What do I have to Do? (Anna or Dru)

[Annabelle Hennessy]

As they stood there, in each others arms, the storm seemed to fade away. She noticed a change, saw his eyes drop to her lips. Unable to stop herself, her tongue darted out to wet them. Anna couldn't ignore the way her body reacted under his touch, his attention. She knew this was wrong, she shouldn't be thinking this way when something was bothering him so much. "Chase?" His name came out a whisper on her lips, barely heard through the storm.

[Chase Firebrand]

He almost didn't hear her, but he was watching her lips, watched them form his name, and the spell that had been weaving itself around him broke just enough for his gaze to rise to seek Anna's. What was he doing? He should be turning her, pushing her toward the castle before the storm hit full force. He should be telling her to forget what she'd seen today, to just go on and leave, to let it go. But she was warm in his arms, she was here, and real. She was braving the threatening weather and the storm in his own eyes, in his tension-filled muscles. Why?

[Annabelle Hennessy]

He said nothing, but his eyes told a completely different story. Anna had never mastered the ability to read emotions in people's eyes, but she could easily see that the thoughts behind his were extensive. A stray hair flew across his face and she reached up and brushed the strand away from his eyes. Her palm trailed down his cheek, pausing when it reached the edge of his mouth. Her thumb softly brushed across his lips and she couldn't resist their temptation. Before she could think about her actions, she leaned in and gently pressed her lips against his. She justified her actions by telling herself she needed to show him he wasn't alone, that she cared, and that this was the only way to do it.

[Chase Firebrand]

Chase had watched Anna, his eyes dark with emotions he couldn't identify as she'd swept aside that hair, as she'd caressed his cheek, the edge of his lips. He'd been about to give in, about to close the distance between them when she had done it herself. His eyes slipped closed on a sigh of longing, of resignation to that part of himself that he had such trouble controlling, and he parted his lips, taking her kiss and giving it back to her, magnifying it with all the emotion he didn't know what else to do with. His hands slipped down her arms, slipped beneath the folds of her cloak to rest against her slender waist. He needed that contact to ground him, even if he knew it wouldn't work forever.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna leaned into him, pressing her body against his. She didn't want to think about what had made her kiss him, or why he was returning the favor. All she knew was that he'd responded, and that was enough for now. Her hand stroked through his hair, the beads of water in it momentarily reminding her of the storm around them before their kiss distracted her again. She couldn't help remembering the last time she'd been in his arms, or the pleasure she'd found there. Her other hand pressed against his chest, feeling the outline of each muscle defined under his damp t-shirt.

[Chase Firebrand]

It was hard not to forget his intentions, hard not to forget that he'd told her to go, that he'd wanted to be alone. Why would he want miserable solitude when he could have this humming pleasure, the soft press of her body against his? Her warmth seeped through the cool of his shirt, heating his skin, heating his blood. His hands tightened briefly around Anna's waist, then slid around to her back, pulling her closer, trying to absorb her, taking whatever she was willing to give as emotion threatened to overcome him.

Everything began to pour into the kiss, then, slowly at first. He didn't bother trying to hide his frustrations, his fears and insecurities. He didn't disguise how much he needed this right now, how much he needed the comfort she offered, the distraction through sheer physical pleasure. He let her have everything, showed her, for that moment, a taste of what he always held back, from her, and from Dru.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna could only describe it as intense. All the emotion, the attention, was so much more than she'd ever had anyone share with her before. She clung to him, taking what he was willingly giving her, overwhelming her. Her fingers clutched into a fist, trapping his shirt in one hand, and his hair in the other. She was completely lost, caught up in his need for her.

[Chase Firebrand]

The part of his conscious mind that wasn't completely lost could feel Anna's acceptance, and was surprised by it. She hadn't pulled back, hadn't fought back, but was taking everything, absorbing the tension without hesitance. So he gave her more, let everything wash over him as well. The sudden crack of thunder could have come from within him as he broke, nothing of gentle persuasion left in his kiss. He was overwhelmed, by his own stresses, by the moment, and by a girl who had never demanded anything from him. The rain came down at last, sheets of water that plastered his clothes to his body, plastered Anna's cloak over his arms. He hardly felt it for the heat of the kiss.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

The cool rain was a welcome contrast to Anna's boiling blood, her body humming with pleasure. Her heart pounded, wanting what was to come, needing to experience wherever he was leading her. The roughness of their kiss, of his touch, excited her in a way a soft embrace never could. His demanding intensity would have normally sent her running for cover, but somehow over time he'd slowly worked past most of her self defenses. She felt weak, almost lightheaded as her senses became overloaded. Her hand released his shirt, moving up to his shoulder for support.

[Chase Firebrand]

Chase's arms tightened further, an his brows knitted, Anna's reaction only magnifying the near desperation growing out of control within him. The more he gave her, the more she took, the more he could feel that she wanted, and so he gave her more, and he wanted more as well. He wanted to lower her to the water-soaked ground, wanted her skin on his, wanted her to surround him as he surrounded her. Emotion shifted into blinding desire, and his hands moved beneath her cloak, down low, then up under the back of her shirt. He wouldn't let himself take her, he'd promised her, but he needed this much to appease himself.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

The feel of his touch sent sparks of electricity down her spine, a prelude to what she knew could be. She no longer had any thought to what had started this between them today or why either of them had been by the lake to begin with. She had no thoughts at all, only the feelings that her senses brought her. A moan escaped her throat, evidence to the pleasure that she could not control. She was like a puppet, willing to bend at the pull of a string. Her body shifted against his, begging to feel more of him.

[Chase Firebrand]

It was so easy to forget. Chase had thought it before, but it was true, and he was forgetting. The corner of his mind he held on to had to remind him over and over that he couldn't take this as far as he wanted to go. But they were alone, and the force of the storm around them guaranteed nobody with any sense of self-preservation would be out, much less wandering so close to the lake.

The motion of Anna's body against his, the blatant invitation, tore at Chase's control, shredding it. She couldn't know what she was asking, and so he fought himself. He gave her everything in the kiss, all the emotion, all the drugging need he felt, but forced his hands to pace themselves. They smoothed over her skin, rose, pushing up her shirt beneath her cloak, formed over her and gave her every pleasure he thought she could handle.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna felt like she was about to die at his attentions. She was tense all over, yet her limbs felt like jello. The butterflies that always originated in her gut were now throughout her body. She could feel it coming, the peak of excitement, but she fought it, not wanting to let go. The part of her that was still able to process knew there was so much more he'd yet to expose her to, and couldn't stop wondering what came next. Wordlessly she tried to convey her need to continue, because she couldn't bring herself to ask for what she wanted at that moment.

[Chase Firebrand]

Chase could feel her question, her request, her need, and he broke the kiss on a low groan that rumbled from his chest only to die on the wind. One hand rose, slipped beneath the hood of Anna's cloak to press it back, curved against her head to angle it, exposing her neck to his kiss. He drank the water from her skin as he kissed her, as his hands molded to her curves, taking as much from the satisfaction of touching her freely as he gave back to her in pleasure.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna's heart thudded at the feel of his lips upon her. Her hands clutched at his shoulders, not knowing if she was strong enough to stand for much longer. Her fingers dug into his shirt and flesh without even realizing it. She let her head fall back to give Chase more access, the rain splashing against her closed eyelids. She called out his name, not sure if it was in her head or on her lips, but oh so aware of her joy at his touch.