forum “I can’t love you...” Reposting this here (O/O|Romance|Closed|)

Started August 10, 2019 by @Toxic_Persephone group

tune

Arabella relaxed into his touch after a few moments, resting her head in the crook of his neck. “I like your name too.”

He chuckled softly, kissing her cheek. "Well, good." He replied, still skimming his fingers up and down her back, fingers feather light still.

She shuddered, a soft gasp leaving her lips. The breath was hot against his neck, her nose barely touching the skin there. Her fingers found his shirt and gently latched onto it.

He shifted slightly at the feeling of her breath on his neck, and kept running his fingers up and down her back lightly.

She smiled and began to relax slowly. “I’m glad to have met you Asher…” she murmured softly, closing her eyes and yawning sleepily. “I’m glad you’re my husband.”

He smiled. "And I'm glad you're my wife." He replied, kissing her cheek softly. He kept rubbing her back, resting his head on hers and humming softly.

Arabella smiled softly, her entire body prickling and growing sensitive to his touch. She craved more, and only slightly resented herself for it.

This was a huge step forwards.

Asher kept holding her gently, still rubbing her back in soft, smooth lines. He kept humming quietly, closing his eyes.

(Ooh if she falls asleep on him i could totally add drama + a bump in their relationship if you want me to!)

Her body began to relax more and more against him. Her breath grew deep and relaxed. Before she knew it, Arabella was drifting off, breathing in his scent.

(Yeeessss I was planning on having her sleep on him. That sounds perfect!!)

After she had been asleep for a bit, Asher gently picked her up and set her on a small couch off to the side, smoothing her hair out of her face after putting her down.

(Alright!! Ima have one of the women from the office be a little too flirty lol, maybe add some other stuff we'll see)

Arabella looked peaceful as she slept, her arms wrapping around herself when he left her to complete his work.

(Yeee go for it!)

He was working on answering emails again when there was a quick knock at the door. "Come in." He called without looking up.
A woman stepped inside, closing the door. She was different from Arabella in almost every way she could be. Tall. Blonde. Makeup to die for. Curvy. And rocking that business attire, too. "Hello. I do hope I'm not interrupting?"
Asher looked up. "Oh, no, its fine, miss Corrin." He replied. "What do you need?"

(Angry noises towards Miss Corrin XD)

Xio stirred slightly at the voice, but was still a little too far gone to be woken from it. She turned slightly, yawning and stretching.

(angry noises back from miss Corrin lol)

The woman glanced at Arabella, sitting on the edge of Asher's desk. "Well, I was wondering about a promotion?" She said, tilting her head slightly and folding her hands in her lap. "I was told to come see you?"
Asher sighed, rubbing his forehead. "I'm…really not in charge of that, miss Corrin." He replied slowly, keeping his eyes on hers, and not letting himself be distracted by…well. Anything.

(Ahaha. I’m like slightly defensive of my character from Corrin but at the same time I’m like, not. I’m over here like: YEAH SHES PLAIN BUT SHE HAS A GOOD HEART but at the same time I’m also like: YeeeeeeeeeEEEESSS CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT. SUFFER ARABELLA SUFFER!)

Arabella stood no chance against a woman of such strong curves and style. She was plain and rather boring. To put it lightly, Arabella had no sex appeal. She was pretty, yes, but not hot or sexy. And she was often very self-conscious about that fact. In her mind, if she hadn’t been married off, she would have never found a husband or a man to love her.

(loollll i do the same thing to my characters. I literally told someone in an RP "you can stab my character or whatever, just don't kill them" so my character ended up getting stabbed like six times and i was laughing manically going: iT'S FOR CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT MWAHAHAHAHA YESSS LET HIM SUFFER! _{it was for character development i swear lol})

"Please, it's Laesa, dear." The blonde replied, swinging her feet a little bit. "And are you sure that there's…nothing, you can do?" She stood, walking over to Asher and trailing her fingers over his tie. "Absolutely nothing?"
Asher took a deep breath and looked up at her, consciously ignoring the fact that her chest was, well…a little too close to his face. "No. There isn't anything i can do." He replied slowly.
Laesa pouted, her lips red and full. Her finger trailed to the buttons of his jacket, slowly undoing them one by one. "There isn't anything that comes to mind?" She murmured in his ear.

(Duuuuuuude saaame. Like beat my character up fam give them emotional scars it’s for development XD)

Arabella became suddenly aware of another presence in the room. She stirred, hearing two voices instead of just the one she was used to. Her expression furrowed in confusion. She was still too disoriented to understand what was going on. Her eyes blinked open slightly, taking in the blonde hair and red lips.

(yessss XD and i feel like people are too careful in RPs? Like they want to avoid power playing so they avoid anything that could hurt the other person's character and its like "naw man, beat them to hell and back, i dont care!" Like the only thing i dont want my RP partner doing is legit killing my character, otherwise i dont care what they do)

Asher took a deep breath. "No, miss Corrin, there-!" He broke off in surprise as her lips met his, her hand slipping between his jacket and shirt, sliding over his abdomen and over his chest. He made a soft sound as she pulled his coat off over his shoulders, then started unbuttoning his shirt slowly.
Laesa's lips never broke contact with his, giving him no chance to speak as her hands slipped through the now half open shirt, running over his bare skin. She knew that she only had to turn him on enough until the Fae, more animal like, instinctive part of his mind took over. Because while the rest of him resisted, that part, the Fae part, didn't know the word no. She knew that about the Fae. She knew he would take her right there on the desk if only she could touch the right spots, get him excited.

Arabella’s brain and body processed what was going on far sooner than her actual mind did. She hopped to her feet, anger flooding through her body. The first thing the small female did was yank the woman off of Asher by her hair, a scowl and a disgusted look upon her face. Arabella growled lowly under her breath, sleepy eyes now wide awake and murderous.

“I hate slutty women like you. Going after a married man… do you have any idea what it feels like to see your husband kissing another woman? No I know you don’t. You don’t care for love or a happy ending. Get out.” She released Laesa, holding back the tears that wanted so desperately to fall.

Laesa rolled her eyes. "It was just business, dear. You think I'm the first woman that's done that?" She smirked, and left the room.

Asher blinked, frantically trying to control the impulses already rising up in his mind. His hair was messy, and he buttoned his shirt back up, avoiding Arabella's eyes. "I'm sorry." He said quietly, finishing buttoning the shirt. There was red lipstick smeared on his mouth. "I…wasn't aware she would do that."

Those words hurt her more than she would have liked. ’The only woman…’ Arabella went back to the small couch, curling up and avoiding him completely. She didn’t answer, only have a soft noise to let him know that she acknowledged his words.

She brought her knees to her chest and buried her face between them. That woman was right… other women had probably done so. She didn’t like that thought. Not at all. He’s not even yours… But you want him to be…

She couldn’t keep him to herself no matter how hard she tried. She was plain, boring, uninteresting. There was nothing that made her even remotely appealing to a male or anyone in that matter. She was not even a trophy wife. She was a housewife.

Asher watched her, closing his eyes for a moment. Damn it. He thought. That damn woman! He thought of Laesa, shaking his head slightly. I have to fix this. He wiped the lipstick off his face, and put his jacket back on, and walked slowly to the couch. "I'm really sorry, Arabella." He said softly, lightly putting a hand on her shoulder. "Do you want me to drive home?"

Arabella was tempted to shrug his hand off of her. She didn’t bring her head up to look at him, too afraid she might start crying if she saw his face. Her eyes already burned from the sensation and she was starting to get a headache from holding the tears back.

“I-I don’t want to go home yet…” she admitted, her voice muffled by her knees. She fell silent for a long time.

“I’m sorry I’m plain and boring, Asher. If I could be more for you I would… I can’t offer anything to you. I’m just a housewife. I belong back home, cleaning and cooking.”

He sat down beside her. "No, Arabella…you aren't plain, and you certainly aren't boring." He replied softly. "Besides, i have servants to do the cooking and cleaning." He shrugged slightly. "You say you don't have anything to offer, but you know what you have offered? Understanding. Patience. Kindness. Far more…love than i had expected from an arranged marriage. Someone i can see at the very least as a good friend, and… hopefully someone that, in the future, i will love. That's who I see."

She leaned against him, but shook her head. “I want you to be happy…” she murmured. “But I know I can’t do that in many ways.” She lowered her legs, but kept her head down. “You're far too kind to me Asher. You haven’t done anything to make me uncomfortable, you haven’t forced yourself in me, you’ve kept me safe, given me a room to paint in… and all I’ve given you is doubt and worry and have just been needy.”

He shook his head. "What do you think you can't do that would make me happy?" He replied softly. He gently brushed her hair out of her face. "All I've done is do what any good husband would do, asking for nothing in return."

(Hey, I'm going to head to bed now. I'll reply tomorrow sometime. Good night!)

She looked up at him with watery eyes and collapsed into his chest. “I’ve given nothing. You’ve had nothing from me. No loving kisses or nights of pleasure to ease your need for it… no warm meals or freshly pressed clothes…”

(Ok! Good night! Sleep well!)

Asher sighed softly, putting his arms around her gently. "Arabella, i don't need nights of pleasure, as you put it. Yes, it is in my Fae blood to, er, respond to any hint of it, but I don't need it." He shook his head slightly. "As for loving kisses, you've given me plenty of kisses. Warm meals aren't a requirement, nor are freshly pressed clothes. If you think that those are what i need to be happy, you dont think very much of me."

She nuzzled into his neck, breathing in his heavy scent once more and relaxing. “I’ve been taught that’s what all men need. What a husband needs… I don’t mean to offend you in any way, Asher.” She mumbled, pressing a kiss to the skin where her lips met his neck. “I’m so confused why everything is so different and so strange…”