I'm not stalking you or anything

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"