Arvil watched her as she greeted the employees that walked by them, the smile slipping from his features. Why did she, at that moment, look so much like the wife of the company’s president?
He blinked that thought away and smiled at her again, his thumb caressing her slowly.
“Do you have any idea why it’s cut off like that?” He quirked an eyebrow at her.
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“Probably so people don’t get decapitated by a ball or stabbed by a dart,” Daisy said, glancing over at him with raised eyebrows.
“You’re not wrong,” Arvil chuckled. “Here’s my secret, love. We keep it that way so people don’t decapitated or stabbed by me. We’ve had some… incidents in the past.”
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Daisy’s eyebrows raised further, and she smirked a little. “Really, now? Sounds intriguing. Care to elaborate?”
"Maybe some other time, Daisy darling," Arvil winked at her, pressing the elevator button and waiting for it to come to their floor. "Can't give away all of my secrets, now can I?"
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“I mean, you could. I am your fiancée, after all,” Daisy reminded him with an innocent grin. “We should know everything about each other.”
"Are you using the fiancee card against me, love?" Arvil looked down at her, tugging her inside the elevator when it finally opened. "I have to say, I'm surprised."
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Daisy shrugged, still looking up at him, her face the epitome of feigned innocence as she smiled. “Are you? Surprised? You’re surprised that I would use that card on you?”
Arvil pressed the button for the third floor, still holding on to her hand. He leaned against the wall, tugging her closer, but still giving her an opportunity to pull away. "Shouldn't I be?"
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Daisy hummed, leaning back against the wall. She was fully aware of the grip he had on her hand, and then more so of him pulling her closer. She cocked her head curiously at that but didn’t voice the question.
“Well… You haven’t known me that long, so I guess not,” she hummed.
Arvil took her other hand in his hold as well, trying to make it seem like he was teasing her, but in reality, he simply liked the feeling of her soft ones in his large hands.
"Well, then, love," he purred, squeezing her hands gently. "I'd love to get to know you a little more, Daisy."
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Daisy squinted at him, though she didn’t pull her hands from his grip. Not this time, anyway… “Then ask me something. I’ll answer almost anything.”
Arvil didn’t respond. He merely pulled her closer until there was barely any space left between them and leaned down until their mouths were nearly brushing.
The elevator door opened at that specific moment and Arvil pulled back with a sigh, furrowing his eyebrows at his employees who were staring at him—at them. His hands still holding hers tightly, an annoyed scowl on his features as if he was upset at being interrupted.
And if Arvil was honest, he wished they hadn’t been. Just for that specific moment, he really wanted to feel her lips pressed against his. He wanted to know if she wanted the same, too.
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Daisy froze. He pulled her so close, and she didn’t know what to do, especially when their lips brushed together in the lightest of touches. That one rule was broken again, but she couldn’t feel upset about it. She was just.. confused. About everything.
And then her cheeks were bursting with red as she realized that he had very nearly kissed her, and that he would have if they hadn’t been interrupted. And there were now people staring at them. And he was glaring like he was upset… He was upset? That he couldn’t kiss her? Why? What— What the heck?
“Arvil,” she breathed, looking up at him wide-eyed, lips parted in shock as she gently pulled her hands from his. She probably shouldn’t act so shocked around his employees, but she couldn’t help it. This was just so… She didn’t even know how to describe it…
Arvil released a breath he didn’t know he was holding. Their lips had brushed together faintly and he cursed himself. They weren’t supposed to, but his traitorous mind didn't like to listen at times. He’d just earned her forgiveness and he had gone and done that. Damn his raging hormones. And he was supposed to be good with women. What a laugh that was.
Still, Arvil clung to his composure and tugged her out of the elevator, cupping her cheeks and pressing a soft, ghost kiss to her cheek just near her ear.
“Around you, I just can’t seem to act normal,” his voice was low, honest and rather hoarse. “I’m sorry. Again.”
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Daisy closed her eyes and let out a long sigh when he pulled her out of the elevator. And then he was leaning down to speak in her ear, and his breath fanned over her cheek and part of her neck. His stupid voice very nearly sent a shiver down her spine. Why did she have to be so affected by it? It was such a pain to deal with when she was trying to act like she didn’t find him attractive.
“It’s— Its fine,” she finally assured him in a voice that was barely even at a whisper, shaking her head slowly. “It was just for show, anyway, right?”
Arvil’s eyes darkened at her statement, feeling glad she couldn’t see him. He pulled away from her ear to press their foreheads together, his eyes closed.
“Maybe,” he finally responded quietly. “Just know that I really don’t like the idea of using you like this. And that’s the honest part, Daisy. I don’t like it, but what we’re doing requires it. I won’t kiss you without your permission, but there will be times I’ll pretend I will.”
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Maybe…
Not, “Yes, it was just for show.” Not even, “Yeah…”
Maybe…
Like… like he wanted to really kiss her, maybe? Like he don’t want to kiss her just for show?
And then he was speaking again, and she found herself nodding slowly along with his words. “Okay. Thank you, Arvil. That— that actually means a lot to me,” she murmured, pausing for a moment before tentatively reaching around him and pulling him to herself. She buried her face in his shoulder, acting like a girl in love. Not because she really just wanted him to hold her… Not at all..
For a moment, Arvil thought she would pull out of his hold by acting like she was trying to tease him. Instead, she wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his shoulder. He froze for a moment before responding immediately, slipping his own arms around her waist and pressing her closer to him, breathing her in. Vanilla. It was like the universe was purposefully taunting him. Vanilla was one of his favorite scents. And it on Daisy just drove him wild.
“I think I might enjoy this with you, Daisy,” he murmured before he could stop himself. “However long it lasts.”
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Daisy nodded slowly, letting his words slip by her without thinking about them too much. She knew that just as soon as she did, she would regret it because then she would be thinking about the future her parents had all but stolen from her. After a moment longer, she pulled back and glanced away from him, her cheeks burning red.
“Well…” She cleared her throat and moved her gaze back to him, though she didn’t meet his eye. “Darts, right? Let’s go play that.”
Arvil missed her warmth the second she pulled away. He wanted her back in his arms again, but he didn’t tug her back. He let her step away, mostly because then he could see her flaming cheeks and the way she looked anywhere but at him. He loved it, the way he caused her to get flustered.
“Ready to win, love?” He teased her. “Let’s see how well your aim is.”
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Daisy snorted and rolled her eyes before finally meeting his. She gave him a small smirk, crossing her arms over her chest. “Bring it, nerd. Show me where the game is.”
“My writer seems to constantly forget my full title,” Arvil clicked his tongue in disappointment, leading her to the left side of the floor. There were many rooms, and he entered the one on the far left where dartboards, archery targets etc were present. “And here we are, love.”
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“Forget? No, I just gave more fun calling you ‘nerd,’” Daisy declared, shooting him a teasing smile. She glanced around the room as they entered, her eyes falling on the archery targets. “You have archery here, too?”
Arvil nodded before rolling his eyes. “We vote every five months to add one more game to this floor, and to remove which one. Archery happened to win last month.”
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Daisy hummed, nodding slowly. “I’ve never tried archery. Is it fun? It looks like it would be from what I’ve seen of it.”
"It's difficult, but once you get the hang of it, it's fun," Arvil answered with a shrug. "I could teach you. I'm fairly decent at it."
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“Really? Would you?” Daisy asked, turning to him with a barely suppressed grin. “That would be amazing.”
When Arvil saw the grin on her face, he could safely say it took a lot out of him to not let it get to him. It was, however, stored in his memory. He liked it, that smile.
"I mean, anything for my fiancee, right?" he winked at her.
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Daisy roll her eyes, though she was still smiling. “Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Now, go get a bow and arrows so we can start.”
