Kiss Me Cate Pt. 11

We picked up our things and rested for a bit. Cate reached into her bag and pulled out an apple and bit into it, handing it to me as she reached for the water. I took a bite of it and looked down at it and let out a little chuckle.

"So Eve, this isn't how I expected the Garden of Eden to look."

Cate's head came up eyes wide looking at me then the apple before she started chuckling as well. "I'm not sure what 'fruit' we weren't supposed to partake of, but I'd say we're guilty on either count."

I thought a moment as I looked out over the sprawl of forest and distant patchwork vineyards below us, the area dotted by lakes and thought it better than to bring up our dinner with Charlie later this week. I had originally planned to tell her on this hike but keeping in mind what just happened, telling your fiance news that you thought dangerous enough that she'd need a spot to hide your body after she killed you was a rather bad idea.

I turned my head to see Cate scanning about as she took another bite of the apple. She turned to me and smiled, a bulge in her cheek. "Keeping my eye out for a snake." The apple was done for and she handed me the core. "Here you go Johnny Appleseed." I laughed and threw it down the embankment into the brush.

We grinned like idiots all the way down the hill, teasing one another about what would have happened if we'd been seen by someone. A couple of people headed up the trail and said hello as we passed. Cate looked over her shoulder as they went around a bend in the trail and Cate put her face in her hands and slowed to a stop. "Oh my god! If they had been a few minutes earlier we would have been caught." Her hands slid down over her mouth as she turned wide eyes on me. I began laughing as her cheeks went pink and she lashed out, jabbing me in the ribs.

"What's the worst that could happen? They get a good show?"

"The worst that could happen is one of them could walk into my class this fall." She was still wide-eyed. "We have to be more careful. I'm already on tenterhooks from that incident with Mr. Andrews." She said referring to the attack on her by Chad and the fallout from the entire incident.

"You have nothing to worry about from that. Though we should show a little restraint. You're acting like a horny teenager."

Cate gasped in shock and stopped dead. "You," she looked around to see if she would be overheard, "little shit!" Her look went from shock to incredulous. "Me?!" I began laughing as I walked towards her to take her in my arms and she brushed me off.

"Well you said yourself that I had made you wanton." I said and gave her a sly smile.

Her expression softened. "You have." She crossed her arms in front of her and looked down at the trail as she began walking slowly down the hill. I trotted to catch up to her.

"What's wrong Cate?"

She sighed. "When we went to your parents I started to wonder if we weren't going into this all too fast." She looked up at me and pursed her lips and looked down at the dirt path again. "Every time I think that I quash it fairly easily, when I look at you, or catch you looking at me." The corner of her mouth turned up with the hint of a smile. "You know, sometimes it scares me how strongly I feel about you. I can't imagine my life without you, and when I do, when I did," she corrected, "I felt such, despair." She paused. "It reminded me of Thanksgiving night when I texted you."

I stepped in front of her and stopped her short. We stood chest to chest, she looked up into my eyes. "You'll never be alone again. I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere."

She sighed again, the tension left her body as she uncrossed her arms and wrapped them around my neck. The corners of her mouth turned up in a relaxed smile. "It's easier to see when you put it out there in front of you, isn't it?"

"What's that?" I whispered into her ear as she hugged me.

"Fear."

"What are you afraid of?"

"Making mistakes. I've always been so, cautious. Honestly the two biggest events in my life prior to meeting you were deciding to finish my studies abroad and moving to America."

"What since then?" I said smiling.

"Oh you know, the usual, whether or not to become an international pop star, maybe start writing a novel, I thought I might try weaving rugs." She said. I reached down and gave her bottom a little swat causing her to yelp in my ear. She gave the lobe a quick bite pulling gently with her teeth. "I'm rather hot, sweaty and dirty. I think you should take me back and make sure I do a thorough job of washing up." Her voice had gotten husky again. The reaction was instant and she chuckled as she rolled her hips against mine. "You're so easy." She laughed as we peeled ourselves apart, damp skin slick as the cool air passed over it. She took my hand and began down the hill tugging me along. She was quiet for a moment and dropped her eyes to the trail again. "That's another thing."

"What?" I prompted when she didn't continue. She looked down the trail, then behind us, stretching her neck like a giraffe.

"I feel alive, probably for the first time in my life. I feel strong, confident, able, even sexy." She grinned as voice trailed off, I waited knowing she wasn't done. She looked at me a silly smirk on her face. "This is going to sound ripped from the pages of one of those glossy women's magazines but I feel like a woman, not just a girl anymore. It's as if I've had some sort of blossoming since we've met and as unsure about it as I've been at times, I like it."

I was surprised by her confession since I'd always seen her as she just described. "You've always been like that to me." I knew what she meant, I felt more mature myself.

"Oh no, I was doing a damn good job of faking it, that's all." She said grinning ear to ear. She looked around again quickly and whispered. "Do you know, I'd never um, enjoyed sex before meeting you. I didn't even enjoy it, you know, alone either. It's as if you've caused me to start feeling and stop fearing." She said putting her hand to her forehead, the color on her cheeks wasn't from the heat of the day. She let go of my hand and slid it along my lower back pulling us together. We slowed our walk as she leaned over and gave me a quick kiss. "Thank you for everything, the support, the love, the respect," she pursed her lips and her color deepened, "and the passion."

I gave her a little squeeze and kissed her again. "Passion, that's a good description of how I feel about you." I said, my voice low. "I can't imagine a day without seeing your face, hearing your voice or feeling you in my arms." I said giving another squeeze as we turned the last bend in the trail. "The way I felt about you scared me a little at first. I worked so hard to play it cool, but I couldn't, I jumped when you so much as batted an eyelash in my direction."

"You were very attentive, almost brash, at first. I thought you were just a boorish, overzealous young American boy with an erection looking for a place park it for the night." She let out a little snort of laughter.

I chuckled at that. "When did you feel otherwise?"

"I felt it the week before Thanksgiving, when you knocked on my door, medicine and soup in hand. I knew it Thanksgiving night when you came from your parents to see me." She swayed against me resting her head on my shoulder momentarily as we walked. I kissed the top of her head. "When was it for you? Honestly, not any of that 'end of July, you were so hot' rubbish. I know you much better than that now."

I laughed at her impersonation of me. We walked a few paces more, swaying awkwardly as we held each other hip to hip. "Thanksgiving night." I said softly as I thought back to it. "I had no idea what I was doing. I just knew from the look in your eyes and the tears on your cheeks that I had to do something. I had to help you not feel lonely." I looked at her, her smile was so sweet I nearly started to tear up like she was now. I turned to look towards the trail as it widened out near the base of the hill. "I had no idea what I was doing when I told you to pack a bag. When you did, the way you trusted me with your care. I was shocked, probably as much as you were when I asked you to pack it in the first place." I laughed. "When we got in the car I had no idea where I was going. I thought I'd just take you back to my place and then I thought, 'Hell no!' It was only after driving a few blocks that I thought of the winery." We walked into the parking area and I didn't release her as we walked over to the car. "When I walked into the lobby I panicked. I had my beautiful professor, my tea shop crush, out in the car at a romantic hotel and I was scared out of my wits. I knew that if I went through with it that it would destroy the trust that you'd given me and that wasn't what I wanted. I wanted so much more." We reached the car and put our gear in the trunk. Cate pulled out the water and we both took long gulps until it was nearly empty.

"You're not done. I can tell."

I turned to her and smiled. "I must have stopped half way to the front desk and just stared blankly. The clerk spoke up and asked if he could help me and I looked up and it dawned on me that I had to take the high road, be the person my folks raised me to be. I had to be the person I was, and wanted you to know and trust. That's when I asked for two rooms. He asked if they should be adjoining and I said yes. You know, just on the off chance."

Cate was grinning at me. "I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference." She quoted from the Frost poem. I'd given her an early edition of his works as a graduation present.

I smiled at her. "Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back again." I nodded. "I couldn't take that chance. If I had pursued you that night, then we probably wouldn't be standing here today."

She looked down at her hands, rubbing the moisture from the water bottle from between them and closed her left hand over her right. The low light of the afternoon flickered off the diamond in her engagement ring. She looked up at me and nodded. "Probably not." She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around my neck and hugged me tightly. She whispered in my ear. "I'm so glad you took the right road."

"When you asked me to stay. I was nearly paralyzed with fear. Here I was with my arms around you, and I had no idea if I was being given encouragement or a further trust. It was fear to act on my desire, and make a grave mistake, that kept me a gentleman that night." I said with a laugh.

"Not entirely as I remember." She grinned as she drew a finger over her left breast.

"That was a mistake. I was asleep." I said defensively.

Cate was chuckling. "I know. I was there, remember? If I hadn't thought it was an innocent mistake you would have woken rather rudely. As it was, I was rather impressed." Her smile was brilliant. "I don't just mean with this poking me in the arse." She said rubbing the front of my shorts. She took her hand away and looked into my eyes. "The truth of the matter is that with the kindness and caring you showed me, the respect you had for me, and the obvious love you tried to hide behind your youthful male swagger," she put her hand over my heart, "you had already won me over. Your unwavering chivalry was just a feather in your cap at that point." She leaned in and kissed me, lingering over it and inflaming me again.

"You could use a shower." I said gathering my wits and my breath.

"Are you saying that I'm malodorous?" She asked, pulling her tee away from her and allowing air to rush beneath it.

"No. What I'm saying is that I want to run my lips all over your naked body, without the taste of bug spray and sunscreen."

The light in her eyes went from piqued to feral instantly, and she began pawing at my pockets for the car keys as a smile spread across her face.

* * *

I lifted her hair massaging the shampoo in gently so as to not tangle the long dark strands. I worked my way back up beneath and massaged her scalp and neck. Her moans were doing nothing to cool my desire.

"There is something so wonderfully erotic about you washing my hair." She purred leaning into hands as I made another pass before rinsing the shampoo out. She was very pliable and I leaned her forward, rinsed off her shoulder and leaned down and planted a kiss on it.

"Just wait until I get to the conditioner." I said, a little laugh escaping my throat. She began humming as I rinsed her hair. She turned and spun us around and kissed me before pushing my face away under the spray of the shower with a laugh. She continued to hum and began soaping my chest as her head began to bob to the music in her head. My grin was infectious as she looked up and sang the words to the tune she'd been humming.

I want no other, no other lover

This is our life, our time

We are together I need you forever

She grinned up at me and grabbed the back of my neck and dragged me to her, our mouths crashed together. Her hand slid over my shoulder, rubbing my skin as it explored down my chest and lower. She crouched down in front of me and I closed my eyes. She washed down my legs and back up getting everything but not lingering. She reached up and gave a little tug on my thigh and I turned and she worked her way up. She stood and kissed my shoulder as she washed up my back. Her hands slipped up my sides, a gentle nudge of her hand and I raised my arms as her hands continued upward. I felt her lips on my shoulder then my neck. I turned to face her again. Her eyes were soft, and her smile was so sweet. I smiled and exhaled the breath I'd taken and held. She held up the washcloth to my face until I closed my eyes and she gently washed my face, making sure to 'get behind my ears' she said with a giggle.

I rinsed her hair one last time before we got out of the shower. We silently dried one another off. I patted her hair dry and ran her comb through it gently drawing out the water. She tossed her towel over the bar and took mine doing the same. A smile spread across her face as she took my hand and drew me against her. The kiss flared our desire, no longer quelled by the water. Our mouths parted in a gasp.

"Make love to me Dylan or I'll surely explode." I went after her mouth again and she pushed me backwards towards the bedroom door, following each step so as to not break our kiss. I felt the bed at the back of my legs and stopped. She broke our kiss with a little pout and grabbed comforter and blanket and yanked them off the bed before pushing me backwards. I let out a whoop of surprise and laughed. "I think nearly two hours of foreplay is entirely enough." She said smiling as she climbed over me reclaiming my mouth before she settled down onto me with a long moan. She rocked slowly as her hands held my shoulders for balance.

I let out a long moan as she kissed me without missing a stroke. She lifted her chin and I kissed my way down her smooth neck which caused her to gasp. I pushed her up and sat up with her straddling my lap as I continued down her chest, my tongue dragged slowly over her nipple and her thighs tightened on my hips, her fingers combed through my hair as she pressed me to her breast. My fingertips dug into the flesh of her backside as I pulled her hard against me as I crossed to the other nipple and suckled on it hard, dragging my tongue over the tip causing her to cry out this time. She began driving her hips forward like a filly making her break for the finish line. Her fingers twisted in my hair and held my head to her breast as she bucked against me. She drove her hips forward a few last forceful strokes and leaned back and cried out.

"Oh fuck!" She gasped, her voice hoarse. She leaned forward and kissed me hard and wrapped herself around me. "Dylan, don't be too gentle now." She slipped off my lap, stretched her legs and climbed back on the bed on her hands and knees. She looked over her shoulder at me with her lower lip between her teeth. I reached out and stroked her white skin and gave her ass a light slap as I climbed behind her and slipped into her again in a single stroke. She tilted her head back and moaned before laying her head on the pillow and holding onto it firmly. I took long deep strokes, she backed into each one and I began inching forward with each one driving my hips forward, nearly lifting her off the mattress. I couldn't take any more and let out a long moan of my own as I drove forward one last time.

"Fuck!" I gasped out a little laugh. I realized only after that Cate was laughing into the pillow herself.

"My thoughts exactly." She leaned forward and collapsed sideways on the bed. "Oh lord, gym," she gasped, "need to start." I crawled forward and fell next to her in agreement. She sidled closer and kissed me deeply.

"What brought that on?" My heart still beating hard against my rib cage.

Cate giggled. "Oh it started when we were coming down the trail earlier and I got you to tell me honestly when it was you fell head over heels in love with me." She smiled and kissed me again. I rolled onto my back and let out a deep sigh. Cate curled up under my arm laying another kiss on my chest.

"You know, Cate, it's not always going to be like this." I gasped. Cate busted out laughing and rolled onto her back.

"It would appear that our roles have reversed." She said still cackling. I rolled over here and kissed her.

"I don't know about you but I've worked up quite the appetite today." I let out a growl and began nibbling at her face refreshing the giggles.

"We could order something from room service." She said in between my attacks.

"I don't know if that's a good idea. I'm not safe alone with you in your present state."

"What?!" She blurted out.

"Well, you have become wanton."

Cate rolled towards me and leaned over my chest rubbing it gently as she leaned down to kiss me. "That's true." She tugged my bottom lip with her teeth and let it go. The noise she made was something between a giggle and a growl. "Well if we're going out I'll need to rebuild the mess you've made of me." She crawled to the edge of the bed and stood up gingerly and stretched her legs. She turned to look at me, hair covering her face, and started laughing again. "Yes I do think I will take a few moments to freshen up first."

I admired my handiwork, the dim light from above shone in golden highlights off Cate's dark locks. I could smell the faint sweet, nutty scent of her shampoo as she paused before me, while we waited to be seated. Her arm snaked around behind her, reaching back seeking mine and I took it gently with mine. Her fingers gripped tightly and relaxed in mine.

Dinner was quiet, infused with long glances and sheepish grins. We sat close at the round table and Cate often had my hand in hers.

"Mmm, you've got to try this." She said handing me her wine glass.

"That's good. We'll have to add it to the collection."

At the end of dinner we made our way back to the room and relaxed. The television was quickly forgotten as clothes were shed again in preparation for bed. Sleep would come later.

"Is it wrong that I never want to leave this place?" Cate mumbled into my neck and gave me a little peck under the chin.

I chuckled. "Nope, I'm with you on that, though I'm sure they'd probably like to change the sheets and air the room out." Cate giggled at that and leaned down and gave me another kiss on my chest. Her eyes flashed up at me in the morning light, a little smile lifted the corner of her mouth as she moved lower, pushing the blanket away. She looked up again and the look in her eyes had gone feral as she reached my stomach. I closed my eyes. "You're insatiable."

"It's well that you know it now." She kissed me and tugged my lower lip with her teeth, a growl emanated from deep in her throat.