A/N: This fic has strong sexual content. If you are uncomfortable with that, please stop reading now. As always, comments are welcome. However, if you have negative comments, I would prefer you send them in a private message. Otherwise, I hope you enjoy it! This fic is complete, so you may expect an update every other day. Thanks for reading!

Illicit Inconvenience
chapter 1

It was well past midnight, but Clarisse was wide awake. She was lying on her side, facing the window when she felt the quilt being pulled back and the mattress shift with the weight of someone behind her.

As he pressed his naked body against hers, he pulled her tight against him. Her back pressed to his chest, her body molded perfectly to his.

He gently bit down on her shoulder and was rewarded with her gasp of pleasure. He placed a soothing kiss there then slowly placed a trail of soft kisses to the curve of her neck. There, he flicked out his tongue to taste her skin, running a line up to her ear.

His voice was deep and husky, "my queen," he breathed against her ear as his hand snaked its way up to her breasts, teasing one of her nipples. Her eyes fluttered shut as she whispered, "Joseph..."

It was a soft plea for more.

He kissed the back of her neck and she felt him smile against her skin as his hand ventured lower. His fingers brushed through the soft patch of curls at her center.

"Please," her voice barely even above a whisper this time. Combing a finger through as his hand moved lower, he pressed a few slow, lazy circles around the pearl at the center of her desire. Then his fingers continued their journey, dipping into her wet heat then moving back up to continue stroking her.

Neither of them said a word. Instead, they only focused on each other. she could feel the silky steel of his erection trapped between them and when he shifted his body so that he was now cradled between her legs, she moaned his name.

His hands were driving her closer and closer to the edge, yet she wanted more. She needed more.

She started circling her hips, grinding back against him and when he made no attempt to enter her, she draped her leg over his in a silent offering. As she continued to move her hips, she could feel the heated tip of his erection as it teased and nudged against her opening.

She was being assaulted by her senses... his warm breath at her ear, the way the sprinkling of his chest hair tickled across her back each time she moved her body against his, his hands and their sweet torture, the flickering glow of the flames in the fireplace as it created shadows that danced around the room, and the intoxicating scent of joseph. Her senses were overloaded with desire.

It was all too much. She was slipping over the edge. Her movements started to falter, becoming erratic and her breathing was now coming in shallow, ragged pants as she raced toward completion.

Right as she was about to lose the last small shred of control she still had over her body, Joseph stopped moving. Just as she was about to voice her frustration, he rolled her onto her back and moved above her. With one hand holding hers captive against the pillows above her head, the other snaked its way down and began stroking her again. He dipped his head down and captured her lips in a searing, passionate kiss and her lips parted to allow entrance to his demanding tongue to battle against hers as each fought for control of the kiss.

With a great deal of effort, he broke the kiss and then released her hands as he moved lower to her breasts. His tongue teased circles around one of her nipples before he gently nipped the sensitive peak with his teeth. She grabbed the back of his head, forcing his lips to maintain contact with her flushed skin as she arched her back, pushing herself closer and begging him to take her.

She moaned as he moved to pay homage to the breast he'd been neglecting, and then he placed soft kisses against the smooth skin of her stomach. Her eyes went wide when she felt him flick his tongue across her hip, her hands fisting in the sheets as he spread her legs and moved to position himself before her, staring in open admiration at everything she was offering him.

A deep, primal groan erupted from her as she watched him smile before lowering his head and pressing a kiss to her swollen flesh.

Clarisse woke with a violent start. Her heart was pounding so hard, she was sure it was going to leap from her chest. She had never allowed Rupert to do that. She always felt it was too personal; the act was too intimate to share with someone she was not in love with. Now she couldn't believe she was dreaming about it. Craving it. From Joseph.

Rupert and Clarisse's relationship lacked passion. They were fond of each other but not in love. They shared a very gentle, yet satisfying intimate relationship and Clarisse rarely gave any thought to what she was missing. That is, until Joseph entered her life.

After Rupert died, it soon became clear to her that her relationship with Joseph had been blossoming into more than just employer/employee, more than just friendship. She realized she was finally allowing herself the guilty pleasure of fantasies she had been denying she wanted.

She tried to fight her feelings for Joseph but the more time she spent with him, the more her desire grew. She couldn't quite put a name to what she was feeling. Was it love? She wasn't sure. She'd never been in love, so she had nothing to compare it to. All she knew for certain was that when she was with Joseph, she was consumed by a heated wave of raw desire and recently she had convinced herself she was catching small glimpses of the same desire mirrored in his own gaze. Naturally, this only fueled the inconvenient, though definitely not unwelcome, dreams.

She had been having these dreams for a few days now. Ever since they danced the 'Wango.' And each time she had one of these dreams, it was more vivid than the dream before. That dance brought up feelings toward Joseph that were so strong they almost frightened her. Feelings she had been trying to deny for a very long time. Feelings she had been denying for years. Feelings that, because of these dreams, she could no longer avoid. Now that she had finally admitted to having these feelings, there was no way she could go back. Her dreams would continue until she explored where they would lead in reality.

And when she looked at him, she saw it in Joseph's eyes. The same feelings haunted him, too.

tbc...