Scarlett: Afterglow

Chloe's head was spinning. She lay back, gripping the sides of the large claw-footed tub to keep from slipping underwater. She gave a little laugh. That's it, idiot, she thought, drown in the throes of orgasm.

Gabriel made her crazy with his deep, sexy voice and wonderful Irish accent. He could take her places with his voice, his words that no other man had ever taken her when they were in bed with her. She got aroused at the sound of his voice. She reached orgasm as he spoke, telling her what he wanted to do to her.

She'd never had an orgasm with any other man.

She imagined what it would be like to have him here with her, holding her, touching her. She imagined the feel of his body, strong and hard, enveloping her as she lay back against him...his arms around her...his fingers, exploring her.

She closed her eyes and imagined his hands on her naked body..she fondled her breasts, gently pinching her nipples and wished he was doing it. She imagined his lips on her, kissing, nuzzling...her neck was so sensitive, just the thought drove her wild. The thought of him...yes...only him...kissing, caressing.

Oh, yes, Gabriel, she whispered. I want you, I do. God help me, I want to be there with you...I want you to do those things to me....
Her hand moved down, over her belly, down between her legs. There it was...her "sweet spot," already swollen with desire She touched it and immediately started to tremble. In her mind, her hand was on his, guiding him, showing him where she wanted to be touched. He knew what she liked, what she needed. He was rubbing her there, driving her crazy. Her fingers moved harder, faster, until she was gasping. "Oh, Gabriel!" she cried out, almost slipping underwater once again in ecstasy.

She was lightheaded when she finally managed to get out of the tub and wrap herself in a thick towel. She didn't get dressed right away. Instead, she got on the bed and curled up in a fetal position, wishing he was there with her, wanting more than anything else for him to just hold her....

James: Getting Teased

A passage from the book; Scarlett's second half will follow in awhile:
The light's not quite right, Gabriel thought to himself, scanning the clouds hanging over the Lake District. He was high on a hillside, a lake below, waiting for a break in the clouds, for some sunshine to illuminate the slopes and the lake below. His camera was set up close by on the tripod, and he quietly sat on the short stone wall near the walking path. Patience, lad. Patience. His phone rang, breaking the quiet of the late afternoon, and he reached into the pocket of his jacket, taking it out. "Hello?"
         Chloe's voice greeted him, soft and seductive. "Hello yourself." He smiled at the sound, wondering how a woman he hadn't met could have such an effect on him. Her voice was like a spark, filling him inside, and drawing him close. "What are you up to?" she asked.
         "I'm doing some photographing. If the light cooperates. I'm staying at an inn out in the Lake District," Gabriel explained. And I wish you were here with me right now, he didn't say, but smiled nonetheless. If you were here, we wouldn't be talking. We'd have our hands all over each other.
         "In England? Is it lovely?" she asked, her voice retaining that flirtatious tone.
         Not as lovely as the sound of your voice, he thought. "That it is," he told her.
         "I've never been to the Lake District. London, yes, but not that way," Chloe remarked.          By all means... come on out here. Take a flight. We can stay in the inn for a week. Be naked and in each others' arms all week. Get to know every inch of each others' bodies. The thought startled him. He could envision it, naked between the sheets with her, legs interwined, bodies responding... Gabriel gasped slightly, felt the bulge at his crotch. Damn... just the thought of her drives me crazy. Makes me want her even more. He broke the silent moment by asking, "So how are you spending your Saturday? What are you doing?"
        "Right now? Taking a bath," she answered matter of factly. He could hear it; she was on speaker, and there was the sound of someone in the water. "All by my lonesome. Nice, hot water and candles. Everything a girl could want. Except for a bit of company."
        Gabriel closed his eyes, imagining her, in the hot water, soap and bubbles barely hiding her breasts, a flirty smile on her lips, her eyes full of want and lust and need... Chloe, you're driving me crazy. Fortunately I really like that. "A bit of company?" he asked, deciding to push a little. "Is there room in the tub for two?"
        "Plenty of room, lover," Chloe promised. There was the sound of dripping water, a cloth. "I'm running a cloth over my shoulders. Thinking of you, wondering what it would be like having you do that for me. Tell me what you'd do, Gabriel."
        I'd be over the edge right about now if I was in the tub with you, he thought. Instead he spoke. "I'm there in the tub with you. You're sitting between my legs. Your back is against my stomach. We're there together. My arms are around you. You feel good."
        "I like that," Chloe said. He could practically hear her smile, heard a soft sigh. "I'm letting my hands run over your legs in the water. I like how they feel. I like feeling that hard cock at my back. I'm turned on too, Gabriel." 
         I'm pretty hard right now, Chloe. Even being seperated from you by thousands of miles, he thought, glancing down. Damn, I'm glad no one's passing by right about now. "I love the way you feel," he said, hearing a soft moan on the line. "I'm letting my fingers knead your breasts. Your nipples are hard. And so ready for me. You feel so good. Can you feel me touching you?"
        "God, yes," Chloe said. He could hear some movement on the line, wondering if she was stroking her breasts, going with the moment. God help me if I start pleasuring myself here and now and someone comes along. At least she's got the privacy of home! He smiled to himself, zipping up his jacket now. At least the length of the jacket would offer a certain amount of concealment. "Keep talking, Gabriel."
         "You're so ready. Both of us are. I reach one hand down your stomach, below the water. I can feel you. I'm sliding my fingers inside you. You feel so good. So stretched. So aroused. I want all of you. I want to be inside you. Immersed in you. I'm kissing your neck. Does that feel good?"
          "Oh, yes, it does." Her voice had a raspy sound. "I can feel your fingers. You're stroking inside me. You're driving me closer to the edge. But I want your cock inside me when we come. I want it so much." A moment's pause, and then she continued. "You withdraw your fingers. I'm shifting in the tub. I'm straddling you, Gabriel. You're so hard, and you slide right into me. Deep inside, filling me. It feels soooo good."           He was as hard and aroused as he could possibly be. His mind was filled with the images of being with her, in that tub, joined to her, not knowing where he left off and she began. "Yes, it does," he softly told her. "I'm thrusting into you. We're moving together. I can feel your heartbeat against my chest. Both of us are groaning, Chloe. We're both close."
           "We are," she said. "I can feel your body stiffening. I know you're going to come. I'm so close too. I feel you erupt inside me. It feels really good. Tell me it's good for you, Gabriel. Tell me."
           "Oh, God, it is, Chloe." He looked around, wondering if anyone was close. How the hell do I explain this to a passerby? The thought brought out a smile. "I'm still thrusting into you. I want you to come. I want you to cry out. I can feel you tremble in my arms. You cry out."
         "It hits me. A toe-curling, mind bending orgasm. You've taken me there, Gabriel. It feels so good. I collapse against you, feel your arms around me. I'm kissing you. Your tongue is stroking mine." There was a long moment of silence, and a throaty laugh. "So was it good for you too?"
            That's a vast understatement, he thought with a smile. "God, yes," he replied. "Yes, it was." And right about now, getting back to that inn and my room, and indulging myself in that fantasy sounds just what I need.
             "Good." She paused again. "Well. Far be it from me to want to have you get arrested for public exposure, lover. I'm free to indulge myself. You're going to have to wait until you're somewhere a lot less public."
             He laughed, enjoying her teasing. "So noted, sweetness. By all means then. Indulge yourself. And I'll be thinking of you when I do the same." He glanced around, back down towards the lake. Suddenly the urgency of taking a picture didn't seem to matter. Not when he had this incredible woman taking him so close to the edge.
            "I'm fully expecting you to think of me, Gabriel. Just do yourself a favor. When you're getting towards that inn, you might want to walk with something in front of your crotch. I'm just saying."
            He laughed. "I'll do that." He paused for a moment. "I'll talk to you later?"
            "You'd better. Otherwise I'll have to come to England and have my way with you."
            It was provocative, daring. He decided to take her up on it. "By all means, do so."
            "All things in good time, lover. In good time." She ended the call, and he turned off his phone, placing in in his jacket. He'd give himself some time before moving. Yes, it wouldn't do to walk back into the village with an enormous erection. It wouldn't do at all.

Scarlett: What A Character!

James wrote about intimacy in his last post. I think I'll talk about character. If the reader doesn't care about the characters in a novel, they're not going to care about what happens to them. Obviously.

Chloe's a character I think a lot of women can identify with. She's in her mid-thirties, a smart, ambitious lady with everything going for her...except the right man with whom to share her life. But Chloe is not like most of us in that she has serious relationship and trust issues. Her father left her and her mother when she was just seven years old. That's an emotional scar that has yet to heal. She gets involved with men who are all wrong for her, and the relationships never last. The pattern repeats itself, over and over.

Chloe is a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Like a princess in a fairy tale, Chloe needs a prince to rescue her. Enter Gabriel--also in his mid-thirties, a good-looking blond Irishman who's also familiar with loss. Unlike Chloe, he's looking to fill the void in his heart. And ladies, this man's a keeper! James has told me about a scene he plans to write in which another woman hits on Gabriel while his relationship with Chloe is still strictly online. He has the opportunity for a free ride, there's zero chance of him getting caught, and still he says no. He's intrigued by a woman he's never met, so that he turns down surefire sex.

Reality check: how many men do you know who would do that?

Personally, I think she should marry him. But Chloe being Chloe, she'll still balk.

James has suggested that Chloe should propose to James in the end. On one hand, I think this would be very difficult for her, given her history. On the other, it would definitely make a statement as to how far she's come, and how much she loves this man.

What do you all think?

James: On Intimacy

I think I'll write today about intimacy.

 

Scarlett and I have been writing Gabriel and Chloe making their first tentative steps towards each other, and we've already established an odd sort of emotional link between them. I say odd, because they're reaching out to each other despite an early misunderstanding, and despite not being face to face.

 

It's an emotional kind of intimacy, and it works. As we go along, the intimacy will be different, of course. Sometimes intimacy can be about foreplay, or during sex. More often then not, it's simply being in the moment. Things like holding hands while walking together. A soft voice in the night. Holding each other and knowing you fit together. A kiss in a favourite spot. Like the neck. Or the small of the back. A massage.

 

And it can show up at the unlikeliest time. We're working with an idea about sickness, and about one of our pair nursing the other back to health. Can you have intimate moments when the person you want happens to be throwing up? Oddly, it can be done.

 

Of course (and thanks to Julianne for the idea) how about intimacy at a point in time where Chloe is after sex, and Gabriel is trying to prove a point by not having sex? That's something we're going to have a whole lot of fun with, believe me...

Scarlett: The Power of Doubt

Where to begin...James has written about teasing, and so incredibly good at it he is. I think I shall focus on something quite different this time.

Doubt.

It's been said that women look for men who remind them of their fathers. The so-called experts also say that a child of a broken home will tend to have commitment issues. That's Chloe. Her father left when she was seven years old and never looked back. She never heard from him again, didn't know what happened to him. She never understood why he left her. So now, in her adult relationships, she has become a self-fulfilling prophecy. She expects those relationships to fail, and so they do. In fact, Chloe has always had a tendency to choose men who are completely unsuited to her--like the notorious Rat Bastard, who is indirectly responsible for her meeting and falling in love with Gabriel.

It's a long story.

The trouble is, even though Gabriel is the right man for her, and she falls deeply in love with him, Chloe is afraid. She believes that once they discard the anonymity that has shielded her throughout their wild and crazy sex games, he will reject her, just as her father did. When Gabriel proposes they meet face-to-face, Chloe postpones that meeting twice, leading Gabriel to believe she does not take their relationship as seriously as he does. He has no way of knowing that it's fear that drives her to withdraw, not a lack of interest.

What can Gabriel do to make her trust him?

James: Teasing

 

Teasing.

It can be a very sexy word, when used right.

Scarlett and I are writing Chloe and Gabriel's initial contact online at the moment, and it's coming together (double entendre intended) perfectly well. Yes, I know, you've all seen that cherry cordial scene we copied, so you know where it's going. Bear with me.

It seems our Chloe is finding herself in a foot-in-her-mouth moment, and Gabriel is having a bit of fun at her expense. Embarrassment and red cheeks must ensue (not that kind of red cheeks, how dare you even think of what I was thinking!) And so with this, the game's afoot, as Holmes might say.

Well, to make a long story short, teasing leads to flirting, even with Chloes' reprehensible taste in pop music. Yes, that's right. Reprehensible. How else can we describe the man who brought Mandy into the world?

About that cherry cordial....

Scarlett and I are giving a preview scene of our pair; the first part is her writing, the second is mine:

“Do you like cherry cordials?” Chloe asked.

Gabriel lay supine on the bed, naked, his arms folded behind his head. “As a matter of fact, I do,” he said.

“Good.” she took off her mauve silk robe and sat on the bed next to him. “These are the best,” she told him, taking one from a box on the nightstand. She fed it to him. “Liquid centers. Much better than that sugary crap.”

“I’d rather eat you.” He reached for her, but she pulled away.

“Ladies first,” she told him with a wicked smile. She took a piece of the candy and bit into it. Then she held it out as if offering it to him, but instead allowed the sweet liquid to trickle down over his neck.

“Hey!” he laughed.

She lowered her head, licking it off him. She liked the taste and texture of his flesh better than the liquid. She liked everything about him: his scent, the coarseness of the hair on his chest, the firm muscles of his shoulders, arms, abdomen, his long legs. She wanted to taste every part of this man who’d captivated her long before she’d even seen his face.

How did this happen? she wondered. How had he gotten past the wall she’d erected around her heart? How had he managed to get into the deepest part of her soul?

She tried to shut out the feelings that demanded to be acknowledged. She focused on his body, his delicious body. Can’t feel, she told herself. The sex is good. That’s enough. Feelings will ruin everything. If I tell him, he’ll leave. It’s better this way.

He tried again to take her in his arms, but she resisted. “No,” she told him. As much as she wanted that, wanted him to hold her and tell her everything would be all ht, she kept her attention on his body. She kept kissing him, licking him all over…his shoulders…his chest…his flat, firm abdomen…his groin….

He was erect, ready to take her. She wanted him inside her. She wanted to be joined to him in every way. But no…she couldn’t. As long as she didn’t allow herself to love him, he would stay. If she told him, he would bolt. He would leave her.

She pulled away. “What’s wrong?” Gabriel asked.

“Nothing,” she said, avoiding eye contact. She took another cordial from the box and took a small bite from it. Then she allowed the liquid center to run down over his penis. Impulsively, she kissed him full on the mouth, pushing the cherry from her mouth to his. Then her attention returned to his cock. She started licking it, licking the sweet fluid off it, her tongue moving up the shaft as she caressed his balls. She kissed it, licked it, then took it into her mouth and sucked on it. She could feel the tip of it at the back of her throat. He was ready, he was about to reach orgasm…and he abruptly withdrew.

He was pulling her up by her shoulders. She was on top on him, he was holding her there, pushing himself into her…she was impaled on his cock, and he was coming fast. Her head was spinning. She’d wanted him to do it in her mouth. She wanted to swallow it.

He let out a sound that almost sounded like a roar as his orgasm came. She felt her own orgasm at that same moment, and it was a wild, dizzying feeling that took her by surprise. She hadn’t even allowed him to fondle her. How….

Gabriel pulled her into his arms and held her close, stroking her hair. She whimpered softly against his chest, wanting to run, yet wanting to stay there with him indefinitely.

What am I going to do? Chloe asked herself.


****

Gabriel held Chloe close, his arms wrapped around her back, feeling her bare body pressed close to his. Her leg was draped over him, and her head rested beneath his chin. We fit so well together. The thought lingered there in his mind, a fact that he found comforting. At the same time, he wondered where this was going. The way we first came together? Would she even want more? He could feel himself grow hard, beneath her thigh, and heard a throaty chuckle out of her.

“Feel up for more?” Chloe asked him.

“I’m game if you are,” he replied.

She kissed him, her tongue probing against his, and moved her lips down his chin, his throat, back to his chest. Oh, God… the things she does to me. Her lips moved lower, down his stomach, to his groin. He looked down, saw her smile at his erect cock. Then she made her move. Her lips brushed up against the tip, driving him into a groan of pleasure, and she kissed and licked her way down the underside of the shaft, to his balls. Each kiss and lick sent him into a delirious state. “Oh, yesss.…” he moaned.

“Like that?” she asked. Her tongue stroked back up the length of his cock, and her mouth enveloped him. Gabriel groaned in anticipation and bliss as she sucked at his cock, as her tongue stroked and caressed the shaft. Her hands moved out over his stomach, up his chest, and he found his own hands reaching down, one touching her hands, another running through her tousled hair. Chloe kept sucking at him, driving him ever closer, and he could feel it coming. Oh God… what she’s doing to me…

He groaned again, his body tightening up, just in time. As he climaxed, he cried out. “Oh, God!!” Gabriel felt himself come, felt himself hit the top, and Chloe kept sucking at him, her tongue stroking, swallowing the thick warmth of him, seemingly not getting enough of him. Gradually, he felt himself subsiding, and she slowed herself, licking at a more leisurely pace.

Finally, she was done, withdrawing from him, smiling deliriously at him. “If I haven’t mentioned this before, I love the way you taste when you come.”

He smiled too, pulling her up into his arms. They kissed each other once more, their bodies urgent, their hands exploring and fondling. He rolled her over onto her back, moving on top of her, gazing down at her. My God, she is so beautiful, he thought. She smiled at him, and he glanced over at the nearby nightstand, seeing the cordials still there, still waiting. He kissed her once more, moving downward, his lips peppering her chin and throat with kisses. Reaching for the cordials, Gabriel took one, biting it open. He let the liquid drain out between them, between the swell of her breasts. “Turnabout is fair play, you know,” he remarked.

She smiled blissfully, and he lowered his head, licking the sweetness of the liquid off her flesh. I could do this forever…He moved his lips up to her left breast, letting his left hand stroke and caress her right breast. Her nipple came under his lips, and he kissed and sucked, his teeth lightly nibbling. A soft cry of pleasure came out of her at that, and he moved lower. Now his kisses traveled over the flat stomach, and his body shifted lower. Her legs spread wide for him, and he turned his attention first to her inner thighs, his lips kissing each in turn. Gabriel glanced up, seeing Chloes’ eyes close briefly, her face an expression of joy. He moved his lips ever closer, first brushing against the sparse pubic hair. Her scent… it’s intoxicating.

He smiled again, his hands moving beneath her, shifting her butt slightly, pushing her up. And so he moved in. His lips kissed her along the outside of her pussy, and he heard her moan softly. And then he drove his tongue inside her pussy. She was already moist, either from their first orgasm of the evening, or working her way towards the second, and the taste of her was more than enough to get him hard. His tongue drove deep into her, licking and caressing her inner walls. Chloe gasped, her legs traveling over him, one leg hitching around his hip, another one wrapping around his back. Another sigh, and he knew she was close. His tongue continued to stimulate, to drive her ever closer, and he couldn’t get enough of her, his lips enveloping her, wanting this to last forever.

“Oh God!! Gabriel….yesss…” Chloe gasped. Her body clenched, as if bracing for what was to come, and she reached down, her hands stroking his unruly hair. “Ohhhhh, God!!!” she cried out as she climaxed. He licked deep, drinking of the moistness of her, addicted to her. Her groans and sighs continued as he licked, and finally, as she slowed down, he withdrew, gazing up at her. She was smiling blissfully at him, and he made his way up to her, kissing her deeply, feeling her arms come around him. “Thank you,” she said, catching her breath.

“Thank you,” he said, kissing her again. He settled against her, his head resting against her upper right breast, kissing the bare flesh. I wasn’t looking for this, he thought to himself. But this is where I belong.