Skill to Survive [London, Closed]

She smirked, standing up and taking the emptied cup from the area, wrapping her arm around the man she nearly called her own. "So if it took you so long, does that mean I'm better than you, amor?" It was a jovial stab, as she knew the man obviously held some higher skill than her in all fields, even those non-combat based, such as the bed. A little light teasing from her couldn't have been too bad, though, considering how often he did.

She walked out of the room with the man, halfheartedly dragging him along while he sipped from his alcoholic coffee. "Good, because then I can show you my gun. It's not so bulky, but I like it. It fits me perfectly."

[124]

An amused smirk formed on his lips at her words, and as she took a stab at him he would return the favor as his fingers trailed through her hair gently-- his head tilting curiously at the odd sensation, he enjoyed petting her for some reason. It was a comforting sensation-- one that he didn't quite comprehend, only that he knew he enjoyed it. As she commented on her gun, he chuckled softly and nodded-- content to explain it, he felt sure she'd enjoy showing it off to him if nothing else. He was more of a blade guy than a gun guy-- that was more Forge's area of expertise, but he could still appreciate the weaponry. After a moment, however-- he spoke with an amused tone as he finally replied to her initial statement.

"I suppose it does, you're dripping with talent-- so I suppose that means in a few days you should be able to injure me with ease, no?" he inquired curiously, a sly smirk forming on his lips as he halted their movement in the hallway, lowering his head a bit so that his teeth could graze the tip of her ear with a slight smirk.

"So how about a bet?" It was playful, but quite serious-- there was no one in the hall, so she shouldn't be too flustered by the action, his fingertips sliding into her hair and giving her a playful tug as his eyes looked into her own as he continued. "--Manage to damage me in any way, in the next three days-- and I'll let you make one request of me. Anything you like. Similarly, if you can't manage it-- you do one thing that I want instead." His fingers trailed through her hair, down her neck-- fingertips playfully tracing down her spine.

"Fair, no?" His smile only grew, looking down into her eyes as he made his little bet-- he didn't intend anything too bad for her, in fact judging from how she acted, he was almost certain she'd enjoy it. Still, it was her call whether she wanted to back out of her little cocky statement or not.

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Seraphina grunted quietly as the man pulled on her hair, restraining her and bringing her amber eyes directly to his cerulean, her eyes timidly wavering if only for a second before her composure was regained. He proposed a deal, a bet, and she enjoyed the terms of it, though she hoped if the moment came, she wouldn't hurt him too badly. She looked to the side, noting no one in her peripheral, before reaching her hand up his chest, pressing her hand lightly against his right breast. At first, it was light.

Then, using the same wiry muscle that moved him that morning, she pushed him, making sure his hand brought her with him and making sure he landed against the wall. With a grin, she playfully tapped on his chest, speaking in her Southern mock accent. "I do believe we have ourselves a bet, partner."

Taking her hand from him, she waited for his hand to release her hair before walking ahead of him, leaving him to enjoy the one thing he could while walking behind her. "I'm taking a bath as soon as I get to my room, though. You're not allowed, Erek." Hidden from his view, she smirked tauntingly at the denial of his enjoyment.

[209]

He saw the way her vision wavered the moment she met his gaze-- and he smirked, as he had expected, for all her strong fronts-- she really wasn't certain how to deal with things like that properly. Fingers trailing through her hair-- he felt her push him, and he moved with her, not minding as his back pressed against the wall and felt her fingers curl against him lightly as she agreed. The fake southern accent causing his smirk to grow even more-- tapping at his chest and slowly pulling away from him, he allowed her too, releasing her hair as he watched her move forward.

A slight smirk played at his lips as she showed herself off, and as she commented that he wasn't "allowed" he wouldn't comment-- until they rounded a corner, entering the silent, empty, but clearly open entrance way. Windows shone in light and the main door of the house was right in front of them-- he even gave her a moment to realize where they were and how anyone could walk in on them. Right when she'd feel his fingers in her hair. This time, however-- he didn't let her escape, pulling firmly so her back pressed into his chest, and his hand pulled her head to rest against his shoulder-- a free hand wrapping around her waist and sliding into his borrowed shirt.

"What was that, about being 'allowed'?" he purred dangerously into her ear, it wasn't like him-- getting so worked up so easily. Usually, he was calm, responsible, collected-- he knew that she hadn't meant anything by it, and he knew that she likely didn't have that big of a problem with bathing with him even. Yet-- for some reason-- her words caused him to act, almost on instinct as his teeth grazed slowly along her throat, pulling her closer to him as his body head burned into her back while he toyed with her-- a low growl forming from his lips as he nuzzled into her neck from behind playfully.

For some reason-- the woman was able to rile him up. He couldn't tell why, but the contrast between her fiery, sensual behavior-- and how shy and innocent she actually was, caused a fire to burn in him-- it made him want to tease her, bully her, make her squirm and whine under his touch.

He didn't understand it-- but he couldn't say that he disliked the sensation that she caused inside him.

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Seraphina's eyes widened as the man's calloused hand gripped her hair, his movements so quick and perverted that her mind immediately went sour. For just the briefest moment, it wasn't Erek, it was a stranger, one of the butlers or helpers around the house, or perhaps a guest themselves. Her body calmed down, for the most part, when she took the time to recognize his touch. The callousness, stern grip of his fingers in her hair, the way his hand brushed against her and the voice by her ear.

"I said, sweetheart," Seraphina hummed, hoping he was as invincible against her body as he was against a bullet. Her leg raised up and set itself up so she could kick back, aiming and then sending the leg off to its destination at his groin. "You're not allowed to peek on me today."

[142]

He felt the shift in her emotions-- and body language-- the moment his hand wrapped in her hair. Her stiffening, caused him to halt, and as she tried to kick him-- his own knee firmly pushed forward, locking behind her joint, neutralizing the attack unless she really tried-- but he doubted she would when he continued his movement smoothly. The hand that had been wrapped around her waist turning her to look at him-- the joking and teasing tone gone, he hadn't been imagining that. He'd felt the shift in her emotions, as brief as it may have been.

"What is it?" he murmured softly, and it was clear he was no longer talking about the bathroom teasing-- instead the hand that had been holding her hair had moved to her cheek instead, the predatory glare mostly gone from his eyes, instead replaced with concern. He'd caused that-- whether it was fear, insecurity, anger-- he wasn't certain, it had been too quick to tell, but it had been an inherited negative reaction. For a brief moment, he was reminded of something-- an incident so different, yet similar-- years ago, when he had allowed his emotions to take over like that.

Initially, they'd been playing-- children-- he'd been young, and then-- he couldn't recall what it was. Something, something had set him off-- and then the boy was on the ground crying, cradling his broken ribs and arm. The boy had lost an eye, and his hand was crippled for the rest of his life due to that incident. Slowly, his grip on her relaxed-- and he gave a smile, but there was no feeling in it any longer.

"Nevermind. It's not my place to ask-- apologies, I took the joke too far," he stated simply, slowly releasing her as he tucked his hands behind his back-- and allowed his gaze to drift back toward the doors. "--Shall we?" he inquired simply, brushing off the entire incident, putting it behind him. He couldn't allow that again-- he'd done it last night as well. Initially, he hadn't minded the idea, corrupting her, taking her, claiming her anyway-- but now--

His gaze hardened a bit. There was a reason he'd never done anything like this-- because he was just going to hurt her, emotions were dangerous if they were allowed to be free. Emotions were key to relationships-- and that was why he couldn't do either of the two options. What was he even doing with himself? Acting like a child with no control, a hormone-addled teenager. Disgraceful.

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Seraphina noticed how his voice changed, the tone rather... apologetic. It wasn't playful, it wasn't sarcastic, it was as if he picked up on her slight fear. It was as if it brought him to reality.

She blinked, not bothering to go into the detail of the change as well and simply stood by him. She reached to his back, grabbing his hand and holding it tenderly, giving it a slight squeeze. "We shall, amor"

During the ride over to the hotel, few words were exchanged between the two. It was almost strange. The last week was riddled with enjoyment, sarcastic quips and fun flirts. The sudden halt over a simple interaction was rather shocking, and left Seraphina with tight lips the entire ride. Her head rested against his shoulder until the vehicle came to its stop in front of the hotel, the driver coming to the door and opening it for the Blackmore and Rubeus couple.

"You're free to come up and see my place so you're not waiting outside or in the lobby. I might need your help with some stuff anyway." She looked at the man, raising an eyebrow and offering her hand to him, beckoning him as she walked up the steps and past the plexiglass doors.

[211]

Erek, in all honestly-- didn't even wish to hold hands with the woman, he felt like touching her when he clearly had done something to harm her was quite simply unacceptable. But, she initiated it, and he didn't want her to be upset-- so he allowed it, his hand held loosely within her own as he moved with her. Still, even as she let her head rest against his shoulder, his eyes remained on the window, staring wordlessly outward-- chiding himself for his slip up. Hell, he was starting to wonder if the entire situation had been one big slip up.

He barely registered that they had halted, before she spoke-- his mind re-focusing on her words as she asked him to come with him, beckoning him as he slowly hauled himself out of the car and followed her wordlessly. His hands returning to their neutral position behind his back as he followed after her, his mind still swimming with doubts and annoyances with himself, he was so distracted by the thoughts he nearly ran into the woman before she could open up the door. His hand lifted past her, holding it open for her to enter as he stepped inside after her, gaze trailing over the room briefly before he simply moved forward and slid into a seat, purposely avoiding the bed.

"Take your time," he stated simply as he intertwined his fingers and allowed his mouth to rest against his fingers-- falling into thought once more on how much of this had been needless lack of control of his emotions, how much of it had just been a fling-- should he draw the line here, now, before things got too personal? Before he scared her like that again-- or lost control of himself to an even worse degree? What if next time he lost control in the bedroom, and pushed her too far there instead?

His fingers tussled through his hair as a long sigh left his lips-- this is why he didn't get involved in this sort of thing. It had only been a few days and he was already questioning every decision he'd made up to this point-- someone like him simply wasn't suited to romance.

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The Hispanic woman nodded, scouring the room for her satchel. It resided to the side of her bed, with her own custom Desert Eagle .50 caliber resting inside of it, hidden behind some type of scarf. Tossing it over her shoulder and around her arm, she went to the bathroom, taking her own cleaning products and towel from the counter, tossing them into the suitcase on the floor. Next, she gathered what clothes weren't inside of it and tossed them into it, shoving it down. She looked around, past the sad sack of a man in the chair, and tried to find any missing items. She plucked her charger from the wall, snagged her jacket from the bed, and began to zip up the suitcase.

"Is something wrong, Erek? You didn't hurt me or upset me, I promise." She looked over the sheets, noticing the man in distress. When the suitcase was zipped up, she found her way over to him, sitting on the arm of the seat and placing her legs on his lap, her satchel falling gently to the side.

"Talk to me, amor."

[186]

Erek watched her briefly out of the corner of his eyes as she searched the room carefully-- gathering up her things before she finally moved over to him and sat down, close-- again. His eyes trailed toward her as she commented that he didn't hurt her or upset her, and a soft smile formed on his lips.

"I thought you were going to bathe?" he inquired, but despite the teasing tone it clearly didn't have the heart in it that it did before. Releasing a breath he lightly pet her leg as she lounged over him, and shook his head slightly in response to her second statement.

"It's nothing important. Just realized I've been foolish-- don't worry about me," he shifted his body a bit in the chair and nodded toward the door, "--You should change and think about what you want to eat. We can have lunch wherever you wish." As he stated this he would keep that honest-- but weak, smile on his features. Like a fool, he'd let it come up, and worried her when it was nothing worth her concern. He needed to bury the thoughts, if he insisted on dragging himself over it all then he needed to at least wait until he was in private, while she trained, or while she slept.

It wasn't something he should be worrying her over as well.

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Seraphina rustled his hair slightly, placing a tender, affectionate kiss on his forehead and nodded. She walked to the bathroom, discarding her clothes and tossing them on the floor by her suitcase, the sound of the faucet squeaking and turning on coming from her room. It wasn't a long shower, though she took her time to make sure she was meticulous in checking herself afterwards. The bruises had begun to heal, not nearly as fast as Erek could, though it was clear she wasn't an average human. The bruises on her darker skin seemed to mix, the yellow and purple of the worst bruises seeming to fade and become a distant mark on her skin already.

His own bruises, however, seemed so dark against her skin. Especially his fingerprints around her throat and on her rear, which she seemed to frown slightly at. Anyone could just make the assumption that she was either a cheap whore, or he was an abusive alcoholic. In the wrong light, both assumptions could've been correct about the Blackmore Head and the Hispanic Quincy.

When she was dry, she came out of the room, just a towel around her body, and dug into her closed suitcase with annoyance. A slew of Spanish came from her as she opened the luggage, pulling out her choice of clothing and beginning to put it on. Peaking over at the Blackmore man, she snuck his clothing into her mess of a suitcase, a small smile on her face. What better way to tell someone you like them than to steal their clothes?

She pulled her panties up, slipping her jeans on after she discarded the towel, briefly revealing her topless body before it was hidden by a light shirt, simply white in colour, sleeveless and comfortable. She adjusted the straps of the shirt, walking to Erek after sealing her suitcase once more. "I'm ready when you are, my dear." In English, the word sounded strange, yet correct in her assumption of its use. She dragged her suitcase behind her, leaving the satchel for him to carry.

[347]

Erek blinked briefly in confusion as she ruffled through his hair, though the kiss was a bit more expected. Watching her move toward the bathroom, he would slowly close his eyes as the faucet turned on, and release a brief sigh-- lifting a hand to rub at the bridge of his nose. He wasn't certain what to do with this entire situation-- his gut told him to move on and just keep with her, but the logical side of his mind, and-- whether he wanted to admit it or not-- the side of him that was afraid, told him to back out now. A purely student and teacher relationship, just like the other women that had entered his life.

Pushing himself up slowly, a slow sigh left his lips as he moved toward the window of the room-- looking out over the street and buildings quietly-- there were couples, holding hands, sharing drinks. Varying ages-- he'd never really noticed them in the past, it hadn't mattered to him-- people were just people. But for some reason looking at them now, he couldn't help but feel envy. Why was that? Why now, suddenly? Why was she different-- capable of causing reactions like this from him? Dangerous reaction-- that could cause him to lose control-- to hurt her.

He was forced to come to the realization that he had no answer to that question right now.

When she exited, getting dressed bit by bit, he would trail his gaze toward her and watch her try to move off with the suitcase-- his hand would easily extend, scooping it up as well along with the satchel without concern. Motioning her to go forward as he would follow behind her calmly, the English heavy in that accent he had come to enjoy in such a short amount of time quite heavily. Yet, the thoughts lingered in the back of his mind-- she called him dear, she clearly wanted to have a relationship despite only knowing one another for a short period of time.

What was he supposed to do in this situation? He didn't have an answer to that question, and it was driving him insane.

"What do you want to eat?" he inquired curiously, his gaze sliding down toward her as he shifted the bag under his arm, moving toward the hotels exit, briefly stopping by the counter to pay for her room and inform them she was leaving early while he made his way toward the car that was humming in a parking space waiting. He waved the driver off when he tried to take the suitcase and satchel, setting them lightly in the trunk before he opened the car door for her calmly, curious what she had in mind.

He didn't have an answer. So he would just avoid the situation altogether-- there was no need to get physically involved any further if she acted he wouldn't stop her, but he wouldn't initiate. He couldn't risk causing that fear to form inside her again.

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She walked ahead, making sure to hold the doors and help him as he carried her luggage like the gentleman she knew he was, behind that rough-and-tough exterior. She thought back to when he began to act like this, just a short while ago, and how it was spurn off of her instincts. Her body language could never betray what she felt, not unless she was able to shut herself down to basic needs and movements. The Spanish woman smiled softly, turning to face the man. "Do they have McDonalds here? I like the homecooked foods we've been having, but my stomach wants something absolutely greasy and self-loathingly delicious."

[109]

"They do," he chuckled softly at the idea, slipping into the other seat after walking around it, the driver already heard it-- so he didn't bother giving any orders as instead the drive began. Resting his chin lightly in his palm as he watched her for a moment before a slight breath left his lips. He'd already made the decision not to allow anything to get to him, he needed to just let it go and move on-- act normal, so she didn't get worried over him anymore.

"Cheeseburger, I assume?" That slight smile remained on his lips as he would wait for her full order so the driver could hear it properly as they drove through the streets, pulling into the drive-thru-- giving his own order as well before shortly, they were handed the order as the driver passed it back to them both. Erek pulling out the multiple quarter pounders that made up his lunch, her own meal in a separate bag that he offered to her.

"Don't worry about a mess-- the car's get cleaned daily no matter what the same way," it was a waste of money, but that was why he intended to remove most of this-- if the members of the clan wanted to use their personal money for such things, then fine-- but he wasn't going to allow them to use the Clan funds for such things anymore. Glancing briefly at her, he focused on the burger in his hand, jaw opening as he sank into it-- taking a large bite as his supernatural metabolism due to his regeneration kicked in. Never enough calories-- it didn't help he'd burned more than usual due to last night.

That thought caused him to halt in his meal briefly before he quickly continued-- even when he tried to forget or not think about something his mind somehow came back to it, so damn annoying.

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She smiled the drive over, as if a child enjoying herself after making her mom drive to her favourite restaurant. Granted, McDonalds wasn't high quality dining, but for a price, it made you enjoy yourself with its greasy burgers, heart-clogging fries and delicious soda. So horrible, but oh so good.

"I'll get a triple cheeseburger and some fries." She paused briefly, listening to him recite the order to the speaker and then his part, her eyes widening slightly. In the back of her mind, she was laughing at the notion that he was still so hungry, yet he never mentioned it or complained.

When they got their food, the fries smelling something delicious, she began to dig in with the man beside her, watching him every few bites with a smile. He stopped at some moment, right when her eyes caught him, and then continued. The Quincy smirked, looking at the man and putting her burger to the side. "Whats on your mind? Having thoughts of eating someone else?" The remark made her giggle in immature perversion, but she couldn't help but think of what could make the man stop his voracious appetite in place. Was it sexual thoughts, or was he holding back the urge to call her beautiful, even when she stuffed food into her gullet?

[218]

Unlike her, he didn't even appear to consider the fries-- ignoring them entirely as the burger was shredded by his teeth, before his gaze flickered up with her giggle, blinking a few times in curiosity at what she may have found so funny-- but unable to locate anything. At the same time, this caused their eyes to meet, as he stopped, and she did as well in order to put her burger aside and ask him whether he was thinking about eating something else instead, of course, she'd bring that up-- but he also knew if he didn't play along she'd just get worried again.

His lips curled into a smirk, causing him to shift his gaze back to her fully as he swallowed his bite before speaking.

"What if I was?" the question was simple and blunt, that smirk playing at his lips as he glanced at the juices from the burger running down his hand-- he may as well play his part right if he wanted to play it at all. His long tongue extended, trailing from his wrist up to his fingertips that held the burger in place to ensure the liquid didn't run down to his lap, smirking at her with that same wolfish smirk. Hoping that would be enough to convince her and ease her away from whatever worry she may have over him.

It was troublesome-- but until he could figure out what he wanted to do-- what he was supposed to do-- he didn't feel right acting on the odd feeling that she was stirring up inside his chest. It felt-- wrong. It felt like he was committing a taboo, something that should never be done, by wanting her. It was unsettling, and he didn't understand why.

His teeth sank into the burger once more, finishing it off with a few more bites as he reached into his bag and offered her his fries, clearly having no interest in them himself.

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Sera kicked her legs up and onto his lap once he was finished, waving the remaining fries away and putting her burger safely on the wrapper and into the bag. "Well, since you're such a sad mope, I'd say you could come get a..." She tapped her chin, thinking of a clever McPlayOnWords before continuing. "You could get a McSera and get a taste of that."

Sadly, the joke honestly fell short. Not even the driver bothered to offer a faked chuckle at the horrible take at comedy. Sera sighed and leaned her head against the window, looking at her man. Was that what he was now? What they were? A thing? No. A couple? Surely they could've been, given their little jabs and motions the past few days. She wasn't some one night stand, otherwise he wouldn't still be training her, nor would he be putting up with the atrocity that was her 'humour'.

On the drive back, Seraphina remained quiet, but watched the man carefully, a light smile on her lips the whole time. "I think the food was what I needed, though, because I feel like getting back into our little session of training. Maybe it'll make you feel better too, Erek."

[206]

Erek would shake his head slightly as she called him a sad mope, "I told you I'm fine," a sigh left his lips as he rested his chin lightly in his palm watching her-- her attempt at a joke making him give a short chuckle, but it honestly didn't deserve more than that. Instead, he glanced at her as she watched him, arching his brow slightly-- considering asking what she was thinking, but it didn't seem right to do so when he wasn't exactly being honest with his own feelings either.

Instead, once she spoke on the details of the training-- he would simply nod in agreement, "I'm glad-- don't push yourself too hard though, you're bruised and battered enough as it is," a slight smile was given, before he would slowly lean back in his seat, looking out over the road as they passed through the streets. The way back quite unless she tried to get a conversation topic out of him, and once they arrived as per usual he would wordlessly get out and open the door for her to exit.

Swinging her bags onto his back, he would adjust them slightly before his gaze trailed down toward her-- and he felt a question rise up in his throat. If she wanted-- he could arrange to give her a guest bedroom. She wouldn't need to sleep in the same room as he did-- and maybe that would be better for them both. It would mean he couldn't risk hurting her again-- it would mean he couldn't lose control again and let his emotions direct his desires. But, at the same time-- that small part of him didn't want to have her leave.

He was at a loss-- his eyes trailing toward the hall that led to his bedroom, and then the other, where he could easily set her up in one of the guestrooms-- not even aware of how long he was standing there measuring the options, though she would likely force him out of it soon enough.

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