𝕿SAR 𝔬𝔣 𝕾TORMS ༄ 𓆪

he tells himself there is no harm in being paraded as a cash cow. that there was very little he wouldn't do today to see himself in a house like this tomorrow; that at least in some ways he had been born with an upper hand: the male promise of mutual destruction if the gentleman's advance ever stepped beyond something fun. a luxury his mother never had with her sponsors. to be called out for it hardly registers harshly in his ears either. in fact, koschei purposely went out of his way to provoke the jealous remark, hadn't he? and he'd been called enough names to know zoya hardly means for it to sting in a way that wouldn't instigate his pleasure. or perhaps just his desire to bite back.

❛❛ smells more like old money to me. ❜❜ like these encasing rows of worn leather books, the candles that limn the shape of her, the old-growth mahagony that props the weight of him. and how easily that man was able to put out a hundred grand when he'd asked— like it was nothing. just a scratch on a paper. ❛❛ i don't think anything gets me harder, ❜❜ koschei taunts, eye to eye with her green envy and his needing to discern if money had been the object. or something else. by his accounting, it seemed zoya scored the higher donations throughout the night. yet evidently, she wouldn't let him catch her. or kiss her. or fuck her. for the time, all he was granted was her ire, a torturous drag of clothed bodies, and maybe a touch. his treads up the dark open plain of her thighs. with full palms, kneading and admiring, he can feel they were trained. too well for him to believe all her passion hadn't the time nor the space for anything but the orchestra. though he'd let her go on pretending, while he at least admits: ❛❛ — except you. ❜❜

❝ show me what you've been working on. ❞ @dvaurga

he is a few steps above amateur, at best — but shows promise and potential that he'll never reach. it's a haunting question: what regulus might have done and how far he might have gotten were he not thrown down a path he had little choice in taking. artist, athlete, simple man of leisure. ponderings for late nights and moments of unstable psyche.

regulus doesn't allow himself to ruminate on them for much long.

      observing the painting placidly,   an entrepreneur with entire command over her features.   betraying none of her true feelings about the convergence of paint coming together before him.   ❛   or perhaps mediocre…   you have a good sense of color but may i suggest playing with texture a bit more.   ❜   her finger makes an indentation into the oil paint leaving behind the telltale rings across that pad which were uniquely her own.   ❛   there,   now it’s as if you can feel the quality of the leaves through the canvas.   ❜   the thin drooping layers of the willow tree beginning to display an entirely different dimension.   

100 INDULGENT TROPES / Accepting

negotiations  were  a  different  sort  of  battle.  the  inevitable  disagreements  unfolding  as  a  controlled  exchange  of  blows  made  through  words  alone  where  neither  was  willing  to  yield  easily  when  their  respective  interests  and  those  of  their  countries  were  at  stake.  yet  each  concession  had,  eventually,  been  met  with  another  in  return  until  the  conversation  gradually  found  an  almost  unsettling  comfort  in  its  rhythm.  PERHAPS  THAT  SHOULD  HAVE  BEEN  WARNING  ENOUGH.  dragons  were  no  creatures  of  gentleness  or  simple  taming,  but  by  the  time  the  wolf  felt  her  hot  breath  at  his  throat,  it  was  already  far  too  late.

the  proposal  struck  with  impeccable  timing,  arriving  just  as  his  guard  had  lowered  to  leave  him  momentarily  speechless.  the  silence  filling  the  room  might  have  cracked  under  his  laughter  at  the  irony  (  the  crown’s  promise  of  choice  reduced  to  its  absence  and  obligation  ),  had  it  held  even  the  faintest  trace  of  amusement  for  the  stark.  instead,  it  is  meet  with  composed  seriousness  as  he  finally  speaks  ❝  I  understand  I  am  in  no  position  to  refuse  if  this  alliance  is  to  be  formed.  ❞  sounding  more  like  an  acceptance  rather  than  the  originally  intended  question.  for  if  every  previous  gain  stood  only  because  of  this  last  condition.  if  this  was  truly  the  first  step  toward  the  peace  he  had  come  seeking,  WHAT  OTHER  ALTERNATIVE  DOES  HE  REALLY  HAVE  BUT  TO  PAY  THE  PRICE  ?

      it was the highest honor to have the hand of an eldest son of a lord.   a formidable match as her mother often reminded her when she would begin her tirades.   her so-called girlish wishing to rule by her own merit rather than under the thumb of a man she had never met.   criticism came in the form of a stiff backhand to a tender cheek   (   there would be reasoning with the matriarch once her mind was made up   )   arriving in winterfell with a freshly healed cheek,   its overly pink hue seen as a simple reaction to the frigid climate.   before the council of his family she is resolute,   head-bowed,   and obedient.   ❛   i do this for the nabri name which i will relinquish to this union but not in my heart.   ❜   the latter half of the statement her minuscule rebellion.   she would be his by decree of the hand but not by the force which dictated her soul.   

SETTINGS.

[01.] finding privacy in a cramped dressing room.

[02.] cramming into the backseat of a car together.

[03.] slipping into the lonesome alleyway behind the bar for "time alone".

[04.] pulling them away from a party after hours of relentless teasing.

[05.] getting handsy under the table at a fancy dining establishment.

[06.] taking the long way home and pulling over on a dark stretch of road.

[07.] staying behind at the venue after everyone else has left.

[08.] the hotel room door barely clicks shut before hands are on them.

[09.] a tent in the middle of nowhere where no one can hear anything.

NEW TERRITORY.

[10.] finding yourself staring at their mouth and getting caught.

[11.] pulling back from a kiss to look at them, then immediately going back in.

[12.] memorizing the shape of them for the first time with your palms.

[13.] that exploratory first kiss, reserved and shy.

[14.] a gentle first kiss that morphs into intense want.

[15.] feeling the shape of their body through their clothes.

[16.] asking for permission to remove one of their garments.

[17.] finally succumbing to the thick tension & colliding feverishly.

[18.] fumbling with buttons or zippers because your hands won't stop shaking.

[19.] admitting out loud that you've been thinking about this for a while.

HEATING UP.

[20.] pulling them into your lap in the midst of a heated kiss.

[21.] discovering that they're wearing [ GEAR / LINGERIE ] under their clothes.

[22.] kissing away from their lips, down the length of their neck.

[23.] desperately grinding on them through layers of clothing.

[24.] dirty talking directly into their ear to turn them on even further.

[25.] pushing them onto a piece of furniture before straddling them.

[26.] lifting them onto the countertop while making out.

[27.] tugging their hair to expose more of their throat to your mouth.

[28.] the wrecked way they say your name for the first time.

[29.] fabric tearing because neither of you has the patience for buttons.

[30.] removing an obstacle of clothing with your teeth.

UNRAVELING.

[31.] biting down on their shoulder to muffle how good it feels.

[32.] the sound they make when you find the spot that undoes them.

[33.] begging without any trace of pride left and meaning every word.

[34.] their composure cracking for the first time, they finally stop holding back.

[35.] repeating "don't stop" like it's the only language left in their mouth.

[36.] leaving possessive marks in places only they'll see.

[37.] whispering "look at me" right before you take them apart.

[38.] trying to be quiet and failing, so they clamp a hand over your mouth.

[39.] flipping positions so fast neither of you remembers who initiated it.

[40.] their nails dragging down your back hard enough to sting later.

[41.] being told to open your mouth and doing it before the sentence is finished.

[42.] having your hands pinned above your head.

[43.] the desperate scramble to get closer when there is no closer to get.

COMING DOWN.

[44.] fingers lazily tracing the marks they just left on your skin.

[45.] pulling the blanket over both of you without being asked.

[46.] that silent, dazed smile when they catch your eye across the pillow.

[47.] the shaky laugh when neither of you can remember where your shirt is.

[48.] going to get water and bringing a glass back for them without asking.

[49.] lying chest to chest, feeling their heartbeat slow back down against yours.

[50.] the quiet "hey" that means something completely different now.

[51.] "come here" said softly — not urgently. just wanting them close again.