Chapter 5- Chess
I awoke around noon, bleary eyed and moderately confused. I shot up ramrod straight when I realized I had no idea where I was. The last I remembered I had been with Lucian. I was acutely aware of the soft pitter-patter of rain; it had become overcast as I slept. Next to me, Lucian was breathing slowly, sleeping. My heart began to hammer. He was actually quite resplendent sleeping there, all muscular and peaceful in the calm, rainy afternoon. I hadn't guzzled that much bourbon down this morning had I? Had we really….
He stirred in his sleep, and then his eyes opened.
"Oh! Um, hi… good… afternoon." My cheeks flushed as I stammered.
He smiled back pleasantly. "Good afternoon. Did you sleep well?"
"Uhhhh yeah, fine. And you?"
He nodded wordlessly, still smiling. Crap. That meant we probably had.
Blushing furiously, I struggled to regain composure. If we had, I remembered nothing. "You've got to give me some details, here. I haven't done this in a very, very long time, and if I had the time of my life and was too drunk to remember, then I want you to give me the play-by-play and fill in the parts that I missed, which… would be all of it." Red. Crimson red.
He looked at me with a puzzled expression. "Well, you were pretty exhausted. You didn't even have a chance to move your pawns around before you fell asleep."
My eyes widened. That was a new one; I'd never heard it before. "My… pawns?" I collapsed into a fit of giggles. "Oh my God, seriously? You can just spill. You don't have to be embarrassed and use metaphors. So wait, I fell asleep before we finished? God, that's embarrassing, I'm so sorry, really. I never do that."
His face remained confused. "Why would I be embarrassed about that? You don't have to be, either. We didn't finish the Chess game, in fact we didn't even start you were so tired. You fell asleep in the chair."
Woah, kinky. We were going to use a chair? But I had fallen asleep. What a shame, I was actually starting to get a little turned on with his metaphors for the twins and The Deed. Pawns, Chess and chairs. Hot. "Chair, huh? Wow… you give me more credit than I deserve, I'm really not that flexible. It's a shame I fell asleep, I would have loved to have tried that."
He eyed me quizzically, and then a smirk of amusement crossed his face, and then understanding. Immediately thereafter my face turned an even deeper shade of crimson, if that was possible, as I realized I'd just dug myself a hole. I remembered now. He was going to teach me how to play Chess, and I had been extremely tired. I had probably fallen asleep, and he carried me upstairs to his bedroom to sleep there in an actual bed. "Oh yeah, Chess… huh. Fun. Heh." I looked down and picked at my dried cuticles, pretending to be interested in them, wanting to die or disappear.
"So when I was talking about your pawns you thought I was talking about your…" He laughed a smugly amused chortle. "My dear, I would never refer to you in such a vulgar manner, nor take advantage of you that way." His face was serious now. "No living soul should be treated like an animal and every living being should have a say in what they do," and then his eyes shone mischievously, "especially in their use of chair," he added impishly.
"Oh, um, yeah. I guess one should have some awareness in what they're um… using their chairs for." I smacked my forehead with my palm. "Oh God. I'm so hung over… and I'm such an idiot."
"I feel I'm to blame for this misunderstanding. When I laid you in my bed to sleep, I sat next to you, and then I decided to sleep for a moment myself in order to rejuvenate my own energy. I should not have laid in such close proximity to you; it was inappropriate. And especially in your state of mind this morning, I left our juxtaposition open to interpretation. I apologize profusely for making you feel ill at ease."
"I… wouldn't exactly say ill at ease," I admitted, blushing again. "I just felt bad that if we'd shared a very intimate and meaningful moment that I'd forgotten it. If it had happened, it should have been more memorable for me. It… it would have been more meaningful for me. I mean, because sex just is something meaningful for me." What was I saying? Not that I wasn't certain that sex would be meaningful for me with Lucian. I simply didn't know him that well at all yet. And yet, I couldn't really stop myself from accidentally implying more than I'd meant to say, that beyond sex being a meaningful thing for me, it would have especially been with him. I felt more comfortable than perhaps was usually natural with a man I'd just met.
He smiled, seemingly taken aback but very pleased with what I'd said. "Well, all the same. I do apologize. I would not take advantage of you in a very exhausted and slightly drunken state. I'd be sure I had your consent before proceeding beyond any friendly advances as a neighbor. That includes being sure you were even capacitated enough to stay awake, tempting as it would be to act as less than a civilized gentleman with you." His eyes shone, and I found myself both flattered and reassured, not to mention mildly aroused at the thought of him having made less than gentlemanly advances earlier.
"Okay." I smiled back. "Well, it was very sweet waking up next to you just now."
"Truly?" He asked earnestly.
"Truly." He was supporting his weight on his right arm and palm, facing with his body over the edge of his side of the bed and his face turned to me. I put my hand gently over the back of his. He met my eyes and took in a deep, slow breath, as if to steady himself. In our meeting gazes I felt that moment of truth and transformation that you see so often in the movies, but that you immediately forget the magic of until you experience it for yourself. I knew then what was about to happen. I felt our faces slowly closing the space between us, his breath warming my nose now, the pull between us inexorable. Before I could even think about what was happening, I found my eyes closing into a peaceful trance and my lips parting ever so slightly, heart pounding, as his lips met mine, and his warm tongue glided against mine lightly. A shuddering breath escaped from deep within me as my hand tightened around his, and his left hand looped around my hip and pulled me closer to him. I was instantly that euphoric kind of dizzy, my thoughts a jumble of how far I should or shouldn't go and knowing how far I wanted to go. His hand moved all the way up from my hip, to my back, to my neck, leaving a sizzling trail of nerves behind it, as his weight slowly and gingerly pressed me down onto the bed, and then he straightened me out so that our heads were facing the headboard.
"It's a shame you're not flexible," he groaned as he pressed his hungry mouth to mine.
From underneath him I wrapped my legs around his hips, locking them into place and pushing my own ferociously against his. "I can try to be," I growled, the strain of a burning need for him boiling over and rushing forth. The passion he had aroused in me was so intense that I felt like I could twist my body in any way not normally possible just to feel every inch and contour of him. Our eyes locked, and I noticed the intense passion burning in his for the first time. He seemed to recognize the change in me, too. We shared a deeper bond than either of us had realized at first. Since the first time our eyes had met we'd not only known how similar we were and felt each other's pain, but we'd fallen instantly into deep, caring and intense love, from the inside out.
"Please do," he breathed, "but I'll be gentle, I vow it." He laced his hands in mine and pulled our arms over my head; he was breathing heavily now, as was I. His tongue groped deeper, but never lost its soft and gentle touch. He caressed his tongue against mine, and eagerly allowed me to return the favor. When I did, a low moan of satisfaction escaped his throat, his chest heaving with the strain of unreleased desire. "I confess it's been quite some time since I've done this either, and I haven't felt the burning desire to since I lost who I loved. You've awoken so much in me that I haven't felt in a long time, and some emotions, ever."
"Even with Emery, my late husband, I don't think I've ever felt anything this intense either," I whispered, meeting his kind and loving gaze. "From the moment I first saw you, I've fallen deeply for you."
He smiled dreamily at me, and then kissed me with such an intensity I thought I'd faint. Slipping deeper and deeper into the moment, our hips began to move back and forth together in synchronization, longing to break the few barriers- namely our clothing- that were left between us. As if on cue, he sat me up gently and slipped my cami off slowly, allowing his fingers to stroke my sides as he tugged it off. I shuddered with pleasure under his caress, nearly losing my mind in ecstasy. Looking up at him from underneath my eyelashes, we locked gazes as I slowly took his shirt off in the same fashion. It's tricky undressing your beloved when you're this aroused. How to choose between completely undressing them all at once and pummeling your unified forms into the mattress, or kissing them- and oh, when to pull yourself away from that kiss?- in between removing articles of clothing only to have to keep pulling away, or ravaging each part of the body before moving to the next article of clothing? In the frenzy of trying to decide, our hands, lips, and tongues were everywhere in a melee of passion, mauling each other with every satisfying move our sex-crazed bodies could manage, the sounds of our enthralled moans reverberating off of the walls of Lucian's bedroom.
I couldn't take my eyes off of Lucian once he was completely naked, despite my desire to completely ravage him. His body was so perfectly toned and muscular, and completely taught in his anguished desire for me, his hair long and flawless, touching his shoulders in the most appealing way, his eyes burning and intense, but with the same kind softness that had pulled me in, and his smile just as gentle, and full of desires and emotions unspoken, yet clear and completely readable to me. And looking down, though I did not require any minimum, he did not lack at all in size, and he was clearly ready for me. Everything about him from physicality to every deep secret and emotion laid bare for me to see, appreciate, and love unconditionally, was completely perfect, and I desired him wholly, absolutely, boundlessly, and forever.
"Lucian, I love you. I just met you, but I know that you were meant for me and I was meant for you. And before we do this I want you to know that. I love you."
"And I you," he breathed, pressing his forehead to mine, eyes intensely locked on mine. "My love, are you sure that you're alright with this? You're alright with me having you wholly this afternoon, after just meeting?"
"I am," I said softly, completely at peace with him, and wholly myself. "As long as you're alright with it and want this too."
"There is not a thing I want more than to share this moment with you," he assured me, "a thousand times over and for the duration of my life. My darling, I want you always. I have loved you also since the moment I first saw you. It was the most exquisite feeling to ever take hold of me. It was so unexpected, but so perfect, and completely satisfying for our souls to meet and instantly intertwine."
I was so happy and I felt so secure in that moment, and I knew that despite how soon we'd just met, it was already our time. Lucian laid me down tenderly, and with my eyes closed in compete trust and relaxation, I allowed him to enter me. He did it so slowly and carefully, allowing us both to enjoy every moment, our breaths mingling as our bodies did. He was a part of me now, and with each moan, gasp and sigh, I made sure he knew, as did he with each shudder, grunt, and moan to escape his chest. Our lips met once again as we moved together, gradually swaying our hips faster and faster until we simultaneously reached the sweetest release known to either of us. It felt so good, and I felt so wholly satisfied and so deeply loved and in love that I cried euphorically into his chest upon release. He held me tightly and kissed me through my sobs of released relief and passion, tears of his own streaming down his face.
Whatever grief I had known I would work through now, knowing that I wasn't alone in my grief anymore, and knowing that it had been for a reason. As tragic as Barry's death had been, and as much as a part of me would always miss and love him, it had left me free to love Lucian deeper than I'd ever loved a soul before. Lucian and I were even more alike than anyone I'd ever met- even Barry- in the way we conducted ourselves. Aside from sharing a common grief, we both had traits I had noticed that were alike; traits that we would have shared in common even if neither of us had ever grieved before and had met each other before we'd met our previous significant others. Lucian was silent and brooding like I was, but completely unabashed and blunt, raw even, once someone he cared about, and who cared about him, gave him an entrance to speak his heart. We each ruminated in our thoughts, and gave great care to what we said and how we said it, to convey the precise meaning, emotions, and reasoning behind what we were saying. And we both loved so deeply, so intensely and passionately, and reveled in a love so transcendent above all else in the world. Love for the two of us completely shifted the earth under our feet, changing us and our lives forever. For us it was a precious gem to be tended to and appreciated down to the finest detail and for every facet. It was foremost on the mind, on the lips, and in the soul. Words weren't needed to confirm this. I knew he was the same by the way he acted. He gave his complete concentration to me and loving me when he was in my presence, and I knew that he wouldn't find a single thing more important than me, and not let anything distract him from me, the way I wouldn't from him. We both lived in the moments we shared just the two of us as though the rest of the world didn't exist, and looked at each other as though the other were the whole world. We now lived and breathed for each other, forever on out. Nothing was more precious to me than Lucian and his love for me, and I knew I was the most precious to him. We kissed each other softly as our bodies succumbed to a peaceful sleep, lying limp in deep satisfaction and doused in sweat. His hand reached for mine, and he laced his fingers through mine as we kissed, sighing gently.
"I love you, my darling Maya."
"And I Iove you, Lucian, forever."
Tranquility filled the room and settled in, emanating from us vibrantly, and in the stillness, I fell into a slumber so restful that I was able to forget everything except for the man I loved next to me and the binding intimacy I'd just experienced with him. His soft, satisfied breathing lulled me into a silence I dared not ever break.
A/N I hope I didn't introduce a sex scene too soon. Sorry, I'm a bit of a horn ball, and I really enjoyed writing this scene. Also, the Chess metaphors were my own idea; it just sort of came to me as I was writing, and thought it would be a humorous way to play off the bourbon hangover.