Dark Receiver

[DeliciousMaiden]

"And what if I lured you on to the dance floor to instead do something else?"


Claire could not imagine what he could mean.
Her eyes widened as his hand moved downwards, hovering at her waist and then moving on down to her hip where he guided her to turn slowly and gather her against him once more.

"But I must admit the bonus of smelling your hair does help."

She chuckled.

"Amazing what a bit of shampoo can do ... "

She quipped self-effacingly.

"... but do keep me posted if you decide to lure me into any other ... activities ... "

She told him demurely.

 

[DeathsKnight]

He grinned, a sly twinkle in his eye,

"But if I warn you that I'll be squeezing your delectable derrier you will not be on your toes."

He leaned closer still,

"Or if I were to warn you of other situations, you might lose all the bravery you have accumilated and run away and I can't really have that."

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

"But if I warn you that I'll be squeezing your delectable derrier you will not be on your toes."

Claire blushed at his words, still finding this 'new Glen' a revelation.

"Or if I were to warn you of other situations, you might lose all the bravery you have accumilated and run away and I can't really have that."

She shook her head, intrigued by his words.

"So ... I should be afraid then?"

She asked.

" ... and you forget, I've signed that contract now so, I can't really run away can I?"

She added reasonably...

 

[DeathsKnight]

He smiled at her,

"You never have to be afraid of me, I am gentler than a lamb and kinkier than an alleycat in Paris."

He chuckled and as the song drew to an end he did the unexpected, in mid-stride he dipped her, very unconventional and unexpected, he waited for her eyes to focus on his own as he held her, her could see every small detail of her eyes, could feel her breath playing sweetly over his face...and right there on the dancefloor he kissed her ever so gently. He wanted to kiss her for as long as he wanted to, but there was certain rules that even he could not ignore. The kiss broke and he helped her back to a vertical base, delivering a flowery bow.

"M'lady, you flatter me with the honor of the dance."

He caught her up and with her arm hooked into his own he lead her back to their table, he held her chair for her and helped her to take her seat, filled her wine glass himself and then only did he take his seat, giving her an impish smile,

"Is that a blush I spy?"

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

"You never have to be afraid of me, I am gentler than a lamb and kinkier than an alleycat in Paris."

Her eyes widened in surprise at the idea that he was 'kinky'. She had no idea what that might mean, but was more than happy to agree with the 'lamb' comment. He seemed to sense her confusion, even be amused by it, but they continued to dance closely and Claire had to admit being held by Glen definitely felt ... good ...

His last' dip' took her totally by surprise. After the gentle sway to the music she suddenly found herself totally reliant on him holding her securely, her eyes lifting to his expecting so see mischief, playfulness, yet finding a look altogether different from any she had seen before. Her breath caught, her heart raced and almost before she realised, his lips were on hers light, sensual and oh so intense...

"M'lady, you flatter me with the honor of the dance."

He was bowing and smiling and leading her back to her seat, but Claire's senses were spinning and she found she was glad of his arm as she moved with him back to their table. She eased herself back into the chair he held for her and smiled as he filled her glass. His attentiveness was touching and she met his smile with a soft one with her own as she sipped her wine.

"Is that a blush I spy?"

She laughed.

"Of course. I'm not used to being kissed and certainly not in public."

She watched him as he sat opposite her. He was playful and charming as ever, but she could not deny that that below the surface there was an intensity that she was only just becoming aware of...

 

[DeathsKnight]

"Oh? Is that a fact?"

He seemed shocked by her words,

"Well we can't have that, I will have to chastise Elron for the lack of kissing in public in the play."

Settling into his chair, he took a sip of his wine as Claire's starter arrived,

"Ah! You seem to have a knack of being saved by the bell so to speak. But I will corner you one day and whisper a few things in your ear best left out of public hearing."

He grinned at her, he had to admit that dancing with her was one of the better experiences he have had in his lifetime. And to be perfectly honest, he knew that a few of the regular patrons was watching. Claire was right in one aspect of her musings, he did frequent the social elite circles, but the thing about being a basic recluse was that he made the perfect eligible bachelor without the whole world knowing about it.

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

"Oh? Is that a fact? ... Well we can't have that, I will have to chastise Elron for the lack of kissing in public in the play."

She shook her head about to protest when the first course arrived.

"Ah! You seem to have a knack of being saved by the bell so to speak.
But I will corner you one day and whisper a few things in your ear best left out of public hearing."

Claire laughed and pointed her fork at him in mock menace.

"You know full well what I meant, Glen. Kissing for dramatic effect is hardly the same ... "

She threw him a mischievous grin as she continued.

"Unless that's what you were doing of course ... after all we have the cast, the setting and perfect staging...?"

She giggled as she watched his reaction to her teasing.

"Though I do think you should have words with Elron ... he's a brilliant actor, but some how his kisses just don't stand up to the real thing ... "

 

[DeathsKnight]

He looked around, catching a few looks which quickly turned away,

"The right audience indeed."

He smiled at her words,

"And the only way to improve kissing technique is through quantity, or perhaps he doesn't want to kiss you properly as he fear I might take affront to his amorous kissing and kick his behind."

He grinned at her reaction and took a sip of the wine,

"Or would you have me tell him to go ahead and kiss you like he means it, or..."

Glen wiggled his eyebrows, altering between shocked and mischievious as he slipped into a French accent,

"Do mademoiselle think I should teach the m'seur through kissing him eh?"

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

He ignored her compliment about his kissing. In truth Claire could not imagine any one else's kisses having quite the same effect on her, but she was not going to clarify that meaning for him.

"And the only way to improve kissing technique is through quantity, or perhaps he doesn't want to kiss you properly as he fear I might take affront to his amorous kissing and kick his behind."

She shook her head and laughed at his words.

"Or would you have me tell him to go ahead and kiss you like he means it, or...
Do mademoiselle think I should teach the m'seur through kissing him eh?"

He was fun and he was crazy and she had no choice but to shake her head.

"We have a dilemma,"

She responded with mock seriousness.

"If He kisses me more then you'll kick his behind ... if he gets to kiss you, then I'm likely to get very jealous.... "

She gave a dramatic sigh.

"Poor Elron... seems he is doomed to under-perform...."

 

[DeathsKnight]

Glen rested his chin on an open palm,

"It is a dilema indeed, I see one solution. I take you out of the play, place in one of those bored blondes we saw and whisk you away for a sudden marriage quite like the one you have been rehearsing for."

He chuckled at her expression,

"Now now relax my dear..."

He took her hand in his and gave her a wink,

"I'll tell you that from my chair it looks very convincing."

He leaned closer,

"And I am glad his kisses doesn't compare to mine, I'd be wearing steelpoint boots tomorrow."

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

"It is a dilema indeed.."

Claire watched him consider.

" ... I see one solution. I take you out of the play, place in one of those bored blondes we saw and whisk you away for a sudden marriage quite like the one you have been rehearsing for."

His suggestion brought a hot blush to her cheek. Once again, even in jest, he had the ability to shock her.

"Now now relax my dear..."

Her reaction obviously amused him.

"I'll tell you that from my chair it looks very convincing."

Her hand was in his, the touch unfamiliar as he commented upon their acting.

"And I am glad his kisses doesn't compare to mine, I'd be wearing steelpoint boots tomorrow."

Half in joke, half in earnest, he made it clear nonetheless that he had understood her previous comment personally.

" ... Elron doesn't mix business with pleasure ... unlike some people... "

She accused gently.

"Or are there different rules for the boss?"

 

[DeathsKnight]

He smiled at her,

"This here isn't business at all, you will know the boss when you see him. But come to think of it, my business is a pleasure to me, but of course a different kind of pleasure. So perhaps your question is a two-sided sword?"

He slowly stroked his thumb over her knuckles as he looked her in the eyes,

"Do you feel like I am mixing you up in both sides? The business and pleasure part?"

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

"This here isn't business at all, you will know the boss when you see him.
But come to think of it, my business is a pleasure to me, but of course a different kind of pleasure. So perhaps your question is a two-sided sword?"

His logic flawed her as he added a whole new complexity to her words.

"Do you feel like I am mixing you up in both sides? The business and pleasure part?"

She wasn't sure if he was being serious for once, she had to assume he was.

"Well you've been kind enough to offer me a room and of course all that stuff with my parents... that's not business, but it's definitely not pleasure... "

She began.

"Business wise ... you've given me my first chance... my first contact ... that's pretty clear ... and I do know when you're in boss mode ... "

She hesitated, not wanting to offend him or ruin the evening.

" ... I'm still working out if I fall anywhere in the pleasure category Glen..."

She told him.

"... a few times... this evening ... I ... don't know ... "

She shrugged.

"I guess before this evening I just figured you were being kind to someone who's had to leave home, has her first break and is scared stiff of messing it up ... oh and of course is potentially lethal to people she meets ... "

She shook her head as she considered her own sorry summary.

"No ... I don't think you're mixing me in the pleasure category Glen."

 

[DeathsKnight]

He squeezed her hand reasuringly,

"You give yourself no credit at all. You're fun to be with, I can talk and joke with you, you're polite and not a bad kisser at all."

His smile was a bit lop-sided,

"And it was fun kissing you, so the pleasurable aspect of our relatioship have been well looked after. All the other stuff is just how the cookie crumble and I can not allow a nice girl like yourself to just wash away in the stream of life, you need a bit of help to anchor and build your boat for those creeks up ahead."

He gave her hand a final squeeze,

"Now try that food and tell me it wasn't worth coming here for."

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

"You give yourself no credit at all."

His word were serious as he squeezed her hand and Claire couldn't help but feel her pulses race in response.

"You're fun to be with, I can talk and joke with you, you're polite and not a bad kisser at all."

She laughed at the way that in one sentence he went from intense to flippant.
He was difficult to get a handle on, but he intrigued her...

"And it was fun kissing you, so the pleasurable aspect of our relationship have been well looked after."

She smiled ... fun ... well ... at least that was something, she reflected...

"All the other stuff is just how the cookie crumble and I can not allow a nice girl like yourself to just wash away in the stream of life, you need a bit of help to anchor and build your boat for those creeks up ahead."

As she had thought, he was playing 'good Samaritan' and she would do well to remember that it was no more than that.

"Now try that food and tell me it wasn't worth coming here for."

She decided it was best to focus on her food which was indeed delicious.

"Yet again, you have excellent taste..."

She praised.

" ... and the company is none-too-shabby either..."

She quipped matching his jocular tone.

"Don't you miss having Elron around..?"

She questioned moving on to a change of subject.

"You two go back a long way after all.... "

There had been suggestions that Elron was romantically involved, but he was discrete and had let nothing slip, at least to her ..

 

[DeathsKnight]

He rested a fist under his jaw,

"Elron...he is like a limb. You can do without him, but at times you do need him. We do spend a lot of time together, but after his new shall we say conquest, I have not seen much of him at all."

He smiled as he watched her eat her starter,

"As to having taste, why else would I be here with you if I did not have good taste?"

He chuckled,

"How do you find this new found freedom? At least a bit refreshing I hope?"

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

"Elron...he is like a limb. You can do without him, but at times you do need him. We do spend a lot of time together, but after his new shall we say conquest, I have not seen much of him at all."

Despite his flippant tone, Claire knew that there was a real closeness between the two.

"As to having taste, why else would I be here with you if I did not have good taste?"

She could only assume that he meant the restaurant and not the fact that he was with her.

"How do you find this new found freedom? At least a bit refreshing I hope?"

She nodded as she considered.

"I'm doing work I love and making my own choices for the first time in my life..."

She replied.

" ... and I've finally moved out ... though not in the way I'd have ideally liked to of course ... so ... yes... it's good to begin to be myself ... so ... aside from my little 'problem', I guess you could say things were more than 'refreshing'."

 

[DeathsKnight]

"Ah now that is good. A bit of change and fresher impact is good for the soul."

He finished his glass and refilled both glasses, as she finished the plate was removed and the waiter told them that the main course would be along shortly, Glen nodded and turned his attention to Claire,

"Do you have any friends Claire? Apart from those in the play."

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

"Ah now that is good. A bit of change and fresher impact is good for the soul."

He approved. She noticed the bottle of wine was going down with surprising ease.
She took a sip and sighed in contentment, glancing around and finding that she had actually relaxed in these unfamiliar surroundings.

"Do you have any friends Claire? Apart from those in the play."

The question caught her off guard.

"Of course... "

She responded automatically, fidgeting with the stem of her wine glass as she considered more carefully.

" ... or at least I have had ... "

She confessed knowing that she could be open with Glen of all people.

"I make friends easily ... I've had to. Mum and dad moved a lot ... I lose count of how many schools I've had over the years. I always thought it was because of dad's job, but I realise now why they kept me moving .. "

She frowned realising anew the extent of her parents deceit, or perhaps the extremes they had gone to in order to protect her.

"They never liked me to get close to anyone ... I've had any number of pen pals, but it's difficult to maintain friendships when you're trying to settle in somewhere else... "

She sipped her wine as she paused.

"I have friends from school, but since we left I haven't really kept up with them much ... I was intending to go to college, which of course was causing trouble at home ... and then I auditioned for you and ... from my parents point of view, things just got worse ... impossible for them to control ... "

She met his eyes, her own worry clear.

" ... I guess I'm scared now ... that I'll cause harm to people I get to know ... can you imagine what it feels like to feel responsible for ... ?"

She shook her head and took a drink of her glass.

"I still can't get my head around it. No wonder my parents were constantly freaking out with me ... I guess they were trying to be protective ... "

 

[DeathsKnight]

He reached out to touch her hand, his fingers resting one her own,

"There is no reason to fear. You will never hurt those who you care for or who cares for you. You know the limitations of the problem and it can be used to create a better world for yourself than the one you left behind."

He smiled,

"And of course you have Elron, Abigail and me, we will not go anywhere."

His smile widened,

"Yes I have noticed how you two ladies have formed a bond, much like the characters you portray."

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

His touch was comforting as was his smile.

"There is no reason to fear. You will never hurt those who you care for or who cares for you. You know the limitations of the problem and it can be used to create a better world for yourself than the one you left behind."

She nodded accepting his words, needing to believe what he said was true.

"And of course you have Elron, Abigail and me, we will not go anywhere."

For the first time she had people in her life who she cared about and who in turn cared about her. Of all her fellow actors, she was surprised that he listed Abigail.

"Yes I have noticed how you two ladies have formed a bond, much like the characters you portray."

She smiled.

"She's a lovely lady."

Claire pronounced. Though playing a much older character, Abigail was only in her early thirties Claire calculated, but had definitely become protective and reassuring around Claire. She had been acting since her 20s and had an interest in playing real 'characters'. There were few in Shakespeare, though she had taken on a role as Lady Macbeth the previous year and although she had not offered the information, Claire knew that it had been well received.

"... I spent today with her ... and our 'Paris' of course... "

She smiled as she continued.

"I'm wondering what you have in store for us tomorrow ... it's not like you to give time off without working us doubly hard to make up for it?"

She speculated.

 

[DeathsKnight]

He grinned and took a sip of his wine,

"Au contraire mademoiselle, you will find that you will have sit a lot tomorrow, but I will not ruin he surprise, it stays a Glen secret."

Their main course arrived and Glen sat back, flicked his napkin open and rested it on his lap, then he started eating. Thing was that he looked more at home at royalty's table than in a restaurant and he knew it,

"My mother had a great influence on most of my mannerisms, she was the actor between the two and she took a lot of time off to teach me proper etiquette...not much stuck though."

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

"Au contraire mademoiselle, you will find that you will have sit a lot tomorrow, but I will not ruin he surprise, it stays a Glen secret."

She was curious, obviously, but Claire knew better than to try to get Glen to give up his secrets; he seemed to love keeping the whole cast on their toes, Claire included!

She smiled at the waitress as the main course arrived and watched as Glen prepared to tuck in.

"My mother had a great influence on most of my mannerisms, she was the actor between the two and she took a lot of time off to teach me proper etiquette...not much stuck though."

She laughed.

"I think you're more into etiquette than you let on ..."

She speculated.

" ... you definitely seem comfortable wherever you are ... "

She darted him a mischievous smile before continuing.

" ... but then again, that is only to be expected given that you're a TV star..."

She teased referring to the disclosure of his previous TV advertising work.

 

[DeathsKnight]

He chuckled,

"And movie star, don't forget director, producer and writer, I have to fit in out of necessity."

He joked along,

"It does seem that Juliet has rubbed off on you or even if it was only the century with all it's culture and of course etiguette. I believe it was an interesting time since most of the work that happened then found root and branched out to all we have today."

He shrugged,

"Or perhaps ladies are born with it? It is an interesting notion I'd say."

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

"And movie star, don't forget director, producer and writer, I have to fit in out of necessity."

She laughed at his reaction to her teasing.

"Of course ... necessity ... that's it ... "

She told him demurely sipping her wine as she watched him with amusement.

"It does seem that Juliet has rubbed off on you or even if it was only the century with all it's culture and of course etiguette. I believe it was an interesting time since most of the work that happened then found root and branched out to all we have today... Or perhaps ladies are born with it? It is an interesting notion I'd say."

She wasn't sure just what he meant.

"How has Juliet rubbed off on me?"

She asked him.

"I know nothing of etiquette and all that ... "

She looked around the restaurant.

"This place is lovely, but this kind of place can be intimidating ... without the right company..."

She told him.