The wind-driven snow lashed against the roof and walls for the second straight night, and it didn't look like it would stop tomorrow, either. The electricity had been out since the first night-no big surprise, being this deep in the woods, and it didn't really matter at first, but by the time Kel woke and set his feet on the freezing floor boards, he knew that they were snow-bound for a few days.
Immediately concerned for the pipes, he rushed down the stairs from the bedroom loft and grabbed the three legged stool that sat in front of the wood stove. The fire had died during the night, but some residual heat had kept the hearth tiles warmer than the rest of the floor, so he propped his feet there as he opened the door as quietly as he could so as not to wake Liv.
Nothing left, he thought, as he peeked into the depths of the stove. Guess I'll have to start over.
Kel leaned over to what was supposed to be the ash bucket and pulled out a couple of strips of birch bark, plentiful here in the New Hampshire woods. Tearing it into smaller strips, he layered them in the still-warm ashes of the stove, piled a handful of dried twigs (also plentiful), and grabbing the box of matches, opened it to select and strike one on the cover.
The flame snapped to life, and Kel tipped the match as he usually did to ensure that the flame would burn the shaft of the match and not just sputter and die when the sulpher of the match tip was gone. Sure now that he had a durable flame, he carefully reached between the twigs and lit the bark on fire.
Closing the door quickly, he let the smoke build and seek its only exit-the insulated steel chimney. Once the twigs caught and a decent draft was established, Kel loaded the stove with four split logs from the rack.
Waiting patiently, as he was wont to do, he watched the fire build, crackling and snapping, his body shivering from the cold not yet expunged from the cabin. He had not packed for the winter nights, leaving his not-so-sexy polar fleece jammies at home, and opting for his oh-so-casual boxers instead. As of now, he was sitting on a short stool in front of a still-cool wood-fired stove, clad solely in boxer shorts.
A light rhythmic step announced the arrival of Liv. She had woken when Kel left the bed and a quick blast of cool air urged her toward morning. Groaning lightly, she rolled and reached out to find her lover of last night, only to find the emptiness. I should be used to this, she thought, sardonically. She had spent the last eleven years reaching out in the night to find him, only to find an emptiness, or someone else who was very obviously not him. Once, last night, she reached as she now did automatically, and woke with a start to find Kel beside her. Even in sleep, as soon as her hand contacted his chest, she knew it was him. He had changed, of course, as years had intervened, and they had only spent the one night together anyway, but she woke with a start and wept with the realization that she was where she had ached so long to be.
Now she listened in the grey of the dawn, trying to decide if Kel had left her to answer a call of nature-a different call of nature than last night! She thought to herself with a smile, or if he had left her for another reason, like the anger he might still be harboring.
A soft metallic clang, followed a few seconds later by the tell-tale snapping of twigs burning in the stove told her the story that every sense of her body was listening to hear; that he had stayed...he hadn't left her again.
I owe him this much, she thought, as she forced herself from the comfort of the bed. Crossing the wide pine planking that served for a floor in the loft of the A frame, she felt she was crossing a familiar territory, even though she had never been to this cabin in the woods before.
I wonder if it's because He's here, she thought, and anywhere He is is comfortable, is home, or if it's more than that...that leaving the comfortable to find Him is familiar to me because I've spent the last ten, no, eleven years and thousands in therapy in doing just this. It should be familiar by now!
She peeked over the railing and saw him sitting crouched at the fire, a glow illuminating him, almost as if coming directly from him. He manages to light my fire! She laughed to herself, smirking at her metaphor. The damn English teacher is affecting how I think, now too!
Her own gasp of shock stilled her thoughts as she suddenly saw. He was inked! He hadn't had a tattoo when they met and he never mentioned it since they had somehow stumbled upon their mutually agreeable forgiveness. In all of their conversations, he hadn't said, and she was a little busy last night, in the light of the candles to notice. Smiling, she forgave him that omission-what was that in the grand scheme of things anyway-and moved silently down the stairs.
Liv approached with as much silence as she could, but a rustle from her silk negligee and her steps across the room alerted him, and all senses were tingling. He stilled his breath which had always been hard to do when she was around, and listened as closely as he could. Debating whether to speak and break the silence, or to let the silence between them say its own volumes, he chose silence and remained motionless to let her approach him. Her presence still affected him, but it had returned to a stirring of passions instead of the anger which had replaced it for eleven years.
Liv came up behind him, sure that she had made no noise, but somehow sure that he knew she was there. He always seems to know, always seems to have an answer, she thought, as she resigned herself to being discovered. Reaching out again, she paused, her hand just above his shoulder, almost afraid to touch him, afraid that it was all some terrible dream that would evaporate in front of her, just as she finally had him within reach. Summoning her courage, long practiced in dealing with Kel's absence and her continuing dreams of him, she grazed his skin with just the tips of her fingers. The minutest of touches spoke the largest of emotions for her and for him both. She knew both his aversion to casual physical contact in his everyday life as well as his almost overpowering need for close emotional contact in his personal life.
At her touch, Kel breathed again with an almost audible whisper, and the stiffness in his back as he sat on the stool lessened. He noted his own reaction, allowing himself to feel his honest emotions, unaffected by the past for the first time, and nearly overwhelmed, stiffened again, gathering himself back into control. Liv smiled, knowing how he liked to be in control. Kind of like in bed, she thought. He likes to be in control there too!
What is it about this man? She wondered. He has always been so easy going, so even keeled, and yet so determined and so in control of what he wants in life. Why is he actually letting me come along in his journey?
She let her hand caress his shoulder, and stepping forward, slid her hand around to run her fingers through his chest hair. So manly, she thought. Just enough and not too much. It marks him as a man and is so sexy to feel against my own chest during sex!
Kel felt her caress drift to his chest and finally to his sensitive nipples. He hissed a sharp intake of air in response, and Liv's nostrils flared with excitement. She loved how she could turn him on with a single caress. With a man like Kel, you have to know how to act, what to say, how to move. It would be too easy to go too far. You have to lead by following, hint and suggest, and let him make the decision. If I learned anything about this man, I have come to accept this as fact. It certainly worked well last night!
She took another step closer and pressed her ample breasts against his back. She withdrew her hand from his chest and traced with curiosity the tattoo on his back. In a vague, half-remembered way, she thought she understood the past experience he was honoring and displaying, but she wasn't sure. Not a good time to be wrong about anything here. I missed birthdays, holidays, graduations; I couldn't remember his dog's name...I really messed things up before. I can't do it again. I'll let him tell me when he's ready. Just tracing the tat should show him that I'm interested. That's got to be enough. Be patient, Liv!
Kel felt her stroke his chest, and it felt nice. He closed his eyes for a minute and just let her touch him. Sensing a change, he felt her shift her balance and take a step forward to press her silk covered breasts against him. God, how he loved that! The silk and the flesh behind them warmed his still cold body, and he shivered, partially with the temperature and partially with the urges of his body and libido.
He almost leaned his head back, to wordlessly request her kiss, but just as the idea came, she moved her hand again to his back to trace his tattoo, scars and all. A slight frown wrinkled his face and a slight stiffening were the only ways to tell that this was a private matter, and he wasn't yet ready to talk about it. To Liv's credit, she had learned a lot in their time apart, and she knew that now was not the time. She let her hand drop to his shoulder and arm, feeling the muscles beneath the soft skin. They felt good now, she thought, but when she grabbed onto them in passion to steady herself as he thrust himself into her, she felt the flexing as first the bicep tightened and he penetrated her. Then the tricep contracted as he pushed and slid himself almost out of her silky sheath.
I almost fainted with joy, she thought, reliving the scene again. I had always thought that if we would ever get a chance to make it right, even just one more time, one more night, it would be amazing. But it was better than that. He looked me in the eyes again, just like he did before. He looked me in the eyes as he pushed his hard cock into my aching pussy. Oh my God...Baby I'm amazed...
Liv squeezed the arm like she did last night, and feeling the passion in her grip, Kel finally turned in the stool.
"Morning," was all he said. For someone as gregarious as he was, there were times when he didn't say a lot. There were times when words were extraneous.
