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Ellie doesn’t often get Arcanus off of Virmire and out enjoying himself. Sure, he still managed to find some work to do while they’re here on the Citadel, but she isn’t going to complain when he’s already promised to get out and spend some time just enjoying each other and the station.
The Citadel has undergone quite a few reconstruction since the Reaper War. There are still numerous places along the Wards that needs more than a little work and nothing even close to the number of the pre-war population has returned to their shattered homes, but being the bondmate of one of the leaders of such a large mercenary company as the Wraiths has its perks. One of those perks being credits, and lots of them.
Ellie isn’t one for flaunting credits, even still feeling out of place seeing the sheer amount of them Arcanus can produce and use, but she has to admit it feels nice to be pampered. She’s also come to a decision that has been helping her feel less guilt over the issue the longer they’re here on the Citadel. That being that whenever he spends large amounts of credits on her, they both donate credits to the station’s rebuilding efforts geared towards repairing the homes of average citizens over the higher classes and diplomats already having their homes - and even commercial properties - near completion.
Tonight was one such night where Ellie has given herself the confidence to go out with Arcanus and splurge. Well, she more used wide, pleading eyes on him than convinced, but he still relented well enough despite his current work of trying to set up a meeting with a potential, big client later during their time on the Citadel. After some talk, they settled on going out to a nice, high-end club where the patrons less grinded against one another with highly intoxicating drinks in hand as they did dance over the occasional glass of wine or expensive champagne.
Arcanus is always dressed to the nines, but Ellie had to go out and find a dress suited for the Patriot’s Lounge. Though the name didn’t do much to give her an idea of a proper dress code, pictures on the extranet definitely led her to believe that none of her clothes - although classy - would be suited for a high-end club meant more for high-ranking officials and honored veterans from the war. She couldn’t see herself in something fit for a usual aristocrat, but she’d be lying if she said she didn’t want to find a gown she may never find another occasion for in the future.
The young girl in the boutique was polite enough and seemed to understand exactly what Ellie was looking for with little explanation. Ellie knows dresses, knows how to shop for her body and looks, but the attendant made the decision much easier and the time shopping much faster by forgoing everything Ellie would have otherwise decided against on her own. After trying on a few dresses to see how they fit on her body, both Ellie and the attendant decided on a floor-length, vivid blue gown with a jeweled collar and short, yet comfortable heels. She denied any jewelry to go along with the outfit, sure that her ears were no longer prepared for earrings anyways and already having the small diamond pendant Arcanus had given her a while back in mind.
When she returns to the apartment shared by themselves and Jane and Garrus, Arcanus is deep in work and doesn’t notice much beyond the large wardrobe bag in her hands. She kisses him in passing before going to the bedroom to change. Late enough to be considered evening on the Citadel, she decides that now would be the perfect time to drag him away from keeping up to date with the happenings on Virmire.
Once dressed, Ellie makes sure to brush her teeth again for a refresh of the minty flavor, careful not to get anything on her dress. She uses the mirror in the bathroom to fuss with her hair, letting it down and fluffing with her fingers enough to create waves from the braid she had previously had it in. It then takes some time, but she manages to find the small bag of makeup she’s made a habit of always bringing around ‘just in case’ and puts on the sparse amount she is used to using for the occasional, special outings.
Finishing up her look with the pendant and strapping on her heels, Ellie gives herself a last look in the bedroom mirror before smiling. She’s not vain, but she knows Arcanus loves how she looks, is attracted in more ways than sexual. Though he may not compliment her like they do in the vids, she can pick up on all the little intricacies he uses to show her he sees her as beautiful and it all makes her see that in herself. She was never interested in her looks and often finds herself forgetting she’s a woman when working, so the unsolicited feeling of being admired has a way of giving her a surprising sense of accomplishment and pride.
“Arcanus?” Ellie steps out into the living room where he relaxes in a lounger and reads a datapad.
It takes him a moment to look up after humming in acknowledgment and she bites her lip in excitement for his reaction. When he finally does glance her way, she sees his eyes roam over her, taking in every detail before he looks in her eyes and purrs.
“Do you like it?” she asks as he sets the datapad on his side table and stands, moving to her. He slides his talon through a wave of her hair and she chuckles. “I meant the dress.”
“I understood,” he says, purring louder as he leans down and nuzzles his forehead to hers. “You are quite beautiful this evening, Elyse. I believe this means you have thought about the prospect of visiting the lounge this evening?”
Ellie smiles and nods. When she brought up the idea to him this morning, she wasn’t even completely sure, but something in the way he flicks a mandible softly makes her think that perhaps he intended for her to come to this same conclusion. Dare she think it, but she thinks that perhaps he like the idea of letting her distract him from work. He may not be able to have that kind of self-control, but if he needs her to be that kick in the rear, she will gladly be the spouse that drags her love away from work and out.
“Yeah.” She looks him over, huffing lightly in amusement over the fact that his robes look as pristine as ever. “It doesn’t look like you need to change into anything special.”
“You know I prefer to maintain a professional appearance.” He tilts his head slightly and traces a talon around the pendant resting on her chest. “I am honored you appreciate this. It always pleases me every time you wear it.” Arcanus thrums softly when she smiles brighter, blushing a bit, and he gives her a gentle kiss. “Shall we go?”
“Absolutely,” she says and takes his offered arm, looping her hand in the crook of his elbow.
It doesn’t take them long to arrive at the lounge by skycar. They could have walked if she didn’t already know her feet would protest later in the night, but she also freely admits to him that she likes the idea of taking his hand as she stands from the taxi and he walks her in. Even without a crowd to watch them as they approach, Ellie feels like royalty being escorted and sometimes she even likes to imagine some of the little things she did as a child. One of which being a highly important aristocrat with a handsome man at her side and while she doesn’t quite feel at home with the amount of credits she has at her disposal, she certainly got her man.
Arcanus, always the intuitive turian, lays his hand on hers in his elbow with a soft rumble. She smiles up to him and he gives that soft, special smile back that always makes her blush. As they step into the pleasantly lit and spacious lounge, he looks around and gives her hand another squeeze.
“How about you find a place to sit while I purchase a bottle of wine for ourselves.” He hums and glances back to her. “Unless you would prefer champagne or another drink?”
Ellie slips her hand from his elbow and takes his hand, squeezing it back before stroking her thumb against his glove. “Actually, champagne sounds wonderful. I’d like that.”
“Very well.”
She watches him walk to the marbled bar before letting her eyes roam the lounge. Conversations are low and comfortable, not the deafening roar of a crowded club where everyone yells to be heard over the crowd and music. A soft twinkling from a piano comes from the opposite side of the lounge from the bar and Ellie’s mouth falls open slightly in surprise to see an actual pianist playing. Enjoying the classical music coming from the musician, she chooses the closest open table to the piano and takes a seat in a lounging couch where she and Arcanus can both watch as well as be close.
Watching the salarian pianist play what has to be an alien song - or at least one that doesn’t immediately remind her of human music - she doesn’t notice when a man approaches with a smile. His sudden appearance surprises her when she glances away from the piano and she blinks, opening her mouth to ask if there is something wrong with her chosen seat.
The man speaks before she can properly come up with an apology for taking his seat, saying, “Is this your first time to the Patriot’s Lounge?”
Ellie smiles, relieved that she didn’t take away another person’s seat and didn’t have to go through the awkward exchange of trying to decide who deserved to keep it. “Oh, yes. Yes, this is my first time.”
The man returns the smile and takes a seat on a lounge chair to her left, seemingly intent on getting both out of her view of the pianist and closer to her seated position. “Did you hear about this place from a friend?” He chuckles softly and sets his glass on the table between them, glancing to the pianist to admire the music for a moment. “I’ve been a few times already,” he says before looking back to her. “And the music is wonderful. They actually have various artists come play,” he adds with a slight excitement to his voice. “But Jerika here is the best. He knows just how to play the most elegant music.”
Ellie chuckles, not quite sure if she wants to keep going with this conversation, but too polite to just ask him to leave. It just doesn’t feel right in such a relaxed place as this to just dismiss someone who only seems to want to strike up a conversation. “I actually found it on the extranet. It seemed to have good reviews and I really like the atmosphere. It’s comfortable.”
“Yeah, I have to admit I’m not the young kid going to the clubs anymore.” He takes a sip from his drink, savoring it a moment before resting it on the table once more. “Would you like to dance?”
“Oh,” Ellie exclaims softly, eyes widening in surprise. Was he flirting with her? Was she flirting back? It’s been way too long to really feel confident either way. “Oh, no,” she says with a slight frown. “I’m sorry, but I’m here with someone-”
“Well, perhaps I can buy you two a drink?”
“I believe she has alluded to you leaving.” Arcanus’ voice is polite, lowered so as to not distract the other patrons’ attentions from the pianist and Ellie breathes a soft sigh of relief. While not a damsel by any means, she certainly doesn’t know enough about flirting seriously to get herself out without sounding like a complete jerk. “I suggest you return to your own seat.”
Ellie can tell in the way the man tenses slightly that he wasn’t expecting a tall, stoic turian to come to her aid. She isn’t sure if he understands the implication that she and Arcanus are mates or if he just believes the turian come to assist a clearly uncomfortable stranger, but the man holds up his hands to placate Arcanus.
“I was just having a polite conversation with a beautiful lady who looked lonely,” the man says although he picks up his drink and stands. He looks to Ellie and smiles that soft smile that Ellie now knows has a double meaning. “I hope I didn’t make you uncomfortable.”
The truth is that he did very much make her uncomfortable by putting her in such a situation she hasn’t been in for a very long time and thus doesn’t know how to handle in the best way, but she doesn’t tell him that. Instead, she smiles back and dips her head once. “It’s alright. No harm done.” As the man eyes Arcanus as the two men switch places at the table, she huffs a soft, reassuring chuckle. “I hope you enjoy your night.”
She can tell by the way Arcanus zeroes in on the man’s back as he walks away that the flirting struck a nerve. While she knows she did nothing wrong and that he wouldn’t fault her, she can’t help but wonder just how he’s going to react once he’s settled in. She knows she would be awfully chummy, pettily ‘marking her territory,’ but she doesn’t quite know how he handles a situation like this.
“Did he make you uncomfortable in staying?” Arcanus asks as he sits down, bottle of an open champagne in one hand and two glasses held between the fingers of the other.
She shakes her head with a genuine smile as he pours her a glass and lays a hand on his arm. “Oh, no. I’m okay. It’s an honest mistake.”
“He needs to learn how to notice the signs that he is making someone uncomfortable with his propositioning.” He hands her a glass and she chuckles, watching the bubbles fizzle against the crystal glass. He pours himself a glass and sits back in the lounging seat beside her, hand gently pulling her arm to move closer to his side.
Ellie grins, a bit shocked at his blatant show of possession but also a bit proud at being wanted enough that he’d go against his normal gestures and visibly show her affection where he’d normally be so reserved. She sits back and leans into his side, feeling a flutter of excitement when he thrums and loops his arm around her. Lifting her glass, she practically purrs in her own happiness when he softly clinks his glass to hers before they both take a sip.
The night entails quite a bit of physical shows of affection that, while so very different from his usual, have her practically glowing and fidgeting in happiness in more ways than the champagne could have caused. His low vocals that both fill her eyes along with the music and vibrate against her side makes her flush with more than the excitement of getting shown more human signs of showing his love and she knows he can smell her when he ducks his head do her neck and purrs against her skin.
“So …” she starts to say, biting her lip as she sets her glass down and shifts to look up at him, “What do you say we finish up the night at home? I’m dying to get out of this dress.”
While not completely true because the dress is actually pretty comfortable, she can’t deny that slight twitch of his pupils as he nods. She lifts a hand to cup his mandible and flicks her thumb over the sensitive piercing, grinning at the near quiet growl he gives her in response. Scooting closer to him, she presses her lips to his mouth and licks softly at his plates. She doesn’t expect much, but is completely shocked when he rumbles and opens his mouth, curling his tongue against hers before giving it a slight squeeze.
He pulls away and presses his forehead to hers once before taking her hand. “I say that your idea is better than any music the pianist has left to play.”
Taking a skycar taxi back to the apartment, Ellie practically bounces when he takes her hand and helps her out of the car once more. She admits they may be walking a bit faster as they make their way back to the lavish apartment, but neither seems to bring attention to it until they reach the apartment and he turns to her.
“You truly are beautiful,” he says to her, voice tender as he lifts a hand to curl a finger behind a strand of hair and slide it down to her chest.
“And you truly are handsome.” Lifting to her toes, she presses her mouth to his and he immediately deepens the kiss.
Cupping his mandibles between her hands, Ellie blindly backs into the living room with him close behind. They never break their kiss, tongues dancing and tasting one another. It’s only when she stumbles a bit that he drops his hands to her hips, pulling her close and rumbling at her with a smile.
“Careful. I do not want you getting hurt.” He lifts a hand to brush her hair over her shoulder so he can lower his head to her neck and shoulder, nipping her skin. “I still have so much I want to do.”
Ellie chuckles and tilts her head to the side for more, trusting in him to guide her. She thinks he’s going to to lead her to bed, but instead, he takes her to the couch. Grinning, she flushes at the idea of making love right here. She looks down behind her and bites her lip, gaze falling on him and seeing his slight smirk.
“Do you disapprove?”
She snorts and sits down. “How could I ever say no?” Reaching out, she slides her hands along his robe, unbuckling the few buckles in silent request.
He takes her hand and steps back, urging her to her feet once more. “Let me get your dress unzipped first.”
“No, shoes first,” she jokes and tugs his robes. “And I got this undone, so you have to take it off.” She smirks and lifts on her toes, hands clasping his robes. “It’s only fair.”
He huffs in amusement, but purrs and nods. “As you wish.”
Ellie grins, finding her own bit of arousal in the fact that she - Elyse Hunter - can tell him to do something and he’d actually listen. He lives his life commanding an entire merc company and yet she, a simple human woman, can get him to relent without protest. It’s one more sign of his love and she takes delight in it.
Crouching down, Ellie shifts her dress out of the way to undo the simple straps of her heels. She stands and slips them off, kicking them aside to get them out of her way just as Arcanus sets his robe on the back of one of the lounge chairs. She chuckles at how meticulous he is and steps to him when he turns back, sliding her hands along his bare plates. He’s taken off his shoes, leaving him in only the pants beneath his robes and she slides her foot over one of his feet, sliding it up along his calf to hook on his spur. That makes him growl and cup her hip, but she chuckles and kisses him quickly before stepping out of his grasp and turning her back to him.
Once he unzips her dress, he runs his hands along her shoulders as he pushes it off. He leaves nips just slightly above the tender kisses along her neck and shoulder as he lets the dress drop. Closing her eyes, she takes in the sensation of his hands sliding from her hip to waist, then around to cup each breast. Her breath comes out shaky as he circles a thumb around each nipple before giving them a slight pinch. She gasps at that and smiles at his resulting, rough chuckle.
“You like this,” he says, though he knows the answer all to well to be a question.
She merely answers with a nod as he continues, adding his tongue to his mouth’s touch. The tiny hairs on her neck stand on end and she covers his hands, sliding to grip his wrists in encouragement. Feeling her body heat up and her skin prickle as she grows more sensitive, Ellie grinds her rear into his body and sighs softly at the feel of him starting to emerge from his plates.
“Sit down,” he whispers in her ear as he pulls away from her and she follows his command without question, sitting on the couch to watch as he undoes his pants.
She bites her lip and watches him as he reveals more and more of his hide, grinning when she sees his length. Reaching out to take him in hand, he steps back with a soft rumble and shakes his head.
“Not yet,” he says as he lowers to his knees, but purrs in reassurance. “Soon.”
Gripping her hips, he urges her to the edge of the couch and she lays her hand on his fringe, knowing exactly what he has planned. Just the anticipation has her heart speeding as she grips his crest and he shifts closer.
“You’re such a tease.” While she loves his mouth, she really wants to feel him, to share in their pleasure. “Not too much. I want you.”
Arcanus slides his lateral fringe along her thigh, thrumming as he nods slightly. “Just enough to warm you up, then.”
Her laugh is shaky as she jumps a bit from the puff of his hot breath against her folds. “I’m already there, love-”
She gasps, throwing her head back and tightening her hand on his crest the moment his tongue slides along her folds. Moaning, her back arches as she feels him lap at her clit with a deep growl, hands on her knees to hold her open. Her breath comes in short gasps as he alternates from licks to sliding his tongue into her, curling within her as he closes his eyes and spreads his mandibles against her thighs. She grips onto his crest as she watches him, mouth open as feels a warmth building in her stomach.
“Please,” she says, sliding her hand along his crest. “Please … I need you ….”
His eyes open and he glances up to her, his golden eyes dark with lust. Giving her one last hard lick, he stands and kisses her lips gently, but she deepens the kiss. She takes his shoulders and scoots down the couch, pulling him with her as she lays back against the arm rest. He follows without pause, climbing over her as their tongues curl and stroke one another.
Holding himself up with a hand, Arcanus leans back and slides a hand along her slide. He thrums, the feeling igniting along her body wherever they touch, and she lifts her legs to wrap around his. She cups his face and strokes her fingers over the piercings to give him one more bolt of arousal before reaching between them and lining him up.
She moans as he pushes into her, her walls surrounding his size as he dips his head to her neck and licks. He waits, grinding against her for a moment, until she lays her hands on his shoulders and whispers softly, “Okay. I’m ready ….”
Arcanus growls and starts to move, his hips giving firm, strong thrusts as he licks and nips along her shoulder and neck. She digs her fingers into his cowl and throws her head back, feet pressing to the backs of his hips to urge him on. She’s already so close but she doesn’t want it to stop, she can’t let it stop. Her hands slip to his waist and squeezes, giving him a sign that she’s so close. Even if they can - and often do - go multiple times, Ellie always wants the first time they’re joined to be together. It makes the sensation of climax that much stronger to know he’s feeling the same thing.
“Elyse,” he growls against her, free hand slipping down to her hip, angling her just so.
She cries out, arching as she clenches her eyes and her toes curl. Her body bucks against his as the waves surge over her body, the coil in her belly tightening that much harder before a sudden release. She distantly hears him grind out her name against as his grip on her hip tightens and he goes rigid. Both of their bodies jerk and twitch uncontrollably, following the bolts of electricity as they orgasm together, sharing their completion.
She comes back down to the sensation of his talons through her hair and purring vibrating their bodies. Huffing a weak laugh, she smiles and cups the back of his head, guiding him up to kiss him. She definitely needs to get him to go out somewhere nice more often. While probably not an everyday thing, she also should be more open about guys approaching her if it’ll get the same reaction out of her bondmate.