Catching Fire

Author's Foreword: This series has themes of romance, sex, friendship, humor, safe and consensual BDSM, and above all, intimacy and the concept of memory. Any resemblance to real people or events is coincidental. I want you, reader, to come away with more empathy, appreciation, and joy for yourself and others than you began. As I did when writing this.

***Mid Summer****

"I didn't hear you clearly that time," I said, as calm and menacing as she had asked me to be, "So we're going to need to do that one again. Don't make me start all over."

Her arms were tucked under her, wrapped around the pillow that she hugged to her bare chest as she lay across my knees on the couch. She whimpered and shifted, but she nodded. I brought my hand up and paused, knowing she couldn't see through her blindfold and could only focus on the crinkling of my button-down shirt sleeve, the heavy silence soon after.

She began to writhe from the anticipation. She wanted so badly to flinch out of the way of each new, imagined handprint. My pants were already soaked at the thigh from her.

I waited.

She clenched her toes. A tiny squeak escaped her throat. I brought my palm down with a crack.

"Nine, Sir!" she sobbed into the pillow before dissolving into shuddering sniffles.

"Good," I said soothingly, "Good! That was exactly what you were supposed to do. Here, you earned this." I ran two fingers along her drenched clit before putting them in her mouth. While she was noisily occupied, I admired her sunset-hued ass. We were already much higher than nine - she'd been such a brat on purpose earlier. When she started drooling into my palm and trying to grind her pussy against my leg, I pulled my hand away and wiped it clean in her hair. She tried to twist around, so I tightened my grip gradually on her blonde ringlets until she gasped and arched her neck.

"Such a messy eater," I commented, releasing her to collapse into the pillow again,  "We'll work on that next time. Now, this is the last one, so let's make it special."

"Yes," she groaned, "Yes, please. I want to be good."

"Reach back here and hold these cherry-red little cheeks apart for me."

"Oh, no," she said, completely unable to disguise her giddy pleasure. She was already riding the edge of another orgasm.

"Oh, yes," I said, "You were so bad earlier. Time to show me you really want to be on your best behavior." She whimpered, let go of the pillow, and reached back to gently make herself just that much more vulnerable. I encouraged her fingers to spread further, exposing everything.

"Very, very good," I assured her, "and this time, stay like that after we finish so I can see you. And don't forget the count, or else we do this one again too."

"Okay," she said with nervous excitement.

"And if we do start over, I'll make very sure you actually do regret it," I warned.

"Yes, Sir," she whispered.

"Good. Now raise that cute little ass up." She complied.

"Higher," I encouraged her with a light tap, "There we go, Pet. Lovely." I pulled my palm firmly along her, eliciting a sharp intake of breath.

"Ready?" I asked, and she nodded rapidly. She bit the pillow hard. I raised my hand.

"One," I said, and watched her dripping pussy pucker sharply.

"Two," her hips shook, and she gripped to spread herself to the limit.

"Three." I brought my hand down sharply. Not as hard as earlier, of course, but not too gently, either. She bucked forward and screeched into consoling feathers. I put my hands on hers to help keep her ass spread, watched her inner labia convulse and drool.

"The count, Pet," I warned, dragging two fingers along her lips before slowly thrusting in with them.

"Ten, Sir," she wailed as she came, and I took my hands away with a twist to watch her squirm on the couch while she cursed and the air heaved in and out of her lungs.

I stood up and took one of her beautifully muscled thighs in each hand to flip her over to her back, quickly kneeling in front of her. I took a moment to appreciate the sight of her sculpted abs, champagne coupe glass breasts, the blindfold she wore, the flush across her collarbone as livid as though she'd just stepped out of a sauna.

"Time for your reward," I said as I began to make long, slow, probing drags with my tongue.

"Oh God no," she said, weakly pawing at my hair and shoulders, "Please Sir, I feel so *dirty* when you ohhh-God!"

I didn't let her finish that thought or any other for a long time, instead enjoying the deep scratches she made on my scalp and upper back. I resolved to get thoroughly drunk on her refined, sharp, subtle, neverending wine.

***Early Spring, First Night***

I tossed Erin off me and onto her back like it was nothing, nipped at her gently as I started to make my way lower.

"Um," she said, putting a hand on my shoulder for a moment. I stopped again.

"Everything alright?" I asked.

"Yeah! Yeah, just that I almost never let guys go down on me. Even Andrew. When I said no more than oral earlier, I guess I meant me, and when I said hands I guess I meant you. That's why I, you know," she said, mimicking a falling tree with her arm and making a crashing sound. Well this was unusual. I had to know.

"Can I ask why?" To my surprise, she seemed embarrassed.

"I don't know, really," she said, "I guess it just feels like the dirtiest thing I can do? I've done plenty else, believe me. And don't get me wrong, I love how it feels, at least from how I remember, but it's just... I dunno. I definitely like going down on you, though."

"Well," I said, kissing her hand, "how about we take it slow and you let me know how you feel? I'd really like to. What I already tasted of you was... lovely. And this kind of sex is important to me. But if you want me to stop, for any reason, just say the word. I want us to trust each other. Still, I think I can convince you, if you let me."

"You do have a way with words," she said, grinning at me, "even when you're horny-stupid."

"Would you say I'm a cunning linguist?" I deadpanned. She stared at me for a second and then punched my shoulder with that surprising strength of hers.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" she demanded and play-fought me as I laughed and pinned her. She craned her neck slightly to kiss me again, then stared down my torso in appreciation.

"Puns stop when clothes come off, mister" she admonished while suppressing an annoyed giggle.

"Deal," I said, "Can I try again?"

"You may." She seemed a bit more relaxed and in control, which was the goal of the joke in the first place.

She lay back on the comforter, feet on the floor and knees bent. I grabbed a pillow from somewhere and tucked it behind her head. She smiled as she ran her hands down my chest. I could tell her heart was beating faster, her breathing a little shallower. I reveled in my gifted time to kiss her and appreciate her body. Before too long, she ground herself against me, which I took as my cue. I moved to lay down between her legs, propped on one elbow while I stroked her smooth, warm-marble leg with my free hand.

"Good God, you're beautiful," I said sincerely, "I could touch you for hours."

"Thank you," she said quietly, reaching out to pet whatever she could of me.

"Especially here," I said, brushing a hand against her shaved mound. I brought my other hand down and gently spread her lips apart with my thumbs, staring at her dewy petals.

"Like it?" she asked in a surprisingly shy voice.

"Love it," I replied, glancing up at her, "You remind me of an orchid."

"That's a new one," she said quietly.

I let both hands glide up her body to fondly cup her breasts as I stretched out and down.

"Mmm," she said with a smile, "Your back and ass do nice things when you move like that. Shoulders too."

I wetted my fingers in my mouth before touching first one fingertip to her, then another, like dipping my toes in a hot bath. I worked my way up and down along her, pleased with how she pressed forward into me. I brushed slightly against her clitoris, then slowly began to press it in small circles. Later, her thighs filled my hands as I squeezed and stroked them. The heat of her washing over me was incredible, like a growing fire. I kissed her just above the pubic bone, breathing warmly on her pussy, and I felt her hands tighten in my hair, heard her take a deep breath.

I'd been waiting for that reaction. I let the tip of my tongue nudge her clit before tracing up and down through the folds between her inner and outer lips on each side. Nothing like a little subtle classical conditioning.

"Feeling okay?" I asked, gently stroking with my hand while nuzzling her oh-so-smooth skin. I looked up along her body to her unfocused eyes. I licked her again, slower, broader.

"Y-yes," she managed, "Very. It's just... Damn it, I feel like such a fucking *slut* when I let you go down on me."

"From where I am," I reassured her, "You look like a queen."

"...Okay," she whispered.

I slowly followed her contours with my tongue. I glanced up at her again as I licked harder to see her eyes close, her head tilt slightly back, her lips part and not come back together. She seemed to be focused on breathing as she gracefully draped first one leg, then the other over my shoulders. I paused to run my hands from her legs to her breasts and back again.

"You can keep going," she said faintly, her fingers moving slowly in my hair.

"My pleasure," I sighed in eager relief.

I made myself comfortable and relaxed into one of my favorite pastimes. I let her moans and mewling and quivering and sudden quiet moments guide me on. On a guess, I tried the same thing that had landed us in a train wreck before, and she bucked just as hard from the pleasure. I braced myself before doing exactly that again and again, gripping and pinning her legs and hips through the back-arching, breath-stealing orgasm before returning to lighter, broader, fluttering approaches. I wanted to find other releases, learn their names and particulars. I wanted to see and feel her in every ecstasy possible.

***

Eventually, I pushed myself up and watched her collapse bonelessly backward, her body twitching and lungs struggling. She was covered in sweat and it plastered strands of her hair to her forehead. I took a moment to wipe my mouth on the soaked comforter beneath us, then followed my hand up her body to her face, turning her by the chin towards me. Her eyes slowly opened. I brushed her hair back and kissed her damp forehead, felt her bring one hand to the back of my neck while the other reached down between us to stroke our bodies gently, connecting us just that much more.

"God," she murmured, "Fuck, that was amazing. I can't believe I let you do that for so long...at all. It was just so dirty, but so, so damn good. I didn't even *try* to stop you, didn't want you to. You turned me into a total slut like it was easy." She closed her eyes and pressed her cheek into my hand. It was a longing gesture.

Intuition jumped from hand to heart to mind.

"Come here," I said, laying down next to her.

"What is it?" she asked in a somewhat sad and dreamy voice, then seemed to freeze in confusion as I pulled her into my arms and held her. She breathed at first slowly, then deeply into my chest as I stroked her hair and her body. I felt her head tilt to look up at me slightly, then a tender kiss on my neck. She stayed silent.

An unnamed tension seemed to slowly melt from her body. She clung to me like I was the only solid thing in the world. We lay together for quite a while. Then she half rolled on top of me, one hand on my chest. I could hear the clock ticking in the hallway.

"Why did you do that?" she asked softly. She had a genuine curiosity in her eyes and voice. Like she was seeing something strange and entirely new.

"Do what?"

"Hold me like that."

"I wanted you to know that everything was okay," I said truthfully, "I don't think you're a slut or anything like that, and I don't want you to feel bad about something we shared and loved doing together."

"That's..." she trailed off. We looked into each other's eyes.

"What we both needed?" I asked.

"I think so," she said with what seemed like uncharacteristic shyness, "Though I think when you wrote about it, you called it 'after-care,' didn't you?"

"Oh," I said, suddenly feeling like an idiot for not being able to put a finger on it before, "Yeah, I guess so."

"Mmhm," she agreed with a small nod.

Her eyebrows suddenly went up as she felt me harden slightly against her body.

"Oh really?" she asked happily, quickly chasing down the change of subject, "So soon? I'm impressed. You weren't lying one bit."

"Not in the slightest," I replied.

"Good boy," she murmured appreciatively, squeezing hard, "my turn again."

"Sixty-nine me, you hot bitch," I said with a lopsided grin and a half-lidded stare. She gasped and colored a little even as her eyes dilated and her smile took on a feral quality.

"Yes, Sir," she purred. She turned and swung one fantastic leg over my body, sitting across my hips as she stroked my dick with both hands. I could hardly believe I hadn't really paid attention to her ass yet, given my usual preferences. It wasn't as full as I typically went for, but she was certainly still womanly, showing an amazingly taut little thing with perfect skin and high, densely-muscled cheeks that wobbled just briefly when I swatted one cheek. I resolved to spend as much time back here as possible, both tonight and in the hopeful future. I felt myself stiffen even further.

"What're you up to?" she asked as she glanced over her shoulder to raise an eyebrow at me.

"Looking at you," I replied, "Not in a rush, are you?" She smiled and shook her head, long curls jostling. She seemed to be enjoying the toy in her hands as well.

I let my fingers glide down her back and up again a few times, reveling in the defined yet gentle sweeps of her body, the tiny dimples on either side of her tail bone, her slender rib cage.

"I can't believe I get to just... touch you," I said. I splayed my hands over her hips like the wings of a bird, my thumbs joined at her tailbone and pointed toward her neck. I squeezed.

"Mmmm," she sighed as I gripped both her hips without breaking contact between my hands, "I think I need you to do that again sometime soon. Different night. For longer." I smiled to myself.

"But for now," she said matter-of-factly, "make some room." She shoved her hips back and her shoulders down, kissing the tip of my now-firm dick. She was a little too short for me to be able to comfortably eat her out. I was sure we could fix that. She slightly rocked her ass side to side.

"Enjoy the show," she teased as she began to swirl her tongue inside my foreskin. Christ, she made it hard to think. I wriggled into a good spot, and she gasped as she felt my fingers against her pussy.

"Naughty, distracting man," she scolded, "careful, or we'll be here all night,"

"That *would* be a shame," I managed to say before my breath caught in my throat as she suddenly slurped me into her mouth. I realized she had been coy before. This time, she was having none of that, and spat authoritatively onto my cock. That's when I realized I really liked having a pretty woman literally spit on my dick once in a while. There's just something so eager and determined about it. Once she'd spread it over me, she began aggressively stroking and sucking, dividing the job between her mouth on the first few inches and both hands for the rest of my length and girth.

Well, two could play that game. I slapped her ass hard and then tested the waters of her pussy again with my index finger - both to muffled, sharp squeals of pleasure - before sliding my middle finger in alongside the other. I savored her high-pitched moaning through my cock. She did it again when my other hand cupped her breast and clamped her nipple between my thumb and a finger.

"How did you ever get to be such a good cocksucker if you're so distractible?" I teased as I slid my two fingers back and forth along each other, one at a time. When she tried to reply, I pushed both fingers together all the way to my palm while grinding my thumb against her clit.

As she came up to kneel on my abdomen in protest, still facing away from me, I pulled my fingers out and clamped my hands around her hips, scooting down towards my feet at the same time. I pushed my tongue easily into her pussy.

"FFFUCK!" she gasped in shock, but it was the way she pressed her hips straight down into my face, hard, that said to keep going. I tongued her like that for a short while, snaking into her and moving in slow, probing circles, before I pushed her up slightly with my arms. She twitched and dripped above me.

"Race you," I offered huskily.

"You're on," she agreed emphatically, contorting her exquisite body to keep us fully connected as she determinedly went back to worshipping my cock. I did my best to keep her distracted and out of breath. Neither of us made it easy on the other.

***

The rest of that night is an effervescent haze of memory, but I know that we learned a lot and showed off exuberantly. I'm sure we dozed on each other more than once. Nothing in the world could touch us. Then, finally, I felt her sit halfway up with her head to one side, listening for something. She glanced at me.

"What?" I asked. My hand lingered on the sweep of her hip.

"Hear that?" she replied. I listened. It was a sweet-sounding bird outside. Another answered it. We both looked at the small, red-numbered clock on the nightstand.

"Holy shit," Erin laughed, "never had someone spend the night on the first date."

"It's not light out yet," I protested quietly, "There's still time to save your reputation, Miss Erin." She smirked as she leaned over to kiss me again. I smiled against her lips, knowing her preening pleasure matched mine.

"Better not be your *last* rodeo, Cowboy," she said.

She had such keen hazel eyes. I remember rediscovering that fact so clearly in that particular moment.

"So does this mean I can have your number?" I asked.

Later, as I put on my coat and shoes in the entryway, we looked at each other for a long moment. She was in a damask bathrobe, hair in disarray, a bit unsteady on her feet. I probably looked like I'd been thrown out of a car. We both looked like we had woken up from a wild dream.

"Erin, I... this was the best night."

"I'm a very happy girl," she said with a smile as she walked towards me and put her arms around my neck for a goodbye kiss. It was quick.

"See you soon?" I asked.

"Count on it," she whispered against my ear. The next kiss was sweet. The next few lingered.

I raced the twilight home with the windows down and the radio off, listening instead to the dawn chorus at every deserted intersection.

***

I rolled into my parents' driveway just before dawn and parked the car as quietly as possible. I climbed the old tree outside my window and burgled my way into my old room. I felt like a damned teenager again, sneaking around - ignoring the fact that it had only been a few years since then. I quickly showered, brushed my teeth, and collapsed into bed as I heard my parents start their day on the floor above me.

I woke up with a sore tongue and a serious hard-on. I blearily felt around for my phone and glanced at the screen. Late morning, almost noon. I managed to see enough through one eye that I had a text message. It was Erin's number.

"I left my lipstick in your car. Want to play fetch? My place, 8pm tomorrow. I've been reading."

I made sure I wasn't dreaming before I replied.

"Tomorrow at 8. I'm punctual. What's your favorite flower? Mine's orchids."

***End Part 3***