325 Rue de Chermont

[plantnerd92]

Username: plantnerd92

Character: Linnea Hepworth

Desired apartment: 325 Rue de Chermont
www.jclodging.com/apartments.html (the first list of pictures is the apartment) Sage green walls and cream trim give this little apartment a soothing, earthy feel. Though it is small and homey, it is just what Linnea needs to wind down and have a moment to herself.

[plantnerd92]

Linnea Hepworth

Linnea walked inside, leaving the door open behind her for Maksim. Looking around, Linnea's brown eyes searching for a large flash of tan inside of her living room. She looked back at Maksim for a moment before setting her bag down on the counter, along with her nearly-empty coffee.

"Wait here," she said quietly, before walking down the hall and into her bedroom. There, she found her dog curled up at the foot of her bed. Duke lifted up his massive head and looked at her, wagging his tail slightly. Linnea walked in and scratched his ears for a moment, before shrugging out of her jacket, leaving her clad in a yellow tank top over her jeans. She walked out of her room, and shut the door of her bedroom so that she and Maksim wouldn't be interrupted, and came back into the living room. Linnea smiled and crept up behind Maksim, and stepped around in front of him. She stood on her toes, and reached up to pull him down to her as she started kissing him slowly. Maksim intoxicated her. Linnea couldn't get enough of him. But it wasn't just making out she was after.

"I missed you..." she said in between kisses. Linnea wasn't really thinking about what she was saying, due to the hazy fog her mind was wrapped in with Maksim. She honestly had to admit that it was true, though. Maksim was probably her only real friend here in Paris. Granted, Xavier lived in Paris too, but Linnea hardly ever saw her cousin, and besides that, he had his family to keep him busy. Either way, she missed not being able to be around Maksim as much as she would have liked.

[blueeyeddevil]

Maksim Volkov

Maksim followed her as she stepped inside. He glanced around the cozy little apartment and took it in. It was a nice place, he had to admit. Something about seemed to suit Linnea quite well and it was interesting to see her in her own environment rather than that of the Moulin Rouge. She seemed to glance around for something and he recalled her having mentioned a dog earlier. She set her stuff down and disappeared for moment into the back. "Wait here," she instructed.

Maksim took the time to pull off the sweater and set it to the side, leaving him in a plain gray tee shirt and jeans. Linnea returned a short time later, slipping around around and leaning up to kiss him better. He responded eagerly, cupping the back of her head and moldering her lips more firmly against his own. He increased the intensity and speed of the kiss gradually as he moved them a short ways into the kitchen and lifted her to sit on the counter. His hands slid down her body to hook just under her knee and lift it to meet his waist.

"I missed you..." she said in between the heated kisses and caresses.

His minds wandered briefly to the night before, watching her interact with the men of the club and the surprising amount of anger that had made him feel. It manifested itself now as he squeezed her thigh tightly to keep from lashing out. Still he almost couldn't control it. "Is that right? You didn't seem to miss me much last night," he whispered against her lips, the words coming out before he even realized he was saying them.

[plantnerd92]

Linnea Hepworth

When she mentioned her missing him, Maksim's grip suddenly clamped down on Linnea's thigh tightly. At first, it excited her, but then it became very uncomfortable. "Is that right? you didn't seem to miss me much last night," he hissed against her lips. Linnea's eyes flew open, and she stopped kissing him right then and there. She pulled Maksim's hand off of her thigh and put her hands on his chest and shoved as hard as she could. Sliding off the counter, Linnea got to her feet, and put her hands on her hips as she looked up at him. The effect would have been so much better if he didn't tower over her like he did, but she would have to deal with it.

"And is it completely outrageous to ask why that is? Am I not allowed to enjoy myself outside of your company?" She demanded to know, poking him sharply on the chest. She turned with an indignant flip of her hair, and pulled out a stemmed glass and a bottle, and poured herself a glass of wine. It wasn't a very regular occasion when she ingested alcohol, but she was aggravated enough now where she needed it, and there was no way on this green earth was she going to share.

"I mean, it isn't like you're one to talk, or anything like that," she snapped back at him, thinking about the women he had turned his charm on the night before. The man infuriated her so thoroughly at times. Was it really any wonder why she had to have a nice relaxing banter with other men every now and then?

[blueeyeddevil]

Maksim Volkov

The consequences of his words were immediate. The kissing stopped abruptly as her eyes suddenly flew open and she grabbed his hand, pulling it off her thigh. Her slender hands gave a hard shove to his chest, sending him back a couple of steps. She leapt from the counter, standing in front of him with her hands on her hips. She glared up at him, though it was slightly less foreboding than he was sure she meant it to be due to the vast height difference between them. Still, she was clearly angry. And it wasn't as though he could take back those words. The damage was done. It was time to salvage what was left.

"And is it completely outrageous to ask why that is? Am I not allowed to enjoy myself outside of your company?" she demanded with a poke to his chest. She stormed around the kitchen now, grabbing wine and a single glass. Maksim wasn't stupid enough to ask if he could have some as well.

"Now you're just putting words in my mouth, Linnea," he groaned, leaning back against the counter now with his arms folded over his chest. "That wasn't what I was saying at all and you know it."

She didn't seem to hear him as she continued her tirade. "I mean, it isn't like you're one to talk, or anything like that," she snapped.

Maksim rolled his eyes and groaned again as he realized she was talking about his own flirting the night before. "Were you even listening before?! Besides, that was all Bolitar's idea, not mine!" It was a quick cover-up in an attempt to rectify his situation. His dark eyes met her own now even. "And what exactly are trying to say? That you're allowed to have your fun with other people, but I'm not? Don't expect me to wait around till you decide you want to spend time with me." The woman stirred his blood in more ways than one, and right now it was one of those more volatile moments in their relationship.

[plantnerd92]

Linnea Hepworth

Maksim groaned as he leaned back against the counter, folding his arms across his chest. "Now you're just putting words in my mouth, Linnea, That wasn't what I was saying at all and you know it." Linnea ignored him, and brought up his interaction with the women at the Rouge the night before. Maksim rolled his eyes.

"Were you even listening before?! I already told you that was all Bolitar's idea, not mine!" He reminded her, and Linnea snorted, not buying it as she took another gulp of the maroon liquid, too irritated to take modest sips. Their eyes met, and he began again. "And what exactly are trying to say? That you're allowed to have your fun with other people, but I'm not? Don't expect me to wait around till you decide you want to spend time with me." He told her. Linnea choked on her wine, and started coughing as the liquid burned a trail down her windpipe while she gasped for air. She leaned over the sink as she tried to regain her composure. When she did, she started laughing. It wasn't a joyful laugh or even a rueful laugh, it was an 'Oh I've got you, you little sucker, you have no idea' laugh. She looked at him, her brown eyes wide with realization.

"You're jealous!" She exclaimed, shaking her finger slightly, looking triumphant as if she had discovered the secret to the universe. Everything was starting to make sense. Suddenly, she found the whole ordeal extremely funny, and she started laughing again. It wasn't really that funny, but the entire situation caught her off guard. Feeling a slight buzz wrap around her brain, Linnea looked at her unfinished glass of wine, and poured the rest down the drain. There wasn't much left, but she'd already had more than what she felt like she needed.

Linnea had calmed down, and she let out the air in her lungs with a 'whoosh' as she leaned against the counter, and focused her attention on the linoleum flooring, unable to think of anything else to say. What sort of feelings did this discovery inspire in her? She had to stop and ponder it for a while.

[blueeyeddevil]

Maksim Volkov

Maksim's nails dug into the palms of his hands as he stood there watching as she half choked down another mouthful of wine, starting to laugh. Suddenly he wanted nothing more than to just storm out of her apartment...get away from this whole stupid situation. "You're jealous!" she said with a shake of her finger, laughing again.

Maksim folded his arms over his chest and raised an eyebrow at her as if to say 'Oh, you're just now figuring that out?' His dark eyes followed her as she poured the remaining wine down the sink, leaning back against the counter now. There was no more laughing as she seemed to find the floor suddenly very interesting.

"You act like this is a whole new discovery for you. You really never noticed this before now," he asked. "I would have thought it was completely obvious, even with my sorry attempts to hide it." He stepped forward now, gently taking her chin in his hand and tilting it so their eyes met. "Yes, I'm jealous. The truth is I want you to be with me and only me," he said softly, hint of his Russian accent lilting through the words. "But if you can honestly say that you were never jealous yourself...that you don't feel the same...I'll let it go. You won't hear another word of it."

[plantnerd92]

Linnea Hepworth

"You act like this is a whole new discovery for you. You really never noticed this before now?" Maksim asked. Linnea's eyebrows pulled together in a perplexed frown. Had she noticed? "I would have thought it was completely obvious, even with my sorry attempts to hide it," Maksim said again, before stepping over to Linnea, and taking her chin in his hand, and gently urging her to look up at him. "Yes, I'm jealous. The truth is I want you to be with me and only me." Maksim's accent caused gooseflesh to rise on Linnea's arms, and she wanted to tackle him in a frenzy of heated kissing."But if you can honestly say that you were never jealous yourself... that you don't feel the same... I'll let it go. You won't hear another word of it," he promised. Linnea just gaped at him stupidly.

"Well, of course I was jealous!" she cried, smacking him in the chest. "Flirting with boring men gets old, you know," she told him indignantly. The truth was, Linnea was never really keen on settling with anyone because of the bitter divorce of her parents, and she flirted with everyone as a defense mechanism to keep any one person from getting to close to her... But Maksim... Well, to put it lightly, he barged right in on her heart and refused to budge, much like he did the day they met.

"Comrade, I admit it. I love you...." Linnea paused. "... I'm so glad I finally got that off my chest. You have no idea what I've been through trying to hide that from you." She suddenly started laughing. It was an awkward laugh, one that reflected the nervous pattering of her heart.

[blueeyeddevil]

Maksim Volkov

"Well, of course I was jealous!" she declared, hitting his chest. "Flirting with boring men gets old, you know." Maksim's eyes became very focused on her lovely lips as she spoke and now that they had gotten the fact they were both jealous out of the way, all Maksim wanted to do was pull her to him and kiss her senseless. This woman drove him mad but he craved her presence like a drug he'd become irrevocably addicted to.

"Comrade, I admit it. I love you...." she said. "... I'm so glad I finally got that off my chest. You have no idea what I've been through trying to hide that from you." She gave an adorable nervous little laugh.

Without another word, Maksim's hand slid to the back of her neck, knotting in her silky hair. He kissed her tenderly, revrently. This kiss was different from their many other kisses in that those had been fueled mainly by a mutual attraction...this was fueled by actual love. He rested his forehead to her own as the need to breath became overwhelming. "I love you too. No more hiding now," he whispered, kissing the tip of her nose.

[plantnerd92]

Linnea Hepworth

Maksim didn't say a word, and for a brief second, Linnea panicked, thinking that maybe she shouldn't of confessed the way she felt about him like she had. Did he not feel quite that deeply about her? The idea of it drove her mad. But her whirring thoughts were shattered when Maksim knotted his hand in her hair at the back of her head and pulled her to him and kissed her so sweetly, it made her heart ache for more.

"I love you too. No more hiding now," he whispered after pulling away, kissing her nose. Linnea smiled, still dazed from the kiss he'd given her. Her brown eyes sparkled as she wrapped her arms around his neck with a dazzled grin on her face.

"Yes sir!" she exclaimed in her humble cockney accent, before reaching up to kiss him again, softly at first, but with increasing fervor. She had to admit, work was interesting enough when she already couldn't keep her lips off of Maksim, but now that things had finally become exclusive, it would probably probably be all the more difficult to control herself.