Out with the Old [DaGlob]

[DragonSong]

"Oh, of course not," Yvaine replied dryly as she watched him nearly swoon against the glass with a small smile. "Just the ones I've taken a particularly ill-advised shine to."

They were back on the main floor now, and while she knew how impressive the collection was herself, she found herself more entertained by his reaction to it all. Cocking her head to one side, she took a few small steps forward at his silent invitation and arched one eyebrow. "And I do believe that's the first time you've outright admitted to being a thief. Should I be concerned, Ser Herrick?"

I should call the guards back, the logical side of her mind thought desperately, for the twelfth time in the last two minutes. Once again, she ignored it, taking another step forward into his space. They weren't pressed together they way they had been when she tried to hide him behind the bookshelf, but they were now certainly not maintaining the distance that "propriety" demanded.

[DaGlobster]

Herrick smiled and laughed at her admittig that she'd taken a shining to him, dipping his head down so he could make the sounds without disturbing the silence in the vault. Oh and he did not miss how she shrunk the space between them, and his pulse quickened all the more for it.

"I thought it plain enough, I'll be honest," Herrick said with another small laugh. With a measure of boldness in his expression, he let his thumb stroke the top of Yvaine's fingers as he stopped leaning on the glass.

For a moment, it was almost like that brief second between the bookshelves, but he was already moving on, leading her to what he thought was a section devoted to banners and tapestries. There was a lecture podium that he set the two glasses down, and then he let Yvaine's hand go so he could ask for the wine bottle with an outstretched hand an a playful look in his eyes.

[DragonSong]

"Well of course it was, but it's different to hear you actually say it," Yvaine chuckled quietly. Her breath caught for a moment when his thumb skated over the backs of her fingers, feeling the edge of a lockpicker's callouses against a noble's smooth skin.

She allowed him to lead her through the collection as though he owned it, a smile dancing teasingly at the edges of her lips. When he put the glasses down and looked at her expectantly, she rolled her eyes theatrically. "Yes, yes, give me one moment," she laughed lightly, turning to slip into the reading room where she'd asked the guard to leave the wine and returning with a rather ornate bottle a few moments later.

"Here." With a kind of graceful ease that belied quite a bit of practice, she broke the wax seal around the neck of the bottle and tipped it quickly over both glasses, filling them about halfway. Setting the bottle aside, she took her glass and raised it in something of an ironic toast.

"To history?" she offered with a crooked smile.

[DaGlobster]

If Herrick seemed familiar with the place's layout, that stemmed from the fact that he was, in an indirect way. He'd been inside many, many treasure vaults, secured armories, and even a couple royal treasuries. He had an intuitive sense of direction when it came to places full of valuables, almost like a sixth sense.

Or maybe it's because he knew that tapestries would be kept opposite the windows, in the coolest part of the room and not in the way of any sunlight, direct or otherwise. Perhaps a bit of both.

As she poured the wine into their cups, he took in the smell of this part of the treasury, and smiled to himself.

"History," came his answer to her toast, and he tapped his glass against hers. He made sure his gloved finger was between the two glass surfaces, so it was more of a gentle tap than a clink!

He raised his glass to his mouth and after properly sampling the smell he let it tip back to take a smooth drink of its contents. He let out a soft breath after it settled, and opened his eyes to regard Yvaine once more.

"A full-bodied sweetness... With a dash of unexpected spice. " Herrick said, potentially talking about either the wine or Yvaine herself as he met her eyes. "It catches you off guard in all the best ways," he said, offering her an inviting smile as he passed his fingers over the spot on his neck where she'd brandished that rapier.

[DragonSong]

"Does it now?" Yvaine only realized after the words were spoken that her voice had dropped into something slower and almost blurred around the edges. She cleared her throat and lifted her own glass again, sipping delicately.

It was good wine.

Her eyes flicked toward him sidelong, caught the motion of his fingers against his throat, and she found herself wincing and smirking at the same time. "I...suppose I should apologize for that," she chuckled sheepishly. "But in my defense, you did break in."

And now here she was, sharing a glass of wine and giving him a tour. As though she had any right to do either.

The knowledge that she really, really shouldn't didn't seem to be able to stop her from taking a small step closer, leaning her hip carefully against one of the smaller display cases.

[DaGlobster]

At her need to apologize, Herrick simply widened his smile and let his hand rest on the arm holding his cup. He watched her intently, eyes taking in any detail she saw fit to show him. That small step she took shrank the gulf between them and once she stopped, her hip resting, he approached. He locked eyes with her and it seemed he was going right in to finally close the space between them, the space she'd been slowly shrinking.

He came close enough to touch, hand slipping downwards until his eyes turned teasing and he let his fingers splay out against the glass case, which was not her hip, but the way his fingers stroked the glass...

His vision slowly slid from her own neck, down to her collar and eventually down to the case they were both now occupied with. It held a thick, quilted blanket, deep blue like the sky and with almost real looking clouds made with layered silk and cotton.

"I've had blades to my neck before, but never by someone so... disarming," he said, smile growing.

[DragonSong]

“Mmm…” Yvaine tracked the movement of his eyes, following it to look down at the display case—and in an effort to avoid thinking about how it might have felt if he had placed his hand on her hip instead of the glass.

“I can’t quite decide if that’s flattering or not,” she murmured after a moment, smiling lopsidedly. “See, if you’re the sort of person who frequently ends up with blades to his throat, just what kind of person is usually holding the hilt?”

There was still a bit of space between them, just enough that she couldn’t lean in to touch him easily—which was probably a very good thing, considering how much she was starting to want to.

“What do you want from me, Ser Herrick?” she whispered after a moment. Her eyes flicked down to the blanket, then back up again. “I’ve shown you all I can of this place. It seems to me all that’s left for you is to leave me indisposed, snatch your prize, and be on your way.” She drew in a shaky breath. “So. Why are you still standing here with me?”

[DaGlobster]

"Usually, they've got a pair of manacles and they're not nearly as beautiful," Herrick said, mind going back to the times he'd been cornered, facing down guards or dealing with fellow criminals. He'd never had a noblewoman face him down before.

His eyebrows rose when she referred to him as Ser, the heat and tension between them rising as she spoke of him... leaving her indisposed. He could think of a few ways.

"My prize... is not so clear now," he said, every breath between words bringing him closer, until his hand slid past her on the case. He still did not break that glass-thin barrier that existed between them. Yvaine no longer had distance as an excuse.

"Do you want to be indisposed... here?" He asked, fiery intent veiled behind his words.

"Or shall I tie my lady to a chair, in a most dastardly fashion?"

[DragonSong]

Yvaine’s breath caught as he moved closer, and no matter how she railed at her foolish little heart it still skipped a beat in nervous, excited anticipation.

“An unclear prize, hm?” she murmured, telling herself that she sounded no more breathless than usual. Or at least not significantly. “And just what seems to have distracted your attention so?”

He closed the distance between them until they were a breath apart, and Yvaine realized she was nearly trembling with the effort it took to keep still. A vague corner of her mind noted that it was almost ironic, really: she was only here, in this house, because of a dangerous lapse in propriety, a lack of discretion on her part, and her family seemed to think that marrying her off swiftly was the best way to curb her willful nature.

All it really seemed to have done was back her into a corner and give her nothing to use. It wasn’t as though she had a reputation to worry about protecting anymore, was it? Not one that would matter to the master of the house, anyway.

“I suppose that depends,” she murmured after a few long, considering moments where she just looked up into his face and held his eyes. “If your plan was to tie me, you hardly have the proper material on hand in this particular room.” She waved a hand about vaguely, though her eyes never left his. “So how else might you leave me indisposed, Ser?”

Oh she’d certainly noticed the slight reaction he’d had to the more formal address, and couldn’t resist prodding a little further with it.

[DaGlobster]

She called him a Ser again (she really had no idea how right she was, in that regard), although the enjoyment Herrick got from it in this moment was purely an ironic one. Herrick could almost feel the tension radiating from her. This close, she'd be able to see his chest rise just a little higher, his expression just that much softer in the dim light of the study.

"Maybe..." he started, letting his eyes slowly roll downwards as if to size up how he would "indispose" Yvain. They stopped at her collar, as that far would already be considered scandalous in high society. He let his consideration show for a few moments, before his hand finally brushed over hers. With ease, he kept the distance between them fractional as he receded backwards with her, away from the candlelight.

Away from any potential eyes or interruptions.

"I should sequester you to one of these dark recesses," he whispered, voice dripping with invitation. He knew she was torturing herself just keeping the distance, so it was with a cruel little tilt to the corner of his mouth that he drew her hand closer, not to his arm, but to his side. When he stopped, it was with his back to a tall armoire with a few rows of helmets inside.

[DragonSong]

"Oh?" Yvaine let him guide her out of the light, knowing it was foolish, knowing it was risky, but unable to assert common sense over the thrill of adventure. She found herself flushing lightly under his gaze; despite the modesty of her walking gown, the way his eyes traced her neckline raised heat to her skin. Which she knew was exactly what he'd intended, but knowing that didn't stop her body's reaction.

"Sequester, is it?" she murmured, letting her head tilt to one side and her mouth curl wryly. "You know, typically, that word is used when speaking of hiding something one wishes to protect. To keep secret and safe." She cocked an eyebrow. "Hardly the intention of a dastardly thief, no?"

She let him draw her hand to his side, though she kept her touch as light as she could, still warring with herself. She knew now that she wasn't going to call for the guards--if she'd ever truly intended to, she would have done it when she first saw him--but she still wasn't sure what she was going to do, exactly. And not knowing that was a thrill in its own right. One she shouldn't have enjoyed as much as she did.

The slight flecks of gray in her hazel eyes darkened slightly with the shadows around them. Letting out a soft, short breath, she glanced away and all but whispered, "I should perhaps mention...it is precisely this sort of mistake of judgement that has landed me where I am today, Ser Thief. I believe you will have to be very convincing."

[DaGlobster]

Her words about "mistakes of judgement" had his eyes lowering as Herrick felt a pang of honest understanding go through his heart at that. Indeed, were it not for some poor, poor lapses in judgement, he would not be here now.

Still, there was nowhere else he'd rather be, both right now in this moment and in general. With delight, he noted how her hand never left his side, and felt a little excitement that for now at least she was still playing this game with him.

"Ah, but what is a thief, if not someone who knows treasure when he sees it?" he said, quoting from a novel he'd read when he was younger, still a member of his father's court.

"And how to treasure it?" he continued. The hand that he'd used to guide Yvaine's to his side slowly splayed out against hers, covering it against his side. He let his head lower, not to touch any part of her with his lips like she might have wanted, but to merely add a whispered "Let me keep this secret with you," into her ear.

[DragonSong]

She did want to kiss him. Very badly, it seemed. But she forced herself to hold still, clenching her free hand in her skirt until her fingers were wrapped so tightly in the fabric her knuckles paled.

She was actually trembling now, though whether that was really tension or temptation even she couldn’t say. Her hand on his side fluttered for a moment, then slid down slightly, enough to rest lightly just above his hip. Her head turned fractionally, but they were so close that even that slight movement meant her nose nearly brushed his cheek.

“My last mistake was meant to be a secret too,” she breathed. “As I said, Herrick…” She let his name rest on her tongue for a moment, hanging in the air between them. “You are going to have to make this worth ruining myself even further.”

The words were almost fatalistic, but her tone didn’t match, something almost like a plea embedded beneath the words themselves.

[DaGlobster]

Herrick himself didn't exactly know where this was leading, or where exactly he wanted this utterly unexpected encounter to go. There was suddenly such a strong feeling of restraint from both sides and it felt like they were both one pin-drop away from, well...

His heart sped up just that little bit further when her hand came to rest above his hip, and he turned into her so they stood chest-to-chest. His hand drew up her arm until the tips of his fingers reached the border where her walking gown gave way to her collar, and merely turned his hand so he could cup one side of her head. His fingers brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear with a feather-light touch, and he used this barest contact between them to tilt her head up into his gaze. 

He did not miss the pleading tone in her voice, how her words seemed to war with the heated tension that he could see her fighting with. Herrick knew that she'd already made her decision. If she truly wanted, she could've had every guard here chasing him out into the night.

But no, there was some other outcome she wanted, that much was clear. 

"Should I count the ways?" he started, letting his nose brush the shell of her ear as he continued to speak, lips hovering just beneath the lobe, aching to devour the side of her neck but otherwise docile. His other hand traced down her free arm and covered her hand where it bunched up in her skirts, soothing away the tension with a stroke across her fingers before he covered her hand in the same way she covered his own hand on his hips.

"Or should I simply invite my lady to do as she pleases?"

His lips drew closer, he could almost taste her skin as he whispered.

"I do so very much want to treasure her."

[DragonSong]

A shiver started at the base of her skull and raced down her spine, rippling outward over every inch of skin until she felt like her body was alight with it.

Remember last time, a frantic voice in the back of her head warned. But this didn't have to be like last time. Besides, what more could her family do to her?

Her hand trembled under his, then her fingers slowly uncurled from clutching at her skirts to trace lightly against his palm for a moment before she took his hand in hers and placed it gently on her hip. She realized vaguely, almost giddily, that without her usual addition of gloves, even that chaste touch felt like lightning.

"And how would you do that?" she found herself breathing in answer to his whispered declarations, turning her head just slightly so he was forced to move with her or commit to the kiss he was so clearly teasing. "You see the treasure in this room, locked behind glass, admired but never touched. Would you do the same to me?"

[DaGlobster]

Oh, he did move with her, but perhaps not in the way she expected. He accommodated her small motion just enough so that their noses brushed and they were all but kissing at that point, and let his head rest against hers.

"If that is truly what my lady desired," Herrick started. The touch on her hip remained feather light but he used even that bare contact to draw her closer against his chest.

"But locks have never bothered me," he added with a growing glint in his eye. He hand cupped her head lower, closer to her neck, and he stroked along her jaw with his thumb.

"And I prefer to admire from so much closer," he added, and he turned her own trick back on her. Lifting his head to meet her eyes, although she would have to avoid him if she didn't want to kiss him.

[DragonSong]

Yvaine let him pull her in closer, shivering when his thumb skated along her jaw but still resisting the urge to tilt her head into the touch.

A tiny, breathless sound slipped passed her lips when he tilted his head, so soft that even she barely heard it. Nothing in his touch was confining--in fact the most intimate contact between them had been instigated by her--so she knew if she moved away, he would let her.

She didn't. He lifted his head, and she stayed exactly where she was, not even daring to breathe as their lips brushed together in something that was not quite a kiss. Her hand on his side clenched slightly, fingers pressing into black fabric, and she let her other hand slide up from where she'd placed his on her hip to follow the line of his arm up to his shoulder, where it rested lightly.

Then her eyes slid closed and she suddenly rocked up onto her toes, pressing her lips to his in earnest and tilting her head ever so slightly into the contact.

[DaGlobster]

That brief, delay between their lips brushing together and the actual kissing was everything Herrick could ever want. The heat, the forbidden anticipation as they both wanted to give in but neither wanted to be the first to crack.

It seemed that even then, passions could never fully be contained, because all it took was the barest brush of their lips, and then her hand was snaking up his shoulder, lips pressing sweetly against his own.

Herrick let the hand on her hip travel to the small of her back to finally close that last shred of distance, but he dared not go. Now she was fully in the dark with him, one strong arm around her while the other splayed against the hair on her nape.

The first time their lips parted, Herrick made it last like a sip of fine wine before he kissed just a little lower, teeth dragging against her bottom lip when they parted once again for breath.

[DragonSong]

This is a truly, spectacularly bad idea, Yvaine found herself thinking giddily as she leaned into him just a little when his hand pressed gently to the small of her back.

She knew--from a strictly pragmatic viewpoint--that they were hidden here, tucked away in the dark, in a part of the manor that wasn't a part of the guards' regular patrol, so their chance of discovery was minimal. And she was well convinced, had been for a while by that point, that Herrick himself posed no real danger to her.

At least, not a tangible sort of danger. But this...the way his mouth lingered against hers before they parted for a breath, the heat of his touch through her gown, the slight tension she could feel through his body from where she touched him in turn... That was a danger all its own.

She felt his teeth against her lip and tried--and failed--to swallow back a sound that was embarrassingly close to a whimper. It was enough to bring her back to herself slightly, and she turned her head just a bit so she could catch her breath, though she was still pressed to his chest and wasn't all that interested in moving away.

"So." Her voice was shaky and breathless, no matter how she tried to steady it. She glanced up at him sidelong through her lashes. "Was that...close enough for your preferred method of admiration, then?"

[DaGlobster]

Herrick breathed with her in the darkness after she turned her head away, basking in the sweetness of her closeness. The hint if her form behind the gown, the warmth if her body as she fought her trembling against him.

Oh yes, Herrick liked being the danger. Yvaine had given him the chance and he took it in a heartbeat. He admired her for a moment, thinking her question over as he met her eyes, but then he went and left a kiss above her ear, light as a thief's touch could be.

He made a considering sound and his hand stroked along the small of her back.

"Hardly. Was it for you?"