Wildest Dreams

Venetian Nights

Rikkard looked very dashing in his fitted waistcoat and trousers. After much coaxing on her part, he had at last indulged her and finally bought a new set of clothes for himself in an attempt at sardonically wooing her, despite the entire cost being cut from her wages.

However, he refused to buy a new top hat, insisting the one he already owns is perfectly sufficient, his miserly ways not to be forgotten so completely.

She could still remember that look of playful annoyance on his face when she told him that she was proud of his purchase.

His arm slipped around her waist and pressed her close, closer than she needed to be, and twirled in a circle. A laugh bubbled in her stomach, as she looked at up at his handsome smirking face. A chuckle rumbled in his chest, as the slightest smile stretched onto his face, making her feel warm inside.

The other dancers around them also seemed to be having just as much fun as they were.

Rikkard could have easily taken her to a stuffy ball held by the elite of the city, but she was glad that they decided to take to the streets instead. 

The local people were altogether more zestful, exciting, and filled to the brim with energy. This kind of liveliness was more addictive than the drab atmosphere that they would most likely come across at a sullen ball. Here, they were free to act any way they wanted without high society's suffocating rules holding them back. 

She dearly wanted to make the most of the single evening they had before they were drawn back into business that brought them here in the first place. 

Lilly was almost sure that she has never seen Rikkard so rife with spirit like he was tonight in all the time she has known him.

"Have I told you that you look very beautiful this evening?" He spoke softly, before stepping away from her, following the flow of the music.

Lilly raised an eyebrow at him, with a tiny smirk she responded when he was close enough to hear. "Perhaps."

He grinned at her, his eyes warm and inviting. She still couldn't believe that there had been a time where she had thought of him as cold. "Indeed, then it is my pleasure to inform you that you look positively stunning." His words fell smoothly off his lips, teasing the butterflies in her stomach.

They had come a long ways from the days of joyless offices and cold winter nights. 

She scoffed, she knew exactly what game he was playing. "Right," she nodded sarcastically. "You are making me blush, sir."

Lilly was in his arms again, and he paused a step. "Precisely," he mumbled, with the faintest smirk before continuing.

All she could do was laugh at his flirtatious teasing.

It truly felt like a night of firsts for Lilly. It was probably one of the first nights she has got to share with him alone in a very long time. After badgering him for days, he finally agreed to step away from their work, but only for a little while. There was no mission, no target, and no business, just them. Lilly and Rikkard, together.

She felt alive when she was in his arms. His tantalizing touch ignited her soul and sent sparks up her back. She couldn't explain it in words, maybe it was the festive ambience, but she felt more connected to him now than she had ever been before. He was here, with her, dancing the night away. It was gloriously simple, but it felt like so much more. Lilly could not possibly imagine another place in the world where she would rather be than here.

What would her mother say if she saw her now? In the arms of the world's most handsome man, celebrating Venice's greatest night, lost in the haze of it all in complete euphoria. Lilly had a feeling that she would be happy for her.