Wise Old Wine [Caitrin]

[Philip de Calmot]

Caitrin was rather full of herself, it was quite amusing really. He supposed she thought she was some great seductress and he was completely in her power, bending to her will as soon as she smiled and batted her eyelids. Philip was not so easily won. If anything the reverse was true. It was she was playing right into his hands, all the while naive enough to believe herself to be in control. How interesting. He leant forward, playing the game, "I warn you though...my expectations are rather high..." This was all rather easy, but then playing people was what he did. He was bound to be incredibly good at it.

He felt her fingers brush against his again, felt his own tingle at the contact. He looked down, an immediate, uncontrollable reaction. Her fingers were so close to his own, so soft and smooth and the way the light played around their curves... For a moment he was completely taken in by them, his lips parted slightly, all thoughts disappeared as he watched those delicate fingers moving against his own. They were going to undo him.

Her words snapped him out of it, he felt embarrassed, frustrated and annoyed at himself, angry at her and caught off balance. It was not a pleasant mixture of feelings, a cocktail he had no desire to feel again. He pulled his hand away quickly, keeping them both behind his back, a wrist firmly clasped to prevent them from moving. Caitrin was expecting an answer, more than that, she was expecting a continuation of her fliting. He needed to compose himself. He tightened his grip on his wrist, started counting in his head...one...two...three...and he was fine. He was in control again. He knew what he was doing. "I completely agree," he finally replied, an easy smile on his face, "And what would you have in mind?"

[Caitrin de Archer]

Perhaps Philip meant to intimidate her with his words about high expectations, but Caitrin was not fazed in the slightest. She had charmed many men, from jester’s right up to princes, and while she had little to show from any of her experiences in term of wealth or even an engagement, she had picked up a variety of skills that were easily transferrable, given the right situation. Caitrin inched her head towards Philip, showing that she was just as bold as he was, “As are mine, my lord.” Caitrin could have gone on about what skills she could show him, but she preferred to deflect the words onto Philip as she doubted he had encountered any women quite as bold as her before. “And believe me, I would not disappoint.” She finished firmly, and chewed her bottom lip thoughtfully, before releasing her lips into a smug sort of smile. Caitrin knew how good she was, even if Philip was yet to understand just what she could do to him, given half a chance.

She was snapped from her thoughts as Philip snapped his hand away from hers. She blinked a few times, wondering if she had misread him completely, and if she had in fact offended him. Caitrin just paused, trying to see if she could read Philip’s emotion, but by the time he spoke it was as if nothing had happened. Brushing away her confusion, Caitrin found her confidence returning. If he had been offended then he would not be further pressing the matter would he? Caitrin decided to be a little bolder and stepped up to Philip, and inched her head towards his so that her lips were merely one inch away from being merged with his. She could feel his warm breath against her, and she breathed against his lips slowly, and raised a hand to run from chest to his neck, her fingers brushing lightly along the warm exposed flesh before she finally thought to reply to Philip vocally, “Perhaps something like this would appeal to you, my Lord.” She grinned, quite sure of herself, and certain that Philip would not resist her advances.

[Philip de Calmot]

Philip was certain that he had never met a young woman with so much confidence in herself before. Of course there were always those two tried to tempt him, who tried to play him, and, just like Caitrin they all failed. But none of them had tried with such vigour, such complete belief in their own allure and irresistability. Caitrin was a woman who was used to getting her own way, but she seemed to be a woman who acheived that simply by being handed whatever it she desired. And while Philip was also used to getting his own way, he was the one that got it. He had acquired the necessary skills in his childhood, she had acquired a heightened opinion of herself. Well, there was always something to be done about that.

He did not reply to her words, he'd let her have this victory. She would be far too pleased with herself for having rendered him speechless that she just would not be able to keep her guard as firm as it should be. Oh dear. Yes, this victory was hers on the surface, but Philip was not a man to be so easily amused. Their flirtations and innuendoes was not his endgame, neither was seeing such innuendoes in fruition. No, he was not concerned about that at all. He was carving a much slower path for himself, but one with much sweeter rewards.

The girl did not seem to notice him faulter, or if she had it had been quickly dismissed. He had not given himself away, nor had he put her off her advances. Then again, she was a stubborn thing. No doubt she would see any reluctance on his part as a challenge. How naive she was - a lamb tempting a lion. And tempting she was certainly doing...he could feel her hand on him, though he dared not look down. He bit his lip, determined that this wasn't going to affect him, that he was not about to be undone by the damned girl. His own fingers were twitching again, and he squeezed them together because this was not going to affect him. He just needed to concentrate, to block it all out, to not give the game away.

One...two...three...four...five...six...seven...eight...nine...ten. He let out a small breath, one he'd been containing as he counted. He was Philip de Calmot and he was not so easily undone. "Why Lady de Archer," he began, forcing a smirk onto his lips, forcing himself to ignore her hands and not letting himself look at them, "Surely you are not suggesting such intimacies outside...I never expected such an exhibitionist in you." There, he was fine, he was in control.

[Caitrin de Archer]

There was something about Philip which Caitrin found almost irresistible to pursue further. He wasn’t giving into her straight away, and somehow that was more appealing than him bending to exactly what they both wanted straight away. She was hanging on his every word, and action, and it was not something that Caitrin was familiar with. The sensation hadn’t really registered with her yet, she was just becoming increasingly aware of the fact that she actually wanted Philip to stay a while longer, and for them to continue this bout of flirtation and innuendos. Caitrin hoped that her Uncle did stay away as promised, as she didn’t want to be disturbed at the moment, the bar had been set, and Caitrin was determined to rise to Philip’s standard.

Caitrin was of course sure that Philip was enjoying this as much as she was, after all he was not giving her cause to think otherwise. She was slowly working her advances on him, though patience was by no means Caitrin de Archer’s finest quality, so she could only hope that Philip was not going to keep her waiting much longer. Her attention could be just as quickly lost as it had been gained. Philip would be right if he thought he was different, because no man had ever treated her like this before, most would have already had her gown unlaced, but Philip was just settling for words, and teases. She was completely in control of this, she knew exactly what she was doing, and how to bring Philip round to her way of thinking, though she suspected he was already most of the way there.

Caitrin had never really put off her advances because of an unconventional setting; it just made it more exciting and a little bit daring. She was still wearing a smug grin, because she was enjoying herself, but she was so sure that Philip was just playing into her hands. Perhaps he thought he was being a little respectful or admirable for showing some restraint. Caitrin had no interest in restraint, if she did then she would be acting a little less bold than she currently was. “Outside, or inside, does it really matter that much?” She asked with a little smug grin, they were in complete privacy here, “Unless my Lord prefers the comfort of a feather bed?” Her words, though said with complete seriousness, also had a hint of a jest to them. She did wonder if Philip would be bold enough to try something here, or whether he was really quite shy behind a mirage of words, and preferred such things to happen behind closed doors. There, all her cards were on the table now, and there was no denying exactly what she had in mind. Philip wouldn’t be able to ignore that sort of an advance, so Caitrin felt like she was forcing him to play his hand one way or the other.