The Italian wind brushed through Ariadne's hair delicately, causing her dark locks to dance across her face as she scrunched her nose in annoyance. She had become accustomed to sunshine, even though she had been residing in the small sector of Milan for only a week. Her mornings had been a situated routine of basking in the warmth as she grabbed breakfast for the crew at a nearby bakery before heading over to their workplace.

Strangely enough, she found herself accustomed to this part of Europe. Yes, she still missed Paris and the ties to what had been her youth, but work called and there wasn't a doubt in her mind that she belonged doing this. Creating worlds that had merely been a fantasy before Cobb had found her. Her imagination was at an all time high, and it seemed she hadn't been the only one aware of this.

"Your enjoying this, far too much, darling." Eames had teased her the previous day as he watched her building a model for their next assignment. "It's refreshing to see someone else with a tab bit of creativity around here. " He sent a smirk towards Arthur, who only frowned in response.

A small smile played at the edge of her lips as she shook her head from the memory. Thinking about that would only lead to thinking about Arthur and her train of concentration would lost for good if she began. Biting the inside of her cheek, she smiled internally and pushed open the large door leading into occupied warehouse and slipped inside. The warm atmosphere welcomed her as a head of sleek dark hair looked up to meet her eyes. It was a brief connection as his milky chocolate orbs melted into her face before a grin tugged on his lips. Her heart was already in an irregular beat cycle as she stepped further into their workplace and placed the bag in her hand down on the table. "I bought breakfast. Who's hungry?"

Like any men they dug in without needing to be further encouraged. Watching them from her chair, Ariadne attempted to understand how different it would be to enter yet another dream, this time without Cobb. With a full time job as a father, he had distanced himself from the dream world, focusing instead on making up the lost time with his children. He needed it, she thought to herself. He desperately needed it. She highly doubted he would get over the loss of Moll, but there was a bit of hope lingering in her heart that he would find a substitutable happiness in being a father.

Bringing the rim of her cup to her lips, she allowed the coffee to sink down her throat, igniting a fire of energy to fuel her as she stood to finish her nearly done module before the practice run that night. Although she wasn't sure if she was going into the actual dream as she had during the Fisher assignment, she was more than motivated to do a few practice runs to make sure the dream suited Arthur's expectations. She couldn't help but chuckle internally. Arthur didn't have expectations, at least not some that voiced towards her. He gave her freedom. Freedom to create and mould her own creations. He had no laws set up that limited her as far as what she could and couldn't do.

But she knew from the past experiences, from lessons with Cobb, that there were things she had to refrain from, and things she had to excel in. She couldn't go around bending buildings and flipping cities as she had before. It was a pity though. It had surely been something else.

"Your awfully quite today." A velvet voice spoke from beside her, sprinting her heart into action as she nearly fumbled to breath. Arthur seemed to have that effect on her. Causing her body to react in ways she hadn't known was possible. "Are you stressed?" It was so like him to worry about her. He thought she didn't know, but she was well aware of the way he had watched her when she had first accepted the job. The way his brown eyes followed her movement, no doubt analyzing and studying her the way he had studied all previous dream targets. She hadn't known why he had done it though; not until Eames let it slip.

"He's worried about you." He had told her one evening, as Arthur went to close up the back doors. "You were down in the limbo, he's sure your mind has somehow been scarred."

He was right on that account. It wasn't easy coming back after seeing and experiencing all that and pretending to live a normal life afterwards. As far as she was aware, she didn't know what normal was. In her eyes, normality didn't exist.

"Ari?" The light tone spoke again, this time filled with an edge of anxiety. "Sweetheart, what's wrong?" Glancing up, she met his apprehensive expression. His brows came together in confusion as he glanced over her face, and she could feel the heat rising up her neck and cheeks. "Where's Eames?" Since the assignment was simply extraction, and not inception, Yusuf wasn't needed and the team consisted of only she, Eames and Arthur. Although she missed the sense of crowded company, it was easier when it came to hiding what they had.

"He stepped out for some air." Blinking, she watched as Arthur reached out with a hand and lightly caressed her cheek, his facial expression refusing to disappear. "I'm fine," she whispered to him, in hopes of calming his soul. "I'm just having one of those days."

"What kind of days?"

"The kind when I'm too lazy to talk. Where all I want to do is just lay back, and think."

His lips came down onto her forehead, leaving a heated spot where he touched as his hands travelled down to her waist and held her against him.

"You feel the need to be alone with your conscious, just basking in the silence."

Feeling her heart stop momentarily, Ariadne buried her head in his chest. Moments like this were common. Moments when he was more aware of how she felt more than herself. "You really need to stop doing that." She mumbled against his tailored, gray suit.

"Doing what?" A trace of amusement outlined his voice as his lips came down on her hair and his arms wrapped fully around her.

"Understanding me so well"

A deep chuckle rumbled from within his chest as he laughed before his lips began a journey down her hair to her ear. "Your something else, Ari." Shuddering from how his deep voice echoed against her ear, she closed her eyes as he ventured downward. A trail of heat burned pleasurably against her skin as he kissed across her flesh, stopping momentarily to suckle on her earlobe. A shiver ran across her spine, causing her to grip the man before her tighter. They were pressed together, body against body. Yet, this still wasn't close enough for her. She wanted him as close as possible, she wanted no distance between them. Grasping her earlobe between his teeth, he gave it a light tug before freeing it and kissing downward. His lips and tongue seemed to tag team her flesh, sucking and kissing as they left her gasping for air.

He knew the affect he had on her. He was aware of how he made her feel. He had to be. There was no other reason he would have taken the chance to tell her how he felt. She still remembered the day he had tracked her down in Paris, notifying her of the new assignment awaiting them. She remembered the small glances she had caught him shooting her as she packed. How his eyes always seemed to melt and soften whenever he spoke to her. The gentle and small touches they exchanged, the brushes of hands and elbows, were enough to send her mind into a frenzy. By the time they were on a plane to Italy, it seemed Arthur had been unable to contain himself and had kneeled in front of her seat, confessing how he was unable to get her out of his mind. He had warned her that what he was doing was dangerous and wrong; that he should be learning from Cobb's experiences but he was unable to control his emotions.

That plane ride was the reason she stood there now, in the middle of a warehouse with the man she secretly called her lover. No one knew about them. Not a member of her family, not a friend of his, and most certainly not Eames. Their relationship was a secret; an affair that could only be lived out when work was set aside and done. There were the small occasions, such as now, where his touch and feel were more than needed. They were craved and necessary.

Arthur took that moment to find her weakness, a spot just below her jaw, which he began to suckle on. Her knees nearly gave away and before she could control herself, a moan escaped her lips. She was already clutching his body as if her dear life depended on it, but somehow she found a way to grasp him tighter. "Arthur."

His name fell from her lips in the tone of a plea, and just as any other time, he knew what she needed before her own mind could comprehend it. She didn't have time to complain about the loss of his lips from her throat before he pressed them up against her own. Breathing became unnecessary as they moulded together and rode the boat of sheer pleasure. His kisses were unlike anything she had ever experienced. The mere brush of lips during the Fisher assignment couldn't compare to this soft but passionate embrace. Wrapping her arms tightly around his neck, she pushed back against him, deepening the kiss as she became intoxicated with his taste.

She could do this all day. Hold him in this manner and kiss him until her lips swelled. She wanted nothing more than to feel him, every inch of him, as she devoured him fully. Gasping for breath, they pulled away as once more their eyes met. His once concentrated and hard edged eyes were dark and filled with passion. Emotion stirred deep within in them as his chest heaved as he fumbled to catch his breath. Grasping his hand she set him down on the chair she had had occupied before he pulled onto his lap. It was impossible to be this close to him and not indulge in his taste. Just as a few moments ago, their lips found one another and another heated embrace resurfaced. The kiss was harder this time around, it was a test of limitations just to see how far Arthur would take it. Deep inside she was eager for so much more than just lips mashing against one another and close proximity of bodies. She wanted him out of his ironed and tidy clothes. She wanted to mess up his groomed, dark hair. She wanted to hear him cuss, to make him loose all sense of control. She wanted him in his raw form, and deep within her walls.

Throwing both legs to either side of him, she straddled his waist as his arms rested against her hips. Her body was tiny in comparison to his, yet the comfort of the situation was gratifying. She loved how they fit against one another; how their figures complimented each other. Some how her lips managed to grasp away from his as they made their way down to his neck and collar. Untangling his tie, she dropped it to the floor as she sought out his flesh, feeding off him like a hungry parasite. She was desperate for him, and in somehow, someway, he needed her just the same.

"Sweetheart. Your killing me." His voice was husky and deep, sending yet another shiver down her spine as his hands slid beneath her shirt and grasped her hip yet again. "Ariadne." It was amazing how fluid-like her name sounded falling from his tongue. And how that simple word sent a wild fire through her veins. Unable to think, she threw all caution out of the door. It didn't occur to her that Eames would return from wherever he had ventured to. It didn't occur to her that they would get caught. No. Instead, her mind was filled with the vast obsession that was Arthur.

His hands, much like hers, refused to stay put. Sliding upwards beneath her shirt, he rubbed her skin. His long fingers teased her bra hook, almost begging for her permission to undo it. She nearly stopped breathing. She needed this. Needed him. But before she could muster out a 'yes' to allow him what he wanted, a bang came from the front and the two sprang apart.

Within the span of a few seconds, she had managed to smoothen out her hair, or at the least give the illusion of that, and stand in front of her model. Her back was to the door as she attempted to catch her breath, her face flushed and her heart pounding. Eames was back, and they had been mere moments away from being caught. But in all honesty, she was more frustrated about being disturbed. Being that close to him and that surrounded by his aurora only to be pulled away was beyond tormenting. She was eager for the day where they wouldn't have to hide things. The day when she could easily kiss her man good morning and wrap her arms around him, despite who was around. But that day wasn't here yet, and she would have to settle for what she had.

"What do we have here," the deep voice belonging to Eames rumbled through the room, causing Ariadne's stomach to tighten with fear. " It seems like Arthur here has finally decided to loosen up a bit. You know, taking off your tie is the first step in shedding your one dimension personality."

Without even knowing it, she let out a deep breath as Arthur groaned and answered him in an easy voice. "It was getting hot in here. Don't get your hopes up. My one dimension personality isn't going anywhere." Even with her back to them, she could imagine their facial expression and chuckled lightly. As annoying as they could be, seeing the two interact was like icing on a cake.

Footsteps approached her table, standing beside her and giving memories of the scorching few minutes before their colleague had interrupted them. "We'll finish this tonight." Arthur's voice was a whisper full of promise, as he turned to examine her layouts. Promise's she knew had nothing to do with their dream assignment, and everything to do with their need for one another.

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