Bella narrowed her eyes, her lust ebbing ever so slightly.  

"Wait.  You're wearing something magical and you don't know exactly what it does?  Don't you think that's a little dangerous considering what sort of man we're hunting?  I mean, I know you said your friend gave it to you, and he got it from the good King he once served so, I guess it might be safe, but ... what if..."

While she spoke her concerns, Gavin's hands rested one on each thigh, moving slowly across her skin, urging her to forget the Wolf whose eyes stared up at her.  She sighed.  Gavin had kept the necklace all this time and he hadn't been hunted down by the Sorcerer or hurt.  If the item was cursed or used by the Sorcerer-King... well, wouldn't that have happened by now?  Her desires were not helping her mind stay focused on the potential danger at hand.

Bella closed her eyes for a second, savoring how he felt.  Her breath quickening again.  When she opened her eyes, the wolf seemed to still be staring at her. 

"Not lucky." 

She picked up the amulet, running her thumb over the face of the wolf as if somehow this might make it blink or look away. 

"Protection maybe?  That wolf is looking at me... I swear it.  Like it can see me.  Like it knows me and what we're doing."

For a moment she is clearly serious, but then the absurdity of someone caring about the sex life of some young Ranger and Thief hit her and she began to laugh.  What King gives a trusted woodsman an amulet that could do such a thing?  To what end would such a thing even exist?  She realized her fears were getting the better of her and the time for such healthy paranoia was not today.  Not in this bedroom at least and not in Gavin's arms.

"Well, I guess that means I'll leave the manacles in my bags for now."

She put the pendant down only half-joking. 

"Besides, I don't think I know you well enough for those just yet..." 

She smirked leaving him to wonder what a woman would do in a bed with such utilitarian items. Giggling, leaning down over the face of the wolf, she ignored the warmth she felt against her skin as her breasts smashed against his body.  

"Tell me if you like this idea," She said beside his ear, her voice returning to the way it had been earlier... breathy and quiet.  "I'm going to show you what a good rider I am.  And should you have the self-control to let me enjoy my ride... I'll take my time cleaning up after."

She claimed his earlobe and suckled upon it gently waiting for a response.

Gavin felt like his brain was underwater. Not in a bad way, like getting dunked in the ocean... but a warm, pleasant bath. He was intoxicated by the sight of her, but the motions of her body, by his own desire- which had finally found an outlet. He wanted her- the nearly audible blood pulsing through his veins and in his ears was demanding it. He ground his hips into her, knowing what he wanted... and knowing the line he couldn't cross.

"The amulet... nothing to do with him. Promise."

He rested his hands on her thighs, trying to get her to go back to doing what she was doing. 

"Tell me if you like this idea. I'm going to show you what a good rider I am.  And should you have the self-control to let me enjoy my ride... I'll take my time cleaning up after."

As her words tickled his ear, it was not understatement to say that Gavin had never wanted anything more in his life. He nodded, and he stared at her as she straddled him, resting her hands on his shoulders as he traced his tongue along her chest. He froze as she shifted herself, moving lower and taking him in her hand. As they came together, Gavin couldn't help but close his eyes. Then her tongue was in his mouth and her hips were moving again. Gavin found himself reacting instinctively, moving toward her in a slow rhythm. It was the best he'd ever felt, and it was almost three or four minutes before he truly appreciated what was happening- and what could happen. Isabella was in another world- he saw her thighs quiver with pleasure as she moved on him, and just as  Gavin realized how close he was, he turned, laying her down on her back and withdrawing from her.

She look at him with confusion, and he tried to smile reassuringly- but he felt like an ass. Still panting from desire, he spoke.

"I... can't do that."

Before she could say anything- to mock him, to question him- he moved forward, running his hands over her thighs once again as his catlike tongue forced her to arch her back; hearing Bella's moans of pleasure, he couldn't help but say a prayer of thanks to the farm girl outside of Bree who'd taught him very, very well. 

Isabella extracted her fingers from Gavin's hair and slowly her awareness returned.  Gavin had stopped.  He'd... surprised her not just by stopping but by what he'd said and what he'd done after.

She looked down at him, no longer feeling the desperate ache that distracted her from clear thinking.  His eyes seemed brighter, intense, in a word: hungry.  As if he hadn't been about the task of pleasure but literally devouring something and it had not yet sated him. 

"You look like a wolf, teeth just fresh out of a kill, with me painted on your lips like that..."  She nodded towards his pillow.  "Come up here."

He looked ready to try and explain why he'd stopped earlier, but she shook her head.  

"I give you my word... I'd never force someone or trick them.  Only monsters do such things... and I'm many things but I'm not that."

She pulled herself up into a sitting position. 

"I just want to relieve you of the wicked state I put you in, and return your kindness.  Will you let me say thank you?"

She held out her hand to him and as he returned back to the place where he'd slept the night before, Isabella moved between his thighs, kneeling.  With her head clear she took in the sight of him, and she knew this would not be a long and involved task.  She smiled down at his blazing blue eyes, locked on her, eager and desperate.  Whatever fears or oaths had stopped him, it was clearly not a lack of desire.

"You don't need to justify to me why you stopped.  Now or ever."  She ran her hands from his knees up to his thighs, slowly lowering herself toward him.  "I promise,"  she whispered as her lips neared to him, eyes still locked on his.  "It won't happen again."

Whatever Gavin was about to say died on his tongue the second hers touched his flesh.  

When the room was silent again, Isabella crawled up beside the Ranger, yawned, and let sleep reclaim her hoping that her headache would be gone upon her second awakening of the day.

Gavin awoke with a smile still on his face, but he moved to dress quickly and prepare. 

With his lust abated- at least for now- his clear head had returned, and his way forward was clear. He was sure Viggo would preach caution about trusting Bella, but Gavin couldn't deny that he felt a connection with her. Their destinies, it seemed, were intertwined. As she returned to the room, he flashed her a smile.

"Good morning."

He swallowed saying "Yesterday was fun"; no need to look like a child.

"If we're going to do this together, we're going to need coin. Lots of it. Do you have contacts we could use to find a suitable job with a large payout?"

Bella was lacing up her boots, back in breeches she felt comfortable, like her normal self.  She looked up at Gavin as he greeted her warmly and she smirked like a cat who had eaten all the cream.  

"Yesterday was fun."  she quipped.  "I trust you slept well?  I do have something in mind... we got a long trip, but it's main roads and the payout should be good."

She began braiding her hair.  "You ever hear of a city called Warwick?  It's one of the oldest around.  Big castle.  Big Church.  Lots of money in a place like that and lots of ways to get dead if you're not careful.  Luckily for you... I'm here to keep you safe.  I was thinking, we might liberate some of the pretty jewels in Warwick and take them to a friend of mine and Canton who can cut the stones smaller so we can move them fast.  Nice things about gems are that something the size of a gold crown can be worth thousands and it's easier to get out with than art.  In fact, if you're good enough, you can take the gems right off a woman while you romance her and she'll not be the wiser until you're long gone."

She chuckled.  "BUT... since we don't have years to train you in that skill, we'll just do this the heavy-handed way.  Breaking and entering.  Good old lock picks and some precision timing.  I mean... unless you'd like to kill someone?  I mean, a contract killing is profitable but if you're wanting to buy an army... well... I figured you'd want to earn it the fastest way possible and let's be honest, a few gems from most nobles or clergy won't even be noticed."

Gavin grinned as he took Bella's hand and started walking.

"Let's just hit the road. I suspect that we'll have many more adventures before we get to our destination- if we ever get there. For now, I plan on enjoying the journey."