Immortally Yours

by Ashlyn Chase

Between hysterical giggles, she managed to blurt out, “I will. I promise.”

  Colin drew her close to his strong body and stroked her back as he gazed into her eyes. “You are so beautiful when you laugh.”

  “Colin?”

  “Yes, sweetheart?”

  “I’d rather you tell jokes instead of tickling me.”

  Colin chuckled and kissed her forehead. “I’ll have to try out a few on you—later. Right now I want to do this…”

  He rolled her onto her back and pulled her negligee up and over her head. With her breasts bared, he bent his head, captured a nipple in his hot mouth and sucked. The exquisite, visceral sensation shot straight to her womb and made her muscles clench. “Ooo…” she moaned.

  Fortunately, Colin wasn’t one of those men who wanted to hurry to the next step. He took his time, thoroughly loving each breast in turn. At some point, he added a slow massage to her pussy and a finger penetrated her wet channel. Then he added another finger and finger-fucked her while she writhed with pleasure.

  She loved Colin touching her in her most intimate place. She wanted him there. It was so unlike the old days when, as a mistress, she was obligated to share every part of her body with her lover.

  When her breasts were so sensitive she thought she’d scream if she didn’t come, he moved down the mattress and buried his face in her soft skin, leaving little kisses all over her thighs and labia while continuing to fuck her with his long fingers. When she undulated in delightful agony, he laved her clit with his tongue. Electricity surged and shot to her center, making her clench. He latched onto her acutely sensitized clit and sucked while his tongue flicked across it.

  Her thighs shivered as the exquisite tension built quickly. She catapulted to a sudden climax and burst without warning. Riding the high of her orgasm, she gripped the sheets and screamed. He stayed on her clit, not letting up while she gasped in air and screamed some more. Her whole body vibrated and convulsed. Finally, after what seemed like the most powerful orgasm of her long life, she jerked with the last thrilling jolts and was spent.

  “Colin,” she said, barely above a whisper. He wiped her juices from his face and smiled.

  “I don’t think I can move. You can do anything you want to me right now and I’d be powerless to stop you.”

  “Is that a dare?”

  “I think it’s a fact.”

  He chuckled. “What do you want me to do?”

  “I can’t even think right now. I’ll let you decide.”

  With a glint in his eye and a grin on his face, he flipped her body prone and slipped an arm under her abdomen. Then he lifted her onto her hands and knees.

  “Ah, I like this position.”

  “I thought you might.” His voice sounded far away as he backed off the bed. She glanced over her shoulder to see where he was going. As soon as she caught sight of the foil packet, it made sense. Of course he used protection. That was just like him.

  Without further preliminaries, Colin poised his cock at her creamy opening and thrust. He filled her. She felt every luscious inch of hard male rod as he penetrated her core and withdrew, then surged again. He found an easy rhythm she could match and, even as tired as she was, she needed to rock against him.

  He smoothed her hair down her shoulders. “Does that feel good, sweetheart?”

  She nodded, almost at a loss for words.

  “What if I add a little reach around?”

  “Oh, yes,” she whimpered.

  His fingers played on her sensitive skin, stopping along the way to stroke or lightly scrape. When he reached his goal she was sure she would explode at the first touch, but he continued to tease with slow circles and excruciatingly slow thrusts of his cock. The pressure continued to build.

  “More,” she cried.

  Instead, he moved his free hand to her nipple and pinched. “Not yet. I want it to last.”

  But his concluding word rode a groan and his pace increased.

  “Ooh,” she moaned. She felt every stroke filling her and her own wetness dampening the tops of her thighs. She needed it faster, harder, but he was back in control. Every now and then, he’d lean over to whisper sweet words of encouragement and nuzzle her neck.

  “That’s it. Feel my body in yours. Let’s not miss a moment of this. Don’t worry, I’ll make you come and come hard. And then, if you want, I’ll fuck you all over again.”

  Dear God! She wanted to come just from his words.

  “Please, Colin. Please!”

  “Don’t worry, sweetheart. We’re getting there.”

  That did it. “Now. I need it now!” She shrieked in frustration and bucked against his hand, angling until his finger pressed directly over her sweetest spot. He gave her clit a little pinch for her impertinence, but the damage was done. There would be no stopping her orgasm now.

  It was his turn to cry out and bury his face in her neck as her inner muscles gripped his rod. His thrusts accelerated to Mach speed as his cock pounded into her.

  Somehow he managed to hang on with his finger zeroed in on her clit. The friction felt like being attached to a live wire in a puddle of liquid heat. She felt her face flush, her skin burning white hot until at last she tumbled over, shattered and cried out in bliss and relief.

  At that moment, he grunted and jerked several times in succession. Finally complete, they collapsed, she on the bed, he on top of her. She couldn’t move. She didn’t want to. As long as she could draw in breath, Colin could lay atop her grateful, boneless body for as long as he wanted to.

  * * * * *

  What was I thinking? Colin raked his fingers through his hair and paced across his living room. Sleeping with a woman on a first date! Of course he had enjoyed making love to Lizette, but what if she got the wrong idea? What if she thought the relationship was serious already? He usually liked to know the woman a little better before committing. The same thing had happened to him once before and the woman in question had stalked him. He wouldn’t have been surprised if he had come home to a rabbit boiling in a pot on his stove.

  It was almost as if the fascinating Lizette held some kind of thrall over him. Maybe she was a vampire! Crap.

  But the more he thought about it, the more he realized this was his fault. She was beautiful. She needed him. She fit all the things he liked in a woman—honest, independent, adventurous and amusing. Although Lizette didn’t always know when she was being funny.

  No, he had simply lost his head. Both of them.

  But what should I do now? Should I take a step back? Extract myself from the relationship altogether? That second idea wasn’t what he wanted to do at all. He had to talk to her. In public. No funny business.

  He picked up the phone and dialed Lizette’s number. Oddly enough, he knew it by heart. He’d always been good with numbers, but to remember seven consecutive digits after only using them once…one might almost think it was meant to be. Someone without a scientific mind like his.

  “’Allo?”

  “Lizette, it’s Colin. Can I meet you for lunch?”

  “Today?” She sounded surprised. Maybe he was being an idiot. Maybe she didn’t expect anything more than a friendship with occasional benefits.

  After a short pause, she said, “Yes, I can go out today. Actually, that would be good, because I think I have a meaningful activity for my life that might also earn money.”

  “Excellent!” He couldn’t have been happier to hear that. “What is it?”

  “Photography. My camera is old but it still works quite well. It occurred to me that as soon as the print is on paper, no one can tell what kind of camera took the picture, right?”

  Remembering her technological aversion, he had to think in simple terms. “What kind of camera do you have?”

  “Something called a Nikon? It takes 35 millimeter film.”

  “That’s a great brand.” Now he was getting excited. “Do you know how to use it?”

  “Well, I know the basics but I could probably use it bette
r if I knew more.”

  “Do you know what an F-stop is?”

  “A what?”

  He chuckled. “Never mind. Bring your camera to lunch and I’ll take a look at it. Not that I know a lot about cameras, but I think of myself as an amateur shutterbug. I like to snap pictures while I’m hiking. Maybe there’s a photography class you can get into. I’ll check around online.”

  “Okay. Be sure it isn’t too expensive.”

  “I’ll see what I can find. In the meantime how about having lunch at Panorama? It’s near you and has some fantastic photographic décor.”

  “That would be wonderful. If you want to try out my camera, I’ll need to buy some film. What time?”

  “One o’clock?”

  “It’s a date.”

  He almost responded with “It’s a lunch,” but caught himself in time. He didn’t know what it would be but if it helped give her some focus, no pun intended, he was all for it.

  Chapter Five

  A neurosis is a secret that you don’t know you are keeping.

  Kenneth Tynan

  When Colin arrived, he saw Lizette admiring the blown-up aerial photography that decorated all the walls inside the restaurant. He paused a moment to watch her. Unfortunately, a couple of male patrons appeared to be watching her too.

  A nip of jealousy raised the hair on the back of his neck and he strode over to her, placing a possessive arm around her waist.

  “Do you like the pictures?”

  She pivoted and gave him a peck on the cheek. “Very much. Thank you for meeting me here. I’ve walked past this place but never bothered to come inside.”

  “Let’s get in line. Looks like it could be a minute.”

  The upscale, cafeteria-style sandwich shop required patrons to hungrily wait in line to place their orders, though thanks to the flu epidemic, the line wasn’t as long as it usually would have been. Colin’s stomach growled.

  Lizette giggled. “Somebody’s hungry. He must have worked up an appetite last night.”

  “Yeah and skipped breakfast.” He didn’t tell her his foolish neurosis kept him from remembering to feed himself.

  She dug around in her oversized purse. “I have a granola bar in here somewhere.”

  He stilled her hand. “No, thanks. I think I’ll live until we make it through this line. Is your camera in there?”

  “Yes. Would you like to see it?”

  “Absolutely.”

  What she extracted from her purse was a Nikon AF. A small, surprisingly heavy 35mm camera. No wonder she didn’t know what an f-stop was.

  “When did you buy this?”

  She shrugged. “When it first came out. I think it was the early Eighties. I like it because you just point and shoot. You don’t have to wind it after each picture. The flash even pops up when you don’t have enough light.”

  He studied it. “Seems like a nice little camera. It looks like you can use different lenses with it.”

  “Oh yes, I bought one of those. It makes the pictures all soft and fuzzy looking.”

  Colin smiled, thinking of those old photos of kids and puppies playing in fields of daisies with blurred edges. That was an Eighties fad, all right.

  “Does it still work?”

  “Yes, it works fine. I’ll show you.” She stepped back a couple of feet and aimed the camera at him.

  “Wait a min—”

  The flash popped up and zap, he was temporarily blind. He shook his head and looked at Lizette through purple spots. “I wasn’t ready.”

  People in the restaurant stared at them.

  “Oh, sorry. Did you want to pose?”

  “No, but let’s take your pictures outdoors for now.”

  Her lower lip protruded in a pout. “I had hoped to take pictures indoors too.”

  “What did you want to take pictures of?” He pictured still lifes, or maybe she wanted to be a fashion photographer utilizing both a studio and the outdoor settings.

  “Nudes.”

  Colin’s jaw dropped but he recovered quickly. “Er…yeah, I guess you’d need to be indoors for that. Why nudes?”

  They reached the front of the line and gave their orders. He paid for them and Lizette moved down the line to wait for their lunches.

  When he rejoined her she asked, “The human body is beautiful, no?” She ran her hand over his biceps and shoulders, watching every ripple of movement. “I should like to see you draped with fabric, but no more than that, and posing for me.”

  “No. I mean, yes. I mean, no!”

  She frowned and looked confused. “Pardon?”

  He shook his head and chuckled. “You rattled me. I mean, yes the human body is beautiful, but no, I shouldn’t pose for you.”

  “But why not? I don’t know anyone else I could ask and your body is so sculpted and taut. Like a Greek statue.”

  Colin laughed out loud at that. “I’m glad you like it but there are plenty of others that are more impressive. It’s not like I spend several hours a day at the gym. I just go a few times a week.”

  “I don’t like all those bulky muscles. I like you. Strong and natural.”

  Arriving at the end of the counter, they suspended their conversation to pick up their orders. By the time they received their beverages and found a table Colin thought he had solved her problem.

  “There are life models you can hire. I’m sure the local art schools have contacts.”

  She frowned and sipped her coffee. “‘Hire’ sounds expensive. What if I don’t like working with the person? That money will be wasted.”

  Colin stared at her with his best no-nonsense expression and said, “I’m not posing for you. Period.”

  She shrugged.

  “You know those pictures can’t be developed at the drugstore, don’t you?”

  “So? I’ll go to Walmart.”

  “No store will develop nude photos.”

  Her expression jumped from surprised to frustrated in a nanosecond and she demanded, “Well, where am I supposed to get them developed?”

  “Don’t worry. I have a way to solve the problem.”

  “And that way is?”

  “A buddy of mine has his own darkroom. Maybe he can teach you enough to do your own developing and perhaps you can rent his darkroom from him when you need to.”

  She cocked her head. “How much will he charge? A hundred dollars an hour?”

  He shook his head. She’s never going to let me forget how much she paid me. Maybe I can find a way to give it back. “Not everyone charges as much as I do. If it’s too steep, I’ll pay for your time.”

  “Stop. You can’t pay for everything I want. And this is getting much too complicated.”

  “Of course I can’t pay for everything you want, but I might be able to help out with what you need. Please don’t give up on this. It might be the key to your future—to your very survival.” And she had to survive. Hell, he wanted her to do more than merely survive. She had been doing that on her own. He wanted her to find the joy in life again. He’d do everything in his power to ensure her happiness.

  She sighed. “I guess I’ll have to get rich and famous quickly so I can pay you back.”

  “There’s another thing you could do that would save you a lot of headaches.”

  “What?”

  “Just let me buy you a digital camera, a computer and a printer.”

  “Ha!” she exclaimed. “Just all that?”

  People in the restaurant turned and stared in their direction.

  Colin leaned in close to whisper, “Let me help you, Lizette, please. At least indulge me by going to a secondhand store after this to see how much used equipment would cost. We might be able to pick up some bargains.”

  * * * * *

  “Let me do the talking,” Colin said. “These guys will try to get you to pay more than something’s worth and sell you more than you need.”

  “Well, since it’s your money, I’ll let you do whatever you like.”

  Coli
n grinned. “Now that’s what a guy likes to hear.”

  Lizette rolled her eyes.

  He placed his hand on the small of her back and held the door for her as they stepped inside a pawn shop.

  The thin, stringy-haired clerk immediately eyed them up and down. “What can I help you find?” he asked.

  Colin held up a hand and said, “We’ll just browse for now, if you don’t mind.”

  The guy behind the counter shrugged and said, “Suit yourself.”

  Colin took Lizette’s hand and led her to the shelves of electronic gear. He scanned the shelves, then stepped closer to examine one system. “Decent PC if they’re not asking a fortune. Good-sized monitor. Looks like it comes with a printer and an ergonomic keyboard.”

  “Is all that good?” Lizette asked.

  Colin chuckled. “It’s good for your purposes. Come on, let’s see if they have any lights.” He strolled to the end of the store and found nothing in the way of professional lighting. “Well, let’s see what kind of digital cameras they have.”

  Lizette followed him to the front of the store, where several cameras sat on shelves behind the counter.

  “What do you have for taking professional digital pictures?” he asked.

  “What price range are you looking at?”

  Colin cocked his head. “What do you have?”

  The guy behind the counter smiled. He reached behind him and said, “There’s this little ELPH for a hundred. Easy to carry around in your pocket.”

  “Give me a break. The damn thing didn’t cost much more than that brand new. Now I know you must have something decent for less than that.”

  The salesman’s smile disappeared. He swiveled and studied his shelves. “All right.” He grabbed a more substantial looking camera with the Canon brand on it. “I can let you have this one for eighty. There’s a tripod for it in the back.”

  Colin took the camera and handed it to Lizette. “See how that feels in your hands,” he said. She held it easily. “Oh, it’s for the lady?” he asked.

  Lizette stared at him. “Yes, it’s for me, but he’s paying for it.”

  The guy nodded. “Well, I’m sure he’d want you to have the best…”

  Before he could get another word in, Colin interjected, “Of course—and I’m sure you’d only sell me the best for a fair price. Tell you what, seventy-five dollars and throw in the tripod, then I’ll talk to you about that Dell computer system you have back there.” He nodded toward the shelves down the aisle that housed the computers.