Royal Icing [accidentally M][Lion!]

[nephero]

              ---Messaging [Pilot Chat 9000 - Peasants GTFO] open connection ---
              Kielar: anyways good night! Banning help yourself to more sandieches.
              Izzy: @Banning I've got your cake right here. And it is delicious.
              Banning: I'm coming over! Give me that cake!
              Kielar: have fun Banning lol
              Kielar: now where is my blankets fir the couch....
              Seiteki: Is that a codeword.
              Seiteki: That's a codeword.
              Kielar: no XD i just want to go to bed but cant find my blankets
              Gerard: Told you he was going to have his cake and eat her too.
              ---Connection to [Pilot Chat 9000 - Peasants GTFO] closed---

The timer buzzed, loudly, and Izzy sat up from her reclining position on her couch. She set her tablet onto the coffee table beside her, and stood, padding quietly into the kitchen and pressing the timer's off switch to get it to stop yelling for attention. She pulled the oven door open, and breathed in; bubbling cheese mixed with cayenne and chicken and green chilis, pulling the whole casserole together and leaving her mouth watering. It wasn't the cake she had promised Banning-- that was on the counter, iced and coated with spiraling purple frosted flowers. It had been an experiment to test her skills with pastry bags, and the experiment had been satisfactory enough to share with another person.

Well, that, and Banning had been barking about cake for a while now, and Izzy had finally had a spare moment within which to actually attempt such a thing. It had been so chaotic lately; new recruits, food poisoning, keeping Lilo from openly tormenting Rodion to the point of invoking murder, her twin brother's absolute garbage fire of a love life...

It was nice to get some time to herself. She was even outside of her near-constantly worn uniform for once, favoring thick leggings and a loose tank top and enjoying the feel of cold tile beneath bare feet. She didn't get to relax often; more to the point being that she didn't allow herself to relax often, so these few moments were extra enjoyable.

Izzy pulled the casserole dish from the oven, and set it atop the stove to cool down from molten temperatures. This gave her plenty of time to pour herself a glass of wine, sipping at the deep red fluid as she switched off the oven.

It was only well into her second glass that Izzy wondered if Banning even knew where she lived. Not that it would be difficult to find out, but still, she figured it might behoove her to go and find her phone again, setting the ringer as loud as it could go so she'd be able to hear it from any point in her apartments.

Where was she? Oh, right. Wine. And food. Mm-mm, enchilada lasagna, just like mom used to make.

[Lion]

Banning didn’t waste any time. When he said he was coming over for cake, he was coming over for cake. He wasn’t going to let something like buttery, creamy, cakey goodness slip through his fingers. He really hoped it was lava cake. Or maybe it was some kind of a bundt cake. Hell, he wouldn’t give two shits if it was chocolate covered cheesecake.

“I have your cake right here,” she’d said. “And it’s delicious,” she’d said. Free cake? Yeah as if there was any way in all of Aedolis that he was going to pass that up.

He wasn’t that picky when it came to sweets, but if there was something delicious to be had somewhere, he wanted it. The hunger was always there, a constant gnawing nagging need, that needed to be sated regularly and if it wasn’t incidents like the butcher shop could happen again. Ohhh, a terrible thing to think of at a time like this.

Her apartment wasn’t difficult to find. He’d thrown on that leather jumper with band patches and stuffed his boots on and he was out the door. Banning was never the sort to wear his uniform if he didn’t have to. That and jeans and t-shirts were so much easier to wash. So when he reached her door, he combed fingers through the lose ends of his hair and scratched at the shadowed beard on his face. Oh god, he was scratching like a drug addict. Ugh.

The back of his knuckles struck the metal door and he tilted his head as if he could see through the peephole himself. “Heyo, neighbor. Good god…what is that smell? That is definitely not cocoa butter…”  And he grinned sneakily, giving her a sidelong gaze. The truth was, he could smell what she was baking all the way down the hallway – a little courtesy of his lycanthropic condition – so it was a little easier to hone in on where she lived. That something was burning. But he wasn’t going to tell her that.

[nephero]

"Oh? Been sniffing at your own asshole again? I keep telling you how unsanitary that is." Izzy cooed from the other side of the door. She thumbed the controls with a grin, and the door slid open to admit Banning into her abode. "People get ebola doing that, Banning. Do you want ebola?"

Chuckling to herself, she turned to head back towards the kitchen, beckoning with one finger for the Pilot Royal to follow. She pointed at the small table set to one side of the kitchen, a short, silent command for the other to sit while she pulled plates out from one cupboard and set one on either side of the table.

"That smell," she said after setting down napkins and forks, grey eyes flicking up to consider the Pilot Royal's every move, "is my dinner. And since I can logically expect you to mention something crass about ebola and asscracks, let me jump right to the part where I say you're not allowed to have any because you're a rude little man."

Not that she'd actually deny anyone food, and the gentle upward curve of her lips said as much, but it was still fun to tease. It was always fun to tease.

She retrieved the covered cake dish from the countertop then, and brought it over to the table, setting it in the center before removing the cover with no shortage of relish.

She had every tight to be proud; the cake was in several fluffy white layers, kept together by blackberry icing and dusted with powdered sugar. A network of icing flowers climbed up the sides, curling into a spiral on the very top and surrounding a small pile of juicy oozing blackberries. Ah yes, her magnum opus, the creme de la creme-- or at least until she tried something else and was equally proud of it.

"All yours. Dig in." she said with a wink, setting down a large knife beside the cake dish.

[Lion]

Literally the worst host to guest greeting he'd ever heard of. Ever.

As much as Banning expected it, it was hard to hold in that laugh and he snorted as he entered into her not so humble abode. The smells, for that gracious second, was remarkably overwhelming. Banning could have gotten dizzy and passed out by the scent of cocoa butter, food, and cake. Because aside from the cake, which was the lode stone that guided him here, the smell of real food immediately made excess saliva pool inside his bottom lip.

He forced it down, audibly gulping as he made his way toward the table. "Well you'd be wrong. Because I'm an excellent guest, and this is your home. If I wanted to be an asshole, I would let that perfectly good cake go to waste, and you'd be dining alone. Hm, which is probably how you planned  your evening to be anyway."  He shrugged.

Too late to leave now, he'd already made himself comfortable sitting at that table.  Of course if she denied him the cake, he'd be forced to take it. He just grinned at her, however, looking between her grey eyes and the cake and when he saw the presentation at last his eyes visibly flickered. "Goddamn, girl. That's remarkable. It almost too good to eat." Of course that's just what he came here to do.

Banning didn't want to cut it, so he simply ignored the knife that Izzy left him and instead he took an index finger and scraped it against the icing. That sliver ended up in his mouth and he savored that flavor that expanded on his tongue. Each sense opened up and he moaned. Yes, this deserved a much better appreciation than simply tearing into it.  He stood up, removed his jacket, slinging it over the chair's backing and made himself more comfortable.

"Well, Izyy, I have to say. You outdid yourself. I haven't even eaten it and I'm impressed," he said, looking between her and her casserole. "I know you made it and all. But it wouldn't do for me to eat this whole thing by myself. After all your hard work. So how about letting me try those enchiladas too? Half and half?" He winked back at her and took another taste of the icing.

[nephero]

"I think I recall someone once saying something about best laid plans and going awry," Izzy commented, one corner of her mouth curved upwards in a little smirk, "Something, something, mice and men."

She blinked as Banning completely forwent the knife and instead scooped up a fingerful of icing. It was his cake after all, but it was certainly not what she had been expecting, and she gave a soft little laugh. Banning had a remarkable habit of doing what she hadn't been expecting, and she found it was not at all unpleasant.

Still shaking her head in amusement, Izzy went to retrieve a couple bowls, and scooped sizeable amounts of the casserole into each of them. One she set in front of Banning, and the other she placed on her own side of the table, sticking a fork into both afterwards.

"Half and half, it is. It'll certainly cut down on leftovers, something for which the limited space of my fridge will be infinitely grateful." She winked at the Pilot Royal, before going to retrieve her wine glass.

This was remarkably pleasant. Izzy was used to eating alone, except for the rare occassions that her brother decided he didn't feel like cooking, and honestly she had never been bothered by the peace and quiet. She hadn't expected to get a dinner guest out of this evening, but yet again Banning had thrown a spanner into her expectations and she really could not complain one bit.

"It's spicy," she warned about the casserole, "what did you want to drink? Blood of your enemies? Diet blood of your enemies?"

[Lion]

"Ha! Good thing I brought my appetite," he chuckled. Hell, if he wasn't careful he might eat her out of house and home. And that, now that was jus down right rude.

Half-and-half seemed like a fair enough bargain to him. Cutting down on leftovers was just an added bonus, Banning grinned when that scoop of casserole was served into a bowl and set down in front of him. His stomach growled loudly, and that grin faded fast. "A little overeager, aren't we, stomach?" he thought a little too loudly. Whoops. That wasn't difficult to pick up on, given his presence and the drool that was figuratively leaking from the corner of his mouth.

He was glad he came hungry though. "Spicy, huh? I wouldn't have it any other way," he chuckled and scooted his chair in. Swallowing another wad of spit, he laughed, even a bit nervously, eyes flicking to her. She was definitely dressed down. Unlike how he'd seen her on any other occason, yet it was refreshing and he definitely wasn't complaining, enjoying the sight of muscle playing underneath skin.

Hm, dinner and a show.

Banning averted further thoughts about cocoa butter, face licking, and icing, as he took a forkful of that casserole into his mouth and immediately coughed. Did she marinate this thing in tabasco sauce!? Banning laughed and forced himself to swallow down the bite. "Once you get over the initial gasoline-like flavor, it's actually really good,." And now that his tongue was on fire, he'd need something to put it out. "I'll get it, you've already served me cake and food!"

Banning stood up and reached for an empty glass, taking the open wine bottle and pouring himself a goblet's worth. He guzzled down that cherry-acid and quickly refilled it. Setting down the bottle on the table, he took his seat and had his glass part way to his seat, and caught a glimpse of cleavage. Oh right, she had that. And the sip never made it to his lips and ended it up on his shirt..

"Aw shit!" he growled, "I just washed this goddamn shirt!"

[nephero]

Well, well, well. Izzy always liked a man with a healthy appetite, though she had to stifle a laugh at just how loudly Banning had chastised his own stomach. That was always the trouble with their sort-- even thinking things too eagerly posed a risk all its own. Though Izzy certainly didn't mind whatsoever, rather thankful that she had overloaded on serving size for this particular dish. She had a feeling that once the initial burn of pepper wore off, seconds would be necessary.

Her eyes narrowed a bit as she took a bite of her own, seemingly perfectly unaffected by the heat, though she did take a much larger swig of wine afterwards. Still, her mouth was curved upwards in that same predatory smile, and it only widened as Banning up and spilled wine all down his front.

"Wow, Banning, was it really that hot?" she cooed, plucking up several napkins and handing them off to the Pilot Royal. Not that it would do much for the inevitable stain, which would be unfortunate, but at least the man wouldn't be soaked in wine. ...Though that there was a thought all its own, one that Izzy was very, very careful to keep under lock and key. She should probably go and get a different shirt for the Pilot Royal. One of her old ATC training shirts might be large enough. Thank goodness she wasn't a dainty girl in any sense of the word, because the thought of Banning in what equated to a belly shirt was entirely too much. She'd never be able to look him in the eye again.

"Here, let's get something on that before it sets."

[Lion]

Ugh, of course he had to stain his favorite goddamned shirt with goddamned wine in the middle of goddamn dinner. Banning was mentally kicking himself. He wasn't normally that uncoordinated, or distracted from something as amazing as good food. He had to physically be on fire to turn away from a proper meal. Banning supposed that after the face licking, good first impressions were in short supply.

At her offer, Banning loudly released a sign of relief. "Yeah, thanks for that. I'm not normally uncoordinated," and he carefully omitted the part about staring at her chest. Banning stood and pushed his chair in. "Thanks, Iz."

The shirt itself was fitted enough against him so he was forced to squirm out of it, yanking his arms in through the holes and pulling it up and over his head. "Brrf, a little chilly in here," he murmured and rubbed his hands against his chest, trying poorly to hide his hardened nipples. "Did you turn the AC down before I got in?" he teased, lips curled in a playful smirk.

"What lifts wine stains again?"

[nephero]

It's a fact universally acknowledged that once you lick a person's face in a crowded bar, there is absolutely no way you will ever be able to interact with them with any kind of real dignity. Cosmic law being what it is, it's simply physically impossible.

It was also physically impossible for Izzy's ears to get any redder than they already were; such was the curse of having skin as pale as she did, she blushed terribly easily. Luckily, the rest of her seemed to be in some kind of control, and so she was able to take Banning's shirt and toss it into the kitchen sink with all the casualness of someone who was around strapping half-naked men all day. Super casual. The most casual.

"Salt," she said, not really trusting herself to turn back and look at Banning right that very moment, and upended a container of table salt into the sink and directly onto the stain. When there was a considerable layer of it on the shirt, and she finally got her blush under control, she turned back to the Pilot Royal, one dark eyebrow quirked in amusement.

"And of course I turned down the AC. You have to do something when you're going to be guzzling down an entire field of peppers, don't you understand how science works?" The Pilot Noble bared her teeth in a quick grin, before sauntering off to her bedroom to find that shirt... and hopefully get her drool reflex under control.

She tossed the old training shirt at Banning upon her return, almost regretting the fact that this, naturally, meant that he'd be putting it on. Almost. A good gulp from her own wine glass helped a bit.

[Lion]

It was a fact that Banning could comes to terms with. Public face-licking was not a common past time for most. Banning had just been in a drunk place at an even drunker time.

He wasn't going to pretend he didn't notice her ears. Odd. Was it the chili peppers making them all red? That casserole hadn't even been finished yet and it looked like steam was about to whistle out of her ears. Banning stood beside her, the somewhat faded tattoos of metal and hardcore punk bands and their album art littering across his lower and upper back, just over the pinstriped designs and interrupted here and there by scars from both combat and training.

"Well, I don't normally stain my clothes, to be honest," he chuckled next her, watching her rub salt in that Rattled Brainz t-shirt. Hmm, maybe favorite shirt was a bit too presumptuous. He'd only ever been to one of their shows, and that shirt was probably more useful as a dishrag.

When she got that t-shirt, he noticed her ears weren't so red. Hm, maybe it wasn't the chili peppers after all. "Thanks," he murmured, winking at her and throwing that shirt over his head and slipping his arms inside. It...was a little tighter than he anticipated. Although she was no means a small woman, the shirt was snug but it was clean and he could still breathe mostly.

Banning eyed her demeanor and titled his head. Oh, no it definitely wasn't the peppers. Should he be presumptuous and assume that he had anything to do with her sudden rise in temperature? Banning was a little amused and when she was looking his direction, he flexed his pecks a little as he stalked around the table to where he was sitting before.

"So let's get back to guzzling down that field of peppers. Because, that casserole's destiny is to get inside my stomach," he said and took a large mouthful. Now that he knew what he was getting into, it was much easier to mitigate the scorched earth that had become his tongue with a swish of wine between his teeth. OOoooh that was good.  Real food for once, instead of the cold bologna sandwiches he'd been feasting on for the past few days.  Coffee and energy bars too, but that didn't really count. No meat.

"Izzy, Izzy!  How!  How do you do it? What's your secret? Because I was under the impression that if I ate anything you made I'd get food poisoning," he said, laughing between bites. "This is just fucking delicious."

[nephero]

"Oh, really? You never get too enthusiastic and make a mess? How fastidious." As Banning pulled the shirt over his head, she took the opportunity to enjoy the view before it was covered up again. The tattoos were glorious, even if she didn't know all the references therein, but that hardly mattered when the overall view was this enticing. Even the scars added to it in their own little way-- the visual representation of a life lived.

She had almost gotten herself under enough control to look Banning in the face again when the awful bastard had actually flexed at her. Her eyes glazed over for the half of a moment it took to tap into her hemokinetic talents and force her face to remain its normal shade versus bright berry red. Her shirt was doing absolutely no favors; it was tight enough that she could still see every movement in every bit of that considerable musculature.

No. Down girl.

Perfectly poised, Pilot Noble Kiers returned to her seat, taking up her own fork. She did, however, allow a very pleased smile to take over at the flurry of compliments-- at least, until there was mention of food poisoning.

Her mouth curved downwards in an annoyed scowl, and her grip on her wine glass tightened by a considerable amount.

"If you let it fester in questionable conditions for three weeks solid, and then decide to eat it, then yes, I suppose my cooking would give you food poisoning. But that also implies you've zero consideration for basic food safety, and thus the onus would be on you." She swore she would never hear the end of the "green bean incident"; even Chance had yet to let up on it, and that was following several not-so-gentle sparring matches.

"But thank you," she said, finally, after another bite of food, "I'm glad you like it. If you'd like, I can always wrap up some for you to take home."

[Lion]

Of course he had the potential to become too enthusiastic and make a mess. That's generally how things ended. The butcher shop, came to mind, among other things. He wasn't going to let her in on that though, and he was careful not to think that as he took another spoonful of the casserole between his lips.

Banning was very careful not to let the flavor of it overwhelm his senses, and he let it linger on his tongue, closing his eyes to appreciate every individual taste of it. There was still the somewhat gasoline like burning it left behind, but he quickly became accustomed to it, and he swallowed it. Really, she outdid herself.

"It's important to remember that nobody died from it. And you've immediately redeemed yourself with this dish. Not that you really had anything to worry about, Iz," he grinned wryly at her, eyes flicking over her form again, and staring at her gray eyes with a lingering gaze, and a hint of a pointed canine that his tongue flicked up to claim a piece of that chicken that tried to free itself from the confines of his mouth.

"I don't think I've ever let - or would ever - let food fester for that long without eating it. In fact, right after dinner with you I really should go grocery shopping," he chuckled. "I've been eating cold cuts for almost a week. And you've just saved my night."  His visage truly was one of gratitude and it showed when he reached across to squeeze her forearm. "And I will take that to-go plate, y'know when it's time to go. Because if that was you trying to kick me out - laaaaame."

Another sip of wine, he finished the bowl and Banning let the flavor explode in his senses this time. "Hmmmm, if this food were a person, I'd get naked and make love to it." He licked his lips and tilted his head lazily at her, his spoon idly digging into the cake and taking a scoop of it as opposed to it a slice. "So you were gonna eat all by your lonesome? Seems like a daunting task, even for someone like yourself. It's a good thing I came. Here. Arrived, I mean. Never attempt to eat a cake by yourself. It's kinda like hard drinking. Rock bottom, and ruins an otherwise lovely figure."

[nephero]

"Cold cuts?" Izzy asked, looking for all the world like Banning just tried to proposition her grandmother for something involving fish heads, "For a week? My God, Banning, have some self respect."

She grinned at the other Pilot, and it only widened when he touched her arm. She made a huge show of patting Banning's hand with her free one, tut-tutting while shaking her head, like she were a doctor looking over a terminal case.

"I'd much rather you take a to-go plate than eat... whatever processed monstrosity that's been sustaining you these past several days. And if I ever find out that you've done that again, I'm just going to start showing up at your door with care packages."

She attempted to take another bite of her dinner, but choked immediately, because of course Banning took that precise opportunity to espouse the desire to fornicate with the anthropomorphized version of her casserole. She turned to cough into the crook of her elbow, shoulders shaking in between with half-choked laughter. That had been a vividmental image. Very vivid. Very, very vivid considering she had very recently been privy to normally-covered pieces of anatomy. Tattooed pieces.

Eventually, she managed to stop making a fool of herself, taking a final swig of wine and humming a bit as Banning asked after the wisdom in attempting to eat an entire cake by oneself.

"What can I say? I have a very healthy appetite," she quipped, her eyebrow shooting upwards at his Freudian slip and some malicious part of her deciding it was too good an opportunity to pass up, "and I always burn it right off. Strenuous activities and whatnot."

Which was true; hemokinetic amplification had a nasty tendency to expend a considerable amount of energy, and took an entire metabolism with it. Didn't mean she couldn't heavily imply otherwise. She reached across the table then, scooped up a bit of untouched icing with her finger, and took a great measure of joy in licking it right off. Damn, but that was good. She'd have to make this cake again. 

[Lion]

Banning's free hand pulled at the collar of that tight ATC training shirt, to let some of the air and alleviate the beads of sweat that were forming just at the base of his throat. The chili peppers, which his stomach was probably going to pay for later, were so worth it. Few Pilots these days bothered with real life skills. It was easier to hire someone to do everything else for you, or spank an ass to do it for you.

It wasn't that Banning didn't know how to cook. He just was generally too lazy to do it. So at her offer of making care packages, he chuckled and almost jerked in his chair at the offer. Because, gods yes! - for one, and for seconds, well there'd be seconds. "I'd love that, for sure. We'll set up scheduled meetings and everything, and I'll find a way to repay you for your careful consideration."

Speaking of warm, the wine was giving him a nice buzz and settled easily with the food, and even the cake. He had a strong constitution, few things making him ill or heaving over a toilet. She had his attention with the mention of care packages, ones he was sure he wouldn't let sit for three weeks in his fridge, yet something more certainly intrigued his interest. Sure, she might not have meant it that way. Or maybe she did.

Whatever she meant, lavender eyes fell to her licking that icing right off her finger, and his pulse momentarily thrummed in his ears. Was that on purpose? It felt like it was. It was Banning's turn to flush, albeit it's conspicuousness beneath his tanned skin was less so than the flush she had on her ears. Everything was warm, and he had no complaints, and vision lingered on her pulse at her neck, listening to the blood rushing inside.

The music it made, when it sped up, and she manipulated it to slow down, left a harmonious residence. He wasn't hemokinetic, but he pressed little jolts through where he touched her arm, that would feel like a buzzing that spider-crawled up her arm.

"Oh yeah? Like intensive training? Maybe you're burning off a few too many calories though. We should train together sometime. I'm sure we'll have plenty to teach each other, between the two of us," he said with a husky lilt to the edge of his tone.

Banning took another spoonful of cake, shifted a little closer in his seat. "Gods, Izzy, look you've got schmutz all over your cheek. Don't they teach coordination to you Pilot Nobles?"

He purred out a chuckle before he leaned in and dabbed a dollot of icing on her cheek, and promptly licked it off. "So messy. But very tasty."  Banning resumed his seated position, finishing off his glass of wine, and refilling it again. "But from your posture, it looks like you've got a few kinks in your back that need some work. Strenuous activities can cause that if you don't stretch before."

[nephero]

Izzy couldn't help but gasp; her lips parted to take in a breath, short and barely audible though it was, as she felt Banning's fingers against her arm, those little jolts singing along nerve endings before fading out in a way that was so utterly delicious she actually found herself missing the sensation.

Between that and the wine and just how terribly wonderful Banning's tone had been as he suggested one-on-one training, it was little wonder how much Izzy's brain fizzled right on out. Everything was buzzing, like those little spidering jolts had settled absolutely everywhere and were not letting up in the slightest. The absolute bastard.

Isabel Kiers prided herself on maintaining a very distinct level of calm and control. And here in the span of... what? thirty minutes? whatever time had passed, Banning had taken all of that control, balled it up like yesterday's newspaper, and slam dunked it straight into the trash.

She took even, steady breaths to try and hide the fact that she could no longer keep her pulse from racing, rather regretting the choice to drink as much as she had because that was totally the problem here, right? It was entirely the alcohol's fault, all nothing-proof of it, and she had almost gotten her heartbeat back to normal--

And then he licked her.

 Again.

It was already a mark of where she was at in that she had a distinctly delayed reaction to icing being put on her face in the first place. She had opened her mouth to protest, had prepared some kind of snarky reply, and once again Banning with the three point shot from center court, because his face was incredibly close to her face and the Pilot Noble was left utterly stunned for as long as it took Banning to retreat to his side of the table again.

Goddammit, she chided herself, increasingly annoyed with how she was losing on her home turf, get a hold of yourself, girl. Right. Engage sarcastic comeback #46. Processing. Processing.

"Kinks? Perhaps I do. I wouldn't say they're in my back, though." Eyes sparking in mischief, Izzy took the time to press her own spoon into the cake, taking a bite. "But far be it from me to question your powers of observation and superior experience. I'm sure whatever wisdom you could impart upon my stretching routine would be..."

She twirled her spoon a little, as if looking for the right word. And then, with a wicked grin, she found it.

"Invigorating."

[Lion]

Good gods, milk could curdle into cheese with all the heat that Banning resonated and the flush that would occasionally wrinkle her otherwise impeccably cool disposition. He found himself chewing on his lower lip when he eyed that spoon piercing that cake and it being deposited between those luscious lips. His heart was thrumming loudly, and yet he forced himself to calm. Just long enough to hear her response.

Invigorating...   Darling, darling, Isabel! Banning wanted to see just how flexible she really was. Normally those of a burly physique had a hard time bending in certain ways. She looked like she could at least touch her toes. That was a start.

Banning flushed, just a tad and stood up from his chair, pushing it in as a courtesy. "All right sounds like a reasonable deal. You make me care packages and I'll show you some moves. But first, you're looking just a little stiff. Why don't you sit up a little more?"

He stepped around her, careful to grasp her shoulders gently. At first anyway, and pressed his powerful hands deep into the muscle tissue there. Because there was more than casserole that was going to be cooked in that kitchen. And Banning wanted to make sure the temperature was just right.

"How's that?" he purred.  "Oh man. You're so stiff! I think I have to get your whole back! Just getting your shoulders simply won't be enough. Would you agree?" Banning chuckled, maybe a little bit too challengingly, as his thumbs and palms pressed lower into the space between her shoulder blades.

[nephero]

For the second time, Banning moved from his chair. And for a second time, Izzy's reaction was remarkably delayed. She had barely even begun to process his intentions, what with the whole comment about looking stiff, and so all she could really think to do was to follow the commands.

She sat up, just a bit away from the back of her chair, the fine hairs on the back of her neck standing on end as Banning moved behind her and set those incredibly strong and incredibly warm hands against her shoulders. She tensed for just half a moment, unused to the sensation of foreign hands on her, but then he pressed down and ooh that felt so very nice.

Even biting down onto her lip didn't stem the little mewl that escaped her, and she might have been a little embarrassed by the noise if she weren't so terribly enamored of whatever it was Banning was doing back there. Bit by bit, knots she hadn't even realized were there were untangled, leaving her skin tingling and her muscles feeling more relaxed than they had in... well, ages. Her blush was back in full force, but this time around she couldn't seem to be bothered with it, simply letting a wave of pink overtake her ears and cheeks.

"That... is... amazing." She hummed, tilting her head back just enough to look up at Banning with half-lidded eyes, that same wicked grin playing at her lips as she regarded the upside-down visage of the Pilot Royal.

"Oh, I agree. You've gone and done it, you're going to have to do the whole thing." she cooed teasingly, though the words came out a little higher towards the end as he pressed between her shoulder blades, eliciting another little mewl of delight. "No... dessert without finishing... your dinner, or however that's meant to go."

[Lion]

He had to admit it, he just had to. Izzy made wonderful sounds. A stray thought led him to wonder what kinds of sound she made in while doing the hot and heavy. She couldn't possibly be all proper and prim every second of every day. That would be boring, and Banning was quickly discovering that Isabel Kiers was anything but. There were sides to her that few people had been privy to, and he was getting this rare and glorious privilege to experience it for himself.

Banning dug his hands deeper into her shoulder blades and although his hands found themselves on the other side of her shirt, he forced tendrils of vibration - little buzzings that coursed down her back - to emanate from his fingertips, and he enjoyed the sounds she uttered. Her ears were beet red, and he chewed on his lip, resisting the urge to bite them.

Not yet, he chided to himself. He'd have to save that little snack for later.

"Well, all right then. I certainly can't have you just sitting the way you are," he laughed. Odd, seeing a woman as forthright and firm as she turning into a puddle of goo at her own dinner table. It was a very entertaining idea, but Banning was quickly finding he took a great deal of pleasure in the little things and the invitation of food and wine had been too much to pass up. 

Technically though, it had been an invitation for cake, but the food and wine were bonuses, and his reserved nature was acutely stripping away.  For someone that fought hard to keep her responses under control, Banning wanted nothing more than to come out from left field, and see what rises he could get out of her. He wanted to poke her and prod, pull, bend and twist her every which way.

"I think I can scrounge up something. Just give me a moment," he purred. Banning left her side a moment. It didn't take long for him to find what he needed. A towel an a few seconds were all he needed to spread it over the counter top and he coaxed her from the that chair. Hands gripped her on her hips, lifting her to plop her on top and making a spinning motion with his right hand for her to lay down on her belly.  "Just do it," he commanded, and was able to push her shirt up now from the bottom until it bunched underneath her arms. And then he pried it off her completely.

"Skin to skin contact improves the results considerably," he murmured, and resumed his hands digging into her lower back again. He pressed his whole body into it, being sure to be none too gentle where she had tension the most. And that seemed to stem mostly from her lower back. "Food and a massage. Can't imagine things getting better than this," he hissed.  A sinister grin and he glanced at her ear. Maybe just a nibble. When he found himself close enough to her upper back, Banning leaned down and took her left ear between his teeth, giving it a tug, and smoothing it over with a kiss.

[nephero]

Oh, but those vibrations were too delicious. Izzy pressed her teeth into her lower lip, unable to help the way her skin jumped as the buzzing ran down her back, her muscles seizing before relaxing even deeper than mere application of force would allow. And yet again, the sensation lingered along her nerve endings, making her all the more sensitive to further contact. It was utterly delightful.

About as utterly delightful as how far off the rails a simple invitation for cake had gone. Dinner and wine and dessert and... being lifted clean off her feet and placed onto her own countertop. It... was not very often that anyone was able to lift her up like that, and the whole experience was more than a little dizzying, the Pilot Noble gripping Banning's biceps as he hoisted her up onto the counter's surface. She knew he was strong, there had been no question about that, but lord mercy the actual demonstration of such things was...

Invigorating.

She had been about to say something sarcastic about making more baked goods or something equally to that effect, when Banning outright commanded she lay down. Something about the way he said 'just do it' had her nerve endings singing far louder than those vibrations had ever done, and so it took very little convincing to get her to roll over onto her stomach and allow her tank top to be slid off.

Her skin prickled with goose-flesh, not entirely related to the temperature of the kitchen, and she shifted to get comfortable, pillowing her head in her arms and rather thankful for the bit of layering the towel provided. Marble was rarely ever friendly, and she was already more than a little... sensitive.

"Does it, really?" she purred at Banning's explanation of skin-to-skin contact making it better, her tone light and teasing because she genuinely did not mind in the slightest. Izzy ooh'd and mewled as her lower back was worked, feeling it pop here and there as the tension was worked mercilessly out. Her toes were curling where they hung partway over the edge of the countertop, and her eyes had slid closed in utter delight in being so pampered.

Was there anything better than food and a massage? She was having a hard time thinking of one-- at least until she felt the scrape of teeth against her ear. Again, she couldn't help the gasp that escaped her, though that quickly dissolved into a breathy little laugh as Banning immediately pressed a kiss to the skin to soothe it. She turned her head just a bit more, fixing him with a heavy-lidded gaze as best she could while still on her stomach, lips pulled back to bare her teeth in a wide grin of her own.

"Still hungry, are we?"

[Lion]

She wasn't a small woman by any stretch of the imagination. She was fit to be sure, and her heft wasn't in the floudering of finding what proper places to grab, but rather because there wasn't any lack of footholds he might have gripped her by. The problem came with deciding just where to grab her without seeming like a perverted asshole. Banning was perfectly aware that if she objected to him at any time she'd make a point of it. So he kept his attention gradual.

Then again, it had only taken just under an hour to get her topless on her countertop.

That little bite later and she was grinning widely at him. Banning worked her body like pizza dough, and he could feel the little rises he was instigating inside her by her vibrations.

"Hungry? Yeah. Most likely," he laughed. Banning stopped long enough, to lean in down beside her, letting his face level with hers, leaning against the counter with his hip and giving a wicked flash of teeth. "I have a pretty strong appetite."  Eyes flashed to her lips, and stayed there for a time. Banning reached up and brushed his fingers through her hair, pushing the bushels that got into her eyes out of her sight. She had gorgeous eyes. But surely she knew that.

"What about yourself?" he whispered, leaning in close and taking another nibble to her hear, but this time letting his lips trail down her cheek, dragging teeth along with them. "What makes you hungry?  Have a hankering for anything in particular?"

Banning let his right hand rest on her back, gently scratching along it, and his other buried in her hair, dragging his fingers through it.