1621

Christina walked back into the lounge to find that indeed Fabrice had woken and had stood to stretch his long muscular frame. She smiled at his dazed stare and explained his Maman was calling. He nodded his wary thanks before taking his mobile back and speaking quietly for a few minutes. Christina gave him some privacy.

When Fabrice finished his call he went looking for Christina. He found her in the steamy bathroom laying out a soft fluffy towel for him at the bath's edge. She turned and smiled when she heard his approach.

"I hope you like lavender oil, Fabrice. I poured some into your bath to help you relax."

Fabrice could not conceal the troubled emotions suddenly etched across his face as the scent of lavender assaulted all his senses. The nameless woman with the lavender scented poem had returned with a vengeance to re-claim his battered heart. The shadows that heralded her return were reflected as always, in his beautiful but sad green eyes. (Why don't you leave me alone? You have brought me nothing but pain this past year. Let me go now. I need to live my own life!) Christina saw the suffering in his eyes and realised in that moment that not only did her words to him find their mark they also caused him great pain. She needed to end it for him now. She needed to end it for both of them. She drew him down with her onto the edge of her huge sunken tub.

"Fabrice, I know you are tired now but there is something important I have to tell you." She reached for his face and cupped it lovingly in her warm palms. "You need to listen to me, honey."

Fabrice blinked in surprise at her unexpected but oh-so-welcome endearment. But he was still under the spell of the poem and the bittersweet torture of the woman with no name. His mind was foggy but oh how fast that fog was going to lift.

Christina took a deep breath and jumped right in at the deep end. "I remember you well from Locronan, honey. You were the light in my eyes for the months I spent there and everyday since. I loved you from the first moment I saw you in your Papa'sboulangerie. I loved you but I knew I had nothing to give you, nothing except a silly poem which I left with you like a thief in the night. Honey, I am so sorry for this past year because I see now you have suffered every bit as much as me. I never wanted to hurt you, my darling, but there were things I needed to do before I came to you. I needed to find my spirit first. The woman I was meant to be. I couldn't do that and be worthy of you at the same time."

The tears flowed freely now as Christina opened her heart completely to Fabrice. She knelt at his feet and rested her arms on his knees. Her eyes locked with his as she whispered the very words that granted Fabrice the blissful oblivion of release. "Please forgive me my cowardice. I do not have the courage to stand before you - yet. But I do have the courage to love you. It is your touch I crave. It is your heart I cherish. Feel the whisper of my caress. And know I give it only to you."

Fabrice was stunned. Could this be an end? The end he had craved for this past year. He knew it was. He knew finally what it was his heart was reaching for. It was Christina, this woman who knelt before him now.

Fabrice reached for her and drew her onto his lap. He was completely empty of anything except his love for her. He needed to let her know his heart. But his energy was fading fast.

"Christina, it was you? It was you who loved me all these months?"

She nodded up at him, blinded by her tears.

"Words are so far from me now, honey (the endearment felt wonderful as it rolled off his tongue!), but know I love you. Know I have always loved you. I lived only for your words this past year and hoped against hope that you would come back to me. Your poem was not silly darling. It was not silly at all."

Christina was overwhelmed by relief but recognised Fabrice's fatigue for what it was. She drew him into her embrace and whispered, "Hon, let me love you. Tomorrow there will be plenty of time to talk but for now you are tired so let me give you the caresses I have saved for you all these lonely months."

Fabrice nodded his assent as she stood before him and began to remove his jacket and shirt. She knelt down to remove his boots and socks then pulled him to his feet and removed his jeans. When he was naked Christina asked him to slip into the bath. Fabrice did as she said and was immediately enveloped in the warm lavender caress of the water. This was exactly what he needed. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply of this beautiful lavender woman as her soft hands glided gently up and down his wary body.

He was watching her through the fringe of his long eye-lashes. Watching her loving him with such gentle precision. He was overwhelmed. She had removed her short black leather jacket and her black high-heeled boots and knelt before him in only a plain white t-shirt and blue jeans. The steam in the bathroom had made her t-shirt almost transparent. Her nipples were erect and he could see the soft pink outline of her large areolas each time she bent forward over his chest. For a moment he was confused as to how he was able to do this. The thick material of her t-shirt was not so wet that it would allow this unencumbered view through its cotton and her bra. After all, despite her small frame Christina's breasts, which he estimated to be at least C-cup, were surely too large to go braless. Then it dawned on him. Christina was wearing a demi-cup bra. A bra that lifted and supported the lower half of her full breasts but left their upper slopes and most of her nipples and areolas free. She was a sensual woman, this woman he loved. He smiled to himself as he continued to commit to memory each detail of her gorgeously soft body.

He loved how the tendrils of her hair damply framed her face. Although wearing her hair down at the airport Christina had scooped it back up into a hair tie while she bathed Fabrice. He wanted to see her hair down again and without a second thought opened his eyes fully and reached his hand up to the back of Christina's head to gently pull the hair tie from her hair. It fell it thick waves over her shoulders to rest against her hips.

"You have beautiful hair my darling but it is better down." He smiled up at her.

Christina blushed under his intense scrutiny. But how relieved she was to see the shadows fading fast from his loving green-eyed gaze. She leaned back a little and gazed over Fabrice's wet, tired body. "Honey..."

Her soft voice brought his eyes to hers and there they stayed.

She leaned into him and kissed his lips softly for the first time. It was a kiss that promised more - but not quite yet. She moved back again. "I prepared the spare room for you but I know now, after this horrible year apart that we have both had to endure that I do not want you any further from me than the other side of my bed."

Fabrice could feel his emotions exploding from his heart. He was completely overwhelmed by her and at the same time succumbing rapidly to the affects of his jet-lag. "I doubt I can sleep peacefully unless your skin is against mine anyway, hon."

Christina kissed him softly on each of his closed eyelids before moving towards his towel. She shook it slightly and opened it for him to step into. "Come on, sweetie. Let me dry you before you fall asleep in my bathtub and drown." She grinned at him as he stepped gloriously nude from the tub and into her waiting arms.

The bath had worked its magic on Fabrice, easing his aching muscles and removing the last of his travel grime from his skin. When he was dry Christina dropped the damp towel on the floor and led Fabrice into her bedroom. She pulled her duvet back and encouraged him to slip nude beneath its warmth. He moved to lie on his back, his hands supporting his head on the pillow, his eyes lovingly following her every move. He watched as she slowly removed her t-shirt and then her bra before unbuttoning her jeans and pushing them down to pool at her feet. She hooked her fingers into the sides of her thong and very soon that too lay on the floor.

She walked back towards his side of the bed confident in her nudity, and sat at his side. Her soft fingers reached for his bare shoulders stroking them gently with her sweet caress. He closed his eyes and sighed softly into her touch. When she spoke he opened them again. "Fabrice, you have no idea how badly I want you right now. How much I crave the feel of you moving inside me, but for tonight it will be enough to feel your warm skin on mine. So let me hold you, baby, while you sleep."

Before fatigue took him away from her he pulled her soft pliant body on top of him and kissed her softly. Her moist lips opened to the gentle probing of his tongue for one blissfully serene moment before she gently pulled away from him. He knew from the wanton look she gave him that her words of a moment ago were indeed true. Her passion for him was every bit as strong as his for her. He whispered to her, "I see the look in your eyes, Christina. I see your passion for me and I know now that it burns as brightly as mine for you. Forgive me this weakness, darling. I just needed to know."

She reached up for his hand and within seconds his long fingers were drowning in the juices emanating from the softness between her legs.

Fabrice's pupils instantly dilated as his heart thundered in his chest.

Christina looked at him with a mischievous grin. "Is this proof enough, baby?" With that she gently pulled his fingers away before licking them clean of her juices. Fabrice watched in fascination as her tongue twirled sensually around each of his fingers before sucking them one at a time deep into the warm moist cavern of her mouth.

"Christina... I..."

"Shhhhh, honey." The mischievous grin of a moment ago was replaced with only the warmest of smiles. "Sleep now. You are tired and you need your rest. Tonight I will love you with my heart but tomorrow..." her grin was back, "your body is soooo mine!"

With that Christina crawled beneath the duvet and slid her warm softness next to the hard muscle of his body. Fabrice moved towards her, desperate for her touch. She wrapped him tightly in her arms and brought his cheek to rest against her left breast. He fell asleep to the soft beat of her heart and the loving caresses of her fingers on his face.

In the night Fabrice was pulled from his peaceful slumber with a start. His moan alerted Christina who instantly pulled him into her embrace whispering soft words of comfort.

His tortured voice came to her in the darkness. "Christina, you're not real. When I wake in the morning you will just be a dream won't you?"

Christina whispered to him the words that would bring him comfort. "Fabrice, I am real. Feel my arms around you honey. They live only to hold you. When you wake I will be here to welcome you to the new day. But for now you must sleep, honey. Shhhhh..."

Her hands continued to rub his back, his face, as she rocked him gently in her arms. He drifted back to his peaceful slumber, reassured that her presence was every bit as real as his need of her.

CHAPTER TEN

It was 10am when Connor inserted Simone's key into Christina's front door. Amidst strong protests from Simone, Connor had driven them straight over there after picking up Fabrice's wind-surf from the airport. As in Brittany, Simone, once again had not managed to stop her husband from doing exactly what he wanted to do. She rolled her eyes in silent resignation as he opened the front door and bowled right in.

He called at the top of his voice. "Fabrice, get your butt out here. We've got your wind-surf. Get your wet suit, buddy! Muriwai is calling!"

He walked down the hall towards the spare room and noted only with mild curiosity that the bed hadn't been slept in. Without a second thought he bowled on into Christina's bedroom.

"What the fuck..." Connor moved to Christina's side of the bed just as she was waking up. He grinned down at her sleepy gaze before saying in a teasing voice. "You shameless hussy, Christina. You couldn't even leave the poor man alone long enough to get over his jet-lag! What a shocker!"

Fabrice, who had woken long before the Blakelys's untimely entrance, and had been staring down in loving fascination at the sleeping Christina, now hid his grinning face under the duvet. He moved towards the warmth of her and spooned his naked body to hers, holding her close while he buried his face in the fragrant curtain of her long soft hair. He was still feigning sleep.

Christina had known Connor for too many years now to give him an inch in their never-ending contest of wills. They always tried to get the upper hand on each other and Christina would go down fighting before admitting that if she had balls Connor would pretty much have her by them right now.

With as much dignity as she could muster with a gorgeously naked Frenchman pressed so beautifully warm and hard against her body, Christina pulled the duvet up to cover her nakedness and said threateningly. "Ohhhh, get out of my bedroom, Caveman, before I get my club and drag you by that ugly-as-butt beard of yours and throw you in my cave!"

Connor grinned down at her, purposely misunderstanding her definition of "cave". "You're kidding right? You ain't getting me anywhere near your cave baby. I've seen what you did to Fabrice, remember? Shit!" He looked over to Fabrice's side of the bed in mock concern. "Has he even got a pulse now?"

"Oooooohhhhhh!!!" This from Christina as her pillow hit him square in the chest.

His laughter resonated down the hall to Simone who quickly flew into Christina's bedroom and sheepishly dragged a grinning Connor out by the collar of his shirt. "Coffee's brewing, Chrissie, when you guys are ready," she called behind them closing the door as they went.

As soon as the door was closed Christina could feel the soft vibration of Fabrice's laughter against her back. She turned towards him and ripped the duvet back in time to see him grinning up at her.

"You heard all that?" she said, her eyes flashing.

Fabrice, helpless in his laughter, could only nod.

Christina quickly rolled him onto his back and straddled his hard body between her soft thighs. She pinned his arms above his head. "You heard all that and you let me face Connor alone?"

"Honey!" he said pleadingly. "He's got my wind-surf! There was nothing I could do."

She raised a pillow above her head preparing to pummel him with it. "Your wind-surf is more important than defending my honour?" She was grinning, but trying so hard not to.

"Hon, it's an expensive wind-surf! If it's any consolation it was a tough decision to make. You came a close second I swear!"

Before Fabrice could say another word Christina was hitting him with the pillow. She got in a few good body shots before he quickly flipped them both over and pinned her to the mattress.

"Are you always this feisty in the morning, babe? Or did I just get lucky today?" he said teasingly before dropping his lips to her erect left nipple and drawing it into his mouth.

A long drawn-out moan was all Christina could give him in the way of a reply.

She could feel his cock stirring against her thigh as he continued to her other nipple. Involuntarily she arched her back towards him as he began to intensify the feelings within her.

"Honey," she whispered, desperately trying to compose herself. "We can't do this now."

Fabrice pulled away from her for just a moment. He had the glint of passion in his eyes and when he spoke his voice was low, his words slow and precise. "Wecando this now and wewillo this now! I've waited a year for you, baby. I'm not going to wait any longer. I'm going to love every inch of your divine body and I'm going to take... my... sweet... fucking... time!"

The feminist in Christina would surely kill her for feeling this way but Christina was powerless to feel anything except intense arousal as Fabrice took charge. She squirmed beneath his oral caresses and loved the rough feel of his day-old beard against her soft skin.

Fabrice's heated whisper came to her as if from a great distance. "You stole something from me last night, babe, something that I fully intend to get back." His face was pressed between the valley of her breasts and he stopped administering his butterfly kisses there long enough to stare down at her with passion burning in his eyes.

Christina's senses were heading into overdrive now and she was finding it difficult to talk. She shook her head in confusion.

As his response, Fabrice just smiled benevolently at Christina and then laced his tongue around the index and middle fingers of his right hand coating them liberally in his saliva. His breath was hot on Christina's ear as he whispered to her moments before he thrust his fingers deep inside her tight warmth. "You stole my chance to taste you last night, baby, and hell will freeze over before I let you do that to me again!"

Christina's sharp intake of breath at both his words and the sudden thrust of his fingers told Fabrice she was every bit affected by him as he was by her. He continued to stroke her pussy, caressing her swollen pink clit intermittently with his thumb and loving the way she squirmed beneath his touch. He watched mesmerised as her eyes fluttered shut and her gorgeously long brown hair fell in sensual ringlets over her face and neck. He loved how the ends of it stroked her nipples to hardened wakefulness as her breasts swayed gently to his loving ministrations.

He crawled down her soft yet firm body only vaguely aware of the salty trail his cock was leaving as it oozed his pre-come down her thigh. He maneuvered himself between her legs intoxicated by the musky aromas that were assaulting his senses. As he looked down on her smoothly shaven mound his fingers still moving deeply inside her he couldn't help but rub his cheeks in the neatly trimmed triangle of pubic hair. Her lips were wonderfully free from hair and he knew his tongue would encounter only softness when it licked her there. He looked up at Christina one last time, watching her squirm and arch her back until her nipples pointed at the ceiling. His cock twitched and his balls ached for release when he saw her hands come up to cup her swaying breasts. He lowered his face until his tongue could trace the delicate outline of her swollen lips. From that point on all coherent thought left Fabrice's mind.

For this brief moment in time Christina lived only for Fabrice's clever fingers and the delicious havoc his probing tongue was wrecking over her body. She was encouraged by his naughty words of love as he pulled her inexorably closer to her climax.

When Christina moved her hands to the back of his head and gripped him tightly as she thrust her pussy more deeply onto his tongue Fabrice knew she was close. He loved how she spread her legs wide for him giving herself completely. She tasted so fucking good. He had to move his left hand under her body cupping her buttocks tightly so he could keep his tongue and fingers exactly where she needed them to be. But as her movements became more violent it became more and more difficult for Fabrice to maintain his hold on her.

As his tongue continued to stroke Christina's aching clit, Fabrice looked up in time to see her bite down hard on the knuckle of her index finger. "Christina!" His breath was hot on her mound. "Don't hide from this, honey. Let me hear you moan. You know I'm going to make you come on my tongue don't you babe?" His thrusts instantly became deeper and faster, drawing Christina closer and closer to the edge. He smiled to himself when he saw Christina remove her knuckle from her lips and whimper softly. Once again he bent his head low over her quivering body and let his tongue dance over her clit. Over and over again he jabbed at her sensitive centre until she was just a shaking quivering mass. Her once open thighs clenched tightly around his head as she screamed his name.