Tragic

They are finished with their conversation and Ronin leads me over to the cherry tree and leans up against the smooth bark of the trunk and then puts his hands on my hips. We are not that close, there's a good eight inches between us, but I can feel his heat and his hands instantly warm the skin under my dress.

"You OK?" he asks.

"Yeah, I'm good. So what's the plan?" I nod my head over at the blanket. "Besides the picnic?"

"We're gonna get some straight couples shots right here against the tree. We gotta be quick to catch the light just right though, because Antoine likes natural light." He stops to nod at Antoine and the camera shutter begins to click as Ronin continues to talk. "And then we'll just have a little romantic picnic. Sound good?"

"OK, but what do I do? I don't get it."

"Just what you're doing right now, Gidget." He smiles at my new nickname and I blush a little. "See, that right there is what Antoine is looking for. An honest reaction to the situation. So I'll flirt with you and you react. That's pretty much it."

"I think I can handle that."

"Good," he says as his grip on my hips tightens and he pulls me into him. His hands sneak around behind me, not quite on my ass, but not quite not on my ass either. They are hovering just on the edge of inappropriate behavior.

Of course, I signed up for this so he's already got permission. I swallow and pull my upper body back as he continues to bring us closer.

"Relax, Gidge. I've got you."

I do, I relax and he pushes my pelvis against his groin. I look up quickly and he's almost laughing at me. The shutter is still clicking away as Antoine moves around us. He speaks to Ronin, but it's all in French, so I have no idea what he's saying and Ronin doesn't reply or translate for me. His attention is one hundred percent on my face, watching everything I do, searching my eyes for questions, his hands still hovering just at the edge of sexy as they caress my hips, then move down a few inches and return.

It's not so bad really.

Shit, who the hell am I kidding? Ronin Flynn's hands on my ass feel spectacular. I grin up at him and he smiles.

"Good, now let's move on to the next shot, OK?"

"What's—"

I stop mid-sentence because his mouth is nuzzling into my neck, his breath hot as it sweeps up into my ear, making me shudder and let out a little moan. "You OK?"

"Mmmmhmmmm," is all I can manage, because a chill rockets down my spine and my head involuntarily tips back and gives him permission to suck on my neck.

Holy shit.

He pulls back for a moment, just long enough to say, "Touch me, Rook," and then his mouth is back on my neck. He takes my left hand, which has a firm grasp on one of his belt loops, a safe move if ever there was one, and flattens my palm against his waist. I move the other hand in a feeble attempt to be an active participant instead of a dead fish who only reacts.

"More of that and we can put this scene to rest."

I take a deep breath and slip my hand under his t-shirt and then we both let a little gasp together as the chills travel up his body now. Antoine is talking in French again and Ronin leans down and takes my mouth.

It's a soft kiss at first, but as soon as I open up for his tongue his hands go behind my neck and it turns into something way beyond soft. He crushes my mouth with his, drawing in a breath that says he's absolutely turned on. This excites me and I kiss him back with just as much force, our tongues probing and twisting, our breath coming in gasps and long draws, like there is not enough air in the world to fuel this kiss. His hands are all over my body now, one still grasping the back of my neck to keep me close to him, the other, the one not on the side where Antoine is clicking away at the camera, slips under my skirt and travels up my thigh.

I moan and then catch Elise moving in out of the corner of my eye and Ronin withdraws his secret hand, bringing it out in full view once again.

"Take my shirt off." It's not a sweet request, it's a command. For like a fraction of a millisecond I wonder if he's allowed to command me, but I slap that cautious Rook away and do what I'm told.

"Slow?" I ask him.

"As long as you drag your fingers up my body as you do it, slow is just fine with me."

Oh f**k!

I take the thin fabric between my fingertips and slide my palms against his body as I lift and then roll it up, inch by inch. I'm driving him crazy, I can tell, mostly because he's practically biting my ear and whispering, "You're driving me f**king crazy, Gidget." I only make it up to his chest before he releases his hold on my neck and whips the shirt over his head in one sweeping motion, then bunches it up in front of him and throws it over at Elise who is still standing guard off to the side where the offending hand was wandering a few minutes ago.

Antoine barks in French again and then Ronin pulls back and leads me over to the blanket.

"Lie down," he says in that throaty command he gave earlier.

I'll debate whether or not I should be putting up with that later, but right now, I'm all in. I kneel down, smooth my dress out a little and then lie back on the cool cotton blanket. My skin is so hot and feverish from the kisses and touching that the blanket soothes me. Everything around me smells like cherry blossoms, and when I turn my head I realize that they are all over the blanket now because Elise swoops in to adjust my hair and place the flowers in strategic locations. Ronin is messing with the food and pouring the wine into glasses.