Private Audience

My guitar strings hummed and wavered as I adjusted the last tuning knob. "I haven't played this in years, so you might want to have a barf bag handy." I joked into the camera of my laptop.

"You'll do just fine! Come on Daniel, this always helps me sleep around this time of year." Kimberly pleaded with me on the other end of cyber space. We served together four years ago in the Chaplain's department of the US Army. Neither one of us expected to be dodging bullets and road side bombs to deliver medical supplies to Iraqi villagers when we stood in line and swore the oath.

We were on our second tour of duty when a handful of red hot shrapnel tore through the door of our Hum-V, crippling my left leg and leaving a mosaic of burns and scar tissue along my ribs. "Kimmy" as I called her in those days, threw herself over me and kept pressure on the wounds. We joked that I owed her my first child, for having kept me from getting gangrene in my crotch. Grunt humor for you.

They gave me a couple pieces of tin to pin to my chest and a few ribbons after that. I was given my walking papers and sent home, supposedly never able to fully walk again without a cane. Kimmy kept in touch through the entire ordeal making sure my daily quota of sarcasm and bullying was maintained. I did in fact walk again, on my own. I hadn't played this guitar regularly since boot camp, but I owed Kimmy more than a few favors. Skype let us talk for free since she had been deployed yet again to some distant desert nation. She had just enough time between her deployments this time around, to get pregnant with her husband and miscarry twins when they were four months old.

I've seen this woman rush into a decrepit building and snatch women and children, dragging them to safety during day time firefights with rag tag militia, but never seen the pain in her eyes that welled and gleamed when she talked about her babies. My fingers worked over the frets and found the familiar notes of her favorite songs. She always listened to this when the anniversary for her twins rolled around.

"Love of mine, some day you will die. But I'll be close behind, I'll follow you into the dark"

"No blinding light, or tunnels to gates of white. Just our hands clasped so tight, waiting for the hint of a spark."

"If heaven and hell decide that they both are satisfied, illuminate the no's on their vacancy signs. If there's no one beside you when your soul embarks, then I'll follow you into the dark."

Julia's footsteps echoed on the hard wood floors behind me. We had been seeing each other for about three months now and I had just recently given her a key to my place. She was older than me by about five years and a lot more advanced in her career. Her slender and well toned frame betrayed no secrets of age beneath my hands, when I was lucky enough to coax her out of her clothing. I wasn't expecting her early in the day and hoped she wouldn't mind that I was video chatting with Kimmy. Her perfume teased at my nose as I strummed out the chorus and led into the second verse. Chanel number 5, I believe. I bought it for her the first month we were together.

"In Catholic school, as vicious as Roman rule I got my knuckles bruised, by a lady in black."

"And I held my tongue as she told me –Son, fear is the heart of love- so I never went back."

"If heaven and hell decide that they both are satisfied, Illuminate the no's on their vacancy signs,

"If there's no one beside you when your soul embarks, then I'll follow you into the dark."

I could hear the heels of her shoes strike as she meandered around behind me and crossed the kitchen tiles towards my fridge. I kept a handful of wines specifically for her. She liked to indulge in a glass or two after work. I'd be lying if I said I didn't benefit from her loosening up with the taste of Chianti on her lips. She was listening to my music, and taking her time opening the bottle.

"You and me, have seen everything to see from Bangkok to Calgary, and the soles of your shoes,"

"Are all worn down, the time for sleep is now. It's nothing to cry about cause' we'll hold each other soon. The blackest of rooms."

Julia was leaning in the door frame behind me, idly wrapping the string of fresh water pearls around her finger and sipping from the rich, red liquid in her crystal cup. I could see the silhouette of her in the glare of my screen, rainbow shards of light passing through the glass in her hand as she watched me in silence. There must have been meetings today, the navy blue skirt and matching blazer suggested a woman who had serious things to take care of. Even in the reflection I could see that her fingernails were glazed, but colorless. Serious business indeed. Every sharp feature in her face seemed to leap at me beneath a coif of immaculately kept brunette waves. She possessed a smoldering sexuality within those dark eyes, which spilled out over pouty lips.

"If heaven and hell decide, that they both are satisfied..."

Kimmy tapped on her screen and interrupted me in the final chorus. "You might want to turn around and pay attention to that." She winked at me at gave me a thumbs up. "Go get her Sarge! And hey, thanks again for singing that for me, You're not as terrible as I thought you'd be." Always the jokester, even when stationed in hostile territory.

I put my guitar and the desk and swiveled around in my chair. Julia was grinning at me over her glass of wine, "Serenading strange women while I'm at work huh?" I laughed and flung my pick into a coffee cup. "It's nothing like that Jules..." I protested as she walked toward me, kicking her shoes off in a couple of steps. "Don't be silly, I know you keep in touch with your unit." She giggled and climbed into my lap, placing the glass of wine in the desk behind me. She had firm thighs that felt as tight as a snare drum beneath her sheer stockings.

Everything about this woman stirred my blood, quickened my pulse. Her arms wrapped around my neck as she pulled me in for a deep, hungry kiss. Finer wines always tasted better when they came from her lips and tongue. This was becoming my favorite way to sample new varieties. I pressed my hand into the small of her back, pinning her against my chest while I ran my fingers through her hair, soft and yielding as spun silk. Her body softened as she explored my mouth with hers. I wanted her badly, which she could feel every time she rose and settled against my hips. My bestial desire seeped out as I nibbled at her lower lip, ran my hands up the back of her jacket, pulling it away from her in a desperate motion. Desperate to unveil my prize beneath. I rose from the chair, lifting her with me. She gasped and wrapped her legs around my waist. She held onto me like a stranded survivor in a hurricane. With more energy than sense, I kicked the door to the side room open with a crash. Bits of the door knob clattered and tinkled to the floor as we staggered into the room. I placed her on the massage table in the center of the room, something I had been given for my physical therapy sessions. I glanced at the end table and noticed three jars, lazily floating in a pot of heated water on top of a camping stove. My combat knife was carefully placed next to the appliance along with a fine wedged paint brush.

I looked at the set up and down into the grinning face of my lover on the table. "How long has this been here?" She winked and drew my fingertips across her lips. "I didn't want to interrupt you. Do you like it?"

"I love it sweetie. But you're the one who's in trouble now." I smiled at her and reached for the knife, shuffling the sheath loose with the snap of my wrist. "So, we're going to try this out today?" I looked to the head of the table, noticing a spool of gleaming white rope laid in the head rest. "Please?" she cooed with demure playfulness.

"Yes ma'am!" I quipped my verbal salute. My knife found the edge of her shirt, just above her navel and ribbed through the fabric in a single stroke, exposing her firm and excited breasts beneath. Her breath caught in her throat as the gleam of my blade flickered in the dim lighting. "You stay perfectly still sweetie. I'm going to paint my masterpiece in your skin." It was half promise, half threat.

I jammed the knife into the padding next to her shoulder, sending a shudder through the table and floor beneath. She flinched at the violent motion but met my eyes with a loving obedience. Fetching the rope she had laid out for me, I measured out several lengths to bind her hands. The knots came together and held nicely as I slipped the loops over her palms, situating them over the wrist. With a couple more loops I had her hands individually bound and joined together. I lifted her hands over her head and tied them down to the table. She had enough room to strain and pull, but the rope would hold.

My attention turned to her naked, quivering chest below me. I cupped one of her breasts in my hand and asked her, "Did you come here to seduce me? You know I like that."

She nodded and bit her lip as I massaged her breast. I grabbed the handle of my knife and pulled it from the table, a puff of the padding coming loose with the serrated back edge. I ran the edge across her middle, admiring the muscle beneath beautifully smooth skin. This weapon had become an extension of my hand in training and I was using it to explore the delicious details of her flesh. Soft rise of bone at her rib cage, giving way to a supple abdomen. I insisted that she keep some baby fat here. Women with six pack abs reeked of testosterone and manic drive to be physically perfect. I could buy a Barbie doll anywhere so that image did nothing for me.

She closed her eyes and shuffled her feet as the coldness of my blade kissed her hip. I turned the blade and slipped it beneath the hem of her skirt, just below her belly button. With a disciplined slice, the material gave way. The skirt fell to either side of her hips and draped on the table. Sheer black nylon greeted me as I ran my fingers over her inner thighs. "Are you ready for me?" I asked and probed her lips through the stockings. She was very warm and hints of moisture licked my finger tips through the pantyhose.

"Good girl!" I praised her while working my fingers across her eager lips, teasing the opening rim of her pussy. Her mouth opened in a breathless moan as she pulled on the ropes above her head. "Please! Please...baby I want you inside of me!" she begged and wiggled against my hand.

"Not yet sweetie. You're doing well though, so I'll take care of you, don't worry about that." Her stockings peeled away from her skin with ease, tiny beads of nervous sweat speckled her belly and breasts. I laid the knife down and reached for the brush. It was a quality piece, the bristles wouldn't easily bunch and stick in the wax. Her choice of melted candles was equally impressive, softer shades of crimson and violet that smelled like lavender and pomegranates. I dipped the brush into the red wax, swirling it and bringing the jar over to the table. Her eyes went wide as she watched me draw the excess from the edge of the bristles. I leaned over and kissed her gently. "Shhhhhh..." I hushed her as I started to draw broad lines of molten red across her ribs. She closed her eyes and pulled against the ropes. I painted spirals, swirling patterns and sharp angles across her breasts and naked belly. Her breathing hitched and wavered as I dipped and applied a new stroke of the brush. It was drying quickly, turning a nice shade of maroon against her pink skin.

Stepping back I could see her from head to toe. Sweat drenched hair clung to her shoulders and neck she pressed her face into her arm and stared at me with a wild passion. She had been on the verge of orgasm with stroke of hot wax. Tingling pleasures running down her spine and nipping at her toes as the mixture cooled on her body.

I set the jar down and fetched my knife from the table. The ropes came free with a tug on the central slip knot. I lifted her up and raised the back rest of the table, sliding in behind her and resting her back on my chest. Her shaky fingers found the hair at the base of my skull and lingered, toying with the sweaty curls. I kissed her just below the ear lobe and drew my knife across her breast; the wax flaked and sprung loose. Cold steel delicately slid across wax covered skin, gently undoing the work I had done earlier.

She reached down and undid the bindings of my shorts, reaching inside to feel how hard she had made me. Her stroking was almost enough to distract me from scraping the hardened red wax from her body. We sat there for what seemed like a blissful eternity, kissing each other and peeling the art work from her skin with precise motions of my knife.

As the last flake hit the floor, she rose up on her knees in front of me grinning at me over her shoulder.

I removed my shorts and sat back down. Guiding her firm thighs and tight little bottom onto my lap as quickly as I could. She loved the reverse cowgirl position and I wasn't going to argue with her. I slipped inside of her with surprising speed. She was soaking wet and her body swallowed mine as if she was starving.

My fingers dug into each side of her ass and forced her down into my lap. I wanted to feel every inch of her inside, sliding against my throbbing cock. She rose and fell, rocking her hips over mine, pushing me against the walls of her slick vagina and stroking the tip as she swiveled.

She looked back at me with a devilish grin. She knew she had me in the corner now. There was no escaping her lust when I was in this position. She was getting tighter and tighter as she rode me. I could feel the orgasm building in her body. She sighed and whimpered, digging her fingers into the padded edges of the massage table. She was trying to hold back the flood of her climax and losing the battle. The sound of her ragged breathing and the swelling moisture from her shaved lips tore at my nerves and broke my resolve.

I gritted my teeth and slammed her onto my hips, I came in a rush, all at once. One hard wave of ecstasy and pulses of pleasure as I filled her with warm, viscous fluid. It leaked out of her body and spilled over my thighs, pooling on the vinyl surface beneath us. Her shuddering thighs and tense belly told me she was enjoying my pleasure just as much as I was.

She lifted off of me and spun around, resting her head on my naked chest. I leaned back into the padded surface and drifted away. The smell of my beautiful woman, her excitement, sweat, the soft nuances of fragrant wax mingled in my mind and played a soft melody as I brushed her hair over her ear. "Mmmhmm...You're totally falling in love with me." She chuckled as she stole another kiss.

"I might be. I'd like to think you'll keep me around for a while."