hey lovely! I literally love “How could it be anyone but you” so much! And I was just wondering if you had like an estimation on when the next chapter will be? No rush or anything though! Again love your writing and story!
hi angel, thank you for your message! I'll be perfectly honest with you, I have no clue when the next chapter will be up. I haven't written a single word since the new year :(
I was trying to batch write some chapters to coincide with the new season of Bridgerton but I've been going through a lot personally and my attention span is shot. I really wanna get back into it though and I cannot tell you what good timing you have with this message. I was beginning to convince myself that no one would care if I abandoned this story, so thank you for reaching out. I know you're not trying to pressure me to write fast or anything, but really, the knowledge that people are waiting for more is the exact kind of good pressure that I need to get back into it. So thank you, and thank you for your kind words, I hope I have something to share with you soon <3
Here you go, lovely! It's from a pretty rough version of chapter 15, so who knows if it'll make it to the actual chapter, but I hope you enjoy regardless.
Happy October👻💟
Damen’s eyes dropped to Laurent’s neck, his clavicle bared to the night air, the beginnings of chest bone undecorated and revealed due to the recent removal of Torveld’s necklace. After a flash of hesitation, he pressed his mouth against Laurent’s thudding pulse.
“What are you doing?” Laurent breathed, his hand finding the back of Damen’s head as though it might balance him.
“Kissing you.” Damen chuckled, a hot fan of breath cascading down Laurent’s throat. Goose flesh climbed Laurent’s limbs at the sensation, the skin of his neck so very unaccustomed to being touched by anything more than shirt collars. Damen paused his ministrations, the tip of his nose the only point of contact. “Is that alright?”
Laurent nodded before he lost his mind to overthinking, his tongue heavy in his mouth. If Damen planned on waiting for verbal confirmation, they’d be there for much longer than either of them had. But the physical must have been enough, for the moment Laurent flexed his fingers where they rested in Damen’s soft curls of hair, lips met flesh once more.
“Walk me home,” Laurent said, speech coming back with uncontrollable force, words tumbling from his mouth. “I’ll give you a tour of Acquitart House.”
It was nonsensical, logistically impossible, but it made Damen huff in amusement. “I’ve been there before, you know.”
Then Damen lowered his head, placing his lips where the heaviest of Torveld’s sapphire stones had lain, teeth nudging the skin in a soft bite.
The party was far from over, Laurent knew. Abandoning it was not an option. Acquitart House might as well have been countries away rather than a single square. Prince Torveld was expecting him to return. Auguste was expecting him to be engaged by the end of the evening. Surely, Erasmus was awaiting Damen’s return, a dance, a heartfelt goodbye. Nicaise was - Nicaise was willing to distract.
“You haven’t been to my bed chambers.” Laurent’s breath hitched, stomach clenching as Damen sucked on the skin he’d bitten. Endless sleepless nights spent in that bed chamber sprung to Laurent’s mind; waking in a cold sweat, hard in his night pants and thinking of all the ways he ought to make Damen regret leaving him caught in a web of such unsatiated desire. He almost told Damen as much, had to bite hard on the tip of tongue to stop the words from slipping; let me show you the place I’ve dreamt of you.
"Don’t marry him. Don’t be with him. Be with me." but it's your regency au damen saying it to laurent
100% the vibe I'm going for !!! Literally could not stop the Conrad Fisher influence if I tried, my 12 year old self was too obsessed (and my adult self is not much better lol)
can I pls pretty pls get a snippet of the regency au ?? I’m getting period pains
Hi lovely ! I’m always happy to post a snippet, and since it’s taken me so long to get back to you, here’s an extra long one….
“Your card is empty,” Damen breathed, taking delicate hold of the dance card affixed to Laurent’s wrist.
Moving forward with the drawing closer of his card, Laurent tilted his head to meet Damen’s heavy gaze.
“I’m saving them for the prince,” Laurent said, harshness deep in his throat.
“Spare one for me.” Damen stepped closer, speaking as though they were still alone outside Acquitart’s front gates in the early hours of the day.
But they weren’t alone. Chances were they never would be again and that was for the best. Laurent shook his head, a tiny imperceptibility; he needed to find Auguste, needed to turn around and walk away. But when he hazarded a glance about the room his eyes found only Torveld, watching them from across the floor with a pinched line between the brows.
“Stop it,” Laurent demanded, shaking his arm from Damen’s grasp.
“I’m not doing anything.” Damen chuckled.
“You’ll ruin my proposal.”
“It’s true, then?” he asked, all humour wiped clean away. “He intends to take your hand?”
Laurent blinked, watching Damen studiously as Damen watched him back. It was the first time someone spoke the words the way Laurent’d always felt them. Grievous, like Damen knew that Laurent giving his hand was not cause for congratulations, but the severing of a limb.
There was no true response to an acknowledgment like that, so Laurent merely shrugged, trying to find a way to steer the conversation any other way, to find a way to avoid giving away how truly unwelcome -
“Brother,” Auguste said, coming up behind Damen’s shoulder; jolting them both, eyes darting away.
And that’s all for now 👐 Honestly, this fic has been giving me such a hard time lately and I stepped away from it it for a bit but going through the chapter to find something I wanted to share really made me miss working on it - so thank you for asking! It really means a lot, I hope you enjoyed and feel better soon <3
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