Chapter 2
Brushing her teeth cleared many of the cobwebs out of her head, and Jun felt almost sober when she left the bathroom and padded on bare feet down the hall to her bedroom. She was wearing her usual pink baby-doll nightie. Sure, it was childish, but it comforted her. She liked the contrast between her sleepwear, and what she did as part of the Science Ninja Team.
It had been difficult getting ready for bed in the dark, but she had managed it somehow, holding onto the sink for support. The power out persisted, and it was practically pitch black in there.
In her room, only the faintest bit of light was visible through the window, the new moon having been the night before.
She immediately stumbled over her shoes, which she had carelessly left on the floor, in the middle of the room. She felt herself falling…
…only to be caught, by two strong arms.
Taken aback, Jun scrambled to her feet, facing the direction of those arms. The darkness was virtually complete, and she couldn't see a thing.
"Who…"
Her nervous question was silenced by a soft mouth on hers. Despite herself, she found that she was melting into the kiss, running her hands along the muscled arms that still held her.
Her eyes widened as she felt something familiar on the man's left arm.
A bracelet.
Even in the dark, Jun was intimate enough with her own bracelet, to know what this was.
This man had to be Ken.
Or Joe.
She gasped, suddenly realizing that he wasn't wearing any clothes.
"Who…" she began again, only to be cut short by another kiss, this one more intense than the previous one.
Jun realized that she was moaning softly in the back of her throat. It had been so long since she had been held this way. She had long ago given up on the idea of a relationship with a man, as long as the war with Galactor was still taking up most of her time and attention.
It was only now, that she realized that she had been craving a man's touch.
Especially this man. He was beginning to trail kisses down her neck, his hands reaching under her nightie, running over her flat stomach, inching upward, toward…
Jun gasped again, pulling away. Was this what she really wanted?
The man placed his hand on her hair, softly stroking it as she stood there, making no other move to touch her.
This had to be Ken.
Didn't it?
It might be Joe.
How could she tell?
Jun felt sober enough, but the alcohol was still affecting her. It was as if her mind was being smothered by soft pillows, and it was an immense effort to push through them, to think through the situation.
Joe was taller! Yes, that was it! Joe was taller than Ken.
But… in the dark, Jun had lost all sense of perspective. Joe was only a few inches taller, after all, and they were both at least that much taller than she. Hesitantly, Jun reached out, trying to gauge the man's height.
She reached up, lightly running her fingers over his face, feeling the corners of his mouth turning up in a smile.
Damn it! She still had no idea which one of them this was.
However, he had taken her gentle exploration as an invitation to continue. She felt his hands moving slowly away from her hair, and onto her cheeks. His fingers were barely touching her, yet they seemed to be pulling her closer.
Hesitantly, she took a step forward, her arms dropping to her sides, as his hands brushed her neck and shoulders. She felt his touch on her collarbone, and then pull lightly on the strings holding her nightie closed.
His movements were deliberate, but slow. She could easily pull away, if she wanted to.
But Jun found that she couldn't move. She was frozen in place; the lure of what he offered too strong to resist. Her body was trembling, and eager for his touch, despite her innate sense of propriety.
Carefully, he unlaced the peasant-style top of her nightie, easing it open and gently drawing it off of her shoulders and down her arms. She felt his breath on her bared breasts, as he finished slipping the garment from her, and the sensation was enough to create a tightening feeling within her.
His hands were at her shoulders again, smoothing over her collarbone, and then downward. Jun could not prevent a sigh of regret from escaping her lips, when he merely skirted the sides of her breasts, moving past them to her narrow waist, and then over the curves of her hips.
He lingered there, understanding the war within her mind; giving her a chance to protest.
But the words never came. The only sound either of them heard was her soft breathing, which was becoming more and more irregular, with her excitement.
After a long moment, she felt his fingers sliding into her panties, carefully easing them over her hips, and past her thighs. When he reached her knees, he released them, and she felt them fall to the floor.
She stood, naked, in front of a man she had known and loved since childhood, suddenly craving something from him that she had never truly considered possible before.
If only she knew who he was.
His hands rose upward again, to enclose her waist, gently but insistently pulling her into the circle of his arms. When their flesh met, he cupped her cheeks in his hands, pulling her mouth to his and tasting deeply of her.
Jun's senses were overwhelmed with his actions, and she found herself surrendering to the tidal wave that surged over her, with his kiss. Their bodies pressed together, her breasts crushed against his muscular torso, his passion evident in the silken pressure against her abdomen.
With a will of their own, her arms wound their way around his neck, her fingers threading themselves through his hair. A low purr of satisfaction emanated from her throat, as he moved his lips down, pressing kisses against her graceful neck.
It seemed that they stood, sharing this intimate embrace, for hours, taking in the feel and taste of each other. A part of Jun could hardly believe where this evening had taken her, but she was long past wondering how this had happened. She only felt an inescapable need to be utterly fulfilled by this man.
Without warning, he leaned her back, supporting her with his arms, until Jun felt the coolness of her bedsheets below her. She lay back, eagerly anticipating the next level of their passion.
He didn't disappoint her. Jun felt the warmth of his mouth on her breast, and she moaned in satisfaction as his tongue teased and stroked her skin, fueling the fires within her. His hand tended to her other side, until she felt she might explode with lust from his actions.
A wet trail of kisses led him to her opposite breast, and the exquisite torture began again, leaving her helplessly clutching the sheets as her body burned.
She never wanted this to end. She felt as if she would be incomplete, if he ceased his attentions, yet at the same time, she found herself clinging to what was left of her restraint. But before long, she could hold on no longer, and she cried out in satisfaction.
It was then, that he moved downward, his mouth trailing across her abdomen, toward the center of her womanhood. He touched her there, drinking in the evidence of her passion, even as her head thrashed, and her need rose again.
Jun couldn't get enough. She wanted this man: all of him. She needed him to fulfill her longing, in the most intimate way possible. It didn't matter that she didn't know his name. What mattered was that she trusted him completely, and that he was able to play her body like a fine instrument.
He teased her at her very core, until she found herself cresting again. But just as she was about to lose control, he pulled away, then raised himself up to kiss her mouth.
His lips were slick with her own passions, and the taste of it aroused her more than she had thought possible. Jun moaned with pleasure as he entered her, her hips rising eagerly to meet him, welcoming him into her body, to share in the heights she was experiencing.
At first, his movements were slow, but before long, their ardent dance moved faster and faster, until she cried out at their simultaneous peaks.
As the crashing waves subsided, she found herself cuddled in his arms, as he tenderly pulled a coverlet over them. She snuggled against him, enjoying the feel of his hard body against her own, as he softly stroked her hair.
With an inner peace she had not realized she was capable of, Jun slowly drifted off to sleep.