Disclaimer: JER/NBC own characters
Eve closed her eyes. Julian's touch overwhelmed her very senses, and she longed for nothing more than to allow him to make love to her.
"Julian," she breathed. "I do want you..." Her eyes flew open at the sound of her own voice.
He moved his finger up toward her breasts. "As I you, little sprite."
Eve heard the hated name and stiffened. How dare he!
"I tire, my lord, of the insufferable insults," she hissed at him. Without warning, she bit down on his finger, causing him to cry out in pain. He released her on reflex. Eve snatched up the dropped fur and ran to the opposite side of the cave.
"You are quite the feisty one, my lady. I see that I need to keep a closer eye upon you." Julian laughed delightedly at his little captive. "Of course, my eye is not the only part of me I would love to be close to your person."
"You will not touch me," Eve declared. "I will not submit to your lustful attacks."
"Attacks? You overstate your meaning, my lady. I did not attack you, nor will I. I will, however, not deprive myself and you of the magic of my touch."
"I will not allow that to happen."
"My dear, look at yourself, then at me. Who do you think will be the victor? You cannot overpower me and cannot outdistance me. I do admire your assertions that you can do so." Julian began to walk toward her.
"Giant, you may be, but you are not the all-powerful being that you think you are," Eve told him as she moved along the cave wall.
"As your supposed husband, I am all that and more, my lady. Why bother to deny that which you know is true?"
"You are not the husband I know and love."
"Should that matter?"
"It matters a great deal to me."
"Yet you tell me I am this husband of yours. My size matters not if I am who you say I am. And if I am your lord and master, I will enjoy whatever parts of my conjugal rights I am able to. And that includes touching and caressing every curve on that breathtaking body of yours." Julian moved in front of her, halting her progress along the wall. "You will love my touch."
"It is not possible," Eve said breathlessly. "You are a giant and I--"
"You are my enchantingly beautiful captive of a wife." Julian bent down to touch her face but Eve sped away from his hand. "I love how you think you can escape my attentions. It only makes me want you all the more, my lady."
"Julian, you are not yourself. Deep down, you must remember what we are to one another. "
"We have been through and through this. I do not remember this supposed past we shared, my lady. What I remember is having been changed into this giant's form, with you the only other being around."
"I thought we had moved past that."
"As I am still this monstrous size," he said, gazing at his hideous form, "I fail to see how we can move past it until I am completely restored."
"Julian, I did not--"
"Do this? We may as well be married if I can complete your sentences as I have been doing. Enough of this amusing wordplay, my lady. If you will not give me back my normal size, then I will take my pleasure of you in the state I am in now."
"You will not! Eve darted out of his reach and ran towards the bed. Perhaps she could remain under there for a bit until Julian calmed down.
A slow smile curved his lips as Eve disappeared under the bed. It was charming how his little sprite tried to avoid the inevitable. He decided to humor her. Never mind that he could easily reach her; he admired her defiant spirit so.
"I will not come out until you've come to your senses," Eve insisted. "I am no wanton for you to paw at will. I am your wife and will be treated with the love and respect due me."
"As you wish, my dear."
"As I wish? You are agreeing with me?"
"I agree that you should be allowed to think whatever you wish to think. The reality, however, is quite different."
"What do you mean by that?"
"My dear lady, it is obvious that in the end, I will indulge myself in the wondrous pleasure of your exquisite form. The choice is yours in regard to whether you enjoy it fully and completely with me my rightful size, or have the appetizer version at the hands of this giant who stands before you."
Eve groaned.
"Do you think of nothing else but ravishing me?"
"Actually, I do."
"Pray tell what would that be?"
"Taking a bath together. I did see a stream on our journey here, and I thought--"
"Enough! I will not hear any more of this kind of talk!"
"Oh, but since you insist upon being under the bed, I fear I cannot think of anything else."
"You are a despicable man! I want my husband back!"
"Ah, but I am here, my lady. And I want you more than anything on this earth."
"You will not have me."
"Then I suppose I must tell you of what it would be like being one with me. I can describe it in the most wonderful detail."
"I will not listen."
"Yes, you will." Julian sat down in front of the bed. He could see Eve's bare feet and struggled to contain his lust. "Close your eyes, Eve."
"No."
"Very well. The first thing I would do is simply stand in front of you to drink in your beauty." Hearing only her breathing, he continued. "I would then reach out with my left thumb to caress your sweet lips. How plump and sensuous they are! Your mouth opens slightly, and your tongue brushes against my thumb. It sends the most delicious shiver down my spine."
Julian heard Eve's breath quicken and smiled to himself. "I place my lips upon yours--the sweet ecstasy! More delicious than the finest wine. And I become intoxicated with the pleasure you afford me." Closing his own eyes, he went on. "I hold you close, feeling your ripe curves against me. So beautiful! I remove your shift, for I will not have you wearing anything more than that when we are to be alone together. Your lovely golden skin shines in the firelight--I cannot believe the vision before me is real. Your beautiful, perfect breasts seem to wink at me, and nothing else would do but that I worship them with my lips."
Eve still did not respond but her rapid breathing became even more apparent to Julian. "Shall I continue, my lady? By this time, we are overcome with desire for one another. I sweep you into my arms and we fall onto the bed. You rip my dressing gown off of me; your desire is so great. I enter you slowly and tenderly, filling you with myself. Your cry of pleasure urges me to move, and we race to the summit of ecstasy. Come with me! We reach the peak, and the most satisfying joining we have ever known."
Julian shuddered as he felt the effects of his description to Eve. "Can you deny you want to be with me, Eve? End this madness and be one with me."
"Julian, I long to be with you. I do not deny this, but the fact remains, you are under a curse. Until we can determine how to remove it, all we can do is long to be with one another." Eve could hardly breathe, for Julian painted a most marvelous picture of them making love with one another and she was deeply affected.
"I don't want to long to be with you, Eve. I want to be with you. And if I cannot take my full pleasure, I will settle for what I can have." With that, Julian reached under the bed and gently pulled out a struggling Eve.
"You cannot be allowed to do this to me, Julian! I am not some harem slave of yours that can be handled this way!" Eve yelled at him.
"Harem slave? Now that would be a most interesting scenario," Julian mused. "You, dressed in one of those sheer costumes, awaiting my pleasure." He sighed. "Oh, I would love that, Eve."
"How can you have changed so much?" Eve began to cry. Her heart-wrenching sobs shook her tiny frame. Julian stared in wonder as she cried out her heartbreak.
Could she be telling the truth? Am I really her husband and she my wife before God? She was so distraught that there must be some truth to what she said. Could it be true?
Flashback
Julian stared at the old woman who dared to trespass on his estate. "All right, I tried to be polite, Miss Lenox, but I see it's gotten me nowhere, so I would appreciate if you'd leave the grounds of my estate immediately, before I have you thrown off. There is no way a woman the likes of you," he said, pausing to gaze at her dress, "a hag, and one so hideously outfitted at that, will ever set foot in my house, ball or not." He saw her eyes glow eerily and found he could not move. "What have you done to me, old woman! Stop this nonsense at once, or I will have my men run you through!"
"So, you will not invite me to dine in polite society, Julian Crane? Then you will suffer the same fate, only far more than I ever will! Julian Crane, I curse you to be an outcast in your world! You will live alone, a creature not to be respected, but feared. A being doomed to never know the joy of hearth and home! But I suppose I should give you a chance at redemption, to be sporting, even though you were not sporting with me! If a good woman can look beyond your appearance and love you, then the spell will be broken." She cackled with evil glee. "But that will never happen!"
Julian's eyes widened, as he felt his limbs being pulled in different directions. "Dear Lord, what is happening to me?" he screamed, as he began to grow in size, dwarfing the top of his estate. Soon, he was nearly three times that size, and he kept growing until he was several hundred feet high. He looked at Tabitha, who was levitating in front of his face. "What did you do to me?"
"I merely made your height equal to your cruel treatment of me," she quipped. "At least I was genteel enough to keep your clothing intact upon you. Imagine if I hadn't." She chuckled. "Even I would not wish that upon Harmony!" Julian ran from the witch's mocking taunts and toward Mount Harmony.
End Flashback
This Tabitha Lenox made me this giant, Julian realized. Not this beautiful woman before me. He opened his eyes and looked at the weeping Eve in his hands. "Eve, please do not cry," he said soothingly. "Those lovely eyes should not be stained with tears."
"I am crying because I miss the loving and gentle man that is my husband. I love him so much, and to see you like this is tearing me apart. What did that witch do to cause you to forget Helene and me?" Her sobs grew louder at the realization that she did not know how to bring her husband back to her or if he ever would return.
"Eve, I cannot bear to see you cry. If my being a boor is hurting you, I will refrain. I will be naught but understanding and gentle with you, my lady." He placed her upon the cave floor and smiled at her. "Enchantingly beautiful though you are, I will not take liberties with you again."
"Thank you," Eve whispered. Perhaps he would be better now.
"I do have a request, if I could."
"What is it?"
"Tell me of our wedding day, the first time we made love, and of our child's birth. These things I want to recall."
"I will be glad to, but why do you want to know?"
"Because I realize Tabitha Lenox cursed me to this giant's form, and I want to hear you tell of the happiest days of our lives."