The constant grinding took its toll, with Nina gyrating against his hip for
most of the evening, and when they finally returned to the hotel, around
four am, he dragged her straight into the bed, letting the sheets wipe off
the sweat, and staying there until long after sunrise, long after their
chances for another postcoital game of chess were finished.
It was barely Sunday morning when they woke up. One minute to noon that passed as Jack watched Nina sleeping beside him. At home they never slept together, not an entire night. In LA they would have sex, lie in bed for a while, and then get up, perhaps play a game of chess in their underwear - sometimes, afterwards, Nina would come back to bed with him, and then dress and return home, shower, sleep a little and they'd meet at work.
With the exception of their first night together, he'd never had the option of watching her sleep for more than a few seconds. She looked so peaceful. Unlike Kim and Teri, a smile didn't appear on her mouth as she slept, but the constant tension disappeared, her mouth periodically opened and closed as she breathed in and out, eventually rotating her body and removing the obstruction from her nose, away from the pillow, so she could breathe evenly.
She landed on Jack's shoulder, resting a hand on his elbow and sighing contentedly as she returned to sleep. Jack brushed a fallen hair away from her nose as it began to twitch, and slid himself down onto the bed, level with her. She was beautiful.
Her beauty seemed to alleviate the pain of not being with Teri. She'd been such a constant with him for the last two years, he trusted her, and it made the transition between coworker and lover so much easier. Teri had met her a few times, and they got along, well enough for the limited purposes of their acquaintance. For the first few weeks of their separation Jack had thought about Teri much more often than when they were together, even before Nightfall, but in the last few weeks, especially this weekend with her, he found himself thinking about Nina far more than Teri.
He knew this wasn't love, at least not yet.
She coughed in her sleep, a deep throaty sound, bathing his face with breath. He wrinkled his nose at the sudden movement and slid a hand onto her waist, his thumb rubbed her navel, and she stirred, yawning, he was prepared this time, and slowly opened her eyes.
The curtains were drawn and the room was mainly dark, stripes of bright light punctuated the room at regular intervals where the curtains split, the ceiling lamp, the door, across the middle of the bed. The ambient light around the room meant she could make out Jack's face, and open her eyes without much blinking.
"Good morning." She grumbled, shutting her eyes again and leaning towards him.
Jack leant over her hunched form and looked up at the clock, settling back on the bed as quickly as possible. "Afternoon actually." He corrected, and draped a hand above their heads across the pillow, stroking the hair at the base of her neck.
"Good afternoon." She corrected herself. She yawned again, covering her mouth this time and raising an arm above her head, she stretched out her entire body, pushing out her chest at Jack and stretching her toes to the end of the bed. Eventually she settled back against the bed, burrowing into the mattress and wrapping the sheets around her, fully content to go back to sleep.
Jack had other ideas, he pulled away the covers not long after she tightened them around her, and began kissing her, his hands roaming her body, suddenly very turned on.
-24-
Nina wiggled her toes as she looked down at her feet, stretched out in front of her slightly off centre of the chessboard. Jack was considering his next move, and she was getting bored. "Jack?" She called as she turned her head a little towards his position, not bothering to continue the entire movement.
"Drink your champagne and quit whining." Jack called from behind her, probably standing somewhere near her queen. She was one move away from checkmate, and, if the amount of time Jack had spent considering this move was any indication, he knew it. She let out a sigh, and collected her glass of champagne from the white square, taking quite a long sip.
Jack had decided to be a little more imaginative with his wagers today. The games yesterday, and their first night, had been orientated around removing clothing. One item when you lost a piece. The first two games hadn't really been all that successful. They'd only pulled on a few essentials in order to come downstairs, so after they'd sacrificed three pieces, they were both naked, and no one was watching.
Today's wagers were games in trade for favours. Nina had won two and Jack had only won one - possibly because Nina had taken delight in distracting him with descriptions of what he had to pay her with. He wanted to win this game, and Nina had given up taunting him, instead settling for an equally distracting tactic, sitting on the board drinking champagne, and bending her knees so that her skirt fell and bared much more skin than he was used to seeing.
Jack had realised the predicament of his chess pieces, and couldn't see a way out. "I taught you this game too well." He sighed, sacrificing his bishop in the hope of saving his king. He sat down on the board, next to Nina, only maneuvering himself into position as she leapt up to make her move.
"I knew how to play before I met you." She argued, swooping down for her champagne glass. She took a sip and wandered over to the area of the board where all the action was.
"Oh," Jack poured himself another half glass of champagne. "Is that why I beat you in 22 moves our first night together?" He knew he was getting her a little wound up, but he wasn't bothered about repercussions at work, and it could be fun.
Suddenly Jack's head was drenched in champagne - what little was left in Nina's glass, as she poured it over his head, not at all bothered that some made its way down his shirt and back. "It was 28, and I was rusty." She retorted, and he heard her skip back over to her queen.
"Checkmate!" Nina announced proudly, once she carried the large wooden queen over three spaces. Jack stood to look at her accomplishment and she wandered round the pieces back towards him, grinning - though not as widely as he was.
"Well done." Jack congratulated, he knew when to applaud his troops for their work. Nina was stood in front of him, he was expecting her arms to wind around him and kiss him, any second now. She looked up at him and laughed, just as he brought the champagne bottle out from behind him back.
Jack managed to pour champagne on her leg as she sprinted to the other side of the chess board, managing to cut a path through the assorted wooden pieces before she turned back to look at him. She squealed his name as she moved away. When she turned back he was having a worse time crossing the board than she had, he'd knocked over two pieces and was about to topple a third.
Jack jumped in time to avoid tripping on his fallen pawn as he noticed Nina change direction and run to an alternate corner of the board. She was calling his name constantly and waving her arms, as if expecting that that would stop him from soaking her from head to toe. To be honest, it was just turning him on. Jack cut across the chest board, and reached the corner just as she changed direction again, heading into the middle of the board.
Jack made a start towards one opening just as Nina took a step towards another, and he soon got an idea. He took another step in the opposite direction and pushed a piece in closer to the board. Nina was too busy laughing and watching his eyes to notice what he was doing.
Jack took a step further towards her and she took one out. Nina wondered if she could continue with this stalemate forever - she really didn't want to, he hadn't congratulated her on her game yet, and she wanted that kiss. She supposed that this provided her with a chance to think up a suitable wager for her game...what did she want Jack to do to her tonight?
Jack took a step towards her, near one of his fallen pieces, and Nina took a step backwards, she nearly hit a chess piece and pivoted quickly - he'd trapped her in, how on earth did she not notice? Whilst she'd been having lurid thoughts he'd preyed on her distraction and assembled a castle of chess pieces around her, and she was trapped - the only entrance or exit was where Jack was quickly approaching from brandishing the bottle of champagne much like the weapon it was.
There was only one thing for it, Nina took a dive between his legs and quickly crawled to her feet running over the fallen rook, pawn and knight and making it to the edge of the chess board, just as Jack's arms closed around her.
Jack emptied the remainder of the bottle of champagne on Nina's head. He held her tight to him, although she didn't struggle much after the initial capture, and emptied the bottle, shaking it when the flow began to stop. He dropped the bottle from waist height onto the grass, it didn't break, and it just rolled down the bank to the edge of the chessboard, the green glass reflecting on the lightwood.
The champagne had poured down her hair, across her forehead and face and soaked more than half her dress. It had made its way down her back and had soaked areas of his shirt, but he wasn't all that bothered, Nina was convulsing with laughter in his arms, and her entire dripping body was pressed against his. He turned her, still laughing and pushed aside the bangs of soggy black hair that had plastered to her face. She finally stopped laughing when her mind turned to thoughts of lust, just as his had, when he kissed her, making damn sure she realised what he was going for.
Nina pulled away, laughing again as she wrapped her arms around his neck, quickly checking what their visibility was in this part of their sectioned off secret garden. They kissed again, and as Jack's hands roamed down to grip her buttocks through the soaking dress, she lifted her legs, wrapping them around his hips pressing herself as close as possible to his erection.
Jack had to break the kiss to groan, and work out a way to drop them to the ground, without actually dropping her, and loosing the contact that it seemed to important to him to keep at that moment. Nina grew frustrated with his pause, arching her chest against him - the damp material adding to the weight of her breasts, until Jack dropped to his knees, and lowered her down onto the grass so he could lie atop her.
"I won." She whispered, before he moved in to kiss her, distracting him for a moment.
"Yes, you did." Jack diverted enough blood back to her brain to reply, and ran a hand down her side to the end of her dress. "Well done." He fingered the end of the skirt, taking in her clothing. "This is a pretty dress." He told her.
She laughed at him, which only served to make him happier. He slid his hand under the skirt, letting it make its way up her leg as he leant in to kiss her. "I'll send you the dry cleaning bill." She whispered, biting on her lower lip. Jack captured her nibbling teeth, saving the lip and probed her mouth, just as his finger reached the edge of her panties.
He reached his fingers up to the waistband and slid a thumb under the edge of the material, tauntingly rubbing the skin there. "Only if I get to do this again." He whispered, kissing her earlobe. "Can I?"
Nina moaned, arching her back and whispering his name. But this time, not the weight of her breasts nor the visual of her doing _that_ would move him off his task, and he asked again, his thumb moving lower on her abdomen. "Can I?"
She whimpered his name again, and he moved the hand that he braced himself on down to chest level, sliding the thumb underneath her breast. He remembered an earlier observation when he encountered no barrier to his movements; her skin was directly underneath the gauzy dress. "Of course, Jack! I'll do what ever you want."
Jack grinned, hoping he'd remember she'd said that later, and yanked at the tiny piece of silk, getting it all the way down to her knees before he stopped and grappled with his own belt and fly instead.
It was barely Sunday morning when they woke up. One minute to noon that passed as Jack watched Nina sleeping beside him. At home they never slept together, not an entire night. In LA they would have sex, lie in bed for a while, and then get up, perhaps play a game of chess in their underwear - sometimes, afterwards, Nina would come back to bed with him, and then dress and return home, shower, sleep a little and they'd meet at work.
With the exception of their first night together, he'd never had the option of watching her sleep for more than a few seconds. She looked so peaceful. Unlike Kim and Teri, a smile didn't appear on her mouth as she slept, but the constant tension disappeared, her mouth periodically opened and closed as she breathed in and out, eventually rotating her body and removing the obstruction from her nose, away from the pillow, so she could breathe evenly.
She landed on Jack's shoulder, resting a hand on his elbow and sighing contentedly as she returned to sleep. Jack brushed a fallen hair away from her nose as it began to twitch, and slid himself down onto the bed, level with her. She was beautiful.
Her beauty seemed to alleviate the pain of not being with Teri. She'd been such a constant with him for the last two years, he trusted her, and it made the transition between coworker and lover so much easier. Teri had met her a few times, and they got along, well enough for the limited purposes of their acquaintance. For the first few weeks of their separation Jack had thought about Teri much more often than when they were together, even before Nightfall, but in the last few weeks, especially this weekend with her, he found himself thinking about Nina far more than Teri.
He knew this wasn't love, at least not yet.
She coughed in her sleep, a deep throaty sound, bathing his face with breath. He wrinkled his nose at the sudden movement and slid a hand onto her waist, his thumb rubbed her navel, and she stirred, yawning, he was prepared this time, and slowly opened her eyes.
The curtains were drawn and the room was mainly dark, stripes of bright light punctuated the room at regular intervals where the curtains split, the ceiling lamp, the door, across the middle of the bed. The ambient light around the room meant she could make out Jack's face, and open her eyes without much blinking.
"Good morning." She grumbled, shutting her eyes again and leaning towards him.
Jack leant over her hunched form and looked up at the clock, settling back on the bed as quickly as possible. "Afternoon actually." He corrected, and draped a hand above their heads across the pillow, stroking the hair at the base of her neck.
"Good afternoon." She corrected herself. She yawned again, covering her mouth this time and raising an arm above her head, she stretched out her entire body, pushing out her chest at Jack and stretching her toes to the end of the bed. Eventually she settled back against the bed, burrowing into the mattress and wrapping the sheets around her, fully content to go back to sleep.
Jack had other ideas, he pulled away the covers not long after she tightened them around her, and began kissing her, his hands roaming her body, suddenly very turned on.
-24-
Nina wiggled her toes as she looked down at her feet, stretched out in front of her slightly off centre of the chessboard. Jack was considering his next move, and she was getting bored. "Jack?" She called as she turned her head a little towards his position, not bothering to continue the entire movement.
"Drink your champagne and quit whining." Jack called from behind her, probably standing somewhere near her queen. She was one move away from checkmate, and, if the amount of time Jack had spent considering this move was any indication, he knew it. She let out a sigh, and collected her glass of champagne from the white square, taking quite a long sip.
Jack had decided to be a little more imaginative with his wagers today. The games yesterday, and their first night, had been orientated around removing clothing. One item when you lost a piece. The first two games hadn't really been all that successful. They'd only pulled on a few essentials in order to come downstairs, so after they'd sacrificed three pieces, they were both naked, and no one was watching.
Today's wagers were games in trade for favours. Nina had won two and Jack had only won one - possibly because Nina had taken delight in distracting him with descriptions of what he had to pay her with. He wanted to win this game, and Nina had given up taunting him, instead settling for an equally distracting tactic, sitting on the board drinking champagne, and bending her knees so that her skirt fell and bared much more skin than he was used to seeing.
Jack had realised the predicament of his chess pieces, and couldn't see a way out. "I taught you this game too well." He sighed, sacrificing his bishop in the hope of saving his king. He sat down on the board, next to Nina, only maneuvering himself into position as she leapt up to make her move.
"I knew how to play before I met you." She argued, swooping down for her champagne glass. She took a sip and wandered over to the area of the board where all the action was.
"Oh," Jack poured himself another half glass of champagne. "Is that why I beat you in 22 moves our first night together?" He knew he was getting her a little wound up, but he wasn't bothered about repercussions at work, and it could be fun.
Suddenly Jack's head was drenched in champagne - what little was left in Nina's glass, as she poured it over his head, not at all bothered that some made its way down his shirt and back. "It was 28, and I was rusty." She retorted, and he heard her skip back over to her queen.
"Checkmate!" Nina announced proudly, once she carried the large wooden queen over three spaces. Jack stood to look at her accomplishment and she wandered round the pieces back towards him, grinning - though not as widely as he was.
"Well done." Jack congratulated, he knew when to applaud his troops for their work. Nina was stood in front of him, he was expecting her arms to wind around him and kiss him, any second now. She looked up at him and laughed, just as he brought the champagne bottle out from behind him back.
Jack managed to pour champagne on her leg as she sprinted to the other side of the chess board, managing to cut a path through the assorted wooden pieces before she turned back to look at him. She squealed his name as she moved away. When she turned back he was having a worse time crossing the board than she had, he'd knocked over two pieces and was about to topple a third.
Jack jumped in time to avoid tripping on his fallen pawn as he noticed Nina change direction and run to an alternate corner of the board. She was calling his name constantly and waving her arms, as if expecting that that would stop him from soaking her from head to toe. To be honest, it was just turning him on. Jack cut across the chest board, and reached the corner just as she changed direction again, heading into the middle of the board.
Jack made a start towards one opening just as Nina took a step towards another, and he soon got an idea. He took another step in the opposite direction and pushed a piece in closer to the board. Nina was too busy laughing and watching his eyes to notice what he was doing.
Jack took a step further towards her and she took one out. Nina wondered if she could continue with this stalemate forever - she really didn't want to, he hadn't congratulated her on her game yet, and she wanted that kiss. She supposed that this provided her with a chance to think up a suitable wager for her game...what did she want Jack to do to her tonight?
Jack took a step towards her, near one of his fallen pieces, and Nina took a step backwards, she nearly hit a chess piece and pivoted quickly - he'd trapped her in, how on earth did she not notice? Whilst she'd been having lurid thoughts he'd preyed on her distraction and assembled a castle of chess pieces around her, and she was trapped - the only entrance or exit was where Jack was quickly approaching from brandishing the bottle of champagne much like the weapon it was.
There was only one thing for it, Nina took a dive between his legs and quickly crawled to her feet running over the fallen rook, pawn and knight and making it to the edge of the chess board, just as Jack's arms closed around her.
Jack emptied the remainder of the bottle of champagne on Nina's head. He held her tight to him, although she didn't struggle much after the initial capture, and emptied the bottle, shaking it when the flow began to stop. He dropped the bottle from waist height onto the grass, it didn't break, and it just rolled down the bank to the edge of the chessboard, the green glass reflecting on the lightwood.
The champagne had poured down her hair, across her forehead and face and soaked more than half her dress. It had made its way down her back and had soaked areas of his shirt, but he wasn't all that bothered, Nina was convulsing with laughter in his arms, and her entire dripping body was pressed against his. He turned her, still laughing and pushed aside the bangs of soggy black hair that had plastered to her face. She finally stopped laughing when her mind turned to thoughts of lust, just as his had, when he kissed her, making damn sure she realised what he was going for.
Nina pulled away, laughing again as she wrapped her arms around his neck, quickly checking what their visibility was in this part of their sectioned off secret garden. They kissed again, and as Jack's hands roamed down to grip her buttocks through the soaking dress, she lifted her legs, wrapping them around his hips pressing herself as close as possible to his erection.
Jack had to break the kiss to groan, and work out a way to drop them to the ground, without actually dropping her, and loosing the contact that it seemed to important to him to keep at that moment. Nina grew frustrated with his pause, arching her chest against him - the damp material adding to the weight of her breasts, until Jack dropped to his knees, and lowered her down onto the grass so he could lie atop her.
"I won." She whispered, before he moved in to kiss her, distracting him for a moment.
"Yes, you did." Jack diverted enough blood back to her brain to reply, and ran a hand down her side to the end of her dress. "Well done." He fingered the end of the skirt, taking in her clothing. "This is a pretty dress." He told her.
She laughed at him, which only served to make him happier. He slid his hand under the skirt, letting it make its way up her leg as he leant in to kiss her. "I'll send you the dry cleaning bill." She whispered, biting on her lower lip. Jack captured her nibbling teeth, saving the lip and probed her mouth, just as his finger reached the edge of her panties.
He reached his fingers up to the waistband and slid a thumb under the edge of the material, tauntingly rubbing the skin there. "Only if I get to do this again." He whispered, kissing her earlobe. "Can I?"
Nina moaned, arching her back and whispering his name. But this time, not the weight of her breasts nor the visual of her doing _that_ would move him off his task, and he asked again, his thumb moving lower on her abdomen. "Can I?"
She whimpered his name again, and he moved the hand that he braced himself on down to chest level, sliding the thumb underneath her breast. He remembered an earlier observation when he encountered no barrier to his movements; her skin was directly underneath the gauzy dress. "Of course, Jack! I'll do what ever you want."
Jack grinned, hoping he'd remember she'd said that later, and yanked at the tiny piece of silk, getting it all the way down to her knees before he stopped and grappled with his own belt and fly instead.