Storms in Rhy'Din always seemed to be waging war on the city, so much more violent than the frequent downpours Jessamin was used to back home in England. Here the rain seemed to have a personal vendetta against her, constantly managing to soak her with horizontal attacks from unexpected alleyways and corners. Tonight, however, Mrs Middleton had outright refused to let Jess walk home in the wild weather outside, overriding any and all objections to lay down to both Will and Jess how their evening was going to go. She had nowhere for Jess to sleep but in with Will, producing a nightgown for the girl as she insisted on how things were going to be. Jessamin had found herself bustled into the bathroom on Will's floor, unaware of the preparations being made in Will's room for the night ahead, with orders to change her clothing. At a loss for any real protest to make, the young woman had acceded to the landlady's insistence, hoping that her presence would not give Will an uneasy night.

For his own part, Will was given orders from his landlady to strip the bedsheets and make the bed fresh, and Mrs. Middleton produced several additional pillows and blankets to add to the bed. Relieved that neither he nor Jess were going to have to brave the elements, he was filled with a nervous excitement at the prospect of sharing a bed with the woman he loved, but to whom he was not yet wed. He had insisted on sleeping in the chair, but both Jess and Mrs. Middleton had assured him that was not necessary.

He wasn't quite sure why his landlady was so adamant about Jess staying the night, but he knew better than to argue with her. With all this in mind, he wondered if he should sleep in his clothes, rather than the long johns he had started wearing to bed to keep him warm now that autumn had arrived. It didn't take long to put fresh sheets and blankets on the bed and gather up the old ones for the laundry. He only hoped he didn't do anything in his sleep that might upset his fiancee or make her uncomfortable.

Standing in the bathroom, Jess met her own gaze in the reflection of the mirror, taking in her appearance. The nightgown Mrs Middleton had provided was familiar in style, at least - long sleeved and square-necked, embroidered in places with thread that matched the cloth in hue. It was, however, a little large, as was the robe she wore over it, and with her dark hair loose about her shoulders, hanging to the curve of her backside, she thought she looked very young tonight. Young and a little frightened. She had never even slept in the same house with a man, much less the same bed, worried that perhaps she might be difficult to sleep beside, that Will might not be so comfortable with her come the morning. But she couldn't put off returning to the bedroom for long, taking her dress and underthings into her arms as she turned to make her way back along the landing to the door of her fiance's room.

The door to Will's room was partially open, and he could be seen through the opening nervously adjusting and readjusting the pillows on the bed as though he couldn't seem to get them they way he wanted them. Even though it wasn't their wedding night, he wanted everything to be just right. He wanted her to be as comfortable as possible, though he was a nervous wreck. Why was Mrs. Middleton insisting on her staying in his room' If he didn't know better, he'd think the woman was almost delighted at the prospect of Jessamin having to stay the night. He just hoped it wouldn't stain her reputation in any way, though he doubted anyone in Rhy'Din would notice or even care.

Hugging her clothing to her chest, Jess took in a slow, deep breath, attempting to calm herself down even a little bit before stepping inside. She couldn't remember ever having felt this nervous about anything, and part of her recognised it for what it was. She wasn't nervous of sleeping beside Will, even without a bolster between them. She was nervous of being so barely clothed, garbed only in the thin nightgown, of letting him see her with her hair completely unbound. This was Jessamin at the most basic level, without any of the meticulous preparation for presenting herself to the world at large. Hearing footsteps on the staircase, she jumped and slipped in through the open door, setting it closed behind her as her flaming face turned toward Will.

He lifted his head to glance at the door as she slipped inside, his eyes taking in the vision of loveliness before him, almost feeling like he was cheating seeing her like this before their wedding day. He straightened from his incessant re-adjusting of pillows, noticing the flush on her face that hinted at her apparent embarrassment at their situation, unable to tear his eyes away from her loveliness. He stammered nervously, searching for something halfway intelligent to say. "I, uh....I hope the bed is to your liking." He winced, feeling awkward, wanting to kick himself for saying something so stupid.

Her gaze flickered from him to the bed and back again, a nervous but sweet smile touching her lips as she took a hesitant step into the room. "I'm sure it will be," she nodded as confidently as she could manage, biting her lower lip for a moment as she took in how little progress he had made in getting himself ready to sleep. "Did ....did I come back too soon, would you like me to go out again?"

"No, it's....it's okay. I'll just sleep in my clothes," he said, feeling as shy as she was, if not more so. At least, she had a robe to cover herself with; long johns left little to the imagination. "I....um....I can sleep in the chair, if you want," he suggested for the second time. "Or on the floor. I don't mind. I've slept worse places before."

"No, Will, please don't." Concern for him overrode her sense of modesty, her arm laying her clothing over the back of a chair as she took another step or two toward him. "Mrs Middleton is right. We have nothing to be ashamed of, sleeping side by side. And besides," she added, her smile resuming shyly, "we will have to get used to it at some point."

Instead of relaxing at her reassurance, he only seemed to feel more nervous, for some reason. "Jess, I....I have nightmares sometimes," he started, staying where he was beside the bed, making no move to close the distance between them, his stomach in knots at the prospect of sleeping beside the girl who was going to become his wife. It was one of two secrets he'd withheld from her, the lesser of the two.

Shy, but growing bolder with each moment that passed, Jess took another step toward him, rouding the corner of the bed as she did so. "Will it make them worse, my sleeping beside you?" she asked him softly, one hand resting on the smooth coverlet, only the length of her fingers protruding from beneath the hang of her sleeve.

"I don't know," he answered her honestly. He thought that, in fact, it might make them better, but he wasn't really sure. He didn't have them every night, but every now and then, he'd dream he was back in the war, the skies full of German planes trying to shoot him down. He usually awoke just as his plane was about to crash into the ground, heart pounding, soaked in sweat. The nightmares were unpredictable and came without warning, but he needed her to know it was a possibility. He felt his heart pounding that way now, yet it wasn't for fear of being shot down, but nervousness at the thought of her being so close. He watched as she touched the coverlet, and he felt his heart beat a little bit faster.

She watched him with gentle, loving eyes, her own nerves suppressed in the face of his. It felt ridiculous to her, that she should be so calm when faced with this unexpected, unaccustomed closeness, and he should be so shaken by the mere thought. "Will, you cannot sleep in your clothes," she told him softly. "You will not sleep as well as you would normally." It occurred to her that he did not seem to have a robe, and though her nightgown was relatively thin, it did cover her from neck to toes, loose and concealing of her natural slenderness. Her hands moved to the sash of the robe she wore, undoing the knot. "Will it be easier for you if you had the robe to wear?"

He was definitely a romantic, far more romantic that he'd ever let anyone know, but he flushed at the comment as though it was something he should not be, something he might even be ashamed of, a part of him that he tried to keep hidden, but found difficult to hide from her. "I don't know," he replied, feeling that nervous twist and turn in his insides again as she moved even closer. "I just know that I love you."

"And I love you," Jess whispered to him, perhaps more entranced in the flip and spin of dizzying closeness than he was. She was aware of the knotted tension in her stomach, the restless feeling of nervous excitement roiling about inside her, and though her mind was trying to draw her back, she felt safe with Will. Safe enough to rise onto her toes, brushing her lips to his in a kiss that just barely made contact. "You are my world, Will. I can no longer imagine a life without you in it."

He returned her kiss, his lips soft and warm and eager against hers. Though the kiss was brief, it lit a fire of warmth inside him that could only be described as love. Almost afraid to touch her, now that she was so close and so open to him, like a flower opening its petals on a warm summer day, he only closed his fingers around hers as he met her gaze, his heart utterly lost, belonging to her alone. Though no poet, he somehow found the words deep inside to tell her what he was feeling. "You are always in my heart, Jess. I will love you forever, I swear. I want to be with you always."

"I assure you, I have no intention of ever disappointing you in that respect," was her soft reply, the sparkle in her eyes as loving as it was hinting at the mischief only he had ever seen from her. Brought up to be a young lady, Jessamin had only learned to show the more playful side of herself during this past year, when the only was to survive Will's teasing at times was to join in and tease back. He had taught her so much about herself in so relatively short a time; she could not begin to imagine what else he might be able to teach her as the years went by.

Though her words were serious, Will caught the gleam of mischief in her eyes and wondered what she was up to. He eyed her back with a curious look on his face, though his own response was just as serious and loving. "You could never disappoint me, Jess." He only hoped he didn't disappoint her.

Her smile deepened, her body rising up on her toes once again to touch a second, bolder kiss to the corner of his mouth as her fingers tightened on his, this time lingering there to let her breath warm his lips for a moment. Strange, how someone so shy could turn so bold in the privacy of his company, but perhaps that was all part of the power he held over her. Slowly lowering back onto her heels, she squeezed his hand between both of her own. "You should finish dressing for bed," she reminded him softly, moving to step away.

Lost once again in the moment, her lips barely touching his, so close and yet so far, he felt her fingers tighten on his, his stomach fluttering with excitement, almost the way it did when his plane did a loop in the air. "Dressing, right," he murmured, eyes watching her face, her lips, wanting to kiss her again and again. He clung to her hand as she moved to step away, slipping away from his grasp.

Those kisses, that long moment of sweet closeness and shared compliments, had given Jess a sense of confidence to override her shyness in the situation they found themselves in. As she turned away, her gaze lingering on Will until the very last moment, she resumed untying the sash about her waist, braving the fluttering flip in her stomach to slide the robe from her shoulders completely and set it aside.

He was frozen in place as he watched her slip the robe from her shoulders, unable to stop his gaze from moving over her admiringly, longingly, though he knew it was wrong. If the kisses and the moment of closeness made her bold, it had quite the opposite effect on him, making him nervous and shy.

Though the nightgown itself seemed something made to protect her modesty, hanging to her toes and long in the sleeve, the looseness of the soft cotton revealed rather more than either of them expected as she passed in front of the small lamp that illuminated the room. The silhouette of her body showed clearly, a shadow within the hanging folds of cloth that bore no petticoat and no corset, none of the trappings that she wore beneath her clothing during the day. With her side to him, barely three feet away, Jess raised her hands to her hair once again, belatedly resuming the braid that had fallen almost completely loose, blissfully unaware of the alluring silhouette she presented to her increasingly nervous fiance.

Either she was completely unaware of the seductive silhouette she presented in that nightgown or she was trying to seduce him. He figured it was more than likely the former, too young and innocent to realize what the view was doing to him, the thin cloth enhancing her beauty rather than hiding it. "I, uh..." he muttered, completely tongue-twisted, longing to take her in his arms and kiss her, run his fingers through her hair, unwrap the secrets she kept just barely hidden beneath that thin layer of cotton. Whatever he was going to say was completely gone from his head as he just stared at her with a look of longing on his face.

"Yes, Will?" The innocent eyes he knew so well turned to meet his, and the longing in his gaze seemed to spike deep into her, darkening her own gaze with the same stormy yearning. In the same moment, her breath quickened, that familiar flush returning to her cheeks as her chest heaved in regular rhythm. Her hands fell from her hair, the finished braid thumping to her shoulder as she stared back at him, wide eyed with loving desire and uncertain longing. "Will?"

"I, um..." he stammered, forcing his gaze away from hers, flushing from ear to ear, positive his heart was beating so hard she could hear it from where she stood, worried she must know what he was thinking, desperately trying to banish the wicked thoughts from his head. "I should get dressed," he admitted, though he had no clue how he was going to do that with her right there in the room.

"Oh!" Startled by his admission of something she had urged him to do only moments before, Jess jumped, tearing her gaze from him to turn her back, moving out of the light toward the head of the bed, the opposite side to where he stood. "Of course, you ....I will just ....yes." Stammering awkwardly, she turned her back to him, wrapping her arms around herself. In the reflection of the mirror, it was clear that she had also squeezed her eyes tightly shut.

"Could you, umm....turn off the light?" he asked, too shy to take any chances of her catching a glimpse of him before the wedding night. It seemed a little silly, but he'd only been with a girl once, and he'd been too drunk to remember much of it. The only other woman who'd ever seen him in a half-state of undress was his mother, and that had been a long time ago when he was still a boy.

Her eyes blinked open, meeting his in the reflection of the mirror, seemingly startled to find him looking at her at all. She swallowed her surprise, managing a sweet little smile for his nervousness. "Of course, Will."

Naturally, however, this gave him another opportunity to drink in the innocent seduction of her silhouette beneath the cotton nightgown as she moved in front of the lamp once again, groping for the switch. It had taken several months for Jess to grow used to electricity, and even now, she had moments when she searched for the key to turn off the gas rather than a switch. But this time she found the switch with relative ease, the little click plunging the room into the gloom of semi-darkness, illuminated only by the faint glow of the street lights through the thick curtain at the window.

As much as he tried to resist the urgent longing, not only of his body, but his heart, he was fighting a losing battle. Putting them together this way had been a bad idea, if Jess was going to make it to her wedding night with her virginity intact, and yet, what did it matter" They were getting married, that much was certain. Nothing could or would stop them, save death. He felt a shudder go through him when she touched his lips, not unlike what she was feeling at his touch, however innocent. "Jess," he breathed again, softer this time as he let go of her foot and leaned closer, awkward as it was upon one knee. His fingers wandered over her cheek, as if he was mesmerized, just now discovering her.

The rise and fall of her breast beneath the thin embroidered cotton was almost violent as she trembled under his touch, the color deepening in her skin under his fingers as her cheek turned to his touch. Try as she might, she could not take her gaze from his, the brush of her fingertips turning to the curl of her palm against his cheek as she leaned in with him. Whether this was a good idea or not, they were caught in it for now unless something happened to pour a healthy dose of cold water on both young libidos.

"We shouldn't," he whispered, though he was leaning closer, nothing in his expression or body movement that hinted he was ready or even willing to stop, whether he was willing to or not. He knew this was dangerous; he knew if they went too far, there would be no turning back, and he wondered just how far she'd let him go. He brushed a stray strand of hair from her face, his fingers caressing her cheek. "I love you," he whispered, his voice catching, thick with emotion.

The shudder of her breath grew still quicker the closer they came, the pain of her little injury all but forgotten as her hands found a place to rest at his shoulders, fingers grasping both to pull him in and push him away at once. "I love you," came her tremulous response as she slipped to the edge of the bed, close enough now to feel his breath on her face. How far was too far" Would he know, or would it be up to her to tell him' She couldn't say. "You are right," she whispered, inching closer with each moment that passed. "We should not ....not yet." And yet, as that last word passed her lips, she was a breath away from a kiss she did not quite have the courage to initiate this time.

Though he had warned her, though he knew he shouldn't give in to temptation, he just couldn't help himself, and he did what she could not or would not do and initiated that kiss, leaning closer, his lips dangerously close to hers, and then, unable to stop himself, his mouth found hers. One hand cupping her cheek, he pressed a kiss against her lips, soft and warm, undemanding yet passionate. His lips lingered against hers for a long moment, his body betraying him in its longing, even as his brain told him to stop.

The moment his lips met hers, she relaxed, the tension bleeding from her body in a rush that found her arms lifting to curl about his neck, her eyes falling shut as she surrendered to the kiss with all the trust and innocence of a woman who had no idea what she was letting herself in for. Even the sound that left her was a trembling sigh of relief, of pleasure touched with the barest hint of a moan as her lips parted beneath his. Some part of her mind was trying to get her attention, to draw her focus away from physical and emotional longing for the sake of her self-respect and reputation, but for now, at least, she was utterly oblivious to it.

As for him, the kiss only created more tension, a longing deep inside his body, like a tightly-wound spring. He heard himself groan against her lips and he pried himself away, gasping for breath, his body trembling desire. No matter what he wanted, no matter how badly he wanted her, he respected her, he loved her too much to take advantage of her, no matter how difficult it was to resist, how painful it was to deny his own desires. "Jessi, I can't. I don't want to hurt you. I can wait. You're worth waiting for."

Despite the whimper that left her as he pried himself free, the longing gasp in her voice, the flexing tightening of her fingers against his shoulders, his words brought her back to herself. No, not his words. Jessi. His name for her, the shortened affection of her given name on his lips. Forcing her eyes to open, she gazed into his face, feeling the wild edge of desire receding as common sense and thought intruded once again. Her cheeks flamed with shy mortification at her brazen behaviour. "I - I'm sorry," she heard herself stammer, drawing her hands back from him, terrified that she had somehow offended him with her unthinking eagerness.

He smiled back at her, warm and adoring, no hint of anger, even in his frustration. He had been honest with her - he could wait, he would wait, she was worth waiting for. He touched her cheek again, a gentle caress of fingers. "There's nothing to be sorry for. I love you. I can wait for you. We're going to be married, Jessi. We're going to spend the rest of our lives together, and no one can pull us apart." He leaned forward again, but this time, he only brushed his lips against her cheek affectionately, smiling warmly.

She sighed softly as his lips touched her cheek, the sound halfway between happiness and frustration of her own, her eyes closed for a brief moment as she drew a thin veneer of control back over herself. "I love you so much, Will," she promised him in her breathless, gentle voice, leaning back to open her eyes once more, gazing up at him. A soft spark of mischief touched her gaze. "Perhaps you should turn out the light this time."

He smiled back both at the declaration of love, and the hint of mischief in her eyes. "Not until you're safely tucked in," he told her with a brief tweak at her nose. His heart soared at her words of love, her promise that she shared his feelings, believing not for the first time that they deserved a happily ever after, that together they would have a happily ever after. He'd do everything he could to make sure of it.

With a quiet giggle that chased the last of the forceful desire away, Jess rose to her feet, twisting to turn down the bed and climb up, drawing the covers over her legs. "Is this tucked in enough for you, or would you like to pin me in place with the sheets?" she asked with a playful touch to her smile, relieved and warmed by how much control he had over both their desires.

He would have pulled the blankets back for her, but she beat him to it. He moved to his feet, leaning over the bed to tuck the blankets around her, not quite up to her neck. "I don't think we have to go that far." In all the excitement, he forgot that he was barely covered himself by the thin but warm thermal underwear, which was thankfully loose fitting enough that it didn't expose too much. He brushed another fond kiss against her forehead. "Goodnight, Jess." Two small words that seemed to say much more.