VESPER
The laugh Colt gives him over the horse remark earns a sideways glance, sly and golden in the flickering light. "Mm. I recall you ridin’ in a good deal less," he murmurs, letting the words drag just enough to spark heat beneath the implication. "Maybe them heels made you forget how to sit me proper." The chuckle that follows is quiet—low in his throat, a little devil’s laugh that doesn’t quite break its own rhythm—but the look he casts her from the corner of his eye is pure restraint. Taut. Deliberate. A coiled thing barely held back by the civility of candlelight and forest hush.
And still, he says nothing more as they walk—lets her take in the autumn-dipped world around them, the fire-burnished leaves, the soft hush of old bark and newer longing. He can feel how it moves through her. How it smooths her, melts her—how she tries not to let it. But then she speaks again. That blush. That glance. That quiet note of doubt twined into her humour, dressed like something light even though it lands heavier in her chest than she wants to admit.
So he stops walking.
Steps out ahead, just enough to turn back to her fully, the lantern-light painting silver along the line of his cheekbone. His hand rests easy in his pocket, but his gaze doesn’t pretend to be casual. It drags over her like she’s the answer to a question he hasn’t asked aloud—like if he stares long enough, maybe he’ll forget every other appetite that ever tried to compete. "You didn’t fail," he says, voice lower now, velvet-soft and curved around something hungrier. "Did the opposite of it in fact." His head tilts, slow and deliberate. "Though...if we’re bein’ honest—" He pauses, dark eyes dipping once down the line of her dress, the way it hugs her curves and tempts every part of his better judgement.
"—I’ve got no godsdamn clue if I’ve got the willpower to make it past our appetizers." He grins, slow and wicked, stepping just a fraction closer into her orbit. "’Cause you, darlin’, are the thing that’s got my mouth waterin’ and it's gonna be hell to try and pretend otherwise."
And still, he says nothing more as they walk—lets her take in the autumn-dipped world around them, the fire-burnished leaves, the soft hush of old bark and newer longing. He can feel how it moves through her. How it smooths her, melts her—how she tries not to let it. But then she speaks again. That blush. That glance. That quiet note of doubt twined into her humour, dressed like something light even though it lands heavier in her chest than she wants to admit.
So he stops walking.
Steps out ahead, just enough to turn back to her fully, the lantern-light painting silver along the line of his cheekbone. His hand rests easy in his pocket, but his gaze doesn’t pretend to be casual. It drags over her like she’s the answer to a question he hasn’t asked aloud—like if he stares long enough, maybe he’ll forget every other appetite that ever tried to compete. "You didn’t fail," he says, voice lower now, velvet-soft and curved around something hungrier. "Did the opposite of it in fact." His head tilts, slow and deliberate. "Though...if we’re bein’ honest—" He pauses, dark eyes dipping once down the line of her dress, the way it hugs her curves and tempts every part of his better judgement.
"—I’ve got no godsdamn clue if I’ve got the willpower to make it past our appetizers." He grins, slow and wicked, stepping just a fraction closer into her orbit. "’Cause you, darlin’, are the thing that’s got my mouth waterin’ and it's gonna be hell to try and pretend otherwise."
Will I ever quit playing with matches?
Why am I making angels in the ashes?
Why am I making angels in the ashes?
☆ has a pale star tattoo beneath his left eye, and freckle-sized constellations move across his skin
☽ hair changes from bleached blonde to brown
☆ telepathic: Sunlit Shadows | The user can read the surface thoughts and emotions of those within a 60ft radius. Control is excellent. Note: "Thoughts and emotions" include anything written in a character's narration in a post.
☽ hair changes from bleached blonde to brown
☆ telepathic: Sunlit Shadows | The user can read the surface thoughts and emotions of those within a 60ft radius. Control is excellent. Note: "Thoughts and emotions" include anything written in a character's narration in a post.
