Tish finally parted her perfect lips, "Priestly I…I don't know what to say."

Priestly swallowed again, broke eye contact and looked down at his shoes. He thought after years of rejection from every side he would be almost immune to it, but was sadly mistaken. His mind was brought back to attention when he felt small warm hands gently grab his face and turn his head. Fearful and defeated green eyes met soft brown. "Priestly, I love you too. I've waited so long for you to say that."

His eyes widened in disbelief. "Why didn't you tell me?"

A small embarrassed smile spread across her face. "I didn't want to scare you away. I wasn't sure if you felt the same or if you were ready to know that I love you."

He kissed her tenderly and grabbed her hand, "I don't think I was ready to hear it, and it took me a long time to be ready to say it. Love isn't a word that's really been associated with my life Tish."

Her eyes glistened with tears, understanding what Priestly was trying to say. He wasn't ready to hear it because he didn't think he deserved it. Apparently no one had ever told Priestly they loved him. She hated that no one seemed to grasp what an amazing individual he was. She suddenly realized that she had almost not realized it, that she had almost missed her chance to meet the love of her life. He had also just told her that he had never loved anyone, ever. Tish had the honor of being Priestly's first actual love. In 25 years of life he had shared that emotion with one single person. It broke her heart.

He watched emotions play across her features as tears began falling down her cheeks. "Why are you crying?"

She hastily wiped at her cheeks, smearing away the offending objects. "I'm fine, I'm sorry." The last thing she wanted was for him to think she pitied him, she knew he wouldn't respond well to that. She sniffled and finished drying her tears, "I love you Priestly, now let me show you how much."

She grasped his shirt with trembling hands and released the rest of the buttons slowly, her finger nails gently scraping against his strong chest and flat stomach. After she undid the last button the gently tugged the shirt off his shoulders and tossed it onto the ground below. She met his emerald eyes before she stood to allow him access to the zipper on the back of her gown. The zipper slid unhurriedly across her skin, Priestly taking his time admiring every new inch of skin that appeared as the black material separated. He couldn't help the large grin that spread across his cheeks; she of course had no bra on, a fact that Priestly had noticed immediately when she had first appeared out of the restroom in her dress earlier. Her lacy bright red underwear stood out against her olive skin barely covering her perfectly toned butt. "So beautiful" he murmured.

When the dress finally dropped to the floor in a heap she twisted around to face him. He gripped her waist softly, his thumbs caressing her soft skin. He smiled at the goose bumps that appeared on her skin as he slid his hands down to her hips. He hooked his thumbs in the soft lace of her underwear and slid them down her tan legs before letting his gaze trace every curve of her body.

When their eyes finally met he scooted himself back onto the bed and watched as Tish crawled on top of him before capturing his lips. The kiss was soft and sensual, full of love and promises. Once they were both lying down on the soft cotton sheets she broke off the kiss and sat up to unbuckle his dress pants. Agile fingers worked quickly and the pants were soon discarded, flying through the air and disappearing off the side of the bed. She climbed back on top of him her arms grasping his biceps. They continued their heated kiss until Tish moved to his jaw line, peppering it with feather light kisses. She moved along his jaw all the way to his ear and began sucking and nibbling on his ear lobe. She grinned when she heard his sharp intake of breath, Priestly loved when she played with his ears. Rubbing, tugging, sucking, and biting on his ears was his instant hot button. While she sucked on one ear and tugged on the other's lobe her hand worked its way down his stomach and disappeared into his boxers.

He groaned when he felt her hand under the thin cloth of his boxers and grinned when he watched remove them. After she made him feel things he couldn't even imagine she moved on top of him and paused before continuing. Their eyes met and they both silently acknowledged that this time was going to be different. That this would be the first time they made love, this wasn't going to be sex or fucking but something more, something special. She slowly lowered herself and after a few seconds the two began to move together.

Soon he grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her down to him, flipping them over so he could take control. He buried his face in her neck, reveling in her intoxicating scent as he moved on top of her. Gasps filled his ears with every move, driving them both closer to the edge. He heard her whimper and claw at his shoulders, she was getting close. He moved more quickly and when he felt her start to shudder he finally let himself go. She screamed her release, fingers biting into Priestly's back as she tried to grab him closer while riding out her orgasm. Feeling the sharp pain in his back was his undoing. He buried his face deeper into her neck and groaned loudly as he emptied himself into her.

She felt him collapse on top of her, the heavy weight making her feel warm and safe. A few minutes later Priestly realized he was probably crushing her he rolled to the side and pulled her to him, wrapping his body around hers and squeezing tightly. He picked up his head and gently kissed her temple.

"I love you Tish." The words that had worried him and plagued him for months now easily slipped off his tongue. He smiled into her hair when he heard her response.

"I love you too Priestly."