There was not enough air in order for her to breath. Her skin was hot under her own finger tips, drenched with sweat, drenched in a type of aroma that she wished she could bottle up so she could keep it forever. Her hands, trembling so bad nothing in her grasp could be held. It would end up broken or shattered. She needed air, she had to have air, but it wasn't going to come to her any time soon.
She could feel her body starting to shake, chilled by the sudden air blowing near her, and chilled by the lack of warmth near by. She was glad there was a pillow nearby, allowing her to scream into it, a moan would be too juvenile. She curled her fingers into dark hair, hair she brushed, hair she kissed, hair she sighed into. She tossed her head back, wincing in pain as she hit the headboard of her bed. She gasped at the sudden pain in her head and then the warmth the erupted.
Will kissed Karen's stomach as he climbed up over her, kissing parts of her as he went, finally settling on her side, kissing her lips. Her buried his hand in her hair, bringing her face closer to his, kissing her harder, and slipping his tongue into her mouth. He rolled over onto his back, forcing her to straddle him. Their hands entwined above their heads. He bit back a groan as she lifted her hips to his, skin against skin; he drove her crazy.
She could feel when her body defied her and let all her inhibitions go. Her fingers buried themselves in Will's hair, tugging it, making him groan. And then she buried them into the pillows above her head, not being able to twist and turn. Screaming was out of the picture, given that it was early in the morning, and their very perceptive child was on the other side of the wall. The last time she screamed Aurora came running in to make sure they were okay. Will was quick enough to cover them to hide everything from her.
Will collapsed next to her, drinking in the scent of her hair, strawberries and at the moment, sex. Her skin tasted like salt and the sweetness that made her her. It drove him crazy, to put it simply. His fingers danced across her stomach and stayed there, knowing anywhere else he put his hands they would get shoved away. Placing a deep kiss to her lips, he dragged a finger down her cheek, framing her face with his hand.
"That was amazing." He said. Karen smiled and buried her face in his neck. It was odd, she never really liked to cuddle post sex and yet here she was barely an inch apart from him, reveling in the warmth.
"What time is it?" She questioned, hoping to get a few moments of shuteye before Aurora came running in declaring everyone had to wake up. Particularly if it was at six or seven in the morning on a Saturday.
"Five." Will said, rolling onto his back, pulling Karen with him; her head used his shoulder as a pillow.
" She'll be in here soon." Karen moaned.
"Sleep."Will demanded. "I'll be awake."
It was their trick from getting Aurora to wake them up. Will or Karen would be sitting up in bed, working, doing something when Aurora came in, disappointing the five year old when she came in. Today was a special day for Aurora, since it was her birthday, but a sad day because Mommy had to go in front of a bunch of people and talk about a man that both of her parents wanted nothing to do with.
Will heard the rustling of the sheets in the room next to his, and braced himself for the door banging open. But it didn't. Instead Aurora opened the door quietly and stuck her head in. Will smiled at the sight of the brown haired girl raising her eyebrows the way her mother did when she wanted to know if her being there was okay. Will nodded and Aurora, like a bullet, made her way into the room, leaping on to the bed on Karen's side.
Aurora gasped at Karen's groan and quickly crawled into Will's lap, looking at him with wide eyes, surprised and apologetic. Will placed a finger over his mouth indicating she had to be quiet and the little girl nodded.
"Happy Birthday," He whispered. Aurora smiled and clapped her hands, gasping again when Karen shifted. "Go get your doll and I'll meet you downstairs."
Aurora nodded and leapt off the bed, running to the open door. Will leaned over and pulled on a pair of pants, before rolling over to Karen, kissing her head.
"What?" She moaned. "What time is it?"
"7:30" Will told her. "She decided to wait this year."
"She's already been here?" She asked, her eyes snapping open at the realization she hadn't seen Aurora. Will nodded. Cursing Karen slipped on her nightgown from off the floor, and slipped a robe over it when she saw the tear in the fabric. "You need to be more delicate with these things,"
"I didn't see you protesting at the time," Karen rolled her eyes and kissed him quickly before leaving their bedroom and entered her daughters.
Aurora was sitting on the floor of her bedroom wearing a pair of jeans, a top that was buttoned up wrong and her wavy hair was askew. Karen couldn't help but laugh at the picture. Aurora looked bored playing with her doll, one she had gotten as an early birthday present. Karen shook her head and quietly made her way into the room, crouching down behind the girl.
"We can get you a new doll," Karen stated. Aurora spun around, her eyes wide, surprised and the look melted when a smile spread across her face. Aurora threw her arms around Karen's neck.
"I didn't mean to wake you up," Aurora said quickly, making it all into one word. Karen laughed and smoothed out her hair, attempting to tame the wildness.
"It's okay honey. Mommy was awake anyway." She smiled. "What happened with these buttons?"
"I did them all by myself," Aurora said proudly. "I did them wrong, didn't I?"
Karen nodded. "But don't worry. Practice makes perfect." Karen quickly and efficiently re-did the buttons on the girls blouse. "Now what should we do with your hair? A ponytail?"
"Braids?"
"French?" Aurora nodded her head with a smile attached to her face. "Alright then. French braids it is."
Karen paced in the hallway outside the courtroom. Her heels hit the marble floor in a steady pace. She had just given her testimony about Stanley Walker. About the embezzlement charges, about her relation with him, why she left and said nothing; she thought of her daughter as she spoke, remembering the morning and how cute Aurora looked with her French braided hair and her outfit. Marilyn took her out to lunch for her birthday while Karen and Will went to the courthouse. Now Karen waited for Will to come out and tell her what happened. Either Stan was going to walk away a free man or stay in prison.
People started to leave the room, not matching Karen's eyes as they passed her. After what she said in the courtroom, Karen wouldn't want to look at herself either. She set herself up, with the questions Stan's lawyer asked, to look like a whore, some money-digging woman who did nothing unless it involved money. Bu that wasn't who she was, at least not anymore. Not when she got screwed into a marriage that meant nothing.
"Kare-" She stopped and turned at the sound of her name to see Will walking towards her. His hands were shoved in his pocket, his face straight, she couldn't tell what was going through his mind.
"What happened?"
"Found not guilty on all but one." She shook her head, sighing and running a hand through her hair. "He's getting three years, probably out in about two, two and a half."
"Damn."
"I know." He said, taking her hand in his, kissing the side of her head. "Let's go celebrate your birthday."
"My birthday stopped being celebrated when Aurora was born."
"I guess there won't be any more morning birthday sex."
She faked a wounded gasp and placed a hand over her heart. She dropped it and looked at him with a sly look. "Maybe for you."
He nudged her and she laughed, allowing him to lead her out of the building and down the stone steps. Being January, and the chill caused her to lean into Will, reveling in his warmth. He led her to the town car that was parked around the corner. She climbed in followed by Will and immediately kicked off her shoes. Two years was two years Stanley Walker was going to be out of their life. She could deal with that. But what was to come afterwards, was something she couldn't deal with.
