Private Tales Brothels and Broken Things

[Cassian]

He laughed quietly at her words and shook his head as he walked to her, taking her things from her hands and dropping them onto the floor. He grabbed hold of her to pull her legs up around his waist and walked her toward the bed and leaned to press her down on top of it with a demanding kiss "Just you, lass."

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

What they had had before was need and passion and frustration all rolled into one and they had taken it out on that little room in an inn far away. But now... something had changed. The next few hours were soft and gentle, caring and nervous, hesitant and attentive. Lexi was rather glad if only for the sake of her own furniture; it would get costly if they began breaking everything in here as badly as they had done before.

She sprawled on her stomach with the sheets tangled about her waist and legs and gave a soft and sleepy sigh. It was dawning on her she hadn't got any sleep for nearly two days now, not since her little cat nap beneath the tree on their way home. It was also a miracle nobody had come for her with some business or other. A few stolen hours...

Lexi turned her face towards the man who lay beside her and smiled, shifting onto her side to get a better look and enjoy the view whilst it was there. It was ridiculous how shy she felt.

"So what else have you got planned today?" she placed a kiss to his collarbone.

 

[Cassian]

As slow and gentle as it was and as relaxed as he felt, his heart still thundered in his chest as though he’d sprinted a marathon. Words weren’t coming easily to him, he tried to find them and failed and so settled for a long sigh and pulled her closer with the arm trapped underneath her neck, fingertips trailing down her spine as she shifted to her side.

He smiled at her words and the kiss, “Unless you plan on kickin’ me out lass, I don’t plan on leavin’ this bed...‘Tis a nice bed...” his grin ceasing at his eyes as he looked over her with a quiet rumble..

“Out. Standing.” he laughed quietly and cupped her face to steal her lips with his.

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

He stole her laughter with his kiss but she didn't care. This was the most content she had felt in a long time and she planned to enjoy it for as long as it lasted.

"Try not to break it then please, it's very old," it was a four poster oak affair she she had found ostentatious when she had first been given the suite of rooms but now she couldn't imagine her rooms without it. "I won't kick you out of bed but I will have to go and do some work soon," she pressed a kiss to the underside of his jaw. "I only got through half of the paperwork last night and if I don't sign off on wages I'm going to have a load of angry people banging on my door," a soft sigh.

 

[Cassian]

He gave her a look of uncertainty and huffed "I can't make any promises I'm afraid, especially if you're plannin' on makin' a habit of layin' 'roun like that.." his eyes wandered and his lips curled into a roguish smirk as his hand slid down her side to squeeze at her curves.

"Let them. If this is the kinda reward I get for knockin' Kain into the ground then I'll happily do the same to every one of em.." he laughed and rolled back onto his back with a huff of contentment. Fuck he was whipped.

He replayed her earlier words in his mind, and what Rose had said, perhaps he wasn't just a pastime. He hadn't expected to meet a woman he could be so impressed and besotted by, women were women, they took his coin and bedded him or poured him ale. He didn't care about them, he didn't care about anyone..But here he was, a boyish grin so wide his jaws ached as he looked down at her. It was strange for him, but he enjoyed her, and she'd spoiled him so that no other woman would ever compare. If she got tired of him, he might as well vow celibacy.

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

Lexi huffed as his hands roved but she made no comment and nuzzled her face into the pillows of the bed. His comment about Kain however did cause a small roll of the eyes. There was always the problem of boundaries when you were a Commander and sleeping with one of the people under your service. A separation had to be made about when work was discussed and you were speaking with the voice of a Commander, and when you were talking as equals. For now though she let it slide, confident that he too knew that they were entirely different things. He had been sorting out a personal issue with Kain, he wouldn't truly keep her from her work.

As he rolled back onto his back she allowed her eyes to close fully. Just a short nap and then she would work...

Her brain didn't need convincing and her breathing soon deepened and evened out.

 

[Cassian]

He made a mental note not to mention Kain again, not that he wanted to talk about the man in bed. The issue had been dealt with, and he'd given fair warning, so he was sure enough that it wouldn't happen again and he could move on. Especially now.. now it was little secret. He stroked absently at Lexi's hair as her eyes closed, lost in his thoughts for a long while before his eyes closed too. Sleep was easier with her, like a drug that allowed his body to ease and dull his mind enough to make his dreams not so horrific for long enough to rest.

He fell deep, and awoke some hours later, sprawled on his stomach, a hand reaching out to find her.

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

Lexi had woken after an hour of deep sleep. It left her feeling a little groggy but she knew she had to get a move on with the papers on her desk before more were added to it. She knew her assistant scurried in and out at all hours to ensure everything she needed to see was on her desk in here. Farah wouldn't let it through the door if it wasn't important. It was tough getting out of bed though. Cassian radiated heat and she could have kept sleeping, probably needed it too with the spell she had cast still sapping at her energies. Nevertheless duty called and she carefully wriggled her way out from under his arm which was strew possessively across her. Lexi picked up his shirt that had been discarded on the floor and pulled it on over her head as she padded towards her desk.

The pile was definitely higher than when she had left it.

Lexi grimaced at it then sat with a heavy sigh.

It was a few hours later than she heard the grumbling from the bedroom, a sign that Cassian was slowly joining the world of the living. Her lips twitched somewhat but she stayed where she was. She had managed to get through two thirds of the pile, which was now stacked up in the before empty tray that read Out. She signed the paper she was doing, added it to the Out pile, then walked back to the doorway of the bedroom and leaned upon it.

"Coffee?"

 

[Cassian]

His brow knit as his hand found nothing but sheets. He groaned and propped himself onto his elbows to rub the sleep from his face before Lexi appeared in the doorway...in his shirt. "Mh.." he grinned. There was something about that particular look that made him want to tear it straight back off again and his face said so.

"Sounds good." he rumbled instead and rolled himself out of bed, tying the sheet around his waist as he walked to her, a finger curled under her chin to tilt her head up and press a kiss to the corner of her mouth. "How long was I out?" he smirked, glancing to the window. "Feel like I slept for days." he stretched.

"Was thinkin' I might do some trainin' with the lads tomorrow, if you've time to join.." he asked, glancing past her to the desk she'd been working at.

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

It took a large amount of will power not to crawl back into bed with that look. Fuck, she was a gonna. She watched him as he rolled from the bed and closed her eyes when he kissed her. Before he could walk past she put her foot on the other side of the archway and used the sheet around his waist to tug him gently towards her. That was not the kind of kiss you could leave a girl hanging on.

"You were out for about four, maybe five hours," she tilted her head back as she kept her fingers hooked over the rim of the sheet and watched him stretch. Gods help me.

Her body stiffened a bit when he asked about training though and she rubbed the back of her neck with a sheepish smile. "Ah, the people around here don't particularly ... like it when I come and train," it was hard to temper her strength at times and it had caused many a bruised bone and broken ego.

 

[Cassian]

Cassian glanced down at her foot and made a quiet, throaty sound as he felt her fingertips curl around the sheet, his brow arched. "Careful, lass.." he rumbled at her. "I might attack you again." he laughed and leaned down to press a kiss to her jaw and neck.

"I'll train with you.. I've already had a practice run with those arms of yours.." he grinned, he'd been thrown and he'd be lying if he said it wasn't a turn on, it certainly made things interesting. "I'll go easy on you." he laughed quietly against her ear, hoping the tease would tempt her, though he knew fine and well it was her who had to go easy.

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

Lexi's eyes were a challenge when he gave her his warning and her fingers tightened more on the sheet that separated them. What was more exciting was the prospect of a training session with someone other than Kain or Rose, who seemed to be the only two people brave enough to face her in the ring. Of course, and her own parents whenever they were back from missions. She laughed against his neck at his words and took his chin between her fingers to turn his gaze to hers.

"How sweet of you to think of my reputation. We can't have the Commander losing to a newbie after all," her eyes roved back to the work on her desk. "I don't have much more to do, why don't you go have a play with some of them down there now and come back here when you're done. Bring Red," she let go of his chin and then slowly slid her hand back around his neck as she kissed him slow and branded him deep.

 

[Cassian]

Mh..that look. The breath on his neck..demanding grip of his chin.. The sheet wouldn't be secure for long.

His lips curled at her when she mentioned her reputation.."No, lass.. Can't have that." he gave a subtle wink as he looked down at her, his hands starting to wander over the curves hidden beneath his shirt.

The kiss obliterated every thought. For the first time in forever, Cassian's mind was locked into the present. He melted into it with a low moan against her lips, with no wish for the kiss to end, submitting entirely to her branding. Drunk on endorphins his only desire was to touch her, to move his hands under her the layer of fabric and feel her perfect softness. In moments the soft caress has become more firm, he savoured her lips and his breaths quickened.

It broke and he groaned, pressing his body against her and sliding his hands behind her to keep her there as his forehead rested against hers.. "You can't just... do that an' expect me to leave.." he smirked.. "But... I will be needing this, regardless of whether I leave or stay..". His fingers curled underneath the bottom of the shirt that she wore and pulled it up over her head with a dimpled grin.

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

His hands were an unbearable heat against the shirt that she wanted against her skin. As he pulled her closer to him the thoughts of him leaving very nearly escaped her mind entirely but she managed to cling on to a little ounce of control. One of them apparently needed to or neither one of them were going to get anything else done. Her laugh as a husky kiss across his skin as she heard his words and her eyes opened slowly when she felt his forehead come against hers to gaze up at him with a mischievous glint.

Lexi was about to lord it over him when he claimed his shirt back. Oh it was like that was it?

"And I'll be needing my sheet back," her fingers were quick to take the thin bit of fabric off from around his hips then wound herself up in it instead with a smirk. "Fairs fair."

 

[Cassian]

His eyes were gifted for a brief moment by her nakedness, and they delighted. A moment cut all too short as the sheet was whipped from him to cover her and he gave a short laugh, throwing the shirt over his shoulder to free his hands and grip her face.. “Fair? Nothin’ about this is fair. You’re not makin’ it easy for me lass.” he groaned and kissed her.

He stood naked for her pleasure , skin glistening, prominent jaw lifting gracefully and the strength of his neck showed in the twining cords of muscle that shaped his entire body; strong arms, bold thighs and calves, a firm chest and abdomen. ‘That’s right Cass, you’re a fuckin’ Adonis amongst men, just grin that roguish grin and lap that attention up.’

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

Lexi was really struggling not to laugh. Even with his lips on hers her shoulders shook with the force of keeping it inside. She could respect a confident man and Cassian had many reasons to be confident but by gods in that moment was he not the cat who had got the cream. She slowly took her foot off the wall opposite so that he actually had an exit and then gave him the most innocent look she could must around the laughter.

"Go, c'mon I need to work and you are..." her eyes ran down the length of him and she slowly bit down on her bottom lip with a groan. "A terrible distraction," she slid out from between him and the wall and in the sheet padded over to the desk. "I actually, feel rather odd about doing this in just a sheet but this is your other 20 gold I owe you for the mission," she sat on the edge of the desk and held out the bag.

 

[Cassian]

Cassian grinned the most smug grin he could muster at her words. “I’m a distraction?” he laughed at her and let her go and watched her as she moved to the desk. Sheet was just as good a look on her as his shirt had been, and he mimicked her in biting his own lip.

He rubbed at the back of his neck as she reminded him about the rest of his payment. He’d forgotten... And the way she leaned against the desk... His poor weak mind imagined a little too much and he felt it time to pull on his clothes before he distracted her any more. He wandered, now clothed, to press his hands down on the table at either side of her with a deep huff. “See now lass, you’ve just made me feel like a cheap whore...” his brow lifted at her. The fuck would he spend it on now that brothels were a thing of his not so distant past?

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

"Cheap? That's 20 gold, if you've been spending that much on your whores Cassian I'm afraid to say it but you've been fleeced," Lexi chuckled. With him leaning over her as he was she had to lean back to look at him properly. Now he was dressed it made her distinctly more aware she was just in a sheet and she secured it in place with a stronger knot.

She put the bag down beside his hand so he could collect it once he had the force of will to actually leave her suite of rooms. Her lips kicked up at the corners in amusement as her hands trailed down his shirt.

"Definitely looked better on me. Now go, I have some really interesting papers to write and missions to assign. Do you fancy... a sea monster or a dragon next?"

 

[Cassian]

He laughed at her, until he'd met her he'd never held as much as twenty gold in his life, it was certainly not cheap. "A very well paid whore then...I'm alrigh' with that." he smirked. The hands trailing down his shirt sparked another groan as she told him to go, and he kissed her cheek and pulled himself away from her, coin in hand. "That it did. Perhaps I'll buy myself a few more shirts for you to wear."

Cassian ran his fingers into his hair as he considered her question with a quiet laugh.. "Whatever will hurt me the most, lass. You seem to have a thing for broken men." he winked playfully and turned to leave her to her work.

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

His last words gave her pause; did she really have a thing for broken men? Lexi watched him leave with a pleasant smile, head tilting slightly to get the angle of such a good sight just right. When she heard the door softly shut she sat where she was for a while and then shook her head. No, she didn't have a thing for broken men, just one in particular.

Down at the training grounds things were relatively quiet now the Forgotten had left town and it was bordering on evening; most people had things to do or preferred to relax after a hard days work. There were a group of people down there including Alec and Peter, who were talking to a pair of siblings - a boy and a girl with blonde hair so fair it was almost white. The other was Kain and a group of bigger looking men and women.

 

[Cassian]

Cassian hesitated on several occasions after leaving her quarters, but he forced himself to keep going and returned to his rooms to retrieve his weapons and a rather irate cat before heading off to the training grounds.

He dipped his chin casually as he wandered up to the group, Red curled comfortably around his neck. “Lads..” he chirped brightly and set down his axe and allowed Red to jump down before turning to Kain. “We good?..” he rose a brow and held out a hand. He was only going to ask once, and it’d be done.

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

Alec and Peter glanced up when they spotted Cassian and they both grinned and waved him over, though when they saw his attention drift to Kain they quietly busied themselves by introducing Red to the two other people in their little huddle. The people Kain were standing with glanced between the two but unlike the younger ones they were interested in how this was about to go down and open about it.

Kain looked at the hand outstretched and hesitated for a moment before stepping forward. He didn't take Cassian's hand in a shake but he did grip onto the man's forearm instead in the way of brothers at arms.

"We're good," then in a lower voice. "Unless you hurt her, then I will have to kick your arse," a small smile then he released him. "Cassian this is Louise, Marcus, Aelanora and Tryst, they're some of the sub commanders here. You might end up on a mission with them at one point or other. Are you looking for a scrap?"

 

[Cassian]

Cassian gripped the man’s hand tightly and his other gripped onto his shoulder with a grin at his words. “If I’m that much of a stupid bastard I won’ even fight back..” he nodded seriously. He didn’t intend on it of course, but he didn’t expect anything less from Kain.

He turned his attention to the others and dipped his chin respectfully as they were introduced.. “A pleasure.” he gave a light smile.. “Aye. Thought I’d take my mind off the books for a bit.” .. or Lexi. “See if the lads fancied a bit of practice.” he rubbed at the back of his neck “Unless you’re up for a scrap yourself that is..” his brow lifted.

 

[Lexi Quinzell]

"Ah," Kain rubbed at his jaw now where Cassian had hit him earlier and grimaced slightly. There was a nasty black and blue bruise spreading along it and up his cheek. "Doctors orders are no fighting for me for a while, I was just about to oversee these guys training," he motioned to the two groups. Alec and Peter and their two friends seemed to realise they were now being included and walked over to join them, Red purring loudly in the unknown females arms.

"It's quite a relaxed thing, you spar for ten minutes with each person then switch partners, gives you a chance to try out different fighting styles and abilities."

 

[Cassian]

Cassian gave a thoughtful nod as he looked over the man's jaw and squinted at him in a grimace, but he wouldn't apologise. He wasn't sorry for it and he wouldn't insult the man by pretending to be. "Right.."

He dipped his chin to the others as they approached "Lass..Lads...Which one of you is fightin' me first then?.." he grinned and spread his arms as he looked between Peter and Alec before taking off his shirt. It was new, and white, and Lexi looked good in it, he wasn't about to ruin it in practice. His bruises were healing well enough, but he stretched out with a small mischievous smirk that said he looked forward to putting them on their arses.