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Post by Riley Neves on Aug 2, 2009 1:41:14 GMT -5
Riley sighed, though it was soft and content, and her eyes opened briefly, just catching a glimpse of him.
For a moment, everything seemed out of place, and she felt like she had just taken a step away from her body and was just watching them. It felt like a dream. This realization filled her with a sudden terror, and she almost pressed forward to kiss him with a real urgency, just to make sure it wasn't a dream, when he threaded his fingers through her hair. If she could feel him, she knew he was real. Merlin, how long was this going to last?
Stilling her nerves, she smiled, absorbed in the feeling of his lips on her jaw. "We can skip straight to dessert, then."
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Aug 2, 2009 16:35:47 GMT -5
His body pressed against hers, and he felt the quickening of her heart, but he didn't associate it with panic. After all, his hands and lips were touching her in ways that generally her heart to beat faster anyway. His lips had traveled up to her ear by now and he nibbled lightly on the tender flesh of her earlobe.
But when she spoke, he heard just the slightest tremor in her voice, and he opened his eyes to look at her. "Are you OK, sweetheart?" he said softly. "We can wait, if you're not up for this right now."
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Post by Riley Neves on Aug 2, 2009 16:56:48 GMT -5
How did he do that? Riley really didn't think she was that transparent. But somehow, Roland just always knew.
Riley met his eyes. She was quiet for a moment, very sorely tempted to just tell him what was going on. It was a small speech she had actually rehearsed. But she was happy with this moment between them, and she didn't want to ruin it, so she shook her head. "I'm fine. I just want you," she tried to assure him with a smile. To emphasize her point, she leaned forward and kissed him again. One day, if this didn't all go away... she would tell him.
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Aug 2, 2009 17:08:29 GMT -5
He cupped her cheek with his hand, allowing his thumb to lightly caress her cheekbone. "If you're sure," he said, his expression filled with tenderness. "As much as I want you right now, I don't want to do this if you're not into it just now. We could wait until after dinner, if you're hungry."
He would have been very surprised and very worried if she told him what was going on in her head at that moment. He had, somewhat foolishly, thought that the blurring of reality would have ended once he came back home and was back in the "real" world with her, and it would have disturbed him greatly to know that it had not.
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Post by Riley Neves on Aug 2, 2009 17:28:25 GMT -5
Riley gave him an exaggerated sigh. "Stop trying to take care of me," she told him. "You know me well enough by now to know that I'd stop you if I wasn't into this. Dinner can wait."
She was as bad as he was about eating, and they both knew it. Honestly, it was absolutely nothing she was willing to tell him right now. Eventually, the feeling was going to go away and she would be able to go back to being normal. She was just worried right now, because she knew if he kept pushing, she would confess her fears to him, and it would be needlessly worrying him. She could get over this without making him stress.
"Can you just kiss me now?"
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Aug 2, 2009 17:36:37 GMT -5
He smiled his crooked grin, then moved closer to her, so that their lips were almost--but not quite--touching. "You don't have to ask me twice," he said softly.
He pressed his lips against hers and kissed her, slowly at first, then gradually deepened the kiss. He moved his hand behind her neck, while the other hand braced against the arm of the couch. Slowly he eased them back on the couch while he let himself get lost in her.
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Post by Riley Neves on Aug 2, 2009 21:52:42 GMT -5
Riley was able to get lost in him, too, and she sighed as he lowered her back to the couch. She had come a long way being comfortable with him from that first time they had been together. Her hands found his body automatically now. It wasn't a shy, forced thing for her anymore.
While it was probably his fault (though she would never look at it that way) that she was still sort of messed up, he was also the only one who could make her feel like everything was right, too. How could she ever blame him for anything if she felt so safe in his arms?
Later, when they finished, Riley kept her eyes closed for a few moments, just holding Roland to her, committing to memory the way their bodies felt together and the way he enveloped her senses.
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Aug 2, 2009 22:09:23 GMT -5
There were always a few minutes, just after, when it felt as though they were suspended in mid-air, floating gently down to earth like feathers. During those moments, they usually didn't speak, they just held onto each other, placing a few lazy kisses here and there while their breathing slowly returned to normal. He loved these moments, lived for them. It felt like they were the only two people on earth, and he never wanted to let go of her.
Finally, he smiled against her lips and opened his eyes to look at her. Merlin, she was so beautiful. The blissful look on her face took his breath away. "You know," he said softly, "I always did prefer dessert to dinner."
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Post by Riley Neves on Aug 2, 2009 22:25:47 GMT -5
When Roland said this, Riley chuckled lightly. "I figured you to be that type," she teased him, a twinkle in her eye. "I love you so much," she added, always feeling so close to him and so wrapped up in him in these moments, both physically and emotionally.
"Did you notice that Phoenix didn't bother us at all?" In fact, the puppy was nowhere to be seen. He'd taken to sleeping at the foot of Riley's bed, and she assumed that's where he was now. She liked to think that he just sensed they needed a moment and left them alone.
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Aug 2, 2009 22:41:04 GMT -5
Roland chuckled lightly and brushed a few stray hairs from her face. "I think he's getting used to this," he said. "I mean, we certainly do it often enough, and he's a smart dog. I'm sure he sees us getting started and thinks to himself, 'oh, here they go again, I'm getting out of here.' Or whatever the equivalent is in dog language."
His eyes were playful as he reached up and pulled a blanket off of the back of the sofa, then wrapped it around both of them. "I don't know about you, but I might have worked up an appetite. I can go heat up our dinner, if you want."
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Post by Riley Neves on Aug 2, 2009 22:50:46 GMT -5
"Only if I get to keep the blanket," Riley replied, wiggling her eyebrows playfully and noting the hastily thrown pile of clothes on the floor.
"I might be hungry." Maybe she was lying. She wasn't sure, but she did know she had to eat. She was eating for two, after all. Leaning up, she kissed him again, smiling as their lips pressed together.
"Speaking of languages..." Riley said, not really pushing him to get up, but she'd let him if he wanted to heat up dinner. "I want to teach you some Portuguese. If you want to learn, that is."
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Aug 2, 2009 23:01:21 GMT -5
Roland laughed. "You can keep the blanket," he said, winking. But he made no move to get up, especially as she pressed her lips to his again. He thought contentedly to himself that he would be perfectly satisfied to do nothing but kiss her all day long. Her lips felt like heaven and her arms felt like home. What more could he possibly need?
"I would love to learn Portugese," he replied. "Starting with a translation of what you said to me that last day at the safe house."
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Post by Riley Neves on Aug 2, 2009 23:07:59 GMT -5
Riley shook her head at that, a little impressed that he remembered she had said anything to him at all. That last day had been hard. Well, she thought it had hard, but it was long and emotional for her. Maybe it had been a little easier on Roland... but nerve wracking for both of them all the same.
"No, you don't get to know what that meant, yet," she told him, the smile on her lips faded a little. She was worried that if she told him she had basically promised to marry him, that he would never stop asking. And right now, Riley didn't know when she would say yes. She wanted to wait until things settled down, until the baby was born, until they were back on track at work... there were just too many things in the way right now.
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Aug 2, 2009 23:26:49 GMT -5
Roland pouted, but his eyes were still playful. "Oh, come on, just a hint? If I knew how to spell any of the words you said, I'd look it up. The only word I could make out was 'promise' and you can't just go making promises to me in Portugese, knowing I won't understand."
He kissed her again, just enjoying the taste of her lips. What she didn't understand was that he had run the words over and over in his head, trying to figure them out, during the hours she had slept that day. Her native language was part of that elusive, mysterious part of her that he could see, but still couldn't quite hold onto. That was why the offer to teach him touched him so, more than he was letting on. He was still afraid that if he let her know how much it meant to him, it would scare her off.
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Post by Riley Neves on Aug 2, 2009 23:34:03 GMT -5
"Why are you so adamant about wanting to know what that meant? I've said other things to you that you haven't tried to figure out." She smiled, unable to stop herself from kissing him when he pouted. Was he purposely drawing her attention to his lips? He still tasted like spices to her, and she relished the taste. She liked the way it stayed on her own lips for a while, and she could taste him even long after a kiss had ended.
She would have actually found it rather endearing that he wanted to know that part of her. He already knew more than most people, because hardly anyone knew she was multilingual anyway. But she wanted to share it with him, and she just hoped he didn't think it was silly or anything.
"I can't give you a hint. It would give it away. But you'll like it."
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Aug 2, 2009 23:55:37 GMT -5
If drawing attention to his lips made her want to kiss him even more, then he was just going to have to make sure he did it often. He closed his eyes and relaxed into the kiss for just a moment.
She really fascinated him in every way and he wanted to know everything about her. Even more, he wanted her to know everything about him, and for a man who usually shut up tight when anyone tried to get into his head, this was a big deal.
"Well, when do I get to find out?" he asked at last. "I mean, if you're making promises, how am I to know if you're keeping them if you won't tell me what they are?"
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Post by Riley Neves on Aug 3, 2009 0:18:41 GMT -5
Riley shrugged. "I don't actually know," she replied. "When I'm ready to tell you, I guess. I don't know when that will be."
She laughed a moment later. "Merlin, Roland. Have you known me to break a promise yet? Besides, this isn't one you can keep tabs on. There's not really a time limit on it. Not yet. But I promise I'll keep the promise I made you. Does that help?"
Riley took a breath and just kept her gray eyes on his green ones. Sometimes, she swore he could see straigt to her soul with those eyes. "I thought you were hungry?"
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Aug 3, 2009 0:38:37 GMT -5
He sighed, but quietly surrendered. He was sure to bring it up again, but for now, he would let her have this little secret. Whatever this secret was, at least he knew it was something good and that he would like it. He would just have to try to be patient with her. It wasn't something he was good at, but for her, he would try. He knew that she ws always worth the wait.
"All right. Don't tell me. Just as long as you tell me eventually. And you know it's going to bother me until you do."
He shifted in position then, making a move to get up. "Yeah, I'll go get our plates and heat them up. Do you need anything to drink or anything?"
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Post by Riley Neves on Aug 3, 2009 0:48:16 GMT -5
Riley sighed. "Is it really going to bother you that much?" she asked, frowning slightly. If it was. As much as she would be uncomfortable telling him, she just might.
She pulled him back when he got up, kissing him again as she pulled herself into a sitting position.
"I'm all right. I still have some wine left, I think," she said, taking a moment to admire him as he walked away, unabashedly. Riley would have been too self conscious to do that. But it also came to mind how terribly unflattering the work robes were. She always forgot how muscular and toned he really was.
"You have a little wine left, too."
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Aug 3, 2009 10:35:52 GMT -5
"It's going to bother me, but it's OK. I like having little mysteries to solve about you," Roland replied before he headed into the kitchen to get their plates.
He was rather casual and comfortable with nudity, moving with the same easy confidence with which he did everything else. And he was not oblivious to the way she watched him as he walked away. He could feel the heat of her eyes on him, and it filled him with a sense of pride to know that he could get such a reaction from her.
In the kitchen, he quickly found their plates and warmed them up with a heating charm. The food had managed to get pretty cold, so it took an extra minute.
Finally he returned, carrying one plate in each hand. He paused in the doorway to smile at her. "Bet you never had dinner delivered by a naked waiter before," he said teasingly.
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