He didn't think she'd moved but equally he didn't think she'd looked like that when he'd last looked directly at her face. Not that he hadn't seen her face in a while but he'd been staring very intently at her ear. He couldn't even describe what looked different about her, her expression seemed to be unchanged and yet... It had been the tickle of her breath against his hand that had made him look in the first place.

Charles realized he'd stopped moving. And breathing.

She was so close. If they weren't in a public place, if she wasn't a respectable young lady... But she was and they were and her chaperone was somewhere nearby. The hand not holding the earring had slowly moved across and came to rest very lightly on her cheek. "Tatiana." He murmured her name almost like a mantra against his own impulses. If he did allow himself to kiss her he wasn't sure how he'd ever find the strength to stop.

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   Aldous Crouch

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In spite of herself, of her intentions, Tatiana felt gooseflesh form at the back of her neck at the sound of her name, which seemed almost indecent on Mr. Macmillan's lips.

Lips that were not yet on her own, though she knew he wished they were. As if in slow motion, Tatiana's gloved hand rose to the one that now lingered upon her cheek, lightly holding it fast. She did not say anything, for fear it would break whatever trance he was now under.

Her own breath quickened.

The following 1 user Likes Tatiana Macnair's post:1 user Likes Tatiana Macnair's post
   Charles Macmillan

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Charles was not exactly capable of forethought at present, he didn't know what he possibly could've expected Miss Lestrange - Tatiana - to do in response to his forwardness and so she could've done anything and it would've surprised him. Her hand over his certainly did just that. It also had the effect of urging him on, of giving him permission, of inviting him to kiss her and yet in the most subtle, ladylike way possible. If she'd done nothing but gaze back at him he probably could've extricated himself having only touched her cheek. It was such a simple gesture but so very perfect, it could even be taken as the opposite of encouragement, as if she had initially set out to modestly move his hand away.

Perfection wasn't supposed to be possible but here Miss Lestrange stood before him, as real as the ground beneath his feet.

Impulse commanded him to kiss her and her hand commanded that he listen.

He leaned in cautiously, forcing restraint upon himself for fear that months of wanting to kiss her and more would send him into an ungentlemanlike frenzy that would make this their first and last kiss. It was as chaste as a kiss on the lips could be but for the fact that he lingered. He was intent on savoring the moment, to reward himself for his self-control he would allow himself just a second or three longer than a simple kiss would ordinarily last.

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   Lavinia Rose

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Tatiana's breath caught as his lips met her own, and then she allowed a soft whimper of encouragement to leave her as she leaned ever so slightly into him.

Kissing Charles Macmillan was not what she had anticipated. Of course, Tatiana—as many young girls did, she expected—had practiced chaste kisses with school friends, but this was not that. It stirred within her a mixture of feelings—triumph, confusion, a sense of satisfaction at decidedly pushing boundaries. These feelings were not at all unwelcome by any stretch, but none were the pusle-quickening elation that the more...intimate of her novels would have led her to believe was the norm.

Still, it was something.

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   Ingrid Rowle

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Oh no, oh no, no, no, no. He should've let it at a peck on the lips. His other hand had stealthily sought out her dainty little waist, was about to start pulling her closer to him, indecently close. He balled his guilty hand into a fist and his fingertips lamented the loss of her beneath them. At the same time he retreated from her lips just enough that he couldn't feel her upper lip tantalizing him, though he could still sense it there. He would be able to kiss her properly soon, and more.

With considerable reluctance Charles pulled back from her. His hand on her cheek being the last thing he withdrew. With some distance restored he realized he'd dropped the earring without even noticing. He was relieved for it, it spared him from any awkwardness as he instead busied himself by drawing his wand and summoning the earring. He now swapped his wand for his handkerchief which he used to wipe the earring down although it thankfully seemed to be free of any visible dirt. Now that he'd kissed her and broken free of the lusty brain fog, he was oddly calm and composed.

Once he was satisfied with wiping the earring off, he immediately resumed his original mission of putting the earring on her. Imbued with fresh confidence he leaned close to her again and managed to loop it through her ear with only one small fumble which was a direct result of breathing in the smell of her hair as best as he could without leaning in too close. Charles took a step back from her and admired the view. "Divine."

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He pulled away slowly, like a damp cloth from naked flesh, and Tatiana found herself breathless for a fleeting moment.

Then he stole the moment, was the first to speak, snuck in his damned compliment before she could finish playing her hand.

A small fire ignited in her eyes—irritation that could easily be mistaken for something else—but her lips, so freshly kissed, curled into a smile.

"I must say that this afternoon has taken me entirely...off guard, Mr. Macmillan," she offered with only the barest attempt at demureness, hand reaching to touch the earing, then the cheek his hand had warmed so recently.

  

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Her eyes seemed brighter somehow or something he couldn't quite place but he was convinced it only enhanced her beauty. Then again it might have been the smile and his knowledge that he had just kissed those lips.

"Not unpleasantly, I hope?" The way she was touching her cheek, the way she was looking at him, he couldn't imagine for a second that she regretted it.

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"No," she answered slowly, as if having to ponder the question. "I must confess...it is quite the opposite."

A beat, then another, and then, "But Char—Mr. Macmillan, we mustn't indulge so, not again, not however much we might want to..."

Her gaze shifted to meet his fully now, her tone imploring. Would he reach the desired conclusion, or would she have to bash him about the head with it?

At the very least, at least she did not feel the cold quite so much anymore.

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   Elladora Black

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"Of course not." He would have thought less of her if she had said otherwise but he oddly felt a little bit like a scolded school boy and the tips of his ears suddenly felt warm. He stole a sheepish glance around for her chaperone and regretted doing so immediately. Now felt like the perfect moment to propose, the words had come to him almost instantly but he hadn't received the blessing of her family yet nor did he had a ring on him, to formally propose now would seem sloppy and ill prepared, not to mention if her family heard about it from her first it would set their union off to a poor start.

"You're quite right, it wouldn't do, not as things stand now." He wouldn't propose now it was unfortunate he hadn't gotten his ducks in a row in time but then he had prepared himself for her disappointment as receiving the wrong sort of ring, kissing her hadn't been anywhere near the list of possible outcomes for the day. She was not the only one caught off guard. Nevertheless he couldn't fully regret the mistakes that had lead to his inability to propose now, it was contrary to his haste with Noelle and the consequences of taking his time here could never be as devastating as his first marriage. "But it is in the nature of such things to change." He was being intentionally vague but he was at a loss presently for a way to obliquely communicate that an engagement was firmly on his horizon.

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   Aldous Crouch

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"And when they do," Tatiana promised, as if it actually needed saying, "I shall be completely and utterly yours."

  

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She had definitely caught his inference then. He offered her a small, sheepish sort of smile whilst he reeled internally at her words. He had had no doubts that if he proposed she would accept - it made no sense otherwise for her to have encouraged him thus far if not - but it was different to hear it from her own lips. "Shall we head to lunch?"

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   Aldous Crouch

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Gently, she placed her hand back upon his arm, demure gaze not quite meeting his own. There would be no proposal today, then, impromptu or otherwise. This was a disappointment.

  

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