"Where is Mrs. Gilmore?" he asked, coming into the house.
"She's upstairs, sir," the maid replied. He looked at the woman for a moment. She was the same girl from last week. He could have sworn that his wife had fired her already. Emily must really be feeling ill if this girl had lasted longer than a few days. Or perhaps she still couldn't see well enough to recognize that it was the same person as before he left. Or had there now been so many girls that they all looked the same and this really was a different one?
"Thank you," he mumbled on his way up the stairs. He had received numerous voicemails from Lorelai yesterday about how big he owed her for chauffeuring "his insufferable wife," as Lorelai had called her, around all day and night. It didn't sound like Emily was in the best mood and he hoped that this morning she wouldn't be irritated with him, too. Though, she did have every right to be upset seeing as he'd left her hours after her surgery to go off on business. It didn't matter that she had been the one to insist that he go or that she had repeatedly said that she would be fine without him.
He could hear the classical music playing down the hallway. Their bedroom door was slightly ajar and the faint echo of Mozart hung in the hall. He watched her sitting silently in a chair across the room, looking towards the window. She didn't even hear him push the door open or notice him standing in the doorway. She looked tired. Sad. A little weak maybe. He smiled at the way the sun shone on her red hair. An idea flashed in his mind. Reaching over to the Bose CD player control panel, he pushed a button and the music changed from classical to a more upbeat jazz tune. That caught her attention.
She looked away from the window and caught the outline of him standing in the doorway. "Richard," she spoke softly, "you're home."
He put his finger to his lips, pushing the door shut behind him. She couldn't really see what he was doing, but she could faintly hear the click of the lock on the door. He moved towards her, loosening his tie. She sat silently in the chair watching him advance. Her vision was not quite back to normal again, but she could see enough to make out shadows and outlines. He slowly withdrew the tie from around his neck, tossing it in her direction. She reached out to catch it, but it feel at her feet instead. He could see a small smile curve her lips as she looked up at him. She was trying to focus and see him more clearly. For the moment, he knew that she was his. There was nothing on her mind but him standing before her and wondering what he had planned.
He slowly removed his suit jacket, arm by arm until he tossed it too in her direction. This time she caught it with a laugh. The way she looked up at him caused her to slightly blush and it made him smile that he could still cause her to react after so many years. They were no longer young, or even middle age, yet he took pride in the fact that they still had romance and such passion in their relationship when many of their friends had lost that spark years ago.
Today, he wanted nothing more than to make her feel better. He wanted her to forget about the botched eye surgery and the blurred vision. The guilt that he felt over having let her convince him to take the trip to South Dakota during her surgery was still on his mind. He had rushed home as soon as he could, but it hadn't been soon enough. It had taken nearly thirty-six hours to get out of South Dakota and back to Hartford. A nightmare of a place to be visiting on business. Though perhaps his opinion had been marred because he wanted so desperately to get back home to his wife and maybe South Dakota wasn't that bad of a place. However, he had no desire to return and find out.
As he started to unbutton his shirt, she stood up, letting his jacket fall from her lap to the floor. She took a step closer to him and started to say something when she stumbled over a book she had laid on the floor next to her chair. She fell forward and into his waiting embrace. Emily laughed and looked up at him. In what seemed like an instant, he bent down and scooped her up and into his arms. The sight curls in her hair bounced as she leaned her head back before finally resting it on his shoulder and closing her eyes. She didn't even notice they'd moved until he was gently placing her on the bed.
Her hands roamed up his chest and she held his face in her hands. They looked into each other's eyes for a moment before their lust overpowered them both. In that moment, everything was clear and not blurred at all. She could see how bad he felt having left her and he could see how happy she was to have him home again.
Her hands returned to the buttons of his shirt as he moved atop of her. He began to kiss her neck as she tried to push the shirt off his shoulders. With his help, she finally managed to toss it aside as he undid the tie on her robe. She was wearing a short black slip underneath. Even when she felt ill and utterly unattractive, she could still turn him on with just a simple black slip worn beneath her robe. She probably couldn't even see this morning to pick out what she was wearing. That was the beauty of his wife. She looked the most gorgeous when she wasn't trying at all. He slid his right hand up her thigh and beneath the silky material. She moaned softly as her hands played with the buckle on his belt. She finally got it undone and cast it aside, quickly unbuttoning his dress pants. He kicked them off and pushed her slip further up as he began to kiss her neck and down her chest.
She softly moaned his name, her cheek pressed against the top of his head. She reached out to run her hands through his hair as he kissed her stomach. Suddenly he was kissing her lips again and his right arm slid beneath her body, rolling her on top of him. He threw the robe off the bed as he pushed it from her shoulders. The slip was next. He pulled it over her head and began kissing her neck again as she positioned herself on top of him. He could tell that she was uncomfortable. She usually liked to be underneath him, to feel his body pressing against hers. She had once admitted to him that it made her feel safe and as if he would always be there to protect her.
"Oh, Richard, I've missed you," she whispered softly, her hair falling in her face as she bent down to kiss him. "It's silly. You were barely gone for one day." He brushed her hair aside, his hand against the back of her neck. His other hand ran along her thigh. She could feel his excitement for her and it made her heart race even faster. She pulled away from him and began to place kisses upon his chest. Her hair fell to the side and tickled him slightly. Her eyes flashed up to his when she heard him laugh softly. She wasn't supposed to be seducing him. He was the one seducing her. He reached for her waist and pulled her against him, looking into her eyes. He kissed the side of her mouth and down her chin, tickling her neck. He smiled to hear her giggle and feel her starting to squirm.
Richard rolled over on to his side and pulled her with him. She reached her hand up to touch his face, but he grabbed her hand with his own. She allowed him turn her around to face away from him. Emily bent her head down, tightening her grasp on his hand. In all their forty years, she'd only let him take her this way a few times. Usually she protested and he wouldn't push her any further, but every once in a long while she would eventually give in to his advances. Tonight she felt uniquely in the mood. In fact, she wanted it. She wanted to feel him insider her. She wanted to let him take control. She wanted him to take away her fears. She would let him do anything he wanted to do to her tonight and she would savor every moment of it.
His hand let go of hers and ran up and down her leg a few times. Gently, he brushed her hair from her neck. He moved to kiss her neck and placed his left hand on her hip. Her hand quickly found his as she intertwined her fingers with his. His body was pressed closely against her own. "Are you all right?" he whispered into her ear. She nodded in reply, unable to find any words to speak.
It was slow and he could hear her breath catch as he entered her. She took a few quick breaths and laid her head back against him. Letting go of his hand, she clutched the sheet in her fist. He moved slowly against her, listening to her moans. He whispered her name into her ear causing her body to quiver against him.
She opened her eyes and turned her head to face him. He leaned forward to kiss her. "You don't have to be so gentle," she whispered breathlessly, pressing her lips to his. "I won't break." That was the first time she'd ever asked him not to be gentle with her. For once, she didn't want to feel so delicate and breakable. She wanted to feel alive and on fire, if not just for tonight. She turned her face away from him as he grabbed her hip. She knew she'd have a bruise there the next morning. However, the thought quickly left her mind as he began to thrust against her.
He slid his strong hand between her legs. She groaned deeply, feeling his fingers pressing into her. She became louder and louder as he moved against her. The sound of her voice turned him on, making him want her even more. He kissed her neck. Her shoulder. Suddenly he pulled out of her, startling her as he grabbed her shoulder and pushed her back against the mattress. He loomed above her for a moment, his eyes raking down her body and causing her to blush.
"You're beautiful," he whispered, and she smiled slightly as she looked up at him through her blurry eyesight.
Her smile only lasted a moment, though, before he thrust into her quickly. Her head rolled back and she couldn't contain the sound that escaped her lips. His hands grabbed her hips, pulling her closer to him. Normally she would close her eyes and let the sensation of him moving inside of her take over her senses. But this time she couldn't stop watching him. Maybe it was because she couldn't see him clearly and it intrigued her. Or maybe it was the medications she was taking. It wasn't until he pushed her legs wider apart and thrust deeper into her that she let out his name in a loud groan and her eyes slid shut. Her breathing became shorter as every time he thrust into her she could feel her breath catch in the back of her throat.
"Richard, please," her voice quivered ever so slightly. He knew she was reaching her climax and he could feel himself about ready to let go. He slowed the pace to prolong it for both of them, moving gently against her as he bent down to kiss her lips. She slipped her arms around him, pressing him against her body. He kept whispering how beautiful she was in her ear as a final sensation overtook her body.
She lay motionless beneath him, the only movement coming from her chest as she tried to catch her breath. He remained on top of her for a moment, catching his own breath. He finally extricated himself from her and slid over next to her. Emily turned on her side and faced her husband.
"You know how people say that when you lose one sense, like your hearing or your sense of smell or your eyesight … it makes the other senses keener?" she asked, still a bit breathless. Richard nodded. He had heard that before. "It's definitely true," she sighed, moving to rest her head atop of his chest. It was as if she could still feel his hands caressing her body even now and the sensation of making love to him still felt tangible.
"Oh Emmy… that was … you were …" He shook his head. He didn't have the words to describe it. He was usually never at a loss for words.
She smiled, content that she could still satisfy him in such a passionate way. It had been years since they'd made love like that. Intensely passionate and yet also beautifully tender. It had seemed like a lifetime that his body moved against hers, causing her to make noises that she hadn't made in a long time. Not that it wasn't pleasurable the others times they'd made love recently, but this left her utterly exhausted and wholly satisfied. She didn't quite know if it would ever be that good again or even if she wanted it to be. However she wasn't going to let that keep her from trying again … and again.