Coronation night: Taking care of Seraph

[Sébastien de Loréan]

The carriage ride had been rough, rather. The bumps of the roads had made her moan, nearly spilling herself, and she was visibly uncomfortable through the short ride.

Elua be thanked, we arrived, and carrying her still, I entered the townhome, staff hurrying in worry, though my smile told them it was no matter of life or death.

A guest room was broached, and I lay Seraph gently on the bed, the maid bringing in towels and water. I sponged her face, garnered with sweat, and whispered, "You are home, and safe, Seraphin. How do you feel?"

[Séraphin de Lorean (R)]

I had been barely conscious the way home, drifting in and out of blackness. It wasn't till I felt the cool cloth and the soft bed that I recognized the place I was in.
"Seby?" I mumbled softly forcing my eyes open enough to look at him.

[Sébastien de Loréan]

"It's me alright, pretty face," I replied softly, not wanting her to suffer a headache worse than she likely already had. "No need to move," I added.

The maid was about, ready to assist in changing her out of her gown, and I bid her patience.

"Albertine will help you slip into something more comfortable," I told her. "I will be right back," though I didn't leave her side immediatly, giving her a chance to say something.

[Séraphin de Lorean (R)]

"No," I gasped softly. "Please don't, send her away." I whispered reaching up my fingers grasped the shoulder of his shirt and I pulled at it slightly. I was never really a fan of the help here at the house. Mother and I were always seen as second class and a nuances at that.

[Sébastien de Loréan]

"Seraph," I told her calmly, but in a fashion that did not allow any discussion. "I won't have you sleep in your fete dress, I won't remove it for you, and you can't do it yourself - for the love of Elua, let her help you."

My tone softened a little. "I will stay, my back to the room, and wait, if you hate to be left alone with her. She will be nice," I turned to the girl, shooting her a glance that left little to interpretation, "very nice."

[Séraphin de Lorean (R)]

I nodded slightly, my fingers immediately moving to my laces, I wanted this done with so that I could sleep.

[Sébastien de Loréan]

I did as I said, granting her privacy from my eyes, but listening for anything that may betray roughhousing or disrespect on Albertine's part. She did as bid, quietly, efficiently, and, I would have wagered, gently. A nightshirt had been brought and left, and I waited until Albertine told me to turn around.

"There, you will sleep much better this way," I said, my hand dismissing the maid offhandedly. When she had gone, I asked, "Do you need anything?"

[Séraphin de Lorean (R)]

I lay back in bed curling onto my side slightly.
"Stay with me Seby, I don't want to be alone." I reached out slightly toward him, my hand wanting to feel him near.

[Sébastien de Loréan]

I sighed. It wasn't like Seraph to be so... vulnerable, and it both endeared and disturbed me a little. I was exhausted myself, and told her on a soft tone, my hand moving to remove a tray lock of hair from her forehead, "Will you be offended if I lay by your side then? I am tired as well - and the floor isn't very enticing."

I would stay dressed - one way or the other. The bed was large, large enough for me to lie, and not touch her if she didn't want me to. Besides, I would never even consider taking her under the influence - it would have been against everything I was.

[Séraphin de Lorean (R)]

I nodded slightly.
"Yes." I whispered reaching up and touching his shoulder. "Please."

[Sébastien de Loréan]

I kicked off my boots and threw the leather jacket on the couch. Let the maid handle it in the morning.

And climbing in the bed, I lay at her side, almost elated to be so close... and horribly frustrated that she was so drunk. On my back, I opened my arm to her, merely an invitation. She seemed to need it, this night.

[Séraphin de Lorean (R)]

I rolled toward him pressing my self to him, the warmth of his body made my own respond and I hummed a soft moan of pleasure as my body felt a fire.

"Seby," I whispered running my hand over his chest. "Tell me a story."

[Sébastien de Loréan]

"A story, Seraph?" I replied with a soft smile. Gods, this reminded me of younger days, days that were innocent and unthought - where lying with Seraph wasn't such a complex experience.

"Very well, pretty face," I replied, thinking an instant. "Have I ever told you about the Baron de Saint-Martin, and how he came of his title?"

[Séraphin de Lorean (R)]

I shook my head against his chest, my eyes closed.
"No." I whispered.
My hand continued to run over his chest enjoying the strength of it and the muscles that lay beneath the surface.

[Sébastien de Loréan]

Gods she was tempting me with her roaming hands. But a drunken Seraph is not herself - and not the woman I wanted for myself, no matter how resemblant.

Stroking her shoulder softly, I conjured memories of Saint-Martin, and how I had met him - and the tale he had told me on that late bivouac.

"Saint-Martin was a commoner, but somewhat unique in his ways," I told her. "He had little interest in anything else other than horses and women, and a taste for sophistication, spices, fabrics, all those guiles that nobles take for granted, and that are afforded to commoners only on occasion. Needless to say, he had his frustrations."

I paused, thinking an instant.

"I met the man in Kebbel, around one of those fires soldiers make to throw off the cold and ward off boredom. He was far different then from what I just described, old and a little ugly, in an uncanny enticing way. He had lost an eye on the field the month before, it was still healing, and his voice was something rough and sandy like the desert. I swear, I thought I was meeting a pirate."

I paused, giving her time to react to the tale. My hand strayed to her hair, and I caressed it softly. It always made me think of angel feathers.

[Séraphin de Lorean (R)]

I chuckled softly listening to his tale, the feeling of his hand in my shoulder and then in my hair made me purr almost like a cat and I pressed back against his touch.

"Was he funny?" I asked sleepily, my hand was cold and I found a gap in his shirt, wriggling it up against his warm skin I let it rest just above his stomach.

[Sébastien de Loréan]

I almost told her to remove her hand. But the stomach - I felt I could let her feel the skin, as long as I didn't loose my own control. I'd promised my self I would behave - and so I would. I may have been called a dog in heat in the past, but heck, I had honor to match my passion.

"More colorful than funny," I replied to her question. "Although, retrospectively, he did do things that were funny to the outside observer. But I was not out, but in the conversation, and at the time, yes, he was very, very colorful, like a character out of a tale."

I thought an instant, my hand idly in her hair still. "He was.... he had manners," I concluded. "Manners that would make one reel in horror anywhere else, but at camp, they fell in the decor, and it was all acceptable." I collected a short list of examples, "He spat, he burped, and more importantly, he called everyone with strange names, animal names that weren't necessarily pertinent. Some of my comrades still use mine to this day, will you beleive it?"

I shivered a little under her touch, keeping my mind on the very ugly Saint-Martin to ward off the arousal, "But I am straying, let me get back to how this man, who was atrocious in manners, and who started out as a terrible dandy with sophisticated tastes, how he came to be a peer of Terre d'Ange. You see, Seraph, he wasn't a dunce at all, and he had a mind to make a name for himself. So, at the age of 20, he came up with a plan..."

I stopped it there, heeding her attention. Was she asleep yet, or had I captured her imagination?

[Séraphin de Lorean (R)]

I listened to the story, my legs lazily falling over his and resting between his legs. I pressed myself firmer to him feeling a wonderful sense of safety that I had always felt with him as a child. The way he smelt, the tone in his voice, it had always made me feel at home and at this moment more then ever I was at ease. I waited for him to continue, the hand that was once resting on his stomach shifting so that it drapped across his stomach and rested on the other side.

[Sébastien de Loréan]

"He decided that he would be the first dandy to turn around his ways, and be a man of sword. It was the beginning of a long descent."

I thought an instant. "He shed his ways, and found a Camaeline lordling who was inclined to hiring rookies, and so this man hired him, took him to Camlach, and made him his retainer... and his lover. Saint-Martin, slowly but surely, gained in riches, lived a life of luxury, all the while learning the art of war. For him, it was the golden age of his life."

I took in the smell of her hair, the swell of her breasts against me almost tearing my resistance apart, and I continued my story, my mind on the horrid one-eyed warrior to balance out my growing temptation.

"The Lordling was eventually lost in a raid. His estate bordered Camlach, and Skaldi incursions were more frequent than not. Saint-Martin went to the Skaldi lord, in the hopes to rescue his employer. You see, if the Baron had been killed, it would have been the end of his golden days..."

I let my hand go around her shoulders, wrapping my arm around her arm spread across me. "So he went in, and all Dandy that he was, pretended to be the Lordling, reclaiming his retainer, taken from him by mistake. The Skaldi fell for the trick, and released the Baron, keeping Saint-Martin for the prize. How he lost his eye, he never told me - but I would place a Bryony's bet that it had to do with that time of his life, that which he called the Pits of Despair."

I paused, my throat a little bit dry. "Just a minute, Seraph," I said, extending my arm to the nightstand where some water lay. I poured myself a glass, and asked. "Do you want some?"

[Séraphin de Lorean (R)]

I pushed myself up from laying on him as he shifted moving to pour some water.
"No thank you." I replied in a whisper.

For a moment I stayed watching him as he poured the water and took a drink. His throat expanding and shrinking as he drank his water, my gaze followed down his neck, to his shoulders. Oh his shoulders... and his chest, and his arms, and his stomach and his...oh Elua! My gaze stopped at his breeches unable to think of anything besides what was beneath them.

[Sébastien de Loréan]

I wiped the water from my mouth with the back of my hand, and gave a sigh of satisfaction.

"Ahhh... that's better," I said as I looked at Seraph. Her gaze was unsettling, and I told her, "What?"

[Séraphin de Lorean (R)]

I'm not sure what possesed me...perhaps it was the alcohol, perhaps it was the curiousity, but either way I found myself moving to where he was and in a motion I was straddling his legs. My hands raised up and cupping his face between both of them I pressed my lips to his.

Oh Elua, and what a kiss it was.

I continued to kiss him, my mouth opening slightly to allow my tongue to touch his lips, one of my hands moving to come rest on his chest.
Oh Blessed Namaah, please don't let it end here!

[Sébastien de Loréan]

Before I had a chance to do anything, I had to deal with Seraph kissing me deeply, in ways unknown. Gods. I had wanted this for so long, had dreamt of it in the scorching Akkadian heat, and here it was, delicious and lovely, and... tasting of wine and joie.

I couldn't let it happen. Not now, not this way.

Elua Almighty, my core was already quickened, and it was painful to do it, but I had to. "Seraph," I gasped.

"Not tonight, not this way," I whispered, rolling to the side gently so that we were face to face, but that I may leave if I needed to. I gently caressed her cheek. "I want your choice to be without any influence. Do not make me refuse you more harshly, please."

[Séraphin de Lorean (R)]

I thought my heart would break...cast aside...he had always pinned for me, always! Now, here, he denied me! I was giving in to everything he wanted and he didn't want me! I turned in his arms facing away from him to hide the tears threatening to fall.

[Sébastien de Loréan]

Oh Heavens and Elua above, how painful it was, to have her do this, turn from me, and hide her reactions.

My arms wrapped around her, heedless of the fact that she may feel my growing desire against her back, and I stroked her hair. "Seraph, I don't want you to regret it tomorrow, and hate me for it," I told her, my voice a tender whisper.

Gods I wanted her. But I had made a promise to myself - it was about choice, her choice - and no, no, I would not take advantage of her in this state.

[Séraphin de Lorean (R)]

I wanted to struggle against his arms but couldn't resist, I felt his manhood against me and knew that he wanted me. I pressed my rear back against him wriggling slightly.

[Sébastien de Loréan]

"Gods Seraph," I whispered, a moan edging my lips.

Elua, how I wanted her, so badly it hurt, and I took in the scent of her hair, pressing her closer to me in an embrace that sent my mind spinning, but kept her pinned to me.

My hand absently trailed her side, the curve of her, and I felt my control falter before it was regained in strength. "Gods know I want you, but not this way," I confessed.

[Séraphin de Lorean (R)]

I moaned very softly as his hand slipped over my waist then turned in his arms to face him.
"Why not Sebastien?" I asked with a whisper pressing against him, my hand sipping down his stomach to brush against his manhood.

"How do you want me Sebastien? On myhands and knees, begging you to hurt me?" My tone was slightly patronizing. Though my half brother was a patron of Houses like Camellia, he was also known to visit Valerian as well.

[Sébastien de Loréan]

I sighed, and went on my back, gently prying her hand off of me.

"Sober, Seraphin, I want you sober, and in love, and wanting me forever as your husband," I said in a coarse whisper. "Anything else will complicate things for you, for me, and I would hate for you to despise me tomorrow morning when your wonderful wit has returned."

I sat on the edge of the bed. "If you do not behave, I will have to leave, and let you sleep. Or you can wait, and make up your mind, and have me in all the gloriousness of it, when you choose to - but not tonight. This night, I offer you company and caring, but no, no, no, I cannot do more this night."

I sighed again, to myself this time. Gods, I wanted her so badly, my stomach was about to contract and my nether region was pulsing already painfully.

[Séraphin de Lorean (R)]

I rolled over onto my side and bit my lower lip.

"Then go." I said angerily. "Because this is the only way you'll every have me!" I curled my legs up to my chest feeling a nausea wash over me.