Febs felt her whole body sigh in what could barely be described as relief before the rest of her caught up to the anticipation. Everything was just as she remembered from last time, but infinitely better. There were no annoying skirts to contend with, no rocks jabbing her in the back, just the softness of the bed below her and barely any room for air between them.

Biting her lip, Febs couldn't contain the very audible moan that escaped as he finally slid inside her. Words failed her, the sensations leaving her merely capable of nodding at his words, she closed her eyes, hands coming to settle high on his shoulders while she tried to focus. Her body instinctively wanted to arch toward his, but she remembered from last time that she had to try match up with him.

Dialing down her level of desperation now that she had indeed gotten what she wanted, it didn't take her too long to find the right rhythm. All it took was a little adjustment in the angle of her hips... Febs gasped, the sound fading into a quiet whine, her hands moving to tangle in his hair and drag him down for a heated kiss.

It had been a hell of a month, but this almost made up for it.

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He went slowly at first, but every gasp and moan encouraged him to move his hips increasingly faster until he knew it would cause her no discomfort. She was not the quiet sort; he could tell what felt good—and what didn't, but fortunately there didn't seem to be much—with every little noise that left her mouth. He kissed her desperately, letting out a series of ragged breaths against her mouth as his hips drove against hers, seeking relief.

This wasn't making love—at least not anymore. He'd started out soft, but now it was hard and rough: a race to see who could make it to the brink first. His lips left hers, lazily trailing down her jawline and down to the nape of her neck. The feeling of her hands in his hair—the pulling, the tugging, the nails digging into his scalp—left his lips replaced with teeth as he effectively (though unintentionally...maybe) marked her as his.

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— set by MJ! —

Maybe it was the wait, maybe it was the desperation she felt, but in the heat of the moment, Febs almost felt as though she would be completely consumed. The heat, the feeling of wandering hands and lips, skin on skin, the friction, it all added fuel to the fire. There was nothing tender about it and she didn't give a single damn. This was only the second time and he already knew how to push her over the edge in the best way possible. With enough practice, she'd be able to return the favor some day.

Feeling his teeth on her neck had her hissing out a quick protest, though she didn't actually mind. Febs wasn't so sure she'd enjoy this nearly as much if it was too gentle. She couldn't even tell him off this time; bruises could now be taken care of quite easily, later. In an effort to fight back, though it was hard to really focus, she gave his hair a good tug to give her better access to his jaw. Febs grazed her teeth and her tongue along his jaw, stopping just shy of her favorite spot on his pulse. She nipped not-so-gently at his neck before she was driven to a muffled moan against his skin.

"Merlin, Edric," She all but whimpered into his ear, losing focus as the pace increased again. Her hands slid down to his shoulders, nails digging in as she arched her back and thrust her hips toward his, head falling back to the mattress. She wouldn't last much longer, not at this rate.

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With the overwhelming sensations and the crashing waves of emotion that washed through his body, it was nearly impossible not to give into his instinct. It was nearly impossible to forget that she was a real woman—and an inexperienced one at that—rather than a whore at a brothel who'd dealt with men rougher than he could ever be. If the feeling of her teeth nipping at his neck wasn't enough to drive him wild, watching her fall back against the bed and feeling her body react to his movements was.

His breaths coming out in quick, shallow pants, he quickly pushed himself into a kneeling position, his fingers clawing into her hips as he kept their rhythm going. It was a surprise that he'd lasted this long; and though he was determined to bring her the same relief, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to at this point. While one hand held her in place, another traveled higher on her body—across her waist; to gently squeeze her breast; and then to up to the back of her neck, where he gently angled her head towards him.

"You're mine," he gasped as he felt the muscles in his lower half begin to tighten.

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— set by MJ! —

Febs hadn't been expecting the sudden change in position, though she followed him easily enough, a throaty hum of approval escaping. Feeling his hand at the back of her neck, she looked up at him through the haze of desire, eyes meeting his in the moment. That was all it took, the subtle change in angle, his hands hot and possessive on her body to press toward him as her muscles tightened.

"Always," She gasped out as she crashed over the edge, holding his gaze as best she could. Her entire body reveled in the release, limbs heavy and loose after the crash. Letting the sensation and warmth of the climax wash over her, she tried not to relax too much, tried to keep up with him so he could find the same relief.

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The change in position that had been intended to make moving easier for him only proved to help her over the edge—not that he was about to complain. A laugh of both relief and surprise left his mouth as her body tensed and writhed underneath him, though it very quickly evolved into a series of quiet grunts and moans as he reached his own peak. He ultimately fell forward onto his hands, slid out of her, and then rolled onto the bed beside her.

He quickly took to wrapped his arms around her, a rush of warmth and affection coming over him.

"I don't think I'll ever get tired of that," he murmured, his chest shaking with quiet laughter. He pressed a kiss to her temple, his eyelids suddenly becoming very heavy; sleep was definitely in his future.

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— set by MJ! —

It didn't take too long for him to follow suit, Febs bit her lip, suppressing a grin as he flopped on the bed beside her. She in turn stretched out loose limbs, hands up high over her head, back arched against the mattress, body pleasantly spent. "Mmm, tired." She chuckled. The fatigue of the last month made itself known, weeks' worth of bad sleep and anxiety catching up to her. Not to mention now she was as physically tired as she had been mentally.

Curling into him easily, Febs tucked herself in comfortably, head on his shoulder, one arm draped across his chest. She'd have been lying if she hadn't thought about this as an option for tonight, but that had surpassed her expectations entirely. His kiss to her forehead had her smiling sleepily. She meant to make a quip about the bed being a much better place for that than the grass of a garden, but her eyes had already fluttered closed. Some day they'd be able to do this whenever they wanted, in their own home, their own bed.

Of course that was the problem, they couldn't do that yet; couldn't just fall asleep together and not worry about it. "If I fall asleep now, I'll never get home in time." She sighed quietly, already regretting saying it. She didn't want to ruin the moment, but Febs knew she'd pass out and probably get the best night's sleep she had in a long time, but she just knew she'd never make it home before everybody else was up.

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Cradling her against his side, he forgot, just for a split second, that this was not normal—that this was his bed, in his room, where he was meant to be alone; and that in society's eyes she was nothing more than an unmarried woman acting the part of a mistress to an unmarried man. He was not her husband, her fiance, nor was he even her official suitor. Not yet, anyways. Though he had plans, nothing was set in stone; for now, she was just his.

As she stirred at his side, his eyelids fluttered open, brows furrowing in dismay.

"Shh, I'll make sure you get home in time. Sleep." He wasn't lying; he was usually an early-riser anyways, especially after all the fog business that had bothered him throughout June and July.

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— set by MJ! —

Torn between wanting to believe him and being nervous about actually following through, Febs worried her bottom lip, the afterglow trying to trick her into a false sense of security. There was this unrelenting nagging feeling that they'd both oversleep in their current state and she'd have to really fabricate something in order to get home. She hadn't thought to leave a note, just in case, she was out all night. It was probably just as well, what the hell could she have written that would have been believable.

"I really want to, Love, I really do..." She trailed off. There was a but, a lot of buts, everything about it screamed that it was a bad idea. Or well, an even worse idea than everything else that had happened thus far. Febs brushed her hair from her face with one hand, subconsciously searching for her locket to run her fingers over the edges. It was clearly a new habit, but an ingrained habit nevertheless, especially when she was trying to think something through.  

Leaving now would set her on edge again, but she couldn't deny it was risky, so risky.

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He did not want her to leave, mostly because it meant getting up, kissing her goodnight, and seeing her off. Why do that when he could just do nothing more than toss the quilt over their bare bodies and go to sleep? In fact, he was so against the idea of her leaving that, against his better judgment, he resorted to some...gentle manipulation.

Rolling over slightly, he wrapped his arm arm around her tighter and pecked her on the lips.

"Remember when we wrote those letters?" he prompted, moving his lips to press a kiss to her cheek. "We talked about having our own bed...curling up under the covers...sleeping in each other's arms?" he murmured quietly, all the while pressing little kisses to her forehead.

He glanced down at her through heavy eyelids, one hand moving to brush away the stray hairs on her forehead.

"We can do that—and tonight. Just close your eyes and sleep, Febby love."

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— set by MJ! —

Though he may have thought he was pulling a fast one on her, she saw right through that. Febby narrowed her eyes at him playfully."You don't play fair, do you know that?" Fortunately for him, her desire stay was winning out over the worry that she may not make it back in time. It wasn't as late as she originally thought, she'd have to trust him to wake her up in time to floo home, or apparate her directly into her bedroom if it wasn't.

Honestly she was too tired to fight it. She wanted more than anything else to stay, and though she just knew it was going to come back to bite her in the ass, tonight she rather thought the consequences could be damned. "Mmm, sleep. I haven't slept well in a month," She hummed out without thinking. She hadn't meant to admit to that, but clearly he'd noticed how tired she looked.

Pushing on, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed a quick smack of a kiss on his lips. "Fine you win. I hope you don't snore." She teased with a waggle of her eyebrows.

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He supposed any attempts to manipulate February Lynch would fall flat, especially since she was half-asleep and already wanted to stay. Except...she was going to stay, he realized with a subtle upturn of his lips, so he must have convinced her somehow. A gentle chuckle left his lips and he leaned down to kiss her gently.

"I have a month's worth of sleep to catch up on one of these days," he admitted, balancing on his elbows so he could stroke a finger down her cheek. "None will be as good as tonight, though." Even with dark bags under her eyes and her unnaturally pale complexion, it was difficult to deny that his woman was strikingly beautiful. He wasn't sure what was more of a miracle: that she'd fallen for him despite their rocky start or that another, potentially more wealthy and successful gentleman hadn't claimed her already.

He muffled a laugh against her lips as she complained about his snoring before he'd even had a chance to annoy her with it—not that he was even sure if he snored at all. It wasn't as if one noticed those sort of things while they slept.

"I make no promises, lover," he teased, resuming his original position beside her. "Except to wake you up, of course," he breathed, managing to find the blanket on the other side of him, pull it over their bodies, and then work his arm underneath her head so he could sleep more comfortably (until, of course, he got a cramp—but he'd worry about that later).

"Love you, Febs. Good night."

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— set by MJ! —

Was it weird to be excited to go to bed and actually sleep? Febs wondered briefly what was wrong with her, but that wasn't something she had the time or the inclination to answer for herself. Clearly she was a lunatic, risking her reputation, her family's opinion of her and a lot of other important things, to stay here, exactly where she wanted to be, curled up in bed next to a man who simultaneously vexed and thrilled her. Love had clearly turned her into a bigger daredevil than she had been before. Or a smitten idiot, the jury was still out.

"I've been looking forward to this since you left. I wish we could stay in bed for a month." She teased quietly, readjusting so she was up more on the pillows, waiting for him to get settled again. "You better." She warned, only half-kidding this time. Nuzzling in, she sidled right up to him again, soaking up the moment, exhaustion starting to finally win out.

Hopefully this was the first of many nights like this and hopefully sometime in the future every night would be like this. It was odd, she supposed that she was already finding herself completely comfortable snuggled up beside him, but wasn't really questioning it. Finally, Febs closed her eyes, only opening them briefly to press one last kiss to his cheek. "Love you too, goodnight."

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