The grand ball

[Ascendancy]

He wasn’t accustomed to surprise, but Evelyn’s was a welcome one. Her warmth pressed near. She smelled like flowers; tasted like a spring rain. The last press of her lips were gentle caresses, but this was voracious and hungry. Her hands cupped his face, and Nikolai wrapped her shoulders with his. Evelyn’s change of heart thrilled him, and Nik did nothing to thwart her advances. Though neither did he lure her to sinful decisions she’d later regret. Her palms led more invasive exploration than they had before, and for one who lived on the planes of the spirit, her touch flared alive a body he almost forgot existed in the mortal realm.

Nikolai sank into cushions, sprawled and comfortable while Evelyn leaned above. Dark hair trickled upon his cheeks. Velvet gown slid from bare shoulders. The graze of soft lips sparked bumps down his arms, and the pleased murmurs as much welcomed more. The soft sounds invigorated Evelyn’s already covetous desires. Her hands tugged at his clothes impatiently. Fresh air touched his chest as his shirt splayed apart. Trousers loosened, mouth exploring lower.

“Evelyn,” he spoke even as he hated to do it, and Nik forced himself to shift on a grumble. Evelyn’s surprise turned this time. The flush of her cheeks and gleam of her eye fluttered his heart.

“I know you don’t want it like this.” He sat up, slipping out from under her weight. He clasped her hand in his, nursing wounds he hoped not to have inflicted. “I want to respect your wishes.” A slim smile spoke to a promise of the future, though it was by sheer strength of steel-hardened discipline that put a stop to it at all.

[Evelyn]

For a few moments, Evelyn forgot who she was. There was only warm sunshine beaming on her skin, a bed of sand beneath softening her back, and the lazy sounds of gasping breath breaking the stillness. Nikolai tasted like power and the disinhibition of mulled wine lulling her to ease. Her lips brushed upon his neck like rose petals. His aftershave filled her head like an aphrodisiac. Fingers clawed at his shirt, stretching out over his skin, raking him nearer. Excitement and glamour flashed like popping lightbulbs of paparazzi over Evelyn, teleporting her somewhere far from the rolling plains of her isolated home state. This was where she belonged, and the enormity of that epiphany was drowning.

Until the bubble burst. She was smiling like a fool-headed girl drunk on her first glass of champagne (which she was a little), when Nikolai sat up. He was properly disheveled. His shirt was mostly unbuttoned, sliver of a muscular chest glistening in the low light from the folds. His perfectly manicured hair was tussled from her fingers. She could still feel the graze of his facial hair on her cheeks. Her own lips were chilled from the sudden absence of his.

His words whispered like smoke coiling little adorable tendrils of affection. What he did next coiled little red ribbons around her heart and made a little bow. She aww’d, fingers splayed at her chest else it burst open with pride. She shook her head with disbelief that he would think of her honor before his own needs and desires. If Nikolai could be no more perfect to her than in that moment, she could not believe it possible.

She pulled his hands near her face, nuzzling and kissing his knuckles. She couldn’t wait to marry him someday.

Hopefully that day wasn’t too far off.

[Ascendancy]

A more realistic sense of weariness settled into his bones once Evelyn departed. The day was longer than most. An early morning swim, that while reinvigorating, cut the morning at a sharp hour. A day in the trenches (metaphorically speaking), appearances and speeches, navigating treacherous deals and amalgamating volumes of information, studying for the ball, the exertion of fending off an Ijiraq, the flood of adrenaline and the rushing sweep of a subsequent crash, Evelyn’s induction of a second-wind that frankly would not be as magical as she expected simply from Nikolai's own inner-distractions.

Fresh out of the steam of a cleansing shower, Nik lay in bed putting his final thoughts to form one last time before sleep interrupted his productivity. He laid out orders to his staff to arrange time in the morning with key teams to enable sending his message to Regus. Finally, he was about to close the system when he sent one last message.
Alexandrova: Let’s talk in the morning.

After that, sleep was a necessary respite.