DISCLAIMER: the wonderful Stephenie Meyer owns the characters and world of Twilight.
Warning: Gently heated over a bed of flame, I give you the cocktail of lemon-flavoured Absolut flambé!
Music vibe: Jim Morrison – sexual being and god. The Doors – Light My Fire. Enough said!
CHAPTER 37: LIGHT MY FIRE
Yolanda POV
My darling Liam, so loving, so caring, so worried. As soon as I was freed from this silent prison of pain, I would show him how much he meant to me.
The pain had mutated as much as my body was doing the same. After that incredibly ghastly migraine which had lasted for hours, I could feel a new appreciation for the changes in my body and for coping with the flames that were still being fanned through my system.
The Cullens and Liam had given me updates through the process and although I had not always been conscious of their exact words, they repeated them enough for me to have something to hold onto. I'd spent months living from one deadline to the next, as hospital appointments came and went. Each intervening time was a marathon of Will versus Disease, and so the enduring of this pain had become second nature to me as I moved from one point in time to the next, embracing, absorbing, enduring, evolving.
I'd lost count of my counting at some point in the many thousands. Liam's sweet voice reading to me from Alice in Wonderland and simply speaking about us, about him, about his past, held me together where I would have been cast adrift and out of control. With each moment, I loved him more.
I was conscious of all the family except Renesmee coming to see me and vaguely wondered what that sweet child thought of the tension in the house.
My visitors had sat and kept Liam company and while I would have loved to acknowledge the small talk with them, it seemed a bit fatuous to hear things about I would be doing in future when I wasn't even sure I had a future yet. Liam derived some measure of comfort from the visits but I sensed his distraction and knew instinctively he just wanted to talk to me and only me - almost as much as I wanted him to talk to me. His voice and his love were the only constants in my world of pain.
My moans had been silenced when I'd felt the venom attack my lungs. I'd slowly and silently suffocated as my body rebelled against the air being robbed from it. As each lung was seared with a blowtorch, I endured insult to injury as my vocal chords were ripped apart and thrown in a blender. No air, no voice, just burning and screaming, right? Dante's Inferno: Winters Inferno.
Liam's physical touch and manifestation of his love became hugely important, being the only hope left in my world at that moment.
Small things made themselves known to my psyche as time went on. After the god-awful migraine had passed, the first thing to change for a short while was a heightened sense of smell. Until my lungs had robbed me of this sense, Liam's woody scent had sharpened across my tongue and nostrils and entered me with a pleasant tingle, the first pleasurable feeling in more hours than I cared to count.
The second thing I noticed was that I could see things more clearly, colours were sharper. Liam's gloriously sexy eyes were much bluer and his gorgeous mouth spoke to me not only on the surface but deep inside. All I wanted to do was to sink my mouth on his, kiss him wildly and nibble his lips. The pain could not take that desire from me. Would I be able to control myself and avoid hurting him if I survived this godawful ordeal?
I felt the process speeding up and edging closer to the inevitable climax of proceedings.
Edward and Liam had made sure that there was music playing in the background. It was another way of marking the passage of time, for which I was grateful. They had sweetly chosen many favourites of mine but I would never listen to them the same way again. They would still be favourites, but be like listening to records after a broken romance. They would be tinged with added poignancy.
Liam had broken into my tortured musings at one point and offered to rub his golden hands over my body. It was then he'd pointed out that my body had changed again. I was damned glad to hear it because it meant things were atleast progressing. About fucking time too!
When I heard him say that he might not go ahead with the body rub, I decided I wasn't going to have that. Who gave a damn that his hands weren't cooling anymore? They were his hands weren't they? Where else would I want them?
I looked at him and willed him to take notice, and when he looked unsure, it took all my strength of will to move my face and smile at him. Probably more of a grimace, but it would have to do.
Oh thank God, he's taken the hint. Yes yes yes! Oh my dear sweet man, those sensual hands on my body please, right now. He's right, his hands aren't cool anymore but oh how wonderful they feel, all the same. Oh Liam I wish you knew how good that feels. Keep going my love and I can forget this pain for seconds at a time.
kiss me, make this pain go away
kiss me, tell me all will be okay
kiss me, hold me tight, hold me to you
kiss me, whisper loving words so true
kiss me and and lay me on the bed
kiss me from my feet to my head
kiss me here and kiss me there
kiss me all over, everywhere
kiss me softly, kiss me hard
kiss me, promise we'll never part
kiss me while you caress my hips
kiss me after you lick my lips
kiss me, love me, kiss me more
bring your love right to my core
He's touching my belly. Oh yes, how I've longed for that. His touch is so smooth and gentle. Erm what's going on? That feels better than good. Oh yes, my God that's wonderful. My legs are feeling strong. In fact they feel damned good. I think the pain is ebbing away at last. Bless that man for the angel he is – did he just kiss my feet? Yes, I definitely felt that. Oh shit, is that it? Please touch me some more. Give me back your hands Liam for God's sake! Please....
What now? A poem? After all that glorious touching? What's this? He's still talking about forgiveness? Oh for heaven's sake. I must make him see there's nothing to forgive.
Yeah, he's right on the money about Yeats. I understand the sentiment and I would forgive him anything, bless his heart, but if I never hear a Yeats poem again, it will be a moment too soon! More Shakespeare Sonnets and Robert Frost please, but I love you Liam for all that you are.
Oh what's this? My hands are easing. That's nice. Oh I can feel my limbs properly. I wonder if.......yeah I can move them. Oh I can feel his hand. Oh Liam, come here...... I want you back.....
***
Liam POV
Sweet Jesus she's coming round. How can that be? Her heart is still beating. Oh hang on, it's just movement. She's still in pain. My poor sweet girl.
I turned my head towards the bedroom door. "Carlisle? I think she's starting to come round."
I heard voices downstairs, Alice and Carlisle talking, with Alice's voice being the more insistent. I heard the door open and assumed it was Carlisle responding to my call but when I looked up, it was Alice. She came swiftly to the bedside.
Yolanda now had her eyes shut and she was wincing - presumably another surge of pain had hit her.
Alice bent down and spoke quietly to Yolanda.
"Yolanda, I can feel you're nearly there. I can see you so clearly now. It will only be another ten minutes or so. You've done really well and it has been really quick. I know you want to be private with Liam and so we're all going to stay out of the room until he calls us, but rest assured, you're going to be with us very soon and you're going to be absolutely fine. I'm looking forward to dressing you later and will pop back when you're both ready."
She kissed Yolanda on the cheek and whispered something I did not quite catch but which may have been "Enjoy".
Alice left the room with a smile while I puzzled about what was going on.
I looked back towards Yolanda, who opened her eyes again and looked towards me. After that I couldn't think at all - I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
***
Yolanda POV
Thank you Alice. What a poppet you are.
Oh God, someone's thrown pepper in my eyes! Shit that stings! Ouch ouch ouch! Aaaaaagh! Oh wait a minute, that's better. Thank goodness this is nearly over and I can get to see the new me.
Ok, now where was I? Oh yeah, right Liam, now you can help me through this last bit. Come here my darling.
I opened my eyes and looked back at Liam again. When I did I saw him gasp. He looked stunned, then overwhelmed and then his face was right above mine, kissing me repeatedly and telling me I was the light of his life and so beautiful, his beautiful Spring flower with the violet eyes.
Violet eyes?!
***
Liam POV
Violet eyes!! Would you bloody credit it? Well I'll be damned, but the blood has receded from her vibrant blue eyes and left them violet. How did that happen? Oh my sweet angel, how beautiful you are. I could look at those eyes forever. Violet eyes for a sweet violet. How miraculous is that? Maybe there is a God.
One corner of my mind registered a tinkling laugh from downstairs and I guessed the cat was out of the bag now.
I couldn't contain myself and flew to her face, peppering her with kisses and endearments. I was some old daft and romantic fool but by God she had swept my heart away with her spirit and her light, and she made me want to sing out loud! I could walk this Earth another 140 years and never find another like her.
"You're nearly there Yolanda, my sweetheart. Hold on now. It won't be long. I wish I could have spared you all this."
Hello, what's this? Yolanda's hand was moving mine down her body gradually. It came to rest on her belly. "Would you like me to rub your belly again? Do you find that comforting?"
I started to rub, very slowly, knowing that she still had a patch of great pain to come before she was released from her prison. If I could bring her some small measure of comfort at that time, then every little would help.
She obviously had no idea what was to come. I rubbed gently for a few minutes and felt her twitch almost imperceptibly with the movements. I could hear her frantic heart working overtime now as it was nearing its end. It was starting to stutter.
Through what could only be sheer force of will, her other hand reached up for me very slowly and I judged that she wanted me close in to her face for some reason. I suspected she knew now that a crescendo of pain was coming. She turned her head to me and I did the only thing I could do and covered her mouth with mine. She was definitely in control enough to kiss me back. That old chestnut of the pleasure/pain principle.
Some part of her brain was disconnecting from the pain as I kissed her, but the torture was continuing. What a bittersweet thing to be happening to my beautiful soulmate. Nobody deserved this.
I kept up with the kiss but was surprised to feel her hand moving mine again, further down her belly towards her legs. Our joined hands came to rest just over her mound.
Only then did I twig what she was after. Oh!
Her heart was staggering to its last and she wanted to go out on a bang, so to speak. She wanted me to offset her suffering with a moment of joy. No wonder Alice had insisted the family would be leaving us alone for this crucial last part. I'd thought that strange but now it was all starting to make sense. That little vixen had set me up - again!
Concentrate!
Now for sweet Yolanda. I was getting my last instructions from her as a human woman. Oh well, if it would make her feel something good then who was I to deny her that? If she wanted my hand on her as she left the human world, well that was quite a compliment.
I only hoped to goodness I didn't lose the hand the instant she turned full vampire!!
Yolanda's body was becoming insistent. The venom was on its last surge, of that I was sure. The tension was rising in her and her hand was begging mine to stay on her body. I slipped my hand into her underwear and felt a warm welcome there. Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to pleasure her, but how could this be right? Her grasp on my arm was insistent again, willing me to do something.
Oh shit, here's goes nothing. My woman needs me and I will not deny her.
I kissed her harder and started to move my hand gently on her, slipping my fingers down into her warmth, my thumb grazing that delicate bundle of nerves that were her centre. I could feel her responding to my touch. This was so different from two nights ago.
Hell's teeth. Her smell was rising. It was intensely arousing. I wanted to do this. My woman was needy and I could finally do something for her. I could hear her heart reeling from pain and instinctively clutched her to me with my other arm, pulling her to me.
I would ride it out with her as intimately as possible. Yes, this was right for us, right for her, no matter what anybody said. I would kill anybody who made reference to this in future.
Kissing her even more fervently, I swung into action and started giving Yolanda what she needed. I could feel her trembling and twitching under my caresses. Muttering encouragement in her ear, I ignored my own misgivings.
"There my girl, take this gift, go with it sweetheart. That's it. Feel me, take it in....I love you so much...."
My Yolanda arched into me as I held her to me, she shuddered under my hand and let out such a cry of anguish that it wounded me to the core. I all but stopped doing what I was doing. I felt her body still gently as her heartbeat finally ceased. There now, it's over.
Or so I thought.
I felt her tense under me and then her hand gripped mine like a vice as I wavered beside her. She clamped her mouth back to mine and breathing in deeply through her nose, she arched and moaned. That moan connected like a circuit straight to my groin. Oh shit.... She breathed in again and moaned again, I'm guessing she was smelling my musk by then. She stridently pushed my fingers down further into her warmth. Oh God I'm in trouble now.....I can't think. She wants me to carry on stroking her? She can't be serious. Jesus, yes she is! What is she doing to me? Oh God I'm going to explode.....
I did what we evidently both ached to do - I stroked her firmly for the count of about ten while my thumb pressed on the other part of her, and was beautifully rewarded by her deafening yell in my ear of what was now definitely pleasure rather than pain as she bucked against my hand and nearly sucked my mouth dry. Oh sweet Jesus, tell me this is not happening! Oh yes it is. Holy shit! I grunted into her mouth and held on as we both released into ecstasy. I was secretly thrilled that I did nearly lose my hand to her incredibly strong orgasm!
It took a few moments for us to subside and for me to gather my wits.
"Welcome home my sweet glorious Yolanda".
Then I heard the sweetest voice say: "Finally!"
***
A/N: Now that's how I'd like to be woken up! Thank you for following this story.