Kristoffer had hoped to encourage her, a little, and that she might prove an admiring audience to his escapades – but he hadn’t expected for Miss Dashwood to be quite so openly enthusiastic. He felt like he had hit a nerve, or a vein, unleashed something startlingly sincere.
But, a cascade of sincerity or no, Kristoffer was perhaps more affected by the way she had leant up to whisper things like getting up to something downright indecent. He had certainly felt that in his... bones. Still, he laughed along, just a little bit taken by her conspiratorial grins and the jabbering on about her innermost dreams and the way by the end of it, there was a blush brushed across her cheeks. He felt as if she had been just waiting for someone to ask her about the future, had had it all ready to spill out.
But why wait until the future? Surely he could give her just a taste of an adventure right now. “Come on now,” Kristoffer admonished, stopping in his tracks when she ceded to speaking of domestic frivolities. “You shouldn’t waste yourself on tiresome gentlemen.” She was much too entertaining for that. He slipped his arm free from hers, as they’d been walking, and instead placed himself in front of her, so they were face to face again; and he snaked his hand about her waist again, to better hold her there. They were much too close for this to be proper, of course; but there was an opportunity in this deserted hallway, and Kristoffer would be damned if he didn’t make use of it. And she had practically been egging him on.
Fortunately for her, he was the least tiresome person he knew. “I can probably help, if you ever need a quick escape off to cause trouble in Paris,” Kristoffer pointed out, still smirking slightly; but his mind was only half on the conversation now, his gaze falling to her lips instead. “I could give you a portkey to wherever you want.”
But, a cascade of sincerity or no, Kristoffer was perhaps more affected by the way she had leant up to whisper things like getting up to something downright indecent. He had certainly felt that in his... bones. Still, he laughed along, just a little bit taken by her conspiratorial grins and the jabbering on about her innermost dreams and the way by the end of it, there was a blush brushed across her cheeks. He felt as if she had been just waiting for someone to ask her about the future, had had it all ready to spill out.
But why wait until the future? Surely he could give her just a taste of an adventure right now. “Come on now,” Kristoffer admonished, stopping in his tracks when she ceded to speaking of domestic frivolities. “You shouldn’t waste yourself on tiresome gentlemen.” She was much too entertaining for that. He slipped his arm free from hers, as they’d been walking, and instead placed himself in front of her, so they were face to face again; and he snaked his hand about her waist again, to better hold her there. They were much too close for this to be proper, of course; but there was an opportunity in this deserted hallway, and Kristoffer would be damned if he didn’t make use of it. And she had practically been egging him on.
Fortunately for her, he was the least tiresome person he knew. “I can probably help, if you ever need a quick escape off to cause trouble in Paris,” Kristoffer pointed out, still smirking slightly; but his mind was only half on the conversation now, his gaze falling to her lips instead. “I could give you a portkey to wherever you want.”
