as I washed them for the third time. Something about soapy breasts, the way they were all slippery and soft, entranced me. I knew them as tools to feed babies, but I also imagined they were invented as my personal toys.
"They are absolutely filthy," I joked, reaching around her to massage them again. I was half aroused, but the need wasn't strong. I was more than satisfied to just have her near me as the warm water caressed our skin. I really didn't want her to leave.
"I want you to stay here with me," I said firmly, her breasts in my hands, warm water cascading between us. I was holding her from behind, almost dancing in the rain.
"Ask me tomorrow," Adeline responded, smiling, "when I have clothes on." I chuckled at her sensibility.
"My request will stand," I smiled, "but for you, I will gladly ask again tomorrow and the next day if necessary." I already knew I wanted her to stay, naked or not. I felt her wiggle her butt against my poor, tired cock. If she kept it up, it would rise again -- it was its happy duty after all. Adeline leaned her head back, and I kissed her lips. A surge went through me, something warm, comforting and very gratifying. It was more than sexual, something deeper and not as trivial. I broke the kiss and turned her in my arms and saw the same in her eyes.
"It is too fast," Adeline stammered. It wasn't fear. It was the same confusion I felt. I pulled her breasts to mine and held her in the gentle warm rain. It was entirely too fast. It was also entirely too strong. It was also all I desired.
I had intended to coax Adeline to another orgasm when I took her to bed. The kiss in the shower changed that. It seemed too forceful to mix more love-making with our confusion. I held her as she had held me last night. She molded into me, comfortable with our nakedness. Her arms wrapped around mine, making sure I wouldn't let go. My heart had opened and I had let her in. It was too soon, but I let all of her in. It was a flood I could not stop.
Chapter Nine
I sliced some of the leftover roast into small pieces. I had woken up before Adeline and had a desire to make her breakfast. Making omelets was the one cooking skill I possessed. I had no idea if a steak and egg omelet would excite her taste buds, but it had mine watering. I had the pan warming on the stove at three on the dial. Cooking omelets was a temperature game. If you got it right, you had firm yellow eggs encasing the guts. If you got it wrong, the eggs turned brown or were runny; neither was very appetizing.
"Good morning," Adeline said sweetly. She had snuck up on me. I looked up at an angel in another of my t-shirts. Her hair was going every which way but where it was supposed to go. My heart leapt at the sight. No sunrise could compare to her. I dropped the knife on the cutting board.
"I want you to stay here with me," I repeated my request from last night. Adeline wasn't fully dressed, but I desperately didn't want to forget.
"Okay," Adeline replied with a smile. That was settled, so my apprehension died away.
"Good morning," I said, pointing to a stool. "Coffee?"
"Please," Adeline answered as she sat down.
"I'm making steak and cheese omelets," I added as I moved to the coffee pot.
"Sounds delicious."
"I love you," I said stupidly as I poured her a cup of coffee. The silence frightened me for a second, and I turned to find her only an arm's length away. Her lips answered me. Words were no longer necessary. The world made total sense.
***
Adeline and her sister had a rather heated phone conversation after lunch. I left Adeline to argue with Cathy, not wanting to get in the middle of two sisters. I already picked the winner anyway. Instead, I went back to fixing the hole. I put a layer of mud over the mesh tape on the drywall. I was rather impressed with my work. I went into the garage and duplicated my efforts on the other side of the wall. I had to shift
Dean Wesley Smith, Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Martin A. Lee, Bruce Shlain