[center][url=https://fontmeme.com/tattoo-fonts/][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/250715/4b5a7d1934f50d6bc67ec5b3b9d1b704.png[/img][/url][/center] [center][color=black][sup]____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________[/sup][/color][/center] [center][color=#FA66FF][b]Location:[/b][/color] Locke's place • [color=#FA66FF][b]Time:[/b][/color] Night[/center] [center][color=black][sup]____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________[/sup][/color][/center] As the tonic slid down her throat, it set fire to everything it touched. It took several moments before it reached her vital organs. When it did, her heart thumped in her chest. And then everything [i]hurt[/i]. Her eyes shot open as she took in a greedy breath of air, her body shooting forward in the seat. Sable’s nails dug into the upholstery under her as her chest heaved. What in the hell had happened? And- [i]where[/i] in the hell was she? She realized she was in someone’s vehicle. One that looked way too damn familiar. Clenching her jaw, she slowly turned her head to look into the driver’s seat. She groaned and rolled her eyes at seeing the man. [color=#FA66FF]”Fuck.”[/color] Locke didn’t flinch when she shot upright. He didn’t flinch when her nails sank into the leather either, though he did mourn the upholstery’s previous perfection. He just stayed exactly where he was, elbow resting loose against the door, head turned just enough to watch her with this subtle, Irish grin. He clicked his tongue once, quietly, and let his eyes flick from her face down to the way her chest heaved like she’d just clawed her way back from the grave. Which, in a way…she had. She absolutely did not want to be in this particular car, with this particular Fae, at this particular time. There was no way in hell she was going to be able to explain this all away. Her eyes glanced over to the passenger window, quickly realizing where they were. Sable turned to face him. He reached over, fingers brushing the edge of her jaw, thumb checking the line of her pulse without asking permission. He scanned her eyes while he did it, close enough that if she breathed too hard she’d taste the clove and bergamot that clung to his collar. [color=cadetblue]“Don’t worry, you’re safe. I have you…but please, try not to tear my seats to shreds just yet, aye?”[/color] He let the touch drop as casual as it came, hand drifting back to rest across his knee. After the briefest of pauses, he spoke again, more serious this time. [color=cadetblue]“You gonna make it, love?”[/color] Rolling her eyes once more, she allowed him just the single moment to touch her. Damn man was always a hands-on type of Fae. She let her silence give her the time she needed to fully catch her breath, but she brought a hand up and pressed the end of her palm to her temple, wincing at the pressure. [color=#FA66FF]”I’m not worried about my damn safety.”[/color] Well. She had been, right before she had passed out. But she had been expecting somebody else entirely to show up. Had she texted the right person? [color=#FA66FF]”I’m fine, Locke. Thank you, or whatever. I need to go.”[/color] Locke’s grin didn’t slip an inch when she snapped at him. If anything, it softened. He just reached into his coat, thumb flicking across his phone screen until the glow of it cut between them. He tilted it so she couldn’t miss the coordinates staring back at her, her own name above the message. [color=cadetblue]“Mm… so you’re fine, don’t need me, didn’t need a rescue…”[/color] His voice dipped warm, that soft Irish curl thick in his throat. [color=cadetblue]“Guess I dreamed these up then, huh? Look at me, makin’ up longitudes and latitudes again. Talented, aren’t I? Oh…and my, my that must mean I made up the little message you sent earlier too then, huh?”[/color] He scrolled up, showing her the subtle little hookup request she had sent clear as day. He let the screen drop back to his knee, thumb tapping the edge once before he tucked it away again. His eyes found hers, steady, patient in that way that always made him harder to argue with, but with a satisfied grin that was sure to infuriate her. [color=cadetblue]“You can bark all you want, sweetheart, but you’re not steppin’ out yet.”[/color] He nodded toward her chest, the faint pulse still picking up a hitch here and there. [color=cadetblue]“Potion needs to settle in that lovely system of yours. People have been known to twitch, seize, all sorts of pretty little complications when they rush it.”[/color] He leaned in just enough for her to feel the weight of it. [color=cadetblue]“So sit still for me, just a little longer… and then you can disappear back into whatever shadows you like. But not before I know you won’t drop dead on the pavement two blocks from my door.”[/color] Sable took one look at his phone, her messages, and let her head fall back against the headrest with a muttered curse. While the first text she had sent had definitely been meant for him, the second wasn’t. The man got on every last one of her nerves and knew it. But damn, the things he could do to make her forget her own name. Her eyes flashed dangerously when he mentioned the potion. She snapped her attention over to him as a low growl pulled from her chest. [color=#FA66FF]”A fucking [i]potion[/i]?![/color] Quickly sitting up once more, she bit back a cry at the pain in her head. She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment before opening them once more, glaring at the man next to her. [color=#FA66FF]”You had no fucking right to poison me with one of your damn concoctions.”[/color] Sable let out an incredulous laugh. She tried to hide the flinch in her face from the pain that caused her, but failed. Shaking her head, she grabbed onto the door handle. [color=#FA66FF]”And you’re sure as hell not keeping me in here. We both know you don’t give a damn if I live or die.”[/color] Locke just watched as she spoke. There was a stillness to him, there always was, but after a moment he responded calmly. His words came out like velvet. [color=cadetblue]“You think poison brings you back from the edge, sweetheart?”[/color] His eyes stayed on her steady as he looked through her bravado. [color=cadetblue]“You were slipping,”[/color] he murmured. [color=cadetblue]“Heartbeat like a dying clock... barely breathing when I got here. What I gave you wasn't poison…It was simply the gift of a little more time.”[/color] He tilted his head slightly, that Irish lilt curling through the air like smoke. [color=cadetblue]“So curse me, if it makes you feel better. I’ll survive it.”[/color] His gaze flicked to her hand on the door. He didn’t reach for it. [color=cadetblue]“But don’t insult Mercy and I by pretending you woulda’ made it another five minutes if we hadn’t come to your rescue.”[/color] He let the pause linger. then his voice dropped lower, quiet enough it almost didn’t carry, but it did. It always did just enough. [color=cadetblue]“And don’t mistake kindness for indifference, Sable.”[/color] His voice was doing things to her that she never would admit to. Sable’s jaw clenched when he mentioned how badly she had been off and she swore under her breath. Of all the things to save her life, she never would have expected it to have been a Fae. Well, at least not without her owing them something. Damnit. He leaned back, hands folded, composure unshaken.. [color=cadetblue]“You’re still here aren’t ya? To me that means something.”[/color] Then he reached across her, slow and deliberate, and pressed the lock back down with two fingers. Not rough or forceful, but all kinds of final. [color=cadetblue]“Let the potion do its thing a few minutes more. I’ll even let you pretend that none of this even happened.”[/color] And fuck, her head was killing her. She closed her eyes and bit back a groan at the pain just as she sensed him leaning over her. Her eyes shot open to see his arm directly in front of her, his fingers securing the lock once more. A nerve ticked in her jaw. He let his lips brush against her neck right where he knew she could barely resist, the corner of his mouth hinting at a smile as he lifted to whisper in her ear. [color=#FA66FF]”Locke, I swear-”[/color] Her breath hitched at the contact, her eyes fluttering to a close. [color=cadetblue]“I’ve never let you leave unsatisfied before. Even you wouldn’t try to lie about that. We both know how true it is.”[/color] His hand, still leaning against the door where lock is, braces as his body closes the distance between them even more. [color=cadetblue]“All you gotta do to pay me back is stay a little longer…just until I know you’re gonna be okay.”[/color] The scent of him wrapped around her, dulling her senses. Sable’s eyes opened just partly, hooded by his nearness. She slowly looked up, her chin tilting back slightly until she met his eyes. She literally had almost just died, and this guy was using his body to shut her up. Another growl left her. Fuck it. Quickly bringing her right hand up, her fingers grasped the edge of his jaw as she pulled him the rest of the way to her before crashing her lips against his.