New Life Ahead

My hands ran through his smooth hair, the sun shining softly through the cream-colored curtains illuminating our naked bodies. His head was lying in my lap, while I sat upright; granting my body a change of position, after having lain horizontally for far too long. Aesop was clearly enjoying my ministrations, showing his approval through occasional low groans and kisses his lips pressed against my legs which were acting as his pillow.

His dark eyes were closed; a frown revealing that something was bothering him. I let one of my hands slide down from his neck to his back, humming calmingly.

"What is it that is bothering you?" My question made the frowning cease, signaling that he most likely wasn't aware he had been frowning in the first place.

His answer came with a dark gruff. "I don't want our honeymoon to end." A smile he did not see came involuntarily over my lips.

"We'll have to get back, but that does not mean that we won't have time to us. Think about all the positive changes that are awaiting us – we will be sharing rooms. We will take our usual walks around the Castel grounds, keep our dueling skills up to par, brew some necessary and some experimental potions; we will have our time in front of the fireplace, reading, talking, drinking our favorite blend of tea; we will be able to kiss, touch and look at each other in public without it being frowned upon – all of that without going separate ways at night. Instead, we'll bathe before lying down in the same bed. Our honeymoon was only the beginning, darling."

He nuzzled my thigh lazily before opening his eyes, raising his head and propping himself up on his forearms; eyes shining untypically mischievously. "You being the only comfort after having had a tedious day surrounded by unskilled teenagers, will undoubtedly result in having to tie you down." This time he saw the smile I bestowed upon him.

"Sounds promising to me. You're just forgetting one thing." I let the words hang in the air, moving so that my breasts were pressed against his back, my mouth at his ear, and my loins atop his solid buttocks. He followed me with his head until his nose was in line with the curve of his shoulders.

"That is?"

My lips touched his left shoulder, while my hands roamed over his sides. "You'll sometimes find solace in being tied down." My womanhood sought delicious friction against his backside, making a growl leave his throat before suddenly taking back the upper hand by pushing me down into the mattress. He looked down at me, his lips slightly pursed in order to hide his arising smirk. He looked at me for a while, his features becoming softer, his eyes assured. "I find solace in knowing you love me, Katherine. Your love is like a lily among thorns. I find solace in the paradise that lies hidden between those elegant pillars of marble which are your legs; marble that somehow is softer, warmer and more inviting than anythingI might imagine. I find solace in your kisses, which are sweeter than the purest wine. It is your very own smell that embraces me gifting comfort, your very own voice which calls out to my soul. I don't tell you enough how much I care for you, sweetheart."

I had been prepared for playful wrestling, for passionate conquest, or for an amused inquisition, but certainly not for such a poetic confession of dedication. I could not fight the urge to let my hand glide along his bristly jawline, taking in his handsome scared face with my eyes, feeling his fingers brush my lips adoringly. There was no deceitfulness in his eyes, nothing that would render his words lie. Despite not knowing what earned me this affection, I took it willingly and protected it with all I was. I did not kiss his exploring finger, letting him feel every curve and brim of the supple lip he was caressing instead.

When he leaned down there was no question as to where my hands would find hold – they instinctively found their way into his hair once more, pulling his naked person closer. His hairy chest – which I loved beyond words and usually invited me to bury my nose in it – rubbed against my bare one. His lips reached mine, capturing them in a kiss which seemed to have the purpose of conveying the truthfulness of his feelings, leaving me moaning into his mouth. He yearned for me as I yearned for him, there was no doubt. Aesop's strong hand wrapped around my shoulder, his wedding band reminding me of our commitment. I was completely his and he was mine.

"You show it." My words were repaid with a kiss to the forehead; his baritone vibrating through me, when the promise left him. "I intend on continuing doing so."

He lowered his head, and the next thing I felt was his mouth closing around one of my exposed buds. I couldn't control my reaction, could not stop myself from moaning and my back from leaving the bed seeking more of his attention. The arousal was coursing through my body in a tingling fashion, seeking to be enhanced and stilled simultaneously by calling for more. More pressure, more intensity, more Aesop.

"Aesop..." My hips were already seeking his, but he took his time, mapping out the body below him with care. His nose, his mouth, his fingers – they seemed to be everywhere and yet not where I would like them to be. My wrangling and sighing did not bother him, he continued – his stubbly cheek rubbing against my stomach. When his tongue touched my navel, I whimpered. "Please..." He followed my pleading, pushing a kiss above my mons pubis before going lower and granting my labia the same soft kiss. He was admiring this body he had spent the last month discovering, making me realize that being the center of his attention was intoxicating.

"It's unfortunate you cannot see yourself through my eyes, take in your scent like I do, feel your soft skin below rougher hands of your own. You're utterly captivating." His words – spoken between my legs which now seemed like a gate opened in invitation – were soft but not lacking in intensity. As if receiving the adoration of a capable and intelligent man such as Aesop would not be arousing enough, it being declared near my center aided his ministrations by vibrating through my core. It came suddenly – the enthusiastic diving in of his face between my thighs. His tongue did not seek out my clitoris but explored my entrance instead. He probed the inside of my labia, danced around my bud with a flattened tongue. Mybody tensed – I was ready for him to take me, to invade my body with his aroused manhood.

I did not care whether I sounded wanton or desperate – I was both for him, after all.

"Please, Aesop, please... take me! Fill me!... Fuck me." I was so lost in his lovemaking, that I failed to see his facial expression. What I did notice was his groan, his hands gripping my legs possessively, before one of those entered me with two fingers. No longer was I capable of rational thought, becoming a puddle of euphoric emotions which led to my complete submission. It took me great effort to open my eyes, but seeing the intense look on his face was worth it. Gripping his arm, I pulled it nearer – guiding his fingers deeper into me. My moaning became background noise, his fingers moving inside of me the focus of my enthrallment.

My trust in him was the only thing that allowed me to show my vulnerability in such moments; the knowledge that my loss of control was his desire everything I needed to freely fall.

"Let go, love." His instruction was followed by him covering my clit with his tongue, eager to bring pleasure about without losing its sensual slow pace. It did not take long for him to make me come undone, my body trembling and multiple little mewls escaping me.

He was above me before I managed to come back from the ecstasy inducing climax, gliding over my swollen pearl with the weeping head of his sex; fondling my entrance with it before sliding home. His eyes rolled back, his scarred but handsome face drawn into a mask of painful pleasure. He was helpless with need, burying his face in my neck, shoulders vibrating with the effort of gaining control.

He was seated deeply inside of me, his shuddering breath stimulating my need to comfort him through gifting him pleasure. Thrusting into me, he whimpered my name, stretching me to fill the void he wanted to conquer. His movements were slow but determined, calling a life-giving sweet rhythm into existence. "Oh, my sweet girl." His deep moaning was reminiscent of dark velvet, his sweat mingling with mine; desperate cries leaving him telling me how much he needed me, how much he needed this.

My hips sought to meet his, to grant him the absence of pain and the abundance of healing intimacy. I kissed his scrubby cheek, pressed my nose against it, while letting him claim my very being. His forehead found mine, breath meeting breath. "I love you." My declaration opened his lids, making me witness the hazy desire and complete surrender in his dark brown eyes. "I adore you", he gasped, hitting a saccharine spot inside of me that made me clamp around him; leaving us both catching a breath.

The old game of entering and leaving became faster, my womanhood tightening around his manhood, begging him for release and his seed. His voice, strained with concentration, begged me to touch my breasts, to do what he couldn't in the position we had chosen. I sought my nipples, trying to follow his advice and haunt down the fulfillment we were trying to seek in each other. When the waves finally clashed upon me, my aching longing dissolving, leaving me quivering and panting, they took him with me. Aesop's groan went through my body, his nose finding mine. I felt him twitch, pumping his semen into my womb. He held himself above me for a short while, before lying down beside me – arm hiding hiseyes. The rising and falling of his chest had me entranced, but I did not want to move before the passageway he had just coated with his essence stopped fluttering.

Thoughts started to slowly maneuver their way back into my mind, implanting questions, answers and wishes. I stayed silent, trying to enjoy the slow floating down from heights. It was Aesop who spoke first, arm still over his eyes. "You don't know what you do to me."

I looked at him, asking myself whether he was trying to underline the power I had over him, or wanting to open up about something else. "You make it sound torturous, despite me being quite sure of having done nothing to wound you." The humor in my voice tucked at the corners of his mouth, teasing a smile out of him.

"No, wound me you did not. It's the intensity of feelings you revive in me. Sometimes they seem peaceful like a warming fire at a beach, while they threaten to consume me at other times, nearly blinding me to everything else. I've loved you longer than I courted you, yet am I waiting for the intensity to cease."

My smile turned bitter. "I don't want it to cease, not much. I'm not running away from reality, and as such not falling for the lies some like to believe – the intensity will cease to some degree. I just doubt that I will ever be capable of looking at you without feeling drawn to you, and I do not wish for you to lose that yearning you feel for me either."

He lowered his arm; thoughtful eyes taking in my disheveled and silently pleading self.

Propping himself up on his side, he faced me, gaze softly tracing my features.

"I do not think me capable of breaking the pull you have on me, nor is it my intent. I cherish that you of all people, decided to bind yourself to a crippled grumpy old man such as myself."

I could not halt the eye rolling, having heard his self-deprecating words far too often by now.

"For someone usually so confident and capable, you certainly have no awareness regarding the effect you have on the fairer sex. Aesop, I am no fool and I do not lack taste. If I chose you, it is because I think you capable in many aspects. I had many suitors, but none of them caught me off guard as you did. However irrational it might be to some, I came to the conclusion that we were meant to come together. I will not have you question your worth, especially not since I'm so flawed that I truly do not deserve to be placed on a pedestal."

His clever strong veiny hand caught my chin; eyes suddenly hard as steel.

"I do not place you on a pedestal, Katherine. You are an extraordinary witch and woman, and I doubt anyone who crosses your path will question it. It does not mean that I do not recognize your shortcomings, I do, but it means that I am willing to live with those, because they do not clash with mine. We both have our blemishes, but they pale in comparison to what we are willing to offer one another." His words flowed like a dark steady river, and as silky as his voice was, it was still intertwined with the same steel – the same sincerity – his gaze his hold on my chin, once he felt certain I had taken in his words, he kissed my lips as if he wanted to place a bandage on a cut.

"We should eat out before returning to the Castel tonight", he changed the topic. I closed my eyes, soothed by his assurance. "We should."