with a sigh. “If we’re done, I’d like to—”

“To what?” Cassian interrupted, pausing where he’d begun to head for their horses. “Lock yourself up in your studio and draw?”

“Let him do what he wants, Cass,” Rhys drawled, wrapping his free arm around Azriel’s shoulders. “Though I’m sure it’d be much more quiet in your studio without Cassian’s laughably large mouth,” a protest from Cassian, “if Cassian is to begin courting a young lady soon, this could be our last chance at normalcy for a while.”

Azriel’s hazel eyes bounced between his two brothers before he nodded and wrapped an arm around Rhysand’s middle. “I guess I can come, for a round or two of cards at least.”

“And a drink,” Rhys added, meeting Cassian and clapping him on the back. “In celebration of our brother’s upcoming betrothal.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

@mariamuses @photofeesh @the-regal-warrior @gracie-rosee @irisofink @strawberries-and-reveries @zeppelin-and-unicorns @live-the-fangirl-life @cassianscool @clacings @argentumstella @cuppamelia @chillspritecranberry @emilyrose111294 @awesomelena555 @gengen64 @dontbenddontbreak @blueunoias @liliput2203 @sleeping-and-books @kindofawalkingpoem @thebitchydonutcollector @shedoessoshedoes @cretaceous-therapod @emily-gsh @annie-laur @impossiblehistoryofquotes @midnightrose-reader @beanl1 @shniya-hiiragi @towhateverend87 @deezrmuhsheeple @pintas3107 @sarcasm-is-the-best-insult @santkazoya @lady-winter-sunrise @themoonthestarsthesuriel @story-scribbler @swankii-art-teacher @lordof-bloodshed @sv0430 @dreammoutlouddd @katlady13 @lokisllama @mrspettyferr @missannieshay @live-the-fangirl-life @headinclouds48 @secretlycressdarnel @awesomethreedragons @lokisllama

#acotar #acomaf #acowar #acosf #acofas #fanfic #fanfiction #au #period #period au #bridgerton au #shara collab #rhysand #feyre #cassian #nesta #azriel #elain #gwyn #19th century au #sjm #multichapter #fluff #drama #the suriel #feysand #nessian #elriel #gwynriel #TVWLM

[dreamii-krybaby]

your nori headcanons, hand them over

Wait. People are actually interested in my Nori HCs? Holy shit *screams in happiness*

Ironically I been working on a post dedicated to my Nori HCs! but am going to throw a “few” in here.

Nori Doorman! HCs 🗝️

(watch all of this get absolutely wrecked when we fully get to see her character alongside others.)

(Btw some of my HC are connected to my personal speculations)

• I honestly can’t see this woman being straight. So fuck it. She is pansexual now.

• I was thinking of HC her as neurodivergent! But not sure rn.

• Nori was named that way by herself because after she found out about sushi’s existence,and after finding out the algae used in sushi is called “Nori”, she later named herself after that bc she thought the word sounded cute.

• If robots could eat human food,she would definitely try all kinds of sushi or just the algae for curiosity.

• We canonically don’t know if Nori was a WD that had parents or was a WD who gained sentience. But personally I like to think she was one of the many WDs who gained sentience.

• She actually gained sentience when she was slightly younger and moments after the extinction of humanity.

• She was around her early 30s when she passed away.

• She met Khan before the WDF existed or when Khan wasn’t even considered a leader.

• They met while both found themselves in a pickle after trying to scavenge scraps for personal projects.

• I do think if they were WDs who attended high-school,they would have met after being paired for a school project.

• If Nori ever went to high school she definitely strikes me as a “shy nerdy geeky girl but gets super exited when talking about her passions”.

•Nori and Khan were roughly the same age when they started dating but Khan started to age physically more faster bc of overwork and stress after becoming the colony’s leader.

• Honestly Khan and Nori’s relationship strikes me as:

“Big menacing dog who is actually a goofball” and “Tiny black kitten who looks adorable but will commit war crimes if provoked”

• Honestly I can only see Nori’s and Khan’s relationship being so fucking wholesome,they were lovebirds your honor. Ofc before shit hit the fan.

• She used to spend time with the WDF and join in their card games!

• Nori was incredibly good at card/board games. She always somehow won when playing card games with the WDF. The WDF still let her join bc it was fun. (And bc she was their leader’s wife)

•The way of how imagine Nori’s voice is sort of a smooth and soft voice. Slightly monotone and a bit high pitch. Like her voice immediately gives “shy soft woman who also happens to be a mother” vibes.

Her voice does shift a bit when she gets really excited! (Or any strong emotion) Completely loosing her monotony and smoothness a bit.

The best voice claim I can think for rn her is actually Candace from Genshin Impact, just make her voice a bit high pitched.

Also fun fact! Candaces english VA (Shara Kirby) is the same VA of Serial Designation-J!

Another Voice claim i can come up is Andrea Storm Kaden!

She is a singer who performed in a lot of fan songs of video-games. (tattletail,FNAF,BATIM, Overwatch,etc. She did a lot of collabs with JT Music and I think a few with TryHardNinja.)

• She is actually shorter than the average WDs,but just by a few inches. She isn’t an ant like Uzi.

• Her hair is much more longer and a few shades lighter than Uzi’s.

• Her eyes are also much saturated compared to her daughter’s eyes color.

•She also has cute lil chompers! Tho they dont look the same as the DDs. They are smaller and shorter,Uzi inherited that trait from her.

• Uzi’s necklace actually belonged to Nori.

• When Nori got her hands on this necklace and started wearing it,she never took it off.

• She definitely strikes me as someone who is into cottage-gore.

• She is a goth mom,thats it. Like and old-school goth mom. (Like she is more into the “feminine” part of goth,if I can explain myself)

• She constantly wore black dresses. The one she wore the most was a simple off shoulder black dress with short sleeves and frills on it. It was made from a very thin and light material. And it had a purple flower pattern on it.

• She wore this dress while wearing black combat boots (Like most WDs) and her necklace.

• She had a pair of black combat boots but this time her boots lace was a purple color.

• She also had a WDs jacket! And occasionally wore it. It was purple.

• One of her many hobbies was painting. She didn’t do it all the time,just occasionally. Khan still kept some of them hidden away.

• She was definitely one of those girls who would see true crime content.

• She would sometimes put screamo music when cleaning.

•She definitely listened to grunge,goth,metal music

•She isn’t much of a singer but she can hum pretty well!

•She hums when doing chores or when comforting Uzi.

•Uzi’s and Nori’s love language would definitely be touch. I can see her humming as she caresses Uzi’s head,as Uzi lays it on her mother’s lap. She did this whenever her kid had a rough time.

•Nori was the only person who could calm Uzi down whenever she went “feral”.

•Uzi would probably be more close and vulnerable with Nori.

• Nori is probably one of the most softest/chillest person. But make her really pissed and honey you are dead. (May or may not be literal)

• Whenever she is just angry but not necessarily pissed she is more a cold,piercing kind of anger. The kind to stare into your soul and makes you question all your life choices.

Note: Btw I theorized she was related to the AS and actually had it since EP2! So have some of that!

• She was covered in scars,bumps and dents,but she mostly covered them up with her clothes or the AS did the job healing the scars. Or she covered them up by literally painting over herself.

As to why she had these scars? Well lets say she got herself into questionable and dangerous situations.

• She would replace a lot of the broken mirrors that she would break with her AS in her house,in secret.

• She would occasionally use her AS when doing chores.

EP3 spoilers!

.

.

.

Note: We don’t know if Nori consumed Oil whe she was alive,since I theorized she had the AS. But I have some HCs if she did:

• Sometimes she would arrive at her home,alone or when Khan was sleeping. Wearing long forearmed-length black gloves, laced up with purple/white lace.

• She would carry a dark colored bag (that looked like those tote bags but is was bigger and the material was much more thicker) that leaked oil at the bottom.

• Her dress would have dry or fresh stains. She also reeked of oil.

• She started out as frenemies with Yeva,but they later became besties.

• The 2 would hang out a lot alone.

• Nori constantly visited Yeva at her house,but she never invited Yeva to her house. Since Nori was always sort of messy, and she was self conscious about that in the past.

• They both would probably talk all kinds of things.

• She would definitely teach Yeva 1 or 2 things about her AS powers,since Nori has more experience with her AS abilities than Yeva.

• Nori would sometimes speak russian to Yeva. Meanwhile Yeva would speak English to Nori. Just for the funsies.

• Nori actually met Baby Doll at some point! She even held her.

• I always thought of Nori as a more artistic oriented woman but EP3 seems to make me think of her more of the scientific side.

• So she is a bit of both but her artistic side is showed more often than her scientific side.

•Nori personally customized her own necklace and helped Yeva with it when it came to her bracelet.

Side Note: Ok wtf that was more than I expected jesus. Anyways yeah this is just like 5% of my interpretation and HCs if Nori…yeah I am

✨mentally not ok✨

#murder drones #nori murder drones #murder drones nori #nori md #md nori #murder drones nori doorman #nori doorman murder drones #md nori doorman #nori doorman md

[snelbz]

The Ranch {9}

An A Court of Thorns and Roses, Nesta x Cassian, Modern AU, fanfiction.

Collaboration: @throne-of-ashes-and-beauty​ x @tacmc​

Summary: Nesta had spent years in Paris, living her dream and drowning in riches as a gourmet chef, capturing the hearts of the city and its people. But, after her father passes away unexpectedly and leaves his cozy, countryside B&B to his oldest daughter, Nesta is moving back home to the tiny town of Velaris, where the ranch, her sisters, and her father’s unfulfilled dream, awaits.

Sidenote: Being posted between two blogs, it is too chaotic to keep up with a tags list, so all chapters will be tagged with “#TheRanchNessian” & “#SharaCollab”.

At nine forty five, Cassian heard a knock at his door. He was off the couch and had it flung open before the third rap against the wood.

He was surprised to see Emerie on the other side.

He groaned. “Em, this really isn’t a good time.”

She breezed by him. “It’s a perfect time. Sit down.” She indicated the couch.

Cass just stared at her. “No, you don’t understand, I don’t have time for a quick fu-.”

“Do you love her?” She cut him off and as her words hung in the air, Cassian contemplated them.

“I- No, not yet. But, I-,” he paused and sighed. “No, but I could.”

Emerie’s face softened. “I didn’t mean to cause you problems.” She sat down on the couch and, knowing there wasn’t about to be an ambush, Cassian sat down next to her. “You didn’t answer your phone, so I thought I’d just run by. I’m sorry, I had no idea she was back.”

“It’s not your fault,” he said, and he meant it. Emerie had no way of knowing what she was walking into that day. “It’s not that I don’t like what we’ve had, Em, and we’ve always been great friends-”

“Friends,” she interrupted, chuckling. “Just friends, that’s all we’ve been, what we’ve always been, since high school, so...stop making this sound like a break-up, please.”

Despite his current mood of feeling like shit, Cassian laughed. “Yeah, alright.”

“You should talk to her,” Emerie said, giving him a pointed look. “It was so uncomfortably obvious that she cares about you, too.”

But Cassian shook his head. “I don’t know what that woman feels. She’s already turned me down once….I mean, as things are getting heated and we’re about to have sex, she turned me down.” 

Emerie bit on her bottom lip to keep from smiling. “Ouch.”

His eyes narrowed. “Yeah, thanks for not laughing.”

That laughter sputtered out of her mouth, but her eyes were soft as she adjusted herself on the couch to face him. “Look, Cass, I’ve known you for a long time, and I have never seen you look at a woman the way I saw you look at her.”

“What’s your point?” he mumbled, face falling into his hands. “Is it too early for whiskey?”

“Never,” Emerie chuckled, rolling her eyes as she pulled Cassian’s face up to meet her gaze. “It’s never too early. And my point is, dumbass, is that you’re falling in love with her, and if you don’t do something about it, I will personally kick your ass.” 

Cassian blinked, staring at her as she held his cheeks in her hands. “I’m pretty sure you missed the part where I said she turned me down.” 

“So, what?” Emerie said, shrugging, as if it was nothing more than a minor inconvenience. “Feelings change, and they develop, and Nesta Archeron has feelings for you. That much was obvious when she stared at me with daggers in her eyes.” Emerie’s grin faltered. “It was actually pretty terrifying.”

Cassian laughed, under his breath. “Yeah, she has that effect on people.”

She patted his knee and stood up. “Don’t get me wrong, I hate that our little agreement is coming to a close. Do you know how hard it’s going to be to find someone who can deal with my work schedule and make me cum?” She threw her head back and groaned, but looked back to where he was sitting on the couch. She smirked. “I thought you were supposed to catch feelings for the person you’re actually sleeping with.”

He scratched the back of his neck and said, sheepishly, “Listen, Em, it’s not that I don’t find you-.”

“Oh hush,” she said, heading for the door. “I’m not cut out for the ranch life. This girl was made for the city.” She opened the door, the light from the cabin flooding out and lighting up the front yard. “Now, go talk to her before she goes to sleep.”

————

Nesta watched as the black truck bumped along the driveway, throwing dirt from under the tires. The headlights disappeared into the darkness and she swallowed hard.

She had come back, had spent a good while in Cassian’s cabin, and now she was leaving, once more. Nesta didn’t want to think about what had gone on during their time together, especially after she left things with Cassian hours before, but her mind wandered. 

Nesta didn’t know what she hated more: that she had feelings for him, or that she deserved the angry words he’d spat at her that afternoon. He was right. She had shut him down, there was no reason why she shouldn’t want him to be with other women. He deserved as much. Then again, she had thought, had been so certain, that he had felt something for her, too.

She could feel it.

When he looked at her, when those snarky hazel eyes grew soft, she could nearly hear his heart crying out for hers.

Now, as she watched Emerie’s truck disappear, she felt stupid. 

That feeling only grew worse as the door to Cassian’s cabin opened again and he stepped out. He spotted her right away, sitting on her little porch in her rocking chair, and swore under his breath. The panic in his eyes didn’t stop him, though, as he trudged down the stairs, hands in his pockets, and meandered toward her across the grass. 

Beau, completely unaware of the tension, was running around, wildly, chasing a squirrel. 

When Cassian stopped at the bottom of her steps, he said, “Hey.”

The air around them was thick, humid and charged with electricity. Thunder rumbled in the distance. “I… I can’t do this tonight,” she said, voice sounding weary. She stood from the chair and turned to go inside.

“Why do you always run from me?”

She froze, right in front of the screen door. It was a question she had been asked a million times, had asked herself a million times. Why do you always run?

She slowly turned to face him, and was met with such longing and desperation in his hazel eyes. If she walked inside, if she ran away, that would be the end of it.

If she kept running from him, he eventually wouldn’t come back, and Nesta couldn’t bear that thought. 

At the bottom of the steps, Cassian was still looking up at her, waiting, patiently, but she didn’t know what to say. There were a million things she wanted to say, but she didn’t know how to put them into words. That overwhelming sense of emotion flooded her, that panic, and her eyes lined with tears. She shook her head, hastily, as she sucked her bottom lip between her teeth to keep it from trembling.

“Fuck, please, just talk to me,” he said, taking a step toward her, putting one boot on the wooden step.

She shook her head and the tears spilled over, staining her cheeks. She laughed, but the sound was empty, hollow. “I hope you had fun with Emerie.”

By the time Cassian realized what she was implying, she’d already started for the door. “Nesta, no, that’s not why she came back.” She shut the door with a soft thud. He heard the lock click into place and he was immediately up the stairs, slamming his fist into the door. “You’re so fucking stubborn, please, just let me explain.”

Nesta kept still, her back against the door as it vibrated from his first forcefully making contact with the wood.

“Please,” he begged, but she couldn’t. She couldn’t put herself in that situation, wouldn't put herself in that situation, not again.

Cassian finally stopped knocking, but when she peeked out of the little window at the top of the door, he was still standing there, his forehead leaning against the door. 

“We didn’t do anything,” he called, through the door. “Alright? She came back to tell me I was a fucking idiot.”

Well, she wasn’t going to argue with him there.

Her little house was lit up as lightning struck somewhere on the property, thunder rumbling almost immediately.

“I don’t want her,” he said, and the rain began to fall. Anything else he said was drowned out as the bottom dropped out and the rain began to pour. She could hear that he was still out there, hear that he was still talking to her.

Another flash of lightning, followed by a roll of thunder. It was closer than it had been, that lightning, and Nesta squeezed her eyes shut as the small house shook.

When she reopened them, she leaned back against the door, sliding down it and letting her head fall into her hands resting on her knees.

He hadn’t slept with Emerie. She’d come back, and whether she admitted it or not, she would have if she were her. She knew Emerie wasn’t blind, she could see what was in front of her. But Emerie was stunning herself, with her feminine, soft curves and bedroom eyes.

He hadn’t chosen Emerie.

He didn’t want Emerie.

He wanted her.

And Cauldron damn the consequences, she wanted him, too.

She realized that she could no longer hear him on the other side, could no longer hear anything but the storm outside.

She scrambled to her feet and threw the door open, looking for him.

He was nowhere to be seen.

She cried, “Cassian?” but there was no answer.

She waited, looking out into the pasture, unable to see thanks to the rain and the vast darkness.  When she realized she couldn’t find him, she stepped out into the rain and ran.

She hadn’t gotten far when she noticed him, walking up to the main house, Beau on his heels. 

“Cassian!” she called.

And he turned around, eyes going wide. He didn’t hesitate as he jogged back toward where she stood, in the middle of the grass, completely drenched.

“What the hell are you doing?” he asked, loudly, to be heard above the downpour. “You should be insi-”

But his words were cut off, because Nesta had taken his face into her hands and pulled his mouth to hers. She kissed him, hungrily, ignoring everything else, ignoring the rain, the lightning, the thunder, the thoughts of insecurity and doubt lingering in the back of her mind. 

At first, his body tensed, but it quickly relaxed, and his arms wrapped around her waist.

Nesta had never been good with words, with expressing any sort of emotion, but she would show him how she felt, and would give herself to him to devour, in hopes that he understood. That she trusted him.

Cassian’s lips trailed from her mouth to her neck, as he lifted her up, and her legs wrapped around his waist, just above his jeans. She clung to him, tangled her fingers into his wet, messy hair, as he carried her, slowly, through the storm, back to the ranch house.

He climbed the stairs of the big wraparound porch and pulled open the storm door, neither of them flinching as it widened and creaked loudly. Never once did he let her slip as he managed to unlock the main door and enter, pressing her back against the wall by the door.

One hand was gripping her ass, the other threaded into her drenched hair. He kissed her wildly, passionately, and it left Nesta breathless. If he kissed like this, she wondered what it was like when he fucked.

He pulled away, just enough for them to both gasp for air, and he breathed, “Tell me you don’t want this, and I’ll stop.”

Nesta didn’t say a word. She just leaned up and captured his lips in another bruising kiss. 

It was all the permission he needed.

His tongue slid between her lips as he took the hem of her tank top and pulled it over her head, and her hands were already roaming Cassian’s back, feeling the hard muscles beneath the thin fabric of his shirt. He held her up against the wall with his hips as he threw her tank top on the floor, and unclasped her bra, making it scarce. 

He admired her breasts then, as he had done those weeks ago, but this time, she wouldn’t tell him to stop.

“What?” She breathed. Her whisper was quiet, almost unable to be heard over the rain outside.

“I’m still waiting for you to disappear, for you to dissolve in my fingertips.” He softly ran a thumb over her peaked nipple. She bit down the moan building inside of her. “I need to know this is real. I need to know that you aren’t going anywhere.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” she breathed, shaking her head, slowly. “I’m not leaving.”

She slid his shirt up, slowly, revealing the black ink swirled across his chest. He lifted his arms, and when his shirt was tossed aside, she ran her fingers over the intricate designs. Cassian watched her, lips parted, breathing ragged. 

“I want you,” she whispered, her hands going still, and when her eyes connected with his, her delicate fingers trailed lower, down his abdomen, to the waistband of his jeans, where they slowly undid the button, the zipper.

Cassian grabbed her wrists and pulled them back up, over her head. His body pressed hers harder against the wall, and her legs wrapped tighter around him as he whispered, “Thank the fucking Cauldron.”

He kissed her with a gentleness she wasn’t expecting, loving the way his lips were constantly moving against hers, on her skin. Tasting, teasing, taunting. When he kissed a path down the column of her throat and his lips closed around the spot where her neck met her shoulder, she was no longer able to stop the moan that she let out.

That moan was Cassian’s undoing.

He kissed her with such a ferocity that she was unable to stop her hips from writhing.

She pulled away, gasping. “Please, please, please.” He released her wrists and her arms wrapped around him, nails scratching at his back. “Cassian, please.”

His eyes met hers, wild and desperate, but he said nothing. His chest rose and fell with every breath. At last, he nodded, slowly, after searching her eyes, once more.

I’m not going anywhere.

Gods, she meant it. 

He carried her to the couch, his eyes on hers as he walked, his breath hot against her skin. She clung to him, desperately, afraid if she let go something would happen, again.

Cassian fell back on the couch, and Nesta straddled his waist, fully aware of how hard he’d become inside of his jeans. He went to kiss her, but she pushed him back, and when a look of confusion crossed Cassian’s face, she smirked.

She stood, between his open legs, and unbuttoned her jean shorts before slipping the soaked denim down her legs. Cassian watched attentively with a primal gaze. With an outstretched, steady hand, he traced the lines of her thong with his fingertips.

“Perfect,” he breathed, so quietly that Nesta wondered if he even knew he spoke the thought aloud.

“Your turn,” she said, as he teased a finger in the waistband of the lace.

He looked up at her, letting his eyes rove over her body. His tongue darted out, wetting his bottom lip, and he stood.

One by one, he toed his drenched boots off and kicked them to the side, not caring where they landed and unzipped his jeans the rest of the way. He paused, catching Nesta staring, and when he caught her eye, he smirked and shucked his heavy jeans off.

Nesta forgot how to breathe. She forgot how to move. She forgot how to do anything that didn’t include worshipping the body before her in any way possible.

She blinked away the shock and cleared her throat, before saying, “So. You don’t wear underwear?”

That smirk hadn’t left his face and he said, “Oh, I do, they’re in my jeans. I just couldn’t wait any longer to see your reaction to…” His eyes flicked down to where his cock stood at attention.

Nesta huffed a laugh and shook her head, tiptoeing closer to him. Her fingers brushed along his chest, and she walked around him to finish observing the view. Her fingers trailed down his shoulder, down his back, across his ass - his beautiful, perfect, sculpted ass. He shuddered beneath her touch.

This Nesta, this beautiful, emboldened woman, this was his Nesta from the pasture earlier. Someone who isn’t afraid to laugh and touch and play. And play they would.

As she stepped back around him, Cassian scooped her up in his arms and dropped her on the couch. Before she had time to orient herself, he was there again, this time on top of her. He gave her just enough of his weight to press her into the cushions, to keep her in place, lips crashing into hers. His hand skimmed down her side, leaving goosebumps in its wake, until he reached the lace of her panties. He ran a finger under the front waistband and then traced it over the fabric, over her most sensitive area. She whimpered against his lips, his kiss drowning out any sounds she made. Pulling the fabric to the side, he slipped a finger between her folds, her slick heat meeting him.

He broke the kiss, growling, “You’re fucking soaked.”

Nesta’s eyes fluttered shut, her lips open. “You’ve been teasing me.”

“The only tease here is you,” he growled, pumping his finger inside of her, then two, and three, as his lips found her neck and trailed down her body. He took the waistband of the thin lace into his teeth and pulled them down.

Cassian didn’t warn her as he spread her legs attached his mouth to her sex. He circled her clit with his tongue, still pumping his fingers in and out of her and he listened as her moans echoed around the empty house. Pulling his lips away, he pressed his thumb to her clit as he slid his fingers in and out of her. He turned his head to the side and kissed the inside of her thigh, sucking and teasing. Without warning, he bit the sensitive skin, causing Nesta to cry out and clench around his fingers.

He groaned at how tight she was, the way she tasted, the way she smelled and the noises she made. He kissed a path back up her body, still pumping his fingers in and out, faster and faster every time. His lips brushed hers and he breathed, “Are you close?” Yes,” she breathed, unable to control her voice, unable to control any of the noises pouring out of her mouth. “Fuck, yes. Fuck me.” Her words were shaky, unstable. She wanted him inside of her, needed him inside of her, couldn’t think of anything else.

“Say ‘please’,” Cassian crooned. He stilled his fingers inside of her and at her disappointed whimper, he brushed his fingertip over that elusive spot inside that Nesta had only dreamed of. She gasped and began to writhe, chest heaving, and he could tell she was right on the edge of ecstasy. He stopped with no warning.

Nesta snapped her head up to look at him. “Wha- Why did you stop?

“Do you want to cum?”

“Cauldron, yes,” Nesta groaned. It had been so long since something had given her an orgasm that wasn’t made of plastic or her own hand.

He slowly stroked inside her once more, then began to slowly roll his thumb over her clit. “Then all you gotta say is ‘please”, darlin’.”

Nesta could hardly get the word out. “Please.” Her voice broke, hardly able to form words over every other sound tumbling from her mouth.

“I can’t hear you,” Cassian whispered, thumb rolling faster. Nesta cried out. “Say please.”

Her back arched as her fingers dug into his dripping hair. “Please!” she gritted out, eyes shut, yanking on his hair with such force that he groaned.

Her body felt lighter, like she was floating on air, as the tension in her body slowly began to fade.

She cried out as she came around his fingers. He pumped slower as she did so, watching her eyes widen as her climax took hold. She worked to steady her breathing as her eyes fluttered shut, and his fingers moved, slowly, tauntingly, in and out. When Cassian pulled his fingers out, Nesta’s eyes shot open, just as he moved them to his mouth and sucked off her juices.

Her chest was heaving and her eyes slipped closed as she caught her breath. Cassian couldn’t help but stare at her body; at the tight, sleek lines of her toned stomach; at her long, tanned legs; at her pretty, pink pussy, which was the best fucking thing he’d ever tasted. But her breasts…

Gods, those fucking breasts.

Those breasts had been on his mind every time he’d had to take care of himself in the past few weeks, but seeing them again, tasting them, watching them move with every steadying breath she took…

“You’re thinking about fucking my tits, aren’t you?”

Cassian’s gaze snapped to hers, smirking at him from where she’d propped herself up on her arms.

His eyebrow raised and he said, “I wasn’t, but now I definitely am.”

She laughed, and sat up on the couch, letting him sit down next to her. He didn’t know why he was expecting it to be awkward, why he was expecting her to have changed her mind and run buckass naked out into the storm.

He wasn’t expecting her to flip over and lay on her stomach, breasts pressed against his thighs. He wasn’t expecting her to reach a delicate hand out and grip his cock. And he sure as fuck wasn’t expecting her to wrap those full lips around the head and suck.

But that’s exactly what she did.

He stared, watching her intently, their eyes connected. He was fairly certain he wasn’t breathing as her tongue slowly danced around the head of his cock. His head fell back against the couch cushions, his eyes slowly closing.

The sound that left his body was inhumane as his dick filled her mouth, her head bobbing up and down, that wild tongue gliding over his sensitive skin.

His abdomen contracted as she took him farther into her mouth, and he swore under his breath as his eyes opened and he stared down at her. He could swear there was a laughter in her eyes as she continued to bob her head up and down his considerable length.

“Are you trying to tease me now?” He asked, voice husky. She hummed in response and the vibrations had one of his hands gripping her hair in a hand. The other, he reached over and gripped her ass, firmly squeezing. Her eyes widened in surprise. “Because two can play that game, sweetheart.” He pressed his hand between her legs and trailed a finger along her entrance, swirling it around her clit.

She moaned, lips still around his cock and she nearly swallowed him whole.

He swore, voice low, his fingers intertwined into her hair gripping the strands with far more force, causing Nesta to whimper against him. 

All he could think about was how he would feel inside of her. She was so wet, so ready, and he was nearly about to combust.

She moaned around his cock, her eyes shut desperately as the finger he used to circle her clit kept steady. 

He gently rolled his hips into her mouth. She gagged, eyes flying open to meet his, once more, as one of her hands met his thigh, nails gripping into his tanned skin, the other cupping his balls.

“If you keep doing that,” he growled, eyes nearly black in his lust for her. “I’m going to be coming down your throat instead of on your tits.”

Nesta removed him from her mouth, nearly gasping for air as the head popped out of her mouth. The second she had moved, he was gripping her shoulders, pulling her onto his lap, his lips crashing into hers. She ground down against him, his erection sliding against her opening, so close to where she needed him.

He gripped her hips and rocked her back and forth against his length, the tip rubbing her clit with every pass, causing her eyes to flutter shut as he brought her right to the peak again.

“Are you close, Nesta?” The words were a hiss, his teeth clenched together. Her head was thrown back, chest heaving. She nodded. “Do you want me to fuck you?”

She groaned, “Gods, yes, please.”

Without warning, he lifted her hips and slammed his cock inside of her.

She cried out, her fingernails digging into his shoulders to keep from losing herself completely. His name tumbled from her lips, nearly lost in the continuous moan that she couldn’t control. She rode his length, as Cassian held onto her hips, his face nestled between her breasts. He bit into her skin, nipped at her tits with gentle teeth as he groaned, voice low, shamelessly. His curses filled the air as Nesta clenched around his cock.

He breathed her name, and Nesta felt ready to explode into a million pieces.

“Fuck, you feel so good,” he groaned, burying his face between her breasts. His hands moved farther back, gripping the swell of her ass and Nesta bounced quicker and quicker. “Are you going to come again?”

“Yes, yes,” she gasped, wrapping her arms around his head, nearly suffocating him with her tits.

He’d stopped moving, content to let her use him for her pleasure. He lavished her skin, his tongue circling her peaked nipple and he sucked it into his mouth. She clenched around him, moaning his name, and watching her unravel around him, letting her use him as her own personal sex toy, it felt almost as good as ramming his cock into her had felt.

Almost.

As she shattered, as her climax tore through her and she cried out, his name a prayer on her lips, he gripped her ass and stood.

Her back hit the wall and she moaned as he fucked her with no abandon, slamming into her at a relentless, unforgiving pace. His lips found her neck, followed by his teeth and he sucked, unable to stop himself from leaving a mark, from claiming the beautiful woman in his arms for all to see.

Nesta’s hand roamed his back, the other tangled into his damp hair. Her lips tumbled open, but nothing came out as his hips continued to thrust into hers. A string of curse words were muttered into the skin of her neck.

She clung to him, eyes snapped shut, unable to breathe as he groaned into her neck. His lips left her skin as he abruptly pulled out, then he fell into her body as he came, his hips moving slowly as his cock slid beneath her, between her folds, riding out his climax. 

He fell against her then, eyes closed, lips still open against her neck, unmoving. She could feel his heart beating against her as they tried to catch their breath in the silence, nothing but the storm raging outside and heavy, shaking, panting to be heard.

“Fuck,” he finally breathed, lifting his head to look at her. There was nothing but pure ecstasy in those stormy eyes. He carefully set her on her feet and stepped back, watching as she leaned heavily against the wall. He smirked. “Legs not working?”

Her response was a breathy chuckle. “No, not quite. I don’t think they’ll be back to normal until tomorrow morning.”

Cassian let his gaze travel down her body, pausing as he saw the trail of mosisture running down her thighs, a mix of both her and him. The sight had his cock hardening again already.

“Oh, darlin’,” he crooned, pulling her against him and nipping at her earlobe. “What makes you think you’ll be getting any rest between now and tomorrow morning?”

Nesta chuckled, letting him scoop her up into his arms, her legs wrapping around his waist.

His eyes met hers, and he kissed her, once, before she whispered, “Take me upstairs.”

________

There was no more fucking. Nesta was fairly certain if there was she wouldn’t be able to walk for a week.

But he had carried her upstairs and laid her down in her old bedroom. They found themselves beneath the blankets, the rain pouring outside the large window as they laid awake in a comfortable silence, Nesta wrapped in Cassian's arms.

Which is exactly where she woke up.

He was still asleep, one of his long, heavy legs draped over her, holding her in place. His handsome face looked almost boyish in peaceful sleep, and Nesta hesitated to disturb him, but the sun had been creeping across the wall for almost thirty minutes now.

She pressed soft kisses to his cheeks, over the stubble dusting his jaw, to his forehead and eyelids, until he began to stir.

He groaned as his eyes fluttered open. He met Nesta’s amused gaze with a sleepy one of his own.

“Good morning,” he muttered, voice raspy, quiet, burying his face back into the pillow.

“Good morning,” she whispered.

Beau had made himself comfortable after helping himself through the doggy door the night before after they’d left him outside in the rain due to their beautiful, lustful distraction. He was now sleeping soundly at the foot of the bed.

Cassian reached up and brushed Nesta’s hair out of her face. For a moment, neither of them said a word. Then, Cassian asked, “Sleep good?”

“Yeah,” she smiled. Perfect.

“Good,” he breathed. “Me too.”

“You look like you’re surprised I’m still here,” she mumbled, and Cassian’s fingers froze from where they were trailing down her cheek.

Then he laughed, quietly. “Not surprised. Happy, though.” He tentatively leaned in and brushed his lips against hers, gauging her reaction. When she responded, letting her lips move against his own, he rolled on top of her, running a hand down her still naked body. He paused and pulled away, looking at the window. “Shit, what time is it?”

“Like, six-fifteen,” she admitted.

Cassian’s eyes went wide. “I have to get up, I didn’t mean to sleep this late.”

Nesta’s smile was soft. “I figured. You go get started, I’ll make you some breakfast.”

A dark eyebrow rose. “Sex and breakfast? What’s the catch?”

Nesta stilled from where she was rolling off the bed. “Do you want there to be a catch?”

Cassian grinned. “No.”

“Then don’t ask questions,” she said, laughing under her breath as she scurried from the room, fully aware that Cassian was watching her go.

Ten minutes later, she stood in the kitchen, wearing her mother’s robe once again, a pot of coffee brewing in the corner, and bacon sizzling in the pan on the stove. A pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist, and she jumped slightly as he rested his head on her shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” he chuckled. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

She shook her head. “I just didn’t hear you. I sometimes space out when I’m cooking.”

She transferred the bacon to a plate, dabbing it with paper towels to remove the excess grease, before cracking three eggs directly into the pan. He poured himself a cup of coffee and watched her as he pulled his boots on. She glanced over her shoulder and looked at him, biting down the laugh that tried to bubble out of her.

His clothes were horribly wrinkled from where they’d been thrown to the side last night, but at least they were dry.

She pulled a couple of tortillas from the fridge and wrapped the food, handing him the two warm bundles. He took them and smiled. She smiled back.

An awkward silence filled the kitchen and they looked at each other and started laughing. He cupped her cheek in his hand. “Let me take you to dinner tonight.”

Her eyes widened in surprise and she nodded, a grin spreading across her face. “I’d like that.”

#the ranch nessian #shara collab #shara tag #tacmc x throne of ashes and beauty #toab tacmc collab #acotar #acomaf #acowar #acofas #acosf #nessian

[randomvarious]

George Jinda - “Just My Imagination” Cool Covers: Smooth Jazz Plays the Hits Song released in 1996. Compilation released in 1998. Smooth Jazz

From critic David Jeffries:

A native of Budapest, Hungary, percussionist George Jinda began playing the piano when he was six but switched to drums by age ten. Tony Williams along with African and South American rhythms were early inspirations, but it was Jack DeJohnette who Jinda declared his idol. Jinda and his family moved in 1966 to New York City, the place where he would meet guitarist Chieli Minucci in 1982. The two formed one of the most successful smooth jazz bands ever, Special EFX. In 1992 Jinda shared the stage with Miles Davis in Japan and started work on his World News project. Special EFX released 13 albums before artistic differences separated the two in the mid-'90s. The split was friendly and Minucci agreed to let Jinda keep recording under the Special EFX name. The first Minucci-less album, Here to Stay, was released in 1996, and Jinda took the band on the road.

However, Here to Stay wasn't the only album that George Jinda released in 1996, because while that one came out under his Special EFX moniker, he also put out another album, Between Dreams, under his own name, which was released by the Shanachie label. On that album, which saw Jinda moving from, as critic Jonathan Widran puts it, "worldbeat toward a decided street vibe," is a wonderfully chilled out and mostly instrumental smooth jazz cover of The Temptations' "Just My Imagination." Then in '98, Shanachie gathered a collection of covers from their stable of smooth jazz artists and released the marvelous Cool Covers: Smooth Jazz Plays the Hits, which is where you can also find Jinda's rendition of "Just My Imagination."

Now, I've heard the style of percussion that George Jinda puts forth on this track in plenty of tunes before. You can find a slow snare-and-rustling-hi-hat type of backbeat combo in 90s songs like "The Sadeness" by Enigma and "Tom's Diner" by DNA featuring Suzanne Vega. It's actually an element of a lot of 90s tunes that I really cherish, but I've never read anyone actually describe that particular sound before. I wrote about it a little bit in a post about "Down That Road" by ex-Massive Attack member Shara Nelson a few months ago, and I described it as trip hop-pop, but I'll gladly accept "street vibe" as a way to describe it, too. There's something about that simple combination of drums and hats that just feels so blissful and liberating to me. And this one has shakers, too. Can't get enough of it. Such a good facet of 90s production.

Anyway, Jinda's performance is only a part of this well developed tune and it's his guitarist, Henry Johnson, who actually stars front-and-center by replacing the original version of "Just My Imagination"'s vocal melodies with full and rich, soul-stirring string plucks instead. Buttressing him along the way are pianist Alex Bugnon's light chords and whimsically cascading string synth touches as well as Mark Johnson's soprano sax, with whom Henry Johnson briefly and beautifully trades bars with on the second verse.

Fabulous piece of chill, mid-90s smooth jazz. Had a long and exhausting, alcohol-fueled holiday weekend myself and songs like this one are really perfect for those mornings spent after a hard-partied night. Just superb vibes all around.

Anyone wanna collab with me on a street vibe backbeat 90s playlist 🥺?

#smooth jazz #jazz #music #90s #90s music #90's #90's music #90s smooth jazz #90's smooth jazz #90s jazz #90's jazz

[xwingsandlaserswords]

Stories from a Secret Garden

Collab with @jinkouuart​ for @codywanweek​ day 6, fairytale! Be sure to check out her amazing companion piece! 

Cross posted on AO3

Rey will be the first to admit that Finn and Poe's kids are great. They're smart, funny, and respectful. They don't fight and they know how to clean up after themselves. Her friends are great dads; that's evident every time she babysits. 

The one problem is bedtime. 

The minute she remotely mentions the b-word, all hell breaks loose. Damrus starts begging for one more round in his game. Shara hides in the cupboard. Leia tries to negotiate. Even Annihea, who is too young to understand a word anyone says, starts wailing. The babysitter is supposed to love bedtime; Rey can't help but detest it. 

Tonight is no different. Damrus sulked as he brushed his teeth. Leia hugged her teddy and demanded a thirty minute delay. She had to drag Shara out of her hiding place. Even Beebee seemed upset with her. Beebee is never upset with anyone.  

"My final offer is twenty more minutes," Leia stated, holding out her hand. 

"Or," Jannah, her co-babysitter for the evening, said, "you can get in bed now and Auntie Rey will tell you a bedtime story." 

It was like those four words flipped a switch. The kids perked up and hurried to their bedrooms. Rey looked at Jannah, stunned. "Why did you say that?!" She whispered, "I can't tell stories for the life of me!" 

Jannah shrugged and continued to rock and feed Annihea. "It always works when I have to watch them." 

Rey put her hands on her hips. "You, my love, are an excellent storyteller. I, on the other hand-"

"Will be fine," Jannah interrupted, "if you can't think of one, use a story from your life. They're only going to be awake for half of it; no need to panic if you aren't the next Emily Dickinson." 

Rey still frowned. "Why can't you do it?" 

"Because this baby is almost asleep and there's no way I'm risking waking her up." Jannah moved the bottle to the table and shooed Rey off to the bedroom. 

The brunette flipped her girlfriend off before calling the kids to Damrus's bedroom. The three sat in the eldest's bed and eagerly waited for their aunt to begin.

Rey sat across from them and smiled awkwardly. "What story do you want to hear?" 

"Princes!" 

"Knights" 

"Dancing!" 

Shara and Leia shouted their ideas one after the other. Damrus simply shrugged. "I like flowers," he mumbled. 

An idea came to Rey's head quickly. "Okay, here goes.

"A long time ago, in a kingdom far, far away…" 

                                                      ♤♡♤♡♤♡♤♡

It really doesn't surprise Cody to learn the prince is missing. 

Everyone was frantically preparing for that night's dance. Soon, dignitaries were arriving from all over to meet the king to be. In a few short months, Prince Anakin would formally take his late father's place as monarch of their young country. Cody wasn't concerned: he'd seen the young man grow into a fearless and noble ruler. He didn't have the most conventional way of doing things, but Cody had to admit his methods were effective.

Most agreed that Anakin would settle down and conform to tradition once he was married. Cody thought that was ludicrous; marriage wouldn't change Anakin's foundation. Regardless, a dance was being held with the secondary hope of finding a spouse for the future king. The young man must have hated the idea as much as Cody if he'd been missing since dusk. 

Good luck finding him, Rex, Cody thought to himself. At least my prince isn't missing.

He walked the cobblestone path to a small, secluded place in the Queen's Garden. The sun wouldn't be up for another hour, but the humidity was already uncomfortable. He hated being outside in his formal wear. The armour encasing his legs and right arm made him sweat. The straps on his shoulders made certain movements difficult. The white uniform underneath was thick and stiff. His sword was positioned in an unfamiliar way. Cody understood that it protected and looked better than his usual outfit, but the dance wasn’t for hours! Did he have to wear it now? 

He would only endure this discomfort for one person. That person was currently sitting on a bench and rereading the same book for the fifth time. Cody would never understand why- he already knew all the words by heart. 

Cody was sent to retrieve him for some final inspection, but he couldn't help but take a moment to admire the prince's beauty. The long cape was swept into his lap, creating a pillow for his book. The golden shoulder plates and buttons glistened under the lamp light. The tailor must have modified the suit recently; Cody didn’t recall ever seeing the golden accents on his right leg and left sleeve. He also couldn’t help his slight jealousy: the prince’s outfit looked much more comfortable than his own. 

"If you stand there any longer the birds will mistake you as stone", the prince said, interrupting Cody's thoughts.

He smiled slightly. "I was allowing you to finish."

"Hm, yes," Obi-Wan turned the page of his book, "and I am oblivious to the fact Anakin is currently with the Queen of Naboo."

"Ah, well…" Cody cleared his throat. "The Duke has requested your presence in the ballroom. He would like your opinion on some things."

 Obi-Wan met his gaze, amusement twinkling in his blue eyes. "It is a shame I cannot be found, then."

"Yes, Sir, it is."

They shared a smile before Obi-Wan stood. He put his book in the bench's hidden compartment. How the prince managed to find these hidden places, Cody would never find out. 

He looked back at the Knight and smiled. "Would you care to escort me around the garden before I must see the Duke?"

Cody offered his arm. "It would be an honor, Your Highness."

Obi-Wan took his arm and they began their stroll. It was easy to get lost while surrounded by the beauteous flowers. The path diverged into three different sections: one leading to the castle, one to the stable and the last to the gates. Cody didn't need direction before heading down the path to the gates. 

"The roses are breathtaking this year," Obi-Wan said, breaking their silence. 

Instead of speaking his thoughts, Cody nodded. "Hevy has been working with Ninety-Nine to ensure the garden is ready for the summer. My suspicion is that he wants to show up the Alderanian gardeners."  

Obi-Wan chuckled. "I will never understand their competition." 

"It's a thing between brothers. Cutup did well for King Bail's wedding; Hevy wants to do better for the prince's coronation." Cody replied with a shrug. 

Obi-Wan put a hand on his own and stopped in the centre of the path. "Do you think he's ready?" 

"Oh, I'm sure Hevy is. Ninety-Nine is a great teacher." 

Obi-Wan shook his head fondly. "I have no doubt in that. I meant do you think Anakin is ready? He's still so…" 

"Headstrong?" 

" Young. At his age all I had to do was smile and nod. He is going to be running a country." 

"You did a little more than smile and nod, Your Highness." 

Cody recalled the prince’s marriage with the late Queen of Mandalore. Prince Obi-Wan had just turned seventeen. He proclaimed the union would unite their two countries for years to come. Cody, a teen himself, couldn’t help but feel bad for the elder. For years, it appeared the prince was stuck in a marriage of convenience. 

Later, he learned this was only partially the case. Yes, the marriage was arranged, but Obi-Wan had quickly fallen in love with the Queen. Years later, the couple had a son. Soon after the prince’s birth, King Qui-Gon passed away. Obi-Wan was forced to return to his home country to take over Anakin’s teachings and the role of acting monarch. For Mandalore to maintain its political position, it was agreed the best course of action was to dissolve Prince Obi-Wan and Queen Satine’s union. This was all before the prince had turned twenty-five.

So, no, Obi-Wan did not just "smile and nod" when he was the age of the young prince. 

Obi-Wan continued, "I had years of learning under Father before I was expected to lead, not to mention what I’d learned from Satine. Anakin-" 

"Anakin has known his duty since he was born," Cody interrupted. "He has watched and learned as you acted in the role he was born to take. You fail to give him enough credit, Your Highness. Anakin will be a fearless and noble ruler, just as you taught him." 

It was no secret Obi-Wan was treated unjustly by the former king. As the child of a non-traditional union, Obi-Wan held no place in line for the throne. Qui-Gon still educated him, but all his attention turned to Anakin when he was born. The younger son was the first born to the King and Queen. The throne was his right, not Obi-Wan’s. 

When Qui-Gon passed away, it was agreed that Obi-Wan would temporarily act as monarch. He was to educate his younger brother so one day, when he turned twenty-three, he may take the throne. Several protested this arrangement, arguing that a bastard should have no such power. By the time anyone cared to listen, Obi-Wan's reign was coming to an end. Now their attention is on the king-to-be and his courtship status. 

"I know you do not want to be king," Cody said softly. "But even the moonlight doesn't hide your worry. What is bothering you?" 

"Many things keep me up at night, my dear. You'll have to be more specific." Cody simply tilted his head and waited until the prince sighed. "I know he is ready, but I still feel Anakin is too young for such responsibility. I fear that his and the Queen from Naboo's courtship will be denied. I worry that my son resents me for leaving when I had no choice. I fear…" He looked to the ground for a moment. "I fear that once Anakin ascends to the throne, he will no longer need me." 

Cody gently tilted the prince's head to meet his gaze. "There is no doubt in my mind that he will always need you. You are his brother, his mentor, his beloved friend. He may not need an advisor anymore, but he will always need you." 

Obi-Wan put a hand over the knight's own. "What would I do without you?" 

"Not have a knight to cover your sorry arse." 

Obi-Wan shook his head. He waited a moment more before speaking again. "I've been thinking of moving upstate." 

Cody recoiled slightly in surprise. "Oh?" 

"Yes, once Anakin is crowned and married to Padmé. Nowhere too far: just somewhere to get away from the politics and so-called royal life." 

"Really?" Cody tried not to let his hope build. 

"Yes. I may invite Krokie to stay. It depends how he'd get along with my fiancé, however." 

"Fiancé?" This is the first time he'd heard the word out of the other's mouth. 

"After the coronation I will have no ties to the throne. I will be able to marry whomever I want." Obi-wan smiled cheekily. "Perhaps you've met him; he is in the guard, after all." 

"There are thousands of men in the guard. You must be more specific." 

"Well, this knight is loyal. He is always two steps behind me. Regardless of my rankings and status, he has never feared to speak his mind." Obi-Wan took a step closer. "He is also quite charming. Handsome too, if I say so myself, especially in his formal wear." 

Cody grimaced. He'd almost forgotten about the uncomfortable garments. "He'd only wear them for you, Sir." 

"Soon he may never have to dawn them again." 

"I love you," Cody admitted, tired of the banter that kept them apart. 

Obi-Wan kissed his cheek and pulled him close. "And I you, cyare." 

Soon, dignitaries would be arriving, Rex would arrive with the upset prince, and someone would pull Obi-Wan away for one reason or another. Cody tried to forget about that; right now it was just him, his beloved, and the stars. 

                                                      ♤♡♤♡♤♡♤♡

Rey broke out of her story-telling trance and smiled. "The end!" She said gleefully. 

All three children were fast asleep. Rey looked to the door frame and frowned when Jannah laughed. "How long have they been out?" She asked. 

Jannah shrugged. "Leia fell as soon as you said the first sentence, Shara followed after Cody found the prince and Damrus was out not too long ago." Rey sighed before getting up and gathering Shara in her arms. Jannah came in and followed suit with Leia. "You did well," she continued, "I quite enjoyed your story." 

"Oh, that wasn't a story," Rey called as she exited the room. "That was simply the beginnings of my grandfather and his husband." 

… Well, maybe she had taken some creative liberties, but Jannah didn't need to know that. 

#codywan #codywanweek2020 #obi wan kenobi #commander cody #universe: fairytale #my fics #background finnpoe #background rey x jannah #prince obi-wan #knight cody

[friizinha]

Collab with @sharaneedpaper

Shara: Sketch and LineArt

Me: Coloring

Huahuahua, thank u Shara ~

#collab #undertale #chara undertale #chara ut #i want money

[sharaneedpaper]

Collab

Collab with my friendo @dingdonwalker

Sketch and Line - Walker

Coloring - Shara

Eu tenho agonia dessa lineart, mas ainda te amo

#collab #art #can remember

[lawsonwhite]

I'm so proud to have been a part of this record. Sarah Kirkland Snider's work is incredible, and the work she, Judd Greenstein and Bill Brittelle have done with New Amsterdam, who released this record, is so important. Records like this are why I wanted to become a producer. I can't believe it's been 10 years! Congrats, Sarah! . #Repost @sarahkirklandsnider : . 10 years ago, October 26, 2010, I released my first album, Penelope. It was a collection of songs about two people trying to restore a lost connection—between themselves, but also within. Musically, it embodied everything I’d been taught to avoid when writing music—everything from my musical past I’d worked hard to shed. I could write a very emo post about what this experience taught me, how it changed me artistically and personally. But for now I’ll just say, ten years on: thank you—to Ellen McLaughlin for writing such powerful and moving text, to @ensemblesignal and @bradlubman and @tedpoor for jumping in with both feet, to @no_lands for mind-meld sound design collab, to @lawsonwhitemusic for giving it just the production it needed, and to @juddgreenstein and @wbrittelle for egging me on when I lost confidence. And last but not least, to my dearest @mybrightestdiamond, who answered an email out of the blue to render my dream of Penelope so generously and open-heartedly. Shara also quickly revealed herself to be not just my muse and mentor, but my sister from another mister. One of those friends who know you before you know yourself, who are forever in the foxhole with you, and who change you inside-out—and for that I’m eternally grateful. I know she and I will collaborate our misfit magical dork-asses right into the next dimension. Anyway, thank you to everyone who supported this music ten years ago. It helped me heal a lost connection of my own. Cover photo: @mile_118, cover art: @dmstith (at Clinton Recording Studio) https://www.instagram.com/p/CG3uCwEB4ii/?igshid=1rh0a7b2knit6

#repost

[wartakanlah]

Presenter Raffi Ahmad tidak sengaja bertemu Yuni Shara di belakang panggung acara 'Empat Mata' yang di pandu oleh Tukul Arwana. #kliktrend

#Trending Topic #Viral

[mallisia-ring]

Louise & Shara: Collaborate

Louise groaned as she walked down the hallway to her room, finishing up her sub she’d ‘borrowed’ from the hotel’s small restaurant. Honestly it was a miracle she’d even managed to convince the management to let her have a room for a bit, but she knew it wasn’t permanent, soon or later she’d be back out there. Every night, she couldn’t help but question herself, should she really have left Viper?, should she really have taken the bribe to keep quiet? She couldn’t take those choices back at this point.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a sound she’d grown very familiar with during her stay at her current hotel, seemingly every night, her neighbour sang, in some weird language that was neither Black Rock or her personal native Dark Asteroid tongue, much to Louise’s confusion. but she had to admit, whatever those beats were, they had style.

She smiled to herself, enjoying the sound as she let herself into her small, cheap room, locking the door behind her & crashing on the small bed, it was clearly a cheap bed, but hey, better than sleeping on a metallic street corner. The music soon faded to her ears as Louise nodded off, content with her current status.

Once the morning came around, Louise found herself waking up at an usually early time for her, groaning slightly as she got to her feet, fixing her hair quickly before opting to swing down to the restaurant, if only to get herself a few drinks. Once she arrived and took a seat, ordering herself some light booze, Louise took a look up at the small television perched on a shelf by the bar, with what sounded almost like an advertisement for a small concert for up and coming musicians to show off their works. Louise couldn’t help but scoff slightly, “Show off their works. Get ‘em ripped off more like.” She mumbled cynically.

“Are you kidding?! This is the break I need!” Said the person next to her, startling Louise somewhat, “It’s the perfect way to get my works heard!”

Louise shook her head to herself, but didn’t comment, “Yeah sure.” She mumbled in her native Dark Asteroid tongue, “Keep telling yourself that. Short sighted Black Rock pheh!” She scoffed, finishing her drink & getting up to head back to her room, before spotting the other woman’s room key clipped to her belt, 211, directly next door to her own.

As the day rolled on, she found herself hovering around near her door, glancing out whenever she heard someone walking by. “Why?” Louise thought to herself, “Why do I suddenly care?” She groaned, waiting for the other woman from the morning, though it wasn’t until the evening that she’d finally see who she was looking for, and by then, she was tired. “Sup?” She unexpectedly greeted her neighbour.

---

Shara jumped slightly at the greeting, having not being expecting anyone to even acknowledge her presence outside of the hotel’s bar, She whipped around, seeing the other woman that she’d absent mindedly responded to in the morning. Oh no, she looked exhausted. “A-Ah, I’m sorry!” She quickly apologised, earning a raised eyebrow in return.

“What?” The other woman replied, leaning on the 210 door frame, “You haven’t even done anything homie.” She said.

“Y-You look tired, I-Isn’t that because of me?” Shara questioned, with the other woman shaking her head.

“Nah holmes it’s fine. Nice beats you got.”

A compliment? On her music? Shara paused, having definitely not being expecting that, “O-Oh t-thank you.” She responded.

“Could use some raps though.” The other woman smirked, “Break up the mellow with some spice. Throw ‘em a curveball ya see.” She laughed slightly.

Shara shook her head slightly in response, “That’s... Not my strong suite...” She admitted, “More of a pop type of person.”

---

Louise scoffed slightly in response to the other woman’s statement, “Eh, not sure a concert will care about just pop homie.” She said, “Hit ‘em with yo beats, they’ll all know the real deets.” She idly threw out, following up with a few more raps.

---

Despite her personal failings when it came to rap, Shara had to admit, the woman in front of her seemed almost like a natural at them. A thought suddenly struck her, she had pop, this woman had rap, why not both? A small smile crossed her face; oh yeah, she was gonna rock her show. “Not bad.” She complimented, holding out her hand, “Name’s Shara.”

“Louise.” The other woman said, taking hold of it for a small hand shake, though she wouldn’t be able to predict the next words to come from Shara’s mouth.

“We should collab!”

===

(I’ve being trying to figure out how exactly to have Louise & Shara meet for a while now, & I think this’ll be the general gist of it. The two of them would gain a much closer friendship over time, especially following the break out of Akhira, which led to them adding her to their team & officially naming themselves The Eternal Divas.

As for the language Shara is singing in near the start, it’s supposed to be a Ninji language, as she was mostly raised by them. I always just imagine it being Japanese, but maybe I’ll make a more unique description of it at some point.

Some evidence of Louise’s suppressed racism towards Black Rock borns shows up here too, which she still ever so slightly harbours in the present, but mostly towards military officers.)

#out of character #Alban Archives #character:louise #character:Shara

[theladyofdeath]

When We Were Young {1}

The DILF series, part 3.

Ship: Hunt x Bryce

Summary: After a series of tragic events, Bryce is forced to raise her daughter alone until her ex and father of her child, Hunt, gets discharged from the military. When he comes back to town, Bryce finds that the past cannot simply be forgotten.

Warnings: Mature content throughout. Language, sex, drinking, etc. 

Written with @snelbz

Then.

With her eyes closed, music blaring into her ears, Bryce almost could have convinced herself she was a famous dancer or model, getting ready for an important shoot, as someone curled and pinned her wine red hair into an intricate mess of waves cascading down her back.

Until, at least, she was hit in the face with something small and hard.

Amber eyes flaring open, she found Danika in the salon chair across from her, mouth moving, an open bag of Skittles in her lap.

Pulling her earbuds from her ears, Bryce paused her music. “You could have taken my eye out. What were you saying?”

“My aim is better than that,” she drawled, popping a green candy into her mouth. “I asked if you’d talked to Hunt today?”

“Of course,” Bryce replied, unlocking her phone. She opened her messages and opened the thread from Hunt Got a Better Grade On the Calculus Exam Than Me.

She’d rolled her eyes when she’d found the new contact name after they’d received their tests back the week before, but never changed any contact name he set in her phone, just like he never changed hers.

She scrolled up until she found the one with his and Baxian’s plans. “He said they’ll be at my house at five to get us for dinner.”

“And did Ruhn tell you if he’d get drinks for us?” She asked, not bothering to hide the fact that they were discussing Bryce’s older brother getting booze for them, regardless of the fact that they were underage.

Bryce threw the two ladies doing their hair a glance. Neither of them seemed to care, thankfully. It was prom season in Lunathion though, so this was far from the worst thing they’d probably heard from the clients in their chairs.

“Yeah, but he was grumpy as Hel about it,” Bryce confessed. “He told me no a hundred times before giving me that yes.”

Danika snorted. “Sounds right. He needs a woman in his life. Or a man. Whatever he’s interested in, I don’t know. I do know, however, that a little sex may get that stick out of his ass.”

Bryce scrunched her nose. “Can we not talk about my brother’s sex life?”

“I’m just saying,” Danika mumbled with a grin before throwing another Skittle in Bryce’s direction.

Bryce responded with an unladylike gesture that made her hairdresser chuckle.

Bryce and Danika had been planning tonight for what felt like forever.

After all, you only go to your senior prom once.

“Fury says she’s picked up all of her party favors,” Danika smiled, typing away on her phone. She was grinning. “She also says you better not be with Athalar the whole night. We get you for some of it.”

Bryce rolled her eyes. “Same goes for you and Baxian then.”

“Oh, he already knows I’ll be bailing on him at some point,” she replied, waving at Bryce dismissively. “He also knows I’ll be his at the end of the night, so he’s more than willing to share.”

Bryce cringed as she thought about the fact that Hunt wasn’t one to share.

He wasn’t excited about prom, about the tux he’d have to wear or the dress Bryce had spent weeks picking out. He wasn’t excited about the dinner they’d all be attending together, or the booze and mirthroot Ruhn and Fury had acquired for them. The only thing he was looking forward to was having Bryce to himself that night, in his empty house, thanks to his foster dad’s last minute business trip.

Nonetheless, he would go for her. He would do anything for her. He had since the moment they had started dating, junior year. He would show up and be pleasant, would treat her like the princess she surely was, but she would know the truth. He was going for her and her alone. 

When Bryce came back to the present moment, Danika was watching her. 

“I know you want to spend as much time together as possible before he leaves, but we need to spend time with you, too,” she said.

Bryce gave her a grin that she didn’t quite feel. “Don’t worry. I know it’s not a party unless I’m there.”

Danika’s head fell back as she laughed. Her hairdresser looked annoyed. “Don’t get too cocky. At least not until Ruhn comes through with the liquor.”

After their hair was perfected, they were getting their nails done and heading back to Bryce’s house to finish getting ready. Ruhn was already there, sitting with Ember and chatting about what classes he was taking that semester. Although not her son, Bryce’s mom had always had a good relationship with Ruhn. At least, she had always been kind to him once he and Bryce connected in her early teens.

“You’re early,” Bryce said, dropping her keys on the kitchen counter.

Ruhn opened his mouth to say something but Bryce was too distracted by her mom yelling, “You two look so beautiful!”

“Do you agree, Danaan?” Danika crooned. “Do we look beautiful?”

Ruhn had no facial reaction at all, but he looked at Danika as he said, “Always.” Ember was going on and on, but Ruhn was standing from the table and shoving his hands in his pockets. “I got called into work early so I thought I’d come drop off your shoes now.”

Shoes.

It was clearly a lie, but if Ember realized it she didn’t show it.

“They’re in my car,” Ruhn went on, clearing his throat.

“I need to get my dress out of my car, I’ll grab them,” Danika replied, coolly. Ember was still gushing over Bryce’s hair, continually hooking one of the loose strands over Bryce’s ear, out of her face. Bryce continued to pull it forward.

“Great,” Ruhn sighed, stepping forward and hugging Bryce as Danika rushed outside while Ember was distracted. “Have fun. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

Snorting, Bryce hugged him back. “That leaves my options pretty wide open. Flynn told me what y’all did at your senior prom.”

Ruhn threw a sheepish grin to Ember, who gave him the most mom-like look he’d ever seen.

“Fine,” Ruhn said, backing away. “Do the complete opposite of what I’d do.” 

Ember chuckled and then Ruhn was walking outside, making sure Danika had grabbed the correct bag out of his car. 

Bryce was in her room when Danika had returned. “Why does he always get us the cheap shit?”

“Because he keeps the expensive shit in his apartment to impress every woman that finds him charming enough to spend a night with him,” Bryce said, pulling the box that held her shoes out of the top of her closet. 

Danika had a grin on her face that told Bryce she was about to comment on Ruhn’s sex life, once again, but then she thought better of it.

Hunt and Baxian would be arriving within an hour and they still had a lot to do. After perfecting their makeup, they shimmied into their dresses, Danika’s a deep purple and Bryce’s all black, hugging every inch of her curves. 

After shoes and jewelry were added, the two of them looked in Bryce’s floor length mirror. 

Danika whistled. “Not to sound too cocky, but we’re about to be the hottest bitches in that place.”

Bryce laughed in full agreement just as the doorbell rang. Her eyes flared, but she knew she’d never make it down the stairs in time to stop Randall or worse, her mother, from opening the front door. Especially not in the heels she was wearing.

It seemed Ember had beaten even Randall there, because only a second later, she heard her mother mooning over their boyfriends.

Stashing the booze in their empty shoeboxes, Bryce and Danika silently made their way down stairs, carefully setting the boxes and their purses on the kitchen counter. Stepping into the living room, Bryce caught Hunt’s eye as her mother took picture after picture of he and Baxian standing together.

She watched as his already dark eyes somehow became impossibly darker as he dragged them down her body. She bit her lip to hide her smile, and he smirked as Ember and Randall turned towards where Bryce and Danika waited.

By the end of the fifteen minutes Bryce and Danika had allotted for pictures, she was fairly sure her mother had taken at least a thousand shots of them. There were some of each couple, some of Bryce and Danika alone, some all together, and, of course, some of corsages and boutonnières being put on.

Baxian had expertly snuck the boxes containing the alcohol out to the car while Ember was chatting with the girls about her own senior prom and Randall was threatening Hunt with a smile on his face. Hunt took it in stride, used to Bryce’s step-father’s loving but overprotective nature. Neither of the parents had even noticed Baxian slipping away and silently returning to Danika’s side.

As they were trying to get out the door, Ember still snapping pictures, she hollered, “Let me know when you get to Danika’s tonight. Have fun!”

They all waved and smiled as they piled into Baxian’s all black Jeep, even as they all knew Sabine would never have allowed the debauchery they were all planning on to take place under her roof.

Once Bryce shut the door behind her, Hunt moved to the middle of the backseat and took her hand. “You look incredible, by the way.”

Bryce’s cheeks heated. “For someone who hates dressing up, you look pretty good yourself.”

He grinned that grin that had her soul going up into flames as he said, “Thanks.”

The restaurant they made reservations at was nothing special, just a quick bite to eat before the main event. They ate quickly, Ember’s onslaught of pictures taking longer than they’d expected.

They rode to prom with the music on full blast. Bryce was nervous and she had no idea why. Yet, she had a feeling that this would be a night they would never forget and she only wanted it full of good memories.

Prom was being held at a hotel ten minutes from Bryce’s house and she had never been anywhere so incredibly fancy. Even though she was all decked out, she nearly felt out of place as they walked beneath the crystal chandelier in the lobby.

They spotted Fury and Juniper beneath an arch that read Crescent City High Prom 15,023. A Night To Remember.

“More like a night we’ll be so drunk we won’t be able to remember,” Danika announced, hugging Juniper as they approached.

She huffed as she wrapped her arms around Bryce and then stepped back into her girlfriend’s awaiting embrace. “All the other themes were too cliché,” Juniper sighed. She was on the student council and had been the main brain planning the evening. “It’s our senior prom, we’re not going to go with Monte Cristo again.”

“Is it too early for booze,” Hunt grumbled.

Bryce nudged him in the ribs. “You promised to be excited.”

“My excitement is fueled by alcohol,” he said, but his smile told her that he was trying.

“I promise that once we get through this,” she began, sliding her arms around his neck, “that I will truly give you a night to remember.”

The light in his eyes brightened as he leaned down to kiss her, softly.

“Save it for inside, lovebirds,” Danika called, her and Baxian leading the group towards the ballroom. 

“I can get us a room instead,” Hunt mumbled.

Bryce just rolled her eyes and laughed as she took his hand and followed the others. 

Bryce had always loved to dance, especially with her friends. Although Hunt wasn’t one to get out on the dance floor, Bryce was never dancing alone. It wasn’t until a slow song came on that Hunt finally made his way to Bryce and held out his hand. 

“I’ve never seen you on a dance floor before,” Bryce laughed as he pulled her into his arms.

“Don’t get used to it,” Hunt said, then added, “but I couldn’t not come dance with you. You’re perfect.”

She rolled her eyes but it didn’t stop the butterflies from settling in the pit of her stomach.

Hunt's arms went around her waist as Bryce clung to him, resting her cheek against his chest.

They were quiet for a moment as they swayed back and forth. Danika had been right earlier. Graduation was still three weeks away, but Hunt would be leaving soon after and she wanted to spend all the time with him that she could before he went away. 

“You look sad,” Hunt said, quietly, halfway through the song. “I didn’t come dance with you to make you sad.”

Bryce chuckled and sighed. “Graduation is soon.”

Hunt’s body tensed but it quickly relaxed. “I don’t want to talk about graduation.”

Bryce frowned but didn’t push it. It was a topic that they avoided as much as possible.

“I just want to be here with you,” he added, his voice gentler than before. “Let me be here with you.”

She nodded, arms tightening around his neck.

“I love you, Quinlan,” he said, pressing his forehead against hers. “You know that, right?”

He’d never done a single thing for her to doubt that, but they’d been inseparable for the past two years. The future, not having him with her, not knowing when she’d see him next… It would be an adjustment.

“Of course, I do,” she breathed, stretching up on her toes to kiss him. “I love you, too. More than anything.”

They wouldn’t talk about graduation or summer tonight. They wouldn’t talk about the countdown that they felt closing in on them. Instead, they would spend time with their friends, they’d dance and drink and laugh.

A night to remember.

———

Bryce, Hunt, Danika, Baxian, Juniper and Fury bailed as soon as Pollux Antonius was crowned prom king. Some of the members of the sunball team said they’d be by later, but they had no idea just who all  would show up at Hunt’s house after prom had officially ended. They weren’t having a party, just a small get together.

That had been the plan at least.

Now, Hunt looked around at at least fifty of his classmates in his living room.

Too bad he was too drunk to care.

“Is it bad to admit that I don’t know who the fuck half of these people are?” He asked, his shirt untucked, unbuttoned, and his tie discarded.

Bryce laughed as she fell back onto the couch. “It’s too late in our high school career to get to know them now. Just enjoy the company.”

Hunt snorted and fell onto Bryce, kissing her slowly. “We can get you out of this dress, you know,” he muttered against her mouth. “Such a tight dress seems uncomfortable.”

“We’re surrounded by people,” Bryce laughed.

“I have a bedroom,” Hunt countered.

They kissed again but it was soon broken up by Danika jumping on them both and saying, “Real party is out back in two minutes. Don’t miss it.”

Hunt groaned. “I’m already so drunk I can’t walk straight.”

“That’s just an excuse to take this party to the bedroom,” Bryce grinned.

Danika groaned, dramatically. “You two make me sick.”

Hunt rolled his eyes. At first, he hadn’t been able to stand Danika but she had grown on him over the years.

But only to a certain extent. 

Danika hurried towards where Fury, June and Baxian waited, a rolled cigarette tucked behind Fury’s ear. Bryce knew it wasn’t tobacco. She was about to stand up, about to tug Hunt outside for a couple hits of mirthroot and then she’d let him take her into his bedroom, when the front door opened and they both glanced that way.

Connor and Ithan Holstrom, followed by most of Ithan’s teammates, flowed through the opening.

“What is he doing here?” Hunt asked, eyes narrowing.

It wasn’t a secret that Connor had a thing for Bryce. He had since they met freshman year, when Bryce and her parents had moved from Nidaros. But neither of them had ever made a move, even though Bryce had had a crush on Connor, too.

But then Hunt had transferred to CC High their junior year and Connor had missed his chance.

Bryce felt Hunt’s arm wrap around her shoulders right before Connor’s eyes found hers. He quickly looked away, catching sight of Danika as she slipped out the back door. Ithan and the rest followed as they walked through the living room and out back.

Bryce shrugged out of his grip. “Really? That alphahole bullshit again?”

Hunt bristled, but didn’t say anything.

“I’m going to smoke,” she announced, standing up. “You can be an asshole and stay in here if you want or you can come outside and be civil with Connor.”

“Bryce—”

She was out of sight before he could get out another word. With a groan, Hunt fell against the cushions and covered his face with his hands. He was far too drunk for such drama.

He had a choice to make.

Neither seemed like too much fun. He didn’t want to go up to his room alone, but he certainly didn’t want to be around Connor and his puppy dog eyes for Bryce.

Then he remembered his promise.

They only had one month together. They had one month until he was gone, going a hundred miles away for basic training, then across the ocean. They had one month until they didn’t have the ability to see each other every day. With her outside and him inside being an alphahole, as she put it, he was wasting time.

After swallowing his pride, Hunt pushed himself off the couch and headed toward the backdoor.

With his hand on the doorknob, he froze.

Bryce was standing next to Connor, laughing the night away. He knew it was innocent, knew that she loved him, but that jealousy…

He couldn’t control it.

His hand remained on the knob for a minute as he tried to calm himself down.

But then Danika saw him.

She said something to Bryce.

Bryce met his eye through the glass.

Then Connor looked their way, too.

He was going to do something stupid.

If he went out there, he knew he would do something stupid, knew he would get in a fight, knew that he would ruin Bryce’s night and he didn’t want that. Bryce didn’t deserve that, especially not on prom night.

Hunt’s hand fell away from the door and, with a bottle of vodka, he made his way upstairs to his bedroom.

It was nearly forty-five minutes later, when Bryce was sufficiently fucked up enough to stumble up the stairs and pause in front of his door. People had started to dwindle out, the night finally well and truly coming to an end. It had only taken Bryce a few minutes to realize she may have overreacted. But only just a little. He had acted like a dick, but she knew how he felt about Connor and his feelings. And they only had so little time left.

Sighing, Bryce raised her hand and knocked on the door.

It didn’t open.

She heard the music stop downstairs and then Danika hollered up the stairs, “We’re heading out, B! Love you!”

She didn’t want to yell in front of his door, so picked up the long skirt of her dress and hurried to the top of the stairs. The only ones left were Baxian, Danika, Fury and Juniper.

“Let me know when you get home safe, okay?” She looked each of them in the eye, so they knew she meant it. “A night we’ll always remember, right?”

They said their goodbyes and Bryce was in front of Hunt’s door once more. Rather than knock, she tried the knob.

It was unlocked and Bryce released a relieved breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding as she pushed the door open.

The bottle of vodka sat on his nightstand and she could see his sleeping form lying in the bed.

With a sigh, she unzipped her dress and helped herself to one of his shirts before reaching for the glass bottle, which was now empty.

That explained the snoring.

“Hunt,” she whispered, climbing onto the bed and nudging him in the shoulder.

He grumbled something and rolled onto his stomach.

“Hey.” She tried again, shaking his shoulder.

This time, he rolled over to face her, his blurred eyes meeting hers. “I’m sleeping.”

“You were the first one asleep at your own party,” she replied.

He mumbled something incomprehensible in response.

“What?” She asked.

“Nothing,” he grumbled.

“No,” she pushed, her voice rising. “Tell me what you said.”

Hunt rolled onto his back, at last, and rubbed his temples. “I said that I didn’t want this fucking party. All I wanted, Bryce, was a night with you. Alright? Not half the damn school. So, I don’t give a shit if I fell asleep.”

His words were still slurred, that drunkenness lingering.

She stared down at him, lips set in a thin line. She didn’t say anything as she made to slip off the bed, going to sleep in the spare room or on the couch. Hunt’s hand wrapped around her wrist. His words were strained. “I don’t want to fight, Bryce. I just…” She turned back to look at him. His jaw was set, but his eyes… She couldn’t read the emotion there. “I want to spend what time I can with you. Danika and Juniper and Connor, they’ll see you every day at CCU. We don’t even know when we’ll be able to speak…”

Silently, Bryce pushed back the blankets with her free hand and Hunt released her wrist. She climbed in next to him and he turned to face her, framing her face in his hands. Brushing a thumb over her full lips, he said, “I want to experience everything with you, even something as stupid as prom, because I know how much it means to you. But I need that time, Quinlan. I need what time we have now to make memories that will get me through days without you, the nights without you.”

Leaning forward, Bryce pressed her lips to Hunt’s. “If you aren’t too drunk, we can still make tonight one to remember,” she breathed, a gleam of longing in her eye.

Hunt rolled them until she was pinned beneath him and kissed her, not needing any more words uttered to know what they both wanted, what they both needed. 

The clock was closing in on them and Hunt was right. Everyone else in her life would still be here in a month. She and Danika would be moving into their apartment at CCU, Connor and Ithan in tow, even if Baxian was joining him in the military, though not in the same way. Baxian would be granted leave every few months, back and forth to Lunathion, thanks to his family’s ties to the city.

Hunt dragged his teeth down Bryce’s neck and she sighed as she arched her body up into his. “Do you have any idea how tight that dress was?” He growled, letting his hand trail up under his shirt she wore, roaming all that soft, warm skin beneath.

“I do actually,” she chuckled, but it turned into a moan as he rolled one of her nipples between his fingers. “It made my ass look phenomenal.”

As if in confirmation, he gripped her leg by the knee and hooked it around his middle, and his hand smacked her ass. “Yes, it did. It always does.”

They got lost in each other’s arms, in each other’s kisses and touch, and Bryce finally pushed him away, pulling his shirt over head. Her voice was breathy and high-pitched, even as she groaned, “I need you inside of me.”

At eighteen, it took little more than that to convince him to fuck his girlfriend. He sat up, kicking off the sweats and boxer-briefs he wore and leaned over to the nightstand, digging through the drawer for the box of condoms he kept hidden in the back.

His fingers closed around the box and he pulled it out, freezing as he looked at it.

Bryce felt him go still and she asked, “What’s wrong?”

Hunt glanced over at her and he groaned as he took her in, gloriously naked, laying in his bed. He dropped his head against the pillow, muffling his voice, and mumbled something.

She waited, knowing he’d repeat himself after a second, and he looked up at her, cringing. “We’re out of condoms.”

Bryce’s eyes flared. “Shit. Maybe Micah might have-?”

“He can’t have kids, remember?” Hunt interrupted. Bryce went quiet. She had known that, it was the whole reason he’d taken in Hunt as a foster kid.

They stared at each other for a moment, neither of them saying a word but both breathing heavily.

Bryce sucked in her bottom lip but it was Hunt who asked, “Do you trust me?”

“Of course,” she breathed.

“I’ll pull out,” he promised. 

She hesitated, but nodded, capturing his lips in a needy kiss.

Neither of them said another word as he took her to bed and made love to her in a drunken haze.

#crescent city #cc #hoeab #hunt x bryce #bryce x hunt #quinlar #shara collab #fanfic #fanfiction #the dilf series #sjm #modern au

[theladyofdeath]

Every Other Weekend {6}

Summary: Rowan was just looking for a night of fun after his divorce. Aelin was looking for one last reckless moment before selling her soul to her everyday grind of 9-5. Neither had any idea of just how much one night could change somebody’s life.

Warnings: Mature content throughout. Language, sex, drinking, etc. Explicitly NSFW will be labelled at the beginning of chapters containing NSFW content. 

A collab with @snelbz

Aelin scanned her room for the hundredth time.

It was perfect, and yet, she felt like something was missing, felt she was forgetting something. It was her first night of parent-teacher conferences, and she wanted to make sure that everything was perfect. Not only did she lay out treats for the parents and her students, but she also decorated her dry erase board and put together packets of all her students’ school work along with little notes to her students’ parents.

It was her first year at a fantastic and highly regarded school. She wanted the parents to like her, wanted a future in the district.

She was so nervous she felt the need to puke.

The only thing keeping her held together was the fact that her night would end with a visit from Rowan for Ollie’s conference. He would be bringing her tacos from her favorite taco truck as celebration of surviving her first round of conferences.

If she did survive.

She also had to meet with Maeve, so the chances of her survival were quite a bit lower than they would have been if just Rowan was coming for Ollie’s conference. Thankfully, she wouldn’t be alone. They’d be attending together.

It had been tough, explaining to Ollie why he couldn’t bring up Aelin being at their house so much. They’d finally convinced him that her visits were a secret and if anyone but the three of them found out, Aelin couldn’t come over anymore. It of course wasn’t true. But they weren’t ready for Maeve to know yet.

It was just after six when her first student came in, dragging her mom and dad by the hands. Turns out her only moment of peace was when she was making sure her room was perfect. After the first student came in, it was one after the other. For two hours, she talked about how good the students were, then the stuff they could work on, then she would answer a million questions, and then she would have five seconds to catch her breath before the next family came in.

She was counting down the time.

And her nerves were worsening.

As the clock approached 7:45, her door opened and Rowan came around the corner, Oliver and a bag full of tacos in tow.

“Hi, Miss Aelin!” Oliver beamed. “Mommy will be here soon. Me and daddy just ate soooooo many tacos.”

Aelin laughed quietly as she caught Oliver in a hug. “Well, we will wait for your mom before we get started.”

Rowan was frowning when he set the bag of food behind her desk and sat in one of the chairs opposite of hers. He gave her a smile but it didn’t reach his eyes. Having Maeve there was worse for him than it was for Aelin, by far.

The hate between them ran deep.

Oliver didn’t seem to notice, bless his heart. Aelin knew Rowan did his best not to let his feelings for Maeve influence Ollie’s, but sometimes it was hard.

He was regaling Aelin on their dinner and definitely over exaggerating how many tacos he ate when the door opened behind them.

Maeve stood there, iced coffee in hand, her egregiously expensive purse slung over a shoulder.

“Ms. Mallory, hello,” Aelin said, standing from her chair.

“Hi, mommy!” Oliver said, hopping up from his desk

and running over to him. She squatted down and caught him, hugging him tightly.

Standing, she looked at Rowan. She gave him a saccharine smile. “Hi, Ro.”

Aelin could see Rowan’s guard go up at the use of the familiar nickname.

“If you’d like to take a seat, we can go ahead and get started,” Aelin said, gesturing to the seat next to Rowan.

Rowan stared at a spot on Aelin’s desk.

Maeve watched Aelin the entire walk from the threshold to the empty seat. She pulled Oliver onto her lap.

“So, tell me all the good things about Oliver,” she said. It wasn’t her words, but her tone that sent chills down Aelin’s spine.

“Well, he’s a great student,” Aelin began. “He always does what’s asked of him and never gives me any issues. He’s ahead in both reading and writing, and right where he should be with math.” Aelin opened his folder and took out his test scores. Before she could say anything, Maeve snatched the paper out of her hands.

“Great,” she muttered. “Anything we can help him with at home?”

Rowan rolled his eyes, but it was so subtle that Aelin was the only one that caught it.

“Work on addition,” Aelin suggested. “He does well with it, but he could always use the practice. Even when eating breakfast, he can be adding up his cereal pieces.”

“Cereal,” Oliver grinned, with a hungry look in his eyes. Aelin had no idea how he could be hungry if he had just eaten twenty tacos - which is how many he’d told Aelin he had.

Maeve was flipping through the tests and asked, “Shouldn’t you be the one to teach him addition better?”

Aelin blinked. “Excuse me?”

“Well, you’re his teacher,” she said, holding his test scores out for Rowan without even looking at them. “We can quiz him on spelling and colors, but ensuring he’s properly taught something-.”

“Maeve,” Rowan interrupted, taking the papers from her. “You’re the one who asked if we could help him out at home. Don’t berate Aelin because you-.”

“Aelin? Not Miss Galathynius?” She asked, looking over at him with raised brows. “On a first name basis, are we?”

Rowan froze, just barely, and Aelin cleared her throat, drawing Maeve’s attention to her.

“Ms. Mallory, I make it a point to have a good rapport with all of my students’ parents. Rowan takes the time to speak with me every morning when he drops him off and on his afternoons to pick Ollie up as well,” she said, folding her hands atop her desk. “You’re more than welcome to refer to me as Aelin, as well, if you’d like.”

Maeve pursed her lips, her eyes never leaving Aelin’s. Even though she wanted to, Aelin didn’t break that eye contact. “No thanks,” Maeve said, at last. She nodded at the folder opened on Aelin’s desk. “Anything else important in there?”

Aelin cleared her throat and handed them another stack of Oliver’s art and schoolwork. “Just wanted you to see how well he’s doing.”

Maeve took all of the papers and shuffled through them, not bothering to let Rowan see any. He watched as she shuffled through them, nonetheless.

“There’s one last thing,” Aelin said, and held a picture of Oliver, his mom, and his dad across the desk. “I asked him to draw something for you both in class today, and this is what he drew.”

“That’s beautiful, bud,” Rowan said, and smiled at his son, but Maeve was looking at Aelin’s outstretched hand with narrowed eyes.

“That’s a beautiful bracelet,” she said, and her voice had gone cold.

Aelin stilled. “Thank you. It was my mother’s.”

Maeve sat back in her chair. “Looks familiar.”

Rowan audibly swallowed. He knew the story of that bracelet, knew that it was the only one of its kind. It had been passed down through the Ashryver family for years, dating back over a century. And it was very, very distinct.

Sighing, Rowan started, “Maeve-.”

“I mean, it’s gorgeous,” she went on, that sneer growing as she leaned forward and took Aelin’s hand in hers. Aelin didn’t move, didn’t dare snatch her hand away. “The design around the cuff, the turquoise stone…” Maeve shook her head. “There’s not another one like it, is there? One of a kind.”

Aelin’s eyes flicked to Rowan, but he was staring at Maeve.

“Now, where would I see such a one of a kind piece?” Maeve asked, and Aelin suddenly knew exactly where this conversation was going.

“Maeve,” Rowan warned, quietly, thankful that Ollie was focused on the coloring sheet he was working on at his desk. “Now’s not the time for whatever bullshit this is.”

“How was dinner at Mistward last week?” She asked, eye narrowing. “I’ve heard the mahi-mahi is to die for.”

Aelin stopped breathing. She was pretty certain Rowan had too from his still he was in the periphery of her vision.

“Mommy, what’s mahi-mahi?” Oliver asked, turning to look at her, oblivious to the bomb she’d just dropped.

Oh gods, there was no way she’d figured it out.

“It’s what Miss Aelin had for dinner when she went on a date with Daddy last week.”

A crease formed between Oliver’s brows, the conversation going directly over his head, but it was Rowan that asked, “You’ve been stalking me?”

“Can’t stalk what’s put on the internet for all to see,” Maeve said simply, crossing her arms.

Aelin kept quiet. She just looked between Rowan and his ex.

“Last time I checked, you were blocked,” he replied, his voice low. Aelin had never heard him talk in that tone.

Maeve ignored his snide remark. “How long has this been going on?”

“That’s none of your business,” Rowan hissed.

“None of my business?” She repeated. “She’s around my son all day, every day, I’m pretty sure it is my business.”

“Ms. Mallory,” Aelin began, but Maeve cut her off.

“This is extremely unprofessional,” she snapped, barely giving Aelin a second glance. “I’ll be speaking to the headmaster in the morning.”

“The headmaster is aware of our relationship,” Rowan replied and she narrowed her eyes at him. “Since it began before the school year, before Aelin was even assigned to be Ollie’s teacher, there are precautions we have to take, but her job isn’t in jeopardy and if you do anything to change that, I’ll-.”

“You’ll what? So it was just me you were keeping this…relationship from? You’re pathetic.” Maeve interrupted. She turned and sneered at Aelin. “Both of you. You better watch yourself.”

Rowan was about to grab Oliver to leave, but Aelin stood. “That’s enough. Rowan and I owe you no explanation of our time together outside of school. This is my classroom, and I won’t be reprimanded for my professional or personal life. If that’s what this conference has descended to, then it’s over and you may see yourself out.”

Something like pride bubbled up in Rowan’s chest and he didn’t hide his smirk as Maeve looked over at him.

Maeve’s face was turning red. “Ollie is going home with me.”

“What?” Rowan shouted, his smirk fading as he rose to his feet. “No, he isn’t.”

“I assume Miss Aelin is going home with you,” Maeve said, calmly. “He doesn’t need to hear all that. With me-.”

“I have custody,” Rowan said, through gritted teeth. “He’ll come home with me.”

Although Aelin stayed with her chin raised high, she remained silent. As Maeve and Rowan stared one another down, she snuck a glance at Oliver. He was watching his parents with wide, sad eyes.

“Don't worry, buddy,” Aelin whispered when his silver-lined, dark eyes turned to her. “They’re just having a little disagreement, that’s all.”

“There’s no need for you to address my son right now,” Maeve snapped, although her eyes never left Rowan’s.

“Yes, there is,” Aelin replied, calmly. “He is my student and he is in my room. My room is a safe place.”

Maeve slowly turned her gaze to Aelin and Rowan took the opportunity to hold out his hand to Oliver. “Come on, bud, let’s go.”

Aelin held Maeve’s gaze, but she wasn’t the one who spoke.

“I wanna go with mommy.”

A beat of silence.

Rowan’s arm fell to his side. “What?”

Oliver was standing halfway behind Maeve and he held onto the hem of her shirt. “Mommy,” he repeated. “I wanna go home with mommy.”

Aelin said nothing, but she watched as Rowan’s face fell. Maeve was already grabbing Oliver’s backpack. “Ollie…”

Maeve didn’t give him another chance to protest. Scooping him up and setting him on her hip, she didn’t look back at either one of them as she walked out the door.

<>

Technically, per their legal agreement, Rowan could have the cops called and get Oliver back instantly, but he figured one night wouldn’t hurt.

He wanted his mom? Fine.

Even though he felt like shit.

He and Aelin were at her house, but neither of them had spoken in the past hour. There wasn't much to say. Rowan wasn’t sure how, but he was pretty sure he had let his son down.

Oliver had never wanted Maeve over him, had never asked to go with her on his days. And, worse of all, he had almost looked scared. He was clearly upset with the way Rowan had been talking to Maeve.

But, gods, he hated that woman.

As the television quietly played in front of them, Rowan and Aelin laid in her bed, his arm around her and her head on his shoulder.

She had yet to say anything, had yet to ask him about it, but she clung to him willingly.

It wasn’t until another episode of the show they were binging ended that he said, “I’m sorry for the way Maeve spoke to you.”

Aelin nodded and her voice broke as she whispered, “I’m sorry I made your son want to go with her.”

And there was the reason for her silence. Not only was she giving him space to work out his thoughts in his own head, she’d been focused on her part in the day’s confrontation.

Turning her face until she had no choice but to look him in the eyes, he said, “You have absolutely nothing to apologize for.”

She closed her eyes, but a lone tear still spilled over and he watched it until it dropped onto his bare chest. “I should have kept my mouth shut, I shouldn’t have said anything,” she breathed. “It wasn’t my place to-.”

“It was your place, Aelin,” he cut her off. “We were in your classroom, where you teach, protect, and care for Ollie and nine other kids all day long. If anyone has his best interest at heart, it’s you.”

Aelin nodded but still looked uncertain. Rowan started rubbing her back softly with the tips of his fingers.

“It’s all on me,” he went on, looking up at the ceiling. “I shouldn’t have talked back the way I did. It’s what she wanted. Oliver didn’t need to see it.”

“You were defending yourself,” Aelin whispered. “And me.”

“And I should be doing both of those things,” Rowan said. “I just should’ve kept my cool a little better. Oliver has rarely seen me raise my voice or get pissed. Usually I’m good about that stuff. Maeve, though…she just brings it out of me.”

“No one can blame you for that,” Aelin muttered.

Rowan huffed in agreement and they went back to their comfortable silence.

It was Rowan’s day to pick Oliver up from school tomorrow so he would be leaving the office early and getting there right on time. Everything would be fine, he knew it would, but it didn’t make it hurt any less now.

He didn’t want to think about what the alternative might be.

Rowan swallowed and apparently it was enough to get Aelin’s attention, because she looked up at him. He sighed and tucked some loose hair behind her ear. “I’ve told you that Maeve is…manipulative. I’d like to think she’s above using our son to hurt me, but I don’t have any doubt that she’s at home right now making you out to be the villain.”

Aelin nibbled on her lip, but she nodded. “I’d already anticipated that. I’m not going to treat him any differently than I always have, just like the rest of my kids.”

“I just…” He sighed, and rested his brow against hers. “I don’t know how he’ll treat you tomorrow.”

“He’s only five, Ro,” Aelin replied. “Right now, the two most important people in his life are at odds, even more so than normal. I’m sure he’s confused and scared and doesn’t understand what’s happening, even with me.” She sighed and looked around at her bedroom. “Maybe she’s right. Maybe I shouldn’t be around as much.”

“No.” Rowan’s answer was instantaneous. “No, I— That’s the last thing I want.”

“But I don’t want to be-.”

“You’ve done nothing wrong,” Rowan said and he tried to keep the bite out of his voice. It wasn’t Aelin’s fault but he was so frustrated with Maeve, with the situation. “I love you. And we’re going to be fine. Ollie included.”

Aelin nodded and snuggled into him. “Well, we should probably rest. It’s getting late.”

Rowan sighed but agreed and turned off the light then the tv before scooping her into his arms and falling into a fitful sleep.

Both of them tossed and turned all night. By the time five rolled around, Aelin was already up making coffee. She let Rowan sleep but it didn’t do much good because he came down the stairs only a minute or two after she did.

After a quick good morning kiss, Aelin was getting ready and not long after she was heading toward the door.

“Try not to worry about today,” he said, tying his tie in the middle of her living room. “Let me know how it’s going when you can.”

Aelin smiled and kissed him softly. “I will. I love you.”

He said he loved her too, then she was out the door just in time to catch the beautiful oranges and pinks of the sunrise.

By the time she pulled into the parking lot, she felt like she was going to be sick. She wasn’t worried about Maeve, she knew she could handle her. It was Oliver. She wasn’t sure what she’d do if he didn’t want to be around her anymore.

Regardless, Aelin parked and hurried into the building, the late autumn chill seeping into her bones.

She still had a half hour before her students began to arrive. After writing their daily agenda on the board, she made sure she had all the copies she needed and organized their morning snacks so that they would be ready.

Once the first bell rang, she felt like she would faint, that nausea becoming overbearing.

It didn’t show, though. She wouldn’t let it, not as her students began to come in, one by one. She greeted each of them as she usually did, with a hug or a high five or a simple hello - whatever her students chose.

The last one to arrive was Oliver, just as the second bell rang. He didn’t make eye contact with Aelin as he hurried to his desk and began to unpack his belongings.

Aelin looked to the door.

Maeve’s grin spread as she disappeared out of sight.

After a silent prayer to the gods, Aelin approached Oliver’s desk and knelt. “Hey, buddy. Good morning.”

“Hi,” he said, quietly, without looking up at her.

When he said nothing else, Aelin said, “You didn’t choose what lunch you wanted on your way in. Would you like pizza, mac n’ cheese, or did you bring a lunch from home?”

Without a word, Oliver stood and went back towards the door where he moved his name to the label that said pizza.

Aelin hadn’t been sure what to expect, but complete silence wasn’t one of them. It broke her heart.

She sent Rowan a quick text as she let each of them get settled in their desks, letting him know Oliver was safe and sound at school and she’d text him on her lunch.

The morning went by slowly. Aelin kept trying to get Oliver to talk, but the more and more he didn’t, she decided to give him more and more space.

By the time lunch rolled around, Oliver was acting normal with his friends, laughing and eating at their lunch table, but every time he looked at Aelin, his smile would fade.

Aelin looked at her phone.

How’s it going?

She sighed inwardly before texting Rowan back.

I’d like to know what Maeve said to him. He will barely even look at me. He won’t talk, either. I’m concerned.

It took Rowan a few minutes to reply, but then he said, I’ll talk to him after school. It’s all going to be okay. Promise.

Aelin took his word for it even though a heavy feeling sat in the pit of her stomach.

The day continued on with much of the same. The only smile she got from him was when he’d known the answer to one of the reading questions she’d asked, and even then, his dark eyes had lit up briefly before he’d remembered what had happened, and he ducked his head.

By the time pick up came and Rowan came around the corner to her classroom, Aelin was feeling defeated. He gave her an encouraging smile before calling, “Ollie!”

Oliver’s face lit up for the first time that day. “Daddy!” He ran into Rowan’s arms and gave him a great big hug before his body slouched and he was frowning, once more. “Can we go home, daddy?”

Rowan set Oliver on the floor and crouched down so that they met eye to eye. “Usually I have a hard time getting you to leave this place. What’s going on?”

Oliver looked at Aelin, but she pretended she wasn’t listening as he looked back at Rowan. “It was hard not talking to Miss Aelin all day.”

Rowan frowned. “I can imagine that would be hard. Why didn’t you talk to Miss Aelin all day?”

“I couldn’t,” Oliver replied, simply.

“Why not?” Rowan pushed.

“Mommy said I couldn’t,” Oliver said, and it was hardly loud enough to be audible. “Not unless it was about schoolwork.”

When Rowan didn’t say anything, Aelin looked over at them. Oliver was on the verge of crying. Without another word, Rowan pulled his son into a hug.

Aelin felt a burning in her own eyes as she moved around the classroom. She tried to give the two of them a bit of privacy, saying goodbye to her other students and cleaning up as she went.

Rowan didn’t let go of Ollie as he said, “You can talk to Miss Aelin whenever you want, bud. What’s going on with mommy, the reason she doesn’t like Miss Aelin…” He sighed and pulled back to look at him. “It’s hard to explain.”

“She said Miss Aelin is trying to be my other mommy,” Ollie said, lip still quivering. “And that if she is, that she won’t be my mommy anymore. I like both mommy and Miss Aelin though.”

“Miss Aelin is a friend,” Rowan said, quietly, taking Oliver’s hands. “Mine and yours. She hasn’t ever done anything mean to us, has she?”

Oliver shook his head.

“I know you love your mommy, and I want you to love your mommy, but she cannot tell you who to talk to and who not to talk to,” Rowan began, hesitantly. “If daddy tells you it’s okay to talk to someone, you can trust me. Do you trust me?”

Oliver nodded.

“You need to trust me,” Rowan said, and smiled. “Why don’t you, me, and Miss Aelin go to dinner and we can talk this out, hmm?”

Oliver looked at Aelin for the first time. All of his classmates were gone, and it was only the three of them that remained.

She hoped he couldn’t see the tears lining her eyes as she gave him a small smile.

“Okay,” Oliver said. “I want pasta.”

“Pasta it is,” Rowan said, and picked Oliver up as he put his son’s backpack over his shoulder. “Does that sound good to you, Miss Aelin?”

“Perfect,” she said, collecting her belongings. “I’m ready when you are.”

Rowan held Oliver on his hip as he took Aelin’s hand in his other. “Let’s go.”

#rowaelin #rowan #aelin #tog #throne of glass #fanfic #fanfiction #mutlichapter #shara #shacmc #collab #sjm #modern au #parenthood au #daddy au

[theladyofdeath]

making coffee in the mornings! or or decorating apartments! or both!

Ship: Elain x Azriel Written with @snelbz Fluff with a dash of smuttiness. Enjoy!

It was the first morning in their new apartment and Azriel wanted it to be completely perfect.

The night before had been better than he expected it to be after spending the whole day moving in boxes and furniture. They didn’t get anything unpacked but they did order in dinner and spent a hundred dollars on beer to thank their friends for helping out. Then, once everyone had left, he and Elain had broken in every piece of furniture that had been moved in that day. 

Now, as Azriel awoke in their bed to find Elain still sleeping peacefully, he hoped he could easily locate the coffee maker.

He was quickly let down.

After pulling on his boxers and heading down the hall into their kitchen, he was met with another wall of boxes. They were all marked, sure, but the markings were something he had been in charge of which meant that they remained pretty broad. Each one he stared at now simply read kitchen in big, bold letters.

He opened one to find dishes and another to find pots and pans. Twenty minutes had passed as he worked as quietly as possible to find the one little appliance he needed to deal with all their shit.

He found it at last in a box with placemats and multiple fruit baskets. It was when he put in on the counter and plugged it in that he realized they had no coffee to make.

With a curse, he shoved his feet into his Vans and was out the door a minute later. There was a grocery store just up the road, one of the reasons they’d ultimately chosen this complex over a few others, and he figured if he hurried, he could make it there and back before Elain woke up.

Usually, she was up with the sun, doing yoga or reading a devotional, something to help her start her day with clarity. Usually, she had coffee and breakfast waiting for him on their days off. Usually, he hadn’t had her bent over every surface he could take her on, until almost five in the morning. But it was their first night in their first apartment, so he wasn’t inclined to apologize.

Smirking as he grabbed his keys, he let her sleep, scribbling a quick note on the counter in case she woke up, and headed out the door. 

Thirty minutes later, he was back, and the smell of coffee filled the air. He cracked a couple eggs in a skillet and lined a tray with bacon before tossing it in the oven, all bought at the same time as the coffee, and waited. While the bacon was cooking, he got two cups of coffee waiting, knowing the delicious smells of the morning and sounds from the kitchen would wake her shortly.

One was simple, filled almost all the way to the top, nothing but two spoons of sugar mixed in. The other was more creamer than coffee, with three healthy spoonfuls of sugar and a splash of milk for good measure.

Stirring the eggs in the pan, Azriel heard soft footsteps approaching from behind him and then two slim arms wrapped around his waist from the back.

“Good morning,” he said, over his shoulder.

Elain’s response was muffled where her face was pressed into his back. “G’morning.”

“How’d you sleep?” He asked, glancing up at the clock to find it almost at 11.

Elain laughed softly from behind him. “Like a rock.”

A sense of satisfaction swept over him. “Hungry?”

“Starving,” she crooned.

That self satisfaction grew.

“Looks like you’ve already been unpacking,” Elain observed, arms falling from his body and leaving him cold. She took a look around the kitchen at the open boxes.

“Just enough to make you breakfast,” he confessed, turning the burners and the oven off. “Sit.”

Elain’s smile grew as she obeyed, sitting down at their little breakfast nook and crossed her arms. She wore his sweatshirt from the night before and, considering her legs were bare, he assumed nothing else. 

“How long have you been awake?” She asked, as he brought her a steaming cup of coffee, just the way she liked it. She took one sip and moaned.

“A few hours,” he said, as he began making her a plate of food. “Ran to the market up the street. Massive produce selection.”

“Massive produce selection,” she repeated, nodding as a plate was set down in front of her. “Yet I see no fruit.”

He knew she was teasing him and he loved every second of it. “In the fridge. For breakfast, I knew you’d need your protein.”

The corners of her lips turned up as she tried to hide her blushing smile, and drank deeply from her coffee.

Azriel had never understood how anyone was able to drink black coffee. Sure, Elain preferred hers with a little sugar, but she could drink it straight with no problem either.

He, on the other hand, couldn’t stand the butter taste and only drank it for the caffeine buzz he got.

Elain laughed quietly as he set his own plate and coffee down across from her. He eyed her. “What?”

Cutting into her eggs, she asked, “Is there any creamer left for tomorrow?”

Azriel scowled at her as he drank from his own mug.

She laughed louder and began to eat. They enjoyed each other’s company in silence as they cleared their plates, their toes brushing one another’s all the while. 

When nothing was left for them to eat, Elain cleared the table and rinsed off the dishes in the sink before turning to Azriel. “Dishwasher’s not hooked up yet. That’s on the agenda today.”

Azriel sighed before downing the rest of his coffee. “That and a hundred other things. Where do we start?”

“May as well start here,” she said, gesturing around the kitchen. “You’ve already started.”

Azriel nodded but didn’t move. Now that he was sitting, he decided that he was exhausted from the day before.

And the night before. 

“I may need a little push,” he said, slumping in his chair.

Elain laughed, quietly, and strode towards him, holding out her hands. She tried to yank him up out of his chair, but he gave her no help and eventually she crawled into his lap, straddling him with nothing beneath that sweatshirt, and kissed him softly. “Seems to me like you don’t want to get up.”

“And why would I want to do that when you’re right here with me?” He asked, his hands trailing up her neck and framing her face. 

“We have a lot to do today,” she murmured as his lips found her jaw, working their way to her throat.

“We have to unpack,” Azriel replied, tugging the neck of his sweatshirt aside and pressing kisses to her shoulder. “And decorate, which we can do by ordering everything on Amazon. All of that can be done…whenever.”

“Whenever,” she chuckled, a shudder rolling through her as his lips wound her up tight. “And you have something else in mind?”

“I absolutely do,” he said, lifting the hem of the sweatshirt, dragging it up her body.

He was right, she was completely bare beneath it.

Her rosy, pink nipples were already pebbled and hard and just the slightest brush of his fingers had her whimpering.

He smirked. “Was last night not enough?”

Elain ran her fingers through his thick, dark hair as she said, “It’s always enough…but it always leaves me wanting more.”

“Always?”

“Always.”

She kissed him and he instantly needed her. Five years together and he still found himself wanting her more and more every day. He would never tire of her. 

When Elain’s hips slowly began to rock, Azriel growled, the sound muffled by her lips. 

Elain pulled back. “Fifteen minutes and we get to work.”

“Fifteen?” He asked, palming her breasts before taking one of her nipples into his mouth, brushing his tongue over it again and again.

Elain’s head fell back as her eyes closed. She clung to him. “Thirty.”

Azriel wouldn’t waste a second of those thirty minutes. Shifting his hips and shimmying down the sweatpants he was wearing, he was inside her a heartbeat later, sheathed to the hilt. Elain cried out, her nails digging into his shoulders as he gripped her hips and rocked her back and forth.

She was absolutely beautiful above him, gorgeous body on display as she rode him, head thrown back in ecstasy. They sat right in front of the window, but thanks to their apartment being on the fifth floor and their view overlooking the Sidra, no one but he could appreciate that beauty. She was his and his alone.

The ring glinting on her left hand proved it, the fact that they were here, in the first hole together, cementing it. She was his and he was irrevocably and completely hers.

#elriel #elain #azriel #acotar #acomaf #acowar #acosf #shara answers prompts #tara answers prompts #collab #fluff #fanfic #fanfiction #oneshot #os #drabble

[theladyofdeath]

Tease {Nessian}

This barely has a plot. Mostly just filth. Not even sorry.

NSFW.

Written with @snelbz

Nesta x Cassian

Canon. Post ACOSF.

Nesta awoke to an empty bed.

The house was silent and the sun had barely begun to peek through the curtains. Fully aware where Cassian had gone, Nesta didn’t panic but she did have a flash of anger as she pulled herself into a sitting position.

He could at least have said goodbye.

She was getting used to her life with Cassian, getting used to him darting off all over Prythian, last minute, to help Rhysand with whatever he needed. On the days he wasn’t doing that, he was leading training sessions in the city. There was rarely a day that Cassian and Nesta got to spend all day doing nothing.

On those days, they barely left bed.

She loved those days.

Today, Cassian was up in the Illyrian mountains overseeing the new recruits. It would be an all day event, Nesta knew, which made her even angrier that he hadn’t awoken her to say goodbye.

She would be kicking his ass when he got home.

Just as she threw off her blankets, that anger lessened, just a little bit.

On his side of the bed was a neatly folded letter.

Inside were four sentences in sloppy cursive as if he wrote it hurriedly.

Didn’t want to wake you. You looked so peaceful. Rest up for tonight. I’m coming for you. -C

She grinned to herself before putting it lovingly on her nightstand. Cassian knew how to make her toes curl even from a hundred miles away.

I’m coming for you.

She would be sure to be waiting and ready when he did.

With one look out the window, she decided that the day long wait would be agonizing.

There was only so much she could do to fill her day. She went to the manor to visit her sisters, but Nyx was in a mood and was keeping Feyre busy. Elain was tending to the garden and asked Nesta if she wanted to help, but after five minutes Nesta had lost interest. It was a magnificent garden, but not Nesta’s thing.

She went into the city after that and into her favorite bookstore where she bought a stack to take home.

After a long walk back to the House of Wind, Nesta had snuggled up in a cozy nook, asked the House for a glass of wine, and opened up one of her new romance novels.

She hadn’t read the summary, but it was entitled The Heat of Summer’s Lust so it sounded promising.

Three chapters later, she was hoping that Cassian would hurry the fuck up.

One chapter after that and she was asking the House to draw her a bubble bath.

The House, knowing her well, had also refilled her wine glass.

She could hear the few servants they’d allowed for the upkeep of the home moving about on the floor above. They were only there a couple times a week. It was still something that unnerved Nesta, having people around her home, like it used to be in their old manor in the human lands. Cassian had explained that they weren’t there to wait on them hand and foot, it was mostly just to keep the house from falling into disarray. They likely wouldn’t even see the faeries, but he’d promised her that if they did, they would be nothing but polite. But it still didn’t sit right with her, having someone taking care of her home.

As if the House were listening, she heard a few doors slam upstairs and then hasty footsteps hurrying towards the long, circling staircase leading down to Velaris proper.

“Okay, okay!” She heard an accented female voice say as whatever power the House had urged them out. “We’re leaving.”

Nesta smiled as she sank deeper into the water, until it was up to her neck. It left only her head and the hand holding her book not submerged underneath. The water subtly heated back up and the scent of lavender floated around her, as if oil had been added to her bath.

“You spoil me,” she said to the House, smiling as she settled back into her book.

She stayed like that for a while, her bathwater never growing cold. Halfway through her novel, the word cock was mentioned so many times in one chapter that she couldn’t help but long for Cassian’s pounding into her over and over again. She decided that her fingers would do until he returned, which she swore better be soon.

With her book in one hand, her other slid beneath the warm bubbles and began circling her clit. A moment had passed, her eyes fluttering shut as a soft moan fell from her lips, and she heard the thump of a broad, cocky Illyrian bastard landing on the balcony.

Cassian was fully capable of being silent, of being sneaky.

He wanted her to hear his arrival.

Nesta slowly closed her book as Cassian’s boots took heavy steps through the house, down the hall.

He was walking slowly, too slowly, and she just knew that he had that stupid, little grin on his lips.

His lips.

Nesta loved his lips, loved how they trailed softly along her skin, loved how they never wanted to leave her, how they attacked her with an insistence that Nesta had never known before she met him. She loved how they felt against her own mouth, against every damn inch of her body.

Her heart began to beat a little bit faster.

The throbbing that had formed between her thighs grew agonizing.

Nesta gasped as the door to their bedroom flew open and Cassian appeared, wings spread and clad in his battle armor.

There was no hiding what she was doing, especially as the scent of her arousal heady in the warm bathroom, so she didn’t even try. She dropped the book onto the tile around the tub, pretty words and her imagination no longer needed as her mate watched her. Nesta slowly brought her knees up, letting him see how her legs were spread, letting him imagine what was happening beneath the warm waters of her bath. She almost willed the bubbles away so he could see, but as she curled her fingers, slipping one just inside herself, she moaned.

He’d all but told her to be ready for him when he returned home. She was just doing as she was told.

“Enjoying yourself, sweetheart?” he crooned, stepping into the bathroom and leaning against the counter.

Nesta slid her finger in deeper and nodded, wishing it was his fingers, his tongue, his cock.

“What do you have there?” Cassian asked, crossing the bathroom, removing the jacket of his battlesuit. He tossed it to the floor as he sat on the edge of the tub and picked up her book. He read the title before flipping to where she’d been reading when he’d returned. “Summer’s Lust, huh?”

Nesta watched as he skimmed the page, knowing precisely what he was reading, what he was thinking. The leather of his Illyrian armor kept most of what she could see in check, but she could smell what was happening to him as he turned the page, as he listened to her touch herself. After a moment, he laid the book down and his calloused hand found the inside of her knee. Even his touch there had her body heating, had her pushing another finger into herself as she stared up at him, trying to keep her breathing even.

“This book is filthy, Nesta.” He leaned down, brushing his lips against hers in a whisper of a kiss. His hand slipped beneath the water, sliding along her thigh as he headed for where she needed him most. She did her best not to whimper at his slow progress, but was unable to stop her legs from opening wider, practically begging for him to touch her.

“I’ve only been gone for a day,” he whispered, keeping his eyes locked on hers. “Perhaps I spoil you too much if you can’t manage to go a few hours without needing to fuck.”

“As you can see,” Nesta said, breathily, “I can take care of myself just fine, so you could’ve stayed away all night and I would’ve been just-.”

Her words vanished as Cassian’s hand grabbed her wrist beneath the water and pulled her fingers out of her sex. He brought them out of the water and to his mouth where he sucked her juices off of them one by one.

Nesta watched, nearly ready to combust.

When he was finished, he stood and his eyes grazed over her body, begging to see all that laid beneath the bubbles. He unbuckled the sheath that sat on his thigh, releasing the dagger to the tiled floor. He then undid his belt and his sword and a handful of other knives that were strapped to his armor.

Nesta watched every movement he made, watching his fingers as they steadily unhooked every hook on his uniform. He watched her, satisfied at her impatience.

“You like to keep me waiting,” she said, and when her hand went back under the water, he took her wrist, again, and pinned it against the side of the tub.

“Don’t,” he said, and bent to unlace his boots, kicking them off one at a time.

“Then hurry the fuck up,” she snapped, her eyes lit with mischief.

As he pulled the white shirt he wore under his armor over his head, Nesta stood, letting the water and oils and bubbles slowly slide down her body. Cassian watched, his fingers frozen on the ties of his pants as a grouping of bubbles slipped between her breasts and over her stomach, before reaching her sex. She reached down and lifted a handful of water to her chest, letting it run down her body and wash the bubbles away.

A smirk began to form on Cassian’s lips as he watched her. “Are you trying to tease me, sweetheart?”

“It depends,” she murmured, fighting the urge to rub her thighs together as he surveyed her with that commander’s stare, needing friction between her legs, needing him between her legs. At this point, she would have taken his tongue, teeth, fingers, or cock. She just needed him inside of her. Now. “Is it working?”

He hummed once as he let his eyes trail up her body once, then down, and back up again for good measure. Then he turned and walked out of the bathroom, into their bedroom, without a word.

Nesta scowled after him.

He knew what he was doing, that cocky bastard, knew he was driving her absolutely insane and he was loving it.

Without bothering with a towel, Nesta stepped out of the tub and sauntered into the bedroom.

Where Cassian was standing, back to her, by the windows on the far side of the room, completely nude.

Nesta’s eyes trailed to his ass and lingered for a moment before taking in the sight of his glorious wings.

“Took you long enough,” he grumbled.

Nesta slowly approached and he spread his wings in welcome. “Says the man that left me waiting all day. Pretty sure I took a matter of seconds.”

He opened his mouth to say something more, but Nesta reached out a finger and brushed the tip along the edge of his wing.

Cassian hissed. “Watch it.”

“You can tease me but I can’t tease you?” she asked, trailing that finger down his wing.

“Yes,” he breathed. “That’s how it works, Archeron.”

“I don’t think so,” she crooned, her other hand gripping his ass. “You’re mine and I will do with you what I please.”

He growled, readying to turn and toss Nesta over his shoulder, but the brush of her finger turned into light scratching as she dragged her painted nail down the thinnest membrane, right next to one of those gleaming talons at the apex. At the same time, her hand slipped around his body, gripping his cock. He hissed her name out and Nesta smiled. He was already hard, so deliciously hard, that Nesta couldn’t resist reaching up on her toes, her lips right by his ear, and crooned, “Seems like our teasing is affecting you as well.”

His hands were gripping the window sill, head drooping between his shoulders, as her hand began to pump, as that nail followed along the strong muscles of his wings. He groaned, something that sounded like her name tumbling from his mouth, and she beamed.

“Have you been thinking about me all day?” She asked, squeezing him, just the way she knew he liked it.

He nodded, as if words were foreign to him, and she pressed him.

“What were you thinking about?” She breathed, circling one of those wicked talons with her finger. He grunted and she knew how riled up he was becoming, that it was taking everything in him not to pin her to the bed and shove his cock so deep inside of her that she forgot her own name.

“What was that?”

“Knees,” he managed to bite. “I was thinking about you on your knees.”

“And what was I doing on my knees?” She asked, letting her tongue follow the patch of her finger, around the talon and then back down his wing.

“Choking on my cock.” The words were so low she could barely understand him, but she could see the way his back muscles were tensing up, knew he was fighting his release, if only because he wasn’t going to come before she did.

Nesta’s hands fell from his body and a low growl formed in the back of Cassian’s throat as Nesta rounded him. She took her time doing so and noted every ragged breath Cassian took until she was standing in front of him. He had taken a step back, just far enough from the window for her to kneel down in front of him.

She looked up.

His cheeks were flushed, his chest rising and falling in rapid motions. His wings twitched behind him and his hands, at his sides, opened and closed into fists.

She looked at his cock, jutting out in front of her face. For a moment she did nothing but admired it and prepared herself for the glory that was about to come.

Nesta leaned forward and licked the tip of his cock, slowly, watching him through her long lashes.

His head fell back as he muttered a curse.

The second her mouth wrapped around the head, his fingers were digging into her hair as if he’d grown desperate, needing to grip onto something before he completely fell apart.

Nesta’s tongue circled his cock before she slowly began to bob, bringing him as far into her mouth as she could. Her hand gripped the hilt and pumped, slowly, in rhythm with her mouth.

With her other hand, she cupped his balls, and when she went down and gagged, Cassian took a deep breath in as his body tensed.

“If you don’t want me coming, I’d suggest you stop,” he growled, in a low voice.

Nesta kept her lips around the head of his cock as she said, “And who said I didn’t want you coming?”

His eyes were about to roll back into his head as she sucked him back into her mouth, and opened her throat. The groan he made was guttural, more beast than man as she swallowed almost all of him, just a little bit not quite fitting. She held her breath, working to get the last bit of him in her mouth, but she gagged again, gasping for air as she removed his cock from her mouth. Before he could say anything, before he could pull her up by her arms and crash his lips against hers, she dragged her tongue along his shaft, from base to tip and back down. When one of his balls ended up in her mouth, he thought he was going to die then and there.

He breathed her name and she could hardly bear what it did to her own body.

She sucked him in, letting her tongue work its magic as Cassian completely unraveled.

Those fingers in her hair tightened as his body went rigid.

Nesta loved looking at Cassian right before he came.

For a man that was always on guard, this is when his guard was completely let down. He didn’t have a care in the world. His mind was focused on one thing and one thing alone. Nesta. She loved that she had such power over him, loved that she made him so magnificently unhinged.

She watched him now, through her lashes, watched as he approached the edge.

She continued to lick, continued to suck, gave him her undivided attention until he swore and those fingers in her hair began to tremble.

Nesta took his cock into her hands and took him into her mouth as he spilled into her. She pumped her hand, slowly, as he rode out his orgasm.

She swallowed everything he gave, loving the taste of him, of his strength and love and power and loyalty.

This male, this impossibly beautiful, strong male was hers, to do with whatever she pleased.

It took Cassian a moment to get his composure back, to stop the shaking of his hands, his eyes shut as he mastered his breathing.

Opening them, finding Nesta still on her knees before him, undid any part of himself that he’d mastered. Especially when her tongue flicked out to catch the drop of his seed that was running down her chin.

He pulled Nesta up by her shoulders, hoisting her up until she sat on the sill of the open window behind her. He could see the hesitation in her eyes, knew what the drop behind her would entail if either of them lost their balance.

He would never let her fall, and she knew that. Knew she trusted him completely and spread her legs to show him just how far that trust went.

Everything about Nesta was beautiful, everything about her drove him wild, from her stormy eyes to her attitude to her ass-kicking, take no shit demeanor. But gods, her body. The things he’d done to her body, the things he still wanted to do to, the list was never ending. But as she sat there, legs spread, sex glistening, proving to him just how much she wanted him, Cassian could only think of one: ravishing her.

Making her feel as good as her could, making her scream his name so loudly that citizens of the city far below heard her, knew who she belonged to.

So Cassian dropped to his knees before her, wrapping his arms around her thighs to hold her in place and dragged a slow, deliberate finger through her folds.

“You’re soaked,” he whispered, face inches from what he longed to taste. “Is this all for me, Nes?”

Nesta gripped the sides of the windowsill on both sides of her. “It’s always for you, Cass.”

Always for you.

Always his.

No one else’s until the end of time.

The thought alone had his soul on fire as he spread her folds apart and slid his tongue down the length of her sex, slowly, savoring every inch.

Cassian met her wild, thrilled expression. “You taste so good, sweetheart.”

Nesta’s legs wrapped around Cassian’s head as she whispered, “Prove it.”

He didn’t need to be told twice, and he certainly didn’t need to try and be convinced.

His tongue followed the same route once, twice, and a third time before he circled her clit, just like she liked.

Her back arched as her head fell back, long hair hanging limply out the window. Cassian’s grip around her thighs tightened, but Nesta’s body was relaxed, fully trusting in him.

He slid his tongue up inside of her, making her gasp. Those little gasps, the way her heels were digging into his back, had his cock hardening yet again.

Usually, his fingers worked with his tongue in tandem, bringing Nesta to the she swiftly. Usually, he’d fuck her with his fingers while he sucked her clit between his lips, worshiping her until she was seeing stars and his name was a prayer on her lips to the sweetest god. Usually, he could make her cum in a matter of minutes.

But usually, she wasn’t hanging out of a window with nothing but open air between them and the cobblestones of Velaris’ streets below. He could certainly catch her if anything were to happen, but flying out in the crisp night air to save his mate from certain death was not what Cassian had been planning throughout the day while he and Rhys had sat through meeting after meeting with the camp lords.

So his hands were staying firmly where they were on Nesta’s thighs, gripping her hard enough that he was sure there’d be bruises in the morning. He smirked at the thought, knowing it wasn’t the first time and it sure as hell wouldn’t be the last.

But that meant he’d have to get creative on how to bring her to the edge of ecstasy, since his hands were otherwise engaged.

After a quick flick of his tongue over her clit, he sucked the sensitive bud between his lips and Nesta groaned, shifting her hips forward. He glanced up at her face, finding her lips parted, eyes closed, and chest heaving. Gods, he wanted to reach up and tweak her nipple more than anything, knew that would make her writhe for him.

His fingers tightened against her thighs in response, making her cry out. His name was on her lips, and Cassian couldn’t control himself. He took the sensitive nub between his teeth and he tugged, gently.

The sound that escaped Nesta had him longing to drive his cock into her, but he wouldn’t, not yet. She gave him his time, and she would have hers.

Nesta’s hands left the windowsill and flew to the back of Cassian’s head, where she clung to him.

“Careful, sweetheart,” he crooned as her fingers tangled into his long, messy hair.

“Shut up,” she groaned, and he could tell by the strain in her voice that she was close.

“So bossy,” he replied, blowing cold air against her skin.

One final flick of his tongue had Nesta coming undone entirely, anchoring herself to the world by the feeling of Cassian’s tongue and teeth and lips between her legs. She moaned as Cassian helped her wring out every ounce of pleasure from the orgasm he gave her, and caught her when her body gave out and slumped forward.

Nesta thought her legs were going to give out as she stood before Cassian, his face still wet with her release, looking up into his intense hazel eyes.

She thought his gaze alone would set her on fire. He didn’t give her a chance to object before he turned her around to face the window and bent her over at the waist. Nesta braced her hands on the window again, biting her lip in feral delight as she felt Cassian’s hands rove over her ass, as he squeezed and kneaded and spread. He watched as she stood up on her tiptoes, the curve of her ass peeking up just a bit higher and he couldn’t resist rubbing the head of his cock between her folds.

Her slick heat was beckoning him to thrust in - fuck me, fuck me, fuck me - but he wanted her needy. He wanted her begging him for it, wanted his name to be her salvation.

“What are you waiting for?” She asked, breathlessly, her forehead falling atop her hands.

He didn’t say a word, he just kept dragging his cock from her clit to her entrance and back up, slower and slower with each pass.

“Cassian,” she groaned, trying to push back against him.

He couldn’t stop the smirk as he pushed into her, just the tip and halted. His hands still worshipped, but his hips were still, no matter how badly he wanted to push the rest inside of her in one brutal thrust.

That was how she typically liked it, rough and hard and passionate. That was how she wanted it tonight, but he wouldn’t give it to her.

Not yet at least.

“So impatient,” he breathed, voice like a soft wind on a winter night. It made a chill run down her spine and her nipples tightened at the dark promise of pleasure in his voice.

“Just fuck me already,” she snapped, turning back to look at him.

But she found him looking down, gazing at where their bodies met, where his cock was just beginning to disappear inside her.

Or so she thought.

Cassian felt her eyes on his face and looked up at her.

“Enjoying the view?” Nesta asked, buying her lip at the lust in his eyes.

“You have no idea,” he crooned, his hands kneading her ass. One of his thumbs was moving closer and closer with each pass he made, closer to the area she’d told him was firmly off limits, but he could feel the way she was reacting to his hands. Could feel the way she tightened every time his thumb got closer.

Until his thumb was pressed right over that sensitive place she told him he’d never get access to.

She didn’t stop him, though. Her breathing only went shallow as he pushed the tip of his thumb inside.

He didn’t even see her turn around, but he sure as hell felt the stinging her palm left on the side of his cheek.

With a feral grin, Cassian took her face into his hands and kissed her, deeply.

He laughed wickedly into her mouth and her response was running her fingers through his hair and yanking his head back by the strands to meet the glint in her eyes.

“Nice try,” she crooned.

Cassian kissed her again, lifting her off the ground as she wrapped her legs around his waist. He carried her to the bed, one hand beneath her ass, the other in her hair, and threw her down onto the mattress.

“No more playing around,” she said, breathlessly, cheeks flushed. “Fuck me.”

“Say please,” Cassian ordered, standing at the foot of the bed.

“Now,” she shot back, and her tone had his lips twisting.

He climbed onto the bed and flipped her over. Before she could make a move, he was grabbing her by the hips and pulling her ass back into his body. He leaned over her and whispered into her ear. “That didn’t sound like please to me.”

“Now,” she repeated, reaching behind her for his cock.

Instead, Cassian caught her wrist, pinning her arm behind her back and pushed inside her in one, slow powerful thrust. The moan that fell from Nesta’s lips was his undoing as he released her arm and gripped her full hips. He pulled out slowly, leaving just the head inside her, and leaned down, his lips next to her ear, and whispered, “Say please and I’ll fuck you like Illyrian brute you love to accuse me of being.”

Tossing her hair over her shoulder to look back at him, she pushed her hips back, hoping to get just another inch of his thick cock inside her. “You are a brute and you should fuck me to prove it.”

His fingers wove into her hair, wrapping the length around his wrist and pulling her up until her back was flush with his chest. His lips found her neck, leaving rough, bruising kisses there. In the meantime, his other hand roamed over her body, starting at her sex, circling her clit, before trailing up her stomach and doing the same to each of her nipples. It ended at her throat, squeezing tightly. “Say. Fucking. Please.”

Nesta was nearly shaking with need, finally whispering, “Please.”

Every thread Cassian had keeping him sane broke. He took Nesta’s hips and thrust his cock inside of her with a force that made Nesta cry out. This time, he did not hesitate, did not tease, did not stop. He kept a quick, steady pace that had Nesta clinging to the bedsheets with fists full of cottons.

“Cass,” she breathed, her face buried into the blankets beneath her. “Fuck, Cass, my gods-.”

His head fell back as he moaned. She felt so good, so perfect, so right.

Every time with Nesta felt like the very first and he was wholly convinced that it would be utter perfection every time.

His only. His love. His mate.

His nails dug into her hips and she cried out again as he pounded into her without anything holding him back.

He called out her name followed by a string of curses that would be filthy to anyone else, but was wholly reverent to Nesta right here, right now.

“I’m close,” she groaned, pushing up on her hands, her arms wobbling. “Cass, I’m close, please.”

His arm wrapped around her, fingers finding her clit and he pressed the sensitive nub before circling it. “And you want to come?” He asked, forehead pressed against her back.

“With you.” Her voice was a breathy moan. “I want to come with you.”

He couldn’t deny her that.

He pushed into her as quickly, as swiftly as he could manage before his movements became uneven.

Once she knew he was close, Nesta let herself go. She came around him and Cassian groaned, thrusting himself once more before he spilled into her.

Once he stilled, sweaty and panting, they remained quiet for a moment. He didn’t want to pull out, wasn’t ready to let go of the feeling, as he said, “I fucking love you.”

Nesta’s face was still in the blankets as she said, “I love you too, asshole.”

They remained like that for a moment before Cassian pulled out. Nesta whimpered slightly as he did so.

Once he fell back against the mattress, Nesta was following suit, laying her cheek on his chest as he wrapped his arms around her.

“I should leave you by yourself more often if you greet me like this when I finally get home,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to her sweaty forehead.

She swatted his stomach and he caught her hand, bringing it to his lips and kissing each fingertip.

“Let’s see,” she countered. “A day of peace and quiet to read, drink wine, and I get to finish the night with amazing sex?”

She made a show of considering it, but Cassian rolled them until he was hovering over her. “You can keep pretending like you’re trying to wound me, but all I heard was amazing sex, so I’m okay with it.”

She rolled her eyes, chuckling, but wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling his face down to meet hers in a gentle kiss. “I love you. More than anything. More than anyone.”

Cassian rested his brow against hers. “I love you, too, sweetheart.”

#nessian #nesta #cassian #acotar #acomaf #acowar #acofas #acosf #fanfic #oneshot #fanfiction #canon #shara collab

[theladyofdeath]

Isn’t She Lovely {5}

Summary: Cassian, a single father, tries online dating for a one night stand and gets more than he bargains for. Nesta, a former professional ballet dancer, opens her own studio in her new hometown of Velaris and finds that she knows one of her students’ fathers from a night of utter regret.

Warnings: Mature content throughout. Language, sex, drinking, etc. NSFW.

A collab with @snelbz​ 

It was almost ten when Cassian got the text.

He had to admit that when he got it he was nearly passed out on the couch. It had been a long day at work then Arya was cranky because she had missed her nap at preschool.

Now she was sound asleep and had been for hours.

Cassian’s eyes were almost shut when his phone vibrated.

Free around 10?

Cassian hadn’t wanted to seem desperate so he waited a minute before replying, I am.

Her response was immediate. Good.

That had been half an hour before so to wake himself up he started doing push-ups on his rug in the living room which is where he was now on his back doing sit-ups.

Hopefully she didn’t mind his post workout scent. Not that she wouldn’t smell it eventually. He was, no doubt, going to be breaking a sweat when she arrived.

She knocked on his door, quietly, but he was already there, not wanting to chance Arya waking up. He found her standing on the other side, glancing around at the units around them, but cleared her throat. “Hey.”

He opened the door wider for her. “Hey, come on in.”

She did, and surveyed the room as Cassian closed the door behind her. The last time she’d been here, it had been dark and the two of them had been headed for a very specific destination. Now, there were a few lamps on around the room, giving it a warm, cozy look. The couch was well loved and it took up most of the living room. There were toys piled in the corner, as well as a little backpack with Arya’s name embroidered across the front.

“How was your day?” He asked as he shut the door. 

“Small talk isn’t necessary,” Nesta replied, walking toward his bedroom.

Cassian snorted. “I’m not romancing you, Nesta, I’m just being a decent human being and asking how your day was.”

As she got to the other side of the living room, she looked over her shoulder and said, “It was fine.”

Cassian shook his head, amused, as he figured that was all he was going to get out of her. As he followed her down the hall and into his bedroom, he tugged Arya’s door all the way shut before shutting he and Nesta inside of his own.

“How was yours?”

Cassian blinked as he turned to meet her. “My what?”

Her jaw clenched. “Your day.”

Cassian nearly gaped for a moment before he said, “It was alright. I can’t complain.”

“Good,” she replied, and dropped her purse on the floor before toeing off the flats she wore and taking off her hoodie.

“What are you doing?” Cassian asked, watching her.

“Getting undressed,” she said, pulling her shirt over her head. She dropped it to the floor. “You do that to have sex.”

He blinked. “First of all, you can fuck wearing clothes. Secondly,” he gripped her wrist stopping her. She looked up from him where she had been about to unzip her jeans. His gaze set her on fire. “Aren’t I supposed to be doing that?”

Nesta simply lifted a brow. “Do you want to be doing this?”

Cassian responded by looping his fingers into the waistband of her jeans and tugging her closer to him. Once she stilled, he unbuttoned her jeans, and unzipped them slowly before pushing them down.

Nesta stepped out of them and took a step back. His eyes grazed her body in nothing but a black laced thong that Cassian wanted to rip off with his teeth and a bra that did magnificent things to her breasts. 

When he reached for her again, she shook her head. “Take off your clothes and I’ll bless you with the rest.”

Cassian chuckled as he pulled his t-shirt over his head. “Bless me? Awfully aware of your gifts.”

“Should I pretend that I’m not hot as hell?” she asked, watching as he kicked off the shorts he’d been working out in. 

“Absolutely not,” Cassian said, then put his hands on his hips.

Nesta’s brows rose as she looked down at his boxer briefs. 

Cassian only grinned. “If you want them off badly enough, you’ll do it yourself.”

“Now who's awfully aware of their gifts?” Nesta crooned.

“Considering you’re the one that called for a fuck first, I’d say that you’re awfully aware of my gifts,” Cassian grinned.

Nesta’s eyes narrowed as she shot him a look but, nonetheless, reached around back to unhook her bra. 

As soon as he saw her breasts bare, his cocky attitude grew a little more primal. 

He reached for her again, and she let him tug her closer, until her chest was pressed against his, but when he leaned in to kiss her, she held up her hand.

“I have one more rule to add,” she told him.

He pulled back. “You already squeezed on it. The time for adding rules has come and gone.”

“Well, I reserve the right to add a rule whenever I want.”

“Not how that works, sweetheart. But go ahead. Humor me.”

She narrowed her eyes. “I don’t want my sisters knowing about our little…arrangement. So that means you can’t go bragging to your friends about any of this. Because they will tell them.”

“What’s so bad about them knowing?” He asked, subtly pushing her back towards the bed. “We’re both consenting adults, choosing to be here of our own free will.” He paused and said, “But fine, I won’t tell my friends, if you don’t tell your sisters.”

Her brow furrowed. “I just told you I don’t want my sisters knowing, why the hell would I—.”

He didn’t let her finish as he angled his lips over hers and pushed her back into the mattress.

She shut right up, her arms and legs wrapping around Cassian’s body as he climbed on top of her. His lips left hers to trail down her neck as he thrust his hips into hers in a not-so-gentle tease. 

“You like foreplay too much,” she said, but her voice was hitched. 

“You don’t like foreplay?” Cassian asked, his words muffled against her quickly heating skin.

Nesta’s hands were trailing up his back. “I don’t like to beg for what I want.”

Cassian’s lips trailed further down across her collarbone and to her breasts, where he took one of her nipples into his mouth and circled it with his tongue.

Nesta’s words fell away as Cassian sucked, gently, his hand running up her abdomen to cup her other breast. 

It only laid there for a minute before trailing back down and slipping her thong down her thighs. He lifted his hips, making way for that thin scrap of lace to disappear. 

And when it did, Cassian pushed himself up on his knees to appreciate the view.

Nesta caught his eye and slowly shook her head. “Why am I completely naked and you’re still wearing those stupid, far too expensive briefs?”

Cassian looked down at his boxer-briefs. Yeah, they were expensive, but totally worth it. His manbits were meant to be treated like royalty, so he would buy only the best to cradle his balls. 

“Because you haven’t taken them off me,” he replied. “I took off your clothes, you have to take off mine.”

“Okay, one, I was perfectly fine taking my own clothes off, you’re the one who stopped me to do it yourself,” she said, pressing a hand to his chest and pushing him back. He immediately relented and gave her space. “And two, this cute, flirty thing you’re doing here? It’s not necessary. I’m here for orgasms and that’s it.”

He didn’t know why, but her sass only made him harder, made him want to push her buttons even more and see where it got him. But he wouldn’t tonight. Tonight, he’d follow the rules and follow her lead.

So he shimmied his undershorts off his hips and tossed them to the side before laying down between Nesta’s legs. His mouth was inches away from her sex when he said, “Orgasms and that’s it, huh?”

Her cheeks were starting to blush and her nipples were peaked. He wanted to take them back between his lips, but his mouth was about to be busy elsewhere. She nodded. “That’s it.”

“And you don’t like foreplay?” He asked, before lightly dragging the tip of his tongue up her center.

Her eyes fluttered, but she managed to say, “It’s not that I don’t like it, I just don’t think it’s always necessary.” She focused her eyes on him and added, “Just like I don’t think all this conversation is necessary.”

A quick flick of his tongue over her clit. “So you don’t think I should eat you out?” 

“If it gets me an orgasm, you should.”

“But do you want me to?” Another teasing lick.

Nesta took a shuddering breath. “If you want to.”

He huffed out a deep laugh, his breath making her skin prickle. “Tell me you want me to eat your pussy, Nesta, and I will.”

“Too much conversation,” she said, again, gripping his hair and trying to force his mouth where she wanted it to go.

Cassian’s head didn’t move. He looked up at her through his dark lashes. “Just ‘cause we’re only fucking doesn’t mean you don’t have to use your manners.” 

Nesta stared him down and said, her voice low and her eyes blazing, “Eat.”

If Cassian hadn’t already been hard as hell, her tone alone would have gotten him there.

He obliged her, grabbing ahold of her ass and bringing her sex to his mouth to feast. His tongue slid up inside of her before circling her clit, then bringing that sensitive nub between his lips and sucking.

He was not gentle.

He knew Nesta didn’t want him to be.

She had made it clear that she was there for one reason and one reason only: to feel good.

Cassian would make her feel good, would give her exactly what she wanted, would leave her breathless and wanting to come back for more. He felt he was successful in that endeavor as Nesta’s fingers tightened in his hair and the softest of moans began to escape her lips.

Her legs wrapped around his back, her heels digging into his skin as he continued to suck. 

Her free hand was at her breast, tugging and teasing and pinching her nipple and gods, Cassian wanted them in his mouth.

Soon though, since his mouth was busy.

She was close, he could tell. He’d become intimately familiar with what she sounded like when she was about to come and her voice was getting higher and higher, the noises coming out of her mouth less like actual words and just little moans and whimpers. And then he flicked his tongue over her clit and sucked it back between his lips.

She cried out as she came and one of his hands quickly shot up to cover her mouth. It muffled her cries and he focused on the way she was pulsing around his tongue when he felt a warm wetness wrap around his thumb.

With one last slow lick as she continued trembling,  Cassian leaned up, staring down at her. His hand was still partially covering her mouth, but not entirely as she’d sucked his thumb into her mouth and was currently swirling her tongue around and around the digit.

Her eyes were lust glazed as she looked up at him and her voice was husky as she said, “Do you want that to be your cock?”

He nearly laughed for three reasons. 

One, of course, he did. He’d be stupid not to want to see his cock between this gorgeous woman’s lips again.

Two, it was funny trying to watch her play his own game. He had been trying to tease her, but now it seemed she was ready to tease him. And he would let her.

Third, who was starting the conversation now?

Knowing it would piss her off, he said, “Absolutely, sweetheart. It isn’t going to suck itself.” Her eyes flared, with either lust or annoyance, he couldn’t tell, but he added, “And remember, Arya is on the other side of the hall, so���”

He put a finger to his lips, reminding her to be quiet.

Her cheeks heated but she said nothing as she rolled him over and straddled his waist. 

“I don’t remember you being a quiet lover, either,” she said, quietly as she leaned down to lick her way down his chest, his abdomen. “So remind yourself of that fact.”

He was about to make a witty retort but he forgot how to form words completely when her hand wrapped around his cock and her tongue trailed him from the hilt to the head as his eyes fluttered shut and his head fell back against his pillows.

He’d never brought a lover home while Arya was here. He always either made sure she was at Rhys and Mor’s or Azriel’s or somewhere not across the hall from where he was about to have sex. And honestly, Nesta was right. He wasn’t ashamed of the grunts, groans and moans he made as he fucked, but he didn’t want Arya hearing, waking up, or worse, coming to investigate.

It occurred to him too late that he maybe should have locked his door. Oh well. Next time.

She typically slept hard as a rock.

Something she had gotten from her father.

He was grateful for that as Nesta’s dancing tongue had his body tensing. 

He had no idea what her sexual history was like but she sure as hell knew what she was doing. The first time they’d had sex had blown Cassian’s mind. It was an out of body experience, to say the least, and he was certain if he had gone looking for another one night stand, he wouldn’t have found a night as mesmerizing as his night with Nesta had been. 

Cassian let out a loose breath through his nose that he hadn’t realized he was holding. He didn’t want to move, didn’t want to make Nesta even think about stopping what she was doing with her mouth, with her tongue. She took him in as far as she could, opening her throat up for him. Her eyes nearly rolled back in her head as she did so, a look that Cassian typically wouldn’t classify as sexy but it sure was sexy on her. 

His hand slid in her hair, knitting between the strands. He faintly registered that they were cold and damp, as if she’d gotten out of the shower and come over here. As if she’d tried to go to sleep, but couldn’t.

His thumb brushed over her lips, swollen and wrapped around his cock and she looked up at him.

He was barely able to stop himself from bucking his hips up and riding her mouth.

She must have been able to tell because her mouth began to work quicker and Cassian ground out a curse. 

“Come here,” he breathed, pulling on those damp, golden-brown strands. “Let me be inside of you.”

Nesta didn’t need to be asked twice. She didn’t protest as her mouth left his cock, and for a moment Cassian regretted his words, but then she was straddling his waist and slowly sliding down on him. 

She was so wet, so ready, slid so easily down until she was fully filled with his cock and seated comfortably atop him, silently admiring the feeling of his length, his girth. 

Her eyes locked with Cassian’s as she slowly began to rock her hips, but then she closed her eyes as if no eye contact was also a rule. 

Cassian didn’t care, though, not when she felt so damn good. She was tight and hot and wet and felt like fucking paradise. That rocking turned into bouncing, and Cassian gripped her slender hips as she moved, as she slowly pushed Cassian toward that edge.

“I have to work in the morning,” she panted. “An early morning class at eight.”

He was trying to focus on not coming, on how tight she was, on how perfect she felt. “Eight AM, got it.”

She gripped his chin and his eyes opened, staring into hers. “I’m telling you that because I need an orgasm and then I need to go to sleep.”

“Just one?” He crooned, sitting up suddenly, adjusting the angle of his cock and rocking up into her. “I thought you already had one?”

She gave him a look that was surely meant to set him on fire. Either that, or she was calling him a cocky asshole without saying anything at all. Either way, the look had him quietly groaning as he dug his fingers into her hips as he rocked up into her again, with just a little more force.

“You’re insufferable,” she said, at last, although her tone was light and airy. 

Cassian flipped her over and threw her down on the mattress on her back. He remained on his knees, his cock still buried deep inside of her and said, his voice low, “If I let you leave with only one orgasm, Archeron, I haven’t done my job.”

He pulled nearly completely out of her before slamming himself back in. Nesta’s hands flew over her mouth to muffle her moan, but Cassian didn’t dare lower his voice as he cursed and set a rapid, steady pace. Sweat gleamed along his tanned skin as he fucked her, quickly, holding her knees on either side of his hips. Nesta took his pillow and held it over her face. Even when muffled, the sounds she made as he fucked her were glorious. 

He could feel himself nearing the point of no return. He held on as long as he could, but when she shattered around him, he was done for.

He slowed, his movements becoming unsteady, but didn’t stop as they rode out their orgasms together. 

Once he stilled, he watched Nesta’s chest rise and fall hectically. She slowly took the pillow off her face and said, quietly, “Looks like you did your job.”

Cassian chuckled as he pulled out of her, still trying to catch his breath. The feeling of her suddenly gone felt wrong, but he didn’t show as much as he pulled himself off his bed. “I’ll get something to clean up with. Be right back.” 

Cassian pushed open his bedroom door to a silent, still house. After creeping across the hall to the bathroom, he closed himself inside and cleaned himself up. Before grabbing a clean washcloth for Nesta, he pulled on a pair of sweatpants that were hanging on a hook by the towels and made his way into the hallway.

Thinking he had heard something, he stilled in the quiet hallway and listened.

A soft whimpering came from behind Arya’s door.

Cassian opened his bedroom door and found Nesta still lying nude on his bed. He tossed her the cloth and said, “Here. I’ll be back.”

With that, he closed the door and went down the hall to Arya’s room.

When he opened the door, he found her still sleeping in her bed, but she was tossing and turning, crying softly. 

Without any hesitation, he approached her bedside and knelt down beside it.

~~~

Alone in Cassian’s room, Nesta cleaned herself up and started getting dressed. 

Coming here, she’d had a slight doubt that their drunken night together had been a fluke, but it hadn’t been at all. Cassian was an incredible lover, even if he did piss her off and drive her absolutely insane every time he opened his mouth.

Nesta wasn’t sure how this worked, if she should stay and say goodbye or haul ass while he was off doing whatever it was he was doing.

All she knew is that she was tired. It was just after eleven and she had to be up early. After shimmying on her jeans and her sweatshirt, she found her tossed shoes and slipped them onto her feet before grabbing her purse and creaking open Cassian’s door.

The second she stepped into the hall, she could hear Cassian’s voice softly filling the silence.

The door down the hall was cracked, the one she’d peeked into the night she’d been here. She knew now that it was Arya’s room.

Taking a step toward the cracked door, Nesta was going to pop her head in and quietly let him know she was leaving.

But then she heard the soft crying.

She froze in the middle of the hall as she listened to Arya’s quiet sobs. Cassian was quietly speaking to her, but what he was saying, she couldn’t hear. His voice was low and smooth and as she neared on silent dancer’s feet, realizing that he was…singing.

Nesta finally reached the doorway, careful not to open it any farther. She found Cassian, cradling a crying Arya in his arms, wrapping her up as if he could protect her from anything the world threw at her.

She’d only known the man for a few days, but she knew he would. If there was anything in the world Cassian could do for his daughter, he would, no matter the cost.

Nesta knew she should go, that she shouldn’t be intruding on this personal moment, but she hadn’t gotten to see this side of him. She stayed there in that doorway longer than she should have and before she could hurry away, he started to tuck Arya back in and stood, catching sight of Nesta watching.

He froze and for a moment neither of them moved. They stood still, quiet, watching one another. Then, Nesta nodded her head slightly and headed toward the front door.

She could hear Cassian’s quiet footsteps behind her, but she didn’t turn around to see if he was following her or heading back toward his bedroom.

She didn’t stop until she was outside, in the parking garage, opening her car door to speed away into the night as if nothing had happened at all. 

#nessian #nesta #cassian #multichapter #fanfic #fic #fanfiction #sjm #acotar #acomaf #acowar #acosf #acofas #mates #modern au #au #shara collab #collab

[snelbz]

The Ranch {11}

An A Court of Thorns and Roses, Nesta x Cassian, Modern AU, fanfiction.

Collaboration: @snelbz​ x @tacmc​

Summary: Nesta had spent years in Paris, living her dream and drowning in riches as a gourmet chef, capturing the hearts of the city and its people. But, after her father passes away unexpectedly and leaves his cozy, countryside B&B to his oldest daughter, Nesta is moving back home to the tiny town of Velaris, where the ranch, her sisters, and her father’s unfulfilled dream, awaits.

Sidenote: Being posted between two blogs, it is too chaotic to keep up with a tags list, so all chapters will be tagged with “#TheRanchNessian” & “#SharaCollab”.

Cassian awoke the next morning and snuck out of Nesta’s bed, careful not to wake her as he pulled on his jeans. He didn’t get far though, because as he took a step toward the door, his shirt tossed lazily over his shoulder, there was a sleepy, “Sneaking out without a goodbye?”

Cassian chuckled softly as he looked over his shoulder. “I wanted to let you sleep. Sun’s not up yet. I gotta get to workin’.”

The top sheet was the only cover left on the bed by the time they were through the night before. And it was currently draped low over Nesta’s back. She dropped her messy head back onto her pillow and mumbled what sounded like a goodbye.

He made his way back to the bed, pausing to brush her hair off her face, and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “I’ll see you in a little bit.”

“I’m not getting up until it’s a reasonable hour,” she murmured.

He chuckled softly and he said, “Sounds good. I lo-.” The words nearly tumbled from his mouth, without even meaning to. He covered it by stuttering. “I’ll, uh, go into town later and pick up the materials we ordered for the stables.”

Nesta only nodded, already half back to sleep,  not even noticing his near miss.

He watched her for another split second before hauling ass out of the little house and across the way into his own little cabin. Beau was instantly alert, staring at him with daggers in his little puppy eyes.

“Sorry, Beau,” he said, giving the pup a good rub. “I’ll come get you first next time.”

Beau quickly forgave him, jumping up to rest his paws on Cassian’s thighs.

“Let me change and let’s go check on the cattle, huh?” 

Beau hopped down and followed Cassian into the bedroom as he changed, slipped on his boots, and took Beau out into the pastures.

It was over five hours later when he noticed the front door of the main house was open, as were all the windows. It was a beautiful day and he wasn’t surprised to see that Nesta had decided to let some fresh air into the house. He made his way up to the house, going around back to rinse the mud and horse shit from his boots. The storms had made the back pasture a swampy mess and he and Beau had spent most of their morning moving half the herd into the pasture closest to the house.

He opened the back door and froze, taking in the delicious smell. Nesta was at the stove, a large pan atop one of the burners. He rested his hands on her hips and pressed a kiss to her neck. “What’s for lunch?”

She leaned into him and flipped the sandwich in the pan over. “Croque monsieur.”

“I don’t know what the hell you just said, but I love the way you said it.” He kissed down her neck until he reached her bare shoulder.

She laughed and said, “It’s basically a fancy French grilled cheese, with ham.” She turned to kiss him and wrinkled her nose. She giggled and said, “You stink.”

He raised his brows before making a show of sniffing himself. “I smell fantastic.”

“You smell awful,” she countered.

“It’s called musk,” Cassian said. “The scent of a man.”

“It’s called shit,” Nesta laughed. “The smell of cow. And horses. Mixed with sweat.”

Cassian grinned. “Well, I’d shower but that would be a waste.” His work day was far from over.

“I suppose I’ll let it slide,” she said, sighing. “At least while I feed you.”

“I’m honored,” Cassian said, laughing as he sat down at the table while Beau laid by Nesta’s feet. “You painting?”

“Yes, I was hoping to get the living room, the dining room, and the downstairs bathroom done, but I’ve been working all morning on the living room and I’ve only finished half. So.”

“Want some help?” He asked, watching as she deposited the sandwich on a plate, then pulled two more out of the oven where they’d been warming.

She shook her head as she put the other two on the plate and set it in front of him. “No, thank you. You seem to have your hands full out there as it is.” She nodded her head in the direction of the back of the property and opened the fridge. She poured sweet tea into a glass and set it down in front of him.

He looked at the food in front of him. “You made me three sandwiches and you made sweet tea?”

 “Is three too many?” She bit her lip as he took a drink of the tea.

He set his glass down. “God damn it, that’s good. Marry me.”

Nesta blinked, stared at him for a moment, then began to laugh, uncomfortably. “Okay, it’s good, but it’s not that good.”

“Agree to disagree,” Cassian said, mouth full of food.

She rolled her eyes. “Brute. Mind your manners.”

Cassian just grinned as he took another bite. “Seriously, thank you. It’s delicious.”

“You’re welcome,” she said, sitting across from him with a sandwich of her own. “Now stop talking with your mouth full.”

“Yes ma’am,” he muttered, still talking with his mouth full. 

She smiled and ate her own sandwich. Nesta filled Cassian in on the plans she had for the upstairs rooms. He listened quietly, eating his sandwiches and nodding in approval or made suggestions occasionally, but always swallowing his food before speaking.

After they were done eating, Cassian volunteered to do the dishes, while Nesta made her way back into the living room and continued painting. He heard her phone ring from the other room and heard a one-sided conversation between Nesta and one of her sisters.

The conversation began very normally, with Nesta answering with a simple, “Hey.”

He immediately heard an elevated voice from the other end of the phone. It sounded as if she was yelling and he quickly dried his hands off on the dish towel hanging from the cupboard before rushing into the living room.

He found Nesta leaning against the stairwell, with the phone against his ear, slowly rubbing her temples. He walked closer and could hear Feyre through the phone.

Nesta finally found a break in the conversation to say, “I was going to call you tonight, but-.”

Feyre began to speak again, and Nesta tried to speak a few times before he heard his name. Her eyes flicked up to him, just as his eyebrow rose. She hung up a moment later and Cassian asked, “Everything good?”

Nesta sighed and said, “I hope you didn’t have plans tonight, because we’re expected to be at Rita’s at seven.”

Cassian blinked. “And Feyre demanded that through yelling?”

“Apparently she had a conversation with Elain...who told her we slept together then went out on a date,” Nesta explained, looking pointedly at Cassian.

He cleared his throat. “Oh, yeah, uh, my bad.”

Nesta snorted. “Well, can you come tonight?”

“Depends,” he crooned. “Does this count as a second date?”

She rolled her eyes. “No, we’re all going out.”

“Then I’m busy,” he said.

She laughed, quietly. “Fine. It’s a date.”

“Then I’ll pick you up at six-forty-five.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead.

“Okay,” she smiled and turned to climb back up the ladder by the front door.

Cassian couldn’t resist the urge to smack her ass as he walked out.

Nesta was staring at her closet with a scowl on her face. Before moving back to the states, she’d sold most of her belongings. That included the bulk of her wardrobe. Now she was left with what would fit in two suitcases and a duffle bag, and after a month in town, she was starting to have to repeat clothes. She sighed and pulled out two potential outfits she hadn't worn.

One was a light pink dress with soft lace that framed her breasts. It was tight and short and honestly something Nesta never would have picked out for herself, had it not been given to her. The other was a black lace bodysuit, paired with jeans, but she wasn’t sure whether or not it was Velaris appropriate.

Who was she kidding, it was borderline obscene, but she looked damn good in it and she knew it.

She sent a short text to Cassian.

Don’t think, just answer. Black or pink.

The little dots appeared that showed he was typing back. Then they stopped. Then he sent Black.

Good answer, she thought, pulling it out of her closet and tossing it onto her bed. She curled her hair and did her makeup once she’d gotten out of the shower. It was weird to think she was more nervous for tonight than she was the night before, on their first date. This time, it wasn’t just the two of them. Now, they were going out with her sisters, with his friends. Tonight seemed more...official.

And it freaked her the fuck out.

She had just finished zipping her boot up when she heard a knock at her door. She checked her phone, noticing that six-forty-five had snuck up on her. She grabbed her clutch off the bed and hurried to the door, swinging it open to find Cassian, holding a dozen long stemmed roses.

Nesta stilled.

He held them out toward her, smiling upon seeing her surprised look. “For you.” Then he saw her and a curse fell from his lips. “You look...fuck. How much trouble will we be in if we just don’t show up to the bar?”

“A lot,” she chuckled, taking the flowers from him. “Thank you. They’re beautiful.”

She brought them inside and into the kitchen where she found a tall glass and filled it with water before setting the bouquet inside.

When she turned around, Cassian was right behind her, blatantly staring at her ass.

“May I help you?” She asked, crossing her arms over her chest, which only made her breasts pop out more.

He slowly met her gaze as he said, “Yes, please.”

With a roll of her eyes, she was taking his hand and dragging him out the front door.

Twenty minutes later, they were walking into a packed Rita’s. Nesta’s eyebrows raised. This was much different than the last time they’d been here. This was more reminiscent of the clubs she’d avoided in the big cities.

“College night,” Cassian said, voice raised so she could hear him. “VU students get a free shot with every premium beer ordered until eight-thirty.”

“That sounds horrible.” She cringed, but was thankful that was only a little over an hour away.

Cassian shrugged. “She never has to worry about her well alcohol sitting. It’s smart, actually. Come on.”

They made their way through the crowd, bumping into bodies as they moved to the music.

“Your sisters are over at the corner table,” he said, putting his lips to her ear. “Why don’t you go deal with them and I’ll get us a drink.”

She nodded and as she turned to leave, he tugged on her hand. When she looked back at him, he gently cupped her cheek and pressed him lips to hers. Then he pulled back, winked and a smacked her ass.

She rolled her eyes and made her way over to the table.

As she scooted into the booth, Feyre and Elain paused the animated conversation they were having, both having taken advantage of Feyre’s VU ID card from the year before.

Nesta’s phone vibrated and she pulled it from her clutch, holding a finger up before one of them exploded.

I’m going to enjoy taking that off tonight.

It vibrated again.

Very, very, very slowly.

And once more.

With my teeth.

She texted back, watching him across the room as his phone was in his hand. He was leaning on the bar, casually talking to Azriel, but she saw the change on his face when he read her response.

My turn to surprise you with no panties.

She watched as he blinked and took a long, slow breath. Then he was typing away and a second later she received, Tease.

She snorted and shoved her phone into her pocket before meeting the interrogating gazed of her sisters.

Nesta waited, but when neither of them spoke, she asked, “What?”

Elain and Feyre both started talking at once.

“What the fuck?” Feyre asked, “Cassian? And you didn’t tell me?”

Just as Elain said, “He called me the other day and I got way too much info from him that I should’ve got from you.”

They stopped, and Nesta stared, and then Feyre said, “Bitch.”

“Are you two done?” Nesta asked, leaning back in the booth.

Elain nodded as Feyre grinned. “Details. Hurry. I give them less than two minutes before they’re coming this way.”

Nesta pursed her lips and gave them the condensed events, starting with their conversation in the morning, spending more time than was necessary on Emerie and limited detail on the sex itself.

Feyre groaned and said, “On the couch? Really?”

Elain looked at her, sipping her beer. “Says the one who let Rhys fuck her on the kitchen table.”

Feyre almost spit out her drink.

Nesta couldn’t help but laugh as Cassian plopped onto the booth next to her, sliding a cocktail in front of her.

Elain and Feyre’s eyes slid his direction.

He paused, bottle of beer halfway to his mouth.

“Why didn’t anyone make this big of a deal when you and I had sex for the first time?” Rhysand mumbled, practically falling on top of Feyre.

“Because you made it publicly known, starting the second after it happened,” Azriel added, pulling a chair up to the end of the table. “And it got really annoying, really fast.”

Feyre laughed, patting Rhysand on the knee, and Nesta said, “Can we please change the subject?”

The six of them all fell into conversations, flowing from one to another naturally, laughing and drinking and just enjoying spending time with each other.

“Baby,” Feyre slurred, laying her head on Rhys’ shoulder. “I wan’ dance.”

“Oooh!” Elain was already trying to pull Azriel out of the booth.

“Y’all go ahead,” Rhys said, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

“Come on, Nesta,” Elain demanded, as Azriel stayed put.

Nesta hesitated, then gazed longing at her drink. “But I haven’t-“

She was pulled out of the booth, unable to stop her laughter from sputtering out of her mouth as she fell into the middle of the dance floor with her sisters.

It had been a long time since she allowed herself to let loose, to dance. When she was younger, it had never really been her thing, but as she grew older, especially being with her sisters, it was freeing. 

The live band playing on the little stage was playing so loudly that she could feel the music thrumming throughout her body. She looked back at Cassian every once in a while. 

He was watching her, intently, with a hungry gaze. She turned, holding onto Feyre’s hand. They laughed and Feyre spun her. Her long empty drink was raised in the air and when someone took it from her, wrapping their arms around her, she settled back into the warmth of his arms.

She moved to the music, the feeling of his arms around her intoxicating, fueling the warmth of the alcohol in her veins.

Azriel was pulling Elain towards the booth, while Rhysand dramatically dipped Feyre. Nesta couldn’t help but smile as she felt the calloused hands grip her hips and grind her into himself.

Her hair was dragged back from her neck and lips nibbled on her pulse point, smooth skin dragging along her own.

She ran her hand up the back of Cassian’s head, grabbing for his long hair that she’d known he left down for her.

Only to feel close cropped hair slide across her fingers.

She stilled, only for a second, before spinning around to meet Tomas’s humored gaze.

His hands reached for her waist, once more, as Nesta asked, “What the fuck are you doing?”

“Come on,” he said, above the music as she swatted his hands away. “Don’t act like you didn’t feel it when we ran into each other the other day, Nes. Dance with me. It’s just a dance.”

“I don’t want to,” she hissed, and went to move around him, but he stepped into her path.

“One dance,” he crooned, his hand grabbing hers.

But a hand had reached up to grab Tomas on the shoulder from behind him. Nesta’s eyes connected with Cassian's hardened hazel eyes, which were watching the back of Tomas’ head.

“I’m pretty sure the lady said no.” The words were almost impossible to distinguish from the music, the growl nearly as deep as the bass

“Fuck off, Nazari.” He shrugged, pulling Nesta’s body into his. “I wasn’t talking to you.”

She pushed him off. “No, thank you,” she said, trying to distance herself from him, stumbling into a table.

Cassian caught her, steadying her. He got in Tomas’ face. “Don’t fucking touch her. You lost your chance.””

A light sparked in Tomas’s eyes: recognition. “Ah, she's warming your bed now, is she?”

Cassian's jaw locked but Nesta’s eyes had narrowed. “Fuck off, Tom.”

But Tomas was looking at Cassian. “Out of all the people in the world, she found the trashiest bastard in town.”

“Leave,” Cassian ordered. His voice was low, quiet, but his shoulders were tensed.

The little smile remained on Tomas’s lips as he looked to Nesta. “When you get bored of him, my number is still the same.”

He walked away, but even as Tomas reached the door, Cassian didn’t move.

Nesta turned. “You know Tomas.”

Cassian didn’t say anything, didn’t look away from his retreating form. He only nodded.

Nesta felt her walls rebuilding. She felt the cold chill shoot up her spine. “How.”

Cassian’s eye trailed him as he left, then he glanced down at her, the disdain clear. “He’s the reason my roping career ended.” The music continued playing around them and he said, “I hate him. I don’t want you around him.”

Nesta blinked once. She could barely think. Could barely put two words together, much less tell him that she had no interest in speaking to or seeing Tomas Mandray ever again.

Instead, the single word that left her mouth was, “What?”

“I don’t want you around him,” Cassian repeated.

Nesta nearly wanted to laugh, but there was no hint of laughter in her voice as she asked, “And who the fuck do you think you are to tell me what to do?”

Cassian stilled, but his lips were tight.

“Fuck you,” she spat, the anger inside of her growing until her hands began shaking at her sides. “I’m not your girlfriend. You can’t tell me what to do.”

She pushed through the crowd, reaching their table and retrieving her bag and phone, unwisely tossing back the rest of her drink. She turned and found him nearly to the table as well, but was darting down the back hall, towards that glowing red sign that would mean her escape from bodies that made her feel too hot, too close, too tight.

She burst out the door and turned, leaning her back against the brick wall across from the door, eyes closed as she swallowed as much air as she could. The alley was empty mercifully as she caught her breath, as she reminded herself that no one was forcing her to stay inside.

“What the fuck are we then.”

She hadn’t even heard him come out, wondered if he’d come out when she did. If he did, he’d let her have a moment until she didn’t look like she was going to fall apart.

“Leave me alone, Cassian,” she said, face in her hands.

“No, I want you to give me an answer,” he hissed.

She didn’t bother looking at him. “Take me home,” she whispered, exhausted.

“Well which is it?” He asked, his voice rising. “Leave you alone or take you home?”

Tears sprung in the corners of her eyes, and she hated herself for it. She didn’t take her hands away from her face.

“We’re not going anywhere until you tell me-.”

“Just stop!” She yelled, her hands falling away as she turned to face him.

He froze, jaw locking.

The door opened and Elain and Azriel came out into the alley. She frantically caught Nesta’s hand and asked, “Are you okay?”

She held Cassian’s stare and blinked, looking at her sister and nodding. The silent tears that began to stream down her face rooted Cassian to where he was standing.

“Come on,” Elain said, voice soft. “Let’s go.” She began to pull Nesta away and Cassian reached out, brushing his fingers against hers.

She looked at him, and that softness he’d woken up to this morning, the light he’d gotten used to…

It was gone. And in its place was the raging storm she’d been when he’d met her.

He didn’t understand.

Wanted to, but didn’t. 

Nesta walked away with Elain and Azriel, the latter looking over his shoulder apologetically.

He stayed put for a moment, mind whirling, as he watched her walk out of the alley and disappear around the corner before tumbling back to his own truck.

He felt confused.

Pissed. Frustrated. Upset. Hurt. But mostly confused.

“Cass!”

He turned and caught Rhysand’s eyes from the door. He and Feyre hurried to his truck. She demanded, “What the fuck happened?” Cassian didn't even have time to reply before she forged on. “I looked over and found the three of you in each other’s faces. And then that fucker left and she stormed away from you?”

“He was being an ass. Then I told her I didn’t want her around Tomas and she lost her shit,” Cassian mumbled. “I don’t know. I’m going home.”

Feyre reached out and grabbed his arm as he was about to pull himself into his truck. He stopped, and when he met her eyes, he was surprised to find her eyes soft.

“Don’t be too hard on her,” she whispered, even though from the look on Rhysand’s face, he knew enough about why. “She and Tomas… He… Just don’t be too hard on her.”

He didn’t bother to mention that he wasn’t sure if she’d even speak to him.

When he got home, he found her on his porch. She still wore that damn skin tight lace, showing every delicious curve he wanted to run his tongue along.

Every curve he had run his tongue along.

He got out of the truck and made his way up the stairs, his boots thudding with each step.

She sat on the top step, a lit cigarette between her fingers.

He leaned on the railing, crossing his arms, and said, “Didn’t know you smoked.”

She put it to her lips and took a drag, the end glowing in the darkness. She blew out a stream of smoke and shrugged. “I don’t. Just a nervous habit.”

He nodded, even though she couldn’t see him. He hesitated, but closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I think we need to talk.”

She nodded, taking another pull and stood, dropping the cigarette into a beer can that had been left on the small patio table he had. It went out with a sizzle.

“If I’ve…” he began, then stopped. He blew out a long breath before starting over. “If I’ve jumped to conclusions about what we are, I’m sorry.”

Nesta didn’t say anything, didn’t move for a moment. She stared at a spot on the deck for a moment before saying, “Nothing about tonight was about you.”

Cassian wanted to press her, but didn’t. He didn’t need to, though, because she continued.

“I didn’t realize you knew Tomas, it threw me off,” she said. “We used to date. For a long time. He was an ass. Made me feel….small. And then he cheated on me. That was almost ten years ago, and I haven’t been in a real, healthy relationship with anyone since. I don’t even know if I’ve ever had a healthy time relationship.”

Cassian didn’t say anything, contemplating just how much he should say. But this woman… this gods damned breath of fresh air that had blown into town, into his life and actually made him enjoy what he did again…

The woman that he’d fallen in love with… she deserved to know everything.

“I know.” She looked up from the deck and waited for him to continue. He sighed and closed his eyes, taking a moment before he went on. “You may not have remembered me from school, but Cauldron, I remembered you. I had the biggest crush on you, but when I found out you were dating Tomas Mandray, the only other header in our state that gave me a run for my money? The one thorn in my fucking side who only won because daddy bought him the fastest horse he could find?” He shook his head. “I knew that we never had a chance, regardless of the fact that you didn’t even know I existed. I could have introduced myself, I could have put myself on your radar, but what good would that have done? You were still with him.” Nesta stared at him unable to say anything. “And then I saw you in Guthrie.” He looked at her, looked into her eyes, letting her see the sincerity in them. “And I saw him make you cry. I knew it was none of my business, so I didn’t say anything. Rhys told me if I did anything to fuck up our chances at a title, he’d personally cut my balls off. We roped the first night, took the average. Roped the second, came up short by point zero four seconds. Still won the average so far, but Tomas was right behind me. Then on the third, I caught him running his mouth and bragging about how he was able to keep that side piece from you for months.”

Nesta felt like she was going to be sick. She’d never been sure, but she’d always assumed he’d been cheating on her for longer than she knew.

“So I beat the shit out of him, had my membership in the USTRC revoked and was told that I’d never rope professionally again. And I haven’t. I was turned away from every rodeo I tried to enter. So I gave up.”

Nesta stared at him, completely speechless. A thousand thoughts ran through her mind but they all sounded ridiculous. All she managed was a breathless, “You…” but nothing followed.

He looked up at her then, at her wide, misty eyes. They stared at each other for a moment, then she said, “You really did beat the shit out of him.”

Nesta remembered hearing about it the next day, feeling grateful at whoever gave Tomas what he deserved.

But never in a million years would she have thought it had been Cassian.

“You didn’t deserve to be disrespected like that, whether you knew or not.” His voice was quiet, still, cold.

She breathed, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

He let his hands drop to his side and a frustrated chuckle left him. “What was I supposed to say? Oh, by the way, I assaulted your ex and had my dream ripped from me when it was within spitting distance?”

She didn’t say anything, knowing he was right. How would he have even brought it up, especially seeing her reaction to Tomas in the hardware store.

Her lips tightened but she said nothing. She should apologize, should try to tell him something comforting or reassuring, although that had never been a strength of hers.

Instead, she met him at the top of the stairs and laid her fingers against his cheek, forcing him to meet her gaze. And when he did, with eyes still half lit with anger, but dwelling with softness for her, she kissed him, softly, slowly.

He melted into the touch of her lips against his, his arms wrapping around her slender waist. 

She pulled back, and he was shaking his head. “I’m sorry I got pissed tonight,” he breathed, brows furrowed. “I acted like an ass.”

“You did,” she agreed, and the chuckle that left him slid across her skin, leaving goosebumps in its wake. “You were just trying to protect me, and I know that. You’ve apparently been doing that way longer than I’ve known.” She smiled softly and his lips turned up slightly in response, that anger diminishing with every second. “But… I can fight my own battles, Cassian. I’m a big girl and I promise I can handle myself on my own. Okay?”

He closed his eyes, sighed and nodded. “Okay. But only if you agree to let me step in if need be. I promise,” he began, his eyes sincere. “I won’t ever overstep my boundaries if I can help it, but if I feel like something is wrong, I’ll have to handle it.”

“You’ll have to?” She whispered, amusement lacing her tone.

He nodded, slowly, eyes bright as he cupped her face. “I care about you, Nesta.”

Words escaped her as she stared up at him, as his thumbs brushed across her cheeks. 

She knew he wasn’t lying, knew he wasn’t saying it just to say it. She could see the truth of his words in his eyes, could feel it in his touch.

The thought terrified her.

But it ignited her, too, set her soul on fire, woke her up.

“Kiss me,” she breathed, pleaded, needed to taste him to know this moment, these confessions, were real.

So he did. His hand curled into her hair, the other going to her lower back, holding her against him, and his lips devoured hers in a searing kiss. It took her breath away and made her feel alive. There was so much he couldn’t say that he poured into that kiss and Nesta could feel it, could feel herself falling.

This man, this impossibly frustrating, amazing, complicated man, he had thrown her world off its axis. Had made her second guess a lot of things about her life she’d never allowed herself to.

And he cared for her, for some ridiculous reason that she was trying so hard to understand but didn’t. They were polar opposites, two people worlds apart. She didn’t care, though, didn’t care that they didn’t make sense. 

Cassian lifted her up and her legs wrapped around his waist in silent acceptance. He carried her inside of the little cabin, where Beau looked up from his spot on the couch before snuggling back into the cushions. 

Neither of them said a word, their lips refusing to be parted, as they entered his bedroom.

Her back gently hit the mattress as he laid her down, his body covering hers. Her hands were in his hair, framing his face, pulling at his shirt, grabbing his ass through his jeans. He was all she could feel, all she could, taste, smell, see, hear. He completely overwhelmed her senses, but gods, she loved the disorienting haze his kisses dragged her into.

She bit his bottom lip, just like she had on the football field, and he growled quietly. Pulling back, his hazel eyes found hers and they were intense and she found herself wanting to push him, to see how far she could go before he lost control.

So she leaned up, brushing her lips along his jawline. His stubble was rough, scratching against her skin in an intoxicating way, and she trailed her kisses down his throat until she found that spot where his neck met his shoulder.

The hand bracing his weight that was next to her head balled into a fist, the sheets and blankets bunching up in it. The hand on her hip tightened.

Her gentle fingers slid beneath the hem of his shirt, feeling the warm skin beneath. Those teasing kisses along the base of his throat continued, sucking softly, brushing her tongue against his skin.

His eyes closed, his lips parted.

Nesta wanted to capture that moment, paint him in that light for all eternity, hardly holding on, dwelling in her touch as she worshipped him, patiently.

Her hands slid up his back, just beneath his shoulder blades as her lips trailed down between the collar of his shirt.

A shuddering breath left him and he leaned back, pulling the shirt over his head and went to lie back atop of Nesta. Instead, she pressed a palm to his chest and took a moment to look at him.

He was a fucking Adonis in human form. Her hand trailed down between his pecs, across his abdomen, over the dusting of hair beneath his belly button, and finger followed the deep groove of muscle at his hip down into the jeans that were becoming impossibly tighter with every touch.

She looked up at him through her lashes, and dragged that finger along the waistband of his jeans, finding the button and playing with it before she popped it loose.

He watched, lips pressed together. Nesta swore he held his breath as she pulled down his zipper and pushed his jeans down past his hips. Cassian’s body finally shook with a deep breath as he pushed himself off the bed and onto the floor. Nesta rolled onto her side and silently watched as he kicked off his boots and pushed his jeans onto the wooden floorboards, but when he took a step back toward the bed she shook her head, eyes bright as they admired him.

She scooted herself to the side of the mattress before pulling herself up into sitting position, her long legs draped over the sides. She reached down to unzip one of her boots and toss it to the side, then the other, and she stood in front of him before trailing her fingers down his body, once more. 

He was beautiful.

“You’re going to be the death of me.” His voice was rough. His fingers found her chin and when he grazed his thumb across her lips, she pressed the softest of kisses to it. When she heard his breath hitch, she pulled it into her mouth and sucked lightly, letting her tongue swirl around it. She looked up at Cassian, into his eyes, and she swore she was going to combust from the look he was giving her.

He removed his thumb, and though there was a ferocity in his eyes, he gently took her face in both of his hands and kissed her softly.

He pulled back and whispered, “Nesta, I-. Fuck…” His words trailed off as he kissed her again, nipping at her bottom lip. He pulled away abruptly, leaving Nesta breathless. He spoke in a rush, almost as if he knew that if he didn’t speak now, he wouldn’t speak at all. “Fuck, Nesta, I think I love you. And I know that’s insane, but you’re all that I think about. You’re the only thing I want, and I just-.” He dragged a hand down his face. “I had to tell you. I’m falling for you, harder and harder every day.”

Feeling breathless, her forehead fell against his chest. She closed her eyes, terrified of the next words to come out of her mouth. “I feel the same.” And she looked up at him, then, through her long lashes. “I love you, too.”

Four words, barely audible, even in the silence of the cabin. But the look in his eyes at those words was something so vulnerable and raw, with a hint of something almost like surprise, that Nesta could hardly breathe. 

She wanted to tell him not to hurt her, not to break her heart, not to make her regret those words. But as he took that little step closer to her, closing what was left of the distance between them, she knew he wouldn’t.

He didn’t need to tell her, because he would show her.

A hand reached around and found the small zipper at the back of her neck, and he slowly pulled it down. His finger skimmed along her skin as he dragged it along her spine and a chill ran through Nesta. He undid the button of her jeans and Nesta held her breath, unsure of why she felt so nervous. Cassian began to work her jeans down, but when they wouldn’t budge past her hips, he cleared his throat. “I imagined this being much more smooth, but, uhm, I can’t get your pants off.”

Nesta laughed, quietly, as she shimmied herself out of her tight jeans. He watched as she pulled herself out of her lace bodysuit, until she was bare before him. 

“Told you, no panties,” she whispered, and his answering grin had her toes curling.

“And I told you I wanted to take that off with my teeth…”

She smoothly replied, “Next time.” Cassian smirked.

With no warning, he picked her up and tossed her onto his bed, following suit and crawling up her body, pausing to taunt, tease and taste. He stopped at her breasts, unable to resist any longer as he took a peaked nipple between his lips, his fingers finding the other and rolling into slowly.

Nesta began to writhe, gripping his hair and tugging on the loose strands. The whimpers and moans falling from her lips were too much and he fisted his cock, stroking in time with the roll of his fingers. 

Her legs were wrapping up around his waist, and she pulled his body into hers. She had to be closer to him, the distance seemed too great, too far, after the words they’d spoken.

“Cassian.” She whispered his name, breathed it into the night. He looked up at her, his lips falling away from her nipple, and saw the desperate beckoning look in her eyes. He climbed up her body, covering hers with his. He moved the stray hairs from her face before taking her wrists gently into his hands and moving her arms above her head, his fingers slowly intertwining into hers.

He pressed his forehead against hers, his hardened cock pressed up between her folds. 

Her eyes remained locked with his as her fingers tightened in his own. “Make love to me, Cass,” she breathed.

His lips parted and a slow, shaky breath left his mouth, warming her own.

He slowly, torturously slowly, pushed into her, pausing when he was fully seated inside. The overwhelming fullness had Nesta breathing heavily, her chest heaving, and Cassian leaned down, pressing soft kisses to her lips. “Are you okay?” The question was no louder than a whisper, but Nesta nodded, eyes still closed.

She’d been with a few men since Tomas all those years ago. None more than a few times, as Nesta’s schedule was too busy for more than anything but a passing fling, but she’d never been dissatisfied with the sex she’d had, never been disappointed by the size of her partner.

She was ruined now, she realized as Cassian slowly pulled out and snapped his hips back into hers, for any other cock, because none could compare to the one currently inside of her. Or the man to whom it belonged.

He continued the slow, agonizing pace until Nesta began to squirm. He leaned down and kissed her, palming her breast, and asked, “What is it, sweetheart?” He never halted his thrusts, kept driving Nesta wild with each flex of his hips.

She was whimpering and groaning and writhing, and breathed, “Touch me, please.”

He picked up his pace, just barely, as his hand fell from her breast and slowly dragged down her side. Cassian pushed himself up on his knees, then, and pulled her ass onto his lap as that steady pace inside of her continued. His thumb found her clit and he circled it, slowly, as he thrust his cock in and out, his other hand gripping her ass as a guide.

Nesta threw her head back, her body flooding with that familiar warmth, and she didn’t try to quiet the moan that he pulled from her. One hand was fisted in the sheets by her head and the other replaced his, tweaking her nipple.

“God damn, baby,” he breathed, gazing down at her. Fuck, she was so beautiful, so perfect. Her full hips that he couldn’t get enough of grabbing onto. Those parted lips that drove him wild. But gods, those breasts.

Nesta reached out and ran a hand down his chest. He caught her fingers and sucked one into his mouth as she has before, biting down lightly. Her other hand had stilled on her stomach and she watched him with lust addled eyes. He gripped the other in his hand and pinned them above her head again, lifting his hips and roughly thrusting into her again and again.

She cried out, unable to form a sentence or even his name.

“You feel so good,” he breathed, fighting his growing orgasm. He wanted to bend her over his dresser, wanted to watch himself fuck her in the mirror, but she was so tight and he was so close.

A string of curses flooded his mind as his head fell back, his eyes closed, but only for a second. Nesta’s cries grew louder and he watched as her body tensed, her pussy clenching around him, squeezing his cock. He leaned back to get the perfect view as he grabbed her ass and pulled her into him as his pace quickened.

“I’m...close,” he grunted, voice straining. She was still riding out her orgasm, unable to speak, but acknowledging him with a nod. He kept pounding into her, watching the way her breasts bounced with her every thrust until his head fell back again and he grunted out, “I’m about to come.”

He expected her to scoot back so he could come on her stomach or her tits. He wouldn’t have even been surprised if she took him into her mouth to finish him off.

He didn’t expect her to tighten her legs around him and hold him in place. He didn’t expect the frantic nod she gave him when their eyes connected, question written clear across his face. He didn’t expect the quietly whimpered, “Please,” as he thrust into her one final time before his release barreled through him, vision going white as he came harder than he ever had before.

Cassian groaned as he came, filling her up, quick, hard thrusts continuing long after her pussy had milked him for his last drop.

He fell down against her, his cock still inside of her as his sweaty, hard body covered hers. She wrapped his arms around his neck as they tried to catch their breaths. Neither of them said a word in the silence as they clung to one another..

Cassian was about to get up when Nesta breathed, “No, just…stay here, please.”

He nodded, pressing his lips to her neck. He rolled them, so she was lying on top of him, rather than the other way around, and he dragged a lazy finger up and down her back.

“Shit,” he said, letting loose a deep breath. “That was the-.”

“Best orgasm you’ve ever had?” She finished.

He nodded, head sinking deeper into his pillow as he wrapped his arms around her tighter. “You took the words out of my mouth.”

One of his hands dipped lower, cupping her ass. They laid there in a careful silence, enjoying feeling each other’s body against the other, when Cass finally said, “Don’t you need to go…clean up?” He let his hand slip lower until he could feel their mixed essences dripping out of her.

He was still inside of her and she could have sworn that she felt him harden, just the slightest.

She shook her head, nestling into his chest. “In a minute. I can’t get pregnant.”

The hand on her back stilled. “Can’t? Or won’t?”

Nesta’s body tensed as his hand froze. She slowly leaned up to meet his gaze. “Can’t.”

She waited for Cassian to say something, anything, but he didn’t. Yet the hand on her back began to move up and down her skin once more.

She laid back on his chest and closed her eyes. “I was told years ago I won’t be able to have children.”

Her voice was quiet, and for once, she found herself afraid to say it. She hadn’t ever really wanted kids, hadn’t really ever thought about settling down and starting a family.

But when she said the words to Cassian, a little bit of a heavy feeling settled into the pit of her stomach.

Having a family hadn’t been in the cards for her before. If she was too busy to have a boyfriend, how was she supposed to figure out how to juggle a child and her restaurants? So when she found out at twenty-two that she would never be a mother, she didn’t even dwell on it, hadn’t given herself time to be sad about it, or think about what that really meant.

But for Cassian, the words were a blow. He’d grown up alone, in every sense of the word. Before his mother died, she was always working nights. She would be asleep when he left for school, and would have to be at work by five. He saw very little of her. Barely knew the woman who he’d laid in the ground before his thirteenth birthday.

He’d always dreamed of having a huge family, at least three kids, maybe even four. He’d even let himself imagine what their kids might look like, with his tanned complexion, and her striking eyes. But in a moment, that dream was gone.

“Please say something,” she whispered.

Cassian nodded, although she wasn’t looking at him. “Sorry. Just surprised.” He kept his voice quiet. “It’s okay.”

What else was he supposed to say? He loved her, still, and voicing his disappointment would just upset her, and what would erase all the progress that had just been made.

He turned her head to face him. She kept her eyes closed. “Look at me,” he whispered. She opened her eyes, and a tear slid down her cheek and landed on his chest. “I love you. Okay? It’s okay.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Why are you crying?”

She shrugged lightly and said, “I didn’t even think I wanted children. When I found out, I was in culinary school and I didn’t have time for kids, nor did I have a good relationship with my family, so I thought it was a blessing in disguise and…” She sniffled and closed her eyes again, as another tear fell. “Now, things are different and I feel...broken.”

Cassian let out a breath as he pulled her in closer, holding her tightly against him. “It’s okay,” he repeated.

She wiped at her eyes against his chest before burying her face into his skin. 

They laid like that for hours, clinging to one another, Cassian telling her that he loved her over and over again, as if he couldn’t say it enough, as if he was afraid that she didn’t believe her.

It wasn’t that she didn’t believe him.

It’s that she didn’t think she deserved it.

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