What A Time

If only death didn't dance on my fingertips and if only misery wasn't written in the story of your life...then perhaps, we would have been different. Perhaps we would have been free.

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"She reminds me of a place that once provided me peace. I don't know what that place is...at least, I don't remember. But she somehow feels like the breath of fresh air that I had been waiting for. She is my happy pla—"

Bucky was interrupted in his writing when he heard a knock on his door. He immediately closed his journal when he found Valeria standing in the doorway watching him with an almost giddy expression.

"Uh-oh, should I be scared? Did you kill someone?" Bucky asked, his mouth tilting up in a lopesided grin as he watched a pout forming on her perfect, plump lips.

"I did no such thing!" She huffed as she practically skipped inside his room, until she was standing in front of him where he had been sitting at the edge of the bed. "We, Sergeant Barnes, are going to go out and I'll take you to all my favourite places in Madripoor." She said, her excitement at the prospect overflowing in front of him.

For a moment, Bucky was tempted to say yes only because of how excited she looked. The two of them had spent almost two weeks in Valeria's penthouse, mostly spending time together or in the same room while they did their own things, and slowly with time, Bucky was coming to a realization that he had begun to get somewhat attached to the noirette currently standing in front of him.

And the sight of a smile on her lips, oh how that got his heart racing in ways that he could not even explain.

However, there was still a part of him that was deeply connected to the man that he was before meeting her and the things he had done. And there was absolutely no way in hell that he wanted to allow his past to come to hurt her in any manner.

And so, he said, "I don't think that it's safe for me to go out in public. I made a lot of enemies and it is not exactly difficult to recognise me from a mile away." He stated, flexing his metal arm slightly.

He had a look on his face that told Valeria enough about his desire to step outside and see the world in all its glory, but there was a sliver of vulnerability entrapped in a capsule of his fear that was not allowing him to give into his wishes.

She gave him a bright smile and took his hand in her own, causing him to put down the journal back on the bed as she dragged him up before turning him around to face the closet.

"Come with me."

And saying that, she practically pushed him towards the large, walk in closet which she had personally equipped with clothes according to his size and his taste.

Bucky stood in the middle of the room which was almost the size of most of the safe houses he had lived in during his missions and watched as the noirette whizzed around, plucking out articles for clothing for him.

Her long hair fell down till her hips in luscious, raven waves, shining under the soft lights that illuminated his closet. Her lips had a gentle grin playing on them as she currently was reaching for a box which was on the highest shelf of one of the cupboards.

Bucky had to bite his lip to not comment on her height before he shook his head with a smile, seeing her struggling.

Sighing, he walked over to her and without realizing it, he placed his hand on her lower back before he reached up in order to take that box out for her, without realizing how close they were until it was too late.

Because the moment his arm came up from behind her to help, she turned on her heel and found him standing behind her, trapping her between himself and the cupboard.

Valeria's heart began to race in her chest once again as she stared up at him with a her lips parted and her eyes wide. His stormy blue eyes met the obsidian depths of her orbs and for a moment, he forgot everything else around them.

The two of them stood frozen in that moment, not knowing what was going to happen next.

Bucky had his thoughts racing through his head, unable to piece together the strength to pull away from her as his breath fanned her face and she couldn't bring herself to move away either— not that she wanted to do that in the first place.

"What are you doing to me, huntress?" He whispered to her in soft Romanian, and his accent causing her breathing to quicken as her tongue darted out to lick her lower lip.

That action was specifically observed by Bucky and he could not help but come even closer to her, pressing her further into the cupboard behind her as their bodies were pushed flush together.

Valeria stared into his eyes, lost in a dreamy haze that always seemed to appear whenever she was this close to the man standing in front of her. All thoughts about the day that she had planned left her mind as she stared up at Bucky with nothing but flushed cheeks and a shallow breaths, telling him that she was thinking about all of the same things that were going through in his mind.

In this moment, as he stood against her with his hand placed above her head, trapping her beneath himself, all he could think about was grabbing her chin with his free hand and finally tasting what her plump lips were like.

"I could ask you the same thing, James." She whispered, her Romanian coming out as flawlessly as his own, her onyx eyes twinkling with desire, and an urge to give into them and find out what life had in store for her. The longer she stared at Bucky, the more she felt like drowning in the troubled waters of his soul.

His eyes held a promise of mischief, danger, and sin that she simply could not resist.

And it wasn't as if she even wanted to do so, considering the way her body would react every time she was in close proximity to him, she knew that she wanted him, and she was going through all of the things that she had never expected herself to go through.

The sound of his name on her lips was a drug that he simply could never get enough of. Every time he called her by his name, it felt as though it was made only for her lips.

"Say that again." He whispered, but the authority and command was evident in her tone which sent a shiver running down her spine. Bucky's fingertips traced the length of her arm and he smirked when goosebumps appeared on her skin, liking the effect he had on her.

Suddenly, Valeria felt like the floral dress that she was wearing at the moment felt too heavy on her body. Her nipples hardened, pebbling through the thin fabric and Bucky's eyes darkened when his gaze dipped between them.

She gulped down a lump in her throat, unable to decide what to do next as her mind kept on torturing her with such obscene thoughts of all the things she wanted him to do to her body that she felt like hiding her face away for the rest of eternity.

Bucky took in the way she shuddered when his fingertips reached the top of her arm, slowly gliding towards her neck and he had to close his metal fist around the edge of one of the shelves above her head to control himself and his urges.

He felt constricted in the clothes that he wore and he was certain that from the way her cheeks were flushed with crimson, her pupils dilated and the way her breathing came out in a shallow manner, she was feeling those things too. It was not just him who was burning up in desire for her.

"I said..." he whispered, bringing his face closer to hers, breathing in her intoxicating scent, letting it wash over his sins like a gentle stream as he brought his hand to cup the base of her neck, his thumb gently rubbing over the place where the blood pulsed harshly in her veins, driving her further towards the edge, "say my name, again." His voice came out raspier than before, every word spelled out to show her just how much he was controlling himself.

Bucky gave her neck a gentle squeeze, she closed her eyes, her core heating up with arousal as she shuddered before inevitably whispering, "James...."

The word did nothing but send a wave of pleasure shooting all the way to the organ between his legs. The jeans that he had been wearing felt tighter than ever before and the more he stared at her, shivering under his touch, breathing deeply with her eyes scrunched shut, practically giving him free reign to do with her as he pleased, all he could think about were all the sinful and depraved things that he wanted to do.

The way he wanted to corrupt the angel in front of him with all of the demons that clouded him and the way he wanted to mark her as his own, and never let her go.

But that was when a memory from his past flashed in front of his eyes and he blinked.

It all came back to him, the things he had done, the Winter Soldier sitting inside him, waiting to make a victim out of the heavenly woman in front of him, and that was when he registered the moment.

His hand around her throat, her body pressed against the cupboard almost like she was trying to get away from him and her face...what had seemed like pleasure in her expressions suddenly looked like she was in pain because of his actions.

Panic shot through his eyes and he stumbled back, making Valeria open her eyes with a confused expression until she saw him looking at her like he had seen a ghost.

"James?" She called out again, but this time, his name did not have the effect as before. Instead, it was only a reminder of what he was about to do to the beautiful woman standing in front of him and a wave of self hatred shot through his body as he stumbled back a few more steps in disgust.

"I-I'm sorry..." his voice came out guttural, almost like it was difficult for him to get those words out and the eyes that had held only desire and longing for her were filled with fear, paranoia, and regret.

"James, no—"

However, Valeria's words died down in her throat when Bucky dashed out of the room, leaving her standing there with her breathing completely out of control and her heart erratically running in her chest.

And it took her a few good minutes to register what had just happened and what was about to happen before she could finally bring herself to move and only then did she leave in search of the gorgeous man who had her weak in her knees.

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Hello, darlings. I know I know, I should have given you all the smut...but oh well, isn't the angst so much better? *wicked grin*

Anyways, I hope with all my big, beautiful heart that you enjoyed this chapter. As I said before, I am trying to be more regular with the updates.

Also, for those of you who have read my book The Raven Witch, do you guys want me to continue the story/write a sequel?

Please comment your views.

Have a great day!

With Love, Deva.