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Illario stretched his neck with a quiet sigh while he made his way through the bathhouse of the Dellamorte estate. It’s been a long day. Too many faces, too many fake pleasantries, too much wine. Well not for him, but certainly for some of the other guests of his grandmother. Inviting all the Talons and selected nobles usually ended in a disaster of some kind, yet to his surprise everything went well. Now though, he needed a moment of silence.
It was in the middle of the night, most of the guests had withdrawn to their chambers already. Some alone, some with a companion. Illario envied the latter because his bed would remain empty tonight. Not for the lack of opportunity - he certainly had some interesting gazes wandering along his body tonight - but for the lack of interest on his part. The few people he would have actually been interested in were out of reach and if there was one thing he did not need in his life, it was being rejected.
And so he decided to find some warmth another way, in peace, now that he was finally alone. Or not? A sudden splashing sound made him stop, being on guard and interested at the same time. Had someone had the same idea as him maybe? With nothing on but a towel around his waist he slowly walked on, trying to find the source of the noises in the dim light of the candles around the pools. Not long until he spotted her. Realising she had spotted him already as well. Of course she had.
“Andarateia Cantori,” he spoke, his lips curling into his usual lopsided smile. A smile he knew some people called fatal.
“Illario Dellamorte,” she gave back, not even bothering to act surprised, “And now that we’re done calling each other by the name, what comes next?”
Her confident tone caused something in his insides that he could not quite name yet. But he liked it.
“Care if I join?” he asked, feeling his smile growing wider.
“If you must,” Teia gave back drily, yet there was a hint of amusement in her expression as well.
“Oh I certainly do,” Illario said, before he removed the towel with an almost dramatic gesture and kept standing in her view just that one second too long before he stepped down into the pool, sitting down across from her.
Teia huffed, “I certainly didn’t expect to see this today.”
“Oh?”, Illario smirked, “But it’s not too bad, is it?”
Now the seventh Talon laughed. “Fishing for compliments, are you?”
“Not really. I fear the chances for that are rather slim, at least with you.”
“Smart boy,” Teia commented.
Illario tilted his head to the side, searching her eyes and holding her glance when he said. “I am. And skillful, too.”
“Oh, I see,” the cunning woman said, approaching him slowly, “You’re trying to seduce me?”
“Is it working?”, Illario huffed, feeling his heartbeat quicken at the thought.
Teia smiled. Her beautiful, almost black eyes half-lidded and seductive, her full lips slightly parted and so inviting to be kissed, the soft skin around her shoulders perfectly smooth and just a delicious foreshadowing of the rest of her body. Nimble as a cat she came closer and closer, making him shiver in anticipation. He felt her palm on his knee and swallowed as her sweet scent twisted his senses.
And she moved even closer with her face, shifting to the side a little, to whisper one word into his ear: “No.”
With an amused smirk she withdrew, leaving him breathless for a moment, before he cleared his mind and regained his composure. Yet before he could utter a witty retort, she suddenly stood up in front of him. Stark naked, the contours of her body so perfect in the candlelight that it took his breath away once more. All too slowly her own hands followed the droplets of water that ran down along her skin - her breasts, her stomach, between her legs - and Illario almost lost it.
“Such a pity that you can only dream of all this,” she breathed, before she stepped out of the pool and wrapped herself in a towel.
“Rest assured, I will dream of all this tonight,” he said back, glad that his subconsciousness was still able to come up with clever words.
The seventh Talon laughed, “Good night then,” and left him alone with an image he would not be able to forget so soon.