Chapter 10 - patience and puzzles (Ladd x Lua)

A/N: It's nipple play here in this house, god i love lua so much

Studying the pieces laid out before her, Lua sets to work, only vaguely aware of Ladd fidgeting in his seat. He loves to watch her even though he's never able to sit still through it, but she is very good at working with distractions, and her face remains blank as she stares down at the table and begins to work on the border. When solving a puzzle, she knows that the border is supposed to be the top priority, but she's getting so good at seeing how the pieces fit together that sometimes she begins to work on the center before the border is even finished.

She isn't sure how much time passes when she works, and she gets so caught up in it that she can almost ignore the man sitting across from her. Almost, but not quite, and today he proving to be an even bigger distraction than usual, even if she does not let it show outwardly. She picks up a piece, sure that it's the one she's looking for, and her fingers hover over the spot for a moment before she realizes that she is mistaken and sets it back to the side. Usually, she would have caught herself much sooner; she is very distracted indeed.

When she has about half of her puzzle completed, Ladd stands up, but she does not even flinch, much less look in his direction, even when he comes to stand beside her chair, looking over her shoulder to get a closer look. His breath is warm on her neck and still she does not turn away from the task at hand, pressing another piece into place. His breath catches in his throat and then he kneels behind her, wrapping his arm around her and cupping one of her breasts.

She had been able to tell for quite some time that that was contributing to his inability to sit still, and of course, knowing this had started to affect her as well, but even as he gives in to his own temptations, she does not so much as look away from her puzzle. Ladd squeezes ever so slightly and murmurs, “Don't let me get in the way or nothing...”

Even over her blouse she can feel when he starts to stroke over her nipple, and for the first time, her breath catches in her throat, the first outward sign that she's noticed anything outside of her activity. She picks up another piece and tries to fit it into it's place, only to discover that it does not fit at all and has to be traded for another. Her hand feels like it should be shaking, but it isn't.

Ladd keeps teasing her, his breathing growing heavier and more labored, and he watches her with anticipation, just waiting for the moment when her work is complete. With only a fourth of the puzzle left, she begins moving at a faster rate, because with fewer pieces available, it always becomes much easier to tell where something should go. Even with a lot of distractions, and Ladd only adds to them, dropping his other hand beneath the table, reaching underneath her skirt.

Her toes curl in her shoes and there's only a few pieces left, only a few more pieces before her puzzle is done, and her hand moves so quickly that she hears him make an impressed sound while he teases her. When she pushes the last piece into place, he heaves a sigh of relief, and she finally looks at him, her expression unreadable save for the hint of a smile tugging at her lips.

“I need to get to my paints,” she says softly, lowering her eyelids. “You're kind of in the way, you know?”

“How 'bout we do that a little later, huh, doll?” he asks, smirking. “You have no idea how crazy it drives me, just watching you there and not being able to do anything!” He says this despite having spent the last few minutes doing quite a bit, but she does not call him out on this.

“It's hard sitting so close to you too. I was so distracted,” she admits, and he nods.

“You were a little bit slower than usual,” he replies. “I thought it might be something like that. Usually you've got one like that done in ten minutes flat, but it's been nearly fifteen!”

Has it been that long? Lua rarely notices the passage of time when she's focused like that, but she must have been out of it to take so long to complete her puzzle. And now that she doesn't have to concentrate on it at all, she can really feel the ache in the pit of her stomach, how badly she needs Ladd, and she moans softly. His face lights up and then he's pulled her into a kiss.
Lua melts into it, forgetting everything for a moment, all the work she's just done and the plans she has for painting, everything except the heat within her that she can no longer ignore. When the kiss is broken, he stands and helps her up, starting to guide her to their bedroom, only to stop short in the doorway.

“I don't have the kind of patience you do,” he mutters, and plants his lips on her neck, kissing and nibbling and causing her to gasp as he leans into her, and when his lips reach the collar of her blouse, he pulls back to remove it. “But I still gotta finish what I started, right?”

He doesn't give her a chance to try to answer the question- though no answer is needed- before he leans down to press his lips against one of her nipples. Lua lets out a sigh of contentment and he moans against her flesh before parting his lips and lightly sucking at her. It's enough to make her knees weak, but she supports herself against the door frame as Ladd rolls his tongue over her.

She wraps her arms around him, digging her nails into his shoulders while she struggles to breathe, whimpering. Even after claiming to not be patient enough, he seems determined to get her off first, but she knows he won't have to be patient for long. Just having him touch her over her clothes, while trying to finish her puzzle, had gotten her very excited, and now it is just a matter of time.

There's no point in pretending to keep her composure, and she gives up any pretense of reservation, allowing a few soft moans to escape her lips. Ladd moans in return, encouraged by her noises; always, he knows if he can break through her usual quiet then he is really doing something right, and sometimes she thinks this might thrill him more than anything else. It really is astounding, just how much a man like him can be so entranced by her, can be so focused on everything she does, can appreciate her pleasure as much as his own. She loves him more than she will ever be able to express, in words or otherwise.

He parts his lips just to murmur her name, and it's muffled and she can hardly make it out, but it's the final nudge that she needs. She loses her breath for a moment, and he looks up at her with a large grin on his face, watching her tip her head back as she comes, trembling and pathetic. He straightens himself to support her so that she does not give in to her shaky legs and collapse, and gives her the time she needs to come down, relaxing into the afterglow for only a moment before he's pushing her skirt up, yanking her underwear down, and reaching for his own zipper.

“Like I said,” he says, “I'm just not patient, dollface.”


