More Than Darkness
14
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This is a crossover smutty story featuring the character of
Tess/Salida ie Tess' Voice in Neon Dasies' OUATIM fics on ff.net, More Than
Eyes Alone Can See, and More Than Life,
and Sands/Jeffrey from Merrie's OUATIM fic on ff.net, Darkness Rising. This story
will make some sense, probably, if you read it without having read either of
our stories, but it'll make a hell of a lot more if you just read them. They're
all worth reading, we promise. Anyway, on with the show.
Rated for what has happened, and what might happen.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sands opened his eyes the next
morning and immediately tensed, anticipating some kind of confrontation with
Jeffrey for waking up next to Salida before he did.
found out the reason why; Salida wasn’t here.
and the little sunrise was nowhere to be found.
still wearing a pair of boxers and his own black silk pajama pants which
Jeffrey must have put on the previous night.
display of consideration on Jeffrey’s part and moved out of bed, stretching
slowly so that his back and neck cracked audibly.
sunrise, then? Surely she didn’t sleep
by her fucking self on the last day she and Jeffrey are going to be together
for the next two? He rose up off of
the bed and decided to go look for her himself.
“
wanting to wake her if she was still asleep.
nine – but that didn’t necessarily mean anything.
and paused, taking a deep breath before opening it slowly and looking inside.
His breath caught in his throat as he saw her lying on the bed, utterly
dead to the world, flat on her back with her hair fanned out from her head in a
dark wave. She was wearing a t-shirt and
shorts from what he could see above the top of the bed sheet at her waist.
sleep to expose a patch of tantalizingly bare skin, but nothing really of
interest. He sighed and leaned against
the doorjamb, unable to turn away as he watched her sleep.
seem to be a danger at the moment so he stayed put.
rather beautiful, he thought to himself for something other than the first
time. If he was being honest with
himself, he did kind of lust after her. Not
necessarily because she was beautiful – although she was – but because she was
the fucking forbidden fruit that was dangled in front of his eyes day in and
day out. He sighed again before turning
to leave and closing the door behind him with an audible click before she could
wake up and things would get messy.
Looking over the rather Spartan contents of the refrigerator with a
frown, he decided to forgo breakfast at home and go out on the town.
exploration of the city, so he supposed now was the fucking time.
If I’m going to have to live in
this fucking city for the next however long the two lovebirds decide to, one of
us is going to have to get a fucking car, Sands thought to himself with a
frown, walking to the open-air cafe he knew was nearby.
childish penchant for having cold cereal for breakfast every morning and
decided that he wanted a croissant and a cup of extremely black coffee to wash
it down. He wandered into the cafe and
frowned to see that it was surprisingly pretty well packed at this time of the
morning, but he found a table without too much trouble and sat down, immediately
lighting up a cigarette. He cursed
Jeffrey for getting him fucking addicted to the things, but there wasn’t a
thing he could do about it now. He could
try quitting, but unless Jeffrey was game for that idea – and he wouldn’t be – that
would never work.
Presently, a spunky woman – woman.
More likely a first year college student – came by, apron around her
waist and pen behind her ear. “Welcome
to the Side Stop Cafe.” She handed him a
menu, shaking short black hair out of her eyes.
Sands smiled at her briefly, accepting the menu, before repeating
incredulously before he could stop himself, “The Side Stop? I don’t suppose
you know where the name came from, do you?
coffee. That’s all.
it to her so that she could take it. “You
do have croissants and coffee, correct?” he asked with a quirked eyebrow at her
hesitation to take the menu from his hand.
“Best this side of the delta,” she grinned.
her batch for the day is spoken for. And
they’re still hot from the oven, if I’m not mistaken.”
Sands just shook his head, taking a drag of his cigarette as he watched
her go. Some people have entirely too much energy for this time of the fucking
morning, he thought to himself irritably.
didn’t intend to waste any more of his day alone.
sounds of
until he was so involved in them that he was completely and embarrassingly
startled when he waitress returned a moment later with his order.
“Late night?” she asked, setting a plate and a rack of jams in front of
him. She chattered away as she poured
him a cup of coffee, then did a one-eighty as she got a call from a nearby
table. “Enjoy your meal,” she chirped
over her shoulder.
I wonder what she’d say if I don’t
know if I had a late night or not because I wasn’t in control of my body at the
time? Jeffrey thought to himself as he grabbed a packet of strawberry jam
from the rack and dutifully slathered his croissant before taking a large bit.
had, but it certainly beat cold cereal any day.
it was passable. It wasn’t quite as
black and bitter as he liked it, but it would do to help wake him up in any
case. He ate his breakfast in silence,
watching the other patrons of the cafe as they came and went.
variety of accents. Some of them sounded
like they were from DC, so he carefully ducked his head out of their line of
sight and hoped none of them paid too much attention to old news.
enough money on the table to pay for his bill and a tip, and got up and left,
not wanting to deal with the peppy waitress again this morning.
He stuffed his hands into the pockets of the light leather jacket he
wore and ambled down the street, stopping at a new vendor and pulling out a
newspaper before moving to a nearby park bench to read it.
unless he thought his name or deeds might be mentioned, but Sands had always
liked to stay abreast of current events.
Once he was finished with the newspaper he tucked it under his arm and
made his way to the street where he flagged down a cab.
The taxi he managed to flag down was driven by a man who apparently
didn’t speak anything more than a mix of French and Creole slang.
Needless to say, Sands didn't understand a fucking word. He just opened
the door, got in, and told the cab driver to take him someplace interesting. He
was feeling slightly adventurous on his day out alone and he was willing to
take a few risks.
“Here we are, monsieur. You said
you wanted to know what
was like,
the cabby said, gesturing to the store he had stopped in front of on Rue
Bourbon.
“Marie Laveau’s Voodoo Shop, hmm?” Sands asked, rolling his eyes.
foundless superstitious nonsense, but what the hell.
getting out of the car. The man simply
nodded and sped away as if the devil himself was on his tail.
There wasn’t really all that much too the shop, actually.
incense, enough to make his eyes water slightly and his head hurt.
more kitschy things like stuffed voodoo dolls, and the more realistic looking
things like carved black wooden statues of naked men holding spears and
standing on piles of bones. Those things
were a little creepy if he allowed himself to dwell on them.
“100% guaranteed protection against evil spirits of all kinds,” Sands
read aloud from the card attached to a little feathered and beaded charm that
had struck his fancy. “I wonder if it
protects against annoying voices in your head.
smirk. He didn’t really expect it to
work in the first place, so that was no big deal.
hand, a sudden thought struck him.
he hated him a bit too much for that, but Salida was another story.
construed by Jeffrey as a romantic gift – he wasn’t suicidal – but . . . a book
couldn’t hurt. Does she even like to read? He
thought so, but he couldn’t be sure.
money at his leisure, so he figured why the hell not.
at least get a kick out of if nothing else, Practical Voodoo by E.
Cartwright. He walked to the front of
the store and paid for his purchases before moving on.
want to return to the hotel and he planned to make the most of them.
He wandered down Rue Bourbon for awhile longer, getting invited into no
less than five strip clubs which he declined for the moment, before settling
down into a quiet little cafe for lunch.
He sat there for awhile, enjoying a large bowl of Cajun seafood gumbo
hot enough to cause beads of sweat to appear on his forehead as he ate it and
listening to a fairly decent live Zeidico band nearby.
He was just beginning to enjoy himself when he looked down at Jeffrey’s
watch and cursed simultaneously at the time and the feeling of Jeffrey stirring
within his mind. “Fuck,” he muttered
under his breath, “Why couldn’t you just stay asleep?
anyway.”
“Don’t call her that. She has a
name, you know,” Jeffrey said slowly.
“Yes, one that neither of us uses,” Sands reminded him.
“Fine,” Jeffrey was forced to concede.
aren’t you doing it?” he asked, noticing that Sands was still sitting calmly at
the cafe table finishing up the last traces of his gumbo.
with a grimace.
“Well I happen to fucking like it, so fuck you.
“Yes I know it’s fucking your day, but I want my fucking hour with my
wife,” Jeffrey said sullenly.
“Fine,” Sands said with an irritated sigh, laying money on the table for
the bill and getting up to leave. “We’ll
go and fucking see your wife since you can’t seem to be separated from her for
more than a few hours.” He was able to
hail a cab rather easily and gave the driver instructions back to the hotel.
slouched in the back of the cab, not saying a word to each other for the entire
ride home.
******************************
“Vixen, I’m home!” Jeffrey called
out through the quiet hotel room. There
was no answer. “Where the fuck is that
woman?” he asked himself, wandering from room to room looking for his absent
wife.
“Maybe she’s out cheating on you,” Sands said sarcastically.
As much as he wanted to, Jeffrey forced himself not to react to a
comment obviously intended to bait him and continued searching for his missing
wife. “She’s not fucking here.”
“What a brilliant observation on your part, Jeffrey.
dripping with scorn and sarcasm. “Call
the front desk if you’re so worried about her.
A few minutes later Jeffrey was satisfied that Salida was out
house-shopping and not murdered or cheating on him like that bastard Sands had
to insinuate, so he grudgingly allowed Sands to continue on with his day before
making him promise to return later that evening so he could see Salida then.
leave again, and Jeffrey left without further fuss.
“Good fucking riddance,” Sands muttered to himself once he felt that
Jeffrey had gone. His hand found the
charm he had just bought hanging around his neck and he threw it across the
living room in disgust. “Stupid fucking
thing didn’t work after all.” He also
dropped off the bag with the book in it in the closet of his room, deciding to
wait until Salida got home to give it to her.
lock it as he went, and continued on with his day.
******************************
As Sands was leaving the hotel,
he literally ran into someone, knocking them to the ground amid a flurry of
French curses and curly red hair.
“I’m sorry, are you alright?” he spouted out automatically, even though
he didn’t feel the least bit remorseful.
“I think you managed to bruise my ass,” the woman complained, parting
her hair and tossing it over her shoulders.
She looked up at him expectantly, one eyebrow raised.
you in too much of a rush?” she asked dryly.
Sands almost let a smirk show on his mouth at that, but he managed to
hold it back. He offered her his hand
and pulled her to her feet when she grabbed it.
apologize.” The smirk showed on his face
now without restraint. “And I definitely
apologize for . . . bruising your ass, as it were.”
“If I knew who you were, I might ask you to kiss it,” she returned,
running her eyes over him.
some prime grade hunk if I ever saw it.
“Sands,” he said with a grin, holding out his hand.
brought it up to kiss the tops of her knuckles.
you are either.”
“Aida,” she said. Standing, the
top of her head only reached as high as his shoulder, but she gave no sign that
their difference in height bothered her.
“I accept your apology.” Her eyes
were sparkling as if there was more that she wanted to say, but wasn’t going
to.
“What can I do to make it up to you?” Sands asked, trying to sound as
innocent as possible. He was interested
in the girl, she had a feminine grace – knocking her to the ground notwithstanding
– that appealed to him. He was more than
interested in fucking her tonight, but if he didn’t play his cards right, he’d
be left twisting in the fucking wind.
Aida sized him up quickly, and then spoke.
than a crappy diner.”
Sands raised his eyebrows. “What’s
this? A gold-digger?”
“Absolutely,” she grinned. “It’s
hard not to be when you have to scrounge for a decent meal or two every
day. Although,” she struck a pose, “it
does help keep my trim figure. Don’t you
agree?”
“Oh, absolutely,” Sands said with a grin.
digger I’ve ever seen,” he said, looking over her body slowly as to make his
intentions for the evening as clear as crystal.
gracefully interrupted you?” Sands asked with a self-depreciating smile.
“Yeah. Some of us have to
working at. Rehearsal is in,” she looked
at her watch, “fifteen minutes. Damn.
Without hesitation, Sands stepped up to the curb and hailed a cab.
had apparently not deserted him, so one showed up almost instantaneously.
to practice, if you’ll let me come with you and watch,” he said, holding the
door open for her.
She cocked an eyebrow at him, but shrugged.
going to be.” She climbed into the car
and gave the cabbie the address of the theater.
“Are you sure you want to come?
Surely you’ve got better things to do with your time.”
He climbed in next to her and closed the door.
interesting person I’ve ran into today. Now
granted, it’s only,
willing to say that by the same time tomorrow, you’ll still be the most interesting person I’ve met today.
“Let’s see if you’re still saying that after five hours of The Taming
of the Shrew,” she teased.
Sands laughed at that. “Oh, you
never know. I might be a huge
Shakespeare fan. Or you’re right, I
might hate it. I guess you’ll just have
to see. But I promise, no matter what
happens, I won’t get up and leave. I
might regret that, but I’m a man of my word,” he said with a smile.
She looked at him askance. “Nice
line. Too bad I’ve heard it before.
comfort.” She was looking straight
ahead, but Sands could see the small smile playing on her lips.
Sands looked askance and her and a shook his head with a laugh.
******************************
Sands was sitting in the last row
of seats in the theater when Aida showed up at his side, dressed in full
Shakespearean regalia. “Having fun?” she
asked, offering him a peanut butter cracker.
He took the cracker without thought and nodded a thanks as he munched on
a corner in thought. “You know what, I
am actually. I must admit it’s not what
I was expecting. You aren’t half bad.
you can believe me when I say that.”
“No such jade as you, if me you mean,” she shot at him.
Sands decided to play with her for a bit.
For, knowing thee to be but young and light –”
“Too light for such a swain as you to catch; And yet as heavy as my
weight should be.”
Sands broke the recital by looking her up and down.
You can’t weigh more than 100 pounds when wet.”
“One-twenty,” she admitted. “This
is pure muscle.” She playfully flexed.
“Uh-huh,” Sands said slowly, not believing a word.
“You’re not one to talk, you know,” Aida said playfully.
Sands laughed at that. “Touché,”
he said with a smile. “Fine, no more
comments on . . . size. We’ll save that
until you know me a little better,” he said with a wink and a smirk.
“Five minutes are up!” the director called.
Aida rolled her eyes. “King Henry
calls,” she muttered. “And if he doesn’t
get what he wants, heads will roll.”
and a half and we’ll be sprung. Of
course, that’s not counting the time it takes to get out of this outfit.
Sands pouted playfully but let her go.
drawled with a smirk in her direction as he watched her leave.
Despite his mediocre praise of her acting, Sands saw that there was
something about the part of Katharina that Aida must identify with.
not the belligerence he’d seen other actresses use.
even the movements of her hands conveying her challenge.
He was starting to look forward to taming his own shrew.
Sands sat back in his seat and watched Aida perform, no longer caring
about the words that were coming out of her mouth but just watching her in
general. He found that although he had
only known her for a few hours, he lothe the way she moved; like she was
walking on ice. Her every move was
graceful and sleek, like she was dancing.
but something told Sands that she could look after herself.
that means she’ll actually live through the night.
himself with a thoughtful frown as he watched her speak.
change indeed.
Aida was enjoying herself – she always did when she was onstage – but
today was different. She could feel
Sands at the back of roomroom, a brooding presence that beat at the back of the
room. She blocked it – for the most
part. She had to keep her mind in the
game. But it was almost as if she was
performing for a private audience . . . and she enjoyed it.
Very intimate.
******************************
“You all finished?” Sands asked upon
seeing Aida arrive where was sitting dressed like a civilian again.
stumbling suddenly with a curse.
“Are you alright?” Aida asked with a frown.
“I’m fine. Listen, I don’t
suppose there’s a men’s room around here somewhere?
smirk.
“There’s a ‘little thespian’s’ room, if that’ll work,” she teased.
“Thanks, I’ll be right back. Don’t
go anywhere or I’ll be forced to hunt you down.
you live that might be a bit difficult, so how about you make it easy on the
both of us and just stay here?”
She winked. “I’m still waiting
for dinner. So don’t take too long, or
“Is that a promise?” Sands asked.
“Don’t mess with starving women. We
have a tendency to get mean,” she grinned.
Then, completely out of the blue, she kissed him lightly on the
cheek. “Get going before I have to make
good on my threat.”
smiled brightly at her and headed to the ‘little thespian’s room’ without
further comment. He waited until the
door was closed behind him and he was satisfied that there was no one inside
any of the stalls or at any of the urinals before leaning heavily against one
of the porcelain sinks and staring into the mirror.
you might as well come out and say hello, Jeffrey.”
“Fucking hello,” Jeffrey muttered.
Sands narrowed his eyes at his
reflection in the mirror. “What’s it to
you? This is my day, remember?”
“Oh don’t get your fucking panties in a twist.
“Fuck you. It’s none of your fucking
concern. What do you want?”
“What I fucking want is for
you to go home so I can see my wife. Now
I’ve been fucking patient, keep up your end of the fucking bargain,” Jeffrey
said with a glare.
“You’ve been fucking patient?
vastly different definition of the word, I see.
will be fine without you for one
fucking evening. And you’ll get your
chance to see her. I’m a man of my word,
even to you,” Sands said, answering Jeffrey’s glare with one of his own.
“I am not a patient man,
Sands. Keep that in fucking mind,”
Jeffrey seethed.
Sands rolled his eyes. “Yes, I
was aware of that, thank you.”
“Oh fuck you. You know what I
fuckin–” Jeffrey was cut off mid-tirade by a man clearing his throat behind
them.
“Are you using that sink?” the man asked somewhat timidly.
“Fuck off. Can’t you see that we’re
trying to have a fucking conversation here?” Jeffrey said, gesturing to the
mirror. “You’re fucking interrupting.”
“Um, alright. I’ll just . . . I’ll
just go,” the man said, leaving the bathroom without another word.
“Nice work, asshole. Scare the
locals,” Sands shook his head with a sigh.
over. I fucking understand that you want
to see sunrise again, and I’ll let you. Just
not now, savvy?”
“Savvy,” Jeffrey conceded with a grumble.
“Savvy. If that’s all, I’d like
to continue my fucking evening, thank you.
either of us goes when the other wants to be fucking alone, that would be
great.”
Jeffrey did leave, but not before muttering a few choice curses about
Sands’ sexual preferences and heritage. Sands
rolled his eyes and turned on the sink, cupping his hands under the water and
bringing it up to his face. Once he was
sufficiently cooled off from his little tiff with Jeffrey he dried his face
with a paper towel that he tossed to a nearby trashcan, missing entirely,
before making his way back out to Aida.
She was sitting on a bench waiting for him, her legs crossed, and one
knee bouncing as she hummed tunelessly to herself.
you down.” She stood and stretched, then
grabbed her purse. “Ready to go now?”
Sands ran a hand through his slightly dampened hair.
yet? Or are you going to leave it up to
me?”
“To tell you the truth, I feel like getting the biggest, juiciest burger
I can find . . . but I don’t mind leaving things up to you either.
for it.”
“A burger doesn’t sound half bad.
tackled you before I even knew you, remember?” Sands asked with a laugh.
“Yeah, but Momma raised me to be polite.
And that includes allowing my ‘date’ to pick the restaurant if he’s
paying, not choosing anything that costs more than he’s ordering, not belching
in public. . .” she trailed off and made a face.
stick. So,” she wrapped one arm around
his, “I suppose I’m at your mercy for the time being.”
“I think I rather like the sound of that, Aida.
hamburger joint in town.” He smirked at
her and they walked outside, arm in arm where he once again managed to hail a
cab without difficulty. It was just his
day, it seemed. He opened the door for
Aida and let her enter first before climbing in beside her and giving
instructions to the driver, “
Port of Call,” he instructed, and then
sat back in the seat and turned to Aida.
town, but the hamburgers are to die for.”
mentally cursed himself. He really didn’t
want to kill this woman tonight.
“Sounds like fun,” she said. The
rest of the ride was completed in silence, Aida watching the streets, and Sands
watching Aida.
******************************
The restaurant was a quaint kind
of place if Sands was really forced to comment on it.
wood chairs, wood tables, everything. The
overall motif was somewhat nautical; with drawings of ships and schooners
lining the walls. The place was
relatively packed for it being so early in the evening, but they had no trouble
finding a table quickly. Sands acted the
ever-gentleman and helped Aida into her chair.
in dining situations, well so did mine,” he said when he had sat down, taking
in her raised eyebrow at his actions.
thought, striving not to let his thoughts show on his face.
Aida smiled mischievously. “If
you’re not careful, I’m going to start thinking you’re too good to be true, and
then where will I be?”
“Oh I probably am too good to be true,” Sands said with a wink.
other place I would rather be than right here, right now, with you.
flattery, that’s the honest truth.”
“I bet you say that to all the women you knock off their feet,” she
teased, even while her pale complexion was growing red in the light provided by
the thousands of white Christmas lights that lit the restaurant.
“No, as far as I can remember, that’s a first,” Sands said pulling out a
cigarette and sticking it a corner of his mouth before looking at her.
to break it.”
She considered it for a moment, then shrugged.
long as you’re not breathing it into my face, I suppose I don’t mind.”
perusing the menu as she fought to restrain her wildly curly hair.
“No worries there. I wouldn’t do
that to you anyway,” Sands said, pulling out Jeffrey’s silver Zippo lighter and
using Jeffrey’s hand to open it deftly before bringing it up to light his
cigarette. He took a long drag and blew
the smoke up to the ceiling before tapping the end of the cigarette into the
ashtray Aida had placed in front of him with a nod of thanks.
of the way as we wait for the waiter to come – oh never mind, here he is,”
Sands said, gesturing to the approaching waiter.
“A double-bacon cheeseburger, fries, and a side of coleslaw.
“How would you like that cooked, Miss?” the waiter asked, remembering
her order rather than writing it down.
“Well-done.”
“And for you sir?” the waiter asked, turning to Sands.
“I’d like the same, even down to the ice tea, except I want my burger
extra rare,” Sands said, laughing to himself softly when he saw Aida’s small
frown of distaste.
“Very good sir,” the waiter said and left them alone.
“I’ll never understand what the attraction of eating blood is,” she murmured,
playing with a napkin. should rank right up there with earthworms and sardines.”
Sands laughed and took a long drag on his cigarette before snubbing it
out in the ashtray. “I guess we’ll just
have to agree to disagree on that one.
So, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, let’s get the
term loosely. Tell me about
yourself. Everything, anything.
“There’s not much to tell. I grew
up in a tiny little town not too far from here.
My parents didn’t support my desire to act, so once I graduated from
high school I moved down here and got a job, and started acting in community
theater at nights. After a few years of
that, I got hired on to a troupe. Not a
big one, but it pays the bills. So . . .
I suppose I’ve been here in
for about seven years now. And I like
talking in front of fires, and long walks on the beach . . . in the winter, so
you don’t get eaten alive by the mosquitoes.”
She smiled. “Is that what you had
in mind?”
“I suppose so,” Sands said with a genuine laugh.
weeks ago. I’m still living out of a
hotel room at the moment, but I’m in the process of going through the hell of
finding an apartment.”
and the fucking permanent wedding band on my finger?
I’m currently without a job now. But I
don’t want you to think I’sisssissy spoiled rich brat,” Sands said, itching for
another cigarette already. Just one more
thing to damn Jeffrey for. “I graduated
at the top of my class in grad school with a Master’s Degree in Clinical and
Abnormal Psychology. So I’m looking
around for something in that line of work.
in winter are definitely in if you’re not sick of me by then.”
he couldn’t help himself from thinking.
“Ooh . . . getting serious,” she teased.
“Tell me, Sands, why don’t you have a first name, and why hasn’t some
other woman snapped you up by now?”
“I have a first name,” Sands said with a sigh.
rather not share it with you for the sake of my own embarrassment.”
“Oh, now I definitely want to hear it.
Spill,” Aida instructed with a smile.
“Just, don’t laugh alright?” Sands eredered,
“Is that all?” she asked, laughing softly.
Napoleon, or Beauregard or something. Or
“I still hate it. Call me Sands
and we’ll continue to get on fine, savvy?”
“Ok,” she smiled at him, biting back the temptation to call him by his
first name. “So, Sands, is there any
more distasteful conversation you’d
like to get out of the way?”
“Distasteful? No, not
really. And this isn’t all that bad to
tell you the truth. I thought it would
be somehow harder to get the required information about each other out of the
way. But it’s not.
name, I’ll be more than happy to answer your questions.
giving into his cravings and pulling out and lighting another cigarette.
always made him want to smoke. He didn’t
bother questioning it, he just gave in.
Aida looked up as their drink arrived, immediately dumping several
packets of sugar in hers, stirring it with her straw.
I’m fairly low maintenance. Comes
from living on a very restricted
income. I’ve learned to take life as it
comes, and I can’t say that I have anything to complain about tonight.”
“Well that’s good. That means
that I’m doing something right at least,” Sands said, removing the lemon from
his iced tea, squeezing it above the glass, and dropping it back in, stirring
the added lemon juice with his straw before taking a sip.
he commented, planning to purposefully ignore the comment about a restricted
income unless she brought it up again. He
had never wanted for anything in his entire life, and he knew it.
“It’s either that or worry and plan yourself within an inch of your
life, and then what do you have left to enjoy?
There’s no surprises left for you, no discoveries.
watch TV for all the enjoyment you’t out out of living.” Aida knew she was
talking a lot, but she honestly believed what she was saying.
without taking more on your shoulders than you have too.
clothed, I have nothing to worry about.
And anything that does come up
can be worried about tomorrow. That’s
what tomorrow is for.”
“It’s a good philosophy to live by.
I wish I could say I followed it,” Sands said with a slight sigh.
“Well, in that case, next we’re going to enjoy our meal, perhaps talk
some more, and then go for a stroll. And
we’ll just have to wait to see what happens after that,” she teased as their
waiter set down their food in front of them
Sands smiled at that and laid his cigarette in the ashtray in front of
him. “It sounds like a good plan to
me. I think I’d like a little
spontaneity for a change,” he said with a wink, taking a bite of his bloodied
hamburger.
Aida winced, then immediately had to wince again as her burger squirted
some sort of secret sauce, ketchup, and mustard all over her chin.
“Here, let me help you with that,” Sands offered, reaching over with a
napkin. Holding her head still with one
hand, he got most of it, but ended up wiping off a last bit with a finger.
sauce off his other with his mouth, holding Aida’s eyes with his.
with some sort of unidentifiable emotion.
“I suppose I should thank you for that,” she murmured, a slight smile
playing on her lips. “That secret sauce
can be dangerous. Especially to one’s
wardrobe.”
“I can see that,” Sands said slowly, still not looking away from her,
the brief taste of secret sauce from her lips dancing on his tongue.
about that, savvy?” he asked with a smirk.
that all rather charming just now,” he said with a soft laugh, picking up his
smoldering cigarette and taking a drag, still looking at her.
his cigarette back down in the ashtray.
“I’m sure,” she drawled, returning to her food una unabated enthusiasm,
if not a bit more caution.
Sands watched her as she ate quickly.
He’d never seen a woman eat like she did.
mouth and she didn’t make a mess. She
was polite . . . yet her food was disappearing with astonishing speed.
“Hungry?” he asked.
“Always.” Aida winked at
him. “Comes with the job, I’m sure.
those costumes that weigh a ton, and you work up an appetite.”
He smiled, and dismissed the thought that her speed was caused by more
than a few hours of work. It wasn’t his
business, and it certainly wasn’t in character for him to get concerned.
without help from him.
Aida looked up to find his eyes on her.
She looked amused for a moment, but the emotion slowly changed into mild
irrion.
been about to eat, she asked in a cool voice, “Can I help you, or are you done
feeling sorry for me?” If he didn’t
change the look on his face soon, she was going to leave.
“I don’t feel sorry for you, and I certainly don’t pity you,” Sands said
causally, tapping the ash of the the end of the cigarette he held in his right
hand. “Pitying others is not in my
nature. We make our own way in this
world, without expecting or receiving help from anyone else.
the way it will continue to be.” He
shrugged. “Yes, it’s clear that I’m a
bit more . . . well-off than you are, but if you were to ask if that mattered
to me the answer would be no,” he said firmly.
because I genuinely don’t have any.”
She looked at him strangely for a moment, as if trying to judge the
truth of his words. Finally her posture
relaxed a bit. “In that case, I suppose
you were in awe of my humongous mouth,” she drawled, trying to relieve what was
left of her tension, and as she always did, she turned to herself for
inspiration.
“It is rather large, yes,” Sands joked with a smile after taking another
large bit of his burger and eating a few French fries.
actually. And if I didn’t like to hear
you talk, I wouldn’t have sat through your play rehearsal without sleeping once,
now would I?” he asked with a laugh.
“You lie,” she accused lightly. “Practice
gets so boring that I fall asleep at
times. Imagine nodding off in the middle
of an important monologue because your own voice is boring you.”
her last comment. If she wasn’t careful,
he was going to think that she was fishior cor compliments . . . which she wasn’t.
how others saw her. The curse of all
actors. But it was her problem, and she
didn’t want reassurance.
“Ok, maybe I did nod off once or twice, but it was only for a few
minutes I promise!” Sands said, looking anything but innocent.
monologue would be somewhat problematic, yes.
“Why don’t I believe you?” she asked herself.
that’s right.” She pointed her finger at
him, “You are way too smooth for your own good, mister.”
“Yes,” Sands said with a melodramatic sigh, “I’m always getting myself
into trouble that way,” he joked. It was
odd, but he was having more fun in this single conversation with someone who’d
been a complete stranger this morning than he had in months.
home until late it will have been worth it.
“Well, as long as you’re aware of it,” she replied, throwing a crumpled
napkin onto her plate and leaning back in her chair, waiting for him to finish
his own food.
“Oh I am,” Sands said with a smirk before finishing up the last bit of
his burger and fries, leaning back in his own chair as he took a sip of his own
bitter ice tea. “Would you like desert?
can flag someone down if you like. Supposedly
they have excellent key lime pie.”
Aida shook her head. “No, that’s
alright. I asked for dinner, I got
dinner, and it’s a personal policy of mine not to share key lime pie with a man
I’ve just met. You’ve got to save
teased.
“I understand,” Sands said solemnly, but his eyes were smiling.
before asking, “Tell me more about yourself.
deepest, darkest secrets, yet, but I’d like to get to know you better.”
“Ok . . . I’m the second youngest of six children, only one of two
girls. This is the first year I’ve ever
been able to live on my own. My first
job in
waitressing. I’m a natural red-head, I
wear a size five shoe, and I love the color pink.
have one. When I was five, I started
taking ballet lessons at the local YMCA, and I did that for eight years.
drama, choir, and psychology – but didn’t really care.
and I like listening to jazz and blues.”
She looked up as a waitress refilled her glass.
but tonight I’m making an exception. And
if you want to win your way into my heart, you’ll buy me dark chocolate.”
a bit more about yourself now?”
“I’m an only child and an orphan at seventeen.
He laughed somewhat humorlessly and
continued, “I wear a size 10 and my favorite color is black.
possible. Well, I did anyway,” he said
with a shrug. “I already told you I
graduated at the top of my class in college.
never had any trouble getting good grades.
don’t know if I hate blackened catfish because I’ve never had any, and I also
like jazz and blues. I’m not much of a
coffee drinker, I’ve got enough bad habits,” he said, raising the cigarette
between his pointer and middle fingers to demonstrate.
chocolate. Is there anything else you’d
like to know?” he asked, grinding his cigarette butt into the ashtray before
leaning back in his chair again with a relaxed air about him.
“Are you afraid of walking in downtown
in the dark? Because I live just a few
blocks from here and I really should be getting home.
tomorrow.” She shrugged.
spend the money if you’re willing to walk with me.”
“No, I’m not afraid. People
should be more afraid of me as a matter of fact,” Sands said with a wink,
immediately regretting the comment. He
didn’t want her asking about his rather . . . psychotic personality.
had the opportunity to fuck her yet. “I
know how to take care of myself and I’d be more than willing to take you home.
there he is at last,” he exclaimed, watching the waiter arrive to place their
check on the table. Sands put down a few
bills and handed it back to him. n stn style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “Don’t
worry about change,” he instructed. The
waiter nodded and left. “Ready to go?”
She nodded, standing and stretching.
Damn, my feet are killing me,
she moaned silently. But there was
nothing for it. Cabs were nice, but she’d
taken enough free rides off Sands. She
wasn’t against a bit of charity, but this was pushing her limits.
out of the restaurant and down the street towards her apartment.
The nice neighborhood that housed the Port of Call soon gave way to
grungier streets. Instead of being well
lit, they were lit by a few broken street lamps and the setting sun.
windows in the surrounding buildings were curtained.
and knew it wasn’t as bad as it looked.
Things occasionally happened, but never to anyone she’d known, and she
was careful. As las yas you weren’t
alone, you were generally safe. And she
believed Sands’ claim that he could take care of himself.
something underneath the surface that told her he’d be a tough custoin
in
fight.
It wasn’t long before Aida stopped in front of an apartment building and
turned to him. “I suppose this is your
stop, right?” he asked with a disappointed sigh he barely attempted to mute.
end. That meant he had only one more day
of complete freedom left before Jeffrey came back.
he thought to himself, feeling Jeffrey stir at the mention of his name.
you bastard. Go back to sleep.
hoped that she hadn’t noticed anything. If
she had, he would have to leave in a hurry and he didn’t really want to do that.
This
isn’t fucking fair. Don’t you do it, you
bastard. Go back to fucking sleep.
Aida was too busy studying the concrete step beneath her feet to notice
Sands’ sudden tension. She was wrestling
with her own demons. Normally, she didn’t
get physically involved with a guy quickly, but there was something about this
one that made her feel . . . comfortable.
Like they’d known each other for years.
Yeah, con artists work that way
too, she told herself.
another part asked. Aida had to admit to
herself that she had a good point.
“Lest you get the wrong impression, I don’t usually do this,” she
murmured. Then, before Sands could ask
what she was talking about, she leaned in and kissed him softly on the lips.
Before he could even begin to think about the consequences, Sands found
himself kissing her back with every passionate particle of his entire being.
and he was thoroughly enjoying himself. He
was just about to dn thn the kiss when he pulled back and immediately tensed,
waiting for her to slap him. “I’m not
really sorry that happened, but if you want to slap me, go ahead,” he said,
lifting his chin a little, determined to take whatever she gave him like a man
at least.
“Why should I?” she asked, her voice quiet but curious.
either. I hope you don’t.”
pay –”
Sands cut her off with another passionate kiss before pulling away
slowly to look at her. “I would never
think that, Aida. Now . . . would you
think it presumptuous of me to ask if we could go inside at least?
to do it where anyone might walk by.”
Aida bit her lip, trying to remember what state her small apartment was
in. She tried not to spend a lot of time
indoors, but she did manage to make a mess.
She tended to let things fall where they may, and then her her path
around them. But she couldn’t think of
any messes that would be large enough to embarrass her, so she nodded
slowly. “Yeah, come on up.”
“Thank you,” Sands said with a nod and then followed her into the
building and up to her apartment.
Aida unlocked her door, and the two additional deadbolts she’d installed
herself. She might live in this
neighborhood, and she might trust her neighbors, but she wasn’t a fool.
many chances. Flicking on the light
switch, she led the way inside. “Pardon
the mess, I didn’t know I was going to have visitors.”
tea? I don’t have coffee, but I do like
to have something hot to drink on hand should the temperature ever drop –”
“That’s alright. Tea is fine.
it?” Sands asked slowly. “Unless you’re
willing to deal with me hovering over you in your kitchen, that is,” he said
with a smirk.
Aida actually blushed as his choice of phrasing brought some rather
explicit images to mind. “Yeah,” she
gestured towards the living area. “The
loveseat is actually pretty comfortable for second-hand ituriture.
immediately after purchasing it.”
Walking into the kitchen, she picked up the tea kettle to make sure
there was water in it, then turned on the stove.
she pulled out a stoneware mug and a several packets of tea.
called. “I’ve got raspberry, mint,
orange spice, chamomile, earl grey, and . . .” she turned the last package
over, still not finding a label, “Lipton’s, I think.”
“I’ll take the mystery one. I’m
in the mood for some spontaneity tonight,” he called to the kitchen.
for looking slightly worn and threadbare.
– smaller even than one of the bedrooms of his parents’ mansion before it was
razed to the ground – but it was nice.
The tea was quickly made. “Do you
take cream or sugar?” she asked. “Although,
the closest I have toam aam at the moment is skim milk.”
“Don’t worry about it. It’ll be
fine by itself, I’m sure,” Sands called out, rising as she entered the room,
teacup in hand. When he saw that she
didn’t need any help, he sat back down, making room for her to sit beside him.
would be too hot to drink, but wanting to taste it anyway.
the scalding liquid. Maybe he could keep
Jeffrey at bay by threatening to burn their tongue.
fucking talk, and having a burnt tongue might impede that.
mention that kissing would be someone difficult as well.
yourself with Aida. Don’t do anything
just now. He’s not waking up . . . yet.
Aida felt that Sands was nervous about something, but didn’t want to
pry. Taking the offered seat, she
started wringing her fingers, before setting them firmly on her knees.
have no idea what to do with myself.”
Sands set his cup on a nearby table before turning back to her and grabbing
her hands in one of his on her lap. “Then
don’t do anything. go go with it.
comes? Employ that.”
being supremely gentle. He wanted more,
but he didn’t want to scare her off and end a night that was just beginning.
He was right. This was no time to
be shy. For all she knew, this was
kismet. Fate.
with it. Leaning forward, she
pressed her lips into his, parting them to catch his bottom lip between
hers. Freeing a hand, she brought it up
to his neck, her fingers playing with the hairs at the nape of his neck.
this felt . righright.
Sands moaned a little as Aida worried his bottom lip gently between her
teeth before reclaiming control of the kiss and thrusting his tongue out to
lick at her lips in invitation. She opened her mouth without hesitation and he
took no time in deepening the kiss; his tongue sought out every nook and cranny
of her mouth while hers did the same.
hair, his fingers becoming entangled in her curls. He loved it.
Aida hummed in the back of her throat as she shifted so she was sitting
a little higher than he was. The hand he
still held twisted so their fingers could entwine.
through her veins, she pulled away, her eyes fluttering open to meet his.
moving fast . . . but I don’t think I mind.”
“You don’t think you mind, or you don’t mind?
going to do this if you don’t want me to.
then mentally cursed himself for putting that word into her mind.
but I will,” Sands said with a small smile.
Aida thought about it, but ultimately shook her head.
don’t want to stop. This just feels . .
. right.” She started running her
fingertips over his face. “I don’t know
why, but it does.”
Sands smiled into her touch, kissing the fingertips as they went past
his lips. “Then I won’t stop.
today, but you’re beautiful, Aida,” he said softly, kissing her on the corner
of her mouth. “And I mean it.
between kisses as he kissed her other cheek, her nose, and her forehead lightly
before moving to reclaim her mouth, his fingers tightening around hers as he
did so, his other hand moving slowly down to her shoulder.
wanted to make sure. He moved a hand to
the front of her shirt and caressed her left breast lightly before pausing to
gauge her reaction.
Aida froze as shudders wracked her body.
There was a difference between acting through a love scene on stage with
a colleague and having a sexy stranger touch her so intimately.
his lips, shifting in her seat. “But if
we’re going to . . . do this, may I suggest someplace with a bit more room?”
suggestion, but decided to get over it.
mantra steadying her nerves.
'>
“Lead the way,” Sands said with a smile, pulling away briefly so she
could stand up.
With a shy smile, she pulled gently on his haleadleading him into the
small bedroom in the back of the apartment.
She hadn’t gotten around to buying a bedstead yet, so her mattress was
on the floor, but it was comfortable, and had pillows, clean blankets, and she
made sure to sweep the floor every other day.
The walls held pictures of rehearsals and performances, handbills,
newspaper reviews, a few Broadway poster replicas, and a single portrait of her
family. Other than that, there was a
small bookcase, overflowing with books, and a radio.
Sands could sense that the sight of the bed might be a little daunting
no matter how willing she was acting, so he took the decision out of her hands
and sat down on the edge of the mattress, pulling her down beside him.
the kiss he shared with her a moment later had a sense of longing to it.
himself to be patient. His hand did find
his way back to her breast, however, and his fingers took their time in finding
her nipple through the fabric of her shirt and pinching it lightly.
slowly, pulling his mouth away from her but not his hand.
“Well, you could lead by example,” she teased, playing with his
buttons. “And if you’re worrying about
maidenly shyness or some such nonsense, you don’t need to.
anymore. I’m not well explored, but I’m
not . . .” she trailed off, shaking her head self-deprecatingly.
you about my past boyfriends?” Looking
him in the eye, she said softly, “There’s a difference between acting and
life. When acting you become someone
else. But this,” she gestured between
them, “this requires . . . honesty. And
to be honest, I’ve always been a
better actress than a lover.”
“Don’t worry about that. As long
as you don’t fake it, we’ll get along fine,” Sands said, his eyes sparkling
with mischief as he reached to unbutton her shirt slowly.
Ok, not quite what I had in mind,
but it’ll work, Aida thought, her eyes slipping down from Sands’ face to
his neck as he worked on getting her shirt off.
But as she sat there docilely, she realized what she was doing.
experience with men, and she wasn’t afraid to act on it.
slowly unbuttoning Sands’ black shirt.
Sands had unbuttoned Aida’s shirt all the way but couldn’t get it past
her elbows as she had her arms up to unbutton his shirt, something he enjoyed,
so he took his time in running his hands over the curves of her breasts beneath
a peach colored bra that had probably been quite lovely at one time but was
looking rather worn now.
solve. He reached a hand around her
back and unhooked the bra after a moment’s fumbling, letting it fall on top of
her shirt at her lap. Much better.
Aida’s wandering hands paused momentarily as her bra fell to her
lap. Now was usually the time she
started depending on bravado to get her through things, but something told her
that would be the wrong approach with Sands.
So she ignored the fact that she was naked from the waist up, and
concentrated on freeing the last few buttons on his shirt.
we match.”
Admiring her calmness and confidence, Sands pulled his hands away from
their inspection of her breasts and slipped his shirt off onto the floor,
allowing her to do the same. “Indeed we
do,” he said with a smirk, leaning down to kiss the pale skin of her collarbone
and the tops of her breasts softly and slowly, his hands caressing her sides,
and stomach as he did so. He casually
ran his tongue across one of her nipples before pulling away and moving to take
off his shoes as if he had done nothing of the sort, but he couldn’t stop a
wicked smirk from showing on his face.
thought as he began to unlace his shoes.
supplicants.
Aida was already barefoot, having taken off her shoes somewhere in the
kitchen. She’d probably trip over them
in the morning. Which reminded her . . .
“Be right back.
electric bill will go through the roof.”
Quickly she left, quickly she turned off all but a small table lamp, and
quickly she returned. On the threshold
she paused, observing Sands as he lounged on her bed.
and let it fall to the floor before throwing herself belly-down on the
mattress. It felt good to be off her
feet for the day.
“Feel better?” Sands asked with a laugh, hearing her sigh as she flopped
on the bed before taking a moment to openly admire her scantily clad body, feeling
horribly overdressed. He stood up at the
side of the bed and slowly removed his leather pants until he was completely
nude, having forgone underwear as a compromise in wearing the tight leather
pants. He wished he had worn them now, only
for the fact that he thought he’d like having Aida take them off of him.
unashamed of his nudity, and called out softly, “Come here, Aida.
“Nope,” she said. “You want to
touch me, you’re going to have to move.
I’m enjoying the chance to relax.”
“What if I don’t want you relaxed?” Sands asked with a smirk, crawling
over to her. He didn’t like being told
what to do, but he would deal with it for now.
he immediately began massaging out the knots in her muscles.
disappointed, and I may have to resort to hostile measures.
She winced as the pressure of his hands worked the knots out of her
shoulders and .
the feeling of freedom that massages brought, the act itself was painful.
any time soon,” she muttered, trying not to let her discomfort show in her
voice.
His hands paused as he felt her tense.
“A bit, but it’ll be worth it in the end.
“And on the discomfort level, there’s worse things to experience.
me too hard.”
“I didn’t think you would, but I thought I’d better ask all the same,” Sands
said resuming his efforts, moving his hands and long fingers over every muscle
in her back and continuing downward slowly.
falling asleep, because I was being completely serious about the hostile
actions,” he said, moving his hands to her lower back.
“What kind of hostile actions?” she asked idly, feeling her body slowly
giving up its tension to his kneading hands.
“Well, that depends on how mischievous I was feeling at the moment.
irritated, I might try tickling you. If,
on the other hand, I started to reach a level where I was pissed off, I might
resort to other measures. While hostile
is a little too strong of a word for what I would do, it’s not entirely inaccurate.
What I would do, is that I would take
this hand right here,” he held up his right hand, “and do horribly wicked
thino yoo you to get you to wake back up again,” he said with a devilish smirk.
“As for what kinds of wicked things
those might be, I could demonstrate if you like.”
“Go ahead,” she said, finally feeling her body melting into the
mattress.
“I was so hoping you would say that,” Sands said with a smirk.
and began moving his hands over her ass slowly before moving a hand in-between
her legs, smiling widely when he encountered wetness there.
her until his searching fingers found her clit which he began to manipulate
slowly. “Is this alright?”
return to keep asking, but he would while he still could.
“No,” she whispered, pulling away to roll onto her back.
hand in hers, and set it on her abdomen.
“This is better.”
“Definitely better,” he murmured, moving his hand down her stomach to
pull down her underwear slowly with her help before reclaiming her clit in his
fingers once , mo, moving to kiss one of her breasts as his fingers did the
work. He was a believer in foreplay, up
to a point. As long as it was
reciprocal. He wanted her to touch him
as well, but the only way he’d ask such a request was when he couldn’t bare her
not to any longer. He didn’t beg, and
asking was close enough to begging in his book, so he stayed silent.
As Sands started planting kisses over her chest and shoulders, one of
Aida’s hands came up to hold him near her, tangling in his hair, even pulling
it slightly as his fingers started moving over her faster.
her other arm started running lightly up and down his spine.
he was rousing in her, she started making soft, whimpering moans, her head
tossing on the pillow beneath it.
“The noises you’re making are driving me crazy, do you realize that?”
Sands asked, slowing his hands’ movements perceptibly.
don’t have all night, remember? You told
Jeffrey you’d give him an hour today to spend with Salida.
knew what he meant by that because asking such questions irritated him.
“Yeah,” she muttered, moving restlessly under his hands.
“Hallelujah for modern medicine,” he muttered under his breath before
positioning himself in front of her.
“Are you ready, Aida?” he asked slowly, his eyes locked on hers.
point,” he managed to say between slightly clenched teeth, his body starting to
tense from the force of holding himself back.
“Give it to me, big daddy,” she whispered, a wry smile on her face.
take it my–”
Sands thrust into her forcefully, stilling whatever comment she was
about to say. From the first moment of
entry he knew that he was going to have issues with his control over her.
gotten himself properly laid. He thrust
into her hard, he thrust into her fast.
And he would continue to do so until they were either both happily
fucked, or until she asked him to stop.
Maybe. There was only so far his
graciousness at his desire to get laid would go, and he was nearing that point
with every thrust of his hips. He
started kissing her neck as he moved, encouraged by the sounds she was making
to go on.
His first entry had caused a small twinge of pain to go through her –
she wasn’t a large woman – but it’d quickly faded.
body as Sands kept thrusting into her, over and over, relentlessly burrowing
inside her. Aida found herself
whimpering softly as her legs came up to grip his sides.
she wrapped her hands around them, arching her back off the bed to get closer
to him. Closer to the hot body hovering
over hers tantalizingly. To the hot
mouth sucking at her neck. “Oh
Sands didn’t have to be told twice, and his thrusts increased in both
speed and force incrementally. To drive
himself at such a pace was somewhat taxing, but he could feel himself spiraling
faster and faster into a lust-filled abyss and he knew that Aida was there with
him. He moved to suckle at her ears hard
before moving back to her neck and shoulder, redoubling his efforts.
out of her throat and he felt himself moaning an echo as she tightened her legs
grip around him. It was almost painful,
that grip, but he had always enjoyed a bit of pain with his pleasure.
scabbed over marks he constantly woke up with after he and Salida had been
together were any indication. He forced
himself to continue kissing through his moan, and Aida seemed to enjoy the
sensation. “Oh God, Aida,” he moaned,
feeling himself come close to going over the edge as she propped herself up off
of the bed lightly in an attempt to bring them closer.
fucking lighting up to Sands’ lust-fogged brain.
“Sands,” she whispered urgently.
“Oh god, I think I’m going to . . .” she gasped as one of his hands
traveled between their bodies to play with her clit, “I’m going to come.”
her harshly, her arms collapsing so she fell back to the bed.
close.”
Sands grunted as he thrust a few more times, each more forceful than the
last, unrelentingly toying with her clit when he felt her muscles quiver around
him at the beginnings of her orgasm. He
let himself go to join her, and they both came hard and fast in a chorus of
gaps, groans, and long, loud moans. After
a few minutes when they were both spent and satiated, he collapsed on top of
her but immediately moved to the side, not wanting to crush her as his chest
heaved for breath. “Well, that was fun,”
he said at last, daring her to say otherwise.
he hadn’t managed to kill her yet, but as she had served her purpose, she was
living on borrowed time. It wasn’t that
he wouldn’t mind seeing her again, but psychopathy was random and violent, and
if he was honest with himself he had never been quite able to predict his own
actions.
Unaware of the thoughts running through Sands’ head, Aida laid quietly on
her back, trying to catch her breath. Once
her muscles were cooperating with her again, she rolled onto her side so swas was leaning against him as she regained her equilibrium.
turned his face towards her. She looked
into his face seriously for a long moment, before breaking into a gentle smile
and raising her face to kiss him gently.
He couldn’t help but smile in return, feeling content and satiated.
a hand down her slightly sweat-dampened cheek.
cheek as he spoke.
“Anything that doesn’t require moving from the bed,” she murmured
against his lips. “That, or order in
some key lime pie. I think my rules for
what I will and won’t do on a first date just went out the window.”
“You don’t have to count this as our first date.
however many hours that was as our first date if it makes you feel any better,”
he said with a smirk. “Not that that was
necessarily first date material, but it was certainly more than most utter
strangers would have done in my situation, if I do say so myself,” Sands said,
smirking again.
“No, I want to count this as our first date.
most of the day.” Aida’s lips drifted
down to Sands’ ear as she spoke, and they started placing soft kisses on his
neck as she trailed off.
Some time later, feeling very content, she whispered, “As much as I
enjoy a good fuck, I also like taking my time.
I don’t suppose you want to have a snail race, do you?”
Sands laughed at that. It was
funny; he was laughing more in the short hours he had been with Aida, than in the
entire two weeks he had been living in
with Jeffrey and
willing to go along with that,” he sighed, ining ing his head slightly so that
she could kiss more easily. “I don’t
have anywhere else I’d rather be at the moment.”
“That’s good,” she whispered, propping herself up on her elbows so she
could reach his mouth more easily. “I
suppose we can save the pie for next time.”
She hoped she hadn’t just overstepped the line, but she couldn’t bring
herself to worry about it. Not when
those oh-so-kissable lips were so close to her own.
“Next time,” Sands murmured emotionlessly, as he allowed her to kiss
him. The truth was that he didn’t know
if there would be a next time. He was
willing for there to be, but could he keep control of his fucking psychotic
impulses until then?
in the back of his head assured him. He
agreed and gave himself fully to Aida’s kisses without another thought.
Aida took her time, seemingly investigating every bump and line of Sands’
body with fingertips and mouth. Her
feather-light fingers ran over everything from his throat to the soles of his
feet. When his toes reflexively curled
from her teasing, she laughed gently, then moved back up his body, giving him a
slow but thorough kiss. When she pulled
away, she murmured, “Your turn.”
His hands on her shoulders made her lie flat on her back, and she closed
her eyes as he made his own slow exploration of her.
Sands took as much time as she had with him, running his hands over
every bit of flesh he could reach, memorizing her body with his fingertips. He
didn’t focus on any one part of her body, instead moving his hands in a slow
dance over her pale skin. He ran his
fingertips over the curve of her breasts, the shells of her ears, and the
length of her short legs with a look of determined focus fixed upon his face.
running his hands through her curled and consequently tangled bright red hair.
kiss a dusting of freckles across her nose before moving to her mouth and
kissing her passionately. He could be
patient, up to a point, and that point was fast approaching.
Aida let him control the kiss for a moment before pulling away.
asked in a somewhat breathless voice.
Sands pulled away with a sigh, running a hand through his hair in
frustration. “I probably should have
told you sooner, but patience is not one of my strong suits,” he said with a
short laugh. “But if you’ve got your
heart set on slow and steady, I guess I can do that,” he said with a shrug.
She grinned. “I think I could
probably make it worth your time.” Sitting
up, she pushed on his shoulders. “Just
sit back and enjoy yourself.” And with
that, she ran her warm palm along his stiffened arousal, her lips widening in a
genuine smile as his body responded, practically jumping into action.
After a few minutes of her slow, firm strokes, she decided they were
both ready. “I promise not to hog all
the fun,” she whispered as she climbed onto his lap, positioning herself over
him. “But I’d love to demonstrate what
slow and steady can do for the heart.”
Having made that declaration, she ever so slowly impaled herself on his
length. Her head flew back and a moan
escaped her as she sunk down a few inches, before tightening her inner muscles
and raising herself back up on her knees.
She repeated this process until he was embedded deep inside her.
she took deep breaths through her nose. “Can
you feel it?” she asked. “Can you feel
how deep you are inside me? I can.
him. “The body adapts, grows accustomed
to the pleasure, making the journey to orgasm just that much longer and
sweeter. With each break taken, release
grows more and more fulfilling.”
“I think I may have to redefine my feelings about taking things slow,”
Sands gasped slowly, his head falling backwards onto the bed as he closed his
eyes and moaned loudly to show just how much he was enjoying what she was doing
to him. Aida was slowly bringing him
closer and closer to orgasm, with every descent of her body as she rode him he
could feel his breath quicken and his heart rate increase dramatically.
he could think about was the feeling of her tightening her inner muscles around
him as she moved. He raised his hands to
her chest, willing himself to match her speed with effort, and caressed her
hardened nipples and chest. “Holy fuck,
Aida,” he gasped, his hands halting their progress over her breasts as she
clamped down on him hard and didn’t let him go until he could hardly see
straight, his vision was so fogged with lust.
put him out of the exquisite torture she was currently putting him through, but
there was an appeal to moving this slow, he had to admit.
long as she kept up her current rate.
started once more to caress her breasts without thought or intent; he just had
to touch her. But he kept up the slow
pace. He was committed to it now no
matter how much he might want to speed things up.
control. It rankled at his sense of
independence a little, but as long as she kept doing what she was doing, he was
more than willing to let her stay there.
Aida felt herself growing closer to the edge, and ever so slowly stopped
her movements, simply straddling Sands’ lap, his arousal sheathed inside her to
the hilt, and her entire body quivering around him.
all the stronger in the end.” His hands
on her breasts were only adding to the delightful torture.
slowly drove hesanesane. “Take a deep
breath,” she urged him, a slight smile making itself known on a face clouded by
desire. “Can you feel it?
burning with pent up energy? Can you
feel how they scream in parody of a body lost in orgasm?”
moving her lower body in tight, languid, little circles.
sensation just a little, both partners are driven back to the edge.
but I once did this for two hours. Of
course, I passed out afterwards.”
“Passing out would be a bad thing.
release finally does come,” Sands managed to comment, marveling at the fact
that he could still form a few coherent sentences when all he wanted to do was
moan with need. He was almost painfully
aware of every movement Aida made with her hips; his entire focus was narrowed
onto her. “And I’m not sure I’ll be able
to last two hours if you keep doing,” a combination of a gasp and a moan tore
its way out of his throat as Aida moved again, “that,” he finished
breathlessly.
“As long as you keep it up, I have no complaints,” she teased.
of him was still inside her. She held
that pose, feeling his frustration and her own build together.
altogether.
“Shh,” she hushed him with a finger over his lips.
her, tossing a leg over his hip and using her hands to guide him back to her
entrance. “It should be easier to keep
going slow in this position,” she murmured.
“But any time you’re ready to end things, feel free to do so.”
wouldn’t matter how hard he took her.
Sands wasted no time in entering her, and while he attempted to keep the
pace she had initiated, he simply was far too aroused to not push things
forward, and didn’t have the patience not to.
and he found himself falling off the edge before he had time to think about it.
He thrust into her harder and harder as
his climax built, not even bothering to attempt to slow himself down.
would even occur to him, and there was no turning back.
Feeling Sands lose control, Aida took the initiative to roll them,
pulling Sands on top of her as she laid on her back.
her legs around his hips and stretched out her arms above her head until her
palms rested against the wall. By
stretching out her body, she felt her own pleasure increase.
Sands was going to last much longer.
Sands moaned loudly as he felt his control slip and his thrusts sped up
accordingly as he rode out his orgasm.
He leaned down to kiss her as he came, halting his moan against her lips
as he savaged her mouth. He didn’t
really want to hurt her, but he was beyond caring about such things at the
moment.
To his great
surprise, Aida matched his ferocity, kissing him back with just as much passion
as she moaned loudly into his mouth. Her
nails scratched against the wall as she made fists of her hands before bringing
them down to hold him to her. As he
thrust into her a final time, he felt her own release finally trip, her body
writhing desperately under his. Her arms
and legs constricted around him like a boa, and her teeth sunk into his lower
lip, drawing blood. She eagerly laved
the bite with her tongue, a small growl emerging from her, taking Sands by
surprise.
Sands growled in an echo as he felt her teeth sink into his lip.
sensation alone would have probably drawn him into orgasm.
for the mixture of pain and pleasure was refreshing.
his own blood on her tongue. While he
was somewhat exhausted from their last activities, he was more than willing to
continue their play. A growl rumbled in
his throat like he was some giant cat, and he felt Aida shiver beneath him in
response. His tongue darted out to lick
at his bloodied lip and he smiled down at her before placing his bloody tongue
upon her own lips in invitation. She
opened her mouth without hesitation, and they once more shared a deep kiss
seasoned by his blood.
She sucked eagerly on his tongue for several moments.
to the small pile of belongings next to her bed and picked up a small pair of
scissors. With the ease that showed long
practice and familiarity, she made a small cut on her finger and as the blood
welled up, placed it on Sands’ lip.
Sands let out a
shuddery gasp that surprised himself as he asked softly, “I thought you said
you didn’t like blood?” before taking the cut finger into his mouth and
suckling on it gently.
“That was food,”
she murmured. “I prefer that my meat
doesn’t bleed. I don’t know why that
matters, but it does. And I learned a
few years back that it’s easier to keep a guy around if he thinks you’re . . .
you’re not into this kind of thing.” She
played, pulling her finger out of his mouth partway before allowing him to suck
it back into his mouth. “A lot of them
associate a few drops of blood with pain when it’s nothing more than a minor
discomfort. But somehow I knew that you
wouldn’t mind. Or at least that it’d be
safe to risk it on you.” The feelif
hf
his tongue curling around her finger was doing strange things to her nervous
system.
“Oh it’s definitely
safe,” Sands murmured around her finger.
arousal against her leg to make her aware of its presence.
to find someone who shares my . . . tastes,” he said with a smile, licking the
blood from his lips.
“You could always
visit a BDSM club,” she teased, pulling her index finger from his mouth.
finger, she flipped him off, a wry smile on her lips.
mouth, or are you fucking my finger?”
Sands smirked
before taking the finger into his mouth so slowly it seemed obscene.
drawled, first sticking out his tongue to lick at the tip of it, catching some
of the blood before taking her finger into his mouth with a slow movement.
over to her with his fingers splayed. “Feel
free to have your own fun, if you want. And
I want. And you don’t have to stick to
fingers either,” Sands said, a bit of eagerness tinting his voice.
Aida raised her
eyebrows, well aware of what he was suggesting.
He meant she could cut him, but he was probably also implying that he
wouldn’t mind finding her mouth on his . . . extreme southern regions.
op the them, roughly flipping them over so she was straddling him instead of
the other way around. Before he could
react or respond, her hand darted forward, opening a nick on his jugular, her
mouth fastening over it immediately.
Sands moaned and
fell back onto the bed, pressing a hand against the back of her head so that
she was pressed against his sensitive neck even hard.
she suckled him. The combination of her
suckling the stinging portion of his neck and the weight of her on his lap were
driving him fast to distraction as she could no doubt feel from her position.
“Boy, you’re just
an eager little thing, aren’t you?” she asked against his neck, shifting on his
lap so she was straddling his thigh. “Just
the smallest bit of encouragement and you’re reporting for action.”
“Henry is going to be unhappy when I can’t walk properly tomorrow.”
turning passionate.
Sands gave into the
passionate kiss for a long moment, putting all of his current arousal and
frustration into that single kiss before pulling away briefly, “I’m a guy, what
do you expect?” he murmured with a smirk.
capturing her mouth again, his hands running a circuit over her thighs, sides,
and breasts in a constantly increasing rhythm.
“Mmm,” Aida purred,
arching into his caresses, her legs falling apart, inviting his touch.
Sands’ hands and
fingers seemed to move as if possessed, seeking out the more intimate parts of
her boith ith a single-minded determination.
legs and he silently cheered at encountering the warm wetness that he had been
feeling upon his bare leg as she had straddled it.
things for the moment, so as she arched expectantly into his touch, he grabbed
her hips and reversed their positions quickly.
much too petite for that – but he did lie beside her in much the same position
she had just been in on top of him, and his hands resumed their seeking.
Aida cried out, the
sound muffled, as Sands slowly parted her wet folds with a finger, teasing her
for agonizing minutes before sinking it inside her.
sucked his tongue into her mouth and bit down on it lightly, making a
whimpering noise in the back of her throat.
Sands didn’t give
into her right away – he wasn’t feeling that generous – but he did after her
whimpering became louder. Not waiting for permission, but watching her
face as he moved, he wrapped his lips around her clit and started suckling
hard.
“Oh god, Sands,”
she gasped, tensing as she felt his mouth pulling at her.
the pillow.n stn style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “That feels so good.”
he finally brought his fingers back up to touch her, she was so sensitive that
she came right away with a weak cry.
Just because Aida
had come didn’t mean that he was ready to stop yet, so he continued his
suckling on Aida’s now super-sensitive clit, his fingers toying with her wet
entrance as he felt her muscles contract around his fingertips.
lifting his head up off her to speak before retuning it to her sensitive nub.
again until she couldn’t take it anymore, and he knew that if he kept this up
he would get his wish before too long.
Aida was already
quivering from his words, but when he deliberately hummed against her clit, she
came again, swiftly and with enough strength to make her eyes tear.
she shot up, knocking him onto his back, and swiftly impaled herself on him,
knowing he didn’t have the patience to call a halt and return to his previous
activity. When he growled and turned
them, landing heavily on top of her, she didn’t complain.
enjoyed being foiled.
“That was a dirty
trick, spitfire,” he said with a smile. In
truth, he rather admired it when a woman could turn the tables on him.
it somewhat. He didn’t stop however,
like she knew he wouldn’t, and that pissed him off a little.
little violent as a result, and it wasn’t long before he was pounding Aida
ruthlessly into the mattress; hair sticking to his face in sweat-dampened
locks.
Feeling the
violence of his movements, Aida pried her eyes open and looked up at him.
tone it down . . . j-just a tad?” As
much as she enjoyed his exuberance, this could very well start to get
uncomfortable. And she was determined
that he wasn’t going to come without her.
In truth, Sands
didn’t know if he’d be able to tone it down any, but he would at least try.
take over a long time ago. “I can do
that,” he gasped, limiting the ferocity of his thrusts, but not the speed.
hurt her to at least prove to himself that he could.
but not a monster. Well, I won’t hurt her unless she wants me to, he thought to
himself with an inward smirk as he thrust into her.
Aida ed aed as
Sands eased up a bit, feeling all minor discomfort disappear.
nibbling on it sporadically as various gasps and groans were wrenched from her
throat.
The feeling of Aida
biting on his ear, and her hot breath upon his neck was driving Sands even
closer to the edge, and he had to keep himself from returning to the pace he
justjust been asked to stop. He groaned
in a mixture of lust and frustration, and his hands found her breasts and he
began fondling them a bit mindlessly.
Aida keened and
arched reflexively at the feeling of his rough hands on her chest.
so close to the edge that all she could do wae une underneath Sands and make
encouraging noises as he moved inside her.
When he attacked her neck with his mouth, trying to get a reaction out
if her, she merely started trembling.
One hand fisted in his hair as her legs came up to clench around his
waist, limiting his range of motion.
Sands was a bit
irritated at first that he couldn’t move as much as he wanted to, but that
feeling soon passed as he realized he quite enjoyed the feeling of Aida’s legs
around his waist. Not to mention the
sensation of her fingers wrapped in his hair.
away to gasp for air, his brain not clear enough to consider breathing through
his nose anymore. She was driving him
insane with the sounds she was making too; each little gasp or moan only sent a
surge of purely mal. . . . pride throughout his body and he could feel his
climax getting ever nearer with each whispered moan.
It was too
much. She simply couldn’t take it
anymore. With a nearly pained moan, one
of Aida’s hands traveledn San Sands’ back anoppeopped at the small of his back,
pushing him into her as she raised her hips.
With a soft cry, she came, burying her face in Sands’ neck, pressing
kisses into it as her body shook with release.
The feeling of her
hands pressing on his back to bring them closer was what finally sent Sands
spiraling over the edge. That sensation
alone was enough to make him come with a long moan as Aida trembled around him
and kissed his now sensitive neck. It
felt like all the skin on his body was buzzing, and he became acutely aware of
every sensation of her underneath him; the way her body rubbed against his
creating exquisite friction, the gentle pressing of her palms and fingertips in
the small of his back, the almost painful squeeze of her legs against his ribs.
He could feel each sensation intensely,
and it was almost tooh toh to take. It
The sensations prolonged his orgasm
until he was nearly moaning in pain from the force of it.
been unmanly and he wasn’t a fucking sissy.
Aida held on to
Sands as he rode through his own orgasm, her breath coming fast and shalls
ss
she tried to re-oxygenate her body. One
of her hands left his back to brush hair out of his face as she started placing
gentle kisses on his cheeks, nose, and forehead.
to rest on her, pressing her firmly into the mattress.
“I think I’m going
to have to agree with that exclamation,” Sand murmured, not lifting his head up
off of the bed to look at her. He was
still somewhat reeling in the sensations of his orgasm, and didn’t have the
energy to do anything else at the moment.
As they laid on the
bed, waiting for heart rates and breathing patterns to return to normal, the
quiet chiming of a clock crept into the bedroom.
the lazy warmth that was taking over her body.
“And I need to be up at six.”
“Fuck,” Sands
muttered, remembering for the first time that he had promised Jeffrey he’d get
to see sunrise tonight.
“Ok,” she
whispered. “I have rehearsal from seven
to one. Would you like to meet for
lunch?”
“Alright.
he should or else he’d be tempted to stay longer, so with a sigh he sat up on
the bed and turned to put his feet on the floor.
pants?”