A/N: Smut lovers rejoice! At last, your patience has been rewarded! Whoo hoo! And if you're not a smut fan, you can safely skip this chapter and not miss out on the main storyline.
This flashback sequence is integral to the plot, as you'll soon discover, so please bear with me!
This chapter is rated M for explicit sexual situations! Check out Chapter 1 for all other warnings and disclaimers.
Songs used in this chapter: The definitive Led Zeppelin song -- Kashmir from their "Physical Graffiti" album. If you've never heard it, I highly recommend you do! There's a reason it's one of Robert Plant's favorite songs. For the full multimedia experience, feel free to search YouTube.
Enjoy!
Previously ...
"God, Steven ... I've missed you so much!" she whispered into his ear.
Shifting his weight to one side, Hyde looked down at her as he began unbuttoning her blouse. "I think I might have missed you a little bit, too ... maybe ..." he teased.
"Wait, hang on a second ..." She reached up and removed his sunglasses, setting them on the ground beside the sleeping bag. "There – that's better!" she smiled. "Now tell me again how much you missed me!"
Bringing his face close so they were almost nose-to-nose, he gazed at her solemnly. "I missed you, Jacks – a lot." He barely got the words out before she began covering his face in kisses.
" ... So let me take you, take you to the movie. Can I take you, baby, to the show?
Why don't you let me be yours ever truly. Can I make your garden grow?
You know ..."
Chapter 7 - "The Tale of Kashmir"
As the opening refrain of Kashmir pulsed rhythmically in the background, Hyde's free hand traveled slowly across Jackie's stomach, finally resting on her bra. With a well-practiced flick of his index finger and thumb, the front clasp opened. In one quick motion, he whipped off his own t-shirt, aching to feel his bare skin against hers. Impatiently, the brunette wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down on top of her.
"Oh, let the sun beat down upon my face, stars to fill my dream
I am a traveler of both time and space, to be where I have been ..."
"Oh, baby ..." she sighed, and he responded with a deep kiss. His lips left a trail as he made his way down past the hollow of her neck. Pausing at her breasts, Hyde admired their perfection – small, round and pert. For a brief moment, their eyes locked as his tongue softly swirled around her right nipple before taking it into his mouth. She moaned as he suckled her breast, then gently nibbling before paying equal attention to her left. Arching her back, it was clear that his ministrations were proving effective.
" ... To sit with elders of the gentle race, this world has seldom seen
They talk of days for which they sit and wait, all will be revealed ..."
Jackie watched, mesmerized, as Steven planted small kisses down her stomach, past her belly button. Sliding a finger beneath the waistband of her Calvin Klein jeans, he raised his head and smirked. "Sooo ... which panties tonight?" It was a silly little game he invented – try to guess which panties she was wearing at any given time, just from the feel of the fabric. By now, he considered himself quite the panty connoisseur. Until now ...
"Jackie, what the ... ?" Sliding his hand even further south, a look of confusion, then realization, crossed Hyde's face. "You little minx, you're not even wearing panties!"
Now it was Jackie's turn to smirk. "Well, I figured I wouldn't be wearing them for very long anyway!"
Hyde nodded in a totally Zen fashion. "Hmm, good point!"
" ... Talk and song from tongues of lilting grace, sounds caress my ear
But not a word I heard could I relay, the story was quite clear
Woah ..."
Intent on reaching his target, Hyde's hand traveled to the top button of her designer jeans – but was met with resistance. "Steven ... wait ..." she whispered, placing her hand on top of his, impeding his progress.
"Jacks, what's wrong?" A look of confusion and disappointment clouded his face.
"Nothing, silly!" With a mischievous grin, Jackie rolled over on top of him. "It's your turn now, mister!" Pinning his hands above his head as she straddled his waist, she kissed him for what seemed like days. By the time they finally came up for air, the brunette had conceived a devious plan. Reaching into her back pocket, she waved the bandana seductively in front of him, taunting him. "You're right, Steven – this will come in handy after all!"
"No ... c'mon, Jacks!" he protested weakly. But it was no use – within seconds, she had placed the blindfold over his eyes, tying it loosely.
"Now, just lie still and be a good boy!" she whispered, kissing his forehead, his nose, his chin. Let the torture begin! she thought to herself.
As Hyde laid there, virtually blind, he was suddenly much more aware of his other senses. Every nerve ending tingled with her touch, as she moved slowly, deliberately down his neck. With feline agility, Jackie crawled down his body, her lips and tongue blazing the trail ... licking ... kissing ... sucking ... nibbling. His body shuddered as the very tips of her breasts brushed his chest, and she smiled to herself at the desired effect.
"God, Jackie ..." he moaned.
As she laid on top of him, her hips grinding enticingly into his, she couldn't help but notice his full and complete arousal. "Hmm ... what's going on down there?" she asked, feigning innocence.
"I'm not sure," he hedged, the biggest smirk ever crossing his face. "Maybe you should investigate?"
"... Oooh, baby I've been flying ..."
Sitting up, her hand rested on the waistband of his jeans before unbuttoning and unzipping them. She reached in, tentatively at first, releasing his rock-hard erection. Usually she felt too self-conscious to look at his manhood for longer than a few seconds, but tonight, with Steven blindfolded, she dared to stare. The male organ, she decided, was at once a fascinating and grotesque part of the anatomy.
"... Oooh, yeah, mama, there ain't no denyin' ..."
Holding his cock firmly in one hand, Jackie bent down and gently flicked the head with her tongue before taking it in her mouth. Slowly, she moved her hand and mouth up and down his shaft, taking it deeper with each stroke. "Oh shit ... Jacks ..." he whispered hoarsely, his hands roaming over her body, eventually finding her breast. As he tweaked her nipple with his fingers, she moaned against his manhood, sending shockwaves through his body. As the tempo increased, Hyde was quickly approaching the point of no return. "God, Jacks ... wait. Stop!" He wanted -- no, he needed -- to last much longer.
"... Oooh yeah, I've been flying ..."
Immediately, she raised up and looked at him curiously. "Baby, what's wrong? Wasn't I doing it right?"
"Ohhh, you were doing it right, alright. Maybe a little too right, if you know what I mean!"
"... Mama ain't no denyin', no denyin' ..."
Jackie glowed with a certain amount of pride. "C'mon, baby ... let's get you out of these jeans ..."
"Ha! Not before you take off yours!" Ripping off the blindfold, Hyde rolled the brunette onto her back and slowly began peeling her skintight Calvin Klein jeans off of her body. At long last, she laid naked in front of him, her skin aglow in the firelight.
"... All I see turns to brown, as the sun burns the ground ..."
"God, Jackie, you're ... you're so perfect ..." he murmured, and she blushed at the rare compliment. He made no effort to hide his obvious appreciation as he gazed at the vision before him, and it took every ounce of willpower for him not to take her right then and there.
But he was determined to make this a night to remember, a night like no other. He wanted to be sure to do things right, to make each moment last as long as possible. So he took his time, slowly and methodically kissing his way from her ankles ... to her knees ... to her inner thighs ...
"... And my eyes fill with sand, as I scan this wasted land ..."
Closing her eyes, Jackie's breathing quickened as her body responded to his touch. Her passion began to rise as his mouth moved languorously up her left thigh. Spreading her legs a bit wider, she wrapped her fingers in his curls, pulling him closer to her aching center.
"... Trying to find, trying to find where I've been ..."
As he paused in front of her entrance, Hyde studied its delicate beauty – like a pale pink rosebud slowly opening before him. Gently, his tongue began tracing soft circles around her clit before finally taking it into his mouth, lightly sucking on it.
"Oh God, Steven ... yes!" she moaned, her hips undulating ever so slightly.
"... Oh, pilot of the storm that leaves no trace, like thoughts inside a dream ..."
Licking his index finger, he carefully slid it inside of her. As he moved it slowly in and out, she became wetter with each stroke. He marveled at how perfect it was, and how much it turned him on to watch as her passion began to build. "God, Jacks ... you're so wet ..."
Her voice was but a hoarse whisper. "Steven ... don't tease me!
"... You've the map that led me to that place, yellow desert stream ..."
But he continued to stroke her while circling her clit with his tongue, sucking on it as it grew hard in his mouth before licking her salty-sweet juices from her tight slit.
"Steven ... please! I need you ... inside ..." she begged plaintively.
"... My Shangri-La beneath the summer moon, I will return again ..."
Sensing her urgency, he quickly peeled off his jeans and crawled on top of her. Wrapping her hands around his rock-hard cock, Jackie gently guided him to her entrance. As he gazed into her eyes, Hyde slowly pushed inside her. An audible gasp escaped her lips, and he knew to take things slow, at least in the beginning.
"... Sure as the dust that blows high in June, when moving through Kashmir ..."
As the orchestral strains of the song crashed over them, he pulled out of her, grazing her g-spot as he slid back inside again – deeper this time, eliciting a low moan from the tiny brunette. "God, Jacks ... I love how nice and tight you feel ..." Slowly, rhythmically in time with the music, his thrusts became stronger, more urgent. Wrapping her legs around his hips, she pulled him even deeper inside until finally, he filled her completely.
"... Oh, father of the four winds, fill my sails, across the sea of years ..."
That feeling ... all of him inside of her ... was indescribable. At that moment, she finally felt whole again. They were one, totally in sync with each another, moving together as one body. For Jackie, the experience was almost spiritual, sharing the most intimate parts of herself with the man she loved.
"... With no provision but an open face, along the straits of fear ..."
Crushing her mouth with his, their tongues intertwined as his strokes increased both in tempo and intensity. Gently, she raked her fingernails down his back before firmly grabbing his ass with both hands, urging him to push even deeper inside her.
"Yessssss ..." she hissed. "Baby, fuck me harder!"
"... When I'm on, when I'm on my way, yeah ..."
Spurred on by her encouragement, he continued driving into her – harder ... faster ... deeper. He felt her body tremble beneath him, her passion growing. As her silky-smooth walls tightened around him, he started to lose control.
"Baby ... you about ready?"
"Yes, baby ... yes!" she moaned. "Come inside me ... deep inside ..."
"... When I fear, when I think of ways to stay, yeah ..."
Their thrusts had now reached a crescendo, bringing each other to the edge of the precipice. "Steven, hold my hand!" she whispered. Lacing his fingers with hers, he pinned her arms above her head as wave after wave of pleasure washed over them, spasms so intense they could barely breathe.
"God, Jackie!" As their bodies shuddered in unison, his mouth captured hers, muffling her screams of ecstasy. Spent, Hyde collapsed on top of her.
"... Ooh, yeah-yeah, ooh, yeah-yeah, when I'm down
Ooh, yeah-yeah, ooh, yeah-yeah, when I'm down, so down
Ooh, my baby, oooh, my baby, let me take you there ..."
"I love you, Steven ..." she whispered in his ear. Without a word, he kissed her ... tenderly at first, his tongue gently probing. Everything he wanted to say, he said with that kiss. But he knew she needed to hear the words. "Jackie, I love you too ..."
"... Let me take you there ..."
It was then that he noticed a single tear slide down her cheek. "Hey, you okay?" Jackie just nodded and smiled as she ran her fingers through his curls. "I'm way more than okay, I'm ... wow!"
"Yeah, that was definitely, um ... wow! That dirty talk really turned me on!"
"You liked that, huh? It was one of the 'Top 5 Ways to Please Your Man' in the latest issue of Cosmo."
"Oh yeah? What were the other 4 ways?"
"Don't worry ... you'll find out soon enough!" she giggled and winked.
As the final strains of Kashmir blasted through the El Camino's speakers, Hyde grinned devilishly.
"You know, I don't think I'll ever hear this song in the same way ever again!"
June 8, 1979 – Grand Junction, Colorado
Taking a last sip from his beer, Hyde crumpled the can and tossed it in the pile with the others. Bone tired, he crossed over to his sleeping bag just a few steps away. He was half-tempted to throw the damn thing in the fire – it just held too many painful memories for him. But the prospect of sleeping on the bare ground had zero appeal for him, so he thought better of it. Taking off his boots, Hyde slipped inside his bedroll and fell into a fitful sleep.
May 13, 1979 – Inspiration Point
The two lovers lay coiled together in deep slumber, encased in their sleeping bag cocoon. As the first few rays of dawn dusted the eastern sky, Jackie drowsily opened her eyes, taking in the unfamiliar surroundings. Her head rested on Steven's chest as it gently rose and fell with his breathing. In a state of utter contentment, she closed her eyes and sighed. It was perhaps the happiest she had felt in a long time.
As the morning sun peeked over the horizon, Hyde began to stir, his hand moving slowly down her body before hugging her tight. "Mmmm ... morning, babe ..." he whispered, his hand tenderly cupping her breast as he kissed her forehead.
Running her fingernails lightly over his chest, she smiled. "Hey there, handsome!" Jackie cherished these rare moments with him, waking up in each other's arms. No pressure, no stress ... just her and Steven together in the hushed stillness of a new day.
For Hyde, sleeping with Jackie had almost become second nature to him. In fact, during the time of their breakup, he found it difficult to sleep on his own, he'd grown so accustomed to having her next to him in his tiny little cot.
He yawned and stretched, then wrapped himself around her once again. Though still half-asleep, his hands seemed to have a mind of their own, exploring every inch of Jackie's body. Hyde could hear her quietly purring as he lightly brushed her skin with his fingertips. It was a helluva way to wake up in the morning ...
Rolling onto her stomach, she closed her eyes, savoring his touch. "Mmmm ... Steven, let's just stay here forever, never go back ..."
"Hey, you get no argument from me ..." Hyde laid on his side, propped up on one elbow, his free hand lazily tracing figure-8's up and down her bare back.
It wasn't long before Jackie was moaning with pleasure. "Baby, that feels soooooo good ..." she whispered.
Slowly, he rolled on top of her, covering her tiny frame with his own. Brushing her hair to the side, he licked and sucked her earlobe before moving his mouth down her neck to her shoulders. He loved how her skin tasted, how it smelled, how it felt on his lips. As he traveled down her body, alternately kissing and licking, he felt her slightly quiver beneath him. Reaching the small of her back, he raised up, admiring the cute little dimples just above her ass.
And then he saw it. At first he thought he was dreaming or hallucinating, but there it was, as big as life. "Wow ... I can't believe I've never noticed this before ..."
"Noticed what?"
"These freckles on your hip."
"Okay ... first of all, Steven – they're not freckles, they're beauty marks! And secondly, it's nothing new – I've had them forever."
"Well yeah. It's just that I never noticed that they're in the exact shape of Cassiopeia!"
"Umm ... okayyyyyyy. What the hell is a Cassio-whatever?"
"Cassiopeia. It's a constellation, Jacks ... named after a very beautiful, yet very vain, queen."
"Wait, I have freckles in the shape of a queen on my hip?! Where? Show me!" She raised up, twisting to the side in order to see what he was talking about.
Hyde couldn't help but chuckle at her sudden interest in astronomy. "Well, it takes a bit of imagination, but see these freckles here?" Lightly, he traced the outline with his index finger. "It's the queen Cassiopeia sitting on her throne."
Her brow furrowed as she strained to see the pattern. "Steven, it just looks like a slanty W! How can you get a gorgeous queen out of that?"
"Hey, blame the ancient Greeks, not me! But still ... those freckles are pretty damn sexy, Jacks ..." Leaning down, he planted a gentle kiss on them.
Their lovemaking that lazy Sunday morning was unhurried, indulgent. Jackie luxuriated in his unusual attentiveness, never daring to question it. It was like starting over again, their relationship achieving a new level of intimacy. What they shared that night in front of the campfire was magical; she felt connected to him in a way she'd never experienced before. Now more than ever, she was convinced that Steven was her true soulmate.
As Hyde finished packing up their things later that morning, she stood at the edge of the lake, the waves lapping mere inches from her feet. Wrapping her arms around her for warmth, Jackie watched as fluffy white clouds moved across the sky. Before long, she felt a strong pair of hands snake around her waist. "Ready to go, babe?" he whispered low into her ear. Nodding and smiling, the tiny brunette turned, walking hand-in-hand with the love of her life.
June 9, 1979 – Grand Junction, Colorado
The next morning came far too early for Steven Hyde. Without the benefit of a tent, he was awake at the crack of dawn. Burrowing deeper into his sleeping bag, he tried desperately to get another hour or so of sleep, but it was of no use. An obnoxious blackbird had taken up residence in a tree nearby, squawking and making all sorts of racket. What the fuck? For a moment, he considered throwing a rock at the offending bird.
With effort, he climbed out of his sleeping bag and stood up, stretching the kinks out of his body. Gathering what few possessions he had with him, he began packing up the El Camino, readying himself for the trip ahead. He'd only had a few hours' sleep, but it was enough, he supposed, to get him the rest of the way to Vegas. In 7 or 8 hours, I'll be playing blackjack at Caesar's Palace!
Burkhart Mansion
Thirteen hundred miles away, Jackie wasn't faring much better. Laying on her back, she stared straight up at the ceiling, trying to find the strength to get out of bed. It had been a rough night – she tossed and turned for hours, unable to fall asleep. And when she finally nodded off, she was troubled by bizarre, nonsensical dreams.
Rolling onto her side, she checked the digital clock on her nightstand. 9:37 a.m. With a sigh, she pulled back the covers and sat up, stretching her arms above her head. Sliding her feet into her pink fuzzy slippers, she tied her robe around her waist and began making her bed. As she picked up her diary from the nightstand, she couldn't help but wonder if she'd ever be able to read it again without weeping. All of those memories, at the time so happy and full of hope, were now just too painful to contemplate.
Carrying the journal to her desk, she opened a drawer and hid it under a stack of papers for safekeeping, away from prying eyes. Her desktop was a mess, and she set to work trying to organize it – pencils and pens in the holder, paper clips in a decorative dish. In a few short minutes, her desk was clean, and she admired her accomplishment. But then, something caught her eye – something she hadn't noticed earlier. Nervously, she picked it up and began scanning its pages. "No ... no!" Pacing the floor, Jackie couldn't believe her eyes. When the truth finally sank in, she collapsed at the foot of her bed, overcome with emotion. "Dear God ... this can't be happening!"
A/N: God, I love cliffhangers, don't you? hehe. Seriously, though -- for all you smut-lovers out there, I hope this meets or exceeds your expectations.
The dialogue about Cassiopeia is a bit of nod to a cute little romcom movie, "Serendipity" starring John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale. I don't own that either, by the way!
And to everyone who's still out there reading and reviewing, I can't thank you enough! It really makes it all worthwhile.