A deep sigh was uttered at Jon's desk, paying more absent attention to what was going on outside his window instead of the spreadsheets on the monitor. It was almost lunchtime on Friday, and he, like everyone else in his office noticing how nice the day was, thought the perfect lunch would be an early start on the weekend. He had no set plans, didn't really feel the need to set any. His normal routine of exercising, indulging in one of his hobbies, and time spent with Sabrina, which meant letting her indulge in whatever she had planned for them, was more than enough for his liking. He had to keep himself from wondering or daydreaming if something wasn't already set in motion, lest it distract him the rest of his day.

That effort proved fruitless as a familiar figure slipped into his office stealthily with that predatory grace. The lopsided smile on her face had him wondering whether he should turn off his work computer now and call it a day. She raised a hand up, beckoning to him with a finger; he did as he was urged, stopping right outside of her personal space. She urged again, and he didn't stop until they were nose to nose.

"You know," she began "I should really pay attention to all these international whatever days. Feels like there's a day for everything now."

"You mean like World Hypnotism Day?"

"That's redundant; that's...everyday...if you're doing it right."

The way she parsed her words, the tone and lilt used, he could sink right in front of her if he reflected on what she just said a little more, but he remained unaffected before her.

"So what's today?" His timber calm, but noticeably bracing himself for what was to come.

Her phone screen appeared next to her face, a headline written in bold

"International Kissing Day"

It certainly didn't matter what the article was about; the gears were already turning for the possibilities. He could figuratively hear the gears turning in their head, working toward something. It was that thought plus feeling Sabrina's gaze feel more pronounced next to her phone that made him act.

Sabrina sucked in a sharp breath through her nostrils, only because her lips were too preoccupied with following his. He went straight from that announcement to her lips. She couldn't tell then if he'd taken it as an unspoken command or just counteracting her efforts. His gentlemanly dominance in the kiss indicated the former, but it was so sweet that she wasn't inclined to stop him right away. It reminded her of their first kiss not 10 feet away from where they stood, where she got lost in something deep and reason-numbing. It wasn't their first in his office since then, but very reminiscent. She had even more tools at her disposal to stop him; drawing more attention to her eyes, a small pinch that would render him helpless once he was done, but she decided to use neither.

A hand pushed against his chest, and the kiss ended as she created distance and took a breath, nearly lewd smiles shared at both of them bearing her lipstick shade. Jon observed something else as she caught her breath and withdrew to her own thoughts momentarily. He figured it out so quickly that he couldn't believe it - she had intent, but no set plan. He tried to remember the last time she had a hypnotic seduction unscripted, even if they were times he was made to forget. Nothing came. It was fascinating to see her in the planning phase, and just suddenly come up with something.

Her eyes flared, nostrils too, she bit her lip, staining part of her teeth red from the lipstick. The involuntary erection showed itself before she gripped his tie in one loop and pulled him forward, enough so their lips were inches apart again. This time her other hand was in place to maintain that distance.

"Embrace the crimson."

The trigger struck him harder than ever, mainly because she'd pushed him away and slipped out of his office with the same ease she'd used to enter it. He noticed she was wearing flats today, prompting wondering again what could be planned about this. The flats made it easier to dart towards the elevators, however darting instead of a confident stride there seemed unusual. She was lucky that he needed several minutes to let his excitement subside before heading out to follow her. Before he could leave his office, he got a text.

"Bring your wireless earpiece."

He put it in his ear and let it sync to his phone before leaving with the rest of the crowd heading to lunch.

Her car was still in her parking space, leaving him to deduce she was close by. 

His phone rang.

"Sabrina?"

"Cold," she simply said, an indifferent tone with a ghost of a smile coming from her end.

He looked out from the parking structure, walking back towards the office.

"Colder."

He stopped, turned, and looked at his options. different shops, different restaurants, more than a few places she might be hiding and observing him.

He took a few steps toward the shops.

"Chilly."

Backtracked steps to the restaurant.

"Not so chilly."

A few more steps.

"Room temperature."

Jon's gait picked up as he crossed the street to the full eating establishments.

"Warm."

He walked by the first restaurant.

"Warmer."

The second.

"Even warmer."

He stopped at the fourth with Sabrina's

"How about this heat, huh?"

He went in and was greeted by the wait staff.

"Hello sir, eating inside or out today?"

"Cooler."

"Actually, I'm going to try outside today."

"You have no idea how hot it is when you're smart Jonathan."

Jon smirked to himself at the punctuation of ‘hot’ as the waitress seated him.

"Do you know what you'd like or are you going to need a minute?"

"Order an appetizer," he heard in his ear.

"Just an order of buffalo wings for me, with a sprite, thanks."

"Sure. I'll get that drink for you."

Jon looked from every angle, surprised that he still couldn't locate the redheaded hypnotist. He figured she would easily stand out in a crowd of mostly brunettes like him, but there wasn't a trace of her anywhere.

"Not exactly warm if you're not here."

"But pretty hot for exactly where I want you. You might even say sultry, perhaps."

His annoyed headshake got her to chuckle, which tingled in his ear.

"And what if I happen to be hungrier for something more than just an appetizer?"

"It's not like you aren't, Jonathan. But we both know the main course is coming."

"And what was what I gave you earlier?"

His taunt elicited more chuckling.

"A sampling."

The way Sabrina described that kiss just happened to be in that tone that teased what his ears was automatically on the lookout for now, a tone of voice that made his attention perk up to the point of fixation, a conditioned prelude of things to come.

"Because you see, I don't know how you could even feel cold after that kiss; I'm sure your lips would've found their way to right where I wanted you. And somehow I doubt a command of mine not to could necessarily keep those lips away; I'm sure that sly mind would've found a way to indulge. Those means of worship framing your mouth might as well be heat-seekers, and pleasing puppets like you always get me so hot. It's like magic..."

"Uh oh," Jon finally noticed her timber had changed like when she would get into role-playing, and her choice of words meant her charms were about to turn supernatural.

"It's like the food coming to your table right now can be enjoyed and your current outward disposition look as normal as if you weren't listening to me at all, while everything beyond the surface has no choice but to hear me."

He smiled at the waitress who set his food down. His stomach grumbled gently, hungry to be fed while the rest of him feasted on hypnotic words.

"It's like the powers that be connect us in ways that transcend what we know, binding us. One may not think a wicked Scryer like me would have much to do with a vigilant Striker like you. And yet, here we are, discussing kisses and copulating that would produce pure, heart-aching bouts of jealousy for everyone around us."

"It's like....it's like..."

Silence gave Jon's mind some time to clear Sabrina looked through her phone for something.

"It's like...it's fate to osculate." The joy in her tone was evident that she had found exactly something  worth using.

"What a lovely word - osculate. Unusual in sound, uncommon in use, and has several definitions. But in this context, the word needs not a definition. Spoken from crimson lips, already embraced by your logic and reasoning, fated to become a word of importance. Yes, it is fate to osculate."

Enjoying the taste of yet mechanically chewing on his food, Jon looked nearly dull and blank to anyone that would've noticed him, as his brain filled with an unfamiliar word soon to become his incantation.

"It's fate to osculate. It's fate to osculate. A phrase, a truth that rings in your ears, vibrating deep under the skin, sending waves of repeating witching whispers back within any part of you willing to listen, and all of you has been so willing to listen to me, aren't you?"

From a location unseen, Sabrina smiled at the slight nod he answered with.

"'It's fate to osculate' whispers within you over and over again as my words join the dance of the spell weaved within, as if you only know my words right now, as if you can only comprehend their meaning. And since every other word you hear is osculate, because it is 'fate to osculate,' it must be so easy to imagine my kisses, feel them. Even just my lips making a"

*Smooch*

"gives you the impression that my lips are truly there on your skin. Where did you feel it, I wonder."

Jon mindlessly set a buffalo wing down to stroke his cheek, red and burning from an impossible sensation.

"Ah, how lovely, and how luxurious it must feel."

*Smooch*

"'It's fate to osculate.'"

The whisper and the phantom kiss caressed the pulse point of his neck; Jon's eyes fluttered closed for a second.

"Mmmm, so sexy to watch someone succumb to such a fate, to revel in it."

*Smooch*

*Smooch*

"'It's fate to osculate;' those whispers are so clear, that word just makes you want more. And when you hear my lips pucker and"

*Smooch*

"You thank all that is magical and mystical for this fate to be bestowed upon you, of having met me, of having met my approval, of being so fun to manipulate and toy with, and even touch a wicked witch's heart."

*Smooch*

*Smooch*

*Smooch*

"And doesn’t this feel like you're being rewarded for just being you, which makes you heat up and want more?"

The kisses manifested randomly, mostly around his torso and face. It felt wonderful to feel that even though he wasn't there, but it was hard to miss that none of them landed on his lips yet, which ingeniously made him crave more.

"And you do want more. You want as much as you can ta-oh shit! Marcus."

Jon remained unfazed at hearing his friend's name.

"Wide awake Jonathan. Normal, calm, as if you been awake this whole time. Wide awake now!"

"Hey Jon, didn't know you ate here."

It took him a few minutes to tear himself of what looked like him staring in space, but he finally acknowledged Marcus' presence, happy he sat down instead of him refuse to stand with the hard-on he sported under the table. He realized what he woke from and greeted his friend with a fake smile, hiding the anger from the interruption.

"Yeah, someone...uh..recommended I check this place out. It's nice here."

"It is. The waitresses alone make it worth it."

"Ugh," Jonathan heard over his headset.

"I meant the food, Marc."

"Hard to think about food considering the day - International Kissing Day; it's like Valentine's day without the fluff. Just the good stuff, or some of it."

"You're not celebrating it at the office, right?"

"Hey, a guy can dream, right? Setting up a kissing booth or something cheesy, but fun."

"He can kiss my ass."

Jon struggled to not snicker in front of his friend, and failed miserably. 

"What's funny?"

"In fact, he will be kissing my ass."

"Umm..." Jon was at a loss for words.

"Hand him your phone."

Unable to compromise revealing being on the phone with Sabrina, and unable to satiate her angered insistence, he desynced his ear-piece and handed his phone to a confused Marcus.

"It's for you."

"Who's this? My next date?" He smiled.

This might've been the first time he'd actually seen Marcus succumb to Sabrina's skill. Seeing the smile wiped off his face, looking like it got smashed in-between a reaction to a tragedy and an epiphany all at once, was not something he was prepared for. Seeing those relatively close to him fall deep like that used to be a much more jarring thought for Jon; now it was something that only nominally shocked him on the surface, and somehow aided in his excitement of any kind of exposure to Sabrina's hypnosis. 

He could only imagine the kind of trigger that would make him so blank that fast, or whatever words made him want to smile and nod as if in a dream; probably at the prospect of being a human dog again, barking, panting, being a good boy in a demeaning sense in her eyes, which he was always oblivious to. He only hoped that whoever’s ass he would literally be kissing would be from whatever bar he'd go to that night, content to stay at floor-level and set up his own ass-kissing booth on his knees. Jon hoped his imagination wasn't accurate or that cruel, even if it made Sabrina seem even more attractive as a charming evil mastermind in his eyes.

At last, the phone was handed back to him, syncing his headpiece back just in time to hear a huff of satisfaction.

"And as you for you, who bears the fate to osculate, you are simply back where you were, the interruption you had merely an errant thought that has passed you by. Those whispers are still vibrating in you, dancing in concert with my voice. My kisses are still softly rocking your body."

*Smooch*

*Smooch*

*Smooch*

Jon asked for the check as smoothly as he could.

"It's so cute to watch you; you look like you're trying to escape it."

*Smooch*

*Smooch*

*Smooch*

"What good is escape when my kisses lead you where I want you?"

Jon only realized then that he was walking aimlessly after having paid his check, focused on looking normal and feeling everything over his phone, unsure of when she even suggested him where to go. It was such a relief to not have to worry about the where, but to let Sabrina take control of even that. All he had to do was feel and listen, and somehow suppress his enjoyment of the kisses.

*Smooch*

*Smooch*

*Smooch*

There were probably words slipped between every kiss, guiding him thoroughly. It was the best explanation to how he ended up at the hotel just a few blocks away from the restaurants, how he knew that room 208 was his destination, and how he wouldn't need to bother the front desk for a key.

*Smooch*

*Smooch*

*Smooch*

In the privacy of the elevator and the vacant hallway, he let the strength in his legs lapse, crawling to the room that was mercifully two doors away from the elevator. 

*Smooch*

*Smooch*

*Smooch*

It felt like there wasn't a single part of his skin that was left unkissed and tingly. Even places he had no desire to be kissed he appreciated, the palms of his hand, the soles of his feet, threatened to make him stop and enjoy what he felt. He was immensely glad he didn't as he found room 208's door was ajar, pushing it open to find Sabrina inside, sitting on the bed, the naked lust on her face complimenting her naked body.

She shut off her phone, and extended a bare foot towards him. The message was clear - "It's my turn to be kissed all over." And even if it wasn't, she verbally eliminated any doubt.

"It's fate to osculate."

Knowing about his foot fetish, she prepared herself to especially feel his adoring effort over every inch of each foot.

She moaned luxuriously as his level of adoration gradually increased passed her ankles. He could nearly taste the sweat coming out of her pores as he didn't miss an inch of her legs and thighs. The pillow as a good way of suppressing the screams caused by Jon French kissing Sabrina's wetness, not missing a drop of her fluids among several, sweltering orgasms heating the room despite the air conditioning. She laid back in ecstasy after the fourth and let him repay the sensation of feeling kisses everywhere. How he kissed the back of her hands let him indulge in his chivalrous regard for her, how the hero couldn't help but regard the witch cordially. 

It was around her collar bone that Sabrina realized Jon might be conscious enough that the payback was more exact than she realized. She remembered she'd used her kissing trigger on him earlier and that he'd not yet acted on it. By her theory, it should build and build until he made their lips connect. Now she was having the hard time thinking as Jon rolled her over to give what amounted to a kissing massage, thoroughly covering every inch, saving the trail centering on the spine for last, so he could inch up further and further, making her want what she needed now. 

Across her shoulders and behind her neck, unable to reach effectively behind him to force him to her front, finally realized she didn't have to.

"Embrace the crimson now!" she whispered with more need than even she could remember.

She loved his gasp of helpless need nearly as much as feeling him swiftly turn her around to have their lips collide, as passionate as the kiss he'd given her earlier today, but with the added bliss of feeling his need and longing and obedience in that kiss; she came again, knowing she was kissing her hypnotized slave. 

It was a kiss that endured into their showering together, and him carrying her out the room in his arms, of his own will, until he had to set her down and dislodge from her lips as the doors opened to the hotel lobby.

To every passerby back to the office, they had no connection. And fortunately no one at the office realized they were an hour an a half late past lunch. Jon made it back first, followed by Sabrina five minutes later. She let nothing about her show that how good she felt, except for the small spring in her step, interrupted only as she tried passing Jon's office, pulled into a dipping romantic kiss seen and the conclusion of so many dances. Jon held her there and smiled after the kiss.

"Thanks for letting me know what international day it was."

She just smiled at him.

"Is it still my fate to osculate?"

"All weekend long, Jonathan. All weekend long."