All I Know of Love

Part 2

She stood for a few seconds on the balcony, swaying in his arms, her back pressed against his chest, their hands clasped together on her stomach. Her eyes drifted shut then opened again, she glanced at the lights shining in the gardens, felt his breath tickle her neck, was he going to kiss her? No, no he didn't he was waiting for her move she knew that, always the gentleman. But he'd waited for so long for her, and now, now they were married and tonight he would be in her bed, after so many years.

The fireworks exploded overhead, showering displays of beauty, she couldn't hear the gasps of the assembled guests in the garden. They were at the other side of the palace; it was just the two of them, alone at last.

She held her hand up and admired the ring on her finger hearing the smile creep across his face. She thought she could still hear music but wasn't sure if it was from the ballroom or her own head. This was the first ball in living memory where she only danced with one man the entire evening. She couldn't bear to let go of his hand, to have him leave her side for more than a few seconds…

Finally she sighed and turned in his arms placing her hands on his shoulders.

He didn't say anything, kept smiling at her in his incredibly sexy yet loving way.

She giggled. "Nothing to say?"

"Lost for words."

"Hmm, it was quite, overwhelming."

He nodded his head. "It was, I'm not certain it's real yet."

She kissed him gently on the mouth. "I'll go change."

She was still in her dress but her jacket and been abandoned long ago. This dress that had turned out to be so much more than a simple summer dress, a simple understated affair so her granddaughter shone the brightest. It would now be cherished forever.

"It won't take me long." She said the words but hardly registered them; she watched his face for reaction.

"I'm sorry, I'm a little nervous…" She said gently, dipping her eyes.

"I'm terrified." His words were clear, dripping with emotion.

"You can use the bathroom after me." She smiled, just off centre, level headed as usual.

"All right." He wasn't about to rush this now, he was more than happy to follow her lead.


What should she wear? Her usual long sensible nightgowns hardly seemed appropriate tonight. And she was taking too long to decide; she'd been hauled up in here for the past thirty minutes as it was. Her face was clean; she'd applied her usual creams considered a little make-up then thought better of it. Afterall he was going to see her without it for the rest of their lives, each night, each morning… the thought sent a jolt to her stomach and she stared in the mirror.

All right the best thing would be something silky, not too revealing, clingy but not grotesque… the problem being she no longer had anything like that and if she did it certainly wasn't in the bathroom which meant darting across to another room to find something in her closet then rushing back and then oh damn it!

She turned around and stared at the plain tiled walls. Her dressing gown hung ready for her, she turned again and looked in the mirror removing the towel she had wrapped around herself. She didn't look too bad, she owned lacy underwear, she'd decided years ago it was one of lives true pleasures, good underwear, and she intended to enjoy it. She slipped her bra off, her breasts were still okay. In fact overall her body was well proportioned, her hips were a little squishier than she would have liked but hey she wasn't young. She dropped her bra into the basket, kept her knickers on and put her dressing gown on. It wasn't as if she wouldn't be naked at some point anyway… this was just a time-saver, or so she told herself.

Cautiously she opened the door into her bedroom, Joseph wasn't even sitting on the bed, he was standing waiting for her by the side. He'd been standing there all this time!

She coughed to clear her throat. "Alright, erm, it's free." She tried to sound light hearted but inside her stomach was churning.

"Thank you." He passed her, caught her hand and lifted it up to his lips then went to move away but she held his arm and pressed her mouth to his partly to reassure him, mostly to reassure herself.

As soon as the door closed she quickly got into bed, took her dressing gown off and threw it over to the chair. She lay down, squashed the pillows down, sat back up and plumped them into place then lay down again on her side. She switched onto her back. How should she appear? She folded her hands on top of the blankets and stared at the ceiling. No this was how she used to wait for Rupert… no, no, no.

She sat bolt upright causing the covers to dip and reveal her breasts. She gasped and pulled them back up to cover herself. The lights were still on full damn it! She listened carefully and could hear running water, she was safe, she dashed across the room and turned the lights off then stumbled back to the bed in the darkness stubbing her toe on the heavy wooden frame.

"Damn bed!" She exclaimed frustrated. She jumped back under the covers, reached over blindly for the lamp and switched it on. "Better." She proclaimed, though all feelings of romance seemed to have disappeared.

In the end she decided to sit, she leant against the gilded frame with a pillow propped up behind her back. The sheets were pulled up and tucked under her arms, revealing only her chest and the mere hint of her breasts beneath.

Finally the light in the bathroom went off and he entered the room. He wore a towel around his waist and she raised an eyebrow staring at him. His bare chest… well… she gulped.

"I didn't think to bring my dressing gown." He said sounding a little embarrassed.

"Oh…" was the only word she could form.

"Yeah, a-hem." He cleared his throat as he approached the bed; he stood at the side watching her.

She looked up and smiled lifting the sheets a little for him.

What the hell did he do now? Ask her to turn away until he was safely concealed beneath the covers, no, no doing that. Must be a man about it.

He held his breath and dropped the towel.

Clarisse held her breath too.

Did she really just let out that sigh? What must he think?

He climbed in next to her, leaning back against the pillows.

Struggling to think of what to do next Clarisse turned the lamp off and lay down flat on her back.

"Joseph…" She whispered.

"Clarisse."

"I feel like a school girl."

"You did this as a school girl?"

She laughed. "No, nervous I mean. I'm sorry, it's awkward… oh I'm sorry." She covered her face with her hands. "I'm terrible at this."

"Hey, you couldn't be terrible at anything."

She lowered her hands realising he was leaning over her, looking at her face.

"We both feel awkward, it's a long time to be friends and then… this."

"I love you." She said honestly and openly taking his hands.

"I love you, you know that, you've always been the only one."

"And you for me."

"Clarisse."

"Yes."

"You're naked."

"I am." She swallowed. "I didn't know what to wear. You're naked to."

"I didn't have anything to wear."

They laughed together and the uneasiness was gone.

His mouth touched hers, gently at first, timidly, his lower lips just grazing hers. Soft warm kisses seem to last forever, her hands wound around his neck and his body finally relaxed and touched hers. Her mouth opened to his and he took the initiative sucking on her bottom lip. She moaned something, he didn't know what. Her hands were on his back, tracing down his spine.

Her body was moving against his, only slightly; in fact he wasn't sure she wasn't shaking. Their kissing was becoming more intense; the heat radiating from her body was intoxicating. He ran his tongue along her lips, she responded with a moan so he dipped his tongue into her mouth to taste her, the sweetest thing.

To his surprise she touched his tongue with her own, followed the line of his lips with her tongue, she was enjoying this. The joy flipped through him like a lightning bolt, she was enjoying this. His mouth was getting sticky but it didn't seem to matter, they were licking and tasting each other for the first time, all that pent up passion and frustration now finally allowed to roam. The sweetest of kisses.