Stock Ch. 19-33

Dinner was finished with much belly patting and clandestine belching on the men’s part and small talk between the women. They decided that they had their fill after Eric snuck in a final bite of cheesecake. The women wrapped an arm around the appropriate boyfriend’s proffered elbow and slowly made their way out. When they approached the elevators Teresa bid them a good night and made her way back to the front desk to continue her shift. On the way someone tapped her shoulder. She turned around to find Sean standing there. Her mind was a flurry of emotions; she didn’t know what to say.

“Hey.”

“Hi, Sean.”

“Is there something you wanted to talk about?”

Teresa thought of finding some way to tell him about how she felt about him. How she tried for the past two years to become the kind of girl that he would ask out on a date. But after tonight she knew that it just wouldn’t work. They were too different. In his absence, Teresa had conjured up the image of Sean being the perfect man for her. In many ways he was. He had all the qualities that every girl would want; he was kind, funny, and dedicated. But in many ways he wasn’t what she wanted. While he was fun, he wasn’t her kind of fun. She knew the sort of things he enjoyed doing and Teresa had tried learning about them, but she could never get into them. They didn’t have anything in common, really. When it came down to it, they weren’t made for each other.

Sean watched the play of emotions in her eyes, the thoughts and ideas that clashed in her mind. But at the end he saw her piece things together, and a certain sparkle appeared in her eyes. Sean couldn’t help himself as he leaned in and gave her a warm hug.

“Thank you,” Teresa whispered in his ear.

Sean just held her.

They broke the embrace with wet eyes and Teresa told Sean she had to get back to work. She continued her way to the front desk.

Sean smiled to himself and cheerfully pushed the button on the elevator. He made his way to the suite and found Elizabeth waiting for him. Before she could ask or say anything Sean swept her into his arms and planted a warm, full-bodied kiss on her lips.

“What was that for?”

“I’m happy.”

Elizabeth separated from Sean and held him at arm’s length. “What happened?”

Sean had a distant look in his eyes and smiled. “I just saw Teresa grow up.”

Elizabeth looked at him questioningly and Sean explained. “She doesn’t need me anymore. I’m no longer a part of her life, at least not in the way in which she perceived me. It was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen.”

“So she’s no longer got a crush on you?”

“No, I think we’re more like brother-sister. It’s kind of nice.”

“Good, then you’re all mine.”

Sean chuckled. “I always have been.”

“Better believe it, buster.” Her eyes flared saucily as she leaned in for another toe-curling kiss. They both moaned in approval and somehow found their way to the bedroom. The room, like the rest of the suite, was nicely decorated in a cream and mahogany motif that neither of them really noticed. What they did discern was the king-sized, four posted bed that dominated the room. Sean scrabbled at the layers of clothing Elizabeth wore, pulling her sweater and t-shirt off in moments. He exposed a new lavender satin bra. Sean smiled with pleasure when he saw it and ran his hands over Elizabeth’s lithesome body, which he loved to caress. Sean’s throat rumbled in approval as he planted his lips on hers again. He took his time as his hands explored the slippery smooth fabric; his fingertips meticulously memorized every stitch and seam. Elizabeth’s moans vibrated across Sean’s lips as his hands moved on to her torso, trying to touch every exposed inch of her skin.

Their faces remained sealed together, their lips locked as their tongues wrestled in a wet and thrilling dance. Sean’s breath became Elizabeth’s and hers his. Who needed fresh air when you could breathe in your lover’s soul? Elizabeth’s mouth was a gourmand’s delight. Sean could taste her favorite dessert, strawberry cheesecake, in her breath and on her lips of peach crepe. They attacked each other’s face as they gasped through their noses.

Sean lived on Elizabeth’s every breath, his chest rising and falling in time with Elizabeth’s.

Elizabeth broke the soul-draining embrace and began planting kisses all over Sean’s face as her hands deftly stripped him of his clothes, scattering layers of fabric about the room. It was ritual to them now; they habitually tossed their clothes about haphazardly during their encounters. Elizabeth dug her fingers into Sean’s t-shirt and tore it open. Her hands immediately sought the heat of his torso as she crushed her breasts to him, her body sizzling with excitement at the contact. She had been trying to get him to replace his old, ragged undershirts but he was attached to them. Elizabeth won one round of the argument and smiled haughtily as she nibbled his earlobe.

Sean took a moment to get over the shock of having his shirt ripped apart. Then he quickly shucked the rags and began his own assault on Elizabeth’s person with his lips. He took his time as he worked from behind her ears down to her neck and then lower. Her breasts were lifted invitingly in the lavender bra so he couldn’t help but gorge on the firm globes. Soon enough he could hear Elizabeth panting as her fingers raked through his hair, clasping him tightly to her delicious flesh. Sean thought his girlfriend was appropriately primed as his hands began working their way down to the top of her jeans and deftly unbuttoned them. Kisses snaked down from Elizabeth’s tight cleavage to her navel, where Sean tickled with his tongue, then down to her waist. His hands tugged the tops of her jeans, stripping them down to her ankles. Sean lingered at her crotch, snuffling at her matching lavender satin panties. They were cut aggressively into a narrow strip of cloth that made Sean focus all of his attention on the sensitive juncture between pussy and thigh. His tongue flicked out, tasting the musky scent emanating from beneath the alluring satin.

“This is new,” Sean mumbled between long, languorous licks, emphasizing his comment as his tongue traced the edge between satin and smooth skin.

“Mmmm. You like?”

Sean answered by rubbing his nose along her crotch.

Elizabeth gave a throaty laugh. “I bought it when we were up in Seattle. Expect more like this for the next few nights.”

Sean’s imagination flitted through the possibilities and he renewed his attack on her crotch. His hands had been gently squeezing and massaging Elizabeth’s ass but they moved on to the tops of her panties and oh so slowly dragged them down. Tender licks and kisses trailed in their wake. Sean could sense the smile on Elizabeth’s face as he worked his way slowly back up. Sean’s arms hooked around her hips and he gently guided her to the foot of the bed where she then sat.

Sean found his way back to her steaming womanhood and gave the trim patch of hair a gentle nuzzling. Elizabeth arched her hips but Sean backed away. He placed his hands on her shoulders and nudged her over until she was lying on the bed before continuing up her body with more tantalizing kisses that made every nerve in Elizabeth’s body burn. Elizabeth could feel the heat of Sean’s body as he hovered over her; his only contact with her was made as his lips and tongue snaked up her torso. Sean arrived at her breasts and his head dipped down to unsnap the clasp in the front with his mouth. It took a moment but the effort was well worth it. Her cups flowered open and her globes slid firmly to the sides in a spectacle that made Sean’s eyes gleam with passion.

“Have I ever told you how sexy you are?” Sean asked as he eyed her breasts hungrily before diving in.

“Don’t tell me, love,” Elizabeth growled. “Show me.”

“With pleasure.”

Sean’s whole hard body dove in finally fusing with Elizabeth’s. She shivered beneath him from the contact. Sean quickly unbuttoned and stripped below the waist, releasing his confined manhood. He rubbed it along Elizabeth’s damp sex, causing her to moan in arousal. Sean loved how responsive her body was. He ran the tip of his rod up and down her slit to gather her moisture and with a practiced grace slid it slowly in. Elizabeth arched her whole body in hunger and slid her hips back down to greet Sean’s cock. They kept the slow, languorous pace that they both enjoyed. After the emotional turmoil that Elizabeth had been through earlier, she wanted a long session of lovemaking to unwind.

Sean took his time. He worshipped Elizabeth’s body with every smooth stroke. Again, they breathed in synchrony, his slow strokes in time with every blissful gasp of air, in and out, in and out. Elizabeth’s strong thighs rose up and gently caressed Sean’s sides as his hands gently cupped and fondled her heaving breasts. Sean looked down at Elizabeth’s half lidded eyes, glazed in amorous heat, as he continued to slowly drive in between her gentle thighs. He spared a moment to cup Elizabeth’s face and lean over to kiss her inviting lips. It was a gentle moment suspended in time, their heat searing one another and their bodies contorted in a fusion of flesh and passion. The kiss ended and Sean leaned over further and placed his mouth by her ear.

“I love you,” he whispered as his hand lifted to pet her luxurious hair. “I love you.”

Sean snaked his tongue into Elizabeth’s ear, the sensation causing her body to quiver and shake. She clutched him to her in a frantic grasping that tried to pull all of him in. Her depths seized and rippled with wet lust. Elizabeth cried out in ecstasy as she hit her first peak. Without warning Sean slammed into her again and again then loosed his own tension in a blinding white rush. Elizabeth’s entire body went haywire and every nerve wanted to explode as wave after orgasmic wave surged through her. Elizabeth’s wordless screams rang out through the room as she lost all control of her body. Her orgasm lasted for the better part of two minutes before she finally collapsed in an exhausted heap.

Chapter 24

Sean lay on the rumpled bed sheets wearing a tired smile etched on his face with Elizabeth spooned in his arms. He wormed his head along her neck and breathed in the scent of her hair; sex, sweat and rosewater shampoo flooded his olfactory senses. His right arm was sandwiched between his lover’s side and slender arm as he traced lazy circles on her pert breast. Elizabeth was sleeping contentedly in his arms with the slightest trace of a smile curling the corners of her mouth. Despite the fact that he was exhausted, Sean simply couldn’t sleep. He didn’t mind; he hardly noticed the passage of time as he marveled at Elizabeth’s gentle beauty and as he replayed their most recent joining in his mind. As always, the session of lovemaking an hour ago was intense and passionate. Sean felt pleasantly sore in all the right places as he continued to idly caress his love’s delightfully nude form. If Sean didn’t know for a fact that Elizabeth spent a good deal of time at the gym he would have sworn that it was their very healthy sex life that kept her in shape.

A sudden jerking from the woman in Sean’s arms interrupted his idle thoughts. Sean sighed inwardly and braced himself for what was to come. It was a subtle thing at first, a twitch in the fingers, a curling of the toes, but slowly the fidgeting coursed through the rest of her body like a series of tremors that had the woman struggling with invisible hands and phantom bonds. Her breath quickened in a panic of gasps that turned into a series of frightened mutterings. Sean did what he could to calm her in her sleep, whispering gently to her and holding her warmly for nearly half an hour, but he knew it was useless.

Elizabeth bolted upright, a wordless scream dying on her lips. A thin veneer of sweat covered her quaking body. Sean slowly sat up and wrapped the blankets around her shivering shoulders. Elizabeth stared passively through the bedroom double doors to the reception area. Sean wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders as she slowly came back to her senses.

“Pretty bad this time?” Sean asked, already knowing the answer.

Elizabeth nodded silently.

“You want to talk about it?”

There was no reply.

Sean was aware of his girlfriend’s regularly occurring nightmares. Including the more vivid dreams, like the one she just awoke from, Elizabeth had no idea just how regular they were. When Sean informed her of her weekly bad dreams Elizabeth batted aside his concerns as if they were nothing. The fact that she ignored them showed Sean how deeply scarred she really was. She never talked about them, about her dreams nor her time with Charles. Sean knew they were intricately interwoven.

“Okay, how about a bath? We can even use bubbles.” Sean suggested. When they took a bath together they usually didn’t use the scented liquid because Sean thought it a bit frivolous even though Elizabeth loved it.

Elizabeth leaned in Sean’s arms and nestled her head under his chin. Sean scooped her seemingly frail body up in his arms and headed for the large master bathroom. The cream marble tub was large enough to easily sit three people so it would take a while to fill. Sean sat Elizabeth on his lap while he talked about little things, told silly stories and gave her little clues about what he bought her for Christmas, to draw her out of her shell. Slowly, Elizabeth became more relaxed as the spa-tub filled.

Sean poured in a generous helping of bubble bath and then gently dipped his girlfriend in the steamy foam. He grabbed a small towel, soaked it and began washing her back. Elizabeth’s body blushed from the hot water as Sean gently stroked her hair and continued to talk. Elizabeth pulled on his arm and asked him to join her. Sean entered the water and held her body in his arms. He waited for what came next.

Elizabeth began shivering and weeping. Her body shuddered as the terror rattled her, but not a single tear was shed. Sean cradled her head and crooned soft words to ease her pain. Eventually, Elizabeth calmed down enough until she was silent and still.

“I’m so sorry that you have to put up with all of this, Sean.”

Sean gently nuzzled the top of her head. “I just wish you could talk to me about it.”

“I..I can’t. I just can’t.”

“I know. Whenever you’re ready, okay?”

Elizabeth nodded and sat in his arms as Sean continued to wash her.

***

For the next three mornings everyone arose bright and early to hit the slopes. The weather was very cooperative and gave them an extra four feet of fresh powder every day. Elizabeth, Vanessa, and Sean quickly took to the intermediate slopes but then decided to return to the easier skiing when they found out that Eric had never learned how to ski. He was trying to put on a brave front for Vanessa. They tried out snowboarding on Christmas Eve and it was Eric’s turn to shine as the instructor dubbed him a ‘natural’. He was quickly carving furrows in the snow while everyone else fell on their rears most of the time. That night Sean and Eric went to the front desk, greeted Teresa and picked up some packages that they wanted delivered to the hotel to avoid lugging them around at the airport. The women knew they were presents and they constantly badgered the men for information. Elizabeth and Vanessa ended their prodding when they discovered that the packages weren’t for them but were presents to be exchanged between the men.

That night the group dined at a nearby fancy Italian restaurant and then they retired to their rooms and bed for an early start on the gifts the next morning. Well, that was what the women first suggested but Elizabeth and Vanessa agreed to play an erotic version of twenty questions that lasted through a good part of the night.

At the end, the game was reduced to, “Please? I’ll be a good girl.”

The two men shook their heads and the women pouted. Sean was very glad that he had the foresight to get a good lock on his luggage.

Christmas morning came and Sean awoke to an empty bed. He smiled to himself, because he knew exactly where Elizabeth was. He took his time with his morning ritual, groggily brushing his teeth, washing his face, and calling room service for some breakfast and coffee. He purposely stayed in his room as he looked at the clock. It was six in the morning, which meant he had gotten a meager four hours of rest. Elizabeth flung open the double doors just as Sean placed the phone back on the cradle.

“Merry Christmas, love,” Sean said.

“Merry Christmas, Sean.”

“Not until after breakfast,” Sean cut in before Elizabeth could open her mouth about the presents.

Elizabeth’s face soured and she stuck her lower lip out petulantly for a moment, then she switched tactics by trying to seduce Sean to give in as they waited for room service. Sean was very tempted but he held on to his resolve. He calmly knocked on the adjoining door to Eric’s suite on the far wall of the reception foyer and waited for his friends to open up. Vanessa flung the door wide open, with her hair in wild disarray barely holding up an emerald silk robe. Sean immediately spun around and talked to her over his shoulder.

“Is Eric up yet?”

“Yes,” Vanessa replied grumpily. “And I take it you’re being as stubborn as he is about waiting until after breakfast to open the presents?”

“But of course.”

Vanessa stuck her tongue out at Sean, which he didn’t see, and then tried storming the gates again by successfully dragging Eric out of the bathroom where he was hiding. Sean should have thought of that. Oh, well. It was more fun his way when Elizabeth tried to rape him a moment ago. Simultaneously knocks on the two doors summoned them to receive breakfast. Two waiters came in with carts laden with French toast, croissants, coffee, and juice. The guys tipped the two men and then pushed the carts over by Sean’s coffee table where they sat together for breakfast. It was decided that the gift giving was to occur in his room since they had a tree decorated and placed in the room a day earlier. The friends chatted gaily as they ate and eventually all of the food was consumed. They finished with coffee to top things off.

“Breakfast’s over. Time for presents!” commanded the women as they went to their respective closets to fish out brightly wrapped packages.

Sean and Eric chuckled and each took a final sip before bringing out their own gifts and squeezing them under the tree.

“Me first!” shouted Vanessa and dove into the mountain of presents.

Elizabeth followed and picked out a brightly wrapped package with her name on it. The two women shredded the wrapping in record time and then cooed at what they got. Vanessa held up an autographed leather bound copy of her favorite childhood book, “The Hobbit”. She read the card and beamed a smile at Sean and Elizabeth. Elizabeth was oblivious to the appreciation as she tore open her own gift. She lifted the gauzy black nightgown, briefly examined it, dropped it back in the box and closed the lid as her face flushed a furious red. Curiously, Elizabeth picked the card from the pile of discarded paper and looked accusingly at Vanessa. Her friend laughed and told her to wait and see what she got for Sean.

Elizabeth didn’t know whether to laugh, blush, or be turned on when Sean found a skimpy silk thong in his little box. After seeing what Sean received, Eric was a little wary of opening his present from Vanessa. He decided to open the one from Elizabeth instead. It wasn’t much better. He got a gift certificate from Victoria’s secret with a letter from

Elizabeth to use it without compunction.

They took their turns giving and opening gifts until there was a mountain of shredded paper and empty boxes. Sean cherished the new laptop that he had been thinking of buying while Elizabeth fawned over the large teardrop diamond necklace now draped around her slender neck. Eric looked to Sean but didn’t receive the reply he was looking for. “Go ahead, Eric.”