knock knock

Sinbad opened the door curiously. It was late and the Caliphs palace was a cold place for anyone to be wandering around in the dead of night.

"Maeve" he said in surprise, "what are you doing up so late?"

Then noticing the odd look in her eye he added with concern, "is something wrong?" She shook her head, "no, nothing's wrong... well.. something... no, nevermind, I don't know what I"m doing here". She turned to leave when Sinbad grabbed her arm.

"Wait, Maeve, you can tell me ... what's going on?" Sinbad looked at the sorceress with deep concern. Maeve didn't usually wake him up for no reason. "Is something the matter with Dermott?"

"No, it's nothing like that ..." She looked away from him uneasily.

"Well what then? Here, come in from the hallway, it's freezing out there, I've got a fire going inside." He pulled her gingerly across the threshold into his room and closed the door behind her. She looked like a startled deer at that moment and Sinbad wondered if he had crossed another unknown line with his actions. But now that she was standing in his room, the firelight playing off the red hues in her hair... he couldn't help but notice how breathtaking she was in this subtle lighting... and how thin the silk robe she wore was... and the curves of her body... He immediately cut off that train of thought and focused on finding out why she was there. She didn't seem mad at him for dragging her into the room, nor did she seem to notice his wandering eyes ... so he breathed a sigh of relief.

"So tell me what's on your mind sorceress" he implored... not willing to admit that he was still up because he was thinking about her.

"Well... remember earlier... what we were talking about on the balcony..." she looked at him for encouragement and couldn't help but notice how great he looked without a shirt on. Not noticing her gaze, he nodded, he remembered all too well their conversation hours earlier and how he ended up being burned by her. She continued, "well, it got me thinking..." She suddenly found her throat to be dry and needed to wet her lips... She was looking Sinbad directly in the eye... hoping he would understand without her having to continue. "... what you said..."

Sinbad's heart skipped a beat. Could she really be trying to say what he hoped... He wondered momentarily if he was sleeping. They had shared a very brief but tender moment earlier that evening on the balcony. But it had ended with Maeve walking away from him rather quickly, and leaving him with a deep yearning for her. "Yes?" He breathed deeply... not daring to hope.

Maeve took a step towards him, not breaking eye contact, "what you said about being alone... it got me thinking..." She was standing right in front of him now... their bodies almost touching. He could feel the warmth of her body through the thin robe. She continued, "it was nice to feel wanted again ..." She held her gaze... searching his eyes for any sign of comprehension... hoping he would take the hint.

"Maeve... I'm not sure I'm following..." Sinbad didn't want to jump to the wrong conclusion. This could be a potentially embarassing situation, he would never be able to look Maeve in the eye again if he made a mistake right now.

Maeve realized he wasn't going to take the lead... "I want to feel wanted tonight" she stated simply. And with that she closed the distance between them and locked her lips with Sinbad's in a searing kiss. Sinbad returned the kiss full force, bringing his hands up to cup her face, holding her to him. They remained locked at the lips, every moment becoming more and more intense. The kisses became desperate pleas, both of them pouring all their passion into the other, craving one another. Sinbad began to desperately fight the lust that was building in his loins. It was he who broke the kiss first, breathing deeply, still cupping her face he whispered on her lips "Maeve... I don't think I can do this..." He was worried about the aftermath of their actions tonight.

"So don't think tonight" she replied as she dropped her robe to the floor and brought her lips to meet his again, pressing her warm, naked body into his.

And for once... Sinbad couldn't argue with her.