Day Three - Pulse

One of the more dangerous parts of running an undocumented, and somewhat illegal guild – besides the actual act of vanquishing of dark magic – was the lack of medical resources. Ultear had been too cavalier to educate herself on the basics of patching up wounds. Meredy was only a child at the onset of Crime Sorciere, and after the trauma of Ultear's failed attempt at suicide it was understandable that she wanted no part in the messy business of blood and ruined flesh. Jellal took on the mantle himself. The juxtaposition of learning how to save the lives of others when every night he gazed up at the stars and pondered his own death did not escape him, but he forced the knowledge into his head anyway.

Some of the information had proved useless and dated but other things stuck with him. For example, there are seven places on the human body where a pulse can be felt and taken. The wrist, neck, knee, groin, elbow, and both the posterior tibial and dorsalis pedis on the foot. It wasn't until the dissolution of Crime Sorciere that he truly became acquainted with other spots that had a very different kind of pulse.

Every part of Erza was perfect. She sometimes complained about various things – even the great Titania had insecurities – but Jellal tried not to let her dwell on them and she was easily distracted. Erza was also very responsive. He never needed to guess if the way he touched or kissed her was pleasing. Her pattern of breath often gave her away.

There was a spot behind her left knee that made her thighs twitch and he could feel each flare of her pulse if he pressed his thumbs in the dip below her knee cap and his fingers behind. Her neck was especially sensitive. If he applied just enough pressure to the underside of her jaw while kissing her in the exact way he knew she liked, he could tabulate every jump of her heart. Instead of kissing her palms or the back of her hand, Jellal preferred her wrists. Brushing his lips over the delicate blue veins just beneath the skin always earned a soft laugh. Before leaving her every morning for a day of boring paperwork he liked to wrap his hand around her elbow and tug her against his chest. It was a point of pride to make her heart race even in the simple act of saying good morning. He learned early on that Erza was far too ticklish and touching her feet never ended well.

Jellal never bothered with subtlety when he went for the last spot his self-education had taught him. He could easily reach it anytime his hand was between her legs. Jellal couldn't quite make up his mind which was his favorite. Her knees or the crease between her leg and pelvis. Both were equally appealing – even if for completely different reasons.

The day – or morning, really – he discovered what he called secondary pulse, Jellal laughed. It wasn't a particularly profound medical discovery but it was something that he felt privileged to know. He could still feel her clenching around his fingers, and his lips were still leaving kisses over the warm, pulsating folds of wet sensitive skin between her thighs when Erza grasped a handful of his hair.

"What are you laughing about?" she asked, leaning back against the bathroom mirror. The air was thick with steam from the shower they hadn't manage to take yet. Jellal stood and pulled her to the very edge of the counter.

"It's nothing," he whispered, taking her lips in a kiss and hitching her thighs around his waist. Erza looped her arms around his shoulders and held on as he swiftly lifted her against him before stepping into the spray of warm water.

"It's something." Erza's hand slid from his shoulders. Her fingers wrapped around his erection, and she squeezed. "Tell me," she breathed over the side of his neck. The swipe of her thumb over the head of his cock, and her intentionally slow strokes prevented him from speaking at all. "Are we keeping secrets now?"

Erza's thighs were strong enough to support most of her weight if he kept her firmly against the shower tiles. Jellal grabbed her wrist and pinned it above her head. She smiled and didn't take her eyes off him as his hand fell to cup the underside of one breast. Her nipple tightened when he drew a slow circle around it with a fingertip.

"It isn't a secret," he said when he finally drove inside of her. Erza's chest rose beautifully and her nipple disappeared against his chest. "Just an observation." She said nothing more as his hips steadily thrust against hers. The hot water wouldn't last much longer.

"Help me," she finally gasped and lightly twisted her wrist. In a well practiced motion, Jellal's thumb circled her until she was writhing against him. She swallowed his incoherent groans against her mouth and finally loosened the vise-like grip around his waist.

Jellal released her wrist and she surprised him by dragging her finger through the trail of short hairs just below his naval and stopping in the space between his leg and now softened member. Erza bit her lip and pressed a kiss to his jaw.

"I can take your pulse, too," she whispered.