Ben hardly had time to drop down onto the bed before his knees gave out. Spilling backwards, arms stretched overhead, jewel-tone eyes staring at the ceiling above, he scarcely had time to consider his position before she was upon him. Deft, practiced hands worked the buttons and zipper of his trousers, forcing them down. For an instant, he felt the cool, humid air against his skin, but then she stroked his thighs with her palms, and he could feel her body heat radiating against him.
"Juliet ---"
The words faded as he moaned, breathless. His hips gave an involuntary twitch as he felt the billowing warmth of her breath encompass him, then the studied press of her tongue. Normally articulate, he struggled to draw the words from his expansive vocabulary as Juliet took him, her lips hot, slick, wet around him. God, came the thunderous thought scorching through his brain as the moment burned forever into Ben's memory. He bucked slightly, on the edge of losing control as he arched his back, and his hands fisted the bed-sheet, desperate for something to hold him firmly down to earth.
Expertly, her mouth moved around him, tight and damp. The friction rose quicker than Ben had expected, and he added to it, thrusting upwards with his hips even as he bit his lip, swearing he wouldn't cry out. The window had been thrown open that very morning; the curtains danced in the mild breeze, and beyond, he could imagine the rest of his people walking to and fro about their normal duties...as if any of that matters.
"Juliet --"
Finally, she pulled back, a satisfied smile on her face as she demurely wiped her lips with the back of her hand. Her other hand went at once to his erection, and Ben felt his muscles go slack with the delicious pleasure as she stroked him lightly. Blue, her eyes were faraway, but then she ducked her head almost shyly, smiling at him.
"I've wanted to do this for a very, very long time," spoke Juliet. Leaning back from him slightly, she raised her arms overhead and tossed aside her shirt. An instant later, the skirt followed. Ben barely had time to appreciatively appraise her body before she slid against him, her body bare against his own. Warm, slippery, smooth as silk, her thighs parted. She wrapped her legs around his, smiling more broadly as Ben took the lead, twisting her over so that she was beneath him and pinning her wrists against the feather mattress. "Mmm, Ben," she whispered pleadingly as he trailed kissed along her neck, his hands stroking her stomach and reaching lower. She was wet, waiting, her eyes completely devoid of their usual cold judgment, and she was smiling, the way she never did anymore. For once, her scent came through clearly, all Ivory soap and pheromones, without the usual salt veil of tears to cover her up. Juliet's hands lingered upon him, guiding him, and then she arched, letting him claim her.
A sharp intake of breath, and Ben closed his eyes for the barest second, savouring the feel of her body. He took her hip, guiding her into the rhythm, and then opened his eyes in shock as she wrapped her legs tightly around his waist, forcing him in deeper. Moaning louder, forgetting to think about Tom, Richard, Bea, his people outside, Ben slid in harmony with Juliet. Each whimper she made, every moan, was like fireworks going off in his chest. I waited so long for this...too long...
Harder, quicker, he moved inside of Juliet, wincing and loving it as she raked her nails down his back, causing a pleasurable sting. With one hand, he traced her face, memorizing the bone structure beneath the pale, satin skin. Breathless, he looked down at her like a man considering an unbelievable treasure, and smiled, the most sincere smile he had ever worn upon those lips.
The bed; shaking. Coiled springs groaned in protest against the frantic urgency of their movements, and the sound became louder. The ground was shivering as though from an earthquake, and objects toppled from the shelves and desk; books, photographs and papers all slipping into a pile upon the floor.
"Juliet," Ben spoke, opening his eyes as the dream faded. He grimaced, still able to feel her body against him, his arms aching from her absence. The bed where he had fallen asleep shortly after lunch, lost in melancholy thoughts about his newly discovered cancer diagnosis, continued to quiver, but he was alone, of course, and if any trace of Juliet's scent seemed to linger on the air, it was nothing but memory. Ben licked his lips, closing his eyes for a second as if to recapture the dream, but then he heard something crash in the kitchen and listened as somebody screamed outside, and reluctantly he rose to his feet.
Outside was nothing but chaos. Already, the vibrations were fading, although the ground still trembled threateningly. Ben spared a moment to glance at his people as they hurried around, but then he heard the unearthly metal groan from above and cast his gaze skyward, to the blue, virtually cloudless sky where an airplane was in the process of being pulled apart like taffy. It dropped out of the sky, at once too slow and far too fast, the pieces scattering across the far side of the island. The last vestige of his erection was tamed as Ben's mind began to whirl, already making plans and preparations, calling for Ethan and Goodwin. They ran off at once, compliant to their orders, and several of the others slowly began to drift away, returning to their homes in knots to whisper and form rumours.
Across the way, he spied the flash of blonde hair that made him wince and crave all at once. Hurt and desire played across his heart. Remembering the way she had shouted at him, and the hot, damp press of her face against his shoulder when she had leaned in for comfort, Ben paused. She looked cold, yet vulnerable all the same, like she would willingly buy any hope he had to offer, and would let him lie to her, craving only the comfort, not the truth. Strolling as casually as he could across the clearing, Ben wet his lips, concentrating only on her.
"Juliet?"
