Author's Note: Here we are, the penultimate chapter of the story. As you can probably tell from the description, this chapter is going to get a little dicey. Hang in there with me, we are almost at the end!
*****
Dawn broke early that morning and the rays of the sun pierced the light blue curtains that attempted to hold it back. Stephen cracked an eye open wearily, catching a glimpse of the light. Squeezing his eyes shut, he attempted to roll back over, shutting out the daily intruder.
He bumped up against Grace, still wrapped up like a cocoon within her blankets. He draped an arm around her stomach, using it as leverage to pull her in close to him. Grace let out a subtle moan of approval when his heat was joined to hers, and once more his nostrils were assaulted by the sweet smell of jasmine.
Stephen hesitated to open his eyes again, daring to keep them closed for as long as possible. Opening them would be akin to acknowledging that it was already tomorrow, and soon he would have to render true the internal promise he made yesterday. If he was going to move in with Grace, he wanted it to be because she chose to move in, of her own free will. He wanted Grace to choose him willingly, as he did. It was time to set her free, and end the servitude.
He glanced over to his desk on the other side of the room. Sitting on one forgotten ledge was the puzzle box, or portal, that contained Grace's essence all those weeks ago when he had first released her. Stephen usually avoided looking at it as much as he could. To him, it was no better than locks and chains, a symbol of her bondage to him. Yet, somehow, today, he would find a way to sever those bonds. He had to. His conscious demanded it.
Putting his head back down, he found himself staring into Grace's open eyes. Sleep still held portions of the corners, but the smile she was wearing was one that would have willingly sent him out to slay any dragon. His world was contained within those eyes.
"Good morning," she whispered sleepily, nuzzling her head against his.
"Good morning, baby," he returned. Grace pressed her lips into his for an early morning kiss. Tastes of mint immediately filled his mouth as her tongue invaded, a pleasant reminder of a previous wish for them to never have morning breath.
Content to lay there together, as they had so many times in the past, had Stephen delaying the start of his morning. In honesty, it was one morning when they should not delay, as much activity awaited them on this day.
Grace seemed to reach the same conclusion herself, "We really should get out of bed. There's so much we need to do!"
"But you're so comfy right now," he argued, softly, while pulling her on top of him.
"I can be even more comfy, if you allow me," she whispered, sweetly.
Before he knew it, her hands were reaching between the drawstrings of his gym shorts, and stroking his awakening member.
"I think someone else is more awake than you are right now," Grace giggled, continuing her gentle massaging.
"You've always had that effect on me," he smiled.
"It's one of my favorite talents," she beamed. In no time at all, she had him fully erect. She shuffled her weight forward, allowing her hands to pull down her panties. They slid down off her ankles in a hurry, hitting the floor beside the bed. Grace gently aligned her hips with his, and gasped as she felt the loving intruder begin to impale her.
"I will always argue that this is the best way to start a day," she grinned, sitting with his cock fully encased inside her.
"You'll find no argument here," he chuckled. She leaned in for a kiss, one filled with passion, and then their hips began to move together. Grace rode him with vigor, and with tenderness, even throwing her head back in the moment of sweet release. Try as though he might, Stephen found it difficult to let release come. His mind was distracted and wandering, not able to fully focus on the task at hand.
After her second orgasm, Grace seemed to sense the same problem, frowning at him with a sweat-slicked brow. "Is something wrong, baby?"
Stephen opened his mouth to say something, but closed it in just as much of a hurry. He wanted to say the truth to her, and tell her what was on his mind, yet he knew now wasn't the right time. She deserved better than having their coupling halted just because he couldn't focus. Instead, he picked a white lie.
"Sorry, Grace, just thinking of all we had to do today. It's not you," he lied, looking everywhere in the room except into her own eyes.
Her frown deepened, "Do you want me to stop?" She hardly needed to have asked. The intimate moment seemed to have already passed, and he could feel himself deflating like a cheap balloon.
"I'm sorry. We'll do this later, okay?" he stammered.
Grace nodded, looking down into his avoiding eyes, before slipping off his body to lay on his side. A genie would, and should, think nothing of the event that just transpired between them. It was a rare human being who was willing to go at any time of day, or any number of durations per day. It had marked the first time Stephen had ever rejected her, yet that was normal. It was impossible to always be in the mood for sex.
Yet, why did she feel hurt? Why did her heart sting at his rejection?
Resolving to put on a brave face, and not let him see how it affected her, she climbed out of bed, setting her feet firmly on the floor. Stephen seemed to still be avoiding her eyes. She looked down at her nude body. Did he not desire her anymore? Was he upset with her? Angry?
Yet, for some reason, she rejected the urge to peek inside his mind and see if there was more to his story.
Love, and curiosity, finally got the better of her, "Are you sure it's not me?" She whispered.
Sitting up straight, Stephen wrapped his arms around her torso, holding her against him. How he loved to feel her warmth against his own body. He finally forced himself to look into her eyes, and did the only thing he could.
He lied beautifully.
"It's not you at all," he smiled, gently.
Grace nodded, recognizing the lie that just passed from his lips. She stood up and quickly had herself dressed, picking clothes that would be comfortable for all the moving that would be done today. They had received a message last night from the landlord, offering them the ability to start moving furniture into the new apartment. Since Grace didn't own anything, it would come down to what Stephen had that would be coming with them, and that included his entire bedroom.
Seeing as they weren't cleared to move in officially until a few more days, the bed would stay here until the official move in day. However, the desk, dresser, chair, majority of the clothes, books, and all the other possessions of Stephen's would go over today. They had even received permission from Theresa to take with them an older couch, as well as an outdoor dining set for their new balcony. All would be moved out today.
Grace looked out the window to see the moving truck that Stephen had parked last night. It would be time for them to start loading soon. It wasn't as if they had all day to complete the move: Stephen still had work tonight.
"I guess I should get dressed, too," said Stephen sheepishly, watching her walk around fully dressed. It only took him a handful of minutes to pick a pair of shorts, and an older gym shirt, and together the couple walked out into the kitchen to see Theresa Willow already doting over a cup of coffee.
Usually they played the careful charade of pretending Grace didn't sleep with him every night, but due to how busy today was likely to be, Stephen had informed his mother that she was sleeping over last night. As had been expected, it was met with no resistance.
"There they are," Theresa beamed, putting down her newspaper. "How did you sleep?"
"I've slept better," replied Stephen, a bit too honestly.
"Probably because you knew you had so much to do today," Theresa responded, positively.
Stephen avoided looking at Grace, lest he find himself once again in an awkward situation. Thankfully, Grace had already moved on.
"Thank you so much for letting us have the dining set," replied Grace brightly, as she sat down with her own cup of coffee. "I can't wait to see how it looks on our balcony!"
"Oh, it's my pleasure, dear. It's about time someone got some use out of it! If it stays here, it's just going to collect dust!"
"Same for the couch as well, Mom," said Stephen. "I appreciate that you're letting us have it. Otherwise the new place will be kind of sparse."
"Anything I could do for you two, you know that," smiled Theresa, a bit sadly. "I just know I'm going to hate seeing you move your things out. It feels like the end of an era."
"You know I'm still sleeping here for the next few days, right?" Stephen replied.
"I know, I know," Theresa waved. "It's just a mother's sentiments at her eldest son sprouting his own wings and moving on."
Stephen forced a smile, before reaching out to pat her hand, "It's going to be okay, Mom. It's not like I'm never going to be around ever again."
"I know, sweetie. Plus, I know you'll be in good hands as well," she gestured to Grace, who blushed a lovely color of red. To Stephen, there was no more beautiful sight than Grace with slightly flushed cheeks.
After ten more minutes of small talk, Stephen and Grace were ready to get underway with the bulk of the move. Propping open the main door to the house, and rolling up the backdoor to the truck, they worked in tandem to carry out the heavier pieces of furniture, and load them up into the open bed. From there, Stephen had them secured with plenty of bungee cords, making sure that every delicate piece was firmly strapped down to the truck to prevent any damage. Even though they weren't going far, Stephen knew that hitting the wrong bump would cause enough damage to render just about any piece nearly useless.
Most of the pieces went easily. The dresser came out without much work, as well as his bedroom desk. What caused most of the problems was the older couch that they were taking, as it barely fit through the front door with the way the entrance was angled.
"Stop for a second," Stephen said, putting the couch down after their third attempt. "How the hell did they get this in here?"
