Will's Point of View

We'd sat up until the wee hours of the morning, just talking and holding each other until she had fallen asleep. I still found it hard to believe that the woman I loved - who loved me - was cradled in my arms. I knew that neither of us would be well rested if we stayed on the sofa, so I gently lifted her and carried her up the stairs. I seriously debated whether or not to climb into bed beside her, but I didn't want to make her nervous in any way. If telling me she loved me had gotten her that worked up, I didn't want to freak her out anymore by having her wake up beside me.

But she had said it - more than once. She loved me.

I awoke rejuvenated and refreshed, and could hear the clamor of pots and pans coming from the kitchen below. I didn't bother reaching for my shirt as I rushed to the door and hurried down the steps. I stood in the living room and watched her for a little while. She was still wearing my clothes - an image I had often imagined before; however, my imagination had not done her justice. My pants were way too long, so she'd rolled them up at the waist, and had knotted my shirt to the side with a hair elastic. Occasionally she'd lift her arms, and I would get to view a small sliver of skin on her stomach.

She was beautiful in every way imaginable - mind, body, soul.

"Morning, love" she called from around the corner. "You can stand there and watch, or you could come in here and talk to me."

I entered the kitchen and noticed the bowl of fresh strawberries alongside the stack of pancakes. "Someone's been working," I said as I stood behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist. "What's all this for?"

She placed the spatula down on the trivet and turned to face me, her soft lips grazing over mine. "Well, my boyfriend has been doing such a great job taking care of me that, well - I felt I needed to return the favor. But -" she smiled as she pushed me away, " - if he doesn't move or put on a shirt, he's going to get burned. Bacon grease likes to pop, you know."

I held my hands up in mock defeat. "I guess you're right." I took a seat on the opposite side of the island and watched as she expertly finished cooking our breakfast. "Can I at least set the table?"

"Nope," she said. "Already done."

I turned to look out into the breakfast nook that was adjacent to the kitchen. "I guess you did, but - there's only one plate - should I get another?"

She laughed her sweet laugh as she reached into the fridge and retrieved a pitcher of orange juice. "Well, I guess you can, but - I had kind of thought that maybe - well, you'll see."

Emma took my hand and led me out to the table, pushing me gently down into the wicker chair. "Be right back," she said, leaving me to watch her. She loaded a tray with all of the food for our meal and as she entered the room, she motioned for me to scoot back from the table. "What do you like on your pancakes?" she said, and as I told her, she placed my preferred toppings on them. "OK, now here's my idea, and please - let me know if it makes you uncomfortable in any way. I've just always, well - I've imagined this before."

Taking a seat in my lap, and holding my plate in her hand, she cut a small bite of pancake with the fork. "OK, open up." I did as I was told and was rewarded with a delicious bite of food.

"Emma, this isn't…"

She silenced me with another bite of strawberry and crème covered pancake, and waited for me to chew it before she leaned in to give me a kiss, her tongue gently darting out to swipe over my lip. "Crème," she said, winking at me.

I took the plate from her and offered her a bite. I could see the trepidation in her eyes. This was something new - sharing the same meal; the same fork. She closed her eyes momentarily, then leaned her head forward to take the bite from me. As her lips closed over the utensil and pulled away, a fantasy that had played over in my mind jumped to the forefront of my thoughts. Sitting the plate back on the table, I pulled her in closer to my chest, and kissed her fervently. Her lips tasted of strawberries - not that they weren't sweet enough before, but knowing that we were in love - that the feeling was shared? Well, it made the kiss all the more delicious. I felt her arms wrap around me, her hands once again playing at the nape of my neck. Her lips left mine, and I started to speak, that was until I felt her mouth on my neck. She lightly grazed her lips over my Adam's apple, her hair tickling my chest as she nipped at the skin below my ear.

"God, Emma…that's just…"

I felt her chuckle on my neck as she darted her tongue out gently to trace the vein that was now protruding from my neck. "I was right."

She pushed back against my chest, her right hand absentmindedly tracing through the small tuft of hair there.

"And just WHAT were you right about?"

"You do taste good."

Knowing that if I didn't do something soon I would be uncontrollable, I wrapped my arms around hers and pulled her back to resting on my shoulder. "It's a beautiful sunny day out. I have an idea of what we should do but I want to make sure you're alright with it first."

"What's that?" she said before stuffing a plump strawberry into her mouth.

"Well, I thought maybe, if you wanted to, we could get the jet ski out and go for a spin."

I watched as her eyes widened. "Now, before you ask - yes, we have life jackets, and yes - I have driven it before and never had an accident."

I could tell she was weighing the options in her head, and finally she spoke. "Sure - that sounds fun. I'm going to need some help with my sunscreen again, though." She winked at me and I could feel the smile spreading across my face.

We both cleaned up the table together, and after we were finished, Emma went upstairs to get a quick shower and change. I had quickly gone into my room after loading the dishwasher to change into my trunks when I heard the doorbell. Grabbing the first thing I could find, I slipped into the pair of discarded sleep pants and ran my fingers through my hair before I made my way down the stairs.

"Will, I hope I didn't wake you. I noticed the lights were on awfully late last night - I thought maybe you'd be sleeping in this morning."

Astrid stood at the door, looking like she'd been awake for hours. Her hair was in its trademark bun, and she carried a casserole dish in her hands. "I didn't notice Flynn's making a grocery delivery to you, so I thought I would bring over this Breakfast Bake for you."

It was then that I heard the gentle footsteps behind me, the dainty arches making a slight snapping sound on the tile. "Will, are you coming back upstairs soon… I need you…Oh WILL, you didn't tell me we had company."

I heard her gasp and as I turned to look at her, I felt like I was going to combust. Emma stood behind me, her always perfect hair disheveled, and her lips looked plump and swollen, her lipstick smeared just a bit. Adorning her small frame was a blue button down - MY blue button down from last night. The first three buttons were undone, exposing her cleavage, and the left shoulder was hanging slightly off her arm, exposing her bare shoulder. Her slender legs peeked out from under the hem. She quickly grabbed the front of the shirt and covered herself. "I am so sorry - I was just, um - getting ready…" She winked at me and smiled as she bit her bottom lip. "Will, whenever you're finished down here, I'll be waiting for you upstairs."

I turned to look at Astrid and noticed the unmistakable look of embarrassment on her face. Handing over the dish to me, she stuttered. "Will, um…I'm going to head back home now. If the two of you need anything else, please call me. Will, you can CALL if you need anything else, alright."

She almost fell off the steps to the porch as she backed away from the door, and turned to quickly leave as I closed it behind her. Turning back to the staircase, I could hear Emma's laughter coming from just out of view.

I took the stairs two at a time to find her sitting in the hallway laughing uncontrollably. She was still dressed in my shirt, and as I approached her, she tried to speak through her laughter.

"Oh my God….did you….see her face? She was…flabbergasted! That was…oh my goodness…too funny! I bet she…doesn't bother….us again. Oh my!"

I stood in front of her, still not sure of what had just happened, or why she was sitting in the hallway in my shirt and nothing else.

"What did just happen?" I questioned.

Emma held her hands up and motioned for me to pull her to standing. She turned around and I saw her slide her arms up to hook something around her neck before turning back to face me. I could clearly see the printed strap of - dear Lord, was that her bra? I swallowed hard and was mesmerized as she slowly unbuttoned the last four buttons on my shirt to expose her floral tankini.

"Well you said we were going to ride the jet-ski, and I had just put on my suit when I heard the doorbell. I hope you don't mind, but I ran into your room and saw her at the door. I thought that maybe - you know, if we gave her a reason - she'd leave us alone. I grabbed your shirt, pulled down the neck straps and voila!"

I stood before her, my mouth agape. "Dear Lord, I love the way your devious little mind works."

She giggled once again. "I love your mussed-up hair - and the look on your face was almost as good as hers."

"I love your taste in swimwear. This one is just -"

"Too much?" She began to fidget. "I should change."

"NO!" I said a little too quickly and reached out to grab her arm. "Please, don't." I saw her cheeks flush as my eyes drank her in. "This is just - um - wow. Beautiful."

"I liked it," she said, her hands flattening the top over her small waist. She turned around and I noticed her back was mostly uncovered, save for one little strap that held the back of the garment in place. I dared not look any lower. That would for sure get me into trouble.

"Let me get changed and then we'll go."

After our ride on the jet-ski's, we'd decided take in the rest of the day by the pool. I had purposely worn my sunglasses for most of the day so she wouldn't catch me staring at her. If I had thought that the one piece suit she wore yesterday had made her look divine, then this two piece was pure heaven. Every once in awhile I'd catch a glimpse of the pale skin of her stomach. I'd kept my thoughts to myself, but there were times that I wanted to throw caution to the wind and just ravage her then and there. But, this was Emma, and she was too good for that.

I had laid down on the chair beside her and pulled my baseball cap down over my eyes to help keep the sun out of them. The combination of the warm sun beating down on me coupled with the waves crashing on the shore made me sleepy. It wasn't until I felt the cold droplets hitting my stomach that I sat upright. Emma stood above me, the ice cube melting in her hand, the icy water hitting my overheated skin. "Wake up sleepyhead."

She reached out for my hand to pull me up, but I instead pulled her down on top of me, grabbing the water bottle that sat beside my chair. "You know what they say about paybacks, don't you?"

Her eyes danced as she looked at me. "They're a bitch?"

"Nope," I replied, "They're cold!"

Having successfully removed the cap from the bottle, I proceeded to pour the cold water on her back, and laughed as she began to squirm above me. To tell you the truth, I was enjoying it more than I should have.

"Not fair," she said, a mock pout coming over her face.

"And why not?" I questioned, my hands now holding her waist tight to me. "If I recall correctly, you were the one standing above me performing Chinese water torture."

"Yeah, but that was…"

Before she could complete her thought, my mouth was on her neck. I felt, rather than heard, her sigh as my tongue gently caressed her earlobe. "That was what?"

"Shut up, Will, and do that again."

I did as she asked and once again began to kiss her neck, her shoulders, her lips. It seemed as if the shy and demure Emma had vanished. In her place was a vixen, and I liked her. Emma pushed up on her hands and hovered over me. "Maybe we should take this inside?"

I gasped at her comment. Was she sure? Was this really going to happen? She stood up and extended her hand toward me, her slender finger motioning for me to come with her. I complied and placed my hand into hers. She walked slowly toward the house, and turned to look at me, a sparkle in her eyes. Before I knew it, she had pulled both of us into the pool. As I emerged from the water, I heard her laughing behind me.

"Now that, Will, is payback. I love you dearly, but sweetheart, you asked for it."

And with that, she darted up the steps and into the house, leaving me in the water. It was certain. This woman was going to be the death of me. I knew it.

But oh, what a helluva way to go.

Author's Note:

OK, go ahead and shoot me now for that terrible TEASER! You all thought it was going to be something else, didn't you? I'm a meanie.

Believe it or not, I consider this a filler chapter. I needed to get them through the day, so that we could get to what I have in store for the evening. All you faithful crew of the S.S. Wemma, your ship is soon to come in, I promise.

There's a link to Emma's tankini on my profile page for anyone who is curious.

We have a family thing tomorrow for Memorial Day, so I won't be starting on Chapter 11 until tomorrow night. Since I have to go back to work on Tuesday (stupid post planning!) I will most likely NOT get a new chapter up until sometime later this week. I know, once again a meanie - but trust me, no one wants these two to get together more than me.

Once again, thanks for reading and to those of you commenting, you make me smile. I hope I don't disappoint.