2020-03-01 - Special Access Privileges

After Lilith's recovery from their Valentine's Day trauma, Byron's had a bit of good news. Something that he'd been working on had come to fruition and this is something he wanted to share with her. Uncertain as to whether she'd been keeping up on the news in the paper, he decides to take her out on some surprise outing. Perhaps he had planned a dinner somewhere, despite the abysmal late winter weather they were still having. He'd asked her to wear something nice, but not overly fancy. He even leaves his tuxes and suits hanging in his walk-in closet in favor of a sweater and jeans attire, complete with a much-needed leather jacket and gloves, because it was incredibly cold.

Once they're in his car, he blindfolds her for the journey. He even takes a much longer route to help throw her off on exactly where they were heading to. Still, she would hear the sounds of the Bay beneath the howling winds. It seems like a long drive, but they reach their destination eventually. Taking her hand in his, he leads the way. It's quiet, mostly, so she might guess that this was no restaurant. Her heels will tap against marble floors and carpeting alike on their trek. They even enter an elevator of sorts, from what she can tell. All the while, he's reminding her to not remove the blindfold because that would be cheating. He'd said something similar to her in the past, so very long ago.

He made sure to tell her to dress warmly enough for the weather, so that may hint at something. During the course of this trip, the sounds from outside of the building (once they got into the building) were muffled, if not completely blocked out. Here, however, she can hear the banshee's call through those sweeping winds, though thankfully, while the air was chilly, they were protected from the elements. This is when he tells her to remove the blindfold.

What she sees is a beautiful view of the Bay. Nothing like the view from the Penthouse, this was a true waterfront view. They were in a sheltered space on the topmost floor of the Grand Olympic Casino, if she even realizes that this is where they are. He had the pool uncovered for this evening. It had been cleaned out yesterday when he was here last. There were lights shimmering everywhere and once the Casino actually opens, this is how it will all look. Beside the pool, he'd laid out a picnic setting complete with blanket, fine wine and some finger sandwiches along with an assortment of different meats, cheeses and bread. There was even fresh fruit on the side.

"Surprise."

Byron learned a long time ago that Lilith's assurances about not peeking are a lie. He mostly used his hands and would swear she was trying to peek because he could feel her eyelashes moving. Naturally, she denied it, she always had an excuse about testing his defenses, an eyelash in her eye, etc. So when Byron pulls out an actual blindfold in the car to put on her, she breaks into a warm and wickedly amused little laugh, "Oh, we're doing the grown up version of making sure I don't peek? Does it come with the rest of the kit? Are there ties, or did you opt for cuffs? At least you know I'm a damned peeker."

She's also clueless. Lilith tries to time the drive and the turns, but she's blinded and trying not to ask questions. Mostly, she's not asking because he expects her to ask them, and she's concentrating on putting the context clues together herself while faking patience. And the more this progresses, when they're out of the car, she's breathing out a hum of small confusion, then can't help another ribbing, "Oh, are we in one of those megachurches in a neighboring town? Are we about to get high on sin?" The clicking of her heeled boots combined with the open high ceilings and spells of carpeting is clearly throwing her. She almost asks another question at the elevator, but paces herself.

The woman took Byron's warning about dressing warmly quite seriously, especially since toughing the cold during their carriage ride is still a little fresh in mind. She is wearing tight and dressy black denim jeans with high heeled and studded ankle boots. Her top is a clinging cashmere sweater, soft and warm, the color of blue-gray smoke with darker ombre blue accent on the sleeve hems and v-neck drop. Over that, she has a thick, waist-belted peacoat in charcoal, lined with pale lambswool, sleek black thermal gloves and pull on ear muffler headband included. She is NOT freezing through another date again!

Of course, when she loses the blindfold and sees the picnic Byron has set up, she looks around with mild confusion, then back at him. The blinding cover dangling from her fingers, she starts to walk around to try and figure out where she is based on this view, then it dawns on her like a lightning bolt (finally), "We're here! Did I guess right? Or did one of the nearby towns build a--" She slow spins, then lopsided grins at Byron with sheer fondness and a bit of a dumbfounded expression, "Wow."

When Byron had originally thought up the blindfold plan, he had a mind to put restraints on her too. He wouldn't be able to keep her from peeking, safely, while he was driving, but they were adults! And he trusted that she'd act like one. Even though he still had doubts...

All of the contractors and other workers had already left for the evening, leaving only Byron and Lilith and the handful of security that would be protecting his investment overnight. Watching as Lilith wander around to investigate her new surroundings, Byron can't help but feel the swell of pride in his chest. Standing in a wide stance, his back straight, gloved hands resting one of the other to hang down before him, he just has this smile across his lips, his dark eyes trailing behind his date.

"You did guess correctly. This is a Megachurch." He says with a laugh, before the closes the distance, making his way towards her, chin lowers so that their eyes meet when he looks down on her. "Everything was finalized and I was here for much of yesterday afternoon." When he received those sexy pictures of her. "Spoke to one of my investors, Easton Marshall." He says the man's full name as if Lilith didn't know who that was. "And my new lawyer. Right now, we're just overseeing the rest of the repairs and any new construction or renovation that needs to be done for the cases where the original shop and restaurant owners changed their minds and I need to fill that space and remove any signage or anything that was put up before the scandal." He doesn't say murder trial scandal, but it's on his mind. "An associate arrived recently. He'll be opening up a restaurant here, in one of those empty spaces."

With business aside, he reaches to wrap his arms around her in a comfortable hold, "Not bad, huh? Waterfront views. There's one hundred and one rooms here, hotel rooms. As well as four penthouses. We can go check them out after dinner."

"Not bad at all..." Lilith comments after listening to Byron with her face tipped up to watch his face and eyes while he's speaking, her lips hitched up in a proud little smile. Then as she's drawn in, she breathes in the smell of the man's cologne and the air when her face turns aside to rest her cheek and look at the view instead of the man once more, "I'm going to pretend I'm partially responsible for this finalization because I caused the cat picture ruse. Don't ruin it. Shhh. I like being your little helper." Her tone of voice is rich with warmth while she largely deadpans the humored bits.

Drawing back enough to look at Byron, she rises the rest of the way from her heels to balance on tiptoes, face tilted upward to make a dinner plan, "Kiss kiss kiss. Then we'll sit and eat and you'll tell me what it feels like now to be involved in such a big, expensive business venture, mm?" Suddenly her eyes narrow with impish flash of visible idea, "... and when you say we can tour the penthouses, does that mean we can break them in and ensure the amenities are up to par?" When he no doubt leans down to indulge her request, she's smiling into his mouth, body at girlish press and lean in flirty fashion.

It's kind of the silent version of saying pleeeeeeeeassseee?

With a light laugh and a broad smile, Byron won't argue with the girl's logic, "I'll just come out and say it. It definitely did help. And besides our getting a cat unnecessarily, you made what usually is a dull business convo into something beautiful." Now when he looks at Smog, he's reminded of that day. Allowing his eyes to take in the views, but what he's really interested in in just how spectacular the casino looked even before it was completely finished and ready to open. "I needed all the investors I could muster. Though I mainly pulled strings of those who I'd helped out in the past." To keep the majority of his shares in the Casino strictly for himself, not wishing to spread the wealth around too much.

Eyes returning back to her, the smile still lingering on his face, he meets Lilith's own brilliant smile with a few kisses, his neck bent as he leans in close. His mouth still pressed against her, she can feel the heat of his breath when he murmurs, "That can be arranged." That section of the casino, the hotel, is already built and ready to take in guests. Ending with one final, passionate kiss, he pulls away, taking her hand in his as he leads them both to the picnic layout where he will fill her plate up with some tasty morsels.

"Good. It makes me feel special to get to see all this in a way others really won't get to see it. It's lovely, really. So is the lovely meal, you're lovely, the idea is lovely, and I'm occasionally known for being lovely too. Feels like a win. You deserve a win. Though..." Lilith speaks as they break away from the warmth of the kiss to move for the meal laid out, looking around at the distant view and the pool, then the whole spread before looking at Byron again. While pulling off her gloves so she can eat with a little more ease, she tucks them in her pockets before sitting down with a side-eye of the man in up and down, "I still say you're shooting yourself in the foot. When it's time to throw everything to the wind and go a little mad with love, what are you honestly going to have left to blindside and woo me with?"

Her teasing suddenly seems to remind Lilith of something. After seating herself and taking the offered plate of collected food variety, she goes visibly pensive and she takes in a sudden breath to pre-empt that, "Speaking of..." Then she pauses to eat a piece of fruit while eyeing him with a cut and narrow of her mascara darkened lashes, both sultry, affectionate and warning, "Don't laugh at my question..." Then she finally asks and sounds genuinely curious while chewing, "Do we live together?"

Placing a small array of fancy finger sandwiches on Lilith's plate, one of them being filled with ham, brie and a slice of apple, another with steak and peppercorn among other herbs set between two slices of baguette slices. There are many others to choose from. Either someone looked up tea sandwich recipes or this isn't the first time he's had this type of picnic. There are some with butter and cucumbers, others even boast shrimp. That alongside the various other slices of meats and cheeses. Byron then pours the wine, handing this off to her, just as she makes her comment about his practically spoiling her.

"Once I have you in my grasp, then there'll be no need for this whole process." He says as a joke, the amused smile clear on his face as he pours himself some wine. "And when will I ever have this chance to woo you with a cozy little picnic in the middle of what looks to be snow storm, besides a nice heated pool, on the topmost floor of a practically floating Casino of all things." He quickly adds, "I mean, I'm sure there will be other similar opportunities, but I thought I'd just pull this off now, before the crowd starts pouring in." Lifting the glass to his lips, he looks at his surroundings again, "This place will never sleep, you know." That's the amazing part about this Casino being in a sleepy little town like Gray Harbor.

Taking a bite of a finger sandwich filled with a ham and grilled shrimp and peppers, he chews just as she asks an incredibly important question. There's no immediate response, giving himself this time to chew his meal properly and then swallow before even touching on that question. "I think that we do." It's a simple enough answer, "But we're both independent adults with our own careers. Your shop will always be something to fall back on whenever you feel you need the space." He takes another sip from his glass, "Or when we're both in the area after a night of drinking I'm sure." Making sure to bring up, "I won't be upset if you don't feel like making the drive over one late evening, but for the most part, I'd say yes."

"You do have a way of making the improbable possible. And this time, you brought multipurpose props, you naughty capitalist." Lilith flicks at the blindfold discarded on the blanket with them, then can't keep a straight face much longer. The woman rolls her eyes with a helpless smile as Byron says the measures are only temporary til she's snagged proper, tongue clicking at him a few times with faux admonishment.

Lilith methodically also tries to eat one of each kind of sandwich while picking her way through the plate with bites of fruit as palate cleanser between. She drinks with generous swallows from the wine glass once it's poured and handed over by Byron, pondering his answer to her question on their official living situation with pause, and eventual quick little nod of her head, "I think so too. I get tempted to say 'home' instead of 'your place' or 'the penthouse' and then start justifying it with the idea that wherever you happen to be, that's home. Now I don't have to correct myself anymore." She pauses, "The loft apartment is also nice to have attached to work in general."

There's a little toss of her hair and a lift of her chin, making declaration to Byron suddenly with humored expression and dust of crumbs from her fingers with brush of hands exaggerated to one side, "I've never lived with a man. There were some room-renting tenants I shared spaces with, I guess, at certain points, but that's not what I mean. The point is, you're essentially taking little virginities from me left and right. You should be proud, I know you like to have 'dibs' in general." Her hand holding the glass gestures outward at him, leaning in afterwards to steal a wine-soaked kiss once the next tease is out, "You even let me bring a mangy cat in your place, and you like it. You won't even have to propose at this rate, it'll just be a gradual invasion."

"... also do I get to ask how much this place cost?"

Hearing the click of her tongue, Byron's shoulders tremble gently in his quiet laughter. His eyes watching her openly, wearing a thoughtful, yet amused expression, before he leans forward to place a soft kiss against her lips. Taking another few bites of little sandwiches before chasing it all down with a draining sip from his glass, he reaches for the bottle for a refill, topping Lilith's glass in the process. "We had some good times in your loft." As well as some bad times. They did have an incredibly heated argument then after he'd wrecked the place and her office. "It's nice and cozy and you don't have to go far for work. Which... is both good and bad, I suppose."

"I still can't believe that you were never in a relationship after you'd moved away from this place. I mean, look at you." His own eyes wander over from his plate to follow the advice he'd just given her, letting his gaze roam from her long legs then to slowly rise in enjoyment as he admires the rest of her until their eyes meet once more. "It really baffles me. In my past relationships, sometimes we'd move in together, other times we kept separate apartments. It really depends on the situation. Everyone likes a little bit of privacy after all." Unlike Lilith, Byron's been in several relationships over the years, though the majority of that time was spent with Vivian. But there were other women.

Now, actual numbers and the cost of the Casino isn't something that he's willing to indulge her about at the moment, but he holds this cheeky grin, sipping at his wine again. "Let's just say that this is a huge risk, a gamble even, that my investors and I are taking on this place. A fancy Casino in Gray Harbor? Posh amenities. It's /still/ Gray Harbor. But then again, there was a huge turnout during the Masquerade, so." His shoulders shrugs. "Purchasing the Bayside was one thing, this? I have high hopes for the place."

"Once we're done here, we can wander the gaming rooms and check into one of four penthouse apartments. Settle in for the evening." Besides the guards, they were the only ones in this structure.

There's a few things Lilith could explain, perhaps, as to why she's never significantly been connected to anyone worth mention. She'd try sometimes, things would go bad, sometimes men wanted her too much, sometimes she felt nothing at all. Actually, that happened a lot. Then there was the matter of her job for five of those years and... it's sad and complicated and it makes her feel heavy even thinking of trying to explain. Therefore, she doesn't. Honestly, even with other difficulties in the mix, it's probably not too surprising she has had issues given a lifetime of male father figure neglect and no mother to speak of.

The woman takes a drink as Byron tops off her wine glass and makes a wandering eye study of her body. After a tiny, dismissive is-what-it-is kind of shrug at the disbelief over her lack of relationships, she strikes a pose while biting into a strawberry and batting her lashes at the man when his eyes make the trip over her body and back up to her own eyes. Then she flicks the stem back onto her plate after the bite, chuckling suddenly as the price is only implied by his words and the general cheekiness of his grin as he drinks.

"... so. Basically, it's like when you go into a store and something doesn't have a price tag on it. If you have to ask, you can't afford it, get back in your lane. Fine, fine. Keep your secrets. The thing is, though, it's something to entertain a whole mileage worth of people in Washington, there's a whole radius from here with absolutely nothing for entertainment. And this is particular entertainment."

The woman finishes going through food and leans on a hand while drinking down the rest of her wine, "What's something you want to do you haven't done?"

Knowing full well what sort of occupation Lilith was in during her time in Miami, Byron can only imagine what her personal life must've been like. Though even strippers dated and had significant others. So it really is quite surprising and not something that he's going to push her on. Just playing observer and watching as she eats a strawberry in her usual sensual way, has him licking at his lips as if in anticipation. "Miami was the loser there." He then comes out to say, his glass already raised to take a deep swallow of wine.

"I don't know about products without price tags." That big, humored smile stretches across his lips. "Sometimes store clerks are too lazy or incompetent to tag everything that needs to be tagged. But I will say that it's an obscene amount of money. If possible, I would've gone into it without my fellow investors. Or not to a similar extant, but I'm not even sure I would've been to afford the place on my own. And in a way, it's almost like biting myself on the ass. I try to lure fellow business associates and clients here to take up a Summer residence of sorts at Bayside. Now," He shrugs, still smiling brightly, "They can just book a room for however long they want and not worry about it being long-term. Still," He's not looking at it as entirely an issue, "Maybe after enjoying their time at the Casino, they might decide to take up permanent residence in town. It's a wait and see situation, one that I'll be pushing for them to do."

Reaching for a slice of cheese and Prosciutto to nibble on, Lilith's question comes out of the blue and makes him to pause to consider. "There's a lot of things that I'd like to do but haven't done. Travel the world. Maybe see the Northern Lights. It's not that I don't have the means to do any of that. More often than not, I just don't have the time to fit into my schedule. Now, if you're talking about something far more mundane, well I've had the opportunity to do a lot. Especially after leaving to go to college. What about you?" He asks, popping another sliver of crumbly cheese into his mouth.

"You're definitely not biting yourself in the ass. You'll find a way to mutually benefit one endeavor with the other and make them hold hands for proxy profit. I know you. Not to mention, if you hold another townwide event and commerce celebration like the Masquerade now, can you imagine the benefits and turnout? Think about how much more attractive the town is for a summer residence or long weekend getaways for city people when you lure them here with the next big thing. Honestly, you play your cards right, your name becomes a bigger force with the outsiders than the name Addington is for the insiders."

Lilith was always Byron's biggest fan and cheerleader, but she's never been the kind to blindly fluff him for the sake of compliments either when it comes to work endeavors or business arrangements-- she'd tell him when an idea was shit or what could possibly be wrong with it, despite encouragement at the same time, motivator to occasionally help him change viewpoint angles. That was always for smaller business endeavors, of course, but the principle still stands with something as big as this, which makes her enthusiasm and spoken assurances as to what Byron can do like a business version of Midas to turn everything golden with possibility and there's a proud smile growing at her mouth as she speaks.

Draining her wine glass, she leans over to murmur with low solidity against the side of his bristled face after she's put her glass aside, breath wine soaked, cheeks a touch flushed, "Like I tell you... you're King and handsome conquerer. You can do anything. You're well on track for that, seems like, no matter what this place wants to throw at us." She peppers his face with tiny kisses before sitting back to start spouting answer to her own question once he's answered it afterwards, gradually making the seated distance again to watch him speak.

"I want to stay in one of those private island villas on the ocean with a glass floor space so you can see the fish and all the sea life we're situated over." Lilith apparently has a list and is rattling off some of those things without much stopping to think about it. She taps on her wine glass to ask for a third, which he knows will make her buzzed, but usually that's to adorable benefit or better with wine anyway, it's not like it's tequila, "I want to walk over one of those glass-like suspension bridges somewhere. Northern lights in one of those glass-topped igloo hotel rooms in Scandinavia would be amazing. I want to cook kobe beef on a sizzling salt rock at the table, too. I ridiculously want to go to one of those Napa places where you can blend your own wine vintage and let it age to drink for an occasion someday, like a stupid yuppie couple. I want to know what it's like to hold a newborn, secretly, but I've never been in the position to see one. I want..."

She pauses a little here and tilts her head at Byron, vague smile at her mouth, "I want to wear glass slipper heels because you make me feel like Cinderella. And other things. You know what you should do now? Tell me the dirty version of the things you haven't done to me that you want to do to me on the way up along to tour."

"Another town wide event?" Byron asks with a quirk of a brow, "After the Masquerade, I realize just how exhausting they can be for the town as a whole. It did have a wonderful turnout though and I'm sure everyone benefited from it. Still, it would be something to bring up before City Hall with numbers and plans. In truth, the Masquerade should be transformative for the town, creating this..." He licks at his lips as he searches his mind for the right word, "permanent change in both the way people think of Gray Harbor and just how the city is portrayed over all. Mysterious little town on the coast. Somewhat cozy and yet still magical all the same." He gives the structure of the Casino a quick glance, "This Casino does lend to the Fantasy. I mean look at it, it's like a floating palace. But all I know is that there's a lot of work to be done now. To drum up interest in both the Grand Olympic and the town in the general."

Finishing up his last little cucumber sandwich just as Lilith is playfully nuzzling soft kisses against his cheek, Byron turns slowly towards her to offer some of his own. Not as lavishly as she does, but in a more subtle and appreciative gesture. Despite all of the millions of things racing through his mind now, most of them regarding the Casino among other business endeavors, he finds the time to settle his mind down and take in every bit of info that Lilith spouts out. It truly did sound like this was her bucket list, which is pretty unnerving, especially with the dangers they live in in this damn town. "Exactly, even when I can stay at any expensive hotel anywhere, I want to sleep in a freezing little igloo, staring up at the stars" He doesn't say whether any of her ideas is doable and most likely they are, despite the Casino taking a big chunk of his finances. Reaching for the bottle, he leans forward to fill up her glass once more, before topping off his own this time.

This mention of her wanting to hold a newborn, however, is surprising to him. Watching her with thoughtful eyes, he sips quietly of his wine.

For the most part, their picnic was coming to an end and he'll leave the set up here until some time tomorrow. As far as scheduling goes, he knows that it won't be interrupting anyone's work enough for him to have it put away immediately. Pulling himself up to stand, his glass in hand, he extends the other to help Lilith up, looking on her with these warm eyes. The warmth turned into slightly amused, yet somewhat embarrassed laughter at her kinky suggestion. "Have I ever told you how insatiable you are?" He has. "Why not give you the tour now. Makes it easier to imagine along the way."

"I can't tell if you're being shy or if you want me to actually behave and focus on what's around me. Good aversion play to effect!" Lilith tells Byron, squinting up at him while he stands and offers the hand outward, drinking from her glass of wine to make assessment. Then she takes the offered hand help, effectively letting him pull her up while she focuses on not spilling the wine occupying her other hand when it's time to come to stand. When she's up, she pulls the ear muffler headband from her hair to shake out the waves and curls with a smile at flash, pocketing it with her gloves in preparation to go back inside for the tour.

"That or you have other surprises and you're focused on not ruining them. Tricky you."

After gusting an overblown sigh at Byron for show, she arranges her hair sweetly out of tousle, links arms with his in ladylike fashion, the glasses of wine at carry on their other sides. Seriously, she speaks aside to him then, no joking, because she does know this is quite a feat, a whole damn casino, and her getting first views, "I'd say don't forget the blindfold, but I really want to see everything on the way. It's one hell of a notch under that business savvy belt. I'm proud of you and excited about what it brings. And I'm excited to see all the rest, especially with..."

The woman gestures behind herself, to the picnic spread, the pool the view, then looks up at Byron, "This much lovely set as precedent."

"When have you known me to be shy?" Byron asks with a light laughter in his voice. He was always gregarious as a character even if there was something reserved about him. Cautious. Leading her back to the elevator, he mentions without looking at her directly when he says this, "Those ear muffs looked adorable on you. Reminds me of when you were little and we'd go skating on the pond." Not that they hadn't done a brief attempt at ice skating just a month or so ago. There is actually an entrance to the hotel section of the Casino from the top floor, giving guests quick access to the pool without the need to make their way through the casino floor, but here Byron is, taking the long route.

Lilith never got much of a chance to see the interior of the Casino. When he'd led her through it initially, she was blindfolded the whole way. This backtracking allows her to see just that: The Casino floor. There were corridors leading to various card tables, while the room they are in now is filled with games of chance. At the compliment over this purchase, Byron keeps up that light-hearted smile, "It's a huge undertaking still, but I have some ideas to toss out to my fellow investors. Considering taking on an assistant of sorts. Mainly, someone to help organize things and give ideas for possible events."

He pauses in the center of the room, giving an idle gesture with the hand that Lilith is linked to. "This is the main draw of the Grand Olympic as you can see. Bandits galore, though my tastes usually lead to one of the back rooms for a good game of poker." It's not that he'd brushed away her earlier rather lewd suggestion, when he casually states, "In this section of the casino, I'd probably throw you down onto one of the card tables. Or the roulette betting table. Bend you over." But seeing as this place will be a hub of activity once its open, that opportunity is all too fleeting.

Lilith expected the casino and hotel floors to be grand, respectively, but she's glad that Byron took the long way for the tour. It lets her see things, notice details, pick up on things like how clever the layouts and arrangements of tables and machines are, the proximity to shopping or bars or restaurants, the whole unimpeded design of the place. The woman is attentive with eyes and ears while walking, her mouth turning lopsided with small, fondly humored scoff for the commentary about the ear warmer she put away, "I'm honestly surprised we did that, as many dead bodies as we imagined it to have. Which... actually turned out to be true, didn't it? Tsst, our lives."

It's a bit dry and dismissive, the fact that they live in a town with dead body pond as part of their fond memories, 'cause whaddya gonna do? At a certain point, facts like that are just character compared to the bigger, scarier picture of possibilities. Also she's occupied with drinking in the view, which apparently is not just grand, but grand enough to have her breathing echo of commentary with a different kind of sentiment after some touring delay, "... our lives."

After a time, Lilith's head shakes just around the time Byron pauses, "We've been looking at it in our window views so long, it's honestly surreal to be in here seeing it, especially without the people swarming and buzzing around. It's fabulous." Her blue eyes drift up to look at a big fancy lighting figure above the card tables, then suddenly they drop again to start darting between card tables with a perk of her lips. It's almost like she's trying to choose which table to envision the bodily possibilities and fantasy on, "... fair. We've never done anything at all on a card table or gambling apparatus, way to stick to the rules. I like that. I assume if I hop to one of these tables, though, you'll remind me about all the cameras in the ceiling and that there's already men seated in the security booth with a view. You might even think that's a deterrent!"

The woman breathes out a soft laugh and takes a drink after her words and calculating looks at the tables with lapsed distraction of heat in her eyes. She's clearly tempted, but she stays right by Byron for the rest of the tour and the potential for more pointed out, lustfully creative ideas to really personalize the space for them, "God, you're sexy doing that in my mind's pictures."

Despite the horrors that seemed to have always plagued the town for some reason, they, as children, were often shielded from much of it. You would think that they'd have earlier encounter with ghosts rather than meeting their first one just last year. Or when they'd go swimming in the pond amidst the ghost stories told, that there were no strange encounters. No corpses showing up. No entryway to the Veil. While they could see the Darkness and even feel its effects, at least in Byron's case, his life was relatively normal. Yes, he eventually learned that he had this abilities around when he was twelve, but that was just a boon for him, even if it came with the consequences of accidental object reading when he was first experiencing such things.

"It's odd, hearing only stories that goes on in town and never experiencing them until now." Byron says in response to her bringing up those bodies in the pond. "It makes me wonder which parts of this town is actually untouched by the Veil or any sort of horror. At the rate that we're experiencing Dreams or having things from the Veil invade our lives, I'd say it's a decently small percentage."

Leading the way to one of the rooms where there is a roulette table set up, Byron takes a quick sip from his wine glass before setting it down atop the ledge reserved for drinks and snacks. Then with his hand now freed, he runs two fingers along the padded arm rest of the table. It almost looks as if he's being tempted by the fact that they were both here. Lilith is right, however, there were surveillance cameras everywhere and as the lights are on and the fact that there's security present, at least one guard is sitting in some dark room, monitoring the footage.

In fact, Byron looks up, directly at one of the cameras. He knows that this is not the only camera with eyes on the table they are near. He knows that his reputation is at stake in whatever he does, especially anything caught on camera. But this is so very tempting. Reaching into his pocket, he withdraws his phone and unlocks it. "Ever since I saw the casino being constructed, I was quite pleased that one was being set up in town." He murmurs while tapping out a message to someone. "I, honestly, never imagined that I'd partially own it. I was just pleased that it would be a great tourist draw and I'd been hoping that I could coax some of the gamblers to rent out an apartment long-term for them to use whenever they wished.

The phone is slipped back into his pocket, his eyes lifted back to the one camera, before he turning towards another that he knows the location of. "We might be in a bit of luck." His words come out in a low murmur. "Looks like my surveillance guy is taking a bit of a break." Enough so that the cameras within the room are all shut down and no longer recording. Her hand still linked with his, he pulls her in close, "Now tell me how sexy I am again."

As Byron leads into another section of the unoccupied gambling floor, Lilith is drinking her wine and considering behaving. This is kind of their thing, having each other whenever, wherever when they want each other to a degree, the rest of the world can stop and be damned. The cameras might even be a high and it'd certainly be something to remember while gambling at... this very table that he's leading her to, putting down his glass. She drains her own glass and puts it aside as he checks his phone, she can't help but grin a terribly lustful, wickedly pleased version of a smile. She tactically wishes she was wearing a dress or skirt and damns herself for taking the warm clothing warning so seriously.

Byron takes her hand and draws her in. Lilith is three glasses of wine in and wants her outerwear, her clothing, her shoes, her everything off and out of the way because she's not just flushed and hot from the alcohol, but by the idea, his words, his touch and solidity of his body. Briefly again, she dallies with pointing out the fact that he's the boss and this could well be a ruse for someone to record and have dirt on him. She toys with the possibility of ending up streaming as revenge porn when some employee gets fired or being the subject of breakroom viewing topics here in the building among the laymen. Lilith cares if this is used against Byron somehow, which is honestly probably the only idea these risks are coming up in her mind.

But does she say a damn thing about any of that? Pffft. No. He's the boss, see.

As Lilith steps in with the draw of the man's hand she looks right at him and there's not an ounce of hesitation as her hand goes to curl a fingernail rake that almost stings while caressing his jawline at one side. Her cheeks are ruddy from wine, her eyes are alight with mischief and the fixation of lust and she's suddenly breathing very hard at what's being implied as possible. Is there a better way to celebrate and claim something as his twice over, both her and the big expensive business accomplishment? The woman lets him know exactly how sexy he is.

"I could tell you something pretty. How handsome you are, how the way you walk through this place makes me ache with want. I could tell you that you make me breathless, that I love the idea you can't even wait until we're in a room to have me. I could tell you that you melt me with sweetness and warmth, everything you arranged tonight. But..."

Lilith rises on her toes suddenly to bite hard at his bottom lip before rushing on a tongue-heavy, heated kiss to punctuate a briefer, more powerful sentiment on how much of a sexual magnet Byron is for her in personal lewd whisper.

Byron more than likely bribed the security officer to take that break, making sure that he turned off all of the cameras within the room during that time. Still, being ever wary even with Lilith's hot body pressed closely against him, he reaches out mentally to gauge the electrical currents that he can sense all around him. This was a casino and there were a lot of electronic gadgets spread throughout, especially just outside that door with the large array of slot machines. However, he's being very specific with his searching and only when he's content that every single camera inside of this place was shut off does he absently lean in for a quick kiss, before practically spinning Lilith around so that she's facing the table.

He knows that they don't have all that much time. He'd bought them at least twenty minutes, so he's working quickly. There's no time to get completely undressed and he's already attempting to undo the fly of her jeans to roll them down her well-shaped thighs with his body pressed against her back.

All he could think of was that there would never be another chance like this. Or if they attempted this once the casino were open, it would be far more risky even with the lull of the wee hours, where the casino would still be up and running, many of the guests may have tucked themselves away to bed. This wasn't Vegas! But still there would be guests and casino employees milling around. He needed to strike now.

So he does.

And at some point in the elevator on mission to acquaint with a proper hotel room (plural possible), Lilith reminds Byron of how very on top of the world she feels with him on the way up. The woman is purring clings and hugs all over him like she can't help herself.

"... isn't it good to be king?"