Kismet or Happenstance? Ch. 06

"Sean." It was a plea and a command.

He looked at the expressions flickering across her face. Desire, anticipation and something he couldn't name. He tasted her impatience when their tongues met. He wanted to drink her in, to make her a part of him and become a part of her. Her legs trembled as his hands stroked her back, followed the nip of her waist and the curves of her hips then lower. She bit her lip unconsciously, looking like a virgin bride on her wedding night. The idea made his gut clench especially when he remembered the first they'd just shared tonight.

Ana moved restlessly beneath Sean's touch. His fingers skimmed the edge of material along her thigh. Soon he would see her and touch her. She felt his fingers creep beneath the thin fabric. Skin met skin—and only skin. She knew the instant Sean noticed the difference. His whole body went rigid; the line above his jaw twitched.

Sean tried to speak but he couldn't find a thing to say while the pads of his fingers slid over Ana's slick flesh. His cock throbbed in sync with his pulse. He held her pussy in the palm of his hand. She was almost bare and he had to see her, taste her. Her dimple appeared and she pressed herself deeper into his touch. "I did this for—" she hissed when his thumb dipped into her wet folds. "—for both of us."

He knew the answer but had to ask. "Did it hurt a lot?"

The wry arch of her brow was so eloquent and adorable.

"Um—I think everyone at the spa could tell by the look on my face that I'd been waxed."

His hands settled on her hips. "I think you definitely deserve to have someone to kiss the pain away."

"Yeah?"

Sean nodded with enthusiasm.

Her brown eyes looked upward; her mouth twisted in contemplation. "Who can I find at this hour?"

He dropped a trail of kisses down her neck and collarbone. She was just so damned cute and sexy and irreverent. "A woman like you must have men lined up out the door," he said above the slope of her breasts, smiling the whole time.

"I'm very picky though."

"Hard to please?" The question came as he raised her thigh to his waist.

"No—not if you know what you're doing," she muttered as Sean dipped to her eye level.

He hoisted her up in the next breath; her arms and legs wrapped around him automatically. She knew firsthand he had every reason to boast when he promised with a heated look, "Then I'm your man because I definitely know what I'm doing."

Ana held onto him as he crossed the bedroom in long, easy strides. She pressed her lips into the arc of his neck and glimpsed their image passing in the mirror from the corner of her eyes.

* * * * *

She'd sat countless times in this antique bergère after helping him undress. She should be used to the sight of him kneeling before her. The diffused light falling over the ridges and lines of his skin were nothing new to her. She knew his every gesture would be executed with slow, ritualistic detail: The reverent glide of his hand down her leg. The careful release of her foot from the animal print slingback. The soft thud of the shoe as it hit the ebony wooden floors. A kiss on her ankle, another one delivered to her the sensitive arch. His steadying hand keeping her foot still when his feathery kisses tickled her. Then he'd turn his attention to her other leg, repeating the cycle again. None of this was unfamiliar, yet her breath halted and rushed as if this were the first time. His touch, his kisses felt new.

Ana scooted to the edge of the chair and cupped his face. He loosely held her wrists and turned to press a kiss into each palm. Sean cupped her breasts and submitted each one to the swirls of his tongue, alternating with the suction of his mouth. She still wore her dress; her bra hung off her shoulders like an open vest. There was an added decadent allure in being semi-dressed in front of his nude form. His kneeling before her created an odd dance of power. He was her servant, her slave, waiting to worship. She was his prize, waiting to be claimed.

He eased back and pressed her knees together before he hooked his thumbs into the thin line of lace on her hips. Ana leaned back and tilted her hips to help him slide her little panties slowly down her legs. She was clutching the armrests while the delicate lace floated past her heels.

He pushed her legs apart and kissed the inside of her right knee, inhaling her sweet oriental fragrance before he draped her right knee over the armrest. His lips curled in anticipation and pleasure as his eyes roamed her flushed face, to her heaving breasts with puckered nipples wet from his mouth, down over her taut, creamy skin to her beautiful, pink center. He touched her everywhere his eyes had been until he passed her navel. He took a breath, letting the scent of Ana's arousal sweep his senses. His mouth watered thinking about tasting her dewy flesh.

He shook his head as he spoke, his gaze darted up to her brown eyes. "I can't believe you can still blush after all this time—especially after what you just did to me."

His reminder and his hungry expression when he said it made her feel like captured prey. Ana gulped as she watched the slow, slow descent of Sean's dark head between her legs. She all but jumped when she felt his chin along her inner thigh. Soon. Here it comes. And then came the first flutter of his tongue. She fell back into the chair like a puppet with its strings cut. She arched her back and squeezed her nipple while Sean nuzzled and licked her over and over in random circles. Her other hand tangled in his hair with every shift of his head. She crooned and hissed as two long fingers slid into her hot pussy. The back and forth glide made her tap and point her left foot on the hard, polished floor.

"O-oh!" she wailed quietly on a choppy exhale when his mouth suckled her clit. The external suction and internal stroking launched her into orbit. Sean's fingers curled inside her trembling pussy, calling her to come, calling her to crash. Her right leg flailed on the armrest as she thrashed about in the chair. He reached up to pinch her nipple. Ana imploded. She curled in around the hot sensation only to feel it radiate out over her.

Sean looked up at the breathless mess that was Ana. Her eyes were closed; a light sheen covered her forehead. Her stomach and chest rolled in waves as she grabbed bits of air. He eased his fingers out of her and flexed them; still feeling her pussy's fierce grip around them. He thought ahead to the moments when his cock would replace his fingers and hardened. Ana offered him a weak smile. She moved her right leg down the arm but Sean stopped the movement. Her brown eyes opened wide as she understood.

He shook his head and licked the gloss on his lips. "I'm not done yet."

* * * * *

Sean held her ankle, keeping her leg steady on his shoulder and pressed his mouth into her arch. He felt her shiver; her skin was still oversensitive as she recovered from her climax. His slow, shallow thrusts were to give Ana time to calm down while he kept her close enough to take the next leap. One she didn't know lay just around the corner, judging from the flush of satisfaction on her face. Her hair spilled onto the pillow in curly ropes and a few tendrils clung to her neck. Her mauve lips were fuller from kisses and her golden skin glistened with their combined sweat. He stroked the damp thigh fused to his until his fingers skimmed the top of her sex. A slow smile tugged at his lips as saw the narrow strip of curls plastered to her bare pussy. His sheathed cock barely emerged from her opening before it pressed in. Ana's eyes fluttered.

"Sean," she sighed with lazy contentment. She'd reached a comfortable plateau. Now she was ready for more.

It happened so quickly. One moment she was floating on a dreamy cloud and the next, Sean strummed her clit, dragging her back into the fire. His knees dug into the mattress as he thrust into her with renewed vigor. The position rendered Ana completely at the mercy of his strokes. She took every bit of him as he gave and gave, tilting her hips up to meet his thrusts. She heard his groans as his thigh slapped against hers. Every pump of his hips pushed her up the bed, pushed her close to another orgasm. His thumb pressed and circled her swollen clit until pleasure shimmered and pulsed. Everything came in flashes: Sean kneeling above her. Her leg draped over his shoulder. The lines of his abs contracting each time he rocked against her. The canopy's paisley pattern swaying faster and faster above them. Ana wanted him to come with her but it was already too late when she opened her mouth to speak.

Her broken sobs spurred him on. Sean clenched his jaw as her pussy clamped around his cock. He wanted to draw out every second for as long as he could. He eased her leg from his shoulder and kept still inside her while the rhythmic clasp around his shaft became a weak flutter.

"You didn't come," Ana said with threads of disappointment running through her thin voice.

He leaned onto his palms. "Soon," he promised against her mouth and kissed her softly.

Ana smiled under his lips, rubbing his shoulders and back while she waited for him. She was surprised by the sudden shift, shocked even. Yet her body felt too limp but comply when Sean turned her onto her side and arranged her top leg in a ninety degree angle. "W-what—"

She understood the "what" as Sean straddled her bottom leg. He guided the tip of his shaft to her entrance and planted his hands on either side of her. Her insides clenched in anticipation when he tensed and leaned behind her. He filled her in one urgent thrust. She bit back a whimper as a sharp stab of pleasure dulled after his first retreating stroke. Sean surged inside her again and she exhaled with relief as the pleasure-pain sensation faded even more. Her body couldn't bear another climax. It was his turn now. The fine scattering of hair on his thigh tickled her fingers as they coasted over his thigh. He was raging a battle with his tightly leashed control; every muscle from his neck, to his arms and past his hips strained with it. Tiny drops fell from his face and burst on her skin. Warm embers flared inside her as Sean threw back his head. He was close to giving into his pleasure. She pulled his thigh to her, encouraging him to finally seek his release. Ana couldn't tear her eyes away as he withdrew and drove into her hard. She loved watching and hearing him come.

Her orgasm came from nowhere. It broadsided her, splintering her into sharp fragments of pleasure. Her second, agonized shout was airborne even as the first ricocheted around the bedroom. She covered her mouth with her hand to muffle the scream that would pierce the wall between her and her neighbor. She shook her head in denial even as her satin heat convulsed around his cock. Through the haze she saw Sean moving above her, pushing inside her with fierce power. He wasn't just penetrating her with the hard column thrusting into her. He gave her all of him.

"Please," she implored on a broken whisper and bit her lower lip. She squeezed her eyes shut when Sean answered with an amazing stroke. His awestruck groans buzzed in her ears. Her eyes flew open when he had found that sweet spot inside her. Again.

"I c-an't—oh!" Ana sobbed and shook her head as drive after drive proved she could and would. She pounded the mattress as pleasure swept over her then grabbed onto the only thing that could take her through this. Holding onto Sean's wrist, she felt his strength beneath the fine hair, skin and sinew. Their eyes collided; his blue gaze probed her with the same intensity of his thrusts. The moment transcended skin, sweat and sex. Ana had been launched into someplace new.

Sean froze as the pressure of his release raced to the surface. Her hand squeezed his wrist and he plummeted from the edge. He shuddered and gritted his teeth as the hot liquid rush burst from him. The ragged sound of her name spun around him as pleasure took hold. He fisted the sheet drove into her one last time with everything he had before he collapsed.

A blend of sex and honeyed patchouli perfumed the air Sean was trying to breathe. It cost him every once of strength to keep his weight braced on his forearms on either side of her face. He buried his damp forehead in Ana's hair, taking in its green apples-and-sunshine scent while she spoke. The intimate, gravely sound sent sharp needles down his spine.

"That was—"

He lifted his head to look at her flushed, satisfied face. She turned her head and he watched her watch him. Goosebumps covered his skin. She pressed her lips to his

"There are no words for it," Ana concluded, her tired voice still laced with awe.

Oh, yes there is.

Sean buried his head in her neck, too spent to even speak.

* * * * *

Monday, November 20th.

Ana clicked on the contact link and scribbled the names and numbers in her notepad. She typed in the address for the next site on her list but the link for Simon Garret's discussion board appeared. The cyber detour tempted her fingers but the ringing jumped at her ears first. The number on the caller ID made her smile.

"Hey, chickadee," Ana said while she looked down at her watch. "You're up late, everything okay?"

"Yeah," Michelle replied without conviction. "Zach went to Atlanta this afternoon for a training seminar. The house feels so empty without him. I miss him so much already."

Connecting to that forlorn note in Michelle's voice had become easier, like the new understanding of a foreign language. There was no allergy as the loving ache in her friend's tone filled her ears.

"Oh, I see how it is. For a minute there, I thought you were calling because you missed me. I'm so hurt," Ana teased, then added, "I'm sure he's already thinking about coming back home to you. Should make for a hot reunion—like you haven't thought of it already."

Michelle laughed just as Ana hoped she would.

"So how are you? How are things going with the boyfriend?"

Michelle's question reminded her of two things: Moving back to California had been a great decision. And Sean wasn't her officially her boyfriend. But unofficially...there were signs they'd left the sex-and-good-times-only aisle. Like the pyjama bottoms in her drawer and the second toothbrush sitting on her bathroom vanity. And there were signs over at Sean's house as well. Like the bottle of Pure Grace in his shower and the tin of masala chai in the kitchen cabinet—items he'd bought because he'd noticed them here. The orchid standing behind her laptop had been a birthday gift—a big surprise because she'd made the comment about them being her favorite just one time in passing. All signs they were making room for the other in their lives; all of them unspoken.

"Work's kicking my butt this week because we're hosting this charity event for high school art education next month, and the planning just got dropped in my lap. I really want to knock it out of the park."

"You still have time though, right?"

"We're cutting it close. I mean, I'm still trying to get confirmation on a venue. And it's a challenge with the holidays coming up—lots of office parties."

"Oy," Michelle said with empathy, "that does create a few bumps."

"I just wish Stacy had turned it over to me sooner because she left a lot of details hanging that could've been finalized weeks ago. But other than that and the fact that I'm a bit bloated, I'm doing great," she said with a half-laugh.

"And how's Sean?" Michelle drawled in a sing-song voice.

"He's at band rehearsal," Ana said with a smile in her voice. "A guitar player for one of the bands his label is singing sprained a wrist so they asked Sean to fill in for some of their nightclub gigs 'cause they've played together a few times."

Michelle's voice was warm and conspiratorial. "Sounds like you've got a rocker boyfriend."

Boyfriend. Somehow the word fell way short. Her script on what a boyfriend was, how a boyfriend felt, had become ancient and inadequate. But she didn't say this to Michelle. It was too new to share, too fragile to be tagged with adjectives.

"I guess so."

But Michelle had no qualms about visiting unnamed lands. "You've been going out a while now," she started.

An invisible slinky tumbled down Ana's spine, making every vertebrae stiffen on its way."It's been about four months." Whether that constituted "a while" or not, the months had flown by. Yet Sean had also become as close a friend as the amateur FBI agent on the other end of the phone line.

"That's a good sign, right? Are you guys getting serious?"

The question was as straightforward as the answer was complicated. Michelle was reaching in to hold her relationship up to the light, twisting and turning it to find its value, its flaws. But Ana wasn't having it.

"We're taking it one day at a time."

"You mean you haven't talked about it?"

Suddenly four months meant nothing and the white orchid in front of her disappeared. But Ana wasn't having it.

"I know you mean well, but I'm happy." A strand of defensive barbwire had found its way into her words. "Really," she added for emphasis. "I don't need to put a title on my relationship with Sean to feel good about where we're at or the way he treats me."

"I know you," Michelle said to reaffirm that she could access to the restricted areas in Ana's mind. "I know you care about Sean," she paused for matching emphasis. "A lot. I just don't want you to settle for less than you deserve by—"

"I'm not settling."

Sean was one of the finest people she'd ever met. How could that be settling? Michelle was way off base. Ana was ready to correct her best friend's presumption but Michelle beat her to it.

"I didn't mean it like that," she countered. "I just hope you ask for what you want when the time comes."

Ana went still, not quite sure about this detour Michelle had taken them on.

"I know what it's like to be so independent that you don't even realize you're shutting people out because you're so used to taking care of everything on your own. If I didn't learn that letting someone in didn't undermine my independence, I would've missed out Zach.

"I tell you and Sasha everything."

"It's different with a man though. I'm saying you've always chosen guys who were fun but you didn't take too seriously or you'd test them until they failed."

"What about Chris?"

Michelle paused and let out a breath. "Okay—I still think he's a douche bag for what he did but come on, were you really that into him? And don't you think you pushed him away...just a little?"

Oh, that one was tough to take. Michelle continued before Ana could mount any defense.

"I mean he used to call asking me how you were and what he should do to help you because you'd disappear."

Ripples of sadness radiated over Ana as she remembered those days and weeks when her hands rarely touched her phone, unless it was Sasha or Michelle. She'd go home every day after work and bundle up in a blanket of guilt. A weekend would pass visiting "if only" before she saw the sun again on Mondays. If only she hadn't begged her mother to meet her at the mall to help her pick out a new outfit to wear for Chris' birthday. Her mother hadn't been feeling well but Ana insisted an outing together beat staying home and feeling under the weather. She'd gotten the dress and lost her mother. For what? A dress she never took out of the bag. A birthday that passed observing death. A boyfriend she knew wasn't The One and who turned to a woman she had to see five days a week. If only. The words didn't pull her in the undertow the way they used to.

"You're right. I did push Chris away." It was a bitter admission, one that took two years to make. It felt like she'd released him from the dark hole he belonged in for eternity and a sense of acceptance and relief took its place.