Taste

The golden light of the sinking sun filled the room with a warming glow as I roughly chopped the carrot and onions, then finely sliced the garlic. The radio hummed away in the background but I wasn't paying much attention to it. I enjoyed cooking and while a little something to listen to was always pleasant, it was by no means required.

'How on earth do you move that knife so quickly without hitting yourself?'

I turned my head and grinned as I used a finger to wipe off the last few pieces of the herbs I had just finished finely cutting. I took the tea towel and wiped down the blade, an act ingrained from years of having watched my mother do it.

Next up was the chicken and chorizo, diced into large but manageable chunks. My own compulsion seeing that they were all as close to the same size as I could get them. If anyone asked I'd have told them it was so they all cooked the same way. In reality it was because I preferred them being more uniform in size, simple as that. With the task complete I washed my hands and dried them thoroughly before grabbing a shallow casserole pan. Lighting up the gas hob and hearing the click just before it ignited.

I let it heat a little before I poured in a healthy dose of oil, the sizzle always made me grin but it wasn't hot enough to make the pan spit. I tilted the pan around to make sure the bottom was coated and then added first the onions and garlic, then the carrots quickly followed by the herbs and then finally the chicken and chorizo. Browning the former a little as you could already see the colour from the chorizo start to seap out into the pan.

I reached across for some smoked paprika and popped the cap on the small bottle.

'What's that?'

I turned and lifted it up to her nose and she pulled her head back a little. I smiled warmly out of encouragement and gingerly she moved her head forward and sniffed it lightly.

'It's smoked paprika, doesn't it smell incredible?'

Her eyes lit up and she sniffed it again before nodding fervently. I leaned forward and kissed her as she perched on the counter. Her heels hooked around the back of my thighs and pulled me in closer and if not for the counter we'd have been pressed against one another. Eventually I pulled back and couldn't help but smile hard enough to make my cheeks hurt and her cheeks flushed as she saw it. I saw her arm move and I realized she was offering me her wine glass. I took a small sip, but my eyes never left hers. I had no intention of doing so until I absolutely had to. The sizzling pan though reminded me that sadly I had to step away. Spinning on my heel I lightly sprinkled the paprika across the pan and then a little cayenne too.

I kept stirred it regularly for about five minutes before I turned down the heat and picked up the red pepper. Taking a new knife I carefully worked it around to deseed the thing, tapping each section to ensure no sneaky seeds remained. I sliced it into slender slivers before tossing them into the pan as well. Next in was the rice and a little bit of tomato puree, stirring it all together so everything was thoroughly acquainted. Next up was a dash of dry, white wine and I stirred it through, watching the rice start to soak it up. Now was the time to add the hot chicken stock. Gently pouring it in and stirring as I did so. Folding the mixture over itself as the liquid filled the pan.

I heard her lightly land on her feet behind me and couldn't help but grin as her hands slid around my waist and she rested her head against my back. Her presence was always such an oddity to me in so much as she could calm me like no other, or make my heart pound with naught but a look. At any point in time my mind jumped between wanting to curl up with her and wanting to writhe around naked with her until we both were spent.

'Can I help you?' I asked teasingly.

'No, I'm good.'

I placed the lid atop the pan and adjusted the heat again and leaving it to simmer. I could always check on it later if need be but right now my thoughts were firmly stuck on the gorgeous woman clinging to me.

I took her hands in my own and loosened her grip just enough so that I could turn. She looked up at me, the difference in size between us emphasized by our proximity. With a finger I tilted her chin up just a little and kissed her as my finger slid across her jaw and my hand ran through her hair. The sun could have blinked out in that moment and I would not have noticed. Whenever I as with her I was with her. Indeed my friends always joked they knew when I was taken as once I'd found someone no other could catch my eye.

My right hand slipped from her hip to the small of her back, my right leg instinctively moving passed hers. She pulled back and my lips followed until finally we parted.

'Am I your appetizer for the evening?' she asked with a grin.

'No, you are a meal all of your own.'

It was painfully cheesy and I didn't care at all. Clearly she didn't either as her smile widened and her eyes lit up. Her hands ran up by arms and gripped my shoulders tightly and in an instant she had leapt up, wrapping her legs around my waist. I grasped her thighs as our lips met again and I could feel as well as hear her giggle. We stayed like that, me holding her in the middle of the kitchen as we kissed. As the seconds trickled by though the playful kiss turned more sensual. Each move more deliberate, each breath acting like a bellows for my desire. The passion that underlies every kiss flared inside me and before I realized it I'd taken a few long steps and she was pressed up against a kitchen cupboard.

Her thighs squeezed me tighter and in turn I gripped her thighs tighter. Her hands that had been locked at the base of my neck now roamed up and through my hair. She eventually took a hold of my hair and pulled just enough to separate our lips. No words were spoken and yet so much was said. Our eyes remained stuck on one another and in her my deep need and desire was matched. The skin I could feel was so hot to the touch. I could tell her heart was pounding and her breathing was short and shallow.

Her hands came down from my hair, resting first on my shoulders and then gliding down my shirt. She paused to undo a few buttons but it seemed she didn't even have time to spare on those so she skipped the rest. Her nimble fingers quickly had my belt undone and popped open the button to my jeans but in that moment she realised something that had escaped us both until then.

Her eyes dropped down to her hands, and then quickly rose back up to meet mine again. She watched them narrow just a little and knew a thought had flashed through my head. Carefully I adjusted my grip on her thighs, moving from the outside to inside. Then I gently started to lift while at the same time bending my knees to lower my body. My forearms slid along her thighs to first the crook of my elbow and from there it was easy to get her resting on my shoulders.

Admittedly from this position there was something I very much wanted to do. For now though I had but one task. Wrapping my arms around her thighs I undid her belt, button and zip. Her hands were gripping my hair but it acted more as motivation rather than distraction. With that part complete though it was on to part two. I now moved an arm out and over the top of her thigh as I moved my head and in a single, supported movement had her over my shoulder. Looping my thumbs into the waistband of her jeans I worked them around until I had them running down her thighs and finally let them drop off her feet. As I then gripped her waist and helped her back up as she moved down my chest until her legs were back around me.

To say I wasn't impressed with myself in that moment was a lie. However what's the point of all those days doing manual labour to pay your way through university, all that training to spend time on a pitch and all those hours in the gym if you couldn't then use that power and control in a far more delectable setting. Clearly by the colour in her cheeks and the barely held in check grin she thought the same. I couldn't help but smile in return and we kissed again. Back to that gentle, playful moment we'd had in what could have been a few minutes or maybe hours ago.

My breath caught though as I felt her soft hand wrap around my cock and she chuckled wickedly. She knew it would surprise me, that was the point. She could be submissive when the mood struck but what I adored was how she could seize the initiative and in a way that only exists between people who trust one another completely, turn me to her will. She held me for a few seconds and through the pressure I could feel myself throbbing in her hand. Then she leisurely moved her hand up and down my shaft as soft, breathy moans left my lips. I moved to kiss her neck which elicited a gentle sigh of delight from her. Her soft skin so welcoming to my lips that I could, and had, spent hours letting them run lazily across it.

The faint scent of her perfume, a lighter floral note underpinned by a darker, slightly sweeter one. However underneath that was what I wanted more. The smell of her. It filled my mind like a heady concoction designed to intoxicate and stupefy. One of the many reasons I so enjoyed burying my face in her neck whenever I could get away with it was just so I could relish that scent. More of those sighs escaped her lips and every so often I would moan into her neck.

She adjusted her hips as she let go of my cock and started to roll them. The sensation was again unexpected but all too welcome. The feeling of that soft fabric, so delicate, being all that separated her and I was a tease I almost could not take. A fact made all the more obvious by how my hands squeezed her more tightly each time she rolled her hips forward and up along my shaft. My breathing was quick now, my pulse so rapid I almost couldn't feel it. I knew I couldn't stand much more of this. She knew how to twist my body and mind into knots and I was all too willing to let her do it.

I pulled my head back and once again found myself transfixed by her eyes. Soft, warm as they always were yet now there was more behind them, like a fire seen through stained glass. I could tell she was pushing her own limits as well. Seeing that mirrored in me her hand moved back down and delicately pulled her panties to the side. To feel her against me, finally, caused a low growl as I titled my head slightly. She kept rolling her hips and so it became almost like a battle of the wills. Who would break first when the desire of the other was painted so plainly on their face. It was a game that would have no losers.

She held my shoulders tightly and pulled herself up just enough. I angled my own hips as she let go of me with one hand that dropped back to my cock and carefully guided me down against her. Achingly slowly I began to lower her. Her hand continuing to guide me in well after it was required. Our eyes never left each other yet all I wanted was to kiss her. The idea of not being able to look into her eyes was almost painful though.

Only once she came to rest against my hips did my head dart forward for that long awaited kiss. Beyond that though neither of us moved. To rush would be to spoil the moment and every moment with her I jealously guarded. I collected them and committed each one carefully to memory, filed away for those moments were life had us apart. To have her pressed against me was as exhilarating now as it had been the first time it happened. Indeed perhaps even more so as my feelings for her had grown a hundredfold.

I lifted her back up until just the tip of my cock remained inside her and then paused for a second before lowering her. Each movement was deliberate and controlled. Designed to draw out the feeling as well as ensuring she was comfortable. All I had for her was time and I was going to use it. Her moans started to become increasingly more common, and soon started to grow in volume. I now steadily bounced her up and down, settling into a gentle but even pace. Her head was resting back against the cupboard now, her eyes closed as she let herself be carried along on the current that her ecstasy produced. Anything outside of the pair of us then and there was of no concern to her or I.

She moved her hand to her clit and occasionally I'd feel her fingertips brush lightly on my shaft. With her head thrown back I could not resist kissing her again. Moving up to softly nibble her earlobe. Then down her neck and as far along her shoulder as her loose shirt would allow. With my limit reached I'd kiss along to her collarbone and down to the small portion of exposed chest I had access to before eventually heading up and along the other shoulder. Soon though I found her other hand in my her and she pulled my head back only to press her lips firmly against mine.

Feeling her body writhe in pleasure as she was pressed so tightly against me was a divine experience unlike any other. Her heaving chest, her hot breath blazing across my skin, the sound of her increasingly intense and urgent moans. The way her body reacted to my touch at the most innocent of times was delightful but right now it was purely decadent. She looked me in the eye again and lifted a finger to my lips and I took it hungrily. She tasted exquisite, there was no better word than that. A fact I had expressed in words many times before but right now the moan I made as I wrapped my lips around her finger said far more than I ever could.

I could feel her starting to clench around my cock as I kissed her again. She was rolling her hips hard against me as I maintained my pace. I let her control it, providing all I could but letting her dictate exactly what would happen and when. If she wished to tease it out then so be it, if she wanted to cum now then that was fine. This was for her, and as such whatever she chose would be what would happen.

As much as she loved to tease though she was also impatient for what she wanted. In a glorious and sudden moment her mouth opened as her back arched. Her eyes were wide as she stared up yet no sound came out for the first few seconds until she collapsed quivering into my arms, her head resting upon my shoulder. I remained still as I let her come down from that moment and after a little while she raised her head again.

'Bed.'

My brow furrowed as I wasn't entirely sure what she meant.

'Now.' Her tone had deepened and indeed it was more a growled command.

The realisation was immediate and I stepped away yet her legs remained wrapped around me. I reached back and turned the stove all the way down yet for having no sense of time dinner could already have been burnt. With that done I walked out, still carrying her.

The sun had long since set as I carefully spooned full two bowls from the pan. Placing them on a tray I grabbed two small tumblers and the wine from the fridge before setting off back to the bedroom. She lay waiting, her eyes staring at the door intently and smiling as I walked in. Placing the tray on the edge of the bed I handed her a bowl and swiftly poured her a glass of wine.

Doing the same for myself I slipped back under the covers, pausing only to kiss her. She adjusted herself until she was lying back against me slightly and the content sound she made as that first fork reached her lips was all I could have hoped for. Granted though, not quite as good as ones I had heard earlier.

Thinking back on the evening I had no real idea what had started us on the path that had led to now. Admittedly I did not care. Though I did think that while we ate out rarely, those occasions may well be about to get much rarer.