"I'm hoping that given you're still holding my hand and you haven't slapped me yet or told me to get out that...".
"The answer is yes, a trillion times yes. I love you too, so so much. I want to spend the rest of my life with you too, I want to make you happy too".
Lucy was fighting back tears as she spoke.
"Thank God, because meal times were going to be a bit awkward after this otherwise".
Lucy smiled, reaching up to to touch Lee's cheek, running her fingertips over his jawline. She relished the feeling of his stubble against her skin, inhaled the intoxicating fragrance of his cologne. She felt the jolt as he shivered at her touch, heard his breath hitch. It was like he was invading all of her senses, and she welcomed it, wanting nothing more right now than to be lost in his arms, to melt into him. As she met Lee's gaze once more she saw his expression shift, his sparkling blue eyes seem to darken.
"Just so you know, you might be someone who struggles to express their feelings, but that was honestly most perfect and romantic thing anyone has ever said to me...not the meal times bit obviously, the bit before".
Lucy could hear her voice catching as she spoke, the way Lee was regarding her making her a little breathless. He looked adorable and oh so sexy, his expression a combination of desire and fear, of determination and vulnerability all at the same time.
"You've no idea how long I've wanted to say it...I've always loved you...always wanted you", Lee uttered, his voice now little more than a whisper.
As he spoke, Lee gently swept a tear off Lucy's face with his thumb, then traced the path it had taken down her cheek. It was an action so simple yet so meaningful, so filled with love. The intimacy of the moment made her feel closer to Lee than she'd ever felt before, the tenderness of his touch and of his words sending her desire for him to new, dizzying heights.
"Same", Lucy breathed.
She watched, her heart fluttering, as Lee moved his gaze to her lips, then quickly glanced back up as though he didn't want to give anything away. His intentions were obvious though, and the anticipation was almost too much to bear.
Lee felt almost drunk with need, the temperature in the room seeming to have risen by several degrees in the last few moments, the atmosphere charged with electricity. He was so close to Lucy now, irresistibly close. He could hear her breathing, as unsteady as his, smell the heady honey-sweet notes of her perfume, feel the warmth of her body heat mixing with his own. He couldn't help but look down to her lips again, and he was sure they were trembling.
Lucy swallowed hard, her stomach tying itself in knots as the nerves and excitement built inside her. Lee traced his thumb over her top then bottom lip, slightly parting them, making her skin flush and prickle in response. Time seemed to slow down for them both then, as their uneven breaths filled the air.
Lee instinctively moistened his lips, Lucy studying him through now half lidded eyes as he did, her mind taking her back to their kiss at the end of the play last year, and how much she'd wished Lee hadn't held back that night, how much that tantalising taste of him had left her wanting more.
They leaned closer to one another until there was just the tiniest of gaps between them, until their lips were almost touching,
"Luce...can I?"
Lucy didn't give Lee the chance to finish his sentence, sounding almost desperate as she uttered just one word,
"Please".
Lucy allowed her eyes to close as Lee finally pressed his warm, soft lips to hers, framing her face with his hands. He was tentative at first, then emboldened by the way in which she responded eagerly, running her fingers through his hair, sighing contentedly against his mouth.
Lee felt his heart swell, lightning bolts of pleasure surging through his veins as Lucy pressed her body as close as she could to his, as she sought to deepen the kiss. Lee could sense her hunger, and it excited him, thrilled him. He'd played out this moment in his head so many times, yet this was more incredible and magical than he could ever have imagined. He could never have imagined the perfect sweetness of her lips as they moved with his, the wonderful sound of her soft sighs, the erotic power of her fingertips as they stroked the nape of his neck.
Lee caressed her cheeks, the sides of her face, and let his fingers slide through her hair. She jolted as he gently stroked her one of ears, feeling herself unravel as he teased the sensitive lobe. She felt all of her senses heighten, at the same as all of her thoughts were extinguished. All but those of Lee, and how she never wanted him to stop kissing her. It was novel, this whole new intimacy between them, yet it didn't feel even remotely strange or awkward. Kissing Lee, touching him, felt like the the most natural thing in the world. Natural, yet incredibly exhilarating.
She ran her tongue lightly over Lee's bottom lip, eliciting a deep groan from him as she briefly, experimentally swept it between his lips. He reciprocated, the blood rushing straight to his groin as their tongues met in a gentle dance. Lee took control of the kiss then, keeping it deep and slow, sensual, Lucy's little moans of pleasure spurring him on. There had been so many years of waiting, of longing for this moment, that they both wanted to savour it.
When they eventually parted, slowly opening their eyes, their shallow, panting breaths mingled as they nuzzled noses then pressed their foreheads together. Neither could speak for a few moments, though words weren't needed. It was obvious how much the kiss had meant to them both, and how much it had left them wanting more. They didn't break eye contact, and continued to cling on to each other, even as they found their voices again,
"That was worth the wait", Lucy panted.
"God, yes", Lee rasped in response.
"I bet you never expected that would happen today when you woke up this morning did you?"
"No, I mean I hoped, every morning for as long as I can remember I've woken up hoping this would happen".
"You really are quite the romantic aren't you? You're full of wonderful surprises. I mean, I'd dared to hope that you'd tell me you loved me one day but I never expected you to propose to me in the very next breath".
"I've got to be honest I've even surprised myself tonight. It turns out this voicing my feelings thing is so much easier than I thought. And, even I wasn't expecting me to propose".
"You're not regretting that are you?", Lucy's smile suddenly faded as she spoke.
"Of course I'm not, best thing I've ever said. You're not regretting saying yes?"
"Lee, the only thing I'm regretting right now is that I'm not still kissing you. That kiss was...incredible".
"In that case..."
Lee cradled Lucy's face in his hands as he closed the gap to kiss her again.
"Wait...Lee...just one more thing...will you move in with me? Starting tonight...starting now".
"I already live with you"
"I mean, move in here, into my bedroom".
"I...I...yes...".
Lee choked on his words. It was as though all the air had left the room now.
"Good, because now that we're engaged I think it's only right and proper that we sleep together".
"Wh...when you say that do you mean actually sleep together or...you know?
It was clear from the look in Lucy's eyes, seductive and full of promise, exactly what she meant.
Lucy gave Lee a gentle, featherlight kiss on the mouth before whispering in his ear,
"Both. Though if I have my way you won't be getting much actual sleep tonight".
"Christ Luce...", he breathed.
"You like that...me talking to you...telling you what I want?"
She nuzzled Lee's neck, planting several soft kisses there. He made a sort of half moan, high sigh, her actions and words causing the blood to rush straight to his groin.
"Y..yes, though talking isn't the first thing on my mind right now", his voice trailed off into little more than a croak.
"Tell me what is".
"You. Me. All the things I've fantasied about so many times".
"All the things you want to do to me? And what you want me to do to you?"
Lee tried to steady his breathing, to calm his racing heart. It appeared that Lucy had a filthy side he never knew existed, and it was a huge turn on. His growing erection strained against his jeans.
He buried his face into her neck then, her purrs of pleasure resonating through him as he dragged his lips over her soft, warm skin.
Suddenly one of Lucy's hands was on his thigh, drawing patterns on the denim with her fingertips., her hand slowly creeping higher.
"Yes...all...those...things. God, Luce...I want you so much...so much it hurts...".
"Want you too...every part of you".
He slowly kissed his way back towards her mouth, a strained groan escaping from his lips as Lucy brushed her fingertips oh so lightly over the bulge in his jeans.
"Is this because of me?", she whispered.
"Uhuh", Lee choked. He didn't think he could speak right now, surely Lucy wasn't expecting him to speak. He felt almost woozy, light headed. He was still trying to process the fact this was actually happening, but now things appeared to be moving quickly towards the point of no return.
Lee let out a shuddering sigh as Lucy moved her hand away from his crotch, running it over his t-shirt clad abdomen and chest as her other rested on his hip.
Pulling her towards him, half onto his lap, he claimed her mouth again, and there was no caution this time, no politeness or hesitation. Lee's lips were demanding, and Lucy responded with equal fervour, their kisses becoming increasingly feverish.
Their hands were all over each other now, clutching at clothes, slipping underneath, sliding over skin. After all the years of sexual tension, now their pent up feelings of love and lust had been unleashed they couldn't get enough of each other. Something primal seemed to have taken them over, every kiss and every touch only fuelling the fire that now raged inside them both, chipping away at their self-control.
Without warning Lucy pushed Lee back into the pillows that rested against the headboard, straddling him on her knees, launching herself at his lips once more. His heart thumped in his chest and he groaned against her mouth, deep and guttural, as she ground her hips towards his.
He splayed his fingers across the small of her back under her top, pulling her closer to him, if that was physically possible. She could feel his hardness through his jeans, and it excited her, her own arousal building by the second.
It was clear now that this was no longer just kissing, this was foreplay. Lucy felt a new rush of sensation, the most delicious pulsing between her legs, as Lee lightly caressed her side of her waist with one hand, the other gently squeezing her bottom. She found herself wondering if it was possible to climax from a kiss alone, having always dismissed the notion as a romance novel myth. Now, now she believed it was entirely possible. In her thirty five years on this earth, no one had ever kissed her like this before...