Colors and Promises

When my feet hit the sand, I pulled my lovely bride into my arms, holding her as I had when striding from the boat to the house. Bella pressed herself against me and wrapped her arms around my neck. Her heart was beating against my chest, and her pulse fluttered against the skin of my arms. Her body was acting as it had the night she had accepted my proposal, and her flowery sweetness was nearly overpowering now that she was no longer submerged in the ocean.

She seemed as eager for our bed as I was as she ran her hands through my hair and planted kisses along my neck and jaw, forcing me to concentrate in order to maintain my slow stroll up the beach. I met her sweet smile with a grin of my own as I neared the house, but chose to stop by the shower on the porch as I didn't think either of us would enjoy bringing sand into our bed.

When I set Bella on her feet, her cheeks turned an enticing scarlet. It felt rather strange to be so exposed to her, both embarrassing and exhilarating at the same time. She couldn't have seen a naked man before, much less one in a state of arousal, and I caught her staring at me as I turned on the water, adjusting the temperature until it was quite warm, but not hot. Bella's heart began to race when I turned to face her, and the scent of adrenaline colored the air.

God, but she was beautiful! Her wet hair framed her heart-shaped face and clung to her neck and shoulders. The disheveled mane was more alluring to me than the elaborate braids and coils she had worn during the wedding had been. The light shone through the wide, glass doors, illuminating her red cheeks and pink lips, her creamy skin, and her melted chocolate eyes. Her wedding dress had clung to her curves, accenting them in a way her usually casual clothes never did, but even the dress hadn't done justice to her feminine beauty.

The speed of my breaths increased with the sound of her accelerating pulse, and I found myself simply standing there, staring at her in awe. I wanted to sweep her into my arms, to crush her against me, and to feel her bare skin pressed against mine. She had been unafraid during our swim, but standing naked in front of me with her bottom lip between her teeth, she seemed as nervous as she'd been before our swim.

Bella kept glancing at me and then away. Her eyes darted toward the trees and then slid back to stare at my chest, or my legs, or my midriff. She seemed to catch herself staring and would look elsewhere, but her eyes were apparently drawn to me against her will. Her shy glances brought a crooked grin to my lips, but she didn't meet my eyes.

I wondered if my staring was making her uncomfortable. Attempting to alleviate any self-consciousness she might be feeling, I took a few steps toward her to brush the backs of my fingers against her cheek. "You are so beautiful."

Her blush darkened, but she met my eyes at last and gave me a small smile before swallowing hard. How her silent mind frustrated me! Perhaps it was more than the traditional nervousness that any girl - or boy, for that matter - would feel their first time. What we were planning was dangerous, and she had to know it.

"I'll keep you safe," I promised.

Bella took a steady breath and closed the slight distance between us to wrap her arms around my neck. "I know. You won't hurt me."

Fighting a shiver at the feel of her pressed against me, I laughed and said, "Are you trying to convince me, or yourself?"

She giggled and shook her head, but when she spoke, her voice was calm and sure. "I don't need any convincing. You love me, and I love you; that's all I need to know."

Gazing into her melted chocolate eyes, I wondered how I had gotten so lucky to have won both her trust and her love. I pulled her close for a quick kiss, but if we were ever going to make it into the waiting bed, I couldn't indulge in more than that. Pulling away from her with a smile, I invited her into the running water. My eyes wanted to memorize every inch of her, but I thought that she wouldn't appreciate me gaping at her while she showered, so I averted my eyes when she stepped under the spray.

Rather than stare at her, I turned my attention to rinsing my feet and left her to her quick shower while I retrieved some large, fluffy towels from the bathroom closet. Bella was just stepping out from under the water when I returned. She dried herself while I rinsed the rest of me. Clean again, I quickly ran a towel over myself and scooped her up, enjoying the way her skin was pink and warm from the shower as I carried her into the bedroom once more.

Placing her into the center of the bed, I scooted in beside her and was suddenly overwhelmed by the significance of what we were about to do. Every other time she had willingly placed her life in my hands, I had been in control of myself, and had known - well, had been relatively certain - that I would not kill her. This night, I had no such guarantee, no matter what I might say otherwise.

She must have seen the fear that had returned to my eyes, because she said, "I trust you," and nodded reassuringly.

The first time I had touched her skin, I had wanted to feel the softness of her cheek. Reaching for her again, I brushed my fingers along the very same spot, carefully caressing her fragile face. Touching her silky skin sent electric tingles through me, just as it had then. This time, I let my fingers trail along her jaw, down the line of the pulse in her neck, to the gentle arch of her collarbone. Though our skin was much closer in temperature than it normally was, she shivered against me as she closed her eyes, gripped the sheets, and leaned into my touch.

I had felt her soft curves press against my chest in the water, but I wanted more than just that. I wanted to see if her hidden skin was as silky as that which she showed to the world. Lightly running my fingers over the top of her chest, just under her collarbone, I stopped and searched her face, waiting for her to look at me.

When she finally opened her eyes, they were dark and liquid, and shining with love for me.

"M-may I..." I swallowed and attempted to calm my nerves. "May I touch you?"

Her forehead furrowed in surprise. "You have to ask?"

Placing my hand back against her cheek, I said firmly and with great pleasure, "You are my wife now. You belong to me." Making my voice more gentle, I spoke again. "But that doesn't grant me the freedom to presume consent. Yes I have to ask. At least, this first time."

Bella's eyes danced as a smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. "Wasn't I the one who talked you into this?"

"Nevertheless. I should never touch you without your permission."

"Well, you have it."

Hesitating, I allowed my eyes to travel down her body, amazed at how perfectly formed she was. I had seen naked women many times before - because of my gift, it had been unavoidable - but none of them had ever come close to looking as beautiful to me as Bella did. Petite and slender, her gentle swells and dips were tempting and all the more inviting because no other had or would ever know them the way that I could.

"Touch me, Edward," she invited softly.

My hand returned to where I had left off, just under her collarbone. Slowly, my fingers just skimming her skin, I let them trail down to the curve of her breast. I traced the edge, circling from the top around toward her arm. My thumb slid around to the bottom before I pressed my hand fully against her small breast. It fit perfectly, with the raised center resting in the middle of my palm. We both inhaled sharply as the texture changed against my skin, contracting in reaction to my feather-light touch.

Curious, I let my fingers trace circles around the different textures. I had thought her cheeks were soft! Her cheeks may have been silk over glass, but the skin under my fingers now was like touching a cloud - or an angel's wings. I couldn't help but to react to touching her and had to work to make my breaths steady.

The day I had told her of my feelings, when we had sat together in our meadow, I had rested my face against her chest, feeling and hearing her heart beating against my cheek as I soaked up her warmth. Repeating the gesture now, I pressed my cheek against hers, loving the simple feeling of touching her skin with mine. Mimicking the path my fingers had followed, my nose trailed down her neck, and I planted a kiss in the hollow of her throat.

As on that sunny day, I wanted to hear the flow of air and blood within her and sighed in pleasure as I laid my ear over her rapidly beating heart. The breast in my hand was brushing against my lips, and I moved toward the other one, letting my cheek find the pebbly center first, before turning my head to place a kiss there.

Bella arched her back, pressing herself into my touch. Her hands found my hair, knotting themselves in the damp mess. Extremely aware of my teeth, I opened my mouth to lightly run my tongue over her delicate skin, enjoying the pure taste. I wrapped my lips over my teeth and carefully pulled her nipple into my mouth, hearing a low moan escape me and a sigh of pleasure from her as I did so. Until that moment, I would never have thought I would taste anything as delicious as her mouth - other than her blood - but as I swirled my tongue around her nipple, I knew that her blood and her lips weren't the only parts of her that tasted divine.

Releasing her breasts, I wanted to taste the rest of her skin, to touch and kiss every inch of her and claim her as my mate. I found myself moving back to her shoulder and down her arm, planting a kiss in the center of her palm, which earned me a giggle.

Grateful for the break in the tension, I laughed too, burying my face in her neck and hair as she shook with amusement. Blowing softly into her ear, I felt her shaking turn into a shiver and kissed my way down between her breasts, toward her stomach. She gasped when my tongue dipped into her bellybutton. My hands traveled ahead of my mouth, and I brushed my fingertips over the skin of her taut stomach, the bumps of her pelvic bones, and the achingly smooth skin of her inner thighs. I nuzzled the hair between her legs, wishing I dared to taste her there. The smell of her arousal was intoxicating, but I worried about the effect my flowing venom would have on her, and resisted.

Reveling in the fact that her body was otherwise mine to explore, I kissed her hip, working my way down her smooth leg. I sat back, lifting her leg up to my mouth until I reached her foot. I caught her eye and, with a mischievous grin, ran a finger along the bottom. The foot spasmed in my grip as she let out an indignant exclamation and whacked me with a pillow. Snickering at her mock outrage, I moved to her other leg, retracing my path back up toward her mouth.

"Edward," Bella mumbled, her hands tugging on my shoulders as she half sat up, pulling me closer to her. She was breathing fast when I returned to her lips, and her arms wound around me as I stretched out beside her.

"It's a good thing I don't need to breathe," I whispered against her mouth. "You are breathtaking, my love. You have no idea how lovely you are, do you?"

Bella grew warm from her easy blush. "I know you think so."

I moved back so that I could look into her lovely, chocolate eyes. "I don't think so, silly girl. I know it."

Expecting her to deny it, I smiled and watched her face, but she lay motionless beside me and simply stared back at me. The sound of her heart grew louder, and I realized her rapid breaths had come to a complete halt.

Delighted that I always had that effect on her, I said, "Breathe, Bella."

Her eyes widened and she inhaled slowly. "You're doing it again."

"What?"

"Dazzling me."

Oh. Trying not to sound pleased with myself, I said, "I'm sorry."

"No, you're not."

I laughed, unrepentant. She was right, as usual.

She reached for my face, trailing her fingers down my cheek and along my jaw. "It's okay. It's not your fault that you're so beautiful."

Taken aback, I shook my head. "Men aren't beautiful."

She shrugged. "You are, though."

"What you see... It's not real, Bella." I studied her eyes as the crease formed between them. "Vampires have many weapons, some more subtle than others. The changes that made me what I am turned me into the perfect predator, so much so that my prey doesn't even want to escape." I chuckled and traced her parted lips with my thumb. "Do you?"

She shook her head vehemently.

"But you, you are natural. Good and sweet. And so vibrant. You're soft and warm, love, like a summer day, ephemeral and perfect." I ran my fingers through her hair and brought a strand up to brush against my cheek. "Or perhaps gossamer and silk, like a spider web, for I may be the hunter here, but you have captured me."

"Edward, I wish you could see what I see. Don't get me wrong; you're a good-looking man." Her eyes traveled down the length of me and then back up, and she smiled as though she had just proven herself right. "But that's not why I married you. Your beauty is much more than skin deep."

I frowned in confusion. If our outsides truly reflected what was within, surely I would be hideous to behold. How could she think that there was beauty within me? Perhaps once I'd been innocent like her, but that was no longer true. She knew I was a killer; didn't that make me inherently evil?

As though she could read my mind, she abruptly said, "You're not, you know. Whatever it is that you're thinking. I may not know exactly, but I've heard you say what you believe often enough to guess. And you're not. Or... well, maybe you do belong in a horror movie, but you'd be the hero, not the villain."

Quirking an eyebrow at her, I teased, "Spiderman?"

She smiled and nodded.

"Hmm. I suppose I'll just count myself lucky that you think so."

"Well, I know how lucky I am, and how much I love you."

Amused at her stubbornness, I settled for attempting to prove to her with my hands and lips that she was the most beautiful creature ever born.

Unable to stop myself, I watched as I ran my fingers along her body, for once enjoying the differences in the way we looked. She was cream and roses, and my pale skin was a sharp contrast with hers. My hand couldn't stop roaming over her skin. It slid along the dip of her waist, over the swell of her hip, and down the length of her thigh. I hadn't felt free to kiss her between her legs, but there was nothing to stop me from touching her there. My hand slid between us to cup the warm and enticing part of her that I couldn't wait to possess.

Bella sucked in a sharp breath and made an inarticulate noise that I couldn't help but echo. Unexpectedly, she shuddered and pulled away from me with a whimper.

I snatched my hand back, feeling it curl into a fist against my chest. Had I hurt her already? "What did I do?"

She laughed and shook her head. "Nothing wrong. It's just, you're making me crazy."

I tried not to, but there was no stopping the grin of delight that spread across my face. "Am I?"

She snorted. "Just one more thing to add to the list."

"List?"

"Of things you're good at."

Snickering at her, I said, "I don't suppose you'd care to share what might be on such a list?"

She rolled her eyes. "I might as well just say 'everything' and be done with it."

I shook my head. "No. There's at least one thing I'm horrible at."

"And what's that?"

"Staying away from you."

It was her turn to grin. "Good!"

As we laughed, she scooted back close to me, and I let my hand reach for her once more. The muscles in her thighs tensed automatically, but then relaxed as she allowed me to push her legs apart. Groaning into her neck, I felt her react to my careful exploration of her body and tried desperately to keep in mind how fragile she was. The motion of Bella's hips against my hand had me struggling not to give in to my base instincts of need and possession.

Bella seemed to need to explore my skin just as much as I did hers, and I felt the heat of her hands caressing every inch of me that they could reach. It was a good thing she had insisted on practicing this night so often over the previous months. The touch of her hands was no less shocking to my skin this night than it had been the first. Had tonight been the first that I had felt them, I surely would have been overwhelmed simply by the way her hands felt on my chest, by the way they grazed down my shoulders and pressed against my back.

The strongest human couldn't have dented my skin, and Bella was hardly that, but when her hands gripped my backside, a low growl of pleasure rumbled in my chest. One hand glided back around to my chest before she trailed it down my stomach, apparently intending to explore me the way I'd been touching her, but I didn't think I would be capable of maintaining control over myself if I was to let her do that.

I grabbed her hand and brought it to my mouth, kissing her palm as I shook my head. "Not - not tonight," I mumbled. My muscles were trembling with need for her as I fought against my instincts. She was mine, had freely given herself to me, and I wanted to do the same for her, but if I gave into my needs unchecked, I would hurt her or worse.

Bella seemed to sense my struggle and wrapped her arms around my waist. "Next time, then," she said with her cheeks blazing.

My skin tingling from her promise, I buried my face in her hair and moaned. "I love you so much, Bella. I've wanted you for so abysmally long, it's hard to believe that we're truly married. If I were capable of sleeping, I would think this was a dream."

She laughed and seemed about to say something, but changed her mind with a shake of her head.

"What?" The ever-present curiosity plagued me when she didn't seem inclined to speak. "Tell me."

"I still can't believe..." She hesitated, and I was about to press her again, but she finally said, "That you're real. That this isn't a dream. That we're here. And that you're mine."

Flashing all of my teeth at her, I leered, "You are mine."

She lifted a shoulder. "Same thing."

Laughing softly, I acknowledged the truth in that statement. What did it matter if I said I was hers or she was mine? They meant the same thing: we belonged to each other.

My body's demands were making themselves known to me, and I couldn't deny them any longer. I reached for her leg, finding the hollow at the back of her knee, and lifted it up to my waist. Like she was crafted for me exactly, her leg fit perfectly against my hip so that we were pressed snugly together. Though the strength of her hands was slight, the gentle pressure of them pulling me against her told me to wait no more.

Slowly, careful not to put too much weight on her, I rolled us over so that she lay on her back, and my body covered hers. She moved her other leg out of the way and then up so that it too rested against my hip, and I knelt between her legs. Bella was emitting a rich aroma that had me feeling dizzy. Her racing heart pounded against my silent one, and I felt the echo of its beat all over. I had never felt more alive than I did at that moment, with Bella's arms wrapped around me and her body spread out beneath me.

I met her eyes and started laughing at the same time she did. I wasn't sure what we were laughing at, perhaps it was just our joy in the moment, but I chuckled as I kissed her again and again.

Supporting my weight with one arm, I slid the other beneath her so that I gripped her round bottom. Sternly telling myself not to hold her too tight, I sought and found her inviting entrance. Her warm breaths in my ear sped up to a rapid pant as I eased into her. Her incredible warmth enveloped me, and I didn't bother trying to hold back the groan that escaped me as I pressed myself inside her.

Though she'd been laughing only moments earlier, she grew tense, sucking her breath in a sharp hiss through her teeth. Afraid that I was causing her pain, I paused and studied her expression. She was grimacing with her eyes squeezed shut, but her legs tightened against my sides, and her hands pressed against my back, encouraging me not to stop. Carefully watching her face, I flexed my hips so that I moved within her, just slightly. Her breaths deepened and the furrows on her brow smoothed out, and my lips curved into a smile as she relaxed.

Encouraged by her reaction, I pressed farther, but she immediately grew tense once more. The last thing I wanted was to hurt her, but there was nothing that I could do that would entirely prevent that. Setting my teeth, I realized it might be better to just get that part over with. Catching her mouth in an attempt at distracting her, I kissed her fervently and, with one steady motion, took her virginity.

"Mm!" She whimpered against my mouth, and I smelled a light flow of her blood that set my throat ablaze.

"Oh. Oh, Bella," I gasped as I pressed my cheek against hers. "I'm sorry, love. I'm so sorry." Why did it always have to be me that hurt her? And why was it that something which had caused her pain had felt good to me? Ah, God, so very good.

"No. No, it's okay. I'm okay," she mumbled against my shoulder.

Releasing my grip on her, I stroked her hair and covered her face with kisses. My lips brushed against her mouth, along her nose, and found a salty wetness at the corner of her eye. Concerned, I moved back and watched her until she met my eyes. Despite her reassurances, I didn't dare move again while she lay tense underneath me.

She reached up and ran her hands along my cheeks and jaw. "I'm okay."

I tried to find it in me to suggest that we stop, that I had risked her life enough for one night, but my entire being cried out at the thought of leaving her warm embrace. Giving in to my overwhelming need of her, I leaned down to taste her lips again. She began to relax as we kissed, and I let out a sigh of relief.

Not wanting to leave her warmth, but finding the need to move irresistible, I lightly rolled my hips against hers. She gasped, and her eyes widened, but when her lips curved upward just slightly, I repeated the motion. The tension slowly left her muscles as she joined me in a dance that required no music other than the sound of her beating heart. Losing my fear that I was hurting her, I pulled away from her, able to do so solely because that was the only way I could slide back into her.

The rest of the world dwindled away until nothing remained but the woman in my arms and the large bed in which we lay. My head was swimming with her scent and the sound of her pulse, with the knowledge that she was mine and I was hers, and this night was only the first. I had the rest of eternity to make love with Bella, as often as I wanted. The joy I felt at this realization translated itself to my movements as I slid into her again, and then again.

Making love with my beloved Bella was unlike anything I had dared to imagine. From the start, the simplest of her touches had been pure pleasure. Pressing my lips against hers had been divine - especially once I no longer feared I would bite her - but I had never been able to fully express the way my body needed hers, or the way hers made me feel.

For far too long I had been separated from her by clothes and blankets. I'd had to protect her from my cold skin, and I'd had to protect her virtue. Touching her bare skin had been inappropriate before, but now, Bella's body was mine to enjoy. This night - our wedding night - there was nothing to stop me from merging our bodies together. I was wrapped in Bella's warm love at last, as I had wanted to be for so long, but was unprepared for the way it felt to bury myself inside of her.

She felt so good against me, under me, around me. My nerves sang with her energy, and I knew exactly where she had touched me and where she hadn't. Her fingers grazed down my back, and her toes curled against my calves. Her thighs pressed against my hips, her stomach against mine, and her breasts against my chest. Curling her legs around me, she angled her hips so that she rose up to meet me, and it was all I could do not to shift our slow rhythm into one that would have been much less gentle.

"Bella," I moaned. I grabbed her hips and held her still, fighting against my instincts. I needed to move with her and to feel her moving with me. More than that, I needed to give myself over to our lovemaking without restraint, the way that she was doing.

Her eyes searched my face. "Edward?"

"Just... just give me a moment."

Her worried look was replaced with a small smile as she caressed my face and ran her hands through my hair.

My hands left her hips as I wrapped my arms around her and nuzzled her neck. I reminded myself sternly of how delicate and breakable she was. Although I didn't seem to have hurt her yet, that didn't mean I wouldn't if I didn't remain careful.

But I didn't want to have to be careful!

But I did want her to survive. No, I needed her to survive, and that need superseded any others I might have. Taking a few deep breaths, I gained control over myself once more and sighed in relief.

"Tolerable?"

"Not remotely," I said with a laugh and resumed my careful pace.

Being gentle with my beloved Bella didn't mean I couldn't give in to my other needs. My hands couldn't stop touching her, and they roved from her shoulders to her hips, curling around to cup her soft bottom so that I might pull her tighter against me, or snaking between us to palm the perfect circles of her breasts.

Ah, God, but she was exquisite! Every kiss she planted on my neck and shoulders, and each sound that she made brought me a pleasure that was only exceeded by that which I was feeling where we were joined together. Her sighs, her gasps, and whenever she would make a low "Mmmm" in the back of her throat were all oh, so sweet, but the best sound she made was when she would say my name. Bella panted my name into my ear, clutched herself tighter to me, and trembled.

They had been right - whoever they were, I couldn't remember right then - when they had said that sex wasn't like anything else. It was better than any pleasure I had ever known, even better than drinking human blood. What I had felt then had always been tainted by the terrified thoughts of my prey. That ecstasy had been fleeting, a brief candle in the midst of my despair, and the humans' blood had never lasted long enough.

The only thing that came even close to what I was feeling as we made love was when I had drunk Bella's blood. No other human had ever equaled her pure taste, her rich flavor, or the way the fire in my throat had been quenched with the very first drop. Yet the memory of her perfect taste was tainted with shame that I had allowed her to be hurt in the first place, that I took such pleasure in drinking her blood, and fear that I wouldn't stop, that I would kill her myself.

There was nothing shameful about the joy I was feeling in her body this night, and I had lost my fear that I was hurting her. Her motions against me, and her soft sounds of pleasure told me that what I was making her feel was far from painful. We were married, husband and wife. She was my other half, the missing piece of me, and making love with my Bella was absolutely right. After being the source of so much pain and fear in her life, it thrilled me that I had the privilege of making her feel good.

My face was buried in her neck, and my lips were pressed against her throat, against the pulse of her blood. I had kissed her neck and throat countless times before, and had loved the trust she had shown in allowing me to do so, but the moment the memory of drinking her blood surfaced, I tasted a flood of venom and found my mouth creeping open against the soft skin of her throat. Her pulse was a siren's call that I instinctively needed to answer, and for one long moment, not doing so seemed an impossibility.

I was a vampire, and Bella had the sweetest, most potent blood of any human I had ever met. What was more, I already knew exactly how even one drop would flood my entire being with pleasure. I was inside of her, and her blood inside of me would complete the circle of our connection.

It was that first day in Biology all over again, only now, it wasn't just her scent which beckoned me. I needed her blood like a human needed air, and this time it was right there, thrumming against my lips, begging to be drunk. The past century of denying my thirst had been pointless. I had no choice in the matter; I was going to bite her, and the instant her blood hit my tongue, I would lose even the desire to stop. There would be no thoughts of changing her, only of drinking every drop of her delicious perfection.

The man would be gone and the monster reborn. Bella would be dead, and eternity with her would be lost.

No.

No!

Before my teeth brushed against her skin, I whipped my head to the side, searching for something, anything, that wasn't Bella to sink my teeth into. Biting her then would have been inexcusable, even if I had managed to not kill her, but to change her instead.

As my teeth tore into whatever it was, I fought against the desperate need to taste her blood and concentrated on the way it felt to be inside my Bella. The reward for my restraint was this, and not drinking her blood was a small price to pay for the chance to love her for the rest of eternity. The fire in my throat cooled, even as the fire that enveloped me heated up. Bella's body was a burning flame around me, writhing in time with my thrusts, and my name was on her tongue again.

Spitting out a bunch of feathers - what the... why were there feathers in my mouth? - I pressed my lips to her ear and breathed her name. I ran my hands along her arms, slid them beneath her to grip her shoulders, and down to her hips to guide her movements against me. I hadn't drunk her blood and wasn't going to, and nor did it seem that I was going to otherwise cause her harm. If I hadn't by then, I wouldn't. Surely I wouldn't. Abandoning all sense of caution, I lost myself in her body, her scent, her motions.

Bella's muscles convulsed around me, and I was overwhelmed by the way it felt to know that I was bringing her pleasure. Every one of her cries brought me closer to my own long awaited climax until, shuddering and groaning her name, I felt a glorious release. Nothing could have prepared me for the ecstasy that swept through me as I poured myself into her. I didn't even have a name for everything that I was feeling. All I really knew was that I didn't want it to end. I rode out the sensations as I held her against me and rocked with the rhythm of her heartbeat.

Eventually we stilled. Coming back to myself, I realized I was resting almost all of my weight on her. With difficulty, I pulled away from her and scooted down to lay my ear over her heart. Her fingers combed through my hair and her breaths were ragged. Resting in her arms, though I wasn't physically tired, I listened to the sounds her body was making. Slowly, her breathing evened out, and I slipped a hand between us, cupping her breast simply because I knew that I could.

Laying in her embrace, with her legs loosely wrapped around me and the sounds of her living body filling my ears, I was exultant. We had made love! I hadn't killed her! Indeed, from what I could tell, she had enjoyed it every bit as much as I had. Carefully pressing my hands along the length of her, I tested for any wincing that would indicate that I had hurt her and found none. With a happy sigh, I relaxed in her arms and drifted along on the afterglow of love.