Completed [Wright Memorial Library] How curious... (Matthew)

[Litani]

Litani took a deep breath, exhaled it slowly. She'd been doing a lot of that.

She listened as he described his methodical way of thinking; a small smile crept into the corner of her eyes as she considered this - a prostitute who wants to learn from a book. There was no fault, however, in his academic approach, except perhaps that it could be... incomplete. 'Art', she had called it, and she still thought so.

Or at least, that was her hope. One cannot study the body without realizing the mechanics of reproduction, yet with sentience comes complicated ideas like romance, love, seduction... A Konti, at twenty-five, was drawing damn near the time to start looking for a mate, and her time amongst humans had seemed to make her all the more restless. She hoped that when at last it was her turn, there would be more than a simple act between two bodies. Only time and fate could tell.

She felt his finger trail down hers and her hand reflexively tensed, just a little, beneath his touch. She withstood the touch gracefully enough, even admitting to another little smile at his open admiration. It was beautiful, though not many showed such appreciation in so clear a fashion. Pleased, she slowly withdrew her hand from between them... before he threw her off even more.

His questions wandered through her ears and she briefly considered; the need for a mate was, in fact a bodily need, as easily evidenced by the rest of the animal kingdoms - everything sought a mate, consciously or unconsciously, when it became sexually mature. She started to nod in affirmative response, then second guessed herself. She'd never known another on the other side of such a release, so could she truly say she'd know if she felt that desire in the flesh? She'd have nothing to compare it to, directly. Still, there'd been a time or two when certain 'needs' were all too clear in the bodies of her patients so, after a handful of seconds, she felt at liberty to continue that nod and answer softly, "I... believe I could, yes." But she was curious and so quickly followed by asking, "...why?"

And then he wanted to know of books. She had to laugh just a little - at herself, at how off-centering she was allowing this conversation to be. She was a physician, damnit, and this was a simple scientific discussion. Right. With a man who looks like a God. Don't kid yourself, idiot. But don't let him get to you, either. With the delicate twitch of a thoughtful eyebrow, she turned her eyes to the books that surrounded them and she started to read the headings, searching. Her body posture left him included as she watched him from the corners of her eyes, even as she scanned the books, even as she stood and turned and started to walk slowly along the row. Her willowy height could easily let her reach the highest shelves and her body swayed with a gracefulness that was nothing if not absolutely feminine. Gold half-curls fell down the length of her back , tied there to keep them at bay whilst she studied or taught; they danced, now, as she spun on one foot as if remembering where she'd misplaced something. She darted around a bookshelf corner then, calling quietly, "Just a moment... if I remember right..." She trailed off, lost in her search, out of his sight save for the flashes of blonde hair and linen that moved on the other side of the shelves. There was the sound of a book sliding free, then a brief moment of silence.

Through the shelves, she caught sight of her table, caught sight of him. Only a shadowed sliver of her eyes showed through and, heedless for a moment, she watched him - mercilessly exquisite, just by sitting there! Mm. You chose the right profession, I'll give you that... She took advantage of the moment to simply enjoy the sight of him, without needing polite words or social masks... just a young woman letting her gaze drink in the sight of a beautiful man. A smile caught the left edge of her lips into a half-grin and, unconsciously, she drew the edge of those lips between her teeth. Just for a second.

[Matthew]

At her answer to his question, the harlot of a scholar sat back, eyes burning with ideas. He didn't answer at first, merely crossing his legs and folding his fingers again, the feeling in the air continuing to swirl. This would be an interesting skill to have. He was partially interested in seeing how open she would be at being a test subject of sorts. There were all sorts of inappropriate connations that went along with a request like that though, so much so that even the socially inept Matthe could easily see them. What an exciting thing that would be to have, though. The ability to tell what exactly your customer's body needed? He briefly considered if she had ever considered the life of a prostitute. She would likely make a good one. "...Just thinking of all the uses..." He mused distantly, the words sounding unfocused and soft. His gaze still glittered with all sorts of thoughts though, making it fairly apparent that he was up to something in his own mind. Matthew's eyes were like windows to his soul and mind, and right now, there were quite a few things going on in them. Slowly, his fingers on the tabletop started to tap out a short beat, lightly drumming. His head also started to move, lightly bobbing to the drumming, his thoughts flying. He wanted to make sure this lesson was as effective as possible, and that he took up her time in a useful way. He appreciated her being open and willing to helping him, so he wanted to repay the favor in kind. He was jolted from his thoughts by the Konti quickly rising, and he stared after her, quickly taking the rear view in. Long hair and curves, and she moved with definite grace. Height was always an excellent bonus as well. Once again he wondered if she had ever considered selling her figure, but much like topic of being a test subject, mentioning such a thing would not help foster their blossoming relationship. Chewing his lower lip and glancing away, he instead focused on the book she had left lying on the table. Slowly wrapping fingers around it and pulling it open, he flipped through the pages to reach an area near the back that he could slightly remember. Something about points in the lower back... ah, here it was. He slipped his thumb inside of the book to hold his place and then let it close, glancing around to see where the girl had gone. His eyes passed over her own that were peeking out at him, but he didn't seem to see her. After a few moments of wondering where she had gone, he returned to absent-mindedly staring at the table surface in front of him. Elegant hands unwove the scarf from around his neck, pulling it free from the skin and folding it neatly onto a corner of the table. A thumb flicked open the top button of his shirt, fully revealing his tanned throat, body arching back to stretch out. His arms and shoulders cracked and popped, a soft groan echoing from his lips at the interesting stretch, his body having all sorts of trouble dealing with the things he had recently tried to do to it. Shifting again, he finally seemed to grow impatient, and gracefully stood. "Can I help carry any of them?" He slowly walked, turning in the direction she had, glancing on the other side of the shelves to try and find her. "Are there many of them?" He didn't mind sitting, but only when there was something to do. He still held the book that he had bookmarked with his thumbs, blue eyes regarding hers curiously once he found her. He would once more be struck again by how fairly tall the willowy woman was. He was only barely higher up than her, which was an oddity for him. He was going to leave it at that, but he just couldn't help it. Blue eyes scanned her again, something of a judgmental look held in his eyes. Provided whatever angle he found her out, he would examine what he could, gaze oddly sharp and prying. He was not at all shameful of his study, and when his words came out, they weren't the least bit shy either. "You have an excellent body, with a beautiful appearance. This is common with Konti, correct? Are many of your people in the profession I wish to pursue?" He hoped it wouldn't be offensive. He was going to ask her if she specifically had considered the profession, but then had decided last minute to be a bit more... strategic.

[Litani]

By the time Matthew came around the corner, Litani had a book in her hands - just one, a fairly big one, and she held it between them... as if somehow it could keep the depths of his eyes from crawling over every inch of her body. She paused, motionless, as she saw him - she was vaguely surprised that he'd followed her but all the moreso when she saw the way he looked at her. Part of her felt flattered, part of her felt bashful, and all of her felt feminine - impossibly so, actually, in that particular moment. The fact of it brought a smile into her eyes like none other she'd shown him.

His words brought a slight chuckle and a darting smirk - she was clever, this one, and doubtless she'd grasped what he was driving at. She took a breath to answer, stopped, glanced at him, laughed softly, and then took a second such breath. "No, actually," she said then, considering this concept of a Konti prostitute for the first time. "I think we would be... too sensitive, perhaps." She paused, thinking, letting her gaze wander off as all of the myriad possibilities played themselves out behind her eyes... And then those eyes returned to him. "We would either love it or hate it, I should think."

Clearing her throat delicately, she let her gaze drop from his and she made as if to move past him. By a half-step, she was too close to him as she walked by - the edges of her dress and her hair brushed past him, but nothing more. Whether she was cognizant of this or not was unclear - she simply walked past him and returned to their table, taking her chair by way of curling one leg atop it, folding it beneath her body as she gracefully sat back down.

"This is... perhaps not where you'd start," she said then, raising her eyes to find him where she'd left him. For an instant, she had to steel herself - this mercilessly exquisite male had sought her out for a teacher, and the subject matter between them hadn't left her mind for a single second. But, in an attempt at professionalism, she went on quietly, "...it is written for the female perspective." With a brief pause, she qualified the statement: "If, of course, women are to be your clientele." She smiled a little; in the way she held herself, it didn't seem to be obvious that she held a prejudice one way or the other. Male, female, whatever he chose didn't especially matter. But, assuming that the female mind was what he was after when he came to her, she continued, "It is written by a woman, talking to women..." She paged through the book briefly, then set it out on the table for him to peruse at his leisure. "...preparing them for what it may be like when they are married. What they may experience, how they may best communicate with their partner... what their partner may desire." With a delicate cough, she took on that vaguely shy countenance again and let her eyes fall away as she waited to see what he'd make of the offering.

[Matthew]

Her smile caught him off guard, and his brow furrowed again, puzzled by what had produced the blooming grin. As if trying to retrace his steps, he quickly scanned her body again, checking to see if there was anything he missed. His gaze was incredibly intimate without intending to be, fully shameless and letting nothing escape it. He traveled every slope and curve, checking her from head to toe before returning his bold gaze back to her lips. She was still smiling, a very wide and genuine smile that was totally the opposite of the controlled expressions she had been showing him before. His brow furrowed again, and the young Matthew pondered. Then she smirked, and he had to struggle to keep heat from rising to his ears. She was on to him, and keeping his words careful was something he prided himself in. She seemed to take it well though, and her explaination caused him to ponder even more. He would have to look into it a little more. Konti were on the list of races he would one day learn how to please, and perhaps researching this would be worth it. When her body brushed by, he sniffed by instinct, soaking in her scent. His own was still that of pine trees, his appearance taken care of to the point where he even wore perfume in male-oriented scents. She smelled nice too, but he couldn't tell if it was a natural thing, or something she was wearing. Her hair still caught his attention quite well, and he couldn't help but feel a pang of jealously. He knew he couldn't have hair like that, but if there was anything he found attractive, it was long hair. It wasn't something he could wear and get away with, but he could still imagine. Really, it would probably be a weird image to anyone but him. Of the few desires that he still had about his physical appearance, they were probably all odd to anyone else. Chewing his lower lip again, he followed her, not noticing her stare. His body reflexively returned the favor she had given, a brushing of his defined and clothed hip scraping over the tip of her bent elbow. He went around to the other side of the table, sitting, matching her grace. Folding a leg back over his knee, he leaned forward as she described the book, eyes reflecting interest as he stared upon it. "Yes, women are the intended focus. Though I may explore the other genders as well, depending on what I can handle." He reached out for the book, narrowing his eyes as he stroked his fingers slowly across the binding. After a moments pause, he slipped it over to himself, flipping it open and paging through it. Some entry seemed to catch his attention, and he paused again, eyes darting over a couple of sentences as he barely mouthed the words. His full lips paused, and he ran his tongue over them, thoughtful. After a moment, he collected the other book, flipping through it to reach a point he was familar with. Glancing back and forth between both points, his eyes narrowed even further. After a few short seconds, he glanced up at Litani, eyes studying her own. There was dead silence, and then- "Would you mind coming over here and turning around? Just your back facing me. I want to try and touch something on your lower back, just to see if this book is valid. Some of these ideas I hadn't even considered." He gazed right at her, plainly stating his intentions, head once again lightly tilting as he waited her reaction. He wouldn't be offended if she declined, knowing full well that it was a bit of a forward thing to ask for two people who had just met. Oddly enough, he somewhat trusted her with this sort of thing. He didn't know why, yet.

[Litani]

Litani laughed gently, the silvery sound of her voice echoing between the shelves of books which surrounded them. One of her hands seemed to hear that echo and she reached up, gesturing to those shelves as she blinked back her answer to Matthew's request. "You won't get the kind of answer you're looking for here Matthew... whether that book is right or wrong."

She gave him a moment to digest that - setting was just as important as touch, just as valuable as intent. The art of seducing a woman was no simple, two-dimensional task of proscribed touches and predetermined outcomes. Her, turn her back to him to touch, in a library? Heavens no. As well ask the head librarian to make him breakfast.

Instead, she smiled at him slightly and, on to the game, extended her hand between them again. This time, it was her right - the one unmarked. Beneath the table, her long legs extended themselves and she found the edge of his foot with one of hers. There was only a touch, nothing more - just the awareness of her physical presence, letting him know that she felt him there. "We are in public. Women can be shy... as well as subtle. Yet we harbor the same depths of emotions and desires as men... maybe moreso. " She smiled subtly and then withdrew her foot suddenly, instead focusing on the extension of her hand. And yet the expression was clear - there was more than one way to illicit the attention of a woman, no matter who might be observing.

She glanced there at her fingers, indicating that he should follow her eyes. "The hand of a woman can be as sensitive as her legs... you can seduce her with that alone. Run your fingers against the edges of the tips of hers, lightly, as you might touch her feet... Then climb slowly to the knuckles, as if they were her knees... and then..." She smiled faintly; the sensuality of the hands was easy for her to describe, for as many times as she'd experienced it. She trailed off, letting him figure out the rest - it wasn't hard, after all, to intuit where the rest of the metaphor was going. "If you truly mean to seduce... then you must seduce the mind first. All else comes second to that."

And well you should know, fool, came the barked, internal response. ...and that's all you know. He should be teaching you!

[Matthew]

He blinked at her, his eyes snapping out of his professional and serious look to regard her words. Again he tilted his head, a small look of confusion settling into the aqua waves. He glanced around to the shelves she pointed out, then back to her, still looking a tad confused. She explained it to him, and he squinted a bit, following all of her motions as she slowly pointed them out. He felt the tip fo her foot on his and tensed just a bit, quickly relaxing when he realized what it was. When he fingers reached out and her gaze stared at them, he followed that is well, tilting his head in an interested stare. He listened very closely with that slightly confused look on his face, and when she was done, his eyes glanced up into hers. There was a long moment of silence, as if he hadn't understood, or had taken some offense, or she had caught him off guard. After a period of this, right when she might start to wonder, the corner of his mouth lifted. Magic swirled in the air, and the sensation of sensuality filled the air. He sucked Djed from deep within him and let it flow out, his full lips softly blowing air, a mere physical way of helping him expell the invisible energy. His breath brushed her cheeks, light on the skin, the exhaled magic filled with even more sensuality. It was just a feeling, just a small one. But it was there. It was in the air, and it was coming from the harlot. Blue eyes sparkled, and maybe she would realize her mistake. On some level, he had noticed that she had strayed from the professional side just a bit. She had touched him, with a smile to her lips. She had been teaching him, but had it been the cold professionalism he had thought they were going to use? He wasn't sure. It didn't feel like it. But if she was questioning his skills- "You mistake me, Litani. There are some things I wanted to learn... but there is so very much I already think I know. So, if I take what you taught me, and then apply some of what I have found..." His fingertip suddenly touched to the very tip of her point finger, right at the side, just barely brushing the very surface of the skin with a feather of touch. His eyes held hers for a moment, attempting to fully enrapture them before slowly dragging both of their gazes down to his roaming touch. Even his voice was laced with the magic, adding more of the sensuality to the suddenly warm air. His fingertip dipped in and out, tracing the edges of her fingers... applying what she had taught to her own self, daring her to tug away and break the lesson she had started. Gently, he stroked one up finger up the side, all the way to the knuckle, and then lightly traced the top of the knuckle back down to the tip of the finger. His brushes were always so light, so very slow, his tongue coming out to lick his lower lip as he observed his work. Leaning forward, after he could tell she was distracted by his touch (if she had even allowed it in the first place), he let his words echo out with a sultry whisper to them. "And are you sure the answer can't come here? I know the darkest corners of these shelves, Litani. Some of them are perfectly private. They allow for... exploration." If she glanced up, she would see his eyes, blazing with dark suggestions. His teeth had dug into his lower lip, sucking hungrily on it, everything combining all at once to increase the sensuality of the moment. It was all little subtle things; the bite of his lip and the touch of his finger, the timing of his horribly wicked suggestion and the burning look in his eyes... his fingers slowly arched forward, the whole hand almost lacing slowly with her own... then he pulled back, everything fading just a little bit, letting the magic drop from the air and the suggestions fall from his gaze. "But that would be silly. I was much too cold and apathetic to realize the way that touching your back here would look. I apologize." The smile was still there. Faint. "Like that, you think? Take the mind, and use the touch to help me in my conquest?" He watched her, tilting his head, that curious smile now obvious on his playful lips. He had changed in an instant, from a studious young man to this... creature.

[Litani]

Up to this point, the subtlety of Matthew’s magic had been light enough to almost ignore. Almost. She’d chalked up it to being any number of things - his appearance, her own youth, her clear awareness of what he’d chosen to do for a living. Or maybe it was simply that she was wound as tight and uncertain as new-spun silk, while everything about him seemed to scream confident sexuality.

Whatever the case, there certainly was no ignoring it NOW.

As his fingers trailed over and along hers, whispering their haunting touch along the knuckles and delicately sensitive webs which joined the digits together, the Konti’s eyes started to blink and then closed entirely for a moment, lost in an internal world that consisted of nothing but her skin, and his skin, and the way he was making her feel...

And then he whispered that sordid invitation, beckoning, calling to her very blood it seemed. Her heart twisted itself in a delicate leap in her chest as he started to insist, started to suggest more... Her eyes drifted open and she caught the way he was looking at her, the way his hand started to reach for hers --

Then it stopped.

Whatever it was, whatever had her attention so deeply just a second before, it was gone. Just like that. It withdrew from her mind and she blinked, startled, so enthralled and now... nothing.

And then several things happened all at once.

The sudden lack of that feeling - and her own visceral response to it - so surprised her that she darted back, scrambling to her feet as he pulled away from her. She pulled back as well, quickly away from him. Away from that. Her haste had been so complete as to knock over her chair, but she didn’t notice at first, her wide eyes locked onto him in absence of all else. Her breath was quicker, her mind was reeling, and the ivory of her skin had started to take a pale pink flush... a pale which grew, quite quickly in fact, into a fully realized blush.

“Forgive me,” she murmured hastily - to him, or to the chair, she wasn't sure - “forgive me, I shouldn't have...” Shouldn’t’ve what, y’prize idiot?! She was nervous, embarrassed, and felt every inch the stupidest female in Mizahar right that second. The blush turned scarlet as the internal self-berating went on and yet somehow she suffered the cresting wave of shame without breaking any further. “I should not have presumed.”

In silence, she bent to retrieve her chair and briefly considered, as she righted it, just what in the high hells she was supposed to do now. Leave? Sit back down? She hadn't the faintest idea and anything she came up with seemed like a paltry waste of time. In the end and with a delicate clearing of her throat, Litani bravely returned her eyes to Matthew's and, threatening to renew the blush all over again, she said softly, "Please forgive me. Your request surprised me, you're young and... I took that to an assumption I should not have."

Merciful Gods, he's this good and he's not what? Twenty? Younger? Rak'keli's eyes...

Exhaling a slow breath as she collected herself, the Konti momentarily hovered beside her chair and rested one hand atop it as she watched him. Before deciding what to do, she needed to know. She felt what he did, whatever it was, and it wasn't like anything else she'd ever experienced. She had to know. Before deciding whether to flee in terror, fall in love, slink away in mortified shame or attempt to return to being 'professional' - whatever the petch that meant in this context - she had to know. "What did you just do to me?"

[Matthew]

The harlot lifted elegant fingers, propping an elbow on the table and holding his cheek up with his hand. He watched her, gaze once more studious and analytical. He had caused a reaction and was now exploring the reaction. It was almost scary, the way he went about his task. She might realize it with the way he was looking at her now. To Matthew, seduction wasn't as simple as a single look followed up with clever words. He wasn't happy with simply getting her to blush or making her cheek want to feel his lips. He was much more through than that. He was stripping her down, soaking in every little thing and applying something to it. His seduction was methodical, which might very well make it that much more effective. He was running on a little instinct, but he was also running on the pure drive to completely and fully dissect her down to a primal and sexual thing. His seduction was a plan that would target her everything, one slow and painstaking step at a time. With the patient look in his gaze, it was almost as if he wouldn't mind taking weeks to do it. He breathed, feeling his magic swirl back into his lungs. He wasn't strong enough to force anything yet, but he could certainly encourage what was already there. He had to depend on his seduction knowledge before his magic, making it so that he couldn't generate a flame... he could just fan it. He wasn't a fan of forcing people to feel something they weren't, anyway. He was much happier with the idea of simply adding to the heat that was already burning. When the chair tumbled over he rose an eyebrow, gaze never leaving her own. As she stood there, breathing a bit heavily, he sat there with that near-infuriating look of confidence on his face. It wasn't arrogance, or something that he was trying to display. He was just secure in himself. Confident in himself. Confident he could have her against any one of the bookshelves hidden in various dark corners. His eyes burned for a brief moment, but he tucked the thought away, not wanting to intimidate her too much. He still had so much to learn. He was going to help her with the chair, but he was too interested in her reaction. It was new to him, and he wondered if he had gone a little too far in his attempt to show her his level of knowledge. Had he been offended? Perhaps he had just been playful? Standard emotions were actually so foreign in concept that he had a hard time dealing with his own. Or perhaps it was just his own that were foreign. He wasn't sure. He continued to watch her, noticing the pink to her scaled skin, lifting his eyebrow a bit higher at her words. "An assumption?" He was curious as to what she had assumed. There were a lot of places they could stop and end up at in a realm such as his. She could have had a variety of thoughts on her mind, and he was curious to see what specific images he had summoned when he had pressed her soft spots. Then the question came. His brow furrowed, and he tried to decide if he should be impressed or worried. In the end, his logical mind blurred through the options, and he decided to trust her a bit. His magical skills were openly studied at the University, and she didn't seem to be the sort who would get offended. If anything, she seemed more genuine and trustworthy than most people he had met. "Magic. Sort of." He lifted his head, holding her gaze still, never having dropped it once. "Hypnotism, but only a low level of it." The spoken words came out slowly, pronounced clearly, almost like Matthew had a practiced accent of his own. He talked so correctly. "You were probably thinking some things. Feeling some feelings. Sensuality was brushing your mind. The bite of my lip showed I was hungry for you, the heat in my eyes showed I found you delicious. The flex of my muscles proved I could make good on my silent threats, and the lightest of my touch likely caused your body to betray you. But, you are a professional. A strong woman who can draw a line between professional and friendly, as well as remind herself of the young man in front of you. But what if my magic just suggests what is already there? Thickens it in the air, makes it linger, makes it seem okay to bask in." He didn't use any magic this time, but smiled, his words breathy as he glanced down at her lips then back to her eyes. "Use your Gift on yourself, Litani. After knowing how I did it, and wondering how real it all was... why don't you use your Gift and tell me what you hear?" His words were incredibly coy, his eyes glistening. "Or, if you would rather... I can just answer more questions. I want a relationship of trust between teacher and student."

[Litani]

Litani's laugh was both breathless and complete. She chuckled with a faint degree of irony and glanced at him as he spoke, wondering if he realized exactly what kind of creature he really was. Magic? Hypnotism? That... explains some things. But it didn't explain everything.

Of course it doesn't. This isn't a mystery, doctor. Biology, pure and simple.

And yet it wasn't. Whatever she told herself about how she'd responded, however she explained to herself that he'd been the one to affect her, she knew that she lied to herself every second and finally just... shut the internal monologue off altogether. Sometimes analysis was just a failure anyway, and if this was not one of those times then there might never be any other.

But yet he seemed to do just fine with analyzing. She couldn't decide if that was intriguing or upsetting... though she found herself coming down on the side of arousing. Distantly, she wondered what he might do if he caught someone observing him the way he was observing her, what he might do to be taken apart and put back together in quivering threads of want and primal lust... She could give no voice to those thoughts, even if she had the first idea how to go about them. And the painful truth was that she did not.

So much of her life, both professional and personal, had been spent satisfying the needs of another. Her mother, her patients, her mentors. But her patients most of all. The people who came to her, seeking solace... seeking healing. Seeking her, because their bodies told them to. In such a sense, was Matthew so much different? Was she so much different from himself...? She had to breathe a laugh at the twisted inflection that her thoughts had taken, comparing the work of a physician to that of a prostitute.

He explained. And then he challenged her. And then she arched a brow at him, taking in the full weight of that spoken challenge.

And then he summoned back the idea that, somehow, she was his teacher.

Shaking her head readily, again she laughed and this time her eyes caught him with a bemused, emphatic denial. "I haven't the first idea what I could teach you, Matthew," she said softly, her body starting to relax. She didn't retake her chair just yet, but she didn't seem on the verge of disappearing either. She just stood there, watching him, drinking in the sight of him as if she couldn't believe what she was looking at. Whatever she knew about the body, he knew how to manipulate it and, after such an ample display, she had no idea what else to expect - all she truly felt she could know was that this creature was dangerous... Delicious, and dangerous, both in equal measure.

That she did not answer his challenge to her Gift was absolutely no accident at all.

[Matthew]

"Teach me more." The phrase was an intense demand, his eyes bright and passionate, his body leaning forward and his muscles flexing just for a moment. Knowledge was what he wanted, and like it or not, she had actually blessed him with it. He looked hungry, for the second time tonight. It was hard to tell if it was an act, or something horrible boiling deep underneath all the ice. He held her stare, returning the denial she was showing him right back at her. "With the hand. What you showed me with yours. More like that. Explain more about how to touch a hand, or even a wrist, or an arm. The way you explained it, that made sense to me. The logical knowledge is what I thrive off of." He spoke a bit quicker than normal, his tone eager, but his words still as proper and pronounced as ever. "I can talk with my eyes and body, but I want to be sure I can act on it. I don't want to be a fumbling buffoon in bed. I sit back and take a woman in, and slowly strip her down into shivering pieces that each require a different primal thing. I can sit back and analyze her, using reactions and actions to slowly determine how best to make her want my services. But what about acting? I don't want just a plan, I want touches. If I can slowly break a woman down piece by piece with my eyes and mind, than all I need is to break her down with my hands. Teach me. Every little thing. Anything. Like you just did." He was passionate about this, and for a moment, the professional calm was giving way into odd eagerness. It was because he had found something much better than a book. He had found a woman who was willing to share with him a few of the secret touches. That is almost what he considered them. A woman was a puzzle, every woman was a puzzle, and he needed to know every single of the thousand possible moves that would be required to solve that puzzle. He took a breath, and slowly gathered himself, noticing that he was losing his composure. Running a hand through his hair, he leaned back, nibbling his lip lightly as he glanced away. It was the first sign of insecurity from him, knowing that something had not been under his control during this whole interaction. He could feel her gaze on him, and for some reason, it made him squirm a little bit. He noticed how she ignored his challenge, and for a moment, his eyes darted to her marked hand. He stared at it for a little bit, then shivered, forcing his body to relax. Reaching forward, he turned the two books that they had on the table, pushing each of them to the side so they would face the middle of the table they had occupied. He wanted them positioned so they could both read, signaling that he still very much intended for this lesson to continue. Shifting his elegantly-dressed body a bit more, the muscle visibly rippling underneath, he finally glanced back up into her eyes. "Please?" It was soft, another show of emotion and of genuine... want. He wanted to learn, and thought she could teach him.