I am SO SORRY for the delay. I've just now finished my last round of horrible meds and really felt like sitting up and being creative and writing again. I apologize heartily for how long it took to get this chapter out. I hope it was worth it and that no one gave up on me!

VII: Skin

Emma sighed as Rumpelstiltskin's fingers threaded gently through her curls. He combed through the length of her hair, sighing into their joined mouths as he leaned into her, his other hand coming up to trace her face. She held fast to the back of his neck with her right hand, mirroring his exploration of her face with the other. His sigh turned to a moan as she curved her hand down the front of his throat and into the loose collar of his tunic.

He was warm to the touch and she curled closer to him, breaking the kiss to curve her head into his shoulder, her lips tracing over the sharp curve of bone there. The hand on her head gripped tighter and he tumbled suddenly to one side, taking her with him to sprawl sideways across the pallet. She could feel him beneath her, his interest in the proceedings obvious and almost painfully endearing as he flushed and shied away from her.

She captured his mouth again, letting her hand creep under his tunic, feeling the heat of his chest and the shape of his ribs. He bucked his head as her hand found one small nipple, pinching gently as she feathered more kisses over his throat. Emma let her knee slip gently between his legs, pressing against his arousal, feeling her own body respond to his enthusiasm and his obvious innocence.

He didn't seem to know where to put his hands, so she gripped them in her own, kissing him again, long, slow and teasing. He gasped her name as she pulled back, sitting up off of him to strip her tunic over her head. Hesitating a moment, she pulled her undershirt with it, leaving her chest bare to his gaze.

His eyes widened exponentially, almost comically, as he stared up at her, mouth moving in formless words as he stared. She flushed, feeling self-conscious and strangely powerful at the same time. When one of his hands hesitated near her left hip, she reached down and captured the hand, pulling it up to press over her breast. He closed his hand over her flesh, making her close her eyes with a sigh. She could feel her heart hammering against his fingers as she reached for his other hand, bringing it up to her other breast.

He lay there beneath her, long fingers flexing over her flesh as his eyes raced over her skin in confusion and fascination. At her prompting, he squeezed her flesh harder, drawing another groan from her throat. He let out a shaky moan in return, his fingers curling around her nipple timidly. She hissed, pressing herself into his hand, and he pinched the bud tighter in reflex. She grinned as he whimpered in surprise, and she leaned down to steal another kiss.

Still leaning over him, she trailed her fingers across his lips, settling closer, tugging his hair until his mouth was inches from her breast. He licked his lips, looking up at her for confirmation, and very slowly, he opened his mouth, running his tongue over her flesh. Emma moaned, gripping his hair tighter, pressing them harder together. He wrapped his arms around her back, kissing and sucking at her with a hunger that was almost desperation. After a moment, he shook her hand free of his hair, only to turn to her other breast for the same treatment.

Emma closed her thighs hard around his hips, pressing down towards him, groaning again as she wrapped both arms around his neck, cradling him close. His hands skimmed lower, settling on her hips and holding her far more gently than she'd like. With a growl, she rolled her hips down against his, wringing a high-pitched cry as he jerked away from her with a gasp. Her nipples hardened in the cooler air once his mouth had left them, and she bit into his throat, running her teeth sharply against his collarbone to make him shiver just as she was.

He raised his arms obediently when she tugged on his shirt, yanking his tunic and undershirt away, leaving his chest bare to her explorations. It was his turn to groan and squirm as she licked and sucked a trail from his throat down his sternum to the waist of his trousers. Her hands hesitated on his belt and she looked up, meeting his heavy-lidded gaze.

He seemed stunned, lying on his back staring up at her, his hands clutched to his bare chest now, as though trying to protect himself. She felt her face flush and drew back, suddenly feeling ashamed for having pushed him so far, so fast. When he realized she was drawing away, he reached for her shoulder, squeezing her arm as he murmured, "Oh, no, no, no, don't stop... please..."

"Are you... Are you okay with this?" She asked softly, raising her hand to squeeze his where he held her shoulder.

He nodded shakily, mouth opening, but he couldn't manage and words. His eyes were half-open and glazed with passion. She could feel him trembling beneath her, but he had asked her to continue. She realized he had no idea what he was doing, but that he clearly didn't want her to stop.

Smiling at him as reassuringly as she could manage, she reached for his belt in both hands. He closed his eyes, falling back on his elbows with a sigh as she pulled the leather away, her hands returning to his hips. Lips curving into a smile that was far less reassuring, she leaned her head down, mouthing over his skin as she bared it, sliding his pants down his slender legs.

She was careful not to let the fabric linger on his injured leg, letting her palms curve under his legs when she was done, feeling the curve of his buttocks where it melted into his thighs. He squirmed, a breathy sound exploding from his throat; ending in a higher sound she would generously not call a squeak as she let her breath ghost over his erection.

Still smiling, Emma opened her mouth, letting her tongue slide up the length of him, just barely touching him. She was surprised to see he was uncircumcised, though when she considered, the idea wasn't really that surprising. She wondered idly if Gold would be the same, as she lifted one of her hands to slide back his foreskin, lips touching him more firmly now. He was panting, hips shaking with the force of his quick, shallow gasps. His good leg curled around her, wrapping around her shoulders, pulling her down closer. She used her hand on his thigh to control her fall, taking him further as he moaned her name. He sank one hand into her hair, twisting her curls around his fingers in a way that was deliciously rough; his other hand gripping the sheet covering the pallet.

Emma couldn't hold back a throaty chuckle as he spilled in her mouth, and she swallowed reflexively, mentally cataloging his taste. It was thick and bitter, with just a hint of salt, unique and not unpleasant, considering. He opened his eyes and stared at the roof overhead, tears leaking out of the corners of his eyes as he tried to catch his breath. She was briefly concerned for the trembling of his chest as he gasped for air, and she slithered up his body, kissing him without thinking.

He opened his mouth, hand still in her hair, tongue brushing hers despite what she'd just done with her mouth. She reached down, stroking him gently, teasing him with her fingertips until she felt him beginning to swell again under her touch. He broke free of the kiss, looking down in shock, making her laugh again at the expression on his face.

"It's good, right...?" She murmured, biting lightly on the shell of his ear.

He nodded, a shaky, breathy whisper of assent, his throat working over another desperate breath as he bucked up into her hand. She resumed placing sucking kissing on his throat and collarbone as she continued to stroke him back to hardness. He whimpered her name, his hand stealing back up to her left breast, distracting her momentarily with several delicious pulls and pinches.

Grinning, she unfastened her own pants, kicking them free of all but one leg, rubbing their bare flesh together, making them both moan. He held her by the waist now, kissing at her throat, mirroring the way she had teased and tasted him. Emma tucked her hair behind her shoulder and reached down again, gripping his returned erection, making him cry out again, head slamming back against the pillow. Gently, slowly, trying not to startle him too much, she eased herself closer until he pressed against her.

Emma closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and used her fingers to part herself open as she slid down onto him. It had been a long time, longer than she cared to remember, and she slammed down harder than she intended, clutching at his hips hard enough to bruise suddenly. He shot up against her, curling at the waist as he cried out sharply, grabbing for her shoulders, hands sliding weakly down her arms as he let out a long, shuddering breath. She laughed breathlessly, bowing her head, hair spilling across his bare chest as she caught her breath.

"This... you..." He reached for her face then, tears streaking down his face again as he cradled her chin in his hand. She reached for his face in return, stroking gently across his cheek, fingers brushing the faint scar where the boy had cut his face with a rock those weeks ago when she'd first arrived. She stared at his eyes, hopelessly wide, endlessly dark, and shining with an emotion she had never seen directed at her in her entire life.

With a sound not unlike a sob, Emma let her head drop down, seeking his mouth again. He clung to her, not frightened now, but comforting, cradling her gently with both arms, surprisingly strong, achingly tender.

She heard the sound of faint sobs, pitched all wrong to be him for a change, and she realized suddenly she was crying. Kissing desperately at his mouth, short contacts that broke into hard breaths, she began to move, lifting herself up before letting her body press back down. He held her, arms wrapped tightly around her shoulder, whispering her name again and again into her tangled hair. She buried her face in the soft brown hair at the nape of his neck, curling her hands over his shoulders as though he would slip away.

They moved together messily, wet and hot and almost brutally deep, as his body arched up where hers bowed down. There were tears on her face, on his throat, and it was impossible to tell whose they were. He could feel his fingers counting each vertebrae of her spine and she curled her toes into her next thrust, feeling something give way inside of her for the first time in what felt like years. He gasped out loud, voice rippling in her ear as she clenched around him. She ground down again and again, moaning syllables that might have been his name as he gave a tiny, stunned cry as something hot and thick spread between them.

She continued pushing her hips back and forth as he softened inside her, keeping her face buried in his neck. One of his hands came up to comb his hair out of his eyes as he stared up at the ceiling. She burrowed her cheek against his chest. His voice was barely above a whisper, but it cut through her deeper and harder than any of the sexual things they had done. "...Emma, I... I do think I love you..." He murmured.

She kissed him again, shushing him, and he turned her sideways and curled into her, still pressed flush with her, still panting for breath. Her eyes felt heavy, her skin deliciously warm. He was soft and hard against her, all at the same time, and she tugged the blanket up over their shoulders, trying to burrow into his very skin. He kissed the top of her hair and repeated her name, again and again. She whispered his name into his hair, one palm on the side of his face, unable to think of anything else to say.