"I adore you."
These were the words that he used when he was so taken by her presence, so astonished and mesmerized by her, that he could not find any other words to say. It was a sort of profound understatement, a deep but quiet poetry that said so much while saying so little.
Her lips twitched as she smiled. "And I adore you, my love."
They kissed, each pulling the other closer as they melted against one another's touch.
While the passion of their intimacy had grown over their first few months of marriage, the tension and uncertainty of these new experiences had begun to peel away, unfolding like a rose in the sultry heat of summer. For the young couple it was becoming a ritual, each time a new adventure, every day growing more acquainted with each other, both mentally and physically. The childish naïveté had begun to subside, and was being replaced by experience while still retaining its sweetness. They knew what to do now, and how to do it. They fell together perfectly.
Their lips barely parted as Marius' slender fingers unbuttoned the back of Cosette's dress, gliding down her spine and pulling her toward him. When they did part, as to remove their more complex garments, they held each other's eyes with a sort of quiet passion and longing, and smiled lovingly at each other, blissful in the presence of one another.
As Cosette stood to remove her dress and her layers of petticoats, she seemed to be no longer a girl but a goddess in the dim glow of the candles, golden hair cascading down her slender figure, eyes humbly cast downward.
Marius reclined back on his elbows, eyes wide in awe of his halfway dressed Venus.
"Cosette, my love, I've never seen anything so beautiful." He spoke with the sincerest of words. His voice caught in his throat and caused his lips to quiver as he took her in.
Cosette smiled and stepped toward her husband, kissing him gently on the lips before crawling into his lap, not so far off from the way she had crawled into her father's lap as a child.
Marius gathered her and pulled her into an embrace. He wrapped his arms around her, placing his hands on her lower back for support and comfort. After stroking her for a moment, he found the laces of her corset and pulled them loose, pulling up on every little cross that he had so carefully arranged and tightened this morning.
They kissed again, more passionately, as she began to unbutton his blouse, delicate hands grazing over his chest.
"Cosette…" her name was so lovely to him. He smothered her in kisses as he unlaced and unbound her, and as she simultaneously untied and unbuttoned him.
She let out a little sigh as her corset came completely undone, and she removed it in one swift movement, modesty turning to trustfulness.
Marius removed his blouse as well, slipping it over his head before gathering Cosette in his arms again. He pulled her into him so that their bare skin could touch, and closed his eyes the moment he felt that blissful heat of her body against his.
They kissed and kissed, savoring the moment and building a longing for what was to come. In moments like this, it was not uncommon for the young couple to completely forget the rest of the world, to lose track of time and allow themselves to be enveloped by the sheer bliss of simply being together.
His stomach dropped as she arranged her legs around him. His heart fluttered, as her pose allowed him to feel her body against his, and this was a sensation that still gave him butterflies.
He allowed himself to be straddled by his lover, who was so pure and girlish and yet so seductive, and kissed her deeply, moving from her lips to cover her face and neck with passionate kisses. He ran a hand up her back, her skin prickling under his newly familiar touch. She sighed, keeping her eyes closed as she allowed herself to be held and kissed and touched in such a romantic manner. His hands traveled slowly down her back, grazing over the top of her slip and her pants until he plunged them under her delicate garments. Cosette gave out an excited little yelp as his fingers brushed her more sensitive skin, and the noise made them both laugh.
"I'm sorry, love…that tickles, and your hands are cold."
"My apologies." He kissed her on the cheek.
He kissed her on the lips once more before he turned her over onto her back, laying her down on the bed as gently as if he were laying down a sleeping child.
She bit her lip, some of her girlish bashfulness remaining, as he slowly removed her undergarments, one at a time, until she was lying completely naked on the bed.
He couldn't help but stare at and admire her beautiful body, her soft, crème-colored skin and her feminine curves, as he ran his hands along her waist, her hips, her legs.
He kissed her bare skin. He travelled from her neck to her breasts and then all the way down to her belly and thighs. He kissed her intimately between the legs, and she gasped in excitement and surprise when his lips met her naked skin and explored the most sacred and clandestine corners of her body, the details of her that no one else had ever seen or touched. He placed his hands on her hips as he nuzzled her skin and continued to give her amorous kisses.
"Oh Cosette…I love you," he whispered into her flesh, in response to the little gasping noises she was making.
"And I love you, Marius."
"I adore you."
She smiled and sighed, weaving her fingers through his reddish hair as he kissed her.
He placed his hands on the bed and lifted himself up, moving himself on top of her, both of their hearts pounding. She grabbed his face and pulled him close as she kissed his lips. His fingers trailed along her body, exploring and caressing her skin. Once more he traveled over her breasts, down her waist, over her thigh. She parted her legs for him, and he began to touch her.
She let out little sighs between kisses as he fondled her. His fingers pulled her into a dream-like state as he played her like a harp. She held his face and played with his hair and let herself be captivated and hypnotized by him. She ran her hands down his back, giving him shivers, and traced the outline of his waist. He sighed as her hands found the edge of his pants, teasing him and pulling him toward her.
"Mmm…" he sighed, his lips still pressed against hers. He held almost perfectly still as she traced the border of where the fabric met his skin, and tensed ever so slightly as she began to unbutton his fly.
"Oh, Cosette..."
He reached down to help her with the buttons. When she was done with them he slid his pants off, tossing them aside on the floor, and joined her on the bed. They broke their kiss and gazed at each other with a soft and loving intensity, and shyly smiled.
"Ready?" he asked, some of the mature confidence fading from his voice.
Her nose crinkled as she laughed, and she pulled him on top of her, embracing him tightly in a playful, loving manner. She lifted the blankets and pulled them around both of their bodies. He responded with a smile and a kiss.
He grabbed the back of her leg as he positioned himself above her, breathing heavily and with his heart racing. His eyes were wide and he bit his lip as he adjusted himself, pushing against her, massaging her, until she seemed to give way beneath him.
They began. They started slowly and tenderly, closing their eyes and holding each other as he sank deep into her, and as she bloomed for him. They wrapped their limbs around each other as they embraced, and felt each other's bodies in their entirety.
"How does this feel?" Cosette whispered once they were comfortable.
"This feels divine," he replied, as he held for a moment to feel her, to be completely and entirely connected to her during this moment of sheer intimacy.
She tilted her hips and pressed up against him, pulling him even farther into her. He sighed deeply and closed his eyes as he began to push and pull against her, rocking their bodies together as they melted inside each other.
They moved as one entity, their rocking steady, even, perfectly in sync. Just as the tide rolls in and out over the course of a single day, they ebbed and flowed together, rising and falling in unison, building as an ocean wave swells and breaks. There were no more awkward giggles or choppy pauses. Everything was smooth and tender and nearly balletic in sensation and cadence, a simple act of nature becoming a complex sort of dance. They maintained this rhythm as together they rose in intensity, accessorizing their coupling with light kisses and tender stroking, every once in a while meeting each other's eyes and bonding even further in the heat of this personal affair before plunging into another passionate kiss.
After a long while of maintaining this rhythm, they pulled away from each other's lips and stared at each other with surprisingly serious gazes, neither kissing nor petting, but simply holding tight to each other as the intensity of both the movement and the pleasure seemed to magnify by the hundreds. Cosette held his eyes in hers, watching as his eyelashes fluttered just a tiny bit, his lips parted and his pupils dilated, delicate beads of perspiration gathering on his forehead. They continued like this for some time, staring intensely into each other's eyes, moving both with and against each other, completely absorbed in the moment and in one another. The world could have come to a halt and they would remain undisturbed.
Cosette, breaking the placidity of their position, reached up to brush a lock of hair from Marius' face, and in the same moment, so it seemed, his eyes began to roll back. Cosette smiled at this, as she had begun to discover how much she loved watching his face contort as he climaxed. She placed a hand on his warm and blushing cheek, and he turned to kiss her palm. She tightened around him, wrapping her legs around his as together they climbed toward their breaking point.
He closed his eyes, knitted his eyebrows together. His tongue briefly darted over his bottom lip before he bit down on it, his breathing growing heavier. He groaned as he thrust into his sweet Cosette, feeling her tighten around him.
Cosette rolled back as well. She felt the tension build just as storm clouds grow heavy with rain, and allowed herself to reach her own climax before Marius was finished with her. She cried out and shivered as she felt the rush of it envelop her body. She closed her eyes and pushed against her lover, bringing him closer, closer, until he too cried out, clenched his fist around the blankets, undulated and tensed as the sensation rippled through his body, spreading through his chest and his legs and all the way up to his teeth.
"Oh…Cosette…" he moaned as the ripples overtook him and then slowly subsided. He began to relax again, and he kissed Cosette deeply and passionately on the mouth.
"Mmm…" she smiled as she stroked his hair. He laid his head on her chest, listening to her pounding heart, and gave a final, heavy sigh of relief.
"That was lovely," he whispered into her warm chest. She pulled him tighter, resting a hand gently on his head.
"You are lovely," she teased.
He laughed and kissed her delicate collar bones.
They then closed their eyes, stroking each other and remaining still very much connected, breathing slowly and evenly and in perfect harmony. They held each other and began to drift to sleep.
"Darling, will you put out the candles?" Cosette asked, waking Marius from the light sleep he had fallen into.
"Hm? Yes, of course," he replied. He yawned, got out of bed, and walked over to the bureau where the silver candlesticks rested, the ones that had belonged to Cosette's father.
Cosette watched him as he crossed the room, blew out the candles, and crawled back into bed beside her. She felt him pull back the covers and settle into the bed in the dark.
"I adore you," she whispered into the night.
He smiled, wrapped his arms around her as he lay his head back down on her chest, and happily drifted off to sleep.