So with a tremble, she gave up her struggle, wrapping both her arms around him, and returning his kisses back in a sign of surrender, as she moaned out from the assault of the intensely rampaging pleasure on her senses.

He lifted his face from hers, and cradled her face between his two hands.

He was gazing into her now teary eyes, with the slumbering intensity of his, as his silver gaze held her imprisoned.

He finally said quietly, “Let's not pick that fight today Raven. This is not how you want to remember our parting, two weeks down the drain, or a week from now. You don't want to remember me storming off with my bags, or you looking away and not saying goodbye. There will... should never be a time, when I kiss you and you push me away, or you don't respond because you're angry. Those are games I don't enjoy. And I've played them all before. And I can oh so assure you. You can't win even if you tried. You're mine Raven. For everytime I kiss you, everytime I touch you, even in your glorious anger, when you're ill, when you're sad, when you're happy, I will always have my response from you. The response I desire. Every. Fucking. Time. Now that that's been said, let's make our kiss more memorable, shall we?" his smoldering eyes pinned her to the spot.

As always, he'd been right. She wouldn't have wanted them to part in an angry manner.

He slowly bent his head back down to hers, as his mouth descended once more on her lips, ever so softly.

"I want you Raven. I need you. I've always needed you" he breathed, as his lips slowly parted hers, for a deep, violently sensual kiss, that sent silent explosions all the way to her toes, curling them up, leaving her too shaken.

Raven released a quiet whimper, closing her eyes as a lone tear slid down her cheeks, the tenderness of the kiss rampaging her hormones. She was...going to miss him. Miss him so terribly...

One of his hands moved to curve around her nape, his fingers stroking and soothing, while the other drifted over her back in a slow, restless caress, moving her impossibly closer to his length once more.

And all the while, his lips still kept moving over hers, in fierce tenderness, shaping and fitting their soft curves to his own.

His tongue did wicked wonders to hers, as he further deepened the kiss, fulling invading the recesses of her mouth, tasting and exploring her, filling her, sliding expertly in and out out of her mouth, sending wild jolts of electricity through Raven's body over and over again, turning her into a rioting mass of dizzying sensations, until he was finally satisfied and pulled away

The abrupt lack of support, almost made Raven fall to the ground like a rumpled mass of weak jelly, but he quickly swooped right back in, and caught her, picking her up into his arms, and carrying her away from the corner he'd backed her into before.

She was stunned. She was saturated with so much conflicting emotions, or where they really in a conflict? Did they complement themselves instead? What she felt for him was... Scary. He could do this to her. He alone could do this to her. She was anxious, scared, frightened, cared for, loved, dizzy, happy, insatiated...

He walked over to sit down on their large, four poster bed, with her still in his arms.

"I'll miss you Mikhail" she finally whispered, her eyes becoming teary once more, of their own accord, a lot more than two lone tears dripping down her cheeks

"Oh Malyshka..." he leaned down and so gently kissed the tear away.  "I'm going to miss you more. It's going to be pure torture not being able to hold you or kiss you for a month" he grated, cradling her head against his chest. Her hands wrapping around his waist.

"I guess this is goodbye?" a side of her lips curled up

"For now, yes Raven. Today, forever?" he somehow needed to assure himself, needed to hear those words once more from her.

"Today, forever Mikhail" She offered a weak smile, wanting to assure him, with everything she had.

"Two weeks from now, is your birthday Raven. And one of my greatest regrets in life, would be that I wasn't around to attend it"

She tried to offer him a reassuring smile "It's okay. I might not even celebrate. It's no big deal. I'll just drink some booze and eat some cake with Charlotte at home"

He sighed, looking at his watch

"It's time Raven. Rita must be beyond tired of waiting. I must go" he silently offered, carefully depositing her on the bed, placing one last kiss on her forehead, before walking away, and walking out of the room.

The moment the door banged close, after him, she all but broke down into tears.

She was a grown woman dammit! She would not weep!

She blamed the watery eyes on her weak and unstable female hormones. It's not as if Mikhail was dying, or they were breaking up. He was simply leaving for a month, although that somehow seemed just as bad, in her head.

...

On the other side of the door, Mikhail on a brisk pace, walked towards a ruefully smiling Rita, who'd been waiting for him downstairs.

"Shall we?" she offered her arm

"Yes we shall, Mistress." and he took the arm she offered, both of them walking towards his private jet.

But all the while, his mind was not settled. It was still on Raven. Always Raven...

His heart burned. His hands itched. His legs felt like quintessential ice cubes – it got harder and harder to walk, with every step he took away from the house, and towards his private jet.