"Maggie?" Mickey closed the door softly behind him and turned to his beautiful wife.
"Mmmmm-hmmm?" Maggie pulled the wrap from around her shoulders and dropped it on the chair.
"Did you have a nice time tonight?" he asked softly.
"I had a lovely time," Maggie turned to him with a warm smile on her face. "I miss the family get-togethers." Nearing Mickey, she slipped her arms around his waist. "It seems we don't see nearly enough of the family anymore."
"I know," Mickey nodded his head, heavy with the regret of the powerless. "They're all so scattered, the only time we all get together these days is for weddings or funerals." He sighed mournfully. "And we have too many of the latter and not nearly enough of the former if you ask me."

Maggie was silent for a moment as she remembered Austin's funeral. It had been a small affair and a devastated Billie had returned to Europe only days later. Now Kate was also threatening to leave Salem with her son Phillip. Salem was, she said in a moment of utter despair, cursed, and no-one could ever be truly happy here.

"We're happy aren't we Mickey?" she asked in a small voice.
"Of course we are darling," his smile was tender and spoke of his love and utter devotion to her.
"Oh," she smiled back, tears glittering unshed.
"I see you have your red dancing shoes on," he winked at her and she looked down. The shoes on her feet were cream pumps.
"Why, I do don't I?"

Her expression dazzled her husband as he took her in his arms and they began to dance slowly to the music that only they could hear.

"I love you Maggie Horton."
"And I love you Mickey Horton."

Moonlight slipped across the carpet in long silver columns, slithering down the steps and drenching the sofa with it's ghostly lustre. All was still outside and the penthouse was silent as John closed the door behind him. The lights of Salem served as an appropriately beautiful backdrop as Marlena crossed the room ahead of him, the sway of her hips accentuating the beautiful swell of her stomach.

John suddenly wondered if he had ever loved her more than he did right now. She really was everything he had ever wanted or desired.

Oblivious to John's admiring gaze, Marlena sighed lightly as she dropped her gloves and her purse on the table in the living room. They came to rest against a picture of she and John with a smiling Belle between them. Marlena picked up the picture, her hands caressing the silver frame and she smiled.

"She's beautiful isn't she?" she whispered to John as he came up behind her.
"She looks just like her lovely mother," John replied softly as he reached out and touched his fingertips to Belle's face. "I can't wait to tell them Doc." He said with an undercurrent of excitement. "I can't wait to see their faces when we tell them we're going to be a family."

Gently he guided her hand back to the table and she placed the picture down on the wooden surface. Then his strong fingers gently traced the contours of the back of her hand as they slid upwards. Snaring her wrist, he pulled her gently so that she turned on her heel to face him.

"Finally." He whispered, watching her eyes as they danced in the moonlight. In the silver light, they were unusually dark, but as they always did to John, her eyes spoke of passion with a hint of mystery. He could lose himself in those eyes, trying to evince the thoughts that passed behind them. She would never be an open book to him, but then, he didn't want her that way. Part of her appeal was her strength, her individuality and her unerring determination to maintain her principles.

She didn't show her vulnerable side to many people, only to those that she could trust not to use it against her. He was just grateful that all those years ago, she had chosen to let him in. It had brought them to this moment and he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he would always love her and that he would never ever let her go again.

"I love you Doc," he mouthed as he gazed at her. With an almost bashful smile, she leaned her head on one side.
"I love you too," she whispered, her voice wrapping around him like a wash of silk.

John's fingers found her jaw then and he tipped her head back with the tenderest of motions. His eyes roved her face, traveling familiar curves made strange with glossy silver light. The sigh died unheard in Marlena's throat as he dropped his lips to hers, sweet and delicate.

The night was only just beginning.

Hope drew the brush through her long, sleek locks. The chestnut tresses fell in a thick curtain over her shoulder, splaying luxuriously against the crimson silk of the robe she wore. Madame Rochas, Bo's favourite scent, rose subtly from the warm skin of her throat as she continued to brush her hair.

"Hey Fancy-Face," Bo murmured as he took the brush from her hand and placed it deliberately on the dresser. "Don't you think you've spent enough time getting ready for bed?" He grinned as he dipped his face into the musky aroma that pervaded the area around her.

Hope sighed audibly as she felt his lips slide down the side of her neck. At the same time his hands found the sash at the front of her robe and pulled on the loose ends so that it fell open. Hope's head fell back against his shoulder as he explored the golden skin of her throat with his lips and tongue. Her breath shortened as his tongue found her earlobe and one hand rose to seek a hold in his dark hair.

Bo's own hands flowed up over the crimson satin of the matching nightgown, traveling familiar paths and eliciting desired responses as they cupped her ample breasts.

"Well I think we're ready for bed," he added impudently, his breath hot against her cheek.
"Oh Bo," Hope said nothing else, but she twisted in his arms and claimed his mouth hungrily with her own.

Kristen tossed in her bed, pulling the cotton sheets up so that they grazed her chin. Sleep had been elusive. Knowing that John was out there somewhere and not sleeping in Brady's room downstairs was not a comforting thought.

But after a short while mulling over the possibilities, she had fallen into an uneasy sleep. Pregnancy left her weary and lethargic and sometimes it was all she could do to succumb to sleep when it stole over her.

As Kristen slept, John came to her in her dreams, convincing her of his desire for her, the proof of his love in his insensate touch.

His cerulean eyes glowed as he looked down at her, his fingers playing with the hair at her temple. He said nothing as she reached up and touched her fingers to his lips. She didn't notice that she could not feel him, that there was no warmth to his skin, no moistness against her fingertips. She believed that it was real because she wanted to believe it. Because she needed to believe it.

Any other truth but her version was unthinkable.

Marlena shrugged the cream jacket from her shoulders and slung it over the back of a chair as she watched John light the candles on the center table. The wicks flickered for a moment, spluttering with waxen indignation before springing to fervent life. Immediately, the room shimmered with a golden hue, complete with shy, wavering shadows.

"Music?" John asked stepping over to the stereo. Marlena nodded silently, her lips pursed in a tiny smile as she watched him. The soft orange light of the naked flame seemed to melt into all surfaces, transforming the previously silvered room into a welcoming and private haven.

John switched on the stereo and smiled appreciatively as the soft strains of soul music spilled from the discretely placed speakers. Looking up at Marlena, he realized in a disconnected thought that she must have redone her lipstick at some point. The soft pink gloss on her lips glistened in the flickering light and her hair fell around her face like a golden halo. She looked utterly gorgeous.

"Would you like to dance Dr. Evans?" he held his hand out as he neared her. With a wordless nod, she took it and allowed him to wrap his free arm around her waist. Slowly, she slipped her own hand up over the cotton of his shirt and along his shoulder. John's heart jumped as he felt her fingers linger with a delicate touch on the back of his neck. He wanted her so badly, more than he could imagine was possible. It took every shred of his willpower not to pull her down to the couch and make love to her right now.

Then her hand curled around his neck, pulling him close to her and he lifted her hand to his chest, pressing her palm against the warm cotton of his carmine shirt. He curled his fingers around hers and held it there so that she could feel the way his heart thumped with longing. Looking up at him, she was seized by the incandescent lust that blazed in his eyes and she swallowed involuntarily.

They stayed that way for long moments, just swaying to the soft music and staring into each other's eyes.

Slowly, John dropped the hand that had been settled around her waist so that his fingers lingered over the soft curve of her rear. Breathing in her scent, he closed his eyes and just relished the feeling of holding her in his arms. At one time he had thought he would never be here again, never be holding her, never being able to tell her how he felt about her. He had to do everything in his power to get it right this time. He couldn't risk losing her again. Ever.

The silky fabric of her dress rustled under his hand as he drew his fingers lightly up her back, grazing her backbone so delicately that she shivered in his arms. Opening his eyes, he gazed down into her honeyed ones.
"Okay Doc?" he asked in a whisper. With huge and expectant eyes, she nodded. As much as he wanted her, Marlena's passion for him was just as strong. She loved him with her heart and her soul and it was as though their bodies were made for each other. No-one had ever made her feel the way John did. Even with a simple kiss, he could rouse a trembling hunger stronger than any she had ever known.

When they had been married, there had been entire weekends that they had made their own, venturing from the bedroom only long enough to raid the kitchen and build up their reserves for another few hours. And nothing had changed. She still wanted him as much as she ever had. Her body still tingled at his touch, her knees almost failing her as he moved his hand from hers and drew a cool finger over the curve of a bared shoulder.

"Doc?" he whispered, his lips brushing her cheek.
"Mmmm?" she almost squeaked as her hand curved around his neck so that her arms encircled him.
"I love you," he buried his nose in her hair, his lips murmuring hotly against her ear. A tremor of excitement shook her, though barely noticeable, and she took a steadying breath.

Encouraged by her reaction, John traced the outline of her ear with his lips and then caught her lobe with his teeth, sucking on it gently. Feeling her intake of breath even before he heard it, he was finally convinced that she wanted him almost as much as he wanted her. With deliberate tenderness, his lips drifted across her cheek and then he pulled back from her, studying her intently.

Her hazel eyes seemed to wash from brown to green almost instantaneously, the inky pupils widening with desire as the flecks of gold that dappled her irises flashed in the candle light. Her cheeks were dusted with a glorious translucent rose, and her lips were kissably moist. She couldn't be more perfect if he had dreamed her from nothing.

Without a word, she tightened her arms around his neck and perched on tiptoes. Leaning forward, she brushed her glossy lips across his. John groaned as he felt his body respond to her invitation, and his own lips searched blindly for hers again.

Hands threaded her hair as John's lips bussed hers, gentle sweeps stealing the sheen. She tasted glorious and John soon increased the urgency of his kisses, his tongue sliding between welcoming lips in a continuing exploration.

As the music swelled to a euphonious climax, they stood in the centre of the room, bodies entwined, hearts rendering their own sweet chorus, minds aware of nothing but each other.

Above John and Marlena, a door closed silently. With a sigh, Q closed his eyes and dropped onto the bed. He hadn't imagined this would be so hard. He had imagined plenty of scenarios, but in all his variations, he had at least been able to deal with seeing her in John's arms. He had been happy for her, maybe a little sad for himself, but at least happy for her.

So he wasn't prepared for this overwhelming jealousy that he felt as he had seen John kissing her. Unaware that they were down there, he had been on his way downstairs to get a glass of water. And there they were, smiling, dancing, kissing.

The memory of her was still so fresh, so warm. He loved her so much it *hurt*. He could only imagine that John felt the same way, however badly he had treated her. He couldn't begrudge either of them that love but it didn't mean that it didn't hurt.

If only he could hold her, touch her, tell her one last time that he loved her??

But that was utterly ridiculous. She was down there, gazing into John's eyes. Before long, he would be carrying her up to the bedroom and he would lay her on the bed and then?..

Q shook his head. Why the hell was he doing this to himself? It was useless. It was pointless. It was certainly completely hopeless.

Closing his eyes, he pulled the covers over his body and willed sleep to claim him.

"Abe, honey?" Lexie exited the bathroom and leaned against the doorframe. She wore a coffee-coloured chemise and robe, slightly lighter than the smooth chocolate of her skin.

"Wow!" Abe exclaimed, his lips drawing into an appreciative smile. "When you said you had a surprise I didn't think?.."
"Well," Lexie neared the bed and pulled on the sash of her robe so that it fell open. "If you had guessed that would have made me predictable huh?" She pushed Abe back against the covers of the bed and climbed on top of him, straddling his thighs with her knees. "I don't always like to be predictable."

Trudie watched as the bubbles escalated in an assiduous trail through the champagne, breaking at the surface with a barely audible hiss. Lifting her gaze from the glass, she met Roman's chestnut-coloured eyes which twinkled in the soft light.
"To us," he held up one of the champagne flutes.
"To us," she repeated with a sweet smile curving her lips.

Roman took a sip from his glass as he gazed at her. She really was beautiful and he felt the stirrings in his heart that he had almost expected never to feel again.
"Penny for them?" Trudie asked with an intrigued expression.
"Hmmmm?" Roman shook his head, almost surprised at her question.
"You seem lost deep in thought," Trudie set her glass down on the table and moved closer to him. "I can only hope they're good thoughts."
"They are," Roman said after a moment, his own smile echoing hers. "I was just thinking how gorgeous you are."
"Oh," now she was surprised. She hadn't expected that from him. She didn't know why, she just hadn't.

He struck her as an intensely private man, and one who didn't say things he didn't mean. She suspected that he didn't give his love away lightly, and that when he did, it was forever. She could see that when he looked at his ex-wife. But she could also see that he had accepted that she was no longer his and he had let her go. She suspected he had been hurt badly, emotionally as well as physically and it surprised her that he was so willing to open himself up to her. It surprised her almost as much as the depth of her own feelings for him. She had never expected to fall for someone as fast as she had fallen for Roman, but he just seemed to push all her buttons and left her wanting more every time.

"And now you're lost in thought," Roman teased. "Make quite the pair don't we?"
"I think we do actually," her voice was serious as she folded up her long legs under her and inched towards Roman.
"Couldn't have said it better myself," Roman murmured as he lifted his fingers and threaded them between her curls. Closing his eyes, he felt her lips against his and he parted them, infiltrating her with his tongue, tasting her sweetness as his hand moved over the gentle curves of her body.

It was strange, holding, kissing someone new after all these years. But he couldn't say he didn't like it. In fact, he liked it rather a lot.

"Roman," Trudie whispered breathily as his lips dropped to her neck. "Take me to bed."

"Mmmmmmm," Marlena broke the kiss and her eyes fluttered open.
"Hi," John smiled lovingly at her before pulling her closer, nuzzling her cheek softly.

Drawing her hand back, she lifted it, laying cool fingers against his temple. Then, with a tenderly intimate gaze, she drew her fingers down, sketching the angles and curves of his wonderfully familiar face with her fingertips. It was as though, by touching him, she could somehow draw him into herself so that he would never go, so that they would always be as they were in this moment.

John's heart felt as though it might erupt, as though his love for her was somehow like molten lava, needing some expression, some way to escape. It was overwhelming, just being here with her, watching her as she watched him. He knew deep down that he didn't deserve to be this lucky. But he wasn't about to argue the point. He loved her and she loved him. That was all that really mattered.

The music faded as Marlena touched her fingertips to John's lips, her own heart pounding out her passion for him. She could drown in those midnight-blue eyes, be suffocated by the sensual lips she touched and she would die happy.

"Kiss me," she demanded in a husky whisper and John's eyes fell to her own lips, heavy and inviting. Bending his head, he swept his lips over hers evoking a spark of electricity that seemed to linger between them for a moment before suffusing them with a wanton warmth. His hand drifted to her face, fingers brushing loose hair back from pale skin as he kissed her again, this time more hungry, more demanding. Marlena responded with her own need, her tongue searching for his as his lips drank in more of her.

Her own fingers slipped through the hair at his temple and tangled in his hair as she attempted to possess even more of him. The arm around his neck tightened as she pressed herself against him, her body tensing with longing. She wanted him so badly, wanted to feel him. And she could feel as she moved against him that he wanted her too.

"Marlena-" he pulled back with a gasp.
"Don't talk John," she commanded, "just take me upstairs."
"But?" he wasn't sure this was such a good idea. He had wanted the first time they made love again to be a special moment and he wanted to be sure that Marlena was ready for it.
"I don't want to hear any buts John," her eyes flashed emerald in the dying candle light. "We've wasted so much time. I want you?..," she drew in a quick breath, "I need you. Now." She paused for a moment, seeing the uncertainty that still lingered in his eyes.

Leaning forward, she stopped when her lips were almost touching his cheek, so close that he could feel the vibration of the words against his ear. "I want you to take me upstairs John Black. And I want you to make love to me. I want to feel your body moving against mine. I want to feel you inside me."

John groaned inadvertently as she caught his earlobe between her lips and began to suck on it. He could barely move as she scattered hot, moist kisses down his neck and across his throat. Unbuttoning the top button of his shirt with nimble fingers, her lips gravitated downwards, encontering the soft dark hair that covered his chest.

With a carnal growl, John snarled his fingers in her hair and pulled her head back so that he could assault her mouth. A moan escaped Marlena's lips as he claimed them, crushing them beneath his own, his tongue tangling with her own in an elaborate battle of wills.

She gasped for breath as he suddenly released her, only to take her again, demanding her accession to his will. She fought him briefly, trying to gain some control, but finally she succumbed, letting him have his way. Her body responded to his touch with barely restrained lust, her need for him only growing with each moment. She could feel it, hot and damp as his lips savaged her throat, sucking on the warm, fragrant flesh, sending palpable jolts through her body.

"Oh G*d," she fairly sobbed and John lifted his dark eyes to hers. "I need you," she whispered hoarsely. "Please."

Without a word, John reached down and scooped her up in his arms. Kissing her once more, he carried her to the staircase.

"Gene?" The whisper stirred him from his sleep and he opened his eyes to find her perched on the edge of his bed.
"Marlena?" he was confused as he looked at her, searching for some reason why she should be here, in his room.
"I sent John away," she said by way of explanation.
"Away?" he shook his head, his brow creased with astonishment.
"It wasn't right," she shook her head. "I was downstairs with him and something happened." She reached her hand out and laid it against his chest where his heart was thumping as though it wanted to leap through this ribcage. "I realized," she licked her lips unconsciously, "that it wasn't him I wanted to be with. It's you."

He couldn't say anything for a moment, he was too astounded by her words.

"Gene," her voice was soft and breathy as she drew her fingers lightly down his torso to find the hem of his T-shirt. "Do you think maybe?." she slid her hand up under the shirt and over his warm skin. Leaning close, she brushed cool fingers over an already hard nipple and he swallowed reflexively, almost desperately. Somewhere in the distance, his mind screamed madly at him. This is INSANE. But she interrupted him with her smooth, honeyed words, "?maybe we could?."

She never finished her sentence as she covered his lips with her own, not seeing the look of shock that crossed his features.

What the hell?! his mind carried on an internal dialogue as he felt her tongue slide, wet and warm, between his lips. She was kissing him. I saw her. She loves John. This is *crazy*.

And then, suddenly it hit him as she moved her attention across to his ear, blowing tiny, erotic breaths against the skin just moistened with her tongue. He shivered with desire.

*It's a dream.*

Just as in the beginning of their relationship, when he wanted her so badly and couldn't have her, he was dreaming about her. That had to be it. Though now he knew what she was, he was almost afraid she would fade into nothingness. But oddly enough, she didn't. Instead, her fingers wound in his hair and she shimmied across the sheets so that she was lying next him.

She felt so real to him that it was almost frightening. And he wondered as she suckled at the sensitive skin of his throat, if he had indeed lost his mind. Almost more alarming was the fact that he almost didn't care if he had.

She continued to lick and suck his skin, unaware of his inner struggle and her hand snaked downwards, her fingers outlining the large bulge beneath his boxers.
"Oh baby," she lifted her head and whispered against his lips. "I think we could indeed?.."

Q groaned headily as she began to stroke him gently. Just the feeling of how much he wanted her had made her wet inside, but propping her head up with her hand as she leaned on her elbow, she watched him as she touched him.

His eyes were closed, his lips red as he bit down on them, trying to maintain some composure. Leaning down, she traced her tongue along the outside of his ear as she continued to slide the silky fabric under her hand, massaging his hardness with skilled fingers.

"Come on my love," she whispered against his ear, her breath hot and ticklish, "show me how much you like it. Tell me what you want me to do."

"Gggeeeahhhh," Q's grunt was suffused with a ragged pant. She was driving him crazy, and her velvety voice just sent him over the edge.
"That's it baby," she nibbled gently at his jaw, "tell me how it feels when I do?" slipping her hands between the folds of his boxers and took him in her hand, "?.*this*."

"Ohhhhh, Oh G*d Marlena," he moaned uncontrollably as she drew her fingers up over his hot, sticky skin. Marlena's own breath was shallow, her lips parted, as with her free hand she pushed his T-shirt upwards. Although he could hardly move, somehow Q managed to help her and together, they pulled it over his shoulders and discarded it on the floor.

With a tiny smile, Marlena dropped her lips to his chest and kissed him there. She was still stroking him as she trailed her tongue over his quivering flesh, circling a small brown nipple.

"Mmmmppphhh," he bit back the groan even as she flicked her tongue tantalizingly across the sensitive nub. Inwardly delighted, she bit him gently and felt his body jump under her touch.
"Oh honey," she whispered against him, her fingers continuing to caress him, "tell me again. Tell me what you want me to do to you."
"Mmmm Marlena," he forced his eyes open to see her blond hair swirl as she bent to tease him again with her lips and tongue. "Marlena," it was a moan now as she increased the pressure of her hand as it moved over him. "*Please*."

"What baby?" she lifted her head, her hazel eyes, burning with lust as they met his.
"S?.*Stop*," he managed to stammer as he wrenched her hand from it's sweet torture of him.

In one swift movement, he had her pinned on her back, her hands above her head. Her eyes searched his as he stared down at her. Her eyes were remarkably green, her lips, red and wanton as he stared at her and slowly she parted them, wetting them slowly and deliberately with the tip of her tongue.

"Make love to me Gene," she murmured, her words heavy and sexual in the air between them.

He couldn't even help himself as he took her lips with his own, demanding, plundering her. She moaned as his tongue tangled roughly with hers, his hands tugging at her hair. He could feel her leg slip between his thighs and she began to move against him with sensual little sighs.

He responded with a groan and she took advantage of his distraction to loosen her hand from his grip. With a swift movement, she was tugging at the waistband of his boxers and without argument, he helped her remove them. It was then, for the first time that he realized she had a lavender silk nightgown on and nothing else.

With frantic hands, he found the hem of the slight garment.
"Oh Q," she breathed heavily as he pulled the fabric up, revealing her beautiful figure to him. "I want you. I need to feel you." Her legs fell open at his touch and she shivered as he slid his fingers over the creamy skin of her inner thighs. "Take me Gene," she demanded huskily, "I want to feel you hard inside me. I want to feel you as you come with me."

She didn't even wait for him to respond as she took him in her hands and guided him between her warm thighs. He could feel her, she was hot and wet and oh so inviting. How could he refuse?

Watching her face intently, he entered her slowly, concentrating on the way she felt as she took him in. Her eyes were closed and her face flushed as she moaned quietly, her hips rising to meet his. As she moved, her head tilted back and Q took the opportunity to tease her lightly with his tongue and lips.

"Mmmm, Gene," she sounded almost desperate as she moved beneath him. "Please. I want to feel you. I want to?.oh" she gasped as he began to thrust inside of her. "Oh yeah, mmmmm." She gathered him into her arms and held him against her as he moved in and out of her. "Oh Gene," she moved her hips against him, hearing the moist buffet of their skins as their bodies moved together.

The noises that she was making served only to intensify his lust for her and he moved within her, searching, harder and deeper. Each pounding movement extracted a tiny, breathless sigh from her, encouraging his relentless search to bring her the climax she so wanted and deserved.

She could feel him, pounding into her, his hardness penetrating her, demanding her abandon. It felt unexpectedly divine as she moved with him all the time faster and more intense. It was only moments before she felt the orgasm explode inside her, crashing through every sense and utterly consuming her. She was barely aware of Q's visceral cry as he drove himself into her one last time before his own climax shattered all thought, crashing through him like the roar of hurricane driven surf.

Q opened his eyes reflexively, his heart racing. He tossed the covers from the bed and sat up, trying to will himself to calm down. It was just a dream.

He ran his fingers over his forehead and shivered. He was absolutely wringing with sweat.

Get a grip Q, it was just a dream!

Then why the hell was he so unnerved?

Marlena frantically twisted the doorknob with the hand that was not hooked around John's neck, willing the impediment to open. Grinning, John removed her hand and replaced it with his own. Giving it a yank, he kicked the door, sending it flying open.

"Shh..shh..shh. shh?" Marlena giggled spontaneously, "you'll wake the whole house."
"I'll remind you that you said that in twenty minutes time," John threatened with a happy grin as he swung the door closed behind them.
"Oooh that sounds remarkably close to a promise" she teased as her eyes swept his beloved face.
"You'd better believe it baby!" he released her legs, setting her gently to the ground.

With her arm still around her neck, she pressed herself up against him, and he could feel the hard swell of her beautiful belly against him.
"I love you," she whispered, her face outlined in the shaft of gossamer moonlight that spilt through the open curtains.
"Oh Doc," John sighed as his fingers lightly combed her silky hair back off her face. "I can't tell you how many times I dreamed you said that to me. How many times I longed to hear it." With his fingers, he followed the plane of her cheek to where it dipped into shadow. "You ?. " he shook his head, his face falling slightly, "you're so beautiful?. Everything about you is beautiful Doc. Your face, your heart and mostly your soul." A look of anguish and self doubt skipped fleetingly across his face. "I just can't help but wonder if I really deserve you."

"Honey," Marlena slid her free hand around his neck, "it's not a question of deserving. We're meant to be together. That's all there is to it." When he looked unsure, she smiled softly and left a kiss on his lips. "For what it's worth, I think you're just wonderful and I can't think of anybody more deserving than you."

A bashful smile slid onto John's lips.
"How did I get so lucky?" his hands settled on the curves of her waist as his clear gentian eyes scoured her face, looking for some answer to why he was so blessed. That answer was written in the love he found reflected in her own glittering eyes. She loved him, simply because he was. They were two halves of the same. The love that bound them made them both complete and locked them together perfectly, their union forming a perfect circle of happiness that seemed unfettered by petty things such as time or mortality.

"I love you," she whispered, her voice honeyed and persuasive. "I want you to make love to me." Slowly, she leaned forward and John felt her lips, wet and warm against his neck. The moan died in his throat as he felt her hands in his hair and her tongue teasing his earlobe. His own fingers slipped stealthily over the silken cascade of her dress as it flowed over her curves, and he squeezed her backside, almost lifting her off her tiptoes.

Bringing her mouth hungrily to his, she delved her tongue between his lips, inviting him, asking him for more. In one swift movement, John swept her off her feet again, one arm hooked under trembling thighs.

Knowing instinctively where he was going, he concentrated on the way she tasted under his lips as he carried her to the bed. Only when he laid her down on the soft floral comforter, did he break the kiss.

"Roman?" Trudie whispered softly as he ran his fingers tenderly over her bare thigh.
"Mmmmm," Roman was quite caught up in his exploration of her as his beautiful artistic fingers followed the flow of her curves.
"Kiss me?" she asked with a twinkle in her eye.
"How can I resist an invitation like that?" Roman murmured with a grin. Shimmying up the bed, he brushed his fingers across her cheek and into the glossy curls of her hair. Sliding his lips across hers, he lowered her head to the pillow gently. Trudie parted her lips as she felt his tongue probing and her hands automatically found his chest. She loved his chest. Her insatiate fingers curled over the hard muscles, researching the smooth expanse of olive skin, playing with the flickering sinew that lay below it.

Roman's mouth moved restlessly over hers, his lips crushing hers in a bruising, demanding exhibition of his hunger for her. His tongue collided wetly with hers in a tango of passionate proportions as his body moved lithely against hers.

She thought of him as a dancer in the way he moved in bed. He swore that he hated tuxedos and had two left feet on the dance floor. But when he was making love, it was like an exquisitely choreographed ballet that made her feel almost as if she was flying.

With a gentle exhalation, she broke off the kiss and brought her hands up to Roman's face. With infinite tenderness, she traced the creases in his skin, drinking in the warm chocolate of his eyes. Then, with the barest of caresses, she brushed the chestnut-coloured curls from his forehead.

Leaving a tiny kiss against his lips, she slid down the bed slightly and pushed him so that he rolled onto his side. Her eyes burning, she murmured her lips over the slightly damp skin of his chest, tasting the slightly salty tang of him. She felt him stiffen against her as she ran her tongue over one small brown nipple and she smiled sensuously. Taking the tiny sweet nub between her teeth, she bit on him gently and she was rewarded by an almost tortured groan. Whipping her tongue around it again, she fastened her lips over him and began to suck, steadily and insistently.

Roman closed his eyes and rolled his head back, feeling her ministrations arousing him even more. He barely noticed as she unbuttoned his jeans but then she was stripping them off his legs and he was naked and lying on his back.

He watched her as she straddled his waist, her nude body tanned and supple. The mahogany hair swung around her shoulders, glints of red firing in the golden candlelight. Her breasts were full and tantalizing as they bobbed above him and he lifted his hands almost venerably to cup them.

She was damp against his belly as she leaned forward to kiss him, the dark brown curls surrounding his face in a fragrant fall of tumbling locks. With sanguine lips, she hovered above him for a moment, tempting and teasing.

Roman's fingers moved stealthily across her breasts, the hardened pads sweeping across taut nipples, raising small bumps from the rosy flesh. Pulling slightly on her, he caught her lips with his, the kiss full and sensual. Planting a hand on the pillows either side of his head, Trudie sank into the kiss, surprising herself with the passion that she felt for this most unusual man. Roman's hands covered her skin, feeling her as he slipped down over her curves to her hips.

When she felt the pressure of his fingers against the flesh of her hips, Trudie pulled back from the kiss and looked at Roman. His eyes were like molten chocolate, she could see the heat and depth of them and it made her shiver. Almost effortlessly, he lifted her off him and she could see the muscles of his biceps sinuous under the smooth tawny skin of his arms. The muscles in his chest were also tense and knotted as Trudie lay her hands on them to steady herself.

Settling herself on her knees over Roman's hips, she looked at him, almost shyly, in the candlelight.
"Hey beautiful," he breathed gently as he guided her hips back down.
"Hey there yourself," she murmured with a slight smile as she felt skin slide across skin.

And then he was inside her, hard and insistent; warm, tight skin gliding against her wet, dark warmth. Trudie moaned as he lowered her to meet his hips, thrusting deep inside her. She remained still as Roman's hands slipped down from her hips over the smooth skin of her thighs. Then he lifted his hands to hers and joined them, marrying their fingers. Holding his hands up, palm outwards to give her some resistance, he pushed on her hands gently and then pulled as he rolled his hips. Trudie sighed happily and moved with him, guided by the rhythm that he set.

Roman watched her as she moved, closing her eyes and rolling her head backwards slightly. She was so different to what he was used to, with her dark hair and fiery blue eyes. But he liked the difference and he liked her. More than he had thought he could like anyone again.

She was moving her hips back and forth in an undulating movement, pushing herself against his hands as she did. And she made little whimpering noises in the back of her throat that just about drove Roman crazy.
"Oh?..Mmmmm." She cried out as Roman increased the pressure of his own hips, driving himself deeper inside her. In response, she opened her eyes and looked down at him as she increased the pace of her movements. Biting on her lower lip, she squeezed her thighs against Roman's hips and tightened her muscles around him, making him moan with the unexpected stimulation.. He almost couldn't control himself as he thrust into her, their tempo expanding to almost a frenzy.

"Come on baby," she encouraged him in a throaty voice. "I want to feel you come with me." She was still contracting around him rhythmically, driving Roman to the point of distraction. All he could feel was the way she was pushing him towards orgasm as she moved ceaselessly against him, around him, with him.

His thrusts became harder and shorter as he heard her whimpers return and build toward a peak. He tightened his fingers, pulling her palms fast against his as they moved hotly and swiftly together. The moisture from their bodies mingled, as did the moans that came from their throats.

It was the sound of her voice as she cried his name in between harsh pants that finally broke Roman. Bucking his hips, he came inside her, driving himself deeply into her as he erupted, hot and sticky. Trudie watched his face tense as the orgasm swept over him and she again tightened around him, milking him as he came until she could no longer help herself. Crying out his name, her own climax consumed her, shuddering through her as she ground herself relentlessly against Roman. She came hard and it seemed to last forever, her muscles contracting spasmodically until she was exhausted and lying on Roman's chest.

Kissing her damp curls, he pulled the sheet over the two of them and then wrapped his arms around her, his chest rising and falling with each satisfied breath.

John gazed at Marlena for a moment, his eyes following the contours and shadows that played on her face in the half-light. However, Marlena had a more physical exploration in mind and she clutched a handful of his upper shirt, pulling him down to the bed with her. Then, without warning, she pushed him onto his back and bent her head, pressing hot, hungry lips to his.

John could feel the hot throb swell in his groin as she kissed him ravenously and his own hands threaded almost desperately through her hair. Marlena felt light headed as she pulled her head up, panting for air to fill her bursting lungs. Taking advantage of her distraction, John turned his attention to her neck, dipping his tongue into the sweetly fragrant hollow at the base of her throat before he sucked lightly at her warm, golden skin. She shivered as his tongue glided along the fine line of her collarbone and then down over the dulcet skin above the neckline of her dress.

Marlena loved the way he knew instinctively just what turned her on and the feeling of his tongue, moist and searching, sent threads of fire shooting through her, fusing into liquid heat between her legs. She wanted him so badly she almost couldn't stand it and she pushed back from him and quickly undid the top two buttons of his shirt with shaking fingers.

John wasted no time in helping her and he pulled the shirt open, slipping it off broad shoulders as he lifted his torso slightly off the bed. Marlena freed the shirt from under him and dropped it on the floor as she touched her fingers to his chest.

Marveling at the way his muscles twitched under her caress, she stroked her fingers lightly over the coarse soft hair that covered him. With a little smile, she traced one finger down the centre of his chest, between the beautifully defined pectoral muscles and over his upper abdomen. He said nothing but his eyes were closed and she could feel the muscles of his belly harden at her touch.

Meeting the waistband of his jeans, she paused for a moment and then lifted her hand. John sighed almost imperceptibly and then sucked in a breath as she flickered her fingers lightly over a small brown nipple. He hardened under her touch and she smiled again as she bent her head to him and grazed his other nipple lightly with her tongue. John moaned as she sucked on him lightly and used her thumb to massage his other nipple.

After a few moments, she tired of that and she made a path through the dark hair with her tongue, trailing it down over his abdomen. She could feel his breaths quicken as she delineated the contours of his abdominal muscles with her lips and tongue.

At the same time, she shimmied her hand over the stiff denim of his jeans and guided practiced fingers up the inside of his thigh. He groaned and tensed as she brushed the hardness immured by the taut fabric and then he bit his lip as she stroked her fingers over him.

"Do you like that baby?" she whispered softly, teasing him.

"Doc!" he managed to blurt out from between clenched teeth, "you're killing me."
"Oh," she raised her eyebrows innocently.
"You're asking for trouble," he couldn't help grinning as he wrenched her wrist away and in one movement, had her on her back, her arm above her head.

Dipping his mouth to hers, he took her, ravishing her with greedy, passion-filled kisses. Moving so that he was partially pinning her right side with his body, and her left hand above her head with his left hand, he edged her skirt up her thigh with his fingers. Pausing when he encountered first lace and then soft, pliant flesh, he gazed down at her.

Her face was flushed, her cheeks a silken pink and her lips painted scarlet with kisses. She stared back up at him, her eyes darkening to a dusky gold as her chest rose and fell with shallow breaths. John swallowed and let her skirt fall back down as he followed the curve of her hip as it swept down to her waist. Watching his fingers as they moved, he slid them up and over the beautiful swell of her belly. It didn't bother him in the slightest that she was pregnant, in fact, he found it incredibly sexy as he explored her new curves. To him, there was nothing more natural and more beautiful than bringing a new life into the world. He had been deprived of the chance to share her pregnancy with Belle, so this was the first time he had been able to touch her like this while she carried his child. And if it was possible, it made him love her even more.

Continuing on his expedition, his hand cupped her heavy breasts, his fingers brushing the bare skin above her neckline so that she squirmed under him. His touch was maddeningly arousing and Marlena just wished he would hurry up.

"Jo-"
"Shhhh," he touched his index finger to her lips, quieting her. She stared at him frustratedly and with a grin, he brushed his lips over hers, his touch barely enough to produce a tingle. Marlena tried to lift her head to catch him, but he had her almost immobile and he could tease her as he liked. Lowering his head again, he ran the tip of his tongue along her lower lip and then again grazed her lips lightly with his own. A whimper escaped Marlena as his hand began to massage her breast through the fabric, and she was rewarded as John's kiss suddenly exploded with lust and need. Through the fog in her mind, she could feel him moving against her, the hardness in his jeans pressing into her thigh. And then he pulled on her wrist so that she rolled onto her side.

With a practiced hand, he found the zipper of her dress and swiftly lowered it, releasing her arm momentarily so that he could slip her arm out of the confines of creamy fabric. Then, taking hold of her wrist again, he lowered her once more onto her back and swept his fingers across her bare skin over to where her right shoulder was still dressed. Moving slightly, he slipped the strap from her shoulder, his fingers sketching the dusky freckles that were scattered over her skin. With a hint of a smile, he bent his head and placed a sweet kiss where her shoulder rounded to her upper arm. Marlena watched him, her eyes drowsy with longing as he continued to slide his fingers down her arm, drawing the silk before him.

When he finally reached her hand, he slithered the fabric over her fingers and then lifted her hand. Meeting her demanding gaze with his own, he lifted her palm to him and pressed his lips to it. Then, deliberately, he began to slowly kiss the tips of her fingers. However, he had only made it to the middle before he opened his lips and swirled his tongue around the tip. Marlena barely repressed her shudder as he sucked gently on her finger before kissing the remaining two.

"You're amazing," he whispered tenderly as he slid the dress down to her waist, exposing the taut expanse of her pregnant stomach. Releasing her wrist, he slipped down the bed, his fingers molding around the smooth curves as he explored her new form. With a profound smile, he looked up at her. Her arm was still arced above her head and she was watching him, her eyes glittering with happiness.
"I love you," she whispered in a broken voice. She couldn't believe *how* much she loved him. She'd almost forgotten how he made her feel. It throbbed through her with every surge of blood that her pounding heart pushed forth. It burned within her and sometimes she felt as though it might consume her. She wanted him. She *needed* him. She would never stop needing him because he made her life *right* and full. He brought out the sun and the moon for her and he made her heart sing. And she knew that she would never ever again let him go.

She felt his lips against the smooth skin of her belly and a small tear slipped from below the thick lashes. She had come *so* close to losing him forever. She had almost let him walk away and she couldn't risk that ever happening again.

"Please," she whispered in a thready voice. "Make love to me John."
"Soon baby," he murmured gently. "Soon."

With the tenderest of touches, he moved the dress down over her hips and with her help, he slipped it off her and discarded it on the floor alongside his shirt. Slowly, and almost reverently, he tucked his fingers inside the lacy top of one stocking and slid it downwards. Letting it tumble off the side of the bed, he repeated the process with the other stocking. Then, kneeling between her legs, he lifted one slender leg and kissed the inside of her knee.

He felt a tremble resonate through Marlena and it seemed to echo in his own groin. If it was all possible, his desire for her increased and it was all he could do not to ravish the sweet flesh that was under his lips. Marlena whimpered headily as she felt him suck lightly at the skin of her inner thigh. He teased her with his lips and tongue as he moved upwards.

Leaving a moist trail, he kissed his way inexorably up her body, stopping at her navel to flick his tongue around it before he continued upwards. When he met the lacy resistance of her bra, he dipped his tongue into her cleavage and then outlined each pliant mound with his tongue.

Marlena's hands were twisting the floral-print polycotton of the pillow slip as he slipped his hand beneath her to unhook the clasp of her bra. With practiced hand, he removed the lacy garment and threw it cavalierly over his shoulder. She gasped as she felt his teeth graze her nipple, the strengthening yearning for him sounding in the moist warmth between her legs. Fingers infiltrated John's thick hair as he began to suck at her, first gentle and then increasingly insistent. Unconsciously, she arched her back pressing herself against him, begging him for more. With a smooth movement, John daubed wet kisses across to her other breast and began to tease her again, sucking and biting, before drawing back to blow cool air across her wet nipple. At the same time, his fingers continued to tease the hard nub that his mouth had just departed.

She moaned and he felt her wriggle beneath him, her fingers tugging on his hair. Giving into her, he kissed his way back up, over her throat until he found the lips he loved so much. With no resistance, Marlena parted them and he slipped his tongue inside her mouth as his hand slid the length of her body, lifting her thigh as she wrapped her leg around him.

There was no sound in the room but laboured breathing and gentle moans as John let his hand follow the contour of her leg as it curved into her buttock. But the near silence was interrupted by a sharp gasp as Marlena felt John's fingers move between her legs, gently massaging her as his lips again attempted to taste every inch of her throat.

His touch seemed to inflame every nerve that formed her entire being, burning her skin, overwhelming her sentience. Her mind could only grasp fleeting thoughts and those fragments only seemed to comprise of how it might feel to have him inside her again, moving with her? thrusting?. warm?. hard?. wet?.. explosive.

With a strangled cry, she came against his hand, her hips straining against him as her muscles tightened in sublime climax. The feeling of her dampness through her panties as he stroked her was almost more than John could stand and when she came, almost unexpectedly, he had to bite his lip to try to maintain some semblance of control.

With a grunt, he bent his head to take her mouth again, roughly hungrily. His tongue tangled with hers, probing and searching as his hand continued to move rhythmically between her legs, relentlessly ensuring that her arousal continued to increase.

Marlena, meanwhile, had managed to slip her hands between them and she was slowly making her way down to the top of his jeans. His stomach muscles were hard, but he trembled at her light touch, making her want him even more. He didn't resist as she unbuttoned his jeans and slipped her hand inside them, brushing against the hardness inside his boxers.

John growled almost gutturally and sank his teeth into the soft flesh that curved between her neck and shoulder.
"Oh," Marlena's hips pressed upwards against John's fingers as the exquisite agony from his nip ignited all her nerves and exploded deep in her abdomen. "Oh g*d John. Please. I need you?."

John's response was to wriggle out of the stiff denim and kick it to the floor. But before he could react, Marlena had his boxers down around his hips, releasing him from the silky confines that had been restricting him. Closing her fingers around him, she drew them up his length, feeling the way the blood pulsed with his desire for her. He was hot and sticky and he felt wonderful. Lifting her smoky eyes to his heavily lidded ones, she began to stroke him lightly.

"Marlena," John pulled her hand away with a glottal growl. He could barely contain himself as it was. And when he came, he wanted to feel her coming with him. He wanted to be inside her, to become part of her, body and soul. Only then would he know he was truly hers again and she his.

"Honey," she panted between quick, shallow breaths. "Have I told you lately how much I love you?"
"Yeah," he grinned as he trailed a damp finger across her cheek, "but tell me again in case I forget."

"I love you," she whispered throatily as he discarded the boxer shorts.
"I love you," he replied, his voice choked with emotion as he gently tugged her lacy panties over her hips and then pulled the damp wisp of fabric down her slender legs.

"I love you," she repeated, her eyes glistening as he gently spread her thighs and then moved between them.
"I love you," he murmured as he lowered his body on top of hers, supporting his weight on his elbows so as not to crush her. Gazing at her, his eyes swept her face, drinking in the luscious rosy cheeks and amber-flecked eyes. Tendrils of darkly golden hair curled damp at her temples and her face shone with love and desire.
"I love you," she lifted a hand to his face and smoothed the tips of his fingers across his cheek, as if her touch could suffuse him with the meaning of her words. She didn't want him to ever doubt again how she felt.
"I love you," he mouthed as he sank down to claim her lips. As they kissed, Marlena's hands slid easily down his side, the muscles jumping and twitching at her touch. John moaned against her mouth as her hands came together to squeeze his firm butt. At the same time as she lifted her knees to either side of his well-muscled thighs. He could smell her honeyed scent and he could feel her against him, hot and wet. Begging him to take her, to possess her. Blood pounded through him as he tried to gain some kind of poise.

"I love you," her velvet whisper enveloped him, breaking the little reserve he had left.
"I love you, I love you, I love you," he echoed like a litany as he moved his hips between her legs, sliding into her, his almost painful hardness welcomed by the moist, pliant flesh.

She was sweet and hot and wet as he drove into her, her muscles drawing him upward, intensifying the throbbing of blood all through his groin.
"Oh G*d," she cried with an almost broken sob as she felt him move inside of her. It was ecstasy, the hard, demanding throb of him as he impaled her. He was solid, sinew, muscle and heat as he moved within her, with her, against her.

"Marlena," he mumbled through lips that were no longer controlled by any conscious thought. Her knees lifted and gripped his hips as he moved deeper into her, sliding in and out in an easy rhythm. She sighed fiercely as her own hips matched his, her fingers raking over the fluid muscles that tensed and relaxed in his back with each movement.

"John," she whimpered as he began to thrust into her harder and faster, "oh G*d, I love you. I love you so much." Her words, and their import flooded through John, driving his passion for her to even newer heights. This wasn't just sex, it wasn't even making love. This was something rare and infinitely precious, like somehow he was inside her soul and he knew he never wanted to leave. If he could, he would stay cocooned here forever, but the physical reality of their lovemaking was certainly going to preclude that.

Gathering her in his arms so that her shoulders rested on his forearms and her head in the hollow of his large hands, he gazed at her as he continued to move in and out of her, his pace fast and hard. Her face was that of a thousand beauties, like vast starry heavens, the eternity in a shining dew-drop. She was his. Forever.

Lifting her hands, Marlena framed John's face with them, staring into his eyes. The deep, vast ocean of blue sparkled with each movement, loving her, knowing her. Those eyes told her all she needed to know. He was hers. Forever.

"I love you Marlena," he whispered against the damp curls that framed her face as he began to thrust into her more rapidly. The hard rod inside her cleaved her, drove her into that place beyond consciousness where reality fractures and desire becomes white-hot. "Let me hear you. I want to hear you when you come."

That was all it took and she cried out, sobbing the first moments of her orgasm into his ear. Then it built and flooded her with a pure white incandescence and her whimpers turned into heady cries of release.

John felt her come as her muscles contracted heavily around him, urging him towards climax.
"John," she called his name with complete abandon and John felt himself shudder. He rammed himself into her hard and fast, the hot moistness tensing around him, the friction almost unbearable.

With an almost primal cry, he came deep inside of her, his love and need for her pouring out of him with his orgasm. He filled her as her climax peaked for a second time, her hips driving upwards to meet his in an intensely sensual dance.

And then, finally, it was over.

Sliding partly off of her, John rolled partly onto his side, bringing her with him. One arm remained under her, his fingers splayed against the small of her back, holding her against him. Her leg was still draped over his hip as he pulled the comforter over them. Drawing in deep, ragged breaths, he gently pushed the long damp curls from her face and kissed her forehead.

With a cat-like smile, she opened her hazel eyes and looked at him an expression of adoration and utter satisfaction on her face.
"Guess what?" she whispered.
"What?" John knew the adoration was reflected in his own eyes. He would never be able to get enough of this woman as long as he lived.
"I love you," she told him with a flirtatious giggle.
"I love you too babe," he smiled exhaustedly as she snuggled against him.

Tugging the comforter further over them, John wrapped his arms around Marlena and let out a silent sigh as he felt her slow, warm breaths against his neck.

It was only moments later that sleep slipped in to embrace them both.

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