When he had declared his statement about Venom, Maverick had no idea how what sort of painful memories he would be dredging up from the Empress' past. Though the topic of her family seemed to be a heavy subject, he had managed to make her smile with his playful toast to her deceased sire. This time, however, the answers he received did not seem worthy of a jesting poke. Venom let him peek into her past, into the life she had been given and led, the choices she'd made and the consequences of each. She told him of her mother's incestuous breeding with her uncle that resulted in her half-siblings Chimera and Siren. Almost on reflex, Maverick glanced back towards the castle. The giant black and white brute that had been glaring at him and had taken Venom aside for a private conversation—no doubt about the ruffian that was currently courting his sister—was the product of incest within the Klein-Abraxas family. But that hadn't been the end of her story. Beyond her mother's extramarital relations with her own brother, Venom had also been forced to fight her own sister when the woman challenged Venom for her and her children's family name. Maverick stared at Venom, brow creasing with concern as she explained how she'd been forced to use violence to subdue that rebellion in her sibling.

Venom concluded her story with a sip of her drink, and Mav gave a hefty sigh and a shake of his head. "No way in hell I'm letting you drink alone after that one," he remarked, lapping at his own drink along with the Empress. Misery loved company, after all, and drinking in good company always made the bitterest of pills easier to swallow. Venom made her own statement then, declaring that she was not the first lady he had tried to seduce. Once more his roguish grin crept across his face with a husky chuckle. "Guilty," he confessed, then gave a quiet yet pensive hum when she claimed he loved fast and hard. "Guilty again." But then she asserted that he had loved a girl once before—truly loved her—and that she had left him and broken his heart. Maverick's grin shrunk a touch, still lingering like a ghost on his expression, but his teal eyes had shifted, glossing over with long distant memories. Without a word, the navy and white brute brought his cup up to his lips and drank away the memories. "Guilty," he murmured for the third time, less mirthful than the first two utterances.

Well, Venom had shared the painful details of her own past, so it was only fair for him to do the same. "I was younger… stupider… Thought I’d found ‘the one’ when I met her. Her name was Reina, and she was every bit as wild and reckless as I was. I thought that meant we were going to run off together, have a lifetime of adventures and be totally free to burn as hot as we wanted." Maverick released a sigh as he took another drink just for the need of more alcohol in his blood, already beginning to feel the warm and wobbly effects hitting his body. "Turns out we were just doomed to burn out instead. I woke up one morning and she was gone. No note, no explanation, not even a scent trail to follow. She’d covered her tracks when she decided she’d had her fun with me and it was time to cut me loose." The dire brute gave a sardonic little laugh and smirked at how foolish the younger, naive Maverick had been, how recklessly he’d left his heart unguarded. But that was one harsh lesson he would never forget—nobody could hurt you if you never let them get close.

The game came back to his turn, and now Maverick had the opportunity to shift the mood of the game back into a more fun topic, one he thought would bring a lovely shade of red to the monochrome fae’s features. "All right, Ven, let’s kick this up a notch." A wolfish grin crept over his lips as smoldering, tipsy-glazed eyes peered into the sunset depths of the Ashen alphess’ soul. "I’m betting that despite all your love for him, your ex-husband never truly satisfied you when you were sharing a bed. I’d wager there’s a whole side to you that you’ve never showed anyone, things you want to explore and do, but you keep it repressed for fear of how that might make others see you, when really you've been yearning to let your inner animal loose and explore yourself since you discovered romance." That playful grin shifted to an even more naughty smirk, his sly gaze briefly dipping to the end of her muzzle. "I bet you could do some wonderful things with that tongue." Was he trying to fluster Venom and make her flush? Yes, yes he was. But there was also a genuine curiosity behind the statement. How long had Venom been inhibiting herself for the sake of duty and appearances?

"Maverick"

There were no teasing words after her story was concluded and Venom took her sip of a drink. Maverick drank along with her, obviously moved by the glimpse into her past. Venom smiled softly up at him before making her own assertion, which was apparently correct in almost every way. Mav showed how the event affected him as his expression and voice dropped with every point. As he drank Venom placed a white paw over his own before he explained the events in greater detail.

Venom’s sunset gaze lingered on his features as he brought up old and difficult memories. She was likely one of the first girls he had known, he fell head over heels, and imagined the two of them were made for each other. But she had left him without a word once she was finished with him. At least Venom had been broken up with, Hattori hadn’t just disappeared from her side one night, then again he hadn’t been hers since before the long night. The signs had been there, but Venom had held so tightly to his vow. The both of them had loved and lost and struggled together now.

Thankfully Maverick felt the creeping doom and as he brought his gaze back up to hers turned the conversation with his roguish grin. He returned the smile to his features as he warned her about his next question. He knew exactly what he was asking. "Ha!” She couldn't help her reaction, and despite it, Mav did succeed in bringing a blush to her features as her mind returned to the intimate moments she shared with Hattori. He hadn’t left her unsatisfied, but their private moments had been few and far between. He’d never been a soft man, and their love making was anything but a gentle experience. Adventurous was not the way she would describe him.

"Maybe you are partially correct, I was never unhappy in the rare event he was with me.” She admitted to him, keeping to her vow of being honest. Venom had averted her gaze as she recalled the private aspect of her previous marriage. "I suppose we’ll both have to find out just how caged I’ve been.” She offered him mysteriously as she took her drink, but spit right after as he mentioned the talents of her tongue.

Perhaps it was the alcohol getting to her, maybe she was a little tired, or maybe she was just truly letting loose here beside Maverick. She giggled uncontrollably and coughed up the liquor she had inhaled. She struggled to catch her breath for a moment before she moved on to her next assumption. "You’ve already thoroughly thought about all the compromising positions you want to show me.” She raised her brow as she tried to subtly catch her breath.

"Venom"

The ginger touch of Venom’s white-gloved paw resting atop his own brought a small smile of comfort to Maverick’s features. He appreciated her empathy and support, but those wounds had long since turned to scars, callouses on his heart that had remained impervious to all future advances of the fairer sex—all up until now, it seemed. They were unified in the shared pain of heartbreak, hers more fresh than his, but both equally devastating to the abandoned. Mav silently wondered how many nights Venom had stayed awake nursing her broken heart amidst tears and sobs. He would never admit to the pain he'd been left in when his lover had abandoned him out of the blue, how often he fell into a fitful sleep just in hopes that maybe when he woke up she'd be there again, only for fresh tears to fall when he found himself alone in the morning. It was all in the past, but gods damn, did the memories still hurt...

Fortunately, the pain didn't last long as those memories that felt like a lifetime ago were banished by Venom's sharp laugh at his next assumption of her. Her radiant smile, that flush of color across her cheeks, that had been the exact reaction he'd been hoping for! Maverick suddenly found himself wondering about the Empress' bedroom habits, both with him and with her ex-husband. There was an innate sort of male envy, wondering how he stacked up to her former lover. Maybe he'd have to ask her sometime, if this proved to be a frequent thing for the two of them to do together. After all, what male didn't enjoy having his ego—amongst other parts of himself—stroked by a drop dead sexy lady? Venom admitted that he was partially correct, and while Hattori had never made her unhappy with his performance, it had been a rare occurrence for the two to be intimate. Her remark about them finding out how caged she'd been intrigued him, the dire brute already imagining all the things Venom might be into if given a chance to explore herself. Still, he'd guessed partially right, so he'd take his partial victory and watch her drink. The comment about the dexterous talents of her serpent tongue put a stop to that, however, as Venom spit up the mead in shock.

"Whoa, sorry! Didn't mean to get you that good with that, Ven!" Maverick apologized with a rakish smile, gently rubbing his date's back with a large paw while she coughed up the inhaled liquor and caught her breath. "Ah! Doesn't count unless you swallow. Remember that, Ven," he teased her, the thinly veiled double entendre of his words bringing a sly grin to the renegade's face. Not missing a beat, Venom made the assumption that the vagabond brute had already thoroughly imagined all of the compromising positions he wanted to show and do to her. A sound crossed between a snort and a scoff left the dire and he rolled his eyes. "That was an obvious one," he remarked, but still took a good long drink anyway. She had technically guessed correct, even if it was low hanging fruit. Maverick set his half empty cup back down, watching the way the world began to sway gently around him. He was pushing well into the tipsy category now, feeling the effects of the alcohol and enjoying them immensely. It was a pleasant and warm sensation, and while it was becoming more difficult to keep playing their game, he wasn't drunk just yet.

"Of course I've thought about all the positions I wanna show you," Maverick admitted, shooting Venom a lecherous, crooked grin. "It's my favorite way to pass the time when you're not with me. Thinking about things I wanna do to you, Ven... it's loads of fun." Teal eyes gleamed with a lusty fire, chuckling while he leaned in closer to gently nuzzle the Empress' cheek and up just behind her ear, moving his muzzle slow along the edge of the delicate appendage. Just a little bit of teasing to remind his lady what prize awaited her at the end of their game. But right now, it was his turn to go again. "You've also had thoughts about me, about the positions you want to put me in, but also the positions you want me to put you in. You want to be the alpha in your bedroom, but you also want to be dominated too, just held down and loved silly from dusk til dawn til you can't walk or think straight." Mav decided to go for the double whammy with his assertions, shooting Venom a devilish grin as he added, "You're also looking forward to all the other things you can try with me, all the new parts of yourself you haven't gotten to play with much. You want me to do those things to you and you don't want me to hold anything back from you to try."

Maverick glanced up at the enormous castle surrounding them, then at the large wisteria they were lying beneath and a flair of naughtiness was added to his grin. "I bet you wouldn't do anything to stop me either if I tried to have my way with you right here, right now, in the garden." As if demonstrating his point, Maverick shifted to lean against her side more, curling his larger body around her supple, svelte frame while a powerful foreleg lifted to drape across her back, keeping Venom held tight to his body. A little bit of physical affection to get the blood flowing and the fire stoked. After all, teasing and playing with the Empress could only lead to more fun things for him in store this evening, and a much more satisfying release when they were both fully spent and done.

"Maverick"

Being together like this made moving past the heartache that much faster, but the now copious amount of alcohol she had was the driving factor. Forgetting was much easier, distracting herself with her wedding crashing date, was everything she needed to feel like she could move past the hurts done to her. Maverick as well. They didn’t have to be haunted tonight, this was for joy and celebration. For them and for the happy couple.

While they were skirting the edge of propriety already sneaking out here on their own, she hadn’t quite expected him to be quite so honest. Surprise took her and she spit her drink, and however apologetic Maverick’s words were she didn’t believe he was sorry at all. Not with that grin playing over his features and not about the double meaning behind his words as he encouraged her to take a replacement drink of her beverage.

"You are absolutely incorrigible.” As she teased him, Maverick turned around and voiced his disappointment in her question. She’d given her deepest observation, the liquor had a tighter hold of her than Mav. The Empress was quite inebriated, she just hadn't done the stand up test yet. She wasn’t going to have many deep dives into his psychology anymore tonight. "I didn't realize I’d made such an impression.” She did realize though, he might not have been fully drunk but he was completely honest with her. Pushing his boundaries as he went on.

He made her blush further as he nuzzled against her cheek and caressed up to her ear after she made up for her last drink. He whispered his next assertion there close to the sensitive skin, making it burn where his breath touched her. She turned red but mostly from the trust, she had thought about their time together, and everything they’d held back with because she was injured. He was right though, and while sober she might not have admitted. Then again he might not have asked unless they were this deep in the bottle.

But they were that deep in the bottle and he had asserted his assumption. The way he spoke sent shivers over her skin and heat followed after. "I may have…” She whispered back, but her inhibitions were leaving her, she wanted to be just as honest. Still, long held habits were hard to break and instead of verbally affirming every word he said, she took another long swig of the mead.

Maverick wasn’t done yet though, after he spared a glance at the castle he went on, inching closer he leaned heavily against her side as he warned her. Asserting that she would put up no real fight if he tried to take her here and now. He wrapped his arm along her back, holding her tightly to him. The heart he already stoked growing further, there was no one out here beyond them, if they were quiet no one would be any wiser to their naughty antics. Just contemplating the brazen recklessness excited the prim and proper empress.

"No, I don’t think I would,” There may have been some fight had Venom not wanted the feeling of him surrounding her. Sunset eyes lifted to his features, still taken aback by the look of adoration he wore when he looked at her. Like he hadn’t seen the gorgeous woman at the party, like he hadn’t always had his choice of a lady, like she was the only woman in the world. Her carefree smile remained on her features as she spoke, her final, and easiest guess. "You have every intention of ‘having your way with me.’” Her grin pulled back at the corners, "And I think you should.”

"Venom"

It was so easy to just exist this way with Venom, so much so that is still took Maverick by surprise when he realized how relaxed and open he had become playing this little game with her. How long had they been at it now? a few minutes or an hour? Time felt like it had no meaning when every second was spent in her company, each moment well worth it to see her smile, listen to her laugh, watch that adorable blush spread over her cheeks as he poked and teased at her repressed baser side of her personality, prodding it to come to the surface and show itself. Venom called him incorrigible and Mav simply rolled his shoulders in a casual shrug, the shameless grin on his face admitting his guilt to her claim but finding no remorse in any of his actions or words with the Empress. It was just too much fun playing with her like this in an innocuous and halfway wholesome way. Even if their game did involve sneaking away during a public event for a sordid rendezvous alone, drinking to the point of inebriation with sex on their minds, he was having fun with Venom. For her, he'd crash a thousand weddings just to spent the evening with her.

Venom made a passing remark about not realizing she'd made such an impression on him and Maverick raised an incredulous brow her way. Surely she had to know how much she had impressed upon him if he was traveling continents and crashing weddings just to be beside her. The fact that he couldn't have her to himself every night was torturous enough on its own, so he made do with the fantasies and memories of her in her absence. Still, Venom haunted his mind like a ghost, living within his thoughts and dreams like she'd always been there. "More than you realize," he quipped back. "There's scarcely a time you're not in my head one way or another." It seemed like perhaps her question had elicited a deeper response after all. Mav chuckled; touché, Venom... His question drew more of that lovely red color across her cheeks, and her whispered response revealed just how far gone her inhibitions were by this point. Maverick, who had scant few to begin with, was right there with her, ready and willing to say and do anything she asked of him.

The dire brute had half expected the svelte fae at his side to finally give some resistance to his advances when he suggested having his way with her right then and there in the gardens, but to his surprise, Venom seemed enticed by the idea. She confirmed that she likely would not resist him, earning an intrigued and eager grin and raise of his brows while he lost himself deep within those pools of liquid sunset. The heat within his belly flared and spread through his nerves, burning him from the inside out at the prospects of coupling with Venom beneath the wisteria arbor and summer sky, bathed in moonlight where any passerby could witness their scandalous union. She smiled at him, that happy and carefree smile that made his heart skip when he saw it on her gorgeous face, and Maverick knew he was about to come undone for her. Venom made her final assertion, guessing that he had every intention to have his way with her in the gardens—and urging him to do so with a grin.

Maverick gazed deep into Venom's eyes, his heart pounding with anticipation and a sly grin of his own spreading across his lips to match hers. Teal eyes smoldered with a lustful fire and carnal hunger while he raised his cup and emptied it of the last of his mead in one long gulp. Discarding the empty cup to the side with a careless toss, the white and navy sky-colored brute made his move, shifting to pull the coal and snow fae's body flush to his own with strong forelegs around her side while his muzzle moved down to claim her own in a deep and intensely passionate kiss. His lips crushed gently into hers, pressing into her with his weight to usher her to roll onto her back, moving if she relented to carefully rest his body above hers. He held her tight to him as if letting go would mean she might disappear forever, his tail lashing with anxious excitement across the grass while the vagabond's eyes drifted closed, giving himself up to his Empress and their desires.

Maverick had greatly enjoyed their game together, but now it was time to give Venom more of that loving she craved and needed—but he wasn't quite done playing with her yet. He would give her what she wanted, but first he was going to enjoy and savor her, and he was going to go at his own pace. Venom might be quite maddened by lust by the time he took her, but it would make that first moment of connection even more amazing and euphoric. Besides, they had all night to enjoy one another, and the brute was already planning on finding an empty bedroom for the two to spend the evening drunkenly enjoying one another until they passed out. The event might have been for the happy couple, but this was their night to enjoy together.

"Maverick"

The more sober part of her would never have indulged or suggested the path that their night was following now. Lying here in secret with him would be a massive scandal were someone to walk up on them now. Finding them in such a compromising position, not even taking into account where the night would go. Though Venom was being more coy about her expectations Maverick let the result of his nonchalant attitude rolled off his shrugged shoulders as they continued in hushed voices. She couldn’t have imagined being here with him like this, though even as he spoke about how frequently she was on his mind Venom felt the inverse was true. How much time was spent reminiscing the night he had saved her?

Mav lifted a brow at her comment, and corrected her. He hadn’t stopped thinking about her, and Venom tried to hide how the comment took her breath away. There was a part of her that yearned for him not to let her go, and his presence here was proof he had no intention of that. Those thoughts were quickly erased as the conversation went on and Venom drank the rest of her beverage in answer to his query. The look on his face when she gave his answer was priceless, and the honesty she shared with him was worth this moment. He hadn’t expected her to be quite so willing

She would have shown resistance if that was what he wanted from her though. Venom’s word was absolute, having that power taken away from her was enticing in ways her inebriated self couldn’t describe. As she quieted and brought her sunset gaze to Maverick’s teal eyes she didn’t miss the fiery spark lingering there. The speed of her pulse as he looked at her with a hunger mirrored in her core. Maverick didn’t hesitate to act, his massive frame shifted slightly so he could grab hold of her smaller form.

His mismatched paws brought her closer while his lips claimed the last bits of her attention. She moved on instinct as passion blinded her, and he pressed her back into the soft grass beneath the wisteria. Her slender arms wrapped around his neck as she returned the affection in his kiss, there was more to it than that though. Deep seeded need and desire pooled in her belly, and she knew he had to feel the same as he touched and held her, shifting so he overwhelmed her. Venom purred in delight as he moved slowly and deliberately, teasing her with his drawn out pace, but the Empress reveled in every moment. This wasn’t where she thought her night would go, but there wasn’t anywhere else she wanted to be but wrapped up in his arms under the moonlight.

"Venom"

Maverick reveled in the sounds he drew from Venom with his every action, her reactions sending spikes of hot lust spearing through his core. Every salacious purr and breathy sigh he pulled from those alabaster lips sent shivers running down his spine to settle between his legs as he pressed himself carefully down onto Venom, surrounding her body with his own and pushing her securely into the soft summer grasses beneath them. A deep, rumbling growl gave voice to his sweltering desire as he kissed her, parting her lips with his own to allow his tongue entry to her maw to find and dance with her own. He wanted to engulf himself in everything Venom was—her taste on his tongue, her scent in his nose, her fur against his skin and bodies pressed taut together. Not one care was given to their venue of choice for their carnal display. Maverick cared to maintain Venom's cover, but at this point intoxicated with lust and liquor he couldn't have given fewer fucks if the whole damn party heard or saw the coupling pair. Deep down, there was a part of him that was disappointed her ex-husband wasn't in attendance. It would have been such sweet revenge for him to love this magnificent fae good and proper and show him how a real man tended to and pleased his woman.

As Venom's lithe forelegs wrapped around his neck, Mav's own strong arms slid down her svelte sides to wrap around her waist, pulling her lower half firmly up against his own with a slow roll of his hips, grinding his passion into her soft belly fur with a deep groan. The two wolves moved on instinct, giving in to their baser desires for one another and feeding off the other's pleasure. It was a sensual dance as old as time, one that both wolves knew, yet to the vagabond felt like he was learning it all over again for the first time with her. Familiar motions felt intense and new with his lover, as if he were on ecstasy and every touch and sensation was heightened to nearly overwhelming levels. His whole body burned hot, his every nerve tingling and highly reactive to any and all stimulation he received. A perk of his inebriation, Maverick had never felt more relaxed and at ease, even as his body worked fervently to arouse both himself and Venom. Everything about this moment felt right; he was meant to be here with her, loving her, giving all of himself to her. Maybe it was the alcohol clouding his brain or the intense emotions he felt for her, but in his mind, every road led to Venom.

Venom relented control to him, and the vagabond was eager to seize dominance over the usually authoritative Empress, ready to use that control to bring Venom to peaks of euphoria the likes of which she'd never forget. Maverick pressed himself firmer to Venom, parting her thighs with a hind leg and settling himself between them until he felt their intimate flesh meet. That was when he broke their kiss, gasping from that first contact amidst heavy breaths and heated panting. Teal eyes flickered open behind heavy lids, grinning down at the reactions painted on his lover's visage. He wanted to watch the moment he brought them together. Maverick flexed one foreleg around Venom's waist, his other paw moving to brace himself against the ground as he rolled his hips into hers, teasing her with a slow grind of himself to where she needed him to be. He repeated these motions a few times, his grin widening with each one while he tormented her, waiting until she either whined or begged for more. He would not relent until she had. This was the final part of their game and he was going to bring Venom to places she hadn't been before, just as he'd promised her he would.

Once he got the reactions he desired, Maverick replied by planting a slow lick to the underside of the Empress' chin, then pressed his hips to hers until he slid home and joined their bodies as one. A deep, shuddering sigh of delight slipped from his lips, evolving into low grunts and groans as he built a rhythm of steady rolls of his hips, sliding their bodies together back and forth on the soft grass while he plunged them into the depths of an endless sea of pleasure, listening to Venom's sounds and reading her body language to navigate their lovemaking as he saw fit.

"Maverick"