Beyond Grace [ON INDEFINITE HOLD]

Beyond Grace: 5

Mariah looked up, her eyes catching on his. A smile — virtuous and genuine, caught him like a fish on a hook. Warmth more wholesome than broiling soup on a cold day bubbled up from his toes. Something about the way she would coyly smile at him would catch his breath, his heart rate speeding.

The food was good; Mariah was better. Watching her, as she meticulously cleaved her food with measured strokes, was compellingly narcotic. Religious, almost – yet so unusual. Deviant from anyone he had seen before.

Noticing him, her eyebrow raised – slightly, howbeit, and ever so slightly; an alluring ambience entrenched betwixt the moment. Her eyes gazed provocatively beneath her voluptuous black eyelashes. Cash found his eyes tracing the curvature of her breasts, compassing the sexuality of her hips and perfectly sculptured legs. Leisurely, his eyes returned to linger upon hers.

Another heavy draught of the wine – easily their second or third glass, put his mind in a state of relaxed ease. Giddy from euphoria, they exchanged implicit tokens; his hands slipping perfectly onto hers, their mouths only inches apart. Sweet cinnamon peppered her breath, tauntingly promising a mere taste.

He leaned in to close the gap...

Fingers entwined with gossamer hair, he pulled her close. Closer. Mariah wanted – needed this as much as he did. Cash could feel it; her hot skin pressed against his, those slender fingers drawing him tight. All that mattered was the woman passionately kissing him over long forgotten dinner.

And in the background, Cash could hear Melody’s scream; feel the torrid burn of the flames that consumed her life.

The unease, howbeit, didn’t alleviate. She was watching. Melody was watching. Logic provided no solace – he had made peace with her, had he not? But he could still see the flames; feel them running up his body. Honeydew hair still trailed in the wind. Porcelain lips sill quavered to the harmony of ‘Amazing Grace’. Over and over again, Cash could still hear her voice...

‘How precious did that Grace appear...

The hour I first believed…’

“I love you,” he had whispered amorously, yet he was naïve to the tribulations of life.

She had melted into his embrace; virgin to the scene that would soon devour her flesh, body and soul. The night had been young to them; they had all the time in the world.

He didn’t even kiss her goodbye…

And then reality spun back into focus. Questions lingered, yet her hand softly loitered beneath his. That gaze; wide and doe-eyed, albeit more tantalising than forbidden fruit ushered his companionship. He wanted this – didn’t he?

Mariah leaned in for another kiss. Hands on jawbone; tracing his collar. He hesitated, yet she misinterpreted his trepidation; thinking him lusty for more. The wanton scent of her sweet allure overwhelmed all senses. Melody was gone, was she not? Substance over memory. Substance over Melody…

Waste not; want not.

Thinking of Melody, Cash responded to Mariah’s bittersweet touch. Irrespective of their surroundings, they deepened the kiss, hands sliding under the other’s shirt. And irrespective of reality, Cash deserted Melody to a semblance more than a memory.

The words were out if his mouth faster than the gasp of air preceding their break, “Coffee; at mine?”

And then they were flying like wildfire. Money shoved onto the counter – too much, but that would be tomorrow’s regrets. The lights ameliorated anything seen before, blinding him with their exonerating glare. Lights like thousands of fireflies…

Tipsy – and only that, from the intoxicating red wine, they pulled each other into the car; laughter emanating like warmth in the algid autumn breeze. The gloaming lights engulfed his vision for a second, fading back to an extended reality. The car managed to stay remarkably centred in the middle of the lane; surprising certainly.

And then he was running; chasing every lively step of hers up the spiralling fire escape. Teasing him with her body, leaning so precariously over the railing. Joy rendered her to him, near perfect.

Promises of coffee lay long forgotten. Flinging the door wide open, the mock cat-and-mouse chase continued. Cash sprung on top of Mariah; she was the “now”, the reality, tangible rather than not…

Rolling over and over and over, their legs became entangled. Hands trapped on every inch of her velvet skin. Lips trailed kisses across her body; that slinky dress rendered useless against their greedy fingers. A gasp stole from her lips. A moan responded from his.

And, like coffee in so many ways more than one, the drug-like substance revitalised the twilight. In a rare moment of solace, the shattered mirror of the past dissipated into the vapidity of the night.

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Ok.... what do you guys think. Room for improvements and what, also, did you like about this chapter

Also, if you've actually read this chapter, include the word, "Vodka" in your comment :D