10 comments/ 25655 views/ 1 favorites Icebound By: dweaver999 Sally came out of the shower to find that Valerie was still in bed. It being the weekend, there was no need for her to be up right at this moment, but they were planning to visit Charles, their Master, today. As she studied the face of her lover, she detected a hint of sadness there. She didn't like seeing Valerie sad, and she had a suspicion she knew what the cause was. They still had three hours to be at Charles', so Sally felt able to take the time to have her shoulder cried upon. "Hey there, little lady. Why the long face?" "Oh. I'm sorry, Sally. It's noth..." "Don't give me nothing lover. We're partners for life. What makes you sad, makes me sad. Out with it! Why the long face?" "It's an anniversary." "Mike?" "Yeah. He proposed today, all those years ago. I stopped celebrating them after he died." Mike Burbon was Valerie's husband. He had died five years ago in a car accident. That was from another time in Valerie's life, before she discovered her ability to enjoy sex and fall in love with a woman. It was Sally's total acceptance of Mike that had allowed Valerie to remember those times with the joy as well as the pain they had always held for her. The picture of him and Valerie, once packed away for so many years, had been a prominent fixture in the living room of the house for the last six months. "So this is the first time since he died that you've let yourself remember it?" Tears filled her eyes as she answered. They were tears of sadness at the loss, yes, but they were more. There was guilt as well. She had turned away from the memories of the man she had loved with all her heart for so many years. "Yes. God, Sally, it hurts so much." "I know it does, dear. It always will. But you can honor him by remembering. I can honor him by listening and committing your memories to my heart. Come on, tell me about it. I want to know every detail of the proposal, the wedding and honeymoon. Let me know the man you loved." "You know we waited until we were married to have sex, right?" At Sally's nod, Valerie continued. "We were married almost exactly one year after we first met. It was late May when we met and Francine and I were at Schweitzer ski resort thanks to a late season snow fall." As Valerie continued to talk, time seemed to roll back and Sally felt like she was there, watching. * * * In those days, I was very hetero and very bad at skiing. Francine had browbeaten me into taking some lessons that weekend. I truly sucked! Fortunately, the resort had a good club for après ski celebrations. My butt was so sore that I didn't want to sit down, so I danced instead. I've always been a good dancer and was finally enjoying myself. I had no shortage of partners. Then he asked me to dance. I knew immediately that we were perfect dance partners for each other. We danced like we had been dancing together for years. Every move I made, he anticipated and matched. I seemed to know just what he was going to do and flowed into it like honey onto a scone. There was an excitement that went through me when we touched. I didn't recognize it then. After all, I'd never been in love before. I was just enjoying the dancing. I even managed to forget those stupid skiing lessons. Occasionally, we took a break from dancing and talked. I can still remember exactly what we talked about — ourselves. I was just starting at Bradford and Gashune advertising agency at that time and he was truly fascinated by the intricacies of advertising. He was in construction, a site foreman for Wellington Contractors. He loved his work and could talk about it for hours. Yet, he didn't that night. He was interested in me in a way that I had never experienced before. It never felt like prying, yet he learned so much about me. I remember how considerate he was of my privacy. He had asked, "So how was your day of skiing?" I suppose my frown was a dead give away. "Oh, loads of fun. Everyone likes to spend the holidays as a student." "You're not a skier, then?" "No. I never liked it much and never wanted to." "Why is that?" I hesitated. I'm really reluctant to share fears; especially irrational ones. I was trying to decide what lie to feed him when he interrupted. "No. That's too personal. Leave it at 'I don't like to ski,' and that'll be good." I'm pretty sure I blushed at that. As I was trying to regain my bearings, he took my hand. "Come on. I want to do something I haven't done in ages." He led me outside onto the lodge's veranda. It was cold outside, but he didn't seem to notice. I didn't notice much either. His presence seemed to be a warm spot in the world. We walked to the back side of the building. The snow around the lodge was well trampled, but you could see the unmarred snow on the slopes in the distance. The moonlight made the snow glitter like millions of little stars reaching out to their cousins in the sky. Then he reached up, broke off an icicle from the edge of the roof, and licked it like a popsicle. "I always loved doing this as a kid," he explained. "Want a lick?" he asked as he offered the end to me. I couldn't help myself. I just laughed. Then I took a lick myself. I damn near froze my tongue to the thing. We took turns licking that icicle until it was a little stub of ice. He popped it into his mouth and I could hear it crunching as he chewed it. By now, with cold both inside and outside me, I was shivering. "Come; let's get you inside to warm up." I responded with, "I think I'll only feel warm under that down comforter on my bed." "Let me have the honor of escorting you, then," replied Mike with a gentlemanly bow and a mischievous smile. He led me by the hand back inside and up the stairs. When we reached my room, he took both my hands and looked into my eyes. I felt like he was looking deep into my soul and, honestly, I was a little scared of how much he was seeing of me. "Valerie, I had a wonderful time tonight. I hope we have a chance to spend more time with one another this weekend." "I did too. I would like that. Maybe at breakfast?" "I'll see you downstairs at...?" "8.00?" "I can do that. Stay warm under that comforter." Then he walked away, not even trying to come into my room with me. At that time, if he had asked, I would have gone to bed with him. While we ultimately ended up waiting until we were married, neither of us was a virgin when we met. It wasn't that I was casual in my choice of partners, but rather I knew I wanted to sleep with Mike. As I went in and closed the door, I felt diminished. It was very strange, a feeling I had never had before. In fact, it was the first time that a man had not even broached the idea of getting into my bed. When I started to undress, I realized that the strong feelings I had for him were as much physical as they were emotional. I was in need, of him, yet when he had been around me, that physical need was under the surface, temporarily satiated by his simply being there. Now, left alone, I found that my nipples were erect and my pussy was damp. I knew that I'd never get to sleep with this much lust burning inside me. Sitting on the edge of the bed, I brushed my nipples. The tingles of pleasure had me gasping. I pictured Mike taking my breasts into his hands and running his thumbs across my nibs. My mental image had me moaning and my juices going from damp to running in short order. That empty feeling down there that needed to be filled started to grow and I was regretting having left my vibrator at home. I brought one hand down from my tits to my mound, sliding one finger across my lips. I swear I jerked at my own touch. I sucked in a deep breath as jolts of electricity-like charges raced through me. Normally I tease myself a lot when I'm masturbating, but this time I couldn't. Once I had touched my pussy, the need in me exploded and I could only thrust my fingers inside me to fill that void. The only way to describe it was to say that I fucked myself, hard and fast. My orgasm hit me like a freight train. I collapsed back on the bed and screamed as my body started to shake. I hadn't even managed to touch my clit yet. As I basked in that afterglow, I knew that I wanted Mike to do that to me. As I slept that night, I dreamed of making passionate love with him. In my dreams, he was as perfect a lover for me as he was a dancer. I'm pretty sure that I had a silly grin on my face all night. * * * The present reasserted itself as Sally commented, "I've seen that grin. You have it every time I tease you on the edge of orgasms. I might just think you like that kind of torture." continued Sally cheekily. "I do. Letting you do that is one of my favorite parts of being your lover." Sally stroked Valerie's leg through the sheet as she asked, "So what happened at breakfast?" The past returned as Valerie resumed her story. * * * He wasn't there at breakfast.. The waitress in the lodge's restaurant gave me a note when I came down. I left in unread on the table while I ate my Belgian waffle. I was sure that I didn't want to read whatever lie he was trying to foist off on me. After a little while Francine came down and joined me. "So how was last night?" "I don't want to talk about it." I obviously wasn't feeling very good. Oh, I had enjoyed the previous night. I just didn't want to remember it. "Fess up, girl! What is the problem? I saw you having the time of your life. And he took you upstairs. So spill it Valerie, what happened? Did he leave you frustrated?" "He didn't even come in my room. He promised to meet me for breakfast and this was waiting for me instead." I handed the note to Francine. She looked at it and her face took on a quizzical look. She looked at the note again and then back at me. "You haven't read this, have you?" "I don't have to. He's blowing me off." She shook her head, giving me a look of caring disgust. I'd seen that look before, every time I made assumptions about other people. "Dear Valerie, I received a call from my brother early this morning. My brother's been on the waiting list with the National Organ Registry for a new kidney and one has become available. I need to take care of his family while he goes in for the operation. I hope I can get a rain check on breakfast. Mike." Needless to say, I was feeling pretty stupid and petty. That's not the kind of thing you make up to blow a girl off. How can you hold it against someone that he puts family first? My waffle didn't have much taste after that. The rest of the weekend also seemed bland. This was caused in part from his not being there and in part due to my own judgmental attitude. * * * Summer is always busy for the advertising business. Christmas season shopping ads are planned and produced months ahead. Our company's connections with television and radio stations put us in high demand. I was working ten hours or more a day that summer. You might remember that year. It was the year that Macy's and Sack's had their Christmas jewelry price wars. In the middle of all that, Mike called. June, my secretary, buzzed me. "Ms. Glascow, there's a Mike Burbon on line 2." "Thanks June. I'll take it." My heart leapt at his name. "Hello Mike, this is Valerie. How is your brother?" "He's doing great, The new kidney is working well." "I'm glad. What can I do for you?" "I know it's not the breakfast I promised, but can I take you to lunch?" "I'd love to. When and where?" "I can pick you up outside the agency at noon." "Okay. I'll be there." I can't tell you how wonderful it was to hear his voice. I had been so busy that there was no time to take the initiative and call him. A lunch date would not last long, but I really didn't care. I didn't get much work done the rest of that morning. By noon, I had been standing out in front for five minutes. Mike pulled up in a battered pick up truck. Definitely out of place among the BMWs and other high class cars that were common to this part of downtown. "Mike, it's so good to see you." "It's great to see you too Valerie. I hope you don't mind something fast. I'm afraid I don't have a lot of time for lunch, but since I had the chance, I did want to spend it with you," "I want to spend this time with you too. I have just as little time for lunches as I suspect that you do, so fast is great." "In that case, how about Mexican?" "Mexican is good." * * * Valerie came back to the present as she sat up and took Sally's hand "I tell you Sally, I would never have thought that lunch at Taco Time could be romantic, but that's the way it felt. He bought me lunch and we spent the entire time just talking about ourselves. At some point in time, our hands started touching when we weren't using both to eat. I couldn't take my eyes off him and his eyes seemed to be looking at me as well. It wasn't that lustful gazing at my breasts, though I certainly would not have complained, but he was looking at ME, into my heart and soul through my eyes. I so badly wanted him in my life." "I know the feeling. I felt it for you shortly after we met the first time. I was sure you loved me too, but was terrified that I was imagining it." "That's exactly what I was feeling then. I thought that he really liked me. But what if I was deluding myself? I was afraid of looking like a fool. So I didn't say anything then." Valerie continued her narrative, painting the past, in vivid detail, once again. "You know how I love hot food, Sally?" * * * We were heading back to his car after Mike had refilled his drink to take with him, and I was fanning my mouth. "A little too much salsa, Valerie?" "No 'little too much' about it. I love the stuff, but it doesn't like my tongue." "Here, try sucking on this." Mike had pulled a chunk of ice from his drink and held it to me. "This is the second time you've given me ice. I should call you the Iceman," I said, with a laugh, as I sucked on the soothing cold. "You can call me anything you want." "How about 'dance partner'?" I asked as we climbed in. "I would love to dance with you again. Are you going to have any evenings free this month?" "To dance with you, I'll make one free." "Great. I'll pick you up Saturday at 6:00." Just like that, we had our first date. He took me to the Gotham Club that night. I don't know how he felt that Saturday night, but I felt like life was perfect. I was at home, in the place I was meant to be, with the person I was meant to be with. We danced for hours. My feet were in even better shape then than they are now and I could stay on them for the whole night with no trouble. I think we danced for three hours before we even found a table and had something to drink. I had never had a more perfect dance partner before. We dated regularly after that. It wasn't always dancing, though that was at least half of our dates. He took me to Six Flags, the amusement park, one weekend for the entire day. I had to diet for a week to undo the damage to my caloric intake from that one day. Even when he took me someplace that I would never had gone to on my own, I enjoyed myself. Just being with him was so perfectly enjoyable. My desire for him grew with each date, yet he never made a move to take me to bed. Even when we went to the beach, when I could see his cock's rigidity in his suit, our kisses were only enough to fuel the fire inside me. The fact that he wore t-shirts to protect against sunburn meant that I was even denied his bare chest. As time progressed, my feelings for him grew even stronger. By the time the first snow had fallen on Halloween, I was in love. Madly, passionately, irresistibly in love with Mike Burbon. I so wanted to tell him, but I was still scared that he didn't love me. Looking back, I know it's stupid, to think he didn't. However, he never actually said he loved me. It was only much later, after we were married that he confessed the same fears about me, because I never said that I loved him. Can you imagine that, two people desperately in love and neither one actually takes the five seconds it takes to say, "I love you?" * * * "Is that why you were so quick to tell me how much you loved me?" Sally asked, momentarily bringing the present back into focus. "Yes. I loved you so much six months ago and I wasn't going to let you get away. I was terrified that it was just sex for you, but I had to let you know that it was so much more than that for me." "I'm so glad you did. I don't think I could have done it myself. You mentioned Halloween. Why?" she asked, turning the focus back to the past. * * * Bradford and Gashune had done very well that year, landing three new major accounts. The president, however, was totally against Christmas parties, so we had a Halloween party instead. Of course, it had to be a costume party. One of the Batman movies had come out that year; I don't remember which one, so the people in charge of planning made it a superhero theme for the costumes. It was the first time that I asked Mike out. He usually did the asking. That's one of the things that made him so special. He had that old fashion type of romanticism. He thought the idea of a costume party was great. Wanting to surprise me, he kept his outfit a secret, It turned out we had similar thoughts. I wasn't a comic book buff, so I had had to check out some of the shops and bug the staff for ideas. In the end, I went as Emma Frost, the White Queen from Marvel's Hellfire Club. Technically, she's a villain, but the name Frost was perfect. Once I saw Mike's costume, I realized how much alike we were starting to think. He went as the X-Man, Iceman. It was so perfect. I had been calling him the Iceman for months now, ever since the Taco Time ice cube. It was like he was telling me that he was proud to be whatever I wanted him to be. I was beginning to believe he actually did love me. The party itself was like all office parties. Nervous employees trying not to insult their bosses and no one actually having much fun. Possibly, Mike and I were the only one having fun, though, to be honest, I wasn't paying much attention to the rest of the people there. We could have had a visit from a real superhero and I would have been oblivious. It was at the party that Mike asked me to join him and his family for Thanksgiving. He knew that my family was across the country and that, as busy as I was at the agency, I would not have the time to go home. His family had a farm about 25 miles out of the city and he wanted me to meet them. God! Meeting your boyfriend's family? Even as adults, that's such a big event. I almost said no. How could I though, given how much I loved him, the entire person that was him? Not meeting the parents who raised such a man was unthinkable. Little did anyone know that he was setting everyone up, me, as well as his parents. * * * Sally interrupted, "You don't mean to tell me that he..." "Yes, that's exactly what he did. He didn't tell anyone what he was going to do, except maybe his brother. He may have, however, just figured it out on his own. Anyway..." * * * He picked me up early on Thanksgiving. I hate getting up early. That I was willing to get up at 5:00 AM on a holiday for him says a lot. Snow had fallen the previous night and only Mike's truck had any chance of driving through it. We didn't talk much on the way. He had to concentrate on his driving too much. I was at home from the moment I got there. His mom, Stephanie, welcomed me like I was her own daughter. That meant, of course, that I was drafted into dinner preparations. I wasn't any better at cooking then than I am now. Apparently I do make a mean deviled egg, once I learnt how. It also turned out that it's really hard to screw up a turkey dinner, or anything else for that matter, when Stephanie is within 100 feet of it. Icebound The guys were doing what guys always do on Thanksgiving, watching the football games. I could make out Mike answering questions about me to his dad, George. Stephanie and Diane, Mike's sister, grilled me with a subtlety that would do an FBI investigator proud. I didn't know I was being pumped for information until Christmas, when I caught my dad doing the same to Mike. Dinner was very traditional and very good. I don't think I have ever been so stuffed before, or since. It took all my self control to not say, "Yes," when asked if I wanted banana cream, cherry or apple pie. They had a ritual for Thanksgiving in Mike's family. After dinner and the dishes (the guys did those), the entire family would gather round the fire and tell what they were most thankful for over the past year. Somehow, I think he planned it that way, but Mike was the last in the circle. Each person shared their item of thankfulness. Stephanie started. "I'm thankful for Dennis's good health." Dennis was the brother who had had the transplant. As the thanks went around, Mike excused himself. "Sorry, have to use the can." I should have been suspicious when I heard the front door open for a few seconds. He came back just as it was my turn to share. Hearing everyone share, I was struck by the fact that there was only one thing I was truly thankful for. I had never said it before, but, in the presence of this family who had so openly accepted me as one of their own, I couldn't hide it anymore. When it came to be my turn, all I could do was look up at Mike, standing there with his hands behind his back, and say, "I'm thankful for Mike being in my life, because I am deeply in love with him." You could hear a pin drop and every eye turned towards Mike. He looked at me and knelt on the floor next to me. "I'm so glad to hear you say that Valerie. What I am most thankful for has not quite happened yet, though I hope and pray that it is about to. Valerie, I love you with all my being. Will you marry me?" With that, he pulled an icicle from behind him with a ring slid over it. I was speechless, as was everyone else. I was told later that everyone's jaw was hanging open, but I was oblivious to them. All I could see was the man I loved holding one of his famous icicles with the ring on it and thinking, "He really has a thing for ice." * * * Sally snorted. "He has a thing for ice?" The look on her face was one of unbelief. "That was your first thought?" "I know. Really lame! But that's what it was." "I don't believe it," she said, slapping Valerie's leg playfully. "Do you want to hear the rest?" "Okay. I'll be quiet. You said yes, right?" * * * I think I stared at him for ten seconds or more. Then, I managed to croak out, "Yes," before totally losing it and breaking out in tears. I grabbed him in a hug that would have done as well, as a means of restraint, as one of Master's straight jacket. I'm pretty sure that I mumbled several, "I love yous," before the cold in my tits reminded me that there was a frozen piece of water pressed firmly between us. When I pulled back, there was a vertical wet spot on both of our shirts. I lost it. I was on the floor rolling in laughter. Mike was there too while his family just watched us with smiles on their faces. When we had both regained control, his mom ushered the rest of the family into the dining room for some eggnog. She muttered something about the love birds needing some time to themselves. Mike took me outside where the privacy was greater. We didn't actually talk much at first. I don't know if anyone who has not spent much time in the country realizes how beautiful it is. The snow had fallen recently and was undisturbed on the ground. The moonlight glistened off it, and it sparkled like the stars. God! The stars. There's no ambient light on a farm outside the house itself. Mike led me to the dark side of the house and looked up into the sky. I had never seen such a sky before. So many stars. So much color. They say that stars don't show color. They can in the country. Looking out into the fallow, snow covered field, it was hard to tell where the snow ended and the stars began. The fog from our breath was the perfect accent to the beauty that was before us. After ten minutes, and me shedding not a few tears at the beauty of the moment, Mike spoke the first words since the proposal. "I could only propose to the most beautiful woman in the whole world in the most beautiful place in the world. I love you Valerie Glascow, more than life itself. I would do anything for you." I was crying now, though I could still talk clearly. "I love you Mike Burbon. I want to give myself to you for all time. If you want me now, I'm yours." I hugged him again and was able to feel his hard cock inside his pants. I'm sure he could feel my erect nipples as well. I know I could smell my pussy. The dampness from it was very noticeable on my panties. His head inclined and we kissed, sharing our tongues for the first time. God! I had been waiting for six months to get this far. On every date we had had for the last six months he had been the perfect gentleman. I didn't want a perfect gentleman. I'd wanted to make love with him since we first met. To encourage him, I brought my hand to his cock and squeezed it. I could feel the damp spot on his pants from his leaking precum. I could feel my cunt juicing in response to the feel of his desire. He wanted to fuck me. My breath became shorter and I moaned into his mouth. He, however, brought my hand back up and broke our kiss. "Valerie, I love you and I want you so much. I want to wait, however." It was like he was speaking a foreign language. I was confused. He tried to explain. "God knows we're not virgins. You know we've both been open about that. I have nothing against a roll in the hay that is enjoyable for both people. But, I want to treat you better than that. Casual sex is fun, but it's only about physical pleasure. I've seen too many women, and men, who have been hurt by casual sex when true emotional love was involved. When someone is in love, it's like the rules change. I don't want to hurt you, so I will wait." "But, I want to give myself to you. I want to show you how much I love you. Is that wrong?" "I don't know. I would like to think it isn't wrong. Based on what I've seen, though, the worst hurts are done to those women who do just what you want to do. They physically show their love, and bam, they're hurt somehow. I know it will be hard. You don't know how much I want to tear your clothes off and fuck you right now for God and everyone to see. Or maybe you do know? But I love you so much, I won't take the slightest chance of hurting you that way." What could I say? He was not fucking me because he loved me. I was so used to, "If you loved me, you would sleep with me," that I had been preempting it for a long time. "I love you too, Mike. I don't fully understand why, but, I trust you. So, I will wait too. But, I will be having an orgasm tonight, with you or without you!" "Oh, I plan on it too. In fact, let's see if we can have one together, separately. I'll try to cum at 10:00 straight up. If you do the same, we can cum together, apart." * * * Sally brought them back to the present. "My God! That is so romantic and erotic at the same time. I can't believe that he managed to make abstinence romantic. I'm not sure I buy his reasoning, but..." "Yeah, I know what you mean. It was one of the best masturbation experiences I've ever had." "Details, little one, details!" Sally playfully grabbed Valerie's hair as she took a dominant tone of voice with the smile behind it. "Yes, Mistress. Of course Mistress," Valerie replied with a mock cower. Sally's breath came shorter as Valerie's vivid descriptions put her in the same room as her lover had been in those years ago. * * * Mike and I went back inside where we were mobbed with congratulations by the family. Stephanie made it clear that she wanted to be a part of the wedding planning, but would defer to my mother's leadership. I knew Stephanie and my mom would get along well, though George and my dad would have to find some way of settling their differences on football teams. I suspected that the friendly rivalry would be intense. Like most farmers, the family went to bed early, so I was in bed by 9:30. I wasted no time getting naked and in bed with the covers thrown back. My arousal had not diminished much and was quickly brought back to the porch levels. I caressed my body, purposely ignoring my tits and cunt at first. I pictured Mike standing over me and teasing me with his fingers. I was moaning and calling his name as my breasts became even more sensitive and my pussy produced even more juice. I licked at my fingers and rubbed my saliva over my belly and my thighs. I imagined that he was licking me all over my body. When I finally touched my nipples, I gasped with pleasure. It felt like I had touched a nine volt to them and I wanted more. I got them wet and pinched at them. I rubbed the palm of my hand over them in little circles. All the while, my mind's eye had Mike there, licking them, caressing them and taking them into his mouth. God, I so wanted him to be there, doing it for real. It was yet another time he had left me hot and bothered with no vibrator or dildo to fill me. That was going to make the aching emptiness in my cunt even worse. I couldn't put it off any longer. My hand moved down to my pussy and lightly caressed the lips. I bucked like I had been struck by lightning. I'm pretty sure I gave a small scream, quickly stifled. I struggled to keep from going fast. I wanted the whole meal deal tonight. For several minutes, I forced my fingers to just barely touch my pussy lips and stay clear of my clit. I was moaning uncontrollably and writhing on the bed. My breath was ragged and I'm sure I just had to be flushed. Finally, I could take it no longer. One hand penetrated my cunt and the other brushed against my clit. I barely noticed that the clock said I had three minutes to reach orgasm. I was hand fucking myself and attacking my clit with an ear out for the chime of the grandfather clock. * * * Valerie took Sally's hands and gave a leer. "You know, that's the first time I ever had to fight against an orgasm." "So you have had practice before. I've wondered how you enjoyed my teasing from the very first." Sally traced a finger across Valerie's slit, watching her take a deep breath and feeling her juices flow. "If you keep this up, I'll never finish." "Just keeping you in the right mood." Back in the past... * * * I was holding and releasing my breath now, trying to stave off cumming until those 10:00 chimes sounded. I could feel energy building up in my pussy, like water behind a dam, ready to spill over and out of me. In a contradiction I have since grown used to, I was frigging myself faster and faster while struggling and writhing to not cum. My back was bowing and I think I was crying out Mike's name. Something must have been audible, based on the knowing grins we got in the morning. I was vaguely aware of a light thumping on my wall. We had adjacent rooms, so I figured it was Mike in the last throes of his incipient climax. Finally, the clock struck ten. I let go and bit my lip to keep from wailing like a banshee (too late). All that energy in my cunt exploded through my body, only to bounce back from my extremities to between my legs again. It was my first multiple orgasm. My continued attack on myself caused me to erupt again. This time I could not contain my voice and I wailed in ecstasy. I could just make out the last chime of the clock when Mike's voice called out my name. * * * The next five months were a blur. We actually made it an entire year without fucking each other; from first meeting until wedding night,. Hell, we didn't even see each other nude before our wedding night. My desire only grew hotter and hotter. If Mike had not been such a rock of Gibraltar, I would never have been able to resist. It helped that we continued to make masturbation dates, where we would pick a time when we would plan on cumming simultaneously in our respective bedrooms. We spent Christmas at my parent's place on the coast. The agency wasn't happy that I had taken vacation time in the middle of the holiday season, but I didn't give them any choice. My family adored Mike and made him as at home as his family had made me. Those old jokes didn't hold up well in our marriage. We were married exactly one year to the day that we first met. The ceremony was lovely. I cried. My mom cried. His mom cried. I've never seen anyone look as handsome as Mike was then. Francine was my maid of honor with his and my sister as bride's maids. His brother was best man. I have the pictures put away somewhere. We both took off the rest of the week, through the long Memorial Day weekend. June had given us the time in the cabin she and her husband owned to spend our honeymoon. There was a late, heavy snow as we drove up, in his truck, of course. Yes, it does look strange to have "just married" all over a beat up pickup truck, but that was his vehicle of choice. By the time we arrived, there were four inches down and it was still falling. We had changed out of the dress and tux at a stop on the way. We had to take some time to get a fire going in the fireplace and soon, the cabin was warm and cozy. So, of course, the first thing we did was go back outside. We sat, holding hands, on the bench that was under the eaves and watched the snow fall. Somehow, surprisingly, the urgency to have sex was not there. The desire for him was there, but not the urgency. Just being with him and taking in the beauty of the snow-covered forest was enough. It felt like the world was asleep and we were two small children who had been allowed to stay up past our bedtime. After about ten minutes, Mike squeezed my hand and smiled a silly smile at me. Catching my eye, he glanced at the eave and the icicles hanging there. I smiled back and he broke off one each for us. We sat there sucking on icicles and watching the snow fall. There was no sound other than our own. No animal in its right mind would be out in a heavy snow fall like this. It must have been an hour before we went inside to bed. Mike held me close as we stood beside the bed. Standing there, we kissed several times. When I reached for his shirt to take it off, he did the same to me. It was an unhurried affair, each article coming off with loving care and gentleness. After each piece was removed, he kissed the newly exposed parts of my body. I wanted to do the same for him, but his kisses were so overwhelming that I couldn't. I had been waiting a whole year to feel his mouth and hands on something other than my lips and face. Now he was kissing parts of me that had never felt him before and I was almost swooning under his attention. By the time I was down to my bra and panties, I was so hot I could have set paper on fire. He lay me down on the bed and continued caressing everything that was open to him. I rubbed my hands through the hair on his chest, letting it play through my fingers. I was touching his bare chest for the first time. It was fabulous. I could make out his cock through his boxers. It was making a tent as it tried to poke through to reach the folds of my pussy. My nipples were very visible through the lace of my bra and there was more wet than dry on my panties. When he ran his hand over my nipples, rubbing them against their lace prison, I cried out, arching against him. He reached behind me as I was bowed and deftly unclipped the snap, releasing my breasts for his enjoyment. He brought his mouth to my chest and I moaned in pleasure. Everything I had fantasized about his touches and caresses was woefully short of the truth. I was in heaven. I slipped my hands down to his shorts and caressed his cock through the cotton. I could feel him throb under my ministrations. My other hand pulled him closer and I gasped out, "Fuck me, fuck me now, please." He raised himself up on his knees as my hand grabbed his shorts, pulling them down for him (and me!). He slipped my panties off and the sudden kiss of air against my hot, wet pussy caused me to cry out. Towering above me, he asked, "Hard and fast, or soft and slow?" "Take me! Don't you dare be gentle this time. We have all week for gentle." With that, he placed himself at my entrance and shoved hard. I screamed as he filled me. Mike didn't have the largest cock I had ever been fucked by, but, God he knew how to use it. He battered my cunt with hard, fast strokes and I ground against him with equal fervor. His weight pressed against me and I had to struggle to breathe, but I reveled in that added intensity. I clawed at his back and his hands pulled me tight once they had gotten below me. We were making a lot of noise, but I don't know how much was words and how much was just inarticulate expressions of passion and lust. My orgasm was racing towards me and I wanted Mike inside me; all the way inside. I pulled him closer and closer to me, like a boa trying to constrict its meal. When it hit, I tried to scream, but found I couldn't. I barely had the air to gasp as I exploded in a nuclear pleasure bomb. I writhed under his weight, pinned and helpless. I loved every second of it, even when my vision started to black out. I barely stayed conscious. He kept thrusting towards his own climax. My clit was on fire, feeling almost too sensitive now, but I didn't want him to stop. I needed to feel his cum explode into me. When my second climax hit, I was aghast. No one had ever taken me to two climaxes in one fuck before. I shuddered and gasped, barely able to breathe. I could feel my cunt clutching at his cock when he suddenly raised himself up and thrust into me one last time. The sudden ability to breathe was almost orgasmic in and of itself. His climax was even better. I could feel every pulse of his cock and every burst of hot cum pouring into my body. The look on his face as he came, teeth clenched, eyes sightlessly open, spit oozing out of his lips was so sexy. When he was spent, he looked down at me and asked, "Was the wait worth it?" I, of course, hit him. Then I said, "Yes, God yes! I hope you have stamina, because I want more of that; lots more." He leered at me. "Valerie, I have a whole year of saved up stamina." He did too. * * * Sally looked at the wistful smile on Valerie's face and was once again basking in the love that her soul mate was capable of. It was a physical ache to see the smile fade into unhappiness as the knowledge that Mike was no more returned to her consciousness. She put her finger to Valerie's lips. "Wait here. I want to get something." Sally ran out to the front room and out to the porch. She returned with an icicle. "In honor of Mike Burbon." Sally raised the icicle like a toasting glass and took a lick. Then she passed it to Valerie Valerie stared at the icicle, frozen in place. Emotions raced through her heart and across her face. The icicle slipped from her fingers and rolled onto the floor, shattering into a hundred pieces. Tears filled her eyes and she broke down, sobbing uncontrollably. Sally held her close, letting her cry and release a pain that was buried deep inside. She had not expected the icicle to have this effect. It had been meant to bring happy memories, not sad. Many minutes later, Valerie was merely crying instead of sobbing. "Valerie. Tell me what hurts so badly. Why does the icicle bring such pain?" "Not just pain, happiness too. But, it was ruined. Ice is how Mike courted me, but it's what killed him as well. The car that hit him slid on some ice." Her sobs returning, Valerie tried to get the rest out. "It was supposed to be that secret memory that we could use to say, without words, we love each other. Now it reminds me of his death. It hurts so much. It brings me joy and pain at the same time. How can I let it in?" Icebound Sally smoothed the tears off Valerie's face. Holding her lover's cheeks, she whispered, "The same way you take pain from Master. You take Master's pain because you love the results. Take the pain of the ice because you love Mike. Yes it hurts, but make it a good hurt, a hurt embraced in love." Valerie looked into Sally's eyes and saw a love that embraced and shared her pain. She knew that now she could do it, embrace the pain of Mike's death and survive it. Now she had love to buoy her up. She nodded her head and reached down to retrieve one of the shards of the icicle. She licked at it, closing her eyes as a vision of Mike appeared and shared the cold treat with her. She felt his spirit smile and mouth silently, "I love you and yours." Once the ice was gone, Sally asked, "Are you ready to go to Masters'?" "Yes. I think so. Let me get dressed." Sally wandered out to the living room to look at the picture of Mike again. It was the same as it had ever been. Mike and Valerie hugging each other with their faces turned towards the camera. Yet it had never registered that the picture had been taken in the winter. But there was the snow covering behind them. Then she noticed it. Framed by their faces, hanging down into the picture from above, was an icicle. Sally realized now that, six months ago when Valerie had chosen this picture of Mike to place in their new living room, her soul had remembered, even when her heart was unable to bear it. "We did pick the perfect picture that day," she thought to herself. Raising an invisible glass to the picture, she whispered, "Here's to you Mike. Valerie and I love you very much. I'll take care of her for you, Iceman, I promise." She could have sworn that a man's voice answered, "Thank you, love." The End * Please vote as this is a contest entry. Of course, I welcome all feedback.