To my patient readers: Thank you so much for all your feedback and letters of encouragement. I'm sorry it took so long to get this chapter done, but I appreciate you hanging in there with me.
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The alarm clock woke me up at five in the morning, and I groaned as I rolled over and hit the snooze button. Next to me, voice muffled by her pillow, the sleepy shape mumbled something as she turned over on her side, her back to me. I moved closer to her, the warmth of her naked body against my stomach as I slid my arms around her and pulled her close. She snuggled in to me, sighing sleepily as one of my hands moved up her flat stomach to her breast and began stroking it. She moaned, pressing her body more tightly into me as her nipple became erect, and I could feel wetness gathering between my legs as our breathing deepened. I kissed her shoulder and she turned over to face me, fitting her body into mine and burrowing her head down under my chin. I held her against me and kissed the top of her head, the clean scent of her hair floating around me.
"You're supposed to get up now," she said, kissing the hollow of my throat.
"I know, but I'd rather do this," I said softly, my eyes closed as I felt her lips on my skin.
"You're going to be late," she murmured, her lips and tongue moving on me.
My breathing sped up as she worked her way down to my chest, and I gasped as her warm mouth enclosed my breast and began sucking gently on my nipple. Her other hand was gently caressing my other breast, teasing the nipple erect. I put my hands on her head and pushed myself into her, moaning at the feel of her tongue swirling across my nipple.
"Oh, god," I said, turning to lie flat. She looked up at me, smiling, then slid on top of me and kissed me slowly before sliding back down my body. She moved her mouth back and forth over my breasts, sucking and teasing until I could hardly breathe.
My hands were in her hair as she lowered herself down my body, kissing me all the way down. I spread my legs wider as she moved in between them, feeling her warm breath on my wetness as she hovered there with her mouth poised over me. I reached for her head to pull her down on to me, but she pushed my hands away and slowly opened me, exposing my throbbing clit. She blew gently on me, and just as I was about to go crazy I felt the tip of her tongue begin gently probing me. I tried to move closer to her, but she pulled back and held me down firmly.
"Don't move," she whispered. "If you move, I'll stop."
I groaned, forcing myself to lie still, and soon felt her tongue on me again. She was spreading me open with one hand and her tongue moved in delicious circles on and around my clit. My hands were clenched in the sheets as I struggled to keep still, my moans becoming louder. She started to move her tongue faster, then slid two fingers inside me and began to slowly move them in and out. I arched my back helplessly as I felt her fill me up, the pressure of her tongue and her fingers sending shivers through my entire body. My hips began to move of their own accord and she matched their rhythm with her fingers and tongue until I exploded, feeling myself tightening around her fingers as I came in a sudden rush. My body relaxed and my breath came raggedly as I lay there, spent, trying to open my eyes. She gently slid her fingers out of me and moved up to hold me as my breathing began to slow down.
"Oh my GOD," I gasped through a dry mouth. "That's a hell of a way to be awakened in the morning!"
She smiled her feline smile, which I knew meant she was extremely pleased with herself. She was practically purring as she stretched languidly next to me and draped her leg across me.
"So, shall I return the favor?" I asked, kissing her forehead and touching her breast.
"Mmmm," she said, smiling lazily and pushing me away. "Just what I would love, except that you need to get up and get moving. You're REALLY going to be late now, my love."
I sighed deeply, then made a massive effort to sit up and get out of bed. I stood up and looked down at Kelly, her naked body perfect in the early morning light. She had an impish look in her eyes, and as I left to get in the shower, she called after me, "I'll be glad to take you up on your offer tonight, though!"
When I was ready to leave, she was sleeping soundly, curled up on her side like a kitten, with her hand tucked under her chin. I felt such an overwhelming love for her that it nearly buckled my knees, and I whispered, "I love you" in her ear as I gently kissed her goodbye.
As I left to go to my rehearsal, I couldn't help reflecting on how my life had changed over the past couple of years. The day I had tried to find Jordan after the confrontation with Toby, she disappeared. For a while, Toby would call me, drunk, insisting that I tell her where Jordan was, but not even Peter and Jeffrey knew where she'd gone. Even the galleries where she would normally have photos hanging didn't know anything about her disappearance, and she either had her cell phone off or not with her. It was absolute torture for me. I couldn't eat or sleep, and I stopped doing concert appearances because I was afraid I would miss a call from her. I guess I went temporarily insane, and it was just my luck that I had people around me to take care of things while I pined away. Robert held down the fort at the music store, and my students were very understanding about my taking time off. I had Peter and Jeffrey stay with me for a few nights, after Toby showed up at my place drunk and ready to come in to search for Jordan, and they called or came by to see me often, clucking over me like a pair of mother hens.
Slowly, though, I began to heal and thoughts of Jordan came less and less often. I still had moments when I missed her and wondered where she was, but they caused me less pain as time passed. I was able to see friends, go out to eat, and generally begin living my life again. About a year after Jordan disappeared, I met Kelly through some mutual friends at a dinner party and it was as though a light in my brain turned on. We went out for coffee after the party and stayed up all night talking that first night, and I knew by how my heart felt when she called me the next day that I was ready to move on.
We'd been together nearly a year, and everything was as exciting and fun as it had been when we first met. Kelly was a veterinarian and shared a practice with two other vets, and although her career kept her as busy as mine did, we always seemed to find time to spend together.
I arrived at the recital hall and walked in just as it started to rain. As I sat at the piano and listened to the conductor give some instructions to the orchestra, I thought of Kelly lying naked in bed, rain falling softly outside as she slept. I wanted this rehearsal to be over quickly, because all I wanted to do at the moment was curl up around Kelly and hold her in my arms. Unfortunately, this particular conductor was notorious for milking every second out of a rehearsal, so I knew I was in for a long morning.
When rehearsal was over, I called to see if Kelly was still home, but the machine picked up so I figured she'd already left for her clinic. Shrugging into my raincoat, I stopped to talk to some of the orchestra members who were waiting by the stage door, hoping for the rain to let up soon. They invited me out for coffee, and I accepted eagerly, wanting to get to know these musicians better. They seemed delighted when I accepted, and as soon as the rain let up a bit we walked quickly down the sidewalk to a nearby coffee shop. It was called, to my delight, Celestial Beans, and although I'd not been there before, I knew it was a popular place among the musicians who had their studios and apartments nearby.
