Interludes -- Winter Morning
by Komagata Yumi
Kaoru awoke slowly, letting her senses drowsily assess
her surroundings. She lay on her back, her head pillowed on something
warm and firm. Kenshin's arm, her mind supplied, and she
felt her lips curve in a small, involuntary smile. She opened eyes
still heavy from sleep to find him curled around her as he lay on his side.
Her legs were bent at the knee and draped comfortably atop his, his free
arm a light but welcome weight stretching across her stomach. He
held her in a loose embrace, his hand resting warm and gentle on the curve
of her right hip, under her sleeping robe. His hair cascaded over
his shoulder and across his chest, to pool near her throat.
Tilting her head slightly she found that he still slept, his face peaceful
and relaxed. She'd once noted that he usually slept lightly, mind
and reflexes wary even in repose, the smallest noise or motion stirring
him to wakefulness. Yet, with his arms wrapped securely about her,
he slept deeply; her nearness having the same calming, reassuring effect
on him that his embrace had on her. Two months into their marriage,
it still never failed to surprise and touch her -- this realization that
her presence signified safety and security to his subconscious mind.
She sighed, utterly content except . . . except . . .
Her nose was cold. She wrinkled it unhappily, and realized that
her whole face was similarly afflicted. Easing cautious fingers out
from under the covers, she found that the temperature had dropped significantly
during the night, winter arriving with a sudden vengeance. She shivered
a little at the thought of getting out of bed, and snuggled closer to Kenshin.
His light hold tightened in response, gathering her in, cuddling her against
him. Turning her head she buried her nose in his hair, finding the
thick red strands to be soft as silk, warm from her skin, and sweet with
their combined scents of jasmine and ginger. She breathed in deeply,
the motion stirring it to tickle her face ever-so-slightly.
She loved his hair. Its color, its texture, the way the ends curled
around her fingers with a will of their own . . . the feel of it gliding
across her skin. Fingers yearning to play, she drew back and stretched
a hand to his shoulder, collecting a generous handful of his rich red mane.
She let the backs of her fingers drift caressingly down his chest as they
returned with their prize, the light touch coaxing a sigh from his sleeping
form. Twining a lock around her fingers she brought it to her cheek,
closing her eyes to savor the feeling as the strands slid easily against
her skin. Released from her grasp, it slowly fell from her hand in
a loose coil, gradually relaxing to hang straight once more. Experimenting,
she found a second and third did the same, clinging gently to her fingers
before reluctantly slipping away.
Kenshin's first waking sensation was the tantalizing brush of fingers
across his chest, their brief contact evoking a contented sigh, rousing
him. Kaoru. His body registered the light weight of
her head resting on his arm, the welcome press of her legs atop his, and
the softness of her skin under his hand. Opening drowsy eyes he focused
on Kaoru nestled close against him, watching -- first surprised, then faintly
amused -- as she toyed with his hair. Seemingly fascinated by it,
she wrapped the strands around her fingers only to release them again in
a slow, sensuous slide, repeating the process several times. His
amusement began to change into something more, when she brushed the ends
lightly across her lips and down her throat, a path he was wont to follow.
Kaoru gradually became aware of Kenshin's hand stroking lightly along
the curve of her hip, his thumb brushing slow circles on her skin.
She blushed, caught in the act of playing with his hair, and tilted her
head to look up at him, letting the lock she held slip from her grasp.
Warm violet eyes watched her, conveying both amusement and banked desire,
causing her blush to deepen.
"Ohayou," she whispered, her voice fainter than she had expected, her
senses distracted by the stroking movements of the hand resting inside
her robe.
He shifted, bringing his head level with hers and drawing his legs up
closer against her. Kaoru laughed breathlessly as he nuzzled the
skin just behind and below her ear, his breath warm and moist on her skin,
teasing her nerve endings. His voice husky, tinged with the same
emotions as his gaze, he whispered a greeting in turn, the sound trembling
through her. Safe, surrounded by him - his scent, his warmth, his
touch - she let her eyes close, welcoming the sweet hunger building within
her in answer to the yearning in his voice. She arched her neck as
he trailed soft kisses down its length, shivering slightly when the cool
morning air found the damp spots left by his passing. He nibbled
leisurely along her collarbone, paused briefly to let his tongue dip teasingly
into the hollow of her throat, and then slid his mouth up, over her chin,
to meet hers. With butterfly kisses and feather-light flickers of
his tongue he courted her, her lips parting to allow him entry.
Long moments later he drew back, his hair shifting to form a loose curtain
about them, and smiled as his violet gaze took in her lightly flushed cheeks
and rosy mouth. She raised heavy lids to look at him, revealing limpid
blue eyes, dark with the same need reflected in his. Mine.
The thought came to him unbidden, equal parts possession and amazement.
Winsome, angelic, infinitely precious . . . she was his. His next
breath trembled slightly as his throat tightened with emotion. Seeking,
his gaze met hers and read there recognition and pleased acceptance. Yours.
He closed his eyes as her slender fingers came to tenderly traced the line
of his brow, the shape of his mouth. Threading them through his hair,
she tugging slightly to pull him to her, her lips skimming his ear as her
sweet voice entreated, "Kenshin . . . love me."
Kenshin shivered in reaction, every nerve ending leaping in answer to
her request. His voice was barely audible as he gave the only reply
he could. "Always."
Kaoru smiled as she felt, more than heard, his whispered response.
Red strands sliding from her grasp, she wrapped her arms around his neck
as his mouth returned for a timeless space to cherish hers. She felt
his hand slowly withdraw from her robe, his deft fingers finding and untying
the belt at her waist. As it came loose he moved, unwinding himself
from around her and relinquishing her mouth. Rising above her he
parted the folds to reveal her creamy flesh beneath, and paused, breathless,
to let his gaze linger lovingly over her. With showered kisses and
coaxing hands, he then brushed the robe away from her shoulders and down
her arms, setting it aside with a faint rustle. Free of the robe's
constraints, but also its warmth, she shivered in the winter-touched air.
Another rustle, and then Kenshin's arms closed around her once again, warming
her as he settled gently against her. Her own arms found their way
around his waist, her palms pressed flat against the muscles of his back.
Sighing in delight at the feel of his skin next to hers, she tilted
her face up to his, like a flower turning toward the sun. Laughing
at her silent demand, he nevertheless obliged, his tongue sliding sweetly
between her parted lips to dance briefly with hers. He released her
mouth only to press a moist kiss into the curve of her neck and shoulder,
before drifting purposefully down over the slope of her breast to close
around one rosy crest, grazing her lightly with his teeth before suckling
gently. Kaoru moaned softly, arching into him as his tongue laved
her nipple, the heat of his mouth in direct contrast to the unwitting caress
of his hair, sliding cool and satin-smooth over the other peak. Her
hands tightened reflexively on his back, her nails grazing him lightly,
as he switched his lavish attention from one aching point to the other,
prompting another faint moan. The sound rippled through him, equal
parts pleasure and need; and in response one hand touched delicately at
the core of her.
Aching, empty, Kaoru cried out at the first light brush of his fingers,
his thumb stroking all too briefly over her heightened nerve endings.
Another fleeting caress and she whimpered his name, her fingers sliding
over his back to clench on his shoulders. His palm shifting to curve
over her, he raised his head to gaze at her sweet, beloved face.
Flushed, her small white teeth biting into her lower lip, she arched into
his hand. Only for him, this response. "Ken .
. . shin . . ." she pleaded again, needing more than the cupping warmth
of his palm. Bending his head he traced kisses along her jawbone,
breathing wordless encouragement as his fingers nuzzled gently against
her.
Clinging to him, Kaoru followed where his careful coaxing led, mewling
softly as his stroking fingers pushed her closer and closer to the ecstacy
for which she strived. So tender, the way he touched her, and yet
so insistent. He swaddled her in sensation, until every part of her
was trembling with it, and took pleasure in pleasing her. Yet she
wanted -- needed -- to share this heady yearning with him, to know that
he was with her when the shattering completion arrived. Hovering
on the brink, she shook her head, fighting it. Come with me,
she thought, too breathless to speak,
it's lonely this way, without
you. Her eyes sought his, needing him to understand.
Beseeching blue met violet, before another brush of his fingers caused
her to arch, her eyes closing again as she moaned his name. A moment
later his fingers withdrew and he slid gently into her, giving her what
she wanted, what she'd asked for without words. She sighed as he
filled her, her arms and legs wrapping around him, holding him tightly
as he moved, taking them both over the edge.
Cradled securely in Kenshin's arms, Kaoru floated slowly down from the
peak. She trailed kisses along his shoulder and neck, her hands stroking
lightly, dreamily over his back. Titling her head she brushed his
lips with hers, once, twice... and then his tongue delved inside
to share something more, rich and sweet with emotion. When it ended,
he shifted to his side, curling around her once again.
"We should get up," he whispered, but made no move to release her, reaching
instead to pull the covers more tightly around them, her closer against
him.
"Mmmm . . ." she responded, seeking to snuggle closer still, "in a little
while. It's too cold to get up yet."
"Aa." Sleepy violet eyes fluttered open to gaze lovingly at her,
and then drifted shut again. "Just a little while."
Kaoru murmured again in quiet assent, the still, lulling peace of early
morning wrapping around them. Content, the couple slept.
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