Dark Kisses Pt. 03

She lost sight of her surroundings as her desire controlled her. Slowly, he moved lower, his hands blazing a path his mouth followed, licking, nipping, his tongue dipping into her navel. He spread his hand over her stomach, lower, spreading apart over the skin above the moist apex of her thighs. Her muscles tensed and out of reflex she reached out to his auburn hair as he put his mouth there.

David wrapped his arms around the backs of her thighs and raised her body slightly up to him. As his lips buried in the soft, dark curls, her fingers twisted. He stopped and looked up at her, hungry with desire burning brightly in his eyes.

He began to move with agonizing slowness across her curls, nuzzling, opening her with his mouth and penetrating her like fire with his tongue. She sobbed with sudden pleasure, a pure, raw sensation that erased all doubt and fear from her mind. Suddenly, she was pressing his head against her, opening her legs further, inviting him deeper, closer, until his tongue was plunging in and out of her, making her delirious with need, until every nerve of her body seemed to center there where his mouth worked its magic. Magic. She felt the magic and it was driving her insane. It was incredible what he was doing to her and she was powerless to stop it.

And, she didn't care. She was lost. Her blood was on fire and her ebony skin was aflame that was internal and all-consuming, driving her beyond desire into a desperate, aching need that seemed without end. She threw her head back, letting her dark curls roll on the pillow, her back arching, pressing her body against him as he searched out her every secret and worshipped it with his mouth and tongue, dipping and driving and tasting, out and in until she was panting.

Then he was moving up, his face damp, his mouth moist. "Do you want it, darling?"

"Yes," she whispered. She knew the madness that drove them. "Yes."

He shifted her hands down over his flat stomach until her fingers brushed the crisp thatch of hair at his thighs and within it, the hardness. Her fingers closed around him and he groaned, low and deep and primitive. His skin began to slisten with a sheen as he watched her hands work their own special magic to his body, arousing him as he had her until his hips were sliding forward and back in the same rhythm as her hands. His owns hands clenched and his head fell back as his chest rose with a groan that sounded wild in the silent room. For a brief moment she was aware of nothing but her ability to please him, to drive him to the brink on which she had been herself and she became aware of her own rising passion, even greater than before.

Slowly, she moved to her knees and took him in her mouth, imitating the same slow teasing swirls that he had used to torment her just moments before. She felt his body tense; it jerked and throbbed and swelled.

David lifted her, wrapping his arms around her as she lifted her hips with the help of his hands on her buttocks and before she could open her mouth to cry out in surprise, he was driving in one burning, stretching thrust deep within her.

"Mine," he said roughly, passionately into the hair at her temple. "Mine, by God, you're mine."

Then the beat began, rhythmic and constant until the world was a spinning, roaring wonder that was expanding beyond her control. They ceased to be him and her and simply became them. Wrapping his arms around her, he pressed heavily upon her and she turned her face aside, breathing in the scent, the taste of his aroused flesh.

They arched together in almost the same moment, she lifting to his thrust. His eyes, locked on hers as they moved together and apart until the shocks of his body against hers drove her mindless and still he drove and twisted and drove until she was panting and writhing and frantic.

"Say it," he said, hips moving and grinding. "You're mine. Say you're mine and no one else's and you never will be."

"Yes," she cried.

"Forever, Carolyn. Promise me, forever, no matter what."

"Yes!" she screamed and then in frenzied madness, he brought her to another climax. She pushed against him, expanding while he came in a hot liquid torrent inside her, throbbing inside her with the same beat of her words... "yes... yes... yes."

**********

"Marie, I'm not coming in today. Were there any appointments?"

"No, Mr. Christy, your schedule is clear. Tomorrow, though..."

"Yes, I know. I'll be there. Thanks." David turned toward the hotel bed, watching Carolyn's body slowly move as she breathed in her sleep. "Thanks," he said.

He picked up the room phone. "Room service? Yes, I'd like two... is there a breakfast buffet? Good. 'Till what time? Thanks."

They still had three hours and he was going to let her sleep. He got back into bed and pulled the covers over her and one long look.

If she was self-conscious about wearing her gold ball gown to breakfast, she gave him no indication and there he was, wearing his tux, at least the shirt and pants. The maître d smiled as he led them to their table and after ordering orange juice and champagne, they went to the buffet tables.

He smiled.

She smiled.

"You don't need any," he said, sipping his champagne, feeling like he was on his honeymoon.

"Any what?"

"Make up. You're beautiful without it." He looked around for the waiter, wanting another glassful.

"Now, what? I mean..." She looked directly at him, searching for the future in his eyes.

"David..."

"I meant what I said," he whispered.

"So did I." She smiled again, her bright teeth shining. She touched the heavy links around her neck. "I'm never taking this off," she said, touching his hands with hers.

**********

It was late afternoon before Carolyn and David returned to the house. She was still wearing the golden gown from the party and turned heads wherever they had gone.

That evening, at dinner, Kendra was the first to notice the heavy gold links around her mother's neck. The young woman's mouth dropped open. "Is it real? Gold, I mean." she whispered.

Carolyn's hand went to the necklace, its weight still reminding her of its novelty. "Yes," she said in a low voice. "It's very old. It was his grandmother's."

"Oh, my God," said Kendra. "Oh, my God."

Michael sat down, wondering what his sister was going on about and then he saw it, his mother's hand still to her neck.

"You look like a slave," he said, pushing his chair back. "You look like his slave. Are you sleeping with him, now? You're just his whore and he'll leave you just like Dad did." He walked out of the house, not bothering to close the door behind him.

Carolyn stood there in pained shock, wondering why life had to be so complicated, so disastrous, so sad. Kendra helped her sit down.

The silence was deafening when David came to the dining room. "What?" He went to his knees at her chair. "Carolyn, what's wrong?"

"It's Michael; he's gone. He... he's gone." Her cell rang, startling her. It kept insisting and Kendra took the call in the kitchen.

"That was Grandma. Michael's there. He said he's not coming home."

"Oh, Jesus, what have I done?" Carolyn stood up and went to her bedroom, quietly closing the door.

"Shit," Kendra said. "Mr. Christy, I'm sorry. Are you going to eat? If not, then I've got to put this into the refrigerator."

David picked up the lasagna and walked into the kitchen, placing the casserole dish on the table there and then got into his car. The rumble of the Hemi told of his leaving and Carolyn cried even more, wondering where he had gone and if he would return.

David pushed the doorbell, again. "Open the damn door," he muttered. He rang the bell once more.

The door opened and the woman spoke to him through the screen door. "Mr. Christy. I expected Carolyn. Michael told me you're sleeping with my daughter. There was something about putting a slave chain around her neck."

"It belonged to my grandmother. It's gold. It started out as a gift but..."

"Became something else?" She could see him blush in the harsh glare of the porch light. "Why don't you come in?"

She unlatched the screen door, pushed it open and went back into the living room. David had never been there, before. No reason in particular, just no reason to. He looked around the room, decorated in Afro-centric furnishings and old black-and-white photographs of Louisiana. On the mantle, there other photographs, one a wedding picture of Carolyn and her husband.

"Sit down, Mr. Christy. How much do you know about my family?"

"Just what Carolyn and Kendra have told me... her husband was killed in the war and she's had to do housekeeping to make ends meet. She said they lived with you."

"Words, Mr. Christy, just words. Can you comprehend the grief of a young widow, having to raise two children, one ten, the other eight? Do you have family, Mr. Christy?"

"Please, ma'am, call me David. No, ma'am, my parents are dead, killed in a car accident. The other driver crossed the center line. I was in Korea at the time."

"Yes, Carolyn mentioned you were in the Air Force, was it? No matter... how did you feel? Imagine how Michael felt. He was only eight and his father was gone. Only by the grace of God, he didn't join a gang but it hasn't been easy."

"May I speak with him? Maybe, I can explain. I... please?"

"He's very angry, right now. That might not be a good idea but I'll ask him."

The woman disappeared down the hallway and David heard a soft knock on a bedroom door. He heard the door open and quietly close. David stood up and walked over to the wedding photo. Carolyn looked slightly different; of course, she was about twenty years younger. He looked closely at the man in the picture. There was something hard about him, not hard in a martial sense but hard in a selfish sense.

He heard a noise and looked up. Michael and his grandmother had entered the room, the boy reluctantly, looking around the room, probably expecting his mother to be there.

"You're sleeping with my mom, aren't you?" he asked, glaring at David.

David looked at the boy. "I'm not trying to replace your father, Michael."

The boy stood there, his hands clenched and then he put them into his pockets. "She's happy but I don't want to see her hurt. You're the first man that she's been with since Dad was killed."

"I love your mother. That's all I can say. I know you're her son and feel protective but all I can say is that I won't hurt her, I promise."

"Yeah, well, Dad promised, too... promised to come home. Promises don't mean much."

The boy had been eight years old when his father died. He was sure there was resentment, but of what? Sleeping with his mother? Probably some of that... or, was the boy fighting a long dead specter? How to deal with it, though...

"Michael, please, come home with me. Your mother's worried about you... and, so am I." No boy liked the idea of his mother sleeping with someone not his father. David sighed, wondering what would happen.

Michael looked at his grandmother. "Qu'est-ce que je devrais faire?"

"Retourne a ta maison, Michael. Ta mère a besoin de toi," the old woman said. "Mr. Christy, Michael will go home with you. Please wait while he gets his jacket."

"Thank you, ma'am, for your help. Carolyn has been crying since he left."

"Are you going to marry my daughter?"

"I want to. It will be up to her but I know she loves me, it just took a long time to face it, I suppose."

Michael came back into the room. "Au revoir, grand-mère. Merci."

"Au revoir, Michael. Ta mère a besoin de lui et son amour. Il l'aime, je le sais. Goodbye, Mr. Christy. Take care of my daughter and her children. I know you have been very generous but this is different, now."

"Yes, ma'am, I know. Michael?"

"Yes, sir. I'm sorry."

"Forget it. I understand. Let's go home."

**********

Her cell rang. It was his ring tone, 'Eight miles high.' "I'll be way late, tonight, so eat without me. I'll get something, here. I love you."

"I love you, too," she said. There, she said it for the first time. Even during their night at the Marriott, they had not said it... and yet, she knew it, then. She just wanted to hear it.

"I've got to go, now. If I can, I'll try and call around two."

"David?"

"Yes?"

"I love you. Au revoir, mon chéri."

"Uh, yes... au revoir." David pushed the disconnect button. I'm going to have to learn some French, he thought. He left his desk and walked out to his secretary. "Miss Toller, please find for me someone around here that can teach me French, will you?"

"Yes, Mr. Christy. How intensive do you want it?"

"Enough to get by, that's for sure."

"Going to Paris?" She smiled, wondering if he'd take her along. She was turning thirty and still hadn't found someone to marry her. She had set her sights on Christy but he seemed to just see her as part of the office furniture. Maybe, she thought, it was time to turn up the fire.

"Tonight is that meeting with the composite engineers. Give them a call and find out what they'd like to eat, will you? Thanks. If you need me, I'll be in Technical Services."

Miss Toller watched him leave her office, thinking he was a prime candidate in her hunt for a husband. She squirmed a little in her chair and picked up her desk phone and hit the speed-dial number for the engineers. "Mr. Christy wants to know what you want to eat, tonight. Is pizza OK?"

She listened to the engineer. She always thought he was a little 'geeky' but harmless. Maybe, though, it wouldn't hurt to be a little nice to him.

By the time she hung up, she an order for two large pepperoni and mushroom pizzas and a date for Saturday night.

**********

Christy looked at his watch. It was almost midnight. "You've had two months to get this fabric laminated. What's the damn problem? We're running against a deadline, here."

"The copolyamide adhesive doesn't hold up to the temperature changes and we've been looking for something else. It keeps delaminating below minus 50 Celcius."

"Was it a bad batch?"

"No, we've used sixteen different batches, from three different manufacturers. We're going to have to use something else."

"Look, it's so late it's early. Let's call it quits and pick this up tomorrow. If you can't get it to work by the end of the week, start over with something new."

Christy walked Toller out to her car. He turned back to his own car when he saw the flat tire. "Damn it!" He looked at the tire, knowing changing it in the middle of the night was not an option. He looked at his cell. It was after two. He debated calling Carolyn to come take him home but considered that the height of inconsideration.

"I'll give you a ride home," Toller said.

"Thanks. Looks like we'll be coming in late tomorrow... I mean, this morning."

When she dropped him in front of his house, he waved 'goodbye' and went in. The light was on in the kitchen and he found Carolyn asleep on the table, a saran-wrapped plate of chocolate chip cookies next to her.

"Carolyn... Honey, wake up."

"Wah? You're home? I waited for you... I made your favorite."

"C'mon, let me help you to bed." He put his arm around her and walked her to her room. Although they had made passionate wild love, he felt he was breaking some code of honor to stay so he kissed her cheek, went to his own room and flopped on his bed, falling asleep immediately.

**********

It was eight o'clock the next morning before he woke, still dressed from the night before. He shuffled into the bathroom and looked into the mirror, seeing he wasn't twenty years old anymore.

He stripped, shaved and stepped into the shower, drenching his head first with cold water and then with hot as he shampooed his thinning auburn hair. He put his right hand on the tiled wall and leaned into it, bending his head forward and letting the water blast the cobwebs in his head away. "Ohhhhh," he moaned, waiting to fully wake up. He took his brushed and scrubbed his back and then using his washcloth, worked his way around his tired body. He took special care with himself, remembering Carolyn's newfound oral fixation with him and felt himself harden at the memory. He was amazed at how long and hard he had become from the vision dancing through his mind and stopped touching himself, preferring to wait for Carolyn.

"Good morning," she said, kissing him with a deep and probing kiss. "They're away to school." Her arm went around his shoulder and she put a cookie to his lips. "You shaved," Carolyn whispered and then leaned in closely. "I waited for you last night."

"I know. I'm sorry but it couldn't be helped. The stupid..."

"Shhhh... you're home now. Come with me." Carolyn gently touched his face and pulled him into her bedroom.

**********

"I've got a couple of hours... would you like to have lunch with me?"

"Of course... where?" Her heart beat faster.

"Red Lobster on Hawthorne? Say in a half-hour?" He spoke rapidly, his breath far behind his words.

"I'll be there." Carolyn ran through the house locking the windows and drove into Torrance to meet her lover, nearly running a red light at Artesia.

"I ordered your iced tea," she said as he kissed her and then sat down across from her in the booth. "And, they're bringing your hot biscuits."

"Thanks, Carolyn. I'm glad you could make it."

"I'd go to the ends of the earth for you."

"I've got something to ask you."

"Yes?" Would he ask me THAT, HERE?

"I've got to go to San Diego Thursday and would like you to come with me. A half-day of meetings and then we've got the rest of the time to ourselves. We could come back Sunday. Ever been to Sea World?"

"Many, many years ago when the children were small." She looked down, remembering the last family outing they had had before he went back to Afghanistan, never to return.

"Is there a problem? We can go somewhere else."

"No... it's time to make new memories."

"Good; I had Toller make reservations for the Marriott on Hotel Circle. She was a little disappointed. For some reason, she thought I was taking her."

"Oh?"

David laughed. "She's on the prowl for someone to fill her bed and make an honest woman of her. Don't worry. I think she's put her hooks into one of my engineers, poor guy."

Carolyn raised an eyebrow.

"He's going to have to keep an eye on her."

"Never thought about her for yourself?"

"Are you kidding? Why fool around with tin when I've gold in my arms."

She could feel the blood rush to her face and wondered if he could see her blush at his words. There was a shadow across the table.

"Ready to order?" the waitress asked.

Carolyn's drive home was much more sedate and she carefully approached each intersection in turn. She had packing to do but first stopped at her mother's house to get a suitcase.

"Ma fille, n'est-ce pas heureux?"

"Oui, ma mère. Nous partons à San Diego. Est ce que to peut rester avec eux?"

"Oui, oui..."

Carolyn went into her mother's garage and found two suitcases. "Au revoir," she said, waving to her mother as she pulled away and back to her home. That sounded so wonderful to her... her home. Before, it was Christy's house. Her home...

**********

The Challenger made quick work of the 5 as they drove to San Diego, reaching the sunny city late in the afternoon Wednesday. After checking into the Marriott, he lay on the bed, thinking about his meeting the next morning. It should be simple enough, he thought and wondered why it was necessary to have the meeting at all. A couple of tele-conferences would have been sufficient, he was sure.

He heard the shower running and thought about joining Carolyn there but thought better of it. They had the entire night, the entire weekend... besides, he was hungry.

She stood before the mirror, misty with steam and stared at her nakedness. It seemed impossible that he was so fascinated with her; she touched where his mouth had been and his fingers had explored. Slowly, she ran her fingers through her dark curls, so dark that sometimes they looked blue, curls that he had inhaled and kissed and loved.