Just One Oh Short of Snap [M] [Nephero]

[Lion]

One drink, two drinks. 8 drinks, passed out on the floor drinks. Nope! Not drinking that much now. Not anymore. He...didn't feel like he needed to anymore. Banning would give in to her request and had one beer for himself because it was rude to let a guest drink alone. The wine already had his head swimming, warming his belly, warming up other places.

He tilted around and popped the top off the edge of the counter. The clear sign of wear against the marble was present, were lots of caps had been popped off in much the same way. Banning slid the bottle over to her, and he followed to where she was leaning, pulling out a stool to have a seat, giving him a slightly higher position in her proximity.

At the insistence on needing his input, Banning snorted, feeling himself ease into the moment. Right. What the hell was the point in being all serious now? And with her, of all people. She wasn't his superior, and in fact it was quite the opposite here. Except Banning didn't see her as just a Pilot Noble. She was just Isabel.

"All right, what can the good doctor do for you? Anything of course," he murmured. And wiggled his fingers at her. Because he had a tendency to be pretty good with those.  Then there it was.  What to call them. What did he call them?

He watched her hands and almost unconsciously he forgot the beer beside him, drew them across to take one of hers into his again, resuming those little touches he'd began back at Todie's. The setting was much personal now. No nosy waitstaff to interrupt, no gossip to worry over. Just them.

"I'd like to think we're friends," he said with a leveled amount of certainty. "I also like to think that..."  A pause because biting his tongue wouldn't prevent the words from coming out. "Maybe dinner and drinks was...our way of finding what it is we need to know about each other. Sussing out the situation. Because we're trained Pilots after all. We can leap before we look - I think we did that - or we can have a better idea of the course laid out before us."

Her hand was reached up to his lips, and he pressed his mouth to the pad of her palm, just before her pulse. Cut to the chase, Banning. "Because I like you. A lot. I don't think I've liked any of my friends the way I like you. Have you ever had a...ahem, a boyfriend?"

[nephero]

The beer was cold against her hand, the condensation clinging to her skin and thankfully hiding the fact that her palms had been so terribly damp two seconds prior. She took a quick gulp, and the cold sensation was wonderful for half a moment-- before the additional alcohol actually hit, coalescing with Banning's proximity to make her flush a light pink.

She did her best not to fidget, to keep herself from looking too nervous, because somehow that was even worse than just... this rather frank discussion she'd just started. It was good to get things in the open as soon as possible, of course, communication in that regard was key, but it didn't stop the soft knot of something awful in her gut from tightening its hold on her nerves. She almost didn't notice him playing along, her mouth quirking at those wiggling fingers and a soft breath leaving her as his hand was suddenly on hers, drawing her close and running soft touches over her skin.

And like that, the knot was gone, the dread dissipated, and her smile unfolded into something wider and far more genuine. She turned her gaze upwards, regarded the other Pilot's face, grey eyes flicking here and there before settling on soft lavender. She sighed as his lips found her palm, the sound soft and content.

"A little reconnaissance, then." she said after a moment, turning her hand in his hold to press it to his cheek, thumb running over his near-constant stubble. "That sounds about right."

She snorted a bit at his question, faltering though it was, and chewed at her lip a bit as she considered her answer. And, like so many times before, finally settled on the entire truth.

"You're going to laugh at this, but... not... not really. Nothing so substantial as deserving the title, I mean. I hadn't been... nearly so comfortable with myself until well after I graduated to allow for anything terribly, ah, long-lasting. And with the squadron, and everything else, there just never seemed to be enough time, until..."

She swallowed a bit, mouth suddenly over-dry. What the hell was wrong with her? Where was her head? A little wine, a sip of beer, and she was utterly incapable of expressing herself with any sort of grace.

"Until you. So... If you were to be interested in the position, I'm sure I could talk to management, pull some strings... because I like you, Banning. A lot. I think it'd be... a good fit."

[Lion]

Seeing her get all flustered now made a thing smile curl just at the corner of Banning's lips. Eyes roved back up toward her features, taking in the normally clean-cut and dedicated commander into this fidgeting squirming thing before him. She fought for her calm, and it was an endearing sight to see. Banning sat a little straighter, kept his touch pliable, long fingers spreading out warmly on her palms.

He didn't interrupt her, even at her assumption that he would laugh. Was he that transparent? Or was she much more expectant of ridicule when the comfort of fastidious calm was stripped from her. Another shared brick in their house of awkward encounters. He kept his hands wrapped around hers, pressing the back of it against the prickled stubble of his cheek.

That smirk still played here and there, lips he licked in a futile attempt to sate their dryness. A hunger that could only be sated if they were firmly plastered against hers, he thought. But that could be reserved for later. 

"Good fit. I...I like the way that sounds. Y'know, I've had a few relationships that I also thought were good fits. An ex of mine, Everett Snow.  He was a bartender down in a lower level dive. Cute. Good butt," Banning chuckled. "He was sly. Really sly. A damn good talker. He could charm a snake out of its fangs and make 'em happy to be free of 'em. We dated for some time back when I was an Echo. Yeah he was a real good charmer, all right. So charming he was fucking around on me behind my back," he said, tone rather nonchalant.

"Some people just lack the ethic to properly dedicate themselves something. They lack a certain, hmm, discipline," he murmured, and pressed a kiss to her knuckles, to the little knicks and scars he found there.

He rolled his thumbs over the joints. "But I didn't make it to Pilot Royal because I half-assed efforts. So yeah, I can say that I'm interested. Kinda sorta interested. Pretty interested.... Definitely interested," he purred and kissed her palm again.

Banning slipped off the stool, resting a hand at her hip. "For the record, I'd never laugh at you. Unless you came back from running drills covered in ash...and cake. Because I'm aware of how fiery your squadron can get from time to time. I'm sure they come up with a lot of ways of driving you completely crazy."  A flash of wolfish teeth and he slipped that arm around the small of her back.

[nephero]

Nonchalance, the telltale sound of anything but. Izzy frowned, ever so slightly, her brows coming together in sympathy before smoothing out again. That had to have been painful; even for a native of the city, where polyamorous relationships were fairly common, the notion of not being privy to that information, to have it hidden from you and to be the last to know that your partner was not nearly such a 'good fit' as you might have thought...

Izzy couldn't even fathom. She watched as he kissed her knuckles, her palm, before slowly bringing both of her hands up to tangle in his hair, pulling him close such that their foreheads met. She rubbed at his scalp, just at the nape of his neck, and hoped that the sincerity she felt was properly conveyed.

"Some people just don't understand a good thing when they have it. Lack of situational awareness, foresight, name it," she said, eyes flicking up to meet his own and going just a bit cross-eyed for their proximity, the other Pilot a blur of violet and tan and stubble, "Still... that had to hurt. I'm sorry. Not assuming responsibility, I mean, but... you deserved more than that."

She sighed, and raised her head a bit to nuzzle her nose to his, mouth curling into a smile again to help dissipate the solemn mood somewhat. And snickered at the concept of returning home coated in whatever manner of horrors the Harpies could possibly concoct. Which, as it turned out, was quite a bit.

"Oh, so you'll only laugh at me on Mondays and alternating Wednesdays. Good to know, very good to know, I'll just pencil it into my schedule to not let you see me during those times." She teased, giving him a playful little bite to the tip of his nose for his efforts. "I've ah, spoken with management, and they have agreed to hire you for the position, following a glowing character reference. Welcome aboard, Pilot, all yours."

[Lion]

That soft contact was all Banning required to solidify their understanding, that despite whatever reservations he might have had, they were immediately irrelevant to the fact that being close with her - was all the comfort he would ever need. So soon, so quickly? Banning had chided himself in the past for getting close to another. Always he'd been trying to hide, partition himself to better 'fit' their suited needs.

He could never simply b. Something with Izzy just made it easier. He didn't have to hide a single damn thing. When their noses pressed in gentle friction, her cheshire cat grin eased him further into her. His hands wound their way to the small of her back, fingers playing at the cloth of her shirt.

"Well, thank you, Boss Lady. I look forward to working with you, and coming up with all sorts of amusing ways to prod at you in the future. I'll be a pleasant ache though, I promise, a hammock you can rest on, and stretch out those long beautiful limbs on," he murmured, licking at her lips.

"But I should warn you now, I'm not above unscrupulous behavior. Yeah, I'll totally pay one of your recruits a fistful of credits to nab me some embarrassing photos for me to enjoy later. I swear to dragon's breath that you won't even see it coming. It could be fun.  There are worse things than being made the butt of a joke. But you'd be my favorite one," he curled his long firm fingers even further into her shirt, pulling it up from the hem of her pants.

"You have my word though, I won't over do it. You have enough headaches to deal with," he said. "So got something on your mind, Pilot Noble? You got little aches that could use some kinking out?"

[nephero]

There was something that her mother had always said-- make your calculations if you must, consider your actions as a rule, but never pass up a good thing. At first, Izzy had just taken it as the sort of advice you usually hear: remember to relax and have fun and live once in a while. Now, though, with how dizzyingly swiftly everything had been moving, both good and bad...

Banning was playing at the back of her shirt, and Izzy felt like maybe she understood.

"Ooh, the unscrupulous sort, are we," she cooed, voice dipping low and quiet and full of an edge that was threatening in all the right ways. "Well, I must warn you, we have a very specific method for dealing with troublemakers at Isabel Incorporated..."

Her fingers curled a bit tighter in his hair, and she gave those violet locks the gentlest of tugs, forcing his head back just enough to let her kiss and nip at his chin.

"It'll be a pleasant ache, though," she echoed his words, eyes hooded and grin wicked. "And it'll definitely need some kinking out."

Again, she sank into his veins, lighting up his back in swift, hot lines, mimicking nails for the second time that night and no doubt leaving the skin flushed despite the lack of real physical contact.

"I hope you're ready to overdo it, Dr. Lockhart. I've got a lot on my mind."

[Lion]

Understanding something was one thing. And application of that understanding was quiet another. Banning could have meant many things by playing at the back of her shirt. Clearly the one at the forefront was that he wished her to be more comfortable. To 'let her hair down' so to speak. And nothing needed to be tucked in his apartment.

His home was her home. A generosity that Banning did not easily give.

Whatever hint she took from his tendril-like curiosity, the raking sensation of blood she pulled into his back. The act startled him and he moaned deeply, lurching forward against and his knees half-buckling.  He leaned heavily against her, his head slumped down against her shoulder.  "Damn you!" he hissed, that growl rumbling through his chest.

His back was lit up like a damn holiday tree, and the sting, while certainly throbbing, was pleasant. His feet replanted themselves beside her. "Is that all you've got?" he snarled, leaning in an stealing a hungry bite to her bottom lip.

Banning snorted against her, tilting his head and pressing his nose to her cheek. "For the record, I never claimed to be a sensible man," he chuckled, loving the feel of just having her against him. His heart knocking against his ribcage could surely be felt reverberating from his body into hers, from both want her touch, and the even as everything had happened so quickly, he wouldn't have it any other way.

[nephero]

Is that all you got?

The words went straight to Izzy's core, faster than lightning, helped along by the altogether consuming feel of teeth against her skin. She couldn't help a grin, the gesture broken only by a soft gasp, that falling soon to an amused laugh as Banning snorted against her cheek. She shifted, her arms tightening around his broad shoulders as they fit together. And they did fit together, even awkwardly placed as they were, standing between barstools. They fit together so well, and Izzy buried her face against Banning's throbbing pulse.

Even if she weren't particularly in tune with bloodflow, she was pretty sure she would have still felt it, both his pulse and the way his heart beat against hers, mimicking the insistent rhythm knocking against her own bones. She took a deep breath, catching little whiffs of whatever soap he tended to use, and finding herself suddenly very fond of whatever one that happened to be.

It was a good thing that he wasn't a sensible man, because there was nothing sensible about this. Nothing sensible about feeling pulled out of yourself at the barest physical contact with another person. Nothing sensible at all. Which, of course, Izzy was more than okay with. She turned her head, just enough to scrape a kiss against his throat, giving him a solid bite and chuckling the whole while.

"Record stated, scribed, and cataloged," she hummed, letting her hands slide down over his back, mimicking the path that her psychic influence had followed earlier in soft, feather light touches. A little stick and carrot, or however that went. "Anything else to state for the record?"

She shifted, moved to catch Banning's mouth in a soft kiss. Carrot. Tightened her hold, her nails digging into his shoulders. Stick.

[Lion]

There was something to be said to that pulling of blood Isabel was so damn good at. More so than their own abilities, more than the natural chemistry that throbbed between them like the mutual thrumming inside their chests. His heart rate accelerated, pupils dilated, and the warmth she'd inspired in his belly pooled lower and set his blood practically on fire.

Yeah this was more than her influence. The heat was rising inside of him, and he had to take deep breaths to keep them overwhelming him. Ever present, that threat just underneath the surface of his flesh and coursing in him to give way to a frenzy. He leaned into her kiss, the one on his throat making him tremble like crazy.

So that particular scent she was admiring, made her cling tighter to him, was a mix of natural musk and a ocean breeze scented body wash. An odd mixture that he could only faintly detect between the scent coming off her hair and what pulsated from her body. Banning just let her kiss him, bite him, do whatever the hell she wanted because it was what he too.

And at least this time he wasn't drunk out of his mind to enjoy it.

He felt his nails grow just a little longer, and his chest heaved again, loving the feel of her nails on him.  Idly a hand slipped between them to pry at the buttons of his shirt, to let her have a crack a real skin, and he shrugged out of it, forgetting the beer, forgetting the pizza they brought home.

"No, ma'am. Just that I want to have nights like this all the time. Every time, if that's all well and good with you," he panted, his heart hammering faster and his eyes flashing a brighter semi-glowing hue of lavender, the hunger present there. Lips reached out to pluck hers, tongue tasting her bottom one that he tenderly nipped at yet again.

His back was visibly reddened where her nails bit in, and it was his turn to dig his own into her back, raking upward along the deep ridge of her spine underneath her shirt, shifting them around so that he was leaning against the barstool and pressing her against his hips.

A few experimental grinds, his hips rolling underneath hers. "Is there anything specific I can do for you, Commander? Any particular stress relief you had in mind. Lady's choice," he snickered. Banning was still grinning stupidly, although his teeth were certainly more pointed in that lighting.

[nephero]

"All the time, every time," she repeated, all but purring the words and unable to help an altogether wickedly pleased grin. When she pulled back from his throat to let him shrug out of his shirt, however, there was the barest moment where her breath caught in her throat-- if she had thought Banning's eyes were gorgeous before, it was nothing compared to right then. She couldn't even begin to fathom just why they were like that-- and as of that exact present moment she didn't want to fathom, caught in another kiss and hissing as his nails ran against her back in a returned favor.

'All the time, every time' was starting to look like a very, very good prospect. Especially as the other Pilot brought her hips against his, the friction doing all manner of wonderful things and Isabel utterly captivated. It had to be the lighting-- though she was hard pressed to understand how something like lighting that hadn't changed at all in the past ten minutes could somehow make Banning look so damn feral. Deliciously, wonderfully feral. She shifted, her fingers curling into violet hair and giving it another firm pull, her teeth bared in a grin all her own as she gave a soft bite to his lips in return.

"Now that you mention it..." she pulled back then, just enough to deny him further contact without quite moving away, grey eyes staring down into wild lavender. "Strip. On the couch, sit. And don't you dare move."

Isabel pulled back to let Banning do just that, and rather enjoying the view-- powerful, barely contained, perfectly capable of so very many things, sharp and wild and Gods all Isabel was looking forward to bringing every last bit of him to heel. To hell with testing waters, they'd done plenty of that. Taking a moment to compose herself, it didn't take much to get out of her own clothes, leaving just what she'd picked out especially for that evening-- black lace that was hard pressed to contain much of... well, anything.

She'd have to pick up something red later.

Following the other Pilot to the couch, Isabel leaned in just enough to bring him up into another, far softer kiss, a little bit of tenderness to start, pressing another few to his chin and then his forehead before meeting his gaze.

"No touching, no moving from the couch. Understood?" the command was soft, but a command nonetheless. Her hands moved, from his shoulders to his chest as she settled, working her way to her knees between his own, and nudging them apart a bit to better make room for herself. Gently, the ran her nails over his thighs, though her gaze didn't leave his for an instant, narrowing a bit as she waited his confirmation.

[Lion]

Man, when Izzy gave her orders, she really gave them. Banning growled softly at her trying to tell him what to do. And the part that wanted to do nothing more than obey was in stark contrast to the challenge that set itself up before him. The room couldn't have been more stifling. He felt like he wanted to crawl out of his skin, and leave the husk of his former self behind on the floor.

So that the animal inside could tear into this lovely tantalizing morsel of meat. When she pulled away from him, he growled a little more and he shifted over to the sofa. For a second he considered how easy it would be to simply vault over it and pin her to the floor. She was strong. He was stronger. She was fast. He was faster. And yet, the curiosity remained, and he wanted to know more of what she was up to.  What little games she could play and just how long he could resist biting into that pallid flesh.

 Banning stripped down to the barest of essentials, his body wasting no time in showing they were now a trio instead of a pair. His skin was already flushed, and his chest heaving with each breath, and he did just as he was told, ass planted to that couch. And when she took off her own clothing, his breath audibly hitched.

"Holy rainbow sprinkles," he murmured, eyes dilating again and the slobber that oozed down the side of his mouth. The back of his hand came up and wiped up that drool. Already his nails were getting sharper, growing out at the thought of how easy it would be to tear apart that lace. How it would flutter to the ground like a leaf in the wind.

Don't touch. Don't move from the couch!  Those were her orders.  Banning's eyes widened and then immediately scowled. More at himself than anything. How could she possibly expect him to just sit there and not touch her while she was there in front of him with... - he was mentally flailing his arms around - with all of THAT!? 

"Y-yes Ma'am," he purred out with less confidence than he wanted to project. Another coil of saliva wanted to drool from his mouth. This time it actually fell. Oh gods... 

[nephero]

It looked, for a moment, that Banning wanted to fight her on this. Good. She had hoped that there would be some resistance (in the mildest way possible, of course), something about it being not nearly so much fun if the other person had already been. Hm. Broken in, she supposed was the word.

Izzy liked them wild. And oh, oh, Banning looked wild. They had been excitable before, of course, in their previous engagements with one another. But this was the first time Izzy had seen him look quite like this-- chest heaving and looking so very ready to pounce. Like some great beast that could gobble her up in one bite. She had to admit, the idea was thrilling-- that Banning could very well just ignore everything she said and have his way with her (and she'd have let him, too). But there he was, being so good and obedient despite the evidence of wanting to do anything but.

It certainly deserved a reward. She grinned from where she sat kneeling before the other Pilot, her hands sliding up his thighs, running so terribly close to aching flesh and yet utterly ignoring his need at present. Patience, patience.

She let her influence sink into him, slowly, subtly, just a little bit of warmth that followed where her hands went, and Izzy pressed soft little kisses to the inside of Banning's thigh, seemingly perfectly content to take her time and humming a bit in between each sweet peck.

"Good boy," came the little affirmation following his understanding, and she leaned ever closer, lace brushing against his skin as her kisses climbed ever higher, skirting the sharp v line of his hips until she was all but hovering over the third member of their little party. She let her lips ghost against the underside of him, tongue following suit, a little flickering bit of contact before she pulled it away again. Not that she let him forget the sensation, sinking into his veins and pushing that ache deeper, and all without breaking eye contact for a single moment.

Which, of course, meant that she had caught him drooling. And judging by the wicked delight on her face, she rather enjoyed having that kind of an effect on him. Rather enjoyed it a lot.

"I think you've earned a little reward, hm? Just... let me know if it gets too... intense." Not that she waited for his answer-- because unless the answer was to stop, it really didn't much matter how he did answer. She wrapped her lips around the head of his member in a particularly languid little kiss, before sinking down as far as she was able to genuinely handle. And considering the size of him, that was saying quite a bit.

Her hands settled against his hips, thumbs moving in little circles and applying just enough pressure to make sure he remembered her earlier command and kept himself seated-- though considering the blossoming bits of warmth over his chest and throat, it was fairly obvious that she would keep him right where she wanted him in any regard. The perks, one might suppose, of her particular kinetic talents.

[Lion]

Intense!?  She was warning him in case it got too intense?

Banning actually snorted at that. It was a nice consideration but he had serious doubts that anything could somehow ignore the fire that was currently boiling his blood and burning his vision red. Everything already was standing on end, the hackles on the back of his neck, the hair on his arms, the hair on his legs, everything already was even more sensitive than usual.

No small ounce of challenge glowed in Banning's lavender gaze when she refused to break that eye-contact. Her own gaze was intense, and made his breathing hitch yet again. Because holy shit...she was about to make him eat that snort.

Or something something, put his money where his mouth was.

Because the whimper that came out of him caused him to clap a hand over his mouth. A motion to which Banning immediately regretted, because it didn't stop there. The moment she made contact with the underside of his dick, the intensity she meant was clearly present, and his member twitched for want of more contact, anything. He cleaned the drool from his mouth and forced his hands to grip into the couch cushion underneath him, nails digging into and puncturing the fabric.

"Mmmmm," he hummed, unable to say the word mercy. Part of it was physical, but part of it was sheer stubbornness. Any mercy she had, he wanted none of it, and his moans only grew louder, leaning his head back against the couch, trying to stifle another moan and failing. The little play she did with his blood intensifying the sensation tenfold, and the crawling it did through his veins pooled that warmth in his lower belly and he was so hard he thought he could burst then and there.

Don't move, he chided himself. Don't touch.  He couldn't not touch her. Tilting his head forward just enough, he peered down at her with a hooded gaze, a thin sheen of sweat beading on his forehead. The lavender practically glowed in that lighting as he watched her move, taking in what she could, and his nails dug in deeper into the cushions, tearing through the upholstery and bringing up the fluff inside it. 

Getting a new couch was secondary in a moment like this, however.

[nephero]

If Isabel's mouth hadn't been presently occupied, she might have smirked. She was even willing for forgive the movement of Banning's hand to his mouth, because that whimper had been absolutely divine. Distantly, she heard the soft punk-punk of fabric being punctured, but that didn't immediately register in her mind--

She was far, far too busy watching Banning fight himself, because that was a sight all on its own. The way he leaned back, the way he forced his mouth shut to keep noise from escaping, the way all that effort did absolutely nothing to stifle his moans. Izzy wrapped her hand around the base of his cock, and slid back up, pressing a soft and nigh-coquettish kiss to the head.

No longer buried in his lap, however, Izzy was able to see where Banning's hands gripped the couch, and there was a very real pause to her movements as she saw the sheer level of... well, damage that had been done to the upholstery. It was like some animal had gotten in and had a fit, and she shot her gaze upwards to meet that glowing lavender, one eyebrow quirked upwards and the corner of her mouth pulled up in a long-overdue smirk.

"Someone's excited," she cooed, tongue darting out to run along the underside of his dick a second time, suckling here and there and moving up the length of him as she did. Casual comment aside, it was hard to ignore just how easily Banning had done a number on the couch, and with nothing but his hands. All that from getting enthusiastic-- distantly, Izzy's own words came back to haunt her.

You ever get a little too enthusiastic and make a mess? She almost snorted-- if only she had known just how true that sentiment was. Still, it was pretty tempting to see just how enthusiastic Banning could get. How much of a mess they could make. The couch already needed repair, after all, why not have fun with it?

All but grinning in delight at the thought, Izzy worked her way up over the head again, and slid down, her hand moving up the base to meet the movements of her mouth. And, as if the sensation alone wasn't enough, as if the fact that she still had a hold of his circulatory system wasn't enough, as if the entire build up over dinner leading up to this moment hadn't been enough--

She hummed around Banning, and as she did her mental walls faded just enough, wave after wave of soft little aching thoughts leaking out between them, all to the tune of desperate phantom gasps of the Pilot Royal's name.

And just as suddenly as it had started, it was gone, Izzy sitting back on her heels and looking altogether too pleased with herself. She moved, climbing back up onto the couch, straddling the other Pilot's legs and pressing her hands to his chest to keep him right where he was.

"Can't have you making a mess just yet, now can we? Not without returning the favor..." Her fingers carded through Banning's hair, a little display of affection followed by a soft peck to his brow. And then, far softer in tone than anything else: "...Yeah?"

[Lion]

He fought every urge to disobey, and his nails digging into the fabric of that couch cushion was just part of it. If they weren't dug so deeply, and the fact that she was making every inch of him melt into a helpless puddle, they would be buried in her hair, tugging her head forward, his hips shifting so that she could swallow him as deeply as she could. Objectively, as much as she was pleasing him, there wasn't any doubt who was in control here.

Banning's breathing quickened, and he bit down hard on his lip. He supposed he wasn't the only one with a tongue that talented. Lavender eyes were watching that wicked look she gave him, that cat that caught her mouse, and he very much felt like prey in that moment. A sensation very much like lava was renewed, flushing through his veins as his belly continued to warm up and his moans only deepened.

She had him right where she wanted him, and could think of no where else he would rather be. And yet that challenge in her eyes made him want to resist submission in every way. The ball was just in her field this point in play. Er...balls.  Heh.

He couldn't keep his seat, not when her tongue caught him the underside of him, hips did shoot upward, and his whole back arched deeper into the couch. "Isabel!" was all he purr out, closing his eyes to still the dizziness that threatened to take him. A grumbled plea of her name again, his body trembling when she hummed around him. It just kept compounding and compounding.

The moment he could feel her thoughts, really feel them, his eyes opened again and he had every intention of reaching out, clawing at her back, ripping that lace right off her, and wiping that smug grin on her face. His ass somehow managed to move, sliding forward and nearly off the couch. Did she tell him not to move so that she could kinetically pull him forward?

"Iz! I..." was a last ditch plea.  "Wh...uh?""

He was panting so damn hard, his heart about to burst right out of his chest when she just crawled onto his lap, like nothing at all, looking smug still. Damn her! Banning couldn't speak, having to collect his thoughts for a moment. A long moment. She was saying words, speaking Common. But nothing was making sense.  When his brain fought its way through the haze, he blinked to her.

"Y-yeah," he stuttered.  The fog cleared further now, eyes flashing again, and he pressed his forehead to hers. "Yeah, I didn't like this couch anyway."  A heated kiss, and Banning whimpered when he tasted himself on her tongue, slipped hands into her panties, along the thin strips of fabric on her hips. Take them off carefully ooor? Nah.

Riiip.  Huh. The sound wasn't nearly as loud as he wanted it to be, but all the same, he ripped that delicate fabric. She didn't need them anyway, prying them off her roughly and letting that black lace drift to the floor.  No direction spoken other than what he coaxed her into. Banning shifted backwards, dragging his mouth from her face to her belly and pushed her upward, to straddle him, and beneath her he crawled, wriggling his back until he planted firmly underneath her.

The view from below wasn't bad. Not in the least.Banning smiled up at her, a wolfish unsettling grin. Lips kissed at the muscle and bones of her hips, dragging along the edges of those firm lines until, where the scent of her was closest to overwhelming. He was salivating again, grunting until he made himself comfortable in his new found position.

He didn't ask for permission. She was still in control after all. And he was just returning the favor, even if the morsel above him was all he wanted to dig into. The first slab of meat on the menu was of course her inner thighs, first the right and left, sucking on that pallid flesh until he left red welts and soothing it over with a swipe of his tongue. "Good? But, you want something a little more intimate," he purred against her legs. "I think I can manage that."

Banning leered up at her, leaning his head up into the soft curls of hair, and lapping at her clit, watching her, a predator to prey.

[nephero]

It was a good thing that she wasn't too terribly overfond of those panties. There was some pressure, the tug of fingers hooking against the waistband, and then-- the sound of ripping lace. It was soft, quiet, easy to miss, but the sudden sensation of being perfectly exposed wasn't.

Izzy looked to the side just in time to see the shredded remains of her panties hit the floor, and was almost about to protest when Banning moved them around on the couch and-- oh. Oh, oh, maybe she could forgive him this one time. Her heart skipped a beat-- or twenty-- as he grinned up at her, and the ache between her legs returned a thousandfold as he just barely skirted by where she really wanted him to be running his mouth.

One hand on the back of the couch, and the other settling in Banning's hair, Isabel fought to keep her breath under control as Banning left mark after mark against her thighs, each little flare of pain and heat compounding with the growing ache in her belly to where she was nearly squirming for some proper contact. Which Banning seemed all too eager to give her, even if he was being a snarky bastard about it.

Izzy's mouth twitched into a cheshire smile. It was okay. She liked snarky, and so she licked her lips, shifting just a bit to better position herself above him, rubbing at his scalp as his tongue finally, blissfully moved against her. White hot need shot through her, setting her nerves on fire, and she couldn't help but move her hips against that wonderful tongue. The way he was staring at her certainly didn't help matters, some unspoken part of her understanding that this was not just some sweet little puppy dog she was teaching to heel but a genuine beast barely leashed.

And gods all she was loving every minute of that.

"That's it... just like that~," she breathed, her own nails digging into the couch back and scraping against the fabric there. She wasn't anywhere close to doing the same damage to it as Banning had done, but it certainly didn't stop her from trying, especially when he moved his tongue against her clit just so, her toes curling tight as heat built further. "You like this...? Being my good boy~."

Izzy moved to settle both her hands against Banning's scalp, running through those gorgeous locks and pressing against his skin, just enough to get a little bit of contact, to sink back into him and tease along his veins, working little flares of heat and blood flow back down his chest and belly and along his recently-neglected cock. A little reward for good behavior, the thought alone setting a fierce blush against Isabel's skin.

[Lion]

The request had been a simple one. For him to 'return the favor,' as she put it. Those were rather choice words, and it had been a rather choice position for him to be juuuust so underneath her. What might have been considered an act of submission was a rather unique opportunity for one Banning Lockhart.

It wasn't the first time they were like this and heaven's knew it sure as shit wouldn't be the last. Because even as he reached out to taste her, slowly and with very little necessary effort, Banning kept his focus on her responses to everything. The commander, the brave Pilot Noble. Rank aside, few people would have the opportunity to appreciate Isabel Kiers in a view just like this one.

His eyes dilated and he hummed in closer when she carded her fingers into his hair, his tasting moving in time with each undulation of her hips. She was enjoying this far too much. Banning rumbled a soft growl, flicking his tongue against her slowly, breathing out a heated exhalation, letting it splay across her. Lavender eyes caught her expression, between the mounds of her breasts that were still awfully covered by black lace.

Black lace that he decided was very much in the way. If she could forgive him once, she could forgive him again.

"I like you...like this," he purred, humming again and keeping his ministrations slow and methodical. "On top. On bottom. Screaming to the stars. That's what I like." One hand remained hooked around her thigh and another crawled up her side, nails reaching behind her and leaving red trails on her pallid skin. Just beneath her shoulder blades that delicate strap, that was soon gone too, yanked a bit roughly with another soft shredding sound of fabric, and he pulled it off her, stopping long enough to watch her expression.

"That blush is rather becoming on you, dollface." The predatory heat was rising inside him, his chest heaving in another heavy breath, trying to steady himself from coming just then. "Against that wild black hair..."

He sucked in a sharp breath and in a quick roll, he held his arm at her thigh securely, lifted her up and flipped her over, planting her firmly on her back. Somewhere in the flip, a couch cushion fell to the floor, and it was there that he secured her, balancing on his knees and keeping his head properly placed between her legs.

"Oops, my bad. Lemme make it up to you," he practically growled and now with the opportunity presented in front of him, Banning didn't bother holding back. Those slow methodical motions became all the more enthused, running his tongue all along her folds and ending with flicks at her clit. He kissed at her inner thigh in between, leaving trails and marks, and his hand slipping from her hip to her ass, encouraging her to push against him. To cling to his hair, to claw at his shoulders, to dig into him with all she had.

Her reward certainly did not go unappreciated, and all the tension she'd built in his chest certainly couldn't go unanswered. His other hand wrapped around his cock, gripping it firmly and rolling his thumb along the tip, pumping as he went. Thoughts of being inside her, over her, under her, twisted in ways that betrayed human physiology, were pressed into her mind, causing Banning only moaned loudly against that heat he hungered for.

"What's the matter?" The goading words teased and he paused only briefly enough to catch a glimpse of her face. "Cat got your tongue? Isabel..."

[nephero]

She was losing ground. How was she losing ground?

Even with Banning beneath her like he was, it was clear that it was less and less one Isabel Kiers calling the shots. So enraptured by what he was saying, how hot his breath felt against her folds, each flick of the tongue between his words maddening unto themselves-- Izzy didn't notice how far up that clawing hand had gone until there was another short tug, and suddenly there went the shredded remains of her bra.

Clothed in nothing but the red lines he left on her skin, Izzy's breath hitched in her throat, and she was caught between a long moan and a gasping sort of laugh. She wasn't losing ground. She'd lost it a long time ago, and she'd lost it bad. They rolled together, Banning's arm around her thigh and the sudden sensation of couch fabric against her back. The Pilot Royal growled something, but it was less the words and more the tone she heard, Izzy shivering beneath that intense stare and with every movement of his lips against her own.

On top. On bottom. Missing just one final element, and with every passing moment, Izzy felt her control slip more and more. And what was wrong with that? What was wrong with losing this particular ground? Unable to supply herself with a satisfactory answer, Izzy simply... gave in. One hand gripped at Banning's hair, the other sank her nails into his shoulders, all in some misguided attempt to keep herself anchored to the world. Or, at least, the couch. She rolled her hips up even as she pulled down, desperate for more of him, for more of those rough swipes of his tongue.

And like that he was in her head, cool as you please, every last little thought of them caught up in one another sending shocks of desire along overworked nerve endings. On her back, in his lap, over the armrest, on her knees-- Her thighs twitched with every thought, everything tightened for a hot moment, leaving her shaken only to start right up again. She was close, so close, but oh she wanted far more than that tongue, and Isabel was far beyond the point of caring how she got it.

"Banning!" in some other life she might've been embarrassed of how she sounded, high and loud and desperate. Dark hair clung to her brow, stuck against pale skin, and every breath was a quick gasp and echoing moan, "Please, please...! Just-- fucking-- fuck me!"

Was she even clawing at him anymore? Or was that the couch? Yeah, that thing was going to need replacing. If not for the tears in the cushions then certainly for the mess she was making of the fabric.

[Lion]

That sound. What was that sound?!  A noise he'd only heard her make once before. Okay, definitely more than once, but the very vibration of it made every hackle on Banning's neck stand on end. He loved that sound, and somehow relished in it even more now than he did previously. That primal hunger caught onto it, that vocalization of prey.

That courtesy of giving up control had been because it was Izzy and no one else. He lost nothing by rolling with her, holding her close, devouring her until she was shaking with that coiling heat he wanted only to foster. Banning was relentless, tasting her until she was practically about to snap. Little nibbles here and there, even biting the soft flesh at the inside of her thighs.

She was begging and mewling and the look on her face was practically making him salivate against her. Banning couldn't take it anymore either. And after the first few tugs on his cock, he wanted only to obey that one command. She was his, he'd put his mark on her. Anyone else, he'd fight tooth and nail if they wanted to contest that claim.

Banning crawled back over her, sealing her lips in a heated moaning kiss. "Gods Isabel," he panted, breath hot and heavy, chest heaving, and settled his hips between hers. It didn't take much to find his way inside, there was very little in the way of resistance.  His movement was painfully slow for the both of them, until his thrusts came rolling forward, rolling deep.

"You're mine," he growled. Another searing kiss and he slipped his arms underneath her in a display of that possession. Wasn't the first time he got more than a little riled up before a rut, and it probably wouldn't be the last. His arms winding their way underneath her shoulders, gripping the side of that couch for momentum, thrusting with increased force. Even so, they were mindful of the power of which he gripped her. It was just enough, a taste of what he was capable of, not quite crushing, but to press her too him.

"Tell me I'm yours," he panted, burying his face into the crook of her neck, relishing in that racing pulse.

[nephero]

If she could have, Isabel would have chosen to stay exactly like this for the rest of her days. Arms wrapped around Banning's shoulders, fingers tangled in his hair, drawing him down for kiss after needy kiss.

Izzy let her knees fall apart, making room for Banning between them, ankles up and hooked behind his back. The anticipation was agony, every part of her aching to feel his cock pressed to her. And then he was there, and Izzy let out a long moan against his chin, hips lifting off the couch to get him better seated inside her.

Banning shifted, rolled his hips against her, and Isabel couldn't help another mewl, white hot sparks singing along every nerve ending and making her toes curl.

You're mine.

Oh, but if those words didn't do amazing things to her; every muscle tightened, her thighs drawing Banning ever closer as their mouths met in a desperate rush, Izzy pulling his lip between her teeth and sucking hard. She arched her back, allowing the other Pilot to better get his arms beneath them.

Izzy turned her head, mouth open and panting against the crook of his neck and shoulder, biting down with every powerful thrust.

“Ah--!” Her grip on him tightened, leg muscles working to lift her up and against Banning's hips, matching every roll with one of her own until she was seeing stars, “Mine-- you're mine, all mine.”

That little display, the taste of what Banning was capable of, his mouth against her pulse and oh gods she could feel those sharp teeth, those sharp nails, her pulse running hot and hard in her neck and around his cock.

The squadron commander shifted, sliding her hands down to Banning's back, feeling every muscle move beneath her fingers even as she raked her nails against his skin, leaving hot welts to more thoroughly stake her claim.

“Banning--!”