Amazing Thailand ~ Sometime ago

Corvus leaned against the wooded pillar waiting for Ariadne to come out of her room. They were going to dine in a beach restaurant, that their friend a powerful wizard, Mr. Arthit, had arranged for them. According to him, it was very popular and reservations were a must. However, Mr. Arthit, being who he was, a generous patron, could get a table there when ever he wished. Corvus, amused at the man's bid to impress him, agreed to go and so it was decided.

Everything was set, except for Ariadne. He had no idea what was taking her so long. She was usually punctual. A virtue which he found most agreeable. They were staying in a resort off the island of Phuket. Their cottage was a suite that Mr. Arthit had arranged most graciously for them. The resort was made - as far as Corvus could tell, out of wood - clearly in an attempt to attract tourist into thinking that they were traditional. The cottage was spacious, and had two master bedrooms on either side meeting at a common room in the middle. It was open, and so the cool night breeze flowed to and fro. Corvus had his eye at Ariadne's door, willing her to come out.

Ariadne had clearly not packed appropriately.

She'd come along with Corvus, pleased to be taking a bit of a holiday in quite a lovely beach setting, but aside from packing obvious things like a bathing suit, she'd been neglectful. For instance, she was in no way prepared for what the humidity had done to her hair; normally sleek and smooth, it now lay past her shoulder in messy waves. Never mind the perfect dress that she'd picked out for this Very Important Meeting of theirs -- that remained on its hanger, as Ariadne sweat just looking at the impractical English-made fabric not at all created with Thailand's weather in mind.

There was nothing for it. Any longer and they would be late to the point of total rudeness. At least right now it could be chalked up to being "fashionably late," or blamed on their ignorance of the location, but any longer and she was sure Corvus would storm in and drag her out by her hair if he had to. Sighing, she put on the only item of clothing which seemed like it might just barely pass muster in whatever fancy restaurant they were headed to, without absolutely murdering her in this unbearable heat, a simple white cotton number more designed with sleeping in mind. On the plus side, it was much more comfortable on the other dress -- on the minus, it was too plain, so she made quick work of it with her wand and admired the handiwork.

Not too shabby, she thought, shrugging. There was little she could do about the problem with her hair, however, so she simply splashed water on it and fluffed it out, hoping for the best. Honestly, it didn't look half bad, and with the humidity as high as it was, it probably wouldn't dry for awhile. She'd take a trip to the loo to re-wet it if she really had to. Grabbing a pair of plain beige heels, she finally emerged from the room and sat down on one of the chairs in the common room to put her shoes on, looking apologetic.

"Corvus, I'm so sorry, I had such trouble getting ready in this heat," she immediately apologised, looking up at him with concerned eyes. Since she was so rarely late, she had no idea how he would react to such a mistake.

Corvus had just glanced at his wrist watch to check the time, when the wooden doors slid open and Ariadne emerged wearing - well Corvus wondered if he should migrate to a country with Thailand's temperate temperature if it encouraged clothes or to be more accurate lack there of.

As Ariadne walked bare-footed to a seat and strapped on her shoes, she muttered an apology. An apology which Corvus would have taken, hadn't it gone through one ear and out the other. His sense of hearing seemed to stop working and only his sight remained. He was staring at Ariadne's gorgeous form and when she looked up at him, he met her sky blue eyes with his. He let her see his desire. He wanted her. Simple as that.

Corvus pushed away from the pillar which had been supporting his weight and sauntered towards Ariadne.

Ariadne had looked up, expecting to be met with Corvus' customary glare as usual whenever she did something to annoy him. Meeting his eyes, she saw something quite different than what she'd been preparing herself for. She was surprised for only half a second, and then she immediately rose to meet him, stopping a hair's breadth away. The look in his eyes made it impossible to look away from them, yet she still hesitated, unsure. If there was one thing she'd learned about Corvus, is was that he was as wild and unpredictable as the sea just beyond their door. He could just as easily dole out punishment or pleasure, and she stood before him, staring up into his eyes, heart racing and breath caught in her throat, waiting to find out which she would receive.

"It's all right." Corvus answered her apology, his voice slightly strained. He adjusted, and his voice was back to normal. "I do understand but please, do be punctual next time."

Then his voice took upon a different tone. "You look beautiful tonight." Corvus reached out and touched Ariadne's cheek, sliding his hand down towards her chin. Then he tilted Ariadne's chin upwards so he would have better access to her. He placed gentle kiss on her lips leaving it up to her if she wished to deepen it or not.

Before she even found time to respond to Corvus' words, Ariadne found his lips on hers and all hope for any kind of coherent response was completely gone. She gave way immediately under his soft touch, closing her eyes and meeting his passion with a spark of her own. Wrapping an arm loosely around his neck, she pulled him closer, her breath coming out in a ragged gasp. The kiss may have taken her completely by surprise, but it couldn't be said that she did not meet it with an equal and immediate enthusiasm bordering on the instinctive. Any thoughts of their prearranged meeting had flown far from her mind the second Corvus' skin had made contact with hers.

Corvus inwardly smiled at the ferocity that Ariadne had responded. Corvus had known ever since their Hogwarts years that Ariadne was infatuated with him. He had caught her looking at him on more than one occasion. Always the same shocked looked followed by a really rather charming blush as she hastily looked away. He hadn't thought much of it then. As they were reunited once again, Ariadne had grown into a lovely young woman. Corvus was pleasantly surprised to find that she had not gotten over her little childhood crush and thusly, decided to exploit it.

It was cruel to play with her emotions. He wondered if he cared.

Corvus pulled away from Ariadne. "I must inform our friend about the change in our dinner plans." He moved towards the door, and opened it. Outside was Alak, the small man who was their personal butler. Corvus told him to inform Mr. Arthit that they were no longer coming and in under no circumstances where they to be disturbed. Alak nodded to the affirmative. Corvus turned back to Ariadne. He shrugged off his shirt before closing the distance between them.

Ariadne nodded mutely at Corvus' words, reopening her eyes. The interruption was very brief, and her patience was swiftly rewarded as he deftly slung off his shirt, tossing it carelessly aside. Well, so much for the pains she had taken to get ready for tonight -- not that she minded the change of plans in the least. Despite knowing that Corvus would never return her feelings, she welcomed these little moments where she could have him for just a little while, and make pretend.

She drank in the sight of him like a person dying of thirst, crushing her lips hungrily to his the moment she was near enough. Briefly she cast around the room, searching and then finding the long white couch; Ariadne was impatient and it would have to do for now. Her dress joined his shirt in a pile on the floor as she pushed Corvus backwards onto the couch, her eyes closing once more as she indulged herself in a fantasy of happiness that could never truly exist.