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eruden-writes · 1 year

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Scent Match - Part 5

lycan x human celebrity x non-celebrity contemporary fantasy

(Note: Started with an anon asking for the phrase prompt, “Oh. Oh.”)

Summary: When Amber Dyer decided to attend a Creator Con, she never expected to run into Of Wolf and Blood lycan hearthrob, Augustine Prime.

But, there he was, stooping over her table, asking to buy the unflattering drawing of his character. Valuing integrity over taking money from a celebrity and running (though she was sorely tempted,) Amber finishes the sketch and delivers it to Augustine.

However, he continues to doggedly pursue her and entwine their lives.

All because of her scent.

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Amber gaped up at the softly smiling Augustine, catching the slight wave of his tail in her peripheral vision. A long moment stretched between them before she gasped, "You're not serious,"

"I am. Your scent is…” He trailed off, his eyes fluttering closed before inhaling deeply. Explaining scents was always difficult, since there was a layer of description non-lycans just wouldn’t understand. Ambrosial and stimulating, her scent eased in through his nose and danced on the back of his tongue, before sifting through his whole body.

Amber watched as his impressive chest expanded. Embarrassment flittered inside her ribcage, skittish feelings racing along her limbs. It was hard for her to acknowledge how his expression melted even further, his tail wagging a little harder when he opened his eyes. “You have one of the best fragrances I've encountered in a long time. Maybe ever."

"Not marriage proposal good!" Her brain floundered, still trying to make sense of the situation. Augustine Prime had proposed to her. Over her smell. Who did that? She searched his face for some indication this was a joke or a weird attempt at teasing. He simply smiled down at her.

"Yes, marriage proposal good." Augustine almost took a step forward, before thinking better of it as Amber’s eyes widened a fraction of an inch. A thought suddenly tumbled through his head and he patted his pockets, until he withdrew an old receipt from his pants and a pen from his jacket’s breast pocket. Forgetting her wariness, he leaned over her with the pen and paper in hand.

“What do you think you’re doing,” she hissed, pressing tight up against the wall, but craning her neck to see what in blazes he was doing. She tried to ignore how his body heat and scent hugged around her. He had a piece of paper pressed flushed to the wall as he scratched what appeared to be a number and email address onto it.

Thankfully, Augustine was soon finished and stepped back. He held the paper out to her, pocketing his pen again. "This is my contact information - my personal contact information - so you can think it over and call me or message me. Hell, text me whenever."

Her hand moved without much thought. After accepting the receipt, she stared at it. She still couldn’t accept that this wasn’t a joke. This wasn’t his real private information. He wouldn’t be that lackadaisical, would he? She could sell this information to a fan or outlet. "How can you trust me with this?"

Augustine chuckled, giving a one-shouldered shrug. "If my trust is misplaced, I'll just get a new phone number and email address."

She squinted up at him, overwhelmed with a sense of working-class disgust. While changing contact information could range from an inconvenience to extremely dire, she couldn’t think of anyone who would take that risk for someone they just met.

The longer Amber stared up at him, albeit with a baffled and somewhat appalled expression, the more Augustine’s grin grew. It was the longest she’d looked at him without looking away. He wasn’t exactly sure if that was a good thing or not, given the less-than-positive expression, but he would take it.

“How can you be so flippant about this?” Her eyes wheeled between the paper and his face. On top of being freely given the information in hand, he wanted to marry her. That implied shared assets and, if he was being sincere about the prenup, she could set herself up for life. Hell, in theory, she could marry him then skip on over to divorce court. “I could ruin you! Marriage is a big deal!”

Augustine could only shrug to her exclamations. Yes, it was true she could ruin him. It was also true that marriage was a big deal, usually. He couldn’t argue those points. Looking down at Amber Dyer, though, he couldn’t help but feel this was right. Their interactions for the evening, though stilted, felt fine. She was pleasant and sweet, attentive to others and a little quiet. The itch to find out more about her, to take care of her, to have her scent around him forever, were all very hard to ignore.

The longer he stared down at her, that damned soft smile on his lips and an eager expression in his eyes, the more Amber’s heart thrummed. A sudden thought flickered through her head as she searched Augustine’s face. Once again, her hand moved before she thought too hard about it. She thrust her hand out, cell phone in her palm, and demanded,“Give me your manager’s number.”

“What?” A quizzical look flickered over Augustine’s face, but he was already reaching for his own cell phone. “Why?”

“Because someone needs to rein you in and isn’t it usually managers that do that?”

“I already told them what I was going to do.” He smiled as he tapped along his phone screen until the correct contact came up. He held his phone out to Amber, screen facing her.

"We'll see about that…" Amber’s lips pursed unhappily as she squinted from Augustine’s phone to her own. She tapped in the number and, once she pressed her phone to her ear, Augustine pocketed his own phone again.

With his hands on his hips, head tilted, he smiled down at the flustered woman.

The phone rang once, before someone picked up. “Go for Xomoa.”

The voice on the other end was husky, deep, somehow exuding a sense of heat. Amber swallowed the feeling of intimidation as she primly responded, “Hello, my name is Amber Dyer, she/they. Um, I’m here with Augustine Prime and he doesn’t seem too well-”

“Ah, Ms. Dyer,” Xomoa sighed, though whether the manager was relieved or not, Amber couldn’t tell. “Judging from your tone, I take it Auggie actually went through with it.”

“Excuse me?” Amber blinked, the minutely rehearsed momentum de-railed by the interruption.

“He proposed all because of your scent.”

Again, heat licked through Amber. Her shoulders hunched as she squeaked out, “Yes.”

There was a long pause of quiet, as if the person on the other end of the phone expected something. Eventually, Xomoa pressed, “And you said…?”

Amber was at a loss for what to say. This wasn’t how she pictured this conversation going. “And I said what?”

With unerring patience, Xomoa clarified, “What is your answer?”

It was such a simple question. One that Amber should have known the answer to, but her mind completely blanked.

“I… I…” With the metaphorical rug utterly decimated out from under Amber’s feet, her eyes wheeled from a vacant mid-distance to Augustine’s face. He had shifted into a crouch, elbow on his knee and hand cradling his chin as he stared up at Amber. His grin was the pinnacle of shit-eating as he carefully watched her expression. “You’re fine with this?!”

“Absolutely not, but Auggie does what he does.” The sigh Xomoa gave alluded to years, if not decades, of experience with ‘Auggie.’ “Would you like my input?”

“Sure.” Why not, Amber figured. It wasn’t as if any of this made sense to her. Maybe the steady, no-nonsense voice on the other end of this conversation had some ideas that would reboot Amber’s brain.

“Take some time to think it over. From a practical point-of-view, you don’t get proposed to by an A-list celebrity every day, but your privacy will be severely hampered. Fame is a double-edged sword.” Xomoa’s logical tone calmed the frantic flurry of Amber’s thoughts.

She had been so focused on Augustine pulling her leg or not being in a stable frame of mind, she didn’t even consider accepting. What would it look like to be involved with a celebrity? And was that something she could even stomach?

“Why are you okay with this? Are you sure he didn’t miss a medicine dose or something?” Amber pressed on, not totally capable of accepted that Augustine Prime wanted to marry her. Even if he had the money to break it off easily, it still seemed unlikely. Her attention flicked down to the actor, who pouted at her words in a painfully over-acted fashion. “This smells like a manic phase he’s going to regret later.”

“Don't make a mistake. I don’t trust you, but I trust Auggie to make appropriate decisions, even if he’s brash.” Amber felt pity for the manager having to wrangle in their client. The resigned edge to their words made it clear they had attempted to fend off Augustine’s whims before and lost. “If he feels this strongly, I’ll bow to his determination.”

“That doesn’t sound wise,” Amber muttered, lips pressing thin as Augustine continued to pout up at her, though his tail wagged genially. Then again, she didn’t know what he’d do if his requests were ignored or denied. Once more, the very fact she barely knew him reverberated through her head.

“Usually, it’s not, but you took the time to call me, worried over Auggie’s state of mind in this pursuit.” The acknowledgement in Xomoa’s voice was almost missed with their dry tone. But their next words made complicated sensations ping through Amber. “Consider it a small hurdle to gaining my trust.”

“I still have worries over his state of mind.” Amber pressed back against the wall again as Augustine got to her feet. The pout was gone from his lips and, in its place, that seemingly ever-present slight smile.

“As do most of us,” they mused, the wisp of a smile in their voice. “Is he there? Can you put him on the phone?”

Oh, he must have known his manager would want to talk to him. That was why he hovered around her. Wariness in Amber eased as she nodded, even though Xomoa couldn’t see the gesture. “Sure.”

With that, Amber handed Augustine her phone and edged a little further from him. She needed some space to think and the way his body heat took over a space wasn’t helping.

With a deep breath, she broke down the situation into small nuggets of fact. Augustine Prime had proposed to her, because he liked her scent. He was willing to sign a prenuptial that would give her half of his assets. There was no requirement of sex or intimacy. He just wanted her around so he could smell her.

Even with the facts, the whole situation felt surreal, but she trudged on.

Presumably, she wouldn’t have to work while they were married. His generational wealth and his value as an actor would see to that. If they divorced, and she took her fair share, working wouldn’t be necessary for survival either.

If they married, did he expect her to move to California? To Follywood? Amber’s stomach dropped at that thought as feeling overwhelmed coasted over her once more. The amount of people, the traffic, the expenses.

Again, he was footing the bill, though.

Beyond all that, being in Follywood might open doors for a creative writer or artist, wouldn’t it? Augustine might even have some connections. She bit down on her thumbnail at the thought, her brain wracking itself to understand the potential boost in her dream career.

“How are you feeling?” Augustine’s voice interrupted her intense introspection. She jumped, turning to face him again. That damn soft smile twitched with amusement at her reaction, but he held her phone out to her.

“I’m not going to lie. It’s tempting. As shallow as this sounds, you're obscenely rich and, depending on the prenup, I could be set for life.” Amber reached out and took her phone, doing her best to keep contact with the man minimal. Her gaze falling to the phone’s screen, seeing the call ended and nothing amiss. Her fingers slid over the edge of the case, feeling a little more stable as she considered the situation from a logically beneficial standpoint. “And you have connections in the entertainment industry that might help me.”

He bent down toward her, a goofy smile spread over his lips. “Also, I’m talented and not too hard on the eyes, right?”

Amber blinked up at him, staring at the way he posed. With his hand near his chin, his thumb and index finger extended, she almost waited for him to wink. It would complete the flirtatious character persona. When the wink didn’t happen, she remembered he’d asked a question. With a sigh and a shrug, Amber tried to pitch something relatively safe. “You’re a good actor, I suppose.”

Well, Augustine couldn’t say he expected that. Genuine surprise flickered over his features. “What? Don’t you find me attractive?”

She surprised him further by taking time to look at him. As if his visage wasn’t often plastered on magazines at check-out stands or slapped across websites. “Aesthetically, yes. You’re attractive. You have a nice smile, your eyes are expressive, and - I know this sounds silly - but your hands are nice.”

“But are you attracted to me?” His eyes narrowed as he assessed her body language, her expression. There was a tinge of a flush to her cheeks, but that was always there. Amber Dyer was a shy delight. He had a feeling any closeness between her and others - except maybe her friend Addie - would have resulted in pleasant little blushes.

“I don’t know you well enough to answer that,” she said immediately, leaning away from him. The heat on her cheeks worsened just trying to sus out her own feelings on the subject.

Augustine gave a thoughtful hum, his eyes still narrowed as if he were trying to spot something he just couldn’t see.

Whether he was annoyed or curious, Amber couldn’t determine. Actors were notoriously arrogant, weren’t they? Did he even want to marry her after hearing she possibly didn’t find him the most beautiful man to walk the earth? “Knowing that, do you still want to marry me?”

“Of course. That’s a pretty minor issue.” His curious expression melted into a smile at her question. Beyond Amber’s scent, Augustine had found her to be adorable, thoughtful, curious. None of it turned him off to having her around. If anything, the urge to keep her around worsened since now she was a curiosity on top of everything else. Marriage would hopefully give him a chance to understand her even better. Or at least try to.

To that, Amber actually laughed and shook her head. She didn’t quite believe he genuinely felt so lackadaisical about it, but she had no proof otherwise. Either he was truthful or his acting skills were phenomenal. It honestly could have gone either way.

“So, should we go back to the dance?” He asked, making a motion back the way they came.

“I was actually planning to leave.” She offered him an apologetic smile, before adding with a gesture to his frame, “After all this, I definitely need to think.”

Augustine bit back his disappointment, his expression faltering. He wasn’t ready to part from her, though. With a raise of one shoulder and a sheepish grin, he asked, “Can I walk you back to your room then?”

Uncertainty peppered Amber’s initial thoughts. Pressing her lips together, she glanced toward the exit. Common sense told her to deny the request. As much of a well-known celebrity as he was, he was still a stranger. Letting him walk her back meant giving away the location where she was staying.

That wasn’t to say she wasn’t tempted or that she wanted to outright deny him. Despite herself, Amber was finding Augustine’s presence interesting, if nothing else. When her eyes dragged back to his face, she only offered him an awkward smile. “I don’t want you getting mugged by fans or the paparazzi.”

“Eh, I can handle myself. Just flash them a smile and wink.” Augustine demonstrated his tactic with a liveliness that made it seem he had no problems being hounded. Indeed, there was a level of flattery to be had, having so many at his heels. With the knowledge he’d come onto Amber strong, Augustine reeled back his performative bravado. “But if you don’t want me to, I’ll back off.”

She watched him carefully. From his haughty bravado to the way he eased, body language softening with… well, she wouldn’t call it shyness or uncertainty, but a sort of delicacy. The realization struck Amber as strange. As an actor, the man was phenomenal, but from their time in person, she thought he had the tact of a bag of bricks.

Amber bit her bottom lip, wondering if she was wrong on some level. Regardless, under his hopeful gold gaze, her shoulders sagged and she relented. “Okay, you can walk with me.”

Immediately, Augustine’s demeanor changed again. Back to the puppy-dog grin and perked ears and wagging tail. He offered his arm to her, waggling his eyebrows.

Once again, Amber hesitated. She looked between his proffered arm to his face, imagining the sort of gleeful malice that would fill the Internet if a picture of them together circulated. While Amber wouldn’t call herself ugly, she was nowhere near the same level of beauty as celebrities. People would call her a thirsty fan or maybe even a stalker Augustine had to assuage.

Looking into his eager face, her resilient restraint faltered. This had to be part of the issue Xomoa spoke about earlier, when referring to Augustine being difficult to stop. He just evoked a sense of sureness that made Amber feel like everything would be fine. The status difference between them, the attractiveness, everything, didn’t matter.

“Don’t make me regret this,” she sighed, accepting his offered arm. Even as she looped her hand under his elbow, she was too afraid to let it settle heavily. It was the weight of Augustine’s hand, settling over hers, that forced Amber’s palm to press flush to him.Heat razed up her back as he leaned over her, making it all the harder to meet his gaze.

“No promises, Miss Dyer.” Augustine grinned down at her, catching the flush darkening her cheeks. He struggled to keep his tone light and playful, even as greater wants churned inside him. Something about the way her eyes focused on him, her fingers digging a little into his arm, did sinfully delightful things to his insides. Clearing his throat, trying to coax away the thoughts that would definitely get him into trouble, he asked, “So, where to?”

—

After another quick trip with the personal shuttle - more like chauffeurs, Amber learned - and a quiet walk through the hotel, the two were soon at her door. They had managed to continue idle conversation. From weather, to the final exhibitions tomorrow, to Amber even mentioning how she hoped to clear out her stock. She was surprised to find Augustine attentive, asking questions and input. Even when the talk had little to do with him.

Though, Augustine would argue anything to do with her had to do with him. The need to see her happy and safe had taken further root the longer she was in his presence. He had a feeling that would be the case. Even as Amber rifled through her bag and pulled out her hotel keycard, Augustine couldn’t keep the bummed out feeling from ballooning in his chest. Even now, after so much time together, he wanted more. It was too much, he knew, but he still wanted it.

“Well, thank you for walking me back, Mr. Prime.” Once her door unlocked, she pushed her way inside her room and threw her purse onto her bed. As expected, Addie hadn’t returned. Vaguely, she wondered if her friend would even be back that evening. She turned back to her companion, leaning in her room’s door jamb as she tilted her face toward him.

“Call me Augustine.” He planted one arm on the wall beside her door, leaning close to her proximity. Subtly, he inhaled deeply, trying to get a fill of her aroma for the evening. Even her body heat teased across the distance between them. He could still feel where she had touched his elbow earlier, the way her fingers had dug into him. Shamefully, he knew he wanted so much more.

“Hmn… I don’t think I will.” A pout threatened to crease Augustine’s features at her answer. Once more, Xomoa’s words echoed in Amber’s ears as she sighed, “Not yet, at least.”

Disappointed, Augustine sighed but accepted her answer. He couldn’t very well push it. Especially if he wanted her to accept his proposal. Besides, there’d be time. Even if Amber seemed unsure, she hadn’t ended their time together when she could have.

He let himself be buoyed by that thought as he tried to put as much charm into his smile as he could. “Fine, fine. Can I call you Amber?”

Amber still struggled over the strangeness of it all. A celebrity asking to call her by her first name. The thought sent strange feelings through her, as if a member of royalty were asking to call a peasant by something intimate. It was just strange.

“I suppose you can,” she replied with a shrug. Of the two of them, it was more acceptable for him to use her first name, she thought. Besides, it wasn’t abnormal for her.

“Well, goodnight then, Amber.” A million dollar smile crossed his lips, showing off his pointed pearly whites. She could have sworn the very air around him warmed and lightened at the very expression. Maybe it was the delight gleaming in his eyes that was just making her feel warmer, though.

“Goodnight.” She peered at Augustine from the crack of her door. Something fluttered in her chest, prompting her to add, “I will think about your offer.”

Her words seemed to make his features brighten further. A flash of a smile, of his sharp teeth, tilted at his lips before he turned to leave. Augustine didn’t get far before he stopped in his tracks and snapped his fingers.

Turning back to Amber, who still stood sentry behind her door watching him curiously, he said, “Before I forget. There’s a charity auction tomorrow. One of those ‘win a dinner date’ things.”

She stared up at him, trying to understand what it had to do with her. Did he want her to go with him? Or win him? Immediately, the thought the events of the day took a turn. Had he just wanted her attention so he’d have some schmuck to bid on him? His commission had been $200 so he knew she had that much at least.

“It’s a PR obligation. Raises money for a good cause, yadda yadda.” Unaware of the way Amber’s thoughts were painting him, Augustine turned back to her and approached her door. He leaned a shoulder against the wall nearby, an apologetic expression softening his features. There was a tiny swell of guilt sloshing around in him, but it couldn’t be helped. There were some contractual things he couldn’t wiggle out of. “I can’t really get out of it. I just wanted to let you know, since it might seem weird after everything.”

“Oh, well. Have fun?” A brief look of confusion crossed her features, before she realized he was waiting for something. It took her half-a-second to realize what he was looking for. “I won’t be getting jealous. Again, I barely know you.”

“Yeah, okay. Good to know.” Augustine pushed himself off the wall, rubbing the back of his neck. A sense of disappointment swelled in his chest, but he stowed that away. There wasn’t anything he should be disappointed with, he told himself. He’d already gotten more grace from Amber than anyone else said he would.

One last time, he softly smiled at Amber. “Well, uh, goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” she reciprocated, watching as he turned and walked away, dawdling a little, before she closed the door.

Once the door was closed, Amber pressed her back against it. She took a steadying breath, realizing how hard her heart beat and how warm her face felt, before reaching for her phone. Thumbing her way to an ongoing chat with Addie, her mind was a chaotic tumble of what to say. As she typed out her message - informing her friend of the newest turn of events - Amber gave pause. Would Addie - would anyone - believe her? Wouldn’t this sound like the delusional ravings of an obsessed fan?

Amber pressed her lips thin and gave her head a good shake, before finishing her text to her friend. What was she even thinking? She had precedent on her side. It wasn’t as if Augustine would deny he had proposed to her, either. For some reason, that was something Amber was certain of.

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#exo writing #exophilia #lycan #werewolf #lycan x human #werewolf x human #monster lover #monster fucker #monster romance #fictional celebrity #fictional celebrity x non-celebrity #scent match #augustine #amber #she's warming up to him very slowly #though the next part he has Celebrity Contractual Obligations so we'll see if he sticks with amber #:)

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