Horny Sideblog

yay yippee 🤍❤️

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“Whose eye are you trying to catch?” Grian asks, sidling up to Gem.

She can’t see his face behind the masquerade mask he’s wearing, but the fact he’s an entire head shorter than her and sounds exactly like Grian, she thinks it’s a safe bet to assume it’s him.

“I’m not — “ she starts, “ — nobody.”

Grian rakes his gaze from her head all the way to her toes and makes a noise, very much like he doesn’t believe her.

“If it’s who I think it is, he’s over there in the back corner being disgustingly antisocial.”

Gem’s stomach flips, her stare shifting, following the tilt of Grian’s head, but he’s not lying.

She hadn’t noticed him standing there, but it’s unmistakably Etho — his white hair bright against the darkness of his mask. The mask is similar to the one he usually wears, but there are tendrils climbing up around his eyes, like melted wax that’s defying gravity.

He’s staring right back at her and she finds herself losing her breath in a rush.

“It’s working,” Grian says with a laugh, clearly in response to her reaction. “You’ve definitely got his attention.”

Gem feels caught, unable to look away, and Etho lifts his chin, just the slightest bit, in acknowledgement.

He looks good — in a crisp shirt, a waistcoat that makes his shoulders look impossibly broad, slacks that are a little tighter than usual.

She blinks slowly at him, taking a sip from her flute of champagne, trying not to look as affected as she feels. But then his gaze drops, dragging down her body so slowly that it feels as though she’s being undressed right there in the middle of the ballroom.

“You two aren’t subtle,” Grian tells her and Gem glances away from Etho, ignoring the heat in her cheeks.

“There’s nothing to be subtle about.”

“Mhmm,” Grian replies, not looking sold. “Well, he’s coming over.”

Gem’s head snaps around to look, but Etho’s still standing where he was before, hasn’t moved an inch.

Grian laughs into his glass before taking a sip. “Like I said.”

“That doesn’t prove anything,” Gem argues, face twice as hot now.

“Okay, well don’t let him keep you up too late tonight, because we’re gonna finish work on the river tomorrow.”

“Since when?” she complains. The last thing she wants to do is work the day after a party.

“Since now ‘cause I know it’ll annoy you.”

She swats at him with her free hand, but Grian steps out of reach, a snort of laughter escaping him.

“I’ll message you in the morning. Bright and early,” he threatens and she offers him a dark look.

“Don’t.”

But instead of answering, he offers her a smile and wave as he starts to walk away, heading suspiciously in the direction of Mumbo. She wants to yell about how unsubtle he is, but knows better than to make a scene. She wouldn’t do that to Pearl.

Without a word, she finishes the last of her drink in two deep swallows and draws in a steadying breath as the alcohol buzzes through her body.

When she glances back over at Etho, he’s still watching, his hands tucked in his pockets, one shoulder leaning against the wall behind him — the epitome of casualness.

Carefully, she turns, giving him an unobstructed view of the open back of her dress. She’d spent hours making sure her curls fell just right and she can feel them tickling halfway down her spine. She knows without a doubt his eyes are glued to her, following her as she crosses the room in the direction of the exit.

She needs some air.

Though Gem doesn’t make it outside.

A hand catches her wrist when she’s just a few paces from freedom, the grip tight enough that she can’t break free.

“Leaving already?” Etho asks, and Gem likes the way he looms over her when he tugs her closer.

“Why do you care? Would you miss me?”

He glances down, undoubtedly staring down the front of her dress and heat licks up her spine.

“I want to show you something.”

When he meets her eyes again, she quirks an eyebrow at him, but he doesn’t offer anything more.

She waits, just a beat, to watch the uncertainty creep into his expression.

“It better be good,” she tells him, and his shoulders relax, but his grip on her doesn’t.

He glances left and right and then pulls her in the direction of the bookcase behind them.

“I’m not — ” she starts to argue, almost certain he’s about to do something inappropriate where anyone can see.

But then he reaches up, tugging at one of Pearl’s books, and there’s a familiar click. Gem stares at him, eyes brightening, unable to keep the smile off her face as a doorway reveals itself over Etho’s shoulder.

There’s a secret room.

Gem laughs, head tipping back as he drags her along behind him as he slips inside, the door shutting behind them with a thud that she feels in her bones.

He pulls down his mask and kisses her in the same movement — so smooth that it feels like he’s done it a thousand times before.

She makes a soft noise, hands weak when she tries her best to clutch at his waistcoat and keep him where he is.

He kisses her greedily, as though they didn’t spend last night together, or the night before, or the night before that. As though they didn’t wake up, entangled, in Gem’s bed. As though they didn’t spend the morning restlessly learning each other until she’d eventually kicked him out so she could wash up and get ready for the ball.

They’ve barely been apart for half a day, but she can feel his insistence in the way he grips her arm, the way he tucks his hand against the small of her back and keeps her pinned against his front.

“Etho,” she exhales against his mouth when he finally lets her up for air, and he kisses at her cheek, at her jaw, unstoppable.

“You look — ” he starts, but doesn’t finish the thought, instead drops his hand down to the hem of Gem’s dress that falls mid-thigh.

He’s insatiable and Gem feels a rush of power through her veins. She’s doing that to him.

“I picked it out for you,” she says breathlessly, and Etho’s hand slides up her leg, up and up and up.

He hesitates, drawing back just enough to be able to catch her gaze.

“Is that for me, too?” he asks and Gem presumes he means the fact that she’s not wearing any underwear. Something she's sure he knows as his fingers graze across her bare hip.

“I may have been thinking of you,” she agrees, slowly smiling, wanting to eat him whole.

Gem gasps when Etho turns her, so quickly that her head spins.

He presses up against her back, shoving her forward toward an alcove where there’s a bed set up.

“It’s not soundproof in here,” he warns at the same time that he flips up the skirt of her dress, pinning it with one hand, and Gem still lets out a desperate noise, already wet, already wanting.

He holds her like that, clearly looking his fill, and Gem finds herself widening her stance and arching her back just a little.

“Want me on the bed?” she asks, not looking behind, and Etho’s other hand trails up the inside of her thigh.

“Don’t move,” he orders, and Gem bites back a groan when his fingers nudge between her legs.

She rests her forearms flat on the wood in front of her, head hanging down when he immediately finds her clit.

He circles it slowly with his index and middle fingers before nudging at her opening with his thumb, and Gem’s not sure whether she wants to beg for mercy or ask for more.

“You’re a mess,” he grunts, working at her with an efficiency that has her toes curling in her shoes.

“That’s for you, too,” Gem exhales, forehead pressed to her forearm, and he works his thumb into her, easing her open so easily she wonders if they were made for each other.

She can hear the unsteadiness of his breathing, how he’s clearly not unaffected, and it makes her stomach flip. He wants her so badly, he can’t even wait for them to get home.

She wonders how long he’s been planning it — was it when he first saw Gem in the crowd? Was it a spur of the moment idea when he realized she was slipping outside? Or was it meticulously thought out before they even got to the party?

“Etho,” she begs, because she’s never once pretended to be a patient person.

Etho’s other hand shifts, sweeping her hair aside before she feels the heat of his mouth between her shoulder blades.

He’s kept his mask down to be able to feel her skin, and for a split second, she imagines getting to push him down, to ride his face and get his tongue on her, to shove him back out into the party with her mess still around his mouth. With the mask in place, no one would ever know.

She shuts her eyes, moaning, and Etho nudges forward, letting her feel that he’s already hard in his pants, just for her.

“Etho,” she repeats, and he finally seems to listen, his belt clinking as he tugs it open with one hand, the one between her legs never leaving.

She feels his knuckles on her thigh as he strokes himself and then his thumb slips out of her, making space for the blunt head of his cock.

“If I’d known it was this easy, I would’ve worn this dress sooner,” Gem says, though all the air rushes out of her lungs when Etho shoves forward without warning, forcing her open as he slides in deep.

He groans, almost too loud, one hand finding her hip to drag her backward onto him, pressing their bodies flush, as close as they can get.

Gem widens her stance, knees feeling weak as she struggles for breath, feeling too much, wanting him so badly it makes her chest ache.

His pace is unsteady as he starts to fuck her, and she feels his desperation in the short, sharp thrusts of his hips. She wonders if it’s the newness of their relationship that makes him so insatiable, or maybe he’s had it bottled up for years, watching her, waiting so patiently for the right moment.

“More,” she pleads, though she’s not sure she’ll survive it, but she’s ready to fall apart beneath him.

His free hand shifts, fingers getting back between her legs to nudge against her clit, and it gives her everything she needs.

She presses her mouth to her forearm, holding back the yell that threatens to escape when he pushes her through an orgasm that has no right to be as good as it is. With hardly any build-up, a frantic fumble midway through a party shouldn’t be enough for her.

But she’s tight around Etho, riding the high as far as it’ll take her.

“Gem,” Etho pants, voice tense, and she’s not sure how long he rocks into her, but she feels it when he starts to lose control.

His thrusts turn deeper, harder, and she wonders if the slapping of their bodies would be enough to give them away.

He clutches at her, moaning softly as he shoves fully inside and holds himself there, following her over the edge.

There’s sweat at the small of her back, at her temples, and she knows her face is flushed beyond saving.

She’s not sure how they’re going to slip back out into the party and act as though nothing has happened.

“That was — ” she starts, but can’t find the rest of her sentence.

After a moment, the warmth of Etho’s forehead presses to her back and she feels the shaking of his body before she hears his breathy laugh.

“I can’t believe we — ” He trails off into another laugh, and Gem exhales when he finally draws back, pulling out of her.

She’s a mess.

“I think I’m gonna have to sneak home,” she admits, finally lifting her head and starting to straighten, though Etho doesn’t help when he gets a hand on her ass. “To clean up,” she clarifies, turning to offer him an exasperated look.

“I’ll walk with you,” he insists, which shouldn’t be so sweet when he’s tucking himself away and fastening his pants again.

Gem watches him put himself back together, almost looking the same as before when he finally tugs his mask back up into place.

Meanwhile, Gem knows her hair is a mess, knows her makeup must be smudged, but she finds herself smoothing down her dress the best she can and offering Etho a crooked grin.

Despite everything, Gem doesn’t regret a thing.

“If we’re fast enough, maybe no one will notice,” she tells him, reaching for the door to open it the same way she'd seen Etho do earlier.

But before she can, there’s a click and the door slides open by itself.

Beside her, Etho grunts in surprise. In front of her, Grian and Mumbo blink at her — shocked, caught, knowing.

Grian’s the first to react, laughing so loudly that Gem wants to step forward and slap a hand over his mouth.

“Don’t,” she warns, even as Grian glances between them, seeming delighted to be proven right.

“I’ll keep your secret if you keep mine,” he offers and Gem reaches back, grabbing onto Etho’s arm and tugging him forward.

“Fine,” she agrees, already easing her way out and pulling Etho along with her. “But only because Pearl can’t know about this.”

“Pearl can’t know about what?” a voice asks, and Gem freezes, watching as Pearl heads toward them, long and lean and probably not as forgiving as Gem wants her to be.

Pearl’s gaze bounces between the four of them and then settles on the open door, her shoulders dropping in disappointment.

“I’m not even going to ask,” she says.

“Good,” Gem tells her, “because you won't like the answer.”