A/N: Without catterwall and her ability to restructure sentences, this chapter would have contained an unfortunate incident in which Lorelai yanks off Luke's head and launches it across the room unceremoniously.
And please, take care not to read this chapter in public. Or in front of anyone in general, like at your local library, at work, starbucks, what have you. This is closet-with-a-flashlight type stuff.
Lorelai carefully sat down on the edge of the bed, not lifting her eyes from Luke as he lingered above her. She finally released his hand and slid back, cutting a swath across the cool sheets, leaving space for him between them.
And though Luke hesitated, it wasn't the beautiful woman in the provocative nightdress that ended up tempting him into that bed. It was Lorelai, the look of reverent adoration she was wearing as she watched his internal debate.
Luke skimmed one knee onto the mattress, followed by the other, and kneeled over her, placing a hand on her hip bone. She stilled. His eyes raked over her, glowing in the darkness with a faint smirk. "You wore that on purpose, didn't you?"
Lorelai laughed, releasing a nervous breath and pulling him down onto her, helping to arrange his limbs comfortably around her body.
He gripped her side tightly as they both nestled into one another, tucking her waist into the crook of his arm and burying face-down into her neck. He dropped a kiss on her collar bone, reaching up hesitantly to touch the soft space between her clavicles where she'd kissed him goodbye in his dream.
The embers of his recent emotions flared again; the profound impression of sadness pressed against his chest. His eyes clenched shut at the memory.
"You weren't there," he said softly, sleep and emotion closing his throat and lowering his voice.
Lorelai lightly rubbed the lobe of his ear. His weight had pinned her down, and it was the only body part she really had access to.
She kissed the top of his head. "That wasn't me," she reminded him gently. "That's not me." She ached to soothe him further, but he wouldn't tell her how.
He squeezed her as tightly as he could, grazing a kiss into the hollow of her shoulder. "I know," he said, his breath causing a shiver.
She was hyperaware of his presence, her body humming after every light touch, every small movement. As his hand rested on her upper arm, playing with the end of an escaped strand of hair, every centimeter of flesh in contact with his was instantly covered with goosebumps.
Luke released his hold on her and abruptly sat up, pulling up the covers that had been kicked to the bottom of the bed.
"Here," he offered, securing the comforter around her from the neck down. "This should warm you up." He tucked it under her shoulders, and ran his hands up and down her arms rapidly.
Lorelai peered at him quizzically. "What are you doing?"
"You're freezing," he answered simply. "Look at you, you keep shivering."
The abruptness of her laugh startled him. She unearthed herself from the heavy quilt, shoving it back down the mattress with her legs.
"Trust me," she said, her face suddenly serious. "It's not the cold."
He grinned, realizing he was having an effect on her, propping himself up on one elbow. He reached down, nuzzling and kissing the hollow of her shoulder again. "Was it this?" he murmured softly.
She tilted her head back, laughing, though this time as an attempt to calm the restless feeling gnawing at her stomach. The very same gnawing that was making her hands involuntarily clutch the hem of his shirt.
"Don't," she cried out desperately, turning her head away from him. "Luke!"
He slyly slipped a knee under her thigh, angling himself above her. "What about this," he muttered, a laugh in his voice as he kissed the hairline at the nape of her neck. "This make you cold too?"
She moaned quietly as he traced a graceful crescent into her skin. Breathing deeply, she let her eyes flutter closed, drawing her knees upward and apart.
"Luke," she half-whispered, turning to him. She watched him steadily, not able to control the smile on her face. "You were the one who wanted to wait."
He dropped her gaze and pulled back. "I know."
Sliding his knee out from under her and drawing himself away, he let his eyes wander over her body. He memorized her curves, the way the silky fabric was pooling at her waist, her rosy cheeks. The words "sexual purgatory" entered into his mind.
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear nervously as she waited for a response, this small gesture making his stomach flip.
"I don't… think I can," he admitted, his eyes rapidly searching hers as he watched for a response.
Her expression softened as she drew in a slight breath. She slid a hand to her heart, the other arm draping across her stomach protectively. She gave a light smirk, her stomach now littered with butterflies.
"Really?"
Luke curled an arm around her, drawing her effortlessly into the arc of his lean body, kissing her passionately. The sudden contact forced the breath out of both of them as they exhaled into one another's skin. Their tongues swirled and dipped with an easy cadence as Lorelai pulled down urgently on the collar of his shirt.
She swung a leg over his, drawing him against her and eliciting a muffled moan from deep inside his chest.
God, she could feel him pulsating through the cotton of his sweatpants as he strained against her bare thigh.
He reluctantly separated his lips from hers, pinning her arms against the mattress and shifting himself further between her legs. They locked eyes, and he slowly began to understand the gravity of the situation, of what they were about to do. And now that he had her shivering beneath him, now that he was on the verge of fulfilling that which had always been his paramount fantasy, he had no idea where to begin.
His gaze swept over her, picking out patches of skin he wanted to spend hours getting better acquainted with.
Lorelai felt his hesitation and softly applied pressure to the small of his back, wrapping her legs around him, lifting her head to kiss him encouragingly. He responded immediately, rubbing the back of her thigh as he sucked on her neck, leaving visible marks in his wake.
She slid her hands down his sides, under the elastic band of his sweats, dragging her nails languidly up his hips. From there they traced up the muscles in his back, his neck, into his hair and curled around his protruding shoulder blades. He arched his back against her palms.
Luke allowed a loose fist to linger on her rib cage, his knuckles occasionally grazing the curvature of her breast, inciting a shudder from Lorelai as she tried to telepathically move his hand upward. He pulled away to catch his breath, finally cupping his hand over her hardened nipple and slowly applying pressure, moving his lips back down to her neck as she groaned.
It had been such an emotionally volatile few days, culminating in an implicit trust between them, a sort of unspoken pact to ease one another into this relationship.
Luke had faith in her, now faith in them together- but that didn't mean he wasn't going to draw out this experience like it was his only chance.
His other hand was busying itself further up, playing with the strap of her nightgown, tempting it down, inch by inch.
Lorelai, in turn, was completely frenzied by his pace; his every movement, every gesture had become maddeningly slow, impossibly attentive, and it served to further agitate her actions. She pawed at the back of his shirt and coaxed his head down. Yanking the fabric from his back, she launched it across the room unceremoniously, entwining and squeezing her legs around his waist.
He stopped and looked down at her, his ministrations having been interrupted by her hurried agenda. A sort of restrained delight constricted his chest when their eyes met. "You okay?"
She gave him a bashful smile and chewed the edge of her thumbnail, nodding. "Sorry."
He huffed a laugh and slowly dipped his head back down to her throat, running his lips over her skin so lightly; his hand was back down on her stomach, inching its way up from square one.
"Okay, seriously," she jumped in, grabbing a handful of hair and pulling them face-to-face. "Can I help you?"
Though taken aback, he challenged her look with a nod, cocked an eyebrow. "Yeah, go ahead," he dared her. "Help me."
And without hesitation, she lifted her backside off the bed, pulling the slip up and over her hips, pushing him backwards off of her and sitting up on her knees. "Here," she offered with a smirk, raising her arms. "The rest is all you."
Luke realized that he should have been expecting this kind of behavior from her in bed, knowing her so well everywhere else. She couldn't slow down for anything, savor anything for more than just a moment.
He made a mental note to teach her that when they got back home.
With Rachel, he'd never been the sexually dominant one, simply by virtue of the fact that he had been completely inexperienced in comparison. And though she wanted him to take control sometimes, she was the only person he'd ever allowed dictation from. Not just in bed, but anywhere, if he could help it, up until this moment.
He rolled his eyes. "This isn't going to work, y'know."
Lorelai froze, her hands still in the air. "What's not."
"You. Making me undress you. It's not going to get you there any faster."
She made the same face she would've made had she been stamping her foot, arms still raised. Luke came up on his knees as well, lowering her locked arms onto his shoulders. Without so much as a glance below her neck, he smoothed the fabric back down her sides, tugging on the hem to make sure it was secure. "This comes off when I take it off," he growled, pulling her closer.
Lorelai set her jaw, her hard blue eyes unblinking. Her silence was acquiescence enough.
He spread her knees apart on the bed, pulling her completely over him, onto his lap. Tracing light circles on the backs of her thighs, watching her eyes flutter closed as she relished the feeling.
Luke kissed the tip of her nose. "Just… relax," he said softly, his eyes still on her as he moved upward, skimming and tracing lines from her knee to her waist.
Her muscles involuntarily loosened under his touch, falling into submission under his caresses.
The tiniest movement caught Luke's eye and he pressed up against her jaw with his palm, tilting her head back; it was her pulse, barely visible, beating through her skin. He leaned in and held his lips to it softly, trying to soothe it. After a few moments, however, he realized it had only quickened.
Taking a firm hold of her outer thighs, just below the hem of her slip, he widened his knees, forcing her legs further apart, cupping her ass to support her weight. Finally closing his eyes, he kissed her deeply, enveloping her entire body as he squeezed her, thrusting against her. She moaned into his moistened neck at the brief but agitated contact, nipping at his shoulder in response, trying to grind down over him again.
Releasing his grip on her, Luke kissed her chest and began sliding down her straps, drawing his bottom lip over the top of her breasts as he went.
He couldn't really believe Lorelai was letting him touch her like this. A questioning look was affirmed as he peeled the satin gown from her skin, letting it settle at her waist.
The cool air breezing in from the open window hit her skin and licked the small beads of sweat from the back of her neck. She reached behind her and pulled her hair into a fist, watching him stare at her breasts as she arched, her hair slowly tied into a knot.
His eyes were glazed over as he gathered her up in his arms and kissed her, breathing deeply, immersed in the feeling of her nipples pressed into his chest, fruitlessly abating the hunger for more contact.
Luke splayed his hands across the exposed skin of her back, flattening her against him, cradling the back of her head as he lowered her onto the pillows.
The blood rushed into Lorelai's head as she tilted into his hands, trusting him to deliver her safely to the mattress. "Hey, um…" Her voice came out softly, forcing his attention back on her. She smiled as she noted the droplet of sweat forming on his hairline, brushing it off with her thumb as she spoke.
"I'm… covered. Safe and everything. Just so you know."
He nodded. It hadn't even occurred to him that she wouldn't be. "So, everything is, ah, in order?"
"Yes," she answered, sliding her finger along the small dent in his chest.
Luke smirked. "Even after that last guy?"
She whapped him squarely on the head with a pillow as he ducked his face into her, trying to avoid her blows.
He finally managed a hold on her wrist, pinning her to the bed, a smitten look on his face . "Are you done?"
Hands inaccessible, she angled a huff upwards, attempting to blow the strands of hair out of her eyes. "No."
"Lorelai," he growled in a warning voice, joining her wrists under one arm and tickling her bare skin with the other.
She erupted in laughter, squirming violently. "Okay," she yelled, "fine. I'm finished."
He let go of her with a big smooch on the cheek, brushing her hair out of her face and smiling. "Dirty," he mumbled, concentrating on the strand stuck to her eyebrow. "And totally not true."
She snickered, shifting out from under him and pinning him easily, straddling his stomach. Wriggling on top of him, she flexed her thighs against his muscles.
Luke immediately felt the wetness soaking through her underwear and onto his skin, a realization that abruptly threatened his release.
Instinctually, he clutched and pushed down on the top of her thighs in an attempt to grind her over the agonizing muscles in his groin, grunting when she resisted.
She suspended herself over him instead, biting and pulling his lower lip teasingly, a laugh in her throat. "Don't ever tickle me," she hummed in his ear, nipping at the lobe. Luke took a deep breath, kissing her more forcefully than he ever had, sliding his hands down her back and squeezing her cheeks.
Still on her knees, Lorelai backed down the bed, kissing a trail down his neck and chest, gliding her fingertips just above the band of his pants.
Her face hovering just over his midsection, she hooked her thumbs around his pants and boxers, sliding them down a half an inch. Her gaze was so intense when she locked eyes with him, it made him both self-conscious and aroused.
Luke swallowed hard, threw an arm across his forehead and stared back, not daring to miss a moment.
With a fiendish smile, she drew down the elastic, following her hand with draggle of her tongue down his thigh. He accommodated her, lifting his defined pelvis, sliding back into the headboard.
She relished the sight of him for a moment, writhing beneath her as she ran her nails up and down his bare hips, his eyes flinching.
He finally composed himself, returning her gaze. And once she had his full attention, she slowly wrapped her fingers around the base and took him in her mouth, her dark hair tickling his thighs.
It took every single ounce of Luke's energy and focus not to pass out, by virtue of the sheer exertion of withholding eruption.
Rocking his hips, he clutched the sheets with a despairing groan, eyebrows knitted together.
"Lorelai," he croaked, breathing furiously. She applied more pressure with her lips, pressing her tongue tight against his shaft as she moved.
"Stop," he commanded, this time his tone clear. She obeyed, embarrassment clouding the confusion on her face as she met his eyes.
"Please, stop. I- um," he cleared his throat and gave her a quick smile, hoping to convey his message. "Just… stop."
She let out her breath with a grin, understanding. "Sorry."
Pinning his erection against his abdomen, she slid his boxers back up, turning and pulling off his pants. His legs were sticky with the coat of sweat she'd managed to paint him with in just a few minutes.
Climbing back up his body, she settled on top of him with a kiss, letting him roll them both over. As she cupped the back of his neck, Luke suddenly broke the kiss, reaching up and taking her fingers in his hand.
"Why are you so cold?" he asked, concerned.
Amused, she led his hand to her breast, also icy to the touch. "It happens. You know, when all your blood is… otherwise occupied. After it rushes to more important places," she explained, clenching his thighs between hers on the last word.
"Huh," Luke muttered absent-mindedly. "I must be freezing."
She snaked her toes up his calf, hooking her foot around him. He flinched from the sensation, as her feet were like ice; however, his thoughts were well employed by the soft breast in his hand and didn't dwell on it long.
"Hey, Luke?" She interrupted as his mouth began working her nipple.
He looked up, reluctant to let go. "Hm?"
A warm smile spread across her face, eyes radiant. She spoke deliberately, the cadence foreign to his ears. "I think this is probably… the coldest I've, um, ever been. You know, with anybody."
It took a moment for the meaning of her words to sink in, but he eventually matched her grin with a nod, kissing her lovingly on the mouth. "Me too," he said softly, brushing the tousled hair from her shoulders
Lorelai pressed her cheek solidly into his, feeling the stubble, feeling the similar burning of flesh mirrored in her own. She felt as if something inside her had melted, soaking every inch of her that ached.
Luke gently tugged on the crumpled slip that still hung at her waist, tucking up her legs, sliding the satin fabric over her curves.
As his lips pressed and teased the skin of her stomach, his fingertips pressing against her lower back, she tangled her hands in his hair in an effort to guide his mouth down between her legs. She shivered when he wouldn't budge.
Unable to wait, she slid her right hand downward, grazing her fingertips against her swollen arousal. He froze in place, forehead resting against her abdomen, watching the fluid motions of her hand.
Every square inch of Luke's body was tingling, vibrating with anticipation. The hair on his arms stood on end, he couldn't tear his eyes from her hand, his jaw refused to unclench. At the first deep moan that escaped from Lorelai's lips, he ducked his head under her leg and pushed her hand away, nipping at the thin, wet cotton of her panties, gripping her bucking thighs.
Without provocation, she lifted her legs and placed her feet together on Luke's back, hitching up her midsection to roll her underwear from her damp hips.
As her feet were weighing down on his back, he had no choice but to watch the procession from his front row view. Where there was white cotton, he saw only glistening skin. Before he could move, she wrapped her legs around his shoulders, drawing him into her.
He let a finger glide cautiously along the slit, glancing up at her to gauge her reaction. Her chest was heaving, her gaze just as intense as before.
He decided he loved the bottom of her body just as much as the top. The tiny birthmark on the very inside of her thigh got special attention.
As his tongue skimmed and submerged, he struggled to keep her hips pinned down as they flexed repeatedly to the most subtle movements. Luke's erection, trapped between his body and the mattress, found its own rhythm, in harmony with hers.
Unsubtle vibrations began rocking the bed, and he finally withdrew his mouth from her. Lorelai had been pounding a fist into the mattress.
Luke sat up, noting the shiver at the absence of his tongue. He aimlessly rubbed a finger across the opening between her legs, an attempt to compensate for the loss, marveling at the feel of her. Stroking the leg that was still tossed over his shoulder, he fully regarded her body for the first time, his face full of affection and adoration.
Knowing full well that every man she'd been with had probably made a remark of some sort, he managed to refrain from telling her how beautiful she was. His expression, however, betrayed his silence, and a smile crept over her face as she sat up to take his hand.
Palming and gripping his neck, she whispered his name against his mouth as he kissed her softly, his hands pressing her open thighs against the mattress. Giving him her last docile look, she grasped him tightly, guiding him inside her.
Every line in Luke's mind was erased at that moment; the muted, controlled expression he'd been struggling to maintain had given way to a strained grimace, intensely creased brow and begging eyes.
Their lips were neglected as they clutched one another for dear life, their limbs hopelessly vised together, bodies grinding, sweat smearing.
Lorelai's hot gasps spasmed out of her and into his ear. Her nails scraped his back, her legs ensnared his body and teeth clamped down on his shoulder, trembling from the urgent, immediate anticipation of orgasm.
Poor Luke just tried to hold it together; every time her muscles contracted around him, each twitch against his abdomen, every gauzy taste of her salty neck, his body became perceptibly more tense, resisting the upsurge of pleasure.
Exhausted from the fight, Luke forced his eyes open, pressing his forehead and nose into Lorelai's, relieved to find his frantic gaze being returned.
The torrid look in his eyes immediately pitched her into climax. Her muscles constricted tightly around his hardened groin, her body shuddering, a strangled cry forcing itself from her throat. She grasped at the skin on his back as he finally let go, a hoarse, preemptive moan pressed into her shoulder.
Lorelai hugged him tightly as his convulsions died down, the throbbing slowing. After a few moments of stillness, he lovingly kissed her bare shoulder.
With a satisfied groan and a gentle peck on her lips, Luke slid out of her as she brushed the damp hair off his face, both noticing the first traces of dawn in the grey sky.
They stared out the open window, both thinking the other had fallen asleep, breathing evenly. Eventually, Luke stirred, rolling onto his back, regarding her for a moment. Tracing the sharp line of her hip, he smiled sleepily, pulling her down on top of him.
"Thanks for seducing me," he said, his voice impossibly low in her ear.
She propped her elbows up on either side of his head, smiling down at him. "I think we just upgraded those junior suites in hell."
Luke delighted in her grin, reveling in the feeling of her naked body draped casually over his.
"Totally worth it, though," he murmured into her skin as he drifted off.