[ there's no small amount of irony in john feeling safe with cassidy, who in his own time is a notorious criminal, who has committed crimes considered so heinous his future, should he be caught, is dark with a ninety percent chance of death by hanging. but if he's honest, the feeling of safety isn't entirely one-sided and might have its roots in that time in the bar for him as well. there's something about seeing someone at their most vulnerable that leaves an impression on the soul, proof that cassidy has one.

the part about wanting him, badly, is undeniably mutual. it becomes even more obvious when john strips from the waist up and cassidy's eyes rake him from shoulders to stomach. he imagines himself tracing the lines between john's scars with his tongue, like drawing constellations on a star map. it's all he can do to drag his gaze back up to his face when he speaks.

a grin curves his mouth as he slides his palms up john's abdomen, over his chest. ] Perhaps for the same reason I resisted then, too. [ his rings are missing, except for one on his thumb; in their absence are faint pale stripes around the base of his fingers. ] Because you're a hunter, and you take pleasure in the chase.

[ he leans in, catches john's lower lip between his teeth and then soothes the bite with his tongue. his arms wind around john's neck. ]

No reason for restraint now, though.