Faery Princess

Chapter Four: Casey

The clothes were put away and Casey was finally curled in her favourite chair with a cup of tea and her book, when there was a knock on the door.

Looking at the time, she wondered who the hell would be at the door now.

Maybe Perry got into the neighbour's again? She sighed, wondering, not for the first time, if her cat was more trouble than he was worth.

To be fair, Perry wasn't really hers. But, he had been a part of her life for as long as she could remember, coming and going as he pleased no matter where she was. He was old, even for most cats, but he still moved as sprightly as ever. Casey often thought he must be cashing in on those nine lives.

Another knock sounded and Casey jumped up. She walked to the door slowly, debating the sense in opening it so late at night to who know what might be on the other side. Another knock sounded and she came to the decision that whoever it was wasn't going away anytime soon.

She opened the door, saying, "I'm sorry Mrs Boothby, I've tried-" She stopped when she finally looked at the person at the door,

Declan was leaning against the porch. Well it was more of a portico, just a little shelter so you didn't have to stand in the rain while you unlocked the door to the terrace house her parents had left her.

He wore what looked like armour, made of some supple dark silver material. He had a large sword strapped to his back and three small sheaths on his belt, as well as pouches and a large silver buckle. Around his legs, he had straps. On the left, there was a large knife, on the right another pouch for God knew what. He still wore the fingerless gloves, the tops disappearing under his arm guards. He wore heavy, black boots, the bottoms covered in patches of mud. It was the only part of him that didn't look impeccable, strong, undeniably sexy – although, once she remembered it was real life and not a movie, he did look rather geeky. Other than him actually wearing clothes this time, the only difference from seeing him earlier was a bloody cut at his left temple.

While her stomach fluttered at the sight of him, her eyes narrowed.

"Stalker, then." She said, folding her arms.

She heard a meow and saw Perry saunter out of the house behind her and start rubbing up against Declan's lovely long legs. Mind meet gutter. She thought, sourly.

"I hope you like cats." She said, enjoying the tension in his body.

He pushed Perry away with his foot, a scowl on his face. "Not particularly."

Perry made the sound in his throat that sounded like laughter before bounding to sit at Casey's feet. Declan stared at him as though he had personally met Perry and had the worst of all grudges against him. Casey cleared her throat and he looked up at her through his hair.

"As nice as it is to have stalkers drop by my house and give my cat death glares, you can leave now." She said, beginning to close the door.

Quicker than she would have thought possible, his foot was in the door and they were inches apart. She could smell the forest on him, dirt after rain. She'd always loved those earthy smells, though she'd never known a person to smell like that. She felt her heart beat faster at his proximity.

She heard Perry yowl and Declan jumped back, yelling in pain.

"Cait sith." He said through gritted teeth, his tone full of warning.

Casey didn't know what the hell he was on about, but he'd obviously been living in his Role Play world for too long.

"And, with that, she says good night folks." She said, giving him a look of mock surprise.

"Just, wait!" He called.

Perry laughed.

Casey stuck her nose out the door, smiling at him. "For what? For you to murder me in my sleep? No thank you. Good night, Declan."

His hand held the door open. "Just..." he looked at her, beseeching, and she felt herself go weak again. "Tell me who you are."

"The pissed off girl you decided to follow home." She said, huffing. She saw humour in his eyes, but his face look concerned, like he'd seen her somewhere and couldn't place her.

"You name, then. What's your name?"

It seemed so important to him that he know her name, though Casey had no idea why it would be. She would have remembered seeing him before, she knew it. You don't just forget a face like that. His face looked so troubled, that Casey sighed, deciding telling some random your name when he already knew where you lived was probably not the worst thing in the world.

"If I tell you my name, will you leave me alone?"

"Is that what you want?"

There was a hint of suggestion to his tone that made Casey want to tell him that no actually, all she wanted was for him to come inside and ravage her. Instead, though, she fidgeted and opened the door a little.

"Why is this so important to you?"

"I can't want to know the name of a beautiful young woman?"

"What is this? An episode of 'Whose Line'?" she muttered, wondering if they were stuck in the game where you can only speak in questions. Though, it didn't overshadow the realisation he'd called her beautiful, nor the way her heart skipped because of it.

"What?"

"Nothing. If you tell me why it's so important and agree to go away, I'll tell you my name." She said.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, flashing his blues at her. Finally, he nodded. "All right, deal." He held out his hand, she looked at it for a moment, unsure why he wanted her to shake his hand. "In exchange for your name, I will tell you why I want to know and then go away." He said.

Perry nudged her as though encouraging her to shake his hand. She extended hers slowly. He wrapped his long fingers around her hand, her skin tingling where he touched her. She felt her lower stomach clenching as she imagined the feel of those fingers on her. She shook his hand quickly, before stepping back, hoping he hadn't noticed her response.

"Well?" She asked, when he said nothing.

"I want to know your name because you seem familiar somehow." He said slowly, as though choosing his words carefully.

"We've never met before."

To that, he just shrugged. "Nevertheless. Now, your name?"

"You want me to tell you my name after you use a cheesy pick-up line?" she laughed. "Why don't you go back to your Role Playing game?" she waved her hand, indicating his outfit and made to move inside.

But, he pushed the door open and leaned into her. God, she could reach up and kiss him. His eyes were full of fire. This close she noticed his jaw was ridiculously smooth – the guy must have a seriously expensive razor. The smell of rain almost overwhelmed her and, before she knew what she was doing, she'd put her hands on his chest as though hanging onto him.

"If you feel so strongly about telling me your name, perhaps we can change the terms of our agreement?" he said softly. Casey felt Perry at their feet. "Not now, cait sith." Declan said without taking his eyes from hers, the intensity making her want to crush their bodies together.

Casey felt herself tremble involuntarily with the effort of stopping her body from exploring his. She swallowed and licked her lips as she drank in every detail of his beautiful face. He might be a crazy stalker guy who was way too interested in Role Play, but this was a face she wanted to remember.

"What did you have in mind?"

"One kiss. I will go in exchange for one kiss." He leant his arm on the door frame behind her.

"Why would I kiss a crazed stranger?" she asked, trying to hide the desire she was sure showed in her eyes.

He smiled lazily and raised one eyebrow. "I don't know. However, I do know you want to kiss me as much as I want to kiss you." He leant closer, his lips barely a breath away, but he didn't touch her.

Casey blinked slowly. The look on his face and those words made her melt and warm between the legs. So, she knew he was a fruitcake? That didn't make him any less sexy, didn't change the fact that she never had to see him again after one kiss. What's the harm in one kiss?

"If I kiss you, you'll leave?" she asked, breathlessly, her chest rising and falling rapidly.

"I will."

She caught her lower lip in her teeth, and nodded. "All right. One kiss."

"Deal."

His eyes flashed and his mouth curved in a pantie-wetting grin. She felt like she'd just made a terrible mistake by agreeing, but a terrible mistake she wanted to go through with anyway. She had a momentary feeling that she was watching an accident about to happen in slow motion but could nothing to stop it.

You never have to see him again. She told herself.

His arm went around her waist and she was pulled up against his hard body. She let out a small gasp and his smile was infectious. As his lips touched hers she felt as though a jolt of electricity had surged through her, setting her body to tingling in the most delightful way. Her arms wound around his neck and she felt his hand gripping her hair, not letting her go.

His mouth explored hers as though he wanted to taste every part of her, and she gave back as good as she got. She felt her leg wrap around him. A part of her brain was horrified at the action, but it was as though the normal, sensible part of her had been caged by a some sensual beast. His hand left her hair and slid down her body. He traced slowly past her breast, making her arch against him. She could have sworn he chuckled against her as his hand slid further, around her bottom. He held her firmly, pulling their hips closer together.

She felt a pressure against her, but, with all the weapons and things hanging from him, she couldn't be sure it was his manhood. A moment later, she realised it most certainly was as she felt it pulse against her. She felt a wild thrill rush through her, knowing he was so hard for her. She throbbed between her legs, wanting to feel him inside her. She was about to pull him inside when Perry yowled again, as though he knew her plans.

She pulled away from him and found they were both breathing hard. She wanted to look away from his blazing eyes and the look of wonder that she saw in them, but she was mesmerised, aching for his touch. But, no. Just one kiss.

"Good night." Declan bowed with a knowing smirk and, in a blink, he was gone.

Casey looked for Perry, but couldn't see him anyway. She was left standing at her door, her fingers to her lips, telling herself she might just want to see him again after all.