*Warning!!!* This is the beginning of the more adult parts, if you can't handle adult situations and LOTS of screwing, please find a different story to read!
Chapter 14 – Winter
I was still kind of miffed at Josh for the whole 'death and destruction' secret, but this apartment was freaking amazing! I was so lost with looking at the monumental music collection that ran, unending for what seemed like miles that I was startled when something soft and furry brushed my calf. Of course, being such a girl, I squealed and jumped.
I looked down in bemused terror at the white cat that was looking at me rather uninterestedly. Josh smiled at my embarrassing show of cowardice, and bent over to pick the cat up. "I'm sorry that I didn't really have time to introduce you two, but Winter, this is Sequester, my housecat. My very spoiled housecat, to be more specific." I looked on adoringly as he looked at the cat with such warmth and love, that my heart almost burst.
Sequester seemed to be very impatient about me being a newcomer in her house, because she jumped nimbly into my arms. I had to struggle to not only keep upright, but to also not drop the snuggly ball of fluff onto her head. I laughed deeply for the first time all day, and saw that he had redirected the warmth and love to me.
I blushed as I tried very hard to hide my face in her fur. "I hope you are not allergic, I had not thought of that possibility." Josh said timidly, worry darkening his beautiful features.
I worked hard to push the concern for his worry out of my head, so to help me in my quest; I studied the cat in my arms. Sequester was abnormally large, had short white fur, black whiskers on her face and had large glowing green eyes. She swished her tail arrogantly as she waited for me to finish my inspection.
When she was thoroughly satisfied that I was done, she jumped out of my arms back into Josh's, where she eyed me jealously. She nestled her head against his jawbone and purred contentedly; I know it was wrong, but I couldn't escape the ideas of flushing her down the toilet, or better, opening the window to the apartment building and dropping her 60 stories. I wondered silently if she would land on her feet.
Sensing my discomfort, Josh placed Sequester mildly on the sofa, where he covered her with a fleece throw blanket, tucked her in, and patted her head. He turned to face me and just shrugged his shoulders, a boyish look on his face. As a means of explanation, he looked at me and said simply, "Angels love deeply, especially innocent souls." Sequester's loud purring could be heard above everything else, and Josh looked oddly happy at me. "She'll be asleep until morning, when she will expect to be fed." I laughed at the ludicrousness of the idea of an angel playing daddy to a cat.
Josh gathered my hand in his and gave me a short formal tour of the rest of the apartment. "Kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, bedroom, office, bedroom, game room, bathroom, bedroom, bedroom, bathroom," he said with a humorous undertone, as he gestured wildly through the tour, "and finally," his eyes intent on mine as he swung open two large doors, "the master bed and bathroom. Where I expect that you will be sleeping tonight. You will be getting a more formal tour of the rooms later on, but for now, I will let you get yourself together. When you are ready for your bath, just push the doors to your left open." He mused.
I walked as in a dream to the end of his majestic bed, my eyes taking in the heavy down comforter. I turned to ask him what kind of mattress he had, like it made any difference, but was dismayed to find that he was already gone. I walked around and sat down at the head of the bed, wondering in the fact that the mattress was already warming to my touch.
I looked down at my dirtied clothes, which had seen better days and cursed under my breath; if I was to bathe, I should have something to change into. Movement in my peripheral vision distracted me, and I looked to the foot of the bed where sat, perfectly folded, one of Josh's button up shirts. I was mildly annoyed, wondering confoundedly if it was my will that had made the shirt appear. To test that theory, I wished with my full concentration that I had something worthy of Josh to wear tomorrow. In a flash, I was holding something soft, black, and ugh, silk. I found myself more annoyed at that than anything else up to this point. Of course it had to be a short, tight dress. What the crap? "Okay, power," I grumbled again, "how about something not so girly?" The dress immediately shaped itself into something that I could better approve of, a form fitting pair of ripped jeans and a low cut tan tee straight from my closet at home. I giggled, exalted and giddy.
It was time to go get a bath, I rationalized, I was getting goofy, and that was not a state I was comfortable with Josh seeing me in; as it was, the weight of the day was starting to settle on me. I realized how tired I actually was when my eyelids were having issues staying open; I started to consider going to bed filthy. I quickly reconsidered when I remembered where I was and who was here with me.
I forced myself to drag my butt off of the comfy bed, and walk down towards the double doors that Josh had promised me that led to the bathroom. I pushed the doors open and my breath caught when I realized that his bathroom was larger than my room at home. (This was no small feat, by the way.) My eyes wandered to the garden tub, which was big enough to fit a dozen women my size easily. The tub was filled to the brim with water and bubbles, and was surrounded by at least fifty candles, various in sizes, shapes and lengths.
I felt the tears as they filled my eyes uncomfortably. I was even in a bigger state of shock when I saw that the shirt, that had only moments before been folded on the edge of his bed, was now sitting off to the side of the tub, along with a thick, plush towel. I took the dirty clothes off and left them in a large heap on the floor of the bathroom.
Walking up the stairs to the tub, trying desperately to not fall or hurt myself in any other way, I smelled the lingering scent of lilacs. I eased myself into the steaming water, ooohing and aaahing as it immediately relaxed my muscles.
After sitting for a few minutes, I looked around for a washcloth, cursing myself out again for not grabbing one on my way in, and gasped when I noticed Josh standing in the doorway, holding a washcloth. His eyes held a certain sensuality that was unmistakable. "I figured I might be of some assistance."
I fought feelings of inadequacy while I nodded feebly. He sat at on the edge of the tub, and wet the washcloth. He set quickly to work, gently wiping my shoulders and back with the lathered fabric. He placed it down beside him and ran his smooth hands over the soap on my shoulders, bringing chill bumps up on my arms, and making the deep heat inside build and grow substantially.
Trying not to faint, I relied on the only thing I had left, my sarcasm, and said, "You know, I am perfectly capable of washing myself." "Okay," he replied dejectedly, "as you wish." He made a move to leave, but I quickly retracted my last words, "But I don't want you to leave. When you're close, I feel better." I felt exposed saying those words, but better that he knew the truth, like he didn't know anyway.
He leant down and kissed my lips feverishly, hands roaming my arms and shoulders again. I grabbed the front of his shirt, and pulled him closer to me, not caring if he went into the tub with me. Sensing my growing desperation, he pulled back, and pushed me gently away to a reclining position in the tub again. He dipped his hands into the water, then lifted his hands so that my hair would be wet enough to wash. He reached for the shampoo that was on the floor next to the bath, and poured a coin sized amount into his palm, rubbing his hands together to foam up the shampoo. Running his hands softly through my wet hair, he lovingly washed the strands, from my scalp to the tips. After carefully rinsing my hair, trying to avoid getting water and soap in my eyes, he applied conditioner, and then let that sit for a while; he needed to finish the rest of my bath.
Knowing that my skin hadn't gotten dirty in the time it took him to wash my hair, but not caring either way, he started rewashing my shoulders and back. Once again, the chill bumps came up, threatening to give me away, but I couldn't concentrate hard enough to keep them away. His hands felt like silk on my skin, I couldn't stop the moan that escaped my lips, even though I was biting the inside of my cheek to stay silent. He moved his hands lower, washing my breasts, which were very responsive to his touch. "Traitors," I mentally scolded; they had been such a big part of my life up until now, I couldn't help but feel a little double crossed. He seemed to concentrate very hard on making sure that there was no trace of dirt on my very soapy chest. I couldn't help the warm satisfaction that I felt when, as his slick hands slid over the curve of my nipples and he sighed like he was getting more out of this than I was. I lustfully met his eyes, but couldn't stop my eyes from rolling in the back of my head when he felt the urge to tweak just one.
He picked the washcloth back up and continued to wash my flushed red body. He took longer than necessary on my sides, remembering that I very much liked the circles he made on them. My back took on a slight arch at the different, but not unpleasant, feeling of his fingers making the same circles on my sides and hips.
His breathing started to take on new speed when his hands wound their way down to my thighs and the hot spot between them. I could feel myself starting to tremble, the ripples in the water extending from me like waves of desire. He was watching my face, clearly curious about my reaction to his touches. I was beyond words, the noises coming from my mouth more animalistic than human.
He continued to soap and rinse my skin, seemingly enjoying it more than I was. His eyes rarely left my face; it appeared that my pleasure was giving him far more than what he was giving me.
When he was confident that I was totally clean, he began to shave my legs, pausing only to lightly trace the smooth skin of my calves and thighs where the razor had kissed them. The intimacy in the act seemed so wrong, yet so right, I wished that the hair would grow right back out so that he would have no choice but to continue to shave forever.
Once he was finished shaving and meticulously checking the soft planes of my skin, he decided to give me a final washing. I knew that I had to have a fierce blush in my cheeks for he smiled as he tossed the washcloth onto the pile of clothes that I had left on the floor. He brought me again to the brink of euphoria with the touch of his soap slickened hands caressing my body, still taking longer on the more delicate areas than he had before. It was maddening the way he touched me.
When he had officially caressed my entire body, he gently picked me out of the tub. Josh set me down on the floor, and grabbed the towel, starting to dry me off from the top of my head to the soles of my feet. He paused over each of the bruises that had surfaced from my earlier tryst with Timothe. "I promise to avenge you in this situation, that boy will rue the day that he ever dreamt of touching you," he said through gritted teeth.
"Just remember Josh," I said carefully, "you already have. Let's not ruin this perfect night with talk of him." He looked deeply into my eyes, and seeing that I was being sincere about my feelings on the subject, he let it go.
I turned around and picked up his shirt. I was running my arms through the sleeves when I turned to face him. I looked at him square in the eye as I buttoned the shirt, trying to read the emotion that hid in his features.
I had all of the bottom buttons taken care of when he reached out to place his hands gently over mine. "Leave the rest open, you look so sexy in that shirt. I think I might have to reconsider my standing with not giving you what you want." He said huskily. "And what do I want?" I asked, the emotion catching in my voice. "Me." His voice was more rugged now than before, and all I wanted to do was pounce him right there.
He reached past me and let the tub drain, then picked me up so that I could wrap my legs around his waist. Josh carried me to the bed this way, and then sat me down on the side of the bed. He sat behind me and brushed the tangles out of my hair, brushing painstakingly slow, the sensations alone making me shake.
My eyelids grew heavy again, and I felt myself falling backwards onto his warm, bare chest. Soft music filled the air, and even though I was having difficulty forming coherent words, I was able to process the words to the song. 'Keep me awake to memorize you, Give me more time to feel this way, We can't stay like this forever, But I can have you next to me today' I startled awake and looked at him in shock, "Is this Josh Groban?!" He smiled serenely and said "Yes."
I looked at him almost incredulously and asked, more rudely than I had intended, "Why on earth would you have Josh Groban in your cd collection?!" He smiled wickedly and replied, "Well, his is the closest to angelic music that we can find, so it is kind of peaceful, it reminds me of home. Why? What do you have against Josh Groban?" "It's just that you and my best friend Nicole have the same taste in music," I grumbled, not being able to stay mad for very long. "It seems that she can sure pick music." He smiled into my hair.
The last coherent thoughts that went through my mind was that I was going to have to sit down and listen to more of Josh's cd collection so that I could find some other common bonds for us to share. While I stewed over that and not understanding much of it, Josh was caressing my hair and singing the song into my ear. Before I could remember why I needed to stay awake, I was already dreaming.
*I was standing in a dark forest, the full moon shining brightly above me. The wind was cold, blowing the hard snowflakes around my ankles. I shivered but began walking to try to get out away from the trees; for some reason, they frightened me.
I kept calling for my mother, but she never answered me. The wind started shrieking through the trees, bending the smaller saplings over onto themselves and harshly whipping my hair across my face. I heard distant hoof beats, like a herd of horses were coming toward me at a rather fast speed. I turned on my heel, running as fast as my legs would carry me, trying to desperately put space between myself and the horses. I felt panic rise in my throat as I heard the hooves pound ever closer.
I stopped in a clearing and whirled to face my pursuers; but was shocked and sickened by the sight of my family and friends come on horseback into the clearing with me. I shouted to my mother, knowing that she was not there to help, but to harm me.
She rode a brilliant white horse with orange blazing eyes that had red foam dripping from its opened mouth. Draped facedown across the horse in front of where my mother sat was a body. I knew instinctively that I knew the body of that person; had even memorized every inch by touch. Blood was dripping from the body in heavy, fat drops. I stepped closer to get a better look, but was unable to see the face.
"Do you know what we do to those who betray us, Winter?" my mother shrieked violently in her gratingly high pitched voice, "Give her the warning, Xander!"
After giving that direct order, something large and white spiraled over her head, landing with a thump in front of me. I bent down to examine them, wondering why my mother had dead turkeys thrown at me; upon closer inspection, I saw that they were not turkeys, but large wings. The blood that stained them was still warm and sticky on my hands as I picked them up.
My stomach lurched to my feet as soon as I heard her sharp laugh and I raised my eyes, now frightened, to her triumphant face. She pushed the body mightily from her horse, which landed with a dull plop onto the ground. I looked on in outraged horror as the head lolled to one side which caused the face to turn to me. I felt the scream escape my lips as I looked at my fallen angel, his eyes dead and blank. Frozen on his face was a mask of a tortured soul. Josh had died in large amounts of pain. I realized that it was his wings that I now held in my hands.
With that realization, I felt the earth sway beneath me, and everything went black.