Cause If It's Aching...

Hel allowed those words to roll over in her mind a couple of times before she tried to block them out entirely, having bucked it down the street after leaving him alone in his hotel room no more than twenty minutes ago. Having been wandering aimlessly around the streets with absolutely no clear sign of direction, she gave an almighty huff and succumbed to her situation. He had been right, of course and that was more or less where her frustration was currently residing. The woman had met the candyfloss-haired star at a club downtown; not her usual scene for winding down after a stressful couple of months, especially in a foreign location. Los Angeles was unknown to her and a wrong turn could, she understood, lead to absolutely anywhere and the thought was terrifying, yet she pressed onward until she gave in.

As the sky overhead darkened a considerable amount and rumbled with the threat of an approaching storm, the brunette yelped and hopped to her feet once more, having sought a moments rest on a nearby bench. People were now bustling by as quickly as she had been not too long ago and defeated, her shoulders slumped as the heavens opened and she fell victim to a downpour akin to that of something out of a disaster film. Now, she was royally pissed and screeching all the way back to the hotel she had left in quite a hurry earlier, she hurriedly navigated the stairs and climbed them in leaps and bounds. If she could somehow make this painless and have it not take forever and a day, they could hopefully reach some sort of understanding whereby he might be kind enough to let her stay, until she found enough cash to get her home.

Using the room key she still had tucked neatly in her jacket pocket, that was now dripping with rain water on account of the storm that now seemed to be in full bloom outside, she entered and immediately shred herself of the damp material. Her flats were kicked off next, along with her top and cargo pants that definitely needed to dry through on a heater for a while. It didn't phase her much that she was now standing in the living area wearing only her undergarments, as he had seen it all the night before and was, from what she could tell, still in the bedroom. Clicking her tongue in distaste at his poor manners and his inability to put up a good fight in order to at least try and get her to hang around, she stomped through the hallway and burst into the room at the very end. Ringlets of hair dripped down her chest in time with every beat of her heart.

 ' You didn't even have the decency to get your arse out of that bed to try and fight for me, huh? ' she scolded, eyes fixed on his form as he sat there, sitting upright and leaning back against the headboard, texting away on his phone. ' You know, I actually considered the possibility that you weren't a complete arsehole, as most fame and fortune folk tend to be, but you go above and beyond all that, don't you? So content in your own little world that you didn't need to be chasing after some girl who almost slept with you last night; so proud that you almost got laid, had I not passed out, that you didn't care enough to follow her out of the hotel and chase her down the street like any other decent human being might do. '

Somewhere through her ramble, she failed to notice that he was no longer focusing on the gadget in his hands and had instead, focused his eyes on her and her every move. Not once did his eyes leave her own to venture downward, appreciating the body he had almost claimed as his own the night before. Not once did he stop her midway through her venting to yell at her for being such a bitch about it. And it was then that she bit her tongue hard enough to silence whatever flurry of shit might have been biding its time, waiting for the opportune moment to pounce. He probably didn't deserve it, or he was simply smug enough and sure enough in the knowledge that she would have come crawling right back to him. But she couldn't know for sure and wouldn't know a damn thing until he opened his mouth and informed her.

Unfortunately, her unanswered questions were not met with words, as she watched him rise slowly from the mattress and pad on over to her, agonisingly slowly in his stride as he made sure it lasted longer than she would have liked, for him to get right up in her face. Personal space was always appreciated in her world and here, he seemed to not know the meaning of it, as he stood with his chest flush against her own, pressing her back painfully against the wall. A grunt sounded in his throat, whilst a shriek sounded in hers as he flew forward, latching his lips atop her own in a hungry kiss that, had she not been stuck tight between something solid and his unfaltering frame, her legs might have buckled enough to send her falling to the floor at his feet. And that was something she gathered he might have loved, so she was going to avoid it at all costs.

As he finally pulled away from her mouth and gave her time to breathe, he remained as close as possible before raising a hand and closing his fingers delicately around the front of her neck. The woman lost complete control of her body and its response to him as he did this and in nearing to offer whispered words into her ear, her knees did finally buckle. He noticed, a sly grin lifting his face into something she had first witnessed last night and with a gentle bite to the lobe of her ear, he told her exactly what was on his mind and why he hadn't chased her down the street like a fool.

 ' We're going to have to teach you some manners, aren't we? I didn't bother chasing you out because I knew you'd come back to me eventually, one way or another. The weather just so happens to be on my side today and honey, you know you'd have been regretting it for the rest of your life, if you didn't return. Did you think I lacked interest that much, that I don't give a shit whether you leave or not? I wouldn't have brought you back here last night if I didn't care. Maybe you should weigh that one up in that pretty little head of yours; get those cogs turning, apologise and come back to bed. It's too late at night to be wandering around the streets of LA without a protector – which would be me, but I'm too damn tired. '

 ' I'm sorry, I.. ' the brunette choked on her words as his fingers tightened just a fraction around her throat, forewarning her that she was not to say anything she might later regret and she wasn't about to, of course. It would be a foolish thing to do at this point, given that every comment that left his mouth was one of complete honesty, so the least she could do now was return the favour. Perhaps boost his ego back up a little more in the hope that he would be appeased enough to give her a break and not expect her to bow down to his every wish and command, which he seemed very into. It startled her some, how he had so easily taken it upon himself to wrap those long fingers around her neck and break her down with his words. ' I have a hard time trusting people and you, well, everyone knows more than enough about you. '

It seemed pointless explaining her fears in regard to staying with the man before her, because he had to know what people often said about him and he had to already understand why a woman might be reluctant to linger. But then there was the other side of it that most people liked to leave out; a part of him that she would like to get to know a little better, because in his actions he said one thing, but in his eyes he said something completely different. She wanted to reach out and grab that part of him that he was able to lock away so easily. But, in order to have him reveal all of his innermost traits, she would probably have to come clean about her own and the first step would be, naturally, to bow down to him and open her mouth enough to swallow whatever he had in store for her, hypothetically. It was in trying, though, that might destroy her.

' You don't trust me and yet you willingly came along on my arm last night? I don't understand your reasoning, but I'm sure we'll have plenty of time to talk about it in the morning, when I've had at least a few more winks. I can't function fully on no sleep at all and I'm pretty sure you're feeling the bulk of it now as well, after all those concoctions you downed, ' he spoke with his brows furrowed, in frustration and wonder at the woman before him, because he was having a hard time figuring her out and that, he noted, was something he often found the easiest thing in the world to do, when it came to women.

In what was pure defeat, her shoulders slumped and he released his grip on her neck, eyes shining as she inhaled sharply, though he hadn't been holding her too tightly at all. Stepping away, he dragged himself back toward the bed, though remained standing at the edge of it as if to say, she had to climb in first, so he knew she was still likely to be there when the sun came up. Huffing, she eventually bowed down to him and crossed the room, standing at the opposite side and staring at him, as he stared right back, unmoving and fully intent on playing his games right along with him.

' Are you going to just stand there and watch me all night to make sure I don't leave? ' she asked, hissing her words as she finally broke under the intensity of his gaze and shuffled under the blankets.

' No, but just to make sure you don't... ' he trailed off, reaching for his jeans that hung loosely on a chair nearby and swiftly yanking the belt from the loops, before waltzing back over to her.

Her eyes bugged at the sight and her breathing quickened, though she tried as hard as she could to keep her expression blank as he crawled over her on the mattress, tying only one of her wrists to the headboard. As though he had told her to prove it was tight enough and would not come loose, she tugged on it just enough to feel the burn on her skin and with another hiss, she tried in vain to get comfortable, without the use of one of her arms. His smug self seemed appeased with his efforts and in settling himself down on his own side, he soon decided it wasn't close enough and as if by default, pulled the brunette toward him as close as her ties would allow, until her head was rising and falling with his chest. And she found comfort in his embrace, just as she had no more than two hours ago when they had first stumbled into the hotel room.

In fact, she found that much comfort being held so protectively that she took it upon herself to tilt her head up just enough to place a tender kiss to his cheek, uttering a tiny thank you, though only she could understand what for. Something within him stirred as she did this and when her head was once again resting on his chest, a small smile formed on his lips and he found himself leaning forward, just enough to press a kiss to the top of her head and feeling her coil herself more tightly around him, to which he wrapped his arms tighter around her smaller frame in return.