"Only you." she said once he entered the bedroom. Warren placed the teacup beside her and leaned his hands onto the sill, peering out the window. "Only me what?" enchanted by the many butterflies and fireflies fluttering around her.
"They can feel it coming." she whispered as she caressed the wing of a butterfly upon her arm. They were responding to her with such affection, flitting about her white dress that ruffled in the wind. "Tonight is different." she tried to bring the butterfly close to her face but refrained from mugging it, to not scare it away. He stepped back and came up behind her, pushing her hair away so he can kiss the nape of her neck. She hummed, swaying her legs, butterflies catching in her dress. The one on her arm eventually drifted off and she stretched out her legs, the vines reaching out to her. "I would see the fireflies outside my window and believed they were falling stars."
Her fingertips grazed the vines as they wrapped her leg and she leaned back into him, tilting her head to give him more access to her neck. "Once upon a time." she added wistfully.
"Do you still believe?" he nuzzled her neck.
"Maybe..." she closed her eyes for a brief second. "Floating stars, can you imagine? I would just be in awe to see so many at a time. I used to pretend they were looking for me... and maybe they were."
She started to will the vines to take form around her, trying to concentrate as he left kisses along the shell of her ear. "Look." she said at long last. He continued kissing her and she giggled, nudging him with her shoulder. "Darling, look." he huffed and looked at her eyes, trailing after them and he grinned suddenly. "Is that for me?"
The vines kept twisting into the shape of a heart. "Beat after beat after beat." she stilled them. "Only you. The one that will have me fall." she unraveled them carefully, letting them go their own way but they sought her and she didn't mind as they embraced both her legs this time. She remembered the tea and picked up the small cup, offering him.
"Impossible, Layla. I already caught you." he kissed the back of her head and came round, sitting down next to her. She drank it quickly, much too excited for the eclipse. "How are you feeling?"
He shrugged, touching the latch of the pane to make sure it stayed put and realised the vines to either side of them, holding it up. She had made sure. "I just want to be with you."
She smiled. "Always."
Warren leaned his profile against the frame, the vines scratching his skin. He looked at her from the corner of his eye. "I'm a little scared." She placed the empty cup between them and reached out desperately. "I won't know its strength until it's done with."
"Have you not experienced one before?"
He smiled at her honest curiosity, folding his arms across his chest. "Layla, I've never experienced one with who I... I love with all my sense of self. Everything with you is different." he closed his eyes as she kissed his cheek. "You are so new." he turned his head, to return the kiss properly and she sighed into his mouth.
Warren stirred, her vines etching their memory upon his arms as they recoiled. "Next time I won't let you go."
"You can take everything except this." Warren tightened his hold on her and smirked as she giggled, her fingertips osculating his lashes. He kept his eyes closed, concentrating upon her touch, her smell, her warmth upon him.
"How many infinities can I spend here with you?" she mouthed against his skin. He loosened his hold on her for a second as she shifted and hissed as she rubbed herself against him. "Stop that." He tightened his hold again when she started to kiss his chest. "Stop what?" her breath tickled him as she burrowed her face into the crook between his neck and shoulder. "Last night seemed endless." he heard her say, kissing him upon the mouth and her Naiad hair clung to his lips when she parted yet came back to him when he instinctively leaned in for more. Warren finally opened his eyes, rubbing at them, deeply uninspired to wake and wished he could fulfill the infinities she spoke of. Her nails scratched his chest as she sat up and he sighed, watching her as she started to gather all of her hair. He brought a hand to her cheek, rubbing at the reddish tinge, no doubt caused by her sleeping upon him. He let his eyes wander and paused.
"Shit."
Her eyes widened at his exclamation, slowing her movements and regarded him rather suspiciously. His fingers grazed the rash upon her chest, stinging her flesh pink. "Do you hurt?"
She languidly let go of her hair and followed his hand, stretching her arms toward him. "It's not all over me." she noted and he winced when she shifted again. It didn't escape her and despite his concern, she grinned quite devilishly. "What a nuisance this is... and it could have gone so differently."
As her chemise rose higher up her thighs and her hair fell all over him, he closed his eyes at the sudden mess they found themselves in. "I made that happen." he said quietly, his guilt seeping in. "Are you sure it doesn't hurt?"
"No. Do you?"
He peeked from one eye. "You're wicked." he growled. He fisted her hair as she came close again, leaving him breathless as she stole a kiss.
"Is this the first time?" he passed a hand over her chest again once she sat up and caught her expression of discontent as she started to climb off of him. "No." she knelt down beside the couch, retrieving an origami star. She unfolded it carefully, staring at it for a long while.
"You have kept it from me?" His eyes stole the length of her, noticing some of the rash by her thighs. He reached out and she leaned into his touch, entranced with the piece of paper. She narrowed her eyes to him after she refolded the star haphazardly and left it upon his chest. "That's the added benefit of being with you." she crossed the room lazily as she inspected her chest. "However it's usually fleeting, Warren. We have yet to discover what last night brought to us."
He watched her disappear into the kitchen and blinked several times to bring his surrounding into focus. He picked up the note as he turned onto his side, resting his profile against his arm.
I love you.
As he held it against his chest, he surveyed the obvious mess they had left behind, her words echoing in his head.
He narrowed his eyes when she finally came back to him and sat up. "You found my shirt." he took the cup of coffee from her hands, studying her appreciatively. Layla sat down next to him, blowing into her tea. "I should do it more often, Warren." she embraced herself with one arm, thrilled with the idea.
He sat back, snorting. "No."
She made her eyes wide. "No? You're not fond of burning your own clothes?"
He smirked, filling his mouth with the coffee instead. She had a point but he was not going to let her off so easy. He stared down at the black, noticing her stretching her legs toward him from his peripheral. "It's a longer process."
She giggled, rolling her eyes as she nudged his leg with her foot. "I can help."
"That's no fun."
"Besides, by the time you are finished with my wardrobe, I will have no other choice." she brought her hand to her face, inhaling his scent from the cuff. He gave her a look before leaning forward, placing the cup by his feet. He covered the smallness of hers with his big hands, resting them upon his lap. He lost himself in the shape of them, their softness, kneading them gently for a long while before he distracted himself with her legs. Listless fingers running up and down the contours, making a discomfiting sound deep within his throat as he saw her knees, thumbing the bruises. He apologised under his breath. She leaned her head back against the armrest and sighed. "I'm not."
"What else did I do?" he tugged at the cuff of the shirt, exposing her wrist. She swatted him and sat up. "You were very submissive, Warren." she turned to her side, placing the cup on the floor. She smiled when she caught his look of confusion. "You don't remember?"
He raised his eyebrows. "Ice-cream... and I remember an explosion of flowers. After you c..." and forgot the rest of his sentence, biting his lower lip when she started to unbutton the shirt. Layla climbed onto his lap and gently eased him into it. He leaned his head back, staring at her as she buttoned it, her expression cloudy, as if she had a lot on her mind. "I made them all come undone." He stroked her hair. When she finished with the buttons, she folded her arms upon his chest and kissed him. "I lead and you followed. Everywhere."
Warren let his eyes drift, staring at her mouth.
"The eclipse roused some sort of dry spell in you for a long while."
He embraced her suddenly, burying his face into her throat as he nodded and kissed her there before laying her down again. He explored every inch of her with curious fingers, rubbing at the markings of his devotion, rubbing at them lightly as if these discolourations were paint. Fingerprinting himself like a memory upon her skin and it haunted him that he could be so uncouth yet reverent within his addiction. She watched him, her chest slightly heaving until she brought a hand to her mouth, nervously biting into her finger. She tried to sit up but he was moving closer to her.
"I felt like I was hurting you because I couldn't get enough of you." she raised her knees and he held them, kissing them. "It was you, Warren... but you felt so different."
He slowly, very slowly passed his tongue over the blotches on her knees, as his hand reached for hers, holding on. "Are you ok?" when he noticed she was shivering. Her other hand was splayed across her eyes, her cheeks flushed and she nodded after a moment. As if she had not heard but was simply responding to his touch. It always felt like the first time... the first time they enslaved themselves into corners, starving of one another, soldering their obsession of each other. Shivering within the rays of an invisible sun. For every time he was near her, he would take his time with her, rediscovering her, re-educating himself. Translating his sin into the language of her skin. She slightly curved her back as he laved the soft skin, moth kisses here and there. She removed her hand from her eyes and kept them closed as she brought the hand to rest between her legs.
"You're not sore?" he asked teasingly.
"Don't you dare stop." she warned and gripped his hand tighter. Luring him into a trance as she slipped her fingers into her panties, touching herself. He let his tongue mime her movements and when she started to squirm and make the smallest noises, he felt such an inrush to his head that he almost stopped altogether for it was too much for him. She tried to let go of his hand but he held on and gave her a love bite. That sin... almost vindictive when he came back for more. And when she reached her climax, she let out a laugh-half sob, her nails digging into his skin unrepentingly. He leaned his forehead against her knees as her body twitched, imprinting half blood moons onto his skin. She sat up in a tizzy, pushing him back. "Did you see what you made me do?" her eyes were wet.
"Oh?" he caressed her wrist with his thumb. "You are definitely doing this again."
She let go of his hand to cover her face, giggling. "Warren." but said nothing more. He poked her hand and she spread her fingers, peeking through.
"Yes?"
She hid her face again, her breath harsh. "I like saying your name."
He sat back, uncomfortable with the tension in his body and pulled at the trousers at the thigh, watching her carefully. She uncovered her face after a moment but kept her eyes closed. "I'm going to take a bath. Take care of-"
"Layla?"
"You are delicious."
"Hmm."
"I can't think, darling."
He took her hand, kissing it as she tried to get away. "You will never hurt me, Layla."
She finally opened her eyes and glanced at him before letting go. "Mine."
"How does it look?"
"Hmmm?" Layla stopped fussing over her now skinny aloe plant and glanced at her reflection above the sink. "It seems better." she found him in the glass as she placed the cut leaves and knife behind the tap and smiled. "I've decided-"
Warren bit into the toothpick, raising his brow in silent question.
"You will help me with this."
He came up behind her, peering over her shoulder. She dipped her finger into a small blue pot of gel beside the plant. He cleared his throat. "Help you-"
She took his hand, slathering the gel onto the tips of his fingers and before he could begin to think, she brought his hand to her chest, helping him smear it. She watched him in the glass with anticipation as she re-positioned the plant to the side of the sink and turned. "Will you help me?"
Warren was transfixed on her chest and his hand still resting there. When he felt her fingers under his chin, stirring him from his spell, she tapped at her shoulder. He mindlessly threw the toothpick across the way and quickly rubbed the gel into her skin before untying the ribbon of her chemise.
"It doesn't feel safe." he told her as he caressed her bare shoulder, the dress falling to one side, exposing her breast. She watched him determinedly and it took him a moment before untying the other. He unexpectedly grabbed her face, to kiss her lips as the dress fell at her feet. He knelt down thereafter and with hands that seemed drugged, they ghosted over her breasts as well as his lips and she felt uneasy, lightheaded as he tongued one roseate tip, biting lightly before taking it into his scalding mouth. Layla's hands reached behind his head, to keep him there, to keep him suckling, her breath like quicksand, dragging her under his conjuration. And almost lost her balance when he stopped without warning. "Warren!" she cried out and she felt his hand on her waist, catching her before she stumbled.
"I could make it worse, Layla. I'm sorry." he touched his lips as she shook her head in anguish.
"I don't care!" she breathed with exasperation.
He stared at her as he gradually lowered his hand. "I need to control myself-"
"Warren, coming to that conclusion right now is not going to fix anything." she pouted as she covered her breast with a shaky hand, the sensation lingering. "And why I'm allowing it..." she clenched her eyes tight in frustration. She felt his hand on her leg, responding delicately. "Just let me-"
"Here." she grabbed the pot and shoved it into his hands, glaring when he tried to hide his smirk. "Warren, behave."
He raised his eyes to her face. "So, what you're saying is-"
"I don't need to explain myself." she murmured, staring at his mouth. She drew her arms over her chest, shielding her breasts.
"Baby, don't be like that. I just don't want to hurt-"
"It doesn't hurt. It has happened before." she looked into his eyes. "I hate you." she grumbled playfully. For the love she had for him could just cripple her, for she was in over her head, wholeheartedly besotted with him. "I-"
"Love you." he finished for her.
She felt the smile softly at her lips and sighed. "You. I'm crazy about you, Warren." adoring how his eyes crinkled at the sides when he smiled. He gently lowered her arms. "Don't be shy."
And still, despite their need, their want, despite it all, he would never cure her. The rattling of her heart reminded her that their desire could never be exhausted.
"You don't stop once you start. You don't even think about it."
"Is that an order?"
"Now that you mention it, yes." she tried to be serious but the manner in which his eyes sought her, as if she were prey, she was beginning to feel that blazing pain within her belly, rushing through her veins, bristling within that febrile state he always left her in. She bent forward just as he was rolling up his sleeves and grabbed his face hard, kissing his forehead and was caught in a kiss as he leaned his head back, closing his eyes as the tendrils of her hair brushed his face when she pulled away.
Layla lost herself within the shadows on the ceiling. The butterflies and swaying vines like faded manipulations to her sublimation yet his touch was blurring her vision. She narrowed them to the window as the butterfly scraped its wing against the screen. "They are still hanging around." she said under her breath, missing them and stiffened when he rubbed the gel under her breasts. "I don't have any there, Warren." she cupped her breasts and slightly lifted them, peeking. "At least not that I know of."
"That's why you have me." he raised his eyes to her as he gently kneaded the side of her waist. "And we wouldn't want it to spread." he smirked when she rolled her eyes. He passed a finger along the waistband of her panties. "You don't have..." but he didn't finish.
She stared at him. She could see how she was affecting him. She shook her head as her foot grazed his trousers, teasing until he flinched. He looked at her as he dipped his finger into the pot. "You should turn around."
"I cannot believe I'm allowing this." she whispered. "But you owe me." she reminded him, looking over her shoulder. He silenced her completely when he palmed her back. Biting her tongue at how hot his hands were on her skin yet she withheld her words, her discomfort.
"That's crazy, Layla. Is this more intimate than the things we usually do? What you just did in the other room?" he paused as he rubbed the gel onto the small of her back. "Want me to describe last night's incident with the ice-cream?"
She glanced at her reflection, the blush creeping up her neck.
"Hmm?"
"I was there." she murmured, looking away. She heard him laugh quietly and she closed her eyes with delight for she loved that sound. He took his time rubbing the gel all over her back, the back of her knees and when there was little left, he quietly asked her to turn again. He rubbed the last of it on her chest, where the rash was the most prominent and kissed her stomach as he stood. She stared at him, feeling intimidated suddenly. At his height, his beauty...
She cleared her throat as she bent down to take hold of her chemise and slipped into it, thanking him when he started to help her after he washed his hands. She let him retie the ribbons, inhaling his scent as he moved around her. He was rather solemn when he stepped back. Silently admiring her yet his eyes were luminous, a hint of mischief. His hands clasped behind his back, he waited, waited patiently for her to give him a sign it seemed. And she stood onto her toes, kissing him tenderly. He leaned into her, pushing her against the sink to keep her standing, covering her hands which gripped the edge of the basin. "I can't resist you. You know this, right?" he said against her lips. "The feeling is mutual." and kissed him back. He bent at the knees and dropped his eyes.
"I like this one." he said, fingers charmed at her dress.
"You like all of them." she corrected him.
He nodded. "That's true." His eyes drifted over her breasts, his hands trailing down the length of the dress until he winced when a sliver of fire chased after his fingers. "Like gunpowder." and it didn't hurt her, despite how his power was amiss that day. He looked at her in confusion. "I'm sorry?"
Her eyes widened, lips parting. Now it was her turn to be confused. He fell down to his knees again and held her arms tightly as he buried his face into her stomach. She heard him softly apologise and she didn't know why but the kisses he was leaving behind left her in a daze. She reached out to comfort him but she couldn't make a sound. Every time he tried pulling away, he would lean in again. Like the thought of parting was too much for him. "You and I... we are going to have all this burn-" she felt those words seep into the material of her dress, into her skin, as did his breath, his hunger.
"Let it burn." At every turn, Layla would welcome it. Warren raised his eyes to her and she covered his hand, which lay upon her chest and held tight. "Shhh, baby, it's ok." he promised as his lips mouthed at her breasts through the flimsy fabric yet there was a roughness to it and she bit her lip, shaking her head. "If I fall-" she drew her head back. His hair was so, so soft, she always noted and kept touching the strands, tickling her thighs. "I will catch you."
His hands were everywhere, touching every inch of her body and she felt him come closer. She bit into her wrist as his searing breath inched along her inner thighs, lifting her dress and when he buried his face there in her sex, she moaned deep, his name a prayer at her lips. Between his tongue and the friction of her panties against her vulva, she wouldn't last long. When he pulled back slightly, she tried to edge away from the sink, defeated. But she refused to let him go, holding onto him, to let him follow and she couldn't help herself when she hit the wall hard that it took her breath away and the sound of his knees on the floor, his hands taking hold of her waist tight, so possessively and covered her eyes with shaky hands.
Warren brought a hand to her chest again, to hold her upright for he wished to finish what he started. He lifted a leg over his shoulder, sucking hard. She could feel the tug on the panties, pulling as if he wished to rip them off with his teeth and then he would rush at her blind, pushing her to the edge, into a stifling descent as he licked languorously and she felt the feathers of his heat down her spine, cells flaring. As he set small fires to her pores, delineating his reverence with that tongue, as if he would devour her. She was burning up and her fingers kept slipping as she desperately clawed for something to hold. She forestalled touching him but the anticipation was sweet, eager and now she could feel her resolve breaking in time with her undoing.
When she was close, she grasped at him in torment as he buried his face, sucking viciously, unremittingly, disavowing mercy. He hit the wall in desperation, wanting to consume her, drawing out her orgasm, burning fingers digging into her waist. Layla arched her back, abnegating all strength, her will, surrendering herself so completely to him. Biting into her cry, she broke the skin on her lip, her harrowing sob strangling its way out of her throat. She crumbled into a haze of stars, her heart thundering, hearing his gravelly voice yet she couldn't make out his words and with an inhale that made her body hurt, he caught her. And she buried her face into his neck as they fell back onto the floor, closing her eyes, feeling his pulse against her lips. Her fingers blindly found his arm and she held onto it protectively. She felt dissolved, jittery and could hear a faint wheeze as she strained to catch her breath.
"Are you going to give me your heart?"
She raised her head, forcing her eyes open and stared at him, allowing her eyes to adjust. And he wiped at them, helping her, at her lips, smudging the trace of blood. Her heart was beating numb, beating so fast yet it was siamese to his own heart, that she could feel at her fingertips and she kissed that part of his chest, a kiss that lingered.
I love you. Trapping the words within a heart she traced.
He stroked her head and she managed to inch a little closer to his face, to kiss him upon the lips. They kissed lazily, stuck on each other until he forced himself away. "I love you." he whispered into her ear. She apologised when she held him too tight, disheartened that she could inflict any pain upon him. She kissed where she hurt him but he was shushing her, embracing her. They stayed there forever it seemed.
"It's your turn."
And he stopped watching the shadows on the ceiling, turning his head slowly. "Layla, I love these moments too-"
"Oh darling, it's just..." she was done for under his chocolate gaze and melted all over him, her shaky arms encircling him, entrapping kisses and wishes within the cleft of his collarbone. "I want you."
He raised an eyebrow. "Did we trade places last night?" He held her hand as he sat up quickly, holding up a finger to silence her before she misconstrued his words. "That dry spell you mentioned earlier? I think it's wearing off."
Her lips parted and he kissed her hand as she leaned close with curiosity. "You didn't hurt me." she looked down at her legs, at the reddish hues of his impassioned outbursts. She closed her eyes for a second as she felt his finger under her chin, tilting her face upward. "I'm making a mess of you."
"How is this a bad thing?" An eskimo kiss distracted her and he grabbed her face, kissing her lips. "If I hurt you-"
"Warren-"
"I won't be able to forgive myself."
"Darling... look at what just happened. It will fade soon. It always does." She wiped at her forehead and undid the clip in her hair, red rain cascading down and Warren reached out, raking his fingers through. "Is it so bad?"
She rubbed her face against his. "What is?" she kissed along his jaw. He made a small sound, grabbing a handful of her hair. "That I need you in the now, in yesterdays, tomorrow, forever, in-between half seconds? That I am incapable of any other thought-"
"You mean we. You and I."
He rose quickly, lifting her up effortlessly and hugged her. "Yes, it's my turn." and she giggled as he wrapped her legs around his waist, kissing her all over her face as he made his way into the bedroom.