Joshua's Grace

Chapter 13(3)

She dictated the pace. Forced the perimeter to boundaries she had never known existed. Boundaries Joshua thought he'd never survive. She tasted and touched, but every time he went to surge into her, to resume control she lifted her hips out of range, swiftly moving a few inches out of reach. She maintained this touching, grinding, kissing, stroking until she could feel his muscles coil and tremor. He was working very hard to hold onto some semblance of control. She lowered herself. Then lifted. Hovering, then lowered again, enveloping him in her tight sheath. She watched his eyes as she repeated her action over and over. She knew the exact moment when he decided he couldn't wait. It was a fraction of a second before she rode him hard. Clutching her hips with both hands, he held her fast, and then thrust, he entered her deeply, shouting her name hoarsely. The dynamite seemed endless. His heart hammered like a pneumatic drill as it crashed against his ribs.

"Grace." He breathed into her ear as he wrapped the blankets around them tightly, "I'll need a year to recoup my strength." He came back to earth slowly and she didn't fight the possession of his gentle mouth as it took hers in a lethargic kiss. Drained beyond belief, it took immense will power to find the energy to move. He was wrung dry.

His eyes feathered shut as he fell sound asleep.

She smiled contentedly, snuggling into his chest where she mumbled "I love you." Her words were a breathless whisper.

Joshua didn't hear her.

They awoke late. Very late. Grace was wrapped around him, her leg thrown over his, her arm flung across his chest with her head just below his neck, tucked in securely. He had his arm wrapped around her firmly. Sometime during the night one or other must have wrapped the blankets more securely around them, for they were now cocooned within. Strangely, although confined, neither had been uncomfortable. Waking up was as sensual as making love, hair roughened skin grazed hairless skin and their actions sensitised each other into instant response.

"What are you thinking about?" Grace lifted her head off his chest and propped herself up on her elbow so that she could look at him.

A warm red suffused his neck. He was blushing. That puzzled Grace.

He coughed to clear his throat. "Er, what makes you ask?"

"One minute your heart was beating a nice humdrum staccato, and the next it started hammering as if I'd just injected you with adrenaline or something." She grinned, "And now you have turned my favourite shade of red." The fire was still glowing and the room was pleasantly warm. It had stopped raining, and light filtered in through the gap between the drawn, printed, light weight curtains.

"Come on I'll show you how to work the shower, Riah said it was a bit of a hassle." Joshua mumbled happily into the top of her hair as he continued to stroke her temple and brush against her body. 

"You're trying to side track me." She replied happily and stretched slowly. "What were you thinking about?"

"Can't a man keep his thoughts to himself?"

Grace felt guilty for pushing him. She hadn't meant to make an issue of it. It had simply fascinated her, the way his heart began to race. One minute it was following a steady rhythm and the next it was as if he'd just sprinted. She inched away. "Yes, of course, sorry." She mumbled as she pushed off the bed. She'd never the get the hang of this after sex communication. What were they supposed to do, not get intimate? Not ask personal questions?

His hand snaked around her wrist, effectively preventing her from going any further. "Grace," he swung his feet off the bed so that he was sitting on the edge. He tugged her to stand between his legs. His fingers forming a band around her wrist. "I didn't mean to sound grouchy."