CH 4: A New Kind of Love

With shaking hands, Maggie unfastened the final button to her blouse before allowing it to slide down over her shoulders, her pale, smooth skin almost seeming to glow within the dim lighting of the stables as she reached for the pins in her hair. Uncoiling the bun with little skill, her auburn locks came cascading down her back in ripples of silk, her eyes softening as she turned to regard her lover with a fragile smile.

Willie was at a loss for words when he saw Maggie's perfect form, his insides quivering the moment she wrapped her arms about his waist and rested her head fondly beneath his chin. Allowing hesitant hands to caress her soft skin, he then discovered that she felt very much like that of fine silk. Willie, on the other hand, had rough, almost sandpapery hands, his great fear now being that her delicate flesh would catch on his own if he wasn't careful. He didn't want to hurt her.

Ever.

Gently running a hand along the curve of Maggie's cheek, Willie placed his lips tenderly against her forehead before pulling her close against his chest. "Aw, Maggie" he breathed, "are ya sure this is whatcha want? I mean, just look atcha…you're shakin' like a leaf!"

Indeed, Maggie's being was quivering and quaking far worse than anything she had ever experienced, yet the moment she locked eyes with Willie's concerned gaze, her heart began to palpitate not from fear, but from gratitude. Linking her arms about the servant's neck, Maggie fondly nuzzled his cheek before whispering, "I don't think I'll ever be able to repay you for all that you've done for me, Willie, but at the very least I can give you tonight…"

In accordance with these words, the governess shyly unclasped her bra and allowed it to fall carelessly at her side, her hands now framing Willie's face as she leaned in and gave him a sweet and gentle kiss.

Willie groaned as he felt her tongue rove gently across his own, his arms clasping her close to him amidst their passionate desperation as he slowly lowered her down into the hay. Panting against her silken lips, the servant stroked her face as his free hand began to tentatively ascend the length of her leg, his fingers now teasing the waistband of her panties as she pulled him down for a warm and drugging kiss. Everything about Maggie's movements were slow and deliberate, including the way she'd innocently roll her hips beneath his enflamed member and make him desire her all the more.

With her name escaping his lips like a prayer, Willie kissed Maggie's eyes, nose and mouth as his trembling fingers grasped at her panties, his gaze now meeting with hers as he silently asked permission to do what he currently viewed as the unthinkable. Willie had never viewed sex as a tender act of love or the art of spiritual connection, but now that he had Maggie…

He closed his eyes. Oh God, he really did love her, didn't he? The longer he held her, the greater the fire blossomed within his heart and soul, his inner demons driving him to an inexplicable madness that was only cured by Maggie's painfully alluring touch.

When he and Maggie continued to just stare at one another in silent adoration, Willie finally broke the silence by asking what had long since been plaguing his mind. "M-Maggie" he began, his bottom lip quivering amidst his anxiety, "do ya want me to…? I-I mean, I don't wanna hurtcha or nothin', a-and I thought I could…um…"

Placing a finger over his lips, Maggie slowly shook her head before giving him an affectionate look with her eyes. "You're very sweet, Willie, but you don't have to do that for me…I'd actually prefer to experience this the way that it's meant to be experienced, no matter how painful that might be." Now taking his hand in hers, she added lowly, "And I know that this may seem very wrong and against all normal laws of propriety, but I'm so relieved that someone I trust will be the one to introduce me to something so beautiful."

Willie gave her a bemused look. "Huh? Y-ya mean you don't trust Jeff?"

Maggie appeared as if she'd been burned by his words, her tone full of hurt and desperation as she begged, "Please…let's not bring him into such a monumental moment of my life."

"B-but it's important 'cause I need ta know why-"

Hooking an arm about Willie's neck, Maggie shamelessly cut him off by devouring his lips in a fierce, demanding kiss, her free hand grasping the material of his shirt as she began to lift it over his back.

Breaking free of the kiss, Willie assisted Maggie in getting his shirt the rest of the way off, his eyes closing in sensual euphoria once she began to fan several feather-light kisses across his neck and chest. Once her hands brushed across the stitches on his back, however, he couldn't help but freeze abruptly in place, his terrified gaze meeting with Maggie's as she placed a shaking hand against his cheek and bit back her tears.

"Oh, Willie" she whispered, the tenderness in her voice causing his heart to ache, "why did you do it?" When he just stared back at her, Maggie pulled him in for a bruising kiss that screamed of her gratitude and affection, her lips soon breaking free of his in order to ghost along his shoulder as she turned her attention toward the button of his charcoal-gray trousers.

It was with an alluring gentleness that Maggie managed to remove his pants and undergarments, Willie's blue-gray eyes shining with a warm duskiness as she slid into his lap and enveloped him with yet another searing kiss. Rolling his hips impatiently beneath her clothed womanhood, Willie felt a momentary sense of pride once she released a shudder-filled moan that sent chills of want and desire flowing directly through his being.

Shakily removing her skirt and panties, Maggie kicked them off to the side before resituating herself in Willie's lap, their eyes meeting in a moment of tenderness as the servant fondly framed her face with his hands and leaned in for a quick, yet sensual kiss.

Brushing her mouth lightly against his, Maggie dug her nails into his shoulders as she began to gradually impale herself upon him, her head tossing back with a pained shout before Willie muffled her impassioned cry with his lips. Drowning amidst his heated kiss, Maggie released several pained mewls into his open mouth as the pain began to transform into that of pleasure, her tongue caressing his own as her hips swiveled about and mimicked her lover's alluring movements.

Gasping due to the thrilling, undulating jolts of passion that were continuously crashing through his veins, Willie tangled his fingers through Maggie's soft hair and forced her down onto her back. Hearing her moan her need of him, he shakily began to drive his hips forward with as much gentleness as he could muster, yet the moment Maggie begged him to go faster, he couldn't help but abandon his tenderness and thrust with the maddening need that had been plaguing him since the beginning of their coupling.

Crying out due to the sudden change of pace, Maggie wound her legs about Willie's hips and gently pleaded with him to do whatever he wished with her. She felt, after all, that by this point there was nothing that she wouldn't willingly do for him.

Feeling tears in his eyes, Willie drew Maggie in for yet another kiss so that she wouldn't see how moved he'd been by her words, a shuddering moan escaping his throat the moment he filled her with his essence and collapsed a top her heaving bosom.

"God, I love you…"

Willie froze, his head now rising from Maggie's breasts so that he could look her directly in the eye. With a fluttering excitement in his soul, he dared to inquire, "W-w-what didja just say, Maggie?"

Blushing fiercely, the governess stubbornly looked to the side so that she couldn't see his eyes, her tone almost frantic as she replied, "Nothing…I-I said nothing."

Appearing to be hurt, Willie gave a dejected 'alright' before dutifully lying back down beside her. As he drew Maggie into his arms, she felt tears of pain and confusion beginning to stream slowly down her cheeks.

'Oh, why did I do that?' she wondered, still inwardly kicking herself for the major slip-up. 'I know it's customary to want to feel love toward your first counterpart, but Willie Loomis? I don't love him – I could never love him!"

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Barnabas Collins smirked as he continued to stand before his newest slave, his voice cold and calculating as he began, "We have much to do, my friend, and although I don't tend to deviate from my plans, I have decided that I am completely willing to allow you your revenge."

Jeff gave his overseer a dazed look. "Revenge? I…I'm afraid I don't understand…"

"Don't you?" Barnabas innocently inquired. Sneering, he explained, "As we speak, your charming fiancé and my former servant are partaking in the joys of the flesh, my dear Mr. Clark. It would appear that Miss Evans isn't as pious as you once thought her to be." As these words left the vampire's lips, his eyes flashed dangerously with what could only be translated as jealousy. He was still quite miffed with Willie for having helped kill him, but the fact still remained that he also still desired Maggie Evans all for himself.

Despite the fact that Jeff's mind was slightly muddled, Barnabas' words managed to instill him with a hellish fury that burned all the way down to his fingertips. With cold eyes, he demanded, "What must I do?"

Barnabas chuckled. "Patience, my friend – good things come to those who wait."

A/N: I was clearly in a romantic mood when I wrote this since I've never really written 'tender' love scenes before, but I figured it was more fitting than my typical 'strip-and-screw' style. Forgive me if that was a tad crude, heh. I guess it was because I watched "Beauty & the Beast" today, and that's all sweet and romantic, so voila, this now is, too. lol But anywhos, your precious Barnabas is back, and with him comes trouble! Poor Willie and Maggie…their lives suck so bad. :-P