"Adam, are you asleep?"
I heard Delilah's low voice, and perhaps I had dozed, as I'd not heard the shower go off, nor the opening and closing of doors. I didn't know how long she'd been standing there; it might have been a moment, it might have been minutes.
"No, I just closed my eyes for a second. How was your shower?"
"Delicious. Truly wonderful. I'm warm now. But you, how are you? My gown, it's not very thick. Are you warm enough? Usually, on a night like this..."
"I wouldn't mind a blanket, if you could."
"Of course."
I watched her as she went back upstairs, the sway of her hips as she took the steps. From what I could see in the low light, she was dressed comfortably in a pair of soft pants, pyjamas maybe, and what appeared to be a fine woollen sweater. She'd pulled her hair back from her face into a tight pony tail, and looked younger.
Watching her return, a blanket in hand, was a pleasure. Delilah moved silently, sinuously, and I saw the slight shift of her breasts, probably braless, swaying under the sweater.
She watched me watching her, and smiled. "Here, Adam, snuggle under this. You must stay warm." Delilah spread the blanket over me. "There. That's better."
She went to the kitchen. "Now, what can we eat?"
She opened the fridge and clicked her tongue, because of course, the light didn't go on. She laughed. "I forgot. There's no power."
Delilah shifted to one side so that the light of the candles would help her see. "Eggs, do you eat eggs? I thought omelettes, they'll be quick and no fuss."
"That sounds lovely, yes. Can I help, do something useful?"
"No, I don't think so. I know where everything is. You'll just get in the way. I can do it."
She turned to look at me. "But you can look after me later. I think I'd like that."
She turned back to her task, and left it at that. I watched her quickly and efficiently prepare our meal, and wondered if she lived her life the same way: getting what she wanted without fuss.
"Now, Adam, let's eat."
The food was delicious, cheese melted into a mix of finely chopped onions, mushrooms and capsicum, lightly fried, wrapped with a perfectly made omelette. The red wine was not quite right but that didn't matter. Both of us were hungry, then contented.
Outside, the rain still fell, blowing in gusts against the windows. Delilah crossed the room to peer out. "It's black as black. I can't see a thing." She pulled the curtains closed.
She walked the few steps to where I sat on a stool by the bench, the blanket held around my shoulders. With a look of certainty in her eyes, Delilah took the glass from my hand and put it on the counter. Then, with her long fingers she untied the tie of the gown and placed her hands at my waist, her fingers warm on my skin. She moved forward a step, between my thighs, and the swell of her breasts pressed against my chest, the soft wool warm with her heat.
My hand, which had held the glass, slid in under the soft fold of the sweater, up Delilah's back. As I'd guessed, I felt only her smooth skin. I pulled her in towards me, and before we kissed, she sighed.
"Your hands are so warm, Adam. My skin..."
My cock rose, and in her matter of fact way Delilah took it in one hand and placed it in under her jumper, against her belly. "It's nice, Adam, that you want me."
We kissed, and with her slow fingers she explored my face, discovering the contours of my cheeks, my throat. I placed my other hand around her back, inside her top. She swayed, once, twice, slowly; and I eased a hand down inside the back of her pants, curving it over her bottom. Delilah wasn't wearing underwear. She eased her feet slightly apart, and her body moved.
"It's like I'm on the bus. Sometimes, when I stand, the movement turns me on. When I get to work I find myself a little bit wet." She continued to sway as I held her. "There's a man on the bus, I see him often, the way he looks at me. I wonder if he knows. We've only spoken a few times, because we get on at different stops. I said to him once, 'can we meet again, one afternoon after work?'"
"How did he reply, Delilah?"
"He didn't. Then one night there was a terrible storm and all the lights went out, and the man stood by me in the drowning rain and gave me his jacket to stay warm."
"What happened next?"
"I drove him home and cooked him a meal. I gave him my gown and he smells of me."
"What happened then, Delilah?"
"The man took me over to the couch and we cuddled up under a blanket, because it was cold outside."
I got up from the stool, and took Delilah's hand. We went over to the couch where I leaned back in one corner, and she curled against my body, her hands on my chest, my arms around her. I pulled the blanket about us for warmth.
"What happens next?" I asked.
"I don't know. I haven't got to that part."