Chapter 5: Sex, Lies and Poker

Liz woke up slowly the next morning, the fuzziness in her head reminding her just how much they had drunk the night before. Her first conscious thought was that she felt cold. She glanced at the fire and saw that it was still burning away nicely, seeing as they'd stocked it up with plenty of logs before they fell asleep. Then she realised why she felt cold. Red wasn't tucked up next to her, let alone holding her. She missed his body heat. She turned slowly towards him and saw he was a foot or so away, facing her but still fast asleep. She loved how boyish he looked when he was sleeping. So peaceful. Before she had given it more than a second's thought she reached out and gently stroked his cheek and sideburn. His skin was so smooth and his sideburn much softer than she'd imagined. As she was lost in wonder gazing at him she noticed his eyes slowly blink open, greeting her fondly with their beautiful green warmth.

'Good morning, Lizzy' he rumbled, his voice always so gravelly and deep first thing.

'Good morning, Red' she smiled back at him.

Red pulled one of his hands out from under the blanket and reached up to take hold of her hand that was still on his cheek. 'Are you all right, sweetheart; you feel a little cold?'

'Yeah, I am a little. Guess I'm missing your warmth'.

'Well, that can be easily remedied', he said as he shuffled closer and gathered her in his arms.

'Mmm, that's much better', Liz sighed as she nestled against his chest.

They lay like that for a few minutes, each enjoying the proximity of the other until Liz decided that it was now or never. Last night's kiss had ignited something in her that had long been aching to be acknowledged. She pulled back slightly, fastened her hands on his cheeks and pulled him towards her for a kiss.

'Sweetheart, are you…..', but Red couldn't finish that sentence as Liz confidently attached her lips to his. Red moaned and reciprocated the kiss immediately. They both took their time exploring each other's mouth with their tongues, each softly moaning and whimpering a little as the kiss got more and more passionate.

'Yes, Red, I am sure', Liz said as she pulled away slightly. 'Being here with you for the last few days has made me realise something'.

'And what's that?'

'I want you'

Liz leant back in and started kissing Red once more, her hands now moving downwards to the bottom of his t-shirt and starting to stroke the skin of his exposed belly and sides.

'Please God, Lizzy, no more tickling', Red huffed out in a panicked tone.

'Not right now, no. Maybe later', Liz said as she tugged his t-shirt up and with Red's help, it was pulled off over his head. Her hands immediately went to his perfect golden chest hair, stroking and running her hands through it enthusiastically. 'Mmm, I just knew this would be super soft', Liz said as she leant down slightly and kissed him over his heart.

'Oh, God, Lizzy….., that feels so good', Red managed to say just before Liz pushed him onto his back and straddled him. She then leant back down and kissed him again. Red reached up and ran his hands up and down her arms as they were pinned either side of his head. Damn, she was so beautiful, he thought to himself and smiled.

Liz sat back up and reached for the bottom of her tank. It was up and over her head in seconds and as she wasn't wearing a bra, Red had his first glimpse of her perfect breasts. He wanted to say something but once he'd opened his mouth, he couldn't think of a single damn thing. Liz grabbed his hands and held them on her breasts as she leant back down for another kiss, hungrily starting to grind her core into his lap.

'Oh Lizzy….. You are a minx', Red said as he sat up, forcing Liz to sit up also. She manoeuvred her legs until they were sitting facing each other, her ankles crossed behind him.

'Okay, this is a most wonderful surprise, but I need you to be absolutely sure you want this before we continue', Red said, staring intently into her eyes as he did so.

'Red, I want this. I want this more than anything. Please make love to me'.

Red smiled and lifted her up from his lap, turning her sideways and lying her down on her back.

'Well then, my beautiful princess, seeing as you asked so nicely', Red said as he reached down and swiftly divested Liz of her sleep shorts. He tugged them down over her ankles and then returned immediately to look back into her eyes, keenly watching to see she was really okay with this.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him back down for a long, deep kiss. They were both completely out of breath by the time they'd finished. Liz's hands then ventured down Red's body and found the top of his boxers. 'Off, Red, now, please' she managed to say, her voice sounding a little strained.

Red sat up briefly and took off his boxers before returning to her arms. They were now both completely naked and their hands were touching, exploring, stroking each other hungrily. Red couldn't wait any longer to taste her body and he ducked down and wrapped his mouth around one of her nipples, gently sucking and nipping at it. As he was doing that, his hand cupped her other breast and kneaded it in his palm. Liz started to open her legs to allow herself to cradle him and Red shifted slightly, lowering his weight carefully on top of her. She felt his arousal pushing against her thigh and whimpered.

Red immediately popped his head back up to look at her. 'Are you okay, my angel?' 'Yes, Red, you feel so good. Please, I want you now…..'

Red let his hand slowly travel down her body to her most intimate part, and he ran his fingers through her folds, making sure she was ready for him. Red was very happy to find that she was dripping wet, her juices flowing freely down onto the mattress. He grunted in appreciation. Liz reached down and grabbed his shaft, its size and girth causing her to raise an eyebrow at him. He laughed lightly at her and shifted his hips a little, allowing her to line him up with her entrance.

Once he was in place, he hovered over her and made eye contact, smiling at her whilst desperately trying not just to plunge straight into her heat. 'Yes, my darling?'

'Yes, Red. Please, yes!'

He moved his hips forward slowly and his length gradually began to sink into her. Liz gasped and grabbed onto his shoulders tightly. He was so big he was stretching her more than she'd ever been stretched before. It was glorious but a little sore. He immediately stilled his movements and started kissing her neck and cheek, whispering into her ear that it was okay, he could wait, he would never hurt her. Liz almost wanted to cry at how gentle and loving he was being. She kissed his cheek and told him to push in a little further. He did so and then stilled again, allowing her to adjust. After a few moments she grabbed his ass and pulled him the rest of the way in, groaning loudly as he buried himself in her fully.

They locked eyes again, each savouring this wonderful moment. Then Liz rocked her hips slightly and Red started moving. At first his thrusts were very slow and deliberate as she finished getting used to his size. But then, as she urged him on, he started to speed up and pump in and out of her with more and more abandon. Both of them knew they wouldn't last long this first time. It was just too damn good. Within just a few minutes Red could feel his orgasm starting to build and looking at Liz, the way she was biting her lip and struggling to breathe, he could tell she was close too.

'Sweetheart, I'm nearly….. I'm gonna…..', Red said and Liz replied, 'Me too, Red, just another second… Oh….'. Liz didn't manage to finish her sentence as her orgasm overwhelmed her. Her inner muscles clenched around Red's shaft and they both came together, moaning and crying out in their shared ecstasy.

Red lay on top of her as he attempted to regain control of himself, each breathing heavily and kissing each other and whispering sweet nothings in each other's ears. Then he slowly rolled off and pulled her with him, tucking her into his side and holding her close.

As they both lay there recovering, they slowly started to doze off again, each deliriously happy in their mutual afterglow.

It was Red who re-awoke first, gently brought to consciousness by the sound of the grandfather clock chiming noon. 'Good grief', he muttered to himself as he realised they'd slept the whole morning away. He turned then to look at Liz, as she lay tucked up right next to him, snoring softly. He smiled at her and desperately wanted to kiss her awake but decided to let her be for now. He eased himself off the mattress and headed for the bathroom to freshen up.

When he came out of the bathroom, Liz was still asleep but had now grabbed Red's pillow and had her face squashed right into it and her arms pulling it tightly to herself. Red thought this was possibly the most adorable thing he'd ever seen and was once more tempted to wake her. However, he then decided that maybe breakfast in bed would be a better way for Liz to be awoken and headed off to the kitchen.

He had just finished ransacking the cupboards and discovering some vacuum sealed rosti at the back of one of them when Liz's voice grabbed his attention from the doorway.

'Red, why didn't you wake me up, it's half past twelve?'

'I'm sorry, sweetheart, I did consider it but you looked so peaceful. Although I have to declare that I find myself somewhat jealous of that pillow you were wrapped around…..'

Liz smiled at him and stepped towards him, reaching her head up and kissing him gently on the mouth. 'No need to be jealous of a pillow, Red, it was a poor substitute for you. Although it does smell of you, to be fair'.

Red smiled back at her, 'Ah, well, you have the real thing now so you'd better make the most of it'.

'Hmm, that sounds like a good idea. However, if I don't eat something in the next five minutes, I think I'm gonna faint. For some reason, I feel like I've burnt a lot of calories this morning', she smirked at him.

'Well, there was certainly some energy expended, yes', he replied to her, waggling his eyebrows. 'I've found some rosti; how does that sound?'

'Wonderful, whatever it is, bring it on!'

Red turned back to the oven and started preparing their breakfast. Meanwhile, Liz went over to the cupboard and pulled out another packet of cake mix. 'Hey, Red, what's say we attempt to make another cake?'

'When you say 'we', I hope you're not associating me with that brick you produced the other day, Elizabeth? I'll have you know I'm very proud of my reputation in the kitchen…..'

Red was cut off from finishing his sentence by Liz slapping his ass and pulling him by the back of his pants into her embrace, 'I'm sorry, Red, what were you saying?'

'I, er, was just saying a cake sounds a wonderful idea, yes. However, we need to be careful with how much food we're eating as the cupboard doesn't have an endless supply and that snow's showing no signs of thawing yet'.

'Yeah, true. But once the cake is baked, we can snack on it for days. Okay, I'll get it ready, you make breakfast. Deal?'

'Yes, Ma'am'

They both set about their tasks and within minutes the cake was in the oven and they were sitting down to their breakfast.

'Mmm, this rosti is delicious. What's in it?'

'Well, the original recipe is something like sliced potatoes, bacon, egg and cream. Obviously this isn't the finest example of the dish but it's perfectly acceptable', Red said as he scraped the last of it off his plate.

'I wish we had more of that. Certainly beats those damn beans we've been living on. Anyway, I'm gonna go have a quick shower. I reckon my knee's recovered enough that I can get myself in and out of the tub. Could you keep an eye on that cake whilst I'm gone'.

'Oh, don't worry, Lizzy, I have every intention of watching over that cake like a hawk', Red smirked at her as she limped out the room, turning her head to poke her tongue out at him as she heard his remark.

Red had just finished putting the dishes in the sink when he heard a cry from the bathroom and was there, by Liz's side, in seconds.

'What is it; did you hurt your knee?'

'Red, you bastard, you've let me sit all the way through breakfast with the most ridiculous amount of cake mix all over my face. And in my hair'.

'But I thought it made you look cute', Red implored, pretending to act innocent.

'Gah – get out, you menace. I'll deal with you once I've dealt with this', Liz said as she tugged at the sticky, floury mess that was in her hair.

'Probably for the best I leave, yes'.

Red headed back to the kitchen, a huge smile on his face.

Once Liz had finished in the bathroom, she quickly dressed and returned to the front room to sit by the fire whilst her hair dried. Red was pouring through the few books he'd found on the shelf and smiled at her as she sat down.

'Anything interesting?'

'Well, that depends how long we're trapped here. Right now, I'm not overly tempted by any of them but it may get desperate', Red said as he threw them onto the mattress next to where Liz was sitting.

'The Wizard of Oz? Are you kidding, Red; you don't like that?'

'Oh, it's fine. Quite an interesting tale, I suppose. But I know it fairly well so don't feel the need to read it again'.

'Well, maybe you could read it to me; it's one of my favourites?'

'You'd like me to read to you?'

'Well, yeah. That voice of yours…. Let's just say that sounds a lot of fun'.

Red laughed at her, 'Okay, sweetheart, if it's my amazing voice you'd like to hear, I shall read to you until I go hoarse. But maybe not today. I was thinking we could do some more puzzles, if you'd like?'

'Oh, yeah, definitely. I'm getting good at them now. Pretty soon I'll be as quick as you are at finishing them', Liz declared confidently.

'Yes, dear, just a few more years practice…'

'Cheeky', Liz smiled at him as she got carefully to her feet. 'Right, seeing as it's now two o'clock, how's about some wine?'

'Already? I thought I was the lush? Oh, who am I kidding, wine sounds great. Well, wine in general, maybe not that…..'

'Ah ah ah – didn't you agree you'd not complain any more about the wine?'

'Touché, Lizzy. Okay, I'll fetch us some, you find us a new puzzle'.

Three hours later and the two of them were well on their way to getting as drunk as the night before. They had finished a lot more of the puzzles and were now just sitting and chatting on the couch.

'Sweetheart, I need to ask you something about this morning', Red started, his nerves giving him away as his voiced trembled slightly.

'Yes, Red, it was wonderful. You're an amazing lover. As I knew you would be', Liz said as she smiled at him and reached out for his hand.

'Thank you but….. Are you sure you're okay with this development? I mean, it's not just because we're trapped here and, you know, you're feeling things that might not be….'.

Liz shut Red up with a finger over his lips. 'Red, don't you dare. This morning happened because we both wanted it to. It was perfect. I've known how you feel about me for some time. I guess I was just a little later to the party. I have no regrets whatsoever. Quite the opposite', she finished as she gave him a seductive smile.

Red heaved a sigh of relief and leant to take her in his arms. Their kiss was one filled with love and tenderness. Then they just sat together on the couch, each revelling in the closeness of the other.

'Red, I really like it here. I'm not sure I wanna leave'.

'Oh, sweetheart, I can assure you I'm also having a wonderful time. But with the food situation we hardly have a choice. Unless you'd like me to go out and wrestle a deer to the ground?'

Liz snorted out the wine she was drinking and started hiccuping immediately.

'It's not that funny, Lizzy, I do know how to track deer and…..

'Hic, it's not that, Red, hic, it's just that I, hic, had that exact image of you on, hic, our first day here. I can't believe you said that. Hic'.

'And was it as amusing then?'

'Yes, actually', Liz laughed.

'Hmm, well maybe one day I'll get a chance to show you my tracking and hunting skills. They're rather good, even if I say so myself'.

'Okay, Red, yes. Maybe one day. Hic. Dammit, I hate hiccups!'

Red laughed and leant over to pull her into a hug. He then started patting her on the back.

'Red, are you burping me?'

'Hush, Lizzy, this may yet work', Red laughed in her ear.

Miraculously, it did seem to work as Liz stopped hiccuping within thirty seconds.

'Okay, smarty pants, you were right. Thank you', Liz said as she leant towards Red and kissed him. He had just started to kiss her back when suddenly Liz hiccuped again.

'Oh, God, I am so sorry. I bit your lip, didn't I?'

'It's fine, I've had worse', Red said as he gently probed the small cut she'd given him. 'Okay, no more puzzles. How's about some cards?'

'Yes!', Liz said, lurching to her feet, 'Strip poker! And the loser has to do a forfeit. Well, another forfeit. As well as being naked, that is...'

'I, er, well, I guess we could…..'

'Red, after this morning, are you seriously worried about a little game of strip poker?', Liz said as she leant enticingly over him, letting him have a full view of her cleavage.

'No, you're right', Red said, licking his lips. 'Strip poker it is. Let me just go to the bathroom first. Why don't you start shuffling the cards. And try to think of something we could use as chips'.

Red came back from the bathroom to find Liz had already dealt the cards and was carefully breaking up something in her hands.

'Did you find anything we could use as chips?'

'I did actually. Chips!', Liz declared victoriously as she held up a handful. 'I've broken some of them in half, they can be nickels. And the whole ones can be dimes', she said as she munched one of the broken ones. 'I've also brought some jarred olives from the kitchen so we can eat as we play'.

'My, chips as chips. Very inventive, my sweet', Red said laughingly as he sat down at the coffee table.

'Red, how much are you wearing? I've worked out that I'm wearing five items of clothing. You're not allowed more than that'.

'Well, let me see', Red said, patting himself as he took stock. 'I have six items on'.

'Are you counting your socks separately? Cos that's not allowed, mister'.

'Ah, well, in which case, just the five then', Red said. He was starting to discover that tipsy Lizzy was becoming one of his favourite things in the whole world.

The two of them played for over two hours, both getting increasingly drunk and increasingly disrobed. After one particularly exciting hand, where Red had actually gotten a royal flush, he quickly popped to the bathroom. Upon his return he spied something on Liz's cheek.

'Elizabeth, are you eating the chips?'

'Er, there were some left in the bag…..'

'Oh, no, there weren't. I checked myself a few minutes ago. And my pile of chips looks suspiciously smaller than it was. You ate mine, didn't you, you sneaky little minx?'

Liz tried not to laugh but the look on Red's face made it impossible.

'Okay, yes, I did. But to be fair, I wasn't trying to cheat. I was just feeling peckish'.

'And your own chips don't taste as good?'

Liz blushed and then burst out laughing.

'Red, we're both already down to just our underwear. How's about we call this a draw?'

'Oh, no, my dear. You're not getting off that lightly. I win fair and square. By virtue of the fact you're a naughty little cheating menace', he concluded, throwing the epithet Liz had used on him earlier back at her.

'Red, that's not fair….. Oh, okay. You win. I suppose. But only because I'm in a good mood. And I like you', she said, smiling sweetly at him and batting her eyelashes.

'Don't think being nice to me now is going to get you off the hook, sweetheart. I win so I choose the ultimate forfeit. Those were your rules, right?'

'Yes', Liz giggled, feeling increasingly nervous at the mischievous leer in Red's eyes.

'Well, then, let me see… Ah, I have it'. Red leant forward and whispered in Liz's ear.

'Red, why are you whispering; we're the only people here….', Liz started to say but then gasped slightly as she made out what Red was saying.

'I was whispering as I wasn't even sure I'd be able to say it at all, let alone out loud', he said as he sat back.

'That's really what you want me to do?'

'Yes. If you're up for it. I mean, you did say that we could choose what we wanted….'

'Okay, yeah, I'm up for it'. Liz got up and headed to the bathroom. 'I'll be back in a moment'.

When she returned, Red had already cleared away the cards and chips and moved the coffee table back to the side. Liz walked towards him, a very seductive look on her face.

'Okay, then. Like this, was it?', she positively purred as she reached out for him…..