#my copper bracelet. and rings of importance

[reriart]

In Joy And Sorrow - Chapter Two: The Dinner

Plot: Returning to Whitestone doesn't seem so bad, thanks to Kiki. However, something inside seems out of place.

Tags (for whole fic, not only related to this chapter!): AFAB!Reader, first kiss, lovemaking, PiV, dancing Percy, non-canonical events, a lil bit of angst and slowburn, Kiki is reader’s best friend, depression.

(Please remember that English is not my native language - if you find mistakes, please send me a private message). Read it on AO3 too! Also, first chapter on Tumblr here. (Dividers by cafekitsune)

As predicted by the elf (who had taken her human form in the meantime), the castle was already crammed with people, many who had come from out of town and all glammed up for the event. In comparison, you were wearing the battered and even rather smelly armor. You were so embarrassed to be seen like that. Not that the others were any better tanned: Grog was practically naked, Scanlan would soon become one, and Vax looked like a bum. Typical Vox Machina style.

The only difference was in their smiles. For you, staying there was a nightmare. Beyond the endless annoying chattering in the background, the whole castle was screaming in agony. It was so overwhelming that you were out of breath. 

However, it was important to keep your secret safe. Kiki winked at you and created a small white flower around your arm, like a bracelet, and two other small ones around your neck, mimicking a necklace. 

Suddenly, the pain in your chest faded. “Did you enchanted them? Everything seems much less... loud.”

“Consider it an experiment. You deserve some quiet,” she said. “Especially now.”

“Now?”

The girl pointed to someone with her head, before turning on her heels and walking away whistling, making her copper-red hair sway. 

That someone turned out to be Percival. 

Holy shit.

“Hey, Percy! So, what a great job your sister Cassandra has been doing! By the way, where is she? She is in need of...”

The man's dark eyebrows arched, and for a split second, maybe due to a play of light, his complexion seemed less pale to you than usual. He was wearing a coat very similar to the one he wore daily, but with some gold embroidered details, including branches around the sleeves. His eyes immediately fell on the flowers around your body. 

“Hey-”

And, as if by magic, his sister, a little shorter than him but taller than you, appeared with impeccable timing.

“Cassandra! We were just talking about you!” you greeted her with a hug, trying to act like everyone else in the room and not like an unsociable person.

She smiled, adjusting her tight jacket. “Oh, I hope positively. My brother sometimes tends to be a little, you know, edgy.”

He tried to speak up, raising his hand to adjust his round glasses. “Actually, I don't...”

The woman's statement had caught your attention. “What do you mean?”

Cassandra's eyes lit up. In spite of the suffering related to the past, she was quite happy to talk about the fondest memories. A mocking smirk brightened her face.

“You must know that he was really awful. Not that he's better now! He was a real know-it-all as a kid, though!”

A laugh escaped you, and your eyes chained back to Percival's. They were so green. You wished you could have taken off his glasses, seen them more closely, but you just lost yourself in his gaze for a moment, before returning to reality and shifting your gaze to, well, anything but him.

Curiosity took hold of you. “And now ... what would you call him?"

Cassandra tapped her right index finger to her lips. “Mmmh. He's grown up. He's proud and a shithead, but he's got some good sides, too.”

Percival's eyebrow quivered. “Excuse me? ME? Shithead?”

The woman approached him and pressed a finger against his chest. “Oh yes, Percival Fredrickstein...”

Their comical bickering was interrupted by the limpid ringing of a few silver bells, waved in the crisp party air by what sounded like a waiter. 

“I kindly invite the ladies and gentlemen here to take a seat at the tables present in the next room. Dinner will soon be served.”

Your belly muttered a little. Kiki's flowers were working for real.

Lost among the many nobles, you walked toward the huge table, already familiar to you. Despite the inhibition of your senses, brushing against it caused you a vague sense of unease. Discomfort that deepened as Scanlan sat down next to you, accompanied by a guy significantly younger than him with caramel-colored skin and blue eyes. The two already seemed lost in their most vivid perversions (mental, for the moment). Between glances and a fleeting neck kiss, the bard already had his hands directed toward his dick-

“Oh gods.”

“Hmm? Would you like to join the party, my dear?” he asked, smirking as usual. “The more the merrier.”

“Huh, Scanlan,” you rolled your eyes. “I'm sorry, but I like tall men.”

“Did anyone ever tell you that the small barrel holds the good wine?” he whispered in your ear. “And I'm a whole wine shop...”

You were about to throw a boot at his head when the waiters began to serve the courses: plenty of meat, bread, wine, desserts. It had been a long time since you had had the opportunity to have such a filling meal. Better to take advantage of it. 

“I-I don't eat meat,” Keyleth murmured. “There are, ehhhm, vegetables?” whispered to Vex, beside her. The half-elf took a bite of a chicken leg. “I'm afraid not. I guess you'll have to settle for pudding.”

The druid puffed, crossing her arms. You laughed, noticing how Vex watched her sneakily, vaguely shielding himself with the chicken. As much as he was one of the strongest of the group, when it came to his (well known to all) crush, he suddenly became a dork.

Between that, Scanlan stretching out his hands in places where the sun surely shone very little (thankfully not on you), and Grog intent on flirting with a big woman as big as he was, you felt like you were home: your friends intent on doing what they did best, which was being dicks. On the one hand, though, you couldn't help but feel also ... lonely. Maybe you really wanted to join Scanlan's red-light festivities. Intrusive thoughts began to corrode you, until something pulled inside you, like a string.

[insdindia]

Types of Jewellery

 Jewellery Designing Courses in Pune  

Antique Jewellery

The jewellery which is not in mainstream production and of which the mode of production is no longer popular is known by the name of 'Antique Jewellery.' This kind of jewellery has dull and rough look, combined with an old world charm, and this serves as the major USP of such jewellery. Oxidised in the modern industry passes for antique style jewellery and looks really great with traditional wear. Antique jewellery abroad can be Victorian or Edwardian styled jewellery which was extremely popular in the era and later died down but now has sprung back into action.

  Aadya

Bead Jewellery

Bead art in India is five thousand years old and dates back to the time of Indus Valley Civilization. People of that civilization used to make beads out of gold, silver, copper, clay, ivory and even wood. Beads have been of an important significance as well like black beads in the mangalsutra keep the evil at bay. Beads are woven and created into beautiful necklaces, bracelets and even long earrings and as there is a huge variety available in the market there can be a lot of experiments done on the jewellery creativity side. Beads are available in a variety of range.

Bridal Jewellery

Made of superior metals and excellent quality, jewellery accentuates the beauty of bride in multiples. Though these days silver and platinum jewellery is gaining popularity, gold jewellery still holds the most popularity among Indians. But as you move from country to country you will learn that bridal jewellery style and tradition changes from place to place. For eg. In India bridal jewellery means heavy studded jewellery that consists adorning from head to toe but abroad bridal jewellery means brooch, pendant and a bridal set which is different from Indian bridal set because it only consists of an engagement ring and a wedding ring.

Bespoke or Custom-made Jewellery

Custom-made jewellery is personalized jewellery this type of jewellery why the entire base of designers first came into existence. The more customer and business came into relationship.  A customer gets to explain their needs, budget, requirement, occasion and the designer creates a piece keeping the above in mind and this kind of bespoke design has a personal touch to the jewellery. This happens particularly in cases where readymade jewellery does not match the taste of the person.

Fashion Jewelry

Fashion jewellery is also known as costume jewellery, mainly for the reason that it is not made of precious metals and stones, rather lighter and more flexible material in terms of quality and also value. Like brass, copper along with plating etc. Fashion jewellery is trend-conscious and keeps on changing as per changing needs. For e.g. H&M

Filigree Jewellery

Filigree is a delicate embellishment in which fine, pliable threads of precious metal are twisted or curled into a design and then soldered onto (or into) the jewellery. In my definition I like to call filigree the ancient way of quilling. Filigree work is done on silver and involves lots of precision and technicality, added with great amount of patience and an eye for minute details. Historically, filigree work was quite popular in countries like Egypt, Italy, and Spain. India's history of filigree work goes back to early centuries. Filigree jewellery is very popular in Orissa.

Gold Jewelry

Gold is a metal that lures many. It gives the security against any financial crisis, because of its easy liquidity and is also used by women for adorning themselves. Traditionally, gold has been considered auspicious among Hindus and is regarded to be symbolic of Lakshmi, the Goddess of Wealth.

Handmade jewellery

Talking about jewellery manufacturing in India is as good as talking about handmade jewellery in India. A major chunk of jewellery in the country is made by independent craftsmen whether the jewellery is costume or fine. Traditionally also, a significant part of jewellery manufacturing has been handmade. A jewellery piece in India can be bulk manufactured but somethings like the intricate details of settings, enamelling need a skilled craftsman which is why every jewellery is handmade.

[glassycatfish]

hey friends, i made a uquiz! what season are you?

there are 8 different results all with positive descriptions!

*disclaimer: i'm from america so these mainly describe northern hemisphere seasons and how I experience them, but i hope that doesn’t take away your enjoyment of this quiz!

[darklightacademias]

Dark academia dress guide for the medical student

I will celebrate that I have officially ended my first semester of medical school by writing this post (also kind of procrastinate studying for my winter exams, oops), since now I have 18 weeks of experience on dressing for college.

Mind you, how a medical student dresses in first and second year IS WILDLY different from how you dress in third, fourth, fifth and sixth year. In the first couple of years you spend most of your time in college, doing labs, attending lectures, going to the dissection room, and at most going to health centers and psychiatric wards to shadow physicians, and that’s only in select colleges. Starting third year you will spend more time in the hospital and simulation centers wearing uniform scrubs and lab coats than in a regular lecture hall, although, sometimes your rotation will mandate you wear casual business clothes.

That said, dark academia outfits for every occasion in the first year of medical school, plus practicality tips:

For the regular lecture day: wear comfortable high waisted pants, (maybe colored mom jeans, cigarette pants, belted pants, culottes) or a high waisted skirt, maybe a midi or a pencil one. You can wear a button up blouse, a turtleneck in winter, comfortable wool sweaters, etc. For summer, flowy dresses and skirts, loose blouses in silk, linen or cotton. Always, always, always carry a cardigan or a blazer or both BECAUSE IT GETS SO COLD IN LECTURE HALLS. Go with layers in winter and autumn and spring. For shoes, ankle boots in black or brown leather that’s a bit worn, ballet flats, loafers, I love those you can lace up your ankle, oxfords, lace up boots. Mostly comfortable shoes. Leave a good impression with your lecturer because that’s your future colleague right there.

If you will stay in the library until late hours studying, wear comfortable pants. I think you could make drawstring pants dark academia if they are high waisted, kinda loose but follow the line of your body, and if you wear them with a button up loose blouse or turtleneck or sweater, a blazer and boots or ballet flats depending on the weather.

For days you have to stay until 8 pm because you have a lab or a seminar, you can wear what you wore on lecture days unless it’s something to do with an actual lab with chemicals, like biology, biochemistry, and anatomy labs. In that case: your white lab coat, wear flat and close toe shoes that are comfortable because you will spend a long time on your feet. Such a long time on your feet. Ballet shoes, in this case, are not recommended. Boots are best, oxfords are fine. Make sure your shoes are made of something you can whipe off. Getting formaline and bits of dead people is hard to erase on canvas shoes. Also, don’t wear frilly things to the labs, no skirts or long dresses either. Wear shirts with short sleeves or that you can fold up. Wear the typical dark academia pants mentioned above. Be comfortable. For the people with long hair: wear it up and away from your face, no sweet romantic pieces falling on your head, channel Mary Curie and wear a bun, a braided crown, or a high ponytail. Never ever ever wear shorts, they will not let you in the lab.

I want to add: the last three weeks I spent everyday going to the dissection room until they closed at night to study for my anatomy practical exam and let me tell you: dress in layers when you have to go to that room because it is always cold, like a fridge, but you have to wear the lab coat on top. Wear your hair up, maybe a French twist? Also, always take your dissection kit with you because a fellow classmate will ask you to help them analyze a biological piece and you might need your tweezers and such.

For exams: dress well, smart and comfortable. I make a lot of emphasis for comfort because you will spend long hours in college absorbing a lot of information that will later save lives, and you deserve to be comfortable. For oral exams it is essential you dress well and leave a good impression with your examiner, everything counts. For written exams dress like you would for a lecture or the library because those are long.

For hospital and health center visits: unless you have to wear scrubs, you should wear the formal version of lecture outfits. In general, dark academia fashion is very conservative and professional, you look serious and profound, so great job dressing well. Just wear comfortable shoes, dress pants, and a button down or turtleneck, plus a pristine version of your white coat (don’t take the one you use for anatomy because it is dirty and it smells and it is likely stained). Wear your hair up if you it long.

Makeup for med school: I’d say something minimal, a dark lip and mascara. I think that dark under eye circles add to the aesthetic so no need to conceal those unless you want to. Maybe winged eyeliner, mascara and pink lips. Wear some blush high on your cheeks and the tip of your nose for that cold flushed look. Do your eyebrows well, that’s essential. Wear some burgundy eyeshadow on your eyelids if you want, or a color that truly brings out your eyes. Highlighter if you want to look ethereal and haunting, which is always a great thing. Curl your eyelashes. Wear sunscreen!

Accessories: a golden locket around your neck, a small ring or rings. Honestly: get small rings, big rings you have to remove every single time you need to put on rubber gloves. A bracelet with charms, and teardrop earrings or pearls. I’d say with jewelry the most important thing is that the color of your metals match: gold with gold and silver with silver. Avoid rose gold and copper pieces, those look too banal. Wear a head band on your head, or ribbons. Lots of ribbons. Get a nice leather dissection kit but make sure your pieces are always held securely, otherwise when you want to remove something and they are loose you can cut yourself and that’s no fun. Always carry some books on your arms to look smart. Solid color scarves are great for winter, as well as leather gloves, and a beret or classic earmuffs. For summer, a silk scarf with a French knot, sunglasses. Looser, thinner fabrics, but same cut of clothes. No turtlenecks, or sweaters naturally. Boatneck shirts in a solid color with pants or skirts are always elegant. You, again, can wear drawstring pants if you use the formula stated above. Same makeup as before. Take a picnic blanket in your bag to have a picnic on the grass with your friends or to study under an ancient tree.

[fuckingfinwions]

if you are taking submissions I would love a fic of after maedhros finally 'tames' curufin/lissinke enough to parade him through the palace. he has him on a leash that goes through nipple rings&a collar &fingon&nolo are on similar leashes. they are naked & adorned with jewelry symbols of maedhros, plugs too, and curufin is humiliated and not obedient, but both nolo and fingon tell him 2 just go along with it, it wont be so bad once its over, just be good also they dont want 2 be punished too

Actually this is sort of out of character for the Servants AU? At least for all three of them to be paraded, Curufin alone might work. But I'll go into why, and maybe I'll come across another fun/terrible idea on the way!

Basically, there are two potential reasons to parade a sex slave around in jeweled chains: "everyone come mock him" (humiliation) or "look at how pretty my toy is, don't you wish you had one". The second one requires thinking of the sex slaves as something valuable, which the servant Nolofinweans are not. They exist to do drudge work and to provide sexual release; the only "special" thing about them is that they're so low in the hierarchy they're not allowed to refuse sex. Obviously this isn't literally true, and honestly Maedhros doesn't totally believe it either, but it's the way Feanor always discussed them, and so the way Maedhros is going to treat them in public. (He does like seeing them in jewelry though, and will have some made, for private shows in his bedroom.)

Likewise, The servant Nolofinweans are, at least from Maedhros's point of view, too low to humiliate. It's like making fun of a clown, the whole point of whose appearance is to be ridiculous. The whole point of Nolofinwe and Fingon is to be fucked wherever and whenever Maedhros wants, so there ought to be nothing embarrassing about being displayed sexually and covered in sexual paraphernalia.

Curufin, however, still has a sense of dignity even once he stops resisting every singe thing, and Maedhros knows it. Maedhros wants to make sure Curufin is well and truly obedient, so he should do something that Curufin would hate and hasn't had time to get used to. Also although Maedhros is 100% certain he made the right call i making Curufin a servant, and that Curufin is no longer related to him, he does still view Curufin as a bit more special because Curufin was praised by the infallible Feanor.

So Maedhros has Curufin "dressed" in a plug and nipple rings with a leash and a lovely copper sound in his cock, and jewelry, a necklace with a central pendant that hangs down to his belly button and draws your eyes even lower, bracelets and anklets that are delicate except for the prominent rings where they could be hooked to each other or to a bed, shawl-shaped piece that covers nothing and just emphasizes Curufin's bare back. None of the jewelry has Feanor's star, instead it all has Maedhros's personal symbol. A gag as well, because Maedhros doesn't actually expect Curufin to behave, but the gag is beautiful filigree that accentuates Curufin's mouth rather than hide it. (Maedhros had Celebrimbor make the gag.) Curufin submits to having all of it put on, as this isn't the first time Maedhros has wanted to look at one of the Servants done up prettily.

It's when Maedhros opens his bedroom door that Curufin realizes this is different. He tries to stand still, but Maedhros gives a little yank on the leash and Curufin yelps at the pain in his nipples. He stumbles forward a step to reduce the pain, and before he can get his breath back Maedhros does it again, and Curufin stumbles forward again. This lasts down a couple hallways before Curufin gives in and walks faster, trailing behind Maedhros with the leash slack to give his nipples a chance to recover.

Maedhros doesn't display Curufin at a council meeting or when holding court in the throne room, that would be elevating Curufin to too high a level of importance. But Maedhros does make sure to stop by a few of the councilors and lords in their offices. If they remark on Curufin, Maedhros just brushes them off. Maedhros was just on his way to his study, or maybe the library, and "brought Inke along in case I had some free time later, though honestly who knows. Have you seen the latest news on grain prices from Valmar?" If Curufin tries to act up in public, Maedhros will casually back hand him, or fuck his cock with the sound, or pinch his ear until Curufin falls to his knees in pain. Making sure that all of Tirion knows that Maedhros won, and Curufin lost.

[babblable]

THE HEIST:

Disclaimer from our beloved DM: John Watsek was a real person who died young and was a member of the DM’s Highschool back in the day. 

SO. Our wonderful Dm made a horribly slimy conartist of a shopkeeper who conned a party member(Icarus) out of a dagger and a hammer(?). The shopkeep has done worse, mind you and I’ll list how our money system works and the members now before I continue. OH! and As payback, they stole a very expensive ring called “Fuck you in particular” and in response, not knowing who took it, the Shopkeep doubled the price of everything in the store.

The rest under the read-more bc it’s a long post.

Characters-Player:  Icarus-(Don’t have their handle yet) Chad & Solace- @flylikeacomet Erulisse- @azvede Vincent Dick- Yours truly

NPC’s in this session played by our nefarious dm that we love endlessly, @zkriiwewe: -Doctor Ismene -Tsubasa -Raynor(The Shopkeeper)

Money System: 100 Copper=1 Silver 10 Silver=1 Gold 1 Gold=1000Copper****This bit is important.

Now, on to the story. Given what I’ve already stated, it’s safe to assume that NO ONE LIKES RAYNOR. He even rigged the laws so he was the only shopkeep allowed to trade outside the keep. So no one was gonna say anything about who stole the ring of ‘fuck you in particular’, not even my paladin, Vincent or the Yarl, Lapushka. Solace walks into the Bazaar, knowing what happened and that the prices were doubled, but hoping to get a deal anyways. When a deal for Mica powder doesn’t go his way, Solace presents a gummy bracelet that says 'John Watsek - Forever a Falcon’ and claims that it’s an old relic from the old world(The world Icarus and Vincent spawned from). For a good 30 mins in game, it was a back ad forth bullshitting from Solace, to the point of even dragging in Chad to talk it up, depicting Watsek as an amazing warrior from the old world. Raynor, not buying it at all, says in annoyance “If you get me a book on this guy, then I’ll think about buying it.”

And SO THE HEIST BEGINS BC SOLACE COMES UP WITH AN AMAZING IDEA. IM TALKING FUCKING LEVERAGE LEVEL SHIT.

They go to Tsubasa and convince them to help them make a book about the stories of the Great Watsek, Tsubasa agreeing as long as they get 20% of the prize money and the others create the rough draft. Chad and Solace decide to drag in the rest of the party, Vincent and Icarus being key elements bc they’re both old worlders and make it believable, and the keeps doctor, who fucking hates raynor with a burning passion for fucking her over on her potion selling. After coming up with the rough draft, Tsubasa, Ismene and Vincent work on binding the final draft, doctoring it so it looks ancient and writing Vincent’s name in it so it looks like it came from his library.

Context: Vincent is considered the local tome hoarder. Him and his husband have walls full of incredibly rare and ancient texts, many of which are worth a pretty copper. More Context: Vincent *loves* books.Granted, He’d sell his entire collection for his loved ones in a heartbeat without a second thought. He just really fucking loves books and reading. So much so that if he doesn’t have to, convincing him to part with any of his books is a bitch of a nightmare and a half.

When they present the book to Solace to review, he rolls an Investigation to set the Investigation required to know it’s a fake and HE GETS A NAT 20.

When Solace then takes it to Raynor to sell, Raynor is shocked to say the least and they argue about a price for about 5 minutes before Raynor rolls to see through the bullshit….. and he gets… A. NAT. 1.

A NATURAL FUCKING 1!!!

Solace asks for 70 gold for it, but Raynor manages to haggle it down to 50 gold, the Mica powder and a 3 legged warhorse statue that can turn into an actual 3 legged warhorse.

Solace splits the money between the party, Tsubasa getting 10 gold pieces, Vincent, Ismene and Solace getting 7 and the rest getting 6.

Overall….. THE PARTY CONNED THIS ASSHOLE SHOPKEEP OUT OF 50,000$ WITH A BULLSHIT RELIC/HISTORY BOOK COMBO. NOT INCLUDING THE MAGIC STATUE, MAGIC RING AND MICA POWDER.

OUR DM: MAKES A SLEEZY SHOPKEEP THAT LITERALLY EVERYONE HATES OUR PARTY: WE 'BOUT TO END THIS MANS WHOLE CAREER

[blackswaneuroparedux]

Anonymous asked: Asking because you seem to have both class and a sense of style. Jewelry on men. I say anything more than a watch, a wedding ring (and a tie pin or cufflinks if needed) is gaudy and hideous. Some men can pull off an earring. One earring! Not seven!! But on most men earrings look ugly. Any more and the person is either a piercing fetishist, trying too hard to be bohemian, or wearing lots of jewelry trying to look like a rapper. Thoughts?            

I got more than a few mails about my dislike of tattoos in a previous ask. I make no apologies for disliking tattoos on men and especially women. I stand by my thoughts in that regard. My stance on jewelry is more complex.

Women have been wearing jewelry for centuries to enhance their overall look or to make a statement of status. While trends come and go, there are still some basic guidelines that are timeless. One of the most important things to remember is that a woman needs to be aware of what is considered proper attire for each situation and choose her jewelry accordingly.

Fashionistas know that accessorising with jewelry can take an outfit from boring to one that will get a woman noticed. But she has to make sure that the attention she’s getting is positive. The right accessories will enhance a woman’s overall look and provide the fashion statement she wants to project, but if she isn't careful, she might cheapen her appearance or distract from the projection of her poise and personality.

As a rule, less is more on women. But there are times when a woman wants to wear accessories that sparkle and shine; the key is to know when it's fine to do so.

I work in the corporate world and so it’s a very conservative world in terms of style. So as a general rule of thumb it's fine to wear a watch or bracelet, a ring, a pair of earrings, and a necklace. Anything more than that is probably too much for most work environments.

The old rule about mixing metals is not passé. It matters. Wearing any combination of gold, silver, pewter, copper etc can add years to one face. Metals have either warm or cool undertones and it will show if a woman thoughtlessly does a  mix and match. In general, the ‘golds’ complement warm skin tones, while the ‘silvers’ suit those with cooler toned colouring. For example for pale skin, silver or gold looks fine on fair skin but rose gold brings out the pink in the skin. Women with pale skin know they should steer away of yellow golds and should stick to silver or white. Women with olive skins know they can pretty much wear whatever colour as it all looks good on their skin colour. 

A woman should also honestly consider her bone structure. For example, if she happens to be petite, she might choose particularly fine pieces. Those women who are bigger boned have the option to go for more substantial pieces. But again substantial doesn’t mean bling or gaudy. Women with oblong faces are better off with round earrings. Women with heart shaped faces should stick to straight earrings with our curves. A square face goes best with curved earrings and squared earrings are best for those with a rounder face. 

Women shouldn’t be afraid to select jewelry with personality - not loud but one that doesn’t draw attention to itself. Wearing delicate jewelry doesn’t have to be boring. Precious and semi-precious stones add colour and charms or metal work can contribute movement.

Often it’s preferable to opt for studs when it comes to earrings - avoid big blinged bangles. Think pearls or diamonds (real or faux). Or perhaps go with interesting shapes. Whatever she chooses, a woman should keep their size in line with the delicacy of the rest of her jewelry.

At public events or social occasions I allow myself to be more expressive but still within the bounds of taste and understated elegance to go with light jewelry. Remember that jewelry is supposed to accessorise one’s outfit. Wearing too much of it, even to a formal event, distracts from the overall look.

At times I dislike wearing jewelry apart from a family crested signet ring or not wearing anything at all. On those occasions I simply wear a tasteful scarf. A scarf almost instantly eliminates the need for statement necklaces and earrings.

Men and jewelry is less of a minefield for me. Basic rule: men should stay away from jewelry apart from a ring (marriage or family signet ring) and a watch. 

Earrings on men are a cry for attention.

I know some men feel they need to wear one or two earrings because they wants to either express their individuality or style. Or both. The trouble is both never really complement the look they want to carry. Or if they think it does suit their look it steals focus away from what they want to express.

The heart of the issue is what do earrings really represent? The earring - unlike a signet ring - is hard to place.  Is it casual or formal? It lacks personality.

It’s no wonder many white collar professional firms will show you the door on your way out.

Moreover, most men have little or no idea how to earrings match their skin tone and face shape. Also skin tone clashes with some colours, like any piece of jewelry as any well dressed woman will tell you.

If men wearing earrings are all about expressing personality then I feel they can do better. A patterned tie or a pocket square would be more stylish and more acceptable.

My advice for men is to leave earrings well alone....

I get asked about men and beards too. So let me answer that here. Simply put, I have no problem at all with them in principle. They can look stylish and masculine.

I personally prefer clean shaven men but at the same time I have no aesthetic objections to men with beards because some clearly do look better with one than without. It’s quite primal and an obvious sign of masculinity. A beard can give a man a sense of power and confidence that is readily evident to everyone around him. Therefore, making the decision to grow a beard can be a way for a man to set a higher standard for his life and become more successful.

My main principle for men wanting to grow beards is grooming. It’s wise to heed the advice of female comedian and writer, Ellie Kemper (Netflix’s The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) , “A man's face is not a rich person's lawn…Nor is a man's face the woods.”

There is a world of difference between looking like a Mexican cartel drug dealer with pimp-like razor thin manicured beard and a disheveled drugged up psychopath like Charles Manson.

Good grooming counts.

Thanks for your question.

[thelastpilot]

Please rate the eeveelutions, they're my favs I wanna know what you think about them

Okay now that I’m at my computer and not my phone let’s get cracking!!

First and foremost, Eevee! #133

not my favorite │ average │ cute │ adorable │ best │ ultimate fave

Eevee is adorable, dependable, versatile (obviously), like its a 1st stage pokemon that can be added to your group and then evolved into such a VARIETY of types to offset whatever thing you’re lacking in your team like, loveability aside that’s straight up useful. The swiss army knife of pokemon. And you can plan for the future like, okay I don’t need an electric cause by the time i get to X gym i’ll have a jolteon. Eevee is freaking adorable and amazing, I have Let’s Go Eevee and his name is Copper and I love him.

Vaporeon #134. Water.

not my favorite │ average │ cute │ adorable │ best │ ultimate fave

Vaporeon is elegant. Like I know Espeon is the fancy one? But you can’t ignore that Vaporeon is right up there with it for like dismissive bitch at the party. They can be the intelligent reserved one AND the fancy one, 10/10

Jolteon #135. Electric.

not my favorite │ average │ cute │ adorable │ best │ ultimate fave

You ever bought a pair of vans? chances are you’re into Jolteon. Jolteon is the androgynous fav, the punk girl and the rock dude, the agreeable middle ground of the Eevee gang. Jolteon is just cool, and fast as FUCK, you need a speed boost?? Get yourself a Jolteon

Flareon #136. Fire.

not my favorite │ average │ cute │ adorable │ best │ ultimate fave

Got to admit, not my fav. A somewhat uninspired design, I understand that the fluff looks like fire but what if the fluff WAS fire? I’m talking Ponyta dude, What if it was white hot fire and the red fur had a gradient down to the paws where the part closest to the white hot fire was paler, and the paws were a deep dark red and it’s eyes looked like smoldering coals. Now THATS a fire-type Eevee, but by no means to be ignored, Just not my fav

Umbreon #197. Dark.

not my favorite │ average │ cute │ adorable │ best │ ultimate fave

You ever bought a slap bracelet at hot topic? You’ve heard of Umbreon, and he’s been in your main team since you were 11. Now this is not to generalize this badass, cause theres a REASON everyone loves it. People go apeshit over anything moon oriented, you telling me this pitch black dope-ass fox has glowing rings of gold and blood red eyes? Only appears if it trusts you with its entire soul under the cover of darkness?? Will fight for you and guard your grave for millenia? Hell yeah dude, of COURSE people love this guy

Glaceon #471. Ice.

not my favorite │ average │ cute │ adorable │ best │ ultimate fave

I like glaceon, glaceon is cool, but suffered for being paired with Leafeon because its not as cool as Leafeon. Now this is 100% my personal bias for all things forest related and I admit that, because at its base the ice design is very smooth and cool and I love the whole head design of the creature. Would have liked to have seen more fluff and like ice shards sticking off the body in my person opinion. Glassy ice coated or even milky white eyes would have been a dope bonus. 

Leafeon #470. Grass.

not my favorite │ average │ cute │ adorable │ best │ ultimate fave

Fuck yeah dude. I love Leafeon. I love all things nature related and its got a GREAT design! It’s 3D models kind of suck but its 2D art is amazing! With the gradient of the Leaf ears and tail and the great un-symmetrical detail on the leaves! The colors overall and the eyes! Love this little forest spirit, I trust this creature. 10/10 would follow it into the fae realm

Espeon #196. Psychic.

not my favorite │ average │ cute │ adorable │ best │ ultimate fave

Espeon is cool but again suffered for me with who it was paired with because Umbreon was CLEARLY my pick and I never gave Espeon much of a shake unless my goal was to get all the eeveeloutions. Espeons presence in Pokemon Colosseum is what made me like them way more, as starting with them both was extremely cool. very smooth elegant lady who absolutely absorbs all the details around her but doesnt do anything with the information unless it suits her purposes. Be careful with what you share with her, she aient gonna gossip but it WILL hurt you if she desires so.  

Sylveon #700. Fairy.

not my favorite │ average │ cute │ adorable │ best │ ultimate fave

Everyone loves Sylveon, a really great fairy type that came with no partner when announced but stood out all on its own. Would have liked to see it counterbalanced with a Dragon type eevee but we can’t have everything. Colors were absolutely amazing and I am in love with the dynamic ribbons that flow all around it, makes it appears very mystical while still being inviting! (Like a fairy!) Great color choice for everything including the eyes and one was really important to a lot of people. I too really enjoy Sylveon. 

[steelroseforge]

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[witchqueenofthemoon]

BODY AND SOUL Part 26 (Duncan Shepherd/Mackenzie Stone Millory AU)

BODY AND SOUL MASTERPOST

Author’s Note: So I was almost done editing this part in Tumblr earlier today and then my laptop, for some reason, decided to close the window, and of course I hadn’t saved it as a draft, so I lost everything I’d formatted! Including my many meticulous links for this chapter that has about 235453636 details! So, that was great!!! I had to start from scratch and find everything again (thank goddess for Google search history for once), and it took a really fucking long time--your encouraging comments for this part in particular would mean a lot because knowing anyone is actually reading will soften my deep frustration at spending literally my entire day on posting this chapter. I’ve said this before but this fic is primarily about two things: 1) big cosmic fucking love (emphasis on the FUCKING) and 2) CLOTHES, hence me elaborating on their outfits constantly ad nauseam, so if you’re ever wondering why I talk about their clothes so goddamn much, it’s because clothes are very erotic/important to me and they are a big part of the way I tell a story, especially this one. Kenzie manifests Telekinesis in this part. Oberon and Titania are the fabled King and Queen of the Fae, and the lines Duncan and Kenzie speak to each other are from Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream. Kenzie sings CRYSTAL to Duncan before they sleep--that song is very important to Duckenzie, and it will probably show up again before the end. Kenzie’s outfit in this part/part of the next: her wrap crop top, her cut-off shorts, her black bikini, her Vans. Other stuff she packs: the rust-colored mini dress, the pink rose mini-dress, the white mini-dress, the white crop top, the denim shortalls, her Timberland boots, her boot sandals, the black dress with the buckle, the gray cardigan, the gray long-sleeved top, the long linen dress with roses. I can’t find the original sunflower-colored maxi dress I based hers on now; it was sort of like this but with short sleeves. Duncan’s outfit in this part: his button-down, his jersey shorts, his Suede Pumas. Other stuff he packs: the navy flannel, the other button-down, the Nike club hoodie, the zip-up hoodie, chino shorts, tee shirts, relaxed chinos, Nike hiking boots, fitted chinos, the feather shirt Kenzie likes, his black swim trunks. My Duncan doesn’t wear jeans, and Kenzie rarely wears pants; that’s just their stylistic preferences. His suitcase, her suitcase, her moon and sun tote. The Yeti coolers look like this and apparently keep stuff cold, like, FOREVER. Here’s the stargazing book, which I have. Duncan’s gold weed pipe looks like this and was inspired by these pictures of Cody smoking a weird vape, and also was inspired by the fact that he’s apparently (sources tell me) a big stoner irl, which I love. Pullman’s The Golden Compass/Northern Lights is indeed about parallel universes, among other things. I had to make them listen to Kiiara’s Gloe, a song that definitely sounds like it’s about Duckenzie, as I mentioned before. The Blue Skies remix is this one by Maya Jane Coles. I’m the bitch who has loved WUTHERING HEIGHTS fiercely since middle school, hence me giving Kenzie that love/a good recollection of it. I love writing their little conversations so fucking much--just my moon babies, in love. The route to Deep Creek Lake really is via a road called Lakeside Trail. The luxury cabin was inspired by two different models, this one for the front, this one for the back. The gazebo looks like this, more or less. The front room looks sort of like this, but with darker wood, no TV, a bigger fireplace (something like this, with dark stone around instead of the white wood), and not as much taxidermy. The Swarovski chandelier is like this. The bed is like this, the headboard like this, the gold laurels, and Annie Swynnerton’s Cupid and Psyche, which, fuck it, I’m saying is the real thing that Annette bought at an auction at some point (now I want a print of that one too, I love it so much, especially the flower crown in Cupid’s hair). The copper bathtub will feature again soon. I looked at this photo of Billie and this one of Cody a lot while I wrote this chapter; that’s my Kenzie and my Duncan. I said this to Luna ( @misslunarayne ) yesterday--but sometimes I get so overwhelmed by how much I love what I’m creating that I legitimately feel like I’m going to pass the fuck out. ART AND LOVE ARE THE DRUG, LADIES/GENTS/NONBINARY FOLKS. As ever, your likes, reblogs, asks, comments and edits mean the world to me. Get ready for ~a lot~ of fucking in the next chapter.

And here at the end of the evening, watching the night lights of the District of Columbia scatter and disperse as Duncan drove them back to the penthouse, Kenzie was full of contentment.

It washed over her like water, like a tide; to be inside this moment with you, Duncan, is like the purest solitude. To be inside your mind as I know you’re in mine, and to feel so much peace inside that certainty. Despite the pressing chaos of the Gala, a chaos that had tried unsuccessfully to disturb them, Kenzie knew that in the future, she’d only retain the joy from this night in her memories: Lindy and Gabby in their floral dresses, tears in Lindy’s eyes, the purity of the happiness Kenzie had felt in Duncan’s arms as the photographers snapped their cameras wildly, the way Duncan had fucked her so passionately, so utterly, his voice dipping into her ear (you are the greatest pleasure I’ve ever felt, will ever feel, you’re mine and I’m infinitely blessed) his lips open on her neck, the press of the plug still inside her now, holding him inside her, the look of him leaning next to Day, his face serene, happy, and oh-so-deeply beautiful, the nostalgic joy in his gaze as he had flipped through the mythology book now safely resting on her lap. The dark beauty of him now, the dark shadow shrouding his blue gaze, glancing at her singing, the adoration in his eyes so strong it made her shiver.

“I love you so much,” he said, his tone resolute and aching, then with his mind, I love you so much, I love you, love you, love you forever angel, my angel, divine goddess his thoughts echoed against her, devolving down into blue warmth like a fading fire. “Baby, we finally get to be alone. Really alone. Oh god, I can’t wait. I might never want to come back. Would you come live in the woods with me, wild and free, Princess Kenzie?” Duncan’s gold Cartier bracelet glinted on his elegant wrist as he deftly jerked the steering wheel, his eyes glancing between her and the road, that angelic smile playing at his mouth, dizzying her. As it always will.

“I would, Fae Prince,” Kenzie drifted her fingers along the frayed edges of the mythology book, gazing up at him from the halo of her eyelashes. She felt the waves of his delight at that--the shy approval of his acceptance. The romance of this evening is ours. It exists because it exists between us. That’s all there is--this. Us. And you truly are my Prince.  “Oberon of the fairies.”

“Am I not thy lord, Titania?” Duncan grinned at her, and the blue depth of his eyes flashed darkly, and Kenzie’s breath caught. Oh sweet Goddess, you are. My body is yours and you know it is. My soul clings to yours as though it’s the lifeblood of me. Your soul is mine and the knowledge of you encircles my heart and I’m overcome in its beauty. You are my lord. You are my Hades in your shadowed majesty, my Dionysus in your wanton desire for me, if I am Titania, you are Oberon most assuredly, the moon to my sun, the sun to my moon, the sky that holds the stars of me, and my lord. Always.

“Then I must be thy lady,” Kenzie replied, reaching for his hand--Duncan grasped it with fingers hot and insistent, his thoughts bursting with warmth at her words, pulling them away a moment later as he turned the steering wheel again, onto the side-street where the high-rise was tucked off the main road, in its serene stretch of manicured lawn. The moon was silhouetted in almost the very center of the sky, not quite descending west yet. The G-Class shut off with almost no sound at all--its sleek, streamlined affect seemed almost intelligent, knowing. Kenzie looked up into the sky, gentle moonlight kissing her cheeks as she slid out of the passenger seat, brushing her hair from her shoulders--waves of it had freed themselves from Hannah’s ordered mess of roses and Kenzie watched several petals scatter on the sidewalk around her as her hand fell. She turned to Duncan, who had exited the car, coming up behind her, his hand drifting across the back of her head, down the cascade of her rosy hair. His eyes were on the petals that had fallen to the ground, then he looked at her as she turned to him, her hair still sliding through his fingers, and she could feel the ache of his mind, knew what he was thinking, saw his earnest vulnerability, felt the pounding of his heart, heard the rapid beating of her own.

I want to ask you to marry me, he was thinking. I want to ask you, Kenzie. I want to so much...

Kenzie shook her head a little, her mouth dipping open, her hand coming up to his stubbled cheek--in that hazy ring of moonlight, the stars shrouded by city lights but still almost visible above them, in that cocoon of night, and the rest of the world seemed to be utterly still but for the distant sounds of traffic far off in the distance, the slightness of the summer wind.

Not yet, Duncan. Not yet. Wait until we find out--find out whatever it is. The thing that’s coming. You feel it too. I know you do, as certainly as the dawn, as the moon in the sky right now. It’s almost here. The knowledge--the secret thing.

“Wait,” Kenzie whispered, and Duncan’s hands came down to her cheeks, and he held her there with such a delicate sweetness Kenzie felt herself immediately begin to cry. A tear drifted down from her eye to his thumb, and Duncan brushed it away, his mouth falling open in dismay. She smiled--it’s okay, baby, my sweet Prince, it’s okay. My tears are a relief to me inside your love. It moves me so much, I have to cry. “Just wait a little bit longer. Just a little longer, okay?”

Duncan was nodding, and Kenzie could see the threat of tears on him, too--he drifted his fingers against her for another moment, his face, shrouded in shadow and angelic as a painting on the roof of some holy chapel, leaning down to her, his height enveloping her, filling her with solace. The wind was drifting into his curls, and Kenzie felt utterly moved by what seemed to be on the horizon--she felt lost inside its rising call, the feeling of it suddenly swirling around them like a whirling sphere of gold, the sidewalk deserted, the night so quiet. It was as if they’d suddenly been transported to another universe, imperceptibly, in the hair’s-breadth span of a moment. Everything looked the same, but the air was different, charged with a potency that seemed alien. Because that other universe is always so close, Kenzie thought, her mind hazy with Duncan’s eyes. Isn’t it? That’s true, isn’t it, baby? That other universe, and all of them, hovering nearby.

Then the thought, imperceptible, obtuse--and the feeling--drifted away. Duncan still seemed to be lost inside her mind, in her gaze--she could feel him, rosy and desirous, falling down the curves of her body, the invisible touch of him along the golden gown she still wore, the fingers of his soul at her throat, imagining her in the throes of his passionate attentions. Kenzie shivered, then gently pulled his hand down from her cheek; Duncan dutifully gathered her train over his arm, and they walked down the pathway to the high-rise’s entrance with the moon shining on them, watchful, and its face seemed familiar again, no longer the hidden moon from a moment ago, Kenzie thought, but our moon again, though I know the other moon--those other moons--are always behind this one, aren’t they? Those other moons live beside our moon, and together they echo through time. Tonight there’s a thinness--and in that thinness, there are visible things that will vanish when daylight comes again.

It was well past midnight now, and neither Anchaly or Jerry were anywhere to be seen--a security guard sat in Anchaly’s usual seat at the front desk, and he glanced up at Duncan and Kenzie, then did a nervous double-take. Kenzie smiled at him, yep it’s us, those Instagram stars, then Duncan was pulling her with him into the elevator out of the guard’s eyesight, and she was falling against him, the book and her clutch in her arms pressing into his belly; she could see that Duncan had closed his eyes in the mirror in front of them, and his face was lined with tiredness now, the makeup there no longer able to conceal it. Lost in the feeling of you, my constant comfort, my Kenzie, and Kenzie closed her eyes too, turning her nose into his shirt and breathing deeply, her hands coming up to clutch at the lapels of his jacket, the golden tips of his collar.

“I can’t believe we can finally be alone together, baby,” she whispered. “I can’t believe it. Really alone. I’ve missed the woods so much--and we’ll be together--”

“Wait until you see it, baby,” Duncan said as they walked to the penthouse door. He was tiredly reaching for his wallet, but his hand slipped and he dropped it--Kenzie smiled, dipping down to pick it up, holding her clutch and the mythology book against her chest with her elbows, opening it, loving the feeling of the leather in her fingers (because it’s his, because it belongs to him) as she pulled his keycard out (there were at least ten other cards in it, and at least ten or twelve hundred dollar bills alongside two dozen crisp twenty dollars bills--Kenzie recognized his Black AmEx immediately amid several other American Express cards, scrunched her nose up at his license for a moment, SHEPHERD, DUNCAN MALCOLM, then the penthouse address, SEX M, HGT 5’11”, WGT 160, EYES BLU, DOB 07/06/1988, his solemn expression in it crushing her heart with affection), swiping it through the keypad beside the door. She tucked the keycard back inside the wallet and then, in a moment of abandon, lifted it to her mouth and kissed it. Duncan gave her a look of deep longing, lifting his chin back, eyes closing, biting his lip--then Kenzie reached behind her head, grasping the softness of one of the rose buds there, gently pulled at the petals--two in dark, aching red came out in her fingers, and she opened the side-nook of the wallet, slipping the petals inside.

“Just a memory of tonight,” she murmured, and slid the wallet back into his back pocket, her fingers lingering along the rise of his ass. Duncan dipped and caught her mouth inside his--he pulled the penthouse door open absently as they clung together, refusing to break apart as they stumbled inside, his hand coming down to press at the aching plug (still there, still pressing into me, aching with you now, aching with the length of my supplication to you, holding your release deep inside me). The tiredness in her seemed to dissipate now; she felt his lifting too, lifting in the cadence of his desire rising again. Kenzie noticed several shipping boxes piled by the kitchen island from the haze of his embrace, throwing the book and her clutch down on the obsidian surface, remembering the things she’d ordered for the trip a few days before, then returned to his touch, the feeling of his fingers.

“Bed. Come, baby.” Kenzie broke away from him, not even bothering to unwrap her shoes--you can do it in our bed, beloved. You will undress me. She ran to the bedroom, her train slipping from his fingers, away from him because she knew he’d follow, suddenly intoxicated with their bed’s serene black surface as it came into view--threw herself on it, watching with delight as the golden train of her dress floated out behind her, stretching off the bed in gathers that pilled along the dark wood. She turned from the position on her belly, crooking her knees as Duncan followed her into the room--he was suddenly on top of her, his much larger form enveloping her, pushing her gently down so her back was facing him, his legs on either side of her hips, his crotch pressing gently into her ass--his long fingers were instantly at the concealed zipper along her spine, pressing it down insistently. As he went lower he slid off the bed, hands coming up to begin to ease the sleeves from her arms, pulling her toward him with ease, and Kenzie turned to face him, laying on her back now as Duncan peeled the dress off her breasts. His mouth came down to one of her nipples as it came free, and Kenzie shuddered against him, against his lips, his hands working the dress down now, lips reluctantly pulling away so he could ease the dress from her hips, exposing the delicate panties he’d carefully helped her into again in that quiet powder room. Duncan had the exquisite dress Morgan had created for Kenzie in his hands now--Kenzie went to get up, but Duncan shook his head.

“Don’t, baby. Stay here.” Kenzie lay back, still wearing her golden heels and panties, her eyelids shivering, her breath gasping now in anticipation, rose petals scattered on the sheet behind her head. Duncan disappeared into the walk-in closet for a moment, then reappeared a moment later without her dress. Too beautiful a thing to discard on the floor this time, she knew, and nodded to him, loving his thoughtfulness, his mindfulness. Duncan came up to the edge of the bed, his dark and gold jacket shimmering down at her, his darkly-shadowed eyes roving from her hair scattered on the bed around her to her breasts, her nipples shivering with hardness, then he dipped his (beautiful) hands to the waistband of her panties, pulling them down as he kneeled before her, kneeled before their bed. Your altar, she heard him, and she trembled, her body feeling too hot and too cold at once inside his blue eyes. Duncan.worked at the ties at her ankles with his graceful long hands, kissing the inclines of her feet as he pulled the shoes off, carefully setting them aside. Kenzie glanced over his shoulder, watching the shape of his back, the velvety gold of his blazer, the soft fall of his hair, kneeling before her in the Mirror. My Prince kneels before me, oh, fuck, Goddess--

“Do you want me to undress?” He asked her; and his thoughts were intensely earnest, his mind interested only in her needs, making her think of evening clouds drifting in an indigo sunset. Oh Duncan, you are so beautiful inside. So fucking lovely. I feel selfish to behold this part of you, this hidden wondrous beauty of you, but I can’t help it, I want it all to myself. Beloved, exalted in my eyes. You’re so beautiful to look at, but oh, Goddess, your real beauty is the one the world cannot see, and I am moved by him, that hidden self, body and soul.

“No--” Kenzie gasped as the cool air of the room drifted against the sensitivity of the plug, the hardness of her nipples, and her arms broke out in goosebumps. She moved her thighs apart as his hands pressed insistently up the incline of her legs, felt the lips of her sex spread open for him, the stretch of her asshole around the plug, wet with the residue of his come. “I want you to suck on me, Prince, give your mouth to me with your come held inside my naked body, worship my body that belongs to you--”

“Kenzie, fuck,” he whispered, then Duncan brought his face down close to the open lips of her, laving out his tongue, wet with spit that dripped from his aching mouth, to press insistently to her clit, lingering there as she writhed inside his grasp for a moment, lifting her chin to the ceiling and moaning in a soft, prolonged stream that she knew would drive him insane with longing--then one of his hands was drifting from her thigh to her belly, from her belly to pinch insistently at her breast, twisting her nipple in a hard grip that made her gasp, then drifting up further to her neck, to where she still wore Adelaide’s braided golden ruby, and Duncan pressed his elegant, achingly lovely hand into her there, and gripped her tightly as he sucked, hard and unrelenting, at her clit. Kenzie’s hips bucked up in a keening roll that bled into a steady rhythm, the whining cries from her sent out like entreating prayers to him, and she was murmuring his name, her hands thrown back, palms open at either side of her head, knowing he wanted her to stay still, knowing he wanted to hold her under his mercy in this moment, murmuring to him to try to keep herself from coming already, fuck, not yet, I want you to give me everything, my Prince, I dream of your mouth on me always, your devotions. The pressure of the plug in her ass was sending shocks up her spine with every convulsion of her cunt under his lips and tongue, and his hand at her throat was sweet with constriction.

“Choke me, baby,” she heard herself, whimpering, “Ch-choke me and suck my clit, I’m your angel baby and I n-need you--need you--fuck me with your mouth--”

“Mmmhm,” Duncan’s mouth was buried flush against her, but Kenzie could feel the rolling vibrations of his lips humming against her, and his hand was pressing with measured strength, harder, into her neck, the feeling of his fingers so intense they seemed to burn against her. Kenzie let out a little gasp, and Duncan moved his hand up to the dip of where her jaw began at the top of her throat; with careful insistence he pressed her chin back so her eyes couldn’t see him, were forced to look towards the wall behind them, the empty wall that she’d said they should put something on--for a brief second, Kenzie contemplated this again, wildly--we really should put something on that wall, something beautiful--and then Duncan was raising his head to rest his chin for a moment on her abdomen, still forcing her head back, his other hand coming down to rub at her clit so she’d have no reprieve from his attentions.

“Kenzie, you taste like fucking heaven, baby, like the fucking nectar of heaven, like ambrosia, you taste like wine made from the apples of trees that grow in paradise, I dream about the sweet scent of your cunt now and I wake up in hunger for you, all I want is you, you bless me to let me worship you this way, princess of heaven, my flower of the universe--”

Kenzie was shivering under his hand, her hips trembling, and she tried to move back from his fingers, loathe to come yet, loathe to miss his fingers touching her with such terrible sweetness, and she was murmuring between her gasping, heard herself say “put your fingers in my mouth, baby, make me suck on you too,” and he was nodding, bringing his index and middle fingers up to her wet, shuddering bottom lip, pulling her head back down to look at him, dipping them inside her to press on her tongue for a moment before drifting up so she could close her mouth on him, his other fingers still holding her head back, still keeping her steady, prostrate, and Kenzie sucked desperately at his (those hands, for me alone, let me worship you too, baby) fingers, whimpered into the feeling of his skin, and Duncan was burying his mouth against her again, his tongue gentle now, but no less insistent, dipping against her until she keened once more, keened against his arm pressed along her body between her breasts, holding her down for him, you like keeping me here, don’t you, baby, she drifted against him, you like holding me down, making me writhe for you, my angelic love--

“Fuck, yes,” Duncan’s reply was spoken aloud, and Kenzie knew he wanted to speak his longing into her, not just press his love to her sex, but speak it into the room, fill every corner with it. “I do, baby, I fucking do, I love you all to myself this way,” and he was licking along the curve of the lips of her sex, down to the dip of skin before the plug pushed snugly inside her, “Unng, baby, fuck, you taste so good--wait till we’re in the woods, I’m gonna fuck you every hour, fuck you until we’re so exhausted we have to sleep all day, and then we’ll wake up and fuck again, I’ll worship you again and again, into the night, under the stars, all through the day until the sun is dipping low in the sky--” he was dipping his fingers in and out of the wetness of her mouth now, making her moan with the sensation of being filled so with his lips and his fingers and the plug, still sending its shockwaves through her back every time Duncan made her cunt twinge; the space between her convulsions was becoming smaller and smaller, and she was beginning to see golden bursts of need in the corners of her vision, bearing down on her--Duncan seemed to sense how close she was treading to her orgasm, and he continued to speak against her between his admonitions, dipping his tongue into the shuddering twinge of her vulva, then long and languid at her clit, then speaking the sweet, ardent poem into her, his breath so shivering-soft, brushing down onto the wetness gathering strongly between her legs, her arousal and his saliva mingling irrevocably--Duncan brought his hand away from her mouth to grasp her under both thighs, hitching her knees over his shoulders so she was lifted up utterly, into his face, his eyes closing in the throes of his ardency, shrouding them in the dark eyeshadow still on him, reminding her of some holy fresco painted dark, a pious congregant in ecstatic worship, an achingly lovely visage of a damned soul finally redeemed. I love your eyelashes, your sweet eyelids, the incline of your cheeks, your mouth, fu-fuck, your beautiful fucking mouth, Duncan, how--how are you mine--

“You’re my angel, you’re fucking heaven to me--you’re a fucking goddess, even now you’re dipped in gold, the gold is you, it’s you, only you, exalted, beloved, entire, my only--” Duncan brought his fingers down, pressing them into the plug, pulling gently at it so she cried out at the smooth pressure of the bulb against the opening of her there as he flushed his mouth onto the bud of her again, “--So fucking beautiful I never want to look away from you, Kenzie--so fucking beautiful you fill all of my senses and time means nothing against you--nothing, uhhh, fuck, Kenzie--my fucking beautiful angel, god, I fucking love your body, I want to hold it forever--my Princess, sweetest golden honey, my moonlight, come for me, come for me, come against my lips, come into me--” and he was lifting his mouth away, bringing the hand that had toyed with the plug up, raising a flat palm to give her a little testing slap along the spread lips of her sex--Kenzie whined and bucked up into the air, her knees over his shoulders, his mouth hovering near her, smiling that smile beyond the beauty of her imagining, and she was whimpering again, and now she was begging, “Fuck, baby, please, do it again, I’m so close,” and Duncan’s face went slack with adoration, a little moan escaping him too to see her beg, to hear the sweetness of it, she knew--

Then he brought his palm down more harshly, the sound of it snapping into the wetness between her legs as he slapped her clit with a concentrated, sharp pressure, and Kenzie cried out, her eyes closing with an involuntary, ragged intake of breath--the coil of her orgasm was making her thighs begin to shake uncontrollably now, and she knew Duncan could see it in her eyes, see that she was about to let go for him, and he yanked her across the black sheet to the edge of the bed, so she was intently against him, as close as he could possibly clutch her to his open mouth, bringing both hands down to her face, one grasping at her neck again, against the cool gold of the necklace, oh god, Adelaide, if you could see where your necklace is now, Kenzie thought wildly, under the hot fingers of your grandson fucking the life out of me with his tongue, his other hand dipping around the space under her ear, his thumb probing into her mouth again, dipping harshly into the crook of it, forcing her lips open to him, wanting my mouth open to him, she knew, could feel his desire like an intense bluish flood, felt his thumb move down to her bottom lip and press it open, could feel the satisfaction in him when her moan needled up.

He leaned back from her cunt just long enough to spit a rivulet of saliva down onto her clit, then he pressed his tongue there again and she was dazzled with bursts of glittering anticipation, down from her mind into her body to her thighs, and Kenzie whimpered into his fingers, a whimper that became a wailing convulsion--Duncan did not ease his mouth, rather rebounded onto her as the plug tormented at her, pressing into her as her thighs shook, the shiver moving down her legs and down through the center of her abdomen, coursing out in tendrils of white-hot pleasure from his mouth’s avid attention.

Kenzie’s chin lifted back as she came now, her voice pressing out an sobbing cry that rattled every corner of her mind--she felt Duncan’s hands press more harshly into her mouth, harder into her neck, bringing dips of darkness into her vision, could feel the shuddering of her cunt under his mouth, the reverberations of the plug, and tears were coursing down her cheeks in an instant--she was crying in earnest now, but unlike the tears from earlier tonight, prompted by the terrible hate in Bill Shepherd’s agonized eyes and her own rebounded sadness toward the people who had surrounded Duncan for so much of his life, these tears were ecstatic, astounded at the fullness she felt inside this moment with him, utterly shaken by the feeling drifting out of him in surges that felt like a kiss on every inch of her.

Duncan heard her sobs now, she knew, because he’d lifted his eyes up to her from his pressing diligence between her legs--he lifted his mouth away as she came down from the edge, and his arms were lifting her limp, spent body into him now, sliding up onto the bed as he held her so his knees were against the black sheet, sliding her naked body up to the pillow to set her head gently against it, scattering rose petals as he did from her hair now coming undone, his mouth, wet with her sex, coming to kiss along her cheek and jaw. His arms were caressing at her, up and down her waist, along the dips of her breasts and against her neck, but with aching gentleness now, and Kenzie felt like she was on fire with his touch, could barely catch her breath with her tears. She grasped at his velvet jacket, her hands trailing at the gold collar, lifting up to his hair, to his cheek with its sweet stubble, and her tears were terribly hot and their salt fell between her lips, a relief inside the depth of her love for him in that moment.

“Shhhh, baby, shhhhh--” and Duncan was hovering over her, hands coming up to her hair and her cheek, soothing over her there, his elbows crooked on either side of her body, his much larger one enveloping her with his dark velvets and silky shirt, the heavy heat of him, the overwhelming musky-sandalwood-woods scent of him, his desire and his love, the scent of her sex lingering near her cheek now from his mouth as he kissed along her skin, making her sigh and shake, drying her tears. “I love you, Kenzie, baby, I love you--” and she could feel his thoughts, knew that he could sense her relief, the depth of the calmness settling into her now, sense how good (so fucking good baby fucking fuck I love you too Duncan I love you) he had made her feel, and she could feel him smiling into her cheek, feel his joy at her joy and her peace, and she wished this moment could extend, on and on, its perfection shaking her heart.

“It is perfect, isn’t it,” he whispered against her, and she could feel the tininess of his eyelashes as his eyes closed against her, and she felt close to her tears again, had to scrunch her face so they wouldn’t begin anew, and Duncan was saying “oh, Kenzie, oh, baby, if you want to cry, it’s okay--” and she was pressing her arms around the back of his hair, pulling him down against her so she fell into the space of his arms with his head beside her on the pillow, pressed her wet cheek against his heart, tucking her arms down between them against her mouth, bringing her legs together, shivering at the sensitivity of her sex, the deep moisture there from her release and his mouth. His cheek pressed into the crown of her hair, his fingers tangling in the roses that were drifting apart in the chestnut waves scattered behind her. Kenzie sighed again--a deep, shuddering sigh, a sigh that she knew was pushing away everything from the past two days, pushing it away from him too, insisting that now, beginning now, starting now, under this moon, like the all-knowing eye of some resplendent white goddess, and away from the other, prying eyes of everyone and everything, they’d worship each other in earnest, get lost--it’s time to get lost in each other, my dearest love. The days to come belong to us and us alone.

“Wait till you see it,” he was whispering into her hair. “Fuck, baby, I’m never going to want to leave, I know it already--even imagining being with you there feels like--like a beautiful dream. We’ll light a bonfire, we’ll bring the big blanket out under the summer sky, there’s this patch a quarter of a mile from the cabin, the trees part and the sky is totally spread out, and you can see everything at night--” Kenzie felt herself calming, let herself float inside the sound of his voice--the penthouse was blessedly quiet, any sounds from the world outside hushed, 30 stories down, far away. This is the only thing I want in the world right now, she knew, just to be here with you, the memory of your mouth still lingering on me, your hands in my hair, the jasmine-cedar scent of you, the beating of your heart against me.

“There are so many goldenrods in the summer, too, and last time there were all these wild orchids--Annette and Bill had this weekend retreat with all these Congress members, god, it was awful--but--one evening I escaped from everyone and went off in the woods alone and the light was falling so sweetly on them, everything was bathed in soft gold and deep blue, and I think I hoped for you that night, Kenzie, I think I longed for you, even though I didn’t know it was you I was thinking of, I didn’t know it was you I was missing so terribly, but it was, wasn’t it? It was you all along...it’s always been you. I know that now.”

Kenzie lifted her chin up from where it had been pressed against him, and Duncan brought his mouth down onto her, and their kiss was dream-soft and so earnest from him it almost pained her, his mind aching against her--she could feel the slight weight of his cock on her leg through where the pants still constricted him, knowing he was hovering around his arousal again, but also feeling the depth of his tiredness, the sincerity of his emotion inside the memory of his loneliness. He leaned away, the blue of his eyes so bright they didn’t seem real, then he pushed himself up, hand drifting down to her hip, looking down at her, his elbow crooked so his face hovered over her.

“I’m starving, baby,” Kenzie murmured up to him, sleepiness tinging her voice, her hands drifting at his velvet arms. The pillow was so soft under her head, his fingers so soothing on her skin--her eyes closed for a moment as Kenzie surrendered to the wave of tiredness that washed over her. Your touch is home. It’s the highest of all pleasures, the most soothing thing I’ve ever felt. Your touch.

“Okay, baby, hang on--don’t fall asleep yet,” and she felt Duncan kiss her cheek, his lips drifting down to press more along her skin, two kisses, three, four--then he lifted away from her and she opened her eyes, turning to watch his velvet back retreat, his hand drifting through the back of his hair--he glanced back at her, eyes adoring, and she smiled, bringing her hands down to drift between her legs, I can still feel your mouth there, and he grinned shyly (still shy of me, I can’t believe it), disappearing through the doorway.

A moment later she heard him call to her from the kitchen, his voice amused and curious. “Baby, what’s in all these boxes?” She could hear the small sounds of him moving around there, but not their precision--she waited for a moment, still floating inside her post-orgasm, not answering. Duncan reappeared after a few more beats, having removed his shoes and blazer now, a black bowl in one hand and a Waterford glass in the other. He slid onto the bed again, holding the glass down to her. Kenzie propped herself up against the headboard, clutching it in two hands and drinking greedily. The water was wonderfully cold and clear, and it brushed some of the sleepiness from her mind. She sat up more, feeling the plug pressing into her as her ass brushed along the sheets; she shivered out a little moan, and could see the desire flit across Duncan’s gaze again. She smiled at him and leaned over to set the glass on his nightstand; he passed her the bowl now, hand dipping down to her thigh. It had another bunch of the crimson grapes they’d been eating earlier (The Youth of Bacchus, Kenzie thought, fighting the urge to run to the study to look at it right now, thrilled with knowledge that she could if she wanted to, for it hung there), a handful of raw almonds, and a long bar of very dark chocolate in six segments that looked almost black in the low bedroom light.

“Ooo, baby,” and she was squealing with delight at the chocolate, reaching for it with insistent fingers, crossing her legs under her against the sheet. She broke a piece off and lifted it up to his mouth--Duncan’s teeth snatched it out of her fingers and Kenzie couldn’t help but laugh--being with you. She leaned up to kiss him, the sweet, dark taste of the chocolate mingling in their mouths. Being with you is heaven.

“What’s in all those boxes?” Duncan asked again, reaching for some of the grapes, popping them in his mouth, then reaching up to his collar and beginning to unbutton it. He pulled the hem of the shirt out of his belt, easing it off his arms, then worked at the buckle as his eyes drifted over her nakedness--Kenzie felt shy under his gaze, wondering again if that feeling would ever fade. Caught in the eyes of this beautiful boy--truly beautiful, a face that a sculptor would die to render, Michael the Archangel, David trapped in stone, fairest Adonis. And he kneels to me. Kneels and worships ME.

“Stuff I ordered for our trip,” she replied, breaking off more chocolate, twining golden strands of hair around her finger, recalling. “Ghost stories--” she wiggled her fingers at him and he laughed, “--and some quilts and blankets for our bed--I want it to be extra cozy--and for stargazing, a fireside cooking kit--we can make tinfoil dinners, those are so fun--and, well, a bunch of clothes--” and she grinned at him, loving the way his face immediately went soft with the prospect, enthralled with the mere mention of such a thing. Baby, she thought, you get to watch me get dressed every day now, every fucking day, you care stare as much as you want.

“--including these tiny little cutoff shorts, and a little black bikini,” she added, lowering her voice to a whisper as she spoke, letting her mouth hang open at the end, her eyes teasing him.

“Fuck,” Duncan leaned in to kiss her, and as he did he bit gently at her bottom lip, sucking for a moment and then releasing her--and then he was dropping his belt on the floor to the side of the bed, bringing his legs over it to ease the pants off, then his socks, then his briefs, discarding them all in a heap, freeing his partially-hard cock. He looked over at her, reached for the chocolate in her hand, fingers drifting down her skin, then breaking another piece off and dipping it into his mouth (your lips, baby). Then he rose with a teasing glance of his own to her, and went into the bathroom--Kenzie admired his ass as he did, blushing a little into her chocolate. Round and smooth. I wanna bite it. She heard the water running, and set the remainder of the chocolate in the bowl, sliding off the bed, wincing a little at the soreness of the plug still inside her.

Kenzie stepped into the bathroom; Duncan was washing his face, and she glanced down, watching the dark makeup swirl down the drain. The Gala really is finally over. I’m so relieved, honestly. Now it feels like I can breathe again. Like we can breathe. This revelation from Annette may have actually been a blessing in disguise. Time to run away with you for awhile, my love. Duncan was patting his face dry with a towel, then he turned to her as she came up beside him, leaning on the sink. She knew he could hear her. Can you take my plug out now, please, Prince?

“I’ll take it out now. Lean down a little, baby.”

Kenzie nodded, and leaned over the basin, moving her feet apart so her thighs were spread slightly. Duncan unscrewed the top of the coconut oil on the counter and dipped his fingers into it--then he stepped behind her and eased the fingers around the jewel at her backside. Kenzie breathed in, slowly.

“Press out, baby.” Kenzie did as he said, and winced a little again, but only a little--the oil had soothed the sting of the chafing there, and the plug popped out of her a moment later. Duncan brought it over the sink and turned the hot water on over it again--Kenzie watched him rinse it with soapy, gentle hands as she pulled the pack of wet wipes from one of the drawers under the sink, easing one of them along the dip between her ass. It came away with a little blood again, but just a little--it’s worth it, honestly, because fuck, you fucked me so fucking good, baby, fucked me hard and ate me out so fucking good, fuck. He glanced over at her as he turned the faucet off, having finished washing her plug--she saw the glint in his eyes, the indication that he’d heard her thoughts, the knowledge of her lust. Duncan set the plug on the counter, and then he pulled her achingly against him, pressing his nakedness into her, lifting her up into an open-mouthed kiss. The roses were still falling from her hair around their feet--Duncan set her back down to earth and turned her gently, and then his beautiful fingers began to work the roses out of her hair, setting them gently one by one on the bathroom counter. Kenzie glanced over to the mirror to watch him as she reached for her toothbrush; my Prince, your gentleness amazes me still. She knew she would remember this moment, crystallized, in the future. Your hands in my hair, the roses falling through your fingers, the blue of your eyes, the drift of your thoughts to me, so soft, so devoted.

Kenzie, he was thinking, I’ll put flowers in your hair in the forest, scatter flowers on our bed, flowers in your arms, we’ll lay in them and forget the world, they’ll weave flowers in your hair on our wedding day, I know it already as if I can see through a window, I can see the halo of your head and a crown of dark roses there, my Persephone, a dream of the future yet I know it’s real, how I long to ask you, to speak it into existence…

Duncan untwined the last of the rosebuds and Kenzie turned to him, lifting her chin to his face, but not kissing him, not quite--she hovered her lips achingly near to his, and heard the quiet, longing sound that drifted out of him against her, his face now free of the dark makeup he’d worn all night, and still so stunningly, completely beautiful, and yet you long for me, she thought, her skin wildly sensitive under his touch, you worship me, little old Mackenzie Stone.

“You aren’t little, Kenzie. I mean...you are little. I love how little you are, I love how close I can hold you--” and here his hands drifted down to Kenzie’s ass, cupping her there, pressing her sensitive sex up into him, his mouth hovering at her chin, “but baby, you aren’t little. You’re so bright--like the sun. Your vastness...it fucking staggers me. It’s like you have a universe inside you, and it’s beautiful beyond all description.You’re so divine--so strong, so brave, so kindhearted and so bright, like golden starlight--”

“Fuck, Duncan, the way you talk to me--”

“Just my entreating prayers to a goddess,” he whispered, lips finally falling under her ear. “Just my endless hope for her blessing.”

“Come to bed with me, hold me, sleep with me, fair Oberon, and in the morning, let’s fuck off into the forest and never come back,” and Kenzie was smiling against the overwhelmingly sweet sensation of his lips, and she felt him smile too and then laugh against her, a laugh that was so desperately joyful that she felt lost inside it for a moment, as though he were Eros and the sound of his laughter was the sound of desire itself. Purest joy. My love, that I can bring you this, that you have given yourself to me this way--it moves my soul utterly, it is the highest of all things, to be loved, to love you. She laughed too, a heartfelt laugh that threatened to dissolve into tears in her throat, and Duncan was kissing her mouth with soft, sweet pecking kisses, and she knew he felt the mingling fall of her emotion, the deluge in her. His hands came around her neck, unclasping Adelaide’s golden necklace, setting it on the sink beside her roses, and Kenzie was moved by the sight, by its shivering, quiet beauty--one is the city, the other the forest, and tomorrow we’ll retreat into nature and find its secrets, she thought. She shivered, and then Duncan was pulling her to the bed, shutting the lights off as he did, easing her down against into the sheets with his (clouded sky) eyes full of tenderness, setting the bowl with the chocolate and grapes aside (later my love, all things later, now, only you, only me, only sleep and our dreams of those other places, only the moon and us) and she was gathered inside his arms, her cheek at his heart again, his sex pressed into her belly, their legs irrevocably twined.

“Kenzie,” he murmured, and she was moved to be in the sudden darkness, in the feeling of him, “Will you sing to me? I love your voice so much.  Just a little, baby, please?”

Kenzie sighed against him. “Oh, baby. Of course I will.” She heard the thought he didn’t say aloud, the shyness in it: a lullaby. My sweet Duncan. My beloved. I will soothe you as you know only I can. She was quiet for a moment, in the stillness, in the shadows, in his arms. Then she knew what she wanted to sing to him; knew it as certainly as her love for him.

“Do you always trust your first initial feeling, special knowledge...holds true…bears believing…” And Kenzie felt him bury his face against the softness of her hair, his deep sigh of contentment, his love bursting into her, “I turned around, and the water...was closing...all around, like a glove, like the love, that had finally, finally found me...and I knew...in the crystalline knowledge of you…”

And then they were dreaming, untethered from earth, together; under the face of another moon, this one much larger than the one they’d left, and lit with a glow that was utterly not of their world.

--------

The light was sweet and low as Kenzie drifted up, back to reality. It’s very early, she knew. She let her eyes linger closed for a moment, trying to recall the dream she’d surfaced from this time; it certainly wasn’t a bad dream, not like our nightmares, she knew. In this one she’d been wearing a very long black velvet gown with a very tight bodice that had exposed her throat to the dip of her breasts--it had pilled around her in huge folds, had drifted behind her as she walked--she remembered with a rush that the Mirror was in the dream, its embellished gold frame distinct, its vastness obvious. I saw myself in it, and I looked beautiful, but I looked--I looked like myself but not like myself. I wore dark jewels on my throat, and...there was this power in my eyes, I could see it reflected in the Mirror. Duncan was with me, but he was wearing something...something from another time period. He wore...breeches, I think that’s what they’re called, and long boots. His hair was longer--it fell to his shoulders in beautiful waves, but it was the same color it is now, like russet autumn leaves, not like the terrible, dark man I dreamt with his face, and not like that other Duncan, the one who had nebulas for eyes, with wings I didn’t understand the shape of. He was kissing my neck--he was wearing a flowing white shirt and he was taking it off, we were in a room with a huge four-poster bed, an opulent room, like we were in Versailles or something, the fireplace was lit and the light was low and we were full of nervous excitement, full of desire…

Here her recollection of the dream ended and she opened her eyes, sighing a little. The Mirror. The Mirror was there. Our Mirror. My Mirror...the one I know belongs to me somehow. It had something to do with that...with me knowing that. Duncan stirred a little against her--his arms had moved in sleep and one of them, she realized, was clutched at the dip of her ass--the other was against her hand between their pillows, his pinky and ring finger hooked around hers, their Cartier bracelets hovering near each other--the diamonds of Kenzie’s caught the early light, glinting into her sleep-touched eyes. Duncan’s stubbled jaw turned up in his sleep, his mouth opening a little, then closing, the small movement of his throat sending a shiver up her bare spine. My beautiful baby. His hand at her ass moved up to the small of her back--drew her in closer in his sleep, her hip bone pressing against his, his hardness (always), sending a little gasp of sensation out from her as it lifted into the space between her legs.

Kenzie hesitated for a moment, longing for his eyes to open, longing for his mouth to fall on hers, longing for the feeling of him probing into her mind--I feel lonely without him there now, I can’t help it--longing for the feeling of his beautifully thick, hard cock to be inside her, but she knew they had a long drive today--the sooner they left the penthouse and got on the road, the sooner they could be in the wonderful solitude of the woods, be at the lake. Alone together. Not like our day at the beach--which was so wonderful, but so brief--really alone together, for days, and free to explore the secrets of each other and the joy of nature. Fuck, I can’t wait.

It had been almost a year since the last time Kenzie was in the woods--she and Claire had gone with some of her old Georgetown friends to a nearby campgrounds and stayed for two nights during the muggiest stretch of August. It had been terribly hot, but the evenings had been so tranquil and lovely and the sunsets so beautiful, and she’d been so happy to be with Claire, and the memory was a good one--they’d shared a tent and eaten burnt hot dogs and canned baked beans and s’mores, got eaten alive by mosquitoes, and laughed with each other a lot, over everything, as they always did. My Clairebear. I wonder how your date with Harris went, and Kenzie smiled, thoughts drifting from Claire back to Duncan, her gaze roving over the man (almost more than a man sometimes, to me, like an angel, his soul having opened to me this way) she loved more than she ever thought possible--more than she would have thought herself, or anyone, capable of. She pushed back the feeling of tears, which always seemed to be hovering near now, and eased herself out of his embrace. Duncan stirred again, dipping his head down, his hand coming under his cheek--and he sighed in his sleep, then descended back into silent, slow breaths. Just sleep a little longer, my loveliest love, she sent out to him, her thoughts lined in gold. Sleep until your tiredness melts away--then we’ll leave.

Kenzie eased off the bed, glancing at the roses she’d tied above it, her eyes sliding to the Mirror (you were in my dream, beautiful thing--maybe our dream, if he dreamed too), examining her nakedness, moving to the bathroom. She gazed affectionately at her Golden Pothos on the back of the toilet as she sat to pee, wincing as she wiped herself--my poor asshole, she thought with an inner laugh, sorry sweetie, you’re gonna need to suck it up and get used to a big cock inside you. She snorted, giggling at her own thoughts, reaching for her hairbrush, coaxing the tangles out of her hair as she looked at the necklace and roses scattered on the sink affectionately. Kenzie set the brush down, grasping the necklace and moving to the closet, eyes watching Duncan in his quiet repose, hair tossed over his forehead; Eros sleeps. It was barely past 7, but she felt wide awake now, the stresses of the Gala--the chaotic energy of the press and photographers towards them, Marissa Montague’s tantrum, Bill Shepherd hissing into her face, his skin gray, his breath sour with sickness, the overwhelming sadness that had driven her to run blindly through a back hallway until she had reached that room that she knew had once belonged to Duncan--seeming far away already. She neatly set the necklace along the stretch of dark wood shelf where she now kept her jewelry in the huge closet--she admired it for a moment, the sheen of its gold and diamonds, fingers drifting over it, the perfect roundness of the ruby--then Kenzie reached for the Tiffany moon and clasped it around her neck. The first thing he ever brought me as a gift--like he was bringing me an offering on an altar. And my offering to him was the meal that I made for us--and he was so happy to receive it. I knew he was. I know he’s happy, truly happy, to receive whatever I give him. Because he loves me. Fuck, he truly does.

Kenzie turned, noticing Duncan had hung her golden gown from last night on a long wood hanger in the corner, so it faced the doorway. Its train drifted in a gathered pile on the floor, and Kenzie was struck by its loveliness again--a dress for a goddess. I wonder how all those pictures turned out, she wondered. I felt so lost in that happiness with him in those moments, it’s like for a little while I lost track of everything that was going on around us. But no. I’m not going to look. In fact, I’d like to not look at my phone at all while we’re away. I’ll bring it with me, but I think I’m going to just turn it off. Kenzie went out through the living room, still naked but for the moon necklace and the Cartier bracelet (which I’ll never take off, only he can take it off me) now; the penthouse was cool and she liked the chilliness on her skin, knowing it would be another hot June day. She moved to the obsidian island--it was clean of all residue of the food that had been spread there the evening before by Erik, Hannah and Georgio, the hands of the still-unseen-to-her housekeepers having whisked it away. I need to meet them and thank them for all the work they do to clean this penthouse, Kenzie thought, feeling guilty. They clean this space so beautifully. They deserve my thanks at the very least. I know Duncan is used to living this way, but I’m not--I’m used to cleaning up after myself. This world is still so strange to me.

She slid her golden clutch from last night off the island, snapping it open, glancing for a moment at her phone--a text from Mom, confirming Samuel had dropped her off safely, wishing them a wonderful time at the cabin, and an alert for an email from Candice, who’d confirmed Kenzie’s requests for PTO while they were away. Kenzie felt strange again, drifting in the knowledge that she’d never really need to worry about money again--god, since when? She wondered. She remembered living on ramen and oranges while she was at Georgetown, loathe to ask Momby for money; thought affectionately, nostalgically, of her tiny apartment, now empty of her things, empty of her life, which was here now, with Duncan. And now I’m wearing diamonds, and ordering hundreds of dollars’ worth of clothes with my boyfriend’s card like it’s nothing. She tucked her left foot behind her right heel, absently toeing a fourth position, the old habit of her ballet classes hovering in her subconscious as she wallowed in the feeling. Then, she remembered the longing look of happiness in his eyes when she had mentioned it last night--he loves to buy me things, he loves my clothes. He gave me that card because he loves to give me things. He loves me. He loves me so much. How does he love me so much. I’m the luckiest girl in the world. I’m going to just be happy--just be happy and enjoy this right now. 

Kenzie shut her phone off, then knelt down to where the boxes were piled, sifting through them until she found the ones with Free People shipping labels. Glee fell down through her as she opened them--every day since they met, the way Duncan would stare at her getting dressed sent wild, nervous, anticipatory energy through her body. She thought of him looking at her in these lovely things, these lovely pieces of clothing she’d so carefully chosen to make herself feel beautiful, to make herself feel like the best version of herself she could be, the happiest, the kindest, the most open--the self she knew she had in her, had sometimes been before she met him and was still, the self she would always be, but now even greater than before. If anything, he makes me more myself, she knew. He makes me braver, fills my heart with courage. With him I feel like I can do anything. I feel like I can be the person I’ve always known I could be, deep down. Now, I can be her, that best self, because he’s here, and I was waiting for him. I was waiting for my partner, the person I could share everything with--all of me. I was waiting for my love, for the love that would kindle my heart to the highest emotions, and bring me to life. When Duncan said he longed for me that evening in the woods when he was alone, I knew he meant it. And now I know I longed for him too--in the dark of my quiet bed alone at night, those nights after Tyler and I broke up and I was so fucking lonely sometimes I’d cry myself to sleep in the shadows, it was Duncan I ached for, and now I know that. It was him, and now I feel like sometimes I almost perceived the shape of him inside that loneliness, saw the outline of his face, his hair, his hands. Knew that he was out there somewhere, in the world, looking for me too. And I found him, oh, Goddess. I found him. Thank you, Fates. Clotho, Lachesis, Atropos. You weaved us together, tied us with a golden string that cannot be broken. You brought us together again. The wheel turned for us. I’m grateful.

Kenzie pulled a pair of classic black Vans with white laces from one of the boxes, alongside the aforementioned tiny cut off shorts and little black bikini--she also pulled out a golden-yellow lacy cropped top with long blouse sleeves and a v-neck that plunged low, a tie at the front. Kenzie gathered her outfit choices and moved to the bathroom again, slipping into the shower and turning the knob--she used a tie she’d left on the toiletry rack at some point to hold her tawny hair back, and lathered Duncan’s jasmine soap over her body, over the sensitivity between her ass cheeks, along the lips of her cunt, thinking of his mouth there. The way you eat me out, fuck, baby, it’s like--fucking nirvana. I feel your worship in every bit of my body when you do that. Then Kenzie stepped out of the shower, letting her hair fall down again, slipping into the little bikini, which hugged her small breasts flatteringly, then wrapped the gold-sunflower crop top around her body, the cut-offs over her thighs. She glanced at herself in the bathroom’s oval mirror, the wide glow of her eyes, the fall of her hair, brushed to soft waves, the moon at her neck, the incline of her thighs below the little shorts and the dip of her bare waist between--go wake your baby up with your cute ass, girl.

Kenzie went to the bed softly, smiling against her fist--Duncan hadn’t moved from the same position, his head dipping down into his hand on the pillow, his expression achingly angelic. She slid down to him, lifting her leg around him so she was straddling him across his torso, pushing him gently so he was on his back--Duncan stirred, moaning a little, reaching for her, and then his hands fell on the softness of her blouse then to the smoothness of her stomach, the dip of her ass in the little shorts, and his eyes drifted open, their depth instantly intrigued.

“Good morning, Prince Duncan,” Kenzie whispered, shaking her hair around her shoulders, fingers coming up to brush along the Tiffany moon, so he would see she was wearing it. “Are you ready to fuck off into the woods with your baby?”

“Mmmh, Kenzie, angel--” Duncan was blinking the sleep away from his eyes now, gripping her tighter, sliding himself up so he was against the headboard, pulling her against his naked lap, his hard cock coming up between them, pressing inside her spread thighs, against the crotch of the denim cut offs, his lips falling to the space beside her mouth and drifting back to her ear. Kenzie couldn’t stop the tiny moan that fell out of her at the insistence of his mouth and his arms, suddenly--god, you smell so good, baby, you smell like desire.

“Unng, you look so fucking cute,” he was murmuring against her, lifting away from his hot kisses on her skin, his (finally open, oh fuck, goddess, open and full of so much need like a blue sky over an ocean of impossible depth) eyes roving over her, the shape of her in the crop top and the tiny shorts, the moon at her throat, the fall of her hair. “You’re my Princess, Kenzie, aren’t you? Fuck, kiss me, Princess--” Kenzie grinned at him and gripped his stubbled jaw, nipping hot kisses along his bottom lip, one of his hands burying itself inside her hair at the back of her skull, holding her steady to him, the other drifting into the back of her shorts against her ass, his Cartier bracelet cool on her skin--his hands felt the smooth fabric of her bikini bottoms and he let out another low moan into her mouth.

“I’m wearing my new little black bikini under this,” Kenzie smiled into him.

“Mmh, Kenzie, fuck, baby--babylove--” Kenzie could feel the straining in his mind, drifting against her, the thought he was hesitating to speak out loud. I need your mouth on my cock, baby, my poor cock is so fucking hard for you, hard like last night, it hurts, it needs you, I fucking need you--

“You want me to suck your big cock, huh, Prince Duncan?” Kenzie moved her hips as she spoke into his mouth, lifted herself so she ground against him, the denim shifting against his length. Duncan let out a pitiful moan, his eyes wincing closed in an achingly lovely supplication to her.

“Please,” he whispered into her “Please, Princess Kenzie. I’ll do anything. I--I’ll--”

“Shhhhh, shhhh, baby,” and Kenzie brought her hand up to her mouth between them, willing spit from the back of her throat for a moment, then licking down the inside of her fingers wetly, shushing his begging, pressing her lips against the bridge of his nose, leaning away, smiling, teasing. She hesitated for a moment, her hand hovering just beside his hardness, not letting herself touch him, a line of spit falling down from her fingers onto the head of his erection, and he let out another piteous little moan, his fingers drifting at her thighs, staring into her. Then, Duncan rolled his hips into her, and his stiff, thick cock fell against her hand and she closed her fingers around it with terrible gentleness, and he was crying piteously against her, “uhh, Kenzie, Kenzie angel, fucking please--”

Kenzie gripped him tighter, eased her little fingers up to the head of his cock, her index finger drifting over the sensitive hole at the tip, and she felt the shiver fall through him, watched the ecstatic drift of his eyes. I’m never gonna get over how fucking gorgeous you are, Duncan Shepherd, and she jerked her hand along his length again, squeezing it a little at the base, palm brushing over his balls with a weighted insistence.

“This big cock belongs to me, doesn’t it, baby?” Kenzie pressed her mouth against the stubble on his jaw as she jerked harshly at his thick length, letting her whispers drift against him, letting her eyelashes flutter at his cheek, letting her hair fall against his nose where she knew it would fill his senses. The sounds he was making--keening, needy cries, sighing moans of abject craving for her--were kindling low heat in her belly, between her spread thighs, the lips of her cunt in the tiny bikini pressing harshly into the denim, rubbing into her clit, stoking her arousal. Gonna make you come, rich boy. Gonna make you come hard for me. You’re mine, aren’t you? You’re my beautiful baby, aren’t you, Dunny? Your come is for me, your beauty all for me, your moans for me, your big hard cock is for me--

“Yes, fuck, yes, fucking yes, Kenzie, I’m yours, my cock is yours, every part of me is yours, uhmm, please, fucking please, fuck--you’re so lovely, I can’t stand it, you smell so fucking lovely, uhh, unnnh--”

Kenzie spread her legs out further, easing herself backwards off Duncan’s lap as she continued to flit her hand up and down his hard cock--he let go of her reluctantly, his face raw with yearning, and she slid down onto her knees between his legs stretched out on the bed, bringing them together tightly so the denim rode up into the lips of her cunt, the pressure of the soft bikini fabric against her clit, her head dipped down in front of him. She willed more spit from the back of her throat and let it drip in a long slaver from her lips onto the head of his cock, her fingers dipping up to the head of him again to ease it insistently down. She could see his thighs shuddering, his hands reaching into her hair again, tangling there, pulling, burying themselves as if he never wanted to let go again. Then, finally, Kenzie dipped her mouth onto him, swirling her tongue around the hole at the tip of his cock, and her eyes came up to watch his head tilt back, watch his aching loveliness inside her ministrations. She dipped further down, remembering to open her throat to him, taking him entirely into her as she had when they went to the beach house--she didn’t gag this time, but her eyes immediately began to water, and she tried to breathe in but realized he blocked her airway entirely this way. Drool dripped down from her stretched lips, pooling into his balls, and Duncan’s hands were pressing her head down onto him, his cries lifting--his hips bucked so Kenzie’s lips fell to the shaft of him, and tears drifted down her cheeks. Kenzie thought of the way he’d fucked her ass last night, his thickness filling her to the point where her mind seemed to untether, and she imagined him inside her ass now, wishing he could fill both ends of her at once.

“Fuck, me too, baby, me too, fucking fuck Kenzie, baby, you feel so amazing, I love your little throat so much--” and his hand drifted down to grip her neck. “I love holding you in this spot, love choking you into white-gold thoughts--” and Kenzie knew he meant the way her mind looked to him when he pressed his fingers there, the color of her thoughts under the ecstasy of his hands. His eyes seemed to go darker as she glanced into them, and she pressed an insistent hand into his thigh, easing herself back--Duncan let go of her throat and she lifted up, gasping air through her nose as his length slid out of her throat, the head of him still resting against her tongue. She nodded into him now, sucking greedily at him, her fingers coming down to grip along the bottom of his balls. Come in my mouth, Prince. Give me your sweet come. I know how much you want me, I can feel every fiber of it. Your thick cock is mine, my little mouth is yours. Come for me, let me swallow all your desire into me.

Duncan bit down into his lip as Kenzie watched, and for a moment it seemed as though he was on the edge of tears, his face crumpling into a wince that shook her with its loveliness, and then she felt the warm thickness of his come flooding her mouth, felt the intensity of his shuddering into the cavity of her mouth, coating her tongue, splashing down her throat. It was sweet this time--fruits and chocolate, she thought. Beloved Dionysus. Dunny, baby, oh, baby. She let her mouth dip down one more time, let some of his come slide down the side of his shaft before lowering herself to suck it clean--and then Duncan was pulling her up, pulling her head away from his cock insistently, hungrily claiming her lips with his open mouth, sucking at them, tasting, nibbling at her. The sun was finally rising in earnest now--one of its beams scattered along the bed as they tasted at each other, and Kenzie’s heart was hammering rapidly, the sweet taste of his come still on her tongue, the woodsy-musk of his scent filling her head.

“Good morning, my love,” he whispered into her, and they were both smiling--smiling with earnest contentment, Kenzie sending drifts of her golden affection against him, feeling the cool blue of him swirl back into her. Her heart felt suddenly too full, the tears not yet dried on her cheeks; Duncan was kissing her again, gathering her against him in his lap again, whispering “I love you, good morning, I love you angel--” until she couldn’t help but laugh, giggling against him as his breath tickled on her neck, dipping her arms around his neck. To be with you, just to be with you, my heart’s going to just burst, I never knew anything could be so perfect, so right.

“I wanna go swim in the lake and eat blackberries in the shade, baby,” she said into his ear. “Let’s go fuck under the trees, in the flowers. I’m gonna make some coffee.” She tried to lift away from him but Duncan grasped her at the dip under her shoulder blades, mouth clashing into her, still hungry. “Dunny, I mean it, you need to get ready, you’re being fucking naughty--” “Yes, yes I am--” and he was biting along her neck, moving his hand down to press into the dip of her ass, a reminder of yesterday, and Kenzie yelped against him, struggling, jabbing her fingers into his torso and making him twist in tickling surprise as she tumbled out of his lap, laughing again.

“You did it to yourself! You tempted the tickler!” she called back as she rolled off the bed, running away from him, and Kenzie could hear his frustrated laugh as she escaped on bare feet. She went to the cupboard and brought down two of the glass mugs, starting the Keurig under one, then going to the fridge and pulling out a mango and a grapefruit, using one of Duncan’s bamboo cutting boards and kanso knives to slice them open, getting down two plates and putting half on each, getting two of Adelaide’s little silver spoons for the grapefruit, cutting the mango halves into checkered squares, discarding the hard center. Kenzie blew on the coffee, setting the other mug under the Keurig for Duncan, taking a careful sip. Perfect. Today will be perfect because I will it. I’m going to push my love out of me and let it fall over everything. I’m going to manifest my love into the world and mold my surroundings into loveliness.

She set her mug down on the island, lifting the sweetness of the mango to her lips, relishing its succulent taste--then she went to the cupboard and brought down a Waterford glass, dipping it under the faucet and pouring a splash into each of her succulents along the window, making a mental note to ask Anchaly to have the housekeepers check on them in a few days. Kenzie looked out the kitchen’s sunny, wide window to the clusters of trees and streets and the outline of the historic Colonial houses of Georgetown stretching far away and far below, sunlight spilling into the long steel sink, the sky almost impossibly blue with only the tiniest hint of cloud wisps scattered in it. I think when we come back, I’ll be different somehow. I have this feeling like--like I’ll know something important about myself that I didn’t know before.

Kenzie looked down into her hands at the mango--then she turned with a strange feeling, setting the mango down on the counter, and glanced back at the grapefruit half she’d left on her plate on the island. She hesitated, dipping a hand over the wave of her hair and tucking it behind her ear--then she sent the gold tendrils of her--of my spirit, my will, she knew--out to it. Come here. Into my hand.

Kenzie blinked, once, twice; then she felt a surge, as though she’d sent out a hook into the air, and then there was a heavy feeling, of the hook burying itself into the soft flesh of the grapefruit skin--and then she was blinking down in her hands as the dimpled weight of the fruit’s cool surface pressed there. Somehow. Impossibly. I made it move into my hand. And I KNEW I could do that. I knew that somehow. It’s impossible--but no less impossible than anything else that’s been happening to us lately. Hearing each other’s thoughts. Duncan finding me just by feeling for me. Duncan moving himself across a room with his mind. Me pressing my gold into people, healing them, pushing Marissa away with my mind. No less impossible. And yet.

Kenzie looked up from the fruit clutched in her palms--Duncan was coming into the kitchen, moving around the island to press a soft kiss against her hair, reaching for his coffee. He was wearing a slim-fit, short sleeve button-down in very dark navy, the top button undone, giving him a much more relaxed look than his usual fully-buttoned seriousness, and slim-cut, tight-fitting jersey shorts that came only to his upper thigh with a tying waist in washed, neutral black. His hair was now damp and towel-mussed from the shower, but to an unaccustomed eye (my eye is becoming accustomed, Kenzie couldn’t help but note with vague satisfaction), it seemed deliberately styled. He looks, Kenzie thought, so fucking perfect. If I didn’t love him so much, I’d be so fucking annoyed with him for looking so fucking good so early in the morning.

“Thanks, baby,” he murmured to her softly, taking a sip, then looked at her with some concern as he noticed her eyes, the dumbfounded expression on her face. “What? What is it?”

“I--Duncan. I just moved this grapefruit--” she held the half up to him, its pink interior dipping in her palm, “from the island, into my hand. From across the room.”

“Huh.” Duncan looked down at it, frowning, then moved to the island, brushing her arm a little with his fingers as he stepped away from her, the Cartier bracelet sliding down his wrist. He looked down at the plate she’d made for him, then back up at her, setting his coffee cup down.

“Try to move the other one, baby.”

Kenzie put the half of the grapefruit in her hand down on the counter beside her mango, then stared, concentrating, at the half on Duncan’s plate. Come to me. Into my hand. She dipped her palm down, fingers crooked--then sent the tendrils of gold out of her again, as she knew she could. There was a pause, then the hooking sensation again; and then Duncan was whispering “oh, fuck,” as Kenzie blinked down at her hand again in surprise. The dimpled weight of the grapefruit was now pressing there. She’d done it again.

“What the fuck,” she said, staring up at him. “How the fuck did I do that?”

“Fuck, Kenz, I don’t know, but for a second it sort of wobbled, then it zipped through the air into your hand like a shot. It was so quick. You blinked and you missed it. But it did.”

Kenzie felt dizzy for a moment, and she suddenly dropped the grapefruit half to the floor--Duncan hurried over to her, reaching out to grip her under her arms. “Kenzie, baby, are you okay? Do you feel dizzy again, like you did last night--after you sent Marissa went away?”

“A little,” she whispered, and Duncan was pressing her back against the counter, reaching behind her for a glass (this one had sunflowers on it, from the set the peony glass belonged to) and filling it from the filtered tap, holding it up to her. Kenzie clutched it with a hand she noticed was now shaking, taking a long drink as Duncan leaned down to pick up the grapefruit.

“You can do extraordinary things, Kenzie,” he murmured to her softly. His eyes were so blue--she felt dizzy again just looking up at him, dizzy with how lovely he was in the sunlight. “I have this feeling, baby. This feeling like--like when we come back--”

“Yes,” she was whispering against him, his hands coming around to her elbows, thumbs caressing the sleeves of her golden-yellow shirt. “We’ll be different. We’ll know things about each other--we’ll know.”

They both fell silent--it was all Kenzie could do to look into his face, so radiant with beauty, so full of love for her, tinged with hope and vague apprehension. The worries from the last few days were fading from his mind, she could feel it; pushed away by the more pressing knowledge that was the thing approaching them swiftly on the horizon, whatever it is. It has to do with me being able to move things. It has to do with us hearing each other’s thoughts, baby. It has to do with you finding me last night. Whatever we find out, it’s going to explain this. It’s going to show us what all of this means.

Duncan was nodding, his blue eyes burning like flame on her. “I’m not afraid, Kenzie. Not with you by my side.”

Kenzie felt her lip trembling. No, baby. I’m not afraid either. Just moved beyond words inside the vastness of everything I can feel is on its way. Thank the goddess--I have you. Inside your love, I fear nothing.

----------

An hour later, they were almost ready to leave for the cabin. Kenzie had begun to feel effervescently happy as they packed the picnic basket and two sleek white Yeti coolers with a vast array of fresh fruits (grapes, pears, honeycrisp apples, a huge pineapple, more mangos and grapefruits, little clementines, raspberries, blackberries and cherries) and vegetables (tomatoes, spring lettuce, avocados, celery sticks, mini sweet peppers, baby carrots, little cucumbers), sandwich fixings (turkey, cold chicken, tempeh, sliced swiss and provolone), a carton of organic eggs and a butcher’s wrap of turkey bacon, several hunks of artisan cheese (gouda, brie, havarti), jars of olives, tiny gherkin pickles, round rice and wheat crackers, sprouted bread, cream cheese, hummus, tortilla chips, pico de gallo, and an assortment of nuts and trail mix, granola bars, greek yogurt, almond milk, orange juice, lots of coffee k-cups and a bag of ground espresso beans; Duncan assured her there was a Keurig and an espresso machine at the cabin. Something tells me this cabin isn’t quite a cabin, Kenzie thought. The picnic basket had four bottles of red wine, the cooler had three each of rose and white, a bottle of Stoli, a bottle of bourbon, Pellegrinos, lime La Croix, organic ginger ale, and fresh limes and lemons. Duncan had also packed a half ounce of blue-strain weed and a gold-leaf weed pipe that Kenzie had demanded to admire for a moment before she’d give it back to him. Still discovering each other’s little secrets, she’d thought.

“There’s this little general store pretty close to the cabin, too, so we don’t need to pack enough for the entire time--we can go there during the day if we need anything,” he told her, setting the striped buckling blanket--the one they’d taken to the Cape Cod house--the lovely quilts, and the box that held the fireside cooking kit Kenzie had ordered beside the cooler and the picnic basket in front of the penthouse door. Kenzie had hauled her rolling red Kenneth Cole suitcase out of the side-closet in the walk-in where she’d placed it, after moving all her things to the penthouse--she’d had it since Georgetown, a gift from her Abadaba before she passed away, but it was holding up nicely. Inside it she carefully organized enough clothing for a week, almost all of it new (two cardigans: Duncan’s black Brooks Brothers’, and a new long gray one with large buttons and slits at the sides, a long button-down short-sleeved dress the color of sunflower petals, a short pink babydoll dress with long sleeves and roses prints along its hem, a tiny white cotton summer mini dress with a plunging neckline, a black flowing v-neck wrap dress with a buckle at the waist, a rust-colored, strapped mini dress with the sides cut-out, a pair of short-coveralls in light blue denim, a crop top with banded straps and white embroidery, a gray top with extra long sleeves, an ankle-length flowing linen dress with roses printed all over it), several pairs of sandals (her strappy beige, a new pair of black boot sandals) and her brown Timberland hiking boots (she’d only worn them once--on the trip with Claire last August). Kenzie tucked the velvet ribbon, her egg and plug, the rose choker, and Duncan’s cock ring into the suitcase as well, alongside both pairs of her Agent Provocateur lingerie, her little black kimono, her satin pyjamas, the oversized Led Zeppelin tee and lots of clean underwear. She only packed one bra--and I don’t plan on wearing it at all, she thought defiantly. Wild and free with my lover in the woods, and I can’t fucking wait. Fuck bras.

As she packed Duncan did the same alongside her--his suitcase was Prada (and decidedly more expensive than my banged-up one from Bed, Bath and Beyond, Kenzie thought), made of some kind of tech fabric with leather trim, and black, of course. She stole glances at him, eyes lovingly falling down his form, his eyes meeting hers every now and then when they caught each other staring--Kenzie watched the concentrated squint of his face, his hand drifting thoughtfully to his bottom lip, the fitted perfection of his clothing, the coiled strength in his arms, the fine hair on his legs to his large feet, now in black ankle socks, the soft dip of his hair on his forehead as he leaned into his drawers, pulling out several pairs of fitted and relaxed black chinos, black leather Nike hiking boots, the Armani sandals he’d worn to Yarmouth, black swim trunks, another short-sleeved button-down Oxford like the one he was wearing right now, a Nike club hoodie, another hoodie that zipped, more pairs of black jersey shorts, two jersey tee shirts--black, all black, and a single long-sleeved navy cotton flannel, along with at least ten pairs of the black briefs he always wore, and a dozen pairs of black moisture-wicking socks. He pushed through his hangers and Kenzie’s eyes fell on a black short-sleeved Oxford with earth-tone feathers printed all over it--”Bring that one, baby,” she said. “I like that one.”

He turned to her, smiling. “Whatever you want, Princess Kenzie.”

Kenzie was putting some of her jewelry (her rose quartz, the tiny rose-gold moon, her triple-moon pendant with the black obsidian) in a little travel pouch she usually used for it, and smiled with satisfaction at his answer. “Yep, that’s right.” She pulled the new black Vans onto her feet, skipping away from him to the bathroom, feeling his eyes following her all the way, the drift of his thoughts: Kenzie, my sweet Kenzie, my little shooting star, my firefly, I want to kiss your hair, your cheeks, your feet, the sweet space between your legs...she gripped toiletries in her fingers, calling out to him: “What do you need from in here, baby? I can bring it to you.” But she realized he was coming up behind her then, his long hands drifting around her under her breasts, his mouth coming to her neck.

“We need to get going, baby,” she laughed, twisting out of his arms, her toothbrush, mascara, eyeliner and tube of deodorant slipping out of her hands at his insistent touch; they scattered against the sink. She gave him a facetious look of annoyance and he grinned at her. “Later, okay? Stop being so naughty. We have a three hour drive ahead of us.”

Duncan groaned at the ceiling. “Don’t remind me, Kenz. I haven’t driven a car for that long in...probably at least two years.”

“We can take turns. I still drive Momby around in her old Jeep sometimes, so honestly I’m more used to a stickshift at this point. But I have a quick memory.”

“My little Kenzie driving a stickshift. That’s just sexy.”

Kenzie snorted. “Not if you saw it. There’s nothing sexy about that car. It’s like the old donkey of cars. That G-Class is sexy, though.” He bit his lip at that. You’re fucking sexy, baby. Nothing else is compared to you. He tried to grab her again and she skittered away, laughing nervously.

“Did Madeline get home okay last night?” Duncan was pulling several black Prada toiletry bags out of a bottom drawer under the sink, holding one open to Kenzie to put her things into--she smiled up at him and saw the melting expression in his eyes as he hovered over her. She took the bag from him and his hand immediately drifted into her hair.

“Yeah, she was fine. She told me to tell you she hopes we have a good time. I was thinking, baby--I think I’m going to turn my phone off during the trip. I’ll bring it, but I might not turn it back on until we get back. Unless there’s an emergency.”

“You know what, babe--that’s a great idea. I’m gonna do that too.” Duncan pulled his black iPhone out of his back pocket, holding down the side button, swiping the power off. He slid it back into his pocket, palm falling against her cheek.

“I can’t wait to be there alone with you. Kenzie. I can’t wait to show you everything.You’re going to love it so much.”

“I love you so much,” and she grinned up at him, hand coming against his on her face, cherishing the warmth of it. He leaned to kiss her but she slipped away, her mind humming with mischief towards him.

“No more kisses till we get to the cabin, baby. That’s the new rule.”

“Ugh, Kenzie, that’s hours from now--” and his expression was enough to drive her to the edge of immediately recanting, but Kenzie crossed her arms, turning her chin up in mock severity.

“Then you better hurry up, Mr. Shepherd.” Kenzie gave him a prim look and slipped away from him to the closet, retrieving a tote bag from her drawers--it was midnight blue and had a pattern of white celestial suns and moons, tiny stars glowing in the background. Kenzie went back to the kitchen and put the ghost story books and Duncan’s childhood mythology book in it, then she stepped into the study, moving to Duncan’s bookcases--she couldn’t resist looking back at The Youth of Bacchus for a long moment, lost in its ethereal beauty. I could kiss it, I love it so. She turned back to the bookcase, searching through his meticulously organized library--organized first by subject, then by author, alphabetically. Astronomy/astrology, she found near the top of the first shelf, and hummed with frustration--I’m too short to reach.

“Dunny! Come help me! And bring me the books on the nightstand, please?” She cupped a hand around her mouth and shouted through to the bedroom. Duncan appeared a moment later, Jane Eyre and The Golden Compass under his arm. “What’s this one about?” He asked, holding the second aloft.

“I haven’t started it yet, but I think it’s about parallel universes or something? I think that’s what the synopsis said.” He passed them to her, fingers clutching at her as she put them in the tote, trying to kiss her again. She deftly avoided him, loving the tiny frustrated sounds he made, the pained longing in his sky-colored eyes. “Baby, help me reach a stargazing book. That one up there, Backyard Guide to the Night Sky.” Duncan went to reach for it, then stopped, smiling at her vexingly. His hair looks so perfect. His skin is so beautiful. He is so fucking beautiful.

“Kiss me first.”

“Hey, I thought I said--”

“Please, baby. Please? Just one...little...kiss. Please, Miss Stone. I beg you.” Duncan was dipping his face (fuck he’s so beautiful, fuck, I can’t get past it, I can’t stop admiring him, he just doesn’t seem real sometimes, it’s like I made him up in my head, how can I resist him) down to her, his fingers drifting down the sides of her waist, and she tried for another long moment, tried to fight it, but then his hands were cupping along the bottom of her ass, dragging her against him, and her mouth was opening to him, and she thought fuck it, I love you so much--and his tongue was teasing into hers and she sighed and thought fuck we’re never gonna get to that cabin at this rate and he pushed her against the bookcase, fingers coming up to her hair and under her ear, pulling her insistently into him, and he tasted like the mango and bitter coffee and smelled like rain on cedar wood--

“Okay, baby--” she tried to pull away and he captured her lips again, moaning into her softly, “Dunny--you got your kiss, get that book for me--”

“I love you.”

“I know you do.”

“I love you, Kenzie.”

“I know, you dipshit, I fucking love you too.” She stuck her tongue out at him, but Duncan wasn’t deterred--he pressed his nose against hers, drifting it from side to side, then leaned back to stare at her. His eyes were like clouds reflecting a blue sea; he could see into her mind, she knew, feel the rosy adoration there for him. Just for you, Duncan Shepherd, and only for you, and you fucking know it. You know you’re the One, the only One, exalted in my eyes, beloved. He stared at her for another long moment (divine goddess, she heard, princess of heaven)--then, not without a marked disappointment, reached his long arm up to the shelf and brought the book down for her.

“It’s time to go, baby,” she whispered. “You can kiss me a million times when we get there.”

“Promise?”

“I fucking promise, Prince Duncan. In the long grass. Under the stars.”

-------

It was past 9 when they were finally on the road--Duncan wore his round Yves sunglasses, the smooth glide of the G-Class’ steering wheel drifting under his elegant hand; he was pressing one of his black Puma suede sneakers (Kenzie was amused to note it was the first time she’d ever seen him wear sneakers of any kind, but these were undoubtedly Duncan-style) on and off the gas pedal impatiently, starting and stopping in the Arlington traffic on the way to the Maryland highway.

They’d packed everything neatly in the trunk and along the backseat; Kenzie’s eyes gazed over her dark red roses affectionately, the gold vase carefully tucked into a basket that rested in the middle of the backseat, held steady between the two coolers and the picnic basket. A bellhop had appeared upstairs to help with a cart after Duncan had called downstairs on the intercom, so it hadn’t taken long. It was everything else that took awhile, Kenzie thought, thinking of Duncan’s hot, insistent kisses--she glanced over at him, saw him glancing between her and the road, looked away, smiling into her hand, her own round sunglasses shielding her eyes from him. She took another bite of a half-eaten chocolate-peanut butter Luna bar in her other hand, and flipped the Sirius XM on as Duncan merged onto I-270, heading north--Kenzie had waved as they’d driven past Madeline’s neighborhood a few minutes before, murmuring “hi Momby, bye Momby,” under her breath. Duncan had glanced at her, and she saw his endeared smile. Kenzie found the electronic station from last night, rolling the window down--the day wasn’t quite as hot as it would be later, yet, and there was a delicious summer wind. A sultry feminine voice drifted through the speakers as Duncan hit the highway, pressing his foot fully down on the gas now--Kenzie’s heart drifted up, and she sighed deeply, relief flowing through her. She reached for Duncan’s hand and he grasped her fingers, eye on the road. I can feel your heart lift too, baby. We’re escaping.

I’mma swallow all these diamonds, I’mma make you proud--you’re the greatest of all time, you’re the greatest of all time, you’re the greatest of all time, you’re the greatest...chain me up, trap me in gold, you’re my king, I gotta have you close--

God, this sounds like it’s about us, Kenzie thought shyly into him, and she could see him biting into his lip, his thumb drifting across to her knee. It does, doesn’t it. She twined her fingers into his there, loving the weight of him, the warm halo of his touch, the smooth drift of the car, the cool smell of new leather in its interior. The wind was whipping her hair against her neck, the sun hovering a quarter of the way into the sky, the temperature still in the merciful upper 70’s, and according to the GPS, traffic was minimal all the way to the lake. Kenzie laid her head back into the seat, sighing contentedly.

Pick me up and go, no I don’t wait don’t wait for no one, you gotta pick me up and go, no I don’t wait don’t wait don’t wait no, I’mma glow with or without you, two mil’ in my system I’mma swallow all these diamonds never spit ‘em out…

“I’m gonna jump head-first into the lake as soon as we get there,” Kenzie was murmuring to Duncan, her eyes drifting closed behind her sunglasses in the comfort of this moment. “Let’s go swimming, then eat lunch, then fuck all afternoon--”

“Holy fuck, Kenz--that sounds perfect. Wait till you see the water, today is exactly the kind of day I was talking about, where the sky reflects on it and everything is so clear and blue--”

“Like your eyes, baby,” Kenzie felt sleepy suddenly, sleepy with the depth of the peace she felt, the half-eaten granola bar falling down into her lap from her fingers, her other hand soothed by the slow caress of Duncan’s thumb over her skin. She heard his little scoff, but felt the glowing warmth of his affection, his quiet acknowledgement that she was right. Yeah. Yes, baby. Like my eyes when I stare at you, and you alone.

“What’s the bedroom like, baby?” She murmured to him, her eyes still closed. The wind felt so miraculously good; she smiled in the cocoon of all of it, the feeling of the sun on her cheek, the pressure of his hand, the electronic pulse of the music from the speakers, only a couple of hours and we’ll be in our own secret paradise.

“I’m assuming you mean the master bedroom, which is where we’ll be sleeping,” she heard Duncan say, his thumb still drifting against her, and Kenzie puzzled at that--what kind of cabin has a master bedroom? Her curiosity burned for a moment at Duncan’s quietness after his statement, then the soothing sensations of the drive were drifting against her again. Might as well just enjoy the ride and see it when we get there. You’re being coy on purpose, baby. Kenzie opened her eyes for a moment, glancing at him. Duncan’s face was placidly beautiful, his sharp jaw striking as he looked toward the road--a remix of Ella Fitzgerald’s Blue Skies now pumped from the speakers--blue skies smiling at me, nothing but blue skies do I see, nothing but blue--and Kenzie thought this is how it feels to be with you.  

Kenzie closed her eyes again, leaning her head back into the seat this time--when she opened them again, she realized she’d fallen asleep. The light had changed, was brighter and coming from directly overhead, the sun no longer streaming into the car from the side. Her neck was aching from the odd position she’d slipped into, her head crooked down onto her shoulder. Duncan looked at her sideways, grinning at her. The road was mostly deserted now but for a Prius driving a yard ahead of them and a slow-moving red Corolla that Duncan passed easily--they were surrounded by trees on either side of the asphalt, and it felt like they were climbing to a slightly higher altitude, the G-Class on the drift of an incline.

“Hi, baby. We’re about half an hour away now.”

“You’re kidding.” Kenzie lifted her arms out, stretching, the sound of her voice decidedly sleep-tinged in her ears. “I slept for two hours?” She glanced up at the dashboard; the digital clock read 11:37.

“It’s okay, baby. Yesterday was a long day--the last few days have been long. It’s all been--you know. Overwhelming. You were tired.”

“I said I was gonna help drive.”

“Kenzie, angel, it doesn’t matter. It went by so fast--it was peaceful. To watch over you. It was soothing, to have some time to think about everything. About...my mother. About Annette, I mean, but about my mother too. My real mother. Whoever she is. Wherever she is.”

“I’m sure Annette knows.” Kenzie reached for Duncan’s hand again and he drifted it out to her, grasping her. He looks so lovely in the memory of his solitude, she thought. I can see how his face must have looked at me as I slept. Oh, baby. How I love you.

“Yeah, I--I’m going to talk to her when we get back. I decided I will. There are things I know she knows that she needs to tell me. But for now I think it was enough to just contemplate it. Accept it. That there’s this whole part of me I haven’t known about until now. And it was calming to--to think about you...” Duncan’s head dipped here, his expression shy. To think about how much I love you, about how much I want to marry you, how much I want to know about the thing that’s coming, the hidden thing that’s right on the horizon, the secret thing, the thing that will tell us about each other, why it feels like we’ve always been together, always will be, about the dreams. “And the things that have been happening.”

“I wonder if there are other things we can do. You moved through a room just by thinking about it. I moved objects--I moved a person. I wonder if there are other things. We should try things, I mean--being in the woods alone is the perfect place for us to do weird shit without anyone bothering us,” and he snorted at her, laughing. Kenzie grinned at him, then she was serious again, straightening the smile. “Let’s see if we can figure it out.”

“Okay, baby. Let’s do weird shit.” Duncan was taking his sunglasses off, smiling at her with bemused mischief in his gaze--the oaks and pines gathering overhead and rising along the road were shielding them from the sunlight, and it was shady inside the car now, sunbeams dipping in and out, dancing over his cheeks. But within the playful expression in his face, the trust in his eyes shook her heart; I’d follow you anywhere, to the ends of the earth, to the edge of the universe, Mackenzie Stone. I’d follow you into the darkest abyss. Even that would be heaven, as long as you’re there. A line from Wuthering Heights, a book she’d loved fiercely since high school, drifted into her mind, clashing against his thoughts--if all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be; and if all else remained, and he were annihilated, the universe would turn to a mighty stranger…

“We’re getting really close now,” Duncan said, glancing away from her at the GPS. “Kenzie. I have a confession. I may have been misleading when I called it a cabin. It’s more of a--uhmm. A very large cabin.”

“Duncan.”

He bit into his lip. Turn left here, the GPS chirped, a feminine voice with a British accent. In .2 miles, turn left onto Lakeside Trail. Duncan spun the steering wheel under his long hands, and Kenzie’s eyes drifted to the Cartier bracelet locked to his left wrist, its gold flashing.  It’s me. That bracelet is me, my gold, the chain of us together, the golden thread of us.

“You’ll see. I think it’s..probably...bigger than you might be expecting.”

“Fuck. I forgot. You’re Duncan Shepherd. Playboy billionaire, soon to be CEO and majority shareholder of Shepherd Unlimited. Hot shit.”

“If I’m a playboy, you’re a playgirl. My little playgirl bunny. God, now I’m imagining your centerfold, fuuuuck--”

“Ugh, shut up, god, you’re being naughty today.” Kenzie reached out and pinched his side, hard, and he laughed in surprised pain, shying away from her. “Oww, baby, that fucking hurt.”

“Keep it up and I’m going to fucking spank you next,” Kenzie threatened.

“What if I like it?” He laughed as she jabbed her fingers out again, dancing them along his torso.

“We might just need to test that theory, then, huh baby?”

Duncan didn’t say anything, just continued to smile at her, amused and shy. He turned the SUV down a very long gravel path now, up to a long steel-bar gate with round golden lamps on either side of its entrance. Duncan pulled the car up to a keypad that dipped from an awning at the side, punching a code into it: 070688. His birthday, she thought. His mother’s doing, no doubt. Kenzie continued to drift inside his thoughts--the gates floated open and Duncan reached for her hand again as he put his foot on the gas. I was so used to being dominant with partners before you, baby, she heard him thinking. But I love it when you tell me what to do, and I love to tie you up and worship you, how you let me lead when my desire to is strong, and I loved it when you tied me up too, when you tell me I can’t touch my cock until you say I can, when you told me I couldn’t take my cock ring off, that only you could do it--with us, both are right, both feel right. Giving to you, taking from you, and around and around, like some holy circle we make together. I love it so much. I’d try anything with you. It’s always safe in the drift of your love. I love the way we give to each other endlessly. Nothing in the world could possibly feel more right to me.

Yes, baby, yes, Duncan. Then Kenzie lifted her eyes past the two rows of trimmed crabapple trees that lined the gravel drive--they were covered in red clusters, their very young fruit visible in the dappled sunlight of the late morning. She stifled the gasp that wanted to escape immediately; Duncan clearly heard her sharp intake, however, and glanced at her, his blue gaze hovering between apprehension at any hint of discontent, and an obvious hope for her approval.

This is not a fucking cabin, Duncan Shepherd. This is a fucking lakeside mansion. Kenzie pulled her sunglasses off, squinting at the huge structure that rose before them through the window of the SUV, aware her mouth was hanging open.

“Holy fuck, Duncan,” she whispered.

The cabin, as Duncan had called it, was a two-story sprawling structure, easily beyond 5,000 square feet, made of elegant stacked stone and dark walnut wood, with long, latticed dusky-red windows stretching along every wall of the lower level, giving it a regal romanticism that Kenzie immediately loved. The edges of the roof were slanted, made in dark black oak slatting. There were round string lights hung over every awning, but they were unlit at this hour of the day; Kenzie could only imagine how beautiful they looked at night. The structure’s lower level clearly encompassed more than half a dozen rooms, judging from its length--and a glass-enclosed structure with long wood tables, clearly for group events, was built off the side to Kenzie’s right, a spacious garage next to that. The entirety of the cabin-mansion’s length was enclosed by smooth, decorative white stones, and flowers were planted along the bottom of every window--Kenzie could make out geraniums, marigold, peonies and gardenia. There was a path to the left, surrounded by pines, and down it Kenzie could see a triangular-shaped, elegant white-wood gazebo built in the center of blooming hydrangeas. Inside the gazebo was a long wicker outdoor couch surrounded by flower pots with dozens of pillows, more of the round string lights hung about the eaves, and a long, low drink table with a decorative lantern. A long wooden swing hung nearby from a huge, sturdy oak that looked like it was at least a hundred years old. Beyond that, Kenzie could make out the long stretch of luscious water, indeed reflecting the blue of the summer sky with striking clarity--just as Duncan had promised. The lake. There was a long deck that extended from the shore, and a canoe tied to it with a length of rope, bobbing in the small tide. And I haven’t even seen the backyard yet.

Duncan had brought the SUV to a stop, pressing the smart key; the engine faded into silence. He reached a hand out to her, and she looked at him; is it okay, baby? His eyes searched her face, his mouth opening slightly towards her.

“Okay? Baby. This is like...oh my god. This is fucking paradise.” Kenzie felt tears begin to prick at her eyelids--she fought to keep them back, but it was all so wonderful, so much bigger than her, the vastness of the loveliness of him, of this, washing over her in a suffocating crash. Could this all be a dream, she thought once more. All of it, the last few weeks, my life utterly changed by you forever, my love, the magick inside us now, the magick that kisses every corner of my mind, every corner of our lives, tied together now, the beauty of everything, and you--you, so wildly beautiful, so tender to me in every instance, you, impossibly wonderful, impossibly perfect for me, and yet somewhere defiantly possible--please tell me, if it is a dream, that I’ll never wake up, that I’ll sleep for all of time inside this extraordinary, resplendent dream of you, my dearest love, Duncan--

“Kenzie. Angel. Don’t cry. You’re gonna make me--cry--” Duncan’s voice broke, and she saw the tiniest tremble in his lips, watched the clouded sky of his eyes flicker, resonate with the emotion she could feel from him like a swirling gust of wind; Kenzie, in an instant, threw her arms around him over the middle of the car seats, burying her face in his neck, the tears coming now, no way she could stop them, a little shuddering sob escaping from her. Duncan was pulling her easily into his lap, tucking her short legs over to his thighs so they fell down between the space between his bare knees, the smoothness of her skin brushing his prickly calves, her body pressing flush against his, the denim of her tiny shorts against the soft jersey of his crotch. The warmth and the scent of him--wood, jasmine--overwhelmed her more; you are no dream, my love, you never were and I know it, the time before you was a dream, the time without you when I’m away from you is a dream, and you are the only real thing in all the world. The love I feel in your arms is the only reality.

“I just--getting to be here with you, alone--fuck, baby, I’m just--”

“I know, Kenz, I know, baby. I can’t stand it either. God, I love you. I love you so much. I’m so fucking happy, Kenzie. I feel like my heart’s just going to fucking stop--”

“No fucking way. If it does, I’ll bring you back to life.” She was pulling her face away from his neck, the tears stinging her cheeks; she saw the glitter of the tears in his too before she opened her mouth against his; he cradled her low, dipping his head over her, his arm clutching at the band of her top under her breast, along the rise of her ribs, his Cartier bracelet burying into her hair, gold on tawny gold. She felt one of his tears fall down onto her cheek, sliding to pool at her throat, and Kenzie brought her fingers to his face, wiping them away as he tasted her lips with aching slowness.

Duncan, I love you. With...with every part of myself. With everything I have. He was nodding into her, his soft, entreating sounds making her feel as though she were vibrating, enveloped by him. They clutched each other for awhile; the peaceful sounds of the birds, the wind, the lake splashing far off, the rustling of the trees--that was their music. It held them, drifting into the car windows, surrounded them, made them a bed for a long moment, let them lay together inside it as they tasted each other, as their tears calmed, as Kenzie wandered away from the feeling of tears, into a heady desire for him, an abundant joy. She pulled back, her hand on his bristly jaw.

“I wanna go inside, baby. I wanna see everything and then I wanna go fucking swimming and eat lunch with you and fuck you in every fucking room and out in the grass, under the trees--”

“Kenzie, fuck, baby, we get to be here for days--fuck, I can’t believe it, I’m so fucking happy--”

Kenzie grinned and closed her eyes, pressing her forehead against his mouth--Duncan’s words bled away as he kissed her there, lips open, his thoughts rosy with her, her mind brimming over with the gold she felt for him; for the gold is my love, and it always has been. It’s me giving the best of myself to him, because I love him. I love you, Duncan. I always will. The gold is the everlasting promise of my love.

“Baby, let’s go. Show me everything.” Kenzie leaned over and pulled the handle of the driver’s side door, pushing it open with one Vans-clad foot. Duncan helped her to the ground as she slid out of his lap, his grip steady, but very tender. He slid out after her, his chest pressing into the back of her hair for a moment, his mouth kissing down on the crown of her head. Kenzie went into the backseat, grasping the golden vase that held her roses with careful fingers--this will be the first thing to go inside, the token of his love for me. Duncan grasped one of the coolers and easily hoisted it in his arms, crooking his head towards the big front double-doors made of more sturdy dark walnut. He nodded to his thigh, eyes lifting to her.

“Kenz, get the keys out of my pocket, will you?”

Kenzie gently reached into the jersey shorts, staring into his face as she did, being sure to let her fingers brush against the length of his cock as she dipped her fingers into the pocket; he shivered, biting into his lip, sending a wanton promise into her. You’re gonna get fucked, baby. I’m gonna fuck you in the wild woods under the stars, in the big fuck off bed, in the bath, fuck, everywhere. I’m gonna rip those little shorts off you and make you fucking scream as loud as you can until you lose your voice and I’m fucking deaf, angel, babylove, Princess.

Kenzie giggled nervously, her face pressing down against her roses, watching his expression morph into one of romantic longing. My queen of roses. Persephone of spring. Kenzie stepped away from him to the doorway, her Vans crunching over the gravel, and unlocked the door with a rustically-styled key--as she stepped inside she groaned, overcome with the loveliness of everything again, Duncan coming up behind her, setting the cooler just inside the door. The interior of the front room was huge, a spacious expanse she could dance across if she wanted to--there were two long couches in the center of the glossy hardwood, a huge, probably priceless dark Persian rug under them. The roof was a wildly erotic charred black--a huge pair of moose antlers were attached to one wall, the Shepherd crest on another with distinct fleur de lis. A huge, life-sized statue of Hermes in a breastplate, smiling good-naturedly, his winged feet obvious, stood in one corner; a naked Aphrodite in another, her long hair fanning out in an invisible wind behind her, her face turned up ecstatically to some unseen delight, her breasts bare. A huge stone-lined fireplace was against the center wall that adjoined with a middle hallway, an opulent black grate across it. Along the wall that faced the backyard there was a huge glass window, looking out on a long deck with a sheltered deck table and a fence, beyond it, covered in more of the round lights, with a locking gate.

“We’re turning all the fairy lights on tonight,” Kenzie said, turning to Duncan. He nodded with a smile; such a beautiful, earnest smile it was. Anything you want, Princess Kenzie. Kenzie could see the fire pit beyond the deck, its huge, coppery circular indentation distinct on an inlay of deep-set brick in the daylight, low wicker lounge chairs in tawny colors surrounding it. Beyond that was woods--dense from the look of them, though there seemed to be a marked path from what she could see from her far position, the lake stretching to the far left, blue-reflecting and wildly inviting. Plenty of time to explore, Kenzie thought. She could feel Duncan’s eyes watching her again and looked up at him, smiling. She set the roses down on a table near the entrance, bringing her hands against the fabric of his button-down, feeling his body beneath it, the coiled strength in him, the desirous tightness that was lingering there. His hands came around to the small of her back, to the bare skin there above the tiny little denim shorts she wore.

“Dunny. I love it so much.”

“Come look at the bedroom. We’ll get the other stuff in a minute.” He clutched her hand, leading her to the hall, then up a huge staircase with a black banister, a chandelier of Swarovski crystals and gold embellishments hanging at the second-floor landing. He pulled her down the wide, darkwood-paneled hall, past several empty guest rooms, one with matte black decor, one with silver, to the end, where a set of double-doors painted with gold leaf around the edges seemed to promise her something exceptional--he pushed them open and Kenzie oooohhhh’d, immediately letting go of him to run to the bed and throw herself onto it--it was so wide she felt immediately lost in the center of it, sinking down into its luxe, gold-embellished feathery spread, laughing in delight, her hair tossing into her eyes, her heart fluttering against the Tiffany moon. There was an opulent, upholstered gold panel at the head of it, and what seemed like a dozen duck feather pillows piled high against it. Silky, sheer white curtains with gold edges hung across huge bay windows along the wall--through them she could glimpse the lake, its serene surface impossibly lovely in the early afternoon streaming in. 

This room was fitted with golden decor at every turn, gold-leaf along the wide dresser and the decorative tables, each with a breathtakingly lovely decorative gold leaf laurel wreath. On one wall hung a painting in an embellished gold frame: Cupid and Psyche, Kenzie knew immediately, her breath catching. In it, Cupid pressed his lips to Psyche’s cheek, her eyes closed in ecstatic repose, his wings, here portrayed as deep purple, the color of ripe grapes, dipping around her naked form, a crown of violets in his curls, curls like Duncan’s. It was wildly lovely, and looking at it made her long for him, as though it were them painted there, not the god of passionate attachment and his lover. She glimpsed a gold-embellished bathroom through a side-door, and what looked like the side of a polished coppery-gold bathtub. She glanced up to Duncan from her prostrate position.

“This is a bed fit for a queen,” Kenzie murmured.

Fuck. I didn’t realize we’d be sleeping in a bed like this. The mere feeling of the silky spread under her bare legs was kindling desirous heat between her legs.This bed is for fucking. This bed is for getting fucked hard by your Prince’s big cock. This golden, feather-soft bed is an altar for his beautiful mouth to worship the space between your legs. This bed is for you to kneel on while you suck him dry, for you to be tied to while he works you out into wordless cries of euphoria. This bed is for you to slave over each other’s bodies, sleep until noon, and then wake up wrapped to each other’s lips, impossibly entwined, sheets tangled in intricate longings, smelling of your need for one another. Duncan was staring, listening to these thoughts from her, his gaze becoming hot and flushed, the blush of his desire spreading over his statuesque beauty.

“Good thing it finally has one in it,” he replied. Duncan had leaned on the door in his familiar tick--his eyes had darkened deeply to storms, his thoughts dipping low into heady lust, the taste of her cunt, the softness of her skin, the nectar she knew he regarded as her mouth, and Kenzie bit her lip, propping herself on her elbows. Come the fuck here and get me, then, King. Come and get your Queen.

Then Duncan was advancing on her, his arms reaching down for her with a determined look in his divinely blue eyes that made her blood freeze, and she was writhing in his strong grip, with his sudden, immediate ardency, the aching softness of the down at her back stirring warmth through her body, in dazzling streaks of sensitivity. Duncan lowered his lips to the moon at her throat, making her gasp (my moon, my moonlight, moon flower, he was thinking) and then he was drifting down to kiss between her ribs at the deep V of her wrapped, sunlight-colored top, down further to kiss her belly button, open-mouthed, his tongue licking out.

“I think,” he whispered, his large, insistent hands at the waistband of her shorts, his mouth drifting to her hipbone over the denim, “That you need to get fucked hard before we do anything else today, Princess Kenzie. I think we need to christen this bed as ours. What do you think?” His hands were pressing into her now, holding her down, drifting up to her throat, holding her against the silky, aching softness of the bed, sensing how it was stirring her, thrilling her, kindling her desire up to a high agitation.

“Uhhhuh,” Kenzie felt absolutely weak to him, lost in his adamant stare, lost in the press of the tips of his fingers, sensing that they were barely containing their powerful grip on her. The bed, the huge house, the lake, the woods--we’re finally here, she thought. And it kindles a wild lust in me, the whisper of Dionysus, urging us to abandon our senses, and fuck each other until we can’t breathe in the middle of the day on this wildly easeful bed that feels like a cloud from heaven. We don’t have anywhere to be. We don’t have to meet with anyone, we don’t have to go to work, to interviews, to see our mothers, to find bodyguards, to go to stupid Galas, to fight off paps, nothing, nowhere. Our phones are off, we’ve disappeared from the world, we’re alone, we’re together, we have days. DAYS. Holy fuck, baby. Holy fucking fuck.

“Duncan,” Kenzie whispered, and she whimpered, long and low, and his mouth was pressing, hot, aching, at her throat, and his devotion was like a knife, and she wanted it plunged deep into her body.

“Oh my fucking goddess, baby--fucking fuck me.”

[cripdork]

PSA: kytestrings on ebay aka thecraftarmoury.com.au lies about materials

In 2016, I bought a necklace from them that was described as 100% stainless steel. While the jump rings were stainless steel, the metal beads weren’t, best I can figure, they seem to be nickel plated copper or something like that. Nickel is something i’m quite allergic to, and I have an autoimmune disorder that means triggers like that can cause a rash, or more severely, even anaphylactic shock. Just handling the necklace was enough to cause me an asthma flare up.

It was a fairly expensive hand made thing, and I figured it was probably an honest mistake, and because I was still dealing with homelessness and other personal life crisis situations, I didn’t have the energy to engage about it back then. So, I just left a fairly mild “neutral” review.

[image id: screenshot of mostly text from ebay reviews section: grey neutral review symbol; “beads rusted orange within days. description seems deceptively incorrect”. Reply by kytestrings (10th october 2016) “All metals listed, no previous issues, options always available if contacted”]

Years pass, and today, I go back to reorder something else i bought from them, a cute little bracelet, made from aluminium. But, banned from purchasing.

[image ID: iPhone popup saying: Error: Unfortunately, this seller has decided that you are not permitted to bid on their listings. You may contact the seller via the “Ask Seller Questions” feature if you want additional details.]

I messaged them to ask about it, and at first they lied and pretty much said they couldn’t unblock me:

[image id: screenshot of text: “kytestrings: Hi, thank you for your patience - it looks like this setting was applied by my account manager after your previous purchase, and the feedback left for the spike necklace that was part of the order, more particularly as it was left without any contact with regards to the issues raised in the feedback.Unfortunately, I am unable to adjust this setting. Kind regards Angie”]

I responded with a link to instructions on how unblocking works on ebay, duped by interpreting their words in a literal way, and they responded aggressively after that.

[image id: screenshot of message on ebay: “New message from: kytestrings (13,878)

Thanks for your reply - my apologies if my previous message caused confusion or false hope, I was trying to tactfully explain the situation so as not to cause any further problems, but I obviously failed at that so I will be a little more clear, though I know it is at the risk of causing offence (despite anything, it is not my intention, so I can only hope you understand where I am coming from here).   Members who intentionally damage the reputation of this business without even trying to discuss the matter first, are blocked permanently, no exceptions. Kind regards Angie“ End ID]

Anyway it kinda goes on a while back and forth but later she tries to gaslight me saying the description always described it as stainless steel and silver, which, it did not, i remember checking and it said 100% stainless steel when i wrote the neutral review.

I give up. I just feel like it’s important that i make sure if anyone is googling about them unsure if they’re ok, that they know that they can’t count on that shop to list the metals accurately. be careful, fellow spoonies. ebay’s full of scammers and cheats x_x

[thiscrimsonsoul]

The Mun Ponders Some of Wanda’s Rings...

{out of paprikash} For no reason at all, I feel like looking into some of Wanda’s rings as far as what they’re made out of, what they probably cost, what they might have meant to her, and who might have given them to her. Because things and stuff and I love doing senseless metas like this about my muses. XD

Wanda wears a lot of rings in each MCU movie she’s in. It’s kindof her thing. As someone who has also worn many rings daily for years as a way of expressing herself, I fully support Wanda’s love of rings, heh. And yet, I wonder... how did she get them all? Did she buy them herself? Were they given to her? Let’s do some sleuthing, shall we? I’m going to limit myself to just one hand in Ultron, otherwise we’ll be here all night, lol.

The ring on her pinky is a wire wrap design done in gold-colored metal, containing a red stone. I can tell you that this is going to be a fairly inexpensive ring. The wire, while gold-colored, is not gold. Not solid, not 18K, not 14K, and I’m guessing not even 10K. The reason for this is that gold is an incredibly soft and malleable metal, and if anyone tried to do a wire-wrap design with it, it would bend and break and fall apart. Getting down to maybe 14K or certainly 10K, the gold is mixed with other metals to be stronger, but usually even 14 parts or 10 parts gold is not going to be used for something like a wire wrap design. Gold is considered “too good” a metal for that kind of design, most often, since there is a lot of waste metal that’s produced when making such a design (from clipping the wires shorter and such), and no one wants to just throw away bits of unused gold.

So if it isn’t gold, it’s going to probably be something called “gold-filled,” which I never really understood the name for, because it means gold plated. As in... coated on the outside. But anyway, this is usually done over Sterling Silver or something called “base metal,” which is just an alloy of inexpensive metals. The gold is applied in super thin layers on top (microns thin) to give the illusion of gold. Gold filled wire is used for wire-wrap designs, so this is a possibility. If it is not that, it might be another gold-colored metal like brass, but most likely it’s gold-filled wire, making this ring fairly cheap, expense-wise.

The red stone in the design could be a lot of things, but it is likely not ruby (not often used in affordable designs like that one). It is in bead form (in a wire wrap design, the wire that makes the ring, bracelet, etc. also supports the beads by being fed through drilled holes in the stone), so it is likely a less expensive stone, such as various types of dyed red agates, carnelian, red onyx, etc., like these:

Beads are considered very simple ways of displaying stones, and more expensive stones are not drilled and polished into beads as sometimes they crack and are useless. If you have a really expensive stone, you don’t want to take a chance that drilling or grinding it down to polish will split it in half. So yeah, that wire wrap ring of hers is probably very affordable, like around $15-20. She could very well have purchased it herself at some point. Given that it’s on her pinky, I’m thinking that she either bought it herself when she was younger, or her parents bought it for her, when she was little and her fingers were much smaller. Now that she’s older, it only fits on her pinky. So it’s a ring similar to this, only with a smaller bead in it:

The ring (or rings, if they’re two that are stacked?) on her index finger looks to me to be either highly polished Sterling Silver or, more likely given the whiter color of the metal, something called Thai Silver, which is purer than Sterling at 97.5-99.0% silver. It does not tarnish like Sterling Silver because what actually tarnishes in Sterling are the other metals contained in the alloy. Being purer silver content, Thai silver doesn’t have this problem. So given that the ring (or rings) is bright white in color, it might be a purer form of silver.

Even so, it’s thin and the design is very simple (just a twisted or “rope” design), so it is only going to cost around $15-20 for a single band, $30-40 for a pair of them. It’s possible she purchased this for herself as well at some point. 

Okay but now let’s move on to another ring in that picture above, her talon ring.  Regardless of which canon you follow (comics, movies, or canon-divergent), the basic sense of Wanda’s life is that her childhood was fairly poor, she and Pietro lived on the streets for a while after their parents were killed, and then they were kept in a laboratory (by the High Evolutionary, Hydra, whatever you follow), after which they gained some amount of freedom before joining up with the Avengers. Ish, heh. Right? None of that screams wealth and privilege. And yet... some of Wanda’s rings are actually very expensive...

Her talon ring is a high-end designer piece. In the “real world,” it is designed by Pamela Love. It is made out of Sterling Silver, which is, by definition, 92.5% pure silver (this is why it is often stamped “.925″). The rest is usually a combination of copper, zinc, nickel, etc., mostly to make the metal harder so that jewelry doesn’t bend easily and break. This is especially important in a wrap-around design like this, where one can squeeze both sides of the ring and bend it very easily.

As someone who makes their own jewelry and works almost exclusively with Sterling Silver findings and other components, I am familiar with how it is priced. With no designer name attached, Wanda’s ring, give its size and shape and the oxidation which is usually applied after casting using an acid solution application method, would probably be in the $50-70 range. Once you add in designers, middle men, vendor overhead, etc., the price goes up from there. Right now, if her ring was available (it’s currently sold out), it would sell for $200, according to this site. That is... not cheap for your average Sterling Silver ring of this size/design. If I saw that price tag on a ring like this in a store, regardless of how much I liked it, I would probably laugh cynically and walk away.

The last ring in the photo is hard to see, but it’s on her middle finger and worn in a midi position. Most analyses I’ve seen during my research seem to agree that this ring is also by Pamela Love, and is an arrowhead ring:

This ring is also no longer available on Love’s website and doesn’t even have a page with a price on it for me to look at, but if it is priced anything like the talon ring, it is probably at least $200. I am even willing to say it might be closer to $250 or $300, given that this design looks more substantial and probably contains more Sterling Silver than the talon design. 

What I’m getting at with the last two rings is... given hers and Pietro’s background, I don’t think either one of them could afford rings like that. And even if they could, the money was better spend on food and other necessities, and with Wanda being the more prudent one of the pair, she would be the last to spend exorbitantly on things they did not need to survive. So what the hell, right? How did she get them? The simple answer is that Marvel can put on their characters whatever the heck they want, but that’s lame. I want an in-character reason.

My overall sense of the rings on this hand are that the pinky ring was probably something from her childhood moved to the pinky for size reasons, maybe purchased by her parents and given to her, the index finger rings (I believe they might be two stacked) could have been bought by her or Pietro later on, but the talon and arrowhead rings.....................

..................Pietro freakin’ stole those for Wanda. 

He had to.

He picked out an expensive table at a market or hit a little boutique store (because Wanda is worth it, in his mind), was in and out in seconds, grabbed what he could, and gave it to his beloved sister. This is canon for me now and nobody is going to tell me otherwise. 

...and if that’s the case, then they are probably very precious to her. I have no doubt that wearing rings is part of Wanda’s own personal expression. Pietro probably knew this, and that’s why he stole rings for her specifically. But beyond just a fashion statement, Wanda’s rings might have special meaning to her if Pietro or her parents gave them to her. I wear two rings every day that my mother, who is no longer living, gave to me. It’s possible that Wanda does the same thing, wearing jewelry that was given to her by people who meant a lot to her, but who are no longer with her. 

Aaaand that’s my amateur analysis of some of Wanda’s rings. Now that I’ve bothered to look into all of this, related info will probably seep into my rps. Because that’s what happens when I start fleshing out canon muses to a minute-detail level. XD Feel free to comment with your two cents on the subject if you wish!

[insdindia]

Types of Jewellery

  Jewellery Designing Courses in Pune  

 Antique Jewellery

The jewellery which is not in mainstream production and of which the mode of production is no longer popular is known by the name of 'Antique Jewellery.' This kind of jewellery has dull and rough look, combined with an old world charm, and this serves as the major USP of such jewellery. Oxidised in the modern industry passes for antique style jewellery and looks really great with traditional wear. Antique jewellery abroad can be Victorian or Edwardian styled jewellery which was extremely popular in the era and later died down but now has sprung back into action.

   Aadya

Bead Jewellery

Bead art in India is five thousand years old and dates back to the time of Indus Valley Civilization. People of that civilization used to make beads out of gold, silver, copper, clay, ivory and even wood. Beads have been of an important significance as well like black beads in the mangalsutra keep the evil at bay. Beads are woven and created into beautiful necklaces, bracelets and even long earrings and as there is a huge variety available in the market there can be a lot of experiments done on the jewellery creativity side. Beads are available in a variety of range.

Bridal Jewellery

Made of superior metals and excellent quality, jewellery accentuates the beauty of bride in multiples. Though these days silver and platinum jewellery is gaining popularity, gold jewellery still holds the most popularity among Indians. But as you move from country to country you will learn that bridal jewellery style and tradition changes from place to place. For eg. In India bridal jewellery means heavy studded jewellery that consists adorning from head to toe but abroad bridal jewellery means brooch, pendant and a bridal set which is different from Indian bridal set because it only consists of an engagement ring and a wedding ring.

Bespoke or Custom-made Jewellery

Custom-made jewellery is personalized jewellery this type of jewellery why the entire base of designers first came into existence. The more customer and business came into relationship.  A customer gets to explain their needs, budget, requirement, occasion and the designer creates a piece keeping the above in mind and this kind of bespoke design has a personal touch to the jewellery. This happens particularly in cases where readymade jewellery does not match the taste of the person.

Fashion Jewelry

Fashion jewellery is also known as costume jewellery, mainly for the reason that it is not made of precious metals and stones, rather lighter and more flexible material in terms of quality and also value. Like brass, copper along with plating etc. Fashion jewellery is trend-conscious and keeps on changing as per changing needs. For e.g. H&M

Filigree Jewellery

Filigree is a delicate embellishment in which fine, pliable threads of precious metal are twisted or curled into a design and then soldered onto (or into) the jewellery. In my definition I like to call filigree the ancient way of quilling. Filigree work is done on silver and involves lots of precision and technicality, added with great amount of patience and an eye for minute details. Historically, filigree work was quite popular in countries like Egypt, Italy, and Spain. India's history of filigree work goes back to early centuries. Filigree jewellery is very popular in Orissa.

Gold Jewelry

Gold is a metal that lures many. It gives the security against any financial crisis, because of its easy liquidity and is also used by women for adorning themselves. Traditionally, gold has been considered auspicious among Hindus and is regarded to be symbolic of Lakshmi, the Goddess of Wealth.

Handmade jewellery

Talking about jewellery manufacturing in India is as good as talking about handmade jewellery in India. A major chunk of jewellery in the country is made by independent craftsmen whether the jewellery is costume or fine. Traditionally also, a significant part of jewellery manufacturing has been handmade. A jewellery piece in India can be bulk manufactured but somethings like the intricate details of settings, enamelling need a skilled craftsman which is why every jewellery is handmade.

Ivory Jewellery

Jewellery that is made from the tusk of an elephant is called ivory jewellery. Importance of ivory jewellery can be guessed from the fact that in Gujarat, the bride receives an ivory bangle from her family just before marriage as jewellery. During marriage ceremony wearing of ivory bangles used to be a must for brides. But over a period of time as hunting become forbidden by law, ivory selling is illegal now and the ivory bangles are not replaces with white plastic bangle.

Jadau Jewellery

Jadau jewellery has always been considered as the prized possession in our country. Jadau Jewellery forms one of the major examples of high skilled craftsmanship that was brought into India by Mughals. This kind of work is carried out of highly skilled craftsman of Rajasthan. Rajasthan is also the hub for jadau jewellery. It’s a traditional technique of embedding diamonds, pearls, rubies or emeralds into gold. Kundan jewellery is made from gold with a core of wax. Gold used for this kind of jewellery is highly refined it involves 24k, 22k gold. Kundan jewellery is also the brides favourite kind of jewellery to wear. Kundan jewellery has had a legacy of 2,500 years. The art of making kundan is known as jadau.

      Meenakari Jewelry

Enameling is the ancient art of melting powdered glass onto metal. Meenakari jewellery was initially used as a technique to be used on the back of polki/jadau jewellery. Later it became a design of its own. The design basically contained vibrant colours like blue, red, green etc and were filled into motifs of flora and fauna. Primarily this kind of craftsmanship you will find in delhi, rajasthan and banaras.

   Navratna Jewellery

In Navratna jewellery, nine auspicious stones are used in a single ornament. The belief behind this is that the nine stones together ensure well-being of the person who wears it. In India, Navratna jewellery has been given major importance, because of its astrological significance as well as its innate charm. But historically seen Navratna was not only considered auspicious in India but also in other parts of Asia like Thailand, the Navaratna is officially recognised as a national and royal symbol of the king.

    Silver Jewellery

Silver Jewellery along with gold jewellery is quite popular amongst Indian women. Ornaments made of silver such as rings, bracelets, chains, necklaces, nose rings, earrings, toe rings, heavy kadas, and armlets, form integral part of Indian jewellery. Silver is also a popular metal in places that have hot weather so silver is worn on the body to equalise the body and weather temperature.

Temple Jewellery

Ethnic jewellery of South of India. It’s also a jewellery type that uses a lot of spiritual symbols like sculptures of gods and goddesses. It was originally made with gold and precious stones but now with growing demand but decreasing the investment level people have started buying other materials made temple jewellery. The intricacy of this type of jewellery is so very precise and antique that every south Indian bride would have one piece of temple jewellery on her in every ceremony.

Tribal Jewellery

Tribal jewellery in India is quite rich. Each tribe has kept its unique style of jewellery intact even now. The original format of jewellery design has been preserved by ethnic tribes. Jewellery that is made of bone, wood, clay, shells and crude metal by tribals is not only attractive, but also holds a distinct rustic charm. This kind of jewellery also talks about each tribe and the areas that they live in and speak of the supplies they receive. Tribal jewellery is very unique is shows very creative ways of jewellery making.

Blaze

[fullmoondesignss]

Today’s trend: rings sterling silver

Sterling silver becomes my favoritejewelry in the world. As it contains 92.5 percent of silver and 7.5 percent of copper. Though, it has the highest rate of optical reflection as well as produces 95% of reflected light. Not only in India but also from various countries like the USA, England, Germany, and Australia buy sterling jewels from Indian online stores. The most important reason for purchasing it from the Indian market is its reasonable range and several designs. It has been seen intensely that western ladies prefer acquisition from India as it is a trustworthy market in comparison to other countries.

One can buy a variety of jewelry products like toe rings, bracelets, key chains, sterling silver bangles, necklaces, rings, and anklets from our country at an unassailable price. But rings sterling silver is highly demanded among people. Even if men have also started purchasing rings sterling silver as well as heavy chains these days. The rings sterling silver jewelry has set a trend in this new era. The demand for silver has exhilarated ladies to buy it in comparison to the luxurious gold and diamond jewelry. By this, we understand that it is not possible for the ladies to live without gorgeous designs of jewelry.

Methods of cleaning rings sterling silver

Not only women but also men have been liked silver ornaments in ancient times also. With the arrival of silver, we can state that designer fashion jewelry is not a big deal at this time. One can order their rings in sterling silver designs and can get it effortlessly designed by the shopkeeper. Moreover, it is easy to clean and keep in a safe location as it is more precious than fancy ornaments.  If you can clean it yourself with a soft cloth then it is virtuous but if you can't then ask shopkeeper or some jewelry expert to do it for you. All kinds of silver jewels are graceful in order to induce shine and fill cracks in them. After a long period of purchase, it gets tarnished or black in color. But with the help of a cloth that is filled with chemicals is used to remove tarnish and blackness. Don’t go for the usage of creams and toothpaste on silver jewelry. In today's time, it has been rumored that jewelry cannot be made from pure silver as it is soft and disposed to damage. Always see the seal before buying the jewelry and buy from a justified and known jewelry shop. If "925" is written on it then it is good quality silver and confirmed one.

[vantemei]

“angel, come on- tae!”

the younger just grins and sticks his tongue out at namjoon, the small silver barbell glinting innocently right in the middle, as if mocking him. oh, wait…

“nuh uh! you promised you would come with me to turn in my transcript at that publishing agency and you didn’t! you completely forgot joonie! that was important to me!”

the vampire just sighs and runs his hand through his soft pink hair, groaning in frustration as taehyung giggles and continues to stick his tongue out at the elder. yoongi cackles in the background.

they’re making a bit of a scene on campus but when namjoon had tried to kiss his boyfriend only to pull back with a cry of alarm and a stinging tongue he had been unpleasantly presented with a smug boyfriend and a snorting best friend.

“come on tae, just take it out. you have plenty of copper and steel ones-”

“nope!”

“tae~” namjoon is just whining now, reaching for his boyfriend only to slump in defeat when taehyung flashes his tongue again. “i can’t kiss you if you have a pure silver tongue stud in!”

“that’s the point joonie.”

namjoon curses under his breath and taehyung giggles. yoongi makes a dramatic ‘ooooh! burn!’ and snorts.

~~~~~~~~~~

two days later namjoon goes to hug his boyfriend from behind and screeches, drawing his rapidly healing burnt hands back and staring in shock as his boyfriend turns to reveal a pure silver body chain trailing across his stomach under his long sleeved white crop top.

looking up for an explanation namjoon just get’s the same smug, salty expression he’s been faced with since forgetting the publisher’s office and hoseok and jimin laughing like hyenas.

“do you like them joonie?” taehyung turns to face him completely showing off the silver bangles that decorate his wrists and the anklets that are clear under his very short shorts. he’s even switched his numerous ear piercings to what looks like more pure silver and to top it all off a small but effective rosary hangs around his neck, glinting unblemished and (you guessed it) silver against his shirt.

namjoon let’s out a wail of despair and the hyenas get louder as he reaches for taehyung once again but hesitates, fingers trembling and eyes wide and sad as he looks at his boyfriend.

“b-but-”

“i bought them just for you joonie, do you not like them?” taehyung pouts and his big innocent eyes flutter prettily at the older boy who audibly gulps and sighs.

“look tae, i told you, i’m sorry.”

“and i’m shiny!”

jimin, who has just managed to calm down and was slowly getting his face to turn a normal color releases a shrill scream and throws himself into taehyung’s arms, tears streaming down his face as he laughs so hard it looks like he’s in agonizing pain. hoseok is on his knees slapping the ground like a seal.

namjoon honest to god wants to cry but he settles for the most careful nose peck he’s ever had to give and proceeds to spend the day trying to get back into his boyfriend’s good books with pretty words and sweet smiles.

by the sixth day taehyung has added sterling silver rings to each of his fingers and now has chains that cross his thighs too and has added arm bangles that wrap around his smooth biceps. namjoon nearly cries when he sees him.

because as taehyung has been adding more silver, he’s also been taking away more clothes. now he sits, happily chatting with jeongguk at a table under the trees wearing black shorts that make his bubble butt look like the eighth wonder of the world and a grey and black crop top and a bright blue cardigan and under it all is the same body chains across his taut stomach and his incredible thighs and the sun light through the trees hovers around his body in a kind of ethereal glow and right then is when namjoon decides he has had enough.

he is a man with a purpose as he takes long strides to wear taehyung is sitting and without any warning he scoops the younger up, ignoring the loud yelp taehyung gives, and princess carries him away from a very startled jeongguk.

namjoon completely ignores the burning pain of silver against his skin as he uses his vampire speed to his advantage and has them in taehyung’s empty dorm room in minutes, coincidentally also ignoring taehyung screeching at him to ‘let me down you idiot! oh god- oh my god! joonie i swear- let go of me! i’ll take it off- you’re burning! joonie-!’

with the door shut behind them taehyung finally manages to scramble out of namjoon’s arms, tugging the rings and bracelets off and barely flinching as he rips the chains from his body, snapping them against his skin without hesitation and throwing all the silver into a far corner of the room as he tugs namjoon’s arms in front of him.

“i cannot believe you- you’re such an idiot! i was going to take them all off tomorrow anyway! you’re so reckless! i can’t believe you! do you have any idea how dangerous that was!? you’re lucky i already switched everything else back to steel or these-!” he pointedly gestures to the slower than usual healing burns across namjoon’s arms. “would have been much worse! i can’t- why would you-”

honestly namjoon lost it the moment taehyung said he switched back to steels, pulling the younger into his arms and crushing their lips together, inhaling the taste of the other like it would save his life. finally.

[legionsgossip]

thank you, PENNY HAYWOOD, for sitting down to answer a few of our questions !! ( @optimismi​ ) 

We’ll start off easy in the beginning. So tell us…. 

If you didn’t have to sleep, what would you do with the extra time?

“ Brilliant ! Oh, where would I even begin ? I’d spend some extra time in the Potions – I mean, in the Political Science Classroom without any distractions. My instructor, Professor Snape, is wonderful at … Political Science, but there’s even more things to learn outside of class-time ! It’s not that I don’t love spending time with my friends, but I don’t think they’re as enthusiastic about Political Science as I am. You can’t really bring up the correct temperature to store liquids at parties, you know. I mean… for drinks at political gatherings. Not for potions. That’s absurd. ”

What is the most annoying habit that other people have?

“ Oh… I really try not to focus on other people’s flaws. Wait. I just thought of one habit I can’t stand. People who like to prank others for fun drive me mad. I also despise when I’m in the middle of something time sensitive or important and someone just interrupts me. It’s like they’re doing it on purpose ! ”

What is something you’ve been meaning to try but just haven’t gotten around to it?

“ Good question ! I heard music festivals are all the rage, and I’d love to go ! I’d also love to go on a trip to… well, anywhere new, really ! The destination doesn’t matter as much as the people going. I’d definitely drag my friends Bill and Ben and Rowan along. ”

What is the most impressive thing you know how to do?

“ Well, I already told you about my love for Po…litical Science. Something else I’m good at is people, I’d say ! They all have such interesting stories and I love to listen and learn about their personalities. It also helps me to keep up with knowing everything at my school. Gossip can be important if used in the right way ! ”

What is something that is considered a luxury that you don’t think you could live without?

“ A luxury… It’s not exactly expensive or anything, but I have this yellow gold charm bracelet with a charm from my parents, one from my sister, and one from my friend… Scarlett. I don’t know what I’d do without it. It’s nice having something to remember the people I love every single day. ”

We’re getting a little deeper now. Hopefully we aren’t scaring you away….

Who inspires you to be better?

“ Oh, more personal. Wonderful… Oh, this one’s easy ! My best friend, Ben Copper, absolutely. He might not think so, but it’s so admirable how despite his fears, he conquers them everyday ! I… I’m certainly not as brave as him in that regard. ”

What do you want your epitaph to be?

“ I’d want it to say something about being well-loved and brilliant. Hopefully it’ll say that I was Head Girl at my school, too. Or youngest professor ever hired on. Most Popular has a nice ring to it, too. Hm… it’ll have to be a big headstone to fit all that… I’m sure someone can figure a more poetic and concise quote. ” 

They say that everyone has a book in them. What would your book be about?

“ I’ll tell you what it will be about, absolutely. It’ll be a story about the girl who woke up in Colorado and found a way to break an impenetrable curse and get home to her friends just in time to become Head Girl for her last year of school. It’ll be a best-seller. ”

What are some of the events in your life that made you who you are?

“ It’s like that quote about your personality being based off the five people you’re closest to. That’s such an accurate statement! I don’t think I’d be anywhere near recognizable to the person I am today without my best friends. ”

There are two types of people in this world. What are the two types?

“ There are glass half full people and glass half empty. You can choose to see the world for all its beauty, or you can see focus on the negatives. ”

Time to get really deep. You better hold on to your seat for this one…. 

What is the most illegal thing you’ve done?

“ I’ve gone on some entertaining and terrifyingly death-defying adventures with my friends. Those certainly involved some illegal activities, like sneaking around after curfew and some minor theft and major trespassing. ”

What keeps you up at night?

“ I… Nightmares from my past. Nothing worth talking about. I don’t talk about my home life. ”

What bridges do you not regret burning?

“ I absolutely don’t regret burning a bridge with these two horrible girls at my school, Merula and Emily. There is never an excuse to harm my friends and – well, you know what they say about karma. ”

What’s one thing you did that you really wish you could go back and undo?

“ I’d go back and fix my biggest mistake. I was only ten or eleven, but I… I’m sorry, I don’t talk about my home life. Let’s just say, I had the chance to help someone, but I hesitated. You can be absolutely certain I will never do that again. ”

What are you afraid people see when they look at you?

“ I’m afraid that people only see me superficially, and they don’t pay attention to my brains or see my potential. It’s alright, though, underestimating me is just something I have as an advantage ! ”