"Don't worry." His hands were already sliding over her hips, the caress as intimate as a lover's but lacking the raw emotion behind it. In a sharp, jerking movement he'd pressed them closer together with his long fingers spread wide over the expanse of her back and threatening to overtake her completely. There was just the barest press of nails digging into her uniform, but it just as quickly disappeared, replaced instead with the pressure of his fingertips.

"I'm sure when the time comes for it, you'll know exactly what I mean. Baby steps." And oh if that thought doesn't fill him with a strange mixture of satisfaction and disgust. Pretty, naive, little Noel, strung along so easily like a puppet on a string. If he'd known it had been this simple he probably would have..

Actually, no. He probably wouldn't have done this before, if only for the fact he hadn't had a need or want to. To him, Noel would always be a thing, and the only way he'd subject himself to fraternizing with a thing would be for his own amusement. In this case, blackmailing Noel into a situation he knew she had zero experience in.

"I know you can't tell, but my eyes are closed, if that makes things easier."