taitxstclare

[taitxstclare]

“Give it time,” Odette encouraged and offered a smile. “Friends… one is far less complicated than the other,” she admitted with a wry chuckle. “If you’re serious, I could absolutely recommend some to you. One of my friends, he is here,” she said and pointed him out. “He’s written several, and while I know I am biased, they’re some of the best. A good plot as well as steamy sex scenes,” she remarked, chuckling. “I can lend them to you, if you’re serious.” Why didn’t she recommend her own? Well, that is because she’s not as confident in those one and feels far more comfortable recommending another.

“Sometimes complications can be good.” Tait replied with a philosophical shrug, “And sometimes not.” he flashed a grin, “What about your books? I’d like to read them too ... you know for comparison. Perhaps it’ll help you know, with the romance part.” Tait continued with a nod. “Do you write more modern type plots or ones with pretty people in old fashioned clothing?”

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Elizabeth felt as uncomfortable and unsettled as he did and cradled her cup of coffee. “It’s a date, then,” she said, without thinking about the double meaning there. A date, though, this probably a good way to think of it after all… Could they recover with so much between them? She was surprised when he stepped back, to peck her cheek. Her eyes flicked up to him and lingered there, appearing more vulnerable than she had in months. “I’ll try,” she allowed and paused. “Don’t stay cooped up here, okay? Get out. Meet some people,” she encouraged, noting wanting him, or herself, to keep holding back on things. 

“I’ll get out. I promise. Don’t worry about me.” Tait assured as he stepped back from the delicate beauty. “I’ll see you tonight. Go have fun.” He didn’t know what else to say. Everything felt vapid and awkward. He promised himself he’d look up some things online so they had something to talk about tonight over dinner. 

Stepping into the hot shower, he let it pour over his skin as he considered the day ahead. Beach? Library? Gardens? Some sort of game room? There had to be one here. Either way, he needed to figure something out.

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“Like where?” Of course Kitty knew other places his hand could go, she’d dressed so that her body was easily visible, as well as with a collar, easy to tug around and make go wherever they pleased. “Is that a threat or a promise? Though, I do prefer my tail staying where it is, and that replacement, being used elsewhere.” She whispered back up against his ear, letting her lips brush by his jaw, as she continued to just want attention and he was giving her what she wanted. “Tait St. Clare… Avery St. Clare… Sounds very french. So I think you’re going to be Frenchie. What do you think?”

He chuckled at her tease. She certainly understood her appeal and it felt nice to be desire, to be wanted, by someone. She felt very good against him. However, he also had the distinct impression that any lap would do and she wasn’t particularly picky about on whom she lavished her attentions. “Well that might offend an actual french person but I see no reason to object.” Tait murmured in reply, tracing a hand lightly along her arm and then over her shoulder. “Pretty kitty.” He murmured. 

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“I guess you could say I’m a hopeless romantic at my heart. Yet, when I’m with him, it doesn’t matter as much, all that matters is that we’re both happy, and let’s be real… He can make it up to me during the wedding. Make it a sweet, romantic little event, with just our families and closest friends, at the beach in Turkey.” Even if it wasn’t her dream with Gabriel, she did want to have a sweet romantic wedding at some point. With the love of her life, of course. Not some guy paying for her education just so he didn’t seem like a single ass. 

Nodding her head, she couldn’t help but laugh a little. “Yeah, though I like to say it’s Gabriel’s party. I just insisted on costume party, so I had an excuse to be a mermaid.” She messed about, grinning as she did. “Thank you, though there’s nothing to apologize for. It’s a lot of people around here, we can’t always know who everyone is.”

“So have you done a lot of wedding planning already? I’ve never been to Turkey. Is that where your family is from?” Tait asked with interest. Look at him making conversation. Elizabeth would actually be proud of him. He could picture his lover in some flowy kind of dress on a beach. She’d be so pretty.

“Ahh well nothing better than being a mermaid at the beach side resort. And it suits you.” He continued with a nod, shifting slightly to take further pressure off his knee. “Well thank you for inviting us to your party. It is lovely.”

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Aww, you poor thing, you simply need more Charlotte in your life,” she cooed and resisted the urge to pat his cheek. “You are!” she agreed all too easily, pouting and nodding her head at him. “So, so terrible,” she sighed and then sprawled herself over his lap. “I like treats and I am a very good girl, you can ask anyone,” she remarked confidently and nuzzled her face against his neck. “Tell me how I can earn one and I will do it.” 

“Clearly.” Tait murmured, laughing softly still. What was wrong with him? But he had to admit her joy in the world was infectious. Perhaps it was all a front. An acting job for a professional. Still she was good because it felt genuine. She felt genuine. “Now if you keep doing that, you’re going to get more than you bargained for, Charlotte.” Despite his words, his hand drifted down her shoulder, enjoying her proximity. How long had it been since there had been cuddling? Soft touches used to be so common and now they were rare, from either of them. This girl felt very warm and very soft and she smelled wonderful. He couldn’t help but wonder if behind this playful pretence she would actually object if he tugged down her top and sucked on her breasts or offered to eat her out in one of the beachfront cabanas. That was a pretty picture. Her spread out and him ... damn it.... Blushing a little at the direction of his thoughts, he cleared his throat and tried to think of something appropriate to say. He was distracted when her eyelashes brushed against his throat. 

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“Ooh, complimenting my butt? I do like men who compliments me while playing with me.” She said, unable to keep the laughter out of her voice, continuing to nuzzle close, lips barely brushing by his throat occasionally. “You can squeeze if you want. I’m not shy. You shouldn’t be either. Just don’t tug at the tail because it’s not very comfortable to have it go out and getting it back in without more lube on hand.” She explained, just wriggling herself further into his lap. “Tait? That’s a new name. Your surname sounds french though. Are you french?”

“Keep that up and my hand will be going other places than your butt.” He growled as his body was reacting strongly to her nuzzling. “I’m sure I could replace the tail if needed.” Tait teased as his fingertips traced over the curve of her ass and down to her thighs. Just an inch or two and he would be stroking her sex. “I have no idea if my name is French if I’m honest. My oldest brother, Avery, would probably be able to tell you the whole history though.”

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“It is,” Odette agreed, her blue eyes studying him far too intently. “So, feeling stuck, too… that’s why I came here,” she admitted, tilting her head to one side. “Having any luck with that yet? I keep being forced to deal with unexpected blasts from the pasts, which has thrown me off…” Both of them were in the room, too, but she didn’t need to point that out. “I’ve had two published, so yes… Moderate success? Not enough to afford this place, but I have other means,” she chuckled. “Unless you’re an avid reader of romance novels, though, I doubt you’ve heard of me.” 

Tait almost shifted at such intense scrutiny but he managed to hold himself together and not give way to the beautiful woman’s intensity. “Me? A bit but .... not as much as I would like.” He murmured quietly. “Blasts from the past? Friend? Enemy? Both?” He asked with some curiosity. “I don’t think I’ve read a romance novel but ... could be educational. Maybe I should try.”

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“What can I say? He’s just so…” Rather than say anything she just held her hands over her heart, giving a smile that pushed her cheeks up and eyes closed before letting it all relax again. Ugh. Fucking Gabriel and having to pretend to be all in love. “Romantic? Oh no, Gabriel isn’t the most romantic guy, I must admit. It was rather… Informal. He just turned to me, and asked if I’d marry him, and I said yes.” It was one way to describe the contract writing. “I agree. Although, I would be tempted to suggest we have the wedding back in my home country, so that my elderly relatives could partake too, and we don’t get as much snow there, as some northern parts of America does.” She explained softly, keeping a gentle smile as she talked with the guy. “Uhm… Me. And Gabriel? At least, I think that’s what he wrote in the invitations.”

Tait nodded at her description, knowing Elizabeth would never describe him that way, not even before. It was sweet. “Oh ... that’s a little disappointing. Were you hoping for something more romantic or are you more pragmatic too?”  He flashed a slight smile, so she didn’t think there was anything malicious in the question. He couldn’t imagine asking his lover in such a pragmatic way. After all, he might not be all intensely romantic, he wanted his Elizabeth to know it meant something, or everything as the case may be. 

“What? This is your party?” Tait had enough social grace to look genuinely embarrassed. “I’m ... I didn’t realize. I’m sorry. I was just ... I ... Well ummm... congratulations?” It was a little weak. Elizabeth was right. He needed to get out in the world more. 

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“What? No, no, I can do it another time,” Elizabeth tried to argue, but couldn’t muster a whole lot of conviction. Right, he wouldn’t necessarily be able to handle the hike, either. Oh how she wanted to sigh, but didn’t. She considered his other suggestions and lightly drummed her fingers on the counter top. Dinner… they could do dinner… then at least there’d be something to do if they fell into an uncomfortable silence. “Yeah, that’s a good idea,” she decided. “I’ll let you know about the path and we can share a meal tonight. Want to go to the restaurant here? Meet you there at like… Seven? Or is that too late?” 

It felt like acid in him. Why was it so much easier to talk to a pretty dizzy girl on a bench than the woman who held his whole damn heart? It didn’t used to be this way. Did it? Now everything felt like quicksand and every thing he did pulled him down and away from her. He nodded agreeably. “I can meet you there then. That’s a good time.” Tait affirmed and then slowly rose to his feet. He turned to walk away but instead, he moved toward her. Leaning toward her, he dusted a kiss over her pale cheek. “Have fun. I’ll see you tonight.” The desire to weave a hand into her hair and tug her into a fiery kiss was so strong that he found himself stepping back. Two years ago he wouldn’t have stepped back. A lot of things were different two years ago.

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Elizabeth dumped the coffee grounds into the filter and then shut it before glancing over at him. “Oh, uhh, maybe? I’d been thinking about taking a hike, actually,” she admitted, more uncomfortably than she wanted to be. Vacation mode had not exactly activated yet… though maybe it was naive to think it’d be like an instant cure. “I heard something about a waterfall and I want to go check it out.” She hit the button to start the coffee and reminded herself to try and reach out, too. “Any interest in that? If not, yeah, we can go to the beach.” Come on, Lizzie, sound more excited about the prospect. 

Tait nodded. He could take the hint, even when it stung. “Sounds good. You should go.” He opened his mouth and then closed it again, unsure what to say next. To be honest, he wasn’t entirely sure his hip was up for a hike on unfamiliar terrain. So he just continued gruffly, “Then if you say the path is pretty smooth, I could maybe go next time. We could do dinner later instead. If you wanted. Or have a drink or something ... if you’d rather.” God, maybe they should just go back to arguing ... this was such shit.

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It used to be that he could talk to her about anything but now there was this bizarre distance and he didn’t know how to cross this wall that had built up between them. He knew he was largely to blame but apologies for past behaviour only went so far. Looking across the kitchen island, he watched her making her morning coffee. “Do you want to go to the beach today?” There. Something at least.

@fancifulwanderer​

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elizabeth

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“Ha, well, I don’t know about that, but I appreciate the sentiment,” Odette remarked and gave him another smile, though this one was warmer. “Ahh, so you are here with someone. And why don’t you like to participate? Is it the strangers? Crowd?” she guessed, wondering, since she knew why she was, but wasn’t going to assume anything about him. She laughed when he asked about making things up about them. “As an author? Yes, yes I certainly do create little narratives for people that I see… sometimes they end up in a novel,” she admitted. “Do you do that too?” 

Tait shrugged, if she didn’t want to admit to it, he wasn’t going to press. He still thought it though. He took a sip of his drink and nodded, “I am not a fan of .... people in a general sense. This is ... a lot of people.” He acknowledged with a soft growl to his voice. “But whatever ... I’m just trying to get out of my rut so to speak. Try something new.” He glanced over and then blinked in surprise, “You’re an author? Like a real one? Books and everything?”

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“I am!” Charlotte chirped and leaned over, putting her head on his shoulder. “But I’m pretty much always happy,” she added with a little sigh. She did have her down moments, but hadn’t had one in a while, a lot, in thanks, to Roman. She didn’t do well on her own, though she’d yet to realize it. He just laughed in response to her pleas and shook her head. “Mean! Why are you so mean to me?” she whined, though playfully. “I’ll show you mine if you show me yours,” she offered, sounding hopeful again and immediately hopped to her feet. She faced him and then spun to shake the booty at him briefly before turning back around. “Now come onnnnnnnnnn! What else would it take?” 

“Must be ... I actually have no idea how that would be. I’m not really ...like that I guess.” Tait replied a little uncertainly. His smile faded as he wondered what that meant for his life. He glanced back at her and then had to laugh in amusement. “I’m a mean and terrible person. Very mean. Very terrible. Better be careful or cheeky girls get spanked.” He shook his head, “Nope. A treat must be earned.”

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The fact that Kitty was traveling with a couple would probably come as a surprise to some, considering she spent most of her time just jumping from person to person for attention, but that was just part of the chemistry she had with them. She was like a pet kitten. She would come and go, just be found in their bed suddenly purring like a good girl. While other times, she’d be found taking attention from someone else. Just like the guy she’d landed on this time. “Of course you have a choice, silly boy. You could just push me off, but the touch on my butt makes it seem like you enjoy a kitty on your lap.” she teased, pressing a quick, short kiss to his throat, before continuing to nuzzle him. “I’m Kitty. And you are?”

“Well it’s a nice butt and since you put that butt on my lap, I thought I might just possibly have some touching privileges. Do you want me to stop touching you?” Tait asked gruffly, unable to resist giving the firm curve of her bottom a light squeeze. “Hello Kitty with the appropriate name. I’m Tait. Tait St. Clare.”