Unable to forget the way that he'd hardly asked for that sudden revelation of those deeper, more wounded feelings that the French woman had harbored for so long only to reach out and take her hands into his when the torrent of emotion that had threatened to make her more vulnerable in front of the man than she ever wanted to be with anyone - even herself - while those handsomely chiseled features had softened, she felt that warmth embrace her heart as she drew closer to that street corner. That had been the first real moment she'd shared with another aside from Townsend and it had been both unsettling and relieving in the very same moment. She had become so guarded to the world, almost entirely certain that everyone was only after something for whatever selfish motives would dare to try and hide from those often piercing sage eyes, that she'd forgotten what it felt like to give that delicate trust away. Especially with such ease, and yet Taylor had stepped into her life like it was something meant to happen, only to practically steal that rare gift from the young woman though she hardly tried to fight it with the same fury as she had those miserable young men that littered her past like shattered glasses on the cold concrete floor as she'd readily broken each and every one of them. She was beautiful, yes. But it was that beauty and that cursed heritage that drew those rich men to her like flies to honey and it disgusted her how shallow the people in her world had been. The dark-haired woman had been content to show them that beneath those long, silken locks that cascaded elegantly over her slender shoulders and those glittering sage gaze there was a woman that could be fiercer than a burning flame. Let them be so bold as to reach out those greedy and gluttonous hands for that flickering fire, they would only end up burned and cast away like the worthless creatures that they were. Though she hardly ever enjoyed being so cold or cruel, she would be lying if she tried to say that she was not capable of being what she needed to be when the circumstances called for it. It only reaffirmed that she was stubborn, that she refused to be won until she found a soul that was honest and true. Only then, when or even if that soul her own quietly yearned for under that desire to be free, to write the chapters of her story by her own hand came along would she ever settle. She'd thought once that Julien had been that soul, and she could not have been more wrong. He'd proven only to be as lustful and greedy as the rest of them in the end after he'd taken those dreams and desires she'd shared with him and used them to make her believe he was the one. He was no better than the dreadful man she called her father, nothing more than a snake in the grass. She'd let him steal the innocence from her, let him in only to have him wound her like she'd been so careful to stay away from.

Closer than she'd ever been to forever sealing that heart of hers, dangerously standing in that ledge of telling herself that love was the very last thing she ever wanted to feel, she'd been ready to fall into those waters and drown that part of her. Maybe she was not meant for that sort of story, made only to blaze her own path through this world with her spirit untamed and untouched for the rest of this temporary life. Then, she'd felt that warm hand grasp her own and pull her away from that ledge if only just a little and nearly brought her into strong arms and hunter green eyes. They say that a soul can't always get what they want, but in the end if one were to try hard enough, one might get what one needs, and as strong and independent as Adelaide was, she never would have thought that he might end up being what it was that she needed. The young woman didn't need a savior, didn't need a champion to rescue her, or at least that was what she'd been so determined to believe that it felt like the truth. She refused to think that just maybe, she couldn't save herself in this... She didn't want or need a knight in shining armor atop a mighty steed. No, she wanted, needed someone that understood those desires that whispered in every beat of her heart, someone that would walk beside her and not in front of her. She was not some delicate flower that needed to be sheltered from the world and weather. She was stronger than that, this much she was very certain of. Yet, not even the strongest of spirits did not grow tired of that melancholy that often followed them like a shadow on the ground, every lingering and ever waiting for that moment to remind them that going good through this world without someone to share it with was one of the loneliest lives to be led. Before coming to Sacrosanct, she'd believed that all she needed to be happy was that sweet freedom she had finally been able to seize for herself and the companionship of William, the very first and only true friend that had been there for the dark-haired woman in a sea of lying faces and shadowed smiles. Moving here, the last thing she'd intended was to try and fill that empty place in her heart with more. All she'd been determined to do then was the get away from her parents and that estate, to set herself free since it seemed like no one else ever would, and do whatever it would cost her to ensure that she would never have to go back if she truly did not want to - and oh, how there were so very few words that could express the very essence of how much she did not want to. Yes, a small part of the French woman missed her mother, missed seeing the eiffel tower at night, but there was nothing else that even remotely tugged at her heartstrings, not a single thing able to make her question with uncertainty that decision she'd made.

Very little managed to slip past those ever keen and glittering sage eyes as they remained upon those hunter green depths while she tied up those long, silken locks of rich dark cocoa so that she would fasten that helmet he'd handed to her with a chuckle falling from him as neatly and precisely as she had the other night. Excitement flickered through her elegant features as she becomes only moment away from feeling that rush again, this time with nothing distasteful happening before that free moment engulfed her. As her gaze searches through his, there is the faintest flicker of wanting that she had sworn she'd seen in the kitchen this morning when he'd leaned in towards her after that moment when she'd placed in those strong hands the entirety of her trust. He does nothing though as he sits there on that growling machine, and within those sage depths an unspoken question burns brightly in wordless response, a single brow lifting as that coy smile lingers upon her lips as if to say "what are you thinking?" as she straightens herself. It was something that left her bewildered, the way that they hardly needed words to show the other such feelings, ask such things without the softest of whispers ever required. It had been startling at first, the way that she seemed so drawn to him and how quickly a bond had grown between them, and yet there was something so easy and natural about the despite how little time they've managed to steal away from the rest of Sacrosanct. He grins, speaking of how he felt he should spoil her with that rather enticing cologne that has her tempted to close what little distance remained between them so that she might lean into him for a moment to savor the scent on his neck, and the thought almost has her impishly smiling at him, wondering just how he might react to such a bold move since he seemed to grow almost shy beneath her lilted words and glittering sage eyes. She nearly found herself enjoying how she could tease him, but she didn't want to seem cruel or worse yet she did not want to chase him away. And so, she tells herself to save this thought for another moment as she swings that leg gracefully over the bike and wraps her arms around his waist, perhaps enjoying a little more than she should the subtle feeling of his muscled frame beneath her soft hands. He gives her a nod as he revved the Harley and at the sudden roar, she feels that excitement climbing as he replies to words before they set off into the dark night and quieter streets. It was a feeling she couldn't get enough of, that wind kissing her skin as those dark locks streamed out behind her as he sped up. He was driving faster than he had before, but there was a fearless exhalation racing through her as a note of lilted slips from her lips for no reason other than that overwhelming sense of freedom that she couldn't stifle it. They pass cars as they go, and when he takes those turns she is secretly happy to tighten that hold of him, pressing herself further against that strong back and finds herself relishing in the warmth of him. She hadn't been close to anyone like this in a long time, and she had been able to easily forget how it had felt until now and even after they round that last sharper corner, she does not shift away from him.

Sage depths drink in their surroundings as the drive on, lingering on how the moonlight would dance upon the calm waters of the rivers as they crossed those bridges, admired how that ethereal light of the moon painted everything in sterling silver. The farther they got from the lights of the city, the higher that they climbed on that hill, the brighter the stars seemed to become. How ungetuante for the Englishman that she found herself hardly ready to return home until morning light, how she was already planning on stealing so many more nights moments away from that luxurious home to explore the furthest reaches beyond those marked city limits. They reach the top and here was where that small road ended, a chain link fence visible only thanks to the lights of trying motorcycle that die as he disengaged it. He dismounts then and offers his hand to the young woman who takes it with no hesitation, an eager smile toying at the corners of her lips as he tells her he wanted to show her something. She follows him, making no motion to remove her hand from his as he leads her to a split in the fence. Holding it open so that she can climb through, he feels compelled to tell her that he hadn't done it, a smirk finding his features and her own smile grows mischievous."How curious that you would know it was here, then", she teases boldly in those lilted, silken smooth words before almost regrettably letting go of his hand and slipping through and waiting for him on the other side. He leads her up the hill then, and when they appear through the the trees, the sight that welcomes them leaves her breathless for a moment, sage eyes glittering in amazement as he turns his gaze to her, silent for a moment before he speaks to her."I can see why you would. It's so peaceful here, so beautiful", she replies softly, wonder filling her gaze as it caressed the scene before her. It was simply indescribable, how all those lights seemed to sparkle like a mirror of the night sky above. Without thinking, she leans gently into Taylor's side, their arms pressed against one another with hands so frightfully close though she does not quite reach for it, tilting her head so that it rests there against his shoulder since she couldn't quite rest it on his shoulder with how he almost towered over her. She is silent for a moment after a soft sigh rushes through her, wanting to simply enjoy this moment of pure freedom with Taylor."What do come up here to think about? Maybe that special girl in your life? Perhaps what you want out of life?", she asks him quietly, curiously as her sage gaze looks up to those hunter green depths, decidedly disregarding for a moment the vast city that lay stretched out below them as she searches for whatever he might allow for her to see there. She decides then that there would be no time more fitting than tonight to tell him the rest of her story, those very questions she'd placed before him chosen for that exact reason. He knew what it was that she wanted, and now she found herself hopeful that just maybe he might return that gesture.