no hard feelings

Her knife was spinning around her fingers as she fought the target, only five minutes after escorting him out of a party into a dimly lit parking garage. Anastasia was not an agent for the united states government, she was just a girl who had inherited her father's top-secret organization after his passing. Her father's business was like the black market, but for the richest and the most wicked people. You wanted bombs, weapons, a high-profile target assassinated? They would connect you with a buyer. In this case, a mysterious person had used her company to purchase a deadly virus, dangerous enough to wipe out more than half of the population if it were to be released to the public. Usually, her company would stay far away from anything that intense, but apparently someone had slipped through the cracks, at least, that was the story she had given to the government. Her company would never do anything that diabolical, unless you offered an inconceivable amount of cash.

It had been enough to keep her off of the coals, and all she had to do was promise to retrieve the virus before it was used. Anastasia had been trained to fight, her father had been one of the most well known rogue assassins in the world. Of course, he would make sure his daughter could handle herself in a fight before he passed.

The suspect she was fighting now was a tall, slim man, but he had some muscle. She didn't expect him to be the man who had the virus hidden somewhere, but there was a good chance he worked for the guy they were after. Once they had entered the dark parking lot, she had started grilling him, preferring, like her partner August Walker, to be direct and forward when it was safe to do so. She had gotten her answer, the moment man began throwing fists in her direction. He was guilty.

Her knife sliced through his cheek and down his shoulder, ripping his gray suit. He grabbed for her throat, but for the moment she was keeping one step ahead of him, until she wasn't. Fighting in heels and a formal party dress wasn't something new to her, but she was a little rusty. The man got finally landed a hit on her and she started to taste metal in her mouth, feeling blood trickle down from her bottom lip. The man paused for a moment, seeming to laugh as he smirked. Anastasia grimaced, pain rocking through her jaw. All she could think about was losing a tooth and her face felt like it had caught fire from anger. She wasted no time getting back to her feet, wrapping her fist around her knife and going straight back for him.

They continued to fight for what felt like hours, but really had only been minutes. The man's face was beginning to bruise from her hits and he was bleeding in multiple places from her knife, but ultimately, he was able to grab Anastasia's shoulders and headbutt her, throwing her body to the ground. The man stood over her for a moment, before laughing and picking up her knife from the ground. "Just like a bitch to pull this out in a fight-" The man spat out blood, talking as if both of his eyes weren't beginning to blacken, as if she hadn't put up a good fight with her fists. It was obvious that wasn't true. "Do you want to feel what it's like?" He wrapped his hand around the strap of her dress, pulling her up by it.

Anastasia began to wake up, the room spinning and blurry, but she could see her knife in the man's hand and she could hear the doors to the stairwell slamming closed. She reached out to try and grab the man's hand, to keep the knife from drawing closer to her. Her heart was pounding away inside of her chest, her body felt completely paralyzed, her head throbbing in pain. She couldn't fight like this, she could only hope August was somewhere close, he had been supposed to meet her in the garage anyways.

{The responsible decision here would be to work on studying for my psych test but... here I am...}

August took his time making his way down the stairs, trusting that Anastasia would have everything under control. He didn’t think that anything would go wrong so he didn’t have a desire to rush downstairs and interrupt her play time. He smirked at the thought as he hit the bottom of the second floor stairwell. Surely Anastasia was having fun - they were both similar in that regard. They didn’t beat around the push when the opportunity presented itself and he was sure that she would be annoyed if he interrupted her. As he would be if roles were reversed and his time was cut short with whatever poor bastard he had to deal with. Pulling open the door to the parkade, August’s face instantly transformed from the jovial look to one of complete and utter annoyance.

It was clear something had happened because August saw the offending man’s grubby little hand wrapped around Anastasia’s knife and even he wasn’t allowed to touch that. He scowled down at them as he jogged forward, his pace quickening when he grew closer because it wasn’t hard for him to realize that Anastasia was struggling more than he had originally thought.

“What the fuck?!” August demanded, pulling a hidden knife from the inside of his suit jacket. Wordlessly, he flung the weapon forward and watching with satisfaction as the knife lodged in the same hand that the man had held Anastasia’s knife. “I don’t even get to touch your knife and you go and hand it over to this piece of shit?” August growled, ignoring the screams from the man as he reached out and dragged the man back by his collar. He sneered as he threw the man to the ground, easily kicking the knife to the side.

Truth be told, August was annoyed because now that Anastasia was injured, he would have to keep an eye on her. He couldn’t leave as early as he had intended to get back to his family because he had to make sure that she was home, safe. There was no way around it. He wasn’t that much of a horrible partner. Well. Most of the time.

Looking back down to the man, August rolled his eyes as he pulled out a revolver from his side. He was wordless as he shot the man in the head. Once, twice. August turned back toward Anastasia, raising an eyebrow. His eyes drifted over her frame, trying to surgery the evident damage. How much was hidden? She always tried to act as if she was okay, even when she wasn’t.

August’s eyes narrowed as he leaned down, using the man’s shirt to wipe off the blood from both his knife and Anastasia’s. Shoving his own back where it belonged, August held out Anastasia’s to hers, gingerly by the tip. “Hey. Don’t give me that look. I’m trying to return it!” August snapped, exasperated. When he spoke again, his voice was far more soft. “You okay?”

Anastasia was quick to catch herself from hitting the ground when the man dropped her, listening to him shrieking in pain from the knife that was now lodged deep in his hand. Her head was beginning to clear and she quickly gathered herself and pulled herself up on her feet. She wiped the blood away from her mouth with the back of her hand, knocking back loose curls from her face. Watching August drag the man on the ground by his shirt, and then without even thinking twice, shooting him in the head, not caring to waste a second bullet when the first was enough. Her whole face felt hot, she was annoyed and embarrassed. Licking her bottom lip, running her tongue over the blood that was spilling from her lip, she cursed herself. August wouldn't let her live this down, he'd tease her about it every chance he got. He had to save her.

Even if she had just been knocked out for a few seconds and was a bit pissed off that August had to rescue her, she was still finding herself weakening at the knees watching him work. He was ruthless, a cold-blooded killer, he enjoyed it. That had to be why they worked so well together, they had barely known each other for a couple of months but it was already apparent how enamored with each other they were. Even if she was a bad guy and he was a good guy, technically speaking, it was clear they were very similar, usually out for their own benefit.

Snatching the knife from August's hand, she rolled her eyes before rubbing the side of her head with her hand. "I'm fine." Letting out a loud sigh, clearly annoyed, she looked up at August before reaching down and taking her heels off. "I just need a shower." She wasn't going to tell him about how her head was throbbing, her vision was beginning to darken, or how sore her nose and jaw felt from the one hit she had taken, other than the headbutt. Her hand lowered to her nose, wondering for a second if it could be broken, before walking towards the dead body. Bending down next to the man, she reached into his patting him down, reaching into his coat pocket, searching for his phone.

"There we go..." She fiddled with it for a moment, before realizing she couldn't break the encryption. That wasn't her area of knowledge. She tossed it to August, before standing back up straight and crossing her arms over her chest, "Your boss will want that. I'm sure there's contact info for our guy in there." Dropping her arms back to her sides, she moved closer to him again, only a few inches away before she stopped. Close enough to smell his cologne, musky and woodsy, nothing special, but enough to make her want to move in closer. "Take me home, August."

Her free hand moved up to her hair, pulling out bobby pins that held her shoulder length hair up in a messy up do as she moved away from him, walking in the direction of where their getaway car was parked.

@ castle.

August's eyes narrowed as she offered the dead man's phone to him. He slid it into his pocket, not even giving it a second thought as he stared at Anastasia. Did she really think that he couldn't read her by now? His life had depended on knowing what people were thinking, what their intentions were. Both spoken and unspoken. August knew that he would be dead if he hadn't been able to. When you lived a life as he did, the only option was to get good at what he did. Otherwise, there wasn't going to be any life left for him to live. Maintaining his work life balance had never been an easy task but August had been able to manage. At least until Anastasia had waltzed into his life and now, he found himself struggling. Internally because August wasn't ready to put both feet into either aspect of his life.

He loved his wife and children, he would kill for them. August knew that deep down in his gut, he couldn't shake his devotion to them. But it seemed like the harder that he tried to pull away from his attraction to Anastasia, the harder it became to ignore. That was the hardest part. August was either devoting all of his time to his wife and children and ignoring Anastasia while all he could think of was the latter. And if he was with Anastasia, he hardly even thought of his family. That was wrong, wasn't it? August stomach twisted at the thought but he did his best to not think about it.

"Take you home? I just saved your tight little ass from becoming chopped liver and I can't even get a simple thank you, Ana? A kiss on the cheek? Now here you are, demanding for more from me. Now how is that fair?" August countered. He only did it so that he could watch Anastasia squirm. If he was going to interrupt her, then by God, he was going to enjoy something. It was only fair, wasn't it? He thought so.

August let out a sigh, shaking his head. He turned, his hand sliding to her lower back. He urged her forward, raising an eyebrow when she looked back at him. "Looks better if anyone stumbles in. I mean, there is a headless body..." August mused, letting out a light chuckle. He unlocked the car, pulling her door open. Smirking as he motioned for her to get in, August, shut the door before heading around to the driver's seat. He climbed in and was quick to pull out of the parkade.

"What happened back there? How'd he get the upper hand?" August demanded, glancing toward her. Had he not stumbled in when he had, things could have gone so much worse than it did. It was something on his mind and he hoped that it was on Anastasia's as well. Why he cared so much about this particular close call he didn't know but it had his stomach twisted into a firm knot.

Anastasia couldn't help but roll her eyes, hearing him whining behind her. Regret set in quickly, though, when the motion caused striking hot pain to happen in her skull. "Shut up, Walker." Her hand moved to forehead, but she tried to force a small laugh. The last thing she'd want is to piss him off, or make him think she was actually upset with him. Sometimes, out of nowhere, he could be a bit more sensitive.

She was relieved when she was able to slide down into the passenger seat of the car, holding her leather clutch tightly in her gloved hands. "Do I ever criticize you when you get the shit beat out of you? What's with the interrogation?" Anastasia glanced over at him out of the corner of her eye, before she went back to staring out of the window. It was easier to try and divert the situation instead of coming up with an excuse or even trying to explain how she just felt off her game. It was hard to admit faults to August, he always seemed so perfect, especially at his job. He could come across ruthless and without emotion, ready to kill anyone the C.I.A directed him to, without even thinking. He was perfectly able to keep his own morals out of the situation, to the point where sometimes Ana wondered if he even had morals.

Not to mention, she was a little angry at him. He had disappeared on her for a little over a month, only seeing him again when the government gave him a mission where he could use her help. When she had brought it up the first time, August had assured her he would've returned regardless of the mission or not, but Ana wasn't sure if she could believe him. They had been on the mission for a little over two weeks now and she still hadn't completely warmed back up to him.

Sliding the long, red gloves down from her elbows and off her hands, she tossed them into the floor and then ran her fingers through her hair. Her face was sore and she knew she would be bruised by the morning, but she knew she would feel better the instant she could get out of this dress. Letting her hair down and kicking off the heels had already felt like heaven. "Are you going to walk me inside when we get there or are you going to disappear again until the next rendezvous?" Anastasia had a nasty glare on her face, already set up to be disappointed, she could already feel her face heating up in anger, already assuming the answer.

Perhaps she was just trying to change the subject of how she had just let a man get the better of her, how she had to have another man save her, and now maybe she was just looking for a reason to argue to release some of the tension from it.

@ castle.

August scoffed, glaring at the side of Anastasia’s head when she told him to shut up. He grit his teeth together, trying his best to ignore the swell of hurt that blossomed in his chest. Having emotions, responding to them in his field had never been a wise idea. He wasn’t sure that sitting in their get away vehicle with Anastasia counted as being out in the field but it was close enough that he felt like he needed to keep himself in control. He exhaled slowly, counting the seconds that he spent so that he could hopefully calm down a bit more.

“No. You threaten to make it worse,” August countered. He smirked slightly, glancing toward Anastasia for just a moment before he turned back toward the road. He felt rather triumphant only because he thought he was keeping a good check on his emotions. Maybe if he did better at playing it cool, Anastasia would continue to keep him at a distance. That would be far easier than the alternative. For both of them. He could only imagine that sort of shit he would be in if Anastasia found out about his wife and kids.

August knew that Anastasia wasn’t all that happy with him but it was better that way. This life was all cold and bloody and heartless - the exact opposite of the life that he tried to lead with his family. It was better that Anastasia wasn’t all that pleased with him. He kept trying to tell himself that and he hoped that if he said it enough times, that he might start to believe it.

Raising an eyebrow when Anastasia asked if he would be joining her upstairs, August debated it for a moment. Fuck. He could just tell his wife that a situation came up at work and he needed to stay behind for a bit of extra time. Technically, it was the truth. There was no lie. So at least that wouldn’t be weighing on his conscious. He had enough already there.

Grunting as he tossed the car into park, August turned the engine off before turning toward her. “You can’t hold it against me forever, you know. This life isn’t always easy. You, of all people, should know that. Sometimes it’s nice for me to have a break once in awhile. I was going to come back. Always. But sometimes, I just need time... to myself,” August added, not wanting to find out what would happen if Anastasia ever managed to piece together the truth.

Ana was beginning to regret opening her mouth and inviting him inside, even if it had been ill-mannered. She tensed when he threw the car into park, her gaze lifting to the windshield, seeing her apartment building just a short walk in front of them. For a moment, Anastasia forgot about the situation inside of the car, forgot about the anger that was radiating off of herself, the annoyance she could feel spilling off of August. All she could think about was stepping into her house and dropping her clothes to the floor, instantly making a bee-line for her bathtub, wanting nothing more than the hot water that she could already imagine relieving her sore muscles.

Bringing herself back to reality, she looked over at August and for a second, the only thing that sounded better than the hot bubble bath waiting on her, was the thought of his large muscular hands pressing into her skin, caressing every bruised spot. That nice thought went flying right out the window the second he opened his mouth again.

"You understand, I'm a person, too?" Ana frowned, not afraid to stare him directly in the eye. "How do you think I felt when you just vanished? Not even a word? I'm not your job, August. Why do you need a break from me?" She left it there, unlocking the door before grabbing her shoes and then letting herself out. The cold winter wind nipped at her exposed skin, hurting more than any hit she had taken that night. Slamming the car door shut, she wondered for a moment if he would just leave.

She hesitated, only for a moment, before she wrapped her arms around herself and headed inside. Sometimes she wondered how well she really knew August, because sometimes it felt like she didn't know him at all.

@ castle.

August cursed under his breathe when Anastasia climbed out of the car. He slammed his fist against the steering wheel before he dropped his head against the back of his seat. “Fuck,” he growled to himself. He felt like he was being pulled in two different directions and he didn’t like it one bit. More and more often, August simply wished he could rinse his hands of one life or the other. It would ultimately hurt someone but... no, any alternative to what he did now was purely for a selfish benefit. He was selfish in many ways but he didn’t want to hurt Anastasia not his family. He was left in this endless cycle, whether he liked it or not it didn’t really matter.

Climbing out of the car, August tossed the door shut and was quick to lock it before he started after Anastasia. He caught up to her before she could get into her building and effectively lock him out. He bit back a sigh as he caught up to her, silent until they reached her apartment. It wasn’t until the door shut behind him that he found the will to even speak.

“Sometimes, I like to pretend my life isn’t all blood and murder and careless mistakes. Sometimes, I like to pretend my life is normal. If you would just stop taking that so personally, we would be in a lot better position. It’s nothing against you. Stop acting as if I have said it was because I never had. You should know that if I wanted nothing to do with you, I would have nothing to do with you. Because if I don’t want to do something, I don’t. It is as simple as that,” August spoke. He tried to keep his voice gently but he knew damn well that his words came out far more harsh than he had intended.

Anastasia hadn't heard him enter the lobby of the building, much less her own apartment. He had trailed her like a ghost, but how could she be surprised? When he spoke up, it startled her and she turned around to glare at him, even if she was hiding her true feelings. She was happy he hadn't vanished again. Laying her apartment keys down on the marble kitchen counter, tossing the red clutch alongside them, she bit down on her tongue.

How much worse can I make this, she thought to herself before letting out an exasperated sigh. "You didn't say anything." Her voice came out in a hush whisper, almost not wanting him to hear. She didn't want to fight, or scream, or argue. Her jaw was throbbing, she could handle the pain, but the throbbing was annoying her to the point she felt she might start crying out of frustration. It didn't help she was grinding her teeth. "We always do this, you stick around long enough where I feel like we are...."

Her words ran cold snd she just stopped. She looked anywhere, but at him. It was her own fault, but she found herself waiting around for him. Passing on so many other men who could be devoted to her, but in the back of her mind, he was always there. There was something about him that she couldn't let go of. She wanted him.

She took in a deep, shaky breath and let it out slowly, before she finally looked back up at him. "Would you help me?" She motioned for him to follow her to the bathroom, needing help unzipping the dress. If he didn't want to be with her, she couldn't make him. She could, however, enjoy the time he did give her, when they were alone like this. "If you're here, then I don't want to waste this time arguing with you." She whispered, leaning against the sink as she heard him shuffling around in the hall, probably wondering if it was better to just leave.

@ castle.

{i did not realize you had replied here. am sorry !}

August tensed as Anastasia started that last little sentence because it made his blood run cold. He knew that it was probably supposed to make him happy and it did but it also made his stomach lurch as he thought about the reality of the place he was stuck in. There was no hiding this forever. Eventually, August knew something was going to catch up with him. He could only hope that by the time that that happened, August would be able to keep himself together. He hoped that he wouldn't end up losing the lives that he had worked so damn hard for. But deep down in the pit of his stomach, August knew when this was all said and done, he would lost something.

It seemed that not even Anastasia was prepared to discuss her words because in the next moment, she was asking for his help. August was more than thankful for that. Help, that he could do. Tackle the emotions that were swirling around in him, there was no way that August could even comprehend them enough to put a proper name to any of his emotions.

Following after Anastasia started for her bathroom, August leaned against the doorway. He crossed his arms, studying Anastasia's form with a slight frown. There was so much to say. He knew it was ironic. He'd killed a man less than an hour ago and hadn't so much as batted an eye but here he was, unable to speak about his emotions with the girl that had managed to capture his heart. It He moved forward, reaching out to pull down the zipper of her dress.

"Don't I show you enough that I care?" August's voice was rough as he allowed his hands to slide inside of her dress, pulling Anastasia flush against his chest.

[you're fine!]

Her hands dropped from where she fumbled with her earring, gasping slightly when he pulled her against him. Her dark blue eyes flicked up to the mirror, looking at him over her shoulder, in the reflection. Staring at him for a moment, the frown was still stuck on her face, the coarse tone of his voice causing her whole body to shiver. She was fixated on him, hating how just looking at him made her heart skip a beat. She wanted to scream at him and tell him how did it show he cared when he couldn't even say goodbye?
Anastasia hated it, but she couldn't stare into his dark brown eyes and stay angry. Her whole body relaxed against him, her head leaning back on his shoulder. Her eyes flicked over to look at him in person, tensing when she felt his grip on her tighten.

Not wanting to fight anymore, she couldn't answer him. She couldn't water down the truth, so she opted for silence. Her hands pulled her dress down further, before finding their way to his. They stood there like that for a moment, before Anastasia pulled away and let the dress hit the floor. Removing her earrings, she tossed them on the sink and moved to start a hot bath. She wondered how long she could get him to stay, knowing she couldn't have him for the whole night. She rarely ever had him for the whole night.

Turning back around to face him, she closed the distance between them once again and started to undo his tie, sliding it out from around his neck and then beginning to unbutton his shirt. Her bathtub was more than large enough to accommodate both of them, it was a circular double bath. "C'mon, please? I did get hit in the face today, after all." She pouted, trying to tease with him, but also hoping her little beg worked into getting him to stay for a while.

@ castle.

A little smirk settled on August’s features because with the way that Anastasia had reacted to his touch, he knew that she wasn’t really that angry with him. She may have been hurt but he could repair this. He could piece back the pieces of their relationship and he wouldn’t have to lose anything. At least not yet. It was a relief to him and caused the tension in his shoulders to relax. One more day was complete and somehow, August still had everything that made him whole.

August tilted his head to the side, content to watch Anastasia undress. When she turned to him, he remained still and only watched her in silence. August wished that he could live in moments like this because it made him feel alive. Anastasia gave him a breathe of a life that he had thought wasn’t for him. She laughed and she smiled and she bled and in the next morning, she was ending some poor bastard’s life. She mixed both of his worlds and August was sure that was why he cared about her so much.

“I suppose I can stay for a bit,” August amended. He let Anastasia pull his tye free before stepping back to undo his shirt. He shrugged it off before dropping it to the floor. His eyes still trained on Anastasia, August couldn’t deny himself any longer. His gaze flickered to her lips and for a moment, he weighed the possibility of Anastasia slapping him. He took a step forward, reaching up to cup her cheek. His touch was surprisingly gentle for an assassin. Pressing his lips to hers, Henry’s free hand slid around her waist to hold her close to him.

Anastasia couldn't be angry with him, not while they stood alone in such a confined space. Not while he undressed. His being was intoxicating to her, just one intimate touch and she felt herself falling for him all over again, just like the first time they met. She could be angry later, when he left her again.

She had to swallow the rage when she felt his arm slip around her waist, but instead, it melted away when he pulled her in and brought a hand to caress her face. He hesitated long enough for her to wonder if he would kiss her, or continue lingering. Relaxing in his arms, she closed her eyes, bringing her hands up to his sides, her fingers gliding over his warm skin. Her hands found their way down to the button on his pants and this time, she hesitated.

Pulling away only a few centimeters, she licked her bottom lip and gradually brought her gaze back up to his eyes. She popped the button on his trousers, sliding her hands into his boxers to push them down with his pants. Ana didnt want to think about how their was a timer on his visit, so she ignored his words, wanting to live in sweet ignorance.

@ castle.

{i opened my iPad and apparently had half a post typed for this so i’ma finish it. I’ll see if I can get to the others before history but idk if I will}

August was relieved when Anastasia didn’t try to push him away when he had pulled her close. That was the last thing that he had wanted because he knew that it meant that she was still a lot angrier with him that maybe he would have even wanted to let on. It made hits stomach twist to even think about. He didn’t want to fight with her - he certainly didn’t want to lose her but he didn’t see how he was going to walk away from this situation without at least losing something. He exhaled slowly, burying his face into her neck. His grip tightened around her waist.

His breathe hitched as Anastasia’s gaze met his, her hands set on the waistband of his jeans. August ran his tongue over his bottom lip, wondering if he was making a mistake. He didn’t want to lose Anastasia but he also knew that he didn’t want to hurt her either. Neither seemed like an option that he wanted to take.

His breath caught in the back of his throat when Anastasia pushed his pants down. He let out a low groan, his cock twitching even as he stood before her. August looked down to her, raising an eyebrow. The bath or her bed? He weighed his options but the promise of a warm bath while they enjoyed each other won out.

“Think I should reward you for your performance today?” August teased as his hand moved to grasp hers. He pulled her toward the bath and stepped inside before turning toward her so he could help her inside. August shifted so that he could sit, leaning back against the hard edge of the tub. “Or should I be rewarded for saving you?” August was only messing with her, he had no doubt that they would both reach their own rewards tonight.

Ana hated how in love she was with him, how much she wanted him. She had to fight her urges hard to keep her eyes train on his face rather than traveling farther south. Especially after his trousers hit the floor. Her fingers slipped over his as she dropped his hand, stepping into the bath after him. Sinking down into the hot, sudsy water, Ana couldn't help but take a deep breath. The warm water kissed every single sore spot of her body, every bruising patch of skin. She could finally feel her muscles completely relaxing.

The day had been so rough, so mentally and physically taxing that now that she found herself finally able to relax, she couldn't even get sassy with August when he reminded her of how he had saved her. If it was one thing Anastasia hated, it was having to admit she needed a man to save her, in any situation. For once, she just let her head lean back against the rim of the bathtub, sinking as far into the water as was possible.

Her foot ran up the inside of his thigh, teasing him until she was ready to sit up. "You think you deserve a reward?" Ana was just teasing him, but she let herself relax in the water for a few minutes before she pulled herself up, the ends of her hair now soaking wet as they fell over her shoulders. She moved closer to August, sliding up onto his lap. She finally let her eyes roam his body, her gaze falling down below his waist. For a moment she forgot to breathe, feeling her heart speed up. It had been months. Ana didn't have someone on the side. She never admitted it, but she was loyal to August, she was in love with him.

@ castle.

August wasn't ready to admit the truth that he knew he was facing. He knew what these feelings were; he'd felt them once before when he met his wife and realized that he was in love with her. He was still in love with his wife to this day but he couldn't deny his love for Anastasia. He simply hadn't told her yet because he was afraid of what it meant. He couldn't have two women with two entirely different lives but he wanted to be selfish. Was that so bad? He swallowed at the thought, his eyes trained on Anastasia's features. He caught her foot before it could slide too far up. Wordlessly, August started massaging her foot.

When Ana moved onto his lap, August wanted to relish in the moment. His hands settled loosely on her hips as he shifted, holding back a groan as he felt her rubbing against him. "Maybe I should take my reward? Hm?" August whispered, dancing his fingers down her thigh and back up the inside. His fingertips brushed against her core but otherwise, didn't offer the friction taht he was sure Ana was beginning to grow desperate for.

"Unless you just want to rest and just enjoy the bath," August teased, knowing she could feel his hardening length against her inner thigh. There was no secret about how this was going to end. He would continue to tease her with it though because he wanted to see how long he could draw this out and what Anastasia's reaction would be. The longer he dragged this out, the longer that he could pretend it was an excuse to stay with Anastasia.

Ana was holding her breath, her fingertips pressing into his skin. August had a certain control over her, whether he knew it or whether she wanted to admit it. She was willing to be there for him, always on the side, whenever he called. Ana always got that feeling, that she was just a toy for him. Why else would he disappear for months at a time? Why did she let him? She was always so lonely.

His cock pressed harder into her leg and she snapped out of her deep thoughts. "I like it when you take things." She purred, teasing him slightly. After all, he was a good boy, working for the United States government and she was a criminal. Everytime he strayed from doing things by the book was always a massive turn on to her.

Kissing over his collar, trailing her fingers over the muscles in his arms, "I can rest when you leave." Her words were just breath against his skin. Ana had to get one jab at him in, she couldn't let him relax in her bath believing completely that everything was okay.

@ castle.

"Rest when I leave?" August echoed, littering lazy kisses along her shoulder and neck. "Is that you telling me to leave?" He teased, knowing full well that he was simply teasing her. While he may have known that, he wondered if Anastasia would fall for his little trick. "So you can rest. After your long day," he added with a light laugh. It was true, their day had been a long one but that didn't stop him from teasing her about it.

Before Anastasia could speak more than a few words, August shifted until Ana was centered on his lap. He continued to lazily kiss along her exposed skin, his free hand slipping between their bodies. August let out a small groan as his fingers pressed against her core, feeling just how needy she already was and he'd hardly even touched her.

"Tell me. What do you want? Want me to leave you alone so you can rest or is... there something else I can offer you?" August murmured against her skin, his finger circling her clit in a slow, deliberate action.

The hot water splashed against her skin as he shifted her, her thighs tensing as it felt like electricity was coursing through her abdomen. It had been months since she had been touched by a man, the last time had been with him. She couldn't help insult herself in her head, asking herself why she was so stupid. Ana was a smart girl, she knew he was hiding something and she was sure of what that was, but yet... She still found herself bowing to his every touch.

"You know I don't ever want you to leave." She whispered against his neck, trailing soft kisses down over his shoulder. Relaxing against his body for a few moments, enjoying the way he was pleasing her, it was hard to rip herself away from it. Pulling herself away from him, her hand teased his cock. Sliding her hand up his length, she gave him a little squeeze, before standing up in the water and stepping out. "Come on, August. You know what I want." She wrapped a towel around her body, before disappearing into the dark hallway, beckoning him with her finger.

She knew how this was going to go. They'd have sex and then immediately after he'd have a reason as to why he'd have to leave immediately. Ana didn't want to be left wet, cold and alone in a bathtub, watching him getting dressed before he would leave her there. But she wanted him, badly. So if they were going to have sex and he was going to leave, she at least wanted to be warm and somewhat comfortable in her bed when that time came.

@ castle.