Paper Hearts

THEN: Chapter 6

"Recall to mind what happened last night. That at least was a lover's kiss...With trembling in my limbs, and fevers in my soul, I ravish'd it. Convulsions, pantings, murmurings shew'd the mighty disorder within me: the mighty disorder increased by it. For those dear lips shot through my heart, and through my bleeding vitals, delicious poison" - William Congreve.

Eden:

Our hotel room was amazing. I'd been to hotels before, of course, plenty of them, but nothing this expensive. When my parents and I went away to the country in the summer, we usually stuck to homely Bed and Breakfasts or the cheap chain hotels - if we went away at all. This was in a whole different class. 

A four-poster, king-size bed with ruffled silk sheets took up most of the room - and made my cheeks heat up when I looked at it - with a massive window dead opposite, facing the nearby forest. A small table and two padded armchairs were strategically placed in front of this window, and on the table sat a small silver tray with a porcelain teapot and cups, a plate of sugared biscuits and a bowl of fruit that looked so good, I almost believed it was fake. There was an onsuite bathroom, too, with a power shower and Jacuzzi bath. 

"No T.V" I observed, looking round the room. Ollie moved up behind me, putting his arms around my waist and pressing his lips against my neck.

"You think we're going to need it?"

I giggled, turning back to him and twining my arms around his neck, "No" 

My eyes were suddenly caught by something over his shoulder and I let out a little squeal, "Oh my God, a mini-bar! I've never been anywhere with a mini-bar before. Can we actually drink this stuff?"

Ollie detached the champagne bottle from my hands, "Well, you can't. I might have a little swig, if I so wish"

I allowed him to take the bottle, reluctantly - I had thought that a drink might calm my sudden and irrational nerves. 

"This must have been so expensive" I murmured, awed, moving towards the window, "You really shouldn't have done it"

"Don't you like it?"

"I definitely like it" I turned to smile at him, and found that he was almost directly behind me again, almost touching me. I don't know quite how it had begun, but our eyes were suddenly boring into each other and I couldn't tear mine away even if I had wanted to. So instead I took a few short steps closer to him, letting his hands encircle my waist, and we both smiled.

"You okay?"

I nodded, feeling better with the feel of his warm hands through my dress, "Yeah. I'm fine. I'm fine, honest"

He didn't look like he believed me, so I leaned up to kiss him. As always, when our lips touched, sparks flew. I moved closer, angling my narrow hips to fit snugly against his. He ran his hands through my hair, toying with the strands, by this time so close that we might as well have been one person.

He brushed my hair aside and kissed the length of my neck, just as I decided to yank his t-shirt off over his head. He pulled back, startled, and I couldn't help laughing.

"It's not like we can do this fully clothed, is it?" I pointed out, grinning, and he laughed with me. He moved swiftly then, pulling my dress off in a flutter of pale blue chiffon, and pulled me closer again, cupping my face in his hands to kiss me again. I could almost taste how much he wanted me, and how much I wanted him. 

Taking a deep breath, I let the rest of my clothing drop.

Ollie:

When I woke early in the morning after no more than three hours of sleep, Eden was still curled up facing me. My arm was draped carelessly across her pillow, underneath her fan of honeycomb hair. She was smiling in her sleep, eyelids shadowed faintly purple from tiredness. The sheets had slipped and I could see that she was still entirely naked. I turned and stretched, reluctantly moving away from her to venture to the bathroom. 

When I tiptoed back into the room and slipped beneath the sheets she was awake, blinking sleepily at me. 

"Hey” I murmured, rolling onto my side to face her.

"Hey" she replied with a little smile; her eyes shone when she looked at me. 

"Last night was..." she faltered; I could see her floundering for the right thing to say, the right message to convey. 

"Last night was the best night of my life" I cut in for her, "Of course, you might have been about to tell me that it was completely shit, but you know, here's hoping"

She laughed; a loud, ringing laugh that I knew meant she no longer felt awkward about what had happened between us, about revealing so much of herself to me. 

"No, you got it exactly right the first time! It was the best night of my life, too"

"Good" I put my arm around her and she leaned into me, smiling, "I'm sorry that it hurt you, though"

Eden shrugged, trying to look as though it hadn't hurt at all, though her cheeks turned slowly crimson. I would not quickly forget the pain etched into her face, nor her determination not to show how much pain she was in.

"It's not your fault" she said at last, very quietely, "Anyway, it only hurt for a little while. By...by the last time, it didn't hurt anymore"

"It didn't?"

"No" her blush grew impossibly darker as she looked up at me, "Couldn't you tell?"

I couldn't help laughing at that, and to ease her embarrassment, I kissed her. She seemed relieved; I could feel the tension ebbing out of her body as she kissed me back. I drew back the sheets to reveal her nakedness, ignoring the momentary protest she made; my hands glided over her body, noting every freckle, every mole, every scar. 

"Ollie" she whispered, pressing closer to me, "Ollie, I love you so much"

I loved her too. God knows, I loved her too. And I made a promise to myself, that early morning in the middle of August;

I would always, always do what was best for Eden, what would make her happy, what would make her safe, that day and every day for the rest of my life.