Beauty of a Unicorn

I'd like to give thanks to TwentyThreeSweet for taking a look at this. It looks wonderful. Thank you :)

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The idea of beauty has captivated thousands of souls over our short existence, matched by experiences that can be listed on nimble fingers: works of art priceless and poignant, sunsets and sunrises that paint the sky with vivid perfection, architectural designs and wonders that baffle the mind even as they liberate it.

Everyone sees beauty differently, and none of them are wrong.

Rain patterned across the sun room's wall of tall windows, smearing sparkles of midday light as it broke through the murky clouds above. The din of rain echoed dully, rising and falling as heavier drops hammered before lighter drops took over. It was quiet and perfect.

"It's so peaceful here," Elie hummed, stretched luxuriously on the white chaise lounge as she thumbed through a large coffee table book. "Thank you for letting me stay for a day. I just needed a place to relax without expectations."

I looked up from the paperback I was reading, nodding and smiling. "My pleasure. I had nothing going on today."

A slow, stress free smile from Elie, followed by a sigh of content. "I could just meld into this couch and cuddle up warm, like the world has forgotten about me."

Another sigh, a slow closing of Elie's brown eyes before she stretched long and lean like a cat. It was hard not to appreciate the perfect curve of her spine. The black denim vest with white shirt beneath it that she was wearing drew up to reveal lovely tan skin, a smooth stomach, and a very kissable belly button. Black jeans tight against her small hips, long legs that ended in white painted toenails. Strands of blonde hair fell over Elie's face, a soft smile creeping through it.

Petite and perfect, it brought a smile to my face as well.

Elie caught me looking, shaking her head as she continued to smile. "Look all you want, stud. Consider it payment for this wonderful day."

"Well, if you insist," I said, shrugging lightly as I drank her in. "I would hate to offend."

Elie's bark of laughter chimed for a few seconds, fading off to hide behind the patter of rain. "Thank you, truly. It's rare that I find a place where I can just be at peace."

"I understand," I said, nodding while trying not to get lost in Elie's eyes. "Life has its way of stacking stress in the most wobbly of patterns."

Elie grinned. "Artfully put. Hard to balance things when life gets that way." A long sigh, the touch of joy dimming. "It always feels like it's ready to fall over, that wobbly tower of stress, crushing me underneath it."

"That's when you seek those places of deepest peace, someplace unchanging inside all that murkiness and weight," I offered. "To recuperate, relax, if even just for a little time, before challenging the world once more."

A slow blink of brown eyes, pupils widening slightly. "Sounds like the voice of experience."

I nodded. "Most keenly, I assure you. Can't deny our instincts, or fight our nature."

"Nature and instincts, you say?" Elie hummed, shifting slightly to look squarely at me. "You're saying what we do is ingrained?"

"Somewhat, sure. We all move in patterns, surround ourselves with people, places and things that match a need we have - a rhythm or a vibration that we're seeking created by such surroundings. Like birds flying south for the winter, something they know instinctually to do."

"So people fly south when they're stressed then go back north when it's calmer?" Elie chided, shaking her head. "That makes complete and no sense at the same time."

"Well, that's where the nature of the thing comes into play," I said, smiling and nodding. "South could mean across an ocean, down into the earth, up into a trusted tree nook, or comfort in soft arms. Everything knows instinctively where they can be safe even if it's something they purposefully avoid."

"Avoid?" Elie's eyes took on a scrutinizing look. "Why avoid safety? Comfort?" A pause. "Peace?"

"To protect it, perhaps," I said, drawing a stunned expression from Elie. "If no one or nothing knows about the hidden sanctuary, and if it doesn't go there often to where it can be followed, then it will always be there to visit when the going is the roughest and hectic."

Elie blinked, slowly absorbing what we were talking about. It rang through her soft brown eyes, understanding blooming like a thousand-petaled lotus. It was beautiful to watch it unfold, a rare thing for anyone to witness. She looked upon me with profound insight.

The rain fell gently, the clouds getting a bit darker and stealing some of the ambient light. Not enough to steal her beauty, only reveal the soft angles of it even more.

I closed my paperback and stood up. Elie blinked rapidly, sitting up slowly like she was waking up from a hypnotic spell. A small blush found her cheeks, a demure embarrassment curling her lips into a partially revealed inner indulgence.

"I'm going to make some dinner. Would you like some?" I asked.

"Please," Elie hummed lightly, a hint of deep warmth wrapped around the word.

I made cheesy au gratin potatoes filled with grilled hamburger bits - a cheeseburger in every bite. It was easy to make and delicious. Elie's grin as she dug in was absolutely priceless. Like I'd given her an expensive meal and served it on china, she ate with great enjoyment.

We settled onto the overstuffed couch in the living room for a few hours, idly thumbing through the TV channels watching only pieces of a dozen different series' as we chatted. She pulled one of my sherpa blankets off the back of the couch, one with a large white unicorn on it. Pulling it up to her chin and smiling, she closed her eyes and basked in the dreamy softness. I offered the remote to her. A quizzical look passed through her eyes.

"I unfortunately have to work tomorrow, so I need to extract myself from your lovely presence," I said, rising from the couch. "The guest room is the door at the end of the couch. It has its own bathroom and shower. Take all the time you need."

Elie's brown eyes said it all - she didn't want our time to end. Yet, she understood. A respectful understanding, a lovely evening offered and given exactly the way she wanted it.

Exactly as I wanted, a thought plucked from Elie's eyes like she'd said it. Yet...

"Bran?" Elie hummed, her face glowing from the blue screen of the TV. "Thank you."

I bowed slightly, rising to meet her brown eyes with my blue ones. "My pleasure, Elise."

A slow, wide smile found her lips. "No one calls me that anymore."

"No one but me," I responded.

I left Elie curled up and warm on the couch. I took a leisurely shower, dried off and dressed in boxers, then found myself to bed. It was dark and cool in my room, a large window off to the right by the nightstand smeared with glassy rain. I pushed back the thick quilt and slid in, closing my eyes and getting lost in the soft patter of rain on the roof and window.

I heard the shower start-up in the guest room. Elie had found it which meant she felt safe enough to do so, a victory in its own right. Hopefully she'd sleep just as safely, a peaceful repose before she challenged the world once more. It wasn't long until sleep found me.

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I awoke to a rumble of heavy thunder, its pressure shaking the window and vibrating through the house like it was a drum. It passed slowly, the strong reverberation meaning the storm it was heralding was very close. As soon as it passed I closed my eyes again, listening to it roll through the clouds.

Another rumble, distant but strong. I could have sworn I heard a door open, most likely Elie. If she needed something she knew where I was. She had free run of the house so there was no reason to rise and startle her. Closing my eyes I slipped off to sleep once more.

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A bright flash of lightning whited out my room, deafening thunder booming and shaking the house like it had been struck. Rain pounded the window from outside now. A hellacious ruckus of a storm had built up since the last time I closed my eyes and was now breaking open over the house.

A door opened scant minutes later, the padding of feet and a knock at my door.

"Bran? Are you awake?" Elie asked, muffled by the door.

"Sure, Elie. Hard to be sleeping right now. That thunder was really loud," I said.

A pause in her voice, leaving it softer than before. "Can I come in? It was really loud in my room, I've never handled storms well."

"Sure, no problem," I said, turning on a lamp at the bedside so she could see. Elie cracked the door and came in. She was in black shirt that fell to mid-thigh, blonde hair brushed and clean falling to her shoulders. Long thin legs gracefully maneuvered her across the plush blue carpet, slipping in on the far side and pulling the covers up to her chin. Her body language said she was scared, but her brown eyes were calm without a hint of fright in them. She nodded to me, watching me carefully.

"Thank you. I hope you don't mind," Elie offered demurely.

I smiled and shook my head. "Not a problem," I responded, turned out the light, settling back into my pillow.

Thunder boomed off in the distance, heavy rainfall pounding the roof and the window as flashes of lightning strobed. I saw Elie's eyes watching me in the sparse flashes, the telltale signs of a smile barely hidden by the edge of the blanket.

"Goodnight, Brand," Elie whispered, closing her lovely brown eyes.

I let out a deep sigh, staring at the ceiling before closing my own. "No one calls me that anymore."

An intense roll of thunder, the rain continuing it steady, relentless beating. A soft flash of distant lightning left the room a bit darker in its passing.

"No one but me," came the ghost of a whisper, lost easily in the rhythm of pounding rain.

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A deep growl of thunder rumbled overhead, an instinctual crack of my eyes just to check the surroundings. Elie was pressed into the left side of my chest with her back, her warm body around my arm like she was hugging it. A contented sigh whispered past her lips, fast asleep and peaceful. She smelled clean and felt soft, breathing deep with blonde hair serenely splayed on the pillow.

I moved the arm she was curled around just slightly, allowing her body to move closer. Elie sighed again, readjusting slightly before losing to sleep once more. I nodded and closed my eyes, lost in her clean scent and the pattering rain. It felt nice to have her close.

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I woke up to warm hands on my cheeks, soft lips brushing against mine. I found Elie atop me, blonde hair gracing my face and the length of her body stretched all the way down mine. The kiss was gentle and patient, hands lightly trembling against my face. I gently kissed her back, slowly wrapping my arms around her lithe body. Brown eyes went wide, startled that I was awake and responding, before they softened into peaceful acceptance.

The kiss never evolved further, stayed exactly as it was for untold minutes. It didn't have to. The longer it went the less tense Elie's body got, molding slowly and perfectly into mine. She didn't jump when I opened my hands and placed them flat against her back along her spine, fingertips caressing her shoulder blades through her black shirt.

Elie quickly choked off a heady moan birthing in her thin throat, embarrassment blushing her cheeks. Both feelings faded off as she caressed my cheek and pressed her lean body into mine, small breasts pressing into my chest and lovely hips rubbing tentatively against mine.

She slowly opened her lovely brown eyes, blinking long lashes as she withdrew from the kiss and caressed my face. A look of admiration dawned in her gaze, a mote of sadness finding the corner of her lips.

"Elise?" I asked, worry filling the word. My left hand trailed up her body and cupped her cheek. A tear fell from her right eye, a flash of lightning shattering it into a brilliant prism before it was lost in my palm. "Are you ok?"

Elie shook her head, rubbing her tear-streaked cheek into my hand. A gentle kiss followed with the quiet tear smeared in my palm. Brown eyes found mine, such beauty and sadness deep inside them.

"I'm not ok, Brand. I haven't been ok for a long time," Elie whispered, wrapping her thin fingers around my hand on her cheek. "The world expects things from me, a mask I have to wear to appease the masses regardless of my decisions. But when I'm near you I don't have to be hidden. I can be wounded. I can be sad."

Shaky lips brushed across mine, Elie's hand finding my cheek once more. "I can be happy. I can be peaceful. I can be what I want to be and you'll never judge, condone, or question my choice."

"I love you endlessly for that, Brand." Her brown eyes sparkled with peace as she traced the line of my jaw with soft fingers. "Thank you."

Elie's whole body suddenly decompressed, all the tension and stress fading away as she gave herself into the luscious tranquility of the moment. She kissed my chin then laid her head on my chest, hands between us as she felt me breathe in and out. I felt her smile against my bare skin, my arms wrapped around her body holding her close.

I breathed deep, drinking in the wondrous warmth she was giving off. The beating rain outside continued to fill the room with its dull echoing din. A rustle of movement, Elie squirming atop me, then her black shirt suddenly came over the top of her head. She tossed it over the side of the bed to the floor before settling back against my body, warm skin brushing across warm skin and no longer a boundary between us.

I trailed my fingers up and down her skinny back, feeling the soft hairs stand up as I touched them. Elie hummed contentedly at the caress. Her hands slid down my sides and traced the outline of my ribs, small breasts with silky nipples pressed against my chest. Running my hands down her shivering sides then up her spine and shoulders, I caressed and carved every lovely curve of her exquisiteness into memory. Elie hummed softly under my touch as I reveled in her heavenly presence.

"Don't stop," Elie requested as I slowly paced her lovely body with my fingers, kissing my chest before looking up at me. "Please, don't stop."

Elie's lips found mine once more, loose strands of blonde hair brushed behind her right ear. Her knees fell down my sides as she straddled my hips, a warmth I hadn't noticed before now pressed against my boxers. She smiled slyly, a tender secret she'd been planning to show me now revealed. She hooked the edge of my boxers with her long toes, pushing them down from both sides as she buried her lips on my own.

Bringing her smooth legs back up my body her knees stopped near my hips, the weight settling atop mine. I felt her feminine warmth press against my growing erection. Elie's brown eyes flickered behind her closed eyelids, the deep kiss we were sharing paused at the sensual contact.

Slowly, intentionally, her narrow hips swirled and probed. I caressed Elie's back in long, careful strides, all my attention on her seeking hips and now trembling lips. Elie's upper body was frozen in stasis as her lower body sought more of the fleeting touch, a noticeable twinge of nervousness (or was that anticipation?) running the length of her spine beneath my fingers.

Then Elie found it, the swollen heat mixed with a silken sensation that had abruptly paused her tender moment. A purposeful press of her hips into mine, the luscious folds of her dewy vagina brushing against the thick arc of my swelling penis. A deep, low moan broke free of Elie's throat, one that rumbled the entire length of her body. She pressed harder, spreading her tight opening along the warm girth of my length.

Elie bit her lip, brown eyes opening to stare deep into my blue ones. She pressed and slid her sensitive womanhood down the length of my shaft, a gradual, beautiful sensation as she chased a fleeting, beautiful feeling.

Elie didn't make it far in her journey. Barely a minute she explored before a stuttering gasp left her shivering lips. A hesitant continuance, barely half as long as previously, before she shrieked and came intensely hard. It was a body-shaking orgasm, one that had slowly built from the grandest of delays. No rush to experience it, no hesitation in letting it run freely through her heart. It was what she wanted, what she desired. She gave in to it like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Elie gasped for sweet air as her orgasm blessed her with its sweet liberation, brown eyes pinched tight as she smashed her shaking hips against mine. Her small nipples hardened instantly, back arching in ecstatic bliss. Her body lifted off my chest in rapturous delight as she rode the fierce tremors of her sustained orgasm. Storm light flashed as Elie's body tightened above me, highlighting the perfect curve of her smooth back, narrow shoulders, thin arms, and petite breasts.

Elie trembled in the aftershock of her powerful orgasm. Hands on my chest she gripped my pecks as she sucked in air through her clenched teeth. She fiercely held to the press of her hips against mine, the heat of my penis making firm, unending contact with her trembling vagina. She was beyond lovely perched primly on my hips, beyond divine in picturesque stature. I could've stared at her forever. Hers was a beauty that birthed and died like popping embers in a fire, passing flashes of lightning burning her sublime visage into my retinas never to be forgotten.

Slowly, Elie lowered herself back down into my chest. Like a balloon deflating she effortlessly laid flat against my chest, a body shiver following that released all of her post-orgasmic tension. A deep breath, long fingers curling against my chest like she was kneading warm sand, then an exhale of a divine breath as she settled into bliss.

My hands found her back again, splaying widely across her spine at the small of her back and between her shoulder blades. I listened to Elie breathe and kissed her hair, exhaling as I gleaned a mote of tranquility from her presence. Small, unstoppable tremors flashed across her skin under my hands, a long satisfied exhale always preceding before she relaxed once more. She was at peace, the soft caresses along her back eliciting a soft moan as she rubbed her lips against my chest.

"Oh, Brand. That was beautiful," Elie whispered, a soft kiss before she looked up at me with brown eyes beautiful and wide. "I needed that, in ways I can't even describe."

"I think you did a fair job at describing it," I offered, caressing her back in delicate movements. "I watched every moment of it. It seemed exquisite."

"You have only a faint idea; a perceived inkling that doesn't even compare," Elie responded. She kissed up my chest to my neck, then to my lips in patiently tender touches. "Only experience matches it."

A long deep kiss, one that made the hair stand up on my body. Elie smiled. "One we're going to share, right now."

For her size, Elie still managed to surprise me. She rolled us over toward the center of the bed, her lips locked on mine throughout the rocking motion. Opening her long legs she guided me between them, ankles drawing me closer as she lifted her hips and adjusted. Didn't take long until the heat of my penis head brushed against the slicked folds of her spread vagina, a heady moan from Elie dragging my own out of my lips.

Elie smiled as she guided her silken folds across the warm tip of my penis, sucking on my bottom lip she lined it up her tight entrance. Pressing slightly as another tremor of anticipation raced down her body, she moaned as her entrance was sensually spread by my textured heat. A small gasp left her lips, another press no less insistent than the first. I joined her needy press, sliding my penis into her tight depths.