It was 11 o'clock in the evening and Tom looked down at his slumbering wife. She had been melancholy all day and as soon as they settled down to watch the television, she has come over to the couch and curled up in his arms. Warm and safe she had soon fallen asleep, her head on his chest. Tom was content to hold her, she wasn't normally like this, he was used to the big, bright, bubbly, confident woman who took care of his needs before he even thought of it. If just holding her was all the comfort she needed, then a mildly dead arm was a small price to pay.
He hit the standby button on the TV remote and kissed the top of her head.
"Come on sleepy, its bedtime." he whispered.
Liz stirred and mumbled, curling herself in tighter. Tom laughed.
"Noooo, come on. Up you come." He said and took her hand.
Liz opened her eyes sleepily and allowed Tom to take her hand. He pulled her to her feet and she stood, blinking, while he turned off the television. Walking past her, he caught hold of her hand and pulled her up the stairs. At the top he turned her into the bathroom and made his way into the bedroom. After a few minutes, Liz stumbled into the bedroom and stripped off, dropping her clothes on the bedroom chair and crawled into bed. She lay shivering and watched Tom leave the bedroom and go to the bathroom while she tried to make a pocket of warmth around herself.
Tom wandered back in and found Liz still shivering, curled up in a ball. He grinned, got undressed and climbed into bed. Liz immediately turned to him and wrapped herself around him, her head on his chest, her leg wrapped around his. He kissed the top of her head tenderly and ran his fingers down her arm softly. She drew a ragged breath and he pulled her in close.
Liz sniffed, suddenly overwhelmed by the tears that had been threatening all day and they ran silently down her face and dripped steadily from her nose. She had no idea why she felt the way she did, she just felt completely consumed by misery for no reason and Toms quiet tenderness, whilst helping, also served to make her feel worse.
"Whats the matter sweetheart?" Toms voice, filled with concern broke through.
Liz shrugged, unable to put anything into words.
"I really don't know." She said helplessly.
"Hush, it's ok." He replied, curving into her and holding her close.
Liz closed her eyes and breathed her husband in. Her fingers played idly with the hairs on his chest as his own travelled over her skin lightly. Tears still fell steadily and Tom simply let her cry, content to know that just holding her was enough. He reached above him and turned out the light, pulling the quilt up around them both against the chill of the night.
Liz drifted off to sleep, wrapped up in warmth, her dreams full of images and people long gone from her life, comforting but disturbing at the same time. Tom lay in the darkness listening to his wife's soft breathing, his fingers stroking lightly and absently over her while he tried to fathom what could bring her so low. He held her closely as her dreams moved her slightly, soft whimpers leaving her as she still cried in her sleep.
She suddenly woke with a start and Tom hushed her gently. She drew a shuddering breath and curled into Tom once more, pressing herself tightly against him. Tom held her and placed feather-light kisses on her hair, breathing in the scent of her. As he lay, the need for her grew, but aware of her feelings, he was tentative in his approach. He moved his hand and brushed her breast lightly, his fingers drinking her in, following her contours, silhouetted in the dark, his eyes adjusted to the darkness as his wife moved against him in her half slumber.
Liz was dimly aware of Tom's hand moving over her and she sighed softly, wrapping herself around him further until he felt as though the two of them were going to meld into one. Toms hand continued to move over his wife's skin as she murmured softly against him, her body rippling as his hand travelled over her.
Tom began to place small kisses on the top of her head again, Liz drew a breath, deep and ragged, like a child after prolonged crying, hiccupping slightly. Half asleep, caught in a dream-world, Liz fingers moved over her husband's body. Her head came up, eyes closed and Tom leaned down and kissed her softly, stroking her hair, his fingers tracing softly over her cheek and around her ear, a small smile ghosting her lips. Tom dropped kisses over Liz lips repeatedly until he finally captured them fully.
Liz let out a small moan as her tongue slid between Toms lips, sleepily searching, finally finding Toms tongue, dancing with it, whilst she moved up his body until her head was level with his and she no longer needed to stretch to reach him, his arms holding her tight to him, her breasts pressed into his chest, her leg between his thighs. She whimpered as his hands started to travel down her spine towards her round backside, her own hands moving down the length of his body as she moved from sleep to arousal.
Tom broke the kiss and rolled Liz onto her back. Turning, he switched on the small dim light at the side of the bed and then turned back to his wife, placing small kisses over her face and neck, across her shoulders and down her throat. Liz opened her eyes and watched her husband move down her body slowly, his butterfly kisses leaving red hot trails on her skin as he moved down her. He reached her breasts and the tip of his tongue circled each nipple as she moaned softly, arching her back towards him as he caressed her with his mouth.