Turning, she wandered back toward the kitchen. She also managed not to huff, or grumble angrily under her breath. Was this what men went through in order to seduce females? Because if so, it was entirely too much effort.

As she fixed a drink for him, she pondered on whether or not she wanted to go through with her plan. Sure, sex was sex and there really wasn't anything in it emotionally for her... but having to think ahead three steps each time she said or did something was getting a bit annoying. Maybe she could just pounce on him and be done with the whole act? Eh... no, because if he decided to turn her down it'd be more embarrassing than throwing herself at him in the first place. If there was one thing she hated in the world, it was having something she wanted withheld from her. Right now, she wanted to experiment.

A list of names and faces came to mind... all of the people she knew and willingly talked to. There was Gawain... ew. Her Masochistic friend... unavailable. A few others who would honestly be a pain to get to leave her alone afterwards. The twenty six year old frowned, and snatched up the cup she'd made for Nathan from the counter.

He was the only one without strings attached, who she could hop into bed with and not worry about him trying to track her down later. It was both annoying, and appeasing. Slapping a crooked smile back onto her lips as she wandered back out, she was forced to pause in the doorway when he spoke.

”You know, I was annoyed at first, but I think I rather like the way you pull off the ‘stolen bathrobe’ look.”

Blinking down at the bathrobe in question, her smile transformed into a wide grin. She struck a pose and mocked modeling it for him. "It wouldn't be the first thing that looked better on me then it's original owner."

Crossing to him, she leaned over the back of the couch and handed him the cup. Deliberately, she managed to get the robe to part in a way only women seemed capable of, exposing just enough cleavage to capture a man's attention without fully exposing anything. Knowing full well what she was doing, while pushing her doubts to the back of her mind, she plopped her chin in a hand and smirked down at him, Icy eyes watching lazily.

Megan returned with his drink, handing him a glass of liquid courage, standing just behind the couch, her… assets perched over his shoulder. From the corner of his eye, he could see the robe just barely covering Megan up. Nate consumed half of his drink in one gulp, trying to shake off the feeling that he was watching a channel he should not be.

His partner for the evening replied to him with plenty of confidence, which drew Nate in. He turned around, leaning his body against the back of the couch. Nate loosened his tie and pulled it over his own head. ”Let’s test that.”

Nate looped the tie over Megan’s head until it fell to the base of her neck. He tightened it slightly. ”Hmm… yep. Definitely better.” As an impulsive decision, Nate tugged on the tie to pull Megan in and kissed her.

The kiss was surprisingly pleasant. (Nate was not sure what he was expecting; smokey breath? Fangs?) Nate allowed himself to linger on Megan’s lips, pulling away from the kiss slowly, before his eyes finally met hers again.

The eyes caught Nate off guard because it was his instinct to expect Quin’s dark browns looking back at him.

Nate got off of the couch and to his feet, stammering. ”I can’t. This is a bad idea. I’m sorry, but you’re drunk a-and I’m still hung up on my ex, and as much as several parts of me want to take that robe off of you and get you back in the shower, my brain knows I would just be using you. I’d be sleeping you with no feelings at all and that’s not fair to you.” Said parts were not going to be pleased with Nate’s betrayal, but he could not justify sleeping with a girl he could not have feelings for, and that was definitely Megan.

Well.... he was, dressing her? She smirked at him, one eyebrow raised as he looped a tie around her head and neck, content with simply watching and waiting.

”Hmm… yep. Definitely better.”

For a second, the fleeting thought that he was going to try and strangle her with a tie flew through her mind... before she realized he was kissing her. It was... simple, nothing like the other times she'd kissed people, but effective all the same. Since she was feigning drunkeness, she decided not to just lean on in and press back with her own brand of kiss. Instead, she managed a slightly shocked squeak, and hesitantly participated.

Then he pulled back, and the look on his face was either priceless or concerning. He looked like he'd seen a ghost. She was half tempted to turn and glance over her shoulder, just in case.
”I can’t. This is a bad idea. I’m sorry, but you’re drunk a-and I’m still hung up on my ex, and as much as several parts of me want to take that robe off of you and get you back in the shower, my brain knows I would just be using you. I’d be sleeping you with no feelings at all and that’s not fair to you.”

Once his little rant was done, she resumed popping her chin up on the couch, and grinned at him. "...Shower, huh?" It appeared her act had worked, if he was already that deep into fantasizing about things. With a little sigh, she pushed herself up and stepped back from the couch, walking casually around it while she trailed her fingers over the fabric.
"Actually...." How was she supposed to put this delicately?... or, was she even suppos--... oh, screw it!

" I'm not drunk at all. Barely even scratched the surface of my limits... I poured most of the alcohol out, and I have an insane tolerance to the stuff." She dropped the act instantly, sounding only slightly annoyed as she adopted her usual gait and mannerisms, while the 'intoxicated' facade flew right out the window. "I was mostly trying to get you to drink something, because hey, I figured it'd loosen you up or something." She wasn't really sure how to tread around the 'ex' thing, so she decided to ignore it. There were more important things at hand here than silly things like that! ...Like sex!

"...and that whole feelings thing? F@%$ 'em. I couldn't care less about that kind of crap at this point in my life." She waved a hand flippantly, and took a step closer to him. "...Now... Since the air has been cleared... and we've both been honest... what say we do that shower thing you mentioned, hmm?" If she'd have been able to purr, she probably would have.

Nate stood, dumbfounded. Megan was playing him all along, with the goal of luring him into a false sense of security or a drunken stupor so she could use him. The woman was not drunk, and she was not unaware of the choices she was making. The entire situation was orchestrated by Megan beautifully, and had it not been for Nate’s crisis of conscience, she probably would have succeeded in her quest.

Then again, was it such bad news that Megan had waited for him to return with the intent on luring him into some emotionless, no-strings-attached sex? Nate just confessed to her that he could not sleep with her without using her, and Megan made it pretty clear that she had few issues being used. Maybe a purely physical fling would help release some of the tension and frustration Nate was holding in since the break-up? Truly a victimless crime if they both knew the ground rules, and that seemed to be the case.

Megan had wandered close to him, so confident and in control… maybe it was time to turn the tables a little bit, now that Nate knew what the rules to the game really were.

Nate pulled Megan in by the waist, kissing her again, his time more aggressively. ”Well, I’ll definitely have to make you pay for tricking me,” he said as his lips moved to her neck. He lightly bit the skin, not to break it or inflict pain, but simply to trigger the sensitive nerves just beneath.

His hand found the cloth belt at the waist of the robe and pulled it, undoing the knot so the robe was now remaining on her body loosely, one careless move away from slipping off. ”But in the meantime, a shower sounds fantastic.”

He caught her off guard with the sudden move, drawing her close and then capturing her mouth with his. The kiss from before was blown clear out the window by this new one, and despite herself she was taken back. Everything she'd seen from him had been coated in sugar... so sweet and nice, helping her out the way he had, not bothering to press charges against her for the whole spidernapping thing... and then BAM! Suddenly there was a fire, and she was feeling more than overwhelmed.

...Maybe she'd assumed a little too much about his character..?

”Well, I’ll definitely have to make you pay for tricking me,”

Assuming... Makes an ass out of us all in the end. Biting down on her bottom lip, Megan managed to keep herself from making terribly embarrassing noises... but a flush of red that captured her cheeks and an unintended squirm managed to slip past. Damnit! Keep it together, Rova! Scolding herself did nothing to help the situation. In fact, it made it worse, since she pretty much admitting to herself how at a loss she was. Denial only ever helped to strengthen her in uncertain times... but she couldn't manage it at the moment while he was doing that to her neck.

”But in the meantime, a shower sounds fantastic.”

He stopped, thankfully... and she manged at least one coherent thought. Unfortunately, it was angled at how he'd managed to all but disrobe her while she hadn't been paying attention. Then, with the mention of the shower, her thoughts dissolved quickly back into things of a gutter-y nature.

"...S-shower... yeah..." ohgod.. what was wrong with her? Form coherent thoughts, damn you! Try as she might, though, she couldn't. She was stuck in one mode... and as things steadily progressed it was getting harder to function like anything other than an uncertain teenager after prom.

It was indeed Nate’s intention to take control of the situation with his bold behavior, and if there was a genre of talents from his past that had not dulled through a committed relationship, it was his ability to woo and charm. He expected to catch her off guard, and maybe even catch the priceless eyes of a woman whose heart skipped a beat.

What Nate did not expect to see was Megan’s confident, flirtatious mask fading away to reveal a flustered young woman that might as well have been a new person. It may have been stereotyping, but Nate never pegged Megan to be the type to get nervous and shy when faced with a forward advance. Megan could not hide her inexperience, the wavering in her voice and her breath, and the coloration in her cheeks. It was a new side of Megan, and it was cute.

And way too easy for Nate to have some fun with.

Nate slipped his hands into the undone robe, taking her by the waist. He stepped backwards toward the washroom, wicked eyes now locked on Megan’s light blues. ”Your voice is a little shaky…” His hands slid to her hips as they crossed the threshold into the next room. His lips met hers for a deep kiss, pulling her body closer. When he pulled away, he whispered millimeters from her ear, ”I didn’t peg you as the sweet and innocent type.”

Keeping an arm wrapped around her waist with a flurry of kisses, his other hand reached back and fumbled around until he grasped the knob that unleashed the torrent of hot water in the shower.

Nate pulled away from the kiss, unbuttoning his shirt and shedding away his layers. With a grin and a wink, he stepped through the curtain and into the concealing fog. ”You coming?” he challenged confidently. ”I promise to play nice,” he lied.

”Your voice is a little shaky…I didn’t peg you as the sweet and innocent type.”

How on earth did he expect her to talk back if he just kept kissing her? It was nice and all, and somewhat distracting since she was having a hard time keeping pace, but she felt rather inclined to respond to such terrible slander of her person. Her, sweet? Ha! Innocent? Haha! Two words used to describe her that were honestly, probably, so far off it was laughable. If she could just get a word in edgewise, when they both had to part for air or something, then she'd tell him just that!
...hey, when had they moved into the bathroom?

Blinking, Megan stood awkwardly where she'd been left when he parted from her, and attempted to maneuver through the fog that had overtaken her mind. She'd been so caught up in his attention, and her own inner ranting, that she honestly hadn't realized they'd been moving the whole time.

... her skin was still warm from where he'd been touching her.

”You coming? I promise to play nice,”

Snapping out of it again, she realized two things. One; the shower was going and steam was already rolling out, and Two; he'd managed to shed his clothes without her realizing. She was now the most dressed body in the room. After catching more than an eyeful of him, she also managed to get a glimpse of herself in misted over mirror. Tomato red in the face, standing in a bathrobe that wasn't going it's job right, in someone else's bathroom. And said someone was currently waiting for her in the shower.... right... behind her...

Huffing, she shed the robe and mentally rolled up her sleeves. He'd issued a challenge (or at least in her mind he had), and she wasn't about to back down from it. Come hell or soapy water, she was going to show a thing or two! With a confident smirk slapped back on her lips, even if it did take all of the effort left in her body to do so, she tugged the shower curtain aside and hauled herself arrogantly into the steam.

She'd prove to him that she was a force to be reckoned with, red-faced or not!

**FTB**

...Or not.

Somehow between attempting to pull herself together, the heat of the shower, and another onslaught of mouth to mouth, and the frenzy of movement from the bathroom to his bed... she'd forgot all about her plan. She'd failed horribly at running the show, and had instead fallen into the pitiful part of a mewling, meek mouse of a woman. Which was why she felt perfectly justified to mope and pout into a pillow, with his bed sheets wrapped around her.

God... Kill me now... "If you tell anyone about all of those things I said, I will never forgive you." She figured that he could hear her, even with while laying face first in her pillow-of-shame.

And if he hadn't, well... she'd just have to sit up and threaten him again. Loudly.

Megan… was a pleasant surprise. She was obviously not the most experienced and there was room left for her to flourish, but he distinctly remembered enjoying his night with her. There was something almost entertaining about someone as bold and dominant as Megan becoming so… vulnerable when the lights went down. It was very human, and no fault against her. (Not that he would not tease her about it, of course.)

It was still dark, and some time had passed when Megan threatened Nate to silence through a pillow. Clearly the proud woman saw it as a hit to her pride to be timid or submissive. Running his finger up and down her exposed spine, he sighed. ”Trust me, this is our little secret.” And now the fun. ”Wouldn’t want to scare you off next time you need someone to hold you close.”

He looked at her for the moment, with her head buried in his pillow. As much as he enjoyed taunting her and pretending she was the only one to gain something from their tryst, she did give him something more than a fun night. ”Hey Meg. Thanks for this. I needed a distraction. Or maybe just a mind-blanking release.” He leaned over and planted a kiss on her neck. ”Not to make things emotional, but yeah, thanks.”

Alright, that was enough sincerity and emotion. He needed to get the taste of it out of his mouth, so he nibbled on Megan’s earlobe before adding in a whisper, ”Besides, I never realized how cute it was to hear my name spoken in such a shaky, longing voice.” Megan was indeed a good playmate to have if he needed to take his mind off of emotional trauma.

"Trust me, this is our little secret. Wouldn’t want to scare you off next time you need someone to hold you close."

Her response came in the from of an agonized groan into her pillow. The guy sure had a mouth on him, and liked using it. Unfortunately, he seemed to like using it to poke fun at her... and there wasn’t much she could do about it since it had all been her big idea in the first place.

"Hey Meg. Thanks for this. I needed a distraction. Or maybe just a mind-blanking release. Not to make things emotional, but yeah, thanks."

Had... had he just thanked her for sex? Good god, what had she gotten herself into. Besides that, he kept touching her all affectionately. Why exactly, she couldn’t fathom. Vicente never did that, and wasn’t this generally around the time when they were both supposed to get up and go their separate ways, anyway? Because she was getting the distinct feeling that he had other plans in mind. Maybe... hopefully she was wrong.

"Besides, I never realized how cute it was to hear my name spoken in such a shaky, longing voice."

"Oh yeah, that... Well, couldn't really remember the name of the other guy I was thinking about...sooo...." In one smooth motion she sat up and slung her pillow at him, grumbling under her breath. The spider mother then curled the blankets around her and glared at him ruefully. If he was gonna jab at her, then she was gonna try and jab right back at him too.

>> "Oh yeah, that... Well, couldn't really remember the name of the other guy I was thinking about...sooo...."

Nate wanted to reply immediately, but Megan was apparently quicker than his tongue, smashing the pillow in his face. Now this was what he was hoping for when he thought of "pillow talk with Megan." As entertaining as it was to see Megan sink into a shy role, part of the fun of hanging around with the troublemaker was her quippy attitude.

"Oh, so there were other guys before me?" Nate took his own pillow as he sat up, swinging it at her upper body. "Shame, that kinda takes away the excuse I was giving you for being so rusty."

Nate wanted to be careful, because Megan could at any moment ramp things up and give him an unexpected black eye, and while she might think he had his shadows to protect him, he knew better; it was too dark to make even the weakest shadow. Besides, it would have been impossible to explain at school the next day where he got a shiner in the middle of the night.

"Shame, that kinda takes away the excuse I was giving you for being so rusty."

"Ha!"

Though still grumpy, she dropped the glare with a bark of laughter and tried to evade his pillow. At least he could take an insult. Most guys were so boringly offended. "Yeah, well i'm working on it. Gotta work all the kinks out before I try and take on the real men, right?"

Winking at him, she scrambled off the bed before he could take another shot with the pillow, and took the blanket she was covering herself with too. It was much easier to deal with...er.. her character flaws through humor, even if it was angry, bitter, sarcastic humor.

>> "Yeah, well i'm working on it. Gotta work all the kinks out before I try and take on the real men, right?"

Nate chuckled, watching Megan as she quickly exited the bed, wrapped in the bed's now stolen sheets like a makeshift toga. "Well, if you want to work out all those kinks, I hope the next guy you **** is a mechanic."

Point: Nate.

Nate got out of bed much more casually than Megan, finding his boxers and sliding them on. "Are you leaving? And here I thought you lost your pants." Knowing Megan, she might have hid her clothing in her ploy to lure him into bed. (A plan which, in hindsight, she made far more complicated than it had to be.)

A mechanic?!

... if she hadn't been too busy laughing, she might have been upset. "I'll keep that in mind next time I need a tuneup." Kneeling, she fished her shirt out from under his bed. Then, dragging the sheet with her, she made her way toward the door that led to the bathroom, while he crawled out of the bed as well.

"Actually... I was thinking about sticking around. Raiding the fridge some more... maybe re-decorating the living room a little." Glancing back, she barely managed keep herself from grinning. She'd made a habit out of claiming peoples houses and apartments for her own, with or without their knowledge. The idea of dragging a few of her belongings over with her next time she happened by, just to see if it got a reaction out of him, was a hard one to ignore.

"And who say's I need my pants to leave? I've got a perfectly good toga." Throwing one corner of the sheet over her shoulder, she tossed her head back in a haughty manner and entered the bathroom where his clothes were still strewn about the floor.

Luckily for Nate, Megan had the same snarky sense of humor he was exhibiting, laughing at his joke, which they could apparently both agree was stupendously funny.

Nate walked into the kitchen/living room area and opened the fridge. Megan had left his beer thankfully untouched, so he cracked open a can and turned back to his room when Megan revealed her intention of becoming his personal interior designer. "You can help yourself to the fridge, but Parker already does enough of his own web-based decorating here, thank you very much."

Back in the bedroom, he watched as she tossed the sheet over her shoulder, laughing like a Roman Emperor. Still, most Roman Emperor's did not have togas that clung so tightly to their curves. "Oh yeah, because I'd feel comfortable letting a hot chick walk around in next to nothing on the streets of New York at night." He was hesitant letting her leave fully-clothed in the first place.

Nate placed his can down on a nearby dresser and entered the doorway of the bathroom. "Besides..." He placed his foot on the bottom of the sheet trailing behind her, hoping her walking would do the rest. "I'm pretty sure that toga is mine."

Megan reflected on the last time she'd done any kind of decorating with web in someone else's place. It had been worth it, but she'd been more than a little drunk, and angry. Nathan, his annoying charm aside, didn't deserve that level of revenge.

....yet.

"Wouldn't be the first time." She replied, in response to her wandering around in the city while less than decent. "Not exactly a helpless damsel, you know." She could handle herself in most cases, and was quite proud of that fact. Striding forward into the bathroom, she neglected to notice him step on the back of the trailing sheet.

With barely a tug in resistance, she found herself suddenly bare. Wrinkling her nose, she shot a quick glare back at him over her shoulder, before placing her nose haughtily back in the air. "Fine, fine. Take it... looked better on me than it did on your bed, though." Throwing on the short t-shirt she'd been wearing under her dress, she smirked at him before waltzing through the other doorway to gather the rest of her clothes. If she remembered correctly, she'd left her stretchy pants-turned leggings draped over a chair, and her dress was wadded up somewhere near by, with her socks.

Gathering them as quickly as she could, the whole while brazenly stomping around his apartment with nothing covering her lower half, she returned to the bathroom and started to get changed.