I dedicate this fanfiction to a bunch of very lovely (and horny) people. One of them wanted this as her birthday gift. Five months of hemming-hawing and hesitation later, here it is! :D This is smut, pure and simple. You have been warned. :D

Jed Leland had followed Emily Norton to the house on 185 West, 74th Street. The house of Susan Alexander. Charles had gone with her. Intrigued, he had trailed their taxi, instructing the driver to maintain a discrete distance. It seemed a long time, but was only fifteen minutes, when a quiet negotiation in a window overlooking the street escalated into a fiery exchange of insults.

There was the shrillness of a woman's voice peeling through the curtains. It was in contrast to a softer one. An intonation more cultured, the voice of reason. It had to be Emily. He heard nothing for a few moments. And then… there was a sudden sound of footsteps stamping across the wooden floor. The rising sound of rage in Charles's voice.

His "Sing Sing" outburst.

Jed stood innocuously in a corner, surprised to see Boss Jim W. Gettys and Emily exit the building together. Gettys seemed to go his way. Emily stood outside, alone. Jed waited to see if Charles would come for her.

He did not seem to.

Finally, Jed decided he had seen enough. He crossed the road, to the woman in white.

"Emily."

She looked at him and he saw more than relief on her face when he approached.

"Jed."

Her voice was low and manner almost conspiratorial. Jed looked at the closed door behind her and then, into her eyes.

"Isn't Charlie coming?" he asked.

The look in her eyes hardened.

"No. He's never coming back."

Jed waited for that sentence to linger before dissipating.

"Would you like a ride?" he offered.

She seemed to hesitate.

"I won't be going home, Jed."

"Where else, then?"

"I don't know… not home."

It was Jed's turn to hesitate before asking his next question.

"Would you come home with me, then?"

Those words were out before Jed could take them back. He tried to open his mouth to say something that sounded more honorable. It wasn't necessary.

"Yes," said Emily and stepped down, expecting him to lead her. They got into the waiting taxi that had brought Jed to the neighborhood. Emily pointedly looked away from the dark grey building. She had expected herself to be angry. Or hurt, at Charles's clandestine relations with that high-pitched schoolgirl.

Instead, she felt a relief. Like a burden rolling off her chest. Bit by bit. She did not have to continue the farce of a loveless marriage. Or pretend to be the perfect host to a group of oily 'journalists', who had nothing more to do but vilify governments. Create slander. She would only regret explaining the repercussions of a bad marriage to Junior. For it would be very public.

Her eyes wearily gazed outside the stained window of the car. The streetlights and tranquility of the streets would provide little consolation for an unpleasant evening. In a way, she was grateful for Jed's presence. Being with him was like being with or without company. For he knew exactly what to say. And when to say it.

It was a good thing. She wanted to be alone, yet around someone. Emily turned to look at him. At his dark eyes that seemed to deliberately avoid hers. At his hand that casually ran through his light brown hair, which would be ruffled yet again, by the wind.

Her hand slipped into his. Jed looked away from the window. "What?" he asked softly, to the glimmering pair of eyes. Emily lightly held his hand between hers. "Thank you," she said as gently. He moved away from the window now, facing her. His free hand brushed the dark strands of her hair away from her face.

He never remembered seeing her with a hair out of place. Not since dancing school. But he never remembered her looking lovelier either…

"What are you thinking?" she whispered, her lips so close to his.

Jed traced the outline of her jaw with the tip of his finger. Why was she so beautiful? So achingly lovely? Always with that thing in her eyes… that look. As if she had always known what he felt for her. But he knew she couldn't know. She was Charlie's. They had a son.

He looked away when she leaned in to kiss him. Her lips grazed his cheek. The sensation sent a shudder down his spine.

It had to be the cold, he thought. It just had to.

Her mouth lingered on the cheek before moving down to the side of his neck. Jed closed his eyes, unknowingly parting his lips for an inaudible moan.

His resistance fueled her desire. She kissed that bobbing lump in his throat with a painful tenderness. It felt right. It felt like something long due. Her hand reached for the strong column of his neck. She pulled him closer to her. Their lips met.

It was gentle and brief. Swallowing hard, Jed held her away from him. He wanted more than ever to take her. But not here. Not like this, in a cab with the driver watching.

Emily took his endurance for rejection. Ashamed now, for taking leave of her politesse, she shifted reluctantly towards her window. It was a long ride home. It was a quiet climb up the steps to his apartment. Emily was stunned at her own brazenness. At the audacious manner in which she made her desire known.

No woman of refinement was to stoop so low. Not even if… she'd always wanted the man. Even if she had loved him all her life. Even if he did not seem to bestow any kind of favorable interest for her or any girl in dancing school. Or even now. Emily had half a mind to turn away. That was until Jed held the door open…

It was warm inside.

Emily smiled at him. Shyly, gratefully. He followed her in, shutting the door behind him.

"Let me," he offered and reached for her coat. She felt his hands, first on her shoulders and then travelling down her arms, leaving a soft electric crackle behind. Emily breathed deeply.

When did control seem so futile?

Jed hung the coat on a hook near the door. When he turned, he saw her fumbling with the clasp of the diamond necklace behind her neck. "Help me," she said.

Jed watched her for a moment before moving across the room and closing the distance between them. He turned her around and his fingers held the two ends of the fragile silver strand together.

In a single, gentle motion he unhooked the necklace. Emily pressed it to her neck to keep it from falling. She turned towards Jed, with her intent eyes blazing into his. Emily removed the necklace from around her neck, exposing the delicate, white skin beneath.

She dropped it onto the sofa next to them and moved closer to him. Jed placed a finger on the deep hollow of her neck. Emily closed her eyes. She reached for his upheld hand, and opening it slowly into a palm, placed it upon her breast.

"Please…" she moaned now, her lashes fluttering over the concealed desire in her eyes. It also made her oblivious to the searing intensity in his.

Jed threw her closer against him, his lips crushing hers with an unprecedented force. With one arm firmly around her waist, the other reached the side of her face, eagerly stroking her cheek.

Emily gasped at the sudden sharpness of his stubble around her lips. Her knees nearly buckled when she felt him remove the pins from her chignon. The hair tumbled around her shoulders, reaching just above her waist.

Her arms found their way around his broad shoulders. Emily kissed him deeply, with a long suppressed passion she only hoped to give in the measure she received. Jed darted his tongue into her mouth, with just the tip at first. He withdrew when he felt her own rushing to mate with his.

Emily whimpered at the loss, and pounded against his shoulder. "Beast," she hissed before kissing him wildly again. The imbalance had them stumble before dropping down to the floor on their knees. Not that they minded it much. Jed unzipped her dress and left it hanging around her waist.

With shaking hands, he reached to unclasp her bra and fling it away from her entrapped bosoms. Quivering, they spilled into his hands and he grasped at them while kissing her. This time their tongues met in their own glorious tussle with Emily's hungrily lapping up the delicious sourness in his.

She pulled his shirt apart, unmindful of the buttons that sprang free from the holes. Jed reluctantly let go of her breasts, only so that she could pull that shirt off his shoulders and discard it. They embraced for a final kiss, his bare chest warm and hard against her tender swelling.

Both moaned at the loss of contact, but Jed made up for it when he began to kiss Emily's neck like he would never stop. She dug her fingers deeper into his hair, drunkenly swaying her head to some rhythmic gasps. This was happening, this was really happening. Jed was actually kissing her with the desperation of a mad man, breathing wild promises of love and its splendid making to her.

She threw her head back so that he could have all of her. Jed moved lower to a ripe breast, biting into its soft whiteness, a gesture that met with much lusty approval. Emily wanted him to kiss her there, lave his tongue all over the spot, probing and circling with his tongue till she screamed. Lascivious thoughts be damned, she wanted this so badly.

Emily made an urgent grab for his belt, looping it out of his trousers. The pants were open and around his knees before Jed even realized it. Because they were kneeled on the floor, it was a bit of a hopeless tangle before he managed to kick them off.

Emily came closer to him, a teasing hand roaming over the protrusion threatening to tear his boxers. "Stop," Jed whispered into her forehead.

She raised her head to look at him.

"Make me," she purred.

His face hovered over hers before he pressed his lips deeper into hers. Jed forced open her pink mouth with his tongue and swirled it inside the sumptuous moistness. Emily returned it with an aggression of her own.

Jed suddenly rose from the floor, taking her with him; at which her gown fell around her ankles. They exchanged a more rapid series of kisses as he literally swept her off her feet and carried her into his bedroom.

He lay her down on the bed with deliberate gentleness and bent to kiss her softly again. Emily held his face as he was moving away.

"Don't be kind, Jedediah," she whispered against his lips.

The faint glimmer of light lit the hunger in his eyes and his voice when he said, "I don't want to be, Emmy."

"Good."

They moved closer for another kiss, a savage one, before he climbed into bed with her. Emily shivered and wondered if it was due to the chill outside or the fire within. Sensing her tremors in the dark, Jed pulled the sheets around them.

"Thank you," Emily whispered. Her gratitude amused him.

"You're a very well-mannered woman," he chuckled.

"Always," said she with a smile.

"We'll see," he said with playful warning, before kissing her and disappearing under the sheets. Jed wrapped his arms around her and pulled her aching breasts towards himself. He drew a perfect circle around her nipple before sucking greedily at it.

His calloused palm furiously moved over the other mound, squeezing and petting it till the coral bud perched upon it erupted into a hard, pointed protuberance, begging for more.

Emily felt herself tighten till it began to hurt. And Lord, she loved it. How she loved it! This is what she wanted. She wanted the heated kisses, the rough stroking and that tightness to dissolve into unbearable tremors. Emily Norton wanted it sinful. Just the way no good woman ought to.

She urged him on, her quavering arms moving either around his shoulders, or up, to clutch at the headboard.

But when Jed kissed his way down her slightly rounded abdomen, she felt a surge of excitable fear. He was moving closer to where he shouldn't. That was wrong. She was anyway so unbelievably wet down there, dripping almost. Jed really should not have been going that far…

"Jed…" she groaned to caution him. He did not seem to be listening. "… Jed … ?"

He was already there. And Emily already knew, as he parted her tightly clenched thighs, that he would not listen. She could only see his light hair when she lifted the sheet a little. And then, she could feel him.

His fingers opened her up, and he just traced the inner folds with one index finger. The delicate pink flesh inside frantically expanded and contracted, trembling furiously when he brought his finger to it. Emily craned her head back, shaking and fisting the sheets underneath, with the terrible frustration and realization that she was enjoying this.

His fingers moved in and out of her till he felt her body arch with the same rhythm. Jed kissed the sensitive spot, a tongue moving around the moistness before snaking into her core. Emily moaned loudly, and bent her knees to dig her heels deeper into the mattress.

"Stop stop, please… aah, aah, aaaahhh!"

She reached into the sheet and stroked his hair, in mute imploration. But Jed continued to savor her with shut-eyed ecstasy. Emily made an urgent grab for the headboard, shuddering violently and rubbing her slippery flesh all over his face. Jed maintained the tempo, his fingers pumping in and out till her walls closed around the delightful intrusion.

The movement caused the sheet to slip off, and she saw the moment in all its erotic wholeness. Jed resolutely held her thighs, his face buried deep into her forbidden womanhood. He seemed unmindful of her embarrassingly damp layers, desperately eating her out. She had never seen him so unrestrained, her harried mind noted before the descending haze consumed it. It was at that moment she threw her head back and screamed.

Her hands latched into the sides of her pillow as she thrust her hips into his face, so wantonly entreating him to swallow every bit of her.

Emily thrashed around in bed, barely aware of her feral cries as she rode out her vigorous, quaking orgasm before the final eruption. Her movements slowed to a steady halt after that. She lay panting in the middle of the bed, and Jed lay for a while with his head on her stomach.

He caught his breath, climbed back up the bed and dropped heavily on his back next to her. Emily reached for his hand. Their fingers intertwined.

"Say something," Jed smiled. "Make it nice."

Emily gave a breathless laugh. "It was wonderful… for me."

Jed peered at her through the darkness.

"I resent the exclusion, woman!"

In the dim light coming from outside the bedroom, he felt her snuggle closer to him. Her lips traced a moist trial from his clavicle to his chin.

"You didn't reach where I did, Jed. It is an unfair exclusion of sorts."

She propped herself up on one elbow to look at him. Their noses playfully rubbed against each other.

"I'd reach that place every time I laid my eyes on you, Emmy."

He caressed her face in a gentle motion.

"I love you, Emily Norton. I never stopped for a day and I won't stop for the rest of my life."

There was a pause. He could only hear her breathe.

"What took you so long, Jed?"

Before he could answer, she tilted his face towards her and they kissed yet again. It was a tenderly passionate kiss – one of acceptance, love and unbreakable vows. Emily kissed him all over his face, then his body, putting aside her own inhibitions for his needs.

She focused completely on pleasing him, letting every stroke take him further away from his conscious restraint. He raised himself off the bed, so that she could pull off his boxers. His length throbbed eagerly, yearning for her touch, her attention.

Their eyes locked as Emily wrapped her fingers around his member. She kneaded him slowly at first, and then intensified the stroking in a downward motion till his eyes rolled into his head and he moaned. Jed's face was flushed with an endearing shade of red; his hips bucked to thrust against her hand.

"Emily…" he groaned.

She pumped harder, so much harder in response. Jed could feel his stomach contract pleasurably. It was a matter of moments… any time now. Any… time… now.

He braced himself for that magnificent, marvelous clash of symbols in his head but the moment never came. She had stopped just before that crucial instant.

"Why would you do that?" he whined in a tormented voice so unlike his own.

Jed tried to get up. Emily held him down.

"I love you, Jed," she whispered to him. He closed his eyes when she leaned in to kiss him. Jed wanted the commit the moment to memory. He wanted to remember the way her raven-like hair fell around his face, the way she tasted, her softness, her strength, those glistening dark eyes in the darkness and the way her body settled into his.

It was only when Emily inhaled sharply that Jed realized he was inside her. She led his hands to her buttocks. Emily took a moment to catch her breath before grinding against him. Jed quite readily and easily kept up.

She placed her palms on his chest for support, surging ever so gently like a ship in deceptively calm waters. Jed brought his hands to her shoulders, and traced a cold trail down to her waist. She was so very gorgeous, with her upturned head and parted lips.

Her face was intense with concentration, contracting slightly when he ran a finger down her navel.

"Oh God, this is so…" Emily moaned when she felt him go deeper than his fingers had. Jed sighed too, as if in gentle agreement. He clenched his jaw and struggled to plow even deeper into her, grunting at every shred of effort it took. She pushed his arms away when he tried to hold her, weaving instead her fingers into his.

Emily pinned his arms firmly on either side of the pillow, as she slickly ground her thighs into his. Jed contorted, a pained whimper escaping his lips. A gasp followed when Emily forcefully drove her lips into his, her ravenous tongue plunging into the savory confines of his mouth. She could feel Jed struggle against the weight of her entire body on his palms.

"I want to touch you," he said in a quivering moan when they broke away. Emily kissed him teasingly over those sweet, panting lips, knocking the very breath out of him before replying, "I know." She was enjoying this, the beautiful sadist.

He let her have her fun for a while, responding in a sensual swirl to her kisses. And then, when she least expected it, he pushed her arms up and twisted them behind her back. For lack of support, she drooped into his broad frame, more compliant to his movements now.

He was incredibly persistent in his ardor. She could barely keep up, already exhausted from her previous orgasm. Emily's pace eventually dropped but Jed hammered on. Still thrusting into her, Jed eased her gently onto her back so that he could gain better control of the motions. His strokes grew faster with each instant.

Her arms were still pinned behind her back. The position thrust her upper body forward. Jed blazed a scorching trial down from her forehead to her collarbone, moving in and out in an unrelenting pace. Emily couldn't contain her exhilaration.

"Jed! Oh God!"

"Emily!"

He was so deep into her. She could feel the brown curls between his legs, sting pleasingly against her soft, dark mound. It was so prickly, scraping against her folds, till it was her turn to gasp and struggle against the powerful grip of his arms.

"Do you like it?" he asked, a devious smile curving his lips.

"Don't stop," said Emily.

He looked deep into her eyes, grinding against her, but in a declining cadence now.

"What's wrong?" she asked wide-eyed, worried now of being denied another chance at her release.

"Ask for it," he moaned, obviously wanting her to be quick with it.

"What if I don't?" she said through gritted teeth.

In response, he withdrew from her in a single stroke, leaving only the tip inside. Emily raised herself to kiss him. "Please, please, please…" she murmured against his lips, knowing full well that Jed could not deny her for long. What Emily did not anticipate was how quickly his body returned to unite with hers.

"Right there, just like that… just like that!" she cried out in triumph. Jed freed her arms. One found its way around his neck, the other around his smooth buttock. Emily gave it an appreciative smack, too far gone to remember lady-like courtesies in bed. Her legs wrapped around his waist, greatly aiding the speed of their bodies colliding. And the pace built from there.

They moaned the other's name with growing fervor. It seemed to come so naturally to them… almost like a beautiful, sensual dance. The fundamentals remained the same. Their bodies moved in a perfectly timed rhythm, their arms were tight around each other, their eyes were locked in a fiery, intense gaze.

His clasped her possessively to his chest as they heaved up and down, faster now till it felt like the bed would cave in. They kissed hungrily till their heads spun from lack of oxygen.

When their graceful movements disintegrated into an erotic tussle; their steady caresses into trembling neediness and their hushed moans into desperate cries of release, they knew the end was coming.

Her head creased the pillow when she sank back further into the bed. Wave after wave of pleasure ruthlessly battered them. Their damp bodies slid effortlessly over each other, uncontrollably fast till they cried out louder still and hurtled past the peak they had aimed to achieve.

Finally the moment of devastating completion neared when Jed trapped her lips in a deeply passionate kiss, till they had to break away, had to scream at the unbearability of it all. Till they were left sobbing and whimpering against each other yet still making feeble attempts to thrust into each other.

Till she collapsed back into the bed with a wild moan, and he on her, with a tremulous cry of release tearing out of his throat.

It was dawn when Jed was awakened by the sensation of a woman moving away from his embrace. He opened his eyes, still sore and disoriented from what could have only been a very powerful dream. It was an unfamiliar sensation, but a comforting one too. Something he had never hoped to feel in his life.

"Jed," said her voice, so near and yet so distant.

"Emily," he croaked groggily, and reached for her.

She moved back into his arms, and they kissed again. He put his leg around her waist, pulling her closer against him. Jed could feel her smile against his lips. He smiled too as he pulled away.

"Just where did you think you were going?" he asked.

"I was looking for my gown."

"You don't need the gown."

"I do now," she said, "I want to get home before the papers do."

Jed sighed. He played with the hair that cascaded down her face in ripples.

"Don't go."

Emily touched his face gently, caressing it with the back of her hand.

"I want to be there for Junior."

"I want to be there for the both of you," he said.

"Come home with me, then," she said.

"I'd like that..." he smiled.

Emily ruffled his hair and turned to step out of bed. Jed lightly held her by the arm.

"There's still time..." he said.

Emily stopped and turned to look at him. Jed lifted the sheet, in tempting invitation. She smiled and rolled back into bed, next to him. She lay with her back pressed to his front, facing the window. Jed nuzzled her gently, on the side of her neck. It felt so wonderful. This is exactly what a new beginning felt like.

"I love you," he whispered to her. "I love you so much."

Emily laughed softly. She turned to face him.

"Well darling, if last night was anything to go by, I'd say the feeling is mutual."

Okay, I confess I rushed through the final scene. I am so sleepy. :) This is incidentally my first fanfic outside the Heavy Rain universe. And also my first smutty fic. Please review. I'd love to hear feedback. :D

Hope my pallies like it... *hearts*