Clarisse awoke to the gentle sound of her husband's voice giving her words of reassurance while he gently caressed her back. She realized that she was laying atop her husband in their tub and that she had been crying. She sat up and Joseph's hands immediately moved to her neck, his thumbs caressing her cheeks wiping away her tears. He ever so gently brought his lips to hers and gave her the most tender of kisses she had received from him. He pulled back and gently asked, "Are you alright? You left me for a moment."
All Clarisse could do was gently nod and lean back to her husband for another kiss. How could she ever explain to him the depths to which he had touched her tonight? Even now, she could still feel his voice inside her, declaring his love. She pulled back from him and could see another question arising in his eyes. "Just hold me," was her way of answering any question he may have had. He granted her request and pulled her tight against him. He resumed his gentle caressing of her back. After several minutes she realized that the bath water was getting very cold. She must have blacked out for more than a 'moment' as Joseph had said. "Would you mind if we moved to the bed?" she whispered. By way of an answer, she head the tub suddenly begin to drain. She attempted to stand up, but her legs seemed to fail her.
With a smile from Joseph, he gently extracted himself from his wife, dried himself off with a towel, and then secured a towel for her. Again she attempted to stand, but found it difficult. He smiled at her predicament. He gently toweled her dry and picked her up from the tub, and carried her to their bed. He returned to the bathroom, blew out the candles, and returned to find her underneath the covers waiting for him. He crawled into bed with her, where she immediately draped herself across his chest, to which he immediately whispered 'my love.' This brought tears to her eyes again. Fearing that something was wrong with his wife, he voiced the question he had asked earlier. "My love, are you alright?"
"Oh Joseph. Do you know what you did to me this evening?" A chuckle arose from the chest she was laying upon. She looked up into his eyes. "You touched my soul." The humor fled from his gaze and was replaced by love and curiosity. She continued, "I've never felt this way before in my life. I feel as though you have caressed every fiber of my being tonight. That there has been a void in me that I never knew existed, and your love has filled every empty crevice in me. I never thought it possible to love you more, but now I find it impossible to love you any less than this new height. I…"
She was silenced by the gentle pressure of his lips to hers. His kiss was tender, conveying his love to her in the simplest fashion possible, and yet it was what she needed. His hands moved to her hair, gently pulling her tighter to him. She complied, and moved closer by straddling him. The continued to kiss each other, both content to let their oral link be their only means of communication. Eventually fatigue of the days events claimed her, and the last thing she heard that evening was her husband's delicate whisper, "sleep ma belle, I will hold you."
A/N: There will be a bath scene at some point, but my muse surprised me with a more G rated chapter this morning. No worries, many more ideas pop into my head hourly.