Artichoke Heart

"Ah, c'est ça," he said when I sighed. "That's the spot. You're going to love this, sweetie." A second later, his fingers pressed firmly, making me moan. Right at the base of my neck. It was an unbelievable feeling—pain and pleasure and heat and relief all at the same time.

I groaned out some long, colorful curse of pleasure and saw Danny grin.

"Told you," he said. "You've got a knot right there. Probably where you keep the most tension."

He rocked his fingers, isolating the spot, and I moaned as the sensation teetered on the edge of pain and pleasure. He applied pressure for a long minute and then released it and I sighed as relief flooded my body.

"That's nice, hmm?"

"Beyond nice," I said. I closed my eyes and savored the sensations as he continued to work the knot with his fingers. I wasn't moaning now, but I felt even better than I had when he'd first touched me. "This is incredible. Is this what relaxed feels like?"

"Not yet." He laughed. "This is just the beginning."

He bent then and I opened my eyes. He slipped his hands down to my shoulders and kneaded them from below, then brought his mouth to mine to kiss me. It was a strange but lovely sensation, being kissed upside down, and I felt my pulse most strongly in my sex when he pressed the tip of his tongue against my lips, parting them gently. His hands were still moving beneath my back, and I felt like I would melt into the bed if he kept it up.

"You have such a beautiful mouth," he said. He ran his tongue over my bottom lip and I groaned. "I love your shapely lips. Kissing you in the taxi earlier was incredibly exciting. You're just so damned sexy, Ella." He kissed me again, wetly, his tongue finding mine, his lips reaching to suck the tip. I moaned, open-mouthed and he drew back, his own mouth slightly ajar, his face showing obvious arousal.

I wanted him to kiss me again, to feel the heat of his tongue against mine, but he drew back a little more, out of my reach, and returned to the massage, his hands kneading my back.

"Close your eyes," he said softly. I didn't want to. I wanted to see his face, but when he repeated the request, I did, and found his face was still there, fixed in my mind; handsome, and full of desire. "That's my girl, just let yourself relax,chérie. Just a few more minutes."

He reached lower until his hands were at the small of my back, and then brought them toward my head, his fingers bent so they pressed into my flesh, allowing the weight of my body to aide in the stimulation of my muscles. He repeated the motion a half dozen times before he spoke again.

"Feel a little lighter?"

I opened my eyes, finding him just above me, smiling.

"I feel amazing, Danny."

"Good girl. Now we can move on."

He very slowly drew his hands from beneath me and laid them on my shoulders. He ran his palms over my arms, back up to my shoulders, and then down to my breasts.

I groaned and automatically arched my back, wanting more pressure, more touch, more. But his hands moved on, circling away from my breasts and down my sides before they swept back up again and he dragged his fingers over them again. He teased me gently for a few minutes, stroking my breasts for only a few seconds before exploring less sensitive areas, and as he did, he listed all the ways he found my body beautiful: my skin; my arms; my shoulders; my breasts; my tight pink nipples—which he circled with his fingertips until I was breathing fast. He had me sighing and moaning softly, floating on a cloud of pleasure, feeling utterly appreciated like never before.

"You're so good to me," I said, looking up at his handsome face.

"Well, I love you."

He said it like it was obvious, and I realized it should have been. Of course he did, he'd already admitted to falling in love with me at the wedding reception. And now I saw how far back the signs had been there, maybe as long ago as dinner the day before. Certainly at the bar, certainly when he'd slipped his hand over mine under the table, offering comfort, but also making an offer.

"You're such an idiot," I said.

He laughed and gently removed his hands from my body so he could climb onto the bed. He slid beside me and pulled me into his arms and for a while, we kissed like that, wrapped in each other's embrace. I could feel his hard cock trapped between us and the knowledge it would soon be inside me made my head swim.

I slid my hand between us, but my fingers had only just wrapped around it when he drew my hand away. He lifted his mouth from mine and moved back.

"Ah, ah! Not yet," he scolded, grinning at me. "It's not your turn yet,chérie. Je n'ai pas encore fini." He lifted my hand to his lips and kissed it before he placed it on my breast, making sure my fingers landed on my nipple. "You can help a little, if you want. No pressure, though. I'm happy to do it all."

His hand left mine and moved to my face. He kissed me softly, holding my chin in his hand, and then rose up onto his knees. He brought a leg over me, a knee on either side of my hips, and I saw his erect cock bobbing for just a second before he leaned and kissed me again.

It was a brief kiss, because a second later, his mouth was on my cheek. Then he worked his way down my neck, across my collarbone, and down my chest. He paused at my breast and spent a few seconds kissing and gently sucking my nipple, making me gasp with pleasure and squirm in anticipation beneath him.

I felt his knee between mine and moved my thighs apart to make room for him. He moved his mouth from my breast and continued his descent, leaving a trail of kisses from my wet nipple down to the waistband of my panties.

I lifted my head to watch as he continued to move lower. He moved straight down between my thighs, pressing his mouth to my overheated sex as he did. I saw his mouth open and his tongue extend, then felt a light pressure as he dragged his tongue down the center of my panties. His mouth landed right over the entrance to my vagina and he applied a little more pressure, lifting his eyes at the same time to see my reaction.

"Ohh my God," I said, as much from the thrill of the sight of his face between my thighs than the physical sensation. "Danny, that's so sexy."

"Lie back," he said softly. "Just relax."

I did lie back, but I found it hard to relax now, with his mouth so near my throbbing sex. I could feel his tongue making long passes up and down, following the split of my labia. I had no doubt my panties were completely soaked through from both his mouth and my aroused pussy, a thought which made me squirm.

When he finally slipped my panties off, he pressed my thighs wider and brought his mouth down again to my sex. A moment later his tongue slithered between my labia and I clutched the quilt on my bed and made a terrible noise. I felt his fingers part my lips, felt him isolate my clit, and then a slow, broad heat that made me lift my head. When I saw him, his tongue fully extended, pressed flat against my open pussy, moving ever so slowly up to my clit, I let out another terrible noise, then bit my lip and watched as he stopped short of my clit and instead lowered his head and repeated the long, slow lick. It was agonizing, but it felt so good, too. The heat and soft pressure of his tongue against my spread sex was unlike anything I'd ever felt.

"Oh Danny," I said in a whisper. "That feels so good. So good."

I ran my hands over my breasts and squeezed my nipples between my fingers as I watched him lick me again and again. The pleasure just kept increasing, winding me tight inside. I let my head fall back onto the bed's surface and closed my eyes. I could still see his face in my mind, his open mouth and my pink pussy just beneath it, and it made me shiver.

My body was so turned on, I thought I couldn't possibly get more aroused, but when Danny began exploring more deeply with his tongue, and then a finger, I felt a new warmth spread through my whole body. He continued licking me, only teasing my clit now and then, pressing one, then two fingers inside me. My hips seemed to have a mind of their own, lifting from the bed's surface in response.

Like everything else he'd done, he took his time penetrating me. He filled me slowly again and again, while he experimented with different strokes of his tongue over my clit, and everything he did, every passing second turned me on even more.

Arousal and longing sat in my belly like a tightly wound spring. I tried not to vocalize every little moment of pleasure, but that just left me breathing fast and more or less chanting his name desperately.

I could feel myself getting closer to coming. I realized Danny had stopped experimenting. He'd found what he'd been looking for. His tongue was light on my clit now. I lifted my head and saw him watching. His fingers were still inside me, but they were barely moving. I felt their pressure inside me, and the promise of an orgasm in the way he was touching me. And then he lifted his head and his fingers left my body and he crawled up to kiss me hard, his mouth open over mine.

I tasted my own pussy on his tongue as he slid it between my lips. I wanted penetration in the worst way, his cock deep inside me. I arched my back and reached down for it, but he pulled my hand away again, lifting his mouth from mine.

"Not yet," he said. Then he grinned when I made a disappointed face. "Just lie still, sweetheart."

He kissed his way down to my breasts again and spent a long time on each one, kissing, licking, and sucking with agonizing slowness. It felt incredible, but I could feel the promise of orgasm fading. I longed to squeeze my thighs together, to find it again, that deep ache, but Danny's body was in the way.

Finally he returned to my pussy and started kissing and exploring again. My hips rocked and swayed, trying to get the touch my body needed to come. His pace was maddeningly slow, but he pressed his fingers inside me and found the right spot, brought his tongue to my clit again, and with great care, brought me all the way up to the peak.

Then he drew back again, leaving me panting and staring at him in disbelief.

"Danny, please," I said, "I'm so close to coming. I want it so bad."

He crawled back up my body again, brought his face to mine.

"I know.Désolé. Forgive me, my sweet."

He kissed me, but I was still breathing fast, so he slid his mouth to my neck and kissed me there instead. I could feel his cock against my belly, and his knees pressing my thighs apart, and I could feel the longing in my pussy where his fingers and tongue had been.

"Why did you stop?"

His mouth shifted to my ear and I shivered as his hot tongue touched my earlobe. When he spoke, his voice was the sexiest sound I'd ever heard.

"Because you're not completely relaxed yet,ma chérie. You're tense again. As soon as you really let go and allow me to bring you there, I promise, you're going to come so hard."

When he drew back, I could tell by his expression he was sure he was right. And I believed him, too.

"Just relax, Ella. I know what I'm doing." He smiled, a wicked little smile that made me laugh, but made my pussy throb, too. "Take a deep breath, lie back, and let it out slowly."

It took a lot of effort on my part, but I managed to follow his instructions. He encouraged me through two more deep breaths, and I was surprised to find myself not only relaxing, but feeling more completely how turned on I was. I felt it in all my muscles, down to each toe, a full-bodied pleasure.

"Mmm. Good girl," he praised. "Now, then. I promise you'll get your orgasm, but don't try to make it happen. That's my job. You just lie still, relax, and feel it. Feel everything, my sweet."

I closed my eyes and surrendered to his touch. I let him kiss me all over, only lifting my hand to touch him lightly on the shoulder or arm, just to feel his skin under my fingertips, but otherwise doing nothing to urge him on. I stopped rocking my hips in search of the right pressure on my clit, and when he brought me up to the peak again, I just bit my lip and tried not to hold my breath as he withdrew his fingers a third time.

"That's my girl," I heard him say. "You're doing great. Take a few deep breaths."

I did, opening my eyes when I felt his warm hands on my legs. He smiled, watching me as he gave me another gentle massage while my overstimulated body calmed. Then he carefully pushed my thighs apart and lowered his mouth to my sex again. I closed my eyes and waited.

Deep breath in, then out.

I ran my fingers over my hard nipples very slowly and waited.

Deep breath in, then out.

Danny licked and sucked, his fingers slid in and out of my pussy. He moved slowly and carefully, somehow keeping my orgasm at bay even longer than before. I opened my eyes and craned my neck to see him, and was thrilled by the sight of his fingers holding me open while his tongue focused on my hard clit.

"Lie back," he whispered, without even looking up, "close your eyes. Just feel what I'm doing. I'm inside you,chérie. Feel my fingers inside you."

I did. I let my shoulders relax into the bed and closed my eyes. I circled my nipples with my fingertips and took a deep breath. As I exhaled, I felt the pressure of his fingers inside me, his tongue on my clit, and my own fingers on my breasts. I wasn't sure I'd ever felt more pleasure in my life, I was floating on it. I was full of it.

"Can you feel it? You're closer and closer, my sweet."

I wanted to answer, but I felt lost in the sensation. I moaned out something, maybe nonsense, and recognized the familiar heat inside me as I inched my way to the climax.

When Danny spoke again, it felt like his voice came from a dream—slow and muffled and more like thought than hearing.

"Ohh, good girl. You're so close. Are you ready, sweetheart? Ready to come?"

Maybe I said yes, maybe I nodded, I don't remember, but the pleasure and tension was still building to an impossible intensity.

"You're there," he breathed. "You're there,chérie. Feel my fingers inside you. Like this...like this..." He thrust again and again and I opened my eyes, wanting to see his face. "Oh, Oui," he said, and his expression twisted as if he was the one on the brink of climax. "Come, my love.Jouit pour moi, ma Ella."

That look, and his soft, pleading voice were just as exciting as what he was doing to my body.

"Ohh Danny," I moaned. "It's so—it's so..."

"Ella, my sweet," he said in a strained voice. "Let it happen; you're ready to come."

He lowered his mouth, holding my gaze as he did. Still thrusting inside me with one hand, he held my labia apart with the other, displaying the wetness of my whole sex. A moment later, his tongue made contact with my clit and I groaned, finally there, and nearly in agony.

The peak came sharply. I felt Danny's fingers shift inside me. They did something, I wasn't sure what, but the pressure inside me ballooned to an uncomfortable degree and I gasped. I felt him thrusting inside me, and the light touch of his tongue on my clit, just fluttering there, barely making contact, but clearly making enough contact to push me over the edge.

"Oh God, Danny," I gasped. I wanted to express how good it felt, but all I could do was moan his name again and again.

He pressed his fingers deep and turned them again and I gasped as something happened inside me. A pulse like a cramp, that stopped my breath and made me feel like the room was spinning even though my eyes were still closed. I made the most un-sexy noise, a grunt of pleasure and effort and my pussy clutched hard. It hurt, but it felt so good. I ached and ached for what felt like an eternity before my muscles released and my pussy began to throb. It pulsed around Danny's fingers again and again, strong, rolling waves that made my whole body shake, and as I came, I was dimly aware of Danny's gasps of excitement.

It seemed to take forever to stop. I opened my eyes and found Danny watching me, his face an unbelievable expression of lust. He grinned when our eyes met. I could still feel his fingers pressed inside me, and my pussy pulsing weakly. I realized I had my breasts gripped tight in my hands and released them, sending a brief but thrilling pleasure through my whole body. My hips jumped and I gasped as Danny's fingers pressed harder inside me. Then I sighed, a long, long sigh of contentment and relaxed into the bed's surface.

He slid his fingers from my body and crawled up the bed. He kissed my mouth even though I was panting. "Je t'aime, my Ella.Je t'aime," he said, pressing kisses over my cheek and down to my throat. "Je t'aime."

"I feel. So. Good." I said when I was able to finally speak. "That was unbelievable. I'm tingly all over. It's incredible. It's my whole body, Danny. Inside and out. All the way down to my toes. I feel like I'm melting."

He propped himself on an elbow next to me and looked down at me, the biggest smile on his face. He traced a hand up and down my body lightly and waited while my racing heart to slow. I looked up at him, and despite having just had an intense orgasm, despite feeling blissfully spent, I felt a flush of excitement just looking at him.

"You were right. That was better than anything I've ever felt. It was like...like a dream orgasm. Do you only get one of those in your lifetime? I'm not trying to be ungrateful, but could a person be lucky enough to feel that good more than once?"

He laughed softly. "There's no limit. We could do it again in a little bit, once you've recovered." He leaned to kiss me. "And again after that, if there's time."

"Will you marry me?" I said.

"You're already married."

"I know." I frowned, annoyed to be reminded of Steven. "Would you say yes if I wasn't?"

"Without hesitation," he said, a sweet smile stretching his face. "I would marry you in a heartbeat,mon petit chou."

"Damn it. If only I'd divorced him before I ran into you. But, no, I had to run into you first."

"Good thing you did." He kissed my cheek. "You'll be un-married soon. Just call me when you're ready."

"What if it takes a while? Will you still say yes?"

"Absolutely. I'll wait forever for you, Eleanor."

It's possible it was all a joke, just Danny flirting. Or it was possible it was just Danny being Danny, being in love with everyone with his whole, huge, generous heart. Or, it was entirely possible he meant every word.

He slid his arm around my waist and kissed me then, and I felt the warm flow of pleasure again. As we kissed, I realized it was more than that. It wasn't just pleasure, it was comfort and safety. I wanted to burrow down into it, or wrap it around me, and feel it forever. But then my hand, which had been aimlessly roaming his side, moved between us and I found his hard cock again, and excitement surged again, leaving little room for sweeter emotions.

I drew back and watched his face for consent as I wrapped my fingers around him. His eyes fluttered closed for a second, he breathed my name, and relaxed back onto the surface of the bed. He'd given me the most amazing orgasm, and I wanted to do the same, but I wasn't sure I had the skills. I'd had my share of sexual partners, but this felt different, more important.

I sat up on my knees and took his cock in my hand and began a light, slow stroke. I leaned and kissed his mouth very softly and felt him smile, but his eyes stayed closed. So I kissed him again and kissed my way down his body, the way he had to me. I committed to memory all the spots where he seemed most sensitive: his throat; his ear; and both small, pink nipples. And all the while, I stroked him slowly, my fingers light on his smooth, hard cock. I knew by the pace of his breathing when I was doing it right.