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"That would be a little bold," Nikolai says softly. "I can move them out of the way for now."

Slow is better. She's new to this and he shouldn't be doing it anyway, no matter how good it feels. He slides his hands under the strings instead, thoroughly coating her skin so when they inevitably move around, she doesn't get burned.

He leans in and whispers against her ear. "Not everything at once."

Teeth bit into her lip this time; if he wanted slow, then he'd be wise to stop torturing her like he was! Whispering in her ear, rubbing against her bare back as he coated her skin with the cool lotion; Natalia honestly thought she was going to melt right into a puddle on the carpet.

But she was a princess, a sovereign of Mother Russia. So she summoned all the royal decorum she could manage and barely whispered back, "...all right," and forced herself to endure it. She was strong. She could handle this. And him, the no-doubt-smirking bastard.

Natalia waited until Nikolai's hands had glided around her to caress her bare stomach, and she swayed back into his arms just enough. "Then," she inquired in just as soft a tone as he'd given her, "just how much?"

"I'll decide," he says in flawless French, trying to be coy when really he just wants to go all in and do everything all at once. He wants to spread her out under him and just devour her but that's not something he can do right now. She's a young girl. He has to be the one with restraint because he know she can't and he won't hurt her.

"You'll be better off if we go slower. I promise you. You won't want me to go too fast and regret it. I swear I won't let that happen." He works his hands over her skin as he talks, memorizing it as he does.

She was still young enough to pout her frustration, and did so, dropping her head back to Nikolai's left shoulder - but not hard enough to hurt him, never - and huffing softly. "That's not fair," she replied in kind, nuzzling his neck directly beneath his ear. "I want you now, Nikki." Or, so she thought. But this longing ache down in her gut whenever he was near had to be something, right? She wasn't just imagining it or being infatuated for no good reason.

"Just...promise me," she said a moment later, "soon?" Natalia lifted a hand and sank fingers into Nikolai's thick hair, guiding his head down to hers, pressing her cheek against to his, even as her young, ripe body moved without conscious thought against his, sliding her slick skin against his chest. "You know that I love you. I'm not just saying it because of some silly, childish dream I might have had five years ago."

"I'll decide," he says again, firmer this time. "I know you love me. I love you too. I'm the older one, the more experienced one. It's on me to make sure I do this right. Let me make sure it's right."

It's to protect her, all of this, but he holds her close and kisses the crown of her head. He doesn't want to hurt her even if he's giving her what she wants and if that means telling her no sometimes, it means telling her no. He doesn't take issue with it.

"I love you too much to do this the wrong way."

She didn't verbally voice her agreement, but the soft press of lips against his grizzled cheek conveyed it well enough. Natalia knew that everything he did was to protect her, to assist and guide her in some way, and she'd do well to trust him now.

She'd just have to yearn for him in silence, until the time came to do otherwise.

An accord somewhat reached, the Grand Duchess allowed her companion to complete his task, ever nibbling on her tender lower lip at the glide of his large, sure hands over her exposed skin, but once she was covered head to toe in the cool lotion, it was time to get in the water.

She'd always loved to swim, and did so like a fish, no matter where; the lagoon, the sea, the pool, anywhere. The sun was warm and bright, and the water just cold enough to make her shiver before she slid beneath its rippling surface, emerging with blood-red hair plastered down her bare back. Oh, but she'd missed this lovely place.

Nikolai swims well too and he's always liked the warmth. While he likes their home in the Winter Palace, sometimes the snow reminds him of the ice he'd been confined to for so very long. He dives in after the Grand Duchess and pops up beside her, slicking his hair back.

"We should swim further out. I know you're too short to touch bottom but I could haul you over my shoulder," Nikolai teases, winking at her. "Take you out so far that I have to hold you up. It would be good for my ego, I think."

He puts his hands on her shoulders and looks down at her. "How much do you trust me?"

The sight of Nikolai, emerging from the water like a titan aborning, with slicked back dark hair and shining blue eyes, was damn near enough to have fifteen-year old Grand Duchess Natalia Romanova abandoning all semblance of propriety, manners, and even good sense to attack him right then and there, her station and relative youth be damned.

But. She bit her lip, hard, and forced herself to nod, because she really did love to swim, and the lagoon on their private beach was one of the best places in the world to do so. Although when Nikki made the little quip about his ego, the princess couldn't help rolling her eyes, and when he put those mismatched hands on her shoulders, she eyed him a little curiously.

"...why are you asking?" He was planning something, she just knew it.

"Just trust me," Nikolai says again, squeezing her shoulders. "Do you trust me not to let you drown? Because I would never let a hair on your head be harmed. You're worth ten of me." It's something you say to a pretty girl, yes, but Nikolai means it with every bone in his body. He is meant to take bullets for the Grand Duchess, should it come to that, and he's perfectly willing to do it. He loves her in a way that's different than how he loved her as a child but it's no less love. He will always love her and always do what he can to protect her, even from him.

This, though, is just a bit of play.

"When have I ever hurt you, mon ange?"

Natalia knew he'd never hurt her. Nor allow her to be hurt. He'd first shed blood in her name when she'd been six years old; a mouthy palace courier had offered the small princess an impertinence, and had spent the next several hours crawling around on the floor, picking up his teeth.

No, this was something different. And the arch of her eyebrow bespoke that, because she replied, "Never, and you never would. But you're planning something, Nikolai, I can see it in your eyes." Those beautiful, sweet blue eyes. "You're either going to dunk me, or toss me, one of the two."

She'd involuntarily tensed - he'd taught her to anticipate everything and anything; she was ready. "Which is it?"

"I would never do either," Nikolai says, eyes wide and innocent and palms open toward her. He's a deadly killer, so he doesn't think the innocent look works for him but he'll definitely aim for it in this. He wants to dunk her and make her laugh.

"Why do you think your sworn protector would do anything but treat you with the utmost care, Grand Duchess? Come on. I've always taken care of you." He flashes her a grin and bites the corner of his lip a little.

"Trust me?"

Her own eyes narrowed, and her smile thinned. The waves lapped at them, soft and playful, but the princess was locked in a "showdown" with her beloved, and she didn't intend on losing this one. "You shouldn't widen your eyes when you lie," she told him. "Makes you look disingenuous." He'd taught her that, too.

"I know you, Nikolai. And I know when you're planning to do something devious." It wasn't often, but as she'd gotten older and they'd become more comfortable with each other, she'd learned to spot the signs. He never did anything titanic or rash; just little things to make her feel special, or to make her smile, which had, of course, endeared him even more to her, thus assisting in sealing his own fate.

"I trust you with my life," Natalia told him, still braced for the inevitable. "But right now, I don't trust you to not get water all up my nose, spasibo. Which means..." And the small but sturdy Grand Duchess suddenly took a massive leap at her guardian, barreling into his chest with all of her force, attempting to knock him over first!

It's a surprise attack, to be sure, and his feet slip in the sand a bit before he catches hold of Natalia and hauls her over his shoulder. He smacks her ass with his right hand and laughs, glad to have her right where he wants her for his next move. She'd played right into his hands, fortunately, and this game was going to be fun.

"Should have thought about who you were going up against, my printsessa. I have better reflexes than you, though the surprise attack was a very good idea. It would have worked on a weaker man."

He walks her out deeper into the water before tossing her, careful to stay close by in case she flounders and needs his help getting out.

Yes, she should have known. Natalia screeched when Nikolai casually caught her then simply hauled her up and flopped her over his shoulder. But she knew that beating on his back was futile; there was no moving this particular mountain.

So the Grand Duchess of Russia was obliged to just hang there like a limp noodle, only to stiffen and begin to struggle when she felt Nikolai give a heave, then she was flying through the air to splash right in the middle of a large swell, submerging completely but thankfully getting her feet under her enough to push up to the surface, spluttering water and swearing in her native tongue.

Unfortunately, the waves were just enough over her head that she had to cling to her guardian like a limpet, cursing him and laughing all at the same time, while trying to keep salt water out of her nose and mouth before she choked.

When Natalia is coughing and sputtering, his natural protective instinct takes over and Nikolai cradles her in his arms, holding her close as he carries her back toward the shore. It had been a boy's tease, yes, and he'd wanted to do it to prove to himself he wasn't too old and too broken to be the object of this girl's affection but now his innate desire to protect her has come to the fore.

"Breathe easier, Natalia," he murmurs, carrying her back and laying her gently across his chest as he reclines in a lounge chair. He rubs her back soothingly and kisses her forehead.

"It was just meant as a tease, you know. The way boys do when it's a girl they like?"

Natalia was still laughing even as Nikolai hauled her up and out of the water, taking them both over to a chaise near the stairs heading up to the house terrace. She was breathless when he sprawled her over his chest, rubbing her back and kissing her forehead.

"...I'm fine, Nikki," she told him fondly, turning in his arms and smooching his wet cheek with a grin. "And I know it was just a tease, we were playing, that's all." A nuzzle accompanied the next kiss. "And I love when you play like that."

As she nuzzled and kissed, her free hand was conspicuously hanging below the seat of the chaise, and in the next moment, the princess was smearing a large handful of goopy wet sand over Nikolai's bare chest, then leaping up from his lap and shrieking as she took off across the beach, fully expecting some sort of retaliation.

Nikolai should have expected that but she'd gotten the jump on him and instead he's scrambling to catch up to a teenage girl who has just managed to get sand all over him. It's going to be hell on his arm but he thinks it's worth it, to flirt with a girl who hasn't had any semblance of a normal life.

He catches up to her quickly considering his stamina and much longer legs, and he wraps his arms around her so she can't move.

"Do you really think that was fair after I was doting on you, printsessa? Now I have sand in all the plates of my arm and I'll spend the rest of the day getting it out and no time kissing you."

She was fleet enough of foot - a lesser adversary would have been hard pressed to catch her - but unfortunately the Grand Duchess was no match for the Winter Soldier. Natalia shrieked when Nikolai snagged her around the waist, swinging her in a circle as he ground to a stop. She tried shoving on his arm, but the titanium had absolutely no give, and she was laughing too hard to make a real effort.

"...no, you won't," she told him, giggling over her shoulder while spitting out damp red curls. "You can just get back in the water, you silly thing, and the waves will rinse it clean again!" She kept squirming and laughing, a little breathless, but it was all in good fun, and she loved it when he played like this, besides.

"What if it rusted up, though? I'd make you clean it every day," Nikolai teases, kissing her forehead. "I'd put you to work, little printsessa and you'd owe me a debt until you were old. Imagine the Tsarina of Russia having to clean the plates of her rusty old bodyguard's arm, hmm?"

He laughs about it but someday he'll be grizzled and older and still in her service - and in the service of her children and her grandchildren. It's a sad thing to think of, really, so he keeps it to himself.

"You'd mess up your nails scrubbing me."

She scoffed. "You'd never let it rust," she informed him tartly, but grinned all the same. "And you know I'd scrub it for you, Nikolai, so that little threat is pretty much useless, moya zvezda."

Natalia squirmed around in his grip, both of them damp and by now covered in sand, and she draped small arms around his neck, rubbing at his nose with hers. "Wanna get back in the water? I could go for a good, long swim."

Nikolai presses a soft, closed-mouth kiss to her lips before nodding. He wants to go swim as well, not the least because they're sandy, and he gently lets her down so Natalia can walk on her own two feet.

"Let's go swim properly now and I promise not to throw you into the deeps. I promise to keep you safe, mon ange."

He'll always keep her safe, even from him.

She could have stood there on the beach for the rest of time, just kissing this man, and been content. But it was only a brief one, drat it, and the princess did pout briefly once he returned her to her own two feet.

"I know you will," she told him fondly, giving his hand a squeeze before pulling him back to the water's edge.

Nikolai had taught her to swim when she'd been only seven years old, and repeated summers and vacations here in the islands had helped the Grand Duchess become an accomplished swimmer, diver, and snorkeler, as much at home in the water as she was on the shore. She was strong for her age, and cut through the mild breakers like a knife, pulling ahead of her companion briefly and surfacing for a deep breath and to laugh her delight when she spied his dark head nearby.

"I'd race you to the island," she teased lightly, the small stretch of sandbar some hundred yards away, "but then I'd feel terrible about beating such an old man, Nikki."

Nikolai huffs a little and shakes his head. "You'd only beat me if I let you win, little printsessa, and that's hardly fair. That's not good fun for either of us."

Nikolai swims a bit and then rolls onto his back to float. It takes a little effort, considering the weight of his arm, but he can manage it all the same.

"Do you think I'm old? Really?"

She arched a sardonic eyebrow at Nikolai's boastful quip, but opted not to retort. A good soldier knew when to pick her battles, after all. The princess gave a mental shrug, and twisted around to do the same, letting the gentle swells support her body, and paddled lightly over to her guardian, automatically reaching out to take his hand in hers so they wouldn't drift too far apart.

Hearing his question, however, made her scoff. "Of course I don't. I only tease you about it because you groan and mutter on the cold mornings." She tugged on him a little, floating over so that their heads nearly touched, and bumped at him playfully. "Why do you ask?"

"Because of the other night."

It's been weighing on his mind, that kiss, and he wonders if he ought to have done it. It's going to distract her from boys her own age and as much as he loves her, he ought to let her go. It's selfish to try to keep her as his when there's no way she can be with him. She's the heir of Imperial Russia. She isn't going to be with a soldier that has half a memory.

If she thinks of him as old, it's the first step of getting that connection severed, no matter how much it hurts him. He can endure it, the heartbreak, and she needs to move on, doesn't she?

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