Warning: This chapter is rated PG-13

Chapter 20

It was leaning against the headboard where he always kept it. He couldn't remember the last time he heard its call, but tonight it whispered and he reached to answer. She lay beside him a possessive arm stretched across his hips. He smiled as he looked down at her. Dawn was beginning to grace the sky and Ric found he couldn't sleep… he didn't want to leave her… sleep would take his eyes and breath and selfishly return them back to him. But, they were hers… He was hers… He breathed for her… his eyes unwilling to hide behind closed lids lest he miss something new, a new treasure that could only be found in her. Cradling the wooden arm in his palm he quietly began to tickle the strings… a corny mellow love song suddenly meandered through the room wistfully. He played the strings just as he had played her earlier. Softly… lovingly… pulling a sweet song of passion from her lips as she followed him time and again to soar among the stars.

"I didn't know you played." She murmured groggily.

He looked down and watched her stretch delectably beside him the sheet falling away and enticing him with a vision that stole his breath. She turned to face him as one hand rose to rub the foggy sleep from her eyes before partially opening them and giving him another reason to fall deeper under her spell. He lay his guitar aside and slipped down beside her his fingers finding her lips and trailing down until he reached his destination. He smiled as he heard her sigh of pleasure and leaning down kissed the curve of her breast as she wrapped her arm around him holding him close to her for a moment before letting go. Lifting his head he kissed the hollow of her throat then moved to briefly kiss the tip of her nose before finally leaning back to gaze at her once more.

"Do you know how beautiful you are?"

"You missed…" She muttered huskily.

Her fingers found his lips and his heart stilled as he felt her pull him down, her touch guiding her closed eyes. Knowing what lay behind her intent, he waited. The moment her lips touched his, he was lost again. Alexis was nothing if not thorough when expressing her content when she kissed him. And this morning, Alexis was very content. She pulled him body and soul into a kiss that left him wanting to start their night of discovery all over again. He reluctantly let her pull away, but refused to allow her to leave him completely. He caught her hand just as she lay back down and kissing the back of it lay it warmly against his heart. He wondered how long it would take for her to awaken enough to completely open her beautiful eyes. He pulled her closer entwining his legs with hers as she finished her answer in a sultry voice that stole his heart all over again.

"…and you made me beautiful."

"Alexis, you were beautiful before I ever laid eyes on you." He whispered.

"You're biased and talking entirely too much."

"And what would you suggest I be doing rather than talking?" He asked seductively as his fingers traced circles upon her skin just above the hem of the sheet.

She opened one eye and glanced up at him with a small mischievous smile before turning over giving him a stunning sight of her back as the sheet slipped lower to rest across her hips. "So I guess the party's over. And here I thought Harvard men were known for their quick minds, resilience and staying power. Maybe I should look up one of my old Yale buddies and have him give you a few pointers."

She squealed as Ric pounced on top of her and rolled her back over to face him as he settled his body on top of her. She shifted just enough to settle him more comfortably between her legs and then bent her knee to allow the room she needed to feel that part of him that she loved to tease almost as much as she loved teasing his mind. She smiled at his quick intake of breath before he answered her verbal challenge.

"I didn't hear you complaining somewhere around three this morning, counselor. In fact, you were quite verbal at one point."

Alexis blushed as she recalled the moment he was referring to, but unwilling to allow him the last word she recalled a memory of her own to trade. "And if I remember correctly, at one point you were begging me to let you recover enough to catch up with my rather healthy appetite."

She didn't get the response she expected from him and her face grew serious to match his. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you."

He quickly placed a finger over her mouth. "Shhh… you didn't. But what you did do was amaze the hell out of me. Alexis, I've never been so completely fulfilled in my entire life. There wasn't one moment during the night where I didn't feel you reaching for me in one way or another… You didn't even have to touch me for me to feel you. You never let go of me once. Do you know what you gave me last night? Do you know that I have never been so completely whole and happy before! I cannot imagine wanting anything more in my life than just to be a man being loved by you." As he tried to explain the magnitude of how he felt in being loved by her, a tear formed in the corner of his eye. "How can a woman give so completely of herself and still be a mystery to me?"

She wiped the tear away and pulled him down to rest his head on her breast as she gently stroked her fingers through his hair. "I wasn't the only one doing the reaching last night, Ric. You did quite a bit of your own. I remember a moment when I looked up at you and all I saw was your face. I didn't see the room, or anything else in the room. All I saw was your face and I remember thinking that I never wanted to look up again and not see your face. For the first time in my life I am with a man that knows and understands me and accepts me for who I am. And to make love to him without having any questions, regrets or doubts… Ric, I still can't give you the words you need to hear, but I can tell you that I gave you my heart last night. Something happened to me that I didn't expect… would never have expected given where and what I've come from. But somehow during the past few weeks you've become a part of me… not in the manner you wanted when you came to my home and asked that I allow you the freedom to call my daughter your home. But last night, the first time we made love, I watched you, your eyes, your heart, your touch… everything… you gave without reservation… you gave me all of you and took nothing for yourself and in doing so you opened a part of my heart that has been closed since I was a child and lost my mother. I've always been afraid to give too much, to allow too much… I can do and be whatever is called of me, but there has always remained that one part of me that no one could touch. It was my safe place." She reached for his chin and lifted his head so he could see her. "Now that you've opened that door you've become my safe place and I don't ever want it closed again as long as you are a part of my life. You didn't just make love to my body last night, Ric. You made love to my heart and I want you to make love to me again… and again… and again until I'm physically unable to accept you anymore. Then I want to rest a while and start all over again.

Whether she could say the words or not, Ric knew she loved him. No one could give so much in so many ways and not love. Rising enough to reach her, he kissed her softly and began once more to pay homage to every inch of her skin as he began another quest to give her what she wanted and needed from him. And as the sun began to rise he held her close as she let go and released herself into his care once more, proud of the man that only this woman was able to pull from the depths of his soul.

He felt the sun's warmth on his face as it danced through the leaves of the tree outside his window. He stretched his arms and legs taut to awaken them and smiled as he remembered the dreams that again filled his sleep throughout the night. Lifting his arm he crossed it over his eyes and snuggled back into the pillow under his head a soft smile flirting with the contours of his face. It was a new day and Ric did not want to pull himself from the bed where he had dreamed of her making love to him all night. He yawned and drew his other hand up from his side to find the edge of the sheet that barely covered him. He grasped it in his hand and pulled it away from him as his leg left it's warmth and slid to the floor. The cool air would slowly awaken him enough to carry him into the bath once more for the cold shower awaiting him. Remembering one of the more passionate moments of his dreams he whispered her name and reached to encircle himself.

This time it was Alexis who watched Ric sleep and she knew that he dreamed of making love to her. His reactions while sleeping left little doubt as to his mind's activity. It delighted her to know that he was just as passionate in his dreams as he had been during the night. But, she wasn't about to let his dreams take her place in reality. She reached for him and covered his hand with her own stilling his movements. The groan her touch on him elicited was almost her undoing.

"Wouldn't you rather open your eyes and see that it wasn't a dream, Ric?"

He jumped at the sound of her voice, the arm covering his eyes lifting in shock as his eyes slammed open finding Alexis resting her head in her hand beside him.

"It wasn't a dream." He whispered.

"No, it wasn't a dream."

Returning his leg from the chill of the floor to beneath the sheet, he turned toward her and pulled her close holding onto her tightly as he whispered again. "It wasn't a dream."

She couldn't help herself. She was happy and in a playful mood. Pulling back a bit from his hold she tapped lightly on his chest bringing his eyes to hers.

"Just how long have you been dreaming about me, Ric Lansing?"

He chuckled at the shining mischief in her eyes and the beautiful glow on her face. Rolling onto his side so they could lay face to face. "Quite a while, Miss Davis. But, the dreams that caused me to land in a cold shower yesterday morning… they are fairly new."

"You took a cold shower yesterday morning?" She wouldn't admit to knowing the content of his dreams for fear of embarrassing him, but there wasn't anything wrong with playing tag with the knowledge.

"Yeah." He grinned sheepishly.

Already knowing the answer from watching him sleep, she asked anyway just to hear the words. "And which did you enjoy the most?"

Laughter rose up and filled the air as he clutched her hip to keep her close. When his laughter died down he raised his hand to sweep his fingers through her hair to push it away from her face. He felt a little playful himself.

"It was better."

"It was better?"

"Yeah… much better."

"Better than what?"

"My dreams."

"You dreamed about us… doing… uhm, doing this."

He chuckled at her adorable inability to say the words as her hand swept through the air over them both as well as encompassing the bed. He could say them… wanted to say them… wanted to shout them to the world. But for now he would settle for just whispering them to her.

"Yes… I've dreamed of us making love… of making love to you… over and over and over and…"

"More than once… dreamed of it… I mean?"

His smile deepened remembering the various dreams that woke him from a fitful sleep the night before. "Many times… many ways… many places."

"RIC!" She slapped him playfully with a hint of unbelief in her voice. She was getting more than she expected and she couldn't resist encouraging him to continue. Her head ducked bashfully sending her hair forward to hide her face. "…anywhere interesting?"

Her shy question sent his laughter rising up once again to fill the room until he remembered his favorite dream.

"Italy. Venice to be exact! Drifting down a small out of the way canal in a gondola. It was slow and easy… we let the motion of the gondola set the rhythm. We rocked back and forth until we couldn't hold on any more. It was amazing."

"You dream like that?" she asked incredibly.

He smiled. "You inspire me. Not just in bed… but in the courtroom… in my office… in your kitchen… a small broom closet at the police department… the judges chamber.

The more he talked the more she realized he was describing the different places he had dreamed of making love to her. "THE JUDGES CHAMBER?" The visual of the two of them sitting in the judge's chair or laid out across his desk sent her into gales of laughter as she left his arms to sit up and lean back against the headboard so she could breath easier around the laughter that couldn't be contained.

He scooted down a little further in the bed and propped his head up with his hand. His eyes looked up at her leaning against the headboard, holding the sheet close to hide herself from his hungry eyes. He teased her again wanting to hear more of her unrestrained laughter.

"And then there was the time we went to the movies… we sat in the balcony… you were sitting on my lap. No one could tell what we were doing… at least they couldn't until you screamed."

She couldn't hold on to the laughter that exploded from her lungs. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. He enjoyed teasing her… and she enjoyed the teasing. She watched him reach for the sheet and slowly pull it out of her hand. Her laughter stilled. He pulled again and she felt it fall away, his eyes darkening at the proof of how aroused she was. She watched him slowly reach up and rub his thumb across the hardened result of his teasing words. His hand drifted lower to further tease her and was rewarded with a gasp of pleasure. "You're playing with fire, Ric?"

Taking hold of her arm he pulled her down beside him and just before his lips met hers... "Burn me, angel."