#elorcan au

[shadowsxgwynriel]

Welcome to the last day of Kinktober 2023! We’ll be ending with Elorcan, and I really hope you all enjoy their sexy times!

Eyes on Me, I’m in charge - Rated E - 3.6k

While on their yearly vacation, Lorcan desperately wants to fix things between him and Elide. What he hadn’t planned on, however, was for Fenrys to book the group a sex cabin.

But when Lorcan discovers a surprising kink that Elide has, maybe the cabin wasn’t such a bad idea after all . . . (Not that he’d ever tell Fenrys that)

This was written for Kinktober 2023, so of course there will be explicit sex in this story. Please check out the stories for the other couples down below. All of these ladies are very talented writers and you won’t be disappointed! 😉

A Kink in Our Plans - Throne of Glass Kinktober 2023

10/25 - Introduction

10/26 - Chaol/Yrene by @headcanonheadcase

10/27 - Dorian/Manon by @hlizr50

10/28 - Rowan/Aelin by @thelovelymadone

10/29 - Nesryn/Sartaq by @sunshinebingo

10/30 - Lysandra/Aedion by @vikingmagic33

10/31 - Elide/Lorcan by @shadowsxgwynriel

Big thanks to @hlizr50 for helping me narrow down a title. And thank you @headcanonheadcase for creating this beautiful title poster for me.

Happy Halloween! 🎃👻

[live-the-fangirl-life]

“The legend said it only goes after virgins…so sucks for you I guess.” for elorcan 👀👀

Tell Me S’more

Elide Lochan x Lorcan Salvaterre

“The legend said it only goes after virgins…so sucks for you I guess.”

Halloween Dialogue Prompts

Masterlist | Read on Ao3 | Halloween Collection

Warnings: Language, Scary Stories

2003 words

*******

Elide stuffed another marshmallow on the skewer and held it over the fire. She half listened to the conversations and bickering around her, occasionally putting in her two cents as she focused on getting her marshmallow a perfect golden brown. She hated when the flames caught and scorched it and left it a crumbling charred mess.

On another night, if her marshmallow burned, she could’ve given it, albeit dejectedly, to her boyfriend who for reasons she couldn’t comprehend liked his marshmallows burnt. But not tonight. Tonight, Lorcan was sitting on the opposite side of the fire from her, separated on each side by their friends. Tonight, she couldn’t give him a burnt s’more without the confused or shocked looks from their friends. Because tonight, she and Lorcan had to pretend like they haven’t been secretly dating for a month and a half.

So, tonight, Elide focused on her marshmallow.

“Okay, okay, here we go,” Aelin sat next to Elide and grabbed a flashlight from her bag before turning it on and holding it beneath her face. The light caught on her cheekbones and cast shadows over her skin. “Who’s ready to have nightmares tonight?”

“You don’t need to tell a story for that, Galathynius,” Lorcan smirked. “You’re disturbing enough.”

“I think you mean delightful, Salvaterre, not that you’d know what that is.”

Elide cringed inwardly. This was why she and Lorcan were keeping their relationship to themselves for now. She loved Aelin, and she lo—really liked Lorcan, but Aelin and Lorcan could be at each other’s throats on a good day.

Rolling her eyes, Elide nudged Aelin with her shoulder. “Come on, watch’ya got?”

As her friend began to tell the story, Elide caught Lorcan’s eye. His dark brows had raised a bit at her interjection, and he flashed her a quick wink as she discreetly rolled her eyes at his amusement. She lost track of the story as she kept her attention on her boyfriend. It really was a cruel joke of their own making that she wasn’t sitting next to him, curled up into his side. By the look that flashed across his face, she knew he was thinking the same thing and cursing the fire that separated them.

“Virgins? Really?” Fenrys interrupted, drawing Elide’s attention and earning a glare from Aelin. “That’s so cliché.”

The blonde opened her mouth to reply but Lysandra beat her to the punch. “What, not interested anymore knowing it isn’t coming after you?”

“Fuck off, Ennar,” he scoffed but any annoyance was negated by his self-satisfied grin.

The story went on, and even if the tale itself was lackluster, Aelin had a way of captivating people’s attention. It wasn’t long before everyone was leaning closer to the fire, listening to a story about a horrifying creature that lived in the very woods to their backs.

“A creature that fearsome and bloodthirsty doesn’t need to be clever. Anyone with a lick of common sense may just outwit the monster, but its prey rarely survives long enough to try. It doesn’t have a name. The lucky, or unlucky, few who do escape its clutches are never the same; only lucid enough to recall its jagged claws and gruesome teeth, warning others about the beast that prowls these woods. Don’t go looking for the monster, it very well may be the last thing you ever do.”

Silence stretched out around them as Aelin turned off the flashlight…only to be broken by Fenrys wetly blowing into his palm, eliciting a loud fart noise. “Is that the best you can do?” He laughed as he narrowly missed the flashlight flung at his head.

Elide knew Lorcan was about to chime in and she tried shaking her head but he continued anyway.

“Where did you find that?” He mocked. “From some kiddie Halloween book?”

Elide arched a brow at him and replied drily, “Yeah, ‘cause a kid’s book would have a monster who specifically attacks virgins.”

“Exactly,” Aedion argued, but used her point oppositely, “it goes after all of them. Scary.”

Lysandra nudged his shoulder with an eye roll, “Most of them wouldn’t even know what virgin means.”

“And that’s,” Rowan nodded, “where the story turns scary for the adults who have to bullshit their way through that explanation.”

“That’s convoluted,” Elide scoffed and met Lorcan’s amused stare over the fire.

“Maybe,” Her boyfriend shrugged before turning back to Aelin, “Doesn’t matter though, ‘cause it still sucks.”

Scoffing and crossing her arms, Aelin countered, “Like you could do better.”

“Better than a half-wit monster?” His voice dripped with condescension. “Yeah, I think so.”

Individual voices rose and bled together as everyone chimed in with their own opinions. Marshmallows were thrown across the fire in between insults and laughter, and while everyone else was focused on arguing, Elide found Lorcan’s gaze again. Truthfully, he’d barely taken his eyes off her – she could feel the intensity of his stare on her skin and prayed she didn’t look as flushed as she felt. If she did, she could blame it on the fire.

He was smirking at her and Elide’s eyes darted around the group ensuring no one else noticed. When their eyes locked again, his smirk was impossibly wider. She rolled her eyes, biting back a grin of her own. As much as she wished they weren’t pretending, it was exciting having a secret just between them.

Snap!

A loud cracking sounded from the woods.

The conversation immediately halted, and everyone’s heads swung around towards the noise. Nervous laughter jumped around the group as they shifted uneasily. It was just a story, but it was also dark and Halloween. Murmurs of there’s nothing out there echoed.

Another branch snapped loudly from the darkness, followed quickly by a second, louder snap, once again silencing the group.

“Aelin, are you doing this?” Aedion asked uneasily as he shifted in his seat and side-eyed his cousin. “Did you set this up?”

Lysandra scoffed and lightly hit his shoulder.

“Nah,” Lorcan disagreed, “she isn’t that clever.”

Sometimes Elide thought Lorcan goaded Aelin just for the fun of it… and because he had a death wish. Before Aelin could bite his head off, Elide arched a brow and leaned forward before taunting, “Why don’t you go see what that noise was then?”

Lorcan turned towards her and beneath the annoyance that he wore for show – mostly for show – she could see the heat simmering there. He shook his head, scoffing, “Right, because I’m going to walk into the supposedly haunted forest. I’ve watched horror movies; I know how that ends.”

As if on cue, more snaps and cracks echoed through the trees. This time, they were followed by birds cawing before a dozen or so of them flew out of the forest, their silhouettes visible against the moonlight.

Laughing to herself, Elide brushed herself off and stood. “For fucks sake, I’ll go check it out.”

All eyes focused on her, but no one else made a move to stand.

“Why does anyone have to check it out?” Rowan asked incredulously

Lysandra pulled her jacket tighter around herself and scoffed as she looked pointedly at Aedion, Lorcan, Fenrys, and Rowan.

“Really? None of you men,” she teased, “have the balls to go in there? You’re gonna let Elide go all by herself?”

Lorcan and Aedion rolled their eyes good-naturedly as Fenrys scoffed, “Excuse you, but as a feminist, I refuse to believe Elide isn’t capable enough to go by herself.”

Rowan added, “And as someone who’s met Elide, I refuse to believe that any monster would stand a chance against her.”

Aelin nodded sagely, “She is small, but she is mighty.”

Rolling her eyes at her friends, Elide rounded the fire and aimed for the woods. She turned to walk backward and joked, “I could be walking to my death right now and you’d all be laughing it up around the fire.”

Lorcan had turned to watch her walk away. “Get back over here, you’re the one who volunteered.”

“After your scared ass refused.” She retorted making Aelin laugh.

Huffing and crossing his arms, Lorcan continued to watch her with raised brows. “I’m not scared of a few broken tree branches.”

Elide grinned. “Could’ve fooled me.”

With his face turned away from the group as he looked at a retreating Elide, they couldn’t see the way his brows furrowed at the sight of her getting farther away, or how his eyes darkened at the amusement on her face, both of which only fueled her more and pulled her grin wider.

“Oh no,” she teased, getting farther away from the group and the fire. “I hope I don’t find the beast and lead it back here.”

If any of their friends were surprised at how reactive Lorcan was being, they didn’t show it. Or maybe the two were too focused on each other to notice.

Elide saw his face twist into a smirk and for a second worried about what was about to come out of his mouth.

“That’s not a threat, Lochan” his words dripping with provocation. “The legend says it only goes after virgins…so sucks for you.”

Elide’s brows shot up in disbelief as trickles of laughter sounded from around the circle. It was true she wasn’t as open about her exploits as her friends, but of all people…

“Mm,” she waited for the laughter to die. “It’s a good thing you aren’t going; the legend says someone only needs a speck of common sense to best it…so that’d suck for you.”

Aelin snorted hard enough to choke on the marshmallow she was eating. Loud laughter trailed her as she finally made it to the forest’s edge.

Just before she could step past the tree line, she heard the unmistakable sound of Lorcan grunting as he rose from his seat and walked towards her. “Let's go.”

She chose to ignore the cheering and whistling that followed them into the woods. They stayed quiet as they stepped over dried leaves and fallen branches, staying careful to not trip over something and end up injured and sprawled on the forest floor. It wasn’t until they’d walked far enough that the fire was no longer visible, and a minute more, before Lorcan wrapped a hand around her hip and pulled Elide backward so that her back was resting against a tree trunk and Lorcan was standing in front of her.

Both of his hands fell to her waist, and she lifted hers to the front of his jacket. One of his thumbs draw light circles across her skin as she toyed with his collar. But when he dipped his head down, trying to connect their lips in a much-anticipated kiss, she pressed on his chest to stop him an inch away from her.

“Virgin? Really?” she asked with an unimpressed raised brow, unintentionally echoing Fenrys earlier criticisms of the story.

“Blame my apparent lack of common sense,” he chuckled low and leaned forward as her resistance lifted, pressing his lips against hers in a way that almost had her forgetting why she paused him in the first place.

When they broke apart, Elide grinned and laughed softly. Lorcan offered her a small smile exclusive to her and tucked a rogue lock of hair behind her ear. She wound her arms around his middle and asked, “Wanna go break some branches and scare the shit out of the scaredy cats?”

His smile turned wicked, and his eyes lit up with dark amusement. “Oh, I absolutely do. But they deserve to worry for a bit; let ‘em stew”

“Good thinking,” Elide’s grin matched his. “What do you think we should do with the time?”

Lorcan leaned his head down so that his lips brushed her ear, bringing one hand up to graze her jaw before sliding around to cup the back of her neck. She could feel his breath on her skin as he spoke, and it sent shivers down her spine. “I can think of a few things.”

*****

Taglist:

@acourtofsnakes @allthebooksunderthemoon @astra-ad-mare @becarefuloflove @booklover41802 @charlizeed @cookiemonsterwholovesbooks @danibutterr @doubt-less @emily-gsh @enormousbooklover @foughtconquered @fromthelibraryofemilyj @hakunamatatazz @i-have-but-one-brain-cell @in-love-with-caramel-macchiato @jorjy-jo @lemonade-coolattas @mariamuses @mayhemories @midsizewitch @rowaelinrambling @morganofthewildfire @nerdperson524 @rowaelinismyotp @rowansfirebringer @sayosdreams @sheharahu @sleeping-and-books @stardelia @story-scribbler @superspiritfestival @elentiyawhitethorn @swankii-art-teacher @tomtenadia @westofmoon @whimsicallyreading @moodymelanist @realbookloverproblems @gracie-rosee @julemmaes @yesdreamblog @the-regal-warrior @rowanaelinn @thestoriesyoutell @autumnbabylon @sunflowermoonshinewrites @maastrash @annejulianneh111 @the-lonelybarricade

[thewayshedreamed]

The Haunting

Elorcan War AU

This Elorcan au has been sitting with me for a while, and I think I’ve managed to get it the way I wanted it. My intention was to have it ready for Elorcan Week - AU day, but I wasn’t able to get it done in time. 

Regardless, I thought I would share it with you. Enjoy! 

Word count: ~ 2.6k

——————————————————————————

The sun always took too long to set. Since Lorcan had started sneaking into her quarters after dark, the days seemed to stretch on indefinitely, yet Elide often chastised herself for wishing them along. They’d been limited from the start, and with each one that passed, Elide felt a subtle sense of dread fill her veins. She had no doubt that the subtly would wear off quickly in the coming months.

They shouldn’t have started seeing each other, but in the cruel ways of their world, something had felt nearly magnetic between them upon their first meeting. Of course, the two hadn’t realized they paid their respective dues to opposite sides of the war when they had made introductions just inside the forest line near Morath. The war had rendered it a shadow of a grand city, but beyond that, the moment had taken on an almost surreal quality that marked a certain significance. The background had become inconsequential to the point of fading out of focus entirely, so although she knew they’d met on familiar ground, she wouldn’t have been able to tell a soul the exact location if under cruel and unusual torture.

Lorcan had ambled into her life; unexpected, unwelcome, and undeniable somehow. Every free, waking moment they had, they spent it together. Some nights they spent walking through the forest, illuminated by the bright moonlight alone, until they settled on a blanket in their chosen clearing. Other times, they would take a similar route and lounge near a creek, talking about nothing and everything until the early hours of morning.

Parting was painful, only made bearable by the surge of adrenaline that came from concerns of being discovered together. Elide was Lord Vernon’s only niece— his heir— so she could imagine the pandemonium occasioned by being seen with a Commander within Doranelle’s Special Forces. Her uncle, the insufferable pain he was, played the Duke’s game, searching for various artifacts of unknown significance. The queen Lorcan served was suspicious of how those same artifacts may be used in the future if they managed to fall into the same hands and had dispatched her own forces. All in the name of protection, she’d insisted.

Motives all-around felt increasingly insignificant the more time Elide and Lorcan spent together. Their conditions always hanged overhead, looming over the brief intervals of joy they managed to carve out of the dark corners of the forest, but they had long since decided they would figure everything out together when the time came. Until then, they expended the majority of their energy in making time to see the other without the imminent risk of imprisonment or worse.

The lamp near her bed cast the room in long shadows when the sun eventually disappeared behind the mountains. Like clockwork, a faint scratch ran across the wooden door, followed by three swift knocks and a tap of the door handle. Only one man would know to alert Elide to his arrival in such a way, and only one woman would know that answering the call felt like coming home.

She threw the bed linens aside and padded over to the door. With practiced ease, she unfastened each lock and jerked the door open. Lorcan braced his weight with a palm against the doorjamb, his other hand tucked tightly into the pocket of his uniform. His eyes snapped to Elide’s upon hearing the latch, and like a gust of wind, he was inside her room and wrapped around her.

He lifted her against his body, and as per their routine, Elide wrapped her legs tightly around his waist to allow Lorcan the opportunity to fasten each of the locks. His own safety was never a concern, but he wouldn’t take unnecessary risks with Elide. Spending time together had met his threshold for threats to her safety ten times over.

“Hi,” he breathed, wrapping his arms tightly around her and moving toward her bed. “I’m sorry it took a while tonight. We had a briefing.”

His voice held a weight that wasn’t necessarily uncharacteristic for him, but it was uncommon. Most things that inspired the tone weren’t able to be shared between them, so Elide only heard it enough to know it meant his team’s briefing hadn’t been a celebration.

“It’s alright.” She kissed him, sliding her hands into his dark hair. Lorcan lowered them to the bed, Elide pulled across his lap. “You’re here now.”

His flinch registered with the grace of gunfire. Elide pulled back to scan her eyes over his face, but he gave very little away. His hands roamed liberally over her back, her hips, her thighs. The touches were a claiming of sorts, but the mystery remained around why it felt necessary. Her heart belonged to Lorcan irrevocably. Surely, he had to know.

His hands— large, and incredibly capable— lifted to remove hers gently from his hair. He held them both in her lap, running his thumbs over her knuckles.

“We’re moving on,” he began, the words barely audible. His mouth formed a grim line, and his brows pulled together. “There hasn’t been enough activity nearby, and Maeve wishes to keep us several steps ahead.”

Elide blinked, took a steadying breath. They had always known the day would come, but they still had months ahead of them yet. Why his queen had made such an impulsive decision to shift them made no sense. Their long-term plan was a poorly crafted knot of certain intentions, but they had nothing concrete. It would take weeks to formulate something feasible, longer still for everything to play out as necessary.

“You can’t,” she blurted, no consideration of her tone.

Lorcan’s lips pulled into a sad smile. “If there was any way that I could stay with you, I would have already set things in motion. I tried to push for a delay, but it was fruitless.”

Tears burned her eyes, spilling over in droves without a chance to stop them. “But, our plans. We’re nowhere near ready. I won’t be able to disappear without some sort of reasonable explanation— not without my uncle sending out a search party upon realizing I’m no longer here. We have no time to stagger our departures, and people will grow suspicious.”

He squeezed her hands, his calluses rough against her soft, fair skin. “I know.”

The silence stretched an eternity, although it was more likely seconds. A sob tore from Elide’s throat, and she forced a deep breath. Disbelief clouded her thoughts, but even more painfully, stark realization followed closely behind.

“How long do we have?” She hated how small she sounded, how vulnerable she felt.

Lorcan’s throat bobbed as he fixed his stare over her shoulder. “We leave with the sunrise.”

She had known from the intensity of their conversation that it was planned to occur soon, but she assumed they may have had a week; days at the absolute worst. Both intervals seemed naive and optimistic in comparison to their reality of mere hours. Her eyes squeezed shut.

“No,” she whispered, her head shaking of its own accord. “I can’t do this— can’t be here— without you.”

“Elide.” He lowered her hands to cup her petite face between his own. His thumbs wiped a mindless rhythm over her cheeks, but her tears weren’t so easily redirected. “This isn’t goodbye. We will have the life we’ve talked about.”

She shook her head, unable to accept such a rapid disruption in her life. “Where will you be? I’ll figure it out. I’ll wait a couple of weeks and start my travel in your direction.”

Lorcan’s grip tightened on her cheeks. His breath hitched, and when Elide opened her eyes, his stare was as fierce as she had ever seen it. “You’ll do no such thing.”

“Were you not listening?” she demanded, pulling away from his touch. “I can’t go back to how my life was before you. I’ll follow you.”

“Please don’t do this,” Lorcan begged, his brow furrowed in frustration. “You can’t follow me— not alone. It wouldn’t be safe, and there’s no guarantees that we wouldn’t change directions on a single bit of intel. I’d never rest for worrying about you.”

“So, I should do nothing?” Her words were louder than she intended, but it wasn’t frustration that motivated her. It was desperation, pure and undiluted. “What about—”

“Yes,” he insisted, his voice firm. “The best thing you can do for me— for us— is nothing. You staying safely in one place is our best bet right now. As soon as this mission resolves, I will find my way back to you. I will always find you.”

Fresh tears streaked her cheeks, and as if it pained him to keep his distance, Lorcan pulled her body tightly against his. His hold was fierce, unyielding, and Elide barely managed to pull back enough to slant her mouth over his.

—

A quiet gasp tore through Elide’s throat when she awoke. Her eyes remained closed, thank the gods, and allowed her to continue the pretense of sleep a while longer. The noises within her chambers clued her to the time of day, with several maids moving about for their early morning tasks. Her dream had left her emotionally raw in the way it always did and served as a blatant reminder of the gaping wound that masqueraded as her heart.

She hadn’t even made it through the moments for which she yearned so viscerally.

Lorcan tracing each soft curve of her body with gentle fingers. How he tangled those same fingers in her hair each time he claimed her mouth. His dark brown eyes looking at her as if she was something holy. His large hands gripping her ribs to lift her and easing her slowly over his length. The way he murmured, I love you, against her lips because she never got enough of how the words tasted.

Tears welled behind her eyes, and she tried vehemently to keep them contained. It had been over 7 years since that last night together, and sometimes, Elide wished she could muster an ounce of anger to cushion the blow of the memories that never seemed to fade.

She had believed his promise. A small part of her continued to hold out hope that Lorcan would find his way back to her, but it dwindled with each passing year. He had never shared his target location with her. Part of his reasons involved the required discretion of his position, and the rest involved his concerns that Elide would follow him despite his adamance that she didn’t.

She listened for news of his company often, but sources for information on Doranelle’s elite forces were in short supply. Lorcan hadn’t written to her, but she couldn’t exactly blame him for the caution. Even if he had, she wouldn’t have received them. At least, not for long. Within months of his departure from Morath, Perranth had yielded entirely to Duke Perrington’s control. Her uncle had decided it best to relocate and brought her along so that he could best supervise her movement, she assumed. Elide had no clue if Lorcan could locate her, even if he’d returned to Morath to find her quarters abandoned.

Seven damned years without him, and the toll it took showed in numerous ways. Elide hadn’t laughed beyond forced politeness since Lorcan had walked away from her, and she cursed silently at her disturbed sleep. When she dreamed, that joy felt close again; not the faint echo tarnished by distance and time. Her only hope for even the briefest reprieve from her bone-deep weariness was in sleep.

She breathed deeply, filling her lungs with air and letting it out on one long, controlled exhale. The dream lingered in snapshots, but the happiness and the ethereal quality began to fade at an alarming rate. She wished she could hold onto them rather than countdown the days until Lorcan found her again.

I will always find you. I love you.

The way it felt when their bodies came together in a rhythm they’d committed to muscle memory. Lorcan’s grip pressing small bruises into her skin; along her ribs, her waist, her thighs. Their hips rocking together and tears filling her eyes. Lorcan kissing those tears away and holding her gaze, making promises that Elide felt in her bones he intended to keep.

Lorcan had meant every word; she just knew it. Their reality didn’t change; however, since she wasn’t entirely sure that he’d managed to survive his assigned mission. Something told her she would know somehow if he had died, regardless of how unrealistic that seemed. Despite the lack of sense, Elide held on to that belief like a lifeline.

She sniffled, promptly tucking her face deeper into her pillow to stifle the sound. The last thing she wanted was anyone thinking she was unwell in some way, or even worse, asking about her troubles. She had no such luck.

“Lady Lochan?” Finnula asked, her voice tentative. She’d been Elide’s nursemaid for the majority of her life and became a lady’s maid once Elide reached adulthood. If anyone had to be nearby, Elide was grateful that it was Finnula. Even if the woman didn’t know the pain in her heart, she knew enough to keep things simple. That was invaluable on such mornings.

“Mmm?” Elide didn’t lift her face from the pillow. She needed to pull herself together.

“I thought I heard you stir. I’ve had them start preparing your breakfast. Would you like to take it in your room rather than downstairs?”

The gods had blessed her with Finnula, truly. “That would be great. Thank you.”

“It’s still quite early if you’d like to rest some more. I’ll wake you when the food is ready. A solid breakfast is best today, especially with your uncle having another parade of suitors coming through.”

The reminder was a fresh stab of pain. Vernon wouldn’t allow her any claim to her birthright as Lady of Perranth, and although he claimed marriage would help Elide’s case, she had significant doubts. Beyond that, the thought that she could be bothered to make an actual connection with any of the vile men Vernon brought forward was enough to send her out into the woods on a one-way hike.

Elide rolled to her back. The curtains let in minimal light, but somehow, Finnula clocked the pain in her expression within seconds.

“Another nightmare?” she asked. It was the same question she always asked when Elide awoke in such a state.

She was quiet for a moment, barely summoning the energy to tip her chin down in a brief nod. Finnula approached her bed and squeezed her fingers in a small gesture of comfort. Once upon a time, she would have felt guilty for lying to her maid and friend about the recurring dream. It held none of the qualities of a nightmare, but insinuating otherwise didn’t explain the guttural emotions she felt each time she awoke. All that would have occasioned was questions, maybe some theories among those who cared for her.

It was best kept to herself, she’d decided.

Very few understood what it meant to be haunted by something beautiful.

[writtenonreceipts]

Happy October!! 🎃 Very excited for spooktober, how about some Elorcan sass:

“We only have to make it until sunrise, which is… 7 hours away.”

Happy October nonny! thanks for sending this in!

My sick-adled brain wanted to keep drawing this out into further nonsense but nyquil finally had her say and we're backing away real carefully in the hopes that this is somewhat good...

warnings: none? ~4k words

...

Hauntings and Happenstance

Leaves skittered across the ground as the wind picked its way through the trees.  Huge cedar trees towered overhead and blocked out the inky black sky.  The past few days of rain and fog dominated the weather patterns, and that night was no different.  The clouds barely broke enough to offer a window to the deep crescent of the moon.  Pale silver light attempted to illuminate the forest, but the heavy bulk of the clouds ate whatever light they could.

The subtle scrape of the leaves and cool glow of light were soothing to Elide.  She’d always loved autumn with its changing colors and weather.  Especially when she had an active excuse to continue drinking hot apple cider or hot chocolate all day every day.  Now, however, her hands were empty except for her flashlight.  The stiff chill dug into her fingers making Elide plow one hand into her pocket and the other gripped the light.  It really was a cool night, with the covered sky and promise of more rain.  

Elide walked through the old Terrasen cemetery, she had a giant backpack on one shoulder and an even bigger duffel bag on the other.  A girl needed her snacks and blankets if she were going to stay in a haunted house this close to Halloween.

She’d long had a fascination with the cemetery and had quite honestly jumped at the opportunity to explore it further.  It had been abandoned back in 1856 on account of accidental double burials.  Which had then amounted to a resurgence of omen watching for any and every bad deed.  It also didn’t help that Terrasen had been known for a serial killer too—who supposedly was the caretaker of the cemetery back in ���56.

Terrasen had far too many skeletons in its closet.

The flashlight she held did a poor job at lighting the narrow trail that curved along the back of the cemetery.  Late autumn fog began to condense before her and shape into the shrubbery that was trying to take over any space it could find.  Elide sipped her cider, which was growing cold.  Maybe she should have brought another blanket.  But her backpack had already been growing full and she thought snacks might be more important than—

The snap of a twig behind her had Elide spinning around.  The beam of her flashlight intercepted a hulking shape coming towards her.  A shape she instantly recognized.

“You asshat!” Elide yelled. “Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”

In two long strides Lorcan Salvaterre leveled up with her, a smirk dancing on his mouth.  He easily took her duffel bag from her despite her glares.

“Isn’t that the idea of this plan?” he asked. “Which by the way has to be the stupidest thing you’ve done.”

She scowled at him and turned around, doing her best to walk quickly.  Lorcan of course kept stride.

“If you think it’s so stupid, why are you here?” she retorted. “Doesn’t Maeve have that party tonight?”

“You think I’d let you do this alone?” Lorcan brushed an errant branch out of his face.  He was so tall that even the recently beaten back shrubs still got in his way.  

She cut him a sharp smile. “Didn’t know you cared so much, Salvaterre.”

The night was quiet around them, save for a few skittering animals in the fallen leaves and other debris on the forest floor.  The silence, of course, made it easier for her mind to wander.  Because first and foremost, Lorcan was here.  She hadn’t even realized he’d known what she was doing tonight.

Her crush was stupid, she knew.  Lorcan was older with a brooding sort of attitude.  He was the type of guy who didn’t care what others thought of him and made certain they knew it too.  

Somehow over the last year and a half, Elide and Lorcan had formed a little friendship separate from everyone else.  He’d been held back in high school for skipping so often that Elide had managed to, somehow, get to know him better than anyone else. 

“I’m not going to let you get yourself killed, Elide,” Lorcan said.

Another twig snapped beneath their feet.  Though, it was nearly drowned out by the low growl of thunder overhead.  Hell.  Hopefully that was just a little threat and not a promise of something to come.

“You do realize the house isn’t actually haunted, right?” she asked. “I’m just doing this for extra credit in my cultural anthropology course.”

According to local legend, the old caretaker house had fallen to shambles after a series of mysterious murders swept through the down.  Murders that had been committed by the caretaker himself.  Now, the old house and cemetery were left alone, to disappear into both memory and the once vibrant forest.  For her class, Elide was going to write a paper on how the legend had been mixed and convoluted through the years.

“I know it’s not haunted,” Lorcan scoffed, “but there’s probably some dumbass who thinks it’s funny to play pranks on people like you—”

“Like me?”

“Who walk into situations they don’t belong in.”  Lorcan cast her a dark look at that, only emphasized from the shadows of the night.

Elide let out a laugh and bumped his shoulder.  Her heart thumped just a little faster, which she ignored.

“Are you worried about me now?” she teased. “It’s just a haunted house, Lorcan.”

“You’re impossible,” was all Lorcan said.

“I am impossibly delightful,” she corrected, waving her flashlight in his face.

And then to punctuate her words—it started to rain.  Big, fat drops fells from the sky and startled her out of whatever bit of teasing he’d been about to embark on.  Blinking rapidly, Elide looked up to the sky.  The canopy of trees blocked most of the heavy onslaught of rain, but it would only be a matter of time before they got soaked.

“Son of a—” Lorcan muttered.  He glanced at her, trails of rain already slipping down his face. “Seriously, Lochan?”

Elide grinned. “Scared of a little rain, Salvaterre?”

She adjusted the strap of her backpack and picked up her pace.

In a matter of minutes, they came to a small cobbled path that led through overgrown blackberry bushes and ferns.  The house was slumped to one side, the roof curved with some unknown weight.  Though, Elide imagined that in the light of day she would see heavy strings of moss hanging from the eaves of the house and the molded cross-beams sagging in age.

The porch, missing several sections of wood, wound around the perimeter of the house.  Ivy curled around the railing until it nearly consumed any bit of wood left over.  The rain only added to the ambiance of an abandoned home.

Elide picked her way to the front door, careful of any rotted-out pieces in the flooring.  The front door had been replaced on more than one occasion, as was evidenced by the shiny new padlock and set of chains strapped to the framework.

Shrugging, Elide held her flashlight out to Lorcan who approached from behind.  Despite his large form, he barely disturbed the porch.

“Hold this,” she said.

Lorcan took the light. “You got the key to this place?”

“Uh,” she said, digging around in her backpack.  Elide pulled out the lock and pick Manon had given her for her birthday last year. “Not exactly.”

“Dammit, Lochan,” Lorcan said, “did you get permission to come out here?”

“Where would the fun in that be?”  

Lorcan continued to mutter oaths under his breath, though he kept the flashlight trained on the padlock.  Elide worked in that steady stream of light, sticking the pick and hook in the lock and finding the tumblers.  The police department really needed to up their game if they wanted to keep trespassers out of the old home.  In a matter of minutes, the lock popped open and the chains fell to the floor.

The door creaked open and a puff of stale air saturated with moss and age greeted them.  Elide grinned triumphant.  And Aelin had said she wouldn’t even make it in the front door.

 Ha!

Elide grabbed the flashlight from Lorcan and stepped into the house.  Immediately, the rain ceased and it felt a fraction drier.

Cobwebs draped from the ceiling in thick billows.  Dust hung in the light lazily, only disturbed when Elide walked past.  She swung the light around to every corner noting everything.  The small chandelier overhead hardly seemed like enough to light the house.  Sconces were set up along the walls, though they were long empty of any candlewick.  One doorway led off into a tiny kitchen that held only a wood stove.  The other room was full of old furniture and smelled like mice had taken over.

Elide spun in a slow circle around the living space.  Outside there was the subtle thrum of rain pattering on the roof.  It wasn’t as big a storm as they usually saw this time of year.  As she moved around the cabin, her steps creaked beneath her and an owl gave a hoot from its perch in the trees.

“Is that it?” Lorcan asked.  He hovered near the door. “Can we go now?”

“Are you scared?” Elide raised a brow. “The great Lorcan Salvaterre taken down by a haunted house?”

He rolled his eyes at her, unamused.

In the last two years of knowing him—Elide had become very aware of who Lorcan was.  She’d gotten to know him in detention, because even if he had been held back to repeat senior year, he still preferred getting into trouble.  And then during football games, parties, and random sneak outs—he’d always been there. Somehow, they’d become friends.  And somehow, she’d let her little crush take root in her chest.

All of this was very unhelpful, because they were friends.  At least, she considered him one.  He’d been the only one to express real interest in this plan of hers to explore the old caretaker's house.  They were friends and he didn’t see anything beyond that.

Elide cleared her throat and kept talking.

“Legend says, I have to stay the night if I’m going to have any chance of meeting a spirit,” Elide said.  She gestured to the duffel bag he’d taken from her. “Hence the blankets and snacks.”

Sighing, Lorcan finally entered the house and wedged the door shut behind him.  Without the padlock and chains to keep it in place, the door slanted open near the top.  Lorcan frowned up at it.

Elide blinked at him.  “Whatcha doing?”

“I’m not leaving you in the middle of nowhere alone, Lochan,” he said. “I already said that.  Now, please tell me you have something other than a Ouija board to keep us occupied tonight.”

“You’re impossible,” she said.  She dropped down and pulled her down sleeping bag from the backpack along with a few sealed Tupperware of veggies.  The duffel had the chocolate.

Lorcan scoffed. “I’m not the one who decided to have a slumber party on death row.”

He cast another dark look around the room, stooping to avoid running into a bean that ran across the cabin.  He came to sit beside her in the middle of the floor and offered the duffel up for her.

“Its research thank-you very much,” she replied. “Go ahead and unload that, it’s just got more blankets and water.  Don’t touch my chocolate stash.”

Lorcan did as he was told, pulling out two blankets and the giant two-gallon jug of water.  He stared between her and the contents.

“How did you carry all this up here?”

“What just because I’m a woman?”

“You’re five-foot nothing with even less meat on your bones than a rabbit.”

Elide stared at him. “I’m going to choose not to take offense to that as long as you hand over the chocolate now.”

“I’m just saying,” Lorcan began, holding the grocery sack of candy out, “I wouldn’t have expected you to handle all that.”

“Yeah right,” Elide muttered.  She was grateful for the shadows cast by the flashlight and that hopefully the flush rising in her cheeks was unnoticeable.  She tore into one of the chocolate bars and tossed him the veggies. “There, you can be the healthy one.”

And if she wasn’t mistaken, she could have sworn there was a flash of a smile on his lips.

They sat in silence for a few minutes with only the flashlight to illuminate the room.  The poor light was hardly helpful however and against her will, Elide found herself glancing off to the far corners of the cabin.  She knew it was silly.  The house wasn’t drafty and it seemed well enough intact that there shouldn’t be anything sneaking in.  Hopefully.

“What kind of extra credit assignment calls for all this?” Lorcan asked.  He nibbled on a carrot slice un-enthusiastically as he looked around the cabin.

“Anthro exists on a whole other plain,” Elide said. “The professor doesn’t really care what we do as long as we don’t give him any grief.  And no one else seemed interested in this, so I figured why not.”

“Why not indeed,” Lorcan mused. “You just choose chaos at any chance you get.”

Elide threw her half-eaten candy bar at him, which Lorcan caught with ease.  Damn him.  He only grinned and took a bite of the chocolate before leaning back on an elbow to stare up at the darkened ceiling.

“Y’know,” he began, but a soft snuffling cut him off followed by a series of creaks and groans from the porch outside.

Elide sat up straighter and went for her phone.  She’d planned on getting a few recordings or pictures to show for her efforts.  And she knew, of course, that it was probably an animal out there but--

“Let’s go see,” she said.  

“What?” Lorcan snatched out a hand and snagged her wrist. “We are not going to do that.”

“Oh come on,” Elide insisted.  She tried shaking him off, but his grip was tight. “It’s probably a mouse or something.”

The snuffling got louder and the aged wood outside squeaked with the distinct hint of splinters.  Perhaps it was not a mouse.  By now the rain had lightened up a bit, so it wouldn’t be surprising if there were other animals coming out of their hovels.  But she wanted to make this little adventure worthwhile and just catching images of Lorcan—no matter how satisfying—wouldn’t really help her in her search for extra credit.

“Or it could be something not so friendly,” Lorcan said.  He didn’t loosen his hold on her, but his voice was softer than it usually ever was.

Elide scowled. “I could be missing my chance to catch footage of a ghost, you know.”

“Or missing the chance to get rabies.”

Lorcan held her gaze for long enough that the noise outside faded.  Huffing, Elide settled back down and finally managed to pull her arm away from him.

“You never did answer my question,” she said.  She pulled a deck of playing cards from the backpack and began shuffling the deck.  She’d been content to play a one woman round of solitaire, but if he was going to insist on staying they could play poker.  It had been a while since she’d kicked his ass at it.

“What question?” he asked, tucking the now empty candy wrapper in the duffle bag.

“Why you’re here,” Elide said.  “You didn’t have to come.  I just texted the group so you’d stop bothering me about going to Maeve’s party.”

Maeve had been a miserable part of Elide’s life ever since starting college that September.  The older girl was relentlessly inserting herself into situations and inviting Lorcan out on “study dates.”  She used to have her claws latched onto Aelin, until the blonde nearly bit Maeve's head off a few weeks ago.  Unfortunately, the girl did know how to throw a party and given how midterms had sucked the life out of everyone it had seemed like a good idea to go.

But Elide still clung to one thread of sanity to know that being anywhere near Maeve while harboring a crush against Lorcan was the stupidest thing she could do.

“I didn’t want to go to Maeve’s party either,” Lorcan said.  He was leaning back on his elbows again and the shadows cast from the flashlight illuminated angles of his face she’d never noticed before. 

“You didn’t want to go to Maeve’s party?” Elide asked in disbelief. “Her family owns the country club and has enough fancy booze to keep the entire city sated.  She may be a bitch, but she knows how to have a good time.”

Lorcan barked out a laugh. “I didn’t know you felt so strongly, Lochan.”

Ignoring the blush that rose to her cheeks, Elide kept shuffling the cards.  She couldn’t bring herself to deal them out and invite him to play another little game with her.

Games with the likes of Lorcan were easy enough—don’t back down, keep a sharp tongue, and never apologize.  But it was moments like this when she kept making eye contact and kept fighting a blush that she had trouble remembering those little rules.  She wasn’t going to survive the night.

Lorcan held her gaze now, though, firm and steady.  

“I don’t like Maeve,” Elide finally said.  “She’s never bothered to talk to me, so why should I seek out her approval?”

That got her another smile.  

“Makes sense,” he replied, “why waste time on something that’s not worth it in the end?”

“Exactly.”

Outside, a gust of wind howled and rain slanted against the side of the cabin.  Something heavy thudded against the far wall sending a shudder through each of the beams and floor.  

Elide couldn’t help but shudder.  She wasn’t scared, of course, but sometimes she didn’t do too well during storms.

“Did the caretaker murder men or women?” Lorcan asked as dust spun in the glow of the flashlight. “Just so I know if I need to start running yet.”

“There’s no ghost,” Elide told him.

“You’re shaking,” he pointed out.

Indeed, she was.  Elide ignored it and began dealing out the cards to distract herself.  

“Seven card draw,” she said, “jokers are wild.”

“Weird way to play go-fish,” Lorcan muttered as he arranged his card.

“We’re playing poker,” she corrected.

Lorcan stared at her over his card. “Hell no, I’m not stupid enough to play poker against you.  And don’t give me that innocent I don’t know what you’re talking about look, it won’t work.”

He’d pitched his voice an octave in clear mockery of her.  Elide threw another candy bar at him. “I don’t sound like that!”

Lorcan only laughed, letting the candy bar bounce off his chest.

The wind continued.  And with the way Elide and Lorcan played—ruthless with no holding back—go-fish turned into a near bloody battle.  They ultimately called a truce after six rounds, three each.

“Tie-breaker!” Elide ordered, gathering the cards back up.

Lorcan groaned and fell on his back. “You said that last time.  How long are we staying here?”

“We only have to make it until sunrise,” she said and glanced at her watch, “which is seven hours away.”

“Seriously, woman?” Lorcan sat up enough to glare at her and Elide only smirked.

“Worried about missing your beauty sleep?”

“No, I’m worried about what this floor will do to my back.”  He sat up if only to glare at the offending matter.

“C’mon,” she said, “let's spread the blankets out.”

In a matter of seconds, they had the first two blankets spread out as a mat.  It would be a little better than laying on the bare floor.  Another gust of wind from outside, this one managing to ease through the nooks and crannies of the cabin.

Elide shivered. “I forgot how cold it gets out here.”

“You take the sleeping bag,” Lorcan said.

“I’m not letting you freeze to death.”

“Do you suggest we snuggle then?”

“Are you that touch starved that even the thought of snuggling has you sneering?”

They glared at each other from across the stretch of blankets.  Elide broke first and began to fully unzip the sleeping bag so it spread out completely. 

“You get one side, I get the other,” she said, “and remember, you’re the one who decided to join me out here.”

Lorcan rolled his eyes, toeing off his boots. “The ghost killed men and you’re just biding your time, aren’t you?”

“Please, if I wanted to get rid of you, I would have by now.”  The words were out before she could really process them herself, but Lorcan, it seemed, missed the implication hidden behind them.  Good.  She wouldn’t make it through the rest of the night if he started teasing her.

They settled down beneath the sleeping back with a good six inches between them.  There was a draft on Elide’s outer side, but she didn’t want to risk snuggling into Lorcan.  So she kept ramrod straight and clicked off the flashlight.

It was perfectly silent now.  Not even the little gusts of wind outside seemed to register anything in Elide.  She could hear the wood of the cabin settling and the occasional scuttle of a mouse off in one corner.  She tried not to think about that too closely.  Everything had settled into a lull that she almost thought Lorcan had fallen asleep beside her.

“I don’t like Maeve either,” he said into the darkness. “Don’t like that party scene, too.  It’s what got me into a mess in High School and I just managed to get all that behind me.”

Elide knew--mostly--what his high school years had been like.  Too many parties, not enough studying.  He would either flunk tests for not knowing the material or flunk because he was suspended.  For a while, Elide had thought there was nothing more to Lorcan Salvaterre than drunken nights and wasted DNA.

And boy, how she was wrong.

“So coming out to a haunted house behind a cemetery is how you decide to change your ways?” she turned toward him, just enough to catch the shake of his head.

“Well I’d like to think I helped prevent you from doing anything stupid,” he said.

“You failed on that when you let me pick the lock to the front door.”

Lorcan shifted closer to her and Elide could just make out the glint in his eyes.

“You are full of surprises, you know?”

Elide shrugged, finally feeling herself relax a little. “It’s what keeps things interesting.”

“Menace,” Lorcan muttered.

Elide reached out beneath the blanket to poke his side, earning a curse.

…

Somewhere along the way of their scattered conversations—they fell asleep.  Elide would never be able to explain how—considering the wind outside, the surety of mice and spiders crawling on the floor, and the guarantee of haunting of some sort happening—but sleep did fall over them.

And when she woke up to the pale streams of dawn, Elide found that she wasn’t freezing or covered in rodent bites.  Rather, she was tucked against Lorcan’s side, snug against his chest.  One of his arms fell around her waist, the other stretched over head.  She was nestled in so close that she could smell his cologne mingling with his natural scent.  She might have only gotten six hours of sleep, but it was the best damn rest she’d had in a long time.

Not good.  Not good. Not even remotely good.  Elide shifted, ready to roll back to her side of the makeshift bed.  Lorcan’s arm tightened around her keeping her firmly in place.  Which, sure wasn’t the worst thing in the world.  But this was also Lorcan.

She paused for a minute thinking about how her extra credit assignment was going to go if she admitted to a night of snuggling up beside one of her closest friends. 

Oh hell.  Her friend who she had a crush on.

Elide squinted up at Lorcan, his usually harsh face softening in his sleep.  How different he looked like this, more open and relaxed.  Closing her eyes, she let herself drift back off to sleep.  She would let her self worry about the ramifications of this later.

...

tags: if you like to be added to my TOG tag list let me know!

@morganofthewildfire // @aelinchocolatelover // @sexy-dumpster-fire // @bamchickawowow //  @ireallyshouldsleeprn //  @courtofjurdan //  @sassys-world  //  @sleeping-and-books  //  @superspiritfestival // @chieflemming // @julemmaes // @lysandra-ghost-leopard //   @firestarsandseneschals //  @rapunzel1523  //  @booksofthemoon  // @fangirlprincess09  // @highladysith  // @tillyrubes10  // @bri-loves-sunflowers // @rowaelinismyotp // @sheharahu // @1islessthan3books // @fromthelibraryofemilyj // @vanzetanze // @foughtconquered  // @acciowests // @cassianscool // @thegreyj // @story-scribbler  // @jesstargaryenqueen  // @amoretheiwa // @jorjy-jo // @danibutterr @live-the-fangirl-life // @foreverfallingforthestars //  @pastasiren // @whimsicallyreading // @infernoqueen19  // @mis-lil-red  // @lemonade-coolattas  // @realbookloverproblems // @ghostlyrose2 // @rainbowcheetah512 // @bri-loves-sunflowers // @captain-swan-is-endgame // @mystic-bibliophile // @cretaceous-therapod // @swankii-art-teacher //  @thisloveseternal // @gracie-rosee // @goddess-aelin // @liars-lmao // @emily-gsh // @rowaelinrambling // @bookcide //

[hlizr50]

I've been artsy this weekend!

First I wanted to shout out an Elorcan AU fic that inspired this first one. Disneyland DILF was the MOST fun (read it here) and I just had had to draw for it!

Thank you @labellefleur-sauvage for writing such a fun fic!! Here's Disneyland DILF Lorcan!

[elorcanweekofficial]

Lorcan promised Elide, "I will always find you."

So for day five of Elorcan Week, it's time to explore a love that transcends time and distance.

It's time for AU day!

Be sure to tag @elorcanweek2022 so we can share your work with the world!

[vikingmagic33]

Avoiding spoilers for HOFAS? Maybe you want to read Gwyn as Mulan from the 1998 classic Disney animated movie?

Here it is!

Gwynriel AU. Canon compliant world building, but with alternate setup for Gwyn and Aziel’s growing connection. Disney’s Animated Mulan (1998) is the trope/plot/inspiration, but the characters themselves never appear.

Prythian is under attack and heroes straight out of the history books and myths have arrived from another world to help. Gwyneth Berdara refuses to stay behind while others die protecting her and her people. Priestesses have been exempted from conscriptions, so she must assume a new identity and leave everything she knows in order to train and fight with the other recruits.

Also this is my first attempt at procreate and I worked really hard on it, so please don't post without credit.

[theladyofdeath]

500 words or less prompt: Elide walks in on Lorcan taking a bubble bath. There are candles.

A/N: There's something about fluff in a bathtub that just...gets to me. I hope you enjoy!

It was dark when Elide got home.

She had promised to be home hours ago but had to stay late at the bar. Her replacement had been running behind, their car battery dying, which led to Elide's early night off becoming just the same as every other night.

She came into the kitchen through the garage, seeing a cleaned plate on the counter. After looking in the fridge, she saw that Lorcan had made her a plate and set it in there after it was clear she wasn't coming home any time soon.

"Lor?"

He didn't answer.

The house was dark and silent, but his truck was in the garage so she knew he was home. After slipping off her shoes and hanging her keys on the hook, Elide made her way through the house. A candle was burning in the living room, and the t.v. was on but paused, halfway through a movie that Lorcan had apparently been watching.

"Lor?" she called again, in a sing-song voice. There was still no response as she began making her way upstairs. The house was old, each step creaking as she walked up the stairs. They'd gotten it cheap, as a fixer upper, and it was now the epitome of comfy and cozy.

As she made her way down the hallway, the softest of relaxing music filled the space.

Suddenly, Elide knew exactly where she would find him.

Through the master bedroom, Elide gently pushed open the door to the master bathroom and chuckled at the sight of Lorcan. His massive frame was submerged beneath a heap of bubbles in the tub. It smelled like lavender and vanilla; candles were strewn all around the bathroom. Soft, Celtic music played. Lorcan's eyes were shut.

Seeming to sense her presence, he said, "It's been a long day."

"People piss you off?"

"People always piss me off."

"Do I need to kick someone's ass?" Elide offered, still keeping her voice quiet.

Lorcan chuckled as he opened his eyes and looked at his wife. "I'll never say no to that. You're late."

She frowned. "I know. My replacement ran late. I saw my dinner in the fridge. Thank you."

He nodded, his eyes soft. He was clearly exhausted. "If you can wait to eat..." He gestured for her to join him.

Elide suppressed her grin. Lorcan was not a small man, but in contrast, Elide was a small woman. Even if he took up eighty percent of the tub, Elide only took up the other twenty.

"I don't know," she teased. "I'm pretty hungry."

Lorcan snorted as his eyes closed, once more. "I promise it'll be worth it."

Elide couldn't deny that. She stripped off her clothes and meandered into the tub, sitting idly on Lorcan's lap. He wrapped his arms around her and laid his chin on top of her head as the music played around them.

There was nothing sexual about it, only comfort. He rubbed her back gently, his fingers dancing across her skin smoothly, and just as Elide closed her eyes and began to drift into a state of utter calmness, Lorcan chuckled.

She opened her eyes and glanced up at him. "What?"

"I just imagined you kicking the ass of the sixty-year-old woman that made me want to quit my job today," he said, quietly. "It was satisfying."

Elide laughed quietly as she snuggled up against him, breathing him in. "Your twisted mind would find joy in that."

"If my mind is twisted, yours is just as bad."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Elide said, fingers trailing down his chest. "I'm nothing but pure and innocent."

Lorcan took her fingers and made them still before bringing them to his mouth and kissing each fingertip softly, teasingly. His tone set her on fire when he said, "You are not pure or innocent."

Elide grinned, refusing to correct him, because they both knew it was true. Their hands wandered one another until simple touches became unbearable. They made love to one another until the water ran cold, and it was nearly midnight before Elide got around to her dinner.

But she didn't mind.

[malulls]

The bet

Manorian hockey au

The high-pitched sound of the alarm began to ring through the room, waking Dorian so suddenly he felt like he had been hit in the forehead by a hammer. His eyelids fluttered, before slowly opening. Manon moved from where she was lying on top of him, and sat up in bed with a frown on her forehead. They both looked at the clock, marking six hours in the morning. Gods, he still hated waking up so early.

—Sorry. — Dorian said, sitting up to turn off the alarm and stop the noise. — I have a game today.

She rubbed her face and brushed her hair out of her eyes, muttering a curse.

— Is that why you were sleeping like a baby at eight?

Her voice was still hoarse with sleep, and Dorian felt every inch of his body want to lie back on the pillow and pull her with him. Instead, he leaned forward, in the opposite direction, and bit her lower lip.

— That's not what I remember to be doing at eight.

Manon rolled her eyes and sighed, knowing that they couldn't go on with that, at least not now. He got out of bed and went into the bathroom.

— You can stay and sleep until you have to go to class, if you want.

— It's fine. — she said, and rose to look for her clothes around the bedroom. — I need a ride to the campus anyway.

Dorian tried to get ready as quickly as possible so she wouldn't be waiting and he wouldn't be late, but it took a few minutes for sleep to leave his body completely, and to fix the mess Manon had made of his hair. When he left, she was already dressed in front of the mirror that stayed on the wardrobe door, pinning her hair into a ponytail, looking at the bruises on her neck that the white T-shirt she wore the night before did nothing to hide. She showed her middle finger when she saw him.

— I told you not to leave anything where the shirt wouldn't cover it. — Manon complained.

She let her hair down, which hid the marks, but the white strands were too tangled and messy to leave like that.

— Surely that's not what you said when I was putting them there.

A shoe flew past his head, and Dorian hid his smile so that she wouldn't throw the other one too. He finished dressing, and was putting on the jacket of the hockey team, but stopped halfway through the movement. The collar was high enough to cover her neck, and it would certainly be loose on her, but it would work until she could change clothes. He took it off and threw it to Manon.

— I think it'll solve the problem.

She looked from the coat to him like she was going to give it back, but took it with her when she went to the bathroom. Dorian went down the stairs that led to the living room, and found Chaol and Fenrys already awake in the kitchen. The first one holding a coffee mug, the second with his head resting on his hands and looking as if he had been hit by a truck.

— You look like shit. — Dorian said as a good morning, and opened the fridge to look for something to eat.

— Good morning to you too, Havilliard. — he murmured, and laid half his body on the counter. — Rowan is going to kill me.

— And we're going to make popcorn and watch. — Chaol replied, placing a glass full of water next to his head. — I don't know why you insist on drinking when there's a game the next day.

— The problem wasn't the drinking. — he grumbled, closing his eyes. — It's what came after. I barely slept.

— Who was the lucky lady this time? — Dorian asked, taking a seat beside Fenrys.

— One of your girlfriend's friends. The red-haired. Vesta.

He blinked, surprised, but not that much. At least it explained the sorry state Fenrys was in.

— Explains a lot. And don't say that Manon is my girlfriend. She'll rip your balls off if she hears that.

She chose that moment to appear on the stairs, looking more awake, with her hair pinned up and so beautiful in his jacket that it was ridiculous. Dorian looked away so that at least he wouldn't look as stupid as he was feeling. Fenrys suddenly came back to life when he saw her wearing the red coat of the team.

— Let's go? — Manon called out.

— I'm finishing - Dorian tossed her the car keys. — You can wait there if you're not going to steal my car and leave me behind again.

— It's been weeks ago. Get over it. — she paused in the doorway before closing it. — And I won't have to steal anything if you don't take too long.

The white door slammed shut and she left after the implied threat, ignoring the stares of the two curious men behind him. Dorian stared in the direction she had gone until Fenrys lifted his head, smiling in a way that totally justified the wolf nickname he had won on the ice.

— You were saying? - he began, in the most teasing and irritating voice possible. — Or were your thoughts interrupted by the thousands of pink hearts that appeared in your eyes when she showed up with your last name on her back?

— If you don't shut up, I'll tell Rowan that you not only drank, but had sex until three in the morning before you can defend yourself.

— It was until two in the morning.

— It won't make any difference to him, you can be sure.

Dorian put his plate in the sink behind Chaol when he finished, and said goodbye to both of them, ignoring Fenrys' mumbling. He stopped at the cupboard by the stairs to get his things while the rest of the boys went downstairs.

— See you all later. — he shouted before closing the door.

He felt a spark of electricity run through him as he stepped out into the cool morning air and walked to his car — and to the girl waiting inside. Suddenly, it didn't matter that much that the sun had barely risen. A good kind of anxiety that always preceded the games took over him, it was what happened when he put into practice everything he had worked so hard to train for.

Besides, now there was always the certainty that when he looked at the bleachers, Manon would be there. Dorian sighed, but ended up smiling. Maybe Fenrys was right about the hearts in his eyes. No matter how much Manon said against it, he knew that she had started watching the games because of him before she became obsessed with ice hockey. And Dorian would be lying if he said he wouldn't like to see her in the crowd wearing his jacket, or that she wasn't the one he looked for when they left after the game was over. Every single time.

But he didn't have time to dream about that — or about her — not at that moment. He had a game to win. And when he did, it always made anything else worth it.

—

Elide's surprised squeal could have woken a sleeping monster on the other side of the world and underground, Manon thought. It certainly had woken her. She stretched and sat up in bed for the second time in the day, at least now at a more acceptable hour. The alarm on her cell phone that normally woke her up began to ring seconds later.

— What? — she asked.

Elide didn't answer. She looked like a small animal excited and surprised by... ah. That. Manon hadn't bothered to change after Dorian had left her in front of the dorm. She had just taken off her pants, closed her eyes as quickly as possible, and blacked out. So she was still wearing the damn jacket. She hadn't even thought about taking it off. It was comfortable. It had nothing to do with being Dorian's, or his smell, or the "Havilliard" written in white on the back, just above the number 13.

— So — Manon's friend began, turning around both to hide a smile and to pick up whatever she had gone to her room to get. — When did he give you this?

— He didn't. — Manon answered, rolling her eyes. She got out of bed and went to the closet to start dressing. Gods, she needed a bath. — He borrowed it because the shirt I had didn't cover my neck, and I wasn't going to walk around the campus like this. — She lowered the jacket to the level of her elbows. Elide blushed when she saw the situation. — I'll give it back tonight at the game. And stop acting like you're pure. I'm the one who stays awake till the middle of the night with you and Lorcan wrecking the room.

— Manon!

She blushed harder and went to the doorway while Manon went to the bathroom. But Elide stopped before she left and called her again.

— Dorian would be glad to see you wearing this tonight. He could have borrowed any other coat. But he gave you this one.

The black-haired girl shrugged and said nothing more, as if she had left the sentence incomplete so Manon could think about it and get to some conclusion. But she decided just to ignore what Elide said, and went into the bathroom they shared. She had already had to deal with the stares of Fenrys and Chaol, and it was too soon for all that drama.

Of course it was important to Dorian, it was the fucking team jacket. But that meant nothing. It was just the first thing he saw. She sighed as the warm water began to fall over her body, soothing her tired muscles from the night before. They were sore, like wanting to throw in her face how much she had exaggerated with that "eight".

Anyway, she wasn't Dorian's girlfriend to walk around the arena in his coat while he was on the ice. It didn't matter either that she knew Elide maybe was right about him being glad to see her wearing it. Manon groaned, resting her head on the glass.

She was just going to give the damn jacket back.

—

Manon: where are you?

Dorian: locker room.

Manon: Already? Did you have to go on the show without your gala outfit matching the rest of the models?

I brought your coat

Dorian: The lack of the outfit didn't affect my impeccable performance for your information

And you can keep it if you want

You know that

Manon: and be attacked by 15 different girls who will be heartbroken if they think you're dating?

No, thank you

Dorian: has anyone ever told you that your sense of humor is a jewel?

Manon: Go put your skates on Havilliard

—

Manon looked anxiously at the scoreboard for what seemed like the thousandth time in the last minute, while Vesta and Elide were swearing beside her. They were losing. A curse escaped her mouth as well. Maybe, initially, she had started watching the matches and had become curious because of Dorian, but Manon had discovered that she really liked the adrenaline of hockey.

And if she wasn't lying, she enjoyed watching him play. If there was any way for Dorian Havilliard to be hotter, it was when he was on ice. There was a contagious tension and excitement before playing that was almost visible in the boys. Then, if they won, they had a huge party that was almost as interesting as the game to celebrate the victory. And when she and Dorian got tired of the party, they disappeared upstairs and he fucked her even better than he normally did. If he loved the games, she had learned to enjoy them too.

And she hated losing to the arrogant assholes from the other universities. Not that the boys on the Orynth University team weren't, but as Aelin Galathynius liked to say, the only arrogant assholes she would bother to tolerate were those, and that was enough for a lifetime.

But it wasn't just because she was competitive that Manon hated to lose. She knew how hard Dorian worked, and how down he got when the team lost. That match was being hard.

The boys came skating back onto the ice at the end of the break, and their half of the crowd screamed, trying to get them excited again. It was clear how tired they were. The other team was good. Really good.

She looked for the number 13 on Dorian's uniform, at the same time that he found her in the bleachers. They looked at the scoreboard at the same time, and she reprimanded him with a look.

We're trying, he said, just moving his mouth.

Try harder then.

Dorian rolled his eyes at her answer. They evidently had a disadvantage, and though it was not so great and they did not seem to have given up yet, it would be difficult for them to win. A silly idea popped into her mind, one that would surely take away at least some of Dorian's worry. Manon looked at the scoreboard again, biting her lip. Well, fuck it.

Do you want to make a bet? , She asked, and Dorian frowned.

What?

She lifted the jacket in her hand. If you win, I'll wear this.

Dorian blinked, surprised, and then smiled.

Deal

Before the two of them could say anything else, the coach called out, he put on his helmet, and seconds later was in position with the rest of the team, getting ready for the last chance to win. And now, there was no way he was going to lose.

—

The rest of the game seemed to happen at light speed. Dorian had the audacity to score two goals. The first was enough to make the boys recover their confidence and turn the game. Chaol managed to get the defense better and didn't let the disc pass once again. It was Rowan Whitethorn who scored the winning goal. The crowd went a bit crazy, and even Manon screamed a little, infected with the cheer. It was one of the best games she had ever seen.

She, Vesta and Elide went outside the doors, waiting for the boys to come out. She was surprised to see her friend there, and even more surprised when she said she would go to the party to see Fenrys. She would need a report later about when that had happened.

The two had both widened their eyes when they saw Manon putting on the jacket, as did half of the people in the arena. She only explained the bet, like it was nothing. They were not alone, Aelin and Yrene Towers met them at the exit to wait for Rowan and Chaol.

With many celebrating shouts, the doors opened and the team exited, half of them going in their direction. Manon's heart raced. Dorian was looking straight at her, with a smile so large on his face that she felt her mouth curl up at the corners.

— You lost — he joked, standing in front of her.

— You didn't. — Manon replied, crossing her arms.

He slipped his arm around her waist, and she didn't even think to resist when he pulled her into a kiss. She buried her fingers in his hair, still wet from the shower, ignoring the screams that began around them. Neither of them cared about the scandalous idiots. She could feel how happy he was, as if he was still smiling even as he kissed her. They were breathless when they pulled back, still ignoring everyone.

— I'm proud of you, princeling — she whispered into his lips, low enough so only he could hear.

He kissed Manon again, slower that time.

— Let's go. — Dorian pointed as they separated, and was quick enough to steal a kiss on her cheek before Manon could get away. Then he laughed at her scowl.

They both finally started to follow their friends, who were already shouting at them to leave the kissing for the bedroom. Dorian didn't try to hold her hand because he knew better than that, but he put an arm around her waist, and as they walked he pulled her closer. Manon let him.

That night, she would let.

—

🎨: @mellendraws

commissioned by: shavanreads

I LOVED writing manorian with that off-campus vibe, mostly because I re-read The Deal at the end of last year and I was obsessed with this fanart (as always)

This fic should've been posted in january but the tags weren't working 🙄, after three fucking months they're finally working again

Anyway, I hope you all like it 😘

[snelbz]

‘Til Death Do Us Part {Chapter Eighteen}

Elorcan. Rockstar Modern AU.

@snelbz x @theladyofdeath collab.

‘Til Death Do Us Part Masterlist

A/N: Sorry for the long wait between chapters. Tara and I dove headfirst into Zodiac Academy, reading every single book back to back to back, and then she came to town and we spent time together instead of writing. On top of that, I no longer have a desktop to post off of, so I have to do so at work once all of my other responsibilities have been completed. Enjoy and please let us know what you think!

This chapter is 18+.

WC: 4506

Elide —

I wake up to a barbaric elbow digging into my side. Apparently I found Lorcan’s shoulder a lot more comfortable than I had originally intended because I notice the airplane is descending. He’s looking down at me, grinning, and pointing to the side of my mouth.

“You, uh…got a little drool…”

My hand flies up to my mouth but it’s perfectly dry and I narrow my eyes as I shove him and lift my head from his shoulder. He laughs quietly, his hand coming to rest on my thigh.

We left a little after ten this morning and I honestly have no idea what to expect. Since everything had been going amazingly between us for the last month, we decided we should finally take our honeymoon.

Lorcan suggested Skull’s Bay, which is apparently some boujee island resort but I was kind of put off by the name. Lorcan, of all people, would try to scare his wife by bringing her to some horror themed island or amusement park for our honeymoon.

I prayed to the gods that this was not the case.

I’m not a fan of flying so I took something to calm me down just before we boarded. Apparently it worked too well because I didn’t remember a damn thing from the flight in.

“We’ll land in about ten minutes,” Lorcan promised, his voice now gentle. “I promise the long plane ride will be worth it.”

I smile as I rest my head against his shoulder once again. He holds onto me until the airplane touches the ground. 

There are certainly advantages to being married to a rockstar. One of those advantages is first class seats on a six hour flight. I would’ve had no problem fitting in one of the economy class seats, but my six-foot-four husband? His knees would have been in his chest the whole time. Instead, we’re stretched out in our pod, his long legs comfortable crossed at the ankle.

As soon as we get off the plane, I can feel the heat settle into me in a way it hadn’t in Orynth. Our bags take a bit to come out, but then we’re being greeted by a man holding a sign that says Salvaterre.

“This actually happens,” I ask, squeezing Lorcan’s hand as we approach our driver. “I thought that was just in movies. You must be super important.”

He gives me an exasperated look, one he’s started using when I drag him for being too rich and needing to come back down to earth.

He shakes our driver’s hand and introduces himself and then we’re on our way. It’s about a thirty minute drive to the resort and as soon as we see the entrance, I’m glaring at Lorcan.

“It looks scary,” I say, pointing to the skulls decorating the sign.

“Baby, it’s called Skull’s Bay,” he chuckles, pressing a kiss to the top of my head. “There’s going to be some skulls.”

“It’s zombie pirates, isn’t it?” I chance a look out the window, but see nothing but the ocean and white sand. “That’s what the theme is. It’s gonna be like that Scooby Doo movie from the nineties.”

He laughs quietly as he shakes his head. “Pirates maybe, not sure about the zombie part.” He meets my eye. “I promise nothing will jump out at you, alright? Not intentionally, anyway.”

Well that’s not exactly comforting. 

As we pull up to the massive hotel I must admit that it’s beautiful. Situated right on the beach, it has multiple pools and spas and bars. It’s a mile walk away from all the touristy spots which, even though I’m still slightly scared of the island, I really wanna visit. 

If I thought the outside of the hotel was beautiful, the inside is spectacular. I’ve never stayed somewhere so nice. My travels usually include a sketchy motel, not a five star island resort. I’m suddenly nervous, which seems silly. 

“What do you think?” Lorcan asks when we step into the elevator. 

“I’m anxious to know what our room looks like,” i confess. “I’m suddenly scared to touch anything.”

He chuckles before correcting, “Suite.”

I blink. “What?”

“We booked a suite, not a room. If you’re going to be traveling like the rich and famous, like myself, you have to have the terminology right. Come on now.”

He’s teasing me.

I roll my eyes and jab him in the side but he catches my hand and pulls me closer to him.

The past month has been one of the best of my life. It seems that Yrene was right and sex really was the piece that was missing from our relationship. Lorcan has been…insatiable. His desire for me was something I attributed to his need for the physical, but it’s less about him and more about me every time we’re together. I’ve had more orgasms in the past few weeks than I have in my entire life, and most of the time, he doesn’t even get inside me.

We’ve only had sex twice since then, and both times were amazing, but Lorcan’s main priority has been me. Whether it’s his fingers, tongue, or teeth on me, I always plan to touch him after he’s finished, only to be swept away in a mind-blowing orgasm.

But we’re on our honeymoon. This is a trip that’s meant for sex and I plan on having a lot of it. Right now, for instance, as soon as we get to our rooms.

If my girl parts aren’t crying for a break by the end of this week, something is wrong.

Lorcan unlocks our door after we’ve reached our suite on the top floor of the hotel. He opens the door and my jaw drops.

While the rest of the hotel is decorated like a pirate’s paradise, this room looks like the inside of a treasure chest. Everything is decorated in rich, jewel tones, silver and gold accents are peppered throughout the room, and it’s absolutely gorgeous.

Our bags are already waiting in the bedroom and Lorcan goes straight for his, digging out his vape, thanking the gods for portable tobacco. I ignore him and take a walk around the rest of the suite. There’s a rustic feel to the room, despite its opulence, thanks to the distressed wood on the walls.

This place is practically a second home. It has multiple televisions, a washer and dryer, and a fully stocked bar. There’s a full kitchen, a fireplace, two love seats in the living room, a jacuzzi in the corner of the bathroom, plus a massive walk-in shower. It has a bench and suddenly, I have the urge to ride Lorcan under the spraying water. I’ve never been on top during sex, so I don’t know why it’s my first thought when I see it.

By the time I exit the bathroom, my husband is nowhere to be found. “Lor?”

The suite is massive, but I couldn’t have lost him in here.

I start having flashbacks to the day after our wedding. He hadn’t left then, and I highly doubt he’d leave me now. We were in Orynth then, twenty minutes from home. Now? We’re on an island, hours from home, away from the mainland.

I finally find him on the private balcony off our bedroom, facing the ocean. His phone is pressed to his ear, his hand on his hip, and he looks tense. I want to go out and rub his shoulders, to help him relax, but I don’t want to interrupt.

So instead, I decide to surprise him.

Aelin helped me shop for this trip, since my first try at lingerie was a dismal failure. The scratchy, white number I’d bought for the wedding had been cheap and it showed. It also hadn’t really been my style. I skipped on the white this time, despite knowing it was bridal lingerie. Something told me Lorcan would prefer black or red. Both colors ooze sex and sinful seduction. Armed with my husband’s gold card, I bought a few new sets that were much softer, much nicer, and fit my body a hell of a lot better.

I really hope Lorcan likes them.

I also bought a couple swimsuits, seeing as I’d owned the same one since high school, and I pull one out of my bag and toss it on the dresser, knowing we’ll end up at the beach sooner rather than later. 

Looking at the doors to the balcony, I see that Lorcan has started pacing. I reach back down into my bag, gently running a finger over the black lace of one of the bra and panty sets I bought.

I could put it in now. After his phone call, I could be ready and waiting for him, like a gift to be unwrapped.

Or I could already be unwrapped.

The sliding glass door opens and I drop the lingerie as Lorcan steps in. 

So much for my sexy surprise.

“Sorry, that was our manager. Ro and I sent what we’ve written for the new album to the record label last week and things are kind of in limbo right now.” He sees my suit on the dresser and claps his hands, rubbing them together. “But fuck that and fuck anymore phone calls, because we’re on our honeymoon. Hell, yeah, baby, let’s go to the beach.”

Beach…not bed.

I try not to let my disappointment show but he doesn’t notice. He’s too busy undressing and searching for his swim shorts. I can’t help but admire his ass as I put on my own suit. He turns as I’m tying my top and he grins as he walks toward me. “Here, let me help.” I drop my hands as he takes the ties and ties a bow at my back. “You look sexy as hell in this.”

My cheeks still heat when he tells me things like that. I turn, fingers brushing his lower abdomen, just above the band of his shorts. “You look pretty damn good yourself.”

His eyes flare and he leans down to kiss me. For a moment I think he’ll toss me on the bed and ravage me, but then he pulls back, smacks my ass and says, “Let’s go.”

He’s taking my hand and we’re out the door.

The beach is beautiful and we have our own little secluded spot. The sand is soft and warm beneath my toes and the sound of the waves brings me peace. I’ve never gone swimming in the ocean but the idea of sharks terrifies me. It would be kind of a shitty honeymoon if I become shark food.

Lorcan, always reading my mind, asks, “Wanna go for a swim?”

I hesitate. “In the water?”

A humored brow lifts. “That’s the general idea, yeah.”

My bottom lip somehow gets sucked between my teeth. “I don’t know, Lor, it seems dangerous.”

This time he flat out laughs. “We’re staying in shallow water, nothing will get you. And I’ll be right beside you the whole time. Come on. Live a little. Let that beautiful hair of yours down.”

Ugh. I can’t say no to that.

He takes my hand and leads me down the sand towards the water. I stop just before the waves can brush my toes.

“Is it cold?” I ask.

“One way to find out.” He winks and runs into the water like he’s five before diving beneath the surface. When he comes up, he shakes his hair, sending water everywhere. “Fuck! Yeah…yeah, it’s cold.”

I laugh, thinking he’s completely adorable and idiotic all at once. Shaking my head, I turn back towards our towels. “I think I’ll pass if it’s cold. Maybe if it—”

I scream as Lorcan grabs me from behind, water dripping off him, and carries me towards the waves. “Oh, no, you’re getting in with me.”

I squirm and squeal until he drops me in the water, just as unceremoniously as he’d gone in, and I push my long hair out of my face as I come back up. It’s not nearly as cold as he made it out to be, though the wind does chill the parts not submerged.

Glaring up at him, I put my hands on my hips, which is completely ineffective at showing off my sass since I’m under water from them waist down.

Something tells me Lorcan picks up on it though, as he takes my hand and pulls me deeper into the water. I hesitate and he reminds me, “Nothing is going to get you.” To prove it, he tugs on my hand until he’s lifting me, wrapping my legs around his waist. “I’ve got you.”

“I trust you,” I whisper, my lips inches from his as he goes out farther and farther into the water.

He smirks, kissing me. “Good girl.”

It’s up over his chest now, so I know I wouldn’t be able to touch the bottom at this point. There’s also no one else out this far, everyone else is farther down the beach, nowhere near us, and—

One of Lorcan’s fingers slips under the edge of my bikini bottom, brushing the lips of my sex. Gasping softly, I look up at him, eyes bright. His gaze is already on me and his finger is teasing my entrance. “Do you have any idea how sexy you look in that little bikini?”

I shake my head, trying not to whimper as he pushes in to his first knuckle. He pulls it out, sliding it back in, repeating the shallow motion over and over.

“Really?” His lips are by my ear and I’ve got my arms wrapped around his head in a vice lock. “‘Cause you’re soaked for me already, so I think you do.”

“We’re in the ocean,” I say, trying to keep my voice even as he slips his finger in deeper. “Everything is soaked.”

“Oh, baby,” he murmurs and his tongue traces the shell of my ear. “If you think I can’t tell the difference between the water and how wet your pussy is, you’re wrong.” His lips trail down my neck. “You’re so wet, I bet you could take all of my cock in one stroke.”

“Then do it,” I murmur, tipping my head to the side to give him better access. Please, gods, do it.

He adds a second finger, no longer teasing me, pumping them in and out. My hips move of their own accord. His mouth is back at my ear and I can hear the smile on his lips. “Not yet, baby. You think I can’t see how bad you want it?”

“Lorcan…” My voice is strained, my orgasm building far quicker than I expected it to. We may not be close to anyone, but we’re on a packed beach, at a resort, and my husband is finger fucking me in the ocean.

It turns me on in a way I was not expecting.

“Tease,” I mutter and his laugh is deep and sensual. My fingers weave their way into his hair and tug. His moans, the sound muffled against my neck. He adds a third finger and my legs began to shake around him.

“Yeah, baby,” he breathes and nips at my neck. “Cum for me.”

It’s a demand that I have no problem fulfilling. 

My body grows tense as I cum, but he helps me ride it out until I’m breathing heavily and going limp in his arms. I can feel how hard he’s become in his shorts and all I can think about is getting him inside of me.

I lean back and kiss him.

It’s reckless, it’s rough and he instantly melts into it. His hands are gripping my ass, his tongue sliding into my mouth. With the slightest of movements, his hips thrust into mine.

“Lor,” I whisper, although it can hardly be heard above the waves crashing against the shore, he hears me. His eyes meet mine and his pupils are so big that they’re nearly all I can see. “Fuck me.”

He lets out a long, loose breath before reaching beneath the water. I can feel his hardened length beneath me as it comes free of his shorts, and then he’s moving my bottoms aside once more. This time, he wastes no time pushing into me.

True to his word, he thrusts into me with one quick snap of his hips. I take him all in effortlessly.

He swallows my groan in a savage kiss, the pace he’s setting relentless from the get go. I whimper against him as he slams into me over and over.

One of his hands cups one of my breasts, tugging the fabric of my top to the side. I pull my lips from his as I cover his hand with mine. “What if someone sees?” I ask, breathlessly, looking towards the beach behind us.

“What if they do?” His lips are on my throat.

“They’ll take pictures. You’re famous, remember,” I gasp as he keeps pounding his cock into. “Post them online. Being a porn star isn’t one of my life aspirations.”

“You’ve got such a smart mouth,” he says, nipping at my lips. “No one can see what we’re doing. It looks like we’re floating in the water.”

I want to respond, want to tell him that’s bullshit, but he’s changed angles and is hitting a spot I didn’t know existed and suddenly, I’m seeing stars. My eyes go wide and my lips part.

“That’s right, baby.” He snaps his hips into mine again and again and I’m not able to stop myself from crying out. “Cum for me, let everyone know who makes you feel so good.”

I bite his shoulder as my orgasm slams into me, obeying his command.

He’s close behind me, falling over the edge and he doesn’t stop until we’re both clinging to one another as we attempt to catch our breaths. He stays in me for a few minutes, pressing soft kisses to my shoulder, my neck. He always does this when we’re done having sex. He becomes gentle, as if he’s trying to remind me that there’s so much more to us, to him, to me than this physical attraction. Even though the physical stuff is so, so good. He’s trying to remind me that he cherishes me. Sometimes I’m still surprised at how sweet he can really be. 

We readjust ourselves before going back up to the beach where we lay down together, both tired from traveling and making love. At one point, Lorcan falls asleep and I snap a picture because I think it’s cute as hell. 

He asks me about all the things I want to do while we’re on the island. I tell him I want to do all the touristy stuff and he can’t tell me no, even though it means we’ll be around dominantly old people, other couples, and families with small children. He agrees, though, and that’s a testament in itself in regards to how much he likes me.

We agree to spend tomorrow at all the local shops, then the next day we’ll take a tour of the island. Later in the week will be dedicated to horseback riding on the beach, spending a day in the hotel’s spas, experiencing the local clubs, and, to my terror, snorkeling. Of course, we agree that we’ll carve out time every day to come down to the beach.

It sounds like a dream. I never thought I would be able to have a vacation like this. I have a feeling I’m going to be geeking out all week but I also have a feeling that Lorcan likes it when I “geek out” so I don’t feel too bad about it. 

“Where do you see yourself in five years?”

The question makes me jump. I was so at peace listening to the waves that I didn’t even realize that Lorcan had woken up. “That’s a very interview-like question.”

He chuckles, shifting so that he’s facing me underneath our umbrella. “I realize we don’t talk about the future very much…and I think we’re pretty damn good right now in our marriage so I thought it was about time we started talking about the future.”

My stomach explodes with excitement about the thought of my future, especially with Lorcan. “I agree with that.” I take a minute to think about my answer and am disappointed. “Honestly, I’ve never really spent a lot of time thinking about the future. I spent so many years just worrying about tomorrow that I never let myself think beyond that.”

He frowns but nods, understandingly. “Surely you’ve thought about some things, though. Like having kids. Do you want kids in the next few years?”

My eyebrows raise. “I can barely take care of myself, I’m not sure I’m qualified to be a parent.”

Laughing, he pushes his damp hair back off his face. The salt in the water has made his hair wavier than normal and I want to reach out and run my fingers through it. “Pretty sure I’m even less qualified than you are, but I think we could probably figure it out.”

And then I realize that he means our children. He means having a child with me. He’s talking about me having his babies.

I had only been considering myself as a parent, not the two of us, but…we are married. If I was going to have babies with anyone on the planet, it would be the man lying next to me.

I’m not able to stop the image before it conjures in my head. A little girl, with the darkest eyes you’ve ever seen, a familiar mischievous glint sparkling there, helping a baby boy learn to walk, his full lips so similar to mine. And there’s Lorcan, smiling from where he sits on the floor with them, making sure everyone is safe.

My heart physically strains at the scene my brain conjures up for me and maybe the idea isn’t so ridiculous after all.

“It would be nice to have a couple,” I admit and then quickly add, “when we’re both ready,” as a light begins to fill his eyes that I can only call hope.

It’s his turn to raise an eyebrow. It’s the one with the sexy scar going through it. Wait, when did I start thinking facial scars were sexy?

“You’re telling me you don’t think it’s a good idea to have a baby with a stranger you married less than two months ago?”

My cheeks heat and I shove him. “I wasn’t saying right now.” He catches my hand and pulls me on top of him. My leg automatically hitches over his, just like it does when we’re sleeping, and his hand, of course, goes right to my ass. I’m not complaining. “Maybe in a couple years. I’m only twenty-five, there are still things I need to do before I start having babies.”

“Like what?” The words are muffled, because he’s leaned down and buried his face in my chest.

“Lorcan!” I grab his face and pull it back up to mine. He’s grin is breathtaking and it fries my brain for a moment. I finally remember how to speak. “You can’t do that.”

“I just did.” He rolls us so that he’s on top of me. Since my leg was hitched over his, one of his thighs is pressed snugly between mine. “What kind of things do you still want to do before having my babies?”

My babies. The butterflies return.

It takes me much longer than it should to answer the question. “Wow.”

“Hmm?” he hums, kissing my nose.

“I guess I don’t know,” I confess. “I want to be…successful, I guess. I’d like my business to grow.” Even as I say it, I feel pathetic for that being the only thing I can think of. I’m still young. I should have a long list of things I want to do before I have kids, but I don’t. “If I’m being honest, I guess I don’t really know what my purpose is.”

His eyes study mine. “What do you mean?”

I shrug. “You have your music. That’s your purpose, right? You feel whole when you write, when you play.” He nods. “I don’t mind what I do. I like being creative, but I wouldn’t really say it’s my purpose.” 

I’m not sure how he’s going to react. It’s an embarrassing thing to admit, that at twenty-five I’m still not sure what to do with my life. But then he says, “That’s okay. Maybe now that you don’t have so much stress, you can start to experiment with new things, you know? Do some trial and error. Try new things.” He leans down to kiss me. “And I’ll help you in any way that I can. I’ll support you in everything you want to invest your time in.” 

My heart feels so light I feel that it’s going to fly out of my chest. I have no idea how I got matched with someone so supportive, so caring. It nearly makes me cry. I nod, running my fingers up and down his back. “What about you? Do you ever think you’ll be done making music?”

He nods. “Touring, yeah. I don’t wanna tour forever.”

“What will you do after that?” I ask.

“Write.” He shrugs, then hesitates. “Actually, you know, I’ve never told anyone this but I think it would be really fun to start a little school for young musicians. A place where they can come to sing and record and learn to play whatever the fuck they want.”

I stare at him for a second. “Why have you never told anyone that? Lorcan, that would be amazing.”

He shrugs. “Because it’s not a reality right now. There’s too much going on to try and get that going. This is the longest break we’ve ever had and that’s not something I’m going to be able to give part of myself to.” He rests his hand on my neck and his thumb brushes over the hollow of my throat. It’s surprisingly intimate. “That’s something I’m going to pour my heart and soul into. Playing is my passion, not the fame, and I want to pass that feeling on to whoever wants to learn.”

I have to blink away the moisture in my eyes. “I think that’s a great idea, baby.”

He notices what I’ve said before I do, not even meaning for the pet name to slip out, and the smile he gives me is liable to just melt my bikini bottoms off.

He kisses me and it’s so soft and sweet that my heart swells. I pull him closer to me and wrap him in my arms as his face nuzzles into my neck. We stay there for a while, tangled up together as the sun begins to set.

We go back to the hotel early, spending the first night of our honeymoon happily in bed, bodies intertwined and talking more about the future.

[sunshinebingo]

@elorcanweekofficial Day 1 - Tropes

✨ @hlizr50 you are the best. Thanks for managing this event ✨

Synopsis: Elide goes to save Lorcan after he has been captured. The rescue mission leads to some confession between them while they fight their way out.

Alternate Synopsis: 3k worth of them arguing while literally fighting.

Word Count: 3.4k

Tropes included: Gentleman in distress, Rescue, Spy/Mafia (whatever you want to call it), Mutual pining, Grumpy/sunshine but the sunshine is a badass woman (is that a trope??)

Warning: Blood and violence

Read on Ao3

She moved the grid at the end of the air vent aside as slowly as possible to avoid any noise. Unfortunately, she knew that this passage would not be an option once she would manage to get Lorcan due to his size. One of the advantages of being petite was that she could infiltrate very small spaces. That was an especially big advantage when one was a on rescue mission like she was. Being the most petite of her gang, it was an unspoken rule for Elide to take on missions where hiding in unconventional places was required. The smallest place she had probably had to hide in was a luggage. Thankfully, years of rigorous training have kept the cramps at bay once she had to get out of it.

Drip. Drip. Drip. The sound of the water leaking was now the only thing she could hear. Good. Watching Lorcan being beaten and listening to his grunts and muffled swearing had been a true test of her patience for the last two hours. Since he had been missing for the last thirty hours, who knows for how long they had been at this. Although he was one of the strongest men she knew, Elide still needed to act before the others could come back and finish what they started.

Putting the grid aside, Elide wiggled her way out of the vent, half of her body dangling awkwardly in the air, until enough of her legs were out for her to gracefully flip herself around and land without injuring herself despite the distance of the floor from the vent. Splash. The landing would have been silent if it was not for the pool of water on the floor that had probably accumulated from the broken pipe somewhere in the room.

A quick look around confirmed that all of Maeve’s pawns have left. If the smell of rot, sweat, humidity and blood that had hit her inside the vent had not yet given away the fact that this was one of Maeve’s torture rooms, Elide would have guessed it from the blood-stained walls, the lack of exit except for the heavy iron door and the discarded instruments of torture on a table at the far end of the room; knives of all sizes and shapes, scissors, pliers and more, all rusted and covered in what she assumed was layers of filth and blood from everyone they had been used on.

And of course, the presence of Lorcan, who was tied to a chair in the middle of the small room with his back to her and his head slumped forward. She noticed the blood dripping down his bound hands and his usually long luscious hair, now looking greasy with more traces of blood.

Elide knew he had heard her entrance when he turned his head around to look at the source of the splashing water. ‘’Come to finish what you started?’’ he drawled clearly despite his battered face. Even after hours of being beaten, Lorcan still remained cocky and overconfident. Knowing that he was still breathing after what he had just gone through, Elide knew that he had reasons to. She let out a sigh of relief knowing that they had not broken him yet.

‘’The door was not a dramatic enough entrance, huh?’’ he added, thinking that she was one of those sent by Maeve.

Elide walked towards him. ‘’What kind of spy would I be if I just used the door?’’ His expression instantly changed at the sound of her voice.

‘’What the fuck are you doing here?’’ he hissed. His voice contained a mixture of fear and anger that she had no time to ponder on. She did not know how long they had before someone came in and saw her snatching their prisoner away.

‘’Saving your ass clearly,’’ she said as she walked around and finally faced him. He only had his black pants on and his bare chest contained several cuts and bruises. His face was in the same state, though she suspected from experience that none of them would ruin his beautiful face forever. But it still pained her to see Lorcan like this.

‘’I don’t need you to save me,’’ he scowled at her.

Elide stood straight, crossed her arms and looked down at him. It was one of the rare times when she did not feel like a little gnome next to the gigantic man before her.

‘’Really?’’ she deadpanned. ‘’So, being tied up while someone beats your face to a pulp is a kink of yours? Will you use that bar for some pole dance after?’’ she tilted her head, indicating the metal bar near the wall on her left.

Lorcan stuck out his tongue and licked the blood that was running into his mouth. ‘’You think you are funny,’’ he said, though she did not know whether it was a question or a statement.

Elide placed both hands on his shoulders, making sure to avoid the areas where he had been harmed, and leaned down. With her face mere inches from his, she could smell the faint remains of his cologne mixed with the blood and sweat on him. ‘’I wasn’t trying to be funny,’’ she replied.

Lorcan eyes travelled from her eyes to her lips and down her neck. He drank in the sight of her breasts which were now close to his face before trailing his eyes lower. He looked intently at her tight black leather suit and the way it hugged her body, as if he could see every weapon concealed underneath.

He looked like he wanted to say something, but Elide spared him the need for what she imagined would be another retort, when she rolled her eyes and moved to stand behind him again. She removed a hair pin from her low bun, moved it inside the handcuffs at his wrist for a few seconds before Click - they opened and Lorcan could finally move his hands again.

‘’Thank fuck,’’ he breathed out. Since she knew it was the only thanks that she would get for risking her life to save him, she greedily snatched the whispered words and locked them where she kept every crumb that she could get from Lorcan.

As soon as he was up, Lorcan grabbed her arm and made her look up at him. ‘’You shouldn’t have come here,’’ he said through gritted teeth.

Elide pulled hard and he released her. ‘’And yet I did,’’ she said firmly. She pushed a little on his chest and regretted it instantly when he winced. Despite his angry frown, she could see the exhaustion in his eyes. She placed her hands gently across his bare chest and started to apologise. Lorcan looked down where her fingers were gently swiping away a drop of blood that was trickling down from a wound. She did not if the softness that suddenly filled his gaze was due to relief, exhaustion or something else. She wanted it to be something else.

Lorcan closed his eyes and Elide felt him breathe deeply before letting out a long exhale. When he opened his eyes again, his expression was hard again as he moved to the table containing the instruments that they had used on him.  ‘’Now how the hell do we get out of here?’’ Lorcan said as he started inspecting the dirty tools. At least he could still walk properly. Elide took out a small gun from her belt along with two knives from her boots and handed them to him.

‘’I could cut you up into small pieces and carry you out through the vent.’’

Lorcan looked like he wanted to ask again if she thought she was funny. But before he could - Bang - someone hit hard on the iron door from the other side. Elide and Lorcan shared one look. He looked at the chair behind her and tilted his head to indicate the door. She understood.

A series of clicks and clacks sounded from the door as someone took their time to unlock it. Lorcan grabbed the handcuffs from the floor and sat back in the rusty chair while Elide positioned herself behind the door. She pulled out her other gun and waited. 

‘’Are you dead yet?’’ the voice of the burly man who entered echoed in the small room. Elide pressed herself closer against the wall as the door opened. She kept her breathing calm and silent, thankful that she was hidden by the still open door and that no one else was coming in. When the man stopped in front of Lorcan, she immediately recognised him as Cairn, Maeve’s favourite pet. She understood then why he was the only one who had come this time. Cairn grabbed Lorcan’s hair and roughly pulled his head back.

‘’You wish,’’ Lorcan said and Elide heard the smirk in his voice.

‘’Good,’’ Cairn surprisingly replied. ‘’Maeve has plans for you. We don’t want her toy to be damaged beyond repair now, do we?’’

Something burned inside Elide at the mention of the woman who was obsessed with Lorcan. Elide knew that he had had to fake an attraction for Maeve when a few months ago, Lorcan had infiltrated Maeve’s city and her close circle pretending that he was back in Doranelle for good. But she had always feared the possibility that spending time on the other side might sway him there. Especially considering that Lorcan had previously worked for Maeve before his friends and him had all settled in Terrasen to work for Aelin instead. She feared that perhaps, Maeve had convinced him that a life with her in Doranelle was better than in Terrasen with his friends, including the one friend who wished they were more than friends.

Lorcan scoffed. ‘’Her majesty doesn’t find you good enough, huh?’’ he teased him more. ‘’Maybe you should learn how to use your dick better.’’

From where she was peaking, Elide noticed the way that Cairn’s body tensed. But Lorcan’s remarks made her tense also. She hated the way he spoke like he had been intimate with that bitch. She hated that he had ever been close enough to touch her. And she hated the thought that perhaps he had.

Cairn pulled on Lorcan’s hair harder, causing him to groan and Elide chose that moment to pounce. She put her gun back in her belt and grabbed a knife instead. With the disgusting image of Maeve’s hands on Lorcan’s body, Elide jumped on Cairn’s back, placed her small hands on his mouth and dug her blade in his neck. Before he could make any noise, Lorcan stood up and punched Cairn in the face. Elide righted herself behind him before he could fall on her. She removed the knife embedded in the side of his neck and sliced it across his throat. Slowly, Elide placed Cairn on the ground while he still choked on his own blood.

When she looked up, she found Lorcan staring at her with wide eyes. ‘’Are you coming?’’ she stared back at him, ‘’Are would you rather wait for Maeve to come play with you?’’

He frowned but said nothing. They moved to the door and found the corridor outside to be empty. From what she had learned in her thorough research of this house before she embarked on this rescue mission, she had a rough idea of where they were and how to get out. It was risky, but the only option they had.

Lorcan followed close behind without question and Elide was again grateful that he could move on his own. She did not think that she would have been able to support his massive body all the way outside while ensuring that no one noticed them. With their guns in hand, both moved along the dark corridor, passing by several iron doors similar to the one where Lorcan was being kept, until they reached the end. They stopped in front of some stairs that Elide knew from the plan of the house would lead them to the outside of the underground basement they were in. Some hushed voices coming from the top of the stairs made them halt.

Lorcan grabbed Elide’s wrist and pulled her flush against his bare chest. ‘’We’re fucked,’’ he muttered. With nowhere else to go but up these stairs, they had to come up with a plan quickly. But before they could think of anything, two people were walking down the stairs towards them. BANG! Elide shot the first one in the chest.  Another bang, and the woman behind him went down before she could even pull her weapon out. 

‘’Great,’’ Lorcan complained behind her, ‘’Now the others will join too.’’

Elide turned to him and frowned. ‘’Did you have a better idea?’’

He shook his head in exasperation while still frowning. Instead of answering, Lorcan interlaced his free hand in hers. But before he could start pulling her up the stairs, Elide stopped him and walked in front of him again.

‘’You are injured. It’s best if I go first.’’ Without losing another second and with their hands still intertwined, they rushed past the two bodies and towards the exit. Just like Lorcan predicted, more voices were heard upstairs, indicating that more were coming here to investigate the sound of gun shots. Lorcan’s grip on her hand tightened.

‘’Fuck,’’ Lorcan groaned. ‘’Do you have another genius plan that might get us killed?’’

‘’I do,’’ Elide replied, unfazed by Lorcan’s harsh tone. ‘’We fight until we get out.’’ She came here to get him out and that was what she was going to do.

A few more steps and they reached the end of the stairs. The room separating them from the exit looked just like a regular basement where one would keep their useless junk. It was filled with shelves filled with boxes and random things that had seemingly been placed carelessly to hide the fact that this place led to a series of torture chambers. Smash! A vase exploded on the shelf right next to Elide’s head followed by a series of bangs from the five figures that have entered the basement.

Lorcan pulled hard on her hand, dragging her with him behind the highest shelf. He released her hand and adjusted the gun in both of his hands. ‘’This would not have happened if you did not come here,’’ he snapped at her before turning around and shooting at Maeve’s men.

Elide did the same and managed to hit someone in the shoulder. ‘’This would not have happened if you did not decide to come visit your psychotic girlfriend.’’

‘’She is not my girlfriend,’’ he raised his voice so that she could hear her over the bangs and smash and clunks of the flying bullets hitting glass and the stone wall and bouncing against the hard metal of the shelves.

‘’Is that how you ended up down there? Because you came here to dump her?’’

Lorcan threw his knife at someone who had managed to come close to their hiding spot. It hit the man right in the head, causing him to instantly drop dead.

Elide finally killed the man she had managed to injure before, reducing their target to three and her bullets to four. Lorcan was not doing much better with only five bullets left.

‘’You really believe that there was something between Maeve and me?’’ Lorcan asked, looking at Elide instead of his target. Bang! A bullet that nearly grazed his head made him pulled back behind their shelf.

The side look that Elide sent him must have given away her doubts. ‘’You know it was all a ruse Elide,’’ he told her.

‘’Was it?’’ Elide turned around and shot again. Bang and the woman went down with a bullet through the chest.

‘’Yes,’’ Lorcan almost shouted. ‘’All of it.’’

Elide looked at him again, her eyes pleading for the truth to a question she did not dare ask. But he seemed to have read it on her face anyway.

‘’I never had feelings for her,’’ his softer tone contrasted with his previous harsh one. ‘’I left Doranelle because it was becoming a shit hole where Maeve wanted everyone to eat out of her hands like a fucking queen. And I never once regretted walking away.’’

Perhaps it was the way in which he said it that convinced her to believe him. Yet she could not stop herself from asking. ‘’Why did you come back here then?’’

‘’They crashed my car and dragged me here for fuck sake,’’ he gritted out after shooting down another man in the knee before ending him with another bullet through the throat while he crouched in pain. That explained why his location was lost on the road. They had probably gotten rid of his damaged car to conceal the proof. ‘’They know the truth about me now so I guess they will track me everywhere until they kill me.’’

His words brought the same panic she had felt when she had learned that Lorcan had been located here. And just like when it happened then, she converted the fear into rage and determination. She pushed on the boxes on the shelf that they were hiding behind, causing the objects at the other edge to fall down. This distracted the last woman who was still shooting at them. Bang! Elide shot and her last bullet went through the woman’s eye and came out on the other side of her head.

Lorcan whispered a curse behind her. Elide grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the door before they could get ambushed again. They left the basement and quickly find a door nearby that led to the outside without encountering any further obstacle. But as soon they crossed the threshold into broad daylight, a loud bang was heard before Elide fell down holding her stomach. Before she understood where the bullet had come from, Lorcan had already used his last two to bring down a man hiding behind a nearby bush.

Lorcan’s expression was filled with fear when he looked down at her and repeated her name over and over again like a plea. But Elide opened her suit to reveal the bullet-proof vest underneath. ‘’You still think I am not qualified enough for this?’’ she asked as she stood again. His shoulders sagged with relief yet his eyes still contained the same fear.

‘’It has nothing to do with being qualified,’’ he retorted as they started running towards the gate and went through a hole in the concrete wall. After confirming that Lorcan was alright, they ran again to where Elide had left her bike, hidden behind a few trees of the forest surrounding the private estate.

‘’Then what does it have to do with?’’ she asked once they reached the bike.

Lorcan took a few steps towards her and looked straight into her eyes as he said, ‘’It has to do with the fact that I don’t want you to fucking die for me.’’  

‘’Am I dead?’’ she crossed her arms. ‘’No. But you would have if I did not volunteer to come for you.’’

Lorcan crossed his arms too but winced slightly from the movement. It seemed that the adrenaline from their escape was wearing down and his injuries were starting to make themselves known.

‘’Why?’’

“Why what?” she snapped.

Lorcan’s arm fell at his sides when he sighed. “Why did you volunteer?” he asked like the reason was obvious to everyone else but him.

“Because,” she began with growing frustration. Is he that clueless? she thought. “Ugh. You idiot,” Elide whispered more to herself. Then, she threw caution to the wind, raised up until she was standing in the tip of her boots, grabbed his bruised and bloody face between her palms and pressed her lips against his. It was gentle enough to not cause him any further pain. And still –

Of all the scenarios she had made in her mind about kissing him, she had never imagined that it would happen in a situation like this. And she never thought that it would feel like this. Lorcan wrapped his hands around her waist to pull her closer and Elide decided then that she would risk her life a thousand times over for him.

The voices coming from the direction of Maeve’s estate brought her back to reality and forced them to pull apart. The climbed on the bike with Elide at the front and Lorcan holding her tightly at the back. As soon as she started the vehicle, Lorcan leaned even closer to her. ‘’Nice suit by the way,’’ he murmured in her ear.

“You fucking idiot,” she muttered with a smile and they finally left.

[featherymalignancy]

f*cking lawyers please!! 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

It was only when Lor seemed to fumble with the zipper running down Elide’s back that she realized his hands were shaking.

“Sorry,” he murmured, ceasing in his machinations to press his forehead to hers. “I haven’t done anything like this in…a while.”

“Then I’m in good company,” she said, voice quaking slightly as she admitted, “because I’ve never done anything like this.”

Lor pulled away slightly at this, some of the color seeming to drain out of his face.

“Are you saying you’re a—”

Elide laughed, leaning up to kiss him again. “I meant a one-night stand.”

Pick a fic, and for every “🌹”, I’ll provide a preview!

[goddess-aelin]

congratulations on 1200! may i request fluffy Rowaelin where Aelin pretends to be Rowan's girlfriend at a bar because Remelle's trying to hit on him?

Thanks for the prompt! :) You know that I love any opportunity to make Remelle the bad guy. And honestly, as I was writing this, Rowan the Simp just jumped right out and I can't say I'm sorry.

Masterlist

I’m still taking prompts so send them in!

Can I Buy You a Drink?

Word Count: 1.2k

Fluff, fluff, more fluff. ( I think I'm incapable of writing anything but fluff)

Rowan was tipsy. But not tipsy enough for the blonde that was currently draping herself over him. He thought that tonight would be a fun night out celebrating Lorcan's engagement to Elide. The two had been dating for two years and Lorcan finally popped the question. Rowan was actually surprised when his best friend told him. He always thought Lorcan would either be the last of their friend group to get married or just the one to never get married. Before Elide, Lorcan never seemed interested in long term relationships. But Lorcan was a changed man and the occasion certainly called for a celebration.

Which is why Rowan found himself sitting at the bar with Lorcan, Fenrys, Gavriel, Vaughn, and Connall. Elide and some of her friends that Rowan didn't know very well were across the bar on the dance floor, insisting their parties stay separate even though they were at same bar. It's also why Rowan was currently about to flip out on the girl who felt the need to touch him every five seconds. 

Rowan knew Remelle from work, unfortunately. Perhaps that's why she latched onto him tonight. Maybe he was the only person she knew here and she just wanted to feel safe. That's what Rowan kept telling himself to reign in his disgust and anger. If she pet his arm one more time, just one more time, he wasn't sure what he was going to do. Lorcan knew exactly what was going on but Lorcan also knew Remelle. He knew that Remelle didn't understand the word "no" and that no matter of telling her to leave Rowan alone would work. Especially since the victim in question was a single man.

Rowan tried to busy himself in conversation with his friends. He tried to distract himself with bathroom breaks and the excuse of needing to get another drink. But when Remelle leaned into kiss him, that was the final straw. Rowan was just about to storm out of the bar when a gentle hand wrapped around his bicep.

"Hey Buzzard. I was wondering where you went off to." He felt a quick kiss to his cheek and as he looked over, he was met with the most beautiful turquoise eyes. Rowan knew this woman was named Aelin and she would most likely be Elide's maid of honor, being friends with the bride-to-be since they were kids. He had never spoken to her before today, though, which sent him fumbling for an answer. It wasn't every day that Rowan turned into a blushing teenager, but it seemed that the ring of gold around Aelin's eyes took away any of his flirtatious talents.

Rowan had the good sense to at least give her a little smile and her own answering smile was dazzling. It was probably best that he couldn't think of words. Otherwise, he might spit out something completely stupid like "I think I'm in love with you," or "marry me." Rowan's hand came up to Aelin's back and he found only a smooth expanse of skin. Was this girl trying to kill him? The eyes. The backless gold dress. The fact that she was his knight in shining fucking armor.

"Aelin." He heard Lorcan grumble. Aelin's answering smirk to Lorcan was one that could have made Rowan's knees weak if he was standing. Thank the Gods he wasn't.

"My, my Lorcan. I can't say that I ever thought I'd see the day that you grew enough courage to pop the question. I have to say, I'm impressed." It seemed that all Aelin had to do to irritate Lorcan was speak. Rowan couldn't help but smirk at his friend's discomfort.

A throat cleared. Oh yes, Remelle. The reason why Aelin's body was currently pressed into his side and why his hand was making small strokes on her back. If Rowan was being completely honest, he totally forgot about the devil-woman in front of him.

"And who exactly are you?" Remelle asked with a raised brow, as if she owned him.

Aelin, in all her golden glory, smiled sweetly and held out her hand. "I'm Aelin, his girlfriend. Who are you?" Rowan greatly enjoyed Remelle's look of surprise and subsequent open-mouthed stare. Rowan wished she would just take the hint and leave him alone. But of course she didn't. Of course she couldn't.

"All this time working together, Rowan, and yet I've never heard one word about you having a girlfriend."

It was at that statement that Rowan finally found his voice. "Well, we don't really like to flaunt it everywhere. We're both fairly private people." He knew Aelin could tell that he was getting tense if the way she ran her hand up and down his back was any indication. This woman he just met was soothing him. And it was helping. No one was more surprised than himself. Rowan wasn't usually one to let people touch him casually. He'd prefer if people kept their hands to themselves. But with Aelin, it was different.

"Aww. How sweet. I guess you wouldn't mind giving us all a little kiss then? You know what they say, kisses from other couples to give the future bride and groom good luck." Rowan scoffed.

"I don't think anyone has ever said that. That doesn't even sound real." He was about to refuse further when Aelin's hands touched his cheeks and turned his head towards her.

"C'mon Buzzard, just one sweet, little kiss? For me?"

Rowan didn't need to be asked twice, even if he was surprised. His arm around her back pulled her closer to him and his lips met hers gently. Aelin's idea of a "sweet, little kiss," however, turned into the the best kiss of his life. She kissed like she danced, with fire and passion. It was over way too soon for Rowan's liking when Aelin pulled away. He was breathless and all he could do was stare at Aelin with half-lidded eyes. He figured that when they pulled apart, Aelin would turn back to Remelle but her eyes stayed on his. She looked just as wrecked as he felt.

Slowly, they gravitated back towards each other. He was sure that Remelle could see that that had been their first kiss but he didn't care. All he could think about was tasting the whiskey on her tongue again. Rowan lost all sense of his surroundings when his lips met Aelin's again. He was enveloped by her. Her scent. Her taste. The small sounds she was making. He thought at some point he heard Lorcan mutter a seriously? But he couldn't be sure. And he didn't care.

When they finally pulled apart seconds, minutes, or hours later, Rowan Whitethorn was wrecked. Aelin started giggling and it was so damn cute that Rowan did the same. He was sure they made quite the sight for anyone to see, standing at the bar and laughing like teenagers.

Rowan kept his forehead against hers. "I'm Rowan, by the way."

Aelin let out a huff of breath. "I know. I'm Aelin."

"I know." Another round of laughter hit them again.

"I think she's gone." Rowan was about to ask who she was talking about but then remembered the reason why they were flush together in the first place.

"Thanks for that. She's been after me for years and apparently doesn't know how to take no for an answer."

Aelin rolled her eyes but then let out a sheepish laugh. "I'm sorry that I sort of attacked you like that. Elide pointed out what was happening so I just sort of...acted."

Rowan laughed. "It's obviously quite alright. And hopefully I can buy my girlfriend a drink to thank her?"

"I'll do you one better. How about a drink and a date tomorrow night? If you're free, of course." 

With his nod, she hopped onto the stool next to him. Rowan knew that they were here to celebrate his friend's engagement but he couldn't bring himself to regret staying in this little bubble with Aelin. And as they sat there the rest of the night, talking about anything and everything, neither of them saw the secret high five or smirks exchanged by the newly-engaged couple.

[thewayshedreamed]

💔 and 🤯 for emoji asks?

Hi, my dear! Thanks for the ask! ♥️

🤯 What's a genre you struggle with as a writer (ex. romance, action, etc.)?

- as much as I love it, I struggle with writing original fantasy. Why? World building.

- The problem with infinite possibilities is that they’re… infinite. 😅 sometimes it’s a struggle when I’m brainstorming to lean into creativity without spiraling too far down the rabbit hole and struggling to keep it cohesive, if that makes sense! I’m getting a little better with time though.

💔 Is there a fic of yours that broke your heart?

- a couple, actually 🙃 most recently, The Haunting— Elorcan war au. This part in particular hurt my feelings to write.

Seven damned years without him, and the toll it took showed in numerous ways. Elide hadn’t laughed beyond forced politeness since Lorcan had walked away from her, and she cursed silently at her disturbed sleep. When she dreamed, that joy felt close again; not the faint echo tarnished by distance and time. Her only hope for even the briefest reprieve from her bone-deep weariness was in sleep.

[hlizr50]

For @elorcanweek2022 day five, I present a little multi-chapter fanfic! I'll be posting one chapter every day for five days. Fair warning, a couple chapters are pretty short for me, but I promise it's best for the story ;)

This story also grew from one of the prompts in my asks!

At 23, Elide Lochan is a college freshman. After most of her life living under her uncle's thumb, he has finally allowed her to continue her education. But when he finds out that she has made friends he finds his control threatened. Elide is miserable and afraid, and Vernon will do most anything to break her. But he doesn't know that she has a knight in shining armor just waiting for her desperate call.

Due to formatting, I wont be posting the whole thing here.

Read it on AO3 and enjoy this teaser below!

But then came Lorcan.

She would never forget the first time she saw him, sauntering toward their table in the library wearing what should have been a terrifying scowl. But all Elide had noticed was how big he was - enormous, really - and the way his eyes were so dark and endless. He was the most handsome man she’d ever laid eyes on, someone who belonged on a magazine cover, with broad, muscled shoulders and a chest to match.

An everything to match, really.

Some parts of him she still didn’t know about, true, but she couldn’t imagine any part of him being anything less than magnificent. Which was both enticing and intimidating.

Because… he was enormous.

And she so wished he was there with her now. As the bruise bloomed over her cheek and the iron shackle chafed against the mottled skin over her ruined ankle. Elide knew her uncle had done it on purpose, to make it as painful as it could be.

@headcanonheadcase @mercarimari @mystical-blaise @vikingmagic33 @booknerd87 @daevastanner @ofduskanddreams

[deathsweetblossoms]

i still have massive book hangover due to one rebecca ross

first it was for divine rivals, and i soothed that wound with a river enchanted. which filled all the holes in my heart that divine rivals left.

and now the only thing i can read is emotionally riveting dramione fanfic.

that's how dire the situation is rn.