Chapter 26 (26!)

Still straddling his lap, Sawyer filling her, Kate stared at him. She took in every feature, every line and crevace, every move. She wanted to remember this moment forever. Tears welled in her eyes, and for once in her life she didn't fight them. She let them spill over and fall silently down her cheeks to drip on the skin of Sawyer's chest. She didn't even try to blink them away, relishing the knowledge that they were tears of joy. II never knew I could feel like this./Ishe thought, her eyes grazing over Sawyer's lips.

He watched her watching him. Watched the tears fall, feeling like he could finally breath. Like his whole life there had been something holding him back, holding him down, and now he was free. Sawyer gently brushed away one of her tears with his thumb, then pulled her toward him into a soft kiss.

He just wanted to feel her lips against his. To feel her body close to him. He wrapped his arms around her when he felt her skin begin to prickle from the chill ocean breeze. She put her arms under his, and held him tight, her fingers digging slightly into his back. The kiss deepened, but not with the usual heat of passion. This was a slow, burning desire that's coals were stroked with each caress.

Sawyer slid his tongue into Kate's mouth and was mildly surprised when she bit down on it for just an instant, and then pulled away from the kiss. She looked at him and smiled, sweetly seductive.

In a deep, throaty voice she whispered into his ear. "Stay totally still. Don't move until I tell you. And remember exactly what I do." Then she looked at him and knew that he understood.

She lifted her body just a touch and then settled herself more firmly on him, and Sawyer drew in a small breath sharply, but never took his eyes off of her. Kate moved her hands to where they were free and could move when she wanted to. Then she leaned forward, squeezing her legs together slightly, grinning at another of Sawyer's small gasps.

Kate used one finger, pulling it along his jaw, down the side of his neck and along his body, every now and then drawing small circles or other shapes on his smooth skin. She flipped her hair over one shoulder and then started kissing Sawyer's neck. Softly, lightly, like a butterfly she showered his neck and shoulder with attention, kissing softly here, licking gently there, she sent shivers down his spine. She rested her cheek against his, but continued the small sentiments, now focusing more on his ear.

She nibbled the lobe, making his scalp tingle, but Sawyer remained perfectly still. Kate sucked carefully on his ear, biting once in a while, sending little warnings of things to come.

Kate then moved to his lips. She kissed him softly, deepening it with each second that passed. Soon she had her tongue fully inside his mouth, caressing his, not letting him take any measure of control. Kate pulled energy from him with each caress, each kiss, relaxing him. Sawyer gave over, let her do as she wished.

And suddenly it was over. Kate pulled away from the kiss, and put her hands on his shoulders.

She pushed him back, and back, until he was laying on the grass with her still sitting on top of him. She leaned her body over his and kissed the hollow of his collar bone. Sawyer closed his eyes, and let his other senses take in her every move. Her hands glided over his body, barely touching his supple skin, raising goosebumps in their wake. Everywhere her fingers touched made his skin shiver. Then she started rubbing, massaging his tensed muscles. First his abs, then his pecks, then his arms.

She bent almost in half and kissed just above his navel. Then she moved.

Her body rose till she no longer touched him, and she pulled both legs to one side of his body. Sawyer could still sense her near, but she did not touch him for a bit. Just when he was about to open his eyes to see what was going on, they popped open of their own accord as his body flooded with sensation.

Kate's languorous fingers touched the sensitive skin below his navel, and lower. They had just finished making love, not ten minutes ago and he'd not had time to recover...until now.

As her fingers moved over him, Sawyer could feel his body tensing again. He could feel himself growing and knew that she could too. His eyes snapped back shut and he forced himself to calm his suddenly jagged breathing. He could feel keenly her fingernails digging slightly into him, producing a reaction he'd not known could happen. His toes actually curled, and a small groan escaped his throat. Sawyer swallowed, not wanting it to end, yet not sure how long he could last.

And she stopped. At his peak of desire she simply stopped.

Sawyer sucked in air, not having realised until that moment that he'd been holding his breath. And he looked at her.

Kate was looking back at him, breathing hard as if she'd been running, and with a craving in her eyes that reminded him of a ravenous wild animal. And he felt it too. Slowly he propped himself up on his elbows, still staring at her. He heard a seductively hoarse voice come from her that he'd never heard before.

Kate leaned toward him and purred, "Now do to me, exactly what I did to you." And with that she turned away from him until she was laying on the ground about three feet away, in the same position he'd just been in.

Sawyer took a deep breath to gather his wits. And then grinned devilishly. He rolled toward her and up onto his knees. He leaned over her body, and then kissed her, hard and deep, taking her breath away. But Kate grabbed the sides of his face and pulled him away as soon as her mind came back to her.

"I told you-"

"I know what you told me, Freckles," Sawyer growled at her. "But I'm not too inclined to take orders at the moment. Guess you'll have to come back later if you're gonna insist on that." Then he grinned and kissed her again, harder than before. And when she tried to push him away he just growled into her mouth and held her tighter. Soon she stopped struggling against him, and went along with the ride.

Still kissing her, Sawyer used one knee to gently push her legs apart. She complied willingly, even eagerly, wrapping one leg around his and using her hand to push his body more squarely over hers. Then she wrapped her other leg around him, and pulled him deeper into the kiss.

She smiled against his mouth and Sawyer barely had time to wonder why before he found out. Kate slid her hand down the side of his body, and then to the front. Quick as lightening she grabbed him, and squeezed, just softly, but enough to merit a reaction. Sawyer broke the kiss and groaned quite loudly. Then she squeezed harder, and smiled when Sawyer dropped from his hands to his elbows (one on each side of her), and groaned again, panting.

Kate kissed his shoulder and then gave him one last squeeze before sliding her hand down - running one fingernail along the side all the way. Sawyer's mouth opened in a silent gasp and Kate whispered in his ear. "I'll allow it this time. But next time I expect you to listen to me."

Sawyer gave one last shaky breath, and glared at her. But it wasn't a glare of hatred, but rather one of fierce, angry desire. And he swore to himself that he would make her scream for it.

He lifted himself back up on his hands and gave Kate a fierce look. But she just smiled and barked a short laugh. Sawyer smiled back, and then pushed himself into her unexpectedly. Kate made a gasping moan, and her back arched. Sawyer smiled again, and pulled himself completely out of her.

Kate felt suddenly empty and only had time for one deep breath before he pushed in again, leaning down over her to get better leverage. Kate moaned loudly and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her. From there Sawyer moved rapidly. He pushed into her deeper, illiciting yet another gasp. His arms wrapped around behind hers, and his hands holding her shoulders, he pulled away then pushed even deeper. Kate's head shot back with a loud moan coming from her mouth. But his only urged Sawyer on. He drove into her, deeper, harder every time. And Kate moaned involuntarily, every time. Over and over, harder and harder, Sawyer used every muscle in his body, forcing himself into her again and again. And Kate surprised Sawyer by lasting longer than he'd expected. She held on, trying to derive every ounce of pleasure possible from what he was doing to her. Tears streamed unbidden down the sides of her face, and soon she was whimpering in between thrusts. Sawyer began to feel bad, guilty, thinking he was hurting her. But when he tried to slow, she clung to him and growled, making it clear that he wasn't to stop. So he continued, pushing ever harder, ever deeper. Kate's body tensed, and Sawyer could feel her coming close. Then - without realising he was doing it - he bit her. He bit her shoulder, pulling her attention away from the other just long enough to make it last a few more seconds. Then her body pulsed. Every muscle contracted, lifting her almost completely off the ground, and Sawyer with her. It forced him deeper than even he had been able to go, and Sawyer felt her come. It was glorious to him, knowing he could bring such a response. And Kate screamed. At the top of her lungs, she screamed. Letting out all the pressure, everything that had built up for the last hour, all the tension. And maximizing the ecstacy. It was not a scream of pain or horror. It was a shrill of pure, inexhaustible pleasure that seemed to go on and on. And in that note of longing and fulfillment, Sawyer let himself go. He came into her one last time, releasing everything, he groaned, almost a growl, and held her close to him. Not wanting the moment to end, but realising it already had, he simply held her. And Kate breathed in.

They both lay there, Sawyer on top of Kate, panting, listening to the echo of Kate's bliss.

Sawyer started to roll off of her, to pull out of her, but Kate whispered one word, "No," and he stayed, holding the woman he loved.

He breathed in her scent that was touched with the smell of roses. And she breathed in his spicy, musky scent that sent her body into shivers. Sawyer - his arms already wrapped around her - could not protect her any more from the cool breeze. They hadn't exactly planned for this or he would've brought a blanket. Planned...for this. Those words ran through his head, just touching something he thought he should remember, but couldn't quite grasp. It was the second time this feeling had come across him after they'd made love, and he couldn't figure out why. But then it passed, and he gave it no more thought for the moment.

He lifted his head and looked at Kate. She was beautiful. She was breathing hard, her chest raising and falling, her hair was splayed out to all sides around her head, dropplets of sweat clung to her forehead and neck and chest.

Gruffly, his voice not seeming to want to work, Sawyer said, "We should go." Then he paused, but not for long. "Others will have heard that, and will wonder what's going on." Burying his face in her neck he continued, "I don't know about you, but I'd rather not have people walk up on us laying here like this."

And Kate laughed. It was laughter of pure delight. And the longer it went on the harder she laughed. Soon Sawyer joined her simply because he wanted to hear the sound of her laughing forever. But eventually it did die out and Kate sighed.

"You're right. Let's go." Then, looking at him mischeiviously, she said, "I think I have a promise to keep." But when Sawyer looked at her questioningly she continued, "It has to do with a certain tent with no particular time limit." Then understanding dawned in his eyes and Sawyer grinned.

Slowly, he pulled himself out of her and Kate sighed, regretful, feeling empty once again. He stood up and held out his hand to her and she took it, pulling herself up after him.

Sawyer walked the few feet to his pants, and pulled them on while Kate did the same. But he left off his shirt, figuring it would just come back off in a while anyways so there was no reason to put it on. But Kate put hers on with Sawyer watching her. She moved with such grace. He loved how lithe she was. Her body twisted, and moved like a cat's. And it made for a funner time in bed. But he would've been happy just to watch her walk. And then he heard something. It sounded like voices.

Kate looked up sharply, her eyes in the direction the voices were coming from. They hadn't exactly hurried in getting dressed, and now they could make out Jack Iand/I Sayid's voices as well as a few others. They sounded worried.

Sawyer grinned and just stood there. But Kate wasn't about to have to endure the men's scrutiny. She looked at Sawyer with pleading in her eyes, but when he just laughed, she knew he would be of no help. And with a look at Sawyer that told him he'd better keep up, Kate took off running. Sawyer ran after her, dipping down to pick up his boxers on the way past.

As they ran through the grass, and then the trees the voices behind them grew quieter, and Sawyer could hear Kate's laughter ahead of him, her voice ringing like bells. He raced after that sound until he couldn't hear it anymore because she'd stopped laughing. Then suddenly the trees opened up and he was on the beach. He stumbled to a stop and looked around, his eyes searching for Kate. When he found her, she was standing next to one of the fire's eating a fruit from one hand while the other held a plate of fish. She also had a water bottle tucked under one arm. She looked like she'd been standing there all day.

Sawyer grumbled to himself as he walked up to her. Only then did he notice Charlie and Hurley sitting on a log not five feet from where Kate stood. Charlie had his guitar resting on his knee with one arm laying on top of the thing like he'd been playing it. And Hurley just stared at the fire, listening to Charlie talking about his band.

Kate took a bite of the fruit and glanced at Sawyer. He walked up to her and quietly spoke, "What the hell was that about?" She just looked at him quizzically and then took another bite of food. Sawyer grunted and then grabbed a plate and some fish off of the makeshift table standing tilted slightly in the sand. He grabbed a waterbottle and three fruits and then started heading towards his tent. But before he'd taken three steps he stopped next to Kate.

"You have a promise to keep."

And then he walked off with a small smirk on his face, just enough to show his dimples.

Kate just sighed and followed him.