Who would dare snuggling into his broad chest and make themselves so comfortable? He expected anyone that might be on that list were long dead, and his brief flings were a good century or more old. They were incapable of producing their own body heat unless they made an active sacrifice to do so, but the weight of her body against his own was oddly welcome.
As he thought, she didn't push either, didn't take a risk to see what it was that he could offer now that he had let her in his physical space like this. She was as polite as he expected her to be, and he appreciated that; his tolerance for blatant hunger and frantic expressions of lust were admittedly low. This slow coming together was something he enjoyed. It showed him a respect that he always hoped to show her in return. She was not flesh to satisfy but an intellect to engage with on multiple levels.
He did not urge her with any gesture or noise for an answer. That she took her time to consider earned more of his respect. Lenore was a romantic at heart; he knew that. She had explicitly told him that her sisters didn't take her seriously on such topics, but he found the innocent want to be cared for to be valid. Was she taking her time to formulate an answer that expressed some of those vulnerabilities again?
And her eventual answer didn't displease him. That she felt she could be honest meant that they had built a trust. He had considered that she could be manipulating him, but he expected that she had already considered that. "There will be times when I am consumed by my interests, but it would be entirely unintentional. It has been well over a century since I considered entertaining a courtship," he remarked truthfully. That's what this was, wasn't it? A courtship.
He made a noise in his throat at her last word, amused and not unkindly. He moved his hand from cupping her ankles lightly to taking one of her hand so he could bring the back of it to his lips for a gentlemanly kiss. "There is no one living who would call me sweet. Perhaps you shall have that opportunity."
He looked at her over the curve of her own wrist. "Will you accept a courtship, Lenore?" He was asking to respect her right to choose as a women if this was what she wanted, but also to remind them both of the risk it would be. Politically and emotionally.
no subject
As he thought, she didn't push either, didn't take a risk to see what it was that he could offer now that he had let her in his physical space like this. She was as polite as he expected her to be, and he appreciated that; his tolerance for blatant hunger and frantic expressions of lust were admittedly low. This slow coming together was something he enjoyed. It showed him a respect that he always hoped to show her in return. She was not flesh to satisfy but an intellect to engage with on multiple levels.
He did not urge her with any gesture or noise for an answer. That she took her time to consider earned more of his respect. Lenore was a romantic at heart; he knew that. She had explicitly told him that her sisters didn't take her seriously on such topics, but he found the innocent want to be cared for to be valid. Was she taking her time to formulate an answer that expressed some of those vulnerabilities again?
And her eventual answer didn't displease him. That she felt she could be honest meant that they had built a trust. He had considered that she could be manipulating him, but he expected that she had already considered that. "There will be times when I am consumed by my interests, but it would be entirely unintentional. It has been well over a century since I considered entertaining a courtship," he remarked truthfully. That's what this was, wasn't it? A courtship.
He made a noise in his throat at her last word, amused and not unkindly. He moved his hand from cupping her ankles lightly to taking one of her hand so he could bring the back of it to his lips for a gentlemanly kiss. "There is no one living who would call me sweet. Perhaps you shall have that opportunity."
He looked at her over the curve of her own wrist. "Will you accept a courtship, Lenore?" He was asking to respect her right to choose as a women if this was what she wanted, but also to remind them both of the risk it would be. Politically and emotionally.