Beyond Time (closed)

“I feel like I’ve known you forever.” She said softly, her bright eyes turning towards his as she didn’t move her lips from his palm. “I’ve had dreams. We’ve shared intimate moments. I can’t explain any of it.”
 
"... You've had those dreams too...?" He asked quietly, admitting that he himself experienced them, likely at the same time too. "Hm... odd things do seem to happen a lot in this house," he offered a smile. "It's probably some other magicks in the walls, this place is riddled with secrets since it was built by werecreatures and centaurs."
 
Dylan was stunned when he admitted that he’d had the dreams as well. She finally pulled her cheek from his hand, looking up at him with another blush upon her cheeks.

“Did you have the dreams while drawing? Or perhaps…when you were in bed…with someone?” She hated to ask, but she needed to know if it was the same thing that she’d been going through.
 
Ashien didn't seem to mind the forwardness of her questions, and he nodded, "Yes... while I was drawing just today, and... well, last night." He didn't go into detail, though. He took her hand and met her eyes, "... What do you think it means?"
 
“I don’t know.” Dylan answered honestly. “Although I think I could probably sketch you nude from memory if I wanted and I’ve never seen you nude a day in my life.”

She grinned at him, laughing softly at the very thought. There was something about this man that made her heart flutter. He was handsome. He was kind. He shared her interests…and she was also engaged to another man….
 
Ashien laughed at her admission even though a blush colored his cheeks, "Is that an invitation? But only if you let me paint you first." He rose to get his supplies, resigned to the idea that he'd capture this beauty on canvas.
 
“No one’s ever wanted to paint me before.” She said as he practically leapt from his spot to gather his supplies. Dylan had a giddy grin on her lips, smiling at him as he positioned everything just so to begin.
 
"Well I do, but it's your choice as to how," he turned to her after setting up his easel and canvas. "Would you mind a nude painting?" He asked softly with a smile. He honestly did want to paint her as such, but he also secretly missed the sight of her beautiful form in his dreams.
 
“Only if you’ll return the favor one day.” She commented, laughing softly at the look in his eyes. Dylan suddenly blushed as she found the courage to slowly strip from her clothing, standing before the handsome man in front of her like it was the most natural thing in the world. She felt comfortable with him.

“How would you like me?” She asked him, her long blond hair tumbling over her shoulders and covering her breasts, offering him just a peek of the hard nipples just beneath.
 
Ashien paused at her question. What a question, really, that could be taken in two ways. He shed his jacket, leaving his vest and shirt. Rolling up his sleeves, he came to stand before her. He crossed his arms and tapped his chin in thought as he looked over her with an artist's eyes rather than just a man's. "Hm... hold on." He stepped past her to look at the sofa, then decided not to use it. Instead, he pushed it aside and looked to the fireplace. He set a fire in it quickly and then brought Dylan to the hearth.

"Just settle right here at the corner and... hm..." He paused, then turned, "Ballas." The great tiger padded over and Ashien had him lay before the hearth. The great cat remained motionless, allowing his master to move his paws and tail and head any way he liked. Clearly he'd been painted before. Then, Ashien brought Dylan to Ballas and had her lay against him with her hand stroking the tiger's neck and the other beneath his paw.

"Perfect," Ashien whispered before stepping back. He circled them before moving his easel to just the right angle. Taking a piece of graphite, he sketched them onto the canvas.
 
Dylan allowed Ashien to pose her how he wanted. She never thought that she would be draped against a tiger, her hand stroking his neck as her other hand held his paw. The look in his eyes told her that he certain liked what he saw and soon he was moving his things until he started to sketch.

The tiger beneath her purred, the deep rumble making her smile softly. It was just like a big house cat, she thought to herself. She had always been soft towards cats but John didn’t like them.
 
Ashien chuckled as he could hear Ballas purring all the way from where he stood. "He's very sweet on women, you know... it seems you especially. Normally he wouldn't let anyone do that on just the second meeting."
 
“Well, I have to admit that I’m kind of sweet on him too. I’ve always loved cats but I’ve never had the honor of having one in my home.” Dylan commented as she heard Ashien’s warm chuckle float to her from behind the canvas.
 
"He's a wonderful friend, I'll say that much for him. More like a brother to me sometimes than my own real brothers. Of course, being the youngest alongside my twin sister, we're always subject to the most teasing." As soon as he finished the sketch, he began laying down the first layers of paint with a proficient speed and a masterful hand. He was incredibly quick but he never made a mistake, though he was otherwise quite messy about his hands and clothes and workspace. At one point, he forgot he had red paint on his hand whilst painting the rug beneath Ballas and Dylandra and smeared it on his face while thinking. He laughed at himself and just let it go as he continued.
 
“Your brothers and sisters must be in the paintings that are in the ballroom now. At least, a few of them. You painted Brogan and Julia. Lyndon and Emma and their three children. Someone named Valentina and Theo. Who else is in your family?” She asked him, truly interested in hearing him talk.
 
"Lynndon?" He chuckled, "Oh, that's Boar. Well, in order of age...There's Durban, Selena, Brogan, Boar, myself, Kayla, and our half-sister Valentina. Then there's our mother Katherine, and Valentina's father Vincenzo who she's now married to. We have an Uncle Seamus down in Normandy that Marri named her youngest after, and then a few people we call family but really aren't, like Cole and Theo."
 
“Wow. A large family.” She said with a small laugh. “I was an only child. Both of my parents are long dead. It was just me and my grandpa…and I guess he’s gone now too.”

Dylan’s life made her sad to think about, but she also supposed that was one of the reasons she had turned out like she had. She loved fiercely, kept people close and cared for. Seeing Ashien talk fondly about his family made her yearn for something more.
 
"You'll have a full family again one day, my dear," Ashien told her confidently, "I can feel it." He left the painting a moment and cleaned his hands to come to her side. Crouching down, he stroked Ballas' head before looking down at Dylan. "You know... you are incredibly beautiful. I'm not entirely sure I can capture you as I wish."
 
“I think that you are a charmer, Ashien.” Dylan said with a blush on her cheeks as he regarded her like she as the most precious thing in the world. “But that doesn’t mean that I don’t like to hear your compliments.”

She felt the undeniable need to kiss him. She wanted to reach up and tangle her fingers in his thick hair and bring him down for a sensual kiss. The thought made her blush deeper and she nibbled her bottom lip out of nervousness, a terrible habit she’d had since she was little.
 
Ashien felt that very same need, and he fell to one knee before her to lay a hand on her cheek, his smile fading to a look of enchantment, and he leaned down as if he were going to kiss her finally... but he paused inches away. He looked at the floor, his hair shadowing his eyes as he chuckled softly, "I may be a charmer, but you're practically a siren."
 
Dylan laughed softly as Ashien paused a few short inches from her lips, telling her that she was a siren. Again, she turned her lips into his palm, kissing it ever so gently in a motion that seemed so natural.

“Tell me to leave, Ashien. I have a fiancée but I want you so much.” She whispered to the man that was kneeling in front of her.
 
"But I don't want you to leave," he met her eyes again and finally pressed his lips to her own in the warmest, most welcoming kiss of her life. He drew her up to lean against him as their lips parted and said softly, "Ballas..."

The tiger rose and padded away, out of the room.
 
Dylan literally felt herself melt. She let out a whimper, her arms finding their way to twine around his neck as he gave her the best kiss that she’d ever had. She sighed, gasping as their lips parted and he ordered Ballas from the room. Then his lips were back upon hers and she knew that there was no where else in the world that she would rather be.
 
Ashien couldn't help how he lost himself in her kiss, and the fact that she was bare before him so willingly made his blood boil with desire. "Miss Dylan...?" He asked softly as their lips parted once more, meeting her eyes with his own soulful, dark gaze.
 
“Hmmmm?” She asked him with a dreamy smile on her lips, his gaze piercing hers as if he were staring into her soul.
 
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