Rating: NC-17

Series: Snapshots of the Past

Story: The London Years

Chapter 11

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

Previously: Jed didn't tell Abbey the job he was applying for came with a stipulation -- an additional two years in London.

Summary: An early morning results in a playful Jed and Abbey.

- - -

September 1969

His wet feet hit the cold-tiled floor causing his legs to shiver momentarily. He reached for the towel cradled on the rack next to him. After a quick rubdown of his face and hair, he wrapped it around his waist, securing the flap by folding it under. Jed left the bathroom and quietly scurried towards the nightstand. Each step was taken methodically with his feet just barely grazing the carpet so he could keep his eyes glued to Abbey.

He coiled his wristwatch around his wrist and smiled at the beautiful look on her face which assured him she was sleeping peacefully. With her dark auburn hair sprawled out over her white pillow and the hint of an innocent grin outlining her features, he couldn't resist touching her. He brushed his fingertips over her face to pull back a few stray bangs and leaned down to softly press his lips to her forehead. As he stood back up, his hand continued to stroke the top of her hair. He noticed her subtly widening her smile.

"Abigail?" he whispered. No answer. "I know you're awake, Sunshine." Still no answer as Abbey tried to remain perfectly still. "Hmm. Okay."

He left her bedside when he realized she was slowly opening one eye to watch him. She lost sight of him though as he walked to the other side of the bed to plop down on the mattress and tickle her unmercifully.

"You're evil!" she squeaked out through laughter.

"I learn from the master," he replied, now standing up to adjust the towel at his waist.

She propped herself up on her pillow and looked at the clock on the nightstand. "Why are you up so early?"

"I wanted to get a jump-start on my research this morning. I'm reaching a point in my dissertation that I'm really excited about."

"Aren't most of your classmates just starting their dissertations?"

"You wanted me done in four years, right?"

She smiled at him. "Yeah."

Abbey sleepily rose out of bed as Jed walked back into the bathroom. "I just checked on Lizzie. She's still sound asleep."

"Good. She woke up with a bad dream around 3 in the morning." Her eyes wandered around the dresser in search of her reading glasses.

"I've always wondered how babies can have nightmares. I mean, no offense, Sweet Knees, but is the womb that traumatic that it ignites a series of horrific subconscious memories once they're born?"

Abbey heard him, but chose to ignore his bait. "Jed, have you seen my glasses?"

"Where did you leave them?" he called out while applying shaving foam to his jaw.

"If I knew where I left them, I'd know where they were," she mumbled, now shuffling other items around the dresser.

"Abbey, if you'd leave things where they belong, you'd never have trouble finding them."

His high and mighty attitude was too much to bear at the early morning hour, especially since Jed wasn't exactly meticulous about keeping his own things organized as evidenced by the crumpled boxers that lay on the floor at the foot of the bed.

"Uh huh," she answered. A smirked and a arched left brow dominated her face and she let out a small breath before walking over to the abandoned undergarment and shoving it under the bed with her toe.

"You can't just leave things lying around and expect them to be there when you're ready for them."

She couldn't believe he was still lecturing. "Whatever you say, Dear."

He walked out of the bathroom with a look of superiority that she wanted to slap off his face. She knew deep down that he only donned that expression to tease her and that he wasn't really as egotistical as he came off, but it made her crazy nonetheless.

He was drawn to her as he reached onto the bed to pick up the undergarment he thought was there. He turned his attention to his fingers, which had just grasped the air and part of the sheet instead. "Have you seen..."

Abbey put her hands on the dresser behind her, heaving her chest forward. "What? Have you lost something?"

He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he sensed she was playing one of her manipulative little games that secretly turned him on. "No."

"Okay."

He smiled and continued rummaging around the sheets and comforter in a less obvious way. Without looking up, he knew she was staring at him, enjoying every moment. "Okay, I give up. Where is it?"

"What?" she asked innocently.

"You know what. I laid out a pair of clean boxers right here on the bed. Where is it?"

"Let me understand this. You laid out a pair of boxers on the bed, even though your boxers clearly belong in the drawer. So, you put something where it really didn't belong and then you expected it to be there when you were ready for it?" Her head was down, but her sparkling green eyes rested on him.

"Where did you put it?"

"You think that little of me that you believe I would actually take your boxers?"

"Abbey?" He took a few steps towards her.

"That I would hide them from you?"

"Abigail?" He continued to approach her, closing the space between them.

"Do you really need it?"

His head lurched back at her question. "My boxers?"

"Yes."

"Yes, I think I do."

Abbey put her hands on his bare chest and walked around him. "I don't think you do. I think you can go without and that would be just fine," she whispered into his ear from behind just before her tongue made contact with his earlobe.

"As much as I'd like to, you know I don't have time for..." She blew her warm breath into his ear and, suddenly, he found it difficult to find his voice.

"Make time." It was an order given in a soft, seductive, yet forceful way as she yanked the towel from around his waist, leaving him completely exposed and vulnerable.

Jed looked down at his naked body. He gathered his strength to deal with her flirtatious playfulness, knowing all along it would be a futile attempt.

He turned to face her, but she held the towel just out of his reach and backed herself up until she hit the wall. He had her cornered, but he didn't expect her to duck and slip out of his hold to turn the tables on him. She was staring at him now, her fingers running through his chest hair and her nails lightly tickling his skin.

"Don't start something we can't finish," he warned in between moans.

"Who says we can't finish it?"

She fell her to her knees, her hands following her down his body. Her fingers curled around his penis and she looked up to see him throw his head back at the sensation. His legs felt weak when she erotically massaged him, sending tiny shockwaves through that part of his body. She flicked the tip with her tongue a few times and circled around the base to tease him, but soon realized he didn't even need the foreplay. He was ready for the real thing.

She opened her mouth to completely take him in. Jed braced himself against the wall, his elbows digging in to the plaster behind him. His fingers were lost inside the strands of her shiny hair and he found himself struggling to stand.

He held his breath and closed his eyes while feeling his muscles tense up just before his climax. Abbey kept her mouth on him until his unsteady legs gave way and he collapsed onto the floor, exhausted and breathless.

"See? That took no time at all," she whispered, sitting down in front of him. His legs were still open and she glanced down while her hand ran up his leg. "Just sit here and relax, Babe."

She lifted the bedskirt and pulled out his boxers, twirling them around her index finger.

"I knew you had them." He was still breathless.

"I hate it when you lecture me."

"You really think I'll stop doing it if you punish me like this?"

"Of course not," she answered with a hint of manipulation in her voice.

"You played me."

She picked herself up and turned her back to him. "That I did, Pumpkin."

He watched as she continued her search for her glasses. Her legs were bare, all the way up to her short satin pajama bottoms, and when she bent over to scour the carpet, he felt his pulse racing again. He stood up quietly just as she found the light-rimmed glasses and placed them on her nose. He ambushed her from behind with one arm around her waist and another on her hips.

She laughed uncontrollably and kicked her feet in protest. "What are you doing? You're going to wake Lizzie!"

He dropped her on the bed and turned her over onto her back, yanking the glasses off and throwing them onto the nightstand. "This is payback!"

She half-heartedly struggled until he ripped off her panties and threw them across the room. As soon as he spread her legs, she reached for him, but he dismissed her and held her arms down on the bed. He lowered his face so his tongue could glide over the sensitive folds of skin. Her legs shuddered and tried to close, but as they sandwiched his head, his mouth fell deeper inside her until her back was arched so far up that her head was completely buried in the mattress. He slipped his arms under the backs of her knees and around to the front so he could keep her legs apart and her heels off the bed.

This time, he was calling the shots. And she loved every minute of it!

- - -

Present day - July 1970

A knock at the door jarred Abbey out of her memories and wiped the wistful smile off her face. For a moment, she thought it had to be him. But that slight glimmer of hope was dashed when she reminded herself that Jed would never knock. It was 5 a.m. and he wasn't home. Another explanation, she feared, was the police had finally arrived to tell her the news she had been dreading.

She took a deep breath and straightened her posture, trying to prepare herself for what was about to happen. With one look through the peephole, she let out the tension and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Lila?" Abbey invited the other woman inside the apartment.

"I'm so sorry to bother you this early."

"I haven't gone to bed, so actually it's late."

Lila was visibly frazzled and nervous. "Is Tom here?"

Abbey became more alarmed. "No. And neither is Jed."

"He didn't come home last night."

"Neither did Jed."

The two women stood inches from one another. Through their eyes, they communicated the unspoken words they were afraid to verbalize.

TBC