Symphony In Rapture (6 page)

Michelle smiled, relenting. “It’s okay.”

Nick stood, Michelle watching his every move with passionate intensity. Pants on, he went to the foot of the bed to retrieve his shirt. As he bent to pick it up, Michelle roped him in with the siren call of her red, wet pussy, held open by her hands for his viewing pleasure. Making a low sound in his throat, Nick met her eyes.

“Please,” she said. “Fill me up before you go.”

Nick’s eager hands shook as he fumbled at his zipper. He kicked off his pants and crawled onto the bed. Michelle continued holding her thick lips apart as he kissed her clit. She closed her eyes. Nick stuck out his tongue and licked her crotch slowly, from the area just between her butt cheeks (gasp), up into her saturated slit (moan), thrusting several times (”yes, yes, yes”), and up to her erect clitoris (another gasp)—teasing it back and forth, lightly, with just the tip of his tongue (several deep moans, and the sudden, erotic spasming of her cunt). The sound of her pleasure was music to his ears, directing crescendos of pulsating lust down his spine, into his cock.

Michelle moaned when Nick abandoned her pussy, then sighed with satisfaction as she felt him enter her. She opened her eyes and watched him inch his erect penis into her quivering flesh. She glanced up, and Nick trapped her gaze with his, watching her as he began to pump slowly in and out.

Michelle’s eyes glazed with desire. She spread her legs even further, pressing her thighs against the bed, removing her hands. Their gazes remained locked as he lowered his mouth to her breast, catching the nipple between his teeth, nipping gently. Michelle’s breath quickened and she felt her own warm juices flooding her crotch.

“Deeper,” she commanded, her gaze insistent.

Nick pressed his hips down, until his pelvic bone dug into her flesh, and his elongated member was surrounded by pulsing, fluid warmth. Michelle wiggled her hips. Nick backed his eager rod out slowly, then shoved it in quickly.

“Again,” Michelle whispered. It felt so good, to have something thick and warm and unyielding inside her again. She trembled on the verge of fulfillment.

Nick felt her tremors and pumped his hips rapidly, plunging into her over and over.

“God, Nick. Yes. Yes!” Michelle’s back arched, and she wrapped her legs around his waist, trapping him inside her. The intense, prolonged contractions of her climax carried him over the edge and his seed burst forth, filling her core with scintillating warmth.

When their mutual orgasm faded, Nick rolled off her and lay on the bed, exhausted. “Thank God you didn’t let me leave,” he murmured. “That was phenomenal.”

Michelle chuckled. “Thank you.”

Nick groaned. “But I really do have to go.” He climbed out of the bed and pulled on his clothes.

“Would you like to come over here for a home-cooked meal tomorrow night?” Michelle asked.

Nick’s pulse quickened.Down boy , he told himself.You’ve had more sex tonight than in the past two years. He couldn’t believe how horny Michelle was. How horny she madehim . “Actually, I’m going to be gone for a couple of days. I have to fly to Fort Worth.”

Michelle wondered briefly if this was his way of breaking off the relationship, now that she’dreally let it all hang out. But he looked so disappointed.

“I’ll be back Thursday afternoon. Would that be okay?”

Mentally, Michelle hugged herself.He’s still interested! “Sure.”

Nick fastened his fly, tucked in his shirt, and bent over the bed. He cupped Michelle’s breasts possessively with his hands. “Keep them warm for me.” He kissed her lightly on the cheek. “I’ll let myself out.” He strode from the room. Michelle listened to his fading footsteps, and the front door clicking shut. He’d probably locked the handle, but she should get up and fasten the dead-bolt. Her sated body was molten gold—liquid, languid. She didn’t want to move. Instead, she allowed the relaxing afterglow to envelope her, closed her eyes, and slept.

(A short instrumental passage or piece, bridging the parts of an opera or play)

Nick replayed details from the previous evening in his mind as he dressed. He was flying to Texas this morning, meeting with the Van Cliburn people to discuss his upcoming participation in the competition as a judge. He glanced toward the phone. He wanted to call Michelle. He’d only known her a couple of days, and already he missed her incredibly—a tight knot was forming in his stomach at the thought of not seeing her until Thursday. The previous evening’s events had proven to his satisfaction that his re-awakened feelings and appetites were not going to fade. He’d met so many women over the ages. Whythis woman? Whynow ? He shouldn’t call her. He didn’t want her to think this was more than just a casual affair. Not yet. Better to just wait and have dinner with her in a couple of days. He nodded to himself, but even as he did, he was wondering if there was any possibility he could take care of everything in a single day, and be on a flight back home that evening.

* * * * *

Michelle woke to the sound of dull thudding, thinking that she had a headache, until she realized that someone was knocking on the front door. She rose from the bed and padded over to the hallway. “Who is it?” she called.

“Penny!”

Michelle ran a hand through her tousled hair. “Just a sec’!” She grabbed her top and dragged it over her head, then pulled on her skirt and stepped into the hall bathroom. She wet a hand towel and wiped the tell-tale traces of Nick’s essence from her face and chest. She finger-combed her unruly tresses quickly, checked herself in the mirror, then hurried through the living room and opened the front door.

Penny rushed in. “I was about ready to call the police!”

“What?” Michelle shut the door and led the way into the kitchen. “Why?”

“Because I rang the doorbell a dozen times, and you didn’t answer, so I’ve been pounding on the door for the last ten minutes.”

“What if I just wasn’t here?” Michelle teased.

Penny grinned wickedly. “Then maybe I would have asked the man in blue to search me for unlicensed weapons.”

Michelle laughed as she switched on the coffeemaker.

“So? How was it?” Penny asked.

“How was what?” Michelle replied innocently.

The redhead deposited herself on a chair in the breakfast nook. “Come on, honey. Don’t play coy with me. It’s Penny you’re talking to.”

Michelle smiled. She opened a package of English muffins and popped two into the toaster. “Actually, the evening went frighteningly well.” She grabbed a dish of margarine from the refrigerator, snagged a butter knife, and brought them to the table. “Nick was charming, very attentive. I think he really likes me.”

“Then why did you say ‘frighteningly’?” Penny asked.

“Because,” Michelle replied ruefully, “Nick is…” She blushed. “I fucked him in therestaurant , for God’s sake!”

Penny’s lips quirked. “The restaurant? Where?”

“At the table.” Michelle’s cheeks were flaming, but if she couldn’t discuss this with her best friend, whocould she talk to? And she definitely needed someone to tell her whether she was making a monumental mistake. “It was an intimate place. All the tables were totally screened from each other.”

“Go on…” Penny prompted.

Michelle shook her head. “You’re shameless!”

Penny grinned wickedly. “I just want to know how you did it. I might want to give it a try sometime.”

Michelle shook her head again; but actually, there was a subtle thrill to relating the story of their forbidden encounter. “Nick paid the waiter to disappear for thirty minutes. Then he moved his chair next to mine and asked me to take off my panties.”

“Oooh!”

Michelle glared, and Penny subsided. “So I did. I looked over at him, and he was unzipping his pants and pulling out his penis.”

“Right there?” Penny asked. Michelle nodded. “How was it?”

Michelle’s eyes gazed into the distance. “He’s huge, Penny. Longand thick. And hard.” She shook herself. “But anyway, I was wearing this full skirt, and he pulled it up and had me sit in his lap with it draped around us so we could fuck underneath it…and we did.” She covered her face with her hands to avoid Penny’s scrutiny. “I can’t believe Idid that!”

“Well,I think it’s great.” Penny favored Michelle with a measuring glance. “That’s a stunt worthy ofme !”

“But, it’s aproblem ,” Michelle insisted. “After that, we came back here, and I swear to God, Penny, he made me come a dozen times just playing with my nipples!” She smiled, hugging to herself the knowledge that she had been able to do the same thing for him. She had never before been able to make a man come without touching his penis in some form or fashion. She stood up and grabbed the muffins, which had popped up, and slapped them onto a couple of paper plates, resuming her seat at the table.

Penny sat quietly while they buttered their breakfast and took a couple of bites, then said, “What’s so wrong with that? I thought you were going to accept your sexuality. Put your usual expectations and inhibitions on hold.”

“Sex with Nick is like a drug, Penny. And I’m definitely addicted.” Michelle groaned. “There’s a little bit—no, who am I kidding, there’s alot— of this uncontrollable, animal kind of thing going on between us. It’s scary.” She licked a stray dollop of butter from her finger, then flushed as she remembered how the previous night’s dinner seduction had begun. “He still hasn’t told me anything about himself. But heis a great listener—”

“That alone makes him a catch, as far as I’m concerned,” Penny interrupted.

“Maybe. But I don’t know if I should keep seeing him.” She bit her lip. “I can’t believe I’m going to say this.” She swallowed. “He’s…socompelling . I think I would do just about anything he asked.” She met Penny’s gaze with unusual directness. “And I meananything .”

“And you don’t like that,” Penny stated. “Feeling out of control.”

Michelle nodded. “Exactly.”

Penny studied her best friend’s face, her expression one of uncharacteristic uncertainty, tinged with worry. “I don’t know what to say.” She leaned forward, “I don’t want to encourage you in something that could end up being bad for you, but I have to tell you—whatever happened last night, it was good for you. There’s color in your cheeks for a change, some sparkle in your eyes. And you look happy for once. Vibrant.” She leaned back. “Since our angel moved on, you hardly ever look happy.”

Michelle swallowed past the lump in her throat. “I feel…guilty. I know it’s silly, but I feel like I should never be happy, now that she’s gone.”

“Youknow that’s wrong,” Penny countered.

Michelle nodded. “I know, but the feeling’s still there.”

“I can’t decide for you.” Penny swallowed the last bite of her breakfast and brushed crumbs from her hands. “I have to admit, I don’t like the idea of you being hurt by this relationship. But you don’t know what’s going to come of it. The only way to avoid being hurt in a relationship is to never have another one, and I hate to see that, Mickey.” Tears trembled in Penny’s eyes. “Because, for the first time in a long while, I’m seeingyou again. Not the washed-out automaton, going through the motions. It’s—” Her voice broke.

Surprised, Michelle leaned over and wrapped her friend in a warm hug.

Penny sniffed. “I’m sorry. This is so unlike me. It’s just that—” She pushed Michelle back, holding her by the shoulders, staring into her eyes. “I’ve missed youso much!”

Tears tumbled down both their cheeks. For once, Michelle didn’t try to stop them—didn’t try to push the pain of Angela’s loss and all the resulting loneliness into some hidden corner of her heart. She let the flood come, washing away bitterness, regret, and misplaced guilt. After a while, she started chuckling between sobs. Penny raised her head, puzzled.

“It’s just—” Michelle hiccupped, and swallowed before going on. “We’re here, crying our eyes out, and for the first time, I’m at peace. That seems so contradictory.” She grabbed a napkin and blew her nose. “I didn’t realize it before, butI’ve missed me, too. I think…I think, maybe, I can accept the fact that it’s okay to feel something besides sorrow.”

Penny almost started crying again. She’d never be able to tell Michelle, but Angela’s loss had been a double whammy for her, because she’d lost Michelle then, too—a lifelong friend, the sister of her heart. Oh, they’d remained friends, but the sisterly connection hadn’t been there like before, because Michelle had closed herself off, holding everyone at arm’s length. Selfishly, Penny felt that if the price of getting her friend back for good was a relationship that didn’t last in the end, it was worth it.

After they had dried their eyes and downed a couple of cups of coffee in companionable silence, Penny asked, “So, are you going to keep seeing him?”

Michelle tilted her head thoughtfully. “Ihave to see him at least once more—I invited him to dinner here on Thursday night.” She took a deep breath, then exhaled, glancing at the kitchen clock. “Shit. It’s almost noon! What time did you get here?”

“Around ten o’clock, I guess. Why?”

Michelle grabbed their plates, tossed them in the trash and stuck the butter in the fridge. “Because I didn’t realize I’d slept so late. I was supposed to be atrehearsal at ten. Duncan’s gonna’ kill me.”

Penny slung her purse over her shoulder and stood. “Okay. I guess I’d better run. Call me later?” Michelle nodded. She walked the petite redhead to the door, giving her a quick hug before ushering her out. “Thanks, Penny. For everything.”

* * * * *

Four-fifths ofSomething Wild were somewhat pissed when Michelle showed up two and a half hours late.

“Where have you been?” Duncan demanded.

“I overslept,” Michelle said. “I’m sorry. And when I got up, I didn’t realize right away how late it was.”

Duncan slapped a hand on the table. “That’s funny, coming from you. How many times have you ranted at us for being even fifteen minutes late?”

“I know,” Michelle agreed, “It’s not fair. I’m sorry! I had a late date last night, and I fell asleep—” She started to say ‘in the guest room’, but didn’t want them assuming what they would assume, even though it was true. “Without setting my alarm,” she finished lamely.