Which trials and triblulations? [rp for lapsedsaint]

[aesthetic_mojo]

The Salem tourist witch culture was cloying, laying over everything, making it impossible to avoid even when trying to enjoy the historical sites. Below that were the modern Neo-Pagans who got so much right but were afraid to take the last step. The combination made Charlotte more inclined to shield John than tease.

Right up until they discovered a little store on a back street run by someone who knew what she was doing. Like a kid in a candy store, Charlotte filled two baskets with ‘necessities’ before she realized she’d done it. Only when she put a cauldron on the counter and saw John’s face did she edit her purchases. She still spent a fortune, even after carefully removing those things that simply couldn’t be in the home of a Catholic or the frivolous things like the cauldron.

Charlotte was quiet on the trip back to Boston, carefully cataloguing everything she’d seen that day, filing it away with her memories of childhood. In much the same way she’d been physically sensitized to John in his home, she was mentally overwhelmed by the freedom to explore the things she’d given up so long ago.

When they got back to John’s house, she gathered her things, carrying them in clutched tightly against her chest.

Comments

[lapsedsaint]

John was quiet on the drive back, leaving her to her thoughts. When they got back to the house, he let her in and watched her, shaking his head a little. "You know, no one is going to steal that stuff from you. You don't need to hang on to it for dear life."

[aesthetic_mojo]

She held the bags more tightly, growling in uncanny imitation of Vivianne protecting her share of the treats. Her eyes twinkled and she shook her head. "Mine."

She set the bags in the middle of the coffee table and turned to him with her hands on her hips. "Hey, I don't know. Maybe you are craving mugwort and can't wait to dig in there."

[lapsedsaint]

He walked up to her and put his hands over hers on her hips, pulling her closer. "I don't even know what that is."

He slid his hands over her hips and around to her ass. Pulling her closer, he kissed her neck and purred roughly. "I'm not going to steal it."

[aesthetic_mojo]

She wrapped her arms around his waist, letting him support her as she leaned back to give him more of her neck. "Traveler's herb, used to enhance dream states and precognition. Also good as a general sleeping drought."

She shrugged. "Probably better for you than the whiskey."

[lapsedsaint]

"I like the whiskey." He whispered against her neck before he started kissing up to her ear. "Did you have fun today? Even though you didn't get the cauldron?"

[aesthetic_mojo]

"I like the whiskey on your lips." She pressed her hips into his. "I liked that cauldron, you know. It's the perfect size."

She ran one hand up his back, nails pressing in hard. "I did. It was fascinating for me. Thank you for it."

[lapsedsaint]

He shook his head slowly and laughed. "Well, we know where to go, if I ever change my mind."

"I'm glad you had fun, baby. It's important." He pulled back a little and smiled at her before giving her a soft, slow kiss.

[aesthetic_mojo]

She drew the kiss out, teasing his mouth open so she could nip at him. "Best part was having your hand in mine most of the day." She put her head on his shoulder. "Did you have fun watching me buy out half a store?"

[lapsedsaint]

He pulled her toward the couch with a chuckle. "You scared the crap out of me. Especially that cauldron."

[aesthetic_mojo]

Rather than sitting beside him, she put herself in his lap with an arm around his neck. "It's just a cast iron pot." She brushed her lips over his, smiling too broadly to kiss him more firmly. "I didn't buy the chicken's feet or the big pentacle. You should be proud of me." She'd had no intention of buying either.

[lapsedsaint]

He shifted her in his lap some and rolled his eyes. "We are spending all of Sunday in church."

[aesthetic_mojo]

She laughed. "Mass, lunch, Mass? Good thing I brought my hat."

She nuzzled his jaw, then down to his throat where she nipped him lightly. "What bothered you most? Besides that darling little cauldron."

[lapsedsaint]

He leaned his head back against the back of the couch and smiled as she nuzzled at him. "Surprisingly, it was the amount of cliche we saw today. I don't think I was quite ready for that."

[aesthetic_mojo]

She raised an eyebrow, not slowing her attentions to continue quizzing him. "At least you recognize it for cliche. Why would it bother you, though? I'd think you'd rather that than the real thing."

[lapsedsaint]

He took a deep breath, trying to decide how to answer her. Finally, he went for the simplest truth. "It just struck me as disrespectful. I don't have to agree with you, nor you me, but I'm not going to disrespect your beliefs."

[aesthetic_mojo]

She pulled back to meet his eyes, pleasantly surprised by his response. Using the back of her hand, she gently caressed his cheek. "On behalf of those who surround their practice with that kind of faith, I thank you."

She rubbed her thumb over his lips. "I do what works, that's all. I look at so much of that and think that it's like a cartoon version. The feeling is there, but it's just the feeling, not the function."

[lapsedsaint]

He kissed her thumb, then pulled her back for another kiss. "I just think of it as being like the Protestants. They mean well, but they just don't quite get it."

He kissed her deeply, his hands rubbing lightly at her back. When he broke the kiss, he grinned. "Why do you watch me do the dishes so intently?"

[aesthetic_mojo]

She rolled her eyes at his analogy, highly amused. His question brought an entirely different reaction. She wasn't embarrassed. Instead she got a flash of what she'd thought watching him work. That made her squirm in his lap. "I like how you use your hands, that's all."

[lapsedsaint]

He smirked and raised an eyebrow. "And what do you like me doing with my hands, exactly?"

He let his hands move over her back, scratching lightly at her through her shirt. Leaning forward a little, he nipped at her neck.

[aesthetic_mojo]

"It was the way you washed a glass." Her squirming changed to a deliberate grinding against his crotch. She was all for a little distraction, if that's how he wanted to play it. She put her lips against his ear and purred softly. "Soft caresses all over the outside, then you slid your fingers in. You twisted them slowly as you moved them in and out."

Her voice trailed off to a soft groan and she popped a few buttons on his shirt.

[lapsedsaint]

His groan was deep, rough, and he turned his head a little to return the whisper. "Is there something you'd rather I do that to?" He caught her earlobe between his lips for just a moment. "You, perhaps?"

[aesthetic_mojo]

She spread her legs just enough for her skirt to ride up some, grinding into him more at the same time. "If you'd like, that would be lovely. I was intrigued by your technique."

[lapsedsaint]

"What else were you intrigued by?" John slid a hand down her back, then around her hip. He caught the hem of her skirt and pushed it up a little more before rubbing at her thigh.

[aesthetic_mojo]

Her legs parted for him, making her tighten her arm around his neck to keep from falling off his lap. "I envied the sponge." She got her other hand inside his shirt and went looking for his nipple. "God, how does that become dirty? I've lost my mind."

[lapsedsaint]

His fingers pressed against her thigh and he arched a little toward her. "Why the sponge?"