Chapter VIII: Allegro Part 2

Sunday, June 30th, 02.20 a.m.

Erin was dreaming. Someone – she didn't see him, but she knew who he was – was biting gently one of her stiffened nipples, while with his hand he was fondling the wet folds between her thighs. Skilled fingers found the hard button of her pleasure and began massaging it delightfully, soon stirring up spasms inside of her that made her moan aloud…

With a start, Erin awakened at the sound of her own voice. Jarod, too, awakened.

"What's up, sweetheart?" he murmured in a soothing tone, guessing she had had a nightmare, "I'm here with you…"

Erin twisted in his arms; in the darkness, she couldn't see him, but she didn't feel the need to turn on the light.

"I was dreaming of you", she whispered; her voice was so full of longing that Jarod felt a slow shiver of anticipation creep down his back. Then Erin's hands brushed his chest in a sensual, but hesitant stroke. He encouraged her with an approving grunt, and returned it beginning to caress her back. She pulled back the sheets and placed her lips where a moment earlier her hand had been, pressing a series of kisses on his chest until she found his nipple. Here she lingered, fondling it with her tongue and teeth, while with her fingers she was drawing circles on his abdomen, lower and lower; when she arrived at his boxers, she slid a hand inside of them, gently seizing his manhood, which was already beginning to harden. Feeling her touching him, Jarod uttered a groan of pleasure. He fumbled with the belt of Erin's bathrobe and opened the garment, sneaking one hand under it to brush the curve of her buttocks. She sighed and closed in, slipping one leg between his and pressing herself on the full length of his side. Against his thigh, Jarod felt the damp warmth of her femininity and the contact aroused him intolerably: he had to resort to all his self-control as to not turn her over on the bed and take her on the spot.

The hand inside his boxers was arousing him merciless and wringed another groan from him. Erin moved and freed him, and then she laid down on him. Now their eyes had gotten used to the dim light seeping through the curtains, as outside the moonlight was shining, and they could see the shape of their bodies.

Erin withdrew from his hold; her mouth ajar, she covered the distance between his chest and the lowest part of his abdomen, darting with her tongue and biting him pleasantly. Meanwhile, she got rid of the bathrobe, throwing it away, carelessly.

Then, Jarod felt Erin's tongue going through all his length, down to his testicles, and gasped in pleasure.

Smiling secretly by herself, she licked him avidly, torturing him delightfully, as much as she had been doing in her dream. She was so excited that she felt a blaze of heat on the inner part of her thighs; when she realised she could stand it no longer, nor could Jarod, she straddled him. She brushed the head of his manhood with her nether lips, exquisitely tormenting him and herself a few moments longer; then she lifted a little and, helping herself with one hand, she made him slid inside of her.

"Oh, Erin…" Jarod groaned, seizing her hips and raising his pelvis to fill her completely, "My Erin…"

She threw her head backwards, arching her back to change the penetration angle until she found the most satisfying position for both of them; then, she began to move rhythmically, up and down, up keeping only the tip inside of her, then down through all his length until her buttocks touched his scrotum, in a movement that made them both tremble uncontrollably in pleasure.

Jarod almost didn't dare to move, afraid he would break that sensual rhythm. He raised his hands to cup her breasts, gently pressing the soft flesh and pleasing her nipples with his thumbs. Erin uttered a low and vibrant moan that made his hair stand on end, a moan which intensity grew as pleasure increased. Feeling his orgasm approaching, Jarod voiced a warning sound inviting her to diminish the pace, but Erin didn't stop; so he seized her hips trying to stay her, but she whispered:

"Let me."

He surrendered, and a few moments later, his climax swept him away, irresistibly.

"Oooohhhh, Erin…!" he yelled, breathless, gushing inside of her. His contractions sent Erin over the top; her eyes closed, her breath a wheeze, the young woman clawed Jarod's shoulders in an almost hurting grip and uttered a shrill groan of pleasure that echoed his. Then, overwhelmed, she dropped in his arms, her face against his chest.

Slowly, their breaths calmed down and their heartbeats returned to a normal rate. Erin stretched her legs along Jarod's and crouched better in the circle of his arms. He stroked her thick hair, removing it from her flushed face and kissing her temple.

"I'm amazed", he whispered in her ear. She voiced a quizzical sound:

"What do you mean?" she asked. Her sleepy voice made him smile.

"Because every time I make love with you seems better than the one before", he explained, "How do you manage it?"

She needed a minute to realise she had just received a compliment for her skills as a lover. She widened her eyes, incredulous: she had never thought to be good, in bed. But as a matter of fact, in two weeks she had made with Jarod things that she had never made in ten years with her ex… including waking up in the middle of the night with a mad need to make love, turning and seducing her partner on the spot. With Jarod, she felt wanton and shameless like she had never been… had never believed she could be. The reason was easy to understand: she trusted him. But why then was she still afraid, when she thought about the future of their relationship? She would entrust him with her own life… why couldn't she entrust him with her happiness? After all, he did it…

With a sigh, she let it be and slipped away from him, by his side.

"I don't do anything", she murmured, not knowing what to say, "I try only to show you how much I love you."

Jarod took her hand to his lips, placing light kisses on each finger.

"Thank you, my love", he said in a low voice, moved, "I hope I'm showing you the same."

"You do, Jarod", she assured him, "You do…"

Softly, they fell asleep like this, holding one another.

Sunday, June 30th, 08.15 a.m.

The morning after, Jarod woke up in the low light leaking through the closed curtains. With a smile, he looked at Erin sleeping, crouched against him, and he stooped to kiss her hair. Then he got up, being careful not to wake her, and crossed over to the window to look out, upon the spectacular Irish garden, lost in his thoughts.

He was in love with Erin De Rossi. In love as he didn't know it could be possible to be. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with her… but how could he, with the Centre pursuing him continuously? His mind, even if brilliant, whirled restlessly, but couldn't find a solution.

"Looks like you love the sight."

Erin's voice, low and sweet, tore him out of his thoughts. Jarod turned; he saw her sitting on the edge of the bed, naked and gorgeous, her long hair falling ruffled on her shoulders and back.

"Much better the sight I'm looking to right now", he said, winking naughtily.

Erin smiled, and even if she blushed slightly for the frank compliment, she didn't make a move to cover herself. With Jarod, she felt perfectly at ease even with no clothes on, and this she found unusual because, having never thought to be particularly attractive, she had always been quite modest. It was him, she realized; he made her feel different.

Her gaze moved from his face to his large shoulders, his wide chest covered with the right amount of hair, down to the flat abdomen and the long legs, then it returned back and brazenly stared at his exposed manhood.

Erin realised that she wanted him, and her eyes reflected her desire. Not thinking about it, she wetted her suddenly dry lips with the tip of her tongue, unaware of the erotic power of that gesture.

Jarod shivered in anticipation and realised that being looked at that way by Erin aroused him terribly. His male rod began to harden.

Noticing his reaction, Erin swallowed and felt a great heat gushing from her lap. As Jarod's manliness progressed upwards, she parted slowly her legs, offering him the exciting view of her throbbing womanhood.

Staring at her rosy cleft, Jarod felt his lungs losing all air, almost like receiving a blow in his belly. With two steps, he covered the distance separating him from Erin, wanting to knee between her legs, but she stopped him grasping his hips, her face at level with his groin, and captured his manhood in her mouth. Jarod uttered a wheezing groan of pleasure as she sucked him avidly; his knees almost failed, and he had to prop on her shoulders to support himself. Erin placed one hand at the base of his shaft and the other on his scrotum; she began massaging him, inflicting him the most pleasant torture he had ever experimented.

Jarod could stand it only for a short time; then he drew back and, wishing to give her the same pleasure, he knelt down and placed his mouth on her female flower. Erin gasped aloud, feeling him making love to her with his tongue; she propped on her arms, pushing forward her pelvis, eagerly. Pleasure raised wave after wave, higher and higher, until she could stand it no more and pleaded:

"Take me, Jarod… take me now!"

Jarod raised over her, propping on his arms, and Erin fell slowly backwards. She felt her nether lips parting under the thrust, at the same time firm and gentle, of his male shaft, which one moment later entered completely inside of her. Erin welcomed it with a soft moan.

She was so aroused that a few strokes were enough to make her climax. Jarod saw her arching her back and throwing back her head, a long, heart-breaking moan bursting out of her throat. Her contractions took him in a few seconds to his orgasm, wringing low groans from him.

When the wave of pleasure withdrew, Jarod lowered himself on her and held her, peppering her face with kisses. Erin returned them, trying to calm down the strong sensations, both physical and spiritual, he was always able to stir up in her.

They stayed still for a few minutes, waiting for their hearts to return to a normal rate. Then Jarod told her in a low voice, smirking:

"Do you know you have just satisfied one of my favourite erotic fantasies?"

Erin looked at him astonished:

"What?"

"Yeah", he confirmed, nodding, "The only difference is that I should have been dressed."

Now she was amused.

"Ha? And how so?"

"Oh, well…The scenario is: I'm a thief, or maybe a spy, and I enter stealthily by night in her bedroom to search the safe. She wakes up and catches me, but she stays frozen and stares at me. I return her gaze and I realise I want her. She realises that she, too, wants me, so she removes the sheets and sits on the edge of the bed; she's naked, and slowly she parts her legs to invite me to make love with her. I approach her, she unbuttons my pants… the rest is exactly how it just happened."

Erin's mouth had gone dry: the description had stirred up a new wave of desire inside of her.

"Enthralling", she murmured in a hoarse voice. Jarod perceived her arousal.

"You mean it?" he whispered, lifting one hand to cup one breast, "And… may I ask you what your favourite erotic fantasy would be?"

Erin blushed all over her face: in her whole life, she had told it only to her best friend, Jean, speaking straightforwardly like only women among them do. With her ex-husband, she did never talk about this, somehow afraid he could judge her wrongly. But in an odd way, in spite of the momentary embarrassment, she didn't hesitate to describe it to Jarod:

"I'm waiting for the elevator in the park lot of a skyscraper. A stranger approaches. We exchange a glance and I'm suddenly on fire. The elevator arrives, people come off; we get in, and I push the button for the last floor. We are alone. He keeps staring at me and I get more and more aroused. He approaches, places his hands on my shoulders, gently, but firmly, and kisses me passionately. I return the kiss. He stops the elevator, pushes me in one corner, lifts my skirt and makes me sit on the handrail, spreading my legs…"

Erin stopped: inside of her, Jarod was swelling up again. Flattered, she looked in his eyes, while a slow smirk curved the corners of her mouth.

"Enthralling…" Jarod breathed, then bent his head and placed his lips on hers. Erin opened her mouth and searched for his tongue with hers, beginning an arousing and sensual game that only sharpened their hunger. They began to make love again, slowly, with no haste. It lasted very long, and when finally they reached the top, they were shaken to the deepest core of their bodies, as well as of their souls.

The sun was very high as they got up and went to shower together. As they came back into the bedroom to get dressed, Erin looked at the bed and thought it was chaotic like a battlefield. She didn't remember having never messed up a bed like that, and looked at the co-responsible of that fact, who was dressing next to her.

"When you smile that way, you are thinking of something very, very naughty", Jarod said with a grin. She laughed:

"And you're right, because I was considering that maybe we should reinforce the bed!"

Jarod turned to look at it.

"Oooops!" he muttered, then he, too, burst into laughter.

It was very late, past eleven o'clock, so they decided to have a brunch, the typical American crossing between breakfast and lunch. They prepared hardboiled eggs, cereals, fruit juice, toasted bread, ham, cheese and coffee, then they sat down under the gazebo and had their brunch with the musical accompaniment of a portable stereo.

They chatted, as it had immediately become their custom, about the most different topics, from the futile to the serious, finding both a correspondence in the other, which not always was perfect, but which often helped to clear up one's ideas.

Both felt as if they were the luckiest people on Earth.

Monday, July 1st, 10.25 a.m.

Miss Parker stomped into her brother's office with her usual ominousness.

"You wanted to see me, Lyle?" she asked with such a tone that would froze even an erupting volcano. When Mr. Parker, their father, had literally vanished into thin air a few months ago, after what happened in Scotland, she should have taken his place, but the Triumvirate, thanks to Lyle's and Raines' plots, had decided differently.

The handsome, dark-haired man sitting behind the elegant desk pretended not taking any notice of her icy attitude and flashed her a smile, which didn't reach his eyes:

"Yes, sis, come in."

Miss Parker hated it when he called her that way. There was nobody on Earth she abhorred as much as she abhorred Lyle. She held the fact he was her twin brother, as she had discovered a few years earlier, a mere genetic accident: she had nothing in common with this execrable being, whose soul was cold and merciless, and devoured by an unlimited ambition.

"What's the matter?" she asked, impatiently.

"The Triumvirate wishes to know if you have news about Jarod", Lyle explained.

Miss Parker crossed the room and placed her hands on her brother's desk.

"None, so far", she answered, coldly.

"How so?!" Lyle roared, betraying his hidden wrath, "You and those other two loafers didn't make a single move to find him in over four weeks!"

"We have no clues about where to look for him", Miss Parker replied, fiercely, "Not even about where to begin to look for him. Maybe we should sift through all the fifty States, ha, Lyle?"

Lyle stayed silent for a moment, forced to recognise that such a hypothesis wasn't realistic. He moved conciliatorily his hand, wrapped in a glove to hide the lack of the thumb, which the Japanese yakuza had cut off because he wronged them a few years before.

"Okay, then. Are you sure that he had left no clue in his last lair?" he asked then, "Did you overlook anything?"

"We went back there two days ago", Miss Parker answered, "and we spent hours looking for a trail. The result? Nothing."

Her brother propped his elbows on the desk, frowning.

"It's really odd, I think", he commented. Miss Parker nodded:

"It is, indeed. But it's even odder that he never contacted Sydney since. He's simply vanished in the middle of nothing."

Lyle uttered a hiss like a snake, angry again.

"It's ridiculous!" he growled, "Since his escape, it's never happened! You and those two losers, have you perhaps decided to give up?"

"You are ridiculous, Lyle!" Miss Parker countered, her eyes flashing in rage, "I never give up, and if you imply anything like this again, I'll place a bullet between those snake eyes of yours!"

This wasn't the first time she threatened him this way, and Lyle knew she hated him enough to end up doing it for good, if he pushed her too hard. Therefore, once again he withdrew:

"Very well, then. But I demand that you and your team go back again to Jarod's last lair and delve into everything until you find any evidence, have I made myself clear?"

She glared at him.

"You can demand whatever you want, Lyle, but if there's no evidence, we cannot create it, neither me, nor Sydney, nor Broots. For the time being, we can only wait for Jarod betraying his presence somewhere and hurry there as soon as we receive the news."

If gazes could kill, the one that Miss Parker and Lyle exchanged would have turned both to ashes.

"That's all for now: you can go", Lyle said. She spun around on her heels and, marching as usual, she left the room, not even caring to say goodbye.

Tuesday, July 2nd, 07.55 p.m.

That same evening, Erin's phone rang.

"De Rossi", she answered.

"Hi, darlin', it's mom", she heard a voice on the other end of the connection, "I wanted only to know if you are to arrive tomorrow evening or on Thursday morning."

Erin blinked two times, before remembering what her mother was referring to: Thursday it was July 4th, and every year she spent a few days with her family. No way she could miss it, also because two days later it was her father Frank's 65th birthday.

"Can I…um… take someone with me, in case?" she asked.

"But sure, my dear, your friends are ours!" Maureen De Rossi cried, confirming the famous Irish hospitality, then she paused, "Wait a moment, your tone is tellin' me something… is it a man?"

Erin smiled at the phone: she really couldn't keep anything from her mother.

"Yeah, he's my boyfriend."

"You have a boyfriend… great! I can't wait to meet him. What's his name?"

"Jarod. But before I must ask him if he wants to come… You know, we've been together for just two weeks…"

"I understand, he could think it's a little too soon to meet the whole family… Listen, let me know, okay?"

"Thank you. Bye, mom."

"Bye, my little sidhe (pron. shee)", Maureen said goodbye to her, using the nickname, meaning fairy in Gaelic, which she had given her as a child. Erin placed back the receiver, smiling, and returned to the drawing room, where she was watching a documentary on TV with Jarod.

"It was my mother", she began, sitting next to him, "My family always comes together on July 4th, also because of my father's birthday on the 6th. Saturday he'll turn 65. Would you like to come with me? But don't consider it an obligation", she added quickly. Jarod realised she didn't want to force him, she never would, and smiled to reassure her:

"If your family is fantastic like you are, I'll be glad to come", he answered. Erin smiled back at him:

"Yes, I think you'll like them…"

She then named all the members of her family: the patriarch, Giovanni De Rossi, her grandfather who had arrived from Italy in the second half of the Thirties with his young wife Francesca, to try their luck; Frank, Erin's father and their only son; Maureen, his wife and Erin's mother, born O'Leary and coming from Connemara County in Western Ireland, emigrated as a child with her family at the beginning of the Fifties; Sean, Erin's elder brother, who for a few years now was managing the winemaker enterprise his grandfather had founded; his wife Dolores and their children Christopher and Carmen.

Jarod envied Erin; from the way she spoke about them, he guessed it was a close and loving family, which members supported each other unreservedly, helping one another in need, but each keeping his own independency. He never had known this kind of relationship, and he felt deeply its lack.

Erin glimpsed the sadness re-emerging in his eyes; in the time they had spent together, she had seen it less and less, and she had been happy about that, but now she sensed the reason of it: someone must have taken away his family from him, that was why he never spoke about them, and a burning hate blazed inside of her, against whoever had done this to him. Should they ring at her doorbell now, in that very moment, she wouldn't hesitate to shoot them, for all the pain they had caused him, for the life they had robbed him…

Meanwhile, she would do what she could to cancel the sadness from Jarod's gaze.

"I'll be right back", she said, standing up; she went to the bedroom, where she rummaged through the drawer where she kept her underwear. She found almost immediately what she was looking for and changed swiftly.

A few minutes later, she was back, and Jarod noticed that she was now wearing patent leather shoes with stiletto heels. While he was wondering about the reason, Erin reached for the remote and turned TV off. Without a word, she wrapped her arms around him and made him lay down on the sofa, laying then on top of him. She cupped his cheeks and placed her mouth on his, kissing him softly; then she made him part his lips for a deeper kiss, making her desire for him clear.

Jarod stroked her back, slowly; he perceived that she meant to give him the comfort he needed, without even asking him the reason he needed it for, and he felt deeply moved and grateful. He thought that it should be exactly this way, between a man and a woman: giving support and comfort one another, all life long, through weakness and strength, happiness and sorrow, for better, for worse…

Erin drew back and stood up, taking his hand to make him stand up inturn. Then, she took two steps backwards and moved aside the coffee table, clearing a space between it and the couch. Jarod looked at her in confusion, but the moment after he understood: slowly, Erin began to undress in front of him, staring at him, a seductive expression on her lovely face.

As first thing, she undid the knot closing her violet blouse, then she turned and let the garment slide down her arms, until it fell to the floor. When she turned again, Jarod saw that she was wearing a dark-red silky bra, and as a few moments later her skirt fell on the floor next to the blouse, he found that her panties matched it. She was wearing also a tulle garter belt of the same colour, to which clung very thin stockings of transparent silk, with a high dark-red lace border.

She was gorgeous as a goddess, Jarod thought, his throat dry, looking at her. And she was breathtakingly sexy.

Erin saw his gaze dimming with yearning and felt encouraged. Never in her whole life had she performed a strip tease, therefore she had started it unsure about the effect it would have, but Jarod was literally devouring her with his gaze in an unmistakable way.

She made a slow pirouette to let him see all of her, and Jarod held his breath as he noticed that her panties actually were a thong that left her beautiful buttocks bare. Then, Erin turned again to him, brought an arm behind her and unhooked her bra; keeping it in place with one hand, she slipped her arm out of one strap, then repeated the movement on the other side, and finally she dropped the garment.

Jarod couldn't resist and reached for her, but she pulled back smiling mischievously and invited him to stay where he was. Again she turned, hooked the sides of the thong with her thumbs and began to lower it over her hips, pulling this side and that; Jarod realised she was wearing it correctly over the garter belt. Once more Erin turned to face Jarod, and now she quickly squatted, pulling the tiny garment to her ankles; then she stood up again, and with two swift movements she took if off.

Now she had nothing on but stockings, garter belt and shoes, and staring at her, Jarod swallowed hard.

He felt like… screaming.

But the best had still to come.

Erin approached him and unbuttoned his shirt, opening it on his chest. Again, he tried to wrap his arms around her and she admonished him not to move, curling her lips and shaking her head. She stooped and sucked one of his nipples in her mouth, tickling it with teeth and tongue; Jarod groaned, as his hardened manhood pulsed painfully inside the constriction of his jeans. He dropped his shirt on the floor.

Erin went down on one knee and unfastened his belt, then opened his fly. Slowly, she lowered his pants, than repeated with his briefs. She grasped his shaft at the base, with gentle firmness, and began to caress it. A few moments later, she stooped and licked him slowly from the base to the top, wringing a series of irregular wheezing pants from him.

Jarod was about to lose his head: it was the dream of every man, a gorgeous half-naked woman kneeling in front of him with his manhood in her mouth...

Not able to restrain himself, he uttered another groan; Erin realised that he could stand no more and moved back, looking at him with an equally hungry gaze. Jarod moved to stoop over her, but she slipped away and turned her back to him, falling on all fours, her legs slightly parted, then turned her head, her long hair falling down on one side like a curtain, and flashed him an inviting glance.

Jarod nearly choked: this was a view that would arouse a dead man.

Staring at the beautiful roundness of her bottom, Jarod knelt behind Erin.

"Please... be gentle", she whispered. She had never liked this position, but she was aware that men are crazy for it and had decided to try it for Jarod.

Jarod guessed all this from her tone, and felt his heart swell with love.

He touched her from behind, caressing with his fingers the warm cleft between her thighs and brushing her clit. Erin shivered in pleasure and opened her legs wider to give him better access. Jarod went on touching her, tormenting her delightfully to bring her on the topmost of arousal. Gently, he inserted first one finger, then another, to get her used to the sensation, and as he felt a gush of damp warmth hitting his hand, he realised she was ready. He positioned himself against her soft female opening and pushed, carefully, because he wanted her to feel no pain, but only pleasure.

Erin uttered a surprised gasp: penetration from behind had always been unpleasant, for her, but not with Jarod... quite the opposite.

Jarod bent down on her until his chest touched her back, propping on one hand and using the other to caress her dangling breasts. Slowly, he began to move inside of her, at first with small strokes, slowly increasing the width as he felt her ready. It was difficult to keep self-control, because this position aroused him in an unbearable way, threatening to send him into orbit, but for Erin's sake, he focussed and held on, wanting to bring her with him to the top of pleasure.

It was easier than he had anticipated: aroused by Jarod's skilful fingers, stroking in turn her nipples and her clit, Erin felt a pleasure coming she hadn't expected and on which, given the disappointing previous experiences, she had absolutely not counted. An incandescent orgasm exploded in her deeps, wringing an astonished scream from her, which Jarod joined while bursting inside of her in an irresistible turmoil of pleasure.

As the wave of climax slowly withdrew, they stayed a few moments nearly without breathing, heated, trembling, almost beside themselves for the ecstasy they had just felt, an ecstasy that was of both body and soul, like it can be when you don't have just sex, but make love.

Erin couldn't believe how much pleasure she had just felt; not its intensity, even if it had been one of the highest she had ever felt, but the way she had achieved it, through a position that for her had always been mostly an annoyance. Tears filled her eyes: Jarod was the most wonderful man, the most caring and generous lover she could wish, her perfect partner... her soulmate.

She felt sorry when he slid out of her body, but she was immediately compensated because Jarod laid down on the carpet and wrapped his arms around her, making her place her head on his chest, her long hair spreading like a veil over his shoulder; he clasped her gently and kissed her temple:

"You are superb", he whispered to her, "I really don't know what I could possibly have done to deserve you..."

She stirred, raising her head and looking at him lovingly:

"I wonder what I have done to deserve you", she whispered, "But whatever the reason, I thank God every day to have put you on my path."

His eyes glossy with moved tears, Jarod made her place her head back on his chest and held her tight.

"Same here", he whispered, "Same here."

In Erin's mind peeped an unwelcomed sense of guilty. True, she loved Jarod with her all, in the way she had hoped so much to be able to love once more... In spite of her fear, in spite of the risk... Why then did she keep on feeling this cold icy core in the depths of her heart?