#babblingcandle

TITLE: Unzipped 

WORD COUNT: 3,027

PAIRING: Grintson

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY CILLA!! I KNOW I'M THE ACTUAL FUCKING WORST, BUT I LOVE YOUUUUU AND YOU HAVE TO ACCEPT MY FLAWS!! HOPE YOU ENJOY XOXO <3333

It had been over a month since the last time she’d seen him.

  University and a barrage of new projects had monopolized their schedules as of late, but Rupert had finally gotten time off from rehearsals, and she a much deserved break from finals. Which was how she had ended up at this party, waiting for him to arrive while she endured the tedious talk of people she’d never met before going on about their various projects as well as their less than subtle hints at enticing her support.

  She downed her third drink a little faster as she tried her best to remember why she’d thought their reunion should be at the afterparty for Bonnie’s opening night of her new play, when she heard her name being called from the other side of the room.

  Turning to see who it was, she began to smile when she saw the guest of honor herself…

  With her arm slung over none other than Rupert.

  The smile on her face froze as her heart lurched at the sight of him in a smart grey suit, that familiar mop of ginger hair typically ruffled. Her fingers itched to run through those locks, the weeks that she’d gone without doing so fueling the unholy temptation to run towards him and drag him to some dark corner and have her way with him immediately.

  When they finally made their way through the crowd, Emma could barely focus on anything other than the way he was looking at her, the appreciative glint more than obvious as he gave her a deliberate and thorough once over.

  His gaze felt like a palpable caress, and she suddenly remembered (with a bit of satisfaction) why she wanted his first look of her after such a long time to be in this dress.

  “Look who I found!” Bonnie said cheerfully as she pulled Rupert in closer, unaware of how his increasing proximity was directly affecting Emma’s ability to breathe properly. “Caught him near the entrance looking quite intently for someone, although he won’t tell me who.” She laughed and Emma wished desperately that her empty glass was filled with something she could sip on to hide her sudden blush.

  Increasingly aware that she was unable to untie her tongue long enough to contribute to any of the small talk Bonnie was keeping up while Rupert was standing so close to her, it was with no small amount of relief when someone caught her eye and she made her excuses.

  “I can leave him with you, right Ems?” she asked jokingly, and it was all Emma could do to nod dumbly as the other girl gave a little wave and one last grin before disappearing into the crowd.

  It seemed to take her an eternity to meet Rupert’s gaze, but when she finally did, she was rewarded with an affectionate and amused look.

  “Very smooth,” he said teasingly, effectively breaking the tension as she let out a relieved laugh.

  “Oh shut up, you know I’m no good at this whole secrecy thing,” she groused good-naturedly. He smiled at that.

  “I know.”

  Before she could respond, he leaned in to gently cup her elbow as he pressed a chaste kiss to her cheek. The retort died on her lips as her whole body sighed into him, every cell seemingly craving his touch. Five weeks was a wholly unacceptable length of time to be apart, she thought regretfully.

  She felt his warm breath against her jaw as he moved to whisper in her ear.

  “You look amazing, by the way,” he added in such a genuinely admiring tone that she felt a fresh wave of heat warm her entire body. She couldn’t help but feel grateful for the noisy crowd in covering the furious beating of her heart.

  Pulling away just enough to look at him up through her lashes, she gave him a coy smile, deciding right then to toss caution aside in favor of her other, more… pressing needs. She was only human after all, and that grey suit…

  “I don’t think you can fully appreciate this dress in this lighting,” she said offhandedly, gesturing towards the dimmed lights overhead before leaning up to speak directly into his ear. “Let’s go somewhere else.”

  His grip tightened around her elbow, and she couldn’t help the satisfied curve of her lips when she heard his breathing become ragged. Needing no further invitation than that, he began walking towards the back, guiding her with impatient hand at her lower back.

  Rupert pulled her into a darkened room in the back, and she heard the strangely thrilling click of the lock before he flipped the lights on, the muted sounds of the party outside making her feel as if they were alone somewhere far away.

  It took his eyes a moment to adjust to the sudden brightness, but when they finally did…

  She wasn’t kidding when she said he couldn’t have appreciated this dress in that lighting. His eyes roamed all over the form-fitting silhouette, a powerful urge to reacquaint himself with the skin that lay beneath making his fingers itch with anticipation.

  For her part, Emma couldn’t keep her eyes off the impeccable line of his suit, torn between immense pleasure at the sight of it, and a little bit of confusion since strict formal wear wasn’t usually what he’d choose. Her lips quirked up into a small grin at the realization of why.

  “You dressed up for me,” she said slyly, a mischievous grin taking over her face as she reached out to caress the fine material of his lapels.

  “Yeah, well it looks like you definitely surpassed me in that respect,” he murmured against her lips as he let his hands slowly circle her waist, fingers spread wide to encompass the deliciously rough texture of her dress. She leaned away just out of reach from his descending mouth, laughing lightly.

  “Not at all,” she said teasingly, fingering the knot of his silk tie. “You had to go through all the trouble of buttoning up all these layers, whereas I just had to slip into this one… little… thing.” She punctuated each word with a kiss along his jaw, and when her arms slowly wrapped around his neck to haul herself up against him, Rupert was suddenly keenly aware of the feel of her breasts pressed against his chest.

  He couldn’t help the groan that escaped him when he realized she really had only put on one thing.

  Pulling her even closer, he kissed her fiercely, his whole body clenching at the one thought that was now clouding his entire mind. He broke away after a minute, breathing heavily as he asked her, just to be sure.

  “Are you telling me,” he said with not a little bit of difficulty past his shaky voice, “that you’re completely naked under this?” Her grin was answer enough, and he buried his face in her neck, all the frustration of the past five weeks without her spilling out in a wave of scattered oaths against the base of her neck.

  “Let’s get out of here,” he moaned impatiently, any effort he had put into the pretense of actually attending this party for any other reason than Emma’s presence sufficiently spent.

  She wasn’t sure if it was the parade of drinks she’d had earlier, or the raw need she heard in his voice that perfectly reflected her own, but she was fast approaching the point of demanding they get on with it right now. He began nuzzling her upper jaw just as she was about to ask him whose place was closest, when she suddenly felt him nip the edge of her earlobe, sucking it between his lips a moment later to lave it with his tongue.

  Her entire body shuddered at the sensation, the heat it unleashed making its way directly to the very center of her.

  Oh, fuck it, she thought recklessly, pulling and grasping at him until she felt the nearby table hit the side of her hip. She couldn’t wait any longer.

  Reaching haphazardly for his belt, Emma had it halfway undone by the time Rupert finally seemed to realize what she was doing. He grabbed her hands, eyes wide with surprise.

  “What, right here?” he asked incredulously. She nodded enthusiastically, anxious for that mouth of his to be on her as soon as possible.

  “Why not? The door’s locked. It’s fine.” He looked at her as if he’d never seen her before, and it might have alarmed her if a huge smile hadn’t then taken over his entire expression.

  Before she could say anything else, he turned her around in a rush of movement that caught her off guard, bending her slightly over the edge of the table. He stepped forward, pressing the entire length of his body up against the back of hers, and she let out a gasp when she felt just how hard he was for her already.

  “Did you miss me?” he whispered into her ear, and she exhaled slowly, the sharp longing receding into a warmth that simmered hotly beneath her skin.

  “Yes.”

  He made a content little sound in the back of his throat at her answer, and her hands pressed harder down onto the wooden surface. She felt him reach out and wrap his long fingers around her wrist, caging them like manacles until he released them to trace the length of her arms, curving his palms up over her shoulders and down her sides. His thumb grazed the edge of her breast and she sucked in a sharp breath at the electric contact. The memory of his touch on her bare skin made her insides twist almost painfully, and she couldn’t hold back the slight shiver that went down her spine.

  His hands went over every inch of her, leaving no area unexplored to his fingers as he stroked her firmly through the thick fabric. He could feel himself quickly losing what little patience he had left when all he could think about was how this dress was the only barrier between him and her bare skin.

  Emma must have felt the same, because she reached behind to grab one of his wandering hands, dragging it across the back of her thigh until placing it over the exposed zipper.

  “Unzip me,” she commanded in a raspy whisper, the magnitude of her desire causing her throat to feel dry and rough.

  He let his forehead rest at the back of her neck, his hot breath fanning down the length of her exposed back as he looked down the inviting trail of the metallic fastening. He slowly moved down, pressing kisses all along her spine until he was on his knees behind her, and Emma let out an eager whimper. She felt him grasp the end of the zipper, pulling it up at a torturously slow pace in what was an extremely effective attempt to drive her insane, when suddenly they both jerked to attention at the sound of a loud ringtone.

  Emma looked over at the clutch she had tossed aside when they’d first come into the room and she gritted her teeth against letting out a frustrated scream.

  “For fuck’s sake!” she hissed in annoyance, and Rupert couldn’t help but shake with silent laughter as she fumbled to shut it off. Pressing ignore without even looking at the caller ID, she let out a deep sigh and turned slightly to give him an apologetic look.

  “Don’t you want to at least see who it is?” he asked mildly, secretly enjoying how frustrated and on edge she was due to him.

  “No,” she stated emphatically, the impact of her firm expression ruined somewhat when the ringer went off again. At her exasperated groan, he let out a loud laugh.

  “Just answer it, they won’t stop until you do. It might be important.” He heard her grumble underneath her breath something to the effect of nothing could possibly be more urgent, making him grin like an idiot.

  With an irritated sigh, Emma grabbed the phone and answered it with a brusque, “What?”

  “Whoa, you sound cranky. Am I in trouble?” The familiar voice of her best friend on the other end made Emma pinch the bridge of her nose in an effort to calm down. Not that it was an easy task when Rupert persisted in stroking her ankle and lower calf.

  “No, of course not. I’m sorry, Sophie, I’m just a bit—”

  Her voice broke off suddenly when she felt Rupert’s palm slide up her inner thigh, the rough callus of his hand creating a delectable friction against the sensitive flesh that made her hair stand on end.

  “—preoccupied,” she choked out after a moment. She heard Rupert chuckling to the side and was extremely tempted to kick him, but he started gently dragging his nails down the length of her leg and any and all thoughts promptly emptied from her head.

  “You okay, Ems? You sound a bit hoarse.” Emma bit down on her lip to keep from making any incriminating sounds, and answered only after holding the phone away and letting out an unsteady breath.

  “Yeah, I’m fine. I just… can I call you back in a bit?”

  “Why? Are you okay? You sound like you’re getting a cold. I told you to bring that wrap tonight, but nooo, it would’ve ‘detracted from the integrity of the dress’ and blah blah.”

  Praying for an end to this conversation before Sophie’s spider senses kicked in and blew her whole cover, she went with the appeasement route since Rupert made no indication that he was stopping his agonizingly slow exploration up her skirt.

  “You’re right. Next time I promise I’ll listen to you, now I gotta g—”

  “Oh! That reminds me!” Sophie interrupted excitedly, and Emma seriously considered crying off with bad reception before she could get any further into this. “Did Rupert ever show up?”

  Some strange combination of incredulous laughter and frustrated groaning bubbled up in Emma’s throat, and she wasn’t exactly how either Rupert or Sophie interpreted it when it burst from her lips. All she knew was that her priorities were suddenly perfectly clear and she was done dancing around the issue.

  “Yes, Sophie, he came, and if you don’t mind, I’ll call you back when I finish doing the same.” There was a second of shocked silence and ensuing realization, and Emma heard the beginning of her friend’s scandalized screech before hitting the end button with a pleased smile.

  Rupert couldn’t hold back the laughter that he’d been successfully holding in throughout the conversation then, that send-off being just too much, even for him.

  He stood up and pressed an affectionate kiss at the juncture between her neck and shoulder. “God, I’ve missed you.”

  She smiled at that, twining her arm up around his neck to pull him down until she could reach to give him a kiss. Though it started as something playful and affectionate, it quickly morphed into a deep push and pull that made her rock her hips back into him rhythmically in time with the thrust of his tongue.

  Emma could feel the heat coming off of him in waves, the familiar scent of his shampoo driving her crazy with memories of hot showers… fragrant steam circling around their slick bodies…

  “Hurry,” she begged him, unable to endure his heady proximity while feeling so painfully aware of how empty she felt.

  The sound of her zipper coming undone as well as his seemed to echo loudly in her ears, thoroughly convincing her that from this moment on she’d never think of anything else other than this moment when she heard that soft, metallic swish.

  He parted the folds of her dress, and reached around to cup her, nearly brought to his knees with the evidence that she really was completely naked underneath. He tested her entrance, groaning when he felt just how ready she was for him.

  “Fuck,” he rasped out faintly. “You’re so wet.”

  She cried out when he slid into her with one strong plunge, and then there was no more talking.

  The sensation of being practically fully clothed during such an intimate act made Emma’s breathing hitch unevenly, the rustling of the material between them only emphasizing her awareness of every deliberate movement, every slight brush.

  They didn’t move in perfect rhythm, but rather an impatient back and forth borne of the messy tangle of long overdue hunger being satiated, and the desperate clinging to something they were trying so hard not to lose again. Both of them were too nomadic to take this for granted; too caught up in the bustle of their strange lives to not savor the overwhelming sense of peace at coming home.

  Rupert began panting heavily on her neck, and Emma could feel the urgency in his movements, the tightening of his grip on her waist as his fingers dug deeper into the pliant curves. She let her head fall back onto his shoulder, rocking frantically back as she tried to catch up. She felt him seize up with his release, and she instinctively clenched around him. Just a bit more, she pleaded internally. Just a little longer. She was so close, so close—  

  “Emma.”

  He said her name like a benediction—a whisper of a prayer that made her feel like some kind of goddess worthy of such reverence. It sounded like a sacred avowal, something precious and eternal.

  He said it again after a moment, and if the way he said it before made her feel as if she resided in the clouds, this guttural version, said with such heat and lustiness, brought her crashing back down to earth; aware of the purely physical pleasure unfurling deep in the very center of herself.

  She came in a blistering wave of heat that extended to every part of her body as her mind exploded with the fiercely acute sense of wonder that her heart and body and mind could be so in sync with one thought. One desire. One need.