Chapter 2 –Warning! There is sex in this chapter, described in detail. Just wanted to give everyone a fair warning
Hours after the picnic Kailyn found herself back in her room preparing for dinner. She would have to change her outfit to a more formal attire. The events of the picnic with Aiden were still swimming in her head. She had truly enjoyed herself and had a really good time. When was the last time she could say that? "Probably the last time Aiden and I were together," she thought to herself. Her feelings towards her old friend had changed. That much was clear; but she wasn't sure where to go from there. Kailyn wasn't even sure he felt the same way. But didn't he? The way he looked at her she thought she saw the same love and compassion in his eyes that she was feeling. "Maybe it was my imagination. Wishful thinking." She thought back to his question about being intimate with someone. Had that question been an invitation? Was he trying to tell her something? Her heart skipped a beat and then suddenly began beating very rapidly as she thought that over.
Arianne had been in her room before Kailyn got there and laid out her clothes for the evening. It was back to being a representative of the Cousland name. There was no way she could get away with wearing the dress she wore to the picnic to dinner. It would be viewed as disrespectful. That made sense to her. There was a time and a place for everything. Her evening gown was very eloquent. A pale yellow color complimented with white ruffles hemmed into the skirt. The thin yellow straps complimented her petite shoulders. The low cut neckline of the black dress was replaced with a reasonable cut. Not so that it strangled her, but it didn't show her breasts and cleavage the way the black dress did. She thought the dress very plain; but she liked that about it. Kailyn was never one for beaded endorsements of clothing. Nothing over the top. Her sense of fashion was viewed eccentric to most people because she liked the styles of dresses most others thought were hideous. She liked the yellow dress. She had just pulled it onto her body (the corset built into the dress) when Arianne walked in.
"I thought you might need some help buttoning it in the back." The blonde elf had said to her.
"Actually, I hadn't gotten that far; but I think you are here just in time." she said as she moved her hair to the side so it didn't get caught as she was being fastened into her dress.
"So how did the picnic with Aiden go, my lady?" Arianne had asked with furious curiosity. Kailyn thought for a moment. The only word she could come up with to explain the experience was, "Strangely...But that is not the right word. It's difficult to describe." The elf's only answer was a raised eyebrow. "Well at least now you are buttoned. Do you want your hair in the usual bun?" The elf began brushing her hair to prepare it when Kailyn nodded.
As Arianne was brushing the two pieces of hair that fell to the side of her face there was a soft knock at the door. Kailyn looked a little surprised but answered, "Come in."
With the elf still working on her hair she was unable to turn around and see who it was knocking on her door. She felt her body tense in anticipation. She wished that whomever it was that they would speak so she could know who it was. After several moments the body did speak. "I am here to escort you to dinner dear lady."
Kailyn felt her heart flutter at the familiar voice. Aiden. "Of course dear friend. I think Arianne here was just about to finish up." At this the elf raised another eyebrow in protest that she was not yet done with the pieces of hair she had been brushing for several minutes. Lady Cousland gave the elf a hard look and she put the brush down, curtsied and left the room.
"You look absolutely exquisite," was Aiden's only reply. He looked her up and down. He truly did like what he saw. She had definitely come into her own in these last two years. It amazed him how such a small amount of time (even though it didn't seem small while they were separated) could change someone so drastically. Kailyn was absolutely breath-taking. Her creamy shoulders were exposed due to the thin straps of the dress and oddly enough, the pale yellow color seemed to compliment her rich, red hair. He was disappointed that she went back to her standard bun but felt she thoroughly made up for it with her astonishing beauty. He looked at her face absorbing everything he saw. The thoroughly freckled, child's face from her youth had shifted; molded into something womanly. Her face still maintained a few freckles but they had grown so light you would only know they were there if you were looking. They stretched out across her petite nose and complimented her peachy skin. Her eyes were once again sparkling a bright emerald green. His eyes wandered down to her dress. This dress, too, complimented her body but without making it as obvious as the black dress. It held her snug around her tiny waist but then flared out at her hips but did not fail to accentuate her curves.
"-a little hungry and dinner really does smell good." Kailyn had finished her sentence and suddenly realized that her friend had not been listening. She couldn't help but smile to herself.
"Yes. I agree." was all Aiden could muster. He wasn't sure what he just said made any sense as he had no clue what his dear friend was talking about. He was still enraptured by her and everything except her seemed hazy. As if nothing else was real. It was only her.
Aiden walked closer to her to put his arm around hers to escort her. As he walked closer to her, Kailyn couldn't help but notice him as well. He wore another formal shirt; but a different color. His attractive, chest accentuating, blue shirt had been replaced by a pale green one. A smile played across her lips as she realized his colors complimented her. The green shirt still hugged his chest in all the ways that she loved. His face, oh Maker his face. His face was beyond the beauty of anything she had ever seen. His curly, chestnut brown locks framed his face perfectly. She was glad he still had those curls. His masculine face was hard, but friendly. He seemed to balance the two perfectly and this only managed to make her heart flutter even more. His tan skin contrasted against his pink lips. Everything about him seemed to compliment some other aspect of his body. His broad, muscular shoulders complimented his long, beautifully tanned arms. The shape of his thighs seemed to go hand in hand with his frame. He was perfect.
As they walked down the hallway arm in arm Kailyn smiled as she had just noticed he was finally taller than her. "It's about time," she said aloud.
"What?" Aiden asked. Had she been talking again and he wasn't paying attention?
"Oh. Did I just say that out loud?"
"Say what out loud?" Aiden replied with a wink.
"Just checking." She smiled.
They walked the rest of the way in silence both hearts pounding just from being so close to each other.
At the table Kailyn couldn't help but notice her father had returned to his usual hardened self. As Aiden pulled her chair out for her, she sat and he pushed her back in making his way to his own seat. "Kailyn I feel that you are spending too much time on frivolous activities. You need to focus on your studies. And if you going to keep insisting that you learn combat skills you need to be in the sparring ring daily. That means that you need to stop this nonsense of sleeping until lunch time. If you went to bed at a normal hour you wouldn't need to sleep as long." Her father finished and turned his head towards Aiden asking him what he and his family had been up to and why his parents didn't come with him.
Kailyn hated how her father seemed to have two separate personalities. When it was the two of them he was always loving and kind to her. However, whenever there was anyone else present (her mother included most of the time) he would berate her to the point where she thought he was being cruel. As Aiden was answering the questions Bryce Cousland had asked her he noticed her sudden discomfort. She held her head down and focused solely on her meal. Eating it slowly and meticulously as she had been taught to do. Bryce sat at the head of the rectangular chestnut dining room table. Next to him was Halley, mimicking her daughter's motions. Kailyn sat across from her mother and Aiden sat next to the senior Lady Cousland. It seemed as though Aiden and Bryce were the only people who were ever going to talk during dinner; but it was when dessert was being served that Aiden's attention was suddenly focused on Kailyn. "I wanted to tell you that I enjoyed your company today during the picnic. It was nice to catch up with you. I didn't get a chance to tell you at lunch like I had hoped so I will just tell you now. I know that you were looking forward to spending a few days with me, but plans changed just as I left my home and I am needed there sooner than originally planned. I am due to leave mid-morning tomorrow."
Halley and Kailyn were obviously surprised at this news, but Bryce just continued eating as if nothing was said. Obviously Aiden had already told him.
"What has happened that you are to return home so soon?" Halley asked.
"Nothing that you and your family will need to be concerned with. My family is taking care of it." Aiden replied nervously. Kailyn felt like he wasn't telling the whole truth. She made a note to ask him of it later feeling that he would tell her in private.
"I'm sorry to hear that you have to leave so soon. I was just getting used to your company again." Kailyn said obviously saddened by the news. She hated having to be so formal. However, with her father there, and in his not-so-nice mood, she didn't feel it was wise to say what she truly wanted to say. She wanted to beg him not to go. She wanted to tell him right there how much she missed him and enjoyed his company as well. Desperately she wanted to cling to him and never have him leave again.
Everyone finished their dessert in silence.
XxxXxXxXxXx
Kailyn had retired to her room for the evening. Her bath had been brought up and she told Arianne that was all she needed for the day. "Yes my lady." The elf curtsied but she could tell that something wasn't quite right. She looked at her friend's face. Nothing but sadness and disappointment. Even when she had excused her maid she didn't even look up. Her lady had remained by the fireplace looking into it like it held answers to questions that had even plagued the most brilliant of scholars. Arianne couldn't be sure but she thought she saw a tear on her cheek. She went over to her to put a comforting hand on her shoulder but was met with cold words. "I said I didn't need you to do anything else for me. Now go away!" Frightened, the elf curtsied again and left the room.
She wasn't sure why she had yelled at Arianne. After all, it wasn't her fault that her best friend whom she'd grown to love was leaving tomorrow. "That wasn't the plan," she thought to herself. "He was supposed to come and spend at least a week with me. Then I could tell what my feelings for him really were." Oh who is she kidding. She knew she was in love with him. There was no denying it now. Kailyn stripped down and stepped into the steaming bath the maid had left for her. She had already put her bath oils in it to try and help her relax some of this stress away. She laid down far enough that the calming water was up to her neck. She laid her head back and began to play through the events of the day in her head. The picnic. Yes, the picnic. She was almost certain something had transpired there that she didn't quite pick up on. Damn him and his hard to read signals. She was never one to really pick up on things that weren't outwardly said and he knew that. So why didn't he just come out and say whatever he was trying to tell her through innuendo and body language? She thought of the boy running around the woods near her house screaming because he was being chased by bees...
"Stop running!" she screamed. "You'll only make them chase you more! You have to calm down!" The boy was still running around like he didn't hear her. Kailyn tried to get the bees to focus on her. She swatted at them, tried to scoop them off of him, anything to get them away from Aiden. As she looked up she noticed there was a lake not far from them. She yelled at Aiden to follow her. Aiden hadn't listened to anything she told him thus far and was confused when he obeyed this command. There was a dock leading towards the center of the lake and she had him run almost half way down it. He ran into her not realizing that she had stopped. Kailyn took the momentary advantage that he didn't know what was happening and shoved with all her might. Her friend when flailing into the water screaming at the top of his lungs. The bees lost interest when he went under and she guessed the bees swarmed back to their hive; ignoring her. Aiden surfaced with a huge scowl on his face. "What did you do that for?" Kailyn couldn't help but smile at the clueless boy in front of her. She extended her hand to help him up out the water. Once he was sitting safely on the dock she told him that once he went into the water the bees knew they couldn't get him so they lost interest. A look of understanding washed over him and then he smiled. "Oh. I thought you were just trying to be mean to me," he teased, knowing it wasn't true. She smiled back at him and they went on to play elsewhere.
Something suddenly struck her attention away from the memory she was so lost in. She waited quietly to see if she could hear the sound again. After several moments and she didn't hear it again she went back to bathing herself. Kailyn realized that the water was no longer warm and she was beginning to get chilly. She stepped out of the bath, put on her night clothes and made her way to the vanity where she had spent the afternoon getting ready for the picnic. She soon found her brush and began to sort out the wet, tangled knots of her hair. Sometimes she hated having curly hair. It would tangle so easily. As she was finishing up with her hair she heard a noise. She couldn't be sure but thought it was the noise that disturbed her earlier in the tub. As the lady rose, she opened a drawer in her vanity and pulled out a dagger. "Who could be wandering around this time of night?" she thought. "Thieves?" There had been reports of houses being broken into in the city. She made her way to the door. Her back against the wall, she put her hand on the knob. In her head she counted to three.
In a matter of seconds her dagger was at the throat of the would-be intruder. She was about to slit his throat when a wave of recognition swept through her. She took in the chestnut curls framing an all too perfectly tanned face. The ice blue eyes stared back at her frightened. The pink lips drawn out tight. His rough hands were in the air proving he was unarmed. She recognized the way his shoulders rippled when he put his hands back down at his sides.
"Oh," was all she could say. Quickly she removed the dagger from Aiden's throat and backed out of the doorway so that he could follow her in. After he was fully inside of her bedroom she closed the door, dagger still in hand.
"Um. I don't think you are going to need that anymore. I promise I won't hurt you. Especially if you're going to use that to exact your revenge."
A smiled appeared on her lips. She loved that sense of humor. It could pull out of any fog that her head might be in, no matter how dense.
She walked over to her vanity, put away the dagger and sat in a chair near the fire. She didn't face him. Again she was looking at the fire. Staring into the flames as they were licking and darting around her fireplace. They cast shadows on the walls that appeared to be dancing with the movement of the flames in front of her. Her smile had disappeared just as quickly as it came.
"I wanted to come talk to you alone. I—I need to know that you're not mad at me." Aiden said into the back of her head. He was still standing near the door and she was clear across the room in front of the enchanting fireplace.
He took a few steps in the room, moving slightly closer to her.
"I know that you were looking forward to spending more time with me, especially because it had been so long since we've seen each other. There was nothing I could d-" he was cut off.
"I'm not mad at you."
Five words. That was her answer. She spoke so evenly. To him, it sounded as if he were talking to one of them. The tranquil. He found them very creepy.
"Is that all you wanted to say?" Again it was emotionless.
He walked over to her bed next to fire and sat down on it. "I—I don't know," he stammered.
"What do you mean you don't know? You don't even know what you want to say to me? That after knowing me your whole life, you're speechless? No, that doesn't happen to the great Aiden Gourn. He is never, never caught off guard!" she turned to look at him. Her eyes were different. They were that dark shade of green. A shadow of the bright, sparkling eyes he had seen just hours before. Why was she so angry with him? He was trying to muster the courage to tell her how much he cared for her. It was eating away at him knowing he couldn't spend more time here with her. In all their time apart, he had grown to love her. He couldn't picture his life without her in it. Seeing her today, at that picnic, he realized it.
"I do have something I want to tell you," Aiden said with more resolve in his voice. He was getting angry because she was angry with him. He grabbed her face so he was sure he had her undivided attention. "In all our time apart I never really thought of our friendship being more than that. Friends." He stopped just long enough to wipe a tear cascading down her rosy cheek. Her eyes were still beautiful despite being filled with anger. "However, at our picnic today, I began to see you in a different light." He paused as she was taking this all in. Her face softened, but her eyes remained dark. He let her pull her face away from his hands. He knew he had her attention now. "When you were staring off into the distance today it was as if I was looking at a different Kail. You still had all the charms that I had come to love about you, still retained your kindness, but you were just different. In just two years you had grown into a beautiful young woman. In the moment I realized this, I knew that I wanted to be by your side forever. I can't imagine leaving you -"
"Then don't!" She cried out. "Stay here with me like you say you want. I don't want you to leave me!" Kailyn stopped, not knowing how much she was ready to tell him. The tears that were sporadically escaping her eyes now came down like the rain. She wanted so much to tell him that she loved him; that she would leave her family and everything she knew behind to be with him and his family.
He smiled at her outburst. He didn't know that this woman he had grown to love was capable of such emotion. She had never shown it to him before. To be frank, it took him a little by surprise. He searched her eyes, trying to see into her soul. Trying to see anything that would make this easier. Here he was trying to confess his love and he was beginning to chicken out. He needed to see something that all his efforts would not be in vain. He stared at her for a long time; what seemed like an eternity.
"I have to leave tomorrow; I can't change that. But I do have tonight. Together. With you. I...I love you, Kail." There, he had said it. So much weight was lifted off his chest.
He looked at her face, trying to read it. Her soft face was completely unreadable. She had turned to stone. Her eyes were still a shadow of what they used to be. His soul was crushed. She did not feel the same way he had and he was pretty sure he had scared her off. A single tear ran down his cheek, his body betraying the calm and cool look he was attempting to portray. He started to stand up, but her hand on his shoulder pushed him back down. Why was she making this harder for him? Obviously she had rejected him and she wanted him to stay. Why? To rub it in his face?
His thoughts were interrupted by her kiss. She had leaned in and pushed her lips against his in a last act of desperation to get him to stay. "I don't want you to go. If you truly have to leave tomorrow like you say you do, then I want to make tonight count. I love you too. With all my heart and soul. I feel that you are a part of me, you help make me...me." She sat in front of him now. When did she scoot her chair closer to him? Her face was inches from his own and he could feel her hot breath on his lips. Another tear slipped from his eye. It was not a tear of sadness like the last one had been; this was a tear of joy. Of pure bliss. He had confessed his love to this woman and she was confessing hers back. She loved him just as much as he loved her. It happened exactly how he hoped it would. She kissed the tear on his cheek and tasted it saltiness. "I want to make everything better for you," Kailyn confessed.
Before she knew what was happening his lips were on hers, crushing them with burning desire. Her lips tasted so good! They reminded him of cinnamon and honey. His tongue licked her lips telling her that he wanted to explore her mouth. Her lips parted ever so slightly and he darted in. Their tongues exploring each others hot mouths; and as they explored they started to dance, twisting and darting and licking as if in step. He pulled back from her, looking into her face. "Do you want to do this?" He asked. There was no sense in pushing her into anything she wasn't ready for. After all, he had already asked her father for her hand in marriage. He explained to Bryce that if his love wasn't returned that he would not force her to marry him and move on. He was so glad that wasn't the case. Aiden scanned her face. Her eyes were still dark, but something else was there. The emerald green eyes had hunger in them, desire. They were more intense than he had ever seen them.
"Yes," she breathed. Her voice was husky and she was having trouble catching her breath. She had felt the swirling sensation of pleasure building in her stomach ever since he told her he loved her. "I love you and you love me. I can't imagine a better situation to do this," she declared with a grin.
Aiden buried himself into her neck. She smelled so good! She smelled like pears. Of course. His favorite fruit. He kissed her neck working his way up her jaw line and back to her lips. Again they shared the passionate dance with their tongues. He kissed down her jaw line on the other side, down to her neck, lower still to her collar bone. He could hear her heavy breathing and her hands wrapped around him. He kissed his way to her pink, erect, nipple standing out even through her night shirt. He suckled it a little through the shirt and heard her breath catch. Her head laid back and eyes closed, she knew she wanted this. He cupped the breast that he had just teased and began thumbing over her nipple. A moan escaped her lips. Aiden couldn't help but smile devilishly and he began to slip the shirt up over her head. He threw it somewhere on the floor. He didn't care where it went as long as it wasn't on her body. He stopped to take her in. Maker, she was beautiful. The peachy skin that he saw on her arms and face looked even better than he had imagined on her breasts and stomach. He began to toy with her nipple again sucking and nipping at it. He paused once and grazed his teeth over her nipple and her body tensed as she let another moan escape her lips. He switched to the other creamy, succulent breast and flicked her nipple. She moaned again. He brought his lips down to it and began to suck and nip at it like the other one. Her breathing was raspy and labored. She was softly moaning almost constantly now. He stopped and slowly took her into his arms. He picked her up, swiveled and laid her down on the bed. The swirling sensation in her stomach had dramatically increased. She felt she would soon burst. Aiden began once again at her lips. He pushed down on hers in heated desire. Her tongue slipped between his lips first and they once again shared the dance. He broke away from the kiss and began kissing down her body again. Jaw line, neck, shoulders, collar bone, down further to her left breast. He kissed it all over and nipped at the nipple. Her breath caught again. Her body's instincts had taken over. She was slowly moving up and down; enjoying everything he was doing to her. Aiden moved to the other breast and repeated his previous actions. He kissed further down still, her ribs, her stomach, her navel, and down to her hips. He then stopped and began again at her toes. He heard her sigh in frustration. She may be new at this, but she certainly knew what she wanted. He kissed her foot, her ankle, her calf, and traveled up her thigh hearing her breathing getting faster the closer her got to her velvet folds. Once he was just a breath away he went to the other foot. This time she heaved in frustration but still held her head back, her breathing even more labored. Toes, foot, ankle, calf, trailing up to her thigh, her inner thigh and then he kissed her through her small clothes. "Take them off!" She attempted to command him, to order him, but because he had nearly taken her breath away it came out a whisper. He gently put his hands on her hips and she lifted them instantly knowing what to do. He slid them off completely and threw them in the direction he thought her night shirt was. He worked his way up again, but this time only starting at her thighs. Left thigh, right thigh, slightly higher on the left...He was killing her. She was desperate for some kind of release. Any release. And before she knew it, he had his tongue inside her. Licking her large and swollen nub. She moaned loudly not being able to control it. Aiden knew that she was close. Her body was practically begging him to end the torture. As he continued to lick her nub he slid his middle finger inside her. This time she yelled in pleasure and tensed around him. He curled his finger slightly slowly moving it in and out of her. Her thighs twitched uncontrollably, her toes curled and her fingers dug into the sheets threatening to tear them at any moment. She moaned for more. Yes, more; and he obliged. Her pressure was building and building until she couldn't take it anymore and she released herself letting out a pleasured cry. He pulled away from her and she could feel his body over hers. "Are you okay, love?" he asked. "Oh yes," she breathed. "I want to do that again." He smiled at her and brought himself lower onto her body. He had apparently taken off his night shirt, though Kailyn couldn't remember when. Who cared? She could feel his erection against her thigh. It was not a feeling she was used to, but she liked it just the same. Kailyn knew it was his way of telling her that he wanted to be inside her. She nodded "yes" to him, her voice no longer working. He kissed her jaw line again and then her neck. He then put his tip inside her and breathlessly told her it was going to hurt. She nodded again. Her words still failed her. Gently he eased into her and she let out another long, pleasured sigh. Further, and further he went into her making sure to do it slowly. He was so gentle in fear of hurting her more than was necessary. He pushed into her still and then he felt it. Her maiden head. He held his breath and pushed past it. Her breath caught as if in surprise but then a smile appeared back on her face. The pain was over. He glided in and out of her started slow at first. She felt so wonderful to him. Her hot, wet, inside molded to him, squeezed around him. She was perfect. Kailyn was moaning his name as he slid inside her and feigned a pout every time he would start to pull out. His slow pace soon quickened. He knew he could not take much more of this. He wanted his release just as bad as she wanted hers. Maybe even more so. There pleasure was building, building and he began going faster, and faster. She was saying his name and he was saying hers. It started out as a whisper but by this time they were nearly yelling. With one last yell the building pressure in both of them was released. His legs shook from the intensity and he had a smile that spread from ear to ear. Aiden looked down at the woman he loved and kissed her with all the passion that his body could bear as he pulled out of her.
He laid down beside her in the bed holding her as if the world were ending. "Aiden?"
"Yes, love?"
"What happened to make your plans change so that you have to leave so soon?" Kailyn asked genuinely concerned.
"Nothing. My family and I are handling it. It's nothing you need to concern yourself with." He kissed her lightly on the forehead but she couldn't help but notice that again, he answered nervously.
"I want to help you."
"There isn't a way you can help. We have it all under control," he attempted to add a smile to his voice; but she saw right through it.
Giving up on the topic her mind wandered to the curiosity that she felt when he told her about his first "experience." She asked him.
"Well. It turns out I wasn't drunk when it happened. Everything else is true though. She was gone the next morning and the note on the pillow. She taught me everything I know," he said with a smile.
Kailyn smiled and thought, "Well then she is an excellent teacher."
"I love you Kail."
"I love you too."
They both drifted off to sleep.
Don't worry, Alistair is coming. I promise. Zevran is also definitely making an appearance. ;)
Bear with me