I had to publish it as soon as possible, because... Well... The title of the chapter says it.
Therapy
Chapter 21: What everybody wants
CC had not been able to sleep, yet.
She was too excited.
After all, she had finally kissed Niles.
And told him everything she needed to, what lifted a burden from her shoulders.
She was too aroused, too.
After all, she had finally kissed Niles!
And what a kiss it had been...
(Of course, they had kissed before, twice. However, first time it was all wrong, with her grabbing him instead of Maxwell and never thinking seriously of it again, because thinking seriously of it was acknowledging the chemistry they had, and she refused to do it.
Second time it was out of fighting – not the ideal situation to discover if you have real positive feelings for someone.
Tonight was the first time they had done it because they liked each other and wanted to share their deepest emotions.)
Putting aside the energy cursing through her veins and the lingering feeling of his lips on hers (that would not help her to fall asleep any soon), CC was in peace with herself, knowing she had done the right thing. They had said what had to be said, she had been clear on her desire to pursue something with him, and now just a brave step from Niles could make something new to happen.
She pursed her lips, trying to find something to distract her.
She ended up looking at her red silk pajamas and wondering, not for the first time, why she had left one of her favorite sleepwear in a room where she rarely slept.
CC smiled.
Maybe she enjoyed when someone saw her in it – and this someone was definitively not Maxwell, who would never get close to a room where she was in anything but business clothes. No, it was for Niles, who made up excuses to keep going to the guestroom when she stayed the night.
Sometimes he went there with a zinger that couldn't wait…
('Are you sure you don't want me to bring your broom? This way you could get out through the window, if you wish to, without waking up the entire house in the middle of the night'
'I'm staying here until the morning, Niles, don't worry'.
'Oh, well, you can't blame a man for trying'.)
Sometimes he wanted to see how his latest small prank had been received.
('Seriously, Niles? A plastic spider?'
'Oh, I'm sorry! I forgot it's scorpions week in your diet!')
Always, it ended with him giving her the once over and trying to assess if she was well settled for the night.
CC mused about the fact that her butler had gone to such lengths to conceal something that, the more he tried to hide, the more visible he made. She wondered what it meant that she had decided not to see what was so obvious…
She was startled by a soft knock on the guestroom door.
The blonde looked at it and thought that of course, it could be Nanny Fine speculating on the conversation between her and Niles, and wanting to know if her meddling had resulted in anything good.
However, it could be Niles himself, if he had already gathered the courage to do something about their situation.
She got up and opened the door.
And there Niles was: disheveled, still in his clothes from the party (except from the coat), the red tie loose.
He was sporting such a sad puppy expression on his face she couldn't stop herself from smirking, 'Did you come here to seduce me or to make me forgive you out of pity?'
His eyes shone at her teasing, 'Is there a correct answer to that?'
'Yes'.
He made that exaggerated thinking face for a moment (head tilted, mouth in a line, eyes upward), then raised a finger as if he had just found the answer, squared his shoulders and stated, 'I came here to set things straight, you devil creature, and no magic tricks you may conjure on my appearance will stop me'.
'That's close enough', she laughed and stepped aside, 'You shall pass'.
He entered, smiling.
She closed the door, took him by the hand and made him sit with her on the bed.
They sat side by side, but turned to each other, and Niles brought her hand to his lap to hold it with both of his.
He kept silent and looking at their joined hands.
Recognizing the need for support and feeling like any excuse to get closer and comfortable was good enough, CC brought her legs up to sit in a lotus position and leaned towards him, 'I know we have kind of mended things already, but...' she caressed his hands with her thumb, 'It's still difficult, isn't it?'
'Yes', he looked at her, 'But you were right. We need to talk'.
She nodded and asked softly, 'Would you prefer we do it through the phone? You could always go to your room and call me'.
It took him just a second to realize she was joking and bringing lightness to a topic that had been tough for them, and he chuckled, 'Oh, God, no!'
Seeing him relaxing and enjoying her kind of humor, she didn't resist and stole a kiss.
Surprised, Niles kept looking at her after she parted from him.
She waited to see what he would do next.
He brought up a hand to caress her face, 'There are just two women who have the right to have a word about my life, and both of them told me, tonight, the same thing. It's time I start listening to them'.
'Who is the floozy?', she asked, her hands on her hips playfully, and then realized he had been talking about the Nanny, and that was the word CC herself had used about Fran tonight, and she laughed, 'Oh, forget it, I know you mean Nanny Fine. She proved to be your best friend, earlier, by the way'.
'How so?', he asked, his fingertips tracing the line of her chin, and added, dryly, 'If you're referring to the fact she schemed behind my back with you, I must say you have an interesting concept of a best friend, Miss Babcock'.
She shivered under his touch and at his voice saying her name in that familiar sarcastic tone while he was so near, 'You should have expected something like that from me', they shared a smile, and she added, 'What I meant is that she finally did something right, supporting my interest in you'.
Niles nodded in agreement, his eyes on her mouth, his finger tracing her lower lip.
'What was it she told you, tonight?', she whispered, moved by curiosity and to increase the friction of skin on skin.
'She told me she couldn't believe I was still hiding behind lame excuses, once you were being really clear with me'.
'I couldn't agree more', she turned her face to kiss his hand, 'But when have I told you the same thing?'
'Who said you were the other important woman in my life?', he grinned.
'Oh, please!', she said, amused, taking his hand away from her face, 'I just have to look at you!'
'Uhm?'
She stole another kiss, this time taking her time to nibble on his lower lip. When she parted from him, she smirked, 'You should see your face. It's written how much you care all over it'.
He opened his mouth in awe, 'For God' sake, Babcock…'
She was going to tease him over the fact that at least once she was the one writing something on his face, but all she could do was yelp when he threw her on the bed and came over her, claiming her mouth in a real kiss.
She joined her hands behind his neck and hummed in appreciation. That was the kind of reaction she wanted to her teasing.
When they separated, Niles resumed, 'I know you were furious and kind of mocking me, earlier, but it hit the mark when you said I was victimizing myself', he caressed her hair, 'It's time I face my feelings for you. My therapist, at least, seemed to approve of the idea'.
'Your therapist?'
'I went to see Doctor Muller once… When you didn't come to the mansion for three days in a row. I thought it had been my fault that you had gone away, after that scene in the office, and was going crazy over your silence'.
'You missed me so much you had to search professional help?', she grinned at his blushing, 'How sweet, Bell Boy!'
He groaned at her, and her eyes went large.
He got worried, 'What?'
'That scene in the office just came to my mind again… and then you made that growling sound… You're sexy as Hell!'
She pulled his head and captured his lips again for a brief but intense kiss.
'Then...', Niles asked when she let him go a bit, trying to speak through his beaming, 'You intend to keep infuriating me, so I make animal sounds at you?'
'I intend to keep teasing you, not really infuriating', she pecked his lips and her hands roamed, 'You know, animals make interesting sounds when they're aroused, too'.
He had problems concentrating with her hands exploring his body, and his voice sounded strained, 'We're back to the beasts' territory, I see'.
'You were the one who decided to come into my lair'.
He smiled at the fact she had used the same word he had, with Doctor Muller, 'I should have paid attention to the inscription over the door: Abandon hope…'
'… all ye who enter here', she completed.
He chuckled, 'You were the first to use it, ever, weren't you?'
'Yes, Methuselah, it was me', she said sarcastically, pushed him by the chest until he was laying on his back and went to be on top of him, 'And it means there is no way you're getting out of my arms, once you decided to take the chance and came here'.
He looked deeply into her eyes, 'Do you mean it?'
She frowned at him, 'Of course I mean it! Do you still think I'm not serious?', she rubbed on him provocatively, 'Can't you feel how much I want you?'
Niles moaned at her ministrations but made an effort to not let the subject drop, 'Not about wanting me. I… kind of accepted it, already', he caressed her arms, 'Even if it still seems to be just a dream'.
'I can pinch you, if you need it to believe'.
'Later', he smiled at her, then got serious again, 'I was asking if you mean… that you want me… forever'.
She blinked, confused.
He hurried to explain, 'I'm not saying that being intimate wouldn't be great, because with the amount of sexual tension we have between us I'm sure it would, but… I don't know if I can live with just that. Not just as if it was a small thing, you see, I had never thought we would come this far, much less…'
'Niles', she interrupted him.
'I'm babbling, I know'.
'I have more therapy time than you, who had seen a therapist out of despair, and just once', she shook her head disapprovingly, 'Let me verbalize it, and then you tell me if I have got it right or not'.
'You do it', he raised a finger, 'But, just for the records: I called Doctor Muller again, tonight, and I intend to have weekly appointments'.
She made an appreciative face and nose kissed him, 'Good Boy!'
He rolled his eyes, 'We're really back to beasts' jokes...'
'I think it suits us very well', she winked at him and then adjusted her body, laying on her right side, supporting her head on her hand, the elbow firmly planted on the mattress.
For good measure (to keep contact and establish territory), her free hand rested on his chest, over his heart, and she threw her left leg over his middle.
He seemed to like very much the arrangement, because he rested one hand on her thigh and the other covered the hand on his chest.
She kept her eyes on his, 'What you're trying to say is that you really want to have sex with me but, once you have this obsession with the idea of me not reciprocating your feelings, you think you will feel unfulfilled and objectified if I don't express any interest in entering a real relationship with you, and just treat you as a passing fancy'.
He blinked at her, disconcerted by her precise formulation and frowned thoughtfully, 'Unfulfilled is a good choice of word, once it represents very well how I feel without you in my life. However, I don't know if I would mind being objectified…'
She raised a brow at his weak attempt at avoiding the topic, 'Am I right or not?'
He looked away, 'Yes, you're right. I want to know if you'll treat me as a long term partner, or if you'll just parade around with me as if I was a trophy and then will bump me for someone hotter'.
She laughed, 'There's no one hotter than you, Niles!'
He turned his head to her again, grinning, obviously happy with her answer, 'You're just saying that to seduce me'.
'Is it working?', she pecked his lips softly, and stayed close, 'Yes, baby, I want to have a relationship with you', she pecked him again, 'I want to see where it takes us'.
'So… you have no problem with me being…'
'An old, poor, ugly and fat butler, as you have listed earlier?'
'Well… yes', he blushed.
She resumed her position with her hand supporting her head, 'First of all, you're not fat', she spoke and freed her hand from his to palm his stomach, what made his eyes get a deep shade of blue with desire, 'You're strong, most of the time. When you're overweight, it's not that much, and I think it even suits you', she raised a brow at him, 'Yes, I don't think you're disgusting. I have had proof enough that tall dark stereotypical handsome is not my type'.
He had his mouth open in shock, and she closed it with her finger under his chin.
'The fact you're poor can make things hard for my mother and will surely attract unwanted attention from some of my social peers, but I never cared for their opinion, really. If I did, I wouldn't have invested in a career of my own', she tilted her head, 'The press may get excited over it, too, but I suppose it can bring free publicity', she shrugged, 'But most of all, if you weren't poor my jokes on you being my slave and my Bell Boy would be lost'.
They shared a smile over her generous use of my when related to him.
'And about you being older: is it seriously a point, to you?'
'I have refrained from getting too close soon after we met because of that'.
'Really?', she was genuinely surprised, 'How big is the age gap?'
'Almost sixteen years'.
'It surely would have been scandalous in the eighties', she agreed, and then smiled at him, 'But it seems love always wins'.
He stayed looking at her, too shocked for words.
'Yes, I just said that', she commented with fake annoyance, 'Can you believe it? I said it first!'
He smiled tenderly, 'You're the most amazing person I have ever met, Miss Babcock'.
'I'll take it as a compliment, once you're so old you must have met a lot of people'.
They chuckled and CC went back to cover his body with hers, to kiss him leisurely.
She stopped the kiss to whisper in his ear, 'I love the formal thing, but I want to hear you saying my name', her voice dropped one octave, 'Call me CC'.
Niles looked into her eyes intensely.
He thread his fingers on her hair, and advanced his hand until he was cupping her head and pulling it delicately to him.
His lips grazed her cheek, and approached her ear slowly.
Her body tensed in a pleasured way, in expectation.
He nibbled on her lobe and she moaned.
'I will call you whatever you want me to, CC'.
Dear God!
Her hands gripped at his arms in search for some control, 'Take care, Butler Boy, or I won't last'.
He chuckled, 'Aren't you a greedy one?', he waited for her shivering to stop and resumed whispering in her ear, 'You already said the l-word first, and now you want to come first, too?'
She felt a strange mix of being charged and melting in his arms, 'You can console yourself with the knowledge that you figured out your feelings first'.
'Uhmpf', he answered, finding a spot in her neck that made her moan loudly, 'See how well it went'.
'And how well it is that I have been stupid for a decade?', she contradicted, tilting her head to give him more space, 'You have been around me, paying attention enough to always have a prank prepared or a great zinger to throw. I should have seen through it'.
'How pranks and zingers should have made my feelings clear, witch?'
(His hands were reaching places in her body she didn't know were that sensitive.)
'You have to invest a lot of time and energy in someone to show so much hate', her fingers caressed his scalp, 'How was it I never noticed you were trying to disguise positive feelings?'
'My love', he spoke, as if he was correcting her.
'Uhm?'
'I was trying to disguise my love for you'.
She back away to look into his eyes, and he resumed, 'I was so lost in my feelings and devastated by the thought you would never reciprocate them that I had to do something to have some relief. This is why I started the zingers and the pranks: they elicited responses, and soon they became the safe place where I could go every time I needed to do something to feel close to you', his hands rested on her waist, 'And now I couldn't believe you really wanted me because I had spent years thinking every move you made towards me was a fake of my imagination – an illusion my mind conjured to help me cope with how much I loved you'.
She stayed quiet, just looking at him.
Then she blinked and put a hand over her heart, 'I said it first, but you said it better!'
He chuckled, 'It's not a contest, Ice Queen'.
'Are you sure?', she asked and started rubbing against him, 'I'm a very competitive type'.
'I have no interest in discussing with you who is boss if you're bringing sexual matters to the debate'.
'How so?', she frowned, confused.
He smirked, 'I live to serve, baby'.
Wow. 'It sounds promising'.
'It feels promising, too', his hand got under the blouse of her pajamas and advanced until it reached her breast.
She moaned deeply, 'You have a lot of initiative for someone who is used to waiting on people'.
'I'm so good at receiving orders that I know exactly what people need before they even ask', he spoke, rolled them over and started deftly unbuttoning her blouse.
She breathed deeply and licked her lips, observing his fascinated expression at her now bare breasts.
She had to close her eyes when his lips reached her nipples and his hands started pulling down her pajama pants.
He let go of her for a moment, to throw her pants away.
Then, Niles' hands opened her legs for him to settle between them and touch her through her panties, while he bended for his mouth to caress her breasts again.
CC opened her eyes to watch him and realized what was going to happen.
Smiling, she lifted her torso to take off her open shirt, and then pulled a pillow under her head to get comfortable and enjoy the show.
Niles smiled at her, happy she had got the idea and seemed to approve of it wholeheartedly.
He wished to serve her, after all.
CC soon had problems regulating her breathing: the sight of her favorite butler servicing her in an intimate fashion, with his lips and tongue and teeth – yeah, bring up the rough side! – while fully clothed, took her arousal to another level.
Niles tugged at her panties, and CC raised her waist to show him she was ready to take them off.
He went to his knees and brought her legs up, supporting her feet on his chest, so he could take off the last of her garments.
His hands pulled her panties, and they slid easily while his fingers caressed the length of her legs.
CC shivered at his heat on her skin, setting on fire every spot where they touched.
Once he had put the panties away, Niles took each feet in one hand, kissed them and started separating them.
CC could barely believe her levels of arousing at seeing Niles opening her legs slowly, his touch more guiding than really moving her.
He laid down on his stomach, his face close to her center, and waited for her to give him a signal.
'Yes', was what she said.
His mouth reached her.
There was no shame, no worry, no barriers between them. He was worshipping her as she had seen in his eyes he would, and CC felt like she had found heaven.
He was taking her there slowly and steadily, building the feeling with an awareness of her reactions that she would find surprising if it was not so coherent with everything they had been living since they met each other.
Her hands clenched into the sheets and her body tensed, knowing she was closer and closer to exploding.
At some point she whimpered, and Niles positioned himself with his face over hers, just his hand in the middle of her legs.
He changed the pace and watched in fascination as she squirmed and groaned deeply and reached her peak with a moaned Oh, Niles that turned his eyes into a deep blue that she would always associate with desire and pleasure from that moment on.
When she calmed down he took his hand from her, supported his body on that arm and brought his other hand in a caress up her body.
His knuckles graced her stomach, his fingertips teased her hard nipples.
His hand cupped the side of her neck.
CC realized that was a gesture of possessiveness, and she felt a frisson at the thought that, servicing her, he had made her his.
The idea made her feel a new wave of pleasure, and she closed her eyes to savor it.
When she opened them again, her eyes focused on Niles' face.
He approached and kissed her softly.
He looked lovingly at her and whispered, 'One more situation in which you manage to be beautiful',
She grinned, 'And one more situation in which you surprise me with your competence'.
He smiled at her playful mood, 'You witch'.
She sighed, 'You knew what you were getting into'.
'Uhum', he agreed, sighing too.
'Niles?', she called, pulling him by the tie.
'Yes?'
'As sexy as it is, I think it's time for you to take off those clothes'.
'What for? They're ruined with your stench, anyway'.
'Oh, really?', she answered, trying to look severe and failing, thanks to the great feelings cursing through her body.
'Really', he affirmed, his thumb caressing her cheek.
She reached out to loose his tie even more and pull it over his head, 'Are you playing hard to get?'
He opened his mouth to speak, but after the tie she had gone for the trousers and grabbed him through it.
Niles gasped in surprise and arousal.
CC spoke lowly and made sure she was not playing around anymore, 'Take off your clothes. Now'.
Niles quickly lifted his body to be on his knees again, opened his shirt and took it away.
That made her put her fingers on the corners of her mouth and whistle.
He squinted, 'I should have known you were the type who catcalls. How refined of you'.
She gave him her throaty laugh, 'I said you would feel objectified'.
That laugh he adored messed with his self control as much as her demanding tone had, and Niles started unbuckling his belt hurriedly.
The eager expression on CC's face was priceless, and made him sure that, one more time, they were in the same wavelength.
He got up on the bed (just to make it bounce and dislodge her, what made CC giggle), took off his trousers, speedos and socks and walked to be back between her legs, standing with his hands on his hips, 'Satisfied, now?'
Her mouth was hanging open while her eyes gave him the once over.
'Babcock?', he asked, surprised at her silence.
(And getting uncomfortable with the fact she couldn't decide if she wanted to look at his chest, his arms, his shoulders, his member or his thighs.)
'You must be joking!', she finally said.
'About what?', he asked, getting to his knees, again, to be closer to her.
She licked her lips and her eyes kept roaming, 'You're beautiful, Niles'.
'Oh?', was his reaction at the blatant lust on her face.
CC started getting up from her laid down position, frowning in disbelief, 'What made you think I wouldn't want you?', she went to her knees, mirroring him, then brought her body close, forcing him back, 'Oh, forget it. It's something for you to deal with your therapist'.
Niles let her lead him: he sat on the bed, obeying her not very gentle push and waited for her to show him what she wanted.
And what she wanted was to maneuver to sit on his lap while sliding his cock into her.
They ended up with CC on her knees, deciding the pace and bending down enough to meet Niles (who was supporting himself on his elbows) halfway and kiss him while they enjoyed their lovemaking.
It seemed they were in the way to find the balance between his devotion for her (something she found lovely and would have no problem in taking advantage of) and his own need of feeling loved and cherished (what she had every intention of fulfilling, too).
While she rode Niles, CC looked down to see the pleasure and surrender in his face, and she vowed to do everything, possible and impossible, to make that thing last forever.