AN: Firstly…

I'd like to thank Moaleot, Luvbasket and Charmichan for all their advices, suggestions and support. I love you, girls!

Secondly…

Thank you, Logan, for your patience as you edited, page by page, this "awfully girlish love scene". ;)

*Edit* (Logan): 136 cups of tea was imbibed and 4126 zombies were harmed in the making of this chapter… What can I say? Thank goodness for zombies! Otherwise, this chapter would never have been finished. We hope that you will enjoy this chapter immensely. Logan X… Is that a zombie horde I doth hear?... *Edit*

*(Me again: After editing anything remotely related to a love story, he has to play some violent games, just to get his brain back to its normal, "manly" state. Men…)

Thirdly…

Please be warned, that this chapter contains a very realistic (hopefully!) and rather explicit lemony scene. It's been rated 'M' for a good reason, with all the consequences coming with such rating, so no kiddies, please. If you are 18+ but you don't find pleasure in reading lemons, you also should skip this chapter.

But for the rest of you, those who had been waiting eagerly for this specific moment between our beloved couple, please, feel free to dive in, immerse yourself and hopefully – enjoy it for what it's worth…

P.S. Make sure that you are alone and a bucket of ice or at least cold water is nearby… ;-)

CHAPTER TWENTY NINE: SECRETS OF THE NIGHT

At this time of the night everything was shut closed. Not one window was lit, not even one single late pedestrian wandering around the streets aimlessly. With a total lack of customers to take care of, even the taxis had disappeared. The only visible signs of life were the street cleaners with their equipment, saving the city from looking like a ghost town. The good side of it was that Albert's Touring Sedan was moving through the city almost without the need of slowing down.

Candy sat in her seat seemingly patiently but inside, she was dying out of curiosity about the destination of their ride. He was taking her somewhere, that part was obvious, they weren't going to spend their wedding night at the mansion – and it was the only thing that she knew at that moment. Albert didn't look at all like he was going to share whatever he had on his mind with her. He only sat in his driver's seat with his eyes focused intently on the road ahead. He might have looked absent, unaware of her presence even, but she knew better than that. She knew all too well the lazy smile that played on his lips. He was up to something and she just couldn't wait to find out what it was. And after a few more minutes of patient waiting, she finally couldn't stand the silence any longer.

"Care to share with me where we are going?" she inquired.

For a moment there was no reply and she began doubting she would get one. That's why she was surprised when Albert suddenly released one hand from the steering wheel, reached into his pocket, pulled something out of it and held it in front of her. The second the bronze item dangled from the short, silver chain, she instantly recognized it.

"But… that's my old key!" she exclaimed. "The one I lost! Where did you find it?"

"You really think you lost it?" he teased her in a leisurely way, without taking his eyes off the road.

"I did! Where did you…" she repeated and trailed off as her husband's words fully registered. She had lost the key more than two weeks ago and had used the spare copy ever since, without even thinking about it twice. Only now she realized that she didn't lose it. It went missing but she didn't lose it. It was taken and it would have been totally naive of her to ask who did it, for he was the one who had the best access to her belongings. She shook her head. "Never mind…" she summed up in a much quieter voice.

It indeed wasn't important how he had gotten hold of the key. The point was, he had it and it seemed that he was now taking her back to her apartment. For a moment, she felt like she would have been disappointed by his choice. It was widely accepted that a newly wedded couple sometimes preferred spending their wedding night in a rented hotel room and she wouldn't be surprised if that was his plan. Taking her to her own apartment would seem less appealing… but strangely, it wasn't. Once she quickly reconsidered the idea, she realized she actually liked it. At least their first night will be in familiar, cosy surroundings…

She did feel a little tad nervous again. Not much, just a little, just enough to keep her slightly tense. The chat she had with Annie really helped her, even if it was a short one. It helped her understand that she wasn't the only one bride who experienced this inner shiver, this mix of anxiousness and eagerness all rolled into one.

It was a good thing though that she didn't get much time to dwell on about it. Merely minutes passed before they got into the area of Douglas Park and once there, they needed even less time to get to S Albany Avenue and park the car outside her house. Albert was out and on her side of the car before she even managed with her dress. He opened the door for her in a refined gesture but he didn't say a word to her. He helped her to get out by holding her hand to support her but all of it was in complete silence. She could swear her heart was beating hard enough for him to hear it in the silence of the night…

She felt a little odd when they finally got upstairs and he inserted the key into the key lock. Usually it was her who did that.

As soon as they got in, she noticed that there was something different, something slightly amiss. It was about how the way her place looked like. She had left it the day before in a mess, not a big one but a mess nonetheless. Now however, everything had been cleaned up, the clothes she had left on the sofa and on the hangers had gone – and what was the most important, the bed was neatly done up. She only had a quick peek through the open door to her bedroom but the faint orange light coming from the street lamp was enough to see in. She always took care of the bed as soon as she got up, but it was never as neatly done as it was now.

Somebody was here while she was away.

That was obvious.

And it explained the key.

He… he must have planned it all!

She stopped in the middle of the carpet and turned on her heel to face her husband. Her movement was so rapid that the silk of her dress spun around her legs.

But Albert wasn't even looking at her at that moment. He was currently walking around the room, seemingly entirely focused on lighting the candles that were left in strategic places – another proof that someone had taken care of the place before they arrived.

"Who?" she asked in a shaky voice, "Who did all this?"

Even though she believed he could achieve almost impossible things, for everything seemed possible when it came to him, deep inside, she knew in this case, he couldn't have done all this by himself. He simply didn't have enough time to do it in person. He was way too busy with the preparations for the wedding and she knew for a fact that he hadn't left the mansion until they were leaving for the ceremony. Besides, her sixth sense was telling her that this was a woman's job. It just felt like there was a female hand in the cleaning.

"Does it matter?" Albert replied to her evasively, still busy lighting up the third candle. "The point is, I wanted to have privacy and a nice atmosphere for me and my wife…"

With the fourth and the last candle being lit up, the room gained a very specific atmosphere indeed. Thanks to the tiny flames flickering on their fuses, her living room suddenly didn't seem as she quite knew it. The usually average looking room had become more mysterious and more exciting. It wasn't dark anymore but it wasn't very bright either; the illumination from the four flickering candles was adequate enough for both to see each other, although, not in great detail.

But as Albert began walking towards her, she didn't need any bright light to see how intense his gaze was. She could actually feel it, roaming itself upon her body, surveying her body. Up and down. Up and down.

"…and privacy I have." He finished in a low, lazy voice. "No fuss, no nosy people around. Just my dear wife and I… finally alone …"

Usually this tone of voice soothed her and brought tranquillity. Not this time. This time his voice seemed to be waking up a riot within her body. Just his voice alone. And this was before anything had actually started.

There was still more to come. So much more to come.

Albert was now so close now that she could distinguish all the features of his face, despite the dim light. "Before we came here, I had a very interesting conversation with a certain young lady." He spoke with a, now, suddenly casual sounding voice. "Her name was Miss Curiosity. I believe she was trying to trick me into revealing to her my plans I had in store for my wife, so she could warn her. Now…" he inquired, his voice once again dropping a few tones down, "did she speak to you? Did she warn you that there's no chance of escape from me?"

Yes, his voice was very much capable of creating such a riot within her. Oh… and how she loved it!

"She did." She replied quietly, feeling as if it was the continuation of their chat during their last waltz. "She tried to warn me about you."

"And despite her warning, you didn't run, Milady? You went with me?"

"I really didn't have a choice, did I?" she countered.

"No, you didn't. You are now mine." he accentuated the last word.

"I'm yours indeed." she admitted humbly. In fact she wasn't trying to keep her voice humble. She actually felt a littlehumbled.

"Tell me then, my sweet… what should we start with?"

Candy hesitated but only for a moment. "With a promised kiss, perhaps?" she suggested.

"Milady wants to be kissed. Not a bad idea: a kiss…" Albert reached out and clasped her left hand in his. She felt his thumb playing seductively with her fingers, rotating her wedding ring minutely and then he slowly lifted her hand to his lips. The kiss was just a light touch of his lips on her fingers, so brief that her skin barely had the time to register the warmth of his breath lingering on it. Then he looked up from above her hand.

"Like this one?" he asked without even a trace of a smile.

Candy bit her lower lip in an effort to stop it from quivering. So far, she had managed to contain her nervousness and stop her entire body from trembling but it was becoming, by now, harder and harder to restrain. The anxiousness was slowly being replaced by excitement and eagerness but that didn't make controlling her body any easier. Although her feelings had changed – the effect upon her, the inner tremble, had remained the same.

And suddenly, in a glimpse of epiphany, she realized the nature of the game he was proposing; they had done it once or twice before. It was a tease in which he was the one flirting with her, seducing her and she was supposed to be the one pretending to be indifferent and fussy – this way, he had to make more and more efforts to get a reaction from her.

Yes, they had done this before… but it was only for a joke and the games all ended with hilarious laughter. Right now however, it was different. It wasn't for a joke and she knew there will be no backing off when they feel that they have ventured a little too far. There were no limits for this flirt, not tonight. They will be dancing until they finally unite and fly together as one.

And she was determined to go as far as he dared take her. She wanted to play this game in unison with him.

Looking straight into his eyes to make sure that he understood the meaning of her gesture, she slowly shook her head.

And he understood.

"Milady didn't like it." He commented, narrowing his eyes slightly. "I must try something else then."

Without breaking eye contact with her, he turned her hand, facing it up, pushed the bracelet higher up and placed another kiss, this time on the inner side of her wrist. This time the kiss lasted longer and it wasn't as light as before. And it wasn't as innocent as before. This time not only his lips touched her skin; she also felt the tip of his tongue brushing gently over the spot where her vein pulsed, leaving a slightly wet trace behind, in turn, leaving her with butterflies in her stomach, awakened and fluttering.

She swallowed and shook her head again.

"I was hoping to get that better this time, but milady still doesn't seem to be satisfied." He commented, sighing as if in deep disappointment.

He didn't let go of her hand, however. His lips moved upwards, along her forearm. She felt each spot that he kissed coming to life in a very familiar way and the caress felt even more intense as he traced the line of his kisses with the fluid movement of his fingers. And when his lips finally reached their destination at the curve of her elbow, his tongue once again brushed over her sensitive skin, she winced uncontrollably. He must have noticed that because she felt his lips curling up into a smile.

But when he broke the kiss and looked at her again, his face was rather serious and his gaze very intense.

"And again, I guess I'm not even close..." he tried and she, following the game, shook her head again.

Almost immediately, his fingers began moving up her bare arm. They slipped underneath the loose fabric covering her arms and very gently, skimmed across the naked skin. When they got to her shoulder, he suddenly broke eye contact between them and dropping his hands lower, stepped behind her. She felt his fingers once again, this time slowly diving into the loose strands of her hair and brushing over the back of her neck and that alone was enough to give her hot shivers. Then, her hair was slowly moved away to one side and she felt her husband's lips on the base of her neck. Another set of shivers darted down her spine.

But it wasn't only one kiss. His lips wandered about on her entire neck, caressing every single sensitive spot he knew of. She knew she shouldn't even feel surprised by this; by now, he knew more about the sensitive parts on her neck than she was even aware of herself. They had even been joking once, about him drawing a map with those locations on, on a piece of paper, marking each one of them with a cross for the future reference. Just like a pirate's treasure map. But right now he didn't look at all like he needed a map. And certainly, this was no joke.

"Do these kisses satisfy you… Milady..?" he murmured into her neck and his voice sent an additional resonance through her skin. His question registered slowly in her somewhat already hazy mind. She had no doubts that he wasn't randomly choosing the areas to kiss. He chose them deliberately, knowing all too well which ones would have the desired and strongest effects on her. And he chose very well. As a result, she stood there, in the middle of the floor, feeling his body behind her, his hands sensually stroking her hairline at the back of her neck, his lips hovering tentatively behind her ear and she wondered briefly how on Earth it was possible that she was still capable of still standing upright. With the way she felt under his caresses, it was truly a wonder as to why she still hadn't become a puddle of melted wax at his feet…

"Milady is silent." The words somehow tore their way through the thick cotton like fog of her daze. "I guess that is a "no" and I shall have to try harder…"

Albert moved to the other side and she felt his lips kissing lightly her other ear. And this time, upon receiving his caresses, her acted out silence became too much to rein in. A quiet moan escaped her lips.

"I think I'm getting there…" His warm breath tickled her ear. One more time, he kissed her lower earlobe and then he began moving along her jaw line. She slowly turned her face towards him, waiting for him half way but just before their lips met, Albert moved away slightly and the only thing she kissed, was air.

But she didn't have time to feel disappointment. "Do you know what? I've changed my mind about kissing." She heard him say, and before she could react, a pair of male arms swept her off her feet from the floor. She only had time to blink twice in surprise but this was all it took for Albert to carry her into the bedroom. One moment she was standing on the floor in the living room and the next, she found herself seated on the edge of her own bed and having her man lowering himself to a kneeling position in front of her. And he must have kept his eyes on her, for when she searched for his gaze, she found it immediately. "Now…" he spoke the word protractedly, a slight, very alluring smile crept onto his lips, "now I think it's the time to let these delicate feet rest…"

The fabric on the sleeves of his tuxedo swished almost silently when Albert reached out his hands. Candy felt both his palms wrapping around her calves and she held her breath for a moment. It was already really, really hard for her to act indifferent and it didn't get any easier when his long, strong fingers began stroking her skin, massaging it sensually before finally working their way down her ankles. With the same, sensual slowness he took care of her shoes. One by one, they were taken off and deposited carefully somewhere on the floor next to the bed. And the blood pumped faster in her veins when he proceeded with his aims. His hands slipped underneath her dress and began manoeuvring up her legs, and as they reached her thighs, he raised himself up from his heels. He was now kneeling before her, between her legs, having his hands venturing higher and higher up and his thumbs tentatively brushing the inner sides of her thighs. She felt it; she felt every single stroke of his fingers as they ran along her silky stockings, as they stopped for a split second at the suspenders and as they finally touched the naked skin itself. And the last one felt as if some tiny but hot electric sparks had skipped between them, causing her to draw in a rapid, shaky breath.

Albert only smiled a little wider but he said nothing. He let his hands do the speaking for him. And instead of hearing it from his lips, she felt how satisfied he was about her reaction on her own skin. She felt the effect it had on him; she felt it from the movements of his, more and more, impatient fingers as he blindly searched for each button on her suspenders in earnest effort to undo them. The game was nearing its usual end and not one of them was capable of holding back their passion. And she didn't want to either. Almost completely gone from her was this ridiculous nervousness that she felt through the entire evening and night. She was eager to proceed faster and finally feel this mad rush of desire that made her body move beyond her will. But so far, she felt as if Albert was keeping her just teetering on the edge, just on the outskirts of the final jump, from which the blood was now beginning to nearly boil in her veins. As a result, she was out of breath here and there and dazed, as if she was enclosed in some sort of a bubble, yet, she was still far from being blinded by desire, the state she wanted so much to experience.

So then she decided to help him a little in his explorations. Her hands, up until this point, were hanging loosely by her sides, now slowly moved behind her back and then pushed up against the bed for support. And almost unnoticeably, she slowly leaned backwards a little, as if inviting him to go further.

But to her surprise, Albert didn't follow her lead. He retracted his hands from her hips, where they had climbed up to after undoing the suspenders and in a rather quick movement, he rolled down her stockings. In no time at all, they too were both left on the floor, only this time without care from him where to place them nicely, like he had done with her shoes earlier. He simply tossed them aside and without pause, reached out to her waist, motioning her to get up. Offering no explanation, he turned her around so he now stood behind her back and seconds later, she felt his fingers on her neck. Before she had even noticed it, her necklace was loosened, then gone. Only the quiet clinking sound informed her that it was being placed somewhere behind, probably on her night stand. And almost instantly, his hands were tangled in her hair again. But this time he didn't play with it and after a moment she understood, he was pulling out the hairpins that held her hair in place. One by one, her locks kept falling onto her back until there were no more to untwine.

"Milady's hair like a golden coat dresses her glory… lovely…" a soft murmur vibrated in her ear and once again, she felt Albert covering her neck with kisses. Like before, his hands had now joined in the caress, causing yet another shiver to run down her spine. And as if to strengthen its effect, he ran his fingers along her spine too. But their ulterior motive was soon revealed; they stopped at the top edge of the back of her dress and began manipulating the zip.

So it's now… at last… Candy sighed inwardly. She's been waiting for this moment with a constantly growing impatience and she was more than happy that it was finally happening. While he was gradually freeing her from the dress, she had a moment of feeling ashamed of her soon-to-be-absolute nudity but she pushed it to the very back of her mind. It didn't matter that he had never seen her completely naked before. She didn't have to worry if he liked what he was looking at. His hands, their eagerness in removing her dress, were enough of a reassurance. It was only her, feeling a little uneasy with standing completely naked in front of a man.

But she didn't have much time to wonder about the remains of her embarrassment. Albert really didn't waste any more time than necessary in getting rid of her clothes and as she stood among the small island, created by her folded and discarded dress on the floor, any unwanted prior thoughts were stopped abruptly, pushed away with new sensations. Kneeling behind her, Albert placed his hands on her thighs and began to move his palms in a gentle up-and-down motion. The night was warm but still colder than her heated up body and it felt like her skin, exposed to the nightly air, had become even more sensitive. With each stroke, each delicate scratch of his nails was intensified tenfold.

But it wasn't what was in her still relatively conscious mind had thought, it didn't come in the form of his fingers but in the form of his lips, kissing their way up her thighs. It wasn't perhaps a breathtaking feeling; it was more like a tease. It's just what he was doing and how he was doing it that was just so… unthinkable! Never in a million years would she even have thought of such ways of caressing a backside... and that it could feel so good. No, not just good, more than good… With each passing second, she began to quickly change her mind about such play being just nice because apparently, this game began to stoke the fire within her more and more and the longer it went on and the higher he got, the more she felt as if real flames were leaping higher and higher up her legs.

Still, it was just a tease. With her body still trembling from impatience, she just couldn't wait for him to finally start caressing her 's why when he finally placed his hands on her waist, she almost sighed with relief.

"Where did I leave off three months ago?" her husband's low tone murmur tickled her ear again. His fingers glided for an instant upon her belly and then in a quick and smooth movement reached higher up. "Here?" he murmured again, his fingertips brushing over the skin just underneath her breasts which coaxed a sharp, shaky gasp from her. "Or, was it here?"

His hands moved around her breasts and after a few more, and what seemed like an eternally long moment of this nearly unbearable pause, they finally enclosed firmly around her moulds. Her nipples, sensitive even to the nightly air, hardened even more under his touch. Unlike three months ago, this time she knew what to expect and she welcomed it with an inner joy as the sharp current that ran through her.

"Did you wait for that as much as I did? Say you did...!" he demanded softly. "I know you did... I can feel it..."

Oh, if he only knew how much she had been waiting for this! Oh, how she remembered that feeling when he had touched her and how she longed to experience it all again! And she wanted to tell him that. Scrap her previous decision to follow the rules of his game! She thought she will follow him, trying to keep up with his pace whereas now it was her who wanted him to go faster. She had overestimated her own patience and now she has already had enough of this game. She wanted to finish it so they could finally start on something more serious. Yet, she found replying almost impossible at this moment; as the caress of his hands intensified, it temporarily robbed her of her voice. And just as if knowing what his touch was causing to her, Albert doubled his efforts in making sure that she would remain unable to speak. While his hands were busy, his lips had resumed their previous assault on her neck and this time, his kisses, combined with the caress of his fingers, made her legs buckle beneath her.

She was perhaps unable to speak but apparently, she was still capable of making some sounds. A long, deep, moan tore its way up and out from the bottom of her throat.

And it was then the caress stopped. Not only Albert wasn't touching her anymore; he stepped away from her slightly. She didn't even try to repress the discontented whine at the loss of the warmth of his body behind her back. She opened her eyes slowly.

Albert wasn't standing behind her anymore, that part was true – now he stood in front of her. How was it possible that he moved so quickly without her noticing – she didn't have time to even grasp – but she wasn't going to waste her time wondering about it either. She had better things to do. Much more pleasant was to see her man feasting his eyes upon her. She really didn't have to ask if he liked what he saw. His openly sultry gaze that hungrily rambled on her body told her enough. Somewhere at the back of her mind, there was a tiny voice, making last efforts in trying to convince her that she should feel embarrassed but she ignored it. She stood straight, forcing her arms not to cover her nudity and with a heavy blush on her cheeks she relished in the clear, wild desire that shone in her husband's eyes. She wanted nothing more than finally feel physically this desire on herself and not only see it. She longed for him to show her how wild he could really get. So many times in the past he had snatched her in his arms to kiss her as if there was no tomorrow and seeing his desire, she was instinctively expecting him to do the same now.

But for some reason he still wasn't doing it. "Well, Milady…" he finally said in a low, husky voice. He raised his hand and she felt his fingers possessively gliding upon the skin of her neck where he had been kissing her merely seconds ago. "Did those kisses satisfy you?"

Oh… So, he was still playing his little game then. Fine. She would show him that she wasn't going to be only just a passive participant. She had her own, long positively tested means to provoke him and she was going to use them. She would be the one who will decide about the ending of this game.

Forcing herself to breathe evenly, as if his recent actions hadn't affected her in any way, she made a fussy pout. "They were…" she managed in a surprisingly even voice, "...oh, well…" she shrugged, "…acceptable."

Albert's nostrils flared wider at the word. Was he expecting her to act this fussy or was he just surprised – she couldn't really tell. What was important to her was that he fell for it. Within an instant, the hand that had been caressing her neck was now on her chin, strongly cupping her face and holding it in place. "Liar." He accused her, smiling lightly.

And he finally did what she had hoped for. He leant over her quickly and swiftly covered her lips with his.

She too, cast aside the act of indifference and wrapped her hands around his neck. This was what she needed. It was as if she had been a torch held above an open fire, feeling the flames licking her hesitantly here and there but never heating up enough for her to ignite. With his touch now doing so much more, she finally did; she was now burning with a strong, steady flame.

It wasn't only her who burned. As Albert held her body closely to his own, even through the layers of his clothing, she could feel the crazy, rhythmic dance of his heart – and she had absolutely no doubts as to what was poking her lower abdomen. And he was as impatient as she herself was; one moment, she was standing on the floor, the next, she felt his hands linking behind and underneath her buttocks and lifting her off the ground. Somehow beyond her, her legs wrapped themselves around his hips, as if her body knew better at how to keep balance. But she didn't need the balance for too long; it was a matter of perhaps seconds before she felt herself being lowered onto the bed.

Her hands were missing something and searched for it impatiently as Albert continued their kiss. And suddenly she realized what it was. She wanted to touch him too. She wanted, oh, she so badly wanted to feel him under her fingers, get to know the texture of his skin… everywhere… It was so… unfair that he had her lying here, so exposed to his eager hands while she herself could only embrace him through his clothes… Why was he still wearing them, anyway?

Rather firmly, she pushed her hands against his chest. Initially he ignored this, but as she pressed on more insistently, he finally broke off their kiss and lifted his head up, confusion in his hazy eyes.

"It's not fair…" she somehow managed, at best, a throaty whisper, "I want to touch you too… and see…but this…" she tugged meaningfully at the collar of his tuxedo, "…is not letting me."

Immediately, the confusion disappeared, the slight frown too. Without saying anything back, Albert lifted himself up on his arms, slid off her body and then, off the bed and with a challenge written all over his face, he began removing his garments.

Candy rose too and propped up on both elbows, never stopping to watch the show before her intently. She would have never thought that a view of the man who was simply undressing himself could be so eye-captivating! He was simply taking the jacket of his tuxedo off and discarding it haphazardly onto the armchair and there she was, unable to take her eyes off him, she barely even blinked. He was only now just beginning to undo the buttons of his white shirt and here she was, reminding herself to breath and swallowing repeatedly in a fruitless attempt to moisten her dry throat…

The shirt was open only up to his chest when Albert stopped. "Are you…" he inquired with a changed voice, "…brave enough to assist me in changing into my birthday suit?"

She understood. He was inviting her to join him. And the next second, one of his words finally sank into her brain. Brave? Brave? He dared to imply that she wasn't brave enough to show some initiative?

In one quick movement, she lifted herself off the pillow and knelt on the edge of the bed, her hands reaching for her husband's shirt. Gently but firmly she pushed away both his hands and carried on where he had left off. Her fingers trembled from impatience and she struggled with the first few buttons but she didn't give up until every last of them was finally undone. Then, she could widen the gap between the flaps of his shirt and slip it off of his shoulders. She reached behind his back and as quickly as she could, unclipped the hooks of the complimentary cummerbund. The black band fell silently onto the floor. Finally, with the shirt dangling off his trousers, he was all hers to touch.

With a sigh of delight, she let her hands rest of his naked torso. It wasn't a little shy, curious exploration she had always imagined that would take place. She had always thought she would be slowly tracing her fingers upon him, giving her eyes enough time to recognize every single contour her hands had known thus far only roughly through the fabric of his shirt. She had thought she would be taking her time and relishing every inch of his skin but what she was doing right now was the complete opposite. Her blood, boiling in her veins simply didn't allow her to remain patient, to the contrary; making her hands more and more fervent. And the further she went, the more she liked it. Albert had nice skin; not really a delicate one – but smooth and firm. The softness of hers met his, complimenting each other and she couldn't get enough of this feeling. Her fingertips gained an incredible sensitivity, her eyes focused completely on following her fingers and in these quick, impassioned movements she was creating a rough mental sketch of the map of her man's body. And it was so good to feel how he reacted to her touch; the tiny twitches of his muscles wherever her fingertips brushed over, his breath above her head, shallow, shaky and quavering, all told her how much he liked her doings.

But it wasn't enough. The moment the realization of what she wanted to touch the most hit her, she immediately considered herself probably being the naughtiest newly wedded wife on the planet. She entered her marriage as a virgin, yes, but she definitely didn't feel the timidity expected from a decent young woman during her supposedly first intimate experience with her husband. Decency be damned, she thought with an inner smile. This is much more fun.

She let her hands slide down her husband's lower back and rested for a moment around his waist. Then, wanting to see his reaction, she looked up at him and as their eyes locked, she traced her fingers along the edge of his trousers all the way to its front, tugging lightly at the button.

There was no way of not understanding this gesture.

A tiny smile graced briefly on the corner of his lips before his hands covered hers. One fluid twist of his fingers and she felt the trousers loosening up. But then he let go again. This time, it was her turn to read the silent message. Clearly, he wanted her to continue to do what she was doing, on her own.

And she was more than happy to comply. And it didn't matter that removing this part of a man's clothing was new territory for her; she instinctively went with the routine of taking her own trousers off when she wore them. She simply slid her thumbs underneath the edge of his underwear and she began pulling it down his hips. Her movements were a little unsure but she refused to look down. She wanted to keep eye contact with her husband and have a peek at him when he was fully undressed. Impatiently, she firmly tugged at the resisting fabric.

"Eager, are we?"

"Weren't you told in advance that your wife had her own plans regarding your person?" she retorted with a very similar, raspy voice.

Once again, she felt his hands giving her a little help and a moment later, both garments slid down his legs, pulling the shirt along with them. She retraced her hands from his thighs back onto his hips and reaching as far as she could, she clasped them onto his buttocks. And also here, he didn't remain indifferent; the strong muscles contracted suddenly, reacting to her strokes. She didn't let him enjoy it for too long; teasingly, she pulled away back onto his hips, gently scratching the skin on the way. But she didn't stop at his hips. Her hands wandered further and further, to finally land on his abdomen.

It was like music to her ears when she heard him inhaling rapidly, his breath becoming a sharp hiss. "Candy…" he breathed out, his voice half demanding, half begging, "Touch me!"

Even if she didn't already have that in her plans, she would have still submitted to his darkened, hypnotizing gaze. Not having any experience here, she lowered only one hand at first, very slowly. All movement of her hand ceased when her fingertips bumped into something hard, much harder, much harder than the skin above. One second of pause and she moved her hand, continuing her curious exploration.

Maybe sensing her hesitance or maybe simply being too aroused to wait around patiently, Albert clasped her hand in his and closed her fingers around his manhood. His eyes still locked with hers, he guided her and she understood that her concerns were unnecessary. She was a little worried that she might somehow hurt him with her inexperienced hand whereas he clearly didn't mind her being more firm…

He didn't let go of her hand, still setting up the pace of her strokes and she couldn't stop marvelling at the contrast of the surprising softness and flexibility of the skin and the solid rock hardness of the flesh beneath it. And before she knew, her mind began creating images for her, images of them already joined as one. It was her hands caressing him and yet, she could almost feel how it would be when he will be inside her, wondering idly how it was possibly going to fit... The sensation was so intense that she felt her lower body beginning to throb from longing. She wanted it. She wanted it badly and she knew she was ready; otherwise, why would her secret feminine place so wet, why would it feel so very, very warm? Annie was right about my body telling me, the thought flashed quickly through her mind just to disperse a fraction of a second later. The need of becoming one with him was strong enough that it pushed out everything and everyone else from her mind but him.

Not even realizing, she sped up the pace and at the moment that she did it, Albert groaned quietly and nearly at the same second, he forced her hands to let go. It didn't escape how his face had changed, how he grimaced, as if he was in pain. She stiffened, suddenly scared that she did something to hurt him after all.

"Did I… do something wrong?" she asked, biting her lip.

Albert opened his eyes and glanced at her, dazed, for a moment looking as if he didn't quite understand her question. Then, he shook his head fervently. "No… not at all!" he uttered. "It's just me... It was… too good...I wouldn't be able to… hold back if you carried on…"

She didn't fully understand what he had said for now, she simply accepted it as it was. There was a lot to learn about each other… but later. "Then don't." She whispered softly and leaned forward again, placing one and then, more kisses on his chest. Quickly, her lips travelled up, onto his collarbone, neck and then, his jaw line. "Don't hold back…"

Before she knew, his mouth was on hers and he pulled her closer. As if in a dream, she felt herself falling backwards – it was him, lowering her onto the bed and covering her with his body. Overwhelmed with the kiss, she only faintly registered that he had got rid of his clothes completely, simply kicking them off his ankles - all she could focus on were his hands, fervently caressing her everywhere that they could reach, his muscular thigh that separated her legs and pressing against her, promisingly. She was becoming all but a quivering bunch of muscles from the overwhelming lust, leaving her with no doubt what her body was telling her. Her body wanted, needed to be conquered. It wanted to be his. Now.

O O O

It felt like it was sort of being burnt alive. Albert felt like he was reaching the point beyond which he really would have no more control over himself. It was already bad enough when she touched him moments earlier but now it just became too much; having his wife's wriggling body under his aroused one, having the intoxicating mix of her own scent and those tempting perfumes filling his nostrils, having hearing her moans that melted somewhere in her throat… As much as he wanted to follow on with his initial plan of savouring her body to the fullest, to tease her until she begged him to finish it, he just couldn't. The long months of waiting, more or less patiently for this moment to arrive, simply became too much for carrying on with any games; all his body desired was to make her his and now. Like in a fever, he broke off the kiss, only to immediately attack her neck and slid his hand down her torso, finally letting his fingers slide in gently between her soft, feminine petals. The touch confirmed what he earlier felt on his leg; she was ready. So, so ready. The rest of her body told him the same thing; her hips bucked invitingly under his touch, the muscles of her soft thigh tensed around his hip as if she subconsciously wanted to pull him closer. She was ready, her mind lost in desire just like his was and he couldn't find any reason to wait any longer.

Releasing her breast from his lips, he propped himself up on his elbow and knelt, his fingers never for a moment breaking the caress on her core. Somehow he now found himself unable to remove them, intoxicated by the feel of her wetness. And if his arousal wasn't urging him on so much, he would have relished the view of his wife spread open before him and receiving pleasure from his hand for longer. Oh, he would have enjoyed that very much; she layed opened and ready for him, her naked skin glowing faintly in the dim orange light that permeated through the window, her chest heaving erratically with each breath she took. Her hands, deprived of his shoulders to hold onto, clutched onto the pillow and tugged it more and more, harder with each intimate stroke he gave her. But as much as he would have loved to do this all night, he really couldn't wait any longer. His body loudly demanded the immediate fulfilment of his needs.

She didn't seem to notice when he spread her thighs wider and shifted his leg to position himself between them. Only when he lowered himself onto her again and his manhood touched her entrance, she winced and then, stilled. That didn't stop him. He finally forced himself to break away the caress of his fingers and used the hand to guide himself, using her wetness to ease the friction – and there he was, already sliding in - slowly but smoothly. He allowed his weight to push himself deeper and he held his breath at the feeling of the womanly channel opening for him gradually and closing around him as he dove in. It was unbelievable. It was hot, sleek and so wonderfully, breathtakingly tight! It was as if he was being swallowed up whole. Unable to stop himself, he rocked forward, shutting his eyes tight and letting out a hiss in pleasure when he felt the inner muscles of his wife's inner cavern strongly clamping down around him. It felt so good, so, so good, so much better than he had imagined! Beyond his control, his hips rocked again, harder this time, sending a quiver along his spine as his entire length was finally, fully buried inside his wife. He drew in a long, shaky breath, ready to fully lose himself in their passionate lovemaking… and it was at this point that he realized that Candy's hold on him was perhaps a little too tight. Not only had she held onto his shoulders; he felt her nails digging holes into his skin. He opened his eyes and lifted his head slightly. And just this one look, seeing the grimace on her face was enough to understand. He took her muffled moan the moment earlier as a moan of pleasure – but it was a cry of pain.

Immediately, he ceased the pressure of his hips. I am such an idiot, he slapped himself mentally. She was ready for him, yes. But he was focused so much on his own pleasure that at the most important moment, he failed to remember that despite her eagerness it was still her first time!

"I'm sorry..." he whispered, once again burying his face in her hair, "I know the first time is sometimes painful… I should have…"

"Shhh… it's okay…" she silenced his words with a shaky whisper. "Please, don't stop."

He knew he wouldn't stop but he wasn't going to rush it either. He didn't want to cause any more pain than was necessary. "Just try to… relax?" he suggested.

Instead of replying, Candy hugged him even tighter and after a moment, he felt that she complied; her, so far rigid and tensed up body, relaxed a little.

To distract her, he reached for something that he expected to work; he sensually plunged his fingers into her hair and began kissing her neck. He chose to nibble on her neck, just below her earlobes. And he chose right. Despite the pain that she was in, her body reacted to this very well known caress by stretching beneath him and in effect, her hips bucked against his, bringing him deeper without him even making a move. When it first happened, she immediately tensed again but a moment later, he felt her relaxing again and, as he increased his caresses, she repeated the movements. Somehow, he was almost glad that it happened as it happened. At least it cooled his mind and his manly urges for a moment. Otherwise, he would have gotten lost in his own desire and probably finished before her and that was something totally out of the question. And this way, he had regained this tiny bit of self control needed to focus on her first, without going insane.

And it was working. Her first movements were a little unsure at first, probably coming from the instinctive reaction of her body rather than from her own will. But gradually it started to change and soon he noticed that she was gaining more and more confidence in the way she was offering her body to him. He allowed her to dictate the pace and only when he sensed that she was beginning to fall into the right rhythm, he started to move too.

A loud gasp came into shot of his ears and he felt that she tensed up again but almost immediately, her hips replied to his movement. One more time, he grinded himself against her, this time a little harder, receiving a mimicked action from her without a second's delay. Guessing that he could proceed now, he began slowly but firmly to set his own pace.

.

Candy found herself having serious difficulty breathing; one second, she was holding her breath and the next, as she felt her husband's manhood plunge and conquer her, time and time again, she gasped rapidly for more air.

The initial pain of her body being breached by him had been truly piercing but at least she had expected it, so that wasn't a total surprise. Her body had contracted, fighting against the pain and forcing it to relax wasn't easy, but as seconds had passed, she found it less difficult. Her body had its own ways to adjust and the pain had lessened gradually, to finally shrink down to be only a dull discomfort. And Albert was also helping her to focus on something else… As his lips traversed upon her neck, she had found herself feeling dizzy once again and wanting for more. Somehow, beyond her will and control, her body moved beneath him, causing him to dive deeper into her. The pain had stricken her once more but it wasn't nearly as sharp as before – and at the same time, she had felt something else besides the pain. It was like a warm throb deep within her and to her own surprise, she had felt her body immediately responding to it by contracting again. She felt so full, so complete…and it felt good. It felt good, it felt hot… and she wanted more if it. Even if she would want to control it, she wouldn't be able to; her hips bucked as if they had a will of their own, as if they wanted to meet his half way… This time, there had been no pain, only a penetrating fullness of him inside her and a nice pleasant feeling when the tip of his manhood softly stroked this newly discovered spot deep within her, every time she moved.

But it was nothing in comparison to what she felt when he had finally moved. This time the sensation had been much more intense, managing to tear a loud gasp out of her. She had held her breath for a moment, only to gasp again when her husband had finally began setting his own pace. And since then, she had felt as if she had forgotten the normal skills for breathing…

As Albert continued his slow, shallow thrusts, she felt the previous desire rapidly coming back and washing the pain away. It wasn't important anymore, even the memory of it; what was important was the coil of need, winding tighter and tighter within her. Before she knew it, her body ceased listening to her brain and began moving by its own accord, rhythm instinctive, not requiring or needing any help from her consciousness. Her hips rolled fluidly, softly adjusting to her husband's moves, her hands settled around his back, as if they were trying to bring him closer… It really was as if he wasn't close enough, deep enough… She wanted… oh, she wanted more of him, firmer and deeper so that she could feel him all…

Without really realizing what she was doing and why, she lifted her legs off the bed and wrapped them around her husband's hips. What this would cause and how much deeper it will bring him, she found out with his next thrust; this time, the tip of his manhood didn't stroke teasingly the mysterious spot within her. It pressed fully against it and the moment that happened, tremors of pleasure shot along her spine. Her body shuddered violently… and then the blazing wave slowly melted away.

It shocked her so much that she stopped, not really sure what happened, nor what to think of it.

Was that 'it' already? Was that… all?

A quiet chuckle put a stop to her frenzied thoughts. "Seems like somebody was really hungry…"

With difficulty, she opened her eyes. Albert was looking at her; his face expressed something between desire, surprise… and a sort of amusement. "I haven't even started properly…" he continued slowly, huskily, "…and you are already ahead of me! If you feel satisfied, I can always stop right here…" he offered her an impossible challenge, "Just say the word…"

Stop? Now? No way!

"You do that…" she replied, her bravery bouncing back, "…and the first thing I will do in the morning is to get divorce papers!"

Her allusion must have been understood because Albert laughed. "Divorce papers, huh?" he asked. A second later his smile disappeared and his gaze was once again, filled with a dark, wild flame. "Not a chance!"

As if pointing out his words, he rocked his hips forward, grinding against her harder than he had before and she gasped at the feeling. Oh, no; it definitely wasn't all. It was just the beginning…

And that was her last coherent thought. As he continued pounding into her with his hard thrusts, everything began to spin before her eyes and all she could focus on was him. Him, stretching her… filling her… Him, carrying her to this rapid ride to completion. She could already feel the fire pit within her abdomen beginning to boil, the muscles both in and outside, winding tighter and tighter as the ecstasy was slowly but mercilessly taking possession of her body. It was breathtaking. It was reducing her into a mindless being, into a mass of tangled nerves being driven by pure pleasure, numb to everything around that wasn't a source of it. All she knew was that she wanted more of it… and more…

And he was giving her more. More than she thought she needed, more than she ever knew was possible. As he increased his speed, she could feel every muscle pulling taut as the fire threatened to consume her. She had long since lost the ability to form coherent words and all that she was capable of now were the moans that periodically escaped her throat. She barely even remembered to breathe. She couldn't even reply to his movements anymore. All she could do was to let him carry her to their private heaven he once promised.

And heaven came to her. The pleasure took upon her whole body and for a moment, she balanced on the edge between the want of continuing to experience this pleasure and the need for a release – and her body chose the release. As the coil inside her wound up even more, to the point of near pain, her body arched against him – then the coil snapped, flooding every fibre of her being with a wave of breathtaking, blinding ecstasy.

.

He wasn't able to say anymore what it meant exactly to be William Albert Andrew as a separate being. Nor did he care. All that mattered to him right now was the woman beneath him and this unbelievable, incredible sensation of merging with her as one. If he thought that he was going insane before, when he first entered her, now he was in a state quite close to delirium. His entire body felt as if he stood in a fire and all he wanted was to feel more of it. To him, the entire world simply shrank to the size of a circle, of two entwined bodies, to the sound of two hearts pounding crazily, to their scattered, erratic breaths, rapid gasps and deep moans of pleasure and he had become deaf and blind to everything else.

And, being so focused on his wife, he couldn't miss the change in her behaviour. For some time, she had been holding onto him, hands around his arms, her legs wrapped around his hips, thus allowing her body to adjust completely to the rhythm he was setting. But suddenly, now, with no warning whatsoever, her body arched violently against his – and a second later she came out with a long moan that bordered with a scream.

Seeing and hearing her finally climaxing, feeling her inner muscles repeatedly clamping down tightly around him sent him into a state of frenzy and he stopped caring for anything else, now focused only on driving himself to completion too. It didn't take long; the fire within him had already begun to condense around his nether regions. A few more crazy thrusts into her convulsing core – and he too, muffled a moan in the crook of his wife's neck then exploded into a world of bliss.

The ecstasy, after so many months of holding back, came so forceful that it was actually almost painful. The moment his climax hit, all his muscles tensed and tightened so strongly that he froze with his upper body pressed flat against his wife's. He remained like this for a moment, unable to loosen his tight grip on his wife's shoulders and hair – and only the muscles of his abdomen, along with the muscles on his buttocks, continued to twitch madly, making his hips still rock, still grind, as if they were unable to stop their motions as he filled her with his seed. There he was, floating on the top of a sparkling wave of bliss, eyes tight shut, ears unable to hear anything but his own deafeningly loud heartbeat, unable to feel anything but the overwhelming pulsing of blood through his veins…

He had never felt worse.

He had never ever felt better.

It took him an eternally long moment to finally catch a rapid, shaky breath. It took even longer before he felt his body relaxing, the tension gradually melting away – and then he collapsed on top of his wife, spent and temporarily robbed of any strength, letting the wave slowly carry him down, back to the softer surface of consciousness.

"Al…"

The weak moan made him finally open his eyes. Sure that his weight, pressing down on her, was making her breathing more difficult, he made the utmost effort and propped himself up on his elbow. But when he looked at his wife's face, he didn't notice even the tiniest trace of any discomfort. She was indeed breathing erratically, just like him but his concern was erased when he saw a smile of pure delight, gracing her lips.

"What… you said…" she continued excitedly in a breathless whisper, staring at the ceiling with hazed and unseeing eyes, "The world could end… but… I don't care…!"

He said something like that? For a long moment he fought with his dazed mind, fruitlessly trying to force it to cooperate. It seemed impossible at first but finally, he managed to find and extract the right memory. Last year. Lakewood. Their kiss. How he felt. How he told her.

And Albert laughed helplessly, before collapsing on top of her once more, burying his face into her hair. "I love you too, Candy…" he murmured. In reply, she only cuddled him tighter.

O O O

Time passed and the minutes ticked away, wrapped in a blissful silence. Slowly, he regained his senses and the ability to move all his joints but he remained in the same position, snuggled in his wife's embrace, unwilling to remove himself from where he felt so unbelievably good. Never before in his life had he felt such contentment. Surely, he had always felt great with her whenever they had met up in the past year – but this was different. It was, most certainly, a satisfaction coming from having his body's carnal needs being finally fulfilled – but it wasn't only coming from a physical fulfilment; it was more than that…

She wasn't only a woman anymore. She had become HIS woman. Truly and fully. He had won her heart and now, her body belonged to him too.

He wasn't only a man anymore. He had become a man who belonged to HER. Simply.

It really felt as if they had became one…

There were no words to explain it properly, no words at all.

.

She didn't want to get back just yet. She wanted to float forever in this seemingly endless space where her body was so wonderfully weightless. She didn't even want to open her eyes, hoping that if she kept them closed, this heaven that she was in will not go away.

But she couldn't stop it from going anyway. The bliss began slowly fading away, leaving her behind with heavy body. But waking up in the reality wasn't bad at all either. She layed there, having her husband in her embrace, imprisoned by the weight of his equally tired body, feeling the warmth of his calming, slow breath on her neck, his hair tickling her cheek… She felt him both on the outside as well as on the inside of her body and it felt wonderful. It was heaven too.

For many long moments, they were just reposing in silence, eyes closed, without even making a move. None of them wanted to give up this special closeness that had now transpired between them. Only after some time had passed, she felt her husband stirring slowly, as if reluctantly. He lifted his head from her shoulder and held himself upwards on his elbow. She opened her eyes, immediately meeting his, shadowed by his dishevelled hair falling down his forehead. "Hey…" she murmured throatily.

"Hey yourself…" he murmured back. The hand he had plunged into her hair untangled slowly and crept up to her cheek where he began gently brushing her skin with the back of his fingers. "How are you feeling, sweetheart? Are you okay?"

She opened her eyes wider at the question and then smiled. He was asking her if she was okay? "'Okay' is not the word I'd have used…" she replied protractedly, her hand also slipping from her husband's back onto his neck and cheek, "...but please ask me again later, when my brain starts functioning a bit normally again…"

Albert smiled to her warmly, leaned down and placed a tiny kiss on the tip of her nose. He then, before she realized what for, rose again and let their bodies separate.

"Why...?" She complained quietly at the loss, "I liked it like this…"

Albert smiled once again. "Me too, sweetheart. But I wouldn't be able to stay like this for much longer anyway…"

She sighed and let him free himself from her embrace. He slid off her and rolled onto his side and wanting to resume their body contact, she turned too. But to her surprise Albert rolled over once more and propping himself on his elbow, dangled his legs over the edge of the bed. It looked like he was going to get up and she quickly reached her hand out and held onto his arm.

"Are you going somewhere?"

Albert looked at her from above his shoulder. "Just for a moment." he confirmed. "Just lay down and relax, okay? I will be back before you know it."

She doubted she could be any more relaxed than she already was but she did as he told her. She just silently watched her husband's broad shoulders as he sat up fully. As he stood up, she roamed her eyes upon his entire silhouette, memorizing all the details that she possible could in the dim, orange light of the gas lamps that permeated into the room from the outside. And there was a sight to see! Her husband not only had well defined muscles on his arms and back - apparently, he had a well defined backside, too… It was so nice to watch the square, firm muscles of his buttocks move as he walked...

As he left the room, she quickly pushed aside the messed up bed covers and ducked underneath them, lying flat on her stomach and burying her face in one of the plush pillows. Also buried was a lazy grin and a sudden attack of blushing. Yes, that was it! she summed up covering her head with the covers. It was official; she really was the naughtiest newly wedded wife in the world...

Albert, as promised, came back quickly. Lost in her own world of naughty thoughts, she barely registered any noise he made while he was off in some other part of the apartment – and he was back already. She didn't even hear his footsteps, his bare feet made it much easier as they made very little noise– the only clue that he stood next to the bed was a slight screeching from the wooden floor from under the carpet.

"Unbelievable… The one moment I take my eyes off my wife and she's gone already?"

Candy giggled quietly to herself at his teasing inquiry but didn't reply.

There was no reply from Albert either. There was however, a draft that blew in from underneath the covers, coming from where he had stood. She felt the bed bend under his weight, closer and closer to her… and a moment later, she felt a warm hand slowly moving up her back.

"There you are."

The covers were pulled away from her and a sudden shower of quick, light kisses fell on her arm. When they finally landed on the back of her neck, she sighed. These soft caresses of his lips relaxed her even more and she felt like she was about to melt.

"I've got you…" As to accentuate his words, Albert caged her body with both his arms, his chest hovering an inch or so above her back, "… and you are not getting away anywhere soon…"

"Oh…" she murmured, turning her face away from the pillow and giving him a sideway glance over her shoulder. "Am I being taken as your prisoner?"

"Yes you are." her husband's breath tickled her skin as he leaned down and nibbled on it again, "You are mine now… all mine…"

"Oh boy…" she replied wilfully, "I had no idea that my husband was so possessive…"

"That... I am." Albert confirmed again, his voice muffled as his lips were becoming more and more busy with teasing her skin, "I am… possessive… of every… inch… of you…."

As his hands moved underneath her and began further exploration as far as they could reach, Candy wriggled and giggled. Apparently, rest wasn't exactly what was on her husband's mind… Not that she was going to protest… She was still mostly relaxed but under more and more daring stroking and kissing, her body was slowly waking up to life again.

The kisses ceased for a moment but not the movements of his hands. "Have you got any idea what you are doing to me, woman?" he asked her and without even waiting for her to reply he carried on, "There I was, completely exhausted and sure that I would need to take the remainder of the night to recover… and look at me now… Only a few minutes break and I want you again... You drive me crazy…"

Slowly, Candy lifted herself off the pillow, indicating that she wanted to face him. He let her, his hands now enjoying full access to her breasts as soon as she rolled onto her back.

"Do you know what?" she coaxed him with a lazy smile, letting her hand stroke her husband's face, "I am so totally, utterly fine with that… and do you know why?" she paused, raising one eyebrow. "This is because I'm crazy about you too…"

The last word melted in her throat as he covered her lips with his. Their lips and tongues tangled in a deep but unhurried and unrushed kiss, as if their senses needed just that to enjoy the renewed body contact, as if haste was unwelcomed just yet. Their senses were waking up rapidly and yet, they were still far from being completely overwhelmed by desire.

As her husband's lips left hers and ventured down, onto her neck, she inhaled deeply. "Al…" she breathed out into his ear, "… love me…!"

"Oh…" a low murmur vibrated against her neck, "I will, baby, I will…"

As his caresses had remained steady and unhurried, she realized that he wasn't getting the message. "I mean…" she paused meaningfully for a second, "now."

Finally, Albert left her neck and lifted his head up to look at her. "I thought… I thought you might need more time…"

"You think too much!" she retorted softly. "I just follow what my body tells me to do..."

"Really?" he asked, his voice teasingly melodious, "Tell me then, my sweet..." he hung his voice, "...what is it exactly that you want?"

"I..." she hesitated. Only for a split second, she felt something remotely akin to embarrassment for being so bold and straightforward – mostly, she just wasn't sure how to explain in the right words, her impulsive request. "I just want to… feel you… feel everything like just before the world started to spin…"

"Feel me?" he accentuated with a provoking smile. "Feel me how?"

Candy swallowed hard, feeling as her heart racing faster and faster with each passing second. "Inside." She finally whispered with a shaky but excited voice. "I want to feel you inside."

It took just one fluid movement and she found herself flipped over, lying on top of her husband this time. "Sit on me." He demanded softly.

Surprised by the sudden change of position and a little unsure what he was aiming for, she did as he had said. But she didn't have to wait long for an answer - once she was in an upright position, her husband's hands slid down her back and grasped her hips, motioning her to lift them. And as soon as she did so, she felt his manhood springing upwards and touching her flesh teasingly.

She understood.

"I didn't know you could do it this way…" she said wilfully.

"Oh, baby…" her husband's chuckle followed his words, "…in this… and many, many other ways… You have no idea how much I have fantasised about this…"

He guided himself into her entrance but it was her who willingly pressed her hips down, onto him. Unlike the first time, this time, she knew what to expect. Wild desire had yet to take over her completely and she was fully aware of each single movement. Her entire body tensed at the feel of him slowly sliding his length in. This time there was no pain, just once again this penetrating fullness – and a shiver that ran through her body when that intoxicating, apparently still sensitive spot deep within her was stroked. She moaned quietly.

"Am I hurting you?"

Swallowing hard and unable to reply, she only shook her head fervently.

"So… my lovely Miss Ever Curious…" Albert tempted her with a challenging smile and then gently rocked his hips beneath her, "Do you like the feel of me… inside?"

"Oh goodness, yeeesss…" she moaned out as another rocking movement swallowed her once again. "It's… wonderful… Do it again…"

This time it was different. The first union of their bodies happened almost at the end of long dance, when they both were already near the edge and it didn't leave any space for any thoughts. It had been instincts, instincts and once again instincts. This one was different. There was no mad rush this time; their bodies, already sated once, now sought this new pleasure more patiently, lazily learning how to move together in unison, to finally create one fluid motion. The passion between them built up gradually and steadily, allowing them to enjoy every single second of the act without missing anything.

"And you?" she whispered throatily, "Do you like the feel of… being inside me?"

Her husband's hand slipped from her hip onto her lower belly and began rubbing it in enticing, hypnotizing circles. "You have no idea how much."

Lying on the pillows, Albert watched more and more intently as his wife rocked her hips above him. He had guided her at the beginning, for her movements were unsure and uneven at first but she was learning quickly and now she was beginning to create a rhythm of her own. And she was quickening the pace. It was gradual but he felt that quite clearly.

Slowly, yes… but she was becoming impatient.

Just like him.

At first, he had thought that it would be a long way for him to go, that his body was going to take its sweet time this time round. Well – he had a right to be wrong. He had simply underestimated his own, male nature; the view of the petite but shapely feminine body, the view of the pair of firm round breasts, bouncing slightly up and down as she moved, and finally, the view of his manhood disappearing rhythmically between her stretched thighs – all this was quickly pushing him towards the edge.

Much too quickly.

He closed his eyes, hoping that it would help him to hold back – but the view stubbornly remained underneath his eyelids.

His hands were beginning to be eager to touch more than her hips and thighs; he wanted to caress her whole body, feel it whole, close to his own, feel it trembling under his touch…

He didn't ponder much. Quickly, he rose from the pillows, sat up and wrapped his arm around his wife's waist, pulling her tightly against him. He didn't really know what to do with his hands; they wanted to be everywhere and touch everything at the same time. He let them wander wildly all over her body, mapping every curve he could reach.

"Impatient… are we?"

Despite being more and more clouded with desire, he didn't miss the teasing note in his wife's breathless voice. He looked up, meeting her mocking gaze for a second and then, buried his face into her neck. "Very." he muttered.

With all his strength he managed to keep the last slip of his control. He didn't know how but he sensed that she was a little behind him. Her every movement was more insistent than the previous one but she still didn't reach the point of no return – and he was very, very close to it. He either had to force himself to slow down somehow – or do everything he could to drive her faster towards the edge.

He let her lead while he tried to focus on her body. He didn't have to hold her; she did it for him, linking her hands around his neck. His hands quickly found her breasts and began caressing them gently, grazing his thumbs over her nipples. The way she gasped, the way her body arched back told him that he had most probably chosen right. And when after a moment of this continuous rhythm, her movements became really demanding, he knew he did choose right.

While he still had a lot to learn about her body, there were a few things he had learnt already. And now his manly imagination offered him one more thing he could do. He abandoned one breast and slowly slid his hand between their bodies. The moment his fingers touched the wet flesh of her womanhood, at the spot where their bodies were joined, she gasped even louder, shakily and tightened her grip on him. His hand felt uncomfortable in this position but he couldn't care less; the way her body was responding to his caress was paying off for any discomfort.

And soon, caresses were no longer needed. She reached the point where the inner tension transformed into the nagging urge for a release and now she aimed just for that. She wasn't even receiving the pleasure from him; she was taking it and the wildness of her own movements tore off any reins of control from him. He held her tightly against himself and lost himself in the passionate lovemaking.

First, the world around them ceased to exist.

Then, there was a fire burning him alive.

Then he felt like he ceased to exist.

And then, there was only bliss.

.

.

Consciousness was coming back slowly.

First, there was awareness that his heart was still beating. He could even hear it.

Then, there was realization that it wasn't his heart that was pounding, but hers, racing wildly against his ear.

Then, he let go of the air he held in his lungs for God knows how long and immediately gasped for more.

Then, there was awareness of their bodies, still trembling in each other's tight grasp.

And then, as the trembling gradually subsided, it was overtaken by this overwhelming, all consuming weakness. He literally felt all his limbs go limp and he had just enough strength to support himself on his hand before lying down. He dragged his wife with him; she fell almost lifelessly onto his chest, a deep sigh escaping her lips. One of her curls tickled his nose but he couldn't even be bothered to brush it off. He just layed there; one of his hands tangled deeply in his wife's dishevelled hair and the other, loosely resting around her waist. He didn't even feel like opening his eyes. He was quite content just the way he was.

If anyone asked him how exactly he felt, he wouldn't have been able to explain it. Not that he felt the need to explain anything. His mind was now absolutely and so wonderfully blank and he was absolutely fine with that. There were moments in life in which one could switch off and this was definitely one of those moments. All that was important to him right now was the complete contentment of being exactly where he was.

He simply felt fulfilled.

He was just where he belonged.

It was just that simple.

How long they layed in silence, he couldn't tell. He had felt his wife stirring minutely, as if she tried to get into an even more comfortable position. He heard her quiet sighs – but soon even that ceased, even her fingers stopped skimming his chest. Her body relaxed even more than it had before and he began to suspect that she had dozed off.

"Candy?" he managed a hoarse whisper.

There was no reply and she didn't say anything when he repeated her name again. He first made sure that she had indeed really dozed off and then he had nothing against doing exactly the same.

The last thing he remembered before falling asleep himself was the seemingly impossible task of reaching out his hand and pulling the covers over them. Somehow he had managed and seconds later, he too drifted off.

O O O

Even before she opened her eyes, she knew it was going to be another beautiful, sunny day. The joyous chirping of the birds outside in the park was the best sign of that for her. They behaved completely different when rain was expected.

But the day wasn't beautiful just because of the sunny weather. Something, or rather someone, else made it wonderful, right from the start…

Was it the awareness that she wasn't in the bed alone?

Was it the warmth of the body she was cuddled to?

Was it this distinct, masculine scent that was filling her nostrils?

Or, was it the overwhelming lazy pulsing of satisfaction that ran – she could swear – in every single one of her veins?

Probably all of them – and then some more.

Candy opened her eyes slowly. The first thing she saw was simply, naked skin. At some point in the night, she must have slid off Albert's body because now she was curled up by his side, with her head tucked in a funny way in a niche between his arm and chest, the latter directly in her view. She smiled to herself and gently nuzzled his skin with her nose. He didn't even move.

Then, without lifting her head, she glanced up and blinked. The room was flooded with bright sunlight; the curtains weren't drawn last night and the very thin net-curtains did nothing to stop the sunbeams from bursting their way in. She sighed quietly with content and let her still heavy eyelids droop lazily. She was awake but it didn't mean she had to get up just yet.

But being lazily relaxed didn't mean being completely still. Her free hand made its way up and reached across his chest; it was supposed to be only a way of snuggling herself closer to her husband's larger frame but before she even knew, her fingers began skimming lightly on his skin. She let her mind still wander about in the world of idleness – and the only thing she focused on at all was her sense of touch.

It was so nice and calming to feel his skin under her fingers. She really liked it; it was like everything else in her body was still half-asleep and the only contact with reality was exactly through her fingertips. So she let her fingers wander randomly, without any specific destination or direction, changing their course if they met any obstacle. His bulging muscles became hills, the deep gaps between them – valleys lying on her way and which she was crossing carefully, probing every inch of those little canyons for their shallow ends to finally escape and climb another hill…

Her hand wandered and wandered. And wandered… Little did she realize that it was gradually wandering away from her husband's chest and venturing south, lower south. The only thing she focused on was the feel of his skin, without knowing which part of his body it was covering, she didn't even fully realize what she was actually doing…

"That's highly impolite, to molest a person when they're asleep." A low, lazy murmur rumbled under her cheek, deep within Albert's chest.

Candy winced, startled and realizing where her hand was, instinctively withdrew and moved it higher.

"Put it back where it was…" Another rumbled murmur said demandingly as a warm hand heavily rested on hers before motioning it back to its previous position on his abdomen. "…and play with me all you want, as long as I'm awake to enjoy it…"

Candy blushed and slowly dragged herself upwards, supporting herself on her elbow. Albert had his eyes still closed but as she continued to stare at his face, he finally cracked one eye open and glanced at her.

"Well, good morning to you too." She uttered in a dreamy state.

"I would have said..." His eye closed again and began to stretch. It began with only the lifting of his arms up and letting her out of the embrace, then, it gradually changed into the stretching every single limb and she could clearly feel the muscles of his abdomen working and trembling minutely under her fingers. Finally, his body relaxed and his left arm reclaimed their last position around her shoulders. "…that it's a very, very good morning." He finished.

"Look at yourself, William Albert Andrew!" Candy scoffed facetiously, resisting the urge of following his footsteps. "Stretching like a lazy, happy cat that had gotten a good nights sleep!"

"Yeah, something like that…" Her husband replied smugly. "Yes indeed, I have never slept better, even though I hardly got any..."

Smiling, she poked his stomach with a finger, causing his body to bolt upwards slightly and once more snuggled into his embrace. He also held her a little closer, his free hand leisurely stroking her hair. She resumed her gentle caresses, only now, more conscious of where her hand was moving.

"One thing's for sure." Albert murmured again, "I think I am definitely going to like mornings like this one…"

"Yeah… especially after…" she hung her voice and after a meaningful pause, accentuating each word, she added, "Not getting any sleep?"

Her husband's chest shook minutely as he chuckled. "That, too." He replied. "But I guess I simply like the idea of waking up with you in my arms."

She shifted her head slightly so she could get a better angle to look at him. Her gaze met her husband's half-open one for a few seconds before he buried his face in her hair again.

"I'm happy just to know that your face will be the first one that I will always see when I wake up." He said softly.

"Me too. She admitted. "I think I will like being your wife."

"You think? Try not to," Albert's voice sounded a teasing warning, "and I will make you like it."

"Oh… really?" she snickered. "I wonder how you can possibly make me?"

She soon got her reply but not exactly the way she had expected. Before she knew what had happened, she found herself lying flat on her stomach, with her body pinned down to the mattress and her with both hands immobilized above her head. And before she had a chance to ask or say anything, her entire body exploded and strongly twisted, reacting to the activity of her husband's fingers. Albert tickled her mercilessly, going directly for the parts he discovered to be the most vulnerable and it took barely seconds later before she desperately begged him to stop.

"Say that you do like being my wife already!" he demanded almost emotionlessly.

"I… do…!" she uttered between fits of gasps and giggles, wriggling wildly to try and free herself from his unrelenting grasp. "Sto-oop!"

"Say that you will always like being my wife." he continued in the same manner.

"I…I…" she stammered. Even if she had a different answer, if she wanted to oppose it, it would have been impossible to do so under this unrelenting and merciless torture. Of course, giving the answer she wanted was also impossible, due to her lack of breath! "I… ha ha ha…! Plea… se…!"

"Promise!" he pressed, his fingers never stopping the agony.

"Prom…" she managed before another fit of wild laughter cut her word in half, "…m-mise…!"

As soon as she spoke the last syllable, he finally ceased his onslaught. "See? This is how I can make you." he summed up indifferently and slid off her body.

"This… This was a violent assault on my freedom of speech!" she bemoaned buoyantly, still laughing breathlessly. "You almost gave me a heart attack! How nice! We've been married for less that twenty four hours and you are already attempting to kill me!"

"Speaking of hours…" Albert lightly changed the subject, as if she didn't say anything at all, "What time is it?"

Without waiting for her to answer, he glanced at the clock standing on the night stand and suddenly, he began to rush. By the time she sat up, he was already out of the bed and wrapping himself in the process with one of the sheets he had snatched up from the covers.

"Albert?" she asked hesitantly, startled by his behavior. "What are you doing?"

"Getting dressed?" he replied in a matter-of-factly tone, picking up his discarded trousers. "I don't know about you but I, after our nightly activities, am ravenously hungry."

And within a matter of seconds, he was gone from the room.

Candy shook her head. And they say that unexpected changes in mood are a woman's domain…

Puzzled or not, she too got up and just out of habit, she reached out to the hook on the door, only to realize that she wouldn't find her night gown in its usual place; she remembered that it was left in her room back at the mansion…

Wanting to wear something just to go to bathroom, she picked up from the floor her husband's shirt and quickly wrapped it around her body. It might as well serve as a dressing gown for me, she thought, amused, folding the cuffs back at least twice before her palms showed up.

Even before she left the bedroom, she knew just from the noises coming from the kitchen that Albert was already busy and bustling in there. And indeed, as she entered, the first thing she saw was her husband. Or, more precisely, his back as he was busy ferreting through her larder.

"You don't have much in here." He noted after noticing her presence.

"I didn't want to buy too much in the past few days." She explained. "The apartment will be left empty and I didn't want the food to go off…"

He only nodded, acknowledging her reasoning.

"Albert… leave it." she said softly. "I will cook something for us. I just need to take a shower first. Just make some coffee, okay?"

Smiling delicately, she turned and headed for the bathroom.

There, she got a little shock.

The woman who looked back at her from the mirror definitely didn't look as enchanting as she had looked the day before. Her make up was smudged around her eyes here and there, her hair was even more wild and tangled than it usually was and she possessed a pair of lips so sensually swollen that there was no mistake to what might have been the cause of it. As she took the shirt off, she realized, a little bit late, that there were marks on her body that spoke of the passion that she was loved with. Her neck alone bore two hickeys, one slightly darker than the other – and similar marks were scattered here and there across her breasts.

We did all this?

Blushing, once again she looked upon her face in the mirror, took in all the details, every single one, including her messed up hair.

And he saw me like this!

Not hesitating any longer, she quickly washed her face, making sure that all the smudges had disappeared and her skin looked as usual. She failed to comb her hair – with the amount of wax, hair cream or whatever else her hairdresser had applied onto it yesterday, it was impossible to separate all the knots without tearing a significant amount of hair off from her skull. She understood that she had to wash it first. And so she did. She turned the gas boiler on and once it was running at full pace, she stepped into the large bathtub.

And it indeed, helped. After she was done with the showering, when she stood wrapped in a large towel, combing her little nightmare didn't seem as impossible as it had seemed previously.

Before going back to the kitchen, she went to the bedroom, picked up one of her summer dresses from the wardrobe and quickly changed. If she was to do anything in the kitchen, a towel wasn't really a good choice of clothing. Neither was the wet hair that kept on falling onto her face so she tied it loosely with a ribbon.

Walking through the living room she could hear the water running in the bathroom; Albert didn't waste any time to take a shower too, apparently. She passed by the door and walked into the kitchen, intensively thinking how little food she had in the larder and what she could make out of it. Not my fault, she excused herself to herself. I really wasn't expecting to come back here for many, many days…

Luckily for her, she still had the most basic of ingredients and juggling with the proportions, she began cooking. And surprisingly, she wasn't even half way through when Albert came back in, all washed, with drops of water still dripping from his roguishly combed hair. All he wore was his trousers and she glanced with appreciation at his body. "Hey, half-naked man!" she called playfully. "Can you get the cutlery ready? I will be done here in a moment."

Lazily, he walked to her and encircled his arms around her waist. "Eggs with pasta and cheese… two fried sausages… and matzo (45)?" he inspected from above her shoulder.

"I don't have enough bread for both of us." She explained. "But if you want, I can go to the grocery shop down the road…"

"Nah, it will do." He cut in quick and kissed the top of her head. "No time for shopping now."

She sighed with relief but his last words instantaneously made her wonder. Seriously, what was the hurry? Wasn't this supposed to be just a nice, relaxing morning, their very important first morning as a newly married couple?

This though, didn't leave her mind as they ate. And it had a reason. Through the last year, it had been many times that they had prepared meals together but usually Albert liked to relish the food; today however, he was eating surprisingly fast.

"Baby…" she asked finally, when they had almost finished, "What's the hurry?"

"I thought you were never going to ask." He replied, flashing her a quick grin. "Haven't you noticed what time it is now?"

"Eleven, but again, what's the rush? Are you in a hurry to get somewhere?"

This time, to her utter surprise, he laughed out loud. "Oh dear!" he uttered. "I'm really, really flattered that in my presence you seem to have forgotten about the entire world, really..." he hung his voice for just long enough to make her want to strangle him for being such a tease. "I don't think I have ever met or even heard of any bride who could forget her own honeymoon!" he finished.

"Ho-… Honeymoon!" The understanding finally dawned at her, sharply and clearly. Seriously, how on Earth could she forget that? "What time is the train leaving?" she exclaimed nervously, almost jumping off the chair.

"In three hours. That's plenty of time to repack your luggage."

"Oh, three hours is enough…" she sighed with relief and then suddenly frowned. If Albert's first sentence had made her almost relaxed, the next sentence had brought her back to an alerted state of mind. "Excuse me…?" she inquired slowly, wanting to make sure that she didn't mishear, "Do what?"

"I have our suitcases in the car's trunk downstairs but you need to… rearrange the contents yourself." Her husband explained calmly. "Where we are going, you won't need so much."

Disbelievingly, Candy sat back on her chair, the rest of the food on her plate had now been left completely forgotten. "I spent nearly a week deciding in great pain what to take with me, without even knowing where we are actually going, just because you decided to keep it as a surprise and now you are telling me to repack?" she nearly growled. "Only a man can be as naïve as to think that a woman is capable of repacking within only an hour!"

"I heard stories of this girl called Candy who was capable of packing in minutes when she was a teenager." Albert replied innocently, calmly finishing his food.

"That was different!" she protested lively, feeling her temper rapidly rising to the point of screaming in helpless frustration. "I was younger… and I had much less to pack… and it wasn't for the honeymoon, for goodness sake! Care to at least inform me about our destination now, so at least I know what to take?"

"Of course!"

And as he, in few words, revealed his plan, her eyes grew stupendous in disbelief. She instantaneously forgot that she was just about to get really, really angry.

"You are kidding me, right?"

His wicked grin and a teasing up and down wag of his eyebrows told her that he wasn't.

O O O

©GosieKin 2011

(45) Matzo – simple bread made out of plain flour and water, no yeast added. Fried on very thin oil.