[attr="class","sinbody2"]Just because he'd closed his mouth didn't mean he wasn't still panting - nostrils flaring with every breath. It should've been because he was scared of his dreams, scared of himself, and worried he could have seriously injured someone who didn't deserve it... But it wasn't. It was that look on her face, that he was almost certain mirrored his own - that look of a desire undeserved, and therefore unclaimed. But that would mean she was fighting the same battle he was, and he'd thought it very obvious earlier that that wasn't the case. Good Lord, his head was spinning by the time he nestled against her.

He was still half asleep, he tried to tell himself. Or maybe half awake, with his sleep-drugged brain having most of the control. That had to be it. He was taking his fear from the dream and replacing it with the reality of Zee, greedily swallowing everything she gave him because he needed the good to outweigh the bad.

That was a great excuse... Until his lips brushed her neck practically of their own accord. Though, of course, that was a lie, too - he'd thought it, briefly, and somehow come to the conclusion that this one little touch won't hurt anything. Jesus Christ was he wrong. Her arms tightened around him, and for a split second the shivering returned, though this time because he was trying so hard not to react. And again he caught himself thinking, what would be so bad about showing how you feel? which was entirely insane because he knew exactly how that ended.

He needed to put her down, he really did... But he didn't want to.

Regretfully Thankfully, Zee made the decision for him. Her grip loosened and she started to pull back, so Jaron prepared to loosen his hold and lower her to the ground.... Except that she stopped, and though he'd let his gaze focus just to the side of her so he wouldn't be tempted to kiss her (or worse), her words, which were really more of a breath than anything, had him looking back. Mistake. And she was being really gentle and caring when she should be pissed he nearly choked her out. Mistake.

He didn't answer, because everything he wanted to say but couldn't choked him. This was so stupid! He could control himself better than this, regardless of the girl. He could lie. He could smirk and kiss her just long enough to make her want him, then walk away, like he did with all the others. Like he did with her, before. Or he could pull away entirely, forget about her, and continue on with his life like he'd done a million times in the past.

Sure, he could. Except for that one time he couldn't. And that time was right now.

"No," he said on an exhale, the words strangled into more of a croak. He dropped his head just enough to feather his bottom lip over hers. He stayed there, poised, waiting for permission or retribution.

"..Are you?"

[attr="class","sinbody2"]Why did she have to say his name? That made the fight so much harder, and his will that much weaker. He should be used to women saying his name by now, but in truth everyone "back home" called him Leo, not Jaron. It was Leo they wanted, and Leo they got. They perpetuated the persona. But on this planet - or maybe just with Zee - Leo didn't really exist. He'd been famous enough to have a following, get the girls, and make a pretty penny, but he was no Justin Bieber. His name wasn't in every household. But now it was on Zee's lips, and coming from her, he liked the way it sounded.

The moment he touched her he felt the air between them heat; probably from all the blood rushing to both of their faces, but he was too close to tell. He felt her turn to granite beneath her, and for a moment he was absolutely terrified she was going to reject him. Yes, he knew the possibility was always there, but being so near to it now made his heart slow down, beat harder.. As it, too, awaited her ultimatum.

She answered in the last second of silence he'd decided to allow before he'd gradually pull away, because he'd rather walk away without closure than lay there any longer and know for certain he didn't affect her the same way she did him. But, he realized then, knowing that he did was the far more dangerous option. The fact danced along the last wire of his control, and he willed that strand to hold strong. But Zee was determined to break it.

The only thing that happened between that brushing of lips and Jaron losing his damn mind was the very gradual descent of his lids to hood his eyes and one long, drawn-out, altogether unsuccessful, breath. And then he meshed their mouths like a wave crashing against shore - relentless, but with an undeniable grace. The arm around her tightened, bringing their chests together, and it was then that he remembered the state of her attire.

With a shuddering groan, he lowered them both to the ground. His hips itched to push forward, but he wasn't going to let that happen. Once her back touched, Jaron rolled them both, pulling his legs slightly farther so they only overlapped from the waist up. He was good, but he was no god - he had to break the kiss during the move. Arm still around Zee, he eased his grip so it was slung across her back and she could move if she wanted.. But he hoped she didn't. "C'mere," he urged quietly, pupils swallowing his irises despite the sun.

[attr="class","sinbody2"]He had to hold his breath when she clawed at him - albeit lightly - to keep from making a noise that would definitely give away exactly how much she was affecting him. As if that wasn't already obvious by the way he kissed her. Some small voice in the back of his mind urged him to pull away before it was too late, but he ignored it.

Good lord, if he was in trouble, then so was she. He swallowed thickly at the look she gave him as he waited for her to lean down and kiss him again, damnit, but.... Wait what is she doing.

His head tipped back when she moved, eyes closing and expression pinching in a look of total torture. The muscles in his neck strained with the effort not to do about a million way-too-sexual things, but just as he looked back to her to tell her what he was thinking - that this was too much and they needed to stop, right now - she gave him the kiss he'd been asking for and his thoughts momentarily derailed. Yaveh, she was a little spitfire, which he really shouldn't have found surprising given how sharp her tongue was in conversation... But it gave him a glimpse of what it was probably going to be like to be with her, and the command he held over his hips faltered. His pelvis tipped, fractionally. And it was enough to wake him up.

"Zee," he urged, pulling his mouth from hers and covering her lips with the pad of his thumb to prevent her from immediately diving back in. His other hand had at some point moved to hold onto the outside of her thigh, fingers digging into her skin, but Jaron now eased up so it only rested there lightly. "Zee," he said again, the word a little stronger than he'd been capable of the first time.

He dropped his head to the ground unceremoniously, looking to the sky briefly before bringing his gaze back to her. How on earth PE did he say what he meant without making her feel like he didn't want her? Because that was about the farthest thing from the truth he'd ever speak, if he let her think it. "Not like this," he finally managed, his expression giving away exactly how hard it was for him to stop her. His thumb stroked along her lips, flushed from his. He wanted to try and lighten the mood by motioning to his side and saying "I meant come here," but Jaron wasn't sure she'd appreciate it right now. So his hands just stayed where they were on her, willing her to understand where he was coming from.

[attr="class","sinbody2"]For a second, confusion coated his features. Zephira? Was she trying to speak some foreign language to him? But then it hit him, and despite the seriousness of the situation, he smirked. "Zephira," he parroted.

He could tell she was anxious to continue, which was exactly why they needed to stop. Jaron was used to feeling lust; he felt lust all the damn time, and knew exactly what road that lead down. While he was more than happy to take that path with the fans that threw themselves at him just so they could say they did, this was different. Zee wasn't a fan - she didn't even know who he was - but she somehow found the same lust as the others. And good Lord, on her it was intoxicating... But it wasn't right. He didn't want to make her another tally on the wall.

Jaron flinched at her sudden exhale and his hands jumped from her skin. The moment her back was to him, he drug a hand down his face and sighed heavily. "That's what I thought," he whispered, mostly to himself, pain emanating from his chest. He would've stayed that way had she not apologized, which caused his brow to crease and his head to whip to the side so he could look at her. He sat up quickly but carefully, turning slightly so one leg was Indian-style behind her. He wanted to comfort her, but didn't know how. Mouth screwing into a line, he tried resting one hand at her ribs and dipping his head to run his lips over her shoulder. It was way more personal than he anticipated, and felt significant even to him. He almost pulled back, but forced himself to stay. "You have nothing to be sorry about," he said quietly.

When she didn't seem to be coming out of her potato-bug stance any time soon, Jaron carefully stood to retrieve their clothes. The only reasoning he had for her being curled up like that was self-consciousness, which he definitely understood. Bending down, he grabbed his boxers and stuffed them in his back pocket; he would've put them on, but didn't want to risk Zee turning around and getting even more freaked out. He pulled his shirt on, which was almost completely dry now, before grabbing her things and bringing them back to her. Crouching down behind her, he said, "Put your arms up."

[attr="class","sinbody2"]Her lack of reaction made him pull away sooner than he would have liked, but it was probably for the best. He was nothing but trouble for her, and yeah this was a new planet and they excited each other, but once that wore off she'd probably resent him forever. He wasn't going to be that guy that took advantage of vulnerability - not with her.

Something about her eyes when he came back told him that he didn't really have Zee's attention, but he didn't blame her for shrinking back into herself after something like that - which was entirely his fault, by the way. He was the fucking worst.

It wasn't until he was buttoning her shorts that she seemed to finally wake out of her own nightmare, and he didn't miss when her gaze dropped to his mouth. His lips pulled into a smirk, and when she looked away he leaned with her to stay within her line of sight. "Do I look upset?" he asked, because asking her not to apologize seemed very unlikely to work. She - for some reason - was enshrouding herself with a guilt that wasn't rightfully hers. "I'm sorry for starting it. I didn't mean to, but..." His gaze narrowed on her. "You bother me," he finished, breathing out a chuckle.

His hand raised to rest against her cheek, fingers extending to settle along the side of her neck. He applied a very faint pressure, encouraging her to look straight again. Very slowly, he bent in to press a short, soft kiss to her lips. It was extremely unlike him, and he would probably spend the next week thinking about why the hell he'd done it, but it felt like the right thing to do. "Please stop being so hard on yourself," he urged quietly, hoping that was actually what she was doing. Being wrong in a situation like this generally ended in an angry woman, and him feeling really, really stupid.

[attr="class","sinbody2"]His smirk turned to a smile when she responded favorably, especially when she laughed. Maybe he was getting through to her, just a little bit.

Her reaction to the kiss - or really, lack thereof - almost negated that, though. She kept so stock still that for a minute he thought that maybe he was doing the wrong thing. Well, scratch that. He knew he was doing "the wrong thing", but he didn't like that Zee thought the same. His mouth started to pull into a frown until he seemed to pull words out of her as he reintroduced air between them. He'd come this close to letting go of her and backing away before she finished her thought, causing a breath to come rushing out of Jaron. He dropped his head, smiling softly, before looking back up to her. "Jesus Christ is right. You scared me," he admitted, lips settling into a smirk.

The number of mushy things he could've said then were infinite, but she was only driving him about fifty percent crazy right now; to get those words out of him, she'd have to get to at least... eighty-five. "All the wrong stuff," he finally answered, sighing lightly. His hand slid gently down her neck before he moved it to the back of his own, both disliking the disconnection and thinking it was for the best. "I don't know what to do with you, I really don't," he admitted, pulling his eyes back to her face from where they'd fallen on the ground.

Being so... honest was really weird for him, and Jaron battled the urge to shell up. It was his natural reaction when he needed to protect himself, and despite Zephira's (he really liked that name... like, a lot) small stature, she posed a giant threat. Even though she was stubborn and witty and knew exactly how to get under his skin, he knew she deserved more than the Leo knee-jerk response.

"We should... do something else," he tried instead, voice soft. "Something that requires clothes," he added, smirking.

[attr="class","sinbody2"]His brow furrowed. Not the first person to tell her that? Wh-..

Braaaakes. What did she just say? She-... Just dropped the "L" word, didn't she? Jaron's mouth floundered for a second, opening as he inhaled, but then she continued and he closed it for an entirely different reason. "You... Want to be friends after that?" he asked, stunned, not sure if he should be offended or thankful. The latter seemed like the smarter reaction, both to keep from hurting her feelings and because hello that's exactly what they needed to be. His head dropped again, and he chuckled before looking back up to her. "Alright, challenge accepted." Had she not seen the transformation before, she probably wouldn't be able to notice the way his voice changed ever so slightly. He wasn't nearly as closed off as before, but he'd be keeping a leash on the flirting.

He snorted at her recommendation. "The only twenty questions I've ever played turned sexual... pretty much right away." He shrugged. "But we could give it a shot. Your funeral," he warned, eyeing her. Looking skyward a moment, he shielded his eyes. "Might be better to get some shade, though," he suggested. "C'mon." He set their shoes on the ground so they could both put them on; walking in the woods barefoot was treacherous.

Reaching for her hand, Jaron ignored the tingle that wound up his forearm and turned to the slight darkness of the trees. Looking back over his shoulder at Zee, he asked, "Want to monkey up a tree like you're apparently so good at? I'm sure we could find one that could hold us both." They could play their game once they got to the top, and then there'd be zero chance of a repeat encounter like this one because reaching for her could spell their death. Yep, perfect. He started forward.