And death shall have no dominion.
Dead men naked they shall be one
They shall have stars at elbow and foot;
Though lovers be lost love shall not;
And death shall have no dominion.
And The Sea Rose Up to Meet Me
R rated material followsAnna finished pouring the wine and brought two glasses into the living room. Ben was already there, sitting on the couch leaning against the arm with his feet across the cushions. One of their CD�s was playing softly in the background. The room, and the bedroom, sparkled with the soft light of a dozen candles. At the very moment Anna entered the room she felt something arc between them. The strength of their bond remained unbroken, despite the time they had been apart.
As she handed him his glass, he lifted his knees and moved up to give her room. He waited until she slid into the space he had provided, then took her at her shoulders and pulled her close so that she came to sit between his opened thighs, with her back to him.
Anna didn't expect anything yet wanted everything. She knew she would willingly give herself up to him in every way. They chatted softly about whatever came to mind. And as they talked, and sipped their wine, Ben�s hands combed her hair back with his fingertips. He stroked her neck, her face, caressing those places that transmitted desire to every part of her body. She felt his lips on her nape, her shoulder, his breath on her ear and finally, he began unbuttoning the pearl buttons of her blouse.
His touch, light and soft, made Anna relax without dampening her desire. Closing her eyes, she leaned back against him. She couldn't suppress soft sighs of pleasure - and she didn't want to. She could feel herself sliding deeper into the emotional bond that connected them, but did nothing to stop it.
Abandoning herself to his hands and the warmth surrounding her, Anna lost any sense of time. She didn't know whether she'd been lying like that for an hour or just for several minutes, when he suddenly slid his hands down her neck and shoulders. He cupped her breasts and kneaded them softly, gasping with delight when her back arched in response and her head sank backwards to his chest.
"I want..." he breathed, "you...," and his caresses made her tremble with the pleasure that was running throughout her in hot little waves.
She felt how her mouth opened and closed, but only a gasp came out. Yet there was no need for words. The way she was reacting was assent enough for him.
Slowly, gently, he moved his hands over her body, enjoying how her muscles tightened under his touch. He stroked along the inside of her thighs. She felt so wonderful, so soft...so vulnerable... He swallowed hard; a lump in his throat almost kept him from breathing.
He felt her desire, felt the pleasure he brought her - but he felt the flare of his passion, too. The intensity of this storm was always so unexpected. What if he unintentionally caused her pain. He couldn't bear to hurt her, but couldn�t live a life that did not include her in some way.
Writhing in his arms, Anna moaned with frustration. His hands were still resting gently on that most special place, the thrill making her tremble with anticipation. She was yearning for his next touch, wanted nothing more than just this touch...
Without stopping to think, Ben rose, then gathered her up in his arms and carried her into his bed. He transferred her to its thick, downy interior, then started to turn away.
"Don't . . . leave me!" Her voice spoke without thinking. Ben touched her face, shocked by the plea in her voice. "I'll only be a minute," he reassured her. "I'll be right back."
When he returned, his clothing was gone, and he held her camera in his hands. �I want to, have to, remember you just like this, always like this.� And she obliged him by showing him everything, moving with him and for him as she watched the candlelight illuminate every muscle in his body.
Satisfied at last, he joined her in the bed. Anna drew in a long, deep breath and fit her head snugly into the hollow below his throat. One knee slid upward over his leg, gently insinuated itself between his thighs in a movement so completely natural that he marveled again at how well their bodies always fit after all these years.
Anna pulled one hand around to stroke his chest. He caught his breath at her gentle touch. "Ben, do you really not understand what you mean to me? Don't you know that when I wake in the morning my first thought is of you, and that your face is the last thing I see before I fall asleep at night?"
Her fingers played along his cheekbone, running them through his silky hair, tracing the outline of his ear. Ben's heart began to race. "Don't you know that no matter how busy my day is you are always there, somewhere in the back of my mind?"
She planted a lingering kiss on his chest. Her breath seared his skin and the beating of his heart threatened to choke him. He heard her next words through a fog.
"Do you really not know how much I love you, Ben - and how much I want you?"
"Anna, what if you had never come to the dance so long ago. We must have crossed paths and yet, if it had not been for that night I may never have met you . . . would have lived the rest of my life never knowing the wonder and glory of your love."
"I don't think so, Ben," Anna said, to his surprise. "Oh, for a long time I used to wonder what my life would have been like if I hadn't gone that night, or if I had left early, but - "
"Would you have stayed with him, Anna?" The words were out before he knew it. She blinked, surprised at the thought.
"You mean my husband?" Anna shook her head decisively. "Never. I liked him well enough but even then I knew I wasn't in love with him and never would be. He was someone I thought I needed to bring security and safety to my life, and Morgan�s. Someone to fill the emptiness. Which brings me to the point I was making."
She looked him in the eye. "Ben, you told me once that we are something that has never been. That's true. But I think we are more than that. I think we are also something that was meant to be. I believe we are rewarded in this world, we don't have to wait for death to be rewarded in another. More and more I feel certain that our meeting would have happened anyway, even if things had gone differently that night. I don't know when or where or how, but sooner or later we would have found each other."
She smiled a little. "I don't really like the word 'destiny' but I'm forced to use it for lack of a better one. Does that sound crazy to you?"
Ben was stunned; he had never guessed that Anna held that belief. "No," he admitted, taking a deep breath, "how could it? For I feel the same way, as if our destinies were inextricably twined."
"Do you?" She tilted her chin invitingly.
He kissed Anna tenderly, lingeringly, once . . . twice . . . three times, enjoying each sensation - the soft fullness of her lips, the way they clung to his when he pulled back. , the intriguing sensation when their tongues brushed together. He felt the tentative probe of her tongue and instinctively parted his lips to admit entry. The moist, flickering touches on his lips and tongue were fascinating and sent the blood racing through his veins. Their tongues met and retreated in sensual exploration of textures and tastes.
Anna shifted position slightly, and ran her hand caressingly over his chest and down one arm. "God, you're beautiful," she breathed. The admiration in her voice was reflected in her eyes, which ranged over his bare torso with obvious appreciation - no, with more than appreciation. Even Ben couldn't mistake the desire that darkened their depths. Lightly her hands returned along the path they had just taken, fingertips gliding over his biceps and shoulder, moving across his collarbone, stroking his neck. As they started down his chest, Ben closed his eyes in anticipation.
"Ahhh!" He couldn't have stopped the exclamation if his life depended on it. A wild rush of sensation swept through him. Instinctively his hands sought her head, twining in her hair, holding her in place. Her mouth pulled at him, her tongue flitted maddeningly over him, sending exotic chills in a spreading path down his body. And all the while her hands continued stroking his chest and arms.
Heat fanned out from a central line that led directly to his groin. Never had he responded to Anna with such intensity.
"Anna - " he choked out her name, breathing heavily as she deliberately cupped her hand over that part of him that wanted her. Ben's breath failed him, along with the last vestige of rational thought.
His heart in his throat, Ben rose upon one elbow and turned to her. He reached a trembling hand toward Anna, who smiled at him encouragingly. He touched her face and leaned closer. As they kissed, slowly, deeply, he stroked her neck with light, gentle caresses, enjoying her shiver of delight. Her skin was warm satin to his touch. He traced the line of her collarbone. Her breasts were small and utterly beautiful, crowned with dusky tips. His hands reached to her, and brushed his fingertips across one velvety nipple. Galvanized by the incredible softness and by the sighing sound Anna made in her throat, he did it again...and then once more, staring in fascination as the tender skin slowly drew tight in response to his touch.
Resting his weight on his elbows, one on either side of her, he kissed her deeply, intensely. Her eager response refueled his passion, and by the time he felt her hands move from his back to caress his buttocks Ben was in a sweet agony of desire.
Ben bent again to her waiting mouth; his arms went around her, thrilling to the feel of her nakedness in his arms. Without his willing it, one hand moved downward and cupped the firm, resilient mounds below her back. Anna moaned softly and pressed deliberately against him, at the same time lightly raking her nails over his buttocks.
His back arched and a low, guttural cry was torn from his throat. As gently as he could, he joined their bodies with one long, slow thrust, surprised how easily she took him in. Then he was deep inside her silken warmth and moved slowly, absorbing every sensation of her, while glistening ripples surrounded them like liquid light.
As their bodies moved together in perfect unison, climbing the heights of passion, they achieved a unity neither had believed existed. Their souls touched and clung together in a blinding moment of completion.
And at that exact moment, she lost herself in him. Tumbling into a sea of heat and light, she cried out - and was still crying when he flung his head back and roared his release.
****************************************
With a start Anna came awake. The return back to reality was a slow one. Tears were still drying on her cheeks and she knew without any doubt the emotion behind them. How could she not, when her soul was vibrant yet with the memories of her dream. There it had been, there in the night, a blend of awe and gratitude and wonder, and a radiant, sparkling stream of utter and complete happiness.
Choking back the sobs she knew would be coming soon, she put the abandoned phone back in its cradle. Despite her plea, the call had not come. Instead she reached for the letter she kept under her pillow. The letter he had written years ago during their second try. The letter that she kept, like a talisman, because it said everything she had every wanted to hear.
"I know that you care about me, care what happens to me, think about me, want to be with me even as I want to be with you. And that feels good! It�s nice to be loved�and it feels good to love another. Take care of yourself until we can be together again. With much love, Benjamin�.
And as she clutched its worn pages closely to her chest, she sank back into her pillow, hoping once again to let the sea come up to meet her.
"I am the dream and you my gates of entry,
The means by which I waken into light."
 |
| Get Your Own Map | View Larger Map |