Topic: Laughs, Lust, and Lies

Rayvinn

Date: 2011-12-10 14:58 EST
December 9th


Serena was a sweet girl, her tuned exhaust roaring almost as loud as the motor which was mounted behind their back was. It was that feeling which everyone who had truly lived life had felt before(no matter how they'd experienced it).

The steady hum of the motor changed drastically as downshifted from third into second, revving the motor up until the rpm's matched against the harsh engagement of gears. He was turning right but his steering wheel was turned all the way left, pulling on the brakes just before the apex of the turn to make the rear end of the car snap back into place just as he rounded the corner at red line. The car swept across the whole of the road and (after finding his lane) he shifted into third and accelarated. The car skidded sideways as the car ground to a halt nearly parallel to the Inn; chuckling, he winked to Rayvinn and reached across her to pull the handle which would pop open her door.

The door hissed as it extended outward and then lifted up and out of the way, perpendicular against the lines of the car. He opened his door and, after they'd both exited the vehicle, the motor revved twice before engaging first. There was no driver remaining in the seat but the car drove off on its own, angry accord. A shrug to the Elf who was standing on the other side of the skidmarks.::That means she's jealous.::Smirking as the man in the bespoke suit crossed the road and wrapped his arm around the waist of a female who had quickly become a friend. ?Come on. We're late.?

The argument with the cartkeeper down the sidewalk had continued for the better half of ten minutes-- a discussion on the importance of horse-breeding and a more heated debate on the local races. It was a conversation neither would escape with winning, and they both knew it, so when Eleanor heard a loud (and familiar) engine coming too-close down the road, she tilted a look over her shoulder. While the cartkeeper moved to attend to other customers, she watced the interaction in front of the inn from a distance of several yards, her hand resting loosely on her sword; a natural and unconscious gesture, certainly.

Rayvinn had the window rolled down and was sitting where the glass would normally be. Both arms were outstretched as she squealed from the rush of the ride; legs were held tight to the inside of the door to keep her from falling out during that wild turn. Adrenaline junky, thrill seeker, lunatic...oh yeah, she would answer to any of these names. Sliding back into the car, smoothing a hand over her skirt in order to remain decent; she gave Dave a wicked grin before he leaned over to open the door. One leg exited the car followed slowly by the other before she arose from the low seat and smoothed away any wrinkles. Weapons checked, they were at the Inn...of course weapons were checked, before she took the step up the curb just as Serena screeched away.

"Of course she is," was Raye's impish reply as she fell into step with Dave, an elbow thrown into his ribs as he slid his arm around her. "I would tell you to get your hands off but I don't think you understand the concept. So maybe just try to keep them in respectable places." She was a naturalborn comedian right? The fact that she hadn't cracked him upside his head with the weighted pommel of her dagger was proof that he had become a friend.

He smirked, guiding them across the cobblestoned sidewalk as she spoke and pausing as they approached the staircase leading up to the french doors bathed in the familiar, flickering light of the twin torches which straddled them. "Listen, I know I'm the first real man you've ever met in your.." A pause. His sense of smell was far better than his eyesight. Chin turning towards his right shoulder, his eyebrows furrowed downwards as he looked into the darkness that swallowed up the street.

?Two peas in a pod.? That's what he said aloud but it probably wouldn't have made as much sense to Rayvinn as it had to Eleanor (if she had heard him, that is). Time seemed to slow for a moment, as if he could stop to enjoy her scent for far longer than the moments he actually had, before his gaze snapped over to Rayvinn; he was waiting for a reply before he cut her off short, speaking just as her lips parted. ?You...and Eleanor.? He spoke the name as if were the name of a goddess and it might have made her wonder over how he spoke of Rayvinn when she was not around.

It was hard to miss the wolf's shadow, even when it came with a woman tucked in the curve of his arm. She lifted her chin, listening and watching him with a critical air before she heard her name; even after that, it was several moments before she slunk from shadow. The ex-knight came up along the slaver and his company, and by the time she did, there was a deceptively warm smile curled at the edges of her mouth. "You rang, wolf?" Her throat was bruised again, her cheek sprayed in purples and fading yellow; she wore it like the rest of her skin, and paid it little mind. "Or am I hearin' things again?"

"First real..." Cut off. "Okay Dave...what about me and Eleanor?" She assumed he was talking about the only Eleanor she had ever met, and had met through him. While she was listening to him, her attention was half drawn away as she heard Alma discussing leaving a corpse on the Inn steps every day. It was a typical night at the Red Dragon. She really should contact a real estate agent and find a new home...again. Her attention returned to Dave for a moment before she saw the object of their discussion move down the sidewalk. Raye offered Eleanor a wide grin, a finger raised to swirl around as she pointed at the bruises. "Looking lovely as ever." She hadn't seen the ex-knight since she saved Jono's life, taking a bullet from Gage. Coming from anyone else, the compliment on loveliness might seem fake with those bruises...but not from Raye. Bruises were a great thing of beauty to her sadomasochistic mind.

A harumph for Rayvinn's words before Eleanor's got a scoff. "These two.", he thought to himself. Eleanor, who was the focus of his attention at this point, would see those two words dancing in his eyes as his arm withdrew from Raye's waist for her approach. Was he wrong for the way things had transpired just last night? Was she? No. They had something to settle. Little did Raye know that those bruises upon Eleanor's person were his doing, little did she know that she had left another "signature" upon his person.

His hands fell upon the the jutting curves of her hips with one hand just inside the hilt of her sword and the other digging beneath the leather of her belt; the tips of his fingers pulled her closer to him and his nose, crooked from being set by his own hands too many times, tracing against the point of her jaw as he whispered something into her ear. Rayvinn's augmented hearing would surely pick those words up. ?Last night was...? Rayvinn would hear him growl, Eleanor would feel it; once again they were like lovers, although nothing had happened aside from pain. A kiss to her cheek, like a friend who had been missed, even dreamt about. A nostalgic sigh as a million things ran through his mind just from her close proximity. ?Rayvinn...? The word was spoken aloud for he wouldn't have dared continue that previous sentence. ?Eleanor. Eleanor. Rayvinn.? Parting just far enough to tug Eleanor along with him as he introduced Rayvinn and Eleanor,forgetfully, for the third time.

Dyarhk comes in through the back alley door and bringing winter's chill with him. He uses his one hand to keep his two sides of his brown leather coat covering his chest while his other is busy holding a box under his arm. Upon closing the door, he coughs a few times, covering his mouth.

Rayvinn *would have* heard him, but she had moved on up the steps to the Inn, the click-clacking of her boots tapping out the languid rhythm of one quite comfortable in their four inch heels. Raye was hip checking the door when she heard Dave say her name. She grinned and motioned them along, palm up with just her fingers moving; an obvious teasing mockery of how he had beckoned her before. "I am feeling whiskey tonight, how about you two?" He was offered a wink before she disappeared over the threshold, tapping her way to the bar and through the break to grab a bottle of single malt and three tumblers. As she placed the glasses atop the bar, she saw Dyarhk and that typically crooked grin widened until it nearly split her face. "Dyarhk." She didn't really need to say much more. The combination of that high wattage smile and his name was more than enough.

She was halfway to cutting Raye a smile when the wolf took up the entirety of her vision. Eleanor allowed it -- and for that matter, he knew she allowed it, since he wouldn't have made it an inch closer otherwise. She was still all feverish heat when he reeled her in and ran his scruff-lined face along her. When did her fingers come along his throat? It didn't matter. What mattered was the careful way she flexed her hand when he kissed the corner of her mouth, or the curve of her smile.

"Any time, wolf." Wits or blood-- it was a game they could both play and she was, perhaps against her better judgment, inclined to join him in it. "But I'm not letting you off easy next time, hm?" Her hand slipped from around his throat, hidden in shadow as it was with his back to the inn, and she glanced past him at Raye's beckoning. "Whiskey night it is--" And in Rayvinn went. Eleanor's too-dark (blue) eyes cut back to the wolf one more time, dangerous past the bright grin, and her fingers tip-toed along his hip as she eased by him and toward the porch. Dangerous games.

Rayvinn

Date: 2011-12-10 15:00 EST
"My favorite elf! I hope you'll not be to terribly upset with me. Or call me a stalker. But I had you tracked! Yep. I knew you'd be here tonight. Had a spellcasting fellow look into a crystal ball for me and find you. Get your drink for you and your friends. Then I'd like to have a word with you."
He walked over to a table near the front corner opposite the hearth, carrying that box under arm protectively.

"I think I should be flattered. Why did you go to all of that trouble? You know where I live. Same room you helped me move out of all of those months ago when I move into Cor's house." She poured the three tumblers partially full of the single malt and took one for herself. An only slightly quicker pace than that which led her inside, carried her over to Dyarhk's table. The glass was placed upon the table before she slipped onto the chair next to him. "Is everything alright? I can only assume something is wrong if you are having a mage track me down."

His chin tipped to the side as she spoke, smirking as he reached down to button up his jacket. He watched her walk up those steps after Rayvinn and only when she had entered herself did he shake his head with the sort of appreciation that one might have for the greatest night of his life...or a nemesis. She was everything he wanted and hated, that Eleanor and, with that realization, she had almost made him forget everything that he'd promised himself over two lifetimes ago. Almost.

The door closed and their shadows were watched from behind a four-paned window before they parted. One for the bar, one for a friend. His upper teeth dragged over his lower lip when he was left to his own thoughts. Suliss'urn's words rang in his ears. Her Majesty had never been more right. There were a few glances around his person, as if surprised at finding himself alone (which was the story of his life if one knew it), and he made his way up the stairs as hands smoothed down the front of his suit's jacket. The door was pushed open with his palm, a splayed hand dragging along the ancient wood until fingers could curl around the edge of the door and close it behind him. Polite, wasn't he? Something new, though one would be a fool to get one's hopes up. Nothing had changed aside from the suit and the closing door. He was still trouble.

"Oh no. Nothing wrong." He chuckles quietly. "Just pertinence. Had to see you as soon as possible, is all! Don't want this falling into the wrong hands." The large black box on the table was reached out and pushed on an end to turn it some. "I understand a certain elf has paraded around my community looking for shoes of only the most amazing sort, and even checked a shoppe that only caters to just that, but in men's only! Luckily... I knew of a department store in town that not a lot of people know about. And because said elf had been going around shopping, a shoe size was not a hard thing for me to acquire. And I figure since it is also that a widely celebrated gift-giving season is approaching, I'd gamble it all and buy a pair and hope she likes it." He laughs. Coughs. Quick as hell to smile back out of it and overpower it ever happening. "This is for you, Raye. I hope it can start helping rebuild your collection."

Eleanor eased across the mostly-empy common room, identifying the unfamiliar faces as well as the familiar ones. She paused to offer a quick here-and-there smile to Raye and her new company before she slipped behind the bar. It was, indeed, a whiskey night-- almost. She paused as she spied a package and a note in her box behind the bar. Spying the wolf's entrance in the bar mirror, she didn't bother hiding her curiosity as she crouched down and reached into the mail slot for Room Thirteen.

Those sooty lashes were blinked a few times as she listened to him. It was true...she had been all over Adenna searching for shoes. The monstrous collection she had acquired were not available unless she broke into a certain person's home. Have no doubt...she tried but one pesky friend had managed to ruin her mission and her poor army of shoes were still being neglected. The tip of her tongue slipped over her lower lip, the near lust in her gaze was equivalent to anything she would ever feel towards a man. Shoes. This was Rayvinn's most guilty indulgence. Most wouldn't believe it. The elf was a lunatic most of the time, none would associate such a love of footwear with someone that wielded weapons the way she did. "You...bought me shoes?" Forgive her for what she was about to say...she was in the throes of passion...."You need to leave Corea and marry me, Dyarhk. So long as you continue to buy me shoes." He received a wink before the box was torn into, like a young child on Christmas morning.

Rayvinn lovingly removed one from the box, jade hues widening as she nibbled at her lower lip. A soft little exhalation before she looked back up at Dyarhk. "I love them. Thank you!" Poor Dyarhk...he suddenly had an armful of waifish, crazy, shoe loving elf.

He laughed. "I do not think that will be possible! Not if I buy 'em all at this price! But that's poor form, and detracts from the gift to speak of its price..." He held up a hand briefly to apologize for that. "But you do not need to worry about that. There will always be a special place for you, Raye, that no one will be able to move into. It's right around here." He showed here the space where, if he were hugging someone, Raye might be.

His hoarse voice exudes a laugh as they embrace. "Yes, yes. It's just a pair of shoes, woman." A little more laughter. The shoes themselves were T-strap platform heels, decorated all over in dazzling rhinestones.

"I thought that you might be able to keep and hold onto these, and wear them whenever you are having a good day, or a bad one. It's a silly thing to say, it feels like," a forced laugh. "But you might look at them and remember what a good friend you are to me."

Two numbers: One and three. Hmm. Interesting. She was an enigma even to someone that knew her better than most. These were his thoughts as he pushed through the door and tugged on the lapels of his jacket with a roll of his shoulders to better settle the custom, exquisitely tailored suit he was wearing. His silver gaze washed over those gathered before it fell upon Rayvinn. She was a beautiful example of what perfection could be even despite her sickness. Their sickness. She was not the only one that suffered from her affliction; regardless, his eyes tore away with her after a nod for Dyarhk (the man he remembered from the night he'd escorted Rayvinn to the duels at her behest). Returning his attentions to Eleanor, he watched as she read that letter. It was almost as if he could read the words through her expression. A slight smile sprang to life as he joined her behind the bar. Her heat was addictive as that familiar pause in their conversations. She had something to tell him; even as he pulled the familiar bottle of vodka from the multitude of its brethren, he waited.::

She finished squeezing the life out of Dyarhk and plopped back down into her chair next to him. Both legs were lifted to prop her feet onto his knees as she unzipped each knee high boot down the inside of her calves. "There is no such thing as *just shoes*, my friend." The boots were yanked off and tossed to the floor before she removed the thin trouser socks and slid the shiny silver strappy shoes onto her feet and buckled them. Standing, she wiggled her legs a little and smoothed down the black A-line skirt she wore. "I am going to try these bad boys out and go show them off. Want a drink while I am up? Some chamomile and eucalyptus tea to soothe that cold of yours?"

He laughed, coming to a stand as well. "No thank you, Raye. I had just enough time to deliver your present. My mission is accomplished, now. Your toes are comfortably caged in an intricate weave of precious stones, as they should be." He came closer to her for an entirely different hug than her life-squeezing one. A goodbye hug. Well. Maybe it wasn't so different from a life-squeezing one after all.

"The present was perfect and thoughtful. You realize I do not need anything to remind me of you, don't you? I might not be a perfect woman, but I am one that fiercely adores you. So, stop this silliness of me needing a reminder of what a good friend I have in you." She stepped up onto her tiptoes and kissed his cheek while embracing him once more. "Thank you for always being such a friend to me, Dyarhk...shoes or no." He received that sunrise and cotton candy smile that was just theirs before she released him lest he become uncomfortable; the elfess could be a little affectionate when she wasn't forcing that cold wall around herself.

When she leaned up from behind the bar again, she was holding two things: a folded letter and a bottle of scotch. She lifted her eyebrows when she read the former, a small smile ticking up with crow's feet at the corner of her mouth. Guess it wasn't a whiskey night after all. When she looked up again, the wolf was there and she spared him a lethargic smile as she went to uncork the bottle that had been in her box, letter resting on the bar beside her. She jerked her chin up at him. "Funny," she muttered, her voice hoarse where his strangling hands had been at her throat. "Don't think we talked much about business last night. So where's my work at, wolf?" She lifted an eyebrow up at him, leaning to pluck a rocks glass from below the backbar.

"I told you it was silly of me to think that way, didn't I." He laughed but made sure to stop it to respect her given kiss. "All my love, you pretty thing. I will see you, okay? I've loved that I was able to come and see you tonight. I have. And enjoy them. They look perfect on you." Carefully releasing her from his hug, not for care's sake, but to let it last as long as it could. He smiled before zipping Dunlin's coat up.

"I'm off for a hot bowl of soup and a heated blanket. Good night, you all." Waving goodnight to Dave and the others as his large back was given them and moved him away from the warm lights and toward the back alley door again.

She beamed another smile up him. "I am very happy to have gotten to see you as well. Take care of yourself and your family."

Jade gaze remained upon him until he disappeared out the back alley door then she leaned down to pick up her boots. The supple burgundy leather was smoothed over and folded before she placed them into the box that had housed the other shoes. Box was tucked under her arm, tumbler of single malt was lifted and she was strutting her saucy little self over to the bar. Nothing like a new pair of shiny heels to make Raye's night! Megawatt smile was flashed as she kicked up one of her feet and did a little pirouette in the middle of the common room, with only the music in her head.

The shoebox was deposited upon the bar before Raye slipped through the break, and crowded up next to Eleanor and Dave. He never seemed to have a problem invading personal space, so he shouldn't mind if she invaded his, right? "See my new shoes?" Preen. Hard to believe this silly elf could turn into such a monster when it was called for...and oftentimes when it wasn't. "There is apparently some holiday in which presents are exchanged."

His eyes traced over the present she was in the middle of uncorking and he was just about to reply, lips parting when Rayvinn returned to them. Attention fell to the women she was addressing before flicking back over to Eleanor. ?My fault or yours, Queenie? Tomorrow night. Meet me at Pier 35? He was speaking of The Docks, of course. Nefarious or not, if you worked in Rhy'Din you knew about the docks. ?Midnight.? The time was spoken with a lower voice. No need for others to know.

His bottle still in hand, he reached out and tapped his bottle to hers before pouring himself a shot and taking it with an ease that made it appear as if he were drinking water. He was refilling his second shot as he studied the knight-errant. He wanted to see if she was in or not, not if she was drinking at his pace.

?It's called Christmas, Billy. The problem is that if someone got you a present you have to return the favor.? Smirking, his eyes still upon Eleanor for confirmation.

Rayvinn

Date: 2011-12-10 15:03 EST
She was pouring herself a few fingers of scotch when he spoke and Rayvinn came bounding up again; she listened without looking at him, more interested in the color of the alcohol and the way it smelled when she lifted it near her bruised chin. The look she eventually cut toward the wolf over the rim of her glass was silent confirmation: pier 35, midnight. And as to the blame-- well, there was no denial.

"Oh that isn't a problem. I have the perfect thing to give him in return. I think I am going to go shopping tomorrow and get everyone something for this Christmas you speak of." The tumbler was lifted and she finally took a drink, emptying it in one long drink. "F*ck I love the way that burns." Locating the bottle, she refilled her glass and glanced around. "I'm bored." This is when everyone should cringe, duck and cover. Boredom and Rayvinn went together about as well as gunpowder and a torch.

The second shot was taken when she gave him 'the look', a slight smile for Rayvinn's reply. ?I don't think you understand, Rayvinn. If a man gives you a present on Christmas...? Winking to Eleanor, ?and you accept (said incredulously) it, then you have just pledged at least one night of...how do I put it lightly? Passion...with him.?

Third shot filled and knocked back as he pushed away from the bar and walked across the way before turning around and slumping low enough against the counter so that his shoulder was pressed against Eleanor's. There was a glance, then a double take. His eyes watching the pulse of her jugular before he harumphed and shook his head. How could someone so full of life be so full of death? She probably asked the same question of him.

?Heaven isn't hard to find, though.? An afterthought, followed by a wink.

Raye watched Dave for a moment, taking a drink before snorting. "Yeah, whatever Dave. Dyarhk doesn't think of me like that. We are just good friends. Also, he is married." She took another sip and savored the burn.

?At least one night," she agreed, her voice hoarse as Dave came alongside her. "But it depends on the gift: if it was a very good gift, it could be longer." Eleanor gave Rayvinn a wide-eyed look as she lifted that scotch for a testing taste and was satisfied. "Marriage accepts the traditions of Christmas. It's expected." Eleanor lifted a shoulder innocently while the wolf soaked up her feverish heat. She must be ill.


?Besides...since when did a thing like marriage stop any of us?? A glance betwixt the two women who dared to share his company; obviously, they had not a worry for their reputations, for he was the quickest way in town to ruin one. Another shot filled up, lifting it. ?To Rayvinn and Dyarhk. Cute couple, don't you think?? Nodding to Eleanor before knocking that fourth shot back; at his rate, they would all be hanging off of each other's shoulders while the night was still young.

"Adorable," she conceded, and lifted her rocks glass in toast with a secretive smile.

Raye kicked one of her legs up so that her foot rested upon the edge of the bar. "These shoes were the gift. How many nights do you think that will be?" Her eyes were widening more by the minute. "Luckily I rarely see him...so he probably won't attempt to collect. He knows I can kill him one handed, also." And now she was just prattling on. "Surely that isn't what he meant by giving me the gift." Gassssp. "He said he hired a mage to scry in order to find me tonight. "Oh gods be damned!"

Maybe Dave needed to worry about his own reputation since he was in the company of two women that were less than wholesome and good. One was a ridiculously crazy elf and the other...she had her own issues as well, didn't she? The glare the two received over the teasing was nearly comical. "I dont' find that funny. I don't even like men anymore." Might have something to do with that broken heart she was carrying around but refusing to show. The contents of the glass were tossed back to punctuate that comment. "I have no idea why people assume my friends are more than that. If I was f*cking even one of them...there would be no doubt." Such a crude little thing at times, right?

Eleanor sealed the deal and he watched, pleased, as Rayvinn connected all of the dots for them. There was a forgiving, understanding nod as he shrugged as if to say "It wasn't your fault. You just didn't know." ?Don't think any of us haven't pretended, either. You'll be alright. Tell him it was wonderful...but don't show up until the New Year or else you're mated for life? His thoughts couldn't help but trail into the morrow, thinking of what the ex-knight's reaction would be to the Armenians. To the work she'd been asking for.

He could have easily loaned her the cash she needed but he wasn't the type, nor was he convinced it was the money she needed. Knew her better than most after all. Rayvinn's almost too-wise realization had him smirking. ?It'll be over in two minutes, don't worry. Maybe three.? Looking to Eleanor for her take.

Eleanor glanced over her shoulder when the man had been sitting and lifted her hand, wavering it. "Minute, tops," she eventually decided, her eyes sparkling with mirth as she turned her focus between Rayvinn and the slaver; it was an easy facade, but the man would know her mind was elsewhere. Did she need the money? No. Of course not. "Shit, girl. You read the papers? People here feed off of rumormill."

"I don't really care much about what people think of me but that would just be grand for his marriage." A sword callused hand was lifted to rub at her temple. "I will just give him the shoes back." Ohhh the mournful look upon her face at the thought of that. "What was he thinking? Maybe he just doesn't know what this Christmas thing really is. I cannot see him behaving in such a manner. I am definitely not the type of woman a man thinks of in such a way." She was speaking more to herself than to them now, tendrils of her paranoia gripping and squeezing in all the right/wrong places.

?When our stomachs are empty, they seduce us to f--- the world.? It was some jaded, all-too-often discussed subject for him although the true meaning behind his words might have made others outside of his company sick to the stomach. People reacted differently to hunger, no matter their type of hunger, and it shown in his eyes and in the curl of the corner of his mouth as to just which hunger our Wolf was discussing. ?I say keep the shoes and f--- Christmas.? He laughed for a moment, a genuine and true laugh, before his lips and teeth remained parted so that the tip of his tongue could toy with the point of one of his canines. He found something within these two women that compelled him to treat them as equals. Two rarities, two oddities. Each of them different in every way yet both the same when it came to the sum of his regard.

Eleanor's eyes rolled down, her lean falling heavier against the wolf as she regarding the prize of Rayvinn's new shoes. Her eyebrows lifted. "They are nice shoes," she tempted, a grin crawling along one edge of her mouth. One of her arms came along the backbar, just up against the wolf's spine, tempting as she drank. Her expression revealed nothing outside of her typical warmth.

An oddity indeed. One that rarely behaved like the same person from one meeting to the next. Except for that very oddity...that was always there. "I am going to keep the shoes and if he tries anything, I will gut him like a fish. See? Problem solved." This was delivered in a softly musical and cheerful voice that did not fit the words -at all-. A saccharin smile was given all around before she took Dave's bottle, because she really had no idea where her own was at this point. A little sip of the vodka had her frowning slightly. No burn...she needed the burn right about now. The bottle was returned before she nodded solemnly. "I should truly hate to have to harm him. He is a very nice man."

?Hey, it's his fault for expecting you to know the consequences.? A solemn, single nod before he visibly straightened. That touch of hers was like ice (making him flinch) and like fire (drawing him closer). Wolf or not, heat was the primary source of life for him. His eyes fell from Rayvinn and down to the ex-knight at his side. It was as if her hand and her dagger were one, for they both dug into him in the same way.

The bottle was robbed from him without reaction, only when it was returned did he lean in to kiss Rayvinn's cheek. ?He's a lucky guy, either way.? A tender moment between killers, like a greeting card that promised things that were impossible. Leaning back, he turned again to offer Raye a vision of his profile as stooped down. Raye could see it, caught him as he almost succumbed. Nostrils flared. Whether she saw or not, he could not help being a prisoner to the scent his ex-knight exuded. She had changed, something had happened.

"I think maybe he just doesn't know. That is the problem. So I am going to tell him the next time I see him that I owe him a few nights of screaming, clawing, breaking the furniture kind of sex...but he can't collect. Because that isn't how we are together. So then, he will know what Christmas is and won't make this mistake again. He will thank me for this I am sure." She merely tilted her head so Dave have better access to her cheek, like this was just an everyday occurrence and nothing to get all sentimental about.

Yes, Raye could see Dave's nostrils flaring, she had elven eyesight; she didn't miss much. Did she have any clue what he was doing? Nothing other than maybe sniffing Eleanor. That didn't seem so odd to her and was definitely not her business. She tended to be more of an exhibitionist than a voyeur anyway, so she snagged up the bottle of vodka and turned away, to give the two some privacy.