18. Eleanor

18

ELEANOR

“ S o,” Eleanor began, setting all the playing cards face-down in front of the fire, “the objective of the game is simple. We will each take turns flipping over two cards, trying to reveal a pair. If you find a pair, you may go again and,” she paused, looking across at Osiris who sat cross legged in front of her, “you may make a request, or wish, of the other person. If you do not flip a pair, you lose your turn and you must answer a truth that is asked of you.”

“What if I do not want to do the wish?” Osiris asked, looking over the cards.

“You get one chance to back out of a wish. Nothing is off limits, so ask away. If you still do not want to go, then you must forfeit three turns.”

“Hm,” Osiris hummed, turning his attention to Eleanor as his shadows seemed to hover over the cards.

“And no shadows, that counts as cheating.”

“I would never dream of cheating you, Eleanor.”

Placing the last card on the ground, she gestured towards Osiris. “You go first since I dealt.”

Reaching forward, Osiris flipped two cards, a three and a queen. Sighing he sat back, looking at Eleanor.

What did she want to ask? Osiris would answer most of anything without the game, so it had to be something he wouldn’t want to answer…

Lifting her eyes to meet his gaze through her lashes, her lips quirked up slightly. “When you touched me earlier, did you want to stop?”

Osiris’ back stiffened as his shadows flicked beside him. The cracks and pops of the fire filled the otherwise silent room.

“Will you use your pass on round one?” she teased.

“No,” he finally whispered.

“Okay so then answer-”

“That is my answer. No, Eleanor , I did not wish to stop touching you. At all.”

Heat rushed to Eleanor’s face as a wetness began to pool between her legs.

No— no , absolutely not, not just from his voice. She refused to allow herself to become needy or excited just from the sound of his voice.

Without answering, Eleanor reached forward, flipping his previous two and a five.

Shit .

Slowly, her eyes roamed up his body until they met his, where, she could have sworn she saw something like amusement spark to life.

“Did you want me to stop touching you, Eleanor?”

“Ha,” she laughed softly, wetting her lips with her tongue. “Alright. I guess I should have seen that one coming. No, Horseman, my mind was not occupied by such thoughts.”

Osiris leaned over and flipped an eight and a queen, this time a different queen than before.

“Have you ever been with someone?”

Osiris shook his head. “Not that I can remember.”

Eleanor reached over and flipped both queens that Osiris had been working on, smirking at Osiris who only sighed.

“That doesn’t seem very fair, Eleanor.”

Shrugging her shoulders, she leaned back. “It’s not. Now for my wish. Take off your shirt.”

“You wish me to undress?”

“Only your shirt. For now,” she teased, letting her eyes shamelessly roam down his sculpted form.

Osiris lifted his hands, popping off each button of his shirt one by one, slowly revealing the contours of his chest before dropping his shirt completely, letting it fall to the floor in a pile.

Letting her eyes roam further, she thought his entire torso looked as if it were carved out of marble, chipped away by delicate hands. A thin line of hair trailed down his center, disappearing below his belt buckle.

Osiris let out a huff that almost sounded like a chuckle. Eleanor couldn’t bite back the twitch in her lips as she tore her eyes away from Osiris’ waist, tilting her head back to meet his hungry gaze.

Even as he reached for the cards, Eleanor couldn’t stop sneaking glances at his unclothed body. A dangerous, wild, impulse seemed to course through her body as he leaned closer to her. Eleanor closed her eyes slightly but when no deviant hands were upon her, she opened her eyes to see…

Cards? Osiris smiled as he held up two ace’s. A perfect pair.

Eleanor scoffed. “Fine then, being , what do you want?”

Osiris’ shadows crept up from behind her, caressing the underside of her chin, pushing her head up to hold eye contact with him, causing a shudder to ripple up her back. His heavy scent invaded her senses as his shadows began to envelop her, filling her mind with only him.

Eleanor’s chest began to heave with heavy breaths as he crawled over to her, placing his hands on either side of her.

She should have felt the urge to run, to escape, to fight back. Instead, she felt herself melting beneath him, reveling in their closeness.

“I wish to see you blush again, Eleanor .”

Oh. Oh . The fire from his head seemed to flick over her skin, kissing her with a heat that had her closing her legs together tighter, chasing any sort of friction she could get.

“Yes,” he whispered, lifting a hand to her, “just like that, Symphony”. As his hand grew closer and closer, her throat felt dry when she swallowed, leaning into his touch. A deep rumble came from Osiris as his fingers traced over her cheeks, running over the bridge of her nose, caressing the cupids bow of her lip. His thumb brushed over her bottom lip until he reached her chin.

His eyes flicked to hers, daring her to give her consent, her approval, to admit that this was not just an exploration of something new or different.

Eleanor bowed her head slowly, nodding her answer. His fingers gently drew a line under her chin and down her throat as her chest rose and fell with each catch of her breath.

Osiris had grown closer as she arched her throat, the thick coils of his muscled form flexing as he watched his fingers dip deeper down her neck as her head tilted back.

This was dangerous.

If he wanted to, he could end her.

And yet…

And yet she wanted to keep going.

No, more that that—she welcomed his touch. She yearned for it.

What am I doing?

Just as his fingers reached her collar bones, he disappeared, leaving her lost in her own haze of pleasure.

As she lifted her head to search for him, he was sitting back in his original spot. The cards having been pushed around, some of them bent, still rested between them.

Osiris cleared his throat as he gestured to the cards. “Your turn.”

Eleanor’s face heated as her mouth hung open slightly. Of course he was not going further. He was only curious. He did not want her.

This is not what they were.

Eleanor released a breath as she leaned forward, flipping over two sevens.

“What do you desire, Eleanor?” Osiris asked, his voice raking over each letter in her name.

Somehow, the mood felt different, as if he had drawn some barrier between them.

“Okay Horseman, the door. I want it open. I require fresh air and sunlight every day. So, as part of the rules, you must obey.”

Osiris chuckled. “Then, if you wish for it, I shall make it happen.”