Theme #6: Exploration

They had certainly come a long way.

For today, the tables had turned—at long last.

Hands closed over exposed hips, it wasn't long before the sheer blouse she wore was soon discarded to the floor, thereby baring more skin to the long-haired Uchiha, who was currently making work with the line of her neck. Knees sinking into the bed sheet, creases, crevasses and rivulets coursed along the soft material as Itachi continued with his exploration of her body, his usual gentility interwoven into his very gestures, loving. A hint of hesitation, and an almost experimental quality accompanied this, all of which only heightened as the intimacy of the situation deepened; a result of the newness of this particular experience.

Hardly surprising, considering how long it had taken the pair of them to reach this point. With Itachi being the reserved man that he was, he had always preferred taking a much slower, relaxed route when it came to relationships.

A stark contrast to that of Ino Yamanaka, and this certainly showed at the beginning of their acquaintanceship, where she would be the one who would initiate interactions more often than he did.

Yet it had all worked out all the same; both Itachi and Ino managing to find a pace that they could delegate themselves to.

With her arms locked around his neck, her breath hitched when warm lips left feather-light touches along her cleavage- the last one lingering teasingly mere millimetres away from the laced edge of her brassiere before he then withdrew to direct his attention elsewhere.

An action that did not fail to make the blonde pout. Even during such a time, he still found a way to tease her now, didn't he?

"Itachi-san!" she whined. Quite the emphasis was placed on the honorific, the florist choosing to draw it for a second or two longer. Of course, it only caused the lightest shade of amusement to tint dark eyes- honestly, if that man wasn't so adorable, Ino would have long thrown a multitude of fits at him. More than she already did. "Stop being so stingy!"

"Stingy?" he repeated, in that frustrating fashion of his.

Fingers now resting on the center-front of her brassiere, Itachi noted that the metal of the clasp was cool against his skin. There was a pause at first- then, a soft click, and the material was unclasped. This too joined her floral-patterned blouse on the floor. If Ino hadn't been aware of just how intimate the direction they were heading is, then she certainly knew of it now, her impatience quelled for the moment by a sudden wave of shyness. Something that was most unusual for the normally forward female; and it was a sight that was mostly reserved for Itachi, who had a way of easily eliciting such a reaction from her. It was only a matter of time before the rest of fabric that obscured her body from the hips down would then be removed from sight.

-And almost as though he had heard this line of thought, his hand slipped downward, thumb slipping under the band of her final piece of lingerie, perhaps to hint as to what would soon occur should they continue, before he then tugged her forward, their hips meeting. Needless to say, it was an action that effectively heated the air between them by several notches.

"That is quite the exaggeration, don't you think?"

It was nice to note that in spite of how calm he appeared, with his dark hair framing his face and strands of it falling across equally dark eyes, that mild playful note that had inflected his tone, as well as his even breathing, his cheeks did warm some. The shade that was a result of said warmth was difficult to miss, the colour endearing. Almost instinctively, she slid her hand onto his chest, just over his heart, the shirt he wore only slightly unbuttoned.

It seemed that Ino Yamanaka was not the only one who was affected by it all.

"I want your shirt off," she finally commented bluntly, picking at the article of clothing.

A statement that caused Itachi to blink, before he then succumbed to a string of gentle, near inaudible laughter. Dipping his head low, he nuzzled the crook of her neck, nose nudging against bared skin, and it was only by chance that Ino managed to catch the soft utter of "Be my guest"- words that were promptly followed by her hips being tugged closer still to his own, the heat building. Instantaneously, the colour on her cheeks deepened. Trust her annoying boyfriend to blow that sudden surge of boldness away in a single effective move.

Indeed, Itachi Uchiha certainly took enjoyment in teasing her.

Dior: Hey, look, Aini. I finally did it! It only took me forever BD