Robert was woken up by Georgie screaming his name. He rushed to her room, terrified the bastard was with her. When he got there, she was on the floor next to her bed, tangled in her bedding screaming in agony. He knelt on the floor and shook her shoulders, calling out her name, trying to wake her.
When saw him, she cried out, "Robert!" and grabbed onto him, locking her arms around him like a vice, nearly pulling him over on top of her. He managed to sit on the floor while she clung to him and pulled her into a tight hug. She held his t-shirt in her fists and sobbed against his chest, shaking while he rocked her, making shushing noises. He could tell this was a bad nightmare, and there was no doubt he'd been part of it.
It was several minutes before she stopped crying with a shuddering sigh, and he helped get her up onto her bed. Once they were settled with her in his arms, she relaxed against him, molding her body into him, her head resting on his shoulder. He rested his cheek on her hair and closed his eyes, listening to her breathe, smelling her special scent and rocking her a little.
It felt wonderful to be in that moment again. The quiet time when he could just enjoy holding her after he'd beaten her nightmare and made her feel safe. He marveled that he could've done this night after night and not known he was in love with her. It was obvious to him now what he was feeling in his heart as he held her.
Georgie said quietly against his shoulder, "Robert? If you want to stay with me tonight, you can."
He couldn't help gasping a little when she said it.
"You – you mean the whole night? It's safe?"
"Yes, after my dreams we can be together until it's time for me to get up in the morning."
The thought of getting to have her with him for an entire night, every night, made him unbelievably happy. Then he remembered how nervous she'd been earlier that evening. He knew Georgie well enough to know she'd do whatever she thought he wanted, even if she didn't want to do it, maybe even if it hurt her to do it. If he was spending entire nights in bed with her, he was going to have to be careful. He'd have to make sure she took the lead in everything.
He said into her hair, "We'll just sleep, yeah? We don't need to do anything else. I'll be happy just being with you."
She squeezed him, saying quietly, "I know, Robert," but he could tell she was grateful he'd said it, because she relaxed a little more in his arms.
He thought of something else. In their passionate rush to have sex the other night, there'd been some huge holes in the discussion they should've had about contraception. It'd bothered him afterward, but since he hadn't intended for it to happen again he didn't bring it up. It went against everything he believed not to take care of a girl he was planning to have sex with, and he didn't want to take the chance he wouldn't be prepared before it happened again with Georgie. He wasn't going to make that same mistake with her again.
He asked her quietly, "What kind of birth control do you use?"
"I take a pill every night."
That took care of part of it, he thought grimly. She'd claimed she didn't know what a condom was and he didn't even want to consider what it could mean if the bastard wasn't using them. He'd never had sex with a girl without one before Georgie, and he didn't like the idea of going without, especially when he knew what was going on when he wasn't around. He suddenly felt overwhelmed with how awful the situation was, knowing both of them were having sex with her. As much as he didn't want to, he had to deal with it head on.
He asked her, "Do you know what a condom is?" hoping there'd been a misunderstanding and she'd say 'yes'.
She whispered, "No," and he could feel her body tensing.
He'd never had to explain what they were before to a girl. It was embarrassing as hell to talk about this, he thought, wishing more than anything he didn't have to. He forced himself to sound normal when he said, "Its rubber and it goes over the man so his semen doesn't go inside the girl."
Georgie got even more tense, and whispered quickly, "I know what that is."
He breathed a sigh of relief. The bastard was using them. He must be calling them by their French name, whatever that was. The chances were slim she had some. He would've remembered seeing them in her bedroom when he searched for the key.
"Do you have any?"
She immediately knew what was at stake, crying out, "No!" and clutching him tighter. "Please don't say we have to have them, Robert! Please?"
He sighed. If he were to do the right thing, they'd be right back where they'd been for the last three days. That wasn't bloody likely to happen.
He said gently, "Alright, Georgie."
Then he asked, "Do you want to sleep in my room?" There was no way in hell he would sleep in her bed with her. Not when he knew what was happening to her in it.
To his relief, she whispered, "Yes."
He took her by the hand and led her to his bed. They climbed in and he covered them up with his blankets. He laid on his back and put his arms around her while she snuggled next to him, her head on his shoulder, her arm and leg resting on him. He closed his eyes and sighed deeply. It felt so good to have her lying next to him in his arms, and he'd get to have her with him for the whole night. She started slowly rubbing her hand back and forth across his chest. It felt nice, comforting. He concentrated on her breathing and waited for them to fall asleep.
She rubbed back and forth slowly, her hand going lower until her hand was rubbing his stomach. Then she went under his t-shirt, rubbing along his stomach just above the waistband of his pajama bottoms and he opened his eyes in surprise. Her fingers felt over the fur that ran from his belly button down to his waistband and then rubbed back and forth just above the waistband. It felt good – too good. If she kept up like this but didn't want to have sex, he was going to have an uncomfortable night.
She rubbed across his stomach with her palm, slowly moving it higher until she reached his ribcage and then her fingers felt around his ribs. She rubbed him and touched him with her fingers, exploring him, slowly moving higher. When she rubbed across his nipples, he had to try hard not to react. They hardened under her touch, but she didn't seem to notice, and he was equally grateful and disappointed she didn't touch them more. She spent a lot of time rubbing her palm across the bit of fur on his chest and feeling his muscles. Then she felt across his shoulders, exploring his muscles until she reached his neck.
She pulled her arm out from under his shirt and shifted her position so she was half lying on his chest. She put her lips on his neck, rubbing them on his skin, kissing and nipping at him, moving them up and down. He couldn't help how he was breathing and he squeezed her a little because of how she was making him feel. He was praying now she wouldn't stop, because if she did, he was going to be in trouble.
Her fingers were on his face, feeling the stubble on his jaw. She scratched it gently with her fingernails and rubbed it with her fingers. Then she moved up higher and her lips were on his face, rubbing over his stubble and nipping his jaw. What she was doing to him felt like sweet torture. He started to groan, but managed to cut it off.
She put her hand on his cheek and pulled his face to her, kissing him gently. He wanted her so badly after what she'd been doing to him, it took every bit of strength he had to keep from touching her. He kissed her like she was kissing him, soft, gentle kisses, but they were still setting him on fire and making him want more.
She grabbed his shoulder as she kissed him and pulled him gently towards her. He rolled over and half laid on her. Then her hands were all over him, rubbing him, grasping at him and pulling him closer while they started kissing more passionately. Her tongue was in his mouth, rubbing on his and chasing it, driving him mad with desire. The minute she released him, he couldn't help pushing his tongue into her mouth to do the same. She alternated pressing her body into him and writhing underneath him while his tongue wrestled with hers.
Then she slipped her fingers in his hair during a break in their kisses and gently pushed his head lower while she lifted her chin so he could kiss her neck. He explored her with his mouth like she'd done to him, kissing and nipping at her, making her breathless. When she made little moaning noises, he thought he would die from wanting her so much.
She kept a gentle pressure on his head, pushing him lower and he kissed her shoulders and then lower over her slip until he reached her breast. He rubbed his lips over it, making her nipple harden and she arched her back moaning louder and panting. Then he moved over to the other breast and teased her other nipple. She was almost in a frenzy as she writhed underneath him, her hands clutching at him, pulling him to her, as if he wasn't pressed against her hard enough. He didn't know how much longer he could keep himself from doing more than she was asking him to.
Then she breathed, "Robert. Now. Please."
He got up and pulled his t-shirt and pajama bottoms off in record time. Georgie was just as quick to pull off her slip and then she pulled him down to her. She was panting, and so was he, as he hovered over her. She took him in her hand while she looked in his eyes and stroked him. He closed his eyes and groaned. He couldn't stop his body from moving, responding to how she was touching him.
Then she put her other hand on his back and pulled him closer while she still held him and positioned him so he could enter her. He could feel how ready she was for him as he pushed into her a little, until he was just inside her. As soon as she felt him enter her, she closed her eyes and whimpered, lifting her hips to meet him and he pushed himself into her slowly all the way, making her moan while he watched her. He loved seeing the expression on her face, knowing he'd made her feel that way.
She opened her eyes and held his gaze as he lowered his body, putting his weight on his elbows and placing his hands under her shoulders so he could hold her. She wrapped her legs around him and they made love, slowly moving together, their eyes held on each other. After a few minutes, she closed her eyes and started crying out, grasping at him. He couldn't hold back, moving faster, bringing them closer. When she came, she cried out, nearly sobbing, digging her fingers into him as she shuddered underneath him, and he came right after, panting in her ear, "Oh, Georgie."
They laid entwined together, catching their breath for a few minutes. Then he heard her giggle a little, and when he lifted his head to look at her, she was glowing with a smile on her face.
"What?" he asked, and couldn't help smiling back at her.
"It was so wonderful, that's all," she said happily.
"Oh, that's all?" he said, and he couldn't help laughing before he said quietly, "Yeah, I'd say it was pretty damn wonderful." As he looked at her glowing face, he couldn't help thinking she looked so beautiful. He kissed her gently.
"I love you so much, Robert," she said while she stroked his back. He suddenly realized, as he looked at her glowing face – that this look, the one that he'd always thought meant she was happy, was actually her being in love with him. He'd seen that look so many times for weeks and never known.
He rubbed his nose against hers and said, "I love you too, Georgie."
They kissed for a while, soft, gentle kisses, filled with meaning, then he laid on his back, pulling her close as she snuggled up to him, pressing her warm body against his. She felt so good lying next to him in his arms, like she was always meant to be with him and he felt at peace. It wasn't long before she fell asleep and as he concentrated on her breathing and felt her warm breaths on his shoulder, he didn't think he could be any happier.
When Robert woke up the next morning, he was lying on his side. Georgie was pressed against his back, spooning him, and his hand was behind him resting on her hip. Her slow and steady breaths on his neck let him know she was still asleep. He could tell by the light in the room, it was late morning, way past the time she normally ran. He couldn't believe she'd stayed with him, and he was deliriously happy.
He turned over slowly to face her, waking her up. When he saw her beautiful sleepy face, he said, "Hey, good morning," and smiled at her.
She smiled back at him. "Good morning, Robert."
He put his arms around her so he could pull her in for a hug. She nestled against him and then pulled away suddenly looking down. He realized what she'd just felt, his usual morning erection.
She looked up at him with surprise, her eyes wide, asking hesitantly, "Were you – dreaming about me?"
"Um, well, I did dream about you last night, but this is kind of how I wake up – usually," he said, a little embarrassed. He wasn't sure if he'd ever been with a girl that didn't know about such things. First condoms and now this, he thought. He wondered what else he was going to have to teach her.
She said, "Oh," and seemed a little shocked. Then she added, "Should we -?" but didn't continue, blushing heavily.
He said right away, "Nah. I'm good. It'll go away in a minute," and he squeezed her a little, wanting to make sure she didn't feel like she had to do anything. To his relief, she seemed satisfied, and smiled happily as she ran her fingers through his hair. She pulled it out to its full length until it was straight, holding it for a moment before she released it, letting it spring back into its waves. His hair was so long now, he had no trouble seeing it every time she pulled it towards her.
He kissed the tip of her nose and smiled at her, enjoying the feeling of her fingers in his hair. He was grateful to see her dark circles were gone after she'd gotten so much sleep, and she had a little more color in her face, although she was still too pale for his liking. He was going to have to make sure she ate better today.
"Did ya sleep well last night, Georgie?"
"Yes, Robert. Very well. And did you sleep well?"
"Never better. I thought you'd be off to do your run by now."
Her smile fell, and she dropped her eyes as her hand moved down to rub the little bit of fur on his chest. "I thought about it – but –."
She didn't say anything more, and he prodded gently, "But – what?"
"I thought if I left you before you woke up – you might – change your mind – again." She blinked hard a few times, as she started tearing up. The enormity of how much pain he'd caused her sank in, as he looked at her sad face. The last time she'd woken up in his bed, she'd left him thinking they were a couple, in love with each other. He felt fresh guilt and shame remembering how he'd treated her that morning, and what a terrible blow it must've been for her.
"Hey," he said gently, pulling her chin up so she'd look at him. "I'm not going to change my mind. You don't need to worry about that. I love you, yeah? I want to be with you. That's not going to change." She still looked unsure as she wiped her eyes with her fingers.
He pulled her to him in a tight hug, saying quietly, "I'm so sorry, Georgie. I know the last few days were terrible. I won't ever hurt you like that again, alright?"
She hugged him back tightly and whispered into his chest, "Okay, Robert."
"I'm glad you stayed with me till I woke up," he said, wanting to change the subject.
She said, "You are?" pulling back a little and rubbing his fur again.
"It's awfully nice to wake up with you," he said, giving her another squeeze. She was glowing as she looked up at him smiling, her eyes soft. Then a look crossed her face, and her smile dropped again.
"Well, it was awfully nice for me too. But –."
"Yeah?"
"I probably shouldn't do it again," she said sadly. "It's not a good idea. During the day, we have to be like we were before. You know – pretend."
"Alright, Georgie," he said, feeling sad too. It hurt as the realization of what their relationship would be like from now on settled on him – the rules they'd have to live under, the lack of freedom they'd have.
"I should go. I'll see you in the kitchen, okay?" she said, giving him a quick kiss before she got out of bed.
She made a show of finding her slip on the floor, taking her time, and then slowly putting it on over her head, stretching her body to its full height before she let it fall, covering her.
She was trying to kill him, he thought, and couldn't help sighing just before she leaned over him to kiss him goodbye.
Before she stepped away from him, he grabbed her hand and held it. She slowly walked away from him and he didn't let go until she was so far away he had to, both of them grinning like fools.
They cleaned the kitchen that day, giving them a lot of free time when they were finished. Georgie did her ballet dancing early while Robert read. When she was finished, she popped her head into the sitting room to let him know the room was free. He went to go play the piano, and it wasn't long before she was there, dressed in her regular clothes.
He invited her to have a seat next to him and adjusted the bench to make room for her. Once they were settled, he resumed playing, letting the music flow out of him without thinking too much about what he was playing.
When he'd stopped between songs, she asked, "Robert, can you play me something you wrote?"
He immediately started playing something he'd been working on for a while. It had a pretty melody so he knew she'd like it. As he played, it occurred to him he could make it into a love song for her.
"It's really beautiful. Will you write words for it too?"
"Yeah," he said, starting the song from the beginning, mentally reworking it in his head and thinking about possible lyrics. When the words started coming to him, his throat started hurting and he decided to play something different.
During the pause before he started something new, she asked, "The other songs you play, the ones you didn't write, do you know the words to them?"
"Some of the words," he said, grateful she'd given him a distraction.
He started singing the first song that popped into his head. It'd been one he listened to a lot at one time, but it'd been a while and he only remembered the first verse and chorus. Then he started a different song. This one was more of an angry song and he'd played it constantly in the early summer so it was still fresh in his mind. He sang the entire song to her. He continued playing and singing more songs, some of them he knew all of the words and some he just sang a chorus and a verse or two.
After a bit, Georgie started laughing and he stopped, looking at her with surprise.
She smiled at him, saying, "Robert, every one of those songs are so sad!" He had no idea what she was talking about.
"Every one of them is about a girl leaving you or treating you bad," she explained.
He had to laugh when he realized she was right. He'd inadvertently played her the songs he'd listened to after break ups.
"Yeah, I guess I didn't realize I liked so many songs like that," he said bemusedly, and he made a conscious decision to play a song that was not about broken relationships. They were both quiet as Georgie listened to him play, watching his hands.
After several minutes, she said, "Robert?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you have a girlfriend?"
He suddenly stopped playing and pushed the hair out of his eyes so he could see her better. She wouldn't look at him, keeping her eyes on the keys. At first, he wondered if she was fishing for him to say she was his girlfriend. But the expression on her face let him know that wasn't what she was after. It slowly dawned on him what she was thinking.
"You – you mean back home?"
She still wouldn't look at him and nodded quickly.
He couldn't help feeling angry she would think he would do that to her, and said emphatically, "No, Georgie."
Then he suddenly felt guilty. It wasn't out of the realm of possibility it could've happened like that. He thought about the last girlfriend he'd had, Bridget, the one he'd broken up with in the early summer. Even though they'd been together for several months, he'd never felt towards her what he felt with Georgie. He wouldn't like to think he would've cheated on her, but what would've happened if he'd been kidnapped earlier in the year, while they were still together? He probably would've fallen in love with Georgie anyway, and had no way to break up with Bridget. What would he have done then?
Georgie interrupted his thoughts, asking quietly, "But you've had girlfriends before, right?" while she looked at her hands.
It startled him that she'd practically been reading his mind. "Yeah," he said, feeling wary about where she was going with this.
"How – how many?" she asked quietly. He could feel how tense she was. He felt tense too. This was turning into another awkward conversation.
He didn't know the best way to answer her question. He'd been in a fair number of relationships, none of them terribly successful, and most of them not very serious. He didn't want to give Georgie the wrong impression about him by telling her the actual number. He didn't want to make it seem like he was some kind of player, or make her feel like she was just another girl when neither of those things were true.
"Serious girlfriends? Four." He hoped this qualified enough to be considered the truth.
She looked like she was steeling herself, then took a deep breath and asked him even more quietly, "Did you love them?"
He immediately felt relief. He understood now what she was worried about. He considered the answer carefully before he spoke. As he thought about the girls he'd gone out with or gotten more seriously involved with, it always seemed he wound up with the ones who had the wrong kind of personality for him. He didn't hesitate to get into relationships with them because they were the only ones who fancied him.
He didn't think he was a bad looking bloke, and his female mates assured him he was attractive. But somehow he had some sort of awkwardness that kept the girls he really fancied from being attracted to him, or wanting to be more than mates. He'd been labeled 'nice' more than once, and he could never understand why the girls he was attracted to didn't find that desirable.
He never saw ahead of time how the girls that were interested in him weren't right for him. As a result, the relationships were doomed from the start, usually ending badly as he struggled to make them happy while they made more and more demands that confused and irritated him. As he thought about why he'd tried so hard to make those relationships work, he suddenly realized what he'd desperately wanted all along was to be in love with a girl he thought was special, someone like Georgie.
He took Georgie's chin and gently tilted her head up so he could look in her eyes. He wanted her to know he was telling her the truth.
"I thought I loved them," he said.
"Oh?" she said, puzzled by his answer.
"I wanted to be in love with them, but I never felt with them the way I feel with you, Georgie. It was never like it is with you, yeah?" he said gently.
She visibly melted in front of him, her vivid blue eyes going soft, her face glowing, and she said simply, "Oh."
She looked so beautiful with her mouth still in that 'O' shape, and he desperately wanted to kiss her. He could tell she wanted it too. She quickly looked at the two entrances to the room to make sure they were alone and then kissed him. It seemed within seconds, their hands were all over each other, both of them breathing heavily as they made out passionately. Before he knew what was happening, she broke away from him panting, pushing his hands away and stood up shakily.
"I think – I'll go – read now," she said between pants, and quickly walked away, leaving him breathless and wanting.
He sat there for a while in a daze, before he recovered enough to start playing again. He realized living under the rules was going to be even harder than he thought. To distract himself, he started working on the song for Georgie.
They managed not to touch each other the rest of the day, but it wasn't easy. Now Robert had a taste of what it'd been like for Georgie when he'd refused to let her be with him. It was like living in hell, having her so close but not be able to touch her. Now he was the one looking at her with longing, unable to stifle the sighs that came out of him without being aware of them. It made him feel guilty again to realize how much he'd made her suffer. He knew he'd get to be with her again that night, while she'd believed over those three days she'd never get to love him again. It made him more determined than ever to make it up to her for what he'd put her through.
That night, Robert made sure the fire was ready for Georgie by time she came into the sitting room to comb her hair. And before she went to bed, he gave her a good night hug and kiss. He was glad to see her back to her old self, happy and glowing again.
As he went to his room feeling deliriously happy, he thought he could get used to this, spending his days loving her. Except for the part where he couldn't touch her and the sex was rationed. He could do without those bits.
****
Yeah! They're in love and they got to make love again and it's all wonderful!
The song in the video is the loud, angry song Robert had chosen to be the first song he was going to play on the piano in Chapter 13 that he replaces with the song with the pretty melody. Instead, it's one of the 'bad break up' songs he plays Georgie. I will let you decide if it's the 'Bridget' song.
Did you like hearing about Robert's past relationships? We're you surprised he hadn't done so great in the girlfriend department or were you surprised he had as many as he did? I'm surprised he had as many as he did but then I remembered he was in a band!
The title of this chapter comes from another favorite song in my 80's playlist by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, or OMD to those in the know. Please vote for Robert and Georgie being in LOVE and leave me comment letting me know what you think! And most importantly, thanks for reading!