Disclaimer: I don't own FY or any of the characters, but I do own Tansho
and all the other people of the Black Dove.
Chapter 7 The Promise of Fire
He shifts against me again, and my insides move at the burning contact. I hear an uncomfortable noise escape his lips. I wonder what is wrong, then I feel the thick fabric of his coat on the inside of my thighs, and I realize that I have wrapped my legs around his waist. It is out of habit on my part, perhaps it is instinct by now.
It pleases me--the way he is. One moment he can be pressed agaisnt me, running his lips over my body as if it were the most natural thing to do; then he can be paralyzed by mere contact with my body. He is unpredictable, and I find myself arroused by it.
I smile in the darkness, and I know that he sees. I take my hand from his mouth, but not completely. I keep contact with my forefinger, running it slowly over the smoothness of his lips. He reacts shyly, averting his eyes and moving his face from mine, diminshing the contact I had with his mouth. His eyes are only a few inches from mine, and no matter how hard he tries to hide himself, I will be able to see him.
I squeeze my thighs tighter, trapping him between my legs. He gasps as I move my knees higher up his body, past his waist and to his sides. I slowly and carefully place a finger on his mouth again, hoping he won't move away from it. When he doesn't, I press my finger harder agaisnt his lips, parting them gently. My fingertip trails silently over the moisture of his clenched teeth. I slowly work it farther into his mouth to rub one of his little fangs, remembering when I was in his lap that first time, both of my hands literally shoved into his mouth. My own lips part in a sly grin of amusement at the memory; one that will never leave me.
When I am sure that he is becoming more and more relaxed by my touch, I awaken my other hand and move it firmly over his shoulder to his back, pressing it gently into the curve his spine. I run my fingertips over the valleys on either side of his backbone, feeling his muscles clench and relax under my hands.
Suddenly, he begins to move. His arms are no longer quiet at our sides, they are next to my head, supporting his body over me, keeping him from crushing me. One dissapears from my veiw, and then I feel the heat of his palm pressed to my ribs. He pulls my body up, off the bed, to meet his. He slips his hand beneath me to keep me from pulling away. I remove my hand from his mouth and wrap it firmly around his neck to support myself.
I am so tempted to kiss him. I could do it now, for there is nothing but air between our mouths. But I don't. I just look at him and laugh out loud at how serious he looks.
"What's so funny?" he asks, speaking to me for the first time since he came to my bed. His hold on my back weakens noticeably, showing his discomfort at my reaction. His eyebrows meet.
I place my hands on his face to reassure him, gently tracing his lips with my thumbs.
"Don't look so sad and serious," I answer, smiling sweetly. I press my cheek to his and kiss his earlobe. His body shivers slightly and he sucks in a mouthful of air. I then feel his hold on me strengthen, as if the contact could stop his convulsions.
"Why do you do that?" he asks almost breathlessly when I look at him again.
I kiss his ear again, causing the shivers to instantly return. I grin into his warm shoulder. "That's why," I answer. I don't know if he smiles or frowns, for I am already untangling myself from him. He must leave now. The other women will return soon.
"You should leave," I say, gently working my body out from beneath his. I am sorry to leave his warmth behind on my bed, but I know that it is better for him to go.
"Leave?" he asks, moving to his side so that I can get up more easily.
I see that his hands have been at work without my noticing; the sash of my gown is hanging loose. I pull it tight and re-tie it, wondering if it really was him or our moving around that undid it. I give him an accusing look anyway, curling a corner of my lip upward in a smirk.
"They'll come back in a while. And Shingen will call all of us down soon," I say.
He pauses while his eyes roam over me. Casting his gaze to the ground he rolls off the other side of the bed and comes around the foot to where I am standing. He straightens his clothes, smoothing his black overcoat over his body. He seems disappointed at my interuption, but I say nothing about it. I notice his sheath lying in the chair he slept in the night before. I pick it up by the golden strap and study it over rather quickly before holding it towards him. I'm disappointed that I'm still unable to discern what type of weapon he carries.
"I don't think you want to leave this behind," I reply, holding it further out to him. He reaches to take it, but I pull it to my chest just as his fingers graze the golden strap. His eyes question me, but not fiercely.
"I'll give it to you on one condition," I say, taking small steps toward him as I so love to do, "If you promise to come back tonight...I'll give it to you...."
He smiles at me unexpectedly, letting his fangs gleam like a wolf's. I am glad that he realizes that I mean not to part from him perminantly. "I promise," he says without hesitation. I hand it out to him again, and he takes it. I feel his fingers stroke mine as I hand over the strange object he protects so well. I know that I have awakened this man. Perhaps I will be the first woman he doesn't hate. Perhaps I have cured him of his hatred toward my gender.
"See you tonight then," I reply, cocking my head to the side and giving him yet another smile.
He turns and leaves quickly, heeding my warning about Shingen and the other women. He is gone now, but his warmth has saturated the air of my room. And I know that it will never leave.
**************************************************************************** ***************************
I wait for him tonight as I have waited before, but there is something different now. I have his promise that he will come, and that changes everything that I have ever known in this place. A man has never promised to come to me. That is just not the way things work in a brothel, and I am aware of it.
I find myself walking differently among the men in the tavern as I wait. I keep distance between myself and my customers when Shingen's eyes are elsewhere; but when he looks, I step closer to them, though not as close as the other nights. I no longer look in their eyes to entice them to come upstairs with me. I no longer touch them so boldly. But I must touch them somewhat, and I must speak to them. And, ultimately, I know that I will be forced to look in their eyes when they are pressed above my body, or being stradled by my thighs. But not right now. Right now, I am waiting for a promise to be fulfilled.
I am relieved when he finally comes and seats himself at a table close to where I roam. He is alone, and I want to think that I know why. He understands his own need of solitude in order to be comfortable around me. I retreat to the back to fetch a pitcher of sake for him. I shrug my gown off my shoulders and release my dark hair from the ribbons that bound it in two buns atop my head. I feel its coolness blanket my bare shoulders as I walk to his table, pitcher and cups in hand.
His eyes are wandering as I quietly place my burden at the edge of the table and sneak behind him. I cup my palm on the back of his neck, feeling the heat meet the coolness. He jumps at the sudden contact, and I laugh.
"Now, now," I reply, "Don't get jumpy." He smiles at me, remembering the words from before.
I slide my fingers up into his hair, ruffling it deliberately. After seeing the unamused expression on his face, I slide into the chair across from him, but scoot it closer under concealment as I adjust my gown over my legs. I feel a need to be close to him. He seems to notice, but only reaches for the sake' and pours some in a cup, which he then hands to me. I take it, but wait until he pours some for himself before drinking.
"Here's to promise-keepers," I say as I lift my cup and drain it. He seems surprised at the easy empty on my part and his eyes show it.
"Oh!" I laugh, "Don't tell me you've never known a woman to like a cup of sake'!"
"Only a few," he answers, "But none so proud as you." I smile at his comment and refill my cup.
Our speech cannot run long without interuption, for I must get up every so often to serve customers more food and drink, or else face Shingen. I soon find that I must do my duties as a harlot as well, for my customers soon find only boredom in their sake' and talk. I go and come from the rooms upstairs many more times than I would like to in a single night, and I see Tasuki's eyes avert from me each time I return. I frown, but say nothing. I only restart our conversation as smoothly as we both will allow, and soon the sake' has drowned out the tension from our voices and actions. But even though the smoothness has returned to our words, I wonder if it truly does bother him, my leaving to be with other men. Paying men; my customers.
His eyes never relax, even though the night begins to run long and pitchers of sake' come and go from the back of the tavern more frequently than when he first arrived. I cannot feel tension; the emotion radiating from him is more like nervousness. But his actions are anything but nervous.
I laugh with him, something that I have faked with many men before. But I find that this laughter is pure, and the realization makes me even more entoxicated. And I laugh harder.
"Forgive me, Master Tasuki," I laugh, "But I do believe that I am drunk."
He chuckles along with me for a moment, then quiets. "You don't have to call me that, ya' know."
My giggling stops as I look up to meet his eyes. "What? 'Master'?"
"No," he answers, shaking his head, causing his red and orange hair to flail, " I mean 'Tasuki' ."
My eyes narrow in confusion, the sake' bottle poised in the air over my empty cup. I refrain from refilling and set the pitcher down. " 'Tasuki' ?" I reply, my voice drowned in questioning, "But isn't that your name?"
"Actually...no, it's not," he answers. Then I see the expression on his smooth face change as he rethinks his answer. "Well, yes...here, it's my name. But where I'm from, I'm called by another name."
"Oh," I reply, "Well, what is you true name then?"
"Genro."
"Genro," I repeat. I like the sound of that name, but it doesn't seem like a given name from parents; more like a nickname. But I say none of this. "And you say that you aren't from the capital? Where, then?"
"The Koshu Taito province," he replies, "I was born at the foot of Mount Reikaku."
My breath stops for a moment, and I pray that he doesn't see. My mind is instantly and unexpectadley flooded with images of my home. My parent's house. My sister. My brothers. My mother and father. I remember the mountain. We lived in a small city at its base, and I could see it from our garden. All of these images berate my head mercilessly without warning, and I begin to panic inside. I seal my lips with my fingers to keep from crying out. I set the empty cup down on the rough, wooden table, and press all ten of my fingers to my mouth. I pray again and again that Tasuki is too drunk to see my reaction, but I know that it is too obvious, and I feel like a fool yet again.
"Tansho?"
I cannot see the tavern, him, or even my own hands in front of my face. I see my mother's body and I feel the heavy weight of my brother in my arms. I hear the weeping of my younger siblings and I see the cold, hurt stare of my father.
I feel sudden warmth on my hands, and instinct tells me to recoil. I feel Tasuki's fingers release mine as I pull away with a quick jerk of my body.
I see my sister and brothers lined up like dolls, all looking at me. My youngest brother hangs onto his only remaining sister as I move farther and farther away from them. They weep, but I do not know if my father does. His head is lying in his hands, hiding his guilty eyes from me.
I open my eyes, and I see light and hear the drunken sounds of men and the shrill laughs of the other whores.
"Tansho?" I hear Tasuki repeat, "Are you sick?"
I glance down and see that his hand is over both of mine, patting them and trying to pull them away from my lips to try to wake me up. I look straight ahead and see his eyes staring at me, worry flooding the strange greenish gold of his irises. I slowly pull my hand from his grasp again, and rub my temples to dissolve the images in my mind. I sigh in relief when they are gone, but my heart cries out as the memories are ripped open like scabbed over wounds.
"Damn it," I whisper.
"What's wrong?" Tasuki asks. But I only shake my head, and feel my mind sramble for an excuse.
"Headache," I quickly lie.
So what's the deal with Tansho's flashback? Just to warn you ahead of time, its not explained until quite a while later on in the story, so don't forget about it, OK?
Replies to reviewers:
Faeriesinger: Thank you so much!
Emerin Mornlight: Hee hee, well if he didn't sleep heavy, what fun would that scene be? ^_^
frenchiecangal: Oops! Sorry 'bout that! I didn't mean to assume! *does a little bow* Please do forgive! ^_^ As for my upcoming trip, I just hope I can help my parents pay for the thing! It's going to cost them nearly $1400!!! *faints and falls to the floor*
RyogazGal: Yes, Tansho's past will be revealed in depth in later chapters (though it will be in MUCH later chapters and will require quite a bit of a wait). Sorry. And, yes to your other comment...Tansho is still very unsure of herself even if she appears to have control. But things will work in her favor very soon.
shadow priestess: Yep, very confused Tansho *sniff*
Jenesis Dark: You know, when I first started writing this fic, I had no idea how unliked Mary Sue's were (I had no idea that was the name for 'em) All I knew was that I didn't like them too much myself and was going to be damned before I wrote about one. But like I told an earlier reviewer, I've had a bunch of practice with OC's and also with first person (I think I've only written one story without using the first person). So I was confident that Tansho would turn out like I hoped she would. I'm glad to know that she did! ^_^
Adriana1210: *glomps onto Adriana and has to be pulled off by force* Oh, I'm so happy you're back! You have no idea how much I've missed your great reviews. You've always been so honest with me, and also very insightful and to-the-point. I have a great respect for you and am thrilled that you're reading again! And I'm very honored to be one of the few authors you admire *blushes* Thank you so much, and thanks for giving my fic another chance. As for your comment on Nuriko and his little outburst, I respect all opinions of my reviewers and never try to debate them. Although I would admit (now that I really think about it) that it was a bit OCC on his part. And yes, I decided for the sake of myself and my readers to edit my chapters to comform to the "R" rating (even though some friends of mine prefer that I keep the lemon scenes the same). It's hard for an author to please all of her readers, but I do and will try my very best.
P.S. to you Adriana...would you mind if I e-mailed you privately? I have a question to ask that I would prefer not to post on FF.
To all my reviewers...a big hug and big THANKS!!!!
Chapter 7 The Promise of Fire
He shifts against me again, and my insides move at the burning contact. I hear an uncomfortable noise escape his lips. I wonder what is wrong, then I feel the thick fabric of his coat on the inside of my thighs, and I realize that I have wrapped my legs around his waist. It is out of habit on my part, perhaps it is instinct by now.
It pleases me--the way he is. One moment he can be pressed agaisnt me, running his lips over my body as if it were the most natural thing to do; then he can be paralyzed by mere contact with my body. He is unpredictable, and I find myself arroused by it.
I smile in the darkness, and I know that he sees. I take my hand from his mouth, but not completely. I keep contact with my forefinger, running it slowly over the smoothness of his lips. He reacts shyly, averting his eyes and moving his face from mine, diminshing the contact I had with his mouth. His eyes are only a few inches from mine, and no matter how hard he tries to hide himself, I will be able to see him.
I squeeze my thighs tighter, trapping him between my legs. He gasps as I move my knees higher up his body, past his waist and to his sides. I slowly and carefully place a finger on his mouth again, hoping he won't move away from it. When he doesn't, I press my finger harder agaisnt his lips, parting them gently. My fingertip trails silently over the moisture of his clenched teeth. I slowly work it farther into his mouth to rub one of his little fangs, remembering when I was in his lap that first time, both of my hands literally shoved into his mouth. My own lips part in a sly grin of amusement at the memory; one that will never leave me.
When I am sure that he is becoming more and more relaxed by my touch, I awaken my other hand and move it firmly over his shoulder to his back, pressing it gently into the curve his spine. I run my fingertips over the valleys on either side of his backbone, feeling his muscles clench and relax under my hands.
Suddenly, he begins to move. His arms are no longer quiet at our sides, they are next to my head, supporting his body over me, keeping him from crushing me. One dissapears from my veiw, and then I feel the heat of his palm pressed to my ribs. He pulls my body up, off the bed, to meet his. He slips his hand beneath me to keep me from pulling away. I remove my hand from his mouth and wrap it firmly around his neck to support myself.
I am so tempted to kiss him. I could do it now, for there is nothing but air between our mouths. But I don't. I just look at him and laugh out loud at how serious he looks.
"What's so funny?" he asks, speaking to me for the first time since he came to my bed. His hold on my back weakens noticeably, showing his discomfort at my reaction. His eyebrows meet.
I place my hands on his face to reassure him, gently tracing his lips with my thumbs.
"Don't look so sad and serious," I answer, smiling sweetly. I press my cheek to his and kiss his earlobe. His body shivers slightly and he sucks in a mouthful of air. I then feel his hold on me strengthen, as if the contact could stop his convulsions.
"Why do you do that?" he asks almost breathlessly when I look at him again.
I kiss his ear again, causing the shivers to instantly return. I grin into his warm shoulder. "That's why," I answer. I don't know if he smiles or frowns, for I am already untangling myself from him. He must leave now. The other women will return soon.
"You should leave," I say, gently working my body out from beneath his. I am sorry to leave his warmth behind on my bed, but I know that it is better for him to go.
"Leave?" he asks, moving to his side so that I can get up more easily.
I see that his hands have been at work without my noticing; the sash of my gown is hanging loose. I pull it tight and re-tie it, wondering if it really was him or our moving around that undid it. I give him an accusing look anyway, curling a corner of my lip upward in a smirk.
"They'll come back in a while. And Shingen will call all of us down soon," I say.
He pauses while his eyes roam over me. Casting his gaze to the ground he rolls off the other side of the bed and comes around the foot to where I am standing. He straightens his clothes, smoothing his black overcoat over his body. He seems disappointed at my interuption, but I say nothing about it. I notice his sheath lying in the chair he slept in the night before. I pick it up by the golden strap and study it over rather quickly before holding it towards him. I'm disappointed that I'm still unable to discern what type of weapon he carries.
"I don't think you want to leave this behind," I reply, holding it further out to him. He reaches to take it, but I pull it to my chest just as his fingers graze the golden strap. His eyes question me, but not fiercely.
"I'll give it to you on one condition," I say, taking small steps toward him as I so love to do, "If you promise to come back tonight...I'll give it to you...."
He smiles at me unexpectedly, letting his fangs gleam like a wolf's. I am glad that he realizes that I mean not to part from him perminantly. "I promise," he says without hesitation. I hand it out to him again, and he takes it. I feel his fingers stroke mine as I hand over the strange object he protects so well. I know that I have awakened this man. Perhaps I will be the first woman he doesn't hate. Perhaps I have cured him of his hatred toward my gender.
"See you tonight then," I reply, cocking my head to the side and giving him yet another smile.
He turns and leaves quickly, heeding my warning about Shingen and the other women. He is gone now, but his warmth has saturated the air of my room. And I know that it will never leave.
**************************************************************************** ***************************
I wait for him tonight as I have waited before, but there is something different now. I have his promise that he will come, and that changes everything that I have ever known in this place. A man has never promised to come to me. That is just not the way things work in a brothel, and I am aware of it.
I find myself walking differently among the men in the tavern as I wait. I keep distance between myself and my customers when Shingen's eyes are elsewhere; but when he looks, I step closer to them, though not as close as the other nights. I no longer look in their eyes to entice them to come upstairs with me. I no longer touch them so boldly. But I must touch them somewhat, and I must speak to them. And, ultimately, I know that I will be forced to look in their eyes when they are pressed above my body, or being stradled by my thighs. But not right now. Right now, I am waiting for a promise to be fulfilled.
I am relieved when he finally comes and seats himself at a table close to where I roam. He is alone, and I want to think that I know why. He understands his own need of solitude in order to be comfortable around me. I retreat to the back to fetch a pitcher of sake for him. I shrug my gown off my shoulders and release my dark hair from the ribbons that bound it in two buns atop my head. I feel its coolness blanket my bare shoulders as I walk to his table, pitcher and cups in hand.
His eyes are wandering as I quietly place my burden at the edge of the table and sneak behind him. I cup my palm on the back of his neck, feeling the heat meet the coolness. He jumps at the sudden contact, and I laugh.
"Now, now," I reply, "Don't get jumpy." He smiles at me, remembering the words from before.
I slide my fingers up into his hair, ruffling it deliberately. After seeing the unamused expression on his face, I slide into the chair across from him, but scoot it closer under concealment as I adjust my gown over my legs. I feel a need to be close to him. He seems to notice, but only reaches for the sake' and pours some in a cup, which he then hands to me. I take it, but wait until he pours some for himself before drinking.
"Here's to promise-keepers," I say as I lift my cup and drain it. He seems surprised at the easy empty on my part and his eyes show it.
"Oh!" I laugh, "Don't tell me you've never known a woman to like a cup of sake'!"
"Only a few," he answers, "But none so proud as you." I smile at his comment and refill my cup.
Our speech cannot run long without interuption, for I must get up every so often to serve customers more food and drink, or else face Shingen. I soon find that I must do my duties as a harlot as well, for my customers soon find only boredom in their sake' and talk. I go and come from the rooms upstairs many more times than I would like to in a single night, and I see Tasuki's eyes avert from me each time I return. I frown, but say nothing. I only restart our conversation as smoothly as we both will allow, and soon the sake' has drowned out the tension from our voices and actions. But even though the smoothness has returned to our words, I wonder if it truly does bother him, my leaving to be with other men. Paying men; my customers.
His eyes never relax, even though the night begins to run long and pitchers of sake' come and go from the back of the tavern more frequently than when he first arrived. I cannot feel tension; the emotion radiating from him is more like nervousness. But his actions are anything but nervous.
I laugh with him, something that I have faked with many men before. But I find that this laughter is pure, and the realization makes me even more entoxicated. And I laugh harder.
"Forgive me, Master Tasuki," I laugh, "But I do believe that I am drunk."
He chuckles along with me for a moment, then quiets. "You don't have to call me that, ya' know."
My giggling stops as I look up to meet his eyes. "What? 'Master'?"
"No," he answers, shaking his head, causing his red and orange hair to flail, " I mean 'Tasuki' ."
My eyes narrow in confusion, the sake' bottle poised in the air over my empty cup. I refrain from refilling and set the pitcher down. " 'Tasuki' ?" I reply, my voice drowned in questioning, "But isn't that your name?"
"Actually...no, it's not," he answers. Then I see the expression on his smooth face change as he rethinks his answer. "Well, yes...here, it's my name. But where I'm from, I'm called by another name."
"Oh," I reply, "Well, what is you true name then?"
"Genro."
"Genro," I repeat. I like the sound of that name, but it doesn't seem like a given name from parents; more like a nickname. But I say none of this. "And you say that you aren't from the capital? Where, then?"
"The Koshu Taito province," he replies, "I was born at the foot of Mount Reikaku."
My breath stops for a moment, and I pray that he doesn't see. My mind is instantly and unexpectadley flooded with images of my home. My parent's house. My sister. My brothers. My mother and father. I remember the mountain. We lived in a small city at its base, and I could see it from our garden. All of these images berate my head mercilessly without warning, and I begin to panic inside. I seal my lips with my fingers to keep from crying out. I set the empty cup down on the rough, wooden table, and press all ten of my fingers to my mouth. I pray again and again that Tasuki is too drunk to see my reaction, but I know that it is too obvious, and I feel like a fool yet again.
"Tansho?"
I cannot see the tavern, him, or even my own hands in front of my face. I see my mother's body and I feel the heavy weight of my brother in my arms. I hear the weeping of my younger siblings and I see the cold, hurt stare of my father.
I feel sudden warmth on my hands, and instinct tells me to recoil. I feel Tasuki's fingers release mine as I pull away with a quick jerk of my body.
I see my sister and brothers lined up like dolls, all looking at me. My youngest brother hangs onto his only remaining sister as I move farther and farther away from them. They weep, but I do not know if my father does. His head is lying in his hands, hiding his guilty eyes from me.
I open my eyes, and I see light and hear the drunken sounds of men and the shrill laughs of the other whores.
"Tansho?" I hear Tasuki repeat, "Are you sick?"
I glance down and see that his hand is over both of mine, patting them and trying to pull them away from my lips to try to wake me up. I look straight ahead and see his eyes staring at me, worry flooding the strange greenish gold of his irises. I slowly pull my hand from his grasp again, and rub my temples to dissolve the images in my mind. I sigh in relief when they are gone, but my heart cries out as the memories are ripped open like scabbed over wounds.
"Damn it," I whisper.
"What's wrong?" Tasuki asks. But I only shake my head, and feel my mind sramble for an excuse.
"Headache," I quickly lie.
So what's the deal with Tansho's flashback? Just to warn you ahead of time, its not explained until quite a while later on in the story, so don't forget about it, OK?
Replies to reviewers:
Faeriesinger: Thank you so much!
Emerin Mornlight: Hee hee, well if he didn't sleep heavy, what fun would that scene be? ^_^
frenchiecangal: Oops! Sorry 'bout that! I didn't mean to assume! *does a little bow* Please do forgive! ^_^ As for my upcoming trip, I just hope I can help my parents pay for the thing! It's going to cost them nearly $1400!!! *faints and falls to the floor*
RyogazGal: Yes, Tansho's past will be revealed in depth in later chapters (though it will be in MUCH later chapters and will require quite a bit of a wait). Sorry. And, yes to your other comment...Tansho is still very unsure of herself even if she appears to have control. But things will work in her favor very soon.
shadow priestess: Yep, very confused Tansho *sniff*
Jenesis Dark: You know, when I first started writing this fic, I had no idea how unliked Mary Sue's were (I had no idea that was the name for 'em) All I knew was that I didn't like them too much myself and was going to be damned before I wrote about one. But like I told an earlier reviewer, I've had a bunch of practice with OC's and also with first person (I think I've only written one story without using the first person). So I was confident that Tansho would turn out like I hoped she would. I'm glad to know that she did! ^_^
Adriana1210: *glomps onto Adriana and has to be pulled off by force* Oh, I'm so happy you're back! You have no idea how much I've missed your great reviews. You've always been so honest with me, and also very insightful and to-the-point. I have a great respect for you and am thrilled that you're reading again! And I'm very honored to be one of the few authors you admire *blushes* Thank you so much, and thanks for giving my fic another chance. As for your comment on Nuriko and his little outburst, I respect all opinions of my reviewers and never try to debate them. Although I would admit (now that I really think about it) that it was a bit OCC on his part. And yes, I decided for the sake of myself and my readers to edit my chapters to comform to the "R" rating (even though some friends of mine prefer that I keep the lemon scenes the same). It's hard for an author to please all of her readers, but I do and will try my very best.
P.S. to you Adriana...would you mind if I e-mailed you privately? I have a question to ask that I would prefer not to post on FF.
To all my reviewers...a big hug and big THANKS!!!!
