Solace

"What time is..." She started and Karen answered.

"It's past one now, and you need your rest, little miss." She said and Bobbi sighed and nodded. "So tell Dan to get his hand out of your skirt and bring you home." She said and Bobbi blushed all over again.

She said a terse goodbye and hung up. Dan kissed her once again softly before they disengaged and he got her seated in the car and started to drive her home. They chatted a bit, enjoying the dark hours of the city, which were still pretty busy and when they arrived at her place Dan walked her to the door.

"It's been fun. Can I see you again?" He asked and she nodded as she stepped closer to him. His hands settled on her waist and he leaned down a little. Just as he was about to kiss her the door opened and Bobbi stiffened as Karen stared at the pair of them.

"What are you doing?" She asked sternly and Dan didn't miss a beat.

"Picking up where we left off when you called." He said. "Now close the door so I have something to ravish her against, those bosoms won't worship themselves." He said and Bobbi hit him, one dainty fist striking his shoulder as he kissed her, but she didn't back away from the kiss and she was smiling. When the kiss was over she hit him again.

"Stop encouraging her, if you do that she'll never stop." She said and that drew a laugh from both Karen and Dan. He sighed and shook his head and kissed her again.

"Then how about tomorrow?" He asked and they had to hash out when they both had a free evening at the same time, which wasn't until the weekend, and then they parted with clear reluctance.

As Dan drove away, after looking back at her a few dozen times, Karen smiled warmly at her friend.

"This one looks pretty serious." She said and Bobbi just nodded with a smile on her face.

"Yeah. Yeah, I think it is." She said softly after a few minutes. The two of them went inside and Bobbi couldn't wait until the weekend.

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NOW

There was no way they should have met when they did. They had both been out of their normal routines, out of their regular day and they travelled in entirely different worlds for the most part. But somehow they had both been on the same street at the same time and they had both been distracted in the same way and they had met so casually that there was no explanation for it. They had literally bumped into one another out of the blue. He smiled a bit as he glanced back across the lawn and leaned against his car. He was hungry and tired and hurting, but he didn't want to do anything to change that. He wanted to feel this misery, this discomfort and pain. And as he looked back the way he had come he didn't see the car turn in off of the road behind him and start rolling its way slowly toward him.

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FIVE YEARS EARLIER

Bobbi rode along happily, enjoying the sunshine as they rode along the lakeshore toward St. Catherines. She had been dating Dan for a few months now and she always enjoyed her time with him. This date was a little special however. She had two small bags in the back for a weekend in St. Catherines and she was riding in the most expensive car she had even seen. The sleek black sportscar cost more than she had ever made in her life all added up and Dan was driving it along the highway to deliver it to a client at their destination. She loved the way it felt as they glided along, smooth and powerful. The car moved so effortlessly that even a light touch to the accelerator made it almost leap forward. She had never understood the appeal of cars like this before now, but she finally knew just why people were willing to spend so much money on the largely useless vehicles. It was this feeling of power.

She shivered in delight as Dan shifted gears and slid around another car so easily that it felt like the world had slowed down, not like they sped up. She smiled and glanced over at him, and he smiled right back at her. It felt good to travel like this and she watched the scenery fly past as they went. The trip was over quickly though, far too quickly for her tastes as they pulled up at a huge house that looked right out over the lake. There was another car there, a sleek black luxury model that had been delivered for them ahead of their arrival and as they parked in front of the house a man came out to greet them. He was perhaps sixty and he looked at the car they had just delivered with fond eyes and a huge smile. He and Dan chatted for a bit before Dan handed him the keys and the man got into the car and drove it away as they watched, the car rolling out onto the street and then vanishing so quickly that it was almost like it had never been there.

They loaded their bags into the back of the rental car and Dan drove them on down the road and into the little tourist town itself, past the beautiful houses and manicured lawns, the quaint little shops and the tourist-trap destinations that were designed to carefully wring every spare penny from visitors while giving them as little as possible in return. They drove right past all of that and around the center of town to loop back to the waterfront where he stopped at what looked like just another large house that overlooked the water. He parked and moments later a young man came out with a hand truck for their bags. They followed him inside to a small suite of rooms that were casually elegant. There was a huge king sized bed in one room and a small dining area for two in another, a small refrigerator with wine and other drinks in it and a pair of doors that led out onto a patio that looked right over the lake. A little trail led down to a small beach and the breeze that blew up toward them was cool and refreshing.

It was an entirely different feeling from Toronto and she shivered as she looked over it all. After three months of dates, of seeing each other as often as they could manage it and feeling closer and closer to each other she was finally ready to take the next step with their relationship and this was the perfect place for it. She had even packed something special for the occasion. She turned back to the room and saw that Dan was moving a suitcase onto the bed and unzipping it.

"Let's go for a walk on the beach before we unpack." She suggested and he glanced up at her and nodded.

"Yeah, I like that idea." He said and the pair of them headed off down the path to the little closed beach that was exclusive to the hotel.

The sand was soft and manicured, the beach a private little slice on the shore of the lake as they walked along in the breeze. It was a pleasant day and they held hands as they enjoyed each other's company without needing to speak. It wasn't too warm or too cold and they walked back and forth for a while without really doing anything more than just being together. They both knew by now that this was more than a casual relationship, but they were comfortable and content the way they were and they felt no need to rush, they were both young and it felt like they had all the time in the world ahead of them. They were happy to take it slow and linger over things, to take their time and relax. As they came to a stop at the center of the beach with the cold Lake Ontario water rushing across the sand in a soft susurrus near their feet.

"Thanksgiving is coming up." Dan started and she nodded as she glanced at him. "And my mother wants me to come home for it. Would you like to come and meet her?" He asked and she smiled as she glanced back out over the water and thought for a moment.

"Well, my parents live in New York now and they insist that the real thanksgiving isn't until November." She said with a little smile. "So I guess I could say yes. But would you be interested in coming with me for that one?" She looked at him as he nodded and they were content again.

The meeting of family was a big step in any relationship and they both knew that it was a fairly important time for them. They chatted a bit back and forth, just idle conversation, nothing of any real import as the sun crept across the sky. Finally they went back to the hotel to order in lunch and they sat on the veranda in the early afternoon sun and sipped wine as they ate together. They took a stroll along the strip of shops and attractions after they had eaten and bought the usual tourist clutter that people took away from such places. It felt good to them both to be so casually relaxed together. They had a light dinner at a café that overlooked the town and then walked back to the hotel hand in hand as the sun set and the day turned toward night, the sky shot with purples and blues and blacks. The stars were out at that point and the moon was rising up, full and round and glorious over the lake as they returned to their rooms.

Dan plugged in his laptop to check on work E-mails and a few other things while Bobbi retreated to the shower. She cleaned herself carefully, washing her skin and hair and drying off before she applied a little makeup and then opening the little case she had brought in with her. She dabbed a subtle perfume under her chin and along her wrists before she pulled out the slick silk lingerie she had brought with her. A pair of panties slid up her smooth legs to rest low on her hips before she pulled on a light wrap that hung open in the front and off of her shoulders. She was trembling with anticipation and fear as she slid sheer stockings up her legs and then stepped into a pair of heels. The fabric was all dark, contrasting her pale skin, but with red highlights to complement her hair. She looked at herself in the mirror, her eyes wide and her hair loose, down around her neck and shoulders and she smiled before she applied her best red lipstick. She felt sexy and she smiled a bit as she turned to the door and walked out into the room. Dan had his head down and she smiled a bit as she leaned against a door and waited for him to see her.

He was tapping at the keys, his brow furrowed as he tried to untangle something that shouldn't have been an issue in the first place. Sometimes he despised his job, and he was getting more annoyed than he should have been on his days off. He was honestly angry at a co-worker for dumping this off on him. Then he glanced up to see if she was done in the bathroom and all of the thoughts emptied out of his head. The way she was dressed left it very clear what she expected that night. She had always looked sexy to him, but now she was breathtaking. The way she was standing, with her hips cocked a little, let her wrap hang open on one side and exposed her left breast completely while the right one was hidden away, tantalizingly covered with just the inner slope and the hint of an aureole showing. Her hair hid the left side of her throat but the right side was revealed and he could just make out the soft flutter of her pulse in her neck as his eyes traced up to her curved red lips and the mischief that was clear in her eyes. He saw the swell of a hip, the slender curve of her waist and the long, smooth flesh of her legs hidden in the dark stockings with barely enough cloth at the apex of her thighs to cover her sex. The heels she wore added a few inches of height to her, but she was still shorter than he was. But overall the effect of her choice in clothing was to take an already beautiful woman and make her almost otherworldly.

He reached up and closed his computer without ever taking his eyes off of her and she smiled a bit, blushing as he stared. It felt good to have someone look at her that way, look at her with such clear want and need that she could feel it like a caress. She felt her own arousal stir in response and she stood straight again and walked toward him with a casual, leisurely walk... no, the right word was strut... she wasn't walking, she was strutting and it felt good to strut before this man she had more than casual feelings for. He started to stand up as she reached him, but she put a hand on his shoulder and pushed him back into his seat with unusual strength. He settled back down as she stepped in front of him and cocked her hips once again. She felt really good, very aroused and happy as she smiled and he just stared at her. It was a little disconcerting, that stare. She had been expecting him to look her body over more than he had, had expected his hands to touch her all over and his eyes to roam across her breasts and her lower across her body, taking in all she was showing him. Instead he looked her over once, albeit very appreciatively, and then he looked in her eyes. She licked her lips a little, feeling suddenly nervous as she blushed under his scrutiny.

"Aren't you going to look at me?" She asked softly and he just smiled.

"I am, and you're beautiful, just like you always have been to me." He said just as softly.

She felt a surge of emotion and she stepped forward, straddling his lap as she knelt on the chair. His hands came to her hips, touching her bare skin above the waist of her panties and her heart quickened at the sure confidence and casual familiarity he had with her in that moment. Her hands rested on his shoulders to get her balance and then her arms slid around his neck as she got comfortable in his lap. She was warm and the slight tremble he could feel as she got comfortable was somehow delicious, as if she were outside of her comfort zone, but she had gone there willingly for him. When she leaned close he raised his face to meet her tender kiss and felt the soft warmth of her full lips against his and it was perhaps the most significant kiss he had ever shared with anyone in his life. He felt her body melt against his, the soft swell of her breasts pressing against his chest and the feel of her warm skin under his hands as he slipped his palms up her back, under her wrap and then back down until he felt the waistband of her panties under his hands, then lower until the gentle swell of her rear filled his palms. She moaned at the feel of that caress and pressed against him, her lips parting and his tongue darted in to taste her mouth.

Her arousal was growing as the kiss went on and on and her body grew warmer with every passing second. She was hardly a virgin, and she had learned in college that when she was really turned on her body got very hot, and already she could feel herself starting to sweat, a little dampness on the back of her neck that would spread. The heat seemed to be centered in her core as she parted from his mouth with a gasp as his hands gave her ass a firm squeeze. It felt so good, this contact, this closeness that they were sharing at last. She wanted him and she could tell that he was just the same; the mutual attraction had been obvious to them from the instant that they met. She looked into his eyes as his hands slipped up her back and as the wrap slipped from her shoulders she didn't flinch or look away, sitting there in his lap as he bared her flesh more than it already was. It was perhaps the most erotic moment of her life, far more intimate and personal than when she had lost her virginity, far more memorable and arousing than any other time she had been with a partner in the past. She bit her lip and a flush of colour spread down her chest and she could feel the tightness as her nipples pebbled and stood out, aching with her need. Her arousal was growing in leaps and bounds and she could feel the sweat start to bead across her breasts as her breathing came a little faster.

He looked from her eyes and down across her throat, down her shoulders and she felt his hands slip around to touch her wherever he looked. A hand came up to cup her cheek and she curled her lips in a smile as she turned her head to kiss his palm, then his hand slid down to lightly circle her throat and he could feel the rapid bird-like flutter of the pulse in her neck for just a moment as the excitement raced through her like a drug. Then his eyes and his hands moved, both hands now caressing across her shoulders, back across her collarbones and then down, just the tips of his thumbs caressing the valley between her breasts, the tips of his fingers just barely touching the soft flesh on the outer slopes, caressing so gently that she gasped again and her hands grasped his wrists gently as his hands glided down, across her belly and waist to settle on her hips again. She looked right into his eyes as his hands grasped the ties on the waistband and tugged gently. She gasped as the band came untied and she rose up slightly to allow him to pull them off and toss them aside. She was bare with him, as bare as she had ever been with anyone, just her stockings and heels and she felt so sexy that it was almost surreal to her. She had had a few partners in university that she had been playful with, but she had never felt so completely comfortable with anyone this quickly before.

It was refreshing and exciting and she was trembling with that excitement, her eyes dilated and her breath coming in quick little gasps as his hands returned to her warm skin and traced her body in tender caresses. She was bold and eager and hungry for what was coming. As he leaned forward she watched in fascination as he placed a soft kiss on her left breast, just over her heart and drew a moan from her with his warm lips on her skin. The kiss lingered as his hands ran up and down her back, tracing the shallow valley of her spine and the arch of her ribs, tickling along behind her shoulders and drawing an amused little laugh from her as her head fell back and her hands grasped at his head. The laugh turned to a gasp, and then a moan as he captured a nipple in his mouth and sucked tenderly, teasing the sensitive bud and caressing with his tongue before his mouth worked across her breasts, trailing kisses and tasting the sweat that was pearling on her skin until he captured the other nipple and sucked hard. Her hands fisted in his hair to hold him at her chest as she moaned and then sobbed with the feeling, loving the way he felt as he touched her. His hands slid down her back once again and cupped her bare bottom, his fingers flexing and squeezing hard and making her suddenly shiver with need and want.

The lust that tore through her at the caress was the strongest she had ever felt and when she jerked his head back from her breast and looked down at him, he could see the fire of her passion and need burning in her eyes and it ignited a spark of lust in him to match what he saw in her. The sudden power of it was overwhelming, leaving no room for thought or any action other than the inevitable. Had the room been on fire they would have burned, unable to grasp that they were in danger for the all-consuming need that had flared up inside of them both. She kissed him so hard that her lips would be tender and bruised later, and her hands fumbled with the buttons on his shirt, then gave up and grasped the front and pulled, tearing the front open and scattering buttons and pieces of buttons all across the floor as she dragged it down his shoulders and arms and off, tossing it aside with an almost angry fling and the instant it was off, his hands were back on her body again. She needed that touch... that contact and he was just the same.

The power of their attraction had come full circle to their first date, when all that had kept them away from this was chance and circumstance. They had kept themselves in check for months since, but the attraction and need had always been there. And now there was nothing to keep them away from each other, nothing to stop what they both wanted. Bobbi had threatened Karen with grievous bodily harm if her friend called to interrupt them for any reason short of the apocalypse and Dan had done his very best to remain out of contact from his friends and co-workers for this trip. Both of them wanted and hoped for the same thing and now it was unstoppable.

He grasped her hips and lifted her as he stood, his need granting him the strength to move her as if she were weightless. She was several inches shorter than he was and some forty pounds lighter, but he moved her as if she weighed ounces, making her gasp with the ease of it, the need in her flaring even higher at the display of strength. There was an undeniably alpha quality in Dan at that moment, a dominance and control that she was drawn to like a moth to a flame. Now she was dancing on the edge of that flame and trying not to get burned while not caring if it consumed her whole. He moved to the bed and placed one knee on the edge then fell over, laying her on her back and landing atop her, pressing her into the duvet. She clung to him like a cat, her legs wrapped around his waist and her arms around his neck, her lips to his and her body so close that she didn't know where she ended and he began. Her breasts were crushed against his chest and her hips ground up against the bulge she could feel in his pants. She was hot and wet with need, ready for him at that moment, wanting him so badly that it hurt to not have him.