Disclaimer - see chapter 1.
--Dedicated to Valerie. I didn't really forget about your bDay, it just slipped my mind for a moment ... a long moment.--
…and this morning.
He woke up with a satisfied smile on his lips. The crisp morning air blew the curtains apart slightly, letting the first sunbeams of the day tickle his nose. For a moment he wondered how the sun could get to him this early in the morning. The window of his temporary sleeping quarters in the pool house faced west. Then he remembered and his smile widened.
Lazily opening his eyes he rolled on his side, watching his wife as she peacefully slept next to him. The shadows of the curtain lace danced across her relaxed features, making her look even more serene than she already did.
He got her back. He got his wife back. Looking up at the ceiling for a second, he sent a silent prayer to up above, and then looked back at her. She lay on her back, her face turned towards him, her hand next to her face, the sheets covering her slender form up to her shoulders.
He watched the even rising and falling of her chest for a while, his mind fixed on the fact that she was completely naked under the covers.
A proud grin played along his lips; she had been too tired to put her pajamas on last night and that happened very seldom. It was a miracle to him that she had found the strength to shower, but then, she always did, no matter how much he tired her out.
He remembered that she had crawled out of bed, kissing his chest when she pulled out of his embrace to walk over to the bathroom, telling him to go back to sleep and that she wouldn't be gone for long. Still he hadn't been able to fall asleep before he felt her head touching his shoulder and her hand above his heart again.
Richard argued with himself whether or not to raise the blanket to look at her perfect figure, but the chilling breeze coming from the half opened window stopped him. He didn't want her to wake up just yet. It was a rare occasion that he had the time to lie next to her for as long as he wanted. He didn't remember any early morning meetings or the like on his agenda for today. Even if he had, he didn't really care about missing them.
Right now he felt perfectly happy, lying next to Emily, marveling at all the little things he had missed so much. The way the sun was reflected by her hair, how porcelain-like her skin looked, how fine the features of her face were and how they had always been. He couldn't stop himself from gently brushing a strand of hair out of her face, letting his fingers trace her jaw bone before brushing them across her perfect mouth.
Seeing her stir, he bent over to place a feather light kiss on her lips, feeling her smile against his lips as she slowly woke up. She turned her body towards his and sighed, "Morning."
Richard chuckled while he brushed the tip of his nose across her cheek before bending down to kiss it gently, "Morning, sleepyhead."
Cracking her eyes open, she quickly closed them again, the morning sun way too bright for her taste. Emily grumbled and moved closer towards her husband to hide her face against his chest where the sun couldn't find it. Putting his arm around her, he propped his head up on his hand smiling down at her while she snuggled closer.
He pushed the blanket off her shoulder to kiss it, stopping when her hand snuck up to pull it back up around herself, mumbling something. Richard chuckled, repeating his actions just to see what would happen. The mumbling got louder but he still couldn't figure out what she said. Trying once more he grinned in contentment when she turned her head and glared at him. "Are you awake now?"
His smiling eyes calmed her temper, "You're mean."
"I'm in love." He kissed her nose.
"If you'd really love me, you'd let me sleep." She tried to give him the evil eye but he kept on grinning. It was slightly frustrating that he knew which strings to pull to make sure she wouldn't stay mad for long.
Tracing the outlines of her face with his index finger, he shook his head, "I love you too much to let you sleep. I want to spend what little leisure time I have with you and though I enjoy watching you sleep it tends to be a lot more fun when you're awake." His fingers ran down the side of her neck and up her shoulder to tuck at the blanket again. This time she let him pull it away without arguing, taking a deep breath when he began kissing her shoulder, down to her neck, nibbling on it.
It felt nice. Maybe a little too nice for so early in the morning, but then, they had been separated for months. She felt him run his mouth along her jaw line and closed her eyes when their lips met. Richard gave her a few light kisses before he tried to kiss her more deeply but she pulled away before he could.
"Richard?"
He decided to place small kisses on her face instead of forcing her to do anything she wasn't up to, "Hmm?"
She gently pushed a hand against his chest to make him stop and look at her. Knowing she had his full attention she smirked, "Brush your teeth."
For a split second he felt offended but the gleam in her eyes eased his mind. He lunged forward, keenly nuzzling her neck, knowing full well how ticklish she was. Emily tried to push him away, laughing out loud while he continued mercilessly. "Richard, stop it. Stop it!" She tried to sound serious but she knew she didn't.
"Are you giving up?" he had his arms around her, hovering over her while he gave her a break to catch her breath.
Still giggling, she nodded her head, her eyes sparkling up at him.
Her smile mesmerized him. There was a faint glow on her cheeks, her hair was disheveled and her eyes... her eyes. He smiled down at her, brushing a strand of hair out of her face. He had her back; his Emmy. There she was, lying in his arms, smiling. Richard wanted to burst with happiness.
She tried to stop giggling but couldn't. It felt so good to have him back. Looking up at him she watched the look in his eyes change from challenging to... something. She couldn't quite place it. All she knew was that she felt like the most important person in the universe when he looked at her like this.
Her heart jumped when she saw his smile widen. The boyish grin she had missed so much; it was back. And it was she who had brought it back. She felt so much when she looked at him now, so much that she had almost forgotten about.
"Marry me." The words left his mouth without thinking.
Emily smiled up at him again, confused and amused by his words, "What?"
He sat up, crossed his legs and nodded; now it made perfect sense to him, "Marry me."
Sitting up as well, she wrapped the sheet around her. It was cool in the room. He was still gazing at her. "Richard, we are married." she smiled, not quite sure what he meant.
"I know," he pulled her close, making her rest her head on his shoulder, "I know." Kissing her neck, he brushed his hand up and down her back, "but I want to marry you again."
Lifting her head, she looked at him, her smile matching his, "Whatever you want, darling."
His grin became mischievous again, "Whatever I want?"
Emily gave a low chuckle, her voice low and sensual when she repeated herself, stretching every word, "Whatever … you … want."
Cupping her cheek with his hand he placed another kiss on her lips, "You know what I want the most."
She moved one hand to the back of his neck, playing with his hair while she innocently batted her eyelashes, "I do?"
Richard pulled her onto his lap, unwrapping the sheet she had arranged around her so carefully, sliding it down her arms. When he kissed her throat, he felt her shiver, raising his head he met her gaze again, he asked "Are you cold?"
She nodded, "But not for too much longer, I guess." Raising her eyebrow, her eyes sparkled in expectation, her hand gently pulling at the back of his head, encouraging him to lean in to kiss her.
"That can be arranged." He whispered before he gave her a long, slow kiss, his hand sliding inside the sheet to caress her skin.
He furrowed his brow when she pulled away, "What?"
Smiling at the sound of his voice, she pulled her shoulder up, "Your hand is cold."
She snuck her hands out of her warm cocoon, took both of his and started rubbing them between hers, kissing his fingertips.
Richard smiled down at her, watching her closely.
She concentrated on massaging his fingers, pressing her mouth against them every now and then while she tried to warm them. Sensing his eyes on her she looked up at him and was met by a lopsided grin. Emily stopped her actions, cocked her head to the side and raised one eyebrow, "What?"
"You are adorable." He pulled his hands out from between hers and took her hands, pressing them against his chest.
Rolling her eyes, she huffed, "Oh please."
Chuckling when he saw her trying to hide her smile, he brought their hands up to kiss her fingers. Richard laced his fingers through hers and bent forward to kiss her again, "Are they warm enough now?"
Smiling against his mouth she nodded.
"Good." He pulled their entwined hands behind his back, making her move closer towards him, then brushed his fingers up her arms while kissing her lovingly. "You have goose bumps."
She giggled, resting her forehead against his chin, "Your fault."
Kissing her brow, he bent his head down to kiss first her cheek, then her neck, "Is it still because of my cold hands?" He grinned against her skin, knowing the answer. Emily rested her cheek on the side of his head, closing her eyes while her hands lazily danced across his back, "Not this time."
Turning his head he kissed her cheek again, "I'm glad."
Her lips searched his, kissing him tenderly at first, starting to get more demanding and passionate by the second.
She felt his hands on her back, pulling her towards him before he moved one hand down her side and beneath the sheet, to run it down her leg. Turning to the side to give him better access, she raised her knee slightly. Her breath caught in her throat when he moved his large hand up the back of her leg again, sliding it over her behind before sneaking it further around her thigh to tentatively brush his fingertips over the sensitive skin between her legs.
Their tongues were still engaged in a passionate fight when the phone began to ring.
Emily tried to ignore it but after a few moments it started to get on her nerves. Breaking away from Richard, she pushed her hands against his chest and looked in the direction of the sound while her husband continued to kiss her neck. She turned in his embrace only to feel his arms tightening around her again, giggling when he nuzzled her neck, "Stop it; I've got to get that."
Biting her earlobe he let her move away, his head following her as far as he could before he ceased from kissing her shoulder.
Emily crawled away from him, to her side of the bed to grab the phone that lay on the night stand.
Holding the sheet while she moved away from him, he watched while it slid off her body, revealing her beautiful backside. He grinned and got a hold of her hips, kneeling behind her he bent over her to whisper in her ear, "Let it ring."
She closed her eyes, her hand stopping in mid air while he brushed his hands up her sides and grabbed her breasts while gently nibbling the base of her neck.
"It might be important." She let her head fall forward to give him better access; it was hard to talk in full sentences when he did this.
Pressing himself against her behind, his hoarse voice made her drop her hand, "Let it ring." Richard let his hand travel down over her stomach, sliding it between her legs.
Her head shot up again when he touched her lightly, a moan escaping her slightly parted lips when he increased the pressure of his hand.
Distracted by the still ringing phone, she moved her hand down to cover his, "Richard, I…" he knew exactly what to do to make this harder for her, "…you…" she glared at the still ringing phone, demanding it to stop, "…oh God." Her eyes rolled back in her head when she felt him probing her with his finger.
He loved it when his actions left her speechless. Concentrating on the movements of his hand and the feel of her hot flesh around him, he made sure she got the most pleasure out of this.
She would never admit it, but she liked it when he did this. He didn't do it very often, mainly because he didn't find that many excuses to get her in this position but now he grinned to himself, when he felt her respond to his touch.
Kissing her back, he let his tongue trail down her spine just to kiss his way up again, leaning over her, while his arm was wrapped around her waist. Loosening his embrace, he gently brushed his hand across her belly and up to her full breasts, brushing lightly over them, his arousal growing while listening to her throaty moans.
Richard felt his erection press against her behind, throbbing in tune with his rapid pulse. He rubbed his groin against her, biting her shoulder to keep himself under control. "Emmy?" She knew what he wanted. It was all there, in his voice. Feeling him removing his hand from her, she invitingly rolled her hips against his, moaning with pleasure when she felt him entering her.
He remained still for a moment, savoring the feel of being inside of her before he placed his hands on her hips and began to slowly thrust into her.
It didn't take long before she felt a familiar tingle begin to soar through her while he kept a slow, steady pace. She grabbed the sheets, her eyes closed, holding her breath to keep her moans from getting louder.
Years of experience let their movements match each others perfectly.
Emily let her head fall forward again, pressing herself harder against him when she felt his thrusts getting shorter and one of his hands left her hip to run up her back and grab her shoulder. He leaned forward, brushing his hand down her arm, putting it next to hers to support his weight, his stomach touching her back. Brushing his lips over the back of her neck he felt her moving in small circles underneath him, driving him crazy.
She turned her head, his breath tickling her cheek before he kissed it, the feel of his skin against hers sending shivers through her body.
Pushing deeper into her, he felt the muscles in her back and thighs tighten, a slow smile spreading over his face. He pushed himself up to once again get a hold of her hips, watching her closely while he quickened his movements, not able to hold back any longer when he felt her muscles contract around him, her name on his lips when he let go.
The moment he came inside of her with one last, deep thrust Emily couldn't prevent herself from moaning with pleasure, not caring who might hear her as her orgasm shook her body.
She felt her arms go weak, sinking down onto her elbows, breathing heavy.
Richard brushed his hands up her back to gently massage her shoulders. Bending forward he pressed his lips to her spine while he pulled away from her slowly.
Once she felt him slide out of her, moving to lie down beside her, she let her knees slide back to lie on her stomach, her forehead touching the mattress. Her eyes still closed, she felt him kissing her shoulder and smiled against the sheets, sighing.
Raising her head, she looked at him as he lay on his side, propped up on one elbow, watching her closely.
His smile matched hers as he raised his hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, brushing her hair off her shoulder then letting his hand run up and down her back.
Her skin was cool to his touch. Moving away he grabbed her blanket from where it had fallen off the end of the bed, covering her slender body with it before sliding underneath it to warm her.
Emily rolled on her side, raising her head to let him push his arm under it and around her before she snuggled up to him. Kissing his chest she brushed her hand over it, delighted when her touch caused goose bumps to appear.
"Thank you." He rubbed her upper arm while he felt her moving her leg to lie between his.
Furrowing her brow she lifted her head and looked up at him, "For what?"
Richard grinned, "For letting it ring."
Snuggling back against him she patted his chest, giggling "My pleasure."
He chuckled lowly, "I bet."
Placing another kiss on his chest, she closed her eyes.
A few minutes later she opened them again, "Richard?"
"Yes dear?" His hand moved up to cover hers.
"How late is it?"
Taking a deep breath he turned his head, trying to get a visual of the alarm clock on his night stand. Squinting his eyes for a moment he gave up, putting his head back in a more comfortable position, closing his eyes, "Not that late."
Emily pushed herself up on one elbow, looking down at him, "Is that quarter to or just quarter past I-am-not-wearing-my-glasses?"
Richard chuckled, "Okay, you got me." He moved to lie on his side of the bed. The moment his head touched the pillow he felt her crawling after him, opening his arms to let her recreate the comfortable position they had just left.
Kissing her hair he reached out and grabbed the alarm clock, trying his luck again, "Twenty past seven."
Quickly going over her schedule in her mind, Emily smiled contently when she didn't remember any appointments before noon.
They lay in comfortable silence, until a growling noise made Richard chuckle lowly, "Hungry?"
Smiling against his chest she didn't open her eyes when she replied, "Just a little," she patted his chest, "ignore it, it will go away."
When the sound repeated itself after a while, she huffed in frustration, "I don't want to get up." She felt his body shake as he chuckled again quietly; raising her head she playfully slapped his chest, "Hey!"
He grinned up at her, "What?"
Raising her perfectly shaped eyebrows, she scolded him, "You're not supposed to make fun of the wife."
"I apologize, dear." his eyes sparkled, "Now, shall we go and get breakfast?"
Emily smiled and pushed herself up in a sitting position, trying to get comfortable she decided to spread her legs slightly, it felt awkward sitting like this but she did feel a little sore.
Looking in the direction of the door, she sighed. How could he possibly think that she was capable of walking to it, let alone all the way downstairs? Turning her head back towards him, she met his broad grin. He read her thoughts, "I'll go and get it."
Kissing her nose, he climbed over her, stopping for a moment to press another kiss to her mouth.
Emily watched him while he put on his bathrobe, smiling at him when he turned back to her after opening the door, "Don't go away." He winked.
Her smile widening, she nodded her head, "Promised."
Closing her eyes, she pulled the covers higher up around her and leaned back against the headboard, smiling to herself. On any other day she would have stopped him from going downstairs wearing nothing but a bathrobe.
Her eyes snapped open, trying to remember if he had put on ANYthing else other than the robe. For a second she was tempted to go after him and find out, but she couldn't. Shaking her head, she giggled at her own silliness and closed her eyes again.
She would find out once he was back.
For now, she just hoped that he had tightened his robe belt.
Author's note:
Well, that's all, folks (insert the Looney Toons melody here)
Hope you enjoyed it and you aren't too disappointed by it. My faithful beta and left hand (I would say "right hand" but as I'm left handed begin my left hand makes her more important) the great Elizabeth read it a long time ago. Acutally, I wrote chapter 3 before chapter 2, so I don't know if it lives up to the 2nd chapter. ... Anyway, I'm drifting off. The purpose of this Author's Note thingie is to answer your reviews. And THANKS AGAIN for reviewing!! It really keeps me going. :o)
Ellie, another loooong review. My, how I like them!
I am glad you liked chapter 2 so much! I just hope that your high expectations weren't disappointed this time! I like thinking of E&R as soulmates. To me they really have a special bond that we can see very seldomly but if you look closely enough you know how much they mean to each other and I try to capture that in every one of my stories. I'm glad you feel it. :o)!
I tried to remember what the room looked like and because I didn't know how well everybody else remembers it, I tried to discribe it the way I "saw" it in my head.
Oh yes, the meaningful silence... I think they really have that kind of deep understanding so they don't need as many words as I'd like to write for them.
I wanted to make them talk, but not talk about everything. So I picked the one thing that was too painfully obvious to everyone but Richard and made them talk about that. ... Of course there are a lot of other things that they should discuss, but I think they didn't. Or at least not in detail, because otherwise Richard would have been more sensitive in the episodes to come. As you read, I didn't make them talk much more, but I guess they could have talked over breakfast. In a lighter way.
Wow, this is getting as long as your review, isn't it? ... I think I really need your eMail addy so we can talk a little more ;o). But I'm thorough ... it's the German in me. 0:o)
Did you propose "Cause she likes lists" yet? ;o) ... Well, I think I'll have a lot of catching up to do once I'm back home. For now, I'm just enjoying NYC though :o).
EmilyandRichard4ever
Why don't you try yourself? You seem to have lots of ideas in your head, so try to put them down... I'd really like to read something by you ... I could help or be your beta, if you'd like.
Well, Branda, I am glad I made your busy day a little better with chapter 2! And LOL - so you had his voice in the background while reading smutt about one of his characters? My, my, THAT must have felt funny. ;o)
Hi, Ane, I miss our chats ... you seem to be online right now but "busy". I'm glad it's that kind of story for you. :o) It's so good to know that people keep reading my work ... makes me feel special. ;o)
Thanks, OldFashionedGrl, I'm glad you liked it! As I said, I wrote chapter 3 before chapter 2. Mainly because I knew "And last night..." would have to be special and long and ... well ... the way it turned out. ;o).
Gern geschehen morzsa, I'm so glad you liked it!
Goodness gracious Val!! I didn't forget you, it's just that your review was on the 2nd side and I didn't see it so ... it ... uhm ... yeah, but now I will write you too, because your review was SO NICE:oD Thank you!!
I am so glad that you like my stories so much! And that chapter 2 was to your likening. :o)
It wasn't all that hard to find a way to make Emily let Richard's smile reappear ;o).
You know Emily, of course she tried to lie first, just to win the point, but then - he sees right through her, because that's the way I imagine them to work. They don't always get each other but when they look closely they can see the truth behind the facade and that was one of the moments where it felt that it should be crystal clear.
I don't think I topped chap 2 with chap 3, but then, I didn't write them in that order either. And I think all three are too different to really be compared to one another.
Sorry I didn't post it on your bDay (happy belated birthday, by the way!! Feel hugged!) But I will gladly dedicate this chapter to you in honor or your birthday ;o).