Palace Grounds - Queen's Garden

When she talked about her brother he would shake his head, anger flashing in his eyes, "No, Ranait. He is your brother, he should protect you not torment you," he would say, his words not harboring any of the anger he felt towards the man, but it was definitely stern. That was that, and he wouldn't hear anymore about how her brother was supposed to be cruel to her. Honestly he couldn't believe that anybody had allowed it to go on; if he ever witnessed the man being cruel to his sister, or any other woman for that matter, he would beat him senseless. He would forget about his frustrations towards the brother when the conversation turned to other topics, though.

When she bit her bottom lip before turning her head and bowing it he would feel like growling, the temptation to kiss her almost too much to take. Upon hearing her speak he would groan, retracting his hands in order to rub them roughly over his face before suddenly lurching up, sliding his hand around to cradle her head while his other cupped her cheek, "You, m'lady, are just too hard to resist," he would rumble before leaning in and pressing a very gentle but brief kiss to her lips, "Not fair," he would murmur again when the kiss ended, his eyes closing tightly for a moment before he was pressing his lips to her's once again. He felt as if he'd adequately warned her, so he wouldn't feel bad about kissing her now. Not even in the slightest.

He couldn't believe how amazing it felt to kiss this woman. He'd only known about her for a few days, though he'd only actually known her for a handful of hours. It was amazing how such little time could give way to something so spectacular. His surprise wasn't just the fact that she had been completely innocent before today, but because every fiber of his being seemed to buzz to life when he kissed her. When the kiss finally ended he would rest his forehead against Ranait's, keeping his eyes closed for several moments. He was breathing a bit heavily, trying to catch the breath that she had taken away though he wouldn't move away from her. He had a feeling that if he moved away he would end up right where he currently was again.

After he was able to catch his breath he would open his eyes, smiling at the woman, "Do you hate me yet?" he would ask jokingly, though he couldn't help but wonder if she might. He had just suddenly waltzed in on her life and not only stole her future, but her first kiss as well. He knew that it was the way things were supposed to go; women weren't supposed to even kiss a man before she got engaged or married to the man she'd been betrothed to but he also knew that nobody followed that rule. Before he would finally move he would press another brief kiss to the woman's lips, moving to sit beside her afterwards. He would pull her up against his side as he sat there, one arm draped over her shoulders while the other gently grabbed her hand again.

Upon hearing the woman's question he would nod, refraining from letting out a laugh. It seemed like she had taken his question more seriously than it was meant, though he wouldn't correct her; he wanted to hear what her answer might be. When she said that there weren't many woman who could hate him after a kiss like that he would laugh, "I'll have to keep that it mind. Especially if I'm going to get the Queen to approve our marriage," he would laugh, obviously joking. It did do his pride some good to hear her say that, though; he'd been afraid that Ranait wouldn't like to kiss him. It also made him a little less insecure about the marriage, figuring that she wasn't unhappy about it.

When she rested her head on his shoulder and cuddled into him he would smile, letting his arm drop from her shoulders to wrap around her back in a more intimate gesture. He would let his hand rest on her side as he shifted slightly to lay his head against the top of her's, careful to avoid the spot that she had hit. He wasn't in the right position to catch the frown on her face, though when she sighed he would notice, "My philosopher once told me that repressing one's thoughts, or emotions, was bad for the soul," he would murmur, gently squeezing the hand that he was holding. "What's on your mind?" he asked, wanting her to be comfortable enough to share her thoughts with him, no matter what they were. He wanted to know what she was feeling, realizing that if he didn't that their relationship just wouldn't work like he wanted it to and right now he was absolutely oblivious as to what might be running through her mind.

When she looked up and smiled at him he could actually feel his heart melting. It both scared him and filled him with wonder; the only other person that could make his heart melt was his daughter and that was a completely different kind of melting. Which also brought up another worry; how would the woman feel when she found out that he had a child from his previous marriage? He knew many woman that would go ape shit over it, but he also knew of some that would be accepting of it. He wasn't sure how Ranait would react but he had a feeling that while she wouldn't be angry, she wouldn't necessarily be happy about it.

He would rein in his thoughts when she finally spoke, saying that she was confused before going on to explain. A grin would split his lips and he would gently squeeze her hand again, "No, it's a good kiss kind of thing," he would assure her, though he honestly wouldn't really know; he'd never kissed a woman that had made him feel like that before Ranait,"Believe me, I did NOT feel that way with my first kiss," he would laugh softly. When she sighed and ducked her head he would shake his own, though he was glad that she was being honest despite feeling so embarrassed, "That's because there are no words that could accurately describe the way one feels during a perfect kiss," he would admit, tugging her just a bit closer with the arm around her back. When she said that she felt as if she was going to float away at any second he would laugh softly, "Really? How strange. I felt the same way," he would say, his tone light and happy.

When she went on to say that had wanted to continue kissing him despite the fact that she needed to breathe, and that the kiss had made her want more but she didn't know what he would nod. He knew what she was talking about, he just didn't know how to appropriately describe what he felt she had been craving. After a few moments he would attempt to explain, "I think that... you wanted more intimacy," he would murmur, "Which is completely normal. I know because I wanted more as well but...I'm not about to take advantage of you," he would murmur, shifting to gently kiss her forehead. He had this distinct feeling that he was falling. Where, he couldn't quite say but the sensation was there nonetheless.

After a short pause of silence he would speak again, "Don't be afraid to share your thoughts with me. I will try my hardest to never belittle you for them," he would promise her, letting go of her hand in order to reach up and gently stroke her face, "You won't ever be punished for it either. I want you to feel comfortable with me," he would admit, his voice rather gruff as he attempted to keep from sounding like he was begging her.

Alpin couldn’t help but laugh when she says that she got lucky that her first kiss was from him, “Well, hopefully I’ll be the first and last person that you kiss,” he would say, half-joking. He meant it to be funny, though as of right now he knew that it would kill him to see her kissing anybody else. When she frowned upon hearing him say that what she’d wanted was more intimacy he would frown as well, the frown deepening when she tilted her head, “What is it?” he would ask softly, reaching out to gently tip her chin up so that she was looking at him again. He wondered if he had completely missed the mark on that one, and felt kind of embarrassed. He’d just admitted to wanting the woman, and if he had been wrong about her wanting the same then he would feel like the biggest idiot.

When she thanked him he would smile, shifting to gently kiss her cheek, “There is no need to thank me, Ranait,” he would murmur softly, “It isn’t something that you should have to thank me for,” he would continue, leaning his forehead against her temple. He really wished that she didn’t have all of these negative expectations about being married, though he would do his best to alleviate her of them. He couldn’t imagine the things that she’d heard the ladies at court talking about but he was pretty sure that she had heard all of the horror stories, instead of the love stories. “I can promise you now that I will never strike you,” he would whisper, “And I will try not to control you,” he added, his forehead still pressed against her temple and his lips moving just inches away from her ear.