erica

22 | I dabble

[ricawritess]

The flowers looked especially beautiful in the gardens. You were determined to pick the perfect rose to add to your vase of flowers. The roses were planted near the gazebo so that its vines would entangle themselves in the structure. It was prettiest in the spring. The petals would fall, and you would sit yourself on the bench and read a book. On this day, the flowers were in perfect bloom, and you knew you would regret it if you didn't go out and take a look at them.

The prettiest arrangement decorated the gazebo. Yellows and pinks and oranges could be found near the front, but you walked around the back to find the red and white roses. As your eyes scanned the flowers, a beautiful dark red rose caught your attention. You knew it was the rose that would be added to your collection. Determined, you reached for the flower only to have a sharp thorn graze your arm. You gasped and quickly retreated your hand. Those thorns were always good at finding you, even when you couldn't find them.

"Princess, are you alright?"

He appeared from around a bush and glanced down at your arm. His eyes looked worried, but you simply nodded your head.

"Yes, I am. I was only trying to reach for that rose." You pointed to the flower.

He hummed in understanding. "You need to be careful of the thorns, Princess." His voice was calm. "I don't want to see your delicate skin scraped up."

He gently took hold of your arm and pulled a handkerchief from his coat pocket, using it to clean up the blood. Your heart beat quickly at his carefulness. His eyes were studying the wound, and you couldn't keep yourself from staring at his face. His brows were pinched, and his lips were pursed. You wondered what it would be like to kiss him.

"Why don't we get this wrapped up?" He suggested, but you quickly grabbed his arm before he could turn around. "Wait, could you help me pick that rose?"

He looked at the rose in question and smiled. "Of course, Princess." He removed the dagger from his hip and reached over to pluck the flower. Before handing it to you, he used the blade to remove each thorn from the stem. "A beautiful flower for a beautiful princess." He handed you the rose and you blushed, thanking him for his help and for the compliment.

He offered you his arm and you took it, both making your way to the medical wing to bandage your cut. He was gentle and didn't rush when he wrapped the wound, even using a healing ointment to quicken the recovery. He was quite literally your knight in shining armor.

"How does that feel?" He asked. You smiled. "Much better."

He looked at you with much tenderness and affection. You hoped he would stay with you a little longer, but he informed you of a meeting he needed to attend.

"Would you like me to escort you somewhere before I leave?"

You shook your head. "No, I'll be okay. I'm going to add my rose to my collection of flowers!"

He smiled and smelled the rose in your hand. "It will be the perfect addition to your bouquet." You blushed at his response.

When you parted ways, you held the rose tightly to your chest. Instead of heading to your bedchambers to add it to your flower vase, you brought it with you to the library so that it was close to you while you read. And to the dining hall, placed on your lap while you ate. And to your bed, rested next to your heart as you slept soundly.

[ricawritess]

warning: slightly suggestive material

He studied your face, vastly enthralled by the way your eyebrows pinched together when you were concentrating on something. He never realized how cute he found it until this moment. But he quickly pushed the feelings aside. You were helping him clean a wound along his lower rib—one that he had received by protecting you—and you thought it only best that you clean and bandage it as a way to thank him.

He cursed himself for loving the way your hands felt on his skin. It didn't help that you sat so close to him either. Your radiating beauty brought a warm flush to his face. And unlike some women, your beauty rooted itself in your heart. Now that he had gotten to know you, he thought you were the prettiest woman in the world.

When he was assigned this mission with you, he thought you were going to be a liability. He hated the idea of someone slowing him down or getting in his way. Unbeknownst to him, you were a very valuable asset. He hated himself for hating you at the start. He was impatient and snippy with you when you were only ever kind to him. All of it was evidence of how insecure he really felt, and he hated it. He would do anything to take it all back.

You sat quietly as you cleaned the wound, working as gently as you could to avoid hurting him. "Thank you for saving me back there," you said. "I'm sorry you were wounded like this."

He shook his head. "Things like this happen. None of it is your fault." He paused for a moment. "Thank you for helping me."

"It's the least I can do." You smiled.

He stared at you, mesmerized, and watched while you wrapped a bandage around his torso with delicate precision. Anything you touched turned to gold. He was proof of that.

"Did I wrap it too tight?" you asked.

"No, this is great," he replied. "Thank you."

When you finished wrapping, you glanced up at him, and he was already looking at you. His lips were parted like he was about to say something, but nothing came out of his mouth.

"What is it?" you murmured.

He looked down at your lips and then back at your eyes. "I don't know what it is, but I can't stop looking at you."

Without realizing it, you were both leaning closer to each other. He tilted his head to get better access to your lips and slowly ran a hand up your thigh. His lips brushed yours, and he paused to look for any signs of discomfort. When you didn't do anything, he pressed his lips to yours. The kiss was soft and sweet. He didn't realize how badly he wanted this until it happened.

The kiss turned desperate when you touched his skin, running your hands up his arms and on his shoulders. When he nipped your bottom lip, a quiet noise escaped the back of your throat. Your hands made way into his hair, and he couldn't stop himself from leaning on top of you. He gripped the plush skin along your waist and still needed to feel more of you. When he began to remove your shirt, a strange buzz came from his pocket. He stopped and cursed against your lips.

He sat up and pulled the pager out of his pocket, studying the message. "We need to meet at the bottom of the mountain at dawn," he said frustratingly.

You sat up on your elbows and nodded your head. You were still dazed from the kiss.

He sighed. "We should go to bed. There's only a few hours until sunrise."

It took everything in him not to resume the heated moment you both shared together, but he knew it was stupid. Especially when you both had a mission to complete. He hoped to keep you off his mind long enough to get some sleep, but unfortunately for him, that wasn't the case.

[ricawritess]

His hands were strong and thick. You loved the way they looked next to yours. You wouldn't consider your hands necessarily small, but they were compared to his, and you felt greatly protected by them.

His hands were one of the first things that caught your attention when you started dating. Perhaps for reasons that weren't appropriate in the beginning, but eventually you grew to love them because they belonged to him. Whenever he lovingly brushed a strand of hair away from your face or rested his hands on your hips, you felt safe knowing they were hands that loved you.

You loved whenever his hands went to work. Whether it was changing the oil in your car or chopping vegetables for dinner, his hands took manliness to a whole new level. You couldn't wait for his returns from the gym, veins bulging out of his hands and all the way up his arms from the heavy lifting. You were practically drooling. Sometimes you would make him carry the groceries just to see them pop. You wanted his veiny hands on you instantly.

Nothing compared to the way his hands felt when you were intimate with each other. The way he would run his hands up and down your sides while kissing you or when he would grab a fistful of your hair and tilt your head back to kiss your neck, he touched you like you were sculpted by Michelangelo himself. And you thanked the Lord every day that those hands ended up entwined with yours.

[ricawritess]

warnings: slightly suggestive material & angst

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The cabin was silent besides the crackling embers of the fire. Aaron was seated near the fireplace, using the light to help him clean his sword. There were many things Claire wanted to say to him, but she didn’t want to interrupt the peace. They traveled for hours, but nightfall came sooner than they thought. To their relief, Ablewood accommodated travelers who passed through. 

Aaron sighed, placing his sword back in its sheath and setting it upright against the fireplace. He stood and glanced at the fire, seeming to gather his thoughts. When he turned to face Claire, she took note of his melancholic demeanor.

“Let me make your bed.” He walked to the basket of blankets near the bed, but halted when Claire spoke.

“I’m not sleeping there.”

He looked at her, confused, but she refused to look at him. “What do you mean?” He asked.

Claire’s heartbeat picked up as Aaron took a step closer to her. When she looked at him, her heart ached at the thought of never seeing his handsome face again. She quickly looked away, trying not to think about it. “You need to be well rested to safely escort me to Sunhaven. I will sleep on the floor near the fire. I’m awfully cold anyways.”

Aaron took a deep breath and shook his head. “I would never let you sleep on the floor.” He grabbed a blanket from the basket and unfolded it onto the bed. “Besides, what would the King think if he found out his daughter was sleeping on a dusty cabin floor while his Captain of the Guard slept soundly in the bed?”

Claire watched as Aaron carefully fluffed the pillows, making the bed as comfortable as he could for her. Tears began to prick her eyes. “I don’t want you to sleep on the floor.”

He noticed her voice quiver when she spoke and stopped what he was doing. Despite seeing her face, he knew that she was crying. He walked over to her and gently pushed the hair out of her face so he could see her. He knew why she was upset, and hated to see her this way. Especially when it had to do with him.

Strong hands wrapped around her figure and pulled her into his chest. Claire quickly wrapped her arms around his neck and sobbed. “You’re going to leave me and fight in this stupid war, and I’m never going to see you again,” she cried. “And I’m going to be miserable for the rest of my life.”

Guilt washed over Aaron as her words sank in. He knew the consequences of growing close with the Princess he was ordered to protect. Since the day he met her, he knew he was going to fall for her. What he didn’t know was that she was going to fall for him too. He tightened his hold around her, wishing he could take all of her pain away.

Claire cried until Aaron’s tunic was soaked with her tears. When she started to calm down, he gently ran his fingers through her hair. “I’m going to fight for you, Claire,” he reassured. “I’m going to win this war for you.”

“But I need you here with me,” she muffled into his chest. “Who will protect me while you’re gone?”

“Claire, look at me.”

She tilted her head up towards him. And although her face was a mess from crying, Aaron still looked at her with great fondness. He gently removed the hair stuck to her cheeks and wiped away her tears. 

“I will come back for you,” he said with much confidence, despite knowing if it was really true. 

Claire nodded, and even though she didn’t know if his statement was true, she felt relieved to know that he would try for her.

“Sleep in the bed with me,” she murmured. “Please?”

For the first time, Aaron didn’t care about his strict responsibilities as the King’s Captain. The most important thing to him was taking care of the Princess. She needed him, and he needed to be there for her. Even if it meant sharing a bed.

He nodded at her request, and she turned around so that he could untie the corset of her dress. Aaron gently loosened the lace, and Claire’s heart fluttered at his carefulness. He always treated her respectfully; It’s one of the reasons she fell in love with him. When he helped her remove the dress, she draped it over a chair to keep the fabric from wrinkling. Claire climbed into the bed wearing nothing but her undergarments and watched as Aaron removed his tunic and entered the bed with her. She had seen him shirtless before and was never disappointed at the sight.

She curled into his chest and traced the muscles along his arm. Aaron watched as she carefully outlined his shoulder and collarbone, and he silently prayed he could stay like this with her forever. She kissed his chest and then his shoulder and Aaron forgot how to breathe. When she slowly began kissing up his neck, he didn’t know how much longer he could control himself. They had never touched each other like this before, but it didn’t feel foreign. Despite never discussing how they truly felt about each other, it was no question they shared the same feelings. He squeezed her hips and pulled her closer to him and she stopped her kisses to look at his face. Her eyes pleaded for something more, like she was desperate for him. Heat pooled through his entire body, and he glanced down at her lips. When she parted them, it was all the invitation he needed before closing the distance between them.

The kiss was soft and passionate. Aaron ran his hands up her sides before pushing her onto her back so that he was on top of her. When Claire dragged her hands along his chest and into his hair, he made a deep sound and kissed her hungrily. He touched her skin and ran kisses along her neck, nipping and biting wherever he could. She helped him remove her undergarments, and he kissed her body like it was the most sacred thing in the world. 

Claire knew it was wrong to be tangled in bed with the man ordered to protect her, but she didn’t know if this would be the last moment they had together. She needed to feel him. To touch him. To hear him. And she clung onto him like she would lose him tomorrow. When he made her feel things she had never felt before, she knew she would never regret this moment with him. She would remember this night forever.