Winter Hearts

Insolence

Leo felt like he was burning up inside - and that if he stared hard enough at something, he would burn a hole in it with his eyes.

Siana had all but said yes. She had kind of, sort of, Not Said No.

That is, if he only processed the words that came out of that sweet and naughty mouth of hers.

But her body told him differently: it told him she wanted him just as badly as he wanted her. Her body that had pulled him close just as she was trying to talk him into slowing down. Her eyes which had stared into his as their lips touched, her nose as she scented him in their embrace, her hand as it had drawn a line enticingly up his torso, but had avoided really touching him the way he wanted - she was all contradictions, all push and pull, and he couldn't help but be drawn into it.

Go with the flow.

The weirdest, least romantic words he thought he had ever heard.

He wanted to hear her ask him for his kisses again, wanted to hear her say his name, wanted her to call him hers. But instead he had heard plenty about when he was leaving, why they should wait and promises to be alright with it going nowhere.

He felt at once disappointed and highly charged by her flirtatious manner.

Perhaps she didn't realise what she was doing, but her skittishness and reluctance to let him take the lead was seductive. He thought he would be leading her in this dance, but found that she was leading him - and he liked it much more than he thought he would.

He was beginning to understand on a gut level, some of the lyrics he had been singing for years without a second thought. About how pain and pleasure could almost be the same thing when it came to matters of love.

He stopped himself for a moment. Love? Was this love?

He watched her as she hurried away down the pathway and out of his sight for a moment, leaving Hongbin and Ken watching him out of the corners of their eyes as they slowly turned to follow her.

He wasn't exactly sure when it was during their conversation that he started having bad thoughts about her, but he suspected it was about the time he told her he didn't like how she seemed to expect him to just fit in some fun together while he was here. She was saying things that were making him mad, making him doubt that she had received the sincerity of his confession, but at the same time, was pulling on his collar, teasing him, letting him go.

The thought had crossed his mind that she was being insolent, even though he understood that she was just holding her ground, and trying to do so without offending him or making him feel small.

Maybe it's my hormones talking, because they're all wide awake and raring to go, he thought.

Her long, lithe, leggings-clad legs that were at eye-level just a few moments ago, came to mind. He had felt like just looking was not enough, and had imagined thoughts about those legs that he could only describe as bad.

And when he had seen her roll her eyes at him, something inside of him, that particular quality of his character that made him gentle, courteous and polite, had snapped.

She had just had her hands all over him, had been telling him things he didn't want to hear, or at least, had not been saying the things he DID want to hear, and she had had the gall to roll her eyes at him when his own eyes had strayed to those lovely legs - which were clearly on display for his benefit.

He thought, angrily, they had better have been on display for his benefit only, and not for the lascivious eyes of other men.

Then he had growled at her to his own surprise. He had never really spoken to anyone like that before, and didn't consider himself a person who declared his possessiveness like that. He felt that kind of behaviour was uncouth. Rough.

That is not what I am like, he thought. He hadn't expected that of himself, and for a moment, had felt remorse at his harsh tone.

But her reaction was unexpected, too. He had seen a flash of desire burn in her eyes, and she had gasped a little before hearing Hongbin call out.

That look of lust was gone in an instant, and she had got out of there so fast. He could only think that she was frightened by what he had said. Or maybe, she had been frightened by what she felt - perhaps from inexperience, or perhaps from not wanting to fall further for him than she had wanted to.

That last thought made him smile with devilish glee. If it were true that she was falling harder for him than she wanted to, then he had a chance.

Despite your own reluctance to commit to me, you will fall so hard, I will make sure of it, he thought to himself.

He suddenly realised that he was thinking of her as an opponent, and in this game they were playing, he wanted badly to win.