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She nuzzled her head further into the pillow. An oddly muscular pillow. One that's unbelievably warm. Her body told her to relish in comfort, but her mind told her to open her eyes and see why it smells so good in a very masculine way. She didn't know she was into men's body spray until now.
Her mind was still throbbing, but she tried hard to ignore it when her top goal was finding out what the hell was going on. And what happened the night prior. All she knows is that she attended a party held in Hotel Debord and served as a bodyguard for Lady Furina. However, things didn't go as planned and Lady Furina had to go home early for reasons she couldn't quite remember. And so the Archon insisted the duelist to enjoy her time on her own while she made her exit. Clorinde obviously wouldn't just abandon her job like that so it took quite a long time and persistence from Lady Furina to actually convince her to have some time off. She had to use her divinity card just so the duelist would obey her. After she finally gave in, she busied herself with a couple drinks. She's sure that she can remember more than that but now's not the time when it feels like a stampede is rampaging inside her brain right now.
She took in more of that charming scent and started stretching her way through the sheets with her limbs just so she could properly wake up. She turned her body so she's laying on her stomach and her head peeked out of the covers when she slightly raised herself with her elbows. She's not quite awake yet. Her eyes are barely a millimeter open.
All she could do is feel. And what she feels (other than the throbbing pain in her head) is cold now that a small part of her back is exposed to the air. The other half of her body is still snug under the warmth of the sheets, and the heavy arm lazily wrapped around her waist.
Wait. What?
She's slowly coming to her senses and now that she realized what that sensation is, she is fully aware that an arm is holding her waist. To be specific, her naked waist.
She's naked. Literally nothing. No underwear. Not even a sock.
And there's someone in the bed with her.
Her eyes were finally wide awake after she rubbed her eyes. The first thing she did was check the hunk of sheets next to her where the suspected culprit should be buried. There were locks of jet black hair peeking out and she wasted no time in revealing whoever it was.
Holy fuck. Why is there a hot person in her bed?! She's not sure if she should react with fear or excitement. For a few seconds, she experienced a whole lot of emotions but mostly panic before the memory of last night hit her.
This isn't her bed. This is a room in Hotel Debord. She didn't leave the hotel at all. She also remembered how she got here with this person. She took one too many drinks last night and got a little irrational with her decisions.
Oh, dear Seven Archons. She remembers everything. Including what went on last night. She didn't want to admit it, but last night was... something she's glad to remember.
She didn't expect her night to be how the way it was. She just wanted to talk to a few people she was at least acquainted with but she somehow ended up chatting with this handsome man for longer than she would've imagined. Tall, muscular stature, black ruly hair, sharp features - the man also new how to charm his way into a conversation. She wasn't one to talk much, but the way he talked got her so invested in the conversation. Maybe he was just that attractive? Combine that with the influence of alcohol and boom, we have a very unlikely incident in our hands.
Snippets of those moments flashed into her mind. From the first kiss, the invitation, the clumsy stripping, hands roaming around each other, the passion. Her eyes widened in embarrassment when she found herself so turned on the thought. She squished her cheeks together in an attempt to stop her face from reddening so much as well as get it out of her mind.
Apparently, her sudden movement was enough to stir him awake and he ended up seeing her before she can do anything about it. When he opened his eyes, they ended up staring at each other for a long period. He was probably also wondering why there was a stranger next to him, but judging by his next reaction, he didn't mind. He merely rubbed the drowsiness from his eyes and yawned silently. Along with rubbing his face flat on his pillow to which Clorinde found oddly endearing.
"Good morning." Clorinde greeted him. Suddenly, her panic dissipated and it seemed normal for her to be waking up to this naked stranger. He was still covering his eyes and getting the sleep out of his system.
He momentarily lifted his head to return the greeting, "Good morning." Woah, was his voice always this attractive? Just as she thought she was done recalling the events of last night, she remembered all the things she felt just by listening to his voice.
She flushed when he complimented her, she jolted when he whispered into her ear, she shivered when he moaned in pleasure. She was drunk out of her mind, how did she even remember all those things clearly? It left her thinking if he remembered too.
"Slept well?" She asked, and he removed his head from the pillow completely.
"I would have if I didn't drink so much." His face changed into a gentle expression, "But waking next you certainly made my morning better."
It caused her to roll her eyes but she couldn't bite back the smile growing on her face. "Casanova even with a hangover, I see."
"Hey, I'm not a casanova." He chuckled as his eyes struggled to stay wide open, "I rarely have any free time to do any of this and I get called that?"
"Hard not to when you seem like you have a lot of experience." She realized so late that what she said could have double meaning. He could interpret that differently. Experience in charming women, or experience in bed?
"Guess I'm a natural."
And she couldn't deny that. "It was fun." She said as she started searching for articles of her clothing. Which, to her dismay, was scattered all over the room. Thank goodness her underwear were just in her reach.
"Leaving so soon?" She heard him say as she finished up putting her full set of underwear on. She stood up and picked up her blouse at the other end of the room near the entrance. She could feel his watchful gaze as she continued doing her own thing.
"I have things to do." She half-lied. She didn't have any official work in the morning. But she wanted to make sure that Lady Furina is in her abode just so she could rest easy. She wasn't obligated to, but it sure was a good excuse if he ever pried her for answers.
"But your next commission won't be until the afternoon." She paused in buttoning up her blouse and turned to give him a questioning look.
"How do you know that?"
"Because I'm the one who commissioned you." He lifted himself up just a bit to support his head with his hand and elbow.
It took her quite a while to absorb what he just said. And when it hit her, she scoffed, thinking that he was out of his mind.
"The Duke of the Fortress of Meropide commissioned me." She continued dressing up. As much as his 'joke' wasn't funny, it made her smile just thinking how on earth he came up with a joke like that.
"I am the Duke of the Fortress of Meropide." His statement only made her chuckle.
"No, you're not." She walked to the other part of the room where her skirt was located. Geez, how wild did they have to be so their clothes were all over the place?
"You don't believe me?" He laughed as he sat up properly and seemingly looked for his own undergarments.
"No," She spotted a newspaper on one of the tables in the room and saw the word 'Meropide' on one of the headlines. She remembered that word got out saying that the Fortress encountered a few changes but wasn't so updated about it.
So she walked over to that table and picked up the newspaper, "Who is the Duke anyway? Didn't the Steambird say someone else took over?"
"'The Fortress of Meropide is reportedly under new management. The new Duke of the Underworld, Wriothesley, refuses to hold an investiture ceremony.'" She read the first few sentences of the article. She turned around to see him already sitting on the edge of the bed with nothing but his boxers. A sly smirk displayed on his face as he leaned his weight on one of his arms set on the soft mattress.
Oh sweet heavens, she remembered gliding her hands over those scars. Her mind went off the rails for a split second, wanting to explore his body again, preferrably when she's sober.
As much as he looked hot half-naked on the bed, it didn't distract her from realizing that she might've made a big oopsie.
"You're Wriothesley?" Her voice was barely above whisper.
"A pleasure to meet you." He nodded in courtesy. He still doesn't fail to be so suave and it makes her so interested in this man.
All of the events that led up to this started slowly sinking in and she doesn't know how to react. Her body grew cold in the presence of a highly authoritative figure, but at the same time warm because she's so damn embarrassed.
"I-I slept with the Duke of the Fortress of Meropide and I didn't even know?" She meant to mutter that for herself but she knew he heard it based on his reaction.
"You don't remember?" His grin grew wider.
"Don't remember what?"
"We exchanged names last night, Clorinde." He emphasized her name and she didn't think she'd ever be affected by someone pronouncing it.
"We were both drunk but I at least recognized that you were the famed Champion Duelist. I thought you did the same for me." He said and she really tried recalling if she ever heard his name. But to be fair, she probably still wouldn't be able to put two and two together that Wriothesley equals Duke of Meropide.
"I..." Her face reddened and she looked the other way, "... your name was hard to remember."
'Wriothesley', surely other people would find that name hard to put to memory. But she certainly won't forget it now that this happened.
She chucked the newspaper back to the table and tried to change the subject before he could tease her further, "Well, I hope to have a good connection with you despite our little... accident today, your Grace."
"Now you're interested in me because you found out I'm the Duke?"
"I was interested in you before I knew your name!" She only realized the weight of her words once it came out. Now, the only way she could hide her flushed face was to turn around and listen to his teasing, yet heart-flipping laugh. She distracted herself by putting her clothes on much faster.
"Well, I hope you'll remember it now." She heard him say just as she finished pulling up her boots.
"Sorry, were you offended?" Through the mirror, she could see him walking closer to her. After she tied her hair up in a ponytail, he placed his hands on either side of her hips. He traced her neck starting from her shoulder and up to her ear with light, feathery kisses.
He nipped on the shell of her ear before whispering, "Not really. I was thinking at least you'll know what name to scream next time."
Fuck. It's like her body is suddenly on fire. If she had zero self-control, she would've dropped to her knees by now. The space in between her legs is in need of him that it's almost unbearable.
He was about to press his body closer to hers but she turned around to face him before he could. She put her forearms on his shoulders so she could run her fingers through his soft and messy hair. She slid her lips up on his jawline, making sure that it's not quite a kiss.
"When is next time?" She whispered back to him, and his grip on her hips tightened.
"Anytime you want." He dropped his head so he was back to kissing her neck.
"Maybe after you finish my commission for you later?" He whispered before gently sucking on her soft skin, drawing out hitched breaths from her. His right hand invited itself below her shirt and eagerly crept up to her chest. The warm touch elicited shivers up her spine and made her body tingle.
It feels better now that she's sober. She's able to really focus on every touch and caress he's putting on her body.
His mouth trailed up, wanting to catch her lips, but she pushed him away by his chest. She gave him a teasing smile. "Next time it is then."
She grabbed her hat from the floor and dashed out towards the door.
"Wha-- Clorinde, wait!" He called out but she already opened the door and stepped out of the room.
"Relax, your Grace. We'll be meeting each other later." She gave him a sweet smile as she peeked through the door frame.
He returned the gesture with a smile of his own, "Alright then. I can't wait.”