Oh Those Summer Nights (Hermes)

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Plum needed a day to herself. With everything that had happened recently she just needed a day without homework or illnesses or cold medicine that made her a little loopy or paperwork that needed to be accomplished. No, what Plum needed was a personal health day and that was exactly what she was doing.

And what better place to relax than the beach? So there she was, at the beach in a pretty lavender sundress paired with a little aqua sweater. Her cute little wedges dangled from her fingertips as she walked along the beach, sand getting in between her toes. She loved the feel of sand between her toes. It made her feel in touch with nature.

The breeze tossed her hair gently as she had let it fly free today, though she wasn’t sure if that had been a good idea. Her hair kept getting in her face, but then again the breeze was nice even if it did blow her hair into her eyes. But she was feeling very relaxed which was what she had been hoping for. Lately she’d been feeling so tense, so a day of relaxing was in order. And so far it seemed to be working.

[Hermes]

Hermes loved the beach. It was sandy and warm and, oh hell, all he really cared about was the fact that it gave him the perfect excuse to run around half naked. He'd run around in swim trunks or less anywhere and everywhere if he could get away with it. Unfortunately, this kind of attire seemed to be only appropriate in human society only where there was a place for swimming nearby. See, the thing is, when you're a god, most everything seems nearby considering that you rule over the entire Earth. Given he was trying to gain favor with these petty mortals, however, he figured he best obey by a few of their rules. A god follow the rules of his worshipers, how positively sad. Gross. Hermes hated sadness. He need a distraction, particularly one with with long blonde hair....particularly one walking alone on the beach on this fine fine evening. Oh would you look at that, he thought as he picked up a long stride across the sand, its like all his dreams have just come true.

Given his utter lack of pockets a small bluetooth device was tucked neatly around his ear and occasionally hissed the business of the gods. As much as he loved to have fun, Hermes was a business man too, he was harold of the gods and that took a lot of work. The gods weren't exactly known for their diplomacy and kindness and he was in charge of sorting out their mail. It wasn't exactly good for him to make a mistake. Watching the wind flutter the girl's lovely dress and the setting sun shine marvelously off her skin, he dared to hope that the god would be kind enough to give their orders to a minimum.

He held back, keeping a steady pace a safe distance behind her, just to take a breath and read her. Oh she was so calm, just relaxing in cool breeze. The night was still rather warm, so the gentle wind was nice. Oh. She's a fairy. That interesting. Hermes had never had a fairy before....He quickened his face and decided to start things out pretty natural. No need to get her riled and concerned over a bold move when she was so nice and chill. A few well chosen words and she could end up in his arms without a second thought. Then he could get her worked up, just in a more...positive way, he liked to think.

He fell in step beside her, hands locked behind him as he kicked the sand about. Lovely evening for a walk... he began. Oh hell with it, bold was always the way to roll. He tried to at least keep him tone seemingly innocent as he spoke genuinely You're too beautiful to be walking alone he said softly.

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Plum was completely unaware that she was being watched. In fact she was pretty unaware of anything except where she was going. And she felt really calm. She felt calmer than she had been feeling lately. And she could actually think about things which was a much welcome change from the cloudy befuddled feeling she’d experienced while she had been sick or even the giggly super happy attitude from the cold medicine. Right now she was feeling much more like herself.

What she wasn’t expecting was company. Plum turned at the sound of a voice…which belonged to a very attractive man who also wasn’t wearing a shirt. “Yes, it is a lovely evening,” she replied with a smile, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. And it seemed to be getting lovelier by the minute. Plum certainly appreciated the eye candy.

But that next line was definitely a pick up line. A good one to be sure, but definitely a pick up line. She was actually rather amused by that. “I’ve never heard that one’s beauty determined whether or not one should walk alone,” she remarked, a hint of amusement in her voice. She knew his type, the charmer. The man who tried to charm any girl he could. Well, Plum was certainly not going to fall for that, but for now she wouldn’t mind the company.

[Hermes]

Hermes saw seduction, like many things in his life, as a game. Games, being right up his ally, came naturally to him and instantly a simple set of rules and procedures lined up in his head. Depending on what he knew about a person he would adjust they way he went about things. She laughed at his pick up so he could be certain she had at least some kind of sense of humor and she was comfortable enough to laugh even when steered down the path of more romantic topics. Good. She was appealing to him more and more with each passing second. If her looks weren't enough to reel him in, which they most certainly where, her evolving personality would have gotten him anyhow.

It's not that you shouldn't walk alone he remarked warmly It's simply astonishing that you've managed it at all he decided that his next line would be mistaken for cheese a second time without a little effort. He gracefully crossed in front of her to block her path and stooped his head to look her in the eyes What with such grace you have...and such lovely eyes as well he added upon noticing them sparkling in the setting sun. He moved his hand up and softly tipped her chin so he could get and better look, a handsome grin glowing on his face.

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Plum had been in love twice in her twenty-one years on Earth. The second time had been unrequited love and she had come to Tintagel to escape it. But her first love, he had used her and thrown her away. She’d been young and he had been significantly older. He had been so charming and delightful that it wasn’t long before Plum had fallen under his spell, hook, line and sinker. And in the end he had had his way with her and left, leaving her heartbroken. She had sworn since then that she would never be charmed. And so tonight, with this good looking stranger she would let herself be charmed. She would just enjoy his company and that was that.

She chuckled at him. He was quite the smooth talker. No, Plum knew for a fact that she wasn’t as beautiful as he was trying to make her believe, but kudos to him for trying. “I don’t seem to have managed at all. I’m not alone anymore,” she said with a smile, hoping to poke a hole in his logic.

He cut her off and really she should have seen that coming. She should have seen anything coming from someone so smooth and charming, especially those words and the tilting of her chin. Oh, he was good. He was very good. He obviously knew what he was doing. “I won’t be charmed by you,” Plum informed him. “I have learned grace and my eyes come to me naturally. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but how can you be sure that I am beautiful? Perhaps I am false. Perhaps what you see is false.”

[Hermes]

He looked her over briefly, eyeing her with a curiosity and warmth as he considered his response to her cute little retort. He had several choices here. For one he could offer her something back in initiate some sort of battle of wits, but then again, as much as he adored such conversations, he was not looking for her insight. She seemed clever enough, but not so much that he'd rather pick her brain than enjoy the certainly lovely taste of those pretty pink lips of hers. It would seem, in such a situation, one might argue that she is far too beautiful for her own good. Perhaps if she;d been a bit less easy on the eyes he'd have taken the chance to challenge her intelligence, but, alas, he knew all he wanted to know about her already and so he decided on a far simpler and more...human response to her words. He dropped his eyes for a moment and gave her a charming little chuckle, nodding a bit as if she had found a way around his logic. She hadn't of course, but people liked to win, and girls like boys with sheepish grins and big blue eyes. He could supply that.

He didn't drop his hand and was happy to see her let him keep it there, even as she went off about her resistance to being charmed. A flash of wickedness lit up his eyes as he recognized a challenge. Oh no? he interjected with a playful edge just before she continued. He paused with a small, kind grin on his face once she'd finished. He took a breath and keep steady eye contact with her. They were really that far apart, he was well in most peoples comfort zone as he held her soft chin gently in his hand. He moved it only to tuck a few strands of hair behind her ear. No, I don't think so he began as his eyes followed his hand to the side of her face before returning to lock her gaze once more with his. I think you are just as beautiful as you seem he said kindly, though with warm undertones that turn the mood more intimate I've never met an ugly being with such a kind heart as yours he said in the same tone, letting his hand fall to one of her shoulders.

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She waited for his answer patiently, never looking away and holding her ground. He was in her space, but a good deal of her training had been learning never to back away when someone came too close. Some people liked more space than others. Some liked less. He clearly wanted less space and she wasn’t about to back down or move away simply because he was closer than she generally preferred people. Besides, it did help that he was had devilishly good looks. Really, it wasn’t fair that he was that good looking.

And apparently it seemed like she had accidently challenged him. She hadn’t meant it like that, but a voice in the back of her head was questioning that. Hadn’t she meant that as a challenge? No, no, of course not. That was ridiculous. She’d been down that road before and she didn’t mean to travel down it again, no matter how good looking the man was.

She had expected some kind of remark about just how beautiful she was or something like that. Wasn’t that the way it was supposed to work? But no, he caught her completely off guard and it took all of her training not to just stare at him star struck. “Well then you’ve never seen me when I’m angry,” she replied coolly, as if that little tucking the hair behind the ear trick hadn’t affected her at all. She would not lose her composure and turn into a pile of goo just because a very attractive man was paying attention to her in a way that was not business related. She would stay strong. And she would ignore that little voice that was telling her just to cave to such a charming stranger.

[Hermes]

Hermes had to bite his lip to keep from chuckling when she threatened him. Not that he was disrespecting her power with anger charged words, he was actually, admittedly, a little bit turned on by the idea. She threw the comment at him with no mark of suggestive undertones, in fact quite the opposite, but still he couldn't lie and say seeing her mad wouldn't be in the least be sexy. Well...he could, but thats beside the point. He blinked a few times and dismissed the thought enough to keep from overacting and possibly scaring her away. The intense look in his eyes should have done enough to make her realize how attractive he found her. He took a deep breath and moved his hand slightly so it rested more on her collar bone than her shoulder, carefully thinking through his next speech.

I somehow think that that wouldn't make you any less beautiful he said with a smile and a slight shake of his head. His eyes twinkled with the slowly appearing stars that surrounded them, mirrored by the settling waters of the lake. It was turning out to be a rather spectacular night, and the rising moon was plenty bright to illuminate the beach. What a lovely evening to share with someone, if only this someone would come around. He watched her gently for a moment or too, letting his words sink in before adding with a voice so confident and smooth not even the most advanced lie detectors would question its sincerity. I mean it.

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This was not good. This was not good at all. He was getting to her. He was getting to her more than she would allow herself to admit. No, she wasn’t supposed to let this happen. He was a stranger. A handsome, gorgeous, very attractive stranger that she kind of wanted to kiss, but he was still a stranger! She didn’t know anything about him! And that was not exciting! Not one bit! No, it most certainly was not. And she was willing away the butterflies in her stomach. So what if this was the most exciting thing that had happened to her in a while? It did not matter one bit because he was still a stranger that she knew absolutely nothing about. And one simply does not sleep with strangers. Not that she wanted to anyway. Of course not.

She wouldn’t be any less beautiful. Well if that didn’t make a girl want to melt into putty then she didn’t know what did. And he meant it. Goodness, how on Earth was she supposed to respond to that? What was she supposed to say? Never in any of her training had there been a lesson on how to avoid being seduced. And there should have been a lesson! There definitely should have been a lesson. “Well then, you must have never felt the wrath of an angry woman,” she replied with only a slight wave in her voice. And it was the only visible sign that she was cracking.