A/N: This chapter changes the rating of this story to mature. Three guesses as to why.
Chapter 51
Zuko let out a muffled sigh as he felt Katara's nails digging into his back. Their first time making love as a married couple seemed to have added an unexpected new dimension to the experience, and every sensation felt so much more intense. He had felt Katara peaking once already, and the look of intense pleasure in her half-lidded eyes, the deep scratches her nails left on his back, the way her toes began to curl softly, the way she began to clench around him, harder and harder, becoming so impossibly tight to move through, it all hinted that she was close to hitting yet another powerful peak.
Desperate to prolong the blissful experience for as long as he could, Zuko bit down on his lower lip and shut his eyes, sweat pouring down his brow as he called upon all of his willpower and continued with his slow, measured thrusts that made Katara go wild beneath him. Utterly intelligible words burst from her lips as she squeezed down so hard on him that she nearly sent him careening over the edge, forcing him to come to a complete halt, or else it would have been all over.
So close to her sacred edge, Katara whimpered, desperately begging for him to resume his thrusts, needing that little extra push that would send her spiraling into yet another powerful culmination. When he would not provide her with that relief, Katara tried to provide it for herself. She began to buck her hips wildly against him, again nearly pushing him over the edge, and in order to stop her, Zuko had to pin her tightly against the bed, preventing Katara from lifting her hips, all the while remaining buried deep inside of her.
Katara cried out desperately when they came to a standstill with Zuko putting in a superhuman effort to maintain his self-control. She was so tight around him that it felt like one more thrust and he would be unable to stop himself from crossing the line, and while he desperately wanted that to happen, at the same time he wanted to prolong this sweetest of tortures for them both. Unfortunately, it seemed that Katara was so desperate to come that in her need to reach her peak she didn't care whether she took him with her or not. She slipped her hand between their sweat soaked bodies and all it took was a few quick swipes against her hyper-sensitized clit for her to cry out as a powerful culmination overtook her.
All that Zuko could do was to cling on to her as she rode out the throes of her orgasm, praying that she wouldn't take him with her just yet. He felt his shaft throbbing, pulsing with the overwhelming need to come, and he knew that he could not hold out for much longer. As Katara began to slowly come down from her orgasm, Zuko decided to resume his thrusts, but she was still so wet and tight around him, and the trembling little whimpers escaping her lips drove him absolutely wild.
Worst of all, having recovered from her peak, Katara had regained the ability to verbalize her desires, and she immediately put her words to good use. "Please, Zuko... stop holding yourself back," she whispered in-between the sighs of purest pleasure. "Please, I need you to come now... and don't even think about pulling out..."
That did it, he could not resist her any longer. "Damn it, Katara..." he groaned, picking up a rapid pace of his thrusts, but it only took a few for him to lose control and he felt all of his pent-up tension releasing as he buried his face into her shoulder and cried out her name as the tension bled from him. He continued the pace of his thrusts well after having finished, and it helped to lift Katara to yet another peak, feeling his release inside of her having driven her to the edge already, and he happily provided the little extra touch necessary to send her careening over said edge.
With agonizing slowness, they both came down from their respective peaks together, Zuko's thrusts gradually slowing down until he came to a full stop, remaining buried deep inside of her as he cupped her blissful face and began to kiss her deeply. She seemed perfectly happy to yield, taking a while longer to recover, appearing almost stunned at the intensity of their encounter. Zuko could completely understand her. They had enjoyed amazing sex before, but this... this had been something else. Damn, if I had known that marriage would do that to our sex life, then I would have done my utmost to hasten it, he chuckled inwardly, observing the happy smile plastered over her lips, smiling back as she finally opened her eyes to regard him with a look so filled with love that it almost hurt.
"Zuko... what just happened?" she eventually managed to collect her thoughts.
"I'm not sure... but that was... spectacular," he chuckled weakly at her.
"If this is going to be our new normal... I love it, but I fear it just might kill us both," Katara whispered at him.
"I'm not sure, but I think this night is for us to discover that," Zuko smiled, pressing a quick kiss against her lips. "But... I might need some extra recovery time."
"Tell me about it, that just wore me out quite completely," Katara admitted. "I think I need a drink to keep me properly hydrated."
"I'd get you a drink, but I'm too comfortable to move," Zuko chuckled, unwilling to give up the more than enjoyable position between her spread legs.
"Get up and fetch me a drink, or I'll waterbend you off me," Katara threatened, her eyes sparkling with amusement.
"You're too cruel," Zuko sighed, reluctantly pulling away, unable to take his eyes away from Katara as she continued to rest splayed on the bed, with her legs parted, too exhausted to care. At that moment, she looked like sexual desire personified to him, and despite still feeling more than a little exhausted, Zuko resolved to conquer her plenty more times that night, until his body could no longer comply.
He wandered over to the pitcher of water on the nearby table and quickly filled two glasses, gulping his right there by the table, instantly feeling much refreshed. Zuko felt Katara's eyes roaming all over him as she watched him from the bed, and he felt a kind of smug satisfaction from her finding his body a delight to stare at. He certainly felt the same way about her body, the sight of her alone always set him on fire so quickly.
Zuko returned to the bed with the glass of water, passing it over to Katara, who quickly emptied it, looking far more spry afterwards. "Thanks, I needed that," she smiled, settling in close against him as he resumed his place in the sheets. "And now you'll have to entertain me with engaging conversation," she poked his naked chest.
"Sorry, my mind is still blanking, all thoughts have been blasted away by the amazing sex we just had," Zuko chuckled at her.
"Well, I'm always happy to hear about how amazing I am," Katara winked at him.
"Oh, you're pretty amazing, and I think you know that," Zuko grinned.
"Alright, I guess we won't get out much more from that conversation," Katara smiled, idly running her hand across his chest. "Oh, I know what we can do to kill time..."
"Hmm? Do tell..." Zuko urged her.
"Come up with baby names," Katara suggested, blush spreading over her cheeks. Zuko felt his mouth go dry at the thought. He could only smile and nod back at her. "So, I have a suggestion for a boy's name... I think we should honor someone very special in the lives of us both."
"I... could not agree more," Zuko nodded, somehow instinctively knowing what she was talking about. "I think Uncle Iroh would be delighted if we honored him this way. And Lu Ten is a wonderful name."
"So, you can read my mind, that's a good sign," Katara chuckled.
"I would be surprised if I couldn't guess the girl's name you would prefer," Zuko smiled at her. "Kya, after your mother."
"True, but I wouldn't want to impose," she smiled back at him. "After all, you don't have a connection to my mother."
"Of course I do," Zuko shook his head. "I have a connection to your mother through you, Katara."
"That's sweet of you to say, Zuko," Katara smiled, leaning in to kiss his shoulder. "But if there's a girl's name you like better, I'd be happy to keep my mother's name for our second daughter. After all, it's not a very Fire Nation like name, and it would be better if the next in line for the throne had a proper Fire Nation name."
"You have given this way more thought than I have!" Zuko gave her an amused stare. "Anyway, how many children do you want?"
"Oh, I'm not sure..." Katara mused. "Two just don't seem like it would be enough. I think I'd be happy with three, though!"
"You have it all worked out, haven't you?" Zuko chuckled at his beloved.
"You know me, always planning ahead," Katara smiled at him. "Hmm... do you think our children will be firebenders? Or waterbenders? Or perhaps non-benders..."
"I'm not even sure how that works, but there's probably a good chance that they will have aptitude for bending of some sort, yes," Zuko mused thoughtfully. "I suppose it would be nice to bond with our children over something like that, but whether they are benders or not, I know we're both going to love them equally."
"Well, of course!" Katara nodded excitedly. "Ah... it's so nice to look into the future and see only amazing things waiting for us, isn't it?" she sighed happily. "Both distant and... not so distant future..." she added, running her hand across Zuko's stomach, then dipping ever and ever lower, but failing to get any reaction.
"I told you I needed more time," Zuko gave his beloved a little mock-glare. "When did you become such a wicked little vixen, anyway?"
"I don't know... maybe when our sex became so mind blowing?" Katara winked at him. "It's your own fault for making me addicted to you, so now you better keep up with my needs, my Fire Lord."
"I'm pretty addicted to you myself, my sweet Water Tribe girl," Zuko leaned in closer and gave her a quick kiss. "My Fire Lady. My wife. A part of me is still struggling to believe my luck, Katara."
"I feel the same way, husband," she smiled at him. "Husband... husband," she kept repeating the word, as if trying out how it felt, then breaking into a broad grin. "It still feels a little odd to say, but in a good way... I love to belong to you, Zuko. It just makes my head go all dizzy, and I want to say nothing but stupidly sweet and trite things, and just... be silly and lovey-dovey."
"I'd say I would love you even more when you get like that, but I find it impossible to love you even more than I already do," Zuko whispered to her.
"Spirits, that was so syrupy sweet... I love it," Katara giggled. "Were you always such a romantic or is it all that rice wine from earlier in the evening?"
"Uh... it's probably a bit of both," Zuko admitted with a blush.
"I thought so," Katara grinned, then directing her hand down Zuko's stomach again to probe his readiness to resume their sexual exploits. "Aww, surely there has been enough time for you to recover!"
"I can't help with it, you know that, right?" Zuko gave her an amused stare.
"Well, if you can't help me, then maybe I'll just help myself and start without you," Katara grinned wickedly as her hand disappeared between her legs and she began to pleasure herself with idle strokes of her wrist. Zuko was simply content to watch at first, feeling his mouth go dry as he watched how her body began to react to her own touch. Slowly, fire reignited deep within him, and he felt his energy returning the more he watched Katara pleasuring herself.
When the first sensual moan escaped her lips and her hips rose from the bed to instinctively find more purchase against her hand, Zuko had had enough. His hand shot out and seized Katara's wrist, removing it and making her cry out in protest. He raised her hand to his lips and kissed her fingertips, tasting her and feeling his arousal reigniting fully from it. "That's enough, wife," he growled softly at her. "You shall not touch yourself any more. Tonight, your pleasure belongs to me."
"Well, you better do something about it then, husband," Katara gave him an inviting stare.
"Oh, I fully intend to," Zuko whispered to her, pulling Katara into his embrace and starting to kiss her with quickly intensifying vigor and passion. "Even if it kills me..."