Pour another round

[aspecialkindofwoman]

There are many descriptors that can be applied to Milady deWinter. Perhaps the most important is the term survivor.

She will always do what she needs to do to survive. She's not surprised that things turned out how they did. Not really. She has learned to expect the worst.

But here she is back in this place. This strange, modern place where she can, if she wants, be anything she wants to be. Milady supposes now is the time to figure that out. Surely, it's only a matter of time before Athos lives through what she has. Will he still want her?

Someone will. Surely.

She sits at the hotel bar, draining one glass of sharp, bitter alcohol and signalling for another, her skirt - the finest Parisian silk - covering the barstool, the curve of her shoulder gleaming in the low light.

Comments

[armedagainstlove]

He must be clean enough, then. He gives her a light nudge and reaches for her hand when offered to him, giving a nod of his head as he knows that they will be more comfortable when they reach the sheets. He stops for a towel only to wipe off the majority of the droplets before continuing on, waiting for her to arrange herself on the bed first.

[aspecialkindofwoman]

Is that for her benefit or his? Still smirking, Anne moves to lie down, hair splayed behind her when released from the pins, arms spread. He can come and get her. And perhaps she can hold tight to him and not let him go.

[armedagainstlove]

Athos stands at the edge of the bed and watches her for a long moment. For all their strife and complications in the past, he knows that there is a bond between them that will never be severed. Now, at least, they can enjoy the physical aspects of it.

He slowly crawls atop her with a glint of idea in his eye, ready for more. "Ready?"

[aspecialkindofwoman]

The only response to that is to bite down on her lower lip and for Anne to pull Athos down over her, a leg hooking around his hips even as she can feel his hardness between them. God, the desire that tightens her belly is enough to make her breathless. Yes, she's ready.

[armedagainstlove]

He lets his gaze slide over her body to enjoy and appreciate, having been starved of feminine affection and contact for so many months, now. Porthos had enjoyed himself when he could, but even that has become a rarity. "Will you have me in you?" he asks.

[aspecialkindofwoman]

"Of course," she whispers in reply, her fingers sliding down his back to the curve of his buttocks to urge him closer still. So very close. So nearly complete.

[armedagainstlove]

Athos buries his face in her neck as he holds tight to her waist, not wishing to let go as he eases inside of her, his eyes falling shut as he breathes out softly, that warm heat something he's dreamed of, but not had for so long. "Anne," he exhales.

[aspecialkindofwoman]

Head falling back, Anne exhales in tine, her body giving around him and taking him in. Her legs tighten around him and she whispers, "I love you."

[armedagainstlove]

"And you," he promises as he sets to a rhythm that might feel rushed and frantic, but it has been a terribly long time since he's been with her (or anyone, for that matter) and he feels a bit needy for the contact. Groaning, he finds himself practically on the edge and wills himself back off it.

[aspecialkindofwoman]

They can take their time; Anne can feel him close and she's not surprised. She wouldn't mock if that even were the case. He feels good like this; the need feels good too; to feel wanted and needed touches something deep in her.

[armedagainstlove]

Athos feels like his body is shaking and it must be from the withdrawal from this. Shaking, he mouths kisses up the skin of her neck as he slides deeper inside her, soft gasps sliding past parted lips. "When was...when was the last time you had this?" he asks.

[aspecialkindofwoman]

He doesn't want to know that. Not really. Anne knows this. She closes her eyes, shaking her head. "Too long," she whispers. It's not true; Treville will know this soon enough; does he tell Athos? She doesn't know.

Her own body shakes as the angle of his thrusts changes. Her fingers dig into his back.

[armedagainstlove]

She will mark him, he's sure. Athos isn't entirely sure that he cares, though, arching into her nails before his next thrust as if to give her permission to score him in whatever way she pleases. It's hardly like anyone will see and if they do, they know better than to ask.

[aspecialkindofwoman]

She will remember that; she will know. That is deeply pleasing. Scratching into his back, she pulls her legs up higher on his hips, which again changes the angle and she gasps out his name.

[armedagainstlove]

Athos buries his face in her neck as he works, knowing that it won't be much longer before he loses all control and comes. Breathing out, he tries to hold on for just a little longer. "You first," he coaxes, half an order. "Come for me."

[aspecialkindofwoman]

How is he able to do that? How is he able to draw that from inside her when no one else can? Anne doesn't even think of resisting: no one touches her in any way like Athos does. She can feel herself tighten the fall over the edge, shuddering.

[armedagainstlove]

Athos kisses her deeply as he comes, feeling like his whole world has fallen away. He closes his eyes as he lets the pleasure wash over him, bliss filling him up with every passing second. He collapses, curling up next to her, and staying inside. "I have missed that."

[aspecialkindofwoman]

So has Anne, though she can't bring herself to say the words: it's too revealing. Instead, she holds him close, arms and legs around him as she kisses his cheek.

[armedagainstlove]

Athos buries his face in her neck with kisses, his body shaking as if he's experiencing withdrawal the likes of which he hasn't in years. "I don't suppose now is the time to talk?"

[aspecialkindofwoman]

Ah, if they could put it off indefinitely, Anne would. She sighs, too, but turns her head to look at him, still holding him as he shakes. "What do you want to know?" she asks, voice low.

[armedagainstlove]

"What it is you aren't telling me," he says, idly playing with strands of her hair as they lie there, comfortable on bedding that Athos doesn't have back in the war.

[aspecialkindofwoman]

After a long moment spent studying the new lines in Athos's face, Anne says, "there is someone else."

He may think she speaks for herself, but her expression will tell him otherwise. He loves someone else, not her.

[armedagainstlove]

"For you? Or for me?" Athos wonders, thinking that if she is the one who's moved on, he's not sure he wants to know what man she's cheating on with him.

[aspecialkindofwoman]

"You," Anne replies, her face an dd mix of defensiveness, hurt and longing. She cannot move on, no matter how she tries. She will never be free.

[armedagainstlove]

"Ah." In the midst of war, he cannot imagine meeting anyone else, so something must have changed. He gives her a curious look and strokes his fingers through her hair, slowly. "I assume this is in Paris?"