The floating feeling took on a whole new meaning as Elias lifted her off the floor. She was too lost in him to really notice, hold tightening instinctively. All of their waiting, the patience and restraint had served its purpose, Daff knew, but she was relieved to have to exercise none of those things tonight. They had all night tonight and Daff wanted to take her time, to savor every minute.

A whine nearly escaped her parted lips when he set her back down, though she was amused by her new vantage point, she was not thrilled with any distance between them. Thankfully she didn't have much time to protest, letting her head fall to the side at the feeling of his lips on her neck and a hand in her hair again. There was a rush of want through her veins, pooling in her chest as her heart skittered to an erratic beat.

Daff bit her lip to contain the sigh and the following grin. Her fingers curled into the fabric of his jacket briefly, unable to contain the sharp inhale at a particularly sensitive spot. She was trying to keep some of her wits about her and not get completely lost in the sensations, but it was admittedly difficult. Sliding her hands down, Daff worked clumsily at the buttons of the jacket. Finally she managed to get them undone, slipping her palms underneath to get it out of the way, letting it fall wherever it may. One layer down, many go to.

On that train of thought, she found his hand at her waist with one of her own, leaning back as she moved up another stair. Her other hand went to pull her skirts up and out of the way as she pulled him with her up the quick flight of stairs. That was all she had the patience for though, even the short hallway would have to wait a moment as she pulled him in for another kiss.

Daff giggled at their stumbling down the hall whenever she had the breath to. Neither one of them seemed apt to let go for anything as simple as finding the bedroom door and she had to laugh at the first wrong turn. It was a good thing she still had her skirts in one hand or she would have fallen somehow as they finally made their way through the right door. The last thing they needed was a twisted ankle or to go falling to the floor.

Feeling the heat of his hands through the layers of her clothes, Daff thought it might be time she shed a layer or two. Then he paused and she caught on to the undertone of what he meant. Daff softened; still willing to be patient if she needed him to be; Merlin she loved him. So— "No," she insisted in a firm whisper, reaching up to run her fingers through his hair. Blue eyes searched for his in the dim light of the room and she smiled softly. "I want to share all of this with you, just you," Daff added a little more seriously. This was a piece of her only he would get and she didn't want it any other way. They had practiced patience for far too long now and Daff didn't want to make him wait anymore. They had all night, all week, a fortnight, a lifetime, to spend this time together, just the two of them, in any way they wanted. Daff wanted to dive in headfirst, no more hesitation.

The buttons on the back of her dress ran square down the middle and though there weren't that many of them, she still couldn't reach by herself. Daff turned slowly in his grasp and pulled her hair over one shoulder, looking back him over the other and then down playfully before catching his eye again; a clear invitation. There were far too many layers to get through, but they had to start there.

Relieved that put an end to any hesitations Elias might have had, and by the loss of the weight of her dress, Daff sighed and toed off her shoes beneath the layers of petticoats. Her feet did still ache a little bit, but losing the shoes helped and clearly it wasn't a concern at the moment. There were far more layers to this outfit than she would have ever cared to wear normally, but after Elias untied her skirts, Daff reached back to undo the ties of the corset digging into her skin; that could certainly go. Once it was loose enough, she unhooked the front and tossed it into the growing pile of clothes on the floor. That was a tomorrow problem too, and Daff smiled taking a deep breath for the first time all day. Stupid torture devices.

With everything untied and loosened, Daff was able to step out of the skirts as they pooled on the floor around her. Just a soft new silk chemise and some other base layers left; it occurred to her that she probably ought to feel bashful about this, but the flush on her cheeks had nothing to do with embarrassment or uncertainty. She ran a hand through her hair, ruffling up the loose strands and trying to get out any lingering tangles, tossing it back over her shoulder and out of her face once more. Amused to find he'd lost another layer of his own, Daff stepped back toward him around the skirts on the floor and tugged him closer by the front of his shirt; now he was the one who was overdressed.

Her playful pull on his shirt had loosened it a little, but Daff used both hands to fully untuck it before starting in on the buttons. She looked up at him with another mischievous smile, hands sliding beneath the fabric experimentally up and over his shoulders, feeling the heat in her fingertips. With that out of the way too, she leaned in, pressing closer, looking to regain the spark of a few minutes ago by pressing a line of gentle kisses from his jaw to his lips. She knew what to expect, obviously, but she was still a little hesitant to lead the way, further than this at any rate and so left that up to him.

Daff grinned to herself at the compliment, giving him that knowing sort of look; he was full of lines like that and though she didn't always agree, she wasn't about to argue with him. He was biased and she was fine with it. If there was a time to be bashful about anything, now was it, but she could only bite her lip again as she eased back onto the bed, watching him carefully. She tried not to think about it too much, thankfully it was much easier to focus on the feeling of his hands on her legs and the sliding of fabric over flushed skin; though the exposure to the cool air in the room did little to quell the fire.

There was the briefest of urges to try and cover up, but Daff reached out to him as he joined her, hands roaming curiously instead, testing the feeling under her fingertips. Her body curved naturally toward his, one leg curling against him, even as her head fell back to the pillow. His hands were a little rough, but in the best way possible, the contrast against her skin left her breathless. Everything was new now, almost intoxicating, the rush of the feeling of skin on skin, hands wandering over parts of her body that had never been touched like this. It sent a shiver of a thrill right through her, body arching toward the sensations. She gasped, hardly audible as the burn of desire built up along with each breath.

Wanting to make sure she didn't get too caught up and before they got much further, she ran her fingers through his hair, one brushing against his cheek to get his attention. "I love you," she whispered, realizing that ache was just as prominent as everything else and she needed to tell him. That she got to spend the rest of her life saying it and living it was not lost on her, even in this moment, maybe especially now and she wanted him to know just how much that meant to her.

The laugh that escaped was breathless and she couldn’t help the little roll of her eyes. It was a good thing one of them wasn’t too caught up. She could see it underneath his expression and thankfully the teasing cadence kept things light, because she felt lucky and grateful and a little overwhelmed by it all now. ”Yes, lucky me.” She mumbled against his lips after he kissed her again, sending her heartbeat racing once again. Daff felt a little wound up, giddy with the desire that swam through her veins.

Fortunately she wasn’t the only impatient one. Everything got a little lost in the next few movements; a gasp at his wandering hands, smothered by pressing her lips together; a little nod even though her body tensed anyway; dark eyes on him the whole time as she tried to hide the wince at the initial pang of discomfort. She’d known it was coming, but still squirmed a little until the tenderness gave way to something else entirely.

It was hard to put words to the sensations that erupted through her body as she did relax into the rhythm and she tried not to think about any one thing too much. Her lashes fluttered closed, head falling back to the pillow, hands roaming anywhere she could reach, the pads of her fingertips digging in slightly. Her breath came in soft pants, punctuated by a gasp or sigh, her body reacting for her, arching toward his every now and then. She felt like she was racing toward a finish line, but couldn’t see it. The feeling winding up tighter and tighter until she thought she might reach the edge and tumble over completely. "Elias," it came out in a ragged whisper, without her meaning it to, but it felt right anyway, even if she had no follow up.

It was a flurry of sensations that peaked without her fully knowing where anything was going to land. Nobody’s description had done any justice to the contentment and satisfaction lingering in her limbs as she came back down from the high of everything up until now. As Elias settled in next to her, she curled toward him, stretching out her body loosely, loath to surrender any contact now that she didn’t have to. Hopefully he wouldn’t get sick of her being in his space from here on out.

Smiling softly at him, she caught his hand as he brushed her hair back, pressing a kiss to his palm before she tangled her fingers in his. A long list of things came to mind in response to his question, each more mushy and sentimental than the last, but nothing adequately summed up the emotions settling into her chest. She sighed quietly that led into a breathless chuckle, "I am absolutely wonderful, you?" Daff had been so caught up in all of the newness, following his lead blindly, that she hadn’t even been able to think about if she was doing anything right or wrong, but it had all felt natural and easy and she hoped it was always like that.