Verboten

21.

Light teasing and playing in the crisp, chilly sunbathed stream, a snack of fresh cornbread and gooey honey licked from his fingers and your lips, a bare naked and twisted nap in the shade, a bit of pecking and a round of songs on Harry's guitar and you're off on Charlotte again as you both head to the abandoned farm for shooting practice.

It would seem as if your time shooting yesterday is proving itself to be beginner's luck; either that or something in the universe is off today. You hit more targets than not but are extra hard on yourself, more so than Harry is. He is an extraordinary teacher, filled with patience and kindness when necessary but still discerning and knowledgeable. His aim and precision is enviable to say the least, ninety nine percent accuracy and a humble shrug to boot each time you praise him.

You shoot for hours, losing track of time and almost forgetting about it entirely until you squint up towards the sun and gasp, flipping open your pocket watch before pressing your fingertips to your mouth in shock, "Harry, I'm late. Oh god." You scramble to collect your belongings, "my father will kill me. I'm dead."

Harry paces towards you and cups your cheeks, tilting your head towards him and inhaling a long breath to settle you, "Dove." He sucks in more air and nods at you until you're copying his motions, "good girl. Don't speak in such a way. He may be angry, but it's nothing you can't handle." He leans in to drop a kiss to your mouth, humming when you respond with gusto, "that's my pretty bird. May I bring you back to town?"

You nod and he scoops you off your feet bridal style, laughing with a bright and luminous smile that displays two rows of opulent teeth and his majestic dimple when you shout at him to put you down. You wiggle in his arms but he squeezes you tight, pressing a kiss to your hairline and pouting for effect, "will you become so sovereign that I can no longer treat you as my lady?"

You press the back of your hand to your forehead and go limp in his arms, one foot kicked to the air in a dramatic fashion and your head rolled back in mock despair, "oh Harry, how will I ever walk without you? Oh my hero, my Saint, my martyr... king of footsteps-"

He laughs again and flips you over his shoulder, lifting your skirts and spanking your bottom with a loud clap to which you squeal and then moan in pleasure. His cock arises to the occasion but he absconds it due to time constraints. He doesn't want you to be in trouble or be put in harm's way under his watch, "ah, someone has discovered sarcasm. I do hope you never lose your feet, you'll be swallowing your words and wishing for my arms."

You laugh and pinch his bottom, giggling harder when he jumps in response, "do not put such ideas into the atmosphere!"

He drops you to your feet and backs you up against Charlotte, one arm rising to lock you in his embrace as his hand rests against her saddle, "I see. So if I put harm into the atmosphere, you fear it will become truth. But if I put a rose garden and breakfast into the atmosphere, it's nothing but rubbish?"

You angle your chin towards him and glance at his mouth as he licks his lips, finding his gaze once his tongue disappears. His eyes are alight with challenge and perseverance and he frowns when yours darken with sensibility, "I fear harm will become truth because it is all I know."

Harry won't admit to you that your words tighten his throat and make his chest weak with emotion. He imagines his sister or his mum in your place, trapped inside of your hell with Satan breathing down their necks and the familiar veil of red drapes across his eyes. His hand curls into a fist against Charlotte's saddle and his other hand raises to cup your neck, "and I? I have changed nothing for you?"

He is disturbed by your lack of outward emotion towards your undesirable situation, but smiles to himself once he sees your face brighten at the reminder of the love standing before you with open arms and an open heart, "you are my savior, my lover and my paradise. You have changed everything for me."