Thread: In a Twisted World {Prince x LeatrixSage}

She thought she heard something like disappointment in his voice at his response, but he hid it well. His agreement to her stipulation let Aislinn breathe a little easier. If she was reading him correctly, he took this world and his art very seriously, his word would be his bond. She felt herself smile when he said hed be keeping his mask as well, and then she understood the disappointment she thought she had heard in him. Aislinn wondered - If she saw him again - would she know his eyes by the way they changed between warm and predatory, or his lips by how they smiled? The thoughts struck a sad chord. The fact of the matter was, if even she knew his face as well as her own, she could never see him again after this night. The mood in the room had shifted. It had begun with a playful, flirtatious tension, but now the air was charged with a seriousness that was emanating from Brent. She hadnt planned on doing something so foolhardy as to put herself into the hands of stranger like this, but if she was going to do this, she had the sense that the best man for the job had almost literally fallen into her arms. Everything about him, how he moved, how he spoke it had all changed as quickly as a bright room goes dark when you flip off the light switch. She watched him warily, surprised by how much she felt like some helpless field mouse staring into the eyes of the fox that was about to eat her alive. Aislinn felt more exposed and vulnerable under Brents scrutiny than she could ever remember feeling before. He saw everything there was to see. If she fidgeted his eyes caught the motion. A shift of her weight from one foot to the other, and he knew about it. She felt his gaze find every freckle or old scar, each curve, dip, or hollow of her form, and every tightening muscle down to the goosebumps raising on her arms. It was mesmerizing to watch him watching her. As he began to undress, the effect only seemed to intensify. As his jacket came off and was thrown onto a couch his eyes never left her. His focus seemed to deepen, and yet Aislinn found herself distracted by the tight play of his dress shirt across his chest and shoulders as he moved. Brent paused as he gave his tie a tug and unbuttoned his collar, his eyes lingering on the tattoo on her left leg. He studied the delicate swirls where a few words from different languages were scrawled - along with a new phrase, a fresh addition and still a little brighter than the rest that read Progress not Perfection. while she marveled at how those few changes to his wardrobe had made this moment so much more intimate. Then, as he began to roll up his sleeves, his circling took him back around behind her where she couldnt see him anymore. With her dress out of the way and the initial surprise of her undressing passed, he found her second tattoo, a little goldfish , swimming right next to her shoulder blade. A safe word, she repeated, and then secretly cringed at the sound of her own voice. Did she have to sound so damn breathlessly affected? Of course, no one could miss the fact that he had an effect just by looking at her, but she didnt have to sound like it, too. Of course, if his lips werent so close to her ear and her neck Aislinn made herself take a deep breath, trying to ignore the way her skin warmed and tingled. She wanted to tilt her head to the side, but if it was an invitation or an escape, she wasnt all together certain. She shivered as his hand rested on the small of her back, but it wasnt that his hand was cold, it was small release of all the anticipation and tension that had built between them that filtered through the small contact. Gentle pressure nudged her forward, and Aislinn walked up the wooden table. Wait, she was supposed to be thinking of a safe word, wasnt she? She was working it over in her head, but then his voice changed again. There was a firmness about it, a precision that demanded response, and yet it was just gentle enough that the command didnt raise her hackles. She did hesitate, thoughts spinning through her mind faster than she could keep up with them all, and then she reached out and placed her hands on the table. The way her breasts swung slightly as she bent forward made her blush despite herself. The willful spirit that had guided her up until this moment was strangely quiet, almost as if it was waiting to see what happened next. Every day was a battle, and that willful, stubborn, and determined part of herself is what got her through. Here, however, it was quieted, and Aislinn had no idea how to approach the world in general without it. And yet she felt safer than in any other moment she could remember. Stop, she spoke up, her voice sharper than she meant for it to be, and then smiled to herself at the sudden tension in the man behind her. The safe word. Easy to remember and easy to say. Okay, she was thinking again, breathing normally, and a sense of calm was replacing the uncertain anticipation. This was something she was familiar with, something she knew. Safe words, shed studied the lingo, and how to apply the practice, and it gave her something to focus on to clear her head. If I need a moment to pause, Ill say your name. If I feel overwhelmed, Ill say stop. He was still standing just outside of where she could see him, but she felt his presence. Not just the hand that rested gently against her lower back, but something more. There was more to this man and not just the fact that she didnt know him that was simmering just beneath the service. Instinct said it had something to do with whatever she kept seeing hiding behind his eyes, or heard somewhere in his voice. Something more that she simply couldnt put her fingers on, and yet ticked ever internal alarm she had.