Author's note
As always, thank you so much to everyone who has read/followed/reviewed/favourited this story so far, or liked/reblogged it on Tumblr! It means so much to get your feedback. Please do keep telling me what you think, it really inspires me! :)
Well, one week later than I had hoped isn't too bad to get this STEAMM-themed update posted. Dedicating this chapter to a lovely friend and fellow author, mimijag, who just celebrated her birthday. Bonne anniversaire, Mimi!
Chapter 20 – Up to the highest height
"Oh, please, oh, oh God…"
Sybil arched her back. Grabbing Tom's head, she ran her fingers through his hair and tightened her legs around his shoulders. Writhing and gasping, she was barely able to catch her breath from the endless waves of pleasure breaking over her, the silvery sparks flashing along every nerve in her body. If someone had asked for her name in that moment, she couldn't have answered. Every part of her was instinct, sensation, delight.
Since they'd reunited a few weeks before, the primal force pulling them together was stronger than ever, and it was a rare night's sleep which wasn't interrupted by one of them wanting the other in that hidden time between midnight and dawn. They'd made love for hours before falling asleep the night before, and it felt like no time until he woke her in the darkness with his lips on her breast, eager to begin again.
Now, his face was pushing between her thighs, forcing her legs even further apart to improve his access to her core, his hands grasping her hips to lift her off the bed. He teased her clit endlessly with his lips and tongue, sucking her until she ached, circling and flicking, building up the friction he knew she loved. Sliding two fingers inside her, he curled them upwards, amplifying his touch even more.
He drove her almost to breaking point again and again before pulling back, and she knew from experience how long he could go on like this, keeping her at the brink of oblivion until she could hardly bear it. When she let out a guttural moan, she didn't know whether she was begging him to let her come, or begging him for more.
She felt him shift the pattern his tongue was tracing on her clit, closer, deeper, more intense, and her eyes rolled back in her head as she dissolved into liquid. The edges of her body melted into his and she screamed his name, flinging her arms above her head as she broke apart.
It wasn't over yet. His lips and tongue continued to caress her, bringing her down gently, keeping the orgasms rippling through her body, a breeze playing over the surface of the ocean. Then, as her heart rate began to slow, he moved back up the bed.
He lifted himself on one elbow above her, running his hand over her breasts and playing with her nipples as he leaned down to kiss her. The kiss deepened as she put her arms around his neck. After several minutes, she pulled her mouth from his with a sigh.
"Darling, that was so... it was perfect, incredible. How do you do it? How do you know when..."
Tom kissed Sybil's throat just below her ear, running his hand down to her waist and stroking her stomach as he spoke.
"Do you really need to ask? Every waking minute, I learn something about you, something that makes me love you even more, and I remember it. I want to know it all, every bit of you. Every curve, every line of your body, every gasp, every sigh from your lips, every hope, every dream in your heart."
She smiled at his words, feeling the intensity of his eyes on her in the dark without having to see them. He kissed her again, lightly this time. Then, she rolled over on one side, expecting him to spoon her so they could go back to sleep.
"Oh no, you don't!" He reached over to turn on the bedside lamp, and she put her hand up, shielding her face from the light.
"Ohhh, Tom, it's so early! It's nowhere near morning yet."
But he was inexorable. "Come on, the car will be here for us in 15 minutes!"
"Car, what car?"
"It's a surprise. No spoilers!"
After a quick shower, Sybil shivered into her clothes and followed Tom downstairs to the front door of the Angel Inn. A black four wheel drive was waiting in the driveway, door open to welcome them inside.
He took her hand. "Come on – time to go!"
She nodded and got into the back seat. A blonde woman in the front turned around, with a grin far too wide for the early hour, and handed her a cup of hot chocolate.
"Hello! I'm Ivy. Are you all set for..."
Tom interrupted her. "For your surprise?" He flashed a look at Ivy, who winked.
Sybil sipped her hot chocolate, wrapping her hands around the cup for warmth as the car sped out into the countryside of the South Downs. It didn't take long until they were pulling up in what looked like the middle of a field. For a minute, she couldn't see anything in the pre-dawn light. Then, as her eyes adjusted, she saw something she wasn't expecting.
A large wicker basket was lying on its side in front of her. Behind it, she could see a striped, billowing canopy, fluttering upwards in the breeze.
She looked at Tom. "We're going ballooning?"
"Yes, that's the surprise. I remember you said you'd always wanted to try it!"
Leaning forward to kiss him, she smiled. "You weren't kidding before, were you – you really do remember the things I say."
"It's pretty easy, since you're the most important person in the world to me." He returned her kiss, wrapping his arms around her waist to pull her close and opening his jacket to share his warmth with her.
Just as things were starting to get heated, Ivy tapped Tom on the shoulder. "Come on. It's nearly time to go! This way!"
Sybil saw that there were two other couples waiting nearby, and they were all wearing the slightly nervous and excited expression she was sure she had on her own face. She and Tom stepped forward together, and were quickly boosted over the edge of the basket.
Just in time – the canopy was fully airborne now, and their pilot was sending blasts of hot air upwards to get them underway. She didn't actually notice the moment they took off – one minute the balloon was resting on the ground, the next she felt a slight shake, and she realised they were racing across the grass.
They swept over the field, gaining height as they headed towards the shadowy trees at its edge. Then, just as they rose past them into the open sky, the glowing orb of the sun showed itself on the horizon, sending shafts of warm gold through the cool blue air around them.
Sybil felt Tom's arms come around her from behind, making her feel safe as they began to fly. Neither of them spoke much for a while as they drank in the beauty of the Sussex countryside rolling out below them like a green carpet.
"Look, it's a herd of deer!" called their pilot.
They cruised past a beautiful historic house, its creamy stone warm in the sunlight. One of the stags, his head crowned with a set of magnificent antlers, let out a bellow as they sailed by.
She couldn't get over the silence of it. It was as close as she had ever been to flying, as she imagined it – skimming over the treetops, fields and rolling hills of the Downs, the only sound the occasional blast from the heater, controlling their height to direct their journey.
A village or two appeared below them as they moved onwards, following the updrafts that kept them aloft. Their pilot pointed out the ruins of a Tudor mansion before encouraging them to look towards the southwest.
"If you look hard enough on a day like this, you just might see... there it is! That curve at the edge of the sea is the Isle of Wight."
"I can't believe we can see that far! How high are we right now?" asked Sybil.
"About fifteen hundred feet, give or take."
"Isn't that amazing! I feel as if we could almost touch the clouds from here."
Tom kissed the back of her neck and she turned around in his arms to face him. He put a hand to her cheek.
"Are you enjoying it, sweetheart?"
"Tom, it's wonderful! Almost like a dream, I don't want it to end."
He put his arm around her waist, pressing a kiss to her forehead, as their peaceful flight sailed on into the clear morning light.
They had been flying for about forty minutes when Sybil noticed Tom leaning over to talk to the pilot behind his hand. The other man nodded and looked out towards the horizon.
"Hey, what's up? Are you frightened? Poor baby." She kissed the tip of his nose.
"No, don't be daft." He grinned, showing he knew she was kidding. "I just wanted to know where we were." His eyes didn't quite meet hers and she wondered what he was hiding. Maybe he really is a bit scared and doesn't want to tell me?
Cresting a hill, they came down into a long, straight valley, scattered with sheep. Tom's face was a bit flushed as he pointed towards the ground ahead.
"Hey, Sybil, what's that down there?"
She looked over the edge of the basket. At first, all she could see was what looked like a blanket, white with black stripes, and a tall man at one corner of it. Then, as the man and his companions picked up the blanket and ran around in a circle, the black stripes shifted into something she recognised. Words.
"Will you marry me?"
Tears came to her eyes as she looked at it again – no mistaking what it said! – and then turned back to Tom to find he was kneeling down, with a little difficulty, in the basket.
He took her hand and looked up into her face, and she could see a tear shining behind his eyes too. Clearing his throat, he began to speak, words that would stay printed on her heart forever.
"Sybil, when I look at my life, one thing is very clear. Since I met you, I've never been so happy, so connected to another person. I never imagined I could love anyone as much as I love you, and every day that goes by I love you more, more than I can hold alone. I want to share that love with you for the rest of our lives, so now I'm asking you... will you marry me?"
She burst into tears and for a minute, she couldn't speak. While she got her breath back, he stood up to take her in his arms.
Looking up at him, her whole heart in her eyes, she spoke the words she knew he was longing to hear – "Yes. Yes, Tom, my darling, I will marry you, I love you so much."
He kissed her then, one hand moving to rest gently on her throat as he tightened his hold on her waist. Her fingers slid up to his shoulder, coming to rest on the back of his head as she wrapped her other arm around him. For both of them, their kiss was a doorway, opening up the future to show the beauty of their shared life to come.
When they broke apart at last, Sybil turned around to hear the other passengers and the pilot cheering and clapping, and she felt herself torn between laughter and happy tears, so she settled for both. Then, she turned back to Tom, who was reaching into his jacket.
"A stór, I thought you might want to choose your own ring, but will this do in the meantime?"
He lifted her left hand, sliding a plain white gold band onto her ring finger. Seeing there was some lettering engraved there, she lifted it to the light to read it.
Every waking minute.
She smiled at him. "Tom, it couldn't be more perfect, my love. I don't want anything else."
He folded her in his arms again, tucking her head under his chin. For the rest of the flight, she felt beneath her cheek the steady beat of the heart of the man she was going to marry.
Tom had one more surprise in store for her. When they landed, bumping down on the ground, Sybil saw a face she thought she knew, then another, then another, crowding up to the balloon to welcome them back to earth.
She was almost pulled out of the basket by Matthew, Mary and Edith joining him in a hug, while Anthony smiled beatifically close by.
"Sybil, darling! Tom arranged the whole thing, wasn't it exciting? The balloon people drove us to the valley when they knew you'd be coming that way. Could you see it was us?"
Sybil shook her head at Mary, the tears still close to the surface spilling down her cheeks again, holding out her hand for them all to see.
"I can see you accepted him! Not that there was any doubt of that, mind. I saw this coming a mile off." Matthew leaned forward to kiss her cheek as Tom joined the happy group, putting his arm around Sybil.
"Look at you – you're like the boy let loose in a sweetshop!" Mary nodded at Tom.
"Well, can you blame me! I just got my heart's desire, I'm allowed to grin like a kid."
Sybil began crying again at his words, and buried her face in his shoulder. He stroked her hair until she calmed down, then strolled over to chat to Matthew as she turned to her sisters.
"I can't stop crying! What I am like!" She wiped her cheeks and pushed her hair, tousled by the wind, back from her face.
Mary was starting to talk excitedly about planning the wedding when Sybil gently shushed her by putting a finger to her lips.
"Mary, please. Both Tom and I want a very small and simple wedding, nothing like the one you and Matthew are planning, so please don't worry about any of that."
Mary took that in, then smiled at her sister. "I understand, Sybil. If I can help you in any way pulling it together, I'd love to."
"Me too, Sybil – whatever I can do from New York, just let me know," chimed in Edith, and the three Crawley girls shared a hug as Sybil murmured her thanks to them both.
Meanwhile, Anthony walked over to clap Tom on the back. "Congratulations, old man, jolly well done. I always say, you can't go wrong with a Crawley girl!"
"Well said, Anthony!" echoed Matthew, looking fondly at Mary who was coming over to join him.
"Come on! Let's break open the champagne! We have to celebrate properly!" Edith was quick to race to the large wooden table and grab a bottle, while Anthony picked up six glasses and handed them round. When everyone had a drink, Matthew raised his glass.
"Let me be the first to propose a toast to Tom and Sybil – we all know they are perfect for one another, and I want to wish them a lifetime of happiness together."
"To Tom and Sybil!" was the general chorus from the group, as glassed clinked in the air.
Sybil stood with Tom's arm around her waist as the good wishes of her family flowed around her. As far as she was concerned, the day of their wedding would be the formal marking of a union inevitable from the moment they met, the joining of two hearts already inextricably entwined, and she felt a thrill of love run through her knowing that her future husband felt the same way.
A/N -
"a stór" = "my darling" in Irish Gaelic, per Google Translate.
Of course, I stole the chapter title from the lyrics of my favourite song from the movie Mary Poppins, "Let's go fly a kite" - as happens so often with me, music has inspired my writing.
Not much more to tell in this story now! But before we think about the wedding, there's one very important issue for Tom and Sybil to deal with - Tom has just learned in the last chapter that he is father to a five year old boy. The next chapter will focus on how that revelation impacts our lovely couple. Hope to update soon, I'm on a roll now. :)