Chapter Eighteen
Erik awoke from a deep sleep slowly,
unwilling to leave his dreams. Full
consciousness was slow coming and all that Erik was aware of was that for only
the second time in his wretched life, he felt warm and content, blissfully
happy. As he became more and more
alert, his memory returned in full and the previous night seemed less and less
like a fantastical dream. As the last
bit of tangible proof, Jenny shifted in his arms, her naked flesh pressing next
to his just a little more, caressing him with her body even as she slept.
No, this is not a dream, Erik
thought drowsily as he opened his eyes to look upon the woman who slept so
trustingly against him, as the timed lights he had installed mimicked the
rising of the sun as best they could. This
was far too sweet to be a dream. He smiled gently as Jennifer sighed in her
sleep, apparently as reluctant as he had been to wake up. Rather than waking her up, Erik merely
stayed where he was; perfectly content to remain in this warm cocoon of velvet
blankets, breathing the scent of last night's pleasures and cherishing the feel
of Jennifer's soft skin intimate with his own flesh. Of their own accord, his hands tenderly caressed his lover; a
sweep up and down her spine that enticed her towards wakefulness.
"Hmmm..." she moaned in
protest. "I don't wanna go to
school today."
Erik chuckled deep in his throat at
her child-like response. "Come
now, mon ange... wake up." he whispered, rubbing her back with a
little more vigor.
"I'm awake... I'm
awake..." she insisted before being cut off by her own yawn. "Hmm..." she sighed again,
stretching like a lazy kitten.
"This is definitely something I could get used to very
quickly." she commented.
"What is, love?" Erik
asked curiously, holding her tightly for an instant.
"Having you in my bed and then
waking up next to you, of course. I've
never felt so happy before... nor so loved." she replied, letting one of
her hands trace the contours of Erik's well-muscled chest and arms.
"Nor I..." Erik agreed
softly, giving her a light kiss.
"How do you feel?"
"Wonderful..." Jennifer
smiled, stretching the remaining kinks out of her muscles. "A little sore, but other than that I
am wonderful."
"Sore?" Erik repeated in
concern. "I hurt you?"
"A little... it's nothing to
worry about, Erik... I assume it's expected, I mean it was my first time and
all." Jennifer insisted, cuddling up to him. "My body just isn't accustomed to such activities."
"Are you sure that you're
well?" Erik continued, holding her against his chest gently.
"I'm fine, Erik...
honest." she repeated, letting her head droop down to lay on Erik's
shoulder.
"Well... just in case, no
rehearsal for you today. You re staying
right here." Erik decided, giving Jenny a stern, somewhat paternal look.
"Yes, daddy." Jenny
replied obediently, in the voice of a two-year-old girl.
"Jennifer... " Erik shook
his head at her indulgently.
"Somehow, I don't think you're taking me quite seriously."
"Whatever gave you that
idea?" Jenny asked innocently after quickly sticking her tongue out at
him.
"Intuition..." Erik
answered, a sudden gleam igniting his eyes.
Jenny squealed as Erik's quick
fingers danced across her body, tickling all of her most vulnerable spots. In her position, she couldn't do much to
stop him besides vocal protests and squirming; for she was flush against him
and unable to break free from his determined hold no matter what she did.
"Stop!" she begged
in-between outbursts of outraged laughter and attempts to beat him off with her
small fists. "Okay! You win!
I'll stay here!"
"I knew you could be
sensible." Erik said calmly, his hands slowing to rub Jenny's back in a
massage-like motion.
"No fair... you fight
dirty." Jenny mock-accused, trying to catch her breath.
"It's called survival of the
fittest, ma chere." he replied.
She laughed softly, "That would
explain you."
"Yes, I suppose it
would..." Erik agreed, giving Jenny a light kiss on the forehead. "I love you, Jennifer... more than
anything."
"I love you too, Erik."
she whispered, cuddling closer to him.
For the longest time, they simply
held each other, cherishing the warmth and comfort of lying in bed with one
whom they adored and loved with every fiber of their being. It was a sensation that neither had ever
known before although it should never be denied to anyone. Everything seemed right and clear...
everything was perfect; from the heady scent of their loving, to the softness
of the many blankets and quilts, to the heat of the body each one held in their
respective arms. This was far too
heavenly to be real and yet, far too real to be a dream.
"I feel as though I've died and
gone to Heaven..." Jenny whispered against Erik's neck.
"So do I, love... so do
I." Erik agreed with velvety softness.
"Unfortunately, we do have to
get up at some point." Jenny smiled.
"Hmmm... unfortunately."
Erik nodded, letting his hand lazily trace his lover's spine, with slow and
deliberate movements. "Shall we
face the music now, as it were? Or wait until about noon-ish?"
"Let's get up now... it'll only
be more difficult later." Jenny decided with hereditary practicality.
"Spoken like a true, yet
somewhat un-romantic, diplomat." Erik teased gently as Jenny sat up and
stretched with her arms over her head.
Her hair was loose and wild from their activities, a soft mass of
tangled curls... and Erik admired the way the light shined a brilliant red on
the brown waves. The flesh of her back
was smooth and pale, though not nearly as pale as he was, and Erik found
himself sitting up as well just to be able to see her fully.
She was clutching the blankets
around her chest, covering herself from the bright "daylight" of the
electric lamps. Erik gently placed a
hand over hers, which were clamped over her heart to keep the blanket from
falling. "Why are you hiding from
me, Jenny?" he asked, giving her covered form a meaningful glance.
"Well, I... uh... I..."
she stuttered, blushing under his gaze.
"Mon amour, you know
that I find you attractive, don't you?"
"Well, at least you did last
night... when it was dark and you were distracted by... other things..."
she tried to explain.
"Jennifer... if anything was
distracting me, it was your body.
Besides, I can see as well in the dark as I can in daylight, if not then
better... so, you see... you have no call to fear that I will not find you just
as beautiful now as I did last night." Erik whispered, cupping her chin so
that she had to look him in the eyes.
"Now, please, love... don't be afraid to show yourself to me."
She nodded and let go of the
blankets she had had a death grip on.
They fell slightly, but not enough to satisfy Erik, who gently slid all
of the covers down to the bottom of the bed, exposing Jennifer and himself
entirely. Jenny was hard put to the
test not to try and exercise some vestige of modesty, but she succeeded despite
the instincts contrariwise. Erik sat on
the bed in front of her in a half-kneeling position, merely gazing at her.
"You're so beautiful, mon
amour..." he whispered, one hand reaching out to stroke the skin of a
heavy breast that rose and fell with her breathing. "So beautiful... I can hardly believe that last night was
not a dream."
"Nor can I, love." Jenny
whispered, her voice hushed as Erik's hand slid upwards to cup her chin. She squirmed a little under his candid gaze
and gathered the courage to ask the question that had been on her mind since
last night.
"Erik... did I, um, really...
affect you... last night?" she managed, without being able to break eye
contact with the bed sheets.
The hand that rested under her chin,
applied gentle pressure, coaxing her to look up into Erik's compelling
eyes. "Of course you did, love...
how could it be otherwise?"
"I don't know... I just never
considered myself capable of... arousing... a man." she shrugged,
embarrassed by her inferiority complex.
"Love... believe me, you are
more than capable. I'd go so far as to
say talented where I am concerned. You
don't even have to be trying in order to effect me in that way. So many things... just talking with you
softly, watching your hips sway as you walk, following the flow of you hair
with my hand... innocent, little things, really... but they all have the power
to arouse me and only you have that power." Erik explained softly, slowly
shifting Jenny's body so that she leaned against him.
"I love you, Jennifer... you
know that, right?" he asked with slight uncertainty.
"Yes, Erik... and I love
you." she replied, kissing his deformed cheek softly.
"Then believe that I will
always love you, want you, and need you... promise me that you'll never leave
me?" he whispered.
"I promise, love... so long as
you promise never to leave me." she smiled gently.
Erik gave a mild laugh. "What on earth would I leave you
for?"
"Another woman, perhaps?"
"Never." Erik replied with
finality. "That's absurd,
Jennifer... I could never find another woman who stirs my heart and fills my
soul as you do. It is you who have
plenty of opportunities to find another man."
"I don't want any other man...
I love you and only you. I assure you,
the idea is just as ridiculous regarding me." Jen insisted, holding her
lover tightly.
"In that case we're stuck with
each other?"
"It would appear that
way."
"No hope of reversal?"
"Impossible."
"Are you certain?"
"Absolutely."
"Thank God."
They looked at each other for a
split second, then burst out laughing at the absurdity of their conversation,
falling back onto the bed. Jenny
quickly found herself atop Erik, her legs entwined with his and her breasts
heavy against his torso. Emboldened by
Erik's insistence that he found her irresistible, she dipped her head against
his chest, letting her hot breath caress him.
He had stopped laughing and was now watching her intently, his pale eyes
sparking with the beginnings of a blazing inferno.
"Jennifer…" he breathed
low as her lips met his surprisingly sensitive flesh. "Mon ange…"
However, there was very little angelic purity about her as she brazenly
rubbed her naked breasts and stomach against his, her nipples grazing his chest
with delightful sensations and her moist sex just barely touching the tip of
his hardening length.
"On second thought…" she
smiled upon the feel of his manhood prodding into her tender flesh. "Maybe we should wait until much later
to get up."
"Indeed…" Erik all but
groaned as Jenny reached between them to take his rigid flesh gently in one
hand. "Jenny… are you sure you can
do this again? You said yourself that
you're sore this morning."
"Don't worry about me… you've
restrained your passions for far too long and I don't intend to let you do so
any more." she asserted, wincing involuntarily as her muscles cried out in
alarm at just the wrong time.
"Mon ange, you are
resting today and that's final." Erik quickly sat up, forcing her to
release him. "I will not do
anything that might hurt you."
"But, you're… you're…" she
blushed, her meaning well-taken.
"I'll live, Jennifer… my
pleasure is not paramount here, yours is… and in your condition, you're not
going to get much pleasure out of love-making right now." Erik insisted
despite his body's demands to the contrary.
"But, Erik…" she
protested, sliding to kneel on the floor in front of him. "I think that… that I might know a
way…" she blushed profusely at her own boldness, unsure of how to explain
to him what she wanted to do.
"To give me pleasure without
actual, shall we say, intercourse?" he finished for her, smiling gently
when she turned a deep shade of pink.
"You forget, cherie, that I spent many years in Persia. I think I know what you're getting at… but
do you really think you want to do something of that nature?"
"Will it give you
pleasure?" she asked, her eyes questioning although she knew the
answer. "Will it satisfy your
desires if I do?"
"In all likelihood… yes, mon
ange." he breathed, sensing that she was determined.
"Then I want to… but you'll
have to show me how, love. I don't think
stories usually cover this aspect in detail." She smiled shyly, her hand
caressing his inner thighs teasingly nonetheless.
"Just do what you think will
give me pleasure… I'll direct you from there if you need it." he managed
to reply in a strained voice, aware that his sex was swelling larger in
response to her naked nearness.
Somewhat scared and all too mindful
of her lack of any experience, Jenny slid her hands along the insides of Erik's
thighs, debating whether or not she dared take the plunge. With one supremely gentle hand, she took
Erik's hard manhood in her grip, running her fingertips along the length of it,
learning the texture and feel of him.
Last night, she'd been too preoccupied with other feelings to note the
contradictory sensation of him; the skin was baby-soft and velvety, but just
underneath was rigid steel that throbbed reflexively in her hand in time with
his heartbeat. She heard Erik's voice
whisper her name, a strained confirmation that she was indeed giving him much
pleasure. She momentarily stopped her
motions, stunned by the hushed passion in his sinfully beautiful voice. Not knowing what wanton, little devil
possessed her, Jenny leaned forward, her lips scant inches from Erik's panting
flesh.
Dear, sweet mother of God! Erik gasped silently as he felt her hot
breath caressing him intimately, struggling to keep his animal moans from
escaping his throat. This was exquisite
torture! Nothing had prepared him
anything like this! Just when he
thought himself under control, he felt her soft lips close around him and he
was unable to restrain a passion-filled moan from reaching her ears.
"Did that hurt?" she asked
quickly, pulling away from him.
"No…" he managed through
heavy breathing, one strong hand grasping her by the shoulder. "It feels… indescribable."
"Do you want more?" she
asked with a sly smile, her cheeks blushing despite her audacity.
"Yes." he smiled, thanking
every deity he'd ever heard of for this exceptional woman. An unspoken vow passed through his mind; he
would treasure Jennifer until the last breath left his body, he would do
everything in his power to make her happy, he would die a thousand deaths to
satisfy the least of her wishes. And if
he had anything to say about it, she would not be unsatisfied this day either.
Chapter Nineteen
(WHAT
HAPPENED TO CHRISTMAS?)
Jennifer sighed happily as she
bustled around Erik's house, a daydream of the night to come in her head and a
song that Erik had written for her on her lips. It had been a week since their first night together and neither
could be happier. After years of
scheming, praying, dreaming, and hoping, Jenny had truly come to believe that
she would indeed die an old maid who had never known the love of a man. Now, in the past seven days, she had been
thoroughly convinced that this elegant man, her Erik, loved her with a passion
that few others could compete with and would continue to love her until his
last breath. Her tender heart had been
all but locked away in a vault, hoping to be safe from being broken yet
again. She had fallen in love with Erik
early on, yes... but she had never intended to tell him of it, she had wanted
to hide it from the world, certain that it would be laughed at, reviled, and
trampled out of derision. It had only
fleetingly occurred to her that Erik, with his similar and far worse
experiences in love, might well have done the same thing.
She lovingly rubbed a soft cloth
over the keys of the pipe organ, polishing the ivory and wood with care. Erik, sitting at the dining room table and
writing one of his infamous notes to the managers, turned briefly to watch her,
his gaze loving. He stood, abandoning
his little project, and slowly made his way to her side, pretending to watch her
cleaning like hawk.
She looked at him with an amused
expression. "Am I doing everything
to your satisfaction, my lord and master?"
He smiled gently. "If your true aim is to satisfy me,
then you had better drop the rag and come to the bedroom."
She settled for throwing the rag at
him in response, laughing.
"You! Is that all you think
about? You're impossible, Erik."
"Thank you." he whispered,
drawing her flush against him and nuzzling her bare neck affectionately. "In truth, I only came over here to
tell you that I need to go pester the managers with my notes again."
"They'll both go into
conniptions." Jenny shook her head indulgently. "They think you're dead, remember?"
"So, now I truly am a
ghost." Erik said sensibly, swinging his cloak around his shoulders
gracefully and kissing Jenny.
"I'll return shortly and when I do, I expect you to be warming our
bed."
Jenny scoffed at him
affectionately. "What if I don't
want to?"
"Then I'll be forced to take
drastic measures and carry you there kicking and screaming. It really would be much easier on me if you
would just do as I tell you." he smiled, knowing that she wasn't taking
him seriously one bit.
"Yes, my lord and master."
she drawled sarcastically to Erik's shoes.
"Good girl."
"Erik, go bother the
managers!" she ordered, throwing another rag at him, which landed on the
brim of his hat and hung in his face defiantly. He stared at the offending piece of cloth for a moment before
delicately pulling it off with a graceful hand.
"I shall directly, your highness." he smiled knowingly, beating a hasty retreat lest he receive another cloth in his face.
On to
Chapter Nineteen (coming soon)