Pippa

[leloupnoir]

Continued from here.

As he drove Pippa's car, following the directions from her GPS, Akeem took a moment to reflect on what was happening. It still felt a little surreal. She was young, beautiful, with an intoxicating smell that had the wolf pace inside him restlessly, even now. He did not know what she saw in him, but he would not fight his good luck. Far from calming his desire, the short car ride only served to build anticipation, and he was glad she had thought ahead, so they only needed to pick up the keycard.

Kissing her again felt like water on parched lips, something he'd been longing for, something all of him had been longing for. She kissed him slowly, but he kissed back fiercely, letting the wolf direct his actions. His arms wrapped possessively about her waist, pulling her closer to him, before his hands slid down to cup her bum. Her scent enveloped him in a heady haze, and a growl broke into the kiss as he thought of what it would be like to feel her wrapped around him.

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[leloupnoir]

It was not exactly a surprise, but Akeem was convinced that there was more to it than that, and not just because she did not make him as wary as they usually did. She simply didn't quite smell like any Fae he'd smelled before. But having a conversation right now would be far too difficult, and her fingers felt wonderful stroking through his fur. He made a soft whine of something like assent, and thanks, and nosed at the side of her face before settling back down.

[pippa_flynn]

She breathed him in an for the first night in many, since Grandfather's death, actually, Pippa drifted off to sleep peacefully. She felt quite secure. Yes, they may have only met, and yes she was still spinning with the liquor in her blood, but she knew in her heart she wasn't wrong to place her faith in Akeem. So she held on, snggled closer, breathed in his wild, gamey scent, and slept until dawn.

[leloupnoir]

The wolf's usual restlessness was fortunately tampered down by Akeem's exhaustion, and he was content to sleep. He did pull the covers up over Pippa at some point, when he noticed the goosebumps on her arms, tugging them up with his mouth, as careful as he could be not to tear them with his fangs. Then he curled up beside her again and dozed off, until his inner clock woke him with the approach of dawn. He was mostly rested now, although that meant that the wolf had grown more restless, but he focused on Pippa's scent to help settle himself down. When she stirred, sharp green eyes were watching her, and Akeem thought with a sigh that he ought to shift back, now.

[pippa_flynn]

Pippa slept well, snuggled close. Her fingers kept curled in his fur. It was a rare moment of weakness where she allowed herself a bit of weakness. A bit of comfort. The wolf was strong, protective, and she could sleep in peace.

She woke slowly, rolling away from him and blinking away her drowsiness. She stretched and yawned and then sat up.

"Oh, my god, I have such a head," she lamented.

[leloupnoir]

Akeem pushed up to his feet on the bed, and nosed his hello at her shoulder before trotting off the bed, and to the bathroom. He shifted back, mostly hidden from view, and put on his wedding band and the bracelet with Laura's on it, which he'd taken off right before shifting. His hands were trembling slightly from the shift, but he'd be fine in just a moment. And even better once he'd taken his vitamins, but of course he didn't have them here.

He took a few moments to splash some water on his face, drank a little from the tap, then filled a glass and brought it back to her. "Hydration will help," he offered quietly, his voice still raw, as he held out the drink. He then turned away to find his underwear. He supposed that they ought to talk, and he would feel less self-conscious if he wasn't entirely naked for it.

[pippa_flynn]

She was shamelessly naked as she drank down the water and then flopped back on the bed, Her bare body was inviting and she smiled at him sweetly.

"I think we should probably talk, hmm?" she said. "Unless you've got to go to a job..."

[leloupnoir]

She definitely looked inviting, but Akeem knew better than to assume that someone looking inviting was the same as someone issuing an invitation, or that former consent still held in the present. "I've a couple of hours before opening up," he answered, joining her on the bed and sitting beside her, leaning on a hand and smiling down at her. "I don't know about you, but last night was rather surreal for me."

[pippa_flynn]

"I don't know. I've had some very odd nights," she replied with a secretive smile. She inched closer and pushed up, inserting herself into his lap and his arms. "I imagine we should talk things out a bit, knowing for sure that neither of us are exactly normal..."

[leloupnoir]

She was very welcome both in his lap and in his arms, and Akeem smiled down at her as he wrapped an arm around her, the back of his curled fingers stroking the skin of her back before settling there. Touching her made the wolf settle inside him, a pleasant surprise. "You don't smell like any Fae I've -" met would have been a bit of an overstatement, "avoided before." He gave her a sheepish little smile. "They don't usually smell quite so inviting."

Or they smelled too inviting, a sharpness and a threat through the rest of the scent. Akeem had learned to listen to his instincts.

[pippa_flynn]

"Mmm, I see. I'm not just any fae," she said softly. "I'm a queen. The Forgotten Queen of the Trooping Fae. But I'm new to it so I'm not as powerful as I will be one day."

[leloupnoir]

A queen ? Akeem paused at the news. "Please tell me I shouldn't have been
calling you majesty." When in doubt, gentle humour was an easy thing to
fall back on.

[pippa_flynn]

That brought out a bright, sparkling laugh.

"Only if you want to. It could be a cheeky game, I suppose," she grinned, all her teeth gleaming in the low light. "But, please, no. Call me Pippa."

[leloupnoir]

She was even more beautiful when she laughed, which rather was something, and Akeem's smile warmed with it. "Pippa," he agreed with the same warmth. "I'm not sure that anyone could forget you, Pippa. I take it the title was forgotten, and not the person?"

[pippa_flynn]

"That's the mystery, isn't it? I think that my entire people have been forgotten. Everyone knows of the Seelie and Unseelie, and there are darker fae, twisted. The Iron Court. But the Trooping fae are spread far and wide, hard to find. And by all the lore I've found, almost entirely forgotten," she explained.

[leloupnoir]

Akeem absorbed this, nodding thoughtfully. "So what does being their queen entail?" He smiled apologetically, brushing his thumb against her skin affectionately, where his hand rested on her back. "I don't mean to interrogate you, but you've got me quite curious."

[pippa_flynn]

"You know, I'm not entirely sure. That's the honest answer. When we grew up, my brother and I, our dad was gone and it wasn't until I was grown that I learned about my grandfather and what I am. We are. And so now that Grandfather's passed and the title is on me I'm, well, floundering a bit to find out what it all means. The one thing I know to be true is my kind are neither Seelie nor Unseelie so I believe much of my role is to keep the peace so we can be left alone," she chatted, so happy to be able to tell all of this to someone who wouldn't think she was mental. Or stupid.

[leloupnoir]

"And even if it weren't your role, it certainly sounds like a worthy one to take up," Akeem remarked. And he had thought she was out of his league before these revelations.

[pippa_flynn]

"It seems that way," she agreed, then rolled to press against him and draw lazy circles on his skin.

"And you, now. What's your story?"

[leloupnoir]

She was highly distracting, pressed up naked against him, and Akeem gave in to the urge to dip his head to the crook of her neck, nose buried in her curls, and breathe in deep. He caught her eyes as he straightened up, keeping both arms around her, holding her close. He wanted to kiss her, but she deserved her answers, too. "I wasn't born a wolf. I was infected... seven years ago? I think. Yes. It's been - a journey, learning to control that side of me, but I feel I've a decent handle on it now."

[pippa_flynn]

"Infected? I'm so terribly sorry," she said softly, and she was. To carry something like this couldn't be easy, no matter how enticing it was for her personally. She curled in close, arm lazy and heavy as she held on around him and nuzzled his skin. "It really is remarkable, though. Maybe I'm not that sorry."

[leloupnoir]

"Don't be sorry at all," he told her, warm and quiet, ducking his head to lightly run his nose along her forehead, and into her hair, breathing her in again. He would not know her scent, if it hadn't been for the infection. Never mind that he likely wouldn't know her at all. "It's not without its drawbacks, but... it's part of me, now."

[pippa_flynn]

"I wish I could be so accepting of my lot in life," she said, happy to be curled into him, her touches light and lazy. "I haven't been a queen for long, and I'm still not entirely certain what I'm meant to do. But I'm learning to control my power, so that's something."

[leloupnoir]

"It tends to be the first step," Akeem agreed, or at least, that had been his priority, and how he had learned to accept it all. "It took me years to be quite so accepting, though. Fair warning. I think I went through the five stages of grief over it."

[pippa_flynn]

"That actually doesn't surprise me. I don't think I've felt any denial, but, oh yes, anger...and bargaining," she replied softly, pressing herself closer to him for the comfort of his clear understanding.

[leloupnoir]

"You'll get there, I'm sure," Akeem told her, holding her close and brushing a kiss on her forehead. His other hand cupped her face tenderly, thumb brushing her cheek. "How long's it been?"