CHAPTER TWO - "The Morning After"

I woke up as the dawn's light was coming through the shutters on my window and wondered for a second what was different. I had a sudden flashback to waking up with Josh, but this wasn't waking up with Josh. For one thing, I was nude and so was the man I was spooning with, so it wasn't Josh! He always insisted on wearing something to bed in case of a fire! My mind began to clear the cobwebs out and my muscles began to sing a tune I'd never heard before. I was achy and tired on the one hand, yet felt lusciously loose of limb and had a feeling of well-being that was simply indescribable! I had been dreaming of Mick! Suddenly I sat up and looked at the man next to me. I WASN'T DREAMING!

Mick rolled onto his side and looked at me, eyes long-lashed and hooded, irises very dark in this light, and they took me in from head to covers in such a way that I wanted to hide! The slow smile that spread across his face was full of love, lust and satisfied passion. His eyes met mine and I suddenly couldn't breathe again. I looked over his naked form, mostly not covered, sheet and comforter twisted around one leg and in between them. I knew my hair would be standing out like a Medusa and I wanted desperately to make it to the bathroom without having him see me like this. I needed to brush my teeth and my hair in that order. And a shower! As the night came back to me, I felt a blush rise to my cheeks, then spread down my chest to all four corners. I pulled away from his direct gaze, pulled the sheet up over me and half hid my face, sheet pulled up over my knees as I sat here, in my own bed, with Eros, the god of love, who looked only a little tousled in the hair, and looked a whole lot like Mick St. John!

"How did you sleep, Princess Beth?" his voice was low and sleepily seductive. His hand reached over and grabbed one of my feet, still hidden under the sheet. I looked at him, my face still covered, and wished he wouldn't look at me like that, with me looking like THIS! He only smiled broadly and squeezed my foot. "You look like a ravished princess at that! Your Prince must have had quite a night with you! And—are you blushing all over your beautiful body?" He tried to peek under the sheet, but I batted his hand away. "Beth—never, ever be embarrassed in front of me!" He squeezed my foot again and kept looking at me! I wanted to melt!

"I need to go to the ladies' room!" I said abruptly, grabbing the sheet and pulling it from the bed, wrapping it around me as I ran for the bathroom, stifling my strong urge to look back at the bed to see Mick on it in all of his unclothed glory! I tried to shut the door quietly, but it slammed a bit. I sighed and took a lump of toothpaste onto my finger, sucking on its minty coolness. My mouth felt hot and dry, like it had been through some heavy use during the night, and I blushed again as I realized that my mouth had probably never seen so much action since the all-night buffet in Vegas with girlfriends, and that paled in comparison! I looked at myself in the mirror and took in a breath. To my great surprise, I wasn't horrified at all! My hair was unkempt-looking, but in a sort of good way. It was huge, but kind of framed my face in a halo, with wayward tendrils wandering down my shoulders and sticking out rather becomingly in other places. It was my face, though, that really held my attention, for it seemed to have a dewy cast to it, almost glowing in this soft morning light, and my lips, I noted, were quite red and swollen—so much so that it looked as though I'd had something injected into them overnight! OH God! The blush came back full force.

The surprising thing to my critical eye was that I didn't look like Medusa at all—I looked like me, only better somehow, like maybe how a princess would look after a night with the prince of her dreams!. This was amazing! I swished water in my mouth and spit out the toothpaste. Quickie breath freshener, I figured! I then dropped the sheet right onto the floor and quick-stepped over to the toilet. AHH! What a relief THAT was! But I found out quickly that I needed to dab down there very gently with the tissue, since I seemed to be quite exquisitely tender—almost as if something had bruised me inside and out—but of course, that's what happened! I remembered the large battering ram that I had welcomed into me, and not just once, but over and over!

Now in the light of dawn, my head was clearing, and I remembered that my prince and I had pretty much made love up until just a few hours ago, not wishing to stop, not being able to stop, and the memories of all of the murmured endearments, touches, smells, sounds, and wonderful sensations engulfed me! I felt the brush of butterflies in my belly once more, telling me that although I knew better, my body still wanted more!

There was a soft knock on the door. I stood, flushed the john, and went to open it. There stood my prince without a stitch on his glorious body, smiling tenderly at me, having the grace to place his hand on my cheek without looking over my bruised and tender form first. "Beth, are you all right? I'm afraid I may have hurt you last night. . .how are you feeling the morning after?"

I slid my arms around him in a quick motion and pulled him to me. I felt his own arms close around me in like fashion, both of us holding tight.

"I feel like I never want to let go of you." It was a simple statement of fact. If I could just stay in his embrace forever, I knew I'd be blissfully happy! I was aware of the intimacy of our naked embrace, yet it felt safe and warm this morning without the fiery heat of passion that had claimed us all through the night. Now, with both of us sated and happy, it was a simple embrace of two lovers sharing a moment of closeness; intimate, yes, but mostly tender. I sighed and put my head against his strong shoulder, reveling in the feel of his skin. I brushed my cheek against it, then kissed the same spot.

"Mick, I'm beyond words. . .I'm tired and achy, but I have never felt so wonderful!" His arms squeezed me tighter to him, and he rested his chin on my shoulder. We just stayed in that way for a minute or so, neither one of us eager to separate. What had happened between us all night long was simply more than I could have ever imagined, and I wondered if it had been the same for him. I clung to his body, very unwilling to ever let go of him, ever again.

He lifted his head and put one finger under my chin so we were eye-to-eye. "I feel the same, except for the achy part! Beth. . .I never knew two people could simply meld into one like that. . .I'm just. . .like you say. . .there are no words! I'm totally blown away!" I hugged him so hard then that I heard the breath whoosh out of him.

"Did you feel it happen too? My gosh, Mick! I thought I was in some kind of a surreal dream! It was like everything I'd ever needed was there, and you were being the perfect lover, like you knew exactly what I wanted before I could even say anything, and then at some point, I just felt like I kind of lost myself, and I was lost in you--and it wasn't scary or anything, it was just so beautiful!" I blushed slightly. "I know, this sounds really silly to you."

"Not at all, Beth--you are describing my own feelings exactly."

It was hard to explain. "Mick, once Emma told me that when she had first seen Jackson, she felt like she had found "home," and it was safety and longing fulfilled, and finding someone who accepted you for exactly who you were. . .that's how I felt all night long--like I had finally found HOME, and I'd found what I didn't even know I was looking for, and. . ." I touched his face lightly, still locking eyes with him. . ."and what I'd found was you. . .you're who I want--you're "home" to me!"

He kissed my forehead, the tip of my nose, my mouth, softly and so gently. "I know, Sweetie, I know exactly what you mean. I lost myself somewhere back there too, and I know there's no going back for me. I have what I need to be content now, and Beth, it's you. I was right before—I live for you. It probably has always been you, and I've had to wait for the time to be right—but it's you I've always needed, wanted, hungered for. Beth, oh, my Beth, I want to be your safe place, and I love how you make me not hate what I am!" He hugged me close and kissed me so sweetly. I wound my fingers through his hair as the kiss deepened. We both pulled back and smiled into each other's eyes.

Mick's saying the word "hunger" made me wonder if he needed to leave. I didn't want him to go anywhere, but I knew he probably needed blood. "Do you need to go home and, ah, you know. . ."

"Beth, you're with me now, so you'll have to get used to saying the words on your mind. You're wondering if I need to feed?"

I nodded.

"I do, especially after last night! Man, you wayward woman! You look so innocent! You are a she-cat! You took a lot out of me, even for a vampire! But I did take a little of your blood, not much. . .did you notice?"

"I felt it, Mick! It wasn't awful! I actually got off on it! My gosh! I couldn't believe it! I can't even believe we're talking about you tasting my blood and pleasure in the same sentence!"

He laughed softly. His eyes were warm and understanding. "I thought you may have been so caught up in your own pleasure that you didn't even notice what I was doing—I hadn't meant to bite you, Beth, but when it came over me so strong, that feeling of emptying myself that time—I had to fill myself again, and I took some of your blood to do that."

"And like I said, I really enjoyed it!" My smile must have reminded him just how MUCH I had enjoyed it.

"Beth, do you remember the "four F's?" I told you about a long time ago when you asked me what changed me into a vampire?"

"Oh, the Four F's of turning into a vampire? Yeah, they were fight, flight, feed and f. . .Oh! And you were definitely doing that, so I guess you would have needed to feed, huh?" We were both laughing now.

"I definitely was, and I did, and now I need to feed some more. What do you say we catch a shower, get you some breakfast, and then head over to my place? You will come with me, won't you? I need some freezer time, and I think you need to sleep." He smiled a shy smile and looked up at me through his long lashes, then took my hands into his, dwarfing them, making me feel small! "I think we could both use sleep! After last night. . ."

"And you couldn't sleep at all, could you?"

"No, but I love watching you dream--I hope I was part of those dreams! I'll never get tired of watching you, Beth, asleep or awake."

He walked over to the shower and adjusted the temperature. "Want to save water and share with me? I promise to soap up your back!" He held up the bar and smiled lecherously.

I smiled. "You're on!"