Unlocking the Door

"I've got the dogs well trained," he offered by way of explanation. "You wait and see, by morning those will all be sparkling clean and stacked neatly on the counter."

Despite Brad's attempt to lighten the mood, Traci was beginning to feel short of breath. She needed an out.

"Hey, want to see a movie? There's one playing at the Galaxy that I've been wanting to see."

Traci was thinking that by the end of the movie it would be fairly late and she could feign fatigue and then she'd be off the hook. But Brad wasn't biting.

"Oh, I've got something much better than a movie. Please come this way, miss," he said taking her hand and leading her down the hallway.

Traci's heart beat faster. It wasn't like they hadn't made out in Brad's bed before, but somehow because of her earlier resolve that tonight would be the night, it all seemed much more threatening.

Brad's bedroom door was closed when they reached it, which was suspicious because he normally left it open. But when he opened the door, she understood why. The lights were off in the room, but it was dimly lit by candles placed around the room. The bed was made, also unusual, and the room was very tidy--highly unusual. In fact, unprecedented in Traci's experience.

Also unprecedented was the scent of incense in the air.

"Please proceed to the massage table," Brad said with an overly formal sweep of his arm toward the bed. Traci sat on the edge of the bed, noticing a plastic bottle of pale amber liquid on the night stand.

Brad shut the door--"No canines tonight," he explained--and came to sit beside her.

He took her hands and looked in her eyes.

"You trust me?" he asked earnestly.

After a pause, Traci nodded silently.

"Nothing will happen tonight that you don't want to happen. But can you trust me enough to start things off?"

Another pause and another slow nod.

"That's my girl," he said, kissing her tenderly on the lips.

"Now, off with this," he said, tugging at her blouse.

She pulled her blouse over her head and Brad helped her finish removing it. He reached back to the latch of her bra, silently looking into her eyes for permission. She nodded and he unhooked it, revealing her small, shapely breasts. He made no attempt to unbutton her slacks. He carefully folded the bra and the blouse and placed them on the dresser.

"Now, to the middle of the bed with you and onto your stomach."

Traci silently obeyed. She could hear Brad fussing with his clothes, but her head was turned away so she saw nothing. Soon she felt him straddle her legs, heard him rubbing his hands vigorously together and then felt his warm, oily palms on her back.

He leaned into her lithe, delicate back, kneading firmly wherever he felt a knot. He occasionally leaned forward to nuzzle her neck or kiss her ear, one time whispering, "Remember, nothing you don't want."

He massaged her long, slender arms, the palm of her hands, each shapely finger.

"Over," he said simply.

Traci turned over and saw Brad sitting on his knees beside her in only his boxers. Without a word, she unbuttoned and removed her slacks, leaving on only delicate pink panties and thin white socks.

Brad relubricated his hands and massaged her pale face, her sinuous neck, her breasts, her stomach, her slender legs and, removing the socks, her elegant feet.

When he had finished he stretched out beside her and kissed her gently.

"OK so far?" he asked.

She kissed him back in answer and hugged him to her.

"You are so beautiful," he said when they had disengaged a little. "You're a wisp, so graceful and light. I feel like I'm lying next to a work of art."

She kissed him deeply at that, then whispered, "I want you to love me."

"Oh, I do sweetheart, I most surely do!"

"I want you to love me . . . like a man loves a woman. Tonight."

Brad hesitated, then asked, "How do you want me to start?"

"I want you to kiss me . . . down there."

Brad replied by kissing her deeply on the mouth, then kissed his way down her neck, breasts, and stomach. When he reached her panties he tugged gently at them and Traci lifted her hips so he could pull them off, revealing the fine curly blond hair between her legs. He continued kissing down to her thighs, gradually positioning himself between her legs while carefully pulling them apart. He kissed her soft inner thigh, then nuzzled against her pussy, inhaling her musky feminine scent.

Every so gently he spread her lips with his fingers, then lightly licked and kissed the warm, moist gateway to her womanhood. He could feel Traci clench slightly but noticeably when he first did this, but she seemed to relax a little after.

Traci could feel Brad's warm breath on her pussy, feel his hot tongue darting in and around, and finally find her clit and gently but firmly lick and massage it. She wanted so badly to let go, to let her pent up desires find release through Brad's tender attentions and she focused all her will and intent on the warm sensations between her legs. But whenever she felt something start to build, perceived the warm tingling start to spread, a wash of anxiety spread through her, damping all pleasurable sensation and putting her back at the beginning.

After several cycles of buildup and disappointment, Traci thought maybe she should just fake it, make Brad think he had brought her to climax. At least he could get some satisfaction out of this.

No sooner had this thought occurred to her, though, than Brad stopped what he was doing and slid up beside her. He kissed her, then leaned back and looked into her big green eyes.

To Traci it was like Brad was staring into her soul. He knew.

"I'm sorry," she began, tears pooling in her eyes. "I just can't seem . . . I just can't let go. I'm sorry, it's my fault. It's my fault," she sobbed.

"Shh, shh," he said pulling her against him. "It's OK, it's OK. Shh."

She cried into his shoulder for a few minutes, then gradually quieted down.

Once all Traci's sniffles had ceased, Brad asked, "Do you like fairy tales?"

"Huh?" This non-sequitor caught Traci completely off guard.

"Fairy tales? Um, I don't know, I guess when I was a kid. My dad used to call me princess."

"When I was a kid, before I was even in school, my dad used to read me the funnies. On Sunday mornings mom would make pancakes or waffles. My dad loved waffles. We'd all be in our bathrobes sitting around the kitchen table, my dad and mom with their coffee cups in front of them, me with my OJ. You could smell the waffles cooking. My dad would sit me on his lap and read the funnies to me. My favorite was Prince Valiant. Every Saturday night I would drift off to sleep wondering how Prince Valiant would get out of the fix the last Sunday's strip left him in.

"One story I remember Prince Valiant had to save this princess who had been trapped behind a magical door. Prince Valiant had to figure out how to get past the magical barrier. He tried all sorts of incantations and magical potions, but nothing worked, the magic was too strong. So he went to see a wise man who lived in the wilderness. Of course, he had to overcome all kinds of challenges just to get to this old man, but he did finally, and so he asked the old guy how he could get past the magic door. And you know what the old coot says? He says, 'He who wishes to break the magic spell must strike with silence and all trouble quell.'

"Anyway, Prince Valiant kind of scratches his head, but the old man won't say anything more. So he goes back to the door and just sits in front of the door. He sits for a whole day and a whole night without saying a word or doing anything and at dawn the next day the door just opens and he saves the princess.

"Funny that after all these years I still remember that. My dad passed away not long after that. I guess that's why that story has stuck with me."

"I'm sorry about your father," Traci said quietly. "That must have been hard."

"Yeah, my mom and I had a hard time for a while. But we had each other. We had been a close family, the three of us. But that's a long time past now."

The two of them lay quietly in each other's arms for a while following their own thoughts. Eventually Traci pulled Brad close for a kiss and said, "Try again?"

Brad didn't say anything, but just kissed her back. He slowly ran one hand along her neck and lightly fondled an ear lobe. Then the hand wandered down her shoulder and arm, then along her side eventually finding a breast, which it gently squeezed.

Brad finally broke off the kiss and looked into Traci's eyes, but the hand kept wandering, lightly brushing her skin here, exploring the curve of a hip there.

"When I brush my hand along your back, do you expect anything to happen?" Brad suddenly asked.

"What do mean?" Traci responded.

"Does it feel good?"

"Well, yeah, sure, it feels nice."

"Do you expect something else to happen when you feel my hand brush you?"

"Well, I don't know. I don't get what you mean."

"Close your eyes," he instructed.

Traci complied.

"Can you feel my hand brushing along your back?"

Traci nodded.

"Do you like it?"

She nodded again.

"Could I do that for a while and you would still like it?"

Another nod.

"So do you need for anything else to happen to enjoy the feel of my hand along your back?"

A slow shake of the head.

"What about here?" he asked, lightly brushing her skin along the wasp curve of her waist up to her hip and back.

"No, that's nice," she said, looking at him.

"So you like it when I rub you like that?"

"Hmm."

"What about here, along your tummy?"

Traci didn't respond this time, but she rolled onto her back and closed her eyes again.

"What about if I also bite your ear, just a little, like this?"

Traci giggled as he nibbled her ear and kept brushing lightly along her stomach.

"What if I kiss your neck while I brush my hand along here?"

His hand moved up to her breast, ever so lightly brushing the surface of her skin, occasionally contacting her nipple also.

"Does that feel nice?"

"Hmmm. Yes."

"Could I do that all night? Would it still feel nice?"

"Hmm. Yeah, that would be nice."

"Do you need anything more than that to enjoy what I'm doing?"

"No. Hmm, that's just nice."

"What if I knead your butt while I suck on your nipple? Would that be nice, could you enjoy that?"

He slipped her now quite erect nipple into his mouth and flicked his tongue while his strong hands kneaded her butt.

"Hmmm," was the only response.

He released her nipple, blew on it lightly, then slid a bit toward the foot of the bed.

"What if rub my hand along the inside of your thigh, like this?" he asked, doing so.

"And what if I did that and also sucked on your nipples? Would that feel good? Would you need anything more than that? Could I do that all night?"

He rubbed the inside of her thigh and sucked first one nipple, then the other.

Traci was silent.

"Answer me," he insisted gently, but firmly. "Do you need anything more than this?"

"No, this is wonderful!" she replied as he resumed sucking on her nipple. "I don't need anything . . . else."

"What if I brush my hand along your pussy. Does that feel good?"

Traci didn't flinch. "Yes, that feels really good."

"Do you need anything else? Can I just keep doing this and that's enough?"

"Yes, that's enough."

Brad sensuously brushed Traci's pussy for several minutes.

"What if I slip my finger between your pussy lips and rub up and down, like this?"

Brad noticed that Traci was very wet, much much wetter than when he went down on her earlier.

"Does that feel good? Could I keep doing this? Do you need anything more?"

"No, nothing more. It feels good. Nothing more."

After a few more minutes: "What if I rub this little button and then slip my fingers deep into your pussy. Does that feel good? Can I keep doing that?"

"Yes. Yes, keep doing that."

"Doing what?"

"Keep petting my pussy, keep rubbing my clit. Just, keep on doing what you're doing."

"Why? Why do you want me to keep doing what I'm doing?"

"Just. Keep. . . "

"Tell me what you feel. Why should I keep doing this?"

His fingers slipped rhythmically up the slit of her pussy to her clit, which he gently massaged for a few strokes, then slowly down until two fingers plunged deeply into her burning moistness. Then up again. . .

"Tell me."

"Everywhere you touch me a wave of warmth spreads up my belly into my chest. When I feel your fingers inside me it feels like my insides expand and when you touch my clit it's like you're pulling a thread out of my heart."

"And do you need anything more than that?"

"Yes, I want to come," she whimpered.

"Why? Doesn't this feel good as it is? Don't you like having warm waves wash over your body? Don't you like having your insides open up?"

"Yes?"

"What was that?"

"Yes, I like this, it feels good. But . . ."

"Then why would you want to stop this? Please don't come. Please! I like to watch you this way. I want to watch you look like this all night. Please?"

"I'll try," Traci said weakly.

"Good, just relax, take a deep breath. Focus on the sensations. Isn't that good?"

"Yes, that's good. The sensations are good."

"Good. So don't come yet, please. Just listen to the feelings, just taste the pounding of your heart, just feel sound of your breathing, just do that."

Brad's fingers kept slipping up and down, in and out. He could see Traci's neck and upper chest flushed pink. Her hands were gripping the bed covers.

"Just let it go. Just enjoy the feelings."

After a few moments: "Brad?"

"Are you ready now?"

"Yes yes yes."

"OK, but no trying, just let the waves wash over you, no trying."

"Fuck, I'm not goddamn trying! I'm goddamn trying not to because you fucking said so!"

Brad almost laughed out loud at that but said nothing. Instead, he centered his fingertips over Traci's clit and pressed a little harder while making a quick circular motion.

"Ooooooh," from Traci in a long rising wail.

"Oh god, oh god." Traci tossed her head back and forth, then clenched, mouth frozen in an unspoken "Oh," legs stretched out, hands clutching a bunch of bed covers. Finally some gasps as Brad slowed, then stopped. Traci exhaled, panting, her body finally relaxing.

Brad slid back up next to her and she melted into his arms.

"You ever make me wait that long again and you're dead meat, mister! Got that?" She pounded a fist into his chest for emphasis.

They looked at each and broke out laughing till their bellies hurt.

When their laughter finally subsided, they made long, slow love to each other and spent the night in each other's arms.

So Traci was amazed when they both stumbled into the kitchen the next morning to make coffee, only to find all the dishes from the night before washed and neatly stacked on the counter, just as Brad said they would be.

Traci put her hands on her hips and stared at Brad open mouthed, silently demanding an explanation.

Brad just shrugged his shoulders and said, "Great dogs."

Try as she might, she couldn't get Brad to tell her how he managed that. It was the only secret he kept from her for as long as they were together.

And that was a very, very long time.