by Marnie Perry
She stared at him mesmerised by those remarkable eyes and the words he was saying, words that sounded like soft sweet music to her ears. Her voice came out low and hoarse, ‘I…I think that too.’
His smile was tender, ‘I’m glad.’
She swallowed so hard it hurt her throat as he leaned further towards her then gently kissed her mouth; it was as before just the mere brushing of lips but it almost took her breath away. But she could not hide her frustration when as before he pulled back and said rather abruptly, ‘I don’t think you’ll be troubled by any more nightmares. Goodnight.’ He made to rise but she reached out and clutched his hand.
If anyone had asked her later why she had done that she could not have given a satisfactory answer. Except that right at that moment she did not want him to leave her. She did not want him to play the gentleman; she wanted him to kiss her as he just had, gently and exquisitely, but she also wanted him to kiss her with passion and zeal. She wanted to feel his touch as she had when he had treated her wounds, but this time with excitement and urgency.
He was looking at her waiting; she closed her eyes and raised his hand to her lips then kissed his fingers as he had done to her several times. Then she turned his hand over and kissed his palm then moved it to her cheek and down her neck to her chest.
She dared to open her eyes praying that she would not see shock or revulsion on his face.
She didn’t, she saw that same look she had seen in the car when he had told her that he desired her, that he had wanted her since they had first met. And again on the sofa, when he had told her that he would respect her innocence and that he would be gentle and loving with her. But there was something else there now too, and it was what she had wanted to see, prayed to see. Desire.
She leaned towards him slowly and hesitantly, he didn’t move to meet her halfway just let her do this in her own time and in her own way. But instead of kissing his lips she moved her mouth upwards towards his eyes and kissed each one with such soft, feather light strokes that if he had not felt a tingle run down his spine he would not have even known she had touched him. Then she moved across to his right ear and nipped the lobe then put her tongue gently into his ear. She wasn’t sure if this was the right thing to do, but she had read it somewhere and the man had seemed to like it very much, she hoped that the shiver she felt pass through him meant that he did too. She moved down to his neck tracing her lips down his cheek as she did so. She found the gap between his jaw line and his neck and stopped there, using her lips and her tongue this time.
He raised his head slightly so as to give her better access, she took the hint and let her tongue travel up then down his neck where she found his throat and stayed there kissing his Adam’s apple and the V of his collarbone.
She touched his face with her fingertips and traced them down his cheek to his shoulder and down his arm. Then retraced her steps this time using her finger nails very gently and slowly. This small movement on his skin sent a shiver through his entire body. She moved her hand down to his chest and proceeded to do the same things with her fingernails so that he had to suppress a groan. All the time she was doing this she prayed that she would not make a stupid move and do something he would not like.
As for Hennessey he could not believe that this shy, inexperienced woman who knew nothing about men could be doing this to him. If he had not known better he would have thought she had done this dozens of times, except for the fact that he could feel the trembling of her fingers and mouth as they touched him. Whatever he had expected it had not been this. To his chagrin she stopped what she was doing to his neck, but his disappointment was short lived because her lips slid up his throat to his chin then his mouth where she brushed her lips against his softly in what he could only describe as a chaste kiss, his mouth quivered.
Then suddenly she stopped again and this time began to move away. He cleared his throat but his voice didn’t sound like his own as he said, ‘what is it?’
She shook her head. He insisted, ‘come one, tell me, what’s the matter?’
She wouldn’t look at him and her voice shook as she said, ‘I…I don’t know what I’m doing. I don’t know what to do next.’ She moved back against the headboard, ‘I’m only doing what I’ve read in books that people do. You were right; I am innocent and unskilled in what to do to please a man. I’m sorry.’
She looked so like a little schoolgirl feeling guilty because she hadn’t done her homework or not done it adequately enough that he felt sorry for her. At this point he should have laughed, at least inwardly, but there was something in her defeated demeanour and her expression of utter despondency that got to him and he felt a strange stirring in the region of his chest. He quickly shrugged off the feeling as he had the way she had made him feel when she had touched him. And he had to admit that despite her inexperience she had gone a long way to turning him on, maybe that’s what it was, her inexperience, her tentative, uncertain touch, her desperate need to please that had gotten to him.
He took her hands in his and said, ‘you know, everyone had to learn at some point, and everyone, and I mean everyone felt the way you do now the first time. Uncertain, inadequate and scared.’
She looked up at him and he knew what she was thinking. He smiled ruefully, ‘oh yeah, even me.’ This wasn’t entirely true, not the inadequate part anyway, nor even the scared, but so what.
He went on, ‘but maybe you’re just not ready. If I seemed withdrawn it’s only because I’m thinking that maybe you’re only doing this to please me, because of what I said or because you’re suffering from shock and recovering from the nightmare you had. You’re feeling vulnerable and need someone to be close to and I don’t want to take advantage of that vulnerability. Or maybe it’s that you’re just grateful to me.’
She was stunned and blurted out, ‘oh no, no I’m not, I mean yes of course I’m grateful. And it’s not the shock or the nightmare, that’s not why I did what I did. I want to…to be close to you in that way.’ She squeezed the hands that held hers, ‘I…I like you, Sterling, I like you very, very much, and I…want you.’
His eyes widened slightly then glittered with something she could not define but only hoped that belief was in there somewhere. She said, ‘I am unsure and scared yes, but not of you only of me. I want to please you, to make you happy, that’s all.’
He leaned forward, ‘that’s not good enough.’ Her face paled and she turned away humiliated. He took her chin gently but firmly in his fingers and turned her round to face him, ‘it’s not good enough that you want to please me, you should want me to please you too. That’s the first lesson of making love, both partners have to be satisfied and happy otherwise it just doesn’t work.’ He smiled a little mischievously, ‘second lesson, have confidence in yourself, if something feels right to you it probably is.
And believe me there’s was nothing wrong with what you did, it was very enjoyable.’
Even in the dimly lit room he could see her cheeks flush with pleasure. ‘And third, get to know when your partner is happy with what you’re doing and in turn tell them what you like and what you don’t. That’s how people learn.’
She lowered her eyes from his intense gaze but he lifted her chin and his smile was full of warmth. He said nothing further but his next action required no words as he leaned forward and taking her face between his palms he touched his lips to hers, gently at first, then as he put more pressure on her mouth she moaned almost inaudibly but the sound vibrated through her lips onto his.
She instinctively put her arms around him and pulled him closer and his lips almost involuntarily pressed harder against hers. The force of his mouth on hers pushed her head back onto the headboard and he reached down put his hands on her hips and pulled her into a lying position. He ended the kiss and looked down into her eyes, the desire he had seen before was still there but he could see trepidation there now too and knew it was because she was in this vulnerable position. His smile was gentle and reassuring and sh
e smiled back a little tentatively it’s true but he took the smile as a sign of encouragement.
He said gently, ‘lesson number four, if at any time you feel you want to stop, just say so and I will, that’s a promise.’
In answer she put both hands in his hair and drew his face down to hers and kissed his lips, this time with more urgency. She rubbed her hands up and down his biceps and her body shuddered as she felt the hard defined muscles there.
He put one hand in her hair and pulled out a few pins so that some of it tumbled down around her shoulders and covered the pillow; he ran his fingers through it from root to tip then buried his face in it and inhaled its scent. He pushed his other hand under her camisole and very slowly began to caress her left breast. She stiffened and her mouth became still on his, he hesitated but then the pressure on his mouth increased once more, he took this as a sign to continue. He kneaded the round, firm pillow of her breast then took the nipple between his fingers and began to flick it tantalising. She let out a low moan and her body arched slightly silently telling him that what he was doing was very good. He withdrew his lips from her and looked down at her, into eyes that glowed with pleasure.
He smiled and planted three quick kisses on her lips. He ran his hand down her face from her hairline to her chin then down her throat to her chest where he stopped. He pushed her top up until her breasts were exposed. His eyes never left hers as he pulled the top over her head with one quick movement. His eyes travelled down to look at her nakedness then back up to her face. He said simply, ‘okay?’
She nodded and he threw the top onto the floor. He looked down at her naked breasts then ran his hands over them as if they were the most wonderful things he had ever seen and he wanted to study them in detail. He took one nipple between his fingers as he had before rolling it between his thumb and forefinger until it stood firm and erect and once more she moaned with pleasure. She closed her eyes as he did the same to the other nipple causing the moan to treble in volume and a tremble to pass through her body.
But her eyes flew open as he stopped what he was doing, her look was enquiring and worried but he only leaned back to take off his shirt. She reached out to help him and he smiled and threw the shirt on the floor next to her camisole. She gasped at the sight of his hard naked chest and firm stomach.
Her expression was shy and coy as she reached out and ran her hands tentatively down his chest. But her hand suddenly stilled as she felt something course and rough beneath her hand. She looked down but in the dim light could not make out what it was. Her concerned gaze returned to his face but before she could ask he kissed her gently on the lips while still caressing her breasts with those rhythmic motions that set her skin aglow and she felt the wetness between her legs increase. Then she forgot all else but what he was doing to her.
She moved her hand back up to his chest and found his nipples and did the same thing to them that he was doing to hers, at least she hoped she was, but if he was feeling a fraction of what she was then he was enjoying it immensely. The eyes that met his were glazed with fascination and delight, there was still a hint of fear there but the other emotions outweighed this tenfold. She expected him to take off his pants or maybe ask her to do it, be he didn’t.
She didn’t want to assess what she was feeling, or even what she was doing, she just wanted to enjoy it, to lose herself in these wonderful, beautiful feelings he was invoking in her. There would be time for self analysis later, all the time in the world once he was gone. But for know he was here, with her, doing things to her that she never thought anyone would ever do to her, and making her feel things she never even knew she was capable of feeling.
Her mind suddenly came back into the room as his hand left her breast and began moving down her stomach with soft, smooth strokes. She stiffened and his hand paused as he looked at her. He said, ‘any time you want me to stop, remember?’
She looked into his eyes which were cloudy with his emotions. She reached down and touched the hand that lay on her stomach. He took this as encouragement and continued his exploration of her body. She lay back eyes closed just enjoying the incredible sensation of a man exploring her nakedness for the first time. In response, she ran her hands up his stomach to his chest, his throat, and finally his face then threaded her fingers through his hair and played with the hair at the nape of his neck. She felt him shiver and the thought that she had been able to do that to him gave her a lovely warm feeling all over.
So engrossed in trying to think of new ways to please him was she that she hardly noticed when he began to push down her shorts, they were almost to her knees before she realised. She tensed and instinctively drew her legs together. He said nothing as he looked at her but his eyes spoke volumes. She relaxed her thighs and let him continue to lower her shorts.
Her grip on his hair tightened as he pushed her shorts over her feet then his hand travelled slowly and smoothly up her foot, her calf, her upper thigh but paused when he reached the space between her legs. He raised his head to look at her as he lowered her back onto the pillows then kissed her hair, her eyes, her cheeks and finally her lips.
His hand travelled over her shoulder and down her arm to her hand which he gripped tightly in his before lowering it slowly to her panties. Again he said nothing but the pressure on her fingers told her what he wanted her to do. She obeyed, and began to very quickly work her panties down over her backside, to her thighs but he stopped her by putting his hand on hers and very slowly guided her hand and the panties down her thighs to her knees then her calves to her ankles.
To Adela it seemed to take forever to remove them and all the time he watched her hand travel down her body guided by his own. Not that she had anything to compare it to but Adela thought this must be the most erotic thing that had ever been done to anyone by anyone. When the panties reached her ankles she kicked them off and lay completely naked before him. Her heart was beating even faster than when she had been confronted by the panther, or when she had saved Olivia from those two men, her chest heaved up and down as though she had just run a marathon. She wanted to cover herself and at the same time wanted him to see her nakedness. She wanted him to continue what he had been doing, she wanted to experience this and more, oh so much more.
He looked at her glowing, radiant face and smiled then began to run his hand down her body from her breasts to her stomach, her thighs, her calves then her feet. He then moved his body so that his head was at her feet and to her utter amazement he began to run his tongue over her toes and feet to her ankles and began to work his way up her legs.
Never had she felt anything like this, this must be what is meant by sensual, this must be what experienced people did. Experienced men like Sterling Hennessey, and oh God she wanted to be experienced in this way, every way, every day, all day.
His hands moved down her stomach then lower to her womanhood. Adela’s head left the pillow and her body convulsed as he inserted a finger into her vagina which was very wet. He ran his tongue down her spine and kissed her backside. And the words she was uttering were as alien to her as swear words.
She arched her body as he approached her groin and ran his fingers over the soft silky skin between her thighs. A feeling akin to an electric currant ran through her body, her hair stood on end and she felt as though she was on fire as tiny droplets of sweat formed on her skin. The moan that escaped her as his fingers brushed the hair between her legs almost rattled her teeth.
He parted her legs to give himself better access then ran his fingers down her belly to her pubic bone stopping at the mound of hair around her sex.
Her entire body jerked in a paroxysm of ecstasy as his fingers touched her clitoris for the first time. Her body and her senses were still reeling with the affect his touch had on them when quite suddenly she heard a small scream for somewhere in the room. Her eyes flew open but she could see nothing and no one but the man who was doing things to her she had only heard about and sometimes read about.
She looke
d down at him, at his head buried between her legs; she could see the tip of his tongue as it touched her womanhood and sending such agonising yet glorious, delicious sensations through her whole being. She suddenly realised that it was she who had screamed out, and was still screaming only this time silently.
She writhed and moaned and cried out her pleasure and excitement as she felt the warm liquid run out of her and trickle down her thighs. She clutched his hair between her fingers as though it was the only thing keeping her from rising from the bed. When he stopped what he was doing her disappointment was so intense she actually cried out, ‘no.’
He moved so that he was now once more lying beside her, he smiled and she could see satisfaction and a not a little devilment in that smile. His voice was low and husky as he asked, ‘want me to stop?’
She shook her head.
He was not satisfied with that, ‘if you like what I’m doing, tell me so.’
Her throat was constricted and her voice came out raspy and hoarse. ‘I…I like it, oh so very much.’
His smile was definitely devilish now, ‘thought so.’
He bent his head kissed her breasts and flicked his tongue over the nipple causing her to close her eyes and whimper in delight.
He kissed her and the taste of her own sex on her lips made her moan into his mouth. She put both hands on the back of his head and pulled him down so that his lips on hers became harder. He squeezed her breast as he put his tongue into her mouth finding hers and causing her upper body to rise from the bed in delight. She cried into his mouth, ‘Sterling, oh Sterling, please.’
He once more lowered his head so that it was between her legs; he gripped her buttocks with both hands and raised her lower body slightly from the bed then began flicking her clitoris with the tip of his tongue. She squirmed and writhed and moaned as he put his lips against her vulva and devoured her womanhood like a parched man quenching his thirst. She reached down to once more grip his hair pulling it tightly in her intense passion and delight.