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Burning Desire.

Chapter 3.

Rousing from sleep, Amy reached across to Sheldon, but there was just a cold, empty space. Glancing at the alarm clock, she read the time, 2-37am.

Throwing back the covers, she climbed from the bed, crossed her pajama top across herself, tucking it into the waistband of her pants, and headed for the living room.

Sheldon was sitting at the kitchen counter, sipping a cup of tea. He didn't seem to hear her enter the room, and didn't react until she wrapped her arms around him from behind, resting her head on his shoulder.

Feeling the tension in his body, she released him, circled the counter, and sat opposite him, then she asked "Are you OK?"

Sheldon took a deep breath, then, with a nervous tremble to his voice, he replied, "Amy, what we did last night was amazing, but it's going too fast".

"I thought it might be" she confirmed, "when you begged me not to". Reaching across the counter, taking his hand, stoking the back of it, she nodded and assured him, "We can take it slower".

Sheldon's eyes misted over, and he sniffed, "Thank you. You know I love you and want to be with you, but I just can't go that fast".

"It's OK" she reassured, "it'll be fine. I can wait a while".

Sheldon frowned and bit his lip, "You're not disappointed?"

"No" she replied, shaking her head and smiling, "I'm not. You didn't say no. You just said not yet". Squeezing his hand, she smiled and suggested "Let's go back to bed".

Snuggling together, Amy hesitated to ask, for fear of the answer, then, bracing herself, she asked "Have you changed your mind about living here?"

"NO" he confirmed, shaking his head, a confident edge to his voice, "the one thing I'm certain of, is that I want to live with you".

Turning off the bedside lamp, Amy went to turn her back, so Sheldon could spoon her, but his hand caught her right shoulder. "No" he said, with a sad smile "please don't turn away. I want to look at you".

Turning the lamp back on, she rolled to face him, smiling, and he put his arm around her waist, pulling her a little closer, their faces a few inches apart, and that's how they fell asleep, close enough to feel the heat, and smell the scent, of each other.

-o-o-o-o-

Sometime during the night, he must have let go of Amy, because he woke to an empty space beside him, and heard the sound of running water. He lay there, imagining Amy, standing naked under the shower, washing herself. For a moment, he considered joining her, but his nerve failed him, and he lay there, listening and imagining.

After a few minutes, the shower was turned off, then Amy wandered back into the bedroom, a towel around her waist, and another in her hand. Seeing Sheldon's wide eyed look, she gave him a questioning tilt of the head, and pointed out "You've seen me like this before. You even had your mouth on my nipples last night".

"You're right" he confirmed, "I'm OK with you like that. Just don't take off the other towel".

"I won't" she assured, her voice gentle and calm, "Now would you like to dry my back for me?" Taking the proffered towel, he knelt behind her, and dried her back, in long, gentle strokes, occasionally venturing over her shoulder, or under her arm, to briefly caress her upper chest, and the sides of her breasts, his breathing becoming slightly labored. Amy knew exactly what he was doing, testing and pushing himself, stretching his boundaries, and she relaxed, holding her own breathing as steady as she could, so as not to make him nervous.

True, what he was doing was mild, compared to what he had done last might, but what he did last night was in the heat of the moment, whereas this was deliberate.

As he dried her skin, her hair was drying out, and the cherry scent of her shampoo was becoming stronger, and with it, Sheldon's arousal, until he could stand it no longer. Without warning, he leaned forward and placed a brief kiss at the base of her neck, then, dropping the towel, he murmured "Excuse me", jumped from the bed, rushed out of the door, across the hall, and into the bathroom.

Fifteen minutes later, he wandered into the living room, a towel wrapped around his waist, his hair wet, and sat at the kitchen counter, where Amy had placed a cup of tea and a bowl of cereal.

Pausing, his spoon halfway to his mouth, he stared at her, then his eyes scanned slowly downward, examining her body through the bathrobe. Taking a long, slow breath, he announced "I love you Amy". Raising his head, to look her in the eye, he pleaded "Please wait for me".

"Sheldon" she replied, "I promise you, I'm not going anywhere". Straightening up, she asked, "Now, shall we get dressed, and go to work?"

-o-o-o-o-

Leonard snorted with disgust. It was the third time this morning, the laser had blown a circuit, and he was getting really annoyed.

Glancing at the clock, he judged he had just enough time to remove the faulty circuit board before lunch, then, as he began, Sheldon wandered in, picking up a pair safety glasses and putting them on.

Leonard gave him an exasperated look, and said "You needn't bother with the glasses. Damn laser's blown again".

Dropping the glasses back on the desk, Sheldon asked "Could I borrow your car? I have a couple of errands to run". "Sure" Leonard replied, "keys are in my jacket pocket".

Fifteen minutes later, Sheldon pulled into a parking lot, alongside a row of shops, locked the car, made his way along the row, and entered a jewelers shop, where the jeweler had a velvet box waiting for him.

Settling the bill, he put the box in his jacket pocket, returned to the car, swung out of the parking lot, and headed for North Los Robles Avenue, where he entered 2311, climbed the stairs to the fourth floor, glanced at the boarded up door of 4A, then knocked on 4B.

Hearing the knock, Penny dried her hands, turned from the sink and opened the door, allowing Sheldon in, where he took a seat on the couch.

"So" Penny asked, "what's with the mid-morning phone call?"

"I need some advice" Sheldon replied, "but first", taking the box from his pocket, and handing it to her, he asked "what do you think?"

Opening the box, Penny gave an appreciative raise of her eyebrows. "It's beautiful. I think she'll love it".

Closing the box, she handed it back to Sheldon, who put it back in his pocket, then he continued "Penny, I need some advice". He hesitated, "on intimacy".

Penny frowned, "You know Sheldon, I'm not really comfortable, giving that kind of advice, especially to you".

Sheldon looked deflated, "But I don't know anyone more qualified. Based on man hours alone, you outrank the rest of my friends, put together".

"Hey" Penny protested, her voice rising, "It's not that much, and even if it were, I still don't like to get involved".

"Please Penny" Sheldon implored, "I'm desperate". "Fine" Penny huffed, "How far have you got?"

Blushing slightly, Sheldon confirmed, "Second base". Giving him an encouraging smile, Penny complimented, "That's not bad, but next time, try using your mouth. Having your nipples sucked is awesome".

"I know" Sheldon replied, blushing deeper, "we did that last night, and it was great". He sat there for a moment, a dreamy, distant look in his eyes, an image of Amy's perfect body, filling his thoughts.

Growing more uncomfortable by the second, she asked, "Couldn't you just read the book we got you?"

"I did" Sheldon confirmed, "it took me a week, because I had to keep taking a break, but I did finish it. I'm just worried I might do something wrong. You know, something Amy won't like".

"I don't think there's much chance of that" she assured him, "I reckon you could take her on the kitchen counter, with a roomful of guests, and she'd be OK with it".

Sheldon's eyes widening, Penny rushed to explain, "I was joking Sheldon. Why don't you just ask Amy?"

Sheldon looked shocked. "You ask Leonard, what he wants you to do to him?

"Of course" Penny confirmed, "and he asks me what I want. That's how you get to know, what turns the other person on".

Inhaling, Sheldon held the breath, then blew it out. "OK, I'll give it a go".

"Good for you" Penny replied, "and remember, there are no rules". Grinning, she finished, "be adventurous".

-o-o-o-o-

Swallowing the last mouthful of his food, Sheldon put his fork on the plate, took the small velvet box from his pocket, and placed it in the middle of the table.

Amy gasped, her eyes fixed on the box, then she asked "Is this? Are you?"

"No, no" he rushed to explain, "I'm not asking you too marry me. It's way too soon for that".

"Way - too - soon?" Amy asked, stretching out the sentence. "Can I take it from that, you intend to, at some point?"

Seeing him look down to his plate, his cheeks flushing, she apologized "I'm sorry for putting you on the spot like that". Picking up the box, she eased the lid open, to see a silver pendant, in the form of the DNA double helix.

Lifting it from the box, she clipped the chain around her neck, stroked it briefly with her thumb, then lay it against her skin, where it hung a couple of inches below her collar bone.

"Oh Sheldon" she purred, "it's beautiful". Sheldon smiled, "I know your birthday isn't till next month, but I wanted you to have it now, in celebration of our living together".

Taking a drink of his Strawberry Kwik, he grinned and asked "Shall we go to bed?"

Amy gave him a questioning look, and asked "Isn't it a bit early?"

Blushing, he cleared his throat, and murmured "I wasn't intending to sleep".

Raising her eyebrows, Amy confirmed "Oh, I understand now. OK, let's go". Pushing her plate away, she stood from the table, took him by the hand, and led him into the bedroom.

Cuddling together, Sheldon laying on his back, Amy's head on his chest, her left arm across his stomach, Amy felt him swallow, then, in a hesitant voice, he asked "Amy, what turns you on?"

Turning her face to look at him, she gave him a questioning look and asked "Where did that come from?"

Sheldon looked nervous. Clearing his throat, he ventured "Aren't you supposed to ask your partner, what they would like you to do for them?"

"Well yes" Amy confirmed, "but I might say something you're not comfortable with". Giving him a brief kiss on the cheek, she suggested "Do whatever you feel you want to do. I'm sure I'll love it".

Sheldon considered for a moment, then he deftly undid the top three buttons of her pajama jacket, slipped his hand inside, and cupped her left breast. He hesitated, the soft warmth of her flesh tantalizing his palm.

Feeling himself hardening, he fought to control the tightening tension in the root of his arousal. He lay there for a long moment, until his breathing slowed, then he gently pinched her nipple between his finger and thumb, his other fingers still caressing her delicate skin.

Her loins twisting at his touch, she rolled onto her back, Sheldon rolling onto his side to stay with her, closed her eyes and lay there, feeling his touch, then she felt his other hand slip between her legs, to cover her, outside her pajamas, and she whimpered.

She gasped a breath, feeling his fingertips trace her folds through the thin material, and her whole body twitched, then his fingers curled under, to press against her.

Drawing his second finger across her, tracing her lips, Sheldon froze, perilously close to the point of no return, murmuring "No, no, no".

"It's OK" she assured him, her voice low and comforting, almost a whisper, "you don't have to resist. Just relax, let it go. There's nothing to be afraid of".

He lay there on his side, his fingers still tenderly touching her, feeling her heat, his breathing a series of gasps, then he begged "Touch me, please". Amy could barely believed what she'd heard, but there was no doubt she'd heard correctly. Slowly and carefully, she reached for him, and gently surrounded him through his pajama pants. She stroked him once, then twice and, on the third stroke he pulsed in her hand, his breathing in time to the pulses.

Sheldon lay there for about a minute, his heart rate and breathing gradually slowing, then he looked into the limpid pools of green, that stared back at him. "Oh my God" he breathed, "that was out of this world".

-o-o-o-o-

Fighting to stay asleep, Amy knew it was a battle she couldn't win, but she fought it anyway. In her half awake state, she could feel the heat, and smell the talc of Sheldon, laying against her, his warm breath teasing her head through her hair, and his arousal pressing against her belly.

Putting her arm around him, she noticed she could feel the bare flesh of his back, and opened her eyes. Sheldon was naked from the waist up. Wriggling, she managed to slip him between her legs and, closing her legs around him, she felt his hardness against her. Inhaling the scent of talc, she closed her eyes and drifted back to sleep.

Some time later, maybe minutes, maybe hours, she finally surrendered to consciousness, to find Sheldon still between her legs, and as hard as before. Rocking her pelvis back and forward, she stroked him with her thighs, then he moaned, low and deep, and began to gently thrust back against her.

Her loins twisting and aching, she continued to stroke him with her thighs, then Sheldon's breathing became suddenly rapid, and she knew he was awake. With a guilty look, she apologized "I'm sorry. I know I said I wouldn't …..", but Sheldon cut her off, groaning "don't be sorry", then he rolled her onto her back, and he was on top, laying between her legs, his erection pushing hard against her. For a moment he was still, then he was thrusting against her, his loins tightening, his breathing hurried, groaning in time with his thrusts.

Feeling him driving against her, Amy wrapped her legs around his body and lifted her bottom off the mattress, giving him the perfect target, each of his thrusts nudging against her hot, swollen lips, her loins tightening, twisting into a mass of white hot desire.

If it weren't for the pajamas, Sheldon would have entered her. He thrust on and on, feeling his release getting closer, until he could hold on no longer. With a final hard thrust, his muscles clenched and he emptied into his pajamas.

Feeling him release, Amy was over the edge, crashing into her orgasm, Sheldon still on top of her, pulsing against her.

He lay there, his face buried in her soft, silky, cherry scented hair, his breathing still rapid, his pulse pounding in his ears. Finally summoning the energy to lift his head, he stared into the most beautiful face he'd ever seen, a contended grin spreading across her sweet lips. Pressing his mouth to her lips, he pressed his tongue into her open, wet, welcoming mouth, caressing and tasting Amy's tongue, his hand cupping her left breast, his index finger circling and teasing her nipple.

Her climax dissipating through her body, Amy broke the kiss, took in a deep, relaxing breath, held it and let it out, then she declared "That was awesome". She lay there for a few more seconds then, reluctantly informed him "Go get a shower. We have work to go to".

Swinging his legs out of the bed, he sat up, then looked her up and down, his eyes tracing her outline under the covers, his eidetic memory recording every detail.

He looked at her for a long moment, then he swallowed loudly, urging himself to vocalize his thoughts. In a low, almost pleading voice, he implored, "come with me".

Amy gave him a questioning look, and he explained "come and shower with me".

Her heart racing, she took a deep breath and asked "You really want to do that?" Rising from the bed, he turned back and, taking her hand, lifted her from the bed, and began leading her toward the bedroom door. Not resisting, she followed him out of the bedroom, across the hall and into the bathroom.

They stood, nervously staring at one another, neither sure who should make the first move, then Sheldon reached out and pulled the bow on Amy's pajama bottoms. The pants slipped to the floor and she stood, naked from the waist down, in front of him. He stared at her nakedness, unable to tear his eyes from it, then breathed "Oh my God, that is so beautiful".

She stood there, blushing from the compliment, and the embarrassment of being naked, then she reached forward and tugged his pajama cord, and Sheldon was completely naked. Even only partly erect, he was quite impressive, and she let out a quiet 'hoo'. Undoing the remaining buttons, she slipped the pajama top from her shoulders, and stepped into the shower, Sheldon just a step behind her.

The moment they were under the hot water, Sheldon looked her wet body up and down, a look of longing desire filling his cobalt blue eyes, then he backed her against the wall, his body pressed against hers. Feeling her wet breasts pressing against his chest, he hardened, slipping between her legs, his height causing his length to press against her, feeling her heat.

He pressed his lips against hers, his tongue exploring her mouth, his body pressed against hers, his hardness pressing against her. Amy's loins burst into flames, an aching, heavy wetness forming deep inside her, then she reached between them and surrounded him, to squeeze and stroke him.

Feeling Amy's hand, hot, wet and soft, surround him, he broke the kiss, and, gasping "Oh God, oh God yes", he began stroking in her hand, then Amy guided him toward herself, until he nudged her lips. Sheldon felt himself touch her, and a tiny electric shock ran through his length, and deep into his core.

He pushed himself against her, and he was in, only an inch or so, but he was in. The heat was intense, and he screwed his eyes shut, fighting the instinct to thrust again, knowing if he did, he would completely lose control.

Balancing on the edge, Amy begged "Please Sheldon, please, oh God, p-l-e-a-s-e". Hearing her beg was the most arousing thing he'd ever heard, and, throwing caution to the wind, he pushed himself deeper, feeling the hot, silky wetness surround and caress him, stoking his desire to unimaginable new heights, his breathing fast and desperate, his heart thumping in his chest.

Feeling him entering her, Amy expected to feel pain, but there was very little, just a tugging, dragging feeling, as he pushed himself deeper into her, then he was moving, his strokes uneven and jerky.

Amy clung to him, her back pressed against the tiles, the hot water cascading over them, her loins twisting and aching, her heart racing, then he drew himself almost all the way out, then plunged deep in again, and the was it, she was over the edge, her muscles clenching, her walls tightening around him, increasing the sensations for both of them, Sheldon stroking on, then, his muscles clenching deep inside him, he erupting, pulse after pulse flooding into her, his final thrusts hard and deep.

They stood there under the water, trembling from the exertion and their climaxes, which were slowly dissipating through them, then their mouths were crushed together, hungrily devouring each other, Sheldon still buried deep inside her, her delicious heat seeping into him, then he slipped from her, and she felt an aching emptiness, a feeling almost of loss.

They kissed long and deep, tongues caressing tongues, naked flesh teasing naked fresh, each tiny movement rubbing wet skin together, until they parted, to stare, unashamedly at one another.

Squeezing shower gel into his palms, Sheldon rubbed his hands together, then spread the lather across her stomach, circling, to gently massage it in, then he circled upward, stroking it into the perfectly round, smooth orbs of her breasts, then onto her shoulders, and on, to stroke the back of her neck, then, drawing her closer, he ran both soapy palms down her back, to find and cup her soft buttocks, and pull her against him, the soapiness making their flesh slip and slide against each other. Taking the shower head from the wall, he rinsed the shower gel from their bodies.

Putting the shower head back on its bracket, he watched the water run down her breasts, to drip from the dark buds of her nipples, then he leaned in and kissed a drip from her.

Amy sat on the bed, her legs hanging over the edge, Sheldon kneeling behind her, drying her back with a soft, warm towel, then he reached under her arms, and stroked the towel across her breasts, the soft toweling dragging across her nipples, then down onto her belly.

With a reluctant sigh, he finally announced "Done". He watched as Amy padded across to her dresser, and, facing away from him, bent to open the third drawer down, searching through her underwear. He studied her buttock cheeks, a patch of hair visible between her legs, then he sighed deeply, thinking of the hours of work that stood between now and the evening, which would see them in bed together again.

Stepping into her panties, she slid them up and wiggled them over her hips, and Sheldon inwardly moaned. He stifled another moan, when she settled herself into her bra cups.

Thirty minutes later, Amy pulled her car into the parking lot at Caltech. Getting out, she locked the car door, gave Sheldon a smile, and asked "See you for lunch?"

"Of course" he confirmed, a grin spreading across his face, "try stopping me". He watched her walk into the entrance, then turn left, heading toward the neurobiology labs. When Amy was out of sight, he picked up his bag, slung the strap over his shoulder, gave another deep sigh, walked into the main entrance, and turned right.