Renevere Mars: Part Three

Episode 35: House Party

The next morning Ren's eyes peeled open early, no one had yet stirred. The morning light peering through the drawn curtains sent a pale haze over the crowded room, mostly still cast in shadow. The innkeeper had an orange tabby cat that was pawing at their door and crying, probably what had awoken Ren. Now her gaze drifted to the place that Duren slept on the floor, very near due to the cramped space. Sam was on her other side and when she got out of bed she would no doubt have to pick her way over one of them. She didn't even want to be in this bed, she wanted to be in the cocoon of blankets Duren slept on.

She let her arm drape over the edge of the bed and caress along his arm, up his shoulder, and back down. The touch started to stir him slightly so Ren slowed, not wanting to wake him. Before she could retreat, his hand darted and grasp hers, eye flying open, alertness chasing off the daze of sleep with remarkable speed.

"Sorry," Ren breathed, wincing slightly from his grip on her wrist which he loosened immediately upon realizing it was her, relaxing visibly. The daze of sleep seemed to catch back up with him, his eyes drooping into a slow blink. His hand on her wrist slid up her arm until he was holding her forearm, and much to Ren's surprise he pulled her forward over the edge of the bed. She caught her hands on either side of him, hips still hanging on the edge of the mattress. She giggled as quietly as she could manage as he wound his hand up her back, pulling her father still off the bed and down on top of him.

"What are you doing?" she breathed in his ear, forfeiting to bringing her legs over the edge of the bed with a quiet thump to the floor. Her knee smarted but she was completely distracted by the feeling of his hands roving over her body, finding their way to her thighs on either side of his torso.

"You were too far away," he said. "Not to mentions spoiled, on that bed up there." Ren snickered, nuzzling into his neck with her nose.

"Me getting the bed was your idea." She lifted up just enough to look at him and he met her gaze.

"Yeah, well I have a weakness for spoiling you," he admitted, brushing her hair behind her ear and wrapping his hand around the back of her neck in one fluid motion, pulling her in for a kiss. He tasted like sleep, but she couldn't care less about it. Her feet were already kneading the blanket to pull it down, wanting to be underneath with him. The sound of gentle strings from the other bed made her pause though, freezing their kiss mid motion.

She withdrew, making a guilty face as she waited for Cara to settle back into sleep, which she did thankfully.

"We're gonna get caught," she breathed.

Duren didn't offer disagreement, but he didn't release her either. He reached down and grabbed the blanket she had wiggled mostly off him, drawing it sloppily over her, a leg and half her torso still exposed to the chilly air. She kissed him again, more deeply this time, letting his hands wind all the way around her back and into her hair before she painfully, with great difficulty, released him again.

"We have to stop," she whispered, because he still hadn't let her go, though she wasn't exactly trying to leave. It felt far too tempting to stay. She was gradually, barley raising up on her hands to pull away from him halfheartedly when she was frozen in the spot by a sleepy Cara's voice saying, "What are you guys doing?"

Ren peered over her shoulder, still poised overtop of Duren, heart dropping into her stomach. Cara stood at the foot of Ren's bed, rubbing her eye sleepily.

"Oh, she fell," Duren said, sharply, as though he found it very annoying. Ren blinked and then followed his cue to continue rising off him robotically. "Not an ounce of survival instinct, apparently. Like a baby bird." She paused before fully standing, facing away from Cara and blocking her view of Duren's face, so she could shoot him a daggered gaze. He snuck a returning smirk at her before she finished standing. Returning his attention to Cara he said, "Sorry if the commotion woke you."