Disclaimer: I don't own Orlando Bloom or any living person depicted in the story. They deserve my utmost respect.
This chapter was only possible with the help, bounce and support of the Smutketeers, Chris, Katt and of course, Una. (I promise to learn to write smut when I grow up :P)
Thank you all that bore this with me and to the readers that support this story, it is also continued because of you. Thank you!
---------------CHAPTER SEVENTEEN------------
It hurt.
He wished he didn't have to see her like this. It hurt too much seeing Verena apathetic, broken, silent and devoid of her usual spunk. Orlando's eyes wandered from the road to the woman laying in the passenger's front seat of the car like a rag doll, her eyes lost somewhere in the distance.
He had carried her to the car, set her on the seat and fastened the seat belt, and not a single word had left her lips, she hadn't moved. She had just let him do it.
He decided to take Verena to his apartment. There he would be free to take better care of her and they would avoid questions or strange looks at the hotel.
Once they arrived there, he carried her upstairs, wondering again at how light she was for her height and frame. Orlando had always seen Verena as such a strong woman that the awareness of her weakness, both physical and psychological shook him deeply.
He brought her to his bedroom and set her on his bed, kneeling on the floor as he carefully took her shoes off. Her scraped knees would need attention, and she was dirty, her dress beyond even the best dry cleaners.
As V lay there, motionless, Orlando fought his rising panic and bid himself to make an effort to handle the situation on his own. Lovingly he caressed her cheek and spoke softly, in the same tone she had recognized before.
"Verena, love, I need to tend the scratches on your knees. And I have to clean you up a bit and maybe change your clothes. Is that okay with you? Will you help me do that?"
He had to say it three times before she reacted. She focused on his face, and nodded slowly.
Orlando helped her sit up on the bed and removed the torn stockings and the ruined dress. As she sat there in her underwear, he ran to the bathroom and fetched his bathrobe, pulling it over her shoulders before he turned to his dresser to get the medicine to tend her knees.
"Shower."
He almost didn't hear the croaked word...., it was said so softly. But in the silence of the room it was loud enough.
Orlando turned to Verena, who was swallowing to help her sore throat and repeated "Shower, please?"
"Sure, love, I will let it run for you and then you can shower. I will give you some clean stuff to wear, okay?" he answered, instantly relieved that she was starting to function normally.
V nodded slowly, and didn't say anything else as Orlando stood up and went to the bathroom to let the water run and lead her back there. She was shaky on her feet, her hands cold and her face pale.
"Do you need help?" he asked, as he left her in the bathroom. Verena shook her head.
"I'll check on you shortly ...and I'll make you a nice cup of tea..., okay, love?" he said, as he left her alone. While the water for the tea was boiling, Orlando called Sam's apartment.
Sam picked up the phone after the first ring. "Orli?"
"I found her. Don't worry, Sam. How's the munchkin doing?" he asked his sister.
"She is worried and frightened, Orli. I can't distract her at all. Could you please talk to her?" said Sam.
"Sure, give her the phone. Thanks and love you, sis," Orlando answered.
"No problem, Orli. Everything will be fine, won't it ?" she asked.
"I promise, love, everything will work out fine," said Orlando and he heard his sister giving the phone over to Zoë.
"Orli? Did you find Mamma? Is she alright? What happened?" asked the child anxiously.
"Your Mamma is well, munchkin. She only has a huge headache, and she will sleep until the morning and then we will come get you. Will you please stay at Sam's tonight?" he told the girl.
Orlando didn't want Zoë seeing her mother in her current state of shock . Since he didn't know what had happened at all, he preferred to keep an eye on V on his own. Zoë hesitated for a couple of seconds.
"You will take care of her, right Orli? Will you give her her medicine and make sure she is well?"
"I promise, munchkin, I will. You trust me, don't you?" he insisted.
"Yes, Orli. I trust you. And so does Mamma. Please take care of her and tell her I love her?" Zoë accepted.
"Sure love, I will tell her right away. Goodnight, princess," said Orlando.
"Goodnight, Orli. And I love you very much," said Zoë and hung up.
The next call would be much less pleasant for him, but he needed to know if he was handling the situation right. Orlando placed the call and wasn't surprised that the phone was picked up after the first ring.
"Orlando? Did you find her?" answered Spencer's voice right away.
"Yes I found her. She is with me right now, she recognized me. Can you tell me what to do? Or what not to do?" he asked Spencer.
Verena's assistant let out a loud sigh. "I don't know much, buddy, except that you shouldn't take her to a hospital unless absolutely necessary and that she needs a while to recover and probably some painkiller, if her head starts hurting. But it depends on what exactly triggered the breakdown. And that's something we can only guess about," said Spencer. "Orlando, I will be listening for my cell phone all night, just in case you need help, information or support. Just be there for her, kid. Nothing more."
"I will, Spencer. I will take care of her, and if I need help I'll call you. Bye," Orlando said and hung up.
The water was boiling and he switched the stove off. He needed to check on Verena.
***
Orlando entered the bathroom and couldn't see V through the steam rising from the shower.
"Verena? Are you okay? Do you need any help?" he said, searching for her.
The only answer he got was a soft sob at floor level. Forgetting the fact that she might resent his intrusion, he opened the curtain, to see her slumped in the corner of the shower, rolled up in a ball, crying.
He turned the water off and enveloped Verena in a towel. Then he picked her up from the ground and carried her back to his bed, talking soothingly to her. There he wrapped her up in the covers and was leaving to fetch the tea, when he heard her hoarse voice again.
"Please … don't leave."
"I am right here, V, I am not leaving. Easy, love. Do you need painkillers?" he said, laying down by her side, smoothing her wet hair from her face.
Verena shook her head, while she caught her breath to stop crying. "Where is Zoë?"
Orlando smiled as he finally heard a full sentence coming from Verena. She was getting back to herself.
"She is staying tonight at Sam's. I told her I found you and ...you were fine. We'll pick her up in the morning, okay?"
V nodded, and closed her eyes. Her face showed the effort she was making in getting control of herself. She wasn't crying anymore, and after a couple of deep breaths, she continued speaking.
"Thank you for coming to get me. I owe you an explanation."
"No love, you don't owe me anything. And I only did what you would have done for me. Are you cold? You are shivering." He pulled the blankets more securely around Verena and held her tightly. She snuggled closer, facing him.
"I have to tell you what happened tonight and why it happened. You only saw the consequences … and they had a cause."
It took Verena about half an hour to tell Orlando about Chechnya, Stephen and the awful year after that. She told him how Spence had found her in the Chechnyan hospital where the Russian Army had left her, bringing her back to the US. Georgina and Spence had taken care of her and arranged treatment for PTSD - (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) in the following months, never leaving her alone.
Her eyes grew softer as she told Orlando how the knowledge that she was pregnant changed her life forever. In fact, if she hadn't given birth to Zoë, she probably would have gone back into war correspondence, even though she had lost her nerve. Most probably she would have been killed.
"Zoë saved my life, gave it a purpose, made me feel alive. She gave me a future, Orlando," said V matter-of-factly, keeping her eyes focussed on the top button of Orlando's shirt, controlling the overwhelming emotions that were threatening to take over again. No, she wouldn't let memories and pain dominate her.
Orlando was slowly processing all the information Verena had given him.
He was torn between the deep sympathy he felt for her and his admiration for the way she had overcome everything that fate had thrown in her path. The way she had told him about the war and Stephen's death, objectively and controlled struck him even harder than if she had continued crying. Verena was human, and she had trusted him in her weakness.
"Stephen is Zoë's father?"
"Yes. He never knew, and even if he had … he already had a family. And we loved another as friends, comrades but nothing more, you know?" Verena sighed loudly.
"I am quite pitiful, aren't I?" she said, now daring to look directly into Orlando's eyes. They were big, filled with battling emotions, and as his brown gaze settled upon her, he smiled, and held her closer.
"No, love. You could never be pitiful. Thanks for your trust. You can count on me, whatever happens, okay?"
Her answer was to snuggle even closer into his neck, sighing deeply. "Thank you for taking care of me and Zoë and for caring at all, Orlando."
He settled his head on the top of hers and reveled in the feeling of having her close and safe. For now, it was more than enough.
***
They fell asleep together, holding each other tightly.
Orlando awoke briefly when Verena moved from the circle of his embrace in order to cover him with the blankets as well, then both had embraced each other again and continued sleeping.
Sometime close to dawn, Orlando felt Verena shift in his arms and woke up again. He forced himself to open his eyes, and the sudden thought that she might be hurting ripped him wide awake. "V, are you alright?"
She was awake and had moved slightly away from him, enough to now be at eye level with him. Her green eyes were soft and clear, as she traced his face with her fingers, learning his features, caressing softly.
"Yes, I am fine," she whispered, while her other hand tangled in his curls and she slowly and purposefully pulled his face closer, until their lips locked together. Orlando let her kiss him and returned the kiss, their tongues dancing together sweetly in a slow rhythm, savoring each other thoroughly.
As he felt her body move closer and press against his, he broke the kiss.
"Verena, we have to stop." He took a deep breath before he continued "You are vulnerable right now, and I don't think it would be good …"
Calmly she interrupted him, "Listen Orlando, and listen well: I want you. I need you. No regrets."
Orlando pulled away a bit further. "I want you too, Verena. Bloody hell, I have wanted you for so long. But I will not take advantage of one moment of frailty. I care too much … and damn it, there is also Stephen …" as he spoke, he drove his fingers through his hair, unnerved.
Her hands were steady, holding his face still.
"Orlando, I know what I want. And that is for us to make love together. There is no Stephen, no past. Only tonight. Will you please make love to me?"
Orlando looked at her gravely for a couple of minutes, thinking hard. There was too much at stake. They hadn't spoken about feelings or a relationship. And he felt instinctively that sleeping together would change their relation in every sense. But he wanted her and she wanted him.
"Yes, I will," he whispered hoarsely before kissing her lips,
They kissed until both were out of breath. It was a slow exploration, as both enjoyed the kiss, knowing where it would lead to this time, at last.
Verena sat up in the bed and started unbuttoning his shirt, while her nimble fingers caressed the smooth skin as it was exposed. Orlando sighed as he felt her hands roaming over his chest, light as butterflies, taking the shirt off in their wandering, leaving a trail of fire in their wake. Verena reveled in the sight and feel of his skin under her fingertips. She had wanted, needed this man since she had met him, and the knowledge hit her hard, driving any doubts she might have instantly away. Her own words were repeating in her brain. 'Only tonight, no regrets'
His hands started drawing lazy patterns from her throat to her shoulders and then down the valley between her breasts. Verena was only wearing the towel he had wrapped round her in the shower . He slowly peeled the blankets and the towel away from her, taking his time exploring every inch of the woman he had thought he would never have this way; first with his hands, then with lips that followed the path of his touch. When his hand brushed the curve of her belly, Orlando felt her fingers deftly undo the button of his jeans, and he gasped at the sensation of her hand seeking him out of the confines of denim and underwear.
Her green eyes were smiling as she purposefully let her hand caress his length and then trailed over his hipbone, away from his aching flesh, which made him groan and grip her hips a bit tighter, as he also avoided diving in the nest of curls between her legs.
She continued taking off his remaining clothes with his help, both fumbling a bit awkwardly. He knelt on the bed, and so did Verena, rising from within the almost shed cocoon of towel and blankets .
Her gaze wandered over his naked body, with a caressing look that made a shiver run up his spine. Orlando had imagined her in his dreams before, and he saw her now for real, her lean body displayed to his eyes. She was so very beautiful to him.
"You are beautiful, Orlando" she whispered. Her eyes shone with admiration and something else he could not identify.
"You are breathtaking, love" he said, and then leant closer to Verena to kiss her again.
Verena lay down on the bed and pulled him down with her. Their bodies were close, skin on skin, their blood warming under the loving gaze of the other.
Tracing the line of her jaw with tiny kisses, Orlando reached her ear, and for an endless second he almost told her how he felt about her, that he wanted to be a part of her and Zoë's life. Instead he whispered, "I need you, Verena. I have wanted you for so very long … Say you need me. Say again that you want me."
Verena felt another kind of warmth spread through her as she heard his words. "Orlando, I need you so much … please make love to me."
Their passion was unleashed, as they sought the places in the other's body that would bring them the most pleasure. Loving hands roamed skin, stroking curves and angles, dipping into hollows, learning the other's sensitive spots. Both took their time exploring the other's body, savoring every second of the moment both knew was unique. Every touch, every sigh, every moan was precious. They strived towards a joining that should not be less than perfect.
Orlando felt that he could not hold back much longer as Verena fitted herself against him, cradling his hips between her open thighs, raising herself to him.
When he finally entered her , slowly, trying to save in his memory every sensation, she enveloped him completely, sighing and opening further. They moved together, adjusting to the rhythm their bodies craved in their search for release.
Her breath broke, saying his name, and as he felt her reach her peak, he let go, spending himself inside within her. For an instant, they were one, together, belonging.
Their hearts beat together in the aftermath, were no thoughts intruded and their union was all that mattered. As Orlando wearily rolled to the side, he took her with him, laying her head over his heart. Neither wanted to break the bliss they shared.
A few minutes passed, before she spoke.
"Do you mean it?" V asked.
"Do I mean what, V?" he asked intrigued.
Verena lifted her head and settled her chin on his chest, looking up to his questioning eyes.
"As you climaxed you said you love me," she said, her eyes searching in his gaze for an answer.
Orlando closed his eyes. 'So much for not telling her' he chastised himself. As he opened them again, he saw that she was still waiting, her expression unreadable. He took the risk.
"Yes, Verena. I love you and I am in love with you."
Verena's face lit up and she leant closer, brushing her lips against his, before whispering.
"God help me, Orlando, I love you too."
|
Return to top |
|
Next Chapter |
|
Send feedback |
