3 comments/ 19929 views/ 1 favorites A Deeper Shade of Love By: Abscentia You turn the music on and immediately I feel a small drop of refreshingly cool water fall like a raindrop on the back of my thought-parched mind. I watch hungrily as you take off your shirt, leaving your pajama bottoms on. Our anticipation has been building with every casual touch and each stolen kiss. My eyes lose their focus for a moment as I picture the first one so long ago, rising to the balls of my feet with my hands on your shoulders and the warmth of your crooked finger under my chin as your lips brushed across mine. I had to open my eyes to be sure you were really there because the touch was so fleeting. Your chest vibrated with silent laughter under my fingers at my coy blush. Even now, after all this time we've spent together, you still have the power to make me blush without any effort at all. I playfully smacked your shoulder with my palm and my voice cracked as I tried to tease you. "Decorum, Dearest, decorum." My eyes clear and we lay the quilts down, three of them, thick and cushiony on the floor in front of the fireplace. You lay down while I get the oil, a pillow under your upper chest and one under your head... your arms wrapped around the top pillow, your forehead resting so that the back of your neck is extended, trusting and patient. I bring back the oil, a blend I have specially made with vanilla and cinnamon. I settle on the backs of your thighs with my knees on each side of your hips. The heat coming through the cotton material is more than just the warmth of your skin; it's like the friction heat of two magnets. You look serene and contented, ready for me to begin. I lean forward, resting on my elbows placed next to your ribs, and trail my nose between your shoulder blades, just barely touching the skin, breathing in your scent. I so love the feeling of your hair on my face and you smell good. A natural, you-scent that brings memories of everything from loving hugs to tears being kissed away. The raindrops are misting in the back of my mind now, thoughts of work and kids beginning to seek shelter from the coming storm. Drawing a line with the tip of my nose up to the hairline of your neck... I feel your entire body tense when my lips connect, nerve endings spiraling sensations to your brain. I hear your sharp intake of breath as I taste your skin. Lips tingling as I move them slowly from right to left, not quite kissing just connecting enough to let the sparkles raise the hair on the back of your neck. Behind your closed eyes, a memory floats lazily to the surface and you smile, hugging the pillow closer to you and arching your upper back more. "Remember the first time we met?" you ask me. "The first time we ever laid eyes on each other?" When I reach the base of your neck, I move to the right first, tasting you with the very tip of my tongue. The sensation with each stroke is like touching my tongue to a small battery. Tiny little licks that spread a fire through your muscle burning the tiredness out and filling it with a potential energy. Moving in a straight line back to your spine, my tongue spreads the heat. I tap a tiny peck of a kiss to the center of your spine then move back to the outer curve of your shoulder... meticulously covering your shoulder blade with my lips, inch by inch. "Yes, I do, Darling." I draw the line up your spine with my nose and murmur as I move to the left side. "We were at the airport. I was watching for you to come off the plane. Terrified that you would look at me and get right back on it and insist that the pilot fly you immediately home." I giggle a little with the memory of how nervous I was... comparing it to earlier tonight and finding little difference. Seems like we've known each other forever and not just for these few years... or is it months? We fit together so well from the very beginning that it was comfortable, destiny is what our friends call it when they see us together. "I remember the anticipation as I waited to get off the plane. The feeling that the people in the line should all know that I was waiting impatiently to meet you and that they should just break ranks and let me move to the front of the line for exactly that reason. I pictured you standing outside the door getting all flutterbyed in the stomach about meeting me and wondered for the more-hundredth time why you would be nervous about meeting an average joe like me." A wry grin pulls at the corner of your mouth as the thought obviously crosses your mind again. Caressing you with my opened lips along the line of your shoulder, my breath lighting tongues of flame in the muscle as I work my way back. Depositing a chaste peck to the center of your spine each time I reach it. I hear your breathing speed up and feel your heart race. "Because you are the only average joe who makes my heart stop when he whispers in my ear, Silly!" Sliding down a little on your legs, I bring my arms to cradle your sides as I leave thin wet trails across your ribs with my tongue. I place chaste kisses down the center of your spine with each pass lower. The arch of your back has been rolling with me... you move instinctively to offer me your body as I begin biting gently into the tender skin below your ribs. Never causing you pain, my teeth rest lightly against your skin with just enough pressure for you to feel them. I hear quiet little gasps and whispers of sounds coming from you that tell me how much you like it. My lips find the waistband of your pajama bottoms and hesitate. Mmmm... you taste so good that I don't want to stop. I lick with the rough flat of my tongue slowly just under the edge of your pajama bottoms from left to right then growl and sit up. "You were such a vision when I saw you that first time. As I came off the plane, my eyes were searching the crowd. Looking for any familiar image, I had memorized the pictures that you sent but my mind went blank when I needed to remember. I couldn't just look for a nervous beautiful lady because the airport was filled with nervous women of varying beauties. I needed to remember more than just that you had beauty, I needed to remember what made you beautiful to me but my mind would not bring into focus any part of the image." My face heats up and I can feel the blush spread from my cheeks outward... dissipating somewhere beyond my neckline. I rest my burning forehead on your relaxed buttocks until it abates. The flannel is slightly rough against my brow and your timely muscle clench, along with your husky chuckle sends shivers tugging up my spine as I playfully nip material and skin then lift my head. Sliding back to the top of your thighs, I take the oil and pour a little into my hands. The scent of the oil mixes with the wood smoke and I feel the mist in the back of my mind whorl and eddy as it changes to a whirlpool washing away the little worries and stresses that clutter even the best of days with unnoticed irritations. Listening to the fire pop and the music for a moment, I feel you settle back into the pillows and your heartbeat slows again, your breathing becoming tranquil. I rest my hands with thumbs together along the line of your spine and fingers splayed around the column of your neck. Letting the heat of your skin seep into mine. The slight coarseness of the stubble against my skin feels like fine-grained sandpaper as I begin to move my fingers casually. Stroking you with my fingertips, I apply pressure gradually until you move your head just a little and a small sound escapes your lips. "What I remember the most is the certainty that... no matter how nervous I was on the outside... the feeling deep inside was calm. I was terrified but I knew without the slightest doubt that it was all happening the way it was meant to. I searched every face as the plane emptied, desperate at that point to match the crisp sharp image in my mind to the real person moving toward me in the crowded walkway. Willing people to move faster and wishing they would all disappear so that I could find you. Of course not a single one of them could be willed anywhere and some very insistent wiggly worms had now joined the flutterby's in my stomach and there was still no sign of you." I massage the muscles along your spine using the heels of my thumbs... slowly, moving from the base of your skull down. I knead the muscles of your shoulders like a kitten, following them out to your arms and rekindling the fire as I soothe the tension out of them. Coming back for a second round I push deep circles with my palms until my arms begin to feel heavy from the unaccustomed workout. I hear you singing under your breath, the song playing in the background... "... Amazes me to say, I been so trying to find my way, closer to you..." The fire crackles as I move my palms to your shoulder blades and press outward from your spine to your sides. Lifting my body just off your thighs, I lean forward to put a little more pressure behind the movement when I am near your spine then settle back onto my perch as I move away from it. Moving just slightly down each time to be sure I light every sinew of muscle. When I reach your ribs, I roll the flesh, pressing into the muscle with my thumbs and moving the skin above it with my fingers. A deep guttural moan is proof that I found the spot that I was searching for and I work that area until the muscles give in and relax. Your breathing evens out and slows as I feel the stress leaking from the loosening muscles. You pick up the conversation as though you hadn't stopped talking. "So I was nervously scanning the crowded group of people waiting for us to leave the plane, seeing the young couple kissing like they had been apart for months. I saw the young mother handing her tiny baby over to what must have been his father and the gray-haired couple greeting what could have been their children, a tearful reunion between two young men I did not question as anything but that of long-lost brothers, then my eyes lit on the ever shrinking assemblage waiting for us to arrive." "I noticed in the front of the group the most intense set of eyes looking back at me. A sudden widening of them and the smile that broke out was breathtaking. I knew my definition of beauty again." "You certainly kept it quiet then, didn't you?! Although the bear hug you gave me should have given me a clue that there was more than just a deep friendship being affirmed. I thought maybe I had bought myself a new male corset without knowing it!" My grin spreads from ear to ear and my hands pause for a moment as I remember the feeling of your arms so tight around me that first time. Resuming the deep pressure I move below your ribs and downward to the small of your back, remembering in my own mind the vision of you coming off the plane, almost the last one in line. Eyes moving through the people, systematically discounting each possibility, I saw your head turning in my direction and our eyes locked. I felt the slam of my heart against my ribs and felt it climb its way into my throat. I knew at that moment that I was in trouble. It had been difficult enough to hide my feelings before this but now... face to face...in person! I heard a scream of mixed agony and ecstasy echo in my mind. I reach the base of your spine and put one palm on each side of it, pressing deep into the muscle as I follow the line straight up your back to your shoulders again. Your breathing is slow and steady... can't tell if you fell asleep on me or if you are just totally relaxed, so I lean forward and nuzzle behind your right ear, nibbling on it when you move your head to let me reach it better. I whisper in your ear, asking if you feel better now and you respond with a sound... mmmhmm. I sit up again and use my fingernails to draw patterns on your back... I love the way your body reacts to my touch, your back arching slightly and those wonderful sounds coming from you. The cool water soothing my stress-seared thoughts changes to a gentle rain. Moving off your legs, I lay down next to you; my body nestled against your right side, leaning on my elbow. My fingernails still trailing patterns across your back and making shivers travel down your spine. Your smile starts in your eyes and wends its way enticingly to your lips. My breath catches in my throat and a single silken thread of need draws me towards you, stopping just short of your mouth. My fingers slow and then stop as I am mesmerized by your lips... the shape, the texture, the growing desire to taste them. In slow motion, like a prey from its predator, I retreat. Lying on my back as you move your upper body over me, your weight pressing me into the quilts, pinning me and effectively stopping any further resistance I might offer, our lips remaining chaste and apart. Your mouth just a whisper away, your smile fades and your eyes delve into mine. There is nothing in our world right now but the indefinable feeling engulfing us both. Your lips brush across mine. The contact so ethereal I remember again that first kiss. Your tongue flicks out to take pleasure in my lips and I whimper softly, hear your answering growl. You lick my lips again and they part slightly, your tongue slipping through as you kiss me. Your mouth moves with mine as our lips seal and the passion quickens. My hands come up to cup your head, my fingers working into your soft hair. Your mouth moves... tongue playing with mine as you kiss me passionately. The hunger grows and we feed off each other. The fire in the background devouring the wood and begging for more with its crackles and pops, heat flowing from it in waves as it cheerfully burns itself to satisfied cinders. You pull back and my fingertips move over your cheeks to caress your lips before I let them fall to my side. My chest feels cold where your body was resting against me and I shiver... you smile with a devilish twinkle in your eye. I feel your eyes trailing down my body, like the touch of a ghost, and goosebumps appear on my skin. Your breath comes a little faster as you take in my flushed cheeks and kiss-swollen lips. The rise and fall of my chest under the cloth of the flannel pajama shirt adds another twitch to your growing excitement. Down the length of my legs your gaze travels, stirring me without the slightest contact then slowly returning along its eager path to my face. You relax onto your elbow and lift the buttons of the shirt carefully away from me before undoing each one... laying the cloth precisely in place, leaving the skin covered and untouched. Reacting instinctively as always with you, I hear your whispered command, "Rollover," and move to my stomach without conscious thought. Acknowledging your dominance and possession without a word. "You were shaking when you hugged me and there were tears in your eyes. I remember wondering if it was the nerves or the anticipation." My upper body rises for you to place a pillow under my ribs and I pull another under my chin, allowing my chest some room without putting pressure on it. My arms stretch behind me so you can lower the pajama top to my hips, keeping my modesty intact. "And? What did you decide, Honey? Was it flutterbys or the eagerness to meet you after all that waiting? You know it had been about a year we'd been getting to know each other by then." You settle yourself, straddling my hips. I can feel your weight resting lightly on my butt, your feet tucked close to my hips with your toes just under the bone. The two layers of flannel between us cushion the sensation but I can still feel your growing excitement as you move to become comfortable. "I don't know... I think it was... " I pull the pillow in close and crunch it down so I can lower my chin to my chest without smothering myself. "Pretty sure it was..." I feel the hair on your chest tickle my naked back as you lean close, your elbows on each side of my body at breast level. I squirm as you move, your body holding me entirely captive, your nose just behind my right ear, nuzzling. "Must have been..." Your beard grazes roughly against my neck and the involuntary squeak coupled with the shivers that race down my spine draw that erotic and entirely masculine chuckle from deep in your chest. "Anticipation" You exhale softly and my wriggling along with that silly squeak again tell you that you've touched the right spot on my neck and my body is now supersensitive to your every touch. I can't quite seem to catch my breath completely as you burrow into my neck and shoulders with your beard and nose. "Cheating! En... ti...mmmmmm... entire... ly.... unf.... unfair " "Shhhhhhh" A light nip at the back of my neck and I lose track of all conscious thought, the sensations overwhelming me and creating a physical need that I can't control. The pressure of your weight changes and you sit up. Hands thumb to thumb, fingertips spread wide, you start at my shoulders spreading the sensitivity down like molasses... my entire back is covered with goosebumps and my shivers of excitement have put a mischievous light in your eyes. The comforting sprinkle of water in my mind intensifies, a warm breeze of exhilaration drifting my thoughts toward possibilities like a summer rain in the night, silently inviting you to forget everything but the childhood joy of jumping in the puddles. You begin at the small of my back and work your way very slowly upward. Pressing deep and finding every hidden ounce of stress and strain hidden in the muscles that you touch, you relax me completely. A latent eagerness invading the muscles as the revitalizing energy spreads through my psyche. You force me to ride along that fine edge of overwhelming sensitivity. Every time you notice my pulse slow, you lean forward again and nuzzle that traitorous spot. I'm unable to make more than the most guttural and primitive moans and grunts as you work my body into a state of tranquil arousal. You reach my shoulders, tickling me with your chest hair as you kiss a line straight down the center of my back... kisses filled with purity and innocence that simply let me feel the warmth of your lips moving across my skin. My body arches sharply to your lips. Shifting your body once more and placing the tip of your tongue against my place of weakness, your soft puffing against my neck brings a low growl of intense desire this time... you kiss my neck and nip gently as you give me that husky chuckle. A smile comes to my lips as I realize that you are enjoying this as much as I am. I wiggle my butt just a little, feel the hardness jump and twitch and hear your sharp intake of breath. You move your weight down to just above my knees and again lean forward, putting your elbows on each side of my ribs. Your lips find the center of my back and my eyelids lower as you take the skin into your mouth, teeth resting just lightly enough to feel the roughness, tongue flicking back and forth quickly. Moving like a sigh over my skin to the next place... lazily licking and nibbling a heart shaped pattern then tracing it with your warm breath. You move your elbows down just a tad so that they are pressed close above my hips... your forearms molding to my body, fingers reaching under my ribcage to caress as you use your beard to tickle my lower back, making me squirm under your chest. I yelp and beg for mercy, struggling playfully to get up. You snicker at me... offering no quarter as you continue to tease and taunt my body. Finally giving in and sliding the pajama top back up my body, helping my arms find the sleeves before you let me rise. Buttoning from the bottom up, letting the shadows conveniently cover the view, I work my way modestly up the line. I peek at you from under my lashes, knowing exactly what you are trying to see and feigning innocence at hiding it A Deeper Shade of Love Taking your hands, I stand and lead you to the wood slatted rocking chair that sits just off to the side of the fireplace. Wider than most and padded, it is one of my favorite places to curl up with a book and relax. I lift just barely onto my tiptoes to kiss your neck. My hands touching your shoulders for balance then moving behind your neck and into your hair, mussing it as the fingers take on a mind of their own in the silkiness. Your fingertips move to rest on my hips, waiting for body to follow lips before sliding to the small of my back urging me to follow as you sit. My legs straddle your thighs and I rest on your knees, your hands on my thighs, fingers moving in a small flexing pattern of caress that send small shockwaves under the thin flannel shirt and a melting heat to my pulse. I lean forward and kiss your neck softly... a small savoring of your skin being more than I can resist. I whimper as though it were you holding me back and slowly cover your neck with electric flicks of my tongue... testing... tasting. "I knew before we met at the airport that I loved you. I'm not sure when exactly it was that I realized it was more than just friendship. It was hard to differentiate between the fantasy that I knew was impossible and the reality that I wanted. Seemed most times like the reality was that I wanted a fantasy and when I took the time to really look into my feelings about you, I would be unable to stop the tears." Moving my body down from your legs, I settle between them on my knees. I put my elbows on your chest and rest my chin on the backs of my hands. Eyes filled with serious intent, I look at your face, trying to memorize every tiny bit of you. Your smile draws mine out and I revel in the feeling of your arms locked tight around my back, holding me close against you. "Not very romantic for me to tell you that it grew slowly in me, is it? I remember so many times when I was certain I had broken your heart with my callous regard for what I knew were deeper feelings than I was capable of at the time. You knew that I had given my heart away in my youth and I wasn't sure I wanted to reclaim even a part of it after my loss. I wanted to be content with the past. Friendship was almost more than I was ready for... and a deeper commitment... well, that just wasn't part of the plan at all." Elbows slide sideways, face slipping to your chest; I move my nose through the hair, breathing you into me. Long hair flowing down to mingle with your fuzzy chest and raising goosebumps on your skin, I notice other reactions and my mouth starts watering. "It was painful, you know. Hard to be so near in so many ways and yet know that in the way I wanted most you were so far away. My heart never quite broke, though crushed is a good likeness. I don't think you realized how many times you would make comments that felt like honed knives. Painless going in so I could laugh and flirt but when the pain hit it was nearly unbearable. I couldn't show you any sign of it though. I was so desperate for you to see only the friendship... was so afraid that if you had so much as a hint of my true feelings that some undefined terribleness would happen..." A single tear falls as my hands splay across your belly and I contract my fingers slowly, looking unwaveringly at them. Your hand comes up to cup my cheek and you wipe the droplet away with the pad of your thumb then push your fingers into my hair. You tug just enough to bring my eyes up to yours, a warmth coming into them that heats my blood. "I stayed though. Never even occurred to me that I might leave," you muse, pulling my head against your chest and absently playing with the strands moving like silk through your fingers. "Such a strong feeling of 'right' when you were near. It felt good to have your friendship in my life, felt good knowing that you cared so much that you were willing to make a sacrifice for me. I regretted the need for it though. I hated to watch you hurt. I couldn't find a way to ease your pain without compromising my own feelings." Stroking you with the tips of my fingernails, I encourage you to laugh, nose still buried in your chest, shaking my head to tickle you with my hair. There is an impassioned edge to your laughter that I respond to and my play turns serious again. My lips touching the skin, tongue flicking out to run in random patterns through the hair, the laughter turns to a mutual groan and our eyes close as my tongue finds the pleasure center that I was seeking. Lips surround the area and a gentle suckling raises your areola into my mouth where I can lave attention on it. Moving back and forth from one to the other I feel your hands rise from the arms of the chair to the back of my head and clench tightly in my hair. I can feel the muscles in your arms tense as you consciously ease your grip and pull my hair behind my back before leaning down to kiss the top of my head. A sharp intake of breath and a growled, "Ohhhhh, Sweetheart!" give me all the encouragement that I need to continue. Licking and drawing you into my mouth while you moan into my hair. Your reaction to my suckling is obvious through the double layer of flannel, our clothes heated with the growing passion rising in our bodies. The chair rocks slowly, moving your body against mine in an unconscious stroking against my belly as I bite so tenderly. Your nipple hardens as you feel my teeth grazing it. For long moments words won't form in your mind, concentration centered on my lips and tongue. I feel the animal rising inside me, curling lazily around as it winds languorously through my body. I can tell you're feeling the same thing because your movements are so precise, so planned as your fingers move through my hair and skim over my shoulders and back. Covering your ribs and sinking lower oh so slowly until finally I reach your stomach. Goosebumps rise as I use just enough suction to raise the skin between my lips then shake my head as I release it. The tender skin taut and the muscles tense as you wait for me to continue my torturous path. My body curves down, nuzzling your belly button, voice deeper now, "I was waiting for you to realize..." My voice trails off as I become obsessed with the need that is driving me to taste your succulent flesh. I groan and bite gently into the skin at first, not marking you but letting you feel my teeth. I suck harder, working my teeth against your flesh, resisting the urge to mark you. A sound comes from deep in your throat, almost a growl, and I move lower until I reach the waistband of your pajamas. I can't resist rubbing my chin then my lips over the straining fabric, licking at the top of the rise. Fingernails running up and down the sides and tops of your flannelled thighs as I sit back, watching your face with a bridled hunger. Head lolled back against the chair with your eyes closed, your hands gripping the armrests, I see your parted lips and the rise and fall of your chest as you take deep calming breaths. "Realize what, Honey?" comes in a thick, cracked voice as you lick lips dry from the heavy breathing of your passion. "What were you waiting for me to realize?" You raise your head to look directly at me; your eyes, clouded with passion, begin to return to focus. I avoid the question by moving my fingernails to your inner thighs. A gasp and your eyes glaze over again with lust. Up almost to the point of touching the hardness evident through the pajamas but not quite. Random patterns, circles and figure eights, straight lines and wiggly ones as I concentrate on distracting you from that question. Your thighs tense and relax as I move up then down, coming so close that I can feel the heat but never quite touching. Down the length of your leg, my fingernails move over the material, slowly moving further away on each stroke then higher and higher until that intake of breath. I watch your expression intently, eyes never straying from your face as I taunt you. My fingers tingle where they touch the warmed flannel, the energy moving through the material as though it were not there. I'm not expecting it when you move suddenly to join me on my knees. We move in harmony, the look in your eyes driving me back with its power. I lean backwards until my hands touch the fire warmed quilts behind me; my lips suddenly dry, my tongue slips out to whet them. My elbows tremble as I ease onto them and you press your position, moving patiently forward, assured of your prize. The rumbling from your throat causes my pulse to quicken in something akin to the feeling at the beginning of the roller coaster ride. The thrill coursing through my blood with just a slight bit of fear, my breath comes in shallow puffs. You compel me deeper into the quilts and my thighs force my legs to bend in order to ease the pressure. My thoughts are whipped into a frenzied storm of emotion as your lips move over my face, never quite touching, your breath moving in silent puffs along the tiny hairs from my forehead to my chin, then along my jaw to my ear and down the pulse pounding ferociously in my neck to the collar of my night shirt. You move it aside with your nose and finally your lips touch my flesh just above the collarbone. Shivers race across my skin as you press your face against me, breathing in the faint smell of soap and passion and another scent that brands itself into your mind as "Mine!" An electric flick of your tongue tenses every muscle in my body and sends a shock straight to the heart of my desire. The tingling you feel brings your animal closer to the surface and I feel your teeth graze the skin as you settle your body across my hips. Our fingers collide as we reach to undo those recalcitrant buttons. I can feel you smile around the bite of skin in your mouth and I moan softly. After working the suddenly stubborn buttons loose two by two, your mouth moves lower following the line of my shoulder and moving down to the swell of my breast. I feel the slow exhale as your lips glide over the pearly smoothness rising just below them, circling the hardening tip with your tongue. The heat of your mouth draws my hands to cup your head. Fingers surround the fleshy mound, lifting it to fill your mouth as you suck the satiny morsel into the warm moistness behind your lips. My back arches lifting my upper body off the floor and you slip an arm underneath to hold me in place. Quick flashes of images move through my mind, refusing to stay long enough to register more than one immediate reaction leading to the next... your first shy smile... the ghost of our first kiss... the first caress of your hand on my cheek... the look of joy in your eyes when it hit you... clear up to the feelings shining through on your face this afternoon. My heart swells and the first tide of emotion rises. As your tongue sweeps across the nipple, my hips rising and falling, rocking my wet heat against the straining material grinding into it, my body begs for more without words. You answer the silent plea by moving to the other side, nipping the pebbled hardness and sucking it in and out of your mouth quickly. Your eyes are closed as I watch you, fingers gripping your scalp with a calculated gentleness. My whimpered plea for mercy goes unheeded by your mouth and I give myself over to the rising tide of desire. Your mouth wanders back and forth from peak to peak, your hard shaft rubbing against my heat through the single layer of flannel. The continuous strings of shock causing a reaction that unleashes my orgasm with all the power of the rainstorm thrashing through my mind. I writhe and move under you, wanting it to go on forever yet yearning for what isn't there. Crying out my need for you as my body tightens without you inside me. I feel the emptiness and slowly come down from a solitary heaven. My fingers tangled in your hair, I pull your lips to mine. Desperation fills my kiss as I search out your tongue, seeking reassurance that I'm not alone. You really are here with me. I'm not just dreaming about you anymore. Your eager response coupled with the insistence of your body as it pins me again gives me the craved comfort and I relax, losing myself in your seduction. I bury my face in the curve of your neck, blushing as the feeling fades. Thoughts niggling at the edge of my consciousness, fragments appearing and disappearing in the storm... that I am safe in your arms, that I won't ever need to feel alone again, that you will always be there to hold me when I need you. "Tell me, Darling." Your lips move to my neck, exhaling tendrils of excitement that spread throughout my body to touch places deep inside. "Tell you what?" is my bemused reply. I feel your tongue flick quickly back and forth across the skin, drawing a whimper from me. "What you were waiting for me to realize, of course." Teeth grazing across the skin as you move up and down the line of my pulse. Nibbling my earlobe as you wait for my answer. "I was waiting for you to realize something?" A soft animal growl of seduction in my ear, your tongue licking the outline before you answer me. "Yes." "Why was I waiting?" Your growl loses its threat as you nuzzle behind the ear, torturing me with your patience. "Saucy wench." You plant a quick peck on my lips and look into my eyes with a smile. "Perhaps with enough bribery, Sweetness ...?" The question tapers off accompanied by the most adorably coy batting of eyelashes and the most enticing licking of lips that you've ever seen and you chuckle. Your words tickle the hair on my cheeks, "Bribery? You want bribery, Darling?" A shiver runs down my spine as the words sough over my skin and I nod slowly. Your fingers lace with mine as you kiss your way down my body. Pinning my legs with your arms bent across my thighs and keeping me from rising by holding my hands to the floor by my hips, you settle in. I watch you, my breath held. Your eyes looking up into mine as you lower your face to me. Your tongue slips easily through the swollen lips to touch fleetingly on the center of my desire, the smooth skin around it welcoming your lips. My lips part and the breath escapes in a long slow exhale as your mouth seals around the essence of my lust and you suck gently. My hands try without real effort to free themselves and my hips rise slightly to encourage you. Your tongue snakes around, moving in intricate patterns, a circle around the nub then back and forth across it, the suction intensifying every little movement. A fire burns from the core of your concentration, spreading quickly to nerve endings throughout my whole body. Your body reacts to the obvious signs in mine, the smell of my sex and the wetness clinging to your beard making your hardness almost painful. Aching for a release of your own, your hips move, rubbing flannel covered skin against the quilts, the friction heating the sensitive underside. Your grip tightens on my hands and your tongue moves faster. Your mouth moves lower and you press your tongue into the wetness, lapping like a starving puppy. Melding your mouth around the entrance and sucking harder as your tongue licks the honeyed liquid from me, you moan with the need for release and I beg you to leave your prize, my voice husky with desire. "Please, Darling! I need you!" Determined to press me further, you continue licking and pulling. Returning your mouth to my burning core and untwining our fingers. Pushing first one then two fingers inside the contracting heat to move in and out quickly, my body moving under you in impassioned frenzy. I cry out your name as the second wave of emotion flows over me, walls clenching around your fingers, body straining to feed you more of me, moaning... unable to form more words than just that simple name. Your mouth moves, never losing the molten connection burning through us, fingers never slowing, until my muscles finally relax. Licking roughly over the sensitive bump to make me buck one last time, you raise your head to smile at me. "Bribery?" The tension breaks with a loud crack as your word cuts through the fog of my mind and we both laugh. "Mmmm... yes, but that's not what I was thinking of when I said it." You rise to your elbows and then your hands and knees, moving up to tower over me. You lower your head and warm my lips with yours before asking me what I had in mind. I smile up at you with a wicked gleam in my eye and wiggle my body lower under you. My neck strains as it lifts my mouth to your belly. The puzzled look on your face fades as you realize what I intend to do and you groan loudly. I lift my lips again, stretching my neck upwards to nuzzle through the flannel. My fingers hooking under the waistband and pulling the elastic down over your hips, you lift one leg and then the other to help me take off the offending clothing. On your hands and knees above my face, my mouth forms a silent, "Oh," as I wrap my arms around your thighs and kiss the tip of your flesh as it hangs. Suction and gravity work together to fill my mouth with you. Your thighs tremble as you lower your hips, sliding your hardness down my throat as my lips grip you tight. My watering mouth surrounds you, my hands guiding your hips in a long gentle stroke downward. A moaning sound comes from deep inside me that matches the guttural whimper coming from your mouth. The base of the shaft reaches my lips and I press you just that little bit further down my throat, shaking my head to feel the hair cuddle against my cheeks. Your body begins shaking as I push your hips upward, trembling so strongly that I wonder if you'll be able to support your weight. I lift up partially on my elbows and follow your body up, pushing my face into you, pressing deeper, then sink to my back in the quilts again, almost, but not quite, letting you slip from my mouth. Another slow stroke down to meet my lips and I feel the tip of you brushing past my tonsils. I swallow hard, the sound that escapes from you as my throat constricts causing me to swallow again and again. The turgid flesh fills me relentlessly as you pace yourself, wanting this incredible feeling to last and last. You notice each ridge and swollen vein penetrate my lips, stretching my throat to accommodate you with each long thrust. Your hand slips behind my head and you hold my mouth captive against your groin as you roll first to your side then your back. My body follows and I end up resting on my elbows as I continue the slow deliberate movements. I lift my mouth finally, and look up the length of your body with a self-satisfied grin on my face. "Bribery!" A primal sound comes from your mouth as you dig your fingers into my hair, cupping my head and pulling gently but firmly. I creep up your body, skin rubbing relentlessly against skin all the way up. Your hands skim from my scalp down to my shoulders, from arms to sides, pulling me over you. My feet find their place against the sides of your hips, legs curled against your ribs, breasts pressing against your chest, my body now pinning you to the quilts just as you had me pinned before. Our lips fuse into one, your tongue forcing it's way through to demand attention. Our tongues twining together, I oblige. I break the kiss and sit back on my heels, lifting my aching emptiness above you, ready to claim what is mine, poised for just a moment to savor the desire on your face. The tip of your manhood just inside the moist heat of me, I let gravity pull me down, rising and lowering to lubricate the rigid flesh an inch at a time. Your impatience shows in the frustrated attempts to lift your hips but my knees are clamped against them tightly and you are forced to passively enjoy your torment. A Deeper Shade of Love Finally, after what seems like an eternity, I sink all the way down, fully impaled on your engorged member. My body clenches naturally around you, gripping you like a vise, holding you in place. My knees spread out from your body, allowing your hips to strain up to meet me as I grind down into your body. Hair meshing together, matting with honeyed wetness, your hands on my hips to guide my speed, I rise up and ride the stiff rail down again. Our focus centers on the intimate rhythm of grunts and moans as we move together, bodies bumping and humping harshly against each other in passion. Pulses speed up; sweat breaking out in moist dewdrops as the fire coursing through our joined bodies seeks the storm raging in our minds, yearning for the unity of our souls as we come closer and closer to release. I lower my mouth to yours and we kiss with all the heat that is boiling in our blood. Your arm wraps around my back and you roll us over quickly, never losing the connection between us. Bringing your legs up and pushing my knees to my shoulders, you watch as your coated shaft fills me then pulls almost completely out of me only to plunge deep inside me again, insistently demanding its satisfaction. Long deep strokes speed up. Sweat drips from our bodies as you move faster, more frenzied, eyes glued to the penetration. "More!" "Harder!" "Faster!" The words fall like fuel on a bonfire from my parched lips. Panting from the exertion, we fall over the edge together. Names, torn from throats desiccated by the harsh breathing, spiral together into a larger emotion as the mutual orgasm fuses our bodies into one molten star shooting towards the sun. Every involuntary contraction, intensified by the tightened muscles around your pulsing hardness, creates another shattering explosion of thunder and lightning in the flickering firelight. Ever so slowly, our spent bodies relax. Heavy breathing replaced by soothing sighs of repletion. Fiery winds of rapture migrating to thoughts of inevitability, this was meant to be. Your body sinks into mine, your face buried in the curve of my neck, lips warming my skin. My body too weak with aftershocks to hold you inside, I feel your softening flesh slip from me and bring my arms around your back to hold you in this feeling of closeness. My mouth caresses your hair as the words whisper through. "I was waiting for you to realize that we could have this. That it doesn't change anything that you had before. Doesn't take away from any of the beauty of the true love that you had once. It just adds a new kind of beauty to your life. Enhances the love that was already there and makes it more complete." Your lips move against my neck as you speak and the words skitter across my skin like beads of water on a skillet. "I've known for a long time that there was more to be found with you than simple friendship. I told you it grew slowly in me but grow it did. Grew into something that I didn't recognize at first because it was so different than what I had already had in my life. I had grown comfortable with a definition of love and being 'in love' that was specific to one relationship." "She loved you well, my darling. I'll be forever grateful for the love that you shared with her because it taught you how important it is to have the beauty of it in your life. It's a gift that I will treasure forever for the beauty it adds to our lives." You circle your arms around me and roll us to our sides. The natural way that we fit together being yet another testimony to perfection, my head tucked under your chin, ear pressed against your heart, one arm wrapped around your side, the other curled between us, legs tangling comfortably. "I'm grateful that we found each other. I'm glad that we spent the years that we did building our friendship. Most of all, I'm thankful that you've helped me find so many new definitions in my life. Beauty, love, hope, and joy are all words that have changed meanings since that first discussion of semantics, all because of you." I look up, into your eyes, to find you smiling at the recollection of that first defining moment in our relationship. "But, Darling! You defined the terms. You teased me mercilessly and then taunted me with your playing... or was it that you taunted me with your teasing play? I can never remember." My giggle mixes with your chuckle and you press a kiss against my lips, squeezing me tighter for a moment. My head rests on the arm under my neck and my eyelids grow heavy. Fighting sleep, I begin to lose the battle, safe in your arms at long last. "G'night, my Valiant Knight," I mumble into your chest, " I love you." Your words follow me into the comforting bliss beckoning to me, "I'll love you always, Princess." Our arms tighten in a last effort at staying awake before giving in again to inevitability as sleep claims us for itself with the sweet lull of a babbling brook.