"Threos, Look out!" Anabelle said, alarmed. She reached her arms out as though to catch the satyr that was stumbling across the floor, having tripped on one of Amara's many toys strewn across the floor. He did, however; manage to steady himself instead of falling over, causing Anabelle to sigh in relief. "That's what you get for reading while you walk," she told him off.
"Y-yeah, my bad!" Threos laughed, regaining his balance and picking up the book he'd dropped. "I was just really engrossed in this book."
"Is it really that interesting?" Anabelle asked, "What book are you reading?"
A smirk crossed his features, and he closed the book momentarily. "You really want to know?" he asked, before continuing with his explanation. "It's a
really
interesting book I picked up in the market today. It's full of all sorts of great things."
"Oh yeah?" she raised an eyebrow questioningly.
"
Oh
yeah," he responded, grinning. "It's a book about spells involved in making the 'intimate experience' more exciting."
"The 'intimate experience', huh?" she chuckled. "So you bought a book about sex spells?"
He thought for a moment, before nodding. "Yeah, pretty much." he moved over to the couch, and waited for her to scoot aside before sitting next to her, opening the book again. "I was pretty excited to learn something useful, but the spells in here are all pretty high-level. I don't think I'd be able to cast them." his voice was laced with a hint of disappointment.
"Really?" Anabelle leaned over to have a look herself, cuddling up closer to him in the process. "Like what?"
"All kinds of things," he smiled, leaning the book to one side so that she could see better. "Like this one spell that heightens the sensations you feel- or this one that lets you feel the other's touch, even from a great distance!" he was clearly more than a little excited by the idea. "There are so many great applications for so many spells."
"What's got you so caught up on the idea?" she asked, looking up at him from her new spot on his shoulder.
"Well," he said, thinking. "It's important to spice up your love life every once in awhile," he explained. "I wouldn't want you getting bored of me, after all."
Anabelle almost scoffed at this. "Me? Get bored of you?" she asked it like a rhetorical question. "Every time we make love you bring something new to the table. I don't think it's a matter of me getting tired of the same old- it's more a worry about me keeping up with you!"
"Well, you don't dislike it, do you?" he asked with a creased brow.
"No, not at all. Sometimes I just..." she trailed off, not really sure she'd meant to start that last comment out loud.
"Belle?" Threos called her name, a little concerned.
"Oh, it's nothing," she shook her head, looking right ahead at the book lolling lazily in his hands.
Threos pulled her a little closer to him, putting the book down beside them and wrapping both of his arms around her. "You know you can tell me, right?" he tried to reassure her.
"Yeah, you're right..." Anabelle sighed, giving in to a slight smile. "Sometimes I worry that I'm not really good enough for you physically," she admitted. "I know you're not really proud of your past but it's true that you have more experience than me. A
lot
more experience," they didn't usually discuss the intricates, but Threos was still very open about his vicarious past growing up in the forest, where an overly-active libido and sexuality in general had been highly celebrated and even encouraged. He wanted to be sure Anabelle didn't feel like he was hiding anything from her. "And honestly," she continued her little confession in a quiet voice. "It shows. You're
really
good at what you do. And I really appreciate that... but I still worry, you know? I don't want to be a disappointment..."
Threos didn't make a sound the whole time she'd been explaining herself. At first he wasn't really sure exactly what he was supposed to say. When she finished, he smiled and readjusted himself on the couch so he was able to bring her closer to him, her head now leaning back on his chest. "You don't have a thing to worry about," he tilted his head down so he could see her better. "In all my years, even the more
questionable
ones; I've never met a woman as beautiful and desirable as you, and I've encountered all sorts- even dryads!" he smirked down at her as she craned her neck to look back up at him. "But nobody is able to do to me what you do."
Anabelle looked aside, blushing at his comments. They could be open with each other sexually, but it was stuff like this that made her face grow hot with embarrassment. Whenever he complimented her or simply told her she was beautiful she could barely stand it. That wasn't to say, of course; that she didn't
like
it.
Seeing her reaction to his words, Threos stifled a chuckle. "And you're so cute and innocent!" he added; a grin plastered across his face.
"I am not!" she protested, looking up at him indignantly; but still with a deep red across her cheeks. "If I was innocent before, I'm sure not now."
"What? You're saying I'm a bad example on you?" Threos asked, feigning offence.
She chucked. "Maybe not a
bad
example, but you're certainly something. You've talked me into doing all sorts of things I never thought I would in my wildest dreams... or fantasies, for that matter," she added at the end, thinking.
"I still say you're pretty innocent," he said smugly, and as if to prove his point he leant down and whispered something in her ear. Something that made her face light up even more than it already had.
"You want me to do w-what?"
She asked in absolute shock.
Threos simply laughed at her reaction. "See?" he said. "Innocent."
Anabelle wasn't sure she appreciated his teasing very much. He would often joke to her about her lack of knowledge in such fields, telling her not to worry; and to leave it all to him. She didn't know if it was a complex he had or something of the sort, but she knew that occasionally he'd do it too much and it would begin to get on her nerves. It wasn't that she would get mad at him for it; but for the most part she knew he was right. Once; just
once,
she wanted to be the one to have the upper hand on him. To know something he didn't. To genuinely surprise him. She had no idea what it was she was supposed to do to achieve that, though. When every day she felt like she was learning new things from him. At this point she wasn't convinced there was a technique he didn't know or hadn't tried. He really
did
live up to the name of all the satyrs that were written about in those erotic romance novels. The only major difference being that he cared more about her well being, and would never do anything that he thought she'd be uncomfortable with. At first it had almost been a little overbearing, and she wished he'd stop asking if she was okay every five minutes; but now that they'd been together for longer and they'd gotten to know each other physically, it was less of an issue.
Their moment of peace and relaxation on the couch was interrupted suddenly, when they heard a bump from upstairs, followed by a few sobs that clearly preceded a greater oncoming wave of tears. "Uh oh," Anabelle said with a concerned look on her face. "Sounds like Amara was trying to climb out of her cot again."
"You stay here," Threos directed, stopping her before she got up. "I'll go and handle it, okay?" he smiled, placing a kiss on her forehead before leaving the couch and heading upstairs.
Anabelle smiled watching after him. She truly did feel blessed to have such a man in her life, even if she felt like he poked fun at her a little too often for her so-called 'innocence'. She listened carefully to the sounds of Threos walking along the floor upstairs and gently comforting Amara, their daughter's wails quieting down before too long. Anabelle thought about her whole predicament, and how she was ever going to be able to get him back for all the times he got the jump on her.
She shifted on the couch, changing her position. Her hip bumped the book that he'd rested on the edge of the cushion and she picked it up, opening it curiously. She was a much more proficient divine caster than Threos was, after all. Maybe there was something in here that she could use against him as a surprise... or revenge.
Threos knocked on the door, looking side to side uneasily to check if someone was watching. "Barrich, are you in there?"
"Threos? That you?" a small voice called from the other side of the door. "Yeah, come on in."
Threos turned the handle and pushed open the door, checking one last time to see if anyone else was watching him go in. he stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. "Barrich," he addressed the halfling who was sitting at the desk on the other side of the room. "I need your advice," Threos looked clearly distressed, as though something was bothering him quite a lot.
Barrich almost scoffed at him. "Y' need
my
help with something?" he asked incredulously. "Well then," he turned around on his chair, adjusting the collar of his shirt to look more professional. "What can I help you with?" He asked, putting on a proper voice.
Threos gave him a stern look, worry still evident in his eyes. "This is serious Barrich, I think I might have done something to upset Anabelle."
"Oh?" Barrich raised an eyebrow. "And what gives you that idea?" he asked.
Threos shifted a little uncomfortably. "Well, I don't know for sure, really.... but she said something to me this morning that I don't understand, and I thought maybe you'd know what she meant." he looked directly back at the little halfling who was scratching his chin in thought. "Like, maybe it was a culture difference or... something."
"Well?" Barrich asked, egging him on. "What'd she say?"
"She said..." Threos stopped, clearly trying to recall what it was exactly. "...that she was going to get me all 'hot and bothered', and 'hard,' and that she couldn't wait to do all sorts of things to me."
If Barrich had been drinking something at that moment; it surely would have been all over the floor by now, and possibly on Threos himself. Barrich could barely imagine
sweet
and
