It started when Donna's doctor diagnosed her with the onset of her menopause after she hadn't really felt like herself for quite a while already. It was hard for her to accept the changes of her body. She didn't have a problem with aging per se, and from an outside perspective, she was still an exceptionally attractive woman, no one else but her even noticing the 3 extra kilos she had gained due to hormonal fluctuations or the skin irritations that appeared from time to time. And Harvey made it unmistakably clear more than once and in every possible way how tempting she still was and always would be to him.
Still, the uncontrollable hot flashes and sleep disturbances were bothering her more than she would have liked to admit, as did the increasing irregularities in her period. She just hated the feeling of not being in control of anything caused by this physical process and the lack of self-confidence that sometimes crept in as a result. She hated not feeling like herself. But most of all, she hated that all of this was affecting her so much in the first place.
To make matters worse, the onset of her menopause coincided with the start of her new career - something at which she needed and wanted to feel and act like herself more than anything else. She had been offered the chance to take over the management position at one of the most prestigious independent theaters in Manhattan, where she had performed for many years as an actress herself and also repeatedly worked as a temporary casting agent over the last couple of years. After the previous director decided to retire, Donna had been his first choice to succeed him. And she didn't have to think about it for long, since she was given the opportunity to fulfill a lifelong dream of hers with this new position. After several conversations with Harvey and her closest friends, she had decided to take the plunge and leave the firm after almost 20 years for good. She appreciated the new challenge that filled her with so much excitement and joy. It was clear from the very first second that she was born for this job. And the theater staff, the audience and the press just adored her. Because, how could they not?
But still, getting used to a new position always comes with a lot of stress - physically and mentally. And despite all the euphoria, it cost Donna a lot of energy. Which she didn't have much of anyway, given the side effects of her menopause. Plus, the fact of no longer being around Harvey most of the day was noticeably getting to her, even though she felt rather silly about that. After all, she wasn't a teenager anymore and she no longer depended on seeing him at the office to satisfy her longing for him, as she had in the past. For years now, they had been in a fulfilling relationship brimming with love and passion far apart from their professional relationship at the firm. And yet - over decades she had grown so accustomed to spending the better part of her days with or at least in close proximity to Harvey, that this changing so drastically took at least some getting used to.
It was just a lot to deal with at once.
And then her father died completely unexpectedly. His right heart valve had caused him some minor problems for several years already, which is why an operation was scheduled for early fall with the aim to fix the valve and afford him improved health and a long life to look forward to. A routine procedure, nothing to worry too much about. But it didn't even come to that, because his heart must have been weaker than anybody expected, and one morning he just didn't wake up anymore.
Donna fell into a deep hole of grief after that, but she was determined to get through it. She was sure that she would be able to deal with all that was going on in her life. She was a strong woman after all, a fighter, who had already overcome many obstacles in her life. And she would definitely make it through all of this, too. Not least because of Harvey by her side, whom she had always been able to count on, and who had always been her anchor, who had always had her back, and who was now going through all these tough changes with her, his support and care providing her with all the strength she needed.
However, as strong as she tried to be, as much as she fought through dark hours, rough days and nagging symptoms, she couldn't deny that she was having increasing trouble relaxing and unwinding properly. And with it came the trouble of completely letting herself go during sex - something that had never been an issue in her life before. In fact, sex had always been her first choice to fully disconnect from anything else that kept her mind busy. And it had always worked.
But this time, it didn't. And, even worse, with it came the increasing inability to have an orgasm. At first, she didn't give it much thought, since it was basically beside the point for her to climax every single time she slept with Harvey. For them, sex was about much more than just having orgasms. And she still enjoyed the sex with Harvey a lot. Her desire for him was just as strong as it had been since day one and they still had sex quite often.
But after a few weeks of only being able to come a handful of times, no matter what they tried, it was starting to weigh on her quite a bit. This had never happened to her before. She had always been able to get herself there pretty quickly, just as Harvey had always been able to get her there, knowing all the spots and twists that pleased her by heart.
And even though Harvey tried his best to not show it, Donna still felt that it was getting to him, too. Of course, he was wondering if it had anything to do with him. But it wasn't because of Harvey, absolutely not. That much she knew for sure. He was doing everything just right, handled her with so much love and understanding, tried everything to make her relax and feel good. And god, the way his mere presence still turned her on after so many years was more than clear proof of her point.
And yet, it took some great deal of coaxing to erase Harvey's doubts and fears of no longer being enough for her, whereas deep down he had always known that they were unfounded.
They both knew that her difficulties had nothing to do with him or their relationship in the slightest, that the reasons lay much deeper and couldn't be reduced to just one small thing. It's just been a lot lately, much more than any human being could handle at the same time. The million things that were permanently running through her head made it almost impossible for her to fully relax, even in the most intimate moments. As much as Harvey tried. And oh, how he tried.
But for countless weeks she barely even had an orgasm at all. She could hardly remember a handful, most of them only achieved by finishing herself what Harvey had started or doing it alone at all. But even when she tried it alone, out of frustration only, it didn't always work.
At a certain state of arousal, it just wouldn't go on no matter what they tried. Her whole body stiffened, every muscle started to tingle, her ears rushed and she had to break it off because it didn't feel good anymore and it didn't seem like it was leading anywhere. The arousal suddenly dropped instead of rising, without her knowing why.
It had been extremely frustrating for her that her body didn't react like she wanted it to and like she had always been used to. On some occasions where they had to let go of trying to get her to climax she even had a really hard time holding back the tears blurring her gaze. Tears of resentment and disappointment and maybe also a little shame. Even though she knew that it was absolutely ridiculous to be ashamed of anything in front of Harvey, especially because he dealt with it so well and it had absolutely nothing to do with him. He was the most sensitive, understanding and considerate man, paying attention to her every need, trying to figure something out, trying so hard to make her feel good. And even respecting it when she rejected him.
But the longer it didn't work, the more pressure she put on herself. And the more pressure she put on herself, the less she was able to relax, and the quicker she reached the point where she had to cease and focus on him instead. A vicious circle.
It just wore her off that the one thing she needed so badly, the one thing that had always managed to relax her immensely and turn her head off for a while just so she could see more clearly afterward, didn't work reliably anymore. Even the tips and strategies she found online or talked through with the therapist she had been consulting for years already, hardly led to any success.
In the end, they decided it might be best to try to take any pressure off and just let things happen as they were supposed to and believe in the fact that better days would definitely come eventually. It would most likely just take time for all the stress to subside and for her to be able to fully relax again.
Today, they both got off work on time for their weekly dinner date. These dates have grown even more important since Donna changed jobs, and they both enjoy this recurring time that is reserved exclusively for them as a couple a lot.
As usual, their date didn't lack any sexual tension and as soon as they got home, they toppled into the bedroom, their bodies a mess of tangled limbs, wet kisses and increasingly exposed skin. She pushed him onto the mattress once they were both completely naked and then she rode him hard and fast until he spilled into her, not even having tried to orgasm herself, just bathing in their lust and connection, floating with the waves of Harvey's climax.
When she returns from the bathroom now, she sits down next to him, their backs against the headboard, the sheets draped over their naked bodies while they talk and caress each other lightly. Donna is in a cross-legged seat, one of her knees resting on Harvey's thigh, as she massages some hand cream into her fingers. Harvey mindlessly starts stroking her thigh, every once in a while placing a kiss on her throat. He doesn't aim for anything else, just wants to savor the moment and the relaxed mood they are in.
But eventually, he senses her breathing becoming heavier as her arousal increases, and he slowly lets his hand wander a bit higher on her thigh. Donna sighs and closes her eyes to relish his caresses, but her head starts spinning already. What will happen now? Do I want him to continue? Will it work? Can I please relax already?
Meanwhile, Harvey's hand is already moving further up, soon starting to indulge her folds with feather-light touches. He senses her discomfort as her breath hitches slightly, even though her soft moan and the small sheen of wetness pooling at her entrance give him the impression that she doesn't want him to stop.
Wordlessly, he lets go of her for a second and reaches for his bedside table where they store a few toys and lube. He takes the lube and turns back to her.
"May I?" he asks carefully and she just nods, eager to find out what he's about to do next, but also a little nervous. She hates that, she's never been nervous about something like that before. Honestly, she hasn't felt this insecure about sex almost since her very first time.
Harvey stays undeterred and applies some lube onto his index and middle finger, removes the sheet from Donna's lap and reaches for her bare center which is quite on display in her cross-legged seat. He carefully spreads the lube over her folds and entrance and applies some more until everything is nicely soaked and his fingers can slide easily along her whole center.
Donna hums and whimpers and tries to fully focus on his ministrations, how he lets his long fingers slide all the way from her entrance to her clit, how he draws a few slow circles there before he makes his way back down between her folds, how he swirls around her entrance and then slides further over her perineum to circle her butt hole as well - which makes her whimper a little louder. Of course, Harvey knows that touching this exact spot usually adds enormously to her pleasure, and he can't help but smirk as he already senses his body reacting to the sounds he draws from her.
He continues with this sequence of actions for several minutes, sometimes varying the direction, intensity or duration of his touches, but never letting go. Simultaneously, his lips dance along her throat or nibble on her earlobe, his hot breath leaving goosebumps in its wake.
Eventually, he plunges two fingers into her core, slowly thrusting in and out a few times, before he returns to his original movements. He can feel Donna getting wetter with every minute passing, her body seeming to relax more and more against his. Soon, he enters her again, three fingers this time, causing her to arch her back in search of more friction.
He alternates the ministrations depending on her reaction, involving her butthole a bit more because playing with it makes her squirm and groan his name. He increases the intensity, but his actions stay soft and careful, not wanting to hurry or overwhelm her, just waiting for her body to respond and her mind to fully unwind. And it seems to work, because Donna's body sinks deeper into the cushions and the sounds she's making are getting louder, more guttural and less controlled. He can't deny that he's feeling quite smug that his strategy is seeming to work this time, that he is getting her closer and closer to release. Slowly, but steadily.
Eventually, he reaches for the bedside table once again to grab a small vibrator for external stimulation. He hopes that he is right and that this is what she needs right now and that he doesn't ruin her state of arousal.
As she detects what he got from the drawer she smiles at him, her eyes pitch black, and they exchange a long kiss. Only when they part does Donna recognize his manhood standing tall and proud in his lap again and the mere sight sends more heat to her center, the way in which her own pleasure excites him as well never failing to enhance her arousal.
But Harvey's concentration is on her and her satisfaction only. After another short kiss and a reassuring look into her eyes, he turns on the vibrator, leads it to her center and starts massaging her clit with it. Her moans are getting louder immediately and her head sinks onto his shoulder as her hand claws to his thigh next to her. He takes this as a sign to increase the intensity of the vibration a little.
He still moves at a moderate pace, massaging and circling her pussy with the toy in a delicious, almost loving way that makes Donna's heart melt. She knows that he's trying his best not to rush or ruin this, and that he doesn't want to force or overwhelm her. And she appreciates that a lot. Only gradually does he speed up a little bit and apply a little more pressure to his movements, perfectly fulfilling her needs.
Her breathing keeps getting heavier and her moans and groans get louder and louder, and Harvey could almost laugh out loud of mere relief because he didn't get her to this point in a long time.
And eventually, she arches her back off the mattress and grunts loudly, her face buried into the crook of his neck, and then she finally, finally explodes in a long and intense orgasm and she whimpers his name again and again and he swears he almost comes, too, even without his cock being touched at all.
He patiently rides her through, massaging her swollen pussy until the very last wave of pleasure left her body and her bones get heavy again. He turns off the vibrator and lays it aside, returning to softly caress her thigh. She slowly comes back to earth, caressing his chest, face still buried against his throat. When she pulls back a little to look at him he quirks an eyebrow and comments with a smirk "Seems like you really needed this, huh?". She can't help but chuckle in mere relief. "God, you have no idea," she comments and he kisses her forehead and pulls her deeper into his embrace. "I love watching you come," he whispers. She just sighs against his skin and states "And I love when you make me come this good."
It's not long before Harvey recognizes that Donna fell asleep on his shoulder and he gently pulls the blanket over their bodies and switches off the lights. He carefully shifts their bodies into a more comfortable position. A content smile sits on his face, being more than glad that this time he was able to give her what she was craving, which is all the satisfaction he needed at that moment. It lets him doze off too, soon.
That night, Donna has the best night's sleep in a very long time. Not everything is just back to normal after that. But this experience helped immensely to take considerable pressure off their sex life and to get Donna more relaxed about it. The problems keep coming for a while, but as time goes on, they become less. Little by little, her life gets back in order and the stress and sadness subside until she is finally able to completely let go again.