It was afternoon, and so much had happened in his world. So much. Too much. He was tense and it was a feeling that rode with him rather poorly. His suave, cool, demeanor was metaphorically on hiatus, it's chances of reappearing slim to none, at least for the day. Adette was gone, and while to him, that was a win, all the Duke could do was sate himself by stretching out the innumerable muscles that coiled benath his flesh. Lazily he lay beneath a tree, the evening sun's rays dancing across his warm coat. Serenity. Such sweet serenity.

His hard chest would rise and fall along with his abdomen as breath entered and pleasantly exited. It was nice to be able to leave and not think about his duties, granted, there was the fact that even when it was his time for 'duties' he rarely did anything with them. He was a master at pawning work off on others, and not for simple laziness, but for sheer lack on interest. There was no denying the lad didn't work hard. He was rigorous, beautiful, charmed, and well chiseled around every grandeur figure. Perhaps, the issue was not himself, but others? He remembered another that had seemed to fall into his little beliefs and he could say she interested him, but Chrysanthe, the young virgin he had made his. She was gone, yes? Then again...he really hadn't called her the next morning had he?

In his thought process arose trickery. The subtly smell of her warm scent dancing over his nose, and it was interesting. Interesting that in his thoughts, in his recollection. There she came, danced into his wandering mind. She was near, but where. The brute would throw a sight from his lips and his frame would rise, still seated, he would gently bark out, allowing his presence to be known unto her. O Chrysanthe, where are you my dove?

Her talk with Erani had made sense as she heard it. She understood - that this thing 'Could she even call it that?' with Gideon James would only hurt them both in the long run. It could destroy a relationship between packs, she could end up hurt or pregnant or worse... it simply wasn't a good idea. Besides, it had been nearly a season, and she hadn't heard from him. Perhaps she was simply a fling for him, a sweet stupid little virgin that he coddled and now wanted nothing to do with. Her thoughts had spiraled into something depressing, far worse than the little tingles of being ignored that she felt when she was younger and subtly fighting for Collision's time and attention. That had been the little flickers of emotion from a jealous sibling, one that had other siblings to distract herself and a kind caring guardian to lean on the off chance that she was lonely.


This was different. This was messing with her. He was messing with her - and she just needed some time alone. That was why she left Valhalla's borders, trailed over the eastern lands and left it all behind. The summer air was pleasant, the feeling of temporarily forgetting what had been pressuring her gave her room to breathe. Perhaps some quiet time would be all that she needed to get back on track - she was strong. Forgetting about someone that probably hadn't spared her a thought since she met him should be easy. Out of sight out of mind.


But that only worked when the lupine in mind was truly out of the picture. Chrysanthe froze at the sound of his voice, the smell of his scent wafting beneath her nose. There was no way that he was so close, no way that they had managed to run into each other... right? Yet he was so very there, so close - all she had to do was step forward and follow. His voice, his scent, why had her heart skipped a beat when she realized?


It would have been in their best interest if she had turned and run, but she just couldn't.


She approached the male quietly, her feet carrying her toward him without the complete consent of the rest of her mind. When she saw him, her eyes immediately flicked toward his own, her azure gaze unsure and undeniably sad. He was just as beautiful as when she had left him. Yet she hid it as she stepped closer, a smirk pulling onto her lips, and her eyes narrowed slightly in a somewhat mischievous greeting. "Imagine meeting you here Gideon James." As upset as she was, she couldn't get herself to be angry with him - only at herself for being so silly, to assume that he felt the overwhelming pull toward her that she did to him.


She was a fool.


"I thought I wasn't going to see you again." Despite coming to the decision that was probably a good thing, she couldn't help the little spark of hope that showed itself in her tone. She had missed him, despite, or possibly because of her sickening heartache. "How has Seracia been treating you?" Her question wasn't what she wanted to ask, but she refused to jolt straight into petty feelings. She had a thousand doubts that she wanted to confirm or be swept away, she had a thousand questions that she wanted to ask, pertaining to what they were, or rather, what they had been. But she couldn't, it all made her feel so weak... Perhaps she wouldn't mention the way that she felt at all.

How could he deny that as he waited for her presence to come before him he grew so inexplicably happy? She was a sublime, sweet little thing, but the truth of the matter was he was not the man that she needed. He was not going to be her little knight in shining armor. No, he was so incapable of it. So lost to his own devices. Yet, the only thing that crossed his mind was pleasing the little gem that he had only just met. She was sublime, her little opinions, her perfect curves. So swathed in elegance. He couldn?t get enough. Had it been that way meeting Kamala? No, it hadn?t been, though, he did love her. He remembered thinking that she was a fine creature. Lusting over her. Wanting to consume her very countenance. Though, intellectually, he thought nothing of her...yet.

Luscious locks dove before him, her suave steps entrancing him yet again, and as she was delivered a warm smile would dance over his inky jowls. How defined she was. How much she had grown. Where before there had been more narrow hips of youth, she bore more curves, more elegance. A fine woman. A loving woman. A creature he could not help but to lust for. Tongue would glide over his lips and his eyes would fight their urges to grow ravenous. Such simplicity crafted into an elegant puzzle piece. Young Chrysanthe, you tempt me so.?

?I must admit that I am pleased to see you, Chrysanthe. The fates must have something in mind, hm?? His frame would rise and he would stand towering before her. His blue gaze dancing over her svelte form and he bowed before her. Such a lustrous creature, deserving of the divinity he so longed to offer himself to. His figure would rise yet again, his molten eyes devouring her and his voice raising to a smooth baritone, ?I had plans of coming to see you, for I simply lack the ability to resist you, firefly,? He would stare at her in silent contempt. Was his presence a disturbance to her now? After she had seemed so willing to fall before him? He surely hoped not, it would prove so dreadfully disappointing. And yet...he needed to speak with her. Truthfully. Something he rarely cared to do.

?Ah, Seracia. My bar to you. Our Queen is gone, My rank has been turned to that of duke and I am training a new duchess...about her though...? Simply put. How could he put it? How could he unravel the truth as to why he had not come to see her? How could he tell her that after their encounter he had willingly accepted a wife? Ah, it was simple, and he felt no remorse. It was merely nature for him. Nature to raise the numbers. To hold all the wives. There was a simplicity that he had to admit he loved. He had to admit that he needed. His head would turned slightly to the sunset and he would attempt to drift towards the darling creature, ?Her name is Kamala, and she is my wife,? He would deliver the information upon a swift tongue, and he would let her take it as she so needed. He needed her to know the truth of his life. He needed her to know what was happening. Then he would explain to her that he refused to let it be the end of their entourage.

The fates? She nearly laughed. If there were fates, then they were certainly having a good time teasing her - tugging her emotions around this way and watching her flounder around trying to do the right thing. Seeing Gideon, she couldn't believe that she had tried to avoid him. Everything would be so different, so off so wrong without him in her life. Yet at those thoughts she tried to distance herself from staring directly at him. Despite the way that she felt now, this would change - it had to! He had a life in Seracia and she in VAlhalla and it just wasn't... meant to be.


Then why was she so happy? To hear that he had plans to come and see her. That he planned to come to her, despite the time that had passed, despite everything that could go wrong, the distance between them in age and loyalty... he had in mind to come to her. Her mischeivous facade dropped then, into a smile more sincere. "I missed you too." She admitted, her ears dropping slightly in a splurge of bashful sentiment. Firefly, what a name for her - she was a large female, growing up sure - but if only he could see her sister, Epiphron had all of the curve and gentle tone of a lady where she was beginning to become more muscular from her training. Yet his pet name acted as a sort of cooling salve to her churning emotions, and she found herself being slowly sedated as thoughts of the two of them being something so close that they could have names like that echoed through her mind.


Funny, she was supposed to be avoiding him, and she was imagining the two of them as something more.


And yet his stare was not the simple joy of meeting up with someone that was missing, that was missed. She stared at him with curiosity then, curiosity that turned to meek understanding as he told her that his queen was dead. Already spinning within her were apologies for his loss, worry at the stress that had surely consumed him with the loss of someone so important to his kingdom - yet instead she paused as Gideon trailed off, mentioning a duchess that he was training. In her idle wondering, she hadn't a clue what he would say in regards to the other female, but she would wait - not interrupting him, giving him time, he had listened to her so respectfully during their last meeting it was all that she could do, to return the favor now.


Yet his next sentence sent the world spiraling, and then quickly crumbling down.


She had to work not to visibly wretch, and her eyes steeled as she tried to quell them of tears. Of emotion. She was too proud to let him see her cry. Instead she closed her eyes, steadied herself and let out a shuddered breath. "Congratulations Gideon James." Her voice was only a bit above a whisper - she couldn't look at him anymore. She had been a fool to the end of this relationship. "Thank you for... telling me." It was better this way, for them both to be on the same page, to know the truth. He had done her a favor by cutting the longing and hope away at the very base, and now she would begin to heal wouldn't she? Yes, those seemed like words that Erani would give her, that the healer would utter while silently knowing that this was how her relationship with an older male from a different pack to end.


"Why did you call for me, or plan to visit - when your loyalty belongs to someone else? For a second I thought that you wanted to be with me too." She paused, feeling ashamed of herself, embarrassed that she had gotten so carried away. "Even after that night in the caves." A bark of bitter laughter, and she felt that she could speak normally again. It became a bit easier to bury her emotions within her, far enough so that no one could see them, and she could take them out and reflect upon them later. "I can't believe you're someone's husband now Gideon." She forced a smile, wondering why she couldn't just turn and leave him right then and there. Why keep speaking with him when she wanted to do nothing more than break down and cry? "Does your wife feel the same way?" There was a forced nature to her words even though she was trying her hardest to be lighthearted, but it wasn't bitterness - not at him, or even his new wife. They were Seracians, they were married, they were important to each other and she would have to suck it up and leave them be.


This was always how it went. Why did it hurt more this time than it had any other?

There was, in his mind, something so simply sublime about Chrysanthe. She was elegant where most lacked, she was not the most pretty thing he had ever seen, no, and why? Because, she was simply the most gorgeous. chrysanthe. Chrysanthe. Her name was like a fiery mantra in his head, a burning passion that only he knew how to come to her with. There was something ethereal with the Queen, something he could not let go of, and something that stemmed just a bit deeper than his typical need to use a body. No, where there was lust for their bodies to be as one, where he so longed to take her again and again, there was a passion that was far more intellectual, something that he had to admit, made him enjoy her for her mind as well.

Gideon was doing a very bad thing. He was encouraging the young woman to wait for him. To fall into his grasps and what he did not realize was that each time he did it she actually listened to his words, she actually held some meaning to them. O how selfish he was. it was a terrible thing and yet he knew very well that he was incapable of stopping the path he had began his descension on. His eyes would dance across her figure and he wondered what she wanted him to do, and without really thinking he would stand before her, ready to glide towards her and then it seemed the words, the truth, he had spoken to her was not enough. It seemed as though what he had done was push her away a bit, and yet, in her congratulations she seemed so lathered with sincerity. Did she truly wish him well in his betrothal? His marriage...he didn?t...really know. ?I don?t want to be thanked if it upsets you, firefly,? He cooed unto her in the same fashion he had the first time he had ravenously seduced her.
What exactly had he done?

?I-I didn?t realize my betrothal would bother you...I am not monogamous...but I don?t know what she feels really...probably just duty to be the wife she is required to be...I-I don?t feel the same pull to her I feel to you though...? Was he being honest? Yes. More importantly; Was he being serious? For once in his life, yes, he was, he was pouring out his thoughts to the little bird before him. He couldn?t say he loved her...but he could say she made him feel a bit different than anyone else had...why?


What was he doing that hurt her so? He had to try, try to smooth the pain in her chest, and he would, his large body would drift towards her, his rough muzzle aiming for the bridge of her nose. A kiss for her and her alone. O sweet, Chrysanthe, how it pains me to know I?ve failed your heart. What had he done? He needed to know. Seracian females would have accepted the terms and gone with it regardless...was she so...different?
w

He was more than she knew how to handle, and with this realization Chrysanthe was beginning to understand just how in over her head she was. Yet it would end soon, she knew, she repeated like a mantra, this was over, it was done, he was no longer within her reach, he belonged to someone else. She expected a quip from him, an answer, a simple response before he left and she didn't see him again afterward. Her eyes wandered, wandered up to his and where she expected for him to move away, for him to put distance between them he moved closer. The girl was frozen, despite her confidence or rank she couldn't get herself to move away as he swept toward her with that liquid ease that nearly took her breath away.


His words were not what she had expected from him at all.


He made it sound as if he cared, as if she had it all wrong - as if he had not torn apart this relationship at the seams before it could truly become the work of art it deserved to be. His voice was honey to her, so sweet and sticky, seductive in the way it clung to her ears and reverberated in her mind, creating a strange dissonance within her that made her feel like she was sinking and floating all the same. She turned toward him then, her blue eyes gazing into his own, trying desperately to see the emotion behind his words. And although she was not trained in reading the feelings of others, she saw no hints that Gideon was speaking anywhere but straight from within himself. That charming persuasion was dabbled with genuine concern, and she found that she couldn't tear her eyes away from the sight.


He hadn't meant to hurt her, and he seemed almost... unsure about the marriage that he had so simply stated moments before. Chrysanthe's family was the exact opposite of his own, it seemed. A marriage to them was important, a wolf mated to one other, and only death could tear the two apart. It was what she saw in Cairo, although her memories of her mother were slowly fading with time. It was what she saw in Collision, in Nova and Erani, in Thane and Ookami, it was all that she had ever seen. Yet Gideon was different. He would have many wives, many children, and she was stuck between feeling curious at the lifestyle and sick at the prospect. His women, how could she be one of his many? Was he worth it?


It wouldn't be too much different to how she felt now. She was Syrinx's sister, but he would take a mate and she would step aside and watch as the couple became Valhalla's leaders. Collision was the same, and Erani, although the most loving woman she had ever had the pleasure of being close to, would have her own family to attend to. "I want you Gideon, want to call you mine. I'm young, there is a lot that goes along with the feeling that I don't understand but you know that." He knew that, even after during their first encounter. Yet his silver tongue did nothing to ward the girl off.


She was a fool.


"I feel for you something strong, something wild." It had been eating away at her since their first meeting. 'You have no idea what you do to me...' "But my family is different - we are monogamous. Your traditions are your own, and I would be wrong to judge them, you can't change them - I don't expect you to change anything for me." But she wanted him to - wished that he wasn't already married out of duty and obligation, wanted him to be hers and hers alone. "But I wish that I... had known. I... don't think that I can share you Gideon. I could try, I would try for you of course." If he asked her, she would. She loved her family, loved Valhalla fiercely, would never turn her back on them. Leaving her pack behind was like tearing a piece of herself away, the wolves there were her family, they were her structure and stability... but if Gideon asked her she would try her damndest to make things work...


"But I don't think I could ever be happy that way." It was what made it all come to a screeching halt. "Seeing you with one, or two, or three other women - hearing you call them your wives, knowing that no matter how strong our connection is that you have others... I can't. " Her voice threatened to break as she tried to get him to understand. She didn't want him to leave! She didn't want him to feel like he had to change, he was beautiful and perfect and it would be silly for him to change a deep seeded tradition for a yearling he had been with once. But she felt it, felt what he felt - the pull, the desire to be near him, to hear him whisper to her goodnight, to be able to greet him in the morning and stand beside him during the day and it hurt. "I can't do it Gideon, I'm sorry but I can't be one of your many. You're my only, and clearly that is not... a relationship that we can have. Your traditions, your wife, you... there's no place there for me." She wanted to cut out a shape in his heart that she fit into perfectly, but there wasn't room for everything that she knew she needed.


He would grow to hate her, surely, if on some off chance he ended up changing how he was for her. Irritance would grow to contempt, and he would regret ever taking her at all.


"I want you to be mine and mine alone - but that was never part of the plan, was it Gideon?" Her words were a whisper, and finally she pulled her teary blue eyes away from his own. Her ears had fallen, her figure drooping like a withered flower. "I care about you too much to try and change you - but I don't want to let you go. What am I supposed to do?" She leaned on him, letting her head rest on him, relishing in the feeling of his fur, his flesh, his warmth. Although she was frustrated, saddened by this turn of events, she knew that at the root of it all, the only thing she wanted was him.

He had been so certain of himself and so locked in the thought process that he knew what was going on, but how wrong he seemed to be the farther and farther the little charade they went. It was the first time it really occurred to him, but was he wrong? Was this no charade? There were feelings for Chrysanthe, and they were stronger than, per say, what he had for his wife, and yet, fact of the matter was he did not know if his feelings for her were yet strong enough to usurp the way he believed. The way things were for himself. He had inadvertently pushed her away and he had not meant to do something so abhorrent, but O it was happening. His blue eyes cradled the contours of her chest, her neck, her hips, and the fine lines of jaws. He wasn't sure of what he wanted from her, but he knew that he didn't want anyone else touching her, and damn them to hell if they did. His wife was monogamous. He would be her only husband, and yet it seemed as though things were working against him to not only give himself a new chance with someone else, but also give her a chance with someone else.

He had to admit that he kept falling in and out of something when it came to Chrysanthe, but he had no clue what it was. Love? It was so early for that, how could he succumb to something after merely seducing the small woman and doing nothing but taking her innocence. He had not meant to make her fall for him, well, he certainly had meant something, but when he had taken her at the caves, he had not known that by bedding her she would be so lost in him, so amazed by him. So absolutely hooked. A part of him loved it, a part of him wanted to help her get away from him, and a part of him was selfish and would not relent until she would stand by him and no other. The latter was most likely the part of him he would succumb to. He was no fool. He would not deny what had become of him, his heart, and his mind.

He stood looking at her waiting for her to explain just how he had broken her world and for the longest moment it made no sense to him at all, for the longest time he stood there watching her waiting for some indication that he could fix something...but if she was so lost in him there wasn't much he could do. As she spoke he thought about it. He of course knew that she was young and he definitely knew that made her far more impressionable, but gracious, he hadn't meant to get stuck on her, nor get her stuck on him. Certainly not so rapidly, ?Actually...I don?t know what goes with that feeling...for me it?s always been that I knew I could have whatever I wanted...and now I?m being denied something I really wanted...I do not know if that makes it...more desirable- er, it being you. I know that...I do not know what I should say. I know you?re young, Chrysanthe. Younger than I by a fair shot, but, you?re so much more than most are at your age.

He was close to her body, his breath upon her face, and her breathing not so far from him. It really occurred to him that though they had been closer than anyone could be when he had mated with her, he had not felt so intimate with anyone, especially not like he was feeling with her, no not in the slightest. It was a new feeling. Just holding the young woman was something quite interesting for him. Monogamy though, that was what barred them. It irritated him deeply. Monogamy to him was pointless...he really didn't understand being able to go an entire lifetime and only love one person. Though, was he beginning to wonder what it was like to be that way? Was he beginning to wonder what standing beside just one single wolf and never drifting from their side was like?

She questioned him so innocently. About his plans, and for the first time in a very long time he was ashamed. Ashamed that he stood beside her, failing her, and making it nearly impossible to make it up to her, but dammit why was he not try trying? Was it his plan? No. It wasn't, and he knew that in beginning that thought, he had failed her greatly. Not being able to answer her...he only had one chance to try and explain, ?I..just thought we were fooling around. I mean...I knew I was your first, but... I never really had a clear understanding of why it bothers women so much?? His tail swung briskly behind him as he tried to configure the best way to handle the situation, to keep her, to just hold her there with him. Her head would push against his chest and his skull would wrap over the top of hers as he heavily inhaled her scent, his left paw rising to cover her right. Stop it Gideon. End this. What are you doing? ?I could try...try just being yours...I haven?t had my wedding, and I can cancel it if my feelings change about the whole thing, because, sweet firefly, I can?t let you go,? he didn't really know what road he was trying to climb down, but would he really disregard his wedding with Kamala if Chrysanthe proved how much she loved him? Honestly, he wasn't sure if he was lying to her or not, but he had sure made it sound convincing.

So he wasn't sure what it was like to love and be loved? The female listened, tried to truly understand the male sitting beside her because his words were the only thing anchoring her to that very spot. What he was saying was important, was possibly the rawest, most honest thing that he had buckled down and managed to say. She didn't want to let this moment go, she didn't want to forget - and she probably never would, no matter the turn out of their tultmous relationship. He wasn't sure whether he liked her? Loved her? He did know, that he couldn't have her because he had Kamala - because she wouldn't be first or second or third to Kamala or whoever else he wanted in his life.


With the distance that she was trying to put between them because they were from two different families with two entirely different traditions (ooc: except not really lmao) and there wasn't a way in the world that they could work... he was becoming more attached. She nearly smirked, he was spoiled, spoiled when it came to his whims and wishes and women. Yet he did not deny that he felt something for her that he wasn't used to, that he wasn't sure how to identify but there was a pull - and that was something that she could understand. Her heartbeat quieted, and her breathing slowed as she leaned on him, as if she was trying to meld into his side so that she would never have to leave. The yearling's ears twitched, and she wondered for a moment what he could be thinking - how he would deal with this issue that was barely an issue at all.


Trying not to get her hopes up, but not wanting to drag the both of them any further down, the best thing that the beta could do was listen. He hadn't taken their first night together seriously - and although that hurt, it was something that she should have accepted weeks ago. He was a male, one that was not tied to rules of loyalty or monogomy when it came to his women. She was an easy target - yet something... happened to the two of them that neither one of them could logically explain. He admitted that he wasn't sure why women were so sensitive about their virginal status, and a tiny smile spread over her lips. "You are such a boy Gideon. I don't expect you to - it's fine." She teased lightly, the hurt in her heart quelled by the closeness of his body and the sound of his voice. Although she would quite possibly break down once he was gone again, he was here now and things didn't feel as bad as they actually were.


"If I were a Seracian, wouldn't I be worth more as a virgin? To give me away as a wife, it would be better for my husband to be my one and only. From a political standpoint, it shouldn't be so hard to grasp. Emotionally though I... I don't think I can explain." She was lucky, lucky that she could give herself to whoever she fell in love with. Valhalla was different, and she would remember not to take pleasantries such as equality and the freedom to map out your life no matter who you were - for granted. Gideon's woman, Kamala, she was doing this for the sake of her Kingdom. A noble thing to do, that warrented respect and the highest regardes - but Chrysanthe wasn't sure whether she could ever do something so selfless for her family without feeling like she was being used.


Quieting, the female hummed softly, contentedly against Gideon's chest, feeling warmer and far more safe than she should have as he pulled her into a wolven hug. His next words though, confused her - shocked her greatly. She had told him that he didn't have to do anything rash, that she expected nothing from him in terms of his traditions and the way that he lived his life. Yet for her he was willing to try. It opened up possibilities and hope and doubts all at the same time. She was ecstatic, and it took effort to keep herself from tackling the brute beside her with his statement. The first question that nearly left her mouth was wondering exactly when his wedding was - but giving herself a time limit would only make this harder. "As long as you are mine, I am yours." She said simply, reaching out and bathing his throat and neck in kisses.


He was beautiful, and in this moment she could say that he was hers. The ache in her chest vanished all together, and the stress and anxiosness within her muscles soothed as well. Laughter bubbled from her lips, and she pressed into Gideon just a bit too lightly to be considered a shove, but enough for him to have to press back to not be tipped off balance. "Here's to trying to make this work." She said softly, pressing a kiss to his dark lips and letting her muzzle linger next to his a few moments longer than necessary.

He understood, by definition, what love was. He understood that it was something magnificent between two people. He understood that it was an ethereal amount of caring, and very few times could he say he had witnessed it. His mother. She had loved him. There was no doubt in his mind that the woman who bore him had been completely loving of him. Would have done anything for him despite the circumstances, and he so longed to know that kind of thing. So longed to be able to make his heart grow with so much affection that it frothed over. He loved Gerhardt. Would do anything to make sure that his brother succeeded, and yet, he had to wonder...did that line go as far as death? Would he die for Gerhardt? Would Gerhardt die for him? It was a hard pill to try and swallow, a hard thing to try and understand. He couldn't claim to anything. Not for Chrysanthe. Not for him.

He was so egotistical, so entranced by the things he longed to have that he could not see what so willingly stood before him. That here, in her eyes, she screamed of the chance of love. She offered him so much. She offered him the choice of a life. He couldn?t understand why things were so difficult. Why they had turned out the way they had. Why did he have to come across her? Why did her will, her heart, her love
The warmth that moved from her body to his body; from his body to her body. It was whimsical, perfect, and divine. She was so sure that in the space against him that she so perfectly fit against, and yet he knew, that the closer he drew her in, the closer he took her, the worse and worse it would become for her. The more he became a part of her, and she a part of him, the more he would end up breaking her heart when he failed her. This. He was not meant for any of it. He was meant to be a joke. He was meant to lack any kind of skills or commitment. He was meant to be the brother that populated the Earth for his brother. Offered his genes so that Gerhardt would have something to rule. Yet, here he was, neglecting the duties that were supposed to be offered. Here he was making a mockery of the traditions he was born upon. Here he was falling in love.

?If you could explain, I would only fail to understand. My heart is not as warm, as full, and as ready to accept as yours is. You are something so much more capable, you have a heart that could win nations, and yet, you choose to wander beside me. Why? Why in a world that could offer you so much are you yearning to be with a man that has done nothing more than bedded you and broken your heart? How dare you love me...it only causes pain. For us both,?

Yet, in his perfect questioning he knew why she did it. He knew that her heart yearned for him because he had shown her something no one else had. He knew that he had shown her just how much she could open to someone. Just how much someone could be an impact to her life. He had been the stranger that had seemed to demand her heart, and now, he was stuck. He was a fool. He was going to demand so much more, for she was before him. She was still, she was willing, she had to be. He was needy. Gideon, o what a fool he was to pull the strings of the woman, to toy with her in ways that he should have shut down so long ago. Yet, burning in his body came the same masculine drive. The same need. The same pull to her that he knew he could never relinquish. Perfection was written across her eyes, her heart. All he did, with every glance he cast her way, was taint that divinity. Taint that flawless feature she offered him. He was a sinner. He was a devil. For torturing her so, and destroying her witness; O he should have been destroyed.

He would listen to her soft singing, her samba, as she hummed against his chest. The gentle vibration of her larynx throbbing against his chest and his head would ascend over hers. His eyes would devout the features before him. His ears would listen to each melodical note that chimed from her throat as though it was the last sound she would make. Love...was this love? Could he say that in all his selfish deeds here he was falling so quickly for the Seracian? Could he say that in all his time fooling around, pulling strings, beckoning women, that he could surrender it all for her? As much as his head quickly lurched to scream yes, he knew where his heart. was. It was not love. It was lust. it was undiluted. It was needy.

Her head would turn towards his and immediately his ears would press firmly against his skull. Her tongue would dance over his lips and her nose would press against his own. He could feel the electricity between them both, he could feel the warmth that resonated from her breath, and he could feel his left paw leave the Earth and attempt to press against her chest. He needed her. He needed to bury himself in her yet again and proclaim her as his. He needed to sate the ravenous fire that she caused in his loins. He needed to feel her love. He needed to know that he held her affection. He needed to use her. It broke his heart, and while he knew that he did not love her, tears would froth in his eyes and he knew that to her, it would probably look like the emotions she wanted were there. He needed to make himself believe that, and yet he knew it was a lie. Prodding her, urging her, and needing her to turn before him. He had to have her. It was relentless, and without much else his head would attempt to snake beneath her skull. His tongue would attempt to press against her throat, the need written clear before her. He wanted to make love to her, and sadly, all without loving her.

She loved him - completely and totally and she wasn't quite sure why. He had changed her, he had challenged her, he had made her think and let her loose herself in him. It was a relationship that most would frown upon - that Erani did frown upon. Yet she couldn't force herself to turn away from him, only delve deeper into him every chance that she got.
Pressed against him, little else mattered - and regardless of the obvious consequences she felt right. No matter what their relationship was supposed to be before, it was, now, a very complicated and involved coupling that could turn out very, very good... or extremely bad for the both of them. Gideon knew that as well, questioning her with a pain strung to his voice that could very well break her heart by sheer association. He was hurt, he was hurting her, and they both knew it but she didn't care. Besides... "You have done nothing to hurt me Gideon. You've given me more than you think you have." She said gently, her voice a gentle coo, an attempt to salve the pain that he was surely unused to feeling, but she had grown to be unfortunately, very acquainted to. "I chose you of my own accord, and I love you because you are you." It was unrelenting, a constant, even should he choose to be with his wife, to be with others, she was sure that she would love him. Want the best for him, want him happy.


He truly had no idea how beautiful he was. He worried for her, pitied her, even though he was a polygamist, could take her in as one of his many if he so pleased. Didn't he realize how much he was capable of caring? Did he not see how doting that he was being? Even if he did not love her he felt something - and perhaps one day, perhaps with she, or maybe someone else, he would know what it felt like to truly fall in love. He was capable, he knew the feeling, she was sure that he did. He presseed against her, and she returned the favor - gently letting her crown nuzzle his neck. His breath seemed so loud in her ears, tickling them and making her heart skip a beat. She wanted him, needed him - hoped that he could love her too. When she let the obvious pieces to the puzzle that was their relationship slip to the ground, it seemed that there was no way that he couldn't. The way he yearned for her as she did him, the tears that pooled in his breathtaking blue eyes, he loved her - how could he not?


There were so many variables, so much that she was ignoring - was this denial? Was she denying that he could not love or learn to love her? A part of her truly believed that he was capable, that this was happening, that there was hope... and it was the part that won. It always was, it might always be that way. A small smile spread onto her lips as he kissed her throat, ellicting a small noise from her - a whine perhaps? A plea? She released a shuddered breath before pulling away from the male, just an inch, maybe two - but it felt like a lifetime between them and she immediately missed his warmth. And so she pressed herself into him again, sweeping past him and letting her cheek, her neck, her shoulder, her side... all slide against him as she passed him.


"Didn't I just tell you Gideon? So long as you are mine - I am yours"