Thread: Au-delà du Temps: Beyond Time (LeatrixSage x SacrlettRose)

Despite herself, Addie had laughed. It was a small, hesitant sound, but at such a counterpoint to the aftermath that adrenaline was reeking on her that it sounded loud and out of place to her own ears. The fact that the man had very much not wanted to be unseated and packed into the carriage made his little joke that much more amusing. She had shifted out of his way as he settled his legs onto the bench seat that was her perch and sat precariously while she tried to stem his bleeding. He laughed at her teasing, but they both regretted it. Roarke for the pain that made him wince, and Addie for the blood that oozed past her fingers. He looked weak, even if his skin was hot and his face was still flushed with color. Adrenaline was keeping the man going just as surely as it was sustaining her nerves. The pain wasnt all consuming, at least, judging on his sense of humor still existing. That was comforting to know, even if he was bleeding everywhere and clearly need the kind of medical care that simply didnt exist yet. Sure, she knew some basic first aid, but she didnt have a bag of quick-clot to dump into the wound to seal it up before a doctor could stitch him closed. She resisted slightly when he lifted one of her hands, mostly because she didnt want to let up on the pressure that was keeping his bleeding under control. With a delicate slowness, he pulled at her glove with one hand while the other held her wrist captive. His movements were delicate, almost thoughtful, and they distracted her mind from the adrenaline laced panic that had been building now that the immediate danger had passed them by. Despite the fact that she tried to pull her hand back, he gently pressed her fingertips to the wound at his side, and then glided them around his back to where a similar whole had been made. Her stomach heaved, and Addie took a slow, deep breath as she insistently tugged her hand free from his grasp. Her skin was burning where he had touched her, and she rubbed her wrist as she tried to kill the sensation that was creeping up her arm. His skin was angry and torn, but he was right, the shot had gone straight through, and his chances of being poisoned by the lead was greatly reduced. Although, his chances for infection and blood poisoning were almost equally increased. Okay, well, at least I dont have to go digging around in your side, then, she smiled weakly as the idea of pushing her fingers into his wound to find the lead ball threatened to finally undo what was left of her resolve to not faint or be ill. And just as she thought she may need to lean out the window and let her stomach empty itself, Roarke slid a hand into her hair and coiled the long strands around his hand, and then he tugged her forward. Addie yelped as she tipped forward, falling from her precarious perch. To keep herself from landing against him, her hands came up. One landed against the back of the bench seat, the other against the back of the carriage above his head. His grip tightened as emotions she didnt understand tightened the corners of his eyes and made his lips press tightly together. And then her jaw dropped in surprise at the order he gave her. No, I won-her protests where smothered into nothing when Roarke used his grip on her hair to crush her mouth against his own. His kiss wasnt cloying or cajoling the way others had been, but instead and urgent demand that tugged at her heart even as his other arm swept her up to drag her onto his lap. Her skirts bunched up between him as she straddled his legs, but she kept her body carefully lifted away from his own. She was too aware of his injury to relax against him, but she offered him no resistance as his free hand traveled down her side, over her hip, and then up her back. Maybe if her mind had been a little less in tatters, she might have recognized how he was assuring himself that she was whole and unharmed. Instead, she was caught up by the touch of his lips, the sound of his moan, and the slid of his tongue stroking across her own. For the first time, she answered him with a hunger to match his own. Addie wasnt passively allowing her lips to move with his, she was devouring his passion with the same ravenous hunger that he consumed her with. And then he set her firmly from his lap and onto the bench seat next to him. Adelaide blinked at him while her mind worked to make sense of the world again. Just a few minutes ago she thought she was going to take a bullet for the man. Why had she done that? Why did a vice squeeze around her heart when he said her name? What made her skin burn when he touched her, and why was she wet aching for him after little more than a kiss? The fuck is wrong with me? Addie took it all and chocked it up to shock and instability. After all, she was a modern woman in the 1800s, shed almost died not ten minutes ago, and her only safety net in this world was bleeding out in front of her. She didnt even notice that hed loosened the stays of her corset through her dress until she bent over to lift the opposite seat and the fabric gave so that she could actually bend. She would have to try to figure out how hed pulled that off some other time. She was surprised when she found some strips of cloth that would work for bandages, and an assortment of things she assumed where to come with them. She had to get him to hold his shirt up while she wrapped the strips around his waist to try to hold a couple folded pieces of fabric tight against his wounds. She was clumsy, but diligent, and she eventually got the bandages tied tightly into place. It was only after she was done, and he had slumped weakly into the corner, that Addie was able to breathe properly again. He was sweating and pale, a combination that she knew wasnt good, but that she didnt know what to do to help him. It could have just been the pain, but she worried it was blood loss that was making him look so fragile. When Calais came into view, her heart leapt. Hope would be close at hand, surely. His people were loyal, they would have gotten someone that could aid their laird, they simply had to. Addie sat back to tell him they were almost there, and then her mode sobered. What did that mean? You'll earn your keep Mademoiselle Aedler. She wasnt sure what he meant, but a few unsavory and insulting ideas came to mind before she could shut them out. Whether that was what meant, she didnt bother asking. God, she was a fool. Shed let a little adrenaline and a good kiss get the better of her head, that was all there was to it. Whatever she thought she felt, she was stupid to believe he cared about her. He didnt. Remember, Addie, he thinks you are just some spy with information that he wants. You are a pawn to him, nothing more. The heart ache she felt at the prospect was even more stupid. Shed known the man all of two days, and while he was unlike any other man she had ever known, that didnt mean he was special, or that she was special to him. Adelaide was relieved when the coach stopped, and someone opened the door and lifted a hand to help her out. Blessedly, it was one of those footmen he had sent ahead. The carriage couldnt run out onto the docks, but they were close enough that she could feel the sea spray on the air and hear the creaking of wood and the flapping of sails. Tide is nearly out, we need to go now, some man shouted, but she ignored the small group of people that seemed to be waiting for them. The driver and a man she didnt know helped Roarke from the carriage and then immediately onward toward the ship. Wessex barked a few orders, and people scurried about to fulfill them. Their luggage was hurriedly moved from the coach to the ship, and Addie found herself feeling utterly lost. She could walk away now, and no one would ever know where she had gone. Wessex might come looking for her, but hed never find her. She could find a way back to Paris, she might even find that hidden office again now that she knew the owner of the homes name was Murat. Maybe then she could get home. Addie turned and began to walk away, to leave Roarke and his people behind. She made it no more than five steps before the pain in her chest made her stop. You are a fool, she hissed at herself. Run! Now! Her feet simply wouldnt move, and her eyes burned with unshed tears as she turned around and marched stoically in the wake of the last Marquee of Wessex.