Trash Panda

Match Up in Malibu [Bee & Summer]

Jett had been expecting a straightforward answer from Anna. Whether she cared if he stayed to talk with her or not, he had just been trying to get the point across that he preferred to have a respectful conversation as compared with the sardonic comments she’d been making so far. A little banter here and there was fine with him. He could take a hit if he had to. However, it was quite another thing to sit through a series of mocking remarks so early in the morning. He hadn’t had enough alcohol to handle that yet. So, when Anna answered his suggestion with a melodramatic whine, she quickly crossed the line from amusing to irritating.

He narrowed his eyes slightly as she caught the fabric of his shirt in her hand and begged him to stay in what had to be the fakest voice he’d ever heard. He didn’t know what sort of game she was playing or if she was just trying to get under his skin, but he knew he didn’t like it. The face she was showing now was a far cry from the one she’d put on last night. It was starting to look like his first impression of the alluring, genius engineer had been wrong.

“Yeah, right,” Jett clicked his tongue. Normally, he had more of a filter when it came to giving away his negative emotions, but her intentions had been blatant enough that at the moment, he didn’t care if he offended her. Gathering his unfinished dishes from the counter, he got up from the barstool. “If you really need me so much, I’ll be over here.” He tilted his head to indicate a sectional couch in the living room where a few of the other cast members had congregated to eat their breakfasts and then turned his back on her as he walked over to join them.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow is still avoiding that conversation cx

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow bit his tongue almost as soon as the words had left his mouth. Though he’d meant them, he knew he shouldn’t have voiced the suggestion out loud. Of course Penelope couldn’t spend the whole night with him. It just wasn’t possible. William was posted downstairs, already suspicious that she had come to his bedchamber, and Preston would catch them together in the morning. There was no way they could get way with anything more than they already had. It was too risky to even try.

But that didn’t change the fact that he didn’t want her to go.

As Penelope reiterated the reasons why she had to leave, he let out his breath in a stressed exhale. He hated how much one bad dream had frayed his nerves. Even if it had been vivid, he shouldn’t have let it get to him like this. It wasn’t like he’d actually relived the traumas of his past, after all. It had just been a nightmare that he needed to forget about.

Unfortunately, even though he knew all these things, it was hard to put them into practice, especially when he knew there was a chance that the dream would recur when he fell asleep tonight. Though he wanted to believe it had just been a fluke, he had a sinking feeling that the nightmares that had plagued him before were coming back for a second round.

Crow stiffened involuntarily when Penelope seemed to make the connection that his uncharacteristic behavior now was related to how he’d acted in the Great Hall that morning. He averted his gaze ashamedly. There was no point in lying to her when she’d already caught on to him. But he also didn’t want to talk about it. For one thing, admitting that he was this rattled because of a dream was just embarrassing. For another, there was always a chance that it had really just been a coincidence and that he was overreacting because of the nightmares he’d had when he was younger. He didn’t want to come off as weak in either case.

“I’m sorry. Forget I said anything,” he muttered after a moment, moving to sit up on the bed. “I’ll help you get your clothes so you can go back to your room.”

Match Up in Malibu [Bee & Summer]

Jett picked up his fork and took a bite of the eggs on his plate, watching Anna with an amused smile. For someone who had been so quick to judge him for drinking in the morning, she was surprisingly eager to take him up on his offer to try the mimosa. He wondered if she had just poked fun at him earlier to put up a front. He wasn’t sure why she would do that, but it was the only explanation he could think of for her abrupt change in attitude. That is, until she added an explanation of her own.

To shut me up, huh? Jett nearly laughed at that. Anna’s combativeness never ceased to entertain him. No one else—at least, since he’d made a name for himself—had the guts to say the things she did to him. Her spunk was refreshing, and it brought up a competitive energy in him that made him feel the need to think a little quicker on his feet. After all, he wasn’t about to let some woman he just met last night make him look like an idiot by outperforming him in a battle of wits, especially in front of a bunch of rolling cameras. He had a reputation to uphold, after all. He had to do it for the fans—at least, that sounded like a selfless enough excuse for him to convince himself that he wasn’t just being petty.

“I never agreed to that,” he pointed out cheekily. Reaching out, he took the champagne flute back from her after she’d sipped at it and downed a sizeable portion of the drink that remained. At this point, he’d given up on fighting the impression that he was an alcoholic. He knew he wasn’t, and that was what mattered. If he wanted to have fun and indulge a little while he had the opportunity, then there was no reason not to. He would just be careful not to let himself get too carried away, since he was technically still in front of an audience.

As he set his glass back down, Jett casted Anna a sideways glance. She was a difficult person to read. He couldn’t tell if she was enjoying his company or not, so he decided to test the waters a bit. “You know, if you really don’t want to talk to me, I can just leave,” he offered with a one-shouldered shrug. “There are plenty of other places to sit in this mansion that would be more comfortable than this metal barstool.”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Nice cx
Crow's still trying hard to keep her from leaving

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow laid on his side with his arms wrapped around Penelope, his chest rising and falling with a bit more effort than usual as he recovered from the effort of being intimate with the knight. A weary smile curved his lip, and he had to stifle a yawn. Though he had brought up the suggestion to keep from falling asleep, he had worn himself out much more than he’d intended, and he found it difficult to hold onto consciousness. Still, his lingering fear of facing his nightmare again kept him from dozing off completely.

As Penelope kissed him on the cheek and buried her head against his neck, he held her a little closer, tracing his right hand gently down the curve of her waist and hips. While he didn’t want to fall asleep, he enjoyed how comfortable he felt with her lying beside him. The warmth of her body and the softness of the blankets he’d pulled over them relaxed him, and he felt a faint burst of excitement as it reminded him that it wouldn’t be much longer before they would be able to go to bed like this every night.

His smile softened at the thought. The other nobles in the castle were slowly beginning to warm up to him—or at least grow tolerant of his presence—and Penelope had already gotten some letters of support to end the war. Hopefully that meant they could stop hiding their relationship soon. He couldn’t wait to start courting her for marriage. They had already been through so much together; it felt like the most natural next step for them to take.

And I already know I want to spend the rest of my life with her, he added silently, feeling his cheeks grow warm as he imagined what their future would look like.

“I should get going soon.”

Crow opened his eyes as Penelope’s tired voice drew him from his fantasizing and brought him back to reality. Suddenly, he remembered why he had pleaded with her to stay in the first place as another abrupt image of his dream appeared in his head. The awfulness of it made him wince, and he hid the expression by turning his face against the pillow they were laying on. It seemed that even though sleeping with the knight had helped him forget about it for a while, the nightmare was still tormenting him.

“You don’t have to,” he mumbled, holding her tightly in his reluctance to part. “You’ve already been here this long… Why don’t you just stay?”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow got excited xD

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow grinned when Penelope finally caved to his pestering and stood up from the table. As she wrapped her arms around him, he did the same to her, leaning down to press a kiss to her forehead. He was glad that she hadn’t turned him down again. As long as she stayed so close to him, it was hard for his thoughts to wander to anything other than her, which was exactly what he needed at the moment.

“I’d be surprised if anyone did,” he said when she brought up her concern. Aside from Preston, no one else really bothered to come to his bedchamber since he’d been made viceroy, even during the day. Since the attendant had already turned in for the night, there wasn’t anyone else he could think of who would stop by. Although… His eyes wandered back to the door as a certain unpleasant memory of her father made another appearance in his mind. John was the only person whom he wouldn’t put it past to show up unannounced so late at night.

“Just to be safe…” Crow stepped away from Penelope and moved over to the side of his bed. Reaching one hand under the pillow he usually slept on, he withdrew the dagger he’d hidden beneath it and carried it over to the door, where he slipped the small blade through the handles. Satisfied that the makeshift block would hold up, he headed back to the knight with a flirtatious smile and rested his hands on her hips. “No one will be stopping by now,” he said in a low voice, just before he leaned in to meet her in a passionate kiss.

As his lips moved against hers, Crow’s heart pounded in his chest, and he could feel a flush warm his skin. After going so long without her touch, it had become like lightning to him, energizing and completely captivating. Eager to push things further, he led her over to the bed without breaking the kiss and guided her up onto the soft mattress. His fingers trailed down her sides as he moved on top of her, reaching for the fastening of her clothes to take them off.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow is persistent though xD
He cares more about avoiding sleep than keeping William from suspecting anything at the moment

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

It nearly seemed like Penelope was going to agree to his offer. Crow smiled to himself and pressed another kiss to her neck, just below her jawline. Even though he’d been swayed to bring up the suggestion because of his nightmare, he was still excited by the thought of sleeping with her again. It had been over a week since the last time they’d had the chance. He missed being with her, and he hoped it would help to take his mind off his anxiety about trying to sleep that night.

Unfortunately, his hopes were dashed when he noticed her smile fade. As she explained that William had been stationed as a guard that night, he frowned disappointedly. It was just his luck that the bitter knight would have a shift the day after his old night terror had returned. He glanced thoughtfully at the door. Despite the risk, he felt like it would be worth it to take a little extra time alone with Penelope. After all, it had been over a week for both of them, so he doubted it would take very long.

He chewed on the inside of his lip as he looked back at the knight. She was much more cautious about her comrades than he was in general, so he had a feeling she wasn’t going to agree with him no matter how much he pestered her. However, with the memory of his dream still fresh in the back of his mind, he didn’t want to give up without giving it one more shot.

“Maybe,” Crow shrugged, trailing his fingers down the length of her sides. “But who’s to say you weren’t up late talking with my sister? He has no proof you came here…” He leaned over her shoulder to press a deep kiss to her lips in one last effort to entice her to give in. His hands moved sensuously over her body, and his heart raced a little faster in his chest. When he pulled back again, his voice was slightly breathy, “Come on. Who knows when we’ll have another chance like this? I don’t want to miss out just because of William.” He casted her a pleading look, hoping she would be willing to throw caution aside for one night.