#it’s missing marguerite hours

[astoldbychae]

"My way, huh? Say less. . ." 😏 [NSFW]

[aheathen-conceivably]

As the weeks went by it became harder for Violette to ignore the struggle around her. Her mother and father worked more each day, and she finally began to put a word to the struggle she had seen on their faces. Hunger. It was guttural, relentless, a pain in her stomach that felt hollow but somehow large enough to consume her. It grew and grew until it expanded beyond her stomach into her whole being; it became part of her, a crude hunger mixed with childish dreams that she would never be able to shake, even at her happiest. 

She knew that if she went downstairs she would find nothing but dried beans, as always. She missed the full cabinets of their kitchen in New Orleans and the okra gumbo her Tante Marguerite would deliver every Sunday. She missed her father, and the fleeting perfect moments she had with him. His absence seemed to stretch out longer each day until all she could think about was her hunger. 

So to pass the hours she began dancing in the mirror, practicing the steps he had taught her and imagining that she was somewhere else, somewhere he wouldn’t have to struggle to make her mother happy. Somewhere hunger didn’t exist. She danced until her stomach growled again and it became harder to move, harder to wait for him until finally she went in search of someone, anyone, so that she wouldn’t have to wait alone.

She went out to the field, where her mother and uncle Gio were always working. The tall dead stalks had been replaced by small sprouts, seemingly barely clinging to life. As soon as she saw her daughter, Zelda tore her attention away from the soil and went to her, bending down to her level to ask why she had come looking for them. Without missing a beat Violette told her mother what had brought her out of the room: she was hungry.

A clear and vivid pain crossed Zelda’s expression and she pushed a growing curl out of Violette’s eyes, “We’re working as hard as we can, my love. See there, those little sprouts? Those are all vegetables that we’ll be able to eat. But I’ll be inside to cook what we have soon, okay? Then your Poppa will be home with good news today, I’m sure of it.”

Violette stared down at the ground, answering her mother’s heartfelt answer with silence. As she tried to lift her daughter’s face to look at her own, Violette finally spoke without looking at her, “Can you come inside to play with me now, Momma? Or can I go find Aunt Jo?”

Zelda turned toward Gio, who had walked closer at the sound of Jo’s name; he answered her silent question with a quick shake of his head. Violette looked toward him and caught an expression she had never seen before. It was full of pain just like her father's could be, only his held a sort of guilt that told her it was his fault: his fault that the more she saw of him the less she saw if her aunt Jo, his fault that her Poppa left everyday and came home defeated. It was his fault that she was hungry. She wanted to yell at him, to tell her mother not to trust him, to run all the way back to New Orleans.

Instead her mother's grip tightened on her arm, “You know your Aunt Jo has been tired lately. She’ll be alright soon enough though, okay? Why don’t you go back inside? I’ll be there in a minute to cook. You can help and we’ll spend the afternoon together like always, I promise.”

Violette looked at her mother, a growing anger in her expression as she acquiesced to the brush off. As she turned away she stole one final glance at the door of the cottage, where she knew her aunt Jo had been locked away for months.

[onepiecepetalfanfics089]

Hi I just found your blog and I love how you wrote the characters, I was wondering would it be alright if I request yandere Boa Hancock and yandere Shanks with a female or gn marine reader please love to hear your thoughts

Blood was spilled..

Keeping guard of a section in marine head quarters to you was incredibly boring as you sighed and put your transponder snail down. Nothing interesting had happened for months and you were starting to get very bored..but at the same time everything was happening because marines had gone missing..

Marines that you specifically talk to or friends with..it was strange really but you never thought much of it and only thought they had been fired or quit..

Oh how ironic of you to think..

The sound of the waves getting louder then caught your attention as you saw something in the distance. Was that a ship? It had to be! And..were those snakes pulling the ship?? You blinked in surprise and for some reason got a strange feeling in your stomach..something didn’t feel right..

Taking out your transponder snail you called in. “This is Y/N, a ship seems to be entering at sector B over.” You said in the best no tone voice you could manage as the ship got closer and closer. You stepped back a bit, deciding to take deep breath to calm your nerves as you got a call back saying backup was on the way.

You remembered the female warlord. And empress vividly as you were once assigned to visit the island that she ran, Amazon Lilly.

And that’s when it first started..

She wanted you to join her crew....badly..

She was very persistent even though you were only there for three days. You were only there for a inspection and since you were one of the female marines who could handle it, they sent you.

Only after an hour of talking to her she seemed to..take an interest of you you could say..?

When she was fond of done she found her very possessive passionate. You didn’t even really know why she seemed to like you very much, when you first arrived you explained why you were there and at first she acted nonchalant but then the more you two talked and the more she spoke about her boy troubles with a young pirate and the more you listened, she got comfortable.

You were treated with the utmost respect at least, you wanted food? A feast for a whole family was in front of you the next minute. Weren’t feeling very safe? She herself would be by your side at all times. You barely had any privacy but all the women of the island were so enamored by their beloved empress that they were completely blind to it!

Great…

She soon had you being followed by one of her trusted warriors. You couldn’t even get some fruit without being followed for your ‘safety’ since being a empress required lots of time and work, whenever she wanted to see you she would send one of the girls to fetch you. Whether it was Marguerite, Enishida or even one of her sisters Marie gold and Sandersonia.

She would get to see her beloved Y/N one way or another.

If you even got the chance to say something before being dragged away to her tower, they would always remind you that if the lovely empress summons her yourself then it must urgent and she would even come over to get you herself if it was necessary..

.

.

.

.

The uneasiness in your stomach soon didn’t even falter a little as you nervously waited for backup while the female devil fruit users’s ship came closer and closer.

Soon it was almost right in front of you as the anchor soon fell.

Dread soon washed over you as you could hear the woman’s heels step to her deck and to the direction in front of you.

She was currently not looking at you and speaking to her subordinates in a stern manner.

“If I recall correctly, you said she would currently be at this specific position of marine headquarters!!” She Saïd rather loudly while flipping her hair.

The ladies she was with which you know as Sandersonia, Mariegold and Nerine glanced at her with a slight frown.

“Uh..sister..? Are you sure about this..?..isn’t this..I dunno..a bit much just to get her?”

….what did she mean by that..?

She said as Boa immediately turned back to her with a scowl. “Oh?..! You dare question me? Your empress and sister?!”

You gulped and thought for a moment, could you just make a run for it?..no she is literally a master of all of the Haki types..not to mention she can turn anyone into stone for any reason she chooses..

That woman would kick or penetrate anyone to just get to you!

Just as you were about to leave she suddenly turned her head as if she sensed you and already had her eyes landed on you. Her face expression changed. Snake earrings jangling her eyes turned into hearts as she ran to you with a deep blush

“Y-Y/N my dear! What a lovely surprise!” She Saïd as she giggled like a school girl and twirled a piece of her hair.

You raised an eyebrow while holding back a sigh.

Wasn’t she just screaming at her subordinates about not finding you here?..

The waves crashed against the rock the the marine headquarters was positioned on. You were talking with the woman and soon getting tired of her mentioning ever minute of how “you would have so many privileges if you join the Amazon Lilly troupe”

For a second you almost thought the woman wanted you to get married!

..

“Oh um Boa..I’ve been meaning to ask but why are you here? Not to be rude or anything but I wouldn’t think you would be at marine headquarters!” You said with a slightly nervous laugh while sipping on the wine she insisted on you having.

The woman smiled, her somewhat plump lips curving a bit as her blue eyes shimmered like the ocean.

You were so caught up in her undeniable beauty you didn’t even notice one of her sister slowly approaching you from behind with a bag in her hands.. an unsure look crossing her face.

Tilting your head you reluctantly smiled at the woman, causing her to swoon as she blushed placed her hands on her cheeks.

Raising an eyebrow you couldn’t help but laugh.

Maybe the warlord wasn’t so bad after all…

Wait, now that you think of it..she didn’t answer your question-

.

.

.

.

You woke up in a chair on a rather noisy ship. Except it wasn’t Boa’s ship…you look around in a panic. Realizing one thing that you weren’t on ground anymore and that the ship was already sailing to who knows where.

Just who’s ship was this and what did Boa take you here?

Was she in on this??

Thrashing around in your restrains yiu then suddenly heard a voice.

“There’s no use you know..I had those tied pretty tight.”

Saïd a almost gruff voice as a tall figure stepped out from the shadows.

Your eyes widened. You couldn’t even scream because you were so shocked.

It was shanks..one of the emperor’s of the sea..!

What in the hell would he want with you?! And why??

…

Boa and Shanks conversation incoming~…

“What?! What do you mean she’s yours?? Don’t ever speak of MY beloved like that..I met her first!”

The woman angrily yelled while glaring at the man with velvet red hair in front of him.

Expression blank, shanks just stared down at her.

“Listen, I’m just saying that I could clearly take better care of her..she’s mine and it’s already decided ever since the moment we met..”

He said rather calmly in contrary to the woman who scoffed while clearly showing an attitude. crossing her arms over her chest, she still glared at the man. Her large snake earrings jingling from the slight movement.

“Right..like a bunch of you men could take care of her…

I dont care what you may say..or what our strengths are because I know your stronger than me as much to my dismay but..

I will forever stay loyal to my beloved! I shall not give up on her and I will fight for her until the end!!”

The man’s laid back and somewhat serious expression changed, he looked into the woman’s eyes and saw it..the utter and complete obsession loyalty she had for you...

“Well then….maybe let’s make a deal..”

You gasped in fear and even more shock as Boa soon came from the shadows as well, her sisters following her with a uncertain expression on their face while they stared at you.

“W-Wha..Boa..?..Shanks..this isn’t funny! Let me go at once!!”

You said, your eyebrows furrowed whine you gritted you’re teeth and tried to make it seem like you weren’t utterly terrified for your life.

Boa just seemed to smile and blush at your the sound of your voice while shanks lips calmly curved into a smile.

“Oh my love is passionate about what she wants!”

The woman with long black hair swooned while her eyes were in hearts.

Shanks slowly stepped towards you.

“Listen…we’re tired of you refusing to join us so..we may have…bended sone things without your permission but yiur with us now. That’s all that matters..you’re a pirate now so accept it alright?” He said gently patting your head and slowly caressing your cheek.

Hancocks eyes seemed to narrow as she then walked up to you and beamed down at you.

You felt like crying…was this actually happening?..

“I-I..i don’t understand..how did you..”

They both looked at each other and then at you, the emperor slowly leaned closer and looked straight into your eyes.

“..Let’s just say that Blood was spilled…”

Hey guys!! I really hope you like this one! Sorry it took so long but honestly I loved writing for the both of them and I’m already getting back into the zone of writing and starting my next story! Hope you liked this!

XOXO my lovely flower petals🌸🌺

[warningsine]

Old man yaoi this and old man yaoi that WHERE is my old yuri movies????

God forbid women get older and remain sexual beings.

Regardless of quality, the following films are about middle aged and elderly lesbian/bi/trans women (not all of these revolve around romance btw, many are documentaries):

Silent Pioneers (Short 1985), doc.

Nitrate Kisses (1992), doc.

Forbidden Love (1992), doc.

Last Call at Maud’s (1993), doc.

Not Just Passing Through (1994), doc

Tender Fictions (1996), Barbara Hammer's autobiography.

Murder and murder (1996), middle aged not elderly.

Late Bloomers (1996)

Between Two Women (2000)

Hand on the Pulse (2002), doc.

The Hours (2002)

My Mother Likes Women (2002)

Ruthie and Connie: Every Room in the House (2002), doc

Sunset Story (2003), doc

No Secret Anymore: The Times of Del Martin & Phyllis Lyon (2003), doc.

The Page Turner (2006)

Finn’s Girl (2007)

Ten More Good Years (2007), doc

Black./Womyn. (2008), doc

A Place to Live: The Story of Triangle Square (2008), doc

Hannah Free (2009)

A Horse Is Not a Metaphor (2009), doc

Edie & Thea: A Very Long Engagement (2009), doc

For 80 Days (2010)

The Owls (2010)

Gigola (2010)

Cloudbirst (2011)

Gen Silent (2011), doc

Out Late (2011), doc

Les Invisibles (2012), doc.

Mommy Is Coming (2012)

A Perfect Ending (2012)

Vic + Flo Saw a Bear (2013)

Tru love (2013)

The Passage of Time (2013), doc

Rebel Menopause (2014), doc

Before the Last Curtain Falls (2014), doc

Advanced Style (2014)

Female Masculinity Appreciation Society (2014), doc

Kate Bornstein Is a Queer & Pleasant Danger (2014), doc

Freeheld (2015)

Grandma (2015)

MAJOR! (2015), doc about Miss Major Griffin-Gracy

Stuff (2015)

Black Mirror: San Junipero (2016). Everyone has seen this one, I know.

The Pearl (2016), doc

Etage X (Short 2016)

The Personal Things (short 2016), animation about Miss Major Griffin-Gracy

Marguerite (2017)

Chavela (2017), a doc about Chavela Vargas.

Wild Nights With Emily (2018)

The Favourite (2018)

Happy Ending (2018)

The Heiresses (2018)

Love Letter Rescue Squad (2018), doc

A Great Ride (2018), doc

Obscuro Barroco (2018)

Monica – Loose on a Cruise (2018), doc

Two of Us (2019). A fave of mine. Deeply humanistic and touching.

Time & Again (2019)

Madame (2019), doc

So My Grandma’s a Lesbian! (2019)

Uferfrauen - Lesbian Life and Love in the GDR (2019), doc.

The Archivettes (2019)

A Month of Single Frames (2019)

Forgotten Roads (2020), doc

Naomi Replansky at 100 (2020), doc

T11 Incomplete (2020)

The Aerialist (2020)

Mama Gloria (2020), doc, Gloria Allen's story.

Rebel Dykes (2021), doc.

The Affair (2021)

A Secret Love (2020), doc.

Surviving the Silence (2020), doc.

The Mistress (2020)

Your Mother’s Comfort (2020), doc about Indianara Siqueira.

A Wild Patience Has Taken Me Here (2021), middle aged not elderly.

Genderation (2021), doc.

Nelly & Nadine (2022), doc about two women that fell in love in a concentration camp.

Sweetling (2022), doc.

All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (2022), doc about Nan Goldin.

Nyad (2023)

[wizardiest-wizard-of-oz]

if anyone wants I have a musicals playlist that's over 200 hours that has I think around 205 musicals here's an alphabetized list let me know if I'm missing any I should add (I don't like Andrew lloyd Webber musicals and I'm also not a huge fan of jukebox musicals more specifically mamma Mia) and if anyone wants a link please ask me

13

21 Chump Street

25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

35MM

36 Questions

42nd Street

The Addams Family

Aida

Aladdin

Alice by Heart

Allegro

Amelie

Anastasia

Ani

Annie Get Your Gun

Annie

Anything Goes

Avenue Q

Back to the Future

Bat Boy

Beauty and the Beast

Beetlejuice

Be More Chill

The Big One-Oh

Billy Elliot

Black Friday

Bombshell

Bonnie and Clyde

Book of Mormon

Brigadoon

Bring it On

Once More With Feeling (Buffy musical)

Bugsy Malone

Bye Bye Birdie

Cabaret

Camelot

Carousel

Carrie

Catch Me if You Can

A Catered Affair

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Chess

Chicago

A Chorus Line

Cinderella (Rodgers and Hammerstein)

The Colour Purple

Come From Away

Company

Crybaby

Curtains

Damn Yankees

Days of Wine and Roses

Dear Evan Hansen

Desperate Measures

Dog Man

Dreamgirls

Dreamland

Dr Horrible's Sing Along Blog

Drowsy Chaperone

Duolingo on Ice

Elegies

Epic (all released sagas)

Everybody's Talking About Jamie

Falsettoland

Falsettos Revival

Firebringer

Flora the Red Menace

Follies

Fosse

Frankenstein

Frozen

Fun Home

Funny Girl

A Funny Thing Happened

A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder

Grand Hotel

Grease

The Great American Trailer Park

Grey Gardens

Gutenberg

Guys and Dolls

The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals

G*psy

Hadestown (broadway)

Hadestown (off broadway)

Hairspray

Hair

Hamilton

Harmony

Heathers

Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Hello Dolly

Honk

How the Grinch Stole Christmas (this one is just for Patrick page)

How to Dance in Ohio

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

Hunchback of Notre Dame

In the Green

In the Heights

Into the Woods

In Trousers

It Shoulda Been You

Jekyll and Hyde

Kimberly Akimo

The King and I

Kinky Boots

Kiss of the Spider Woman

Legally Blonde

Lempicka

Les Miserables (english and french)

The Lightning Thief

The Lion King

Little Do They Know

The Little Mermaid

A Little Night Music

Little Shop of Horrors (english and german)

Little Women

Lizard Boy

Love in Hate Nation

Love's Labours Lost

Mad Ones

Make Me a Song

Mame

A Man of No Importance

March of the Falsettos

Marguerite

Martin Guerre

Mary Poppins

Matilda

Mean Girls

Merrily We Roll Along

Miss Saigon

Monty Python's Spamalot

The Music Man

My Fair Lady

My Heart Says Go

My Son's a Queer (But What Can You Do)

The Mystery of Edwin Drood

Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812

Nerdy Prudes Must Die (I only have one song because I'm waiting to watch it with my friend before adding more)

A New Brain

Newsies

New York, New York

Next to Normal

Nightmare Time

Nine

Octet

Oklahoma

Oliver

Once On This Island

Once Upon a Mattress

Only Murders in the Building (Death Rattle Dazzle)

The Pyjama Game

Parade

Pippin

The Prince of Egypt

Prodigal

The Producers

The Prom

Ragtime

Ride the Cyclone

The Rink

The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Schmigadoon

Schmicago

Scottsburo Boys

Seussical

She Loves Me

Sherlock

Shrek

Shucked

Six

Smash

Some Like it Hot

Something Rotten

The Sound of Music

South Pacific

Spiderman Turn off the Dark

The Spitfire Grill

Spongebob

Spring Awakening

Starship

State Fair

Sunday in the Park with George

Superhero

Sweeney Todd

Sweet Charity

The Theory of Relativity

Thoroughly Modern Millie

Tick Tick Boom

The Time Traveller's Wife

The Trail to Oregon

Twisted

Urinetown

A VHS Christmas Carol

The Visit

Waitress

Wait Wait Don't Kill Me

West Side Story

Wicked

Water for Elephants

Wizard of Oz

The Wiz

Zombie Prom

Zorba

[dcbbw]

The Commoner’s Wife--Chapter 6: Three Blind Mice

It has been one long, hot-ass hour since I have updated this series (Chapter 5 was posted 8/4/2019), but it’s back. This is not a drill, not a one-off while I fart around with a kajillion other stories. Chapter 6 is FINALLY here, and there are so many people to thank:

@moodmusicmonday and their annual #Luck of the Draw event; the song I was assigned, Just Say When by Nothing More, spawned so many story ideas but Commoner’s Wife kept popping up the more I listened to the lyrics.

@sfb123 for her patience with me and my erratic schedules

My WhatsApp crew for their (loving) hounding, harassment, and encouragement

My hand-holding crew: @ao719, @bebepac, @angelasscribbles, and @umccall71

So, what happens now that Drake unequivocally knows the truth? Buckle up and find out!

THANK YOU to all who will read this story; if you are new to the hot mess that is TCW, you can catch up on this “one-shot” here. Please excuse any and all typos, missing/extraneous words, and/or grammatical errors.

MS Editor rates this fic as 99% error-free.

It has been soooo long since the last chapter, I have no idea who, if any, of the original story fans are around, and if they are even still interested if they are. Using my current tag list and encouraging you to tell a friend.

Rating M for Mature (adult themes, cursing)

Pairings: Liam x Riley; Riley x Drake

Book: TRR/TRH

All characters belong to Pixelberry.

Song Inspiration: Just Say When, Nothing More

Word Count: 6,336

Highlights from Chapter 5:

Drake x Riley

“Just tell me, Brooks. Is our marriage a thank you to me or a fuck you to Liam?”

A deep sigh. A shaky voice. “Both.”

“We need to talk, Drake. I know…. I know I’ve been difficult and closed off, but I’m ready to talk.”

Drake was rummaging in the cupboard for the bottle of liquor. I know you aren’t being completely honest. I also know Liam isn’t either. What I don’t know is….is it out of fear of hurting me, if you think you’re that smart, or if you don’t have answers yourselves.

“I can’t deal anymore with half assed answers, Brooks. I can’t deal with the thought of being in a marriage based on pity or revenge. I just … can’t deal anymore.”

Princess Marguerite

Once she had Gunner out of his outfit, she ran her hands over the latex suit. The feel of the material sparked curiosity and lust within her, and she felt herself becoming wet. I have to see it.

“Do you have any medical or sensory issues?” She was now at the library desk, opening the top drawer; earlier in the day, she had placed an extremely long, extremely wide dildo and a remote control there.

Marguerite sighed as she pushed herself away from her desk. It was time to make yet another trip to Cordonia. She wouldn’t inform anyone about it; Liam couldn’t ignore her if she was standing in front of him.

Liam x Riley

Liam heard the knock on the door but ignored it. He had Riley so close to the edge; he was closer. Besides, the door was locked. Except it wasn’t.

Riley’s moans and low screams filled his ears. Stars exploded behind his eyes as he followed her over the edge. His seed spilled into her. His forehead rested against hers as the real world slowly came back into focus.

And the first thing he heard was Drake’s voice roaring obscenities, followed by a tearful gasp. But not from Riley. Marguerite.

Liam closed his eyes and bit his lip as he slipped out of Riley. Time had run out.  

Chapter 6:

Presently, in the study

The room held both an electricity that crackled with tension and a stillness; as if the very air had been sucked from it, leaving the occupants in a vacuum devoid of everything but harsh emotions.

Liam

Liam’s forehead pressed against Riley’s, his breathing heavy and uneven. His eyes were closed, the last of the bursting stars behind his eyes fading into black. He inhaled deeply; he smelt the flora and fruit of expensive fragrance, and a slight musk from the sheen of perspiration on Riley’s skin. As he slipped out of her entry, he felt her arms tighten around him as her legs slid off his back.

His arms tightened around her in return as the world came back into focus. He heard Drake yelling What the fuck? and I KNEW it! He heard Marguerite’s gasp, but nothing else from her. Perhaps Drake’s thundering baritone was drowning everything else out.

Except the incredible remorse Liam felt.

Drake deserved better than to find out this way. Hell, they all deserved better.

What the bejesus just happened? Drake was supposed to be at the cabin today and returning to Valtoria tomorrow. And Princess Marguerite … why was she even in Cordonia?

Drake

When Drake opened the study door, he was stunned. He stumbled backwards a few steps, feeling an almost-physical sucker punch at the sight of Liam’s naked ass, and the sounds of the King … his best friend … fucking.

Fucking Drake’s wife.

He wanted to cover his ears to muffle Riley’s moans as her back arched her off the sofa. He wanted to close his eyes so he wouldn’t see the convulsions as his wife’s body entered le petite mort.

Looks, sounds, actions that were supposed to be reserved for Drake because he and Riley had vowed to forsake all others.

He wanted … no, needed to hit something, but instead settled for screaming his disbelief as his fists clenched and unclenched.

This was beyond anger, beyond hurt. His vision was clouded and blurred, as if someone had painted the room and all its occupants red. Yet, for all his fury, there was a tiny piece of him that was not surprised. That wondered why it took any of them so long to speak the truth they all shared.

Drake knew it was not yet even 10am, but a strong drink was absolutely essential. He needed to numb himself. He needed to stem the tide of answers flooding his brain. As he swiftly strode past the sofa, he wanted to avert his gaze away from the irrefutable proof of the betrayal committed by his wife and best friend.

But he couldn’t.  

When he saw Riley tighten her hold on Liam’s nude body, pain pierced Drake’s heart despite the weight of his anger.

She’s clinging to him. She doesn’t care that I’m here, that she’s caught in all of her lies. She doesn’t care that she is filling the hole in my heart with salt.

Tears stung the corners of his eyes as he shook his head in sorrow and disgust.

She just does not care.

GO TO HELL, Riley Brooks!

Riley

Riley was cresting the wave of her orgasm when she heard Drake’s voice boom throughout the room.

OH MY GOD! What is he doing here?

She wanted to stop her body from responding to Liam’s touch, Liam’s tongue, Liam’s cock … but she was too far gone. Liam was as well. She closed her eyes tightly as she felt the trembles of Liam’s body through the shaking of her own before Liam slipped from inside of her.

Maybe if I can’t see Drake, he can’t see me.

Riley felt waves of guilt and shame wash over her, and as her erratic breathing tried to slow down, she instinctively pulled Liam closer to her. She needed his protection, his validation that she wasn’t an adulteress whore. Her breathing eased when Liam responded by tightening his hold on her, but she couldn’t wipe away the tears falling from her eyes.

The Duchess of Valtoria had no idea what to do. Hell, what could she do? She lay naked and sated in the arms of her lover, while her husband watched. She wanted to get dressed; clothing would make her less vulnerable, but her frock was scattered somewhere on the floor.

She had heard a woman gasp and was curious who the person was. A Lady of Court? A staff member?

In either case, Riley needed all the advantages she could get, and right now she had none. She heard Drake’s heavy thuds as he moved past them; she bit Liam’s shoulder to keep her sobs inside.

I never wanted you to find out this way, Drake. I swear it. I know you don’t believe me, but I do have love for you. I do want your happiness. I always have. It’s just my love for Liam is stronger and … and I think he may be my happiness.

Marguerite

Marguerite stood in the study’s doorway, her wide eyes darting everywhere. The gasp had come out so suddenly, she couldn’t stop it. She managed to cut it off because the laughter that was following it was highly inappropriate at best. It was obvious Liam’s partner was the Duchess of Valtoria, Drake Walker’s wife.

Dear God, could this King get any more cliché?

The gasp came out sounding tearful, which worked in her favor. Her eyes continued to take in the scene.

There was Liam with his naked ass on display for all to see. The Princess knew firsthand that it was firm and muscled; what she didn’t know was how … chiseled it was. Her lips lifted in a small smirk as she imagined pushing a dildo up his puckered hole, perhaps flogging his cheeks if he chose to be insubordinate.

What the Princess of Monaco wanted to do was make her way to Liam’s desk to sit in his oversized chair and slide her hand down the waistband of her skirt. She exhaled a low sigh as she imagined her fingertips stroking her clit.

Instead, she drew closer to the naked couple, marveling at how they clung to each other.

Desperately.  

Her eyes narrowed as she caught sight of the side of a brown breast and chocolate nipple pressed against the pinkish white of Liam’s chest.

I wonder if I can convince her to flash me.

Marguerite mentally shook her head.

Back to the matter at hand. This can play in your favor so well.

Everyone was jolted from their inner thoughts when Drake angrily tossed Riley’s dress at her; it landed on Liam’s back.

“PUT YOUR FUCKING CLOTHES ON!” he thundered before crossing the doorway and slamming the door heavily behind him.

With a last lingering look at the disgraced lovers, Marguerite ran after Drake.

She hadn’t had angry sex in the longest time, and this Drake Walker person may be up for a revenge fuck.

After they heard what Liam and Riley had to say.

Group Chat

By unspoken agreement, the quartet were gathered in the West Wing’s library. No one was speaking.

Liam sat behind the desk, his elbows on the polished wood and his hands steepled beneath his chin.

Riley sat ramrod straight in a ladderback chair which was angled in a corner between the desk and an oxblood-colored leather sofa. She kept her head turned away from the others, causing the sunlight pouring through the window to cast her profile in a half-shadow.

Drake sat in an armchair across from the desk; his eyes were fixed on the bottle of French cognac he held in one hand. He wondered how much he would have to drink to erase this morning from his memory.

Marguerite was sipping a mimosa as she sat on the end of the sofa furthest from Riley, her well-rounded legs crossed at her ankles.

The Princess tilted her full glass towards Riley, her gaze locked on Liam. “Is she why you could neither accept nor return my phone call?”

Liam’s jaw tightened. “I was busy, Marguerite. I do run a country, you know. The better question is, why are you here in Cordonia?”

“I came to see why you were ignoring me.”

Drake choked as he swallowed straight from the bottle. “You came 800 miles to see why he didn’t answer your call?”

This chick is cuckoo.

An unfazed Marguerite sipped her drink. “Yes. He texted me yesterday proposing a second date; when I called him to suggest he visit Monaco, his assistant informed me that he would return my call at his earliest convenience. He never did. So, I decided to pop in, thinking we could discuss matters over breakfast; if I had known tart was on the menu, I would have arrived earlier.”

Liam’s eyes went to Riley; the Duchess stared at her hands which were loosely clasped in her lap. Her lips were thinned, and her jaw slightly tensed.

They both looked up at hearing a heavy thud against the Persian carpeting.

Drake rose so suddenly and violently out of his chair, it had toppled over. The bottle of expensive brandy lay on its side, amber-colored liquid spilling as it spread across and stained the priceless rug.

“SHE IS STILL MY WIFE!” he hollered, his cheeks darkening with rage.

“Who’s fucking the King right under your nose,” Marguerite snapped. “She may have had the good sense to know her place and wed a fellow commoner, but the fact remains she’s a disloyal harlot and unworthy of anyone’s devotion.”

I’d still suck her tits was the unspoken portion of her statement.

Liam looked between Drake and Marguerite, choosing his words carefully. The entire room was already a powder keg; the Princess was a loose match. A lit loose match.

“I appreciate your obvious…. attraction to me, Your Highness, but my heart and affections have been claimed by another.”

“You mean your best friend’s wife? Listen to me, Your Majesty….no royal or noble worth their salt will accept a divorced commoner as Queen. Your court will be the laughingstock of Europe and you…. you’ll be the biggest scandal since King Edward VIII. At least he was lucky enough to choose love over Crown, but you don’t have that luxury, do you? Your brother beat you to it.”

“What I do with my personal life, especially when it takes place in Cordonia, is no one’s business but mine.”

“Even when it involves fucking other men’s wives?” Marguerite arched an eyebrow.

“If you wish our countries to remain in good standing, you will stop talking,” Liam growled.

The Princess lowered her eyebrow when Liam’s eyes narrowed dangerously. This was not working well in her favor. She still needed to make an advantageous match; despite being obviously pussy-whipped, Liam was the best of the lot. When she spoke again, her tone was more conciliatory.

“Darling, I’m offering you not only a union, but an alliance … a chance to rule over two countries, not just one. I don’t require what others would; I have my own coffers, my own lands, and my social station is secured.

“We don’t need to be in love and arrangements can be put in place, but only one of us can be scandalous; I’ve already claimed dibs on that.”

The Princess smiled brightly before downing the remainder of her beverage. She looked around the room before setting the champagne flute on the table in front of her and gathering her purse.

“I’m sure the three of you have much to discuss; I’ll see myself out,” she spoke to everyone and no one.

She began rummaging inside her bag, murmuring to Liam that he could email her a non-disclosure agreement. “As juicy as this morning has been, I wouldn’t tell anyone; however, I understand the need for assurance.”

Marguerite rose, a plastic keycard between her fingers which she offered to Drake.

“Retaliation fucks can be most satisfying. I have a standing room at the Savoy Five Kingdoms. They have an excellent bar and even better room service. Drop by anytime today; I fly out in the morning.”

Riley’s face twisted with anger; this brazen hussy was coming on to Riley’s husband IN HER FACE, yet the Duchess was the harlot. Her eyes held a flicker of fear; what if Drake accepted?

Why did she still care if he did?

Liam’s head fell into his open palms. Marguerite was the mistake that kept giving. With one breath she was proposing to Liam; with the next, she was propositioning Drake. The irony of her actions versus what he and Riley had done to Drake was not lost on the King.

Drake stared blankly at the key before raising his eyes to the future monarch of Monaco.

Is she flippin’ serious right now?

“Fuck you,” he spat.

Marguerite looked baffled as she tucked the key into his jacket’s breast pocket.

“That’s the entire purpose, darling.”

Detour

Marguerite stepped swiftly down the immense hallway, her cellphone pressed to her ear as she and the guard Liam had assigned to accompany her off the property studiously ignored each other.  She huffed impatiently as she heard the number she had dialed ring for a third time.

The Princess was most definitely going to tell someone about her fiasco of a morning; if details about a certain Cordonian King were revealed, so be it. There was no nondisclosure agreement in place yet.

“Ullo?” a woman’s husky, sleep-filled voice greeted Marguerite just as she heard heavy, dragging footsteps make their way up the marble stairs of the main west wing staircase.

“Cecily! Why in God’s name are you still sleeping?” Marguerite demanded incredulously.

“Because I haven’t had a drink or a drug in two days, and it’s 5am where I am.”

“Well, you need a sip, a sniff, and a new time zone, darling.”

“Why are you calling me? Good gossip?” Cecily asked in a voice filled with annoyance and nosiness.

“I’m in Cordonia, that dreadful teeny tiny country in the Mediterranean and my morning … is about to get better. Call you back.”

Marguerite slowly removed her phone from her ear while her eyes took in the sight before her.

Leo Rys, the prodigal firstborn son, stood in front of her, peering at Marguerite through bloodshot eyes. His blondish-brown curls were tousled, his impressive chest and abs on display thanks to his unbuttoned dress shirt which was half-tucked into a pair of navy-blue pants. His belt hung from his neck; his tie was partly stuffed into a front pocket.

“Marguerite?” he questioned in a disbelieving tone.

The former Prince and the Princess had a history of random encounters that were exotic, erotic, and always with Leo needing a chiropractor afterwards.

“LEO!” Marguerite sauntered up to Liam’s brother, planting an open-mouthed kiss on his lips.

“What the hell are you doing here?” he asked disbelievingly as he rubbed the back of one hand across his bleary eyes; the other gripped her firm ass.

“I could ask you the same,” she countered.

“I’m here for a scotch and some shuteye before heading to your corner of the world later this afternoon, but my plans could be flexible,” Leo smirked.

“Flexible is my favorite word. Lead the way,” Marguerite instructed as she looped her arm through Leo’s.

Three Blind Mice

While Marguerite pulled the massive door shut behind her, Drake leant over in his chair to retrieve the dropped bottle of brandy. Riley stood to open the terrace doors to help rid the room of the sweet, oaky smell permeating the room.

A fresh breeze drifted into the library, ruffling her hair and riffling the loose papers on Liam’s desk. Her heels tapped sharply against the blonde hardwood as she returned to her seat. Her eyes darted between her husband and her lover.

“Thank you,” she said quietly. “Thank you both.”

“Don’t speak to me. You no longer have the RIGHT to speak to me!” Drake growled as he tilted the half-full bottle to his lips.

Liam rose from his seat, and stepped around the desk; the monarch threw Drake a reproving look as he continued to the bar cart.

“There is no need to speak to the Duchess in such a tone, Your Grace.”

Drake rolled his eyes. “You need to shut the fuck up, Your Majesty.”

Liam’s body tensed at the words, and he stilled his movements for the briefest of moments. “I understand your disappointment and frustration,” he replied in a controlled tone.

“DO YOU?” The question exploded from Drake, causing Riley to jump slightly at the harshness in his voice. “Obviously you don’t, judging by your choice of words! Because this is so much more than disappointment. THIS is undiluted heartbreak! THAT woman,” Drake pointed to Riley, “was my sum total of EVERYTHING!”

His shoulders slumped as ragged sobs tore from his throat. His fingers brushed away the stream of tears streaking his cheeks. Riley’s mouth fell open and she rushed to Drake’s side. He held his hand up to stop her.

“Don’t,” he pleaded in a broken voice.

Riley shook her head in either defeat or denial; none of the trio knew.

“I’m so sorry. So, so sorry. I didn’t mean …”

“For me to find out or to get caught?” Drake finished for her.

“Drake, she’s attempting to apologize. Can you at least hear her out?” Liam entreated as he added ginger ale to one of the two tumblers of scotch he had poured.

The bottle of brandy shattered against the wall closest to Liam. The monarch continued to prepare drinks, seemingly unperturbed.

“NO! NO, I CANNOT HEAR HER OUT! Do you know when I wanted to hear her out? When I was willing to listen to BOTH of you? WHEN I WAS ASKING ABOUT MY MARRIAGE! And you both LIED TO ME! TO.MY.FACE!”

“It wasn’t supposed to go on as long it did,” Riley explained, her voice trembling. “It was only supposed to be until Liam found a Queen.”

Drake looked disbelievingly between his wife and best friend. “So, the King here is supposed to date and get to know someone intimately … to the point of making her his wife and this country’s Queen … by fucking his best friend’s wife?”

Liam stood beside Riley, pressing the scotch and soda in her hand. She glanced at him gratefully as she took a steadying swallow of the liquid courage.

“Your emotions are directed at the wrong person, Drake. I asked her to be my lover. I … I am in love with her, and I simply could not move forward in that aspect of my life knowing Riley was right there.” Liam’s gaze took in Riley, who was staring ashamedly at Drake.

“You couldn’t tell me? We’ve been lifelong friends, and you couldn’t tell me you were in love with my wife?”

“I wanted to tell you, but Riley wished to spare your feelings for what was supposed to be a brief fling. I have neither excuse nor explanation for my lack of actions. I was … I am a coward and a cad.” His blue eyes held Drake’s wrath-filled gaze. “And I regret nothing.”

Drake’s gaze shifted to Riley. “I begged you, I asked you, I damn near got on my knees to get you to talk to me! WHY DIDN’T YOU?”

Riley stared at the floor, a helpless expression on her face. “I’m still in love with him, Drake.”

“I TOLD YOU; you didn’t HAVE TO MARRY ME! But NOOOOO … YOU insisted!”

“YOU KNEW! YOU FUCKING KNEW and married me anyway!” Riley flung back.

“Because you lied to me. YOU lied to ME about everything!  Hell yes, I had doubts but I chose to believe the words coming out of YOUR mouth! And somehow, this makes it all my fault?”

Drake took a step towards Riley; Liam moved swiftly and protectively in front of her.

The Duke let out a derisive snort. “Oh, this is FUCKING RICH! The caught lovers putting on a united front. Before the husband no less, who so happens to be the injured party here.”

His eyes fell on Liam. “When she was trash-talking your ass, I DEFENDED YOU! I told her she needed to give you a chance, that you were in love with her. AND SHE STILL ASKED ME TO MARRY HER!”

Dark chocolate eyes went to Riley. “Just tell me this, if there were no Liam … could you have loved me the way I needed you to?”

Hesitation before the Duchess nodded.

Silence as no one looked at the other and Drake paced the room.

“Marguerite said Liam reached out to her yesterday, but he never followed up. Riley, you called me at the cabin, saying you wanted to talk.”

Riley nodded in agreement. “Yes. I called to make sure you weren’t injured or ill, and to find out when you were coming home so I could tell you about the affair and that I wanted to end the marriage.”

“The question becomes: where were you when you called me? Were you in Valtoria or here at the Palace? Because as batshit crazy as that Princess is, she wouldn’t fly 800 miles UNANNOUNCED for absolutely nothing. There’s a reason she feels comfortable enough to show up without notice, and there’s a reason Liam put her off.”

“I asked Riley to join me here. She arrived after she spoke to you,” Liam answered as he refilled his glass.

“And you knew she was going to ask for a divorce.” It was a statement.

Liam nodded stiffly. “She has discussed it with me on several occasions but nothing ever came to fruition.”

A flash of pain crossed Drake’s features at the revelation. “So last night was a celebration of sorts.”

Silence. Neither Liam nor Riley could tell Drake that their time together was about them, and that he was merely a guilty afterthought.

“How did you meet Marguerite?” Riley asked curiously, her voice small.

“I wasn’t cheating on you with her, if that’s what you’re asking. We met coming into the Palace this morning. I was going to seek Liam’s advice and counsel before returning to Valtoria.” Drake shook his head as his palms ran down his face. “I definitely got more than I bargained for.”

Liam’s brain churned as thoughts tumbled about:

Riley was being truthful with her husband, but there wasn’t enough … conviction behind it. She was, in this moment, a naughty child who had been caught, telling the truth to avoid discipline or punishment.

Liam knew Drake wanted to make his marriage work, but he hadn’t realized just how deeply his friend was in love with Riley; his guilt intensified. He still regretted nothing that had transpired, but Riley had left Liam of her own volition; she had taken up with Drake with no outside influence.

It was because of Liam she was willing to destroy Drake. She said it herself.

The King cleared his throat before putting distance between him and the Duchess. Riley looked at him curiously, but he was staring at Drake.

“I realize the role I play in this and am beginning to understand the depth of your pain. It is obvious that I am the obstacle preventing you two from having a happily ever after. Drake, I will stand aside and leave Duchess Riley alone if you two wish to salvage your marriage.”

“WHAT?” Riley screeched.

He can’t do this to me again!

Drake stared at his old friend before bursting into hysterical laughter. “NOW you want to step aside? Now that the damage is done? Dude, THAT is a coward move!”

“LIAM, what are you DOING?” Riley began punching his arm.

“Let me help the two of you out right here,” Drake said as he advanced on Riley.

He held his hand out, palm up. “Give me back my ring,” he ordered in a tone that brooked no argument.

Riley’s nonplussed gaze snapped towards Drake. “WHAT? NOOOO! It’s my WEDDING ring, Drake!”

“It’s my grandmother’s ring. Meant for my wife, not the woman who’s fucking around and has TOLD ME she wants to end our marriage. I’m doing you a favor.”

“NO!” Riley replied stubbornly.

Liam watched the couple, a stoic expression on his face. Riley’s reaction confirmed he had made the right decision, as painful as it was.

“Return it willingly, or I’ll snatch it off your finger,” Drake threatened through narrowed eyes.

“There’s no need for this behavior, Drake,” Liam stated, attempting to de-escalate an out-of-control situation. “Riley, if you are being honest about your feelings for me and a future for us, return Drake’s ring.”

Riley shrank away from both men. She felt emotionally attacked.

“There was no need for ANY of this shit, but here we are,” Drake countered, his eyes still trained on Riley. “My ring,” he repeated.

When the Duke left the Palace five minutes later, he had his grandmother’s ring. His wife was sobbing and arguing with Liam. When he reached his truck, he unlocked the doors and slid behind the wheel, realizing he had nowhere to go.

Megs and Old Man Harold were at his cabin; Drake was not in a headspace to either entertain or explain.

Valtoria was out of the question.

Ramsford was a possibility, but again … his headspace.

His palm patted his jacket pocket where he had placed the ring, and felt the hotel key the Princess of Monaco had given him.

Drake pulled it out, staring at it thoughtfully before starting the truck, and pulling off.

Valtoria

Darkness had fallen; save for live-in staff, the Duchess was alone in the Great House. It was a blessing and a curse. After the events of the day, Riley needed the alone time; she needed to process the words, the actions, the accusations.

But her thoughts were too loud, the rooms too empty.

On the ride back to Valtoria, Riley was silent. She stared at her now-bare ring finger, finding it hard to swallow over the thick lump of tears lodged in her throat.

Her marriage was over.

The one man who had faced death for her, whose love wasn’t predicated upon duty and appearances and secrets had wrenched the symbol of their union from her finger.

Riley had wanted to fall in love with Drake; she thought she was in love with Drake. But Liam … their connection, their chemistry was so strong. It was as if he were a magnet, and she were metal.

But only in the shadows.

Her love affair was once again sinking under the quagmire of Liam’s nobility and guilt. The man who had been so willing to share her under a cloak of deception was once again kowtowing to doing the “right thing” just when they could finally be open with their love and relationship.

Now … NOW, Liam was willing to step aside if Drake and Riley decided to try and salvage their marriage.

How ironic that the one thing she admired most about Liam was also what she loathed the most.

Liam was a huge ass what-if whose love she couldn’t trust. She never could.

Liam was why she couldn’t leave Drake.

When the Duchess arrived home, she gathered her staff, explaining that the Duke was away for an indeterminate amount of time. Riley then dismissed all staff who lived off-site, telling them to return in three days’ time. Staff who resided at the Great House would be on-call as needed. She then retired to her chambers after requesting ingredients for dinner be brought from the pantry to her chambers.

Riley stood in her kitchen wearing nothing more than a white silk slip as she washed dishes. She had prepared curried lamb and vegetables, jasmine rice, sweet corn-on-the-cob, and a garden salad for the evening meal; it was one of Drake’s favorites minus the salad. It now sat in Tupperware containers in the refrigerator.

The Duchess did not partake of the meal; a bottle of Lythikan wine had been her supper.

She had cooked dinner thinking Drake would return, if only to pack his things. But there had been no visitors, no phone calls. The woman who not 12 hours earlier had a husband and a lover, had no one.

Tonight was the beginning of their end.

The Duchess placed the last pot in the drying rack before she wiped down the countertops and swept the floor. She extinguished the kitchen light, grabbed her silent phone, and wandered through the quarters turning off lights as she went.

Despite feeling no overt effects from the potent libation, Riley’s steps held the slightest hint of unsteadiness.

The great room, where her fingertips ran along the grosgrain black leather recliner that Drake liked to sit in. His buffalo plaid blanket was neatly folded and draped along the back of the furniture. His gaming console where he and his nephew Bartie played Minecraft and Mario Brothers on weekends. The bearskin rug he insisted on placing in front of the fireplace.

Riley bit her lower lip as she turned the lamp switch off, plunging the room into shadow.

She passed through the informal dining area where a vintage hutch took prominence; it was filled with his mother’s china and a few figurines and knick-knacks bequeathed by his grandmother. A stereo system complete with a record player sat in a corner. Riley leaned down, peering at the vinyl record protected beneath a glass covering: Johnny Cash’s Hurt.  

In their bedchambers, Riley looked around as she exhaled a shaky breath. Pictures of her and Drake, Drake’s parents, their friends, Savannah and Bartie littered bookcase shelves and the nightstands. His robe was balled up on the settee at the bed’s footboard.

Her vanity was crowded with cosmetics, expensive fragrances in elegant bottles, and a painted, wooden box overflowing with jewelry.

All gifted to her by Liam.

Portraits of Cordonians long gone, with pale faces and thin lips, lined one wall. She and Drake had been planning to put them in storage and decorate with brightly colored abstracts and nature scenes.

They were going to build a life together.

Riley grabbed his pillow and pulled it next to her body; she lowered her head to inhale his scent imbedded in the fabric. Tears pricked her eyes but refused to fall.

The Duchess was acutely aware of the largeness of the space and how empty it felt without Drake’s presence.

In the house given to her by Liam.

The closing of a door was loud enough to be heard over the hushed roar of the waterfall. Riley frowned as she lifted her head; more than likely it was Gladys coming to check on her.

“I’m fine, Gladys,” the noblewoman called out in a quavering voice.

No answer as the footsteps came closer.

Riley let out an annoyed sigh. She didn’t want company; she didn’t want to answer any questions, regardless of how well-meaning they were. She tossed the pillow onto the bed as she rose, ready to waylay the majordomo. The doorway filled, and her breath caught in her throat when she saw him. His face was flushed and his breathing slightly heavy, as if he had run through the entire manor to reach the rooms.

“What …what are you doing here?” Riley stammered in a dull tone. She was too emotionally exhausted to muster up anger, surprise, relief … anything.

His brow furrowed in confusion at her question. “I love you,” he replied in a low voice as he shrugged out of his jacket, tossing it onto an antique rocking chair.

She ran her fingers raggedly through her short curls. “I ... I made dinner.”

He flashed her a quick smile. “Good. I’m starving.” The smile faded. “We need to talk about … earlier.”

Before Riley could respond, her phone rang; the sound of it was shrill and slightly jarring. Curious as to who it could be but also grateful for the distraction, she turned away to answer it.

Her eyes widened and her heart dropped into her stomach as her gaze went from the caller ID to the visitor, and back again.

The Palace

Leo and Marguerite stood beneath the shower head, warm water rinsing away soap bubbles as it pelted their skin. The former royal alternated between wincing and grimacing from the pain radiating from his lower back as he struggled to stand upright.

“SweetJesuscomepleaseus, Marguerite,” he ground out through clenched teeth. “Where the hell did you learn that new shit?”

The Princess was behind him, washing his back; she paused her motions to press the pad of her thumb into the offended area; Leo let out a relieved groan.

“At least there are no rope burns this time,” she consoled as the washrag slipped from Leo’s shoulder to the wet floor beneath them.

“Thank God for small favors,” he muttered as his palms splayed against the damp-tiled shower wall.

“Why are you coming to Monaco?” Marguerite questioned.

“International Baccarat Tournament in Monte Carlo. Staying three days, then off to Greece for a Mediterranean cruise aboard the Jewel of the Sea.”

Her lips pursed in thought as she stooped to retrieve the washcloth. Her palm slapped one of Leo’s ass cheeks before her index finger jammed itself into his puckered orifice as she rose. He yelped in annoyance and pain.

“GET YOUR FINGER OUT MY ASS!” he yelled.

“Darling, why don’t we return to Monaco and get married?” the Princess proposed as her finger twisted inside of Leo.

It wasn’t an arbitrary question; nothing was ever random with Marguerite. Leo was a fine piece of man: tall, handsome, intelligent. He may no longer hold a royal title, but that was an advantage. Not having a moniker meant one country, one sovereign. Royal blood still flowed through his veins, and he held land ownings in both Cordonia and its provinces, which would satisfy her parents. And Leo could never threaten her with severing governmental relations as Liam had done earlier.

Over a commoner slut.

With amazing tits.

“YOU ARE STILL IN MY ASS!” Leo retorted.

Marguerite removed her finger, sticking it beneath the overhead stream of water.

“Well?” she demanded.

Leo shook his head, droplets from his hair flying in the air. “Look, I enjoy our times together, but I can’t have sex like this every day, multiple times a day.”

“It’s like exercise, your body has to become acclimated to it,” the Princess explained as she stepped in front of him to shampoo her hair.

“And there’s a reason I abdicated my own throne.”

“Thanks to Anton Severus, that reason is now six feet underground.” She exhaled a petulant sigh. “If only Anton hadn’t attempted to kill Liam, the man would be a hero throughout all of Europe and not in a prison cell.”

“That reason is still my father, Marguerite!” Leo spat angrily as he stepped out of the shower. “You need to leave.”

“If I’ve said anything untrue, I will rescind my offer and leave immediately. But I haven’t. You simply haven’t healed and don’t have enough liquor in your system to bandage the pain.”

She twisted her honey-blonde hair, squeezing the excess water from her tresses. “Marry me and re-discover the joy of being a royal again. You won’t be the ruling monarch which gives you all the rewards and none of the responsibilities. It’s a win-win darling.”

She sauntered out and up to Leo who was avoiding her gaze, her wet body glistening. He was combing his hair, purposely avoiding Marguerite’s gaze. Her arms snaked around his neck before she stood on her toes to kiss him.

“Be a good sport, luv,” she urged.

“My cruise …”

“Our honeymoon!”

A half-hour later, the pair slipped through the rooms’ doorway with Leo lugging two suitcases. They both glanced down the hall, seeing the sliver of light beneath the closed door to Liam’s library.

Tagging: @jared2612 @ao719 @marietrinmimi @queenjilian @indiacater @kingliam2019 @bebepac @liamxs-world @mom2000aggie @liamrhysstalker2020 @neotericthemis @twinkleallnight @umccall71 @superharriet @busywoman @gabesmommie1130 @tessa-liam @beezm @gardeningourmet @lovingchoices14 @mainstreetreader @angelasscribbles @lady-calypso @emkay512 @princessleac1 @charlotteg234 @queenrileyrose @alj4890 @yourfavaquarius111 @motorcitymademadame​ @queenmiarys @choicesficwriterscreations @moodmusicmonday​ @katedrakeohd​

[fat-fem-and-asian]

Dagmara Dominczyk Filmography Review w/ Links Dag has had a great career! I think you can see her shift towards more interesting and prestige projects as she gets older, especially in the past 5-ish years, which is really interesting. Movies w/ her Polish accent have a ★ in the title, ♡ denote my favorites. If a movie isn't included, then I didn't want to watch it or couldn't find it lol. Additionally, I watched most of these projects on soap2day or flixxer!

Keeping the Faith - I could not find her in this? I think she might be improperly labeled on IMDb. Please send reinforcements and watch this Ben Stiller/Edward Norton/Jenna Elfman religious romcom.

Third Watch - Accessible on Tubi Procedural about first responders - Dag plays a morally dubious counselor that one of the EMTs gets the hots for. I actually beg everyone to watch this for a gorgeous shot of Dag over a voiceover "this chick is hot. if liz hurley and that other european chick who was in that one bond movie had a love child, this chick would be it" fair description! Rock Star ★ - Musical drama where Dag plays Tania, PR for a rock band and their resident hot girl. She's not in it a ton, but she's got a great scene where she gets to make out with Jennifer Aniston. Spoilers + transphobia CW - it's revealed midway that Tania is a trans woman, and while not really played for laughs, Mark Wahlberg's character is uncomfortable around her afterwards and she's effectively removed from the plot. The Count of Monte Cristo ♡ - Free on Youtube hell yeah! Dag plays Mercedes, the primarily love interest. She appears in the beginning scenes and after the 2/3 mark, but is pivotal to the plot. she's in some really gorgeous dresses and i assume the crew loved her because she looks fantastic the entire time. also, super great deleted scene here @ the 7 minute mark. They - On youtube! Unfortunately dull horror movie. Dag plays Terry, one of the adults experiencing night terrors based on childhood events. She only appears in a handful of scenes, but has a solo scene around the halfway point. It's alright? SVU ★ - On Hulu and Peacock. TW for CSA and graphic depictions of murder (its SVU). we all know SVU. if you don't im sorry you've missed out on the epic highs and lows of watching people get the shit knocked out of them and for a detective to connect it back to some random man they knew in high school. Dag has a prominent guest episode role as Kate, appearing at the halfway mark as a Europol agent who helps one of the characters track down a child trafficker. A lot of her walking around gorgeously and what's frankly, a great performance! She plays sensitive but firm detective very well. On Hulu and Peacock. CSA tw- suggestive images are shown of an actress who was 19 at the time, but portrayed at 14.

Tough Luck ★ - On Tubi. Please watch it. Honestly, I think worth the watch just for how weird it is. Dag plays Divana, the female lead and wife of a circus. owner. you read that right! there's a plot twist and i won't tell you what it is, but just know. i did not see it coming. On Tubi. Please watch it.

Bad Apple - I'm not even sure what to say about this movie? Dag plays Gina in a crime (?) thriller. She's sprinkled throughout the movie and is the main love interest for some guy. I genuinely enjoyed this movie but I'd suggest watching it under the influence of something to maximize the viewing experience. The Five People You Meet in Heaven - on vimeo Religious made for TV movie set in the 1940s/50s. Dag plays Marguerite, the main character's wife and oh my god she is so pretty. she's so gorgeous and talented. what was i saying? its set in a boardwalk? okay. i'll even ignore the weird racist subplot with like. a genie. sometimes we have to pay the fucking bills okay. 24 - on Hulu. Who the hell made this show up? 24 is a drama series where every season takes place in 24 hours and every episode is one hour of the day. Insane concept. Dag appears briefly as an evil lady - she's got a gun and looks great and wears some gorgeous earrings. Trust the Man - 2000s romcom! Dag has a brief role as Pamela and goes on a date with one of the male leads, there's a follow up scene where they talk briefly. Not a lot of screen time, but you know. If you're in a bad romcom mood. Mentor - on youtube Dag has the lead female role as Julia, a graduate assistant who's romantically involved with an older writing professor. She is great in this, injecting a bunch of charisma into a fairly bland film. Lonely Hearts - Warning for Jared Leto and moderate violence. Drama based on the real life murderers Martha Beck and Ray Fernandez - Dag plays Delphine, one of their victims. Dag is once again, a real talent and can truly transform what's on the page. She's got a brutal scene where she confesses her pregnancy to Salma Hayek that she executes perfectly. Also, she looks absolutely stellar in the 1940s styling. She appears around the 2/3 mark, which I recommend skipping to to minimize your Leto exposure. Helena from the Wedding - On Pluto Tangent time! My friends on discord and I made this horrific little fake movie universe called Going Down with all of our favorite middle aged actresses (including Dag and Melanie Lynskey). and who is in this? Melanie and Dag! They're paired together and have nice chemistry in this indie drama. It's pretty slow and they're scattered throughout the film, but I still recommend watching for Dag's microbangs.

Higher Ground ★ ♡ - on Roku. Do not. ask me about this film. don't even bring it in my vicinity. Dag plays Annika, the best friend to Vera Farmiga's religious main character. Dag is fantastic, she's witty and charming to Vera's more demure character and they are super homoerotic. Like Tough Luck, I actually beg you to watch this. The Good Wife ♡- On Amazon for free. Lawyer procedural - Dag has a prominent guest role as a lawyer(?) for a South American company. Honestly she's not given much, but I love her suit. I mean, its the good wife, it's like pretty good. Suits - On Netflix and Peacock Dude this is the show Megan Markle is in? Huh? Anyways - Dag has a brief role as a woman who faced sexual discrimination in her workplace. She's only got 2 scenes, but she's like...there! Felix the Painter -On Vimeo A short film about a struggling artist, but more importantly, Dagmara looking stunning and speaking french. Go girls! On Vimeo Person of Interest - Free on Amazon - TW for domestic violence Dag plays a woman helped by the main characters in escaping her abusive husband. Not the most creative role ever, but Dag does well with the stuff she's given, especially in a really short timeframe. The Immigrant ★ - On Pluto - TW for domestic violence and nudity. Dag has a minor role as Belva, one of the burlesque performers working for Joaquin Pheonix's character. She's only got three scenes, two in the beginning and one closer to the 2/3 mark, so not much to say, but a good film overall. Jack Strong - On Tubi A Polish drama featuring her husband Patrick Wilson, Dag plays a FBI agent going undercover in Poland during the Cold War. While Dag's role is fairly minor, her real life history as a Polish immigrant who fled to the US due to her father's political ties makes it worth the watch. It is, however, NUTS that she didn't actually get to play a pole. what the hell guys.

Boardwalk Empire - On HBO Dag has a guest role as a drunk bar patron. She's engaging to watch and I mean, it's Boardwalk Empire. Worth the watch. Let's Kill Ward's Wife - On Youtube A dark comedy film made with some of her friends and husband, Dag plays Ward's wife and does. guess what. get murdered! She's insufferable (but ngl I was on her character's side), which means she did her job well, but jesus. I could not stand this film.

The Deuce - On HBO Dag's got a brief role as a. adult film consultant? and wears a pretty turtleneck and has curly hair in this 70s drama. This is where she met Maggie Gyllenhaal, who would go on to cast her in The Lost Daughter! Also, apparently Dag's scenes were heavily cut down in this episode :(

Abe - On Youtube Dag plays ARIAN MOAYED's wife. It's a drama about a half Israeli, half Palestinian family. Unfortunatley, in light of Noah Schnapp's actions surrounding the genocide occuring in Palestine, I would suggest you not watch.

Prodigal Son ★- Free on the CW Drama series! Dag has a small guest spot as an assassin called the Nightingale. She looks great and gets a fun fight sequence! The Assistant - On HBO Maybe this film was good? I don't know. I was hunting for Dag and she got ONE LINE at the VERY END. Mattmac jumpscare halfway in and his big sad horse eyes.

The Lost Daughter ♡ - On Netflix Drama featuring the Olivia Colman! Dag plays Callie, pregnant sister in law to Dakota Johnson's character. I watched this movie when it came out and did not recognize Dag at all! She's scattered throughout and I barely understood this film, but, oh Dag. Her Jersey(?) accent was a beacon of light to my confusion.

We Own this City ♡ - On HBO- Warning for graphic violence and police brutality. Biopic about the Baltimore Police Department's Gun Trace Task Force and the horrific corruption that took place. Dag has a supporting role as Erika, a FBI agent investigating the Task Force. Not a super prominent role since the show balances between flash backs and the investigation, but a well made show that's very worth the watch. She gets to play a flute. The Accidental Wolf ★- I did not see this but Arian Moayed wrote and directed this? Succ supporting cast I love you! You can find Dag presenting Arian an AAM award here. My Love Affair with Marriage ♡ ★ Dag plays the lead in this funky animated film about womanhood and marriage. Honestly on first watch it wasn't my favorite, but I've really come to love it's weird musical numbers and plot. Dag has a great vocal performance as Zelma, she really has some magnetic quality to her voice. Succession ♡ ★- On HBO Dag plays Karolina Novotney, head of Communications in this drama series. The show is a little slow and honestly not for me-- can you imagine. No, Succession is the series of all time and she plays THE Karolina Novotney, hot lesbian and resident man hater. Give me a scene where she isn't glaring Tom down. Go shivlina, go girls, I'm a fan. She delivers a fantastic and subtle performance, particularly in the fourth season. I love you Karolina Novotney. Bottoms ♡♡♡♡♡- BEST MOVIE EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Dag plays a milf Priscilla ♡ - On HBO. Dag plays Ann Beaulieu, Priscilla's mom. She's pretty wonderful in this as well and gets to show off such a wide range of emotions. I love anything period piecey and Priscilla is a greattt film that actually engages with the crazy power dynamic between Elvis and Priscilla. Love Miller's Girl - On Netflix This movie was nottt for me, BUT. I loveee Dag's character in this. She's a mean horny lady named Beatrice and I swear to god my mind was REWIRED hearing Dag say "Or are some cunts....remarkable?" Honestly blows everyone else out of the water since they're doing these godawful Tennessee accents.

Congrats if you made it to the end of this review! Feel free to message me or send an ask if you watch any of these.

[collectorscorner]

CC New Arrivals @ Collectors Corner : WEDNESDAY - 5/31/23. #NewComicsWednesday

Collectors Corner Parkville - HQ : OPEN for IN STORE SHOPPING -1-410-668-3353. CC Parkville - 2023 STORE HOURS, Sunday 12-6, Mon-Tues 12-7, Wed 9-8, Thurs 11-7, Friday & Saturday 11-8.

Collectors Corner - Bel Air Outpost Location : OPEN for IN STORE SHOPPING - 1-410-838-1777. CC Bel Air - 2023 STORE HOURS, Sunday 11-5, Monday/Tuesday - Closed, Wednesday 11-8, Thursday 11-7, Friday/Saturday 11-8.

Complete list of items shipping to the stores, some items may be limited in availability. If you see anything you want to purchase on the list and are not a subscription member at Collectors Corner, just contact us and let us know if you want an item held at the stores Email - collectorscornermd@comcast.net

Subscription Membership & Free Membership Card : Collectors Corner's No Obligation (FREE) Membership Card or FREE (In Store) & ONLINE Subscription Membership saves you 10% Off ALL Bagged & Boarded Comic Book Back Issues, Board Games, Graphic Novels, Manga & Special Orders. Plus Never miss a comic again! Computerized and organized + you can add and cancel titles on your subscription list from home on your own time, or in the store when you pick up your comics at :

Maryland's Coolest Stores! Since 2001.

2 Super Cool & Convenient Locations -

CC PARKVILLE - HEADQUARTERS 7911 Harford Rd Parkville, MD 21234

&

CC BEL AIR - OUTPOST 17 N. Main St. Bel Air, MD 21014

WEB - www.collectorscornermd.com

IG - https://www.instagram.com/collectorscornermd/

TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@collectorscornermd

FB HQ - https://www.facebook.com/CollectorsCorner

FB BA - https://www.facebook.com/CCBAMD/

Tumblr - https://www.tumblr.com/collectorscorner

Twitter - https://twitter.com/CCMD_ComicsShop

PUBLISHER/TITLE/PRICE

AMERICAN MYTHOLOGY PRODUCTIONS Rawhead Reborn #1 (Cover A Roy Allen Martinez), $3.99

ARCHIE COMIC PUBLICATIONS World Of Archie Jumbo Comics Digest #130, $9.99

BOOM! STUDIOS Expanse Dragon Tooth #1 (Of 12)(2nd Printing Cover A Christian Ward), $4.99

COMIC SHOP NEWS Comic Shop News #1867, AR

CREEPY CLASSICS/MONSTER BASH Monster Bash Magazine #50, $8.99

DARK HORSE COMICS Star Wars The High Republic Adventures #5 (Of 8)(Cover A Harvey Monticillo), $3.99

DC COMICS City Boy #1 (Of 6)(Cover B Inhyuk Lee Card Stock Variant), $4.99 DC Connect #37, AR DC Pride 2023 #1 (One Shot)(Cover A Mateus Manhanini), $9.99 DC Pride 2023 #1 (One Shot)(Cover B Gabriel Picolo Wraparound Variant), $9.99 DC Pride 2023 #1 (One Shot)(Cover C Oscar Vega), $9.99 DC Pride 2023 #1 (One Shot)(Cover D Jen Bartel Special Foil Variant), $11.99 DC Pride 2023 #1 (One Shot)(Cover E Gabriel Picolo Spot Gloss Variant), AR DC Pride 2023 #1 (One Shot)(Cover F Jen Bartel), AR Detective Comics #1072 (Cover A Evan Cagle), $4.99 Detective Comics #1072 (Cover B Kelley Jones Card Stock Variant), $5.99 Detective Comics #1072 (Cover C Mike Perkins Card Stock Variant), $5.99 Detective Comics #1072 (Cover D Sebastian Fiumara Card Stock Variant), AR Detective Comics #1072 (Cover E Kelley Jones Foil Variant), AR Icon Vs. Hardware #3 (Of 5)(Cover A Rahzzah), $4.99 Icon Vs. Hardware #3 (Of 5)(Cover B Mateus Manhanini), $4.99 Icon Vs. Hardware #3 (Of 5)(Cover C Darryl Banks), AR Power Girl Special #1 (One Shot)(Cover A Marguerite Sauvage), $5.99 Power Girl Special #1 (One Shot)(Cover B Stanley Artgerm Lau Card Stock Variant), $6.99 Power Girl Special #1 (One Shot)(Cover C Amanda Conner Card Stock Variant), $6.99 Power Girl Special #1 (One Shot)(Cover D Tula Lotay Card Stock Variant), AR Power Girl Special #1 (One Shot)(Cover E Taj Tenfold Card Stock Variant), AR Power Girl Special #1 (One Shot)(Cover F David Nakayama Card Stock Variant), AR Power Girl Special #1 (One Shot)(Cover G David Nakayama Foil Variant), AR Power Girl Special #1 (One Shot)(Cover H Stanley Artgerm Lau Foil Variant), AR Power Of Shazam Volume 2 The Worm Turns TP, $39.99 Static Season One TP, $19.99 Steel A Celebration Of 30 Years HC, $39.99

DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT Barbarella The Center Cannot Hold #4 (Cover A Derrick Chew), $3.99 Gargoyles #6 (Cover A David Nakayama), $3.99 Gargoyles #6 (Cover B Amanda Conner), $3.99 Gargoyles #6 (Cover C Lucio Parrillo), $3.99 Gargoyles #6 (Cover D Lesley Leirix Li), $3.99 Gargoyles #6 (Cover E Jae Lee), $3.99 Gargoyles #6 (Cover F Tony Fleecs & Trish Forstner), $3.99 Pathfinder Wake The Dead #1 (Cover A Steve Ellis), $4.99

FRANK MILLER PRESENTS Ancient Enemies #4 (Of 6)(Cover A Danilo Beyruth), $5.99

IDW PUBLISHING Cat Fight #1 (Cover A Ilias Kyriazis), $3.99 Cat Fight #1 (Cover B Morgan Beem), $3.99 Cat Fight #1 (Cover C Alex Moore), AR Cat Fight #1 (Cover D Veronica Fish), AR Cat Fight #1 (Cover E Sweeney Boo), AR Rocketeer #1 (One Shot)(Cover A Adam Hughes), $4.99 Rocketeer #1 (One Shot)(Cover B Gabriel Rodriguez), $4.99 Rocketeer #1 (One Shot)(Cover C Adam Hughes Virgin Variant), AR Rocketeer #1 (One Shot)(Cover D Gabriel Rodriguez Virgin Variant), AR Star Trek Annual 2023 (Cover A Rachel Stott), $5.99 Star Trek Annual 2023 (Cover B Steffi Hochreigl), $5.99 Star Trek Annual 2023 (Cover C Rhys Yorke), $5.99 Star Trek Annual 2023 (Cover D Rachel Stott Black & White Variant), AR Star Trek Annual 2023 (Cover E J. K. Woodward), AR Star Trek Annual 2023 (Cover F J. K. Woodward Virgin Variant), AR Star Trek Picard Stargazer TP, $17.99 Star Trek The Mirror War TP, $24.99 Star Trek Warriors Of The Mirror War TP, $17.99 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Saturday Morning Adventures Continued #1 (Cover A Tim Lattie), $3.99 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Saturday Morning Adventures Continued #1 (Cover B Dan Schoening), $3.99 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Saturday Morning Adventures Continued #1 (Cover C Sarah Myer), $3.99 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Saturday Morning Adventures Continued #1 (Cover D Michael Dooney), AR Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Saturday Morning Adventures Continued #1 (Cover E Michael Dooney Virgin Variant), AR Will Eisner’s The Spirit Artisan Edtion TP, $39.99

IMAGE COMICS Deep Cuts #2 (Of 6)(Cover A Chris Brunner), $5.99 Good Asian 1936 Deluxe Edition HC, $39.99 Killadelphia #30 (2nd Printing Cover A Jason Shawn Alexander), $3.99 Local Man #3 (3nd Printing Cover A Tim Seeley & Tony Fleecs), $3.99 Local Man #4 (Cover A Tim Seeley/Tony Fleecs/Brian Reber), $3.99 Local Man #4 (Cover B Bill Maus), $3.99 Savage Strength Of Starstorm #1 (Cover A Drew Craig), $3.99 Savage Strength Of Starstorm #1 (Cover B Wes Craig), $3.99 Scorched #18 (Cover A Viktor Bogdanovic), $2.99 Scorched #18 (Cover B Paul Renaud), $2.99 Torrent #4 (Cover A Justin Greenwood & Rico Renzi), $3.99 Torrent #4 (Cover B Brahm Revel), $3.99 Torrent #4 (Cover C Rick Leonardi & Rico Renzi), $3.99 w0rldtR33 #1 (2nd Printing Cover A Fernando Blanco), $3.99 w0rldtR33 #2 (Cover A Fernando Blanco), $3.99 w0rldtR33 #2 (Cover B Dani), $3.99 w0rldtR33 #2 (Cover C David Romero), AR w0rldtR33 #2 (Cover D Justine Frany), AR w0rldtR33 #2 (Cover E Werther Dell’Edera), AR

MARVEL COMICS Alien #2 (Cover A Dike Ruan), $4.99 Alien #2 (Cover B Dave Johnson), AR Alien #2 (Cover C Felipe Massafera), AR Amazing Spider-Man #26 (Cover A John Romita Jr.), $4.99 Amazing Spider-Man #26 (Cover B Simone Bianchi), AR Amazing Spider-Man #26 (Cover C Pepe Larraz), AR Amazing Spider-Man #26 (Cover D David Talaski Spider-Verse Variant), AR Amazing Spider-Man #26 (Cover E Gary Frank Spoiler Variant), AR Amazing Spider-Man #26 (Cover F Simone Bianchi Virgin Variant), AR Amazing Spider-Man #26 (Cover G Oliver Coipel), AR Avengers Beyond #3 (Of 5)(Cover A Greg Land), $3.99 Avengers Beyond #3 (Of 5)(Cover B Todd Nauck Spider-Verse Variant), AR Avengers Beyond #3 (Of 5)(Cover C Chris Allen Stormbreakers Variant), AR Avengers Beyond #3 (Of 5)(Cover D Taurin Clarke), AR Betsy Braddock Captain Britain #4 (Cover A Erica D’Urso), $3.99 Betsy Braddock Captain Britain #4 (Cover B Davi Go), AR Captain America Symbol Of Truth #13 (Cover A R. B. Silva), $3.99 Captain America Symbol Of Truth #13 (Cover B Pete Woods Spider-Verse Variant), AR Captain Marvel By Kelly Thompson Omnibus Volume 1 HC (Alex Ross Direct Market Cover), $100.00 Captain Marvel By Kelly Thompson Omnibus Volume 1 HC (Jorge Molina Book Market Cover), $100.00 Carnage #13 (Cover A Kendrick Kunkka Lim), $3.99 Carnage #13 (Cover B Philip Tan), AR Carnage #13 (Cover C Ryan Stegman Venom The Other Variant), AR Carnage #13 (Cover D Skan), AR Carnage #13 (Cover E Taurin Clarke Connecting Variant), AR Carnage Volume 2 Carnage In Hell TP, $19.99 Clobberin’ Time #3 (Of 5)(Cover A Steve Skroce), $3.99 Clobberin’ Time #3 (Of 5)(Cover B Dan Panosian), AR Daredevil Omnibus Volume 2 HC (Gene Colan Daredevil Unmasked Direct Market Cover), $100.00 Daredevil Omnibus Volume 2 HC (Gene Colan In The Beginning Book Market Cover), $100.00 Deadpool #7 (Cover A Martin Coccolo), $3.99 Deadpool #7 (Cover B Peach Momoko Spider-Verse Variant), AR Deadpool #7 (Cover C Benjamin Su), AR Doctor Strange #3 (Cover A Alex Ross), $4.99 Doctor Strange #3 (Cover B Mahmud A. Asrar Spider-Verse Variant), AR Doctor Strange #3 (Cover C Elena Casagrande Stormbreakers Variant), AR Doctor Strange #3 (Cover D InHyuk Lee Sister Grimm AAPI Heritage Month Variant), AR Doctor Strange #3 (Cover E Ryan Stegman), AR Doctor Strange #3 (Cover F Ryan Stegman Virgin Variant), AR Edge Of Spider-Verse #2 (Of 4)(Cover A Patrick Brown), $4.99 Edge Of Spider-Verse #2 (Of 4)(Cover B Josemaria Casanovas Connecting Variant), AR Edge Of Spider-Verse #2 (Of 4)(Cover C Alan Quah), AR Edge Of Spider-Verse #2 (Of 4)(Cover D David Yardin), AR Marvel Masterworks The Amazing Spider-Man Volume 1 HC (Jack Kirby Book Market Cover)(ReMasterworks), $75.00 Marvel Masterworks The Amazing Spider-Man Volume 1 HC (Jack Kirby Direct Market Cover)(ReMasterworks), $75.00 Punisher #12 (Cover A Jesus Saiz), $4.99 Punisher #12 (Cover B Mico Suayan), AR Punisher #12 (Cover C John Cassaday Spider-Verse Variant), AR Sgt. Fury Epic Collection Volume 2 Berlin Breakout TP, $39.99 She-Hulk By Rainbow Rowell Volume 2 Jen Of Hearts TP, $15.99 She-Hulk Epic Collection Volume 4 The Cosmic Squish Principle TP, $39.99 Silver Surfer Ghost Light #4 (Cover A Taurin Clarke), $3.99 Spider-Man 2099 Dark Genesis #5 (Of 5)(Cover A Nick Bradshaw), $3.99 Spider-Man 2099 Dark Genesis #5 (Of 5)(Cover B Ken Lashley Frame Variant), AR Spider-Man 2099 Dark Genesis #5 (Of 5)(Cover C Rod Reis Connecting Variant), AR Spider-Man 2099 Dark Genesis #5 (Of 5)(Cover D Justin Mason Handbook Variant), AR Star Wars Doctor Aphra #32 (Cover A Junggeun Yoon), $3.99 Star Wars Doctor Aphra #32 (Cover B Leinil Francis Yu Darth Maul Solo 5th Anniversary Movie Variant), AR Star Wars Doctor Aphra #32 (Cover C Chris Sprouse Return Of The Jedi 40th Anniversary Variant), AR Star Wars Doctor Aphra #32 (Cover D Ema Lupacchino), AR Star Wars Legends Epic Collection The Original Marvel Years Volume 6 TP, $54.99 Star Wars Sana Starros #4 (Cover A Ken Lashley), $3.99 Star Wars Sana Starros #4 (Cover B Ema Lupacchino), AR Star Wars Sana Starros #4 (Cover C Leinil Francis Yu Lando Solo 5th Anniversary Movie Variant), AR Venom Lethal Protector II #3 (Of 5)(Cover A Paolo Siqueira), $3.99 Venom Lethal Protector II #3 (Of 5)(Cover B Francesco Manna), AR Venom Lethal Protector II #3 (Of 5)(Cover C Philip Tan), AR Warlock Rebirth #1 (Of 5)(2nd Printing Cover A Ron Lim), $3.99 X-23 Deadly Regenesis #3 (Of 5)(Cover A Kalman Andrasofszky), $3.99 X-23 Deadly Regenesis #3 (Of 5)(Cover B Gerald Parel), AR X-Force By Benjamin Percy Volume 2 HC, $44.99 X-Men ’92 The Saga Continues TP, $44.99 X-Men The Dark Phoenix Saga TP, $29.99

OPUS COMICS Sanjulian Queens Of The Lost World #1 (Cover A Ariel Olivetti), $4.99 Sanjulian Queens Of The Lost World #1 (Cover B Sanjulian), $4.99

SELFMADEHERO Starman David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust Years GN, $19.99

TWOMORROWS PUBLISHING Alter Ego #182, $10.95 Back Issue #144, $10.95

UDON ENTERTAINMENT Street Fighter 6 #2 (Of 4)(Cover A Joe Ng), $5.99 Street Fighter 6 #2 (Of 4)(Cover B Panzer), $5.99

VAULT COMICS Barbaric Hell To Pay #4 (Cover A Nathan Gooden), $4.99 Barbaric Hell To Pay #4 (Cover B Skylar Patridge), $4.99

ZENESCOPE ENTERTAINMENT Grimm Fairy Tales #72 (Cover A Igor Vitorino), $3.99

TOYS - T-SHIRTS & COLLECTIBLES Astro Zombies ReAction Figure Wave 1 Astro Zombie Teal/Black, AR Astro Zombies ReAction Figure Wave 2 Astro Zombie Black/Silver, AR Attack Of Titan Series 2 24 Piece 3D Foam Bag Clip Blind Mystery Box Display, AR Big Lebowski 24 Piece 3D Foam Bag Clip Blind Mystery Box Display, AR Disney S44 Princesses With Food 24 Piece 3D Foam Bag Clip Blind Mystery Box Display, AR Dragon Ball Super Series 2 24 Piece 3D Foam Bag Clip Blind Mystery Box Display, AR Dungeons And Dragons Dicelings Blue Displacer Beast Collectors Figure, AR Dungeons And Dragons Dicelings Green Dragon Collector’s Figure, AR G.I. Joe Ultimates Real American Hero Wave 2 Baroness Action Figure, AR G.I. Joe Ultimates Real American Hero Wave 2 Destro Action Figure, AR G.I. Joe Ultimates Real American Hero Wave 2 Flint Action Figure, AR G.I. Joe Ultimates Real American Hero Wave 2 Lady Jaye Action Figure, AR Gargoyles Demona Bust, AR Gargoyles Xanatos 1/7 Scale Bust, AR Golden Girls Series 4 24 Piece Blind Mystery Box 3D Foam Bag Clip Display, AR Haikyu Series 2 24 Piece 3D Foam Bag Clip Blind Mystery Box Display, AR Hatsune Miku Bicute Bunnies White Rabbit Baby Pink PVC Figure, AR Hatsune Miku Flower Fairy Nemophila Noodle Stop Figure, AR Hatsune Miku Luminasta Hatsune Miku Bitter Patissier Figure, AR Marvel Animated Peter Parker Statue, AR Marvel Comic Spider-Man Bust, AR Micro Toy Box Wave 2 Blind Mystery Box Display, AR My Little Pony Kwistal Fwenz Series 2 Mini Figure 8 Piece Blind Mystery Box Display, AR Naruto Anime Heroes Naruto Uzumaki Sage Mode Action Figure, AR Naruto Anime Heroes Sasuke Rinnegan Mangekyo Sharingan Action Figure, AR One-12 Collective G.I. Joe Destro Action Figure, AR One-12 Collective Halloween II Michael Myers Action Figure, AR One-12 Collective Ultraman Action Figure, AR Original Tamagotchi 90s Version, AR Original Tamagotchi Art Style Version, AR Original Tamagotchi Black Version, AR Original Tamagotchi Candy Swirl Version, AR Original Tamagotchi Hearts Version, AR Original Tamagotchi Lightning Version, AR Original Tamagotchi Marble Version, AR Original Tamagotchi Original Purple Version, AR Original Tamagotchi Pastel Bubble Version, AR Original Tamagotchi Pink With Yellow Version, AR Original Tamagotchi Plaid Version, AR Original Tamagotchi Purple Pink Clock Version, AR Original Tamagotchi Sahara Version, AR Original Tamagotchi Spring Stripes Version, AR Original Tamagotchi Sprinkles Version, AR Original Tamagotchi Tie Dye Version, AR Original Tamagotchi White And Pink Version, AR Original Tamagotchi White With Black Version, AR Original Tamagotchi Yellow With Blue Version, AR POP Moments Star Wars Return Of The Jedi 40th Anniversary Luke Vs. Vader Vinyl Figure, AR POP Movies Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade Henry Jones Sr. Vinyl Figure, AR POP Movies Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade Sallah Vinyl Figure, AR POP Movies Indiana Jones Raiders Of The Lost Ark Arnold Toht Vinyl Figure, AR POP Movies Indiana Jones Raiders Of The Lost Ark Marion Vinyl Figure, AR SpongeBob Squarepants Season 5 24 Piece 3D Foam Bag Clip Blind Mystery Box Display, AR Star Wars Black Episode 6 Return Of The Jedi 40th Anniversary 6 Inch Action Figure Assortment 202302, AR Star Wars Black Episode 6 Return Of the Jedi 40th Anniversary 6 Inch Chewbacca Action Figure, AR Star Wars Black Episode 6 Return Of the Jedi 40th Anniversary 6 Inch Emperor Action Figure, AR Star Wars Black Episode 6 Return Of The Jedi 40th Anniversary 6 Inch Paploo Action Figure, AR Star Wars Premier Collection Attack Of The Clones Mace Windu Statue, AR Star Wars Premier Collection Episode 2 Padme Statue, AR Star Wars Premier Collection Mandalorian Boba Fett On Throne Statue, AR Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back Luke 1/6 Scale Bust, AR Star Wars The Phantom Menance 24 Piece 3D Foam Bag Clip Blind Mystery Box Display, AR World’s Smallest Universal Monsters Micro Action Figure Assortment, AR World’s Smallest Universal Studios Horror Micro Action Figure Assortment, AR X-Men Legends 6 Inch Action Figure Assortment 202301 Ch’od Build-A-Figure, AR X-Men Legends 6 Inch Chamber Action Figure, AR X-Men Legends 6 Inch Corsair Action Figure, AR X-Men Legends 6 Inch Cyclops Action Figure, AR X-Men Legends 6 Inch Emma Frost Action Figure, AR X-Men Legends 6 Inch Kid Omega Action Figure, AR X-Men Legends 6 Inch Monet St. Croix Action Figure, AR

CC June 2023 Customer Appreciation Weekend Sale!

(Both Stores, 3 Days : 6/2-6/4)

*20%-50% Off Select Items & Brands in the Stores! Store-wide, Both locations.

50% OFF ALLOrange Stickered ---CLEARANCE--- TOYS, GAMES & COLLECTIBLES (Excludes Graphic Novels)

50% Off All FUNKO POPS & FUNKO SODAS DATED - 12/31/22 or Earlier on Price Sticker. - 50% Off All Sealed NEW & Pre-owned McFarlane TOYS DC COMICS, McFarlane Anime Figures, TMP SPAWN, & TMP DRAGONS Action Figures.

50% Off All MARVEL COMICS & DC COMICS HARDCOVER Graphic Novels & Collected Editions. - 50% Off ALL NEW COMICS Excluding New This Week, New Last Week & Subscribed Titles. - 75% Off All NEW Bagged and Boarded Variant Covers with Variant Cover Sticker Exluding New This Week & New Last Week. (Regularly 50% Off)

*10% OFF MEMBERSHIP DISCOUNT, ADDITIONAL DISCOUNTS or REWARDS & BELLY REWARDS DO NOT COMBINE OR STACK WITH IN STORE SALES.

*Discounts do NOT Combine, Excludes Subscription Boxes, Subscribed Titles and Special Orders, Pre-orders, Items on Hold, New This Week & Last Week Comics, Candy, Snacks & Refreshments, All Sealed Trading Card Game Products - Magic the Gathering, YuGiOh, Pokemon, etc, All Collecting Supplies & Accessories for Comics and Gaming, Dice. Pinback Buttons, Keychains, Lanyards, Stickers & ALL Clearance Items

+

DOLLAR COMICS

SALE BOTH STORES One Dollar Each or 15/$10.

ON SALE 50 Cents EACH. 3/$1

FILL A SHORT BOX for $35

Short Box Not Included, Bring or Buy your Own Short Box & Fill It or Buy a New Short Storage Box (6.99) from us here at the Store!

[goblin-writer]

Mid-air Magpie Heist

The gaslights bathed the foggy street in a pale glow. From light-to-light darkness stretched its insidious tentacles. Dark facades loomed above the few figures that  were still out and about. If someone were to look up, which would be a nearly futile pursuit with a new moon and fog that heavy they would see twinkling lights sailing determinedly against the stars.

The airship was fitted with everything a luxury liner needed. A ballroom with gilded chandelier and a stage for a band, a kitchen run by many cooks, and a smoking and card room with leather upholstery and the kind of green wallpaper that denoted wealth if not always the best of morals. Most importantly, it was full of passengers. While an airship of the size could be fitted for more, only 30 passenger suites were built. Each was well appointed and the reduction in passenger numbers allowed for more luxuries to be installed. A spa, a library, and for each suite a private bathroom.

The people that sailed aboard the Steamspar were always incredibly wealthy. And so the crew was well picked so that nothing would go wrong. Still, Marguerite and Audrey had managed to get aboard as cleaning crew. Much of their day was spent away from the passengers who preferred to watch the world sail by from the observation deck, or indulge in gossip and game in the card room.

Every day over lunch they would enter the rooms and tidy them for the passengers. If a piece of jewellery or clothing went missing here or there it would not be noticed. The entire heist was in service of one object. A ring, crowned by many stones of various colours and a family crest that travelled in the company of a collector.

That last night found them huddled to the side.

“The ring hasn’t been out of her sight this entire journey. We need to make a play.” Audrey was visibly nervous, slicking back his hair as he looked around.

“It’s not like we can just take it. There needs to be an opening.” They had planned for many eventualities but this one was unexpected. She even slept with the ring on.

“We aren’t going to make a loss if we go without. The other jewels are valuable by themselves.”

“Nothing in comparison to this ring.” A buyer would pay inordinate amounts of money for the ring and she intended to keep some of the other jewels.

“Very well,” Audrey sighed, “How about this?”

 An hour later the ship was dark. Marguerite, dressed all in black moved along the hallway toward the collector’s room. Audrey had gone to the cargo bay and prepared their distraction. Her footsteps were muffled by the carpet as she rounded the corner.

The lamps in the halls had been turned off and she made it to the door without issue. With her staff key she had swiped earlier she made her way inside. Much like the hall outside the room was dark, the four-poster bed stood out with its white linens. Stealing up to the bed she saw the collector deep asleep below her. The hand with the ring hidden below the covers.

She knew she could get the covers off without the collector waking but when she saw the fingers curled inwards her shoulders slumped, it would be much more difficult to get the ring. Slowly she peeled the hand open and slid the ring off. Every breath of the collector making her pause.

She managed to get the ring off the finger and replaced the blanket. With the grace of a cat she made her way to the door and into the hallway. Following the way she made it to the cargo hold. Audrey opened the door and gave her a change of clothes back into uniform. Together they pulled the cargo door open and threw out a sack and parachute filled with linens and a few jewels. Marguerite was loathe to see them go but they needed to cover their tracks.

They then stole back through the airship, leaving a trail of silks to the cargo hold. After a long time they collapsed into their bunks. Sleep went to claim them before a sharp shriek woke the ship. The theft had been discovered and there was no rest for the wicked. They needed to find the thief before they escaped.

--

Thank you @flashfictionfridayofficial​ for a lovely prompt. Enjoyed writing a bit more about Marguerite and Audrey

[vexinghearts]

I previously had an obsession with Lucas Baker from Resident Evil 7 , right ? Ok. Well I was going to write an ENTIRE ONESHOT about him ( like early 2022 ) and I had. Uhm- I never finished it and don't want to finish it , so here it is for you guys! Also I never even got to the part where the reader meets Lucas 💀

TW : Cringe af

Working with The Sewer Gators was kind of frightening, especially when we visited the more rundown buildings. Though, I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy the adrenaline I get when running away. Today is the day that we visit the Baker house in Louisiana.

I had heard rumors of the house and the family that used to live inside, though, none were believable. One woman had said they were all dangerous and that they had criminal records.

I decided I would humor the idea of this and visited websites that could show me public criminal records. As I had suspected beforehand, none of the bakers had any records of violent behaviors.

Though, I found a few accusations against one of the Bakers. He was the son of Jack and Marguerite Baker, Lucas Baker. He had been taken to court, but because he was still a minor, he would have gotten an easier conviction, had he been announced guilty for the disappearance of a classmate of his.

The Bakers won that case.

Before that he had been accused of killing animals around the town. The Bakers lost that case and the son, Lucas, had to get a psychiatric evaluation along with 6 months in a juvenile detention facility. I couldn't get the result of the evaluation because of Hippocratic Oath.

All in all from what I have found, Lucas Baker was definitely viewed as the bad seed of the family. Looking at the clock on my wall it was 9:37 PM. I started panicking.

"Fuck, I have to hurry!" I shouted running around my apartment and collecting the few things I needed. I grabbed a shirt, a pair of pants, socks, shoes, and perfume. I grabbed my phone and rushed to my home screen, expecting notifications of several missed calls.

But I didn't have any notifications of missed calls. I looked at the phone with confusion, until I swiped the top of the screen down. It was only 7:29 PM and it wasn't even dark yet.

My face grew warm from embarrassment as I put the phone in my side pocket.

"I can't believe I keep believing that clock." I muttered with annoyance.

I turn to my computer and debate whether or not I should keep searching for information on the Baker family. I decided to spend about half an hour researching before I chose to leave my house.

I have to help the new camera-man with his camera. I heard from Andre that his name was Clancy.

I grabbed my keys and walked out to my vehicle. Putting the keys in the ignition and starting it up. Buckling my seatbelt, I back out of my driveway and started my trip to the studio

By the time I got to the studio Andre and Pete were standing beside each other discussing what they would do if police came to the Baker House. Another man was standing farther to the left of them.

I walk up to the three men, quickly introducing myself to the third man.

"Hello, you must be Clancy?" I asked with a smile. He must've been nervous talking to the men, because when he started talking with me, he got more comfortable. It made me feel nice to help him have someone to share opinions with.

"Okay, are we all ready to leave?" Pete asked as he looked at the three of us.

"Yea-!" Clancy had tried to say something, but I quickly put my hand over his mouth. He looked at me with furrowed brows and I smiled at him. Pete had chuckled a bit and got in the passenger seat, Andre sliding into the driver's seat.

I moved my hands off of Clancy's mouth and wiped it off on my shirt.

"Why'd you do that?" He asked as I started climbing into the van. He followed in and slid the door shut.

"It was a rhetorical question." I said as I buckled my seatbelt.

It would take, at least, a good half an hour to get to Dulvey. I decided to lean my head against the window and take a quick nap.

------------------

POV : 3RD / A / R

------------------

After Andre had pulled into the dead end where the Bakers used to live, He and Pete had climbed out of the van. Clancy unbuckled himself and got out himself. Andre slid (Y/N's) door open and shook them lightly.

"(Y/N), get up, we're at the Baker House." He said and let go of (Y/N's) shoulder.

(Y/N) opened their eyes slowly and yawned. They stretched their body and unbuckled themselves. Their legs felt numb from sitting in the van for half an hour, so they stumbled forward. They stumbled into Andre who stood there as their support.

"Sorry, Andre." They said standing up straight. Andre smiled and said that it wasn't a big deal. They sighed in relief and stayed by his side.

Clancy had been standing behind them all setting up his camera. When he turned it towards his crew members, Pete was up close in the camera startling Clancy.

"Boo." He said, though backing up rather quickly.

"Where did you find this guy?"

"Give me a break, Pete."

"Hey! I only work with professionals. Speaking of which, make sure the sound is right this time!"

When (Y/N) heard Pete say what he said they chuckled remembering the Amarillo event.

"Yeah, we don't want a repeat of Amarillo." (Y/N) teases. Andre whips his head towards (Y/N) and glares.

"That was two fucking years ago." Andre said with a friend on his face.

"I don't do ADR." They said close to bursting with laughter. When Andre is annoyed, it's usually because of Pete nagging him. (Y/N) walked towards Pete and stood behind him.

He looked at (Y/N) and said "This new guy? I'm not feeling it." They looked at him with confusion.

"Again?"

"Just don't be surprised if we have to make a change."

(Y/N) rolled their eyes and crossed their arms. They looked behind themself seeing Clancy and Andre stepping onto the porch.

"We do a walkthrough of the inside first, then shoot the intro." Pete said putting his hand on the door knob.

"Just like we always do; just try to say the show's name this time." Andre says getting behind Pete.

"Sure. Tonight on Sewer Gators ; Another worthless hellhole-- Happy?"

"Ecstatic."

Pete grabs his flashlight from his pocket and turns the head of it until the light is on.

"Are we rolling?" Pete asks looking at Andre. He didn't say anything, but instead stood there quietly. (Y/N) spoke up.

"Yes, Pete, Clancy is rolling."

Pete doesn't bother looking and nods instead. He twists the doorknob and puts pressure on the door. He side eyed the camera. He tried again and it didn't work.

(Y/N) decided to intervene and pushed him aside.

"Hey, (Y/N), what the hell!?"

"Be quiet, Pete, I'm helping." They spoke. They leaned close to the door and twisted the knob. The door didn't open. (Y/N) resorts to twisting the door knob and pressing their body against the door. They shoved their shoulder against the door causing them to fall forward.

------------------

POV : 1ST / (Y/N)

------------------

The fall knocked the breath out of me. "(L/N), are you ok?!" I heard Pete ask. I felt the thump of one of the men's knees hit the ground.

END

[neverwhite69]

BRISK MOMENTS OF A SUBMISSIVE.

HELEN PARKER - 35

helen had visited gloria who had told her how she had provoked marguerite into spanking her bottom.

HELEN

marguerite didn't know how she was ever going to get out of this situation with gloria.

she stayed in her office and worked until all her colleagues and the principal had left.

when the coast was clear, gloria returned to her office, undressed, and explained why she deserved punishment, and now marguerite should cane her bottom.

this went on for two years until gloria graduated from high school and went to college on the coast.

but the peace did not last long, a student named angel asked for an appointment to discuss a personal matter with her.

GLORIA SENT ME. ACCORDING TO HER EXPERIENCE, YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE WHO IS ABLE TO CORRECT ME ACCURATELY.

marguerite hesitated, but at the same time, she couldn't bring herself to send her away. besides, there still were members of the staff in the building,

COME BACK IN TWO HOURS, WE WON’T BE DISTURBED THEN.

like gloria, angel came to her office to get her ass spanked by mrs brown.

none of this ever became public, and marguerite was relieved when angel graduated and moved on to a college in another city.

when she was offered the position of principal at tehachapi high school, she grabbed the chance to leave bakersfield behind.

her life was finally at peace. being a principal is demanding and time-consuming, and since the new school was much smaller than the one in bakersfield, there was no deputy to support her.

one day gloria called her. after she graduated from college with a degree in art and design, she took courses in business administration. she returned to bakersfield and started a web advertising and marketing company - together with angel.

her business was doing great, her life was perfect. but there was one thing she missed most: marguerite's corrections with the cane.

[pulsdmedia]

The Week Ahead 5/20-5/26

Summer is right around the corner, and we have a packed schedule to help you welcome in Memorial Day Weekend. Rib King, Baseball Open Bar Tickets, Endless rosé, and more!

$39 Tickets To Rib King Food & Drink Festival

Summer starts at Rib King NYC, a 3 Hour Food & Drink Festival brought to you by pulsd favorite Food Karma Projects! Just $39 gets you a ticket to spend the afternoon devouring delicious foods from top chefs and restaurants, plus a selection of cocktails, spirits, wines, and beers! This is one sensation that is not to be missed.

Free Champagne To Welcome The Weekend

Champagne Thursdays are back at Luxe On Lex! Enjoy a sip of Champagne from 5:00pm-7:00pm on Thursdays! Spring is officially here! Welcome the spring season and join them in a toast at one of their participating retailers @gallery71nyc @sharitata @french_sole @karenrobertsnewyork

AYCD & Rooftop Bottomless Brunch With Brooklyn Cyclones

Experience the fresh breezes of Coney Island's waterfront as you enjoy an open bar or a bottomless brunch before heading to the game - the Brooklyn Cyclones game! Just $39 gets you your choice of AYCD or Bottomless Brunch ticket for this weekend - and it includes a ticket to the game too! Make this MDW a home run!

Memorial Day Weekend At Everdene

Celebrate Memorial Day Weekend at Everdene enjoying live music & menu specials. The weekend also includes special giveaways from Sweet Chick, Lobos 1707 Tequila, Fever-Tree, Sainte Marguerite and more! Don't miss it!

Memorial Day At Watermark Beach

This weekend, head to Watermark Beach at Seaport for their The Memorial Day Rosé-All-Day Festival! pulsd members can save big on ticket to either the afternoon or the evening session with a choice of $19 for admission and a glass of rosé, or $55 for admission plus a 2.5 hour rosé open bar. We know which one we are getting...

L'AGENCE Sample Sale

L'AGENCE is a coveted brand that combines California style with a touch of French flare. You can stop by 260 Sample Sale's NoMad store to shop this stunning brand at a fraction of the cost. Upgrade your style and your closet as we welcome the summer months!

[dankusner]

Founders of New York's Francis Irv Gallery Take on the Dallas Invitational

Earlier this month, dealers flocked to the heart of Texas for the Dallas Art Fair.

Despite nearly being attacked by a rogue collector there last year, I was sad to not be in attendance this time.

Suffice to say, it’s always lively.

To find out what I was missing, I asked my friends Sam Marion Wilken and Shane Rossi, who run the scrappy new Manhattan gallery Francis Irv, to take some photos while they exhibited at a satellite fair, the Dallas Invitational.

Let’s see what they got up to… —Annie Armstrong

Checking in at HQ for the week, the Fairmont Hotel.

Dan Desmond, Anna Raginskaya, Sam Gordon at the Joule’s “speakeasy”.

In the morning, we unpacked and blocked out our install. Works by Karla Kaplun (left) and Rachel Fäth (right).

Later in the day at Sophie Giraux’s opening at And Now. Sophie is on the right pictured with Jenny Borland (of JENNY’S).

A quick gallery selfie as we traversed to Tabboo!’s opening at Dallas Contemporary.

Clémence White (of Karma) noting Tabboo!’s depiction of himself as an Egyptian God.

Shane (hand coming from the left) and Clémence (right) appreciating Tabboo!’s suit.

Later that night, we celebrate Sophie’s successful opening. Here is Sophie, balloon rose, and a massive LCD screen.

After finalizing our install, we made it to Vojtěch Kovařík’s opening at The Power Station. Here is Kyle Thurman sitting in Jacob Kassay’s permanent sculpture in the courtyard.

Danny McDonald selfie cam.

Opening day of the Dallas Invitational.

Sam pictured with works by Benjamin Echeverria (left) and Karla Kaplun (right).

After opening hours, we caravanned to a cocktail hour at Marguerite Hoffman’s home. Pictured are Olivier Babin (of C L E A R I N G) and James Cope (of And Now and organizer of the Dallas Invitational).

Leah Newman (of LOMEX) and photographer Zeshan Ahmed.

Dinner at Cosmo’s, an unexpected fusion of Honkey Tonk and Thai food. Jenny, Lee Foley (of Bel Ami), Alex Shulan (of LOMEX), and artist Coco Young cheers, to the tune of Moe Bandy’s Thank Goodness It’s Friday.

Alex mid-confession that his Wet Paint in the Wild was entirely iPhone photographs run through an app that mimics disposable film.

Artists Danny McDonald and Kyle Thurman.

The evening continued to the Berghain of Dallas: The Round-Up. Our Uber driver obliged our requests for Gary Stewart’s country heartbreaker She’s Actin’ Single, I’m Drinkin’ Doubles.

He clocked out and came along.

Jenny crushing a Limp Bizkit cover. Or was it Goodbye Earl?

Artist Bobby Zehnder getting some wiggles out after his solo presentation with C L E A R I N G.

Sam after absolutely shelving the classic “Amarillo by Morning” by George Strait on Karaoke.

Shane here with works by Benjamin Echeverria (left) and J. Parker Valentine (right).

Made-Up Men, Danny and Kyle’s show at Tureen.

Genius convention in the back room of Tureen.

After the fair closed, we spent the day at the Kimbell and Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.

Seen here debriefing over coffee. The waiter took this one. Thank you, Lisa.

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2024

Dallas Contemporary, Dallas, Texas, Who’s Afraid of Cartoony Figuration?, curated by Alison M. Gingeras

[from1837to1945]

Petition for divorce for Henry B. Walthall, "Little Colonel" of the movies, from his wife was on file here today. The charge is desertion. Walthall is understood to be in Los Angeles. Papers were filed by his attorney.

-"'Little Colonel' of Movies Asks Divorce From Wife," Eugene Register-Guard, September 11, 1918

Less than two minutes after he entered the courtroom yesterday Henry B. Walthall, moving picture actor, was granted a divorce from Mrs. Isabelle Harrington Walthall in the circuit court. Walthall charged his wife with desertion, stating she left him March 18, 1916. Mrs. Walthall is said to be living in New Jersey.

-"Divorce for Henry Walthall," Warsaw Daily Times, November 16, 1918

Henry Walthall married Miss Mary Charleston five days after he had been granted a divorce from Mrs. Isabelle Harrington in 1918. They were married at Crown Point. Judge H.H. Loring, Valparaiso, Ind., pronounced Walthall's second marriage illegal.

-"Three Movie Weddings Probed; Search For Bride Is Recalled.," St. Petersburg Times, May 26, 1922

He married his leading woman, Mary Charleston, in Indiana, ten days after he was divorced from Irene Fenton. He says:

"There are absolutely no grounds for investigation into my second marriage. I married my first wife, Isabelle Fenton, fifteen years ago. We couldn't get along, and separated. I obtained a divorce at Chicago five years ago. I was given a final decree with the provision that I would not marry again in that state. The Indiana judiciary decided that my second marriage is entirely legal."

-"The Love Troubles of a Perfect Lover," The Norwalk Hour, July 10, 1922

※ Here's Walthall lied that he had a divorce from his wife Isabelle Fenton 5 years ago but actually it was 4 years ago. It seems like he was trying to deceive his daughter's age.

Marguerite Clark, once as noted in the film world as Mary Pickford, and Mary Charleston, star of the old Vitagraph company, now are happily married. The former is the wife of Harry Williams of New Orleans, and the latter married Henry B. Walthall, the actor.

"I have found more happiness in my home than I ever could have found in the vain glory of seeking personal fame," says Mrs. Walthall.

-"Many Stars, Once Famous, Now Are In Poverty And Obscurity," The Southeast Missourian, September 15, 1925

Henry Walthall's daughter Mary Patricia was born on her father's 40 year old birthday. (March 16, 1918) But the baby's mother wasn't Walthall's wife. Her mother was Mary Charleson.

When Henry Walthall divorced his wife Isabelle Fenton in Chicago, he received an order from the judge prohibiting him from remarrying within the state for one year. So he went to Indiana and remarried Mary Charleson in November 20, 1918. It was five to ten days after divorcing his wife, Isabelle Fenton.

In other words, Henry Walthall already had an illegitimate child. That was a reason why Walthall had to divorce Isabelle Fenton and why he had to remarry Mary Charleson so quickly after the divorce.

gifs: Blanche Sweet and Henry Walthall in Death's Marathon (1913, D.W. Griffith) / Claire McDowell and Henry Walthall in Two Daughters of Eve (1912, D.W. Griffith)

[abyssal-ali]

her own elusive pimpernel

| Pairing: Percy Blakeney x Marguerite St Just | Rating: M | WC: 5.5k | Ao3 | Summary: Somewhat of an exploration between Marguerite and Percy after their wedding, when all the angst begins, to after the ending, where the fluff begins. |

Spring 1791

Percy stared blankly into the mirror in front of him, overcome with disgust at the news the Baron had just delivered.. 

“From this moment on, she must never be trusted,” he whispered to Tony. “I only pray that I might be able to hide my horror at her actions.”

The musicians began a dance tune, and Percy slipped from the Scarlet Pimpernel, scourge of the Revolution, to Sir Percy Blakeney, idiotic sweetheart of London. Marguerite approached him, a small smile on her lips.

He swallowed down the disgust, fixing a smile onto his own and taking his new wife’s offered hand.

~~~

Marguerite received the nod from the musician, alerting her to the couple’s dance coming up. She crossed the room to find her new husband, talking with his friend, Lord Dewhurst. 

He looked at her strangely, delaying in taking her hand with an unusual restraint. Their dance was perfectly smooth, but he was stiffer than she’d ever felt, keeping his hands and body in their regimented places, not even stroking her with his thumb as he had done before when they danced. Why was he being so stiff, she wondered. She hoped it was only post-wedding jitters. 

She herself was smiling brilliantly, not giving away her nerves at the thought of the upcoming wedding night. Did bridegrooms get nerves too, or was it only the brides? 

The dance ended and they paid their courtesies to each other. Percy stepped away as soon as he could, greeting some friend or another of his. She didn’t even miss his warmth–she hadn’t felt it at all.

Was Percy coming down with a cold? That could explain his strange behaviour and unusual lack of warmth. 

Marguerite turned to greet the guest who had called her name, with one last glance at her husband.

~~~

The carriage was readied to take them to the inn at the port, where they would board Percy’s yacht the next day to take them to his estate in England. Marguerite waved her goodbyes and climbed in, accepting Percy’s hand. 

He settled on the seat opposite her, even though there was plenty of space for the two of them on her side, even with the yards of fabric making up her wedding gown. She hid the hurt that caused her. Perhaps he did not want to be teased by his friends, who were still gathered on the portico outside.

The carriage started with a jerk, and she grasped the edge of the seat for balance. Percy did not glance at her, staring out the window. What he could see in the darkness outside, she did not know. He didn’t even bring his habitual quizzing glass up to his eye.

She was starting to think that he was ignoring her.

Dieu, she’d heard from other women that men liked the thrill of the chase, that they grew bored once they’d trapped their wives into marriage, but surely it did not happen the moment the ring was on her finger.

She recalled the moment from only a few short hours ago. No, he had looked at her with such passion in his eyes. She was the best actress in Europe–she knew when others were acting. That had been no pretense. So what had happened to make him so cold towards her?

Marguerite cleared her throat. 

Her husband continued to look out the window. 

“Percy.”

Finally, he deigned to look at her. 

“Yes, m’dear?”

She bit back a sigh at his flippant query. He was certainly a simpleton in her eyes at times, but never to the extent that he showed the public. He had promised she would find out what lay behind those guileless brown eyes once they were wed!

“You seem rather tired,” she said instead. “Is it long till we reach the inn?”

~~~

Marguerite breathed in the fresh sea air, tilting her neck to watch the small flock of gulls crying in the sky above. The voyage to England on the Day Dream had been pleasant so far; she had never been one for seasickness–or any illness, louange a Dieu. 

However, she was in rather an ill temper at the moment. Her darling new husband had been steadfastly avoiding her–a rather impressive feat, for having such a limited amount of space available to dodge her.

He’d also been rather stupider than normal, making an absolute mess of the ropes and lines his crew had left out in an attempt to be helpful, among other things.

Well, Marguerite would like him to stop attempting to be helpful to a crew of sailors who’d manned this yacht many a time, and would like him to instead attempt to be helpful to his wife , whom he was on his honeymoon with , and perhaps pay some attention to her instead.

The man hadn’t even tried to kiss her! She’d kissed him when he’d shown her to the privacy of her room, more spacious and holding more thought put into her comforts than she’d expected, and he’d barely even kissed her back, instead heading immediately out the door when she’d stepped back, hurt at his distance. 

His kisses before their marriage had always had a certain level of passion to them, igniting a burning in her that she was sure only he could douse. Now, nothing more than a single spark passed between them. He’d been such a gentleman during their courtship and engagement, which she’d found rather sweet, if a bit irritating at times. 

It was one of the reasons men married, non ? She would have thrown herself at him if she’d thought it would make any difference, but she instinctively knew that would not close the distance Percy had put between them. 

Shaking her head at her musings over her husband’s strangeness, she turned from the rail. They were almost at port, and she needed to change to make a good impression on her new country.

~~~

Percy released a long sigh inwardly as the walls of Blakeney Mansion appeared. Home at last. Somehow, this had been the most stressful of his visits to France that he could remember, and he’d not been close to discovery once.

The unknowing source of his distress alighted from the carriage, turning slowly to take in her new home. Percy felt himself wishing for her to be impressed by her surroundings.

“Welcome to Blakeney Manor, my dear,” he said, taking her hand. “Shall we?”

~~~

Summer 1791

Percy’s refusal to stand up for her, despite having just received the horrible news that she’d sent an entire family to Madame Guillotine, was the straw that broke the back of Marguerite’s well-restrained feelings. He hadn’t chosen the other acceptable course of action, either–comforting her upon learning that she had innocent blood on her hands. 

His cruel words to her still rang in her ears. “So, m’dear, it would seem you found a way to repay St. Cyr, after all.”

Suzanne, her dear friend, clasped her hand between hers, bringing her back to the present.

“Oh, Suzanne, what do I do? My husband does not love me, and I do not know why.” 

“Percy worships the very ground you tread,” insisted Suzanne. 

“Once, perhaps,” Marguerite said dully. Had she lost it even before she could even truly call him her husband? When had it begun, why had his disdain started? “But now he hides from me in private and in public. I sense moments when I catch some fondness in his eyes…a look, a glance…”

A tear rolled down her cheek, unbidden. “Why does he no longer love me?”

~~~

Marguerite took Percy’s hand grudgingly, sweeping into the Manor with her head held high. He may not speak with her as if they were equals, anymore, but she would not let him make her feel inferior. 

He followed her up the stairs, to her room. She did not think that he truly wished to spend time with her, but perhaps– he’d simply been stunned as well to hear of St. Cyr’s death? No, the disgust in his eyes when he’d spoken to her had been all for her. 

“Good night, my dear,” he said cheerfully as she laid her hand on the doorknob. “Pleasant dreams.” He smiled, an ironic twist to his lips as if knowing she would not get any sleep that night, tossing in her bed at the thought of her bloodied hands. 

He kissed her forehead simply, and that small gesture, after weeks of his ignorance except when absolutely needed, moved her to impulsively ask him, “Stay with me tonight.”

He looked as if he might accept, for one moment, then his expression closed and he gave a yawn that, even if she had not been the best actress in Paris, she could have seen was fake. 

“No, I’m afraid I’m far too fatigued. Besides, I don’t want to disturb you…I have an early appointment in London tomorrow.”

Oh, how positively thoughtful of him. Anger beat fiercely in her chest as she opened the door, intent on shutting it in his face. Not that he’d particularly feel left out, since he hadn’t stepped foot in her chambers since she’d arrived, but it was the symbolism of the matter. 

“Your tailors, no doubt,” she snapped.

“Bootmakers, to be precise.” He waved his quizzing glass at his leather-clad feet. 

Her anger melted some, to disappointment, perhaps. “Oh, Percy. Where is the man I married?”

“Od’s fish, my dear, you’re looking at him.”

“No, what I see before me is a facade, some role you are playing; I don’t know why, but I am sure it is. You promised me that I would get to know the man behind the mask, if I married you.” 

Had anything been real? Which was the role, the fop or the actor playing the fop? She could never tell which was his true face, and which his stage face. 

No, the actor playing the fop had always been honest with her. He was still there, somewhere, even if he refused to let her see him.

“Well,” he said softly, blinking. “Perhaps there’s no more to know.”

She exhaled in frustration. “I refuse to believe that. The man I fell in love with still exists somewhere. I shall never, ever stop loving him.”

Percy looked at her, really looked at her, something she hadn’t seen from him in ages. He leaned forward slightly, and she dared to hope that he would finally shed whatever role he insisted on playing, even in private.

But then he recovered, turning away. 

She watched him walk away, heart breaking as she fled into her chambers. 

~~~

Armand was visiting, and Marguerite felt some small measure of happiness. The first man she loved was there, and still loved her, even if the second did not. 

But then her brother broke the news that he was returning to Paris, despite the dangers it held for him. She could not survive losing him as well, and she turned to her silent husband, begging for his help.

“Oh, Percy, do persuade him to stay here.”

Percy chuckled lowly, unusual for his higher, effected tones he continually used in her presence these days. “What has Armand done to be damned to matrimony?”

His words sliced through what somehow remained of her still-beating heart. Stricken, she stared at his implacable expression, before gathering her skirts and retreating to the house. 

God help her, she loved him still.

~~~

Marguerite stared at her dressing table, thoughts swirling throughout her mind. Chauvelin’s whirlwind of a visit that afternoon had completely muddled her head. 

Dear Armand was working with the Scarlet Pimpernel. She detested the added danger that her brother was in, but she herself had described the unknown hero as ‘brave, honest, and compassionate’. She could not blame her brother for wanting to work with the man, and she was certainly proud of his own bravery. 

Apparently all of London thought her to be unhappy in her marriage. Well, she certainly was not happy, but she was an actress, for heaven’s sake! Surely, her skills had not completely failed her in the few months of her marriage? 

And then the dreadful man had propositioned her! The nerve of him, in her husband’s house and after he’d maliciously implicated her in the death of the St. Cyr family! She had felt some fondness for him, once, but it paled in comparison to what she felt for Percy, even when he was being a dreadful idiot. 

Any remnant of fondness died when she discovered he was the one to send the St. Cyr family to the guillotine, naming her as informant and putting the final nail in the coffin of her love-dead marriage. Now the only feelings she had for the man were hatred and repugnance. 

The real issue tangling her thoughts was what the odious man had left her with: a proposition of the darker sort, to spy on society through her guise as Lady Blakeney, to find out the Scarlet Pimpernel’s true identity. And he had used his proof of Armand’s heroic links to blackmail her. Her brother, now the only one in her life who loved her, or the masked man saving dozens of aristos’ lives? 

She could not send any more innocents to the guillotine, purposely this time, any more than she could sacrifice her brother.

Percy’s form behind her reflected in the mirror. She looked up, an unconscious smile gracing her lips. He looked so very handsome. 

“I apologize if I startled you, my dear.”

There it was, that cold, cold ‘my dear’. That term of endearment meant nothing when he dropped it casually, the both of them knowing that he did not truly mean it.

Her smile faltered. “I was simply daydreaming.”

He smiled back at her in the mirror, gently resting his hand on her shoulder as he complimented her. 

Percy may not love her anymore, if indeed he ever had, but she still loved him, and she would treasure every kind word he gave her, if he gave them even half-sincerely.

This was why she had refused to fall in love with any other before him. The pain of love she had observed in others did not seem to outweigh the giddiness of the emotion, the desperation that would drive one to act in ways they were far too composed for, eager for any crumb of fondness from the one they had enslaved themself to. No, it was not for her. 

Then this stupid, beautiful man had come and swept her off her feet, stealing her heart with his playful clumsiness. Now, she was the one forlorn and aching for a morsel of affection, and yet she could not bring herself to regret it or give up on him.

She had meant what she said, forever loving the man she knew he was, somewhere deep beneath the mask he donned. 

~~~

The ball was in full swing when they arrived, trailing the Prince of Wales. Percy left her almost immediately, and she was approached by Chauvelin.

She still had not decided on her response, the weight of at least two lives hanging over her head, making her unable to think clearly. Percy had surely been no help, nor comfort.

Marguerite was relieved to find out that she had only to lift the letter off of Sir Ffoulkes, for the evening’s task.

Feigning faintness was nothing new, and she maneuvered Andrew into the small reception room off the ballroom. Once she had memorized the note’s contents and assuaged Andrew’s worries that she’d read it, she bit her lip in thought.

Now what was she to do? The words circled her mind as she thought of the best plan of action. 

We are leaving tonight for France. Meet me in the library at midnight for your instructions.

She had half-suspected Andrew of being the Scarlet Pimpernel, but clearly he was only in league with the man. Lord Dewhurst, then?

Her husband’s friends were certainly rather suspicious. She could not betray the hero or her husband like that. What to tell Chauvelin…

The simplest and most believable action was to simply tell the truth. With bated breath, she informed the man of the note’s contents. 

The clock said a quarter to twelve. 

As soon as Chauvelin was distracted with his dancing partner, she headed off to the library. There was no time to waste. 

The dimly lit room was quiet and still when she cautiously entered. She glanced around, but no one appeared to be there.

A board creaked and she whirled. “Who’s there?”

“You must not turn around,” a man whispered.

A small smile crossed her lips. She had reached the man in time to warn him, and she was now in his very presence.

“How did you know I was here?”

“I tricked Sir Andrew and read your note,” she confessed. “I came to warn you. Chauvelin knows that you will be here at midnight.” Because of me. 

“You told him,” the reproach was clear through his whisper.

“I had to.” For Armand. “To save my brother. He threatened to arrest him unless I aided his search to uncover your identity.”

“Why do you do this now?” he sounded wondering, hopeful almost. 

“I could never live with myself, knowing I was responsible for your death.”

“You already have the St. Cyr family to your credit, what is another life?”

“That’s a lie!” she turned her head. A curtain rustled behind her. “Chauvelin deceived me!” Telling someone, who might believe her, even if he were not her husband, was a relief she had not known she needed. 

“I turned him down for another and he maliciously used my name to arrest the man, knowing I disliked him for what he did to my brother. But I could never have sent the St. Cyrs to Madame Guillotine anymore than I can send you.”

“If that is true, you are very brave for meeting me here.”

“I am a fool,” she retorted. “If Chauvelin finds out, he could rake Armand from me”

“I will protect your brother,” swore the Pimpernel.

“Can I trust you?”

 “I give you my word.”

“I don’t even know who you are; why don’t you tell me,” she suggested. His quiet footfalls sounded closer to her now.

“A phantom, my lady.” He sounded like he was warning her away from him.

“No,” she breathed. “You are as real as life itself to me…You are so near, I can feel your warmth.” As warm as Percy had once been, before their wedding dance. 

“Touch me,” she asked.

For a moment she thought he would refuse, but then the weight of a hand was on her shoulder. The same feel as the hand that Percy had laid on her same shoulder that very night.

Her hand came up to grasp his. Could it be-

The clock struck midnight. 

“Chauvelin,” she gasped.

She turned. 

No one was there.

With one last glance around the room, she stepped out of the window. Her act here was complete; the curtain could now fall.

~~~

“Tell her I love her. More than ever.”

As Percy strode aboard the Day Dream for his nighttime sail to France, the evening’s events traipsed through his mind, instead of his usual plans.

His dear wife had not been as vicious as he thought, sending an innocent family to the guillotine. She had been tricked, by someone she once thought was a friend. 

Now, with her darling brother’s life in peril, she had chosen to help him anyways, proving her goodness. When she had revealed her situation, he had felt a great weight lift off his heart, swelling up with love for her in its stead. 

He had never stopped loving her, but for a time his disgust at her actions had covered it. Now, he found, she was more lovely than ever, and a certain happiness filled him. When he returned, he could find more about her than before and love all that he found as well. 

But first: the Dauphin and Armand.

~~~

“Where is Percy? I must speak to him at once,” Marguerite ran into the Manor, rousing the footman by the door.

“He’s gone, my lady.”

“Where on earth would he have gone in the middle of the night?”

“There’s a note for you, in the library,” he motioned at the room. 

She snagged a candelabra and headed off. 

It was even darker than the one at Lord Granville’s, but with the light from the damped fire and the candles, she caught the letter left on the mantel for her. 

“The north country?”

Percy was eccentric, but he would never do something like this. What if his precious cravats were wrinkled because they were packed in a hurry in the dark?

“Ridiculous.” She glanced up at the portrait of one of Percy’s ancestors hanging above the mantel. The signet ring on his left hand had a strange pattern on it–not the one she’d seen on Percy’s ring.

She had seen that same pattern on the Scarlet Pimpernel’s ring–three small pimpernels.

The Blankeney coat-of-arms was scarlet pimpernels–oh, how blind she had been! 

Percy was the Scarlet Pimpernel!

It all made sense once that small missing piece had been fitted into place. His trips to France, his strange behaviour, his silly rivalry with Chauvelin, his lord friends’ suspicious acquaintances…all a cover for his identity as the Pimpernel.

Oh, that foolish, wonderful man!

With a gasp, she realized where he had gone. She had to go after him, to tell him that Chauvelin knew–

She summoned the carriage for the Ffoulkes Estate.

“You’ll have your brother back alive–once I have caught the Scarlet Pimpernel. Think twice before you interfere again,” Chauvelin had snapped as he left.

Marguerite headed for Andrew. She had thought twice, and her answer was still the same.

~~~

Andrew had taken the news that she knew of his involvement with her husband, and her husband’s secret identity, rather well.

“He gave me a message for you when he left last night, my lady. ‘Tell her I love her, more than ever’, he said.”

A tear formed in Marguerite’s eye, but she let the sea breeze blow it away. 

There were no secrets between her and Percy. She desperately hoped that they could have the marriage she’d dreamt of once they returned to England.

~~~

They arrived in Paris, and she learned that Percy had been imprisoned by Chauvelin and her brother was caught as well.

Both men were now in more danger than they’d ever been before. She demanded Chauvelin let her see Percy. Surely, he would have a plan, and she could help somehow. She still had connections, and at the very least, her acting skills and love for her husband. 

The cell Chauvelin let her into was fairly large, a thin ray of sunlight shining on Percy’s golden hair, illuminating the grey, damp space. 

He turned, adoration and horror mixed on his face. “Marguerite,” he whispered.

“You promised me alone,” she reminded Chauvelin sternly. 

He left, “two minutes” his own reminder. 

She stared at him, fitting her new version of Percy together as he stood there. Bravery and honour stood in front of her, and she felt a new surge of love for him bubbling in her veins. 

“Oh, my darling,” she cried, running into his extended arms, wrapping her own around him.

He kissed her passionately, more than he ever had, seemingly feeling as she did, relief and hope and love.

“Oh, Marguerite. I wished so desperately to see you. Can you ever forgive me for doubting you?”

He looked so heartbroken at the reminder of the time he had spent mistrusting her.

“Oh, darling, it is I who must beg your forgiveness. Chauvelin told me he will release you if you give him the Dauphin’s whereabouts.”

Percy’s gaze shifted, and her heart sank.

“Tell them what they want to know,” she begged. 

“My darling, you must not ask me.” He looked afraid…that she would refuse him after he said that. That she would turn and leave him, or implore the information from him, and he would willingly give it to her.

She took a breath. “Then we must get you out of here.”

He looked relieved as he considered her words. “I may have a way.”

~~~

Percy watched on in amusement as the plans he and Marguerite had made played out exactly as they had hoped.

The line of his men, his friends, aimed their rifles, firing at the target on the wall. 

“PERCY!” The echoes of Marguerite’s screams wiped the humour off his face. He’d debated not telling her this part, so that it would be real enough to convince Chauvelin, but ultimately decided that his brilliant wife would have no trouble with that part of the performance at all.

Still, hearing her calling his name in grief, even faked, was difficult to hear. 

“Sink me, I couldn’t agree more,” he interrupted Chauvelin’s smug victory.

His smile returned as Chauvelin’s disappeared.

~~~

Marguerite leaned into Percy’s embrace, staring ahead at the cliffs of Dover. As often as she could, she wanted to touch him, to reassure herself that he was really there, with her, unharmed. It had been terribly stressful, watching as he methodically and smugly took Chauvelin apart in their sword fight, even as it had been incredibly gratifying watching her husband play with him.

“They seek him here, they seek him there, those Frenchies seek him everywhere. Is he in heaven? Or is he in Hell? My own elusive Pimpernel.”

Percy stared down at her as she recited his verse back to him, a genuine smile on his face and love in his eyes. 

“Sink me, the lady’s a poet,” he breathed, and then their lips met and his breath was hers. 

~~~

The trip from the Day Dream to Blakeney Manor was much different from the first she had taken, with Percy by her side and his intelligent conversation to accompany her. 

The time was not nearly long enough for her to completely figure out what was Sir Blakeney, Baronet and Wealthiest Fop in London, and what was the Scarlet Pimpernel, Hero to the French Bourgeoisie, but he was no longer hiding anything from her, and she could not have been happier.

She told him how she had realized his identity, and he stared at her with a proud smile on his face. “The cleverest woman in Europe does not do you justice by half, my dear.”

Warmth spread through her, and she knew that Percy had meant it when he called her dear. She’d been a little too preoccupied earlier to think too hard about the ‘darling’s and ‘dear’s he’d bestowed upon her while they rendezvoused in his cell. 

“Oh, Percy, I do love you so,” she confessed, settling her head on his chest.

He wrapped his arm around her. “And I love you, Marguerite. Truly, I’m the luckiest man in Europe, to be loved by you.”

~~~

Marguerite’s maid closed the door softly behind her, leaving her alone. 

She straightened her bottles of perfume on her dressing table, thinking. Percy and she had never had their wedding night, but now, with their renewed commitment to one another…

She’d been sheltered at the convent, but overheard enough at the theatre to understand at least the basics of the act of consummation. She would be no blushing bride, and she desperately wanted her husband.

If he would not come to her, she would go to him. Mind made up, she stood, striding across her chambers to the door. 

Percy stared at her as they met in the hallway, his own door cracked open behind him.

“Marguerite. Is something the matter?”

“I was simply looking for you,” she replied, stepping closer until she was face-to-face with him. 

“Ah, what a coincidence. I was coming to find you, my lady.”

She motioned towards his rooms. “Shall we?”

~~~

As soon as he closed the door behind him, she turned, wrapping her arms behind his neck. “Kiss me, Percy.”

And he did, the sparks they had shared now an inferno, spreading throughout her body, settling at her core. 

She let her fingers trail down his neck to undo his cravat, tossing the starched cloth to the floor with an impatient flick. Her fingers continued their path to his waistcoat, undoing the buttons deftly.

His hand covered hers and he pulled away. “Marguerite-”

“I want you to make love to me, Percy.”

Her interruption caused him to swallow hard, any objections going with it. “Whatever my lady desires,” he said, bending further to kiss along her neck. 

A strange noise escaped her, spurring him on to spread his kisses across her decolletage revealed by her nightdress. 

He moved his hands off her shoulders long enough to shrug off his now-loose waistcoat, then they were back on her, skimming her side, her hip, her back.

They were everywhere and nowhere, and she felt like she was drifting away, only he was her anchor to earth. 

She managed to work his buttons on his shirt and get it off him, revealing his very pleasing muscled torso. 

She backed up, bumping into his bed, and he picked her up, setting her on the mattress. He sat beside her, bending over to take off his boots, but she slid off, kneeling in front of him, covering his hands with her own.

Her earnest gaze met his. “Let me.”

He slowly removed his hands, straightening slightly as she removed his boots for him. She reached for the buttons along the waistband of his breeches, having heard from other actresses what men enjoyed.

His hand covered hers again. 

She met his eyes steadily. “Will you help me with this?”

Slowly, he pushed his breeches down, nimbly undoing his garters and stockings as well and kicking the whole ensemble off. 

Nonplussed, Marguerite leaned forward a little, wrapping her hand around his length and gliding it up and down. She glanced up at Percy, smugly enjoying the look on his face. “I’ve heard men enjoy it when women put their mouths on them.”

“You don’t have to do anything you do not wish to, my dear.”

“But what about what you wish?” she retorted, licking curiously up the tip. 

He jerked and she felt pleased, fitting her mouth over him carefully, not wanting to accidentally bite him. As she bobbed up and down, she attempted to take a little more each time, until the back of her throat refused to let her take more in. Her fingers stroked what she did not fit in her mouth, spreading her saliva to the very base. 

Percy’s muttered praises cut off. She pulled back, glancing up to see if he was alright.

“More than fine, my darling Marguerite,” he assured her. “As to what I wish…” He helped her to her feet, then lifted her back onto the bed. “I wish to kiss my wife.”

Every touch of his lips sent tingles straight to her core, burning a path behind them as he moved over her mouth, neck, chest, breasts, even the inside of her wrists, making her gasp. 

“Allow me to return the favour, my dear.” He moved her further up the bed, staying where he was so that he could trail kisses from her ankles to her thighs. 

He shifted, lying between her legs so that his chin rested on her belly. “Are you comfortable?”

The vibrations from his vocal chords went straight through her. “Quite.”

With a tilt of his head, he licked at her core, one hand coming up to stroke through her folds while the other held her down, bracketing her hips. He worked his finger in her walls, then a second, rubbing until he found the spot she twitched and gasped at. The tenseness that had been building at her core released and she called out his name, pleasure suffusing throughout her body.

He grinned up at her, pleased. “Are you ready for the main event?”

She nodded, watching curiously as he entered her. It was a strange feeling at first, but made her feel so very complete, so close to Percy. She pulled him down to her by his shoulders so that she could kiss him. 

“Je t’aime , Percy Blakeney, mon amour.”

He smoothed a hair back from her face before kissing her again. “Je t’aime tellement, Lady Blakeney.”

His hand came down to stroke her where they were joined, building up the tension again as he traced circles around her nipples with his tongue. 

“Oh, Percy!” she cried, feeling a second release take over. He became boneless as well, collapsing by her side and drawing her into his. 

“You were marvelous, my dear wife,” he praised, kissing her softly. 

She returned it, throwing an arm over his waist. “As were you, my darling husband.” She kissed him again. “Let’s not stay in separate beds any longer, Percy. I quite like being here with you.”

“I, too, my love. As you wish, we will sleep together, as long as Fate lets us.”

LE FIN

[walkingshcdow]

@stjusts | Percy Blakeney & Marguerite

While Sir Percy Blakeney and Lady Blakeney were known to be the best dressed couple at any ball and though Marguerite herself had once played hostess in Paris’ finest salons, during their first year of marriage, the Blakeneys had not hosted a party of their own. Gossip did as gossip will and blazed through the peerage. Some of the earliest tales had been about a honeymoon period; the next, stories that the Blakeneys were long out of love and hosting in their own home would prove to be the nail in the proverbial coffin which was their marriage bed. However, more recently, no one who looked at them could doubt their affection. The fires of gossip, stoked by this revelation, roared. Clearly, the Blakeneys would soon announce their first ball as husband and wife. It would be a who’s-who of London and the height of the social season.

The thought of it made Percy sick. His schedule barely allowed him time to attend others’ parties. How was he meant to host his own? Ffoulkes was quick to assure him that Marguerite could undertake the task, as was the occupation of a wife, and such work might bring her joy as the salons once had. That part was, perhaps, true enough. However, Percy’s scheduling was erratic at best, in order to attend balls and, more importantly attend to his work as The Scarlet Pimpernel. Lives relied on his being anywhere but home. His home, too, was outfitted with passageways and secret rooms where hostages could be kept safe. What was he to do? Dress French aristos up for parties mere hours after their rescue from a waltz with Madame Guillotine? It had merit in theory, but in practice, Percy could not be sure that his secrets would be maintained. What if a well-meaning (or even ill-meaning) guest poked around the corridors and learned things that could not be unlearned? Lud! It would be a ruinous end to the League of the Scarlet Pimpernel!

But if he stationed guards strategically…

He’d thought about it all on the ride from Calais. Now, it was the time to make the proposal.

“You know, m’dear,” Percy said with a sly smile as he and Marguerite breakfasted together on the sunny terrace, “the people of London have really been done a disservice by us Blakeneys that you and I ought to be ashamed of. Can you guess what it is? I shall give you a hint: only a few of us on English soil have ever had the fortune of seeing you sparkle at a salon. Go on. What is it that you think Londoners must be missing out on then?”