Chapter 37 – Burning Heat
Quil's POV
"So how do you think Sam and Emily will react when we tell them we're moving in together?" I joked as we drove over to Sam's house.
Claire laughed, "I don't know…relieved that they're finally getting their spare room back?"
We decided to not waste any time moving Claire into my house. After we woke up this morning, Claire said she wanted to stop by Sam's place first so that she could change her clothes, and then we were headed up to Makah to tell Claire's parents of our engagement. After we told them our news, I was planning on leaving Claire behind so that she could pack up anything she had at her parent's house.
When I asked Claire to move in with me, I had forgotten the fact the she was a notorious pack rat. The woman had more crap than she even knew what to do with. Once she finished moving her items from Makah, she was then going to pack up her stuff from Sam's house.
We pulled into Sam's driveway and I put the car into park. Claire met me at the front of my vehicle and we walked hand and hand to the front of the house. I opened the door for Claire and followed her in, not breaking contact from her. Emily and Sam were in the kitchen having coffee when we walked in.
"Good morning," Claire smiled widely at them.
"Good morning honey," Emily beamed. "Glad to see you two have worked out your problems."
Sam leaned back in his chair and glared at me. "You know…I don't know if I approve of my niece spending two nights in a row at your house."
"Oh please Uncle Sam, my mom once told me you and Aunt Emily lived together before you were even engaged." Claire said, rolling her eyes.
"Yeah...well…that was different. We were older than you," Sam grumbled.
"Actually, I was younger than Claire is now when we first started living together." Emily said, laughing at her husband's disgruntled face.
"Em…" Sam muttered before shaking his head and mumbling, "So much for setting a good example."
Emily laughed and leaned over to kiss Sam's cheek. "I appreciate you trying to look out for Claire's well-being though."
"If it makes you feel any better Uncle Sam, Quil and I are engaged." Claire said proudly.
She let go of my hand to lift hers up so that they could see her engagement ring. Both Sam and Emily jumped up and ran over to us. Emily pulled Claire into a tight hug before releasing her to admire the ring. Sam came over to me and patted me hard on the back.
"It's about time." Sam joked. I nodded and smiled like an idiot.
"Where are Nate and Gracie? I wanted to tell them too." Claire said.
"Gracie's still sleeping and Nate's out patrolling." Sam answered. "Quil, Nate wanted to see if you could cover the next couple of nights."
I looked over at Claire. I had wanted to go up to Makah during the night, but I had been neglecting my pack duties. Claire shrugged, though she was now frowning.
"We probably wouldn't have a lot of time to spend together anyway," Claire responded to my silent thoughts. "Between packing and visiting with my parents, I'll probably be really busy."
Claire looked at Emily and Sam who were exchanging confused looks, "We're going up to Makah today to tell my parents about the engagement and that we're moving in together."
"So when's the wedding?" Emily asked excitedly.
"Two months," Claire and I both said at the same time. Emily opened her mouth to say something, but I quickly said, "I'm going to call Alice Cullen and see if she can lend her expertise."
Sam chuckled at that, "Well, if anyone can put a wedding together under a short deadline it's Alice."
"I'm going upstairs to change my clothes and pack up some things." Claire told us.
She gave me a brief kiss on the lips and headed upstairs. Sam went and sat down at the kitchen table to finish his coffee. Emily was about to turn and follow her husband, but I reached out and touched her arm to stop her. I hadn't forgotten everything Emily had done for me and Claire. I didn't even know where to begin to tell her how much I appreciated her help. If it hadn't been for Emily, I could have lost Claire. Since I couldn't find a way to clearly express myself, I hugged her instead. Pulling back slightly, I kissed Emily's scarred cheek.
"Thank you," I whispered simply.
Emily reached up and patted the side of my face. "I have to look out for my boys, don't I?"
I smiled in return, watching as she returned to Sam's side, kissing him on top of his head before turning to refill her coffee mug. I thought fondly of all of the times Emily had taken care of the pack. Even though she was only a few years older than most of us, my brothers and I thought of Emily as a second mother. She had been there for us when we needed an ear and fed us when we were hungry. And she never once complained if we needed a place to sleep after a long night of patrolling. We really were her boys.
I heard a noise on the stairs and looked up to see Claire walking down, carrying a suitcase full of things she was going to need while in Makah. I walked over to her and grabbed her bag.
"You ready?" I asked.
"Yeah," Claire smiled at me before going back into the kitchen to hug her aunt and uncle goodbye.
We were soon on the road again, talking and laughing the entire drive. I held Claire's hand throughout the trip, my thumb running back and forth over her engagement ring. As we got closer to Makah though, I felt my mood begin to sour slightly. I wasn't overly concerned with how Claire's parents would react to our news, though I was sure Ronnie would have a few choice words for me.
What I was reluctant to do was leave without Claire when my visit was over. I knew the end result of leaving her behind would be that in a few days time she would be officially living with me. But now that we were engaged, I didn't want to be apart from her for more than an hour let alone a couple of days. I wondered if Sam felt this way when he and Emily first got engaged. This need to be with your imprint all the time. I mean, I always wanted to be with Claire, but the urge was even stronger now.
We finally reached the reservation and arrived at Ronnie's house. I grabbed Claire's suitcase for her as she ran inside. Stacy and Ronnie were in the living room hugging their daughter when I walked in. I set Claire's suitcase down and went over and shook Ronnie's hand before I was also grabbed and hugged by Stacy.
"Where's Nick?" Claire asked, looking around for her brother.
Ronnie snorted, "It's only 11 am…he's still sleeping."
"I was so excited when Claire called me this morning and told me you two were coming up for a visit." Stacy told me. "We hardly ever see our baby girl anymore."
"Mom…I'm hardly a baby." Claire laughed.
"You'll always be my little girl." Stacy hugged Claire again. "So, what made you decide to come up today?"
"Well…" Claire hesitated, before reaching over to grab my hand. "Quil and I got engaged last night."
Stacy burst into tears and wrapped one arm around Claire and one around me so that we were in a group hug.
"My baby is getting married!" Stacy sobbed.
She let go of me and grabbed Claire's hand to look at the ring. They both started talking excitedly about it. It must be a woman thing…Emily did the same thing once she saw it.
I looked over to see how Ronnie was taking the news. He hadn't spoken yet. In fact he hadn't even moved. The only thing moving on Ronnie was a vein in his forehead that was throbbing noticeably.
"Dad?" Claire said, as she also noticed Ronnie's frozen state. He finally blinked and turned to his wife and daughter.
"I'd like to speak to Quil…alone."
"Dad, I'm a grown woman, and I'm going to marry Quil," Claire said determinedly.
"I never said you couldn't. Now why don't you and your mom go for a walk. I have some things I'd like to discuss with Quil."
Claire opened her mouth again to protest, but I shook my head.
"C'mon honey," Stacy said, "The quicker your dad gets whatever he has to say off his chest, the quicker we can start to focus on the wedding plans."
With that Claire and Stacy walked out the front door. Ronnie walked over to the window and just stood there looking out with his hands clenched tightly behind his back.
"I'm only going to ask this once. When did you start developing feelings for my daughter?" Ronnie asked in a deadly tone.
"I didn't realize I was in love with her until she was 18." I responded evasively.
"And you didn't try anything before then," he asked, turning to look at me.
"I kissed her on her prom night." I told him honestly. "But I never tried anything when she was younger. Ronnie, I would never have done that to her."
Ronnie hesitated before saying, "I know that. I just wanted to hear you say it."
He turned back to look out the window. He didn't say anything for a few minutes. I wondered what else was going on in his head if he was already assured that I hadn't taken advantage of Claire when she was younger.
Finally he said, "Did you know that I was really close to my Uncle Harry when I was a kid?"
"No." I replied.
"I used to go on camping trips with him and my dad. When Seth got older, he'd come too. Although, Harry was mom's relative, he and my dad were close. I used to love those trips. At night, we'd sit around the campfire and Harry would tell Seth and I stories…legends of your tribe."
I froze at that. Harry had been an Elder before he died. I could just imagine the stories he had told Ronnie.
"I remember one particular legend. It was about a group of guys on your rez who could turn into wolves." Ronnie paused to turn and look at me then. "He said that they stopped aging unless they gave up their wolf spirit. Harry told us that they usually only did that if they fell in love with a woman and wanted to grow old with them.
Ronnie eyed my ageless features before saying, "He also mentioned that their skin was warm to touch…almost feverous. The heat helped the men know when they were close to changing. The more heat they felt, the closer they were to transforming into wolves. And anger also helped them change. He said that when they got angry, their bodies would shake and split apart and the wolf would come out."
Ronnie paused as he stared at me…assessing me.
"You know, I never believed the legends were true. I thought they were just stories that he would tell us to keep me and Seth from wandering too far into the woods. And then I met Sam. It was a little disturbing to see how he acted around my sister at first. When Emily moved, his body moved too. If she got upset about something, his face reflected her every emotion. I've never seen two people so in tune with each other. It was almost freaky. I didn't think much of it though…until I met you. I remember when Claire was just a toddler, she went down to visit Emily, and when she came back all she could talk about was you. I remember it distinctly, because Claire was never the same after that visit. She wasn't even three, yet she cried out for you all the time. It was around that time that the Makah wolf started to appear on the scene. We had never had wolves come that close to the reservation until Claire's trip to La Push."
I couldn't move if I wanted to. Never in all the scenarios I had in my mind for how Ronnie would react to our engagement did I expect this.
"When I first met you," Ronnie told me, "You acted towards Claire the same way Sam acted towards Emily, the difference being Claire was just a kid. You were so attuned to Claire and you used to watch her all the time. Can you understand why it troubled me to have you around?"
Ronnie didn't let me answer as he continued, "And Claire needed you nearby all the time too. She was never calm unless you were there. You probably don't remember this, but we took the kids to Florida for a vacation when Claire was about eight. She was miserable the entire time. She seemed dead inside and we were at friggin Disney World! The only time she seemed happy on that entire trip was when we let her talk to you on the phone once. She didn't seem to come alive again until we got home and she saw you."
I remembered that trip painfully. I had gone on a drinking binge with the guys in Seattle. But no matter how much alcohol I'd consumed, nothing had numbed me to the pain I felt from missing my imprint. I heard Ronnie sigh and I focused my attention back on him as he spoke again.
"As I grew up and became an adult, I forgot about the legends my uncle had told me. You know what made me begin to remember them? That day on the beach when Claire almost drowned when she was three. I had been holding Claire in the water when a huge wave hit us and I lost my grip on her. Do you remember that day?"
I nodded.
"You were 50 feet away and yet you were in the water and had her safely in your arms in the matter of seconds. I paid closer attention after that. Memories of Harry's stories started to come back to me. I watched over the years as neither you nor Sam aged. If I ever accidentally touched your skin, I could also feel the burning heat. There were a few occasions when I would discipline Claire or deny her something. More than once, I'd see you standing nearby with your hands shaking. If Sam was ever around, he'd give you a look and you'd stop. But it wasn't until Claire ran away when she was 15 that I stopped questioning whether Harry's stories were true or not. No one knew where to find her, but you found her within a matter of hours. And that was when I realized the legends were true."
Ronnie crossed his arms over his chest before saying, "Why do you think I was so willing to let Claire move to La Push after she'd run away? I knew how much Claire loved being there. What kind of punishment was it that I would send her to the one place she wanted to be? Most kids don't get rewarded for that type of behavior. But I knew that if anyone could keep Claire safe…even if it was from herself…then it would be you and the rest of your pack…or what was it you call yourselves? Protectors? Bodyguards?"
I didn't answer, but I didn't need to. Ronnie smiled before speaking again.
"I always knew there was some kind of connection between you and my daughter. Once I remembered the legends, I stopped questioning your motives for the way you acted around her. Especially as you continuously watched out for her and protected her over the years. You look at Claire like she's the most important person in your world. You always have. I saw how dedicated you were to Claire when she was injured. And I know how good Sam is to my sister. I don't understand the level of your devotion to Claire, but I don't doubt it either. Claire will always be looked after and loved, and that's all I can ask for. So, I guess what I'm trying to say is…welcome to the family Quil."
He walked over and pulled me into a hug. I didn't know what to say. I didn't know how to react. Ronnie knew the truth about me…he had known for years.
"Ronnie…I can't confirm what you think you might know about us…" I started to say.
"I figured years ago that it was some huge secret. Otherwise Sam would have spoken up when I used to give him crap about the way he acted around my sister. Why do you think I always told Claire and Stacy that your lack of aging was just good genes?"
I nodded and could slowly feel a smile appear on my face. In all the time that I had known Ronnie, never had he ever seemed more like Emily's brother than he did in that moment. Just as Emily had looked out for the pack over the years, Ronnie had done his part to protect our secrets as well.
Claire and Stacy returned a short time later. We sat around for a few more hours discussing the wedding before I made motions to leave. Claire walked me out to my car.
"Everything go okay with my father?" Claire asked.
"Yeah…we had an interesting talk," I assured her before kissing her. Already I was beginning to feel the pain from our impending separation.
"I'll call you as much as I can." I promised. "And if I get some time off from patrolling, I'll come up here. It doesn't take me that long if I'm in wolf form."
"All right," Claire responded, kissing me tenderly one more time. "I'll miss you."
"I'll miss you more," I told her as I got in my vehicle. I started the car and rolled down the window. "I'll start cleaning the house out a little to make room for your stuff."
"Okay," Claire said, leaning down to kiss me through the open window. "Love you."
"Love you too," I said, before putting the car in reverse and heading back to La Push.
After I got home, I started making plans. Before I could even begin to start emptying out my house, I needed to make a call first. I picked up the phone and hit speed dial.
"Hello," a bored female voice answered.
"Hi Rosalie, its Quil Ateara. Is Jake there?"
"Just a second," Rosalie responded before I heard her call out, "Mongrel, it's for you."
"Thanks Blondie," Jake said a few seconds later with amusement in his voice. "Hello."
"Hey Jake."
"Quil, I hear congratulations are in order."
"Oh…you heard already, huh?" I laughed.
"Well, Alice started getting visions of making wedding arrangements with Claire, so I had an idea," Jake responded dryly. "Man was she pissed she couldn't see how you proposed…started cursing half breeds who mess with her vision and muttering something about how you better not have screwed it up."
I chuckled. "Speaking of weddings…we want to get married in two months. I was hoping Alice could help us out."
"Let me get Alice."
"Thanks Jake…hey, before you get off the phone though, I wanted to ask…you'll be my best man right?" I asked.
"Yeah…no problem. Thanks Quil," Jake said gruffly.
"And Embry…I gotta get a hold of Embry somehow."
Jacob snorted. "Good luck with that, I haven't talked to him in months. But the doc has become pretty close to him. Maybe he'll know how to track him down."
"I hope so…you and Embry are the only brothers I have…I want you both here for the big day."
"We'll find him Quil, don't worry."
"Thanks man," I replied. I wondered though if even my wedding day would be enough to bring Embry back to La Push.
"Well, here's Alice," Jake said before handing over the phone.
"Quil…give me details." Alice's musical voice demanded.
Laughingly, I told her briefly how I proposed on the beach without going into the painful details leading up to the event. I also explained how we wanted to be married within a couple of months.
"Two months!" Alice shrieked.
"Well, I figured if anyone could help us arrange a great wedding, it's you." I buttered her up.
"Flattery will only get you so far Quil Ateara!" Alice stated. "What is it with you wolves and your rushed weddings? First Sam, then Jake, and now you! I obviously can't come to La Push. How am I supposed to organize this?"
"Well, I thought that--"
"We're going to have to arrange a girl's weekend in Seattle." Alice went on as though I hadn't spoken. "Seattle's distant enough away that I shouldn't effect anyone on the reservation. Yes…" she paused. I could tell she was having a vision. "Tell Emily and Claire to meet me in Seattle in two weeks. Oh…and Gracie is going to want to come too. Jake will need to fly back with me as well so we can get him fitted for his tux, but you two can do that in Port Angeles. I'm sure Ness and Meena will want to come too. Ness will probably want to stop by and see Charlie, so I'll see if they'll want to join us for our girl's weekend…"
Alice went off from there making plans. I said "yes" and "okay" whenever she let me get a word in. She confirmed with Ness that Meena and Renesmee would join the girl's weekend. Finally after an hour, she decided to get off the phone so that she could book their flight. I quickly called Emily and confirmed with her that she and Gracie would go to Seattle with Claire. After I got off the phone, I was hit with a fierce longing to see Claire, but instead I went into my bedroom and started cleaning out my closet before I had to patrol.
I spent the next two days cleaning out the house whenever I wasn't at the garage working. I was able to get rid of a lot of things, but I had a feeling we still wouldn't have enough room for all of Claire's stuff.
On my second night away from Claire, I went out patrolling with Nate, Seth, and Brady. I had just spoken to Claire on the phone before I phased. She had sounded overwhelmed. I wanted nothing more than to be with her right now.
"Just go then," Nate said, hearing my thoughts.
"What?" I finally focused on my surroundings.
"You can't stop worrying about Claire, and you're not able to focus anyway, so just go see her." Nate replied.
That was all I needed to hear. I broke away from the pack and ran up to Makah. As soon as I reached the trees that bordered Ronnie's property line, I phased back, pulling on the shorts I had attached to my leg. It was only 11 pm. I quickly glanced around to make sure that none of Claire's neighbors were looking out their windows. Seeing that it was clear, I took off across the lawn. I peeped in through Claire's lacy curtains and saw her sitting in the middle of her floor surround by miscellaneous items. Her hands were covering her face. I knocked lightly on the window. Claire screamed and quickly covered her mouth. Oh hell! I should have called first to give her a warning.
"It's me," I whispered loudly.
"Quil," Claire came to the window and threw back the flimsy curtains. She shoved up the glass. "You scared the shit out of me!"
"I'm sorry," I said, begging her with my eyes to forgive me.
I leaned in and kissed her lips. God how I'd missed her! Her mouth immediately opened so that our tongues could meet. She wrapped her arms around my neck. I put my hand on her lower back. One hand moved to cup her breast through her shirt. Claire groaned in my mouth. I teased the peak I could feel there, pulling it gently with my fingers. It wasn't enough though. I need to feel her naked chest against my skin. I started to climb in the window so that I could bring her body closer to mine, when we heard a knock on her bedroom door.
"Claire?"
I jerked away and looked at Claire's face. She looked as disappointed by the interruption as I felt.
"Claire? Honey?"
"Just a second, Dad." Claire called out.
"Busted by the parents,' I whispered and Claire giggled.
"I'll be back." I told her before running across the yard and hiding behind a tree. I positioned myself so that I could still see into Claire's room. I watched as Claire straightened her shirt before opening her door to let her dad in her room.
"What's up?"
"I heard you scream. I wanted to make sure you were okay."
"Yeah…just frustrated." Claire responded and I chuckled. She wasn't the only one. Claire added, "You know…from packing up everything."
"You know, you don't have to move. You can stay here until the wedding. Your mom and I would love to have you back for a little while."
I froze as I waited for Claire to answer.
"Thanks but I really think its best that I move to Quil's. We've been through a lot over the past six months…well, past few years really. We need this time together."
"So this is what you really want?" Ronnie asked.
"I've never wanted anything more in my life." Claire said in an absolute tone. "I love him Dad."
I ached to hold Claire again. I could see through the window that Ronnie gave Claire a quick hug before turning away.
"You like Quil, don't you?" Claire questioned her father.
Ronnie stopped with his hand on the door handle. He turned back and looked at Claire.
"Baby, I couldn't have wished for anyone better for you than Quil. He's a good man. Did you know that when you were in the hospital he hardly left your side? If he did leave, it was only for a short time to go shower. But he slept and ate in your room.
"I didn't know that," Claire responded, emotion making her voice thick.
"I know he'll protect you and love you. He always has, always will. Him and the rest of the pack."
And with that Ronnie smiled at Claire who was standing with her mouth open and turned and left. I was back instantly at the window. Claire walked over to me.
"My dad knows?" Claire asked incredulously.
"I never told him, but he was able to figure things out from some stories your Uncle Harry used to tell him when he was a kid. I didn't confirm anything when he asked though. I'm not allowed to tell anyone but you."
Claire looked at me and a seductive smile formed on her lips.
"Now where were we?" Claire said leaning in to kiss my lips.
I took a step back. "Maybe we should wait until we get you moved and we're under our own roof."
Claire's lips formed into a pout. I hadn't seen that kind of expression on her face since she was a kid. I laughed and quickly kissed her lips.
"But you'll stay the night, won't you?" Claire asked.
"Well…" I hesitated. Who was I kidding? I wanted nothing more than to spend the night holding Claire in my arms.
"You know my aunt said that you'd do anything for me." Claire said coyly, not meeting my eyes as she ran her hands along my collarbone.
I shuddered slightly before giving in and climbing through the window. My Claire wanted me to stay…then I'd stay.
She cleared some of the junk off her bed and came back and grabbed my hand. She dragged me over to the bed and pushed down on my shoulders. I followed her unspoken request and laid down on the mattress. She soon followed, laying her head on my shoulder. Claire began moving her palm absently across my naked chest.
"Hey, I forgot to tell you." I told her. "Alice Cullen and Renesmee and Meena Black are coming to Seattle in a couple of weeks. Alice wants to get the wedding plans going. I should warn you though…she's really headstrong."
"Great, a headstrong vampire…can't wait." Claire joked, moving her hand so that her fingernail scraped lightly against my pec. I groaned softly.
"Emily and Gracie are going too." I added, completely distracted.
"Good," Claire said, leaning over to press a light kiss to my chest. Her hand wandered towards the waistband of my shorts. I grabbed it and held her still.
"You're parents are still watching TV in the other room…I can hear them," I told her, kissing her head. Claire sighed in frustration.
"Quil…can I ask you for a favor?" She asked, moving her hand away from my shorts so that she could wrap her arm around my waist. She placed her chin on my chest and looked so damned adorable, I knew I won't be able to deny her anything.
"What's that?" I asked tenderly, pushing a lock of hair away from her face.
"Something you said the other day got me thinking…" Claire stopped speaking and turned an intriguing shade of red.
"What?"
"Well…you said that when I was younger I had given you...um…a hard-on.' Claire whispered the last word.
"Yeah," I confirmed, smiling at how red her face was now.
"Can I see what that's looks like?" Claire begged. "I mean…I obviously felt it the other night, but I want to see you…aroused…and maybe touch you there…like the way you touched me."
Hell yeah, my mind screamed. But like an ass I said, "But you and Sully--"
Claire instantly shook her head, "We never went that far. The only man I've ever seen like that is you, and it was so brief…"
Claire's voice died off as embarrassment consumed her. I felt relief wash over me. I had been worried that the man who attacked her might have exposed himself to her. But Claire just confirmed that he never succeeded. At least that was one less thing she had to recover from. I also couldn't prevent the ecstatic rush that flew through me knowing that Sully never experienced this with Claire.
"Why so curious now?" I had to ask.
Would you shut the fuck up, my inner voice yelled. I could feel my member begin to twitch hopefully.
"I know I'm being stupid, but I want to make sure I don't disappoint you in the bedroom?"
"Claire, I think you can tell by my previous reaction to our lovemaking, that it's impossible for you to disappoint me."
"But you have all of this experience--"
"Not really. I had sex with someone years ago. And we didn't even do it that much."
"I just… want to know how to pleasure you." Claire admitted.
Her last statement was my undoing. I knew how much courage it took her to ask me to do this for her. And to be honest, I wanted to feel her hands on me more than anything.
Kissing her on the forehead, I got up from the bed and picked up her dresser, moving it in front of her bedroom door. I guess that would be a better lock than nothing at all. I went over and sat on the bed again.
"We'll treat this like an experiment," I told her. "I'm giving you free range of my body so you can see how I react to your touch."
"Okay," Claire smiled in relief. "This is purely for educational purposes then."
"That…and I never want you to doubt again how much I want you. Making love isn't just about a physical connection. It about sharing a part of yourself emotionally and mentally as well. I want you…all of you. If this helps you realize that, then I'm more than willing to help you see that."
"Is that the kind of connection you shared with that girl you slept with before?"
"No…I had sex with her…I didn't make love to her. And if I had known then that you were about to enter my life, I wouldn't have slept with her at all. What you and I share is love. Do you understand what I'm saying?
Claire nodded and I smiled. I laid on her bed and put my hands behind my head.
"Okay then…have your wicked way with me."
Giggling, Claire climbed on top of me and straddled my lap, leaning down to kiss my lips. Her tongue glided along the line of my mouth and my lips immediately parted, granting her access. As her tongue teased mine, I reached up to move my hands to the back of her head so that I could hold her more firmly to me. She broke away.
"No," Claire said, moving my hands so that they were on the pillow again. "Tonight is about you. About me discovering what you like and dislike. I don't want you to touch me, okay?"
Great…somewhere along the lines of our experiment Claire had turned into a little dominatrix. I nodded, careful to hide my amusement at this change of events. Claire focused on my lips again. She bent down and began to give me quick teasing kisses that drove me insane. I wanted to desperately hold her mouth against mine, but I kept my hands on the pillow as instructed.
Claire moved her lips to my jaw and kissed me there once, before moving down to explore my neck. She planted light butterfly kisses to the pulse line area, making my heart rate speed up. Her lips felt like a feathery whisper against my skin. The sensation caused shivers to shoot throughout my body. When she finally found a place she was satisfied with, she sucked on the skin hard. I felt my eyes roll in response. Claire then sat up and put her hands flat on my chest. She rubbed both palms over my pecs.
"How do I pleasure you here?" Claire asked, continuing to rub her hands back and forth over that area.
"Whatever you like, I'll like." I tried to help but her hands were making it hard for me to concentrate.
"Okay," Claire replied. She reached for her shirt and whipped it off her head. Her bra soon followed. She pressed her naked chest to mine.
"I definitely like how this feels," Claire whispered.
"Me too," I replied. It took every ounce of my control to not move my hands from the pillow. Claire moved her mouth to my chest and began kissing the middle of my collarbone. She moved her head to my pec area.
"And I definitely like when you kiss me here," Claire said, moving her head to kiss my nipple before running her tongue over it. "Do you like that?"
"Yes," I rasped out.
"What about this?" Claire asked before pulling on it with her lips. I groaned out loud.
"That too…" I could barely get out.
Claire sat back again and moved her hips so that she sat over my arousal. I could feel her heat through our clothes. Pressing down, she moved her hips back and forth until the friction was enough that I thought I'd explode.
She suddenly stopped and got up off of my lap. She sat back down next to my hip and stared at the area of my body where it was quite obvious how badly I wanted her. She cupped me through the fabric of my shorts. My hands clenched the pillow tightly. She unfastened my pants and carefully pulled down the zipper. Claire tugged slightly on the shorts and I lifted my hips so that she could remove them easily. Once she succeeded in taking them off, she sat back and just stared.
"Wow," Claire whispered.
I would have laughed if my body wasn't screaming for her attention. She ran her hands along my thighs. I groaned softly as she got closer to my most sensitive area. When she finally wrapped her hands around my hardened member, I grabbed the pillow and brought it over my face so that I could keep my responses muffled. I felt her hands drift from the base to the tip and then back again. Claire suddenly released me and I groaned again…this time in frustration.
I could feel a gentle tugging at the pillow and I let go of it. Claire was looking at me with desire and doubt in her eyes. She bent down close to my ear.
"Quil…show me what you like." Claire whispered.
I looked at her for a moment before nodding. I took one of her hands and moved it back on my arousal. I placed my hand over hers and showed her exactly how to pleasure me there. She soon got confident enough with her strokes that she no longer needed my assistance. I let her continue with her administrations on her own. Her pace began to speed up. My hips moved on their own accord to match her movements. My body started to shake as the sensations she created kept building until I knew I couldn't take it anymore.
"Claire, I'm going to com--"
But I couldn't even warn her in time. I felt my body exploded as wave after wave of pleasure hit me. My body continued to tremble as I closed my eyes and tried to get my breath back. I felt Claire leave the bed. I opened my eyes to see her walk over to a pile of clothes. She picked up an old looking shirt and brought it back to me, cleaning us with it.
"Well, I guess I won't be giving that shirt to charity." Claire laughed.
I looked into her eyes and softly chuckled. Claire looked happy and…proud. She went to her suitcase which was lying on her floor and pulled out her nightgown. She changed into it quickly and turned off the bedroom light, before laying down next to me on the bed. She leaned over me and touched my cheek in the darkness with her hand.
"So how'd I do?" Claire asked.
"There are no words to describe how great that was."
Claire bent and kissed my lips before whispering, "Thank you Quil."
"You're welcome." I replied, pulling Claire in close. "You know, I could get used to these educational lessons."
Claire's laughter was the last thing I heard before I drifted off into an exhausted but contended sleep.
A/N – LOL, I was surprised no one ever asked me why Ronnie became so understanding towards Quil over the years. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!
On a side note, my story "First Imprint (Sam's Story)" made it to the final round of The Indie Twific Awards for BEST NON ExB STORY LINE. For it to win, I need your votes. Voting started yesterday, Wednesday, 7/22 and goes until Wednesday, 7/29. It would mean the world if you could take a minute to vote for Sam's story! To cast your vote, go to:
http://theindietwificawards(dot)com/voteround2(dot)aspx
And vote under the category BEST NON ExB STORY LINE
Thanks again everyone! Please don't forget to review this chapter!