Happily-Ever-After
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M through R › The Nanny
Rating:
Adult ++
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Category:
M through R › The Nanny
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
1
Views:
5,465
Reviews:
2
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own The Nanny, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Happily-Ever-After
Happily-Ever-After
This story is dedicated to Cheryl, as she chose the basis and the five key elements. To inspiration and to muses coming home from Vegas, even if it really is only for a drive by.
It’s smutty, and I’m ashamed.
Rated NC 17
~*~
It all started with a fight, which seemed appropriate enough considering Niles and CC’s rather tempestuous relationship.
Actually, to say it all started with a fight is an understatement, and perhaps not the entire truth.
It all started with an impromptu marriage proposal on the opening night of Niles and Fran’s play. They were trying their hands at being successful producers as well, all with the intent of proving that Niles could be a suitable companion for Miss Babcock. The fighting came later, but not *much* later.
The problem with their plan – and the problem that they hadn’t considered – was that CC Babcock was not an easy sell. She was more than a little put-off by his rapid-fire proposal, and as nice of a sentiment as it seemed, it came out of nowhere.
That night began a strange and awkward series of events, not the least of which included four more marriage proposals and four more replies of no.
THEN came the fight.
Niles didn’t understand what was happening, or at least *why* it was happening. He was sure that they had feelings for one another – well, that she had feelings for him, he was nothing less than deathly positive he worshipped her – and he was sure that he would be able to make her happy. He might not have the wealth or the youthful good looks she was accustomed to , but he was sure that those things wouldn’t matter as much. Somehow, he was sure that she would return his love. Even if they weren’t perfect matches in terms of attributes, they were soul mates, weren’t they?
When she rejected him again, and played that damn tape… He lost it. Everything he had hoped for – for well over ten years – was being thrown back in his face because she was too stubborn to see him for who he was.
Well be damned if he’d let her get the best of him. Again, at least.
*That* was when the fight began, or at least truly, and he let CC have it with both barrels. It wasn’t that he wanted to be cruel – even in his rage he loved her too much to be mean just for the sake of being mean – but she needed to know the truth, and be damned if he was going to let her walk all over him again.
If all of her cruelty stemmed from some misguided affection for Maxwell Sheffield…well, she really did need help, and it wasn’t something that he was going to change, obviously.
Niles didn’t even remember what said, but at this point it seemed insignificant enough, because he would return to England and attempt a new solitary life without her.
It wouldn’t be the same, he realized, and the last thing he wanted was to do was abandon all hope of what might have been, but he needed to move on. He wasn’t getting any younger and watching as his life slipped out of his grasp would be just as bad as watching her.
When he made began to pack his bags, there was a strange sense of finality to it all. One chapter of his life was closing and another was opening, at least he hoped, and maybe this next one would write itself along more poetic lines. There was too much to consider, but in 24 hours his life would be starting anew, and he’d have a whole continent free of reminders of an insufferably beautiful and intoxicating witch.
Of course life, in all of its twists and turns, never turned out how Niles expected it to. He had never planned on spending his life as a butler, let alone as an ageing bachelor on top of his dreary social status, but he had also never accounted for falling in love with someone so entirely out of his league. The path he chose to follow – or the path that led him to this point, whatever the case may be – seemed positively circular, with neither steps forward or movement backwards. Clearly he had done something wrong.
It was during all of his reflections over the past twenty-five years of his life that he realized that he had made more than one choice along the way that might have resulted in his current state of disappointment.
The thought first and foremost in his mind was of CC. Try as he might to blame her for the tangled mess that led up to the explosion in the front foyer, he had contributed to it day after day for the past fifteen years. Had he not been so keen to insult her – although granted initially at her urging – maybe she wouldn’t be so emotionally closed off to him? Maybe.
Maybe was the key. Maybe it wouldn’t change anything – in fact, it was totally possible that the only thing that could change her opinion of him was if he changed his station in life – but it nagged at him that for so many years he had taken her bait and allowed CC to build wall after wall around herself. He hadn’t done anything to secure her trust, and in the process he pushed her further and further away.
He wanted to kick himself for his stupidity. Even if he was right in confronting her, he had no right to use that as an excuse to unload his pent-up frustration for all the years of abuse between them. It was just hard to be rational when he could see his future slipping away from him.
Niles was so angry with himself that a few moments later when he heard the quiet knocking on his door, he realized it was growing louder and more constant. He must not have heard them right away.
Opening the door, he was expecting to come nose-to-nose with Fran. After all, she had yet to visit his room and attempt to talk him out of leaving, and as Queen Yenta AND Mrs. of the house, he fully expected the visit.
Instead he came nose-to-nose with that infuriating excuse for a bottle blonde.
Words initially eluded him. Niles’ gut reaction was to simply close the door again. Nothing good could come from a conversation with her. Not now. Not like this. There were too many emotions so close to the surface, and they were all at a rolling boil. The odds of something horrible happening, or him saying something else he would come to regret in the immediate future, made him want to shut the door.
But then she looked at him, her cerulean eyes marred by what was probably the aftermath of crying, and he couldn’t turn away from her. In all of her fragility, CC Babcock was the most breathtaking woman he had ever seen.
“May I come in?” she asked quietly, not wanting to give voice to her presence. If she thought about it, she’d realize it wasn’t because she didn’t want to be found, but because she knew she probably didn’t belong there.
Not knowing what to say, he just nodded and opened the door a little further. He never expected her to be there, not now, not after everything they had said to each other.
She walked into the room, looking around for a moment. It was what she had pictured his room to be like – very sparsely but warmly decorated. The few knickknacks he did have around were beautiful hand carvings and small black and white photos of smiling faces. The warmth and intimacy of the room made her want to turn around leave – she didn’t belong here. No matter what she told herself, she wasn’t the woman he thought she was; CC Babcock could never be the right woman for him, no many how many lies they told each other.
“I don’t know what I’m doing here,” she confessed, glancing at him and realizing that she felt totally naked. She held her purse against her stomach and eyed the strap to avoid looking at him again for fear that he’d see how weak she was feeling.
He watched her as she stood before him, practically hiding within herself. “I don’t know,” he said softly. “But if you’ve come to make a fool of me, I’d rather we just pretend to have the witty exchange so I can return my attention to the more important matters at hand, like packing my bag.” When she didn’t immediately respond, he realized he couldn’t watch her like this. Niles felt more than just a bit responsible for the miserable expression on her face and the sadness in her eyes.
Turning back to his bag, he felt a chill down his spine. She was watching him, he was sure of it, and he couldn’t grasp what was going on. He wasn’t ready for another round of fighting with her.
“I’m not here to … to make a fool of you. I’m here… to apologize, I guess,” she finally admitted, crossing the room to be nearer to him. She didn’t know what to do. Should she sit on the bed, or was that too familiar? Deciding to stand near the nightstand, she leaned against the edge of the table. “I’m sorry.” The words passed her lips in an almost solemn whisper.
He almost didn’t hear her, the softness of her voice unusual. “Pardon?” he asked, wanting to hear it again. It couldn’t have been what she said.
“I’m sorry,” she said again, this time more loudly. “I never should have treated you as I did – you were being very serious and I laughed you off. I’m sorry.”
He watched her lips move, and he heard the words, but he almost couldn’t believe what she was saying. Was it possible? “Ok,” he said skeptically. What was he supposed to do? Bow down before her and kiss her feet for her sudden burst of humanity?
“I guess that’s it,” she said softly. “I guess I should let you finish your packing.”
Niles nodded and watched her as she turned.
It wasn’t until her back was turned to him that she realized there were too many more questions to just let it slide. If she didn’t ask him now, she’d never know the answer, and that wasn’t a suitable way to live the rest of her life. Maybe she’d regret asking him the truth, but she needed to know. “Were you serious?”
Looking up again, he wondered if he was hearing things. They couldn’t be about to talk about this, could they? “Was I serious about what?”
“About wanting to marry me?”
He had never heard her so vulnerable or fragile sounding and he was sure that there must be some kind of catch. Was this her way of getting him back for the scene in the foyer? “As serious as I’ve ever been about marrying a man,” he replied, watching her expression stiffen at his reply. He instantly felt a twinge of regret. “Yes. I was serious. Dead serious.”
She nodded in acknowledgement. “Ok…” Looking between her hands and her shoes, she looked back up at him. “Why?”
“Why?”
“Why would you want to marry me?” The tone of her voice told him that maybe things weren’t such a lost cause. Maybe there was a chance that things weren’t as hopeless as he had thought.
“I don’t know what you want me to say,” he said honestly. “I love you. I think that I could make you happy, if you gave me the chance.”
Niles said it so effortlessly. He loved her. Not just lusted. It wasn’t even a matter of just liking her, or wanting her for the baser carnal pleasures. He loved her and better yet was that she could genuinely believe it. The tenderness in his voice was so honest, she was compelled to believe him. “But what about you?”
“What about me?” He was genuinely confused. Wasn’t loving her enough? Wasn’t wanting to make her life complete enough of an answer as to why he’d want to marry her?
“Would I make you happy? Do you think I could?”
Nodding his head, Niles closed the space between them, forgetting for the moment about his open bag and drawers of clothes that needed to be emptied. “If I didn’t honestly believe that we would be happy together, I never would have proposed to you – you need to know that, CC. I didn’t do it because I thought it would be funny, or because I thought it would be convenient. I did it because I wanted our lives to be spent together, making each other happy.”
“You don’t think we might make each other miserable?” She felt guilty asking this. What she really meant was, did he honestly believe she could make him happy? “You don’t think that we’re both too old to learn how to share?”
A small laugh escaped his lips. “You’re old, but even old dogs can learn new tricks,” he said tenderly, his voice clearly relaying his affection for her. There was no doubt in his mind that this was progress, even on the most basic level. “I think we could teach each other a lot of new tricks.” His hand reached for hers, to lead her to the bed. “Sit, girl, sit,” he said, pointing to the spot beside him. When she cracked a smile, he knew he was winning.
“You know, I may be a dog, but you’re a troll,” she said perfectly seriously. “Cornering me constantly and proposing…Do you know what that does to a woman’s feelings?”
“Make her feel loved? It’s just a guess…”
CC smiled, preferring this pace in the conversation. “No. When you have as much history as we do… it puts her on edge and makes her nervous. If you were toying with my emotions – which you have been prone to do – then I would have been a completely vulnerable mess.”
“A vulnerable, loved mess?”
Nodding, she moved a bit closer. “Maybe just a *little* bit loved. But mostly completely on edge. You do realize that we’ve spent most of our adult lives at each other’s throats?”
”I think there are so many better things to be at – but that’s my personal opinion,” he said wryly.
“I’m not ready for marriage,” she said quickly, the tone of the moment taking her by surprise. More than anything she wanted to kiss him, but the last thing she wanted was another proposal of marriage. That might just be enough to break her will, and at this moment that was something more than she could handle. Marriage would have to wait – not necessarily forever, but for now.
“I’m not ready to propose to you again,” Niles answered, looking into her eyes. “I mean, as long as you’re ok with it, maybe we could try this relationship thing a different way?”
She chewed her bottom lip as if in consideration. “I suppose we could try it. I mean, it can’t hurt, can it?”
He fought the urge to make a comment. “It could be pretty fun. And if it works out, then maybe we could try something else, and see if that works.”
She knew what he meant. He was still very seriously considering this marriage thing, but somehow she couldn’t let that scare her away. As she saw it, there were two choices – she could accept his love, all of it, right now and enjoy the feeling of being that woman, or she could push him away and regret it forever. Regrets, she realized, she had far too many of already, and the last thing she needed was another. Especially where Niles was concerned. “I do like trying things,” she told him mischievously.
“Mmmm…” Watching as her breath seemed to catch in her throat, Niles couldn’t help but move in closer for a kiss. He was a goner.
Not that it was the first time they had kissed, by any means, but it was the first time that they had kissed and known that it was a promise of what was to come. Their hands became entwined as they closed the distance between them and suddenly their chests were pressed together.
Niles was the first to break the kiss, moving just barely away from her. “You know what you said about trying things?”
CC nodded, knowing what he was thinking. “I think now would be a great time,” she managed.
Grinning, he began to press her back towards the bed. He was going to make sure it was a night she would always remember.
~*~*~
The funny thing about new chapters is that they never seem to take on the direction as set out in the first. That would probably be what makes for a great book, suspense and mystery right through the end, but the chapters of life had an unusual way of being even more unpredictable.
The thing was, once Niles and CC stopped fighting, they couldn’t stop making love. They weren’t complaining at least, because as they both saw it, there was a decade to make up for, and life is short. Acrobatic affairs were good exercise and had the added bonus of keeping the relationship new and exciting.
The other occupants of the Sheffield house, however, seemed to be put-off by the constant innuendo between the two who had been silly enough to believe they were being discreet. Anyone with eyes could see the difference between their mannerisms toward each other and worse yet were the noises which would emanate from various rooms throughout the day.
Niles felt the most incredible excitement at the prospect of every new day with CC, who in the past weeks had opened herself up to him and allowed him to see her much more human aspects. Maybe they weren’t the typical love story, but they were definitely that in love.
In fact, every day it was harder for him to come to terms with not marrying her. The possibility of living a minute without her seemed too insurmountable. Still, he had to appreciate that CC did not want to rush into anything, and if it somehow managed to make her feel better about their decisions, he would spend every day reminding her why she should desperately want to marry him.
He didn’t even hear her when she entered the kitchen that morning after breakfast. He had so many things on his to-do list, that he was trying to clean up all of the mess from the morning’s meal while also getting dessert for that evening started. The ingredients were all neatly lined up on the counter, waiting for his attention while he cleared off the dishes on the island.
“Maxwell has left to take Sylvia to France to court her into signing over the rights to Yetta’s Letters,” CC said, eyeing him mischievously.
“Oh really? He’s not going to let this one slip between his fingers?” Niles asked, continuing to load the dishwasher. The sooner he was done, the sooner he could take her in his arms and sneak her aside for a kiss.
“Hmm. He seems to have learned his lesson after six past-over Tony award-winning plays,” she said, laughter evident in her voice. Niles still hadn’t looked up at her yet and she was so desperate to see his reaction to her ensemble.
“Apparently Fran is taking the kids to Flushing to help her take care of her father, at Sylvia’s urging,” CC added. “Something about his hair needing an extra set of arms to put on properly? You know what that means though, right?” After a beat she debated telling him or letting him figure it out for himself. It wasn’t as much fun letting him do it himself.
“It means that we have the house to ourselves. Completely. No kids, no Fran. No Max. And a whole to-do list.” She grinned widely, waiting for his reaction.
That was enough to get his attention. Niles looked up to see her standing there before him, looking absolutely radiant in a flowing, white floral-printed dress. “Who are you and what have you done with Miss Babcock?” It wasn’t what she would normally wear, but something about it made Niles feel even more in love with her. He wondered if it wasn’t because it made her look so much more approachable, and so much more attainable, or if it was merely the fact that he had yet to see anything he didn’t love the looks of her in.
She laughed at his shocked expression, before drawing her finger along the scoop-neck of the dress. “This is what happens when I stay over for days on end. Fran is starting to suspect something, and this was the only clean thing I had with me – and before you ask, it was meant to go in that blasted clothing drive Fran was pestering me about. Turns out I had to wear it instead.”
She ran her fingers across the smooth countertop seductively as she watched his eyes travel the length of his torso. He was definitely enjoying what this dress revealed of her body, and by extension she was suddenly growing much more fond of it.
It wasn’t really her style, per se, as much as it was something her brother’s new girlfriend sent along in a care package. Noel had a taste for homebodies, and Carolyn, his new girlfriend, somehow thought it’d be perfect for her. It had been in her briefcase to leave at the mansion but it never quite made the bin. She really did have to see about leaving a few items there for just these circumstances.
No matter what the case, Niles was definitely appreciating her … finer assets and the dress earned itself a reprieve. Leaning across the counter just far enough to be close, but not touching him, she smiled mischievously. “So…do you think we could do some…baking of our own?”
Niles laughed at her euphemism. Through the past few weeks, they had been getting more and more creative in both hiding their lovemaking and in finding places to do it. “Why do I suspect you aren’t proposing we work on this crème brûlée together?”
“Because I have an entirely different kind of heat in mind? You’ll definitely be seeing flames though.”
The slightly flushed colour of her cheeks reminded him of the night before and he had to fight the urge to take her right there on top of the granite counter.
That damn white dress was unlike anything he had ever seen on her – it was softer and more feminine, but it also was so very distracting. It dress wasn’t sexy, at least, not in traditional terms, but the way it covered her body was different than her typical attire and he quite enjoyed this other side of her. He couldn’t stop himself from considering the ways he might take it off of her.
“Are they really gone?” Niles asked, a gleam in his eye.
”Yep. I practically had to beg Maxwell to be the one to tell you – by the way, he may be under the distinct impression that I’m playing a prank on you right now.” She wiggled her eyebrows playfully at him.
“Are you?” he asked, somewhat seriously.
“I never joke about things like this, lover,” she replied, her tone perfectly even and dead-serious.
Oh, and how he knew it.
“You know, we have quite the list of places in this house to cover. But I’m not sure I’m in a leather sofa mood right now,” he said suggestively. It only took him a moment to make his way around the island and to wrap his arms around her, sliding his fingers over the material of her dress.
“Hmm,” she managed, as if pondering the prospect. “I suppose we do have a few options…” The wheels were already spinning in her head. In fact, she knew exactly what she wanted, and where she planned on having it. Her fingers worked their way into his hair and grasped at the soft strands at the base of his neck. She loved having him this close to her.
His lips softly brushed over hers in a tender kiss, and he could feel her pressing her body more firmly against his. “You’ve not named the place,” he whispered.
She grinned against his mouth, her lips curling up as she pressed another kiss to his lips. This time she guided them backwards and toward a door not far off.
It only took him a moment to realize what she meant.
Their first night, that very first night after they had made love and exhausted each other, they had lain in each other’s arms sated and happier than either had ever been. In a somewhat strange course of conversation, Niles had mentioned to her that through the years he had fantasized about various locations in which they could make love, not the least of which was the butler’s pantry. There was something about sneaking off in the middle of the workday and ravishing each other in the pantry that intrigued him, and his interest only grew when she told him that she thought it could be fun; she had fantasized about a couple of places herself.
Those were famous last words because for the past several weeks, Niles and CC had been making love in many unusual places, all the while crossing them off of a to-do list he kept in his bedside drawer. This was, for all intents and purposes, a very fun game which they both enjoyed playing.
The big problem with the pantry, though, was that there was almost never the opportunity to make use of that particular room. There was all too often several people home, and as much as they didn’t mind the thrill of the chase or the prospect of getting caught, the pantry was just that little bit too iffy to take the chance on.
Of course no such reason to find a different place existed now. There was no reason they couldn’t make the most of the opportunity.
As they made their way through the swinging door, their hearts were racing with anticipation. Each time they did this – each time they made love in a new place, or made love at all, really – there was a renewed sense of adventure, and at this rate, they were certain the spark would not soon leave their romance.
Niles pressed her against the wall of the pantry, his hands settled firmly on her hips. She did this to him – she had such intense and inexplicable control over him – and he loved every moment of it.
He felt her press back against him, as if battling for some semblance of control and he knew that if he pushed too hard too soon, they didn’t stand a chance of crossing the ‘butler’s pantry’ off their list.
Stopping himself, he took a breath and looked into her eyes, pleased by the desire he saw evident in them. “You are the most beautiful woman I have ever met,” he told her, nuzzling against her collarbone.
CC moaned in response. As his tongue worked its way further south to the valley between her breasts, she contemplated various things she wanted to do to him, all of which would have him screaming her name in ecstasy.
His fingers worked over the zipper that was at the back of her dress, sliding the material apart and caressing the newly revealed skin with his fingertips.
“This is not the sexiest dress to get out of,” CC managed, as she felt his fingers travel back up along her spine and then stop at her shoulders, working the material forward.
“I don’t know… I think it’s pretty sexy. It’s like unwrapping a present,” Niles whispered, kissing her again as he continued to pull the fabric over her shoulders and slide it down, all the while his fingers brushing over her skin and causing her to shiver with delight.
He divested her of her dress easily, leaving her clad only in her matching scraps of lace, which he was now intimately familiar with. Even the image of her lingerie hanging in his bathroom (after she had taken the care to hand-wash it *again* to save a trip back to her penthouse) had become sexy. Still, he much preferred the lingerie on her. She kicked the dress away, and blushed as his eyes traveled over her body.
It still eluded her that he found her so incredibly sexy. After all, as much as CC tried to keep in reasonable shape, she wasn’t at her thinnest, or her firmest, but he seemed quite happy with what he saw, and he proved it to her time and time again.
Niles smiled softly at her and leaned nearer, his mouth finding her stomach and pressing against it in a series of tender kisses. CC felt a rush of cool air followed by his mouth dragging across her skin, his fingers delicately wandering over her body in feather-light teasing. God, this was sinful, she thought, as she pressed forward against his mouth.
Her fingers entwined in his hair and her head pressed back as his lips lazily trailed over the material that was covering her breasts. He always knew what buttons to push and she always appreciated his dedicated attention to her body. If only she had known it would be like this, she would have jumped him a decade ago, to hell with propriety and to hell with romance. That would have come eventually, and even if it didn’t, something this delectable was too good to pass up.
Feeling his trail of kisses stop, she steadied herself for a moment and watched as he came back to eye-level with her. “I love you,” Niles said smoothly, looking her in the eyes. It was almost as if he didn’t think she’d believe the proclamation if he didn’t say it directly to her. He didn’t want her to miss it, or to doubt it in anyway.
As she searched his eyes, she realized that he meant it and she could believe him whole-heartedly. Niles said it that first night in his room, as they were discussing the state of their non-relationship, and she hoped then that she could believe him. It wasn’t until now, after all of his demonstrations of love, that she knew it was completely true.
She wondered if he had been purposefully avoiding saying it up until now, as if to provide her with evidence and then reassurance. Whatever it was, she knew it was true. It wasn’t said out of lust or desperation, but was a true reflection of what he felt in his heart. CC had waited her entire adult life to hear those words, and he had just offered them up for her approval.
Kissing him fiercely, her tongue demanded entrance to his mouth while her hands held him near. Love was… something she had always assumed was just beyond her grasp. Sure she had felt physical gratification, but that was nothing compared to the completeness she felt now.
Her tongue plundered his mouth while her hands tugged fiercely at his shirt. Maybe she wasn’t quite ready to say the words back, but she was more than ready to show him.
Niles felt her quickly turn them about as she forcefully pushed him against the wall and he reveled in her aggressiveness. Although she was always a very receptive lover and their love-making was more than satisfying, this forceful side of her was extremely erotic.
CC’s hand worked over his cotton undershirt and pulled it over his head, but allowed it to tangle in his dress shirt, effectively pinning his arms behind him.
Niles, engrossed by the trail of hot kisses she was leaving across his chest, almost didn’t realize until she began to slide down his zipper that he was confined to his shirt.
“CC,” he managed, though what he was trying to say was lost on him. Her name escaped his lips and he wasn’t entirely sure there was purpose outside of reminding himself that he really was with this perfect woman.
Grinning wickedly, she tugged his pants and his boxers down in one fell swoop, freeing him from the constraints of his snug boxer-briefs.
This was her favourite part – other than feeling him inside of her of course – because it was one of the few moments he held such little control, and rarer yet, it was one of the few times he became completely speechless.
Placing her hand against his chest, she felt him shiver at the contact. CC grinned wickedly as her tongue dragged across his firm chest and flicked across his nipples.
She could have sworn she heard him whimper.
CC dragged her tongue lower, across his stomach and to the sensitive flesh just above his throbbing penis. “You know,” she whispered,” I love when you let me take control.”
His reply was an incoherent grunt as her index finger ran the length of his engorged shaft. This was pure, sinful pleasure unlike any he could remember.
She continued to stroke his length tenderly, running the tip of her tongue against him and being rewarded with a full-body quiver.
Finally, she took him inch by marvelous inch into her mouth, placing one hand firmly at his base and applying pressure as she pumped his length.
The taste of him on her tongue only excited CC more as she realized for the first time that this wasn’t an act of approval-seeking or desperation. This wasn’t a power play or even an attempt at leveling the playing field. CC Babcock was in love and she wanted to show him just how great they were together.
Stroking him firmly as her mouth continued its journey up and down his now-glistening shaft, CC listened to every incoherent mumble and moan, and used it to guide her efforts.
Niles could feel her stroking and sucking his hardness and felt his body respond. His lips thrust ahead and further into her hot mouth. As she willingly took him further, he groaned in ecstasy. She was exactly what he needed to be pushed over the edge, sensuous blue eyes looking at him under heavy lids and magical fingers adding just the right pressure to complement her mouth’s actions.
When she ended up on her knees he would never remember, but the sapphire blue of her eyes mesmerized him as the sensations of her actions made him feel as if he would lose control at any moment.
Niles knew that if they continued on this path they wouldn’t stand a chance of crossing the pantry off their list, but at the same time, she was working sheer magic with her tongue.
He was torn by the idea of finishing this, or starting the next round. The fact that he couldn’t move her hair out of her eyes when she shifted bothered him even more. His arms, which he was now leaning back on, as he thrust his hips forward into her mouth, were still snuggly confined behind him.
“CC,” he mumbled, trying to regain a little bit of his sense, and when she looked up at him, he felt like he was going to lose it completely. “I want to finish this properly,” he managed, though tying that many words together proved difficult with his current state of breathlessness.
She knew what he meant, and as much as she wanted to finish him, right there, she also knew that they wanted so much more from this experience. Grinning around him, she tugged gently at him and then dragged her nail over the inside of his thigh, before raising herself back up the length of his body.
“You’re evil,” Niles whispered as she moved in closer for a kiss. He could taste himself on her lips and tongue, and he realized that never before had he found a woman so erotic, or so tempting. He couldn’t look at her without wanting to make love to her, and whenever she was near he felt the urge to kiss her just to remind her of his love. “You need to help me untangle my hands.”
He longed to touch her, and to stroke her, dragging his hands over the soft planes of her body. He couldn’t wait much longer to hold her and push into her, but as it stood his abilities were hindered by the tangled mess of material around his wrists.
Reaching behind him, CC pressed her body firmly against his as she trailed kisses over his shoulders and up his neck, working loose the fabric that bound his hands as she lavished him with attention.
The moment the material fell to the floor, Niles was once again spinning them around and pushing her against the wall, nipping at the swell of her breasts. His hands quickly reached around her and his fingers deftly found their way to the fastening of her bra, which he expertly opened, releasing her curves from the restrictive lace.
Grinning, he pressed firmly against her, his still-wet shaft pressed against her thigh, and he took her nipple in his mouth, teasing the rose-coloured flesh with his teeth. CC arched toward him, feeling his tongue inflict both pain and immense pleasure on her sensitive nub.
His fingers dragged along the sides of her body and along the swell of her curves, teasing and eliciting a moan from her as he went.
Finally, he reached his target and tucked his fingers into the small scrap of material around her hip, dragging it down slowly. The friction of the material as it trailed down and against her skin was overwhelming and she gasped at the cool air as it reached her newly exposed skin.
Niles smiled as he finally divested her of the very last scrap of material. He loved her, completely and unwaveringly, but when he looked at her like this he realized that she really was all his, and his heart burst with love for her.
She was all alabaster skin with soft and supple curves, glorious, pert rose-coloured nipples and the most stunning hour-glass shape. And it was all for him. This vision of sheer, erotic perfection was for his eyes only, and he loved every inch of her, every soft curl and fold. It was moments like these when he realized that there had never been another woman he even remotely cared about, not in comparison to the heart-pounding passion he felt when they made love.
CC smiled coyly, watching as his eyes trailed up and down her body. When his hands anchored on her waist, she knew that it wouldn’t be long until they would be joined, and she felt totally complete.
His mouth reached once again for hers, as his hand tenderly trailed down between them and found her soft folds. Parting them, his thumb flicked over her clit and she instantly bucked against his hand in response. The wetness he found there proved that she was more than ready for him, and he knew that neither one would be able to hold out much longer.
Placing his hand behind her knee, he gently raised it up over his hip and allowed his hard shaft to tease at her moist entrance. It was taking all of his strength not to push forward and enter her right away, but he knew all too well that once they traveled down that path, they wouldn’t be long from finishing.
Savoring the moment, Niles gazed into her eyes and saw his passion returned. He tenderly teased her lower lip with his teeth and pulled at it, watching as her breasts came forward as her back arched. CC was trying to join their bodies together.
This game they played was one that absorbed them both, as she pushed forward, trying to feel that heat between them, and he moved slightly back, raising the temperature in the pantry several degrees.
Finally, a moment later he guided her other leg over his hip and began a slow movement towards her center. The head of his penis slowly pushed into her, and he heard a sharp gasp of breath at the invasion. Her hot flesh pulled at him, and even with such short penetration he could already feel her squeezing at him, practically begging him further in.
CC felt him entering her, his head pushing past her entrance and stretching her sinfully, the ache she was feeling between her legs now one of wanting him so desperately. He was addictive, and each time they did this, she wanted nothing more than to live the rest of her life, and hopefully die, just like this.
The hot, wet velvet feel of her around his head almost sent him over the edge right there – there had been enough foreplay to have them both sitting on the precipice for too long now. Holding his breath for a moment he pushed a little further in, and was rewarded with more pressure around him.
Inch by inch he pushed forward, and then pulled back a little more, only to push forward again and give her a little more each time. Niles hands were planted firmly on her ass, holding her weight against him and using the wall behind her as support. His mouth nipped at her collarbone and teased at her mercilessly as he continued to thrust slowly in and out of her.
The heat that was building between them seemed to become more like a fire, their hearts both racing at the intimate contact between them and the emotions they were feeling.
Pushing with a harder thrust, he was all the way inside of her, and they both stared in each other’s eyes for a moment, as if savoring it.
Kissing her tenderly, she smiled against his lips and caught her breath as best as she could. She knew that in a moment it would all be about finishing what they started and finding their release.
Niles began to thrust into her, his hips moving them both as he pushed forward and then pulled back. The pressure of the position was providing the most incredible friction on CC’s clit, and with each new push forward she felt like her heart would stop beating.
He pressed his chest against hers, the sensation of her smooth breasts against his hard chest and coarse hair heightening the moment as he thrust harder into her.
CC felt his hardness stretch her and fill her, pressing against all the right buttons and she could feel the tightness begin, body feeling wonderful waves of pleasure at each new movement.
Niles felt the walls of her body tighten around her and pull him in further and the sensation was proving too much. He knew he wouldn’t be able to hold on long, and in an effort to help her to climax, he pushed upwards harder, and faster than he had been before.
His thrusts because long and fast, pressing deep inside of her and hitting a spot that made the waves she was feeling seem more like earth-shattering bliss, and CC knew it was just about over.
Her hands had somewhere along the way wrapped behind his neck and lazily draped over his shoulders, but suddenly he could feel her nails digging into the flesh of his back and with this new painful pleasure, he pressed even harder and faster.
Niles felt her tighten around him, and then the pulsating, pulling feeling of her climax, pulling him further in her and begging his release.
Unable to hold on any longer, he felt the rigidness of his penis go even deeper, and then he felt the tightening.
His motions became frantic as he continued his motions and finally felt himself spill into her, the walls around him still pulling him in and inviting him deeper.
They remained against the wall, flushed and breathless, as the final few spasms left their body. Niles’ head rested comfortably on her shoulder, his knees weak from the exertion and the weight of her body on his as well.
“I’m amazed we haven’t died yet,” CC said, her breath catching in her throat as she attempted the words. Her heart was beating so fast she was sure he could clearly hear it from where he was resting. Holding him against her with her ankles locked behind his back, she enjoyed the feeling of him still inside of her as he softened. This was, in her mind, the epitome of intimacy – those moments where they remained rapt by the afterglow, and still connected so intensely.
He knew she was talking about his heart, which they had discussed very early on. Their acrobatic lovemaking worried her at first, knowing that he wasn’t that long recuperated from his heart attack, and the last thing she wanted to do was lose him now. It had taken days worth of reassuring and various displays of his coronary savvy to convince her otherwise.
“If I’m going to die, this is how I want it to be,” Niles assured her, pressing his lips against her neck. Still, he felt her body tense against his and he knew it was the wrong thing to say. “But it won’t be for a long time,” he promised.
CC didn’t want to lose the contact with him, instead bringing him tighter against her. Her mind was reeling trying to process all the emotions she was feeling. She couldn’t help but be overwhelmed by the way he stirred such passion inside of her, and how he knew to play her so intimately, but so thoroughly. It was what she always thought she’d never have, and now that it was playing out before her, she was feeling an overwhelming amount of joy.
“I love you,” she whispered against his hair, afraid to say it to his face. She knew he loved her as well, but for a moment she realized that he might not believe her.
Pulling back just enough to be nose-to-nose with her, Niles was beaming. “Say it again?”
This time she was able to say it a little louder, and she felt safe in his arms. His eyes encouraged her. “I love you,” she said, her eyes sparkling.
“I love you too,” he said again, his heart so close to bursting with joy that he didn’t know what more he could say.
Pressing a kiss against her lips, he realized that even if she wasn’t ready for marriage now, things would change, and it wouldn’t be that long, he hoped. No matter what was to come, he knew they’d be together, and they’d be able to enjoy more of these impromptu sessions in unusual places. For now that was enough.
Smiling, his fingers trailed over her naked hips and held her tight to him. This was the way they were going to be, forever, and he wouldn’t let anything stand between him and his happily-ever-after.
So maybe all the chapters up to now had taken turns that he never would have expected, but this was a direction he liked, and he knew that this would be the beginning of a new chapter.
Allowing himself to fantasize, he dreamt of lazy mornings in bed, sheets heaped around their waists as they lay completely exhausted from making love. He allowed himself to dream about the beautiful children they might have, and the wedding that he knew she deserved, and would one day want. Whatever the next chapters would bring, he was sure that it would be them, together, happy and in love, and whatever curves there would be, there would be nights of lovemaking that would bring them back to earth and bond them together. And all that really mattered was that they’d be together.
Leaning against the wall of that pantry, Niles realized that every chapter up until now had been preparation for this; every minute of his life up until this very second had been preparing him for being so totally in love with this woman, and so helplessly enthralled by her, that he couldn’t allow room for any of those old regrets.
In its very own way, this was his happily-ever-after.
This story is dedicated to Cheryl, as she chose the basis and the five key elements. To inspiration and to muses coming home from Vegas, even if it really is only for a drive by.
It’s smutty, and I’m ashamed.
Rated NC 17
~*~
It all started with a fight, which seemed appropriate enough considering Niles and CC’s rather tempestuous relationship.
Actually, to say it all started with a fight is an understatement, and perhaps not the entire truth.
It all started with an impromptu marriage proposal on the opening night of Niles and Fran’s play. They were trying their hands at being successful producers as well, all with the intent of proving that Niles could be a suitable companion for Miss Babcock. The fighting came later, but not *much* later.
The problem with their plan – and the problem that they hadn’t considered – was that CC Babcock was not an easy sell. She was more than a little put-off by his rapid-fire proposal, and as nice of a sentiment as it seemed, it came out of nowhere.
That night began a strange and awkward series of events, not the least of which included four more marriage proposals and four more replies of no.
THEN came the fight.
Niles didn’t understand what was happening, or at least *why* it was happening. He was sure that they had feelings for one another – well, that she had feelings for him, he was nothing less than deathly positive he worshipped her – and he was sure that he would be able to make her happy. He might not have the wealth or the youthful good looks she was accustomed to , but he was sure that those things wouldn’t matter as much. Somehow, he was sure that she would return his love. Even if they weren’t perfect matches in terms of attributes, they were soul mates, weren’t they?
When she rejected him again, and played that damn tape… He lost it. Everything he had hoped for – for well over ten years – was being thrown back in his face because she was too stubborn to see him for who he was.
Well be damned if he’d let her get the best of him. Again, at least.
*That* was when the fight began, or at least truly, and he let CC have it with both barrels. It wasn’t that he wanted to be cruel – even in his rage he loved her too much to be mean just for the sake of being mean – but she needed to know the truth, and be damned if he was going to let her walk all over him again.
If all of her cruelty stemmed from some misguided affection for Maxwell Sheffield…well, she really did need help, and it wasn’t something that he was going to change, obviously.
Niles didn’t even remember what said, but at this point it seemed insignificant enough, because he would return to England and attempt a new solitary life without her.
It wouldn’t be the same, he realized, and the last thing he wanted was to do was abandon all hope of what might have been, but he needed to move on. He wasn’t getting any younger and watching as his life slipped out of his grasp would be just as bad as watching her.
When he made began to pack his bags, there was a strange sense of finality to it all. One chapter of his life was closing and another was opening, at least he hoped, and maybe this next one would write itself along more poetic lines. There was too much to consider, but in 24 hours his life would be starting anew, and he’d have a whole continent free of reminders of an insufferably beautiful and intoxicating witch.
Of course life, in all of its twists and turns, never turned out how Niles expected it to. He had never planned on spending his life as a butler, let alone as an ageing bachelor on top of his dreary social status, but he had also never accounted for falling in love with someone so entirely out of his league. The path he chose to follow – or the path that led him to this point, whatever the case may be – seemed positively circular, with neither steps forward or movement backwards. Clearly he had done something wrong.
It was during all of his reflections over the past twenty-five years of his life that he realized that he had made more than one choice along the way that might have resulted in his current state of disappointment.
The thought first and foremost in his mind was of CC. Try as he might to blame her for the tangled mess that led up to the explosion in the front foyer, he had contributed to it day after day for the past fifteen years. Had he not been so keen to insult her – although granted initially at her urging – maybe she wouldn’t be so emotionally closed off to him? Maybe.
Maybe was the key. Maybe it wouldn’t change anything – in fact, it was totally possible that the only thing that could change her opinion of him was if he changed his station in life – but it nagged at him that for so many years he had taken her bait and allowed CC to build wall after wall around herself. He hadn’t done anything to secure her trust, and in the process he pushed her further and further away.
He wanted to kick himself for his stupidity. Even if he was right in confronting her, he had no right to use that as an excuse to unload his pent-up frustration for all the years of abuse between them. It was just hard to be rational when he could see his future slipping away from him.
Niles was so angry with himself that a few moments later when he heard the quiet knocking on his door, he realized it was growing louder and more constant. He must not have heard them right away.
Opening the door, he was expecting to come nose-to-nose with Fran. After all, she had yet to visit his room and attempt to talk him out of leaving, and as Queen Yenta AND Mrs. of the house, he fully expected the visit.
Instead he came nose-to-nose with that infuriating excuse for a bottle blonde.
Words initially eluded him. Niles’ gut reaction was to simply close the door again. Nothing good could come from a conversation with her. Not now. Not like this. There were too many emotions so close to the surface, and they were all at a rolling boil. The odds of something horrible happening, or him saying something else he would come to regret in the immediate future, made him want to shut the door.
But then she looked at him, her cerulean eyes marred by what was probably the aftermath of crying, and he couldn’t turn away from her. In all of her fragility, CC Babcock was the most breathtaking woman he had ever seen.
“May I come in?” she asked quietly, not wanting to give voice to her presence. If she thought about it, she’d realize it wasn’t because she didn’t want to be found, but because she knew she probably didn’t belong there.
Not knowing what to say, he just nodded and opened the door a little further. He never expected her to be there, not now, not after everything they had said to each other.
She walked into the room, looking around for a moment. It was what she had pictured his room to be like – very sparsely but warmly decorated. The few knickknacks he did have around were beautiful hand carvings and small black and white photos of smiling faces. The warmth and intimacy of the room made her want to turn around leave – she didn’t belong here. No matter what she told herself, she wasn’t the woman he thought she was; CC Babcock could never be the right woman for him, no many how many lies they told each other.
“I don’t know what I’m doing here,” she confessed, glancing at him and realizing that she felt totally naked. She held her purse against her stomach and eyed the strap to avoid looking at him again for fear that he’d see how weak she was feeling.
He watched her as she stood before him, practically hiding within herself. “I don’t know,” he said softly. “But if you’ve come to make a fool of me, I’d rather we just pretend to have the witty exchange so I can return my attention to the more important matters at hand, like packing my bag.” When she didn’t immediately respond, he realized he couldn’t watch her like this. Niles felt more than just a bit responsible for the miserable expression on her face and the sadness in her eyes.
Turning back to his bag, he felt a chill down his spine. She was watching him, he was sure of it, and he couldn’t grasp what was going on. He wasn’t ready for another round of fighting with her.
“I’m not here to … to make a fool of you. I’m here… to apologize, I guess,” she finally admitted, crossing the room to be nearer to him. She didn’t know what to do. Should she sit on the bed, or was that too familiar? Deciding to stand near the nightstand, she leaned against the edge of the table. “I’m sorry.” The words passed her lips in an almost solemn whisper.
He almost didn’t hear her, the softness of her voice unusual. “Pardon?” he asked, wanting to hear it again. It couldn’t have been what she said.
“I’m sorry,” she said again, this time more loudly. “I never should have treated you as I did – you were being very serious and I laughed you off. I’m sorry.”
He watched her lips move, and he heard the words, but he almost couldn’t believe what she was saying. Was it possible? “Ok,” he said skeptically. What was he supposed to do? Bow down before her and kiss her feet for her sudden burst of humanity?
“I guess that’s it,” she said softly. “I guess I should let you finish your packing.”
Niles nodded and watched her as she turned.
It wasn’t until her back was turned to him that she realized there were too many more questions to just let it slide. If she didn’t ask him now, she’d never know the answer, and that wasn’t a suitable way to live the rest of her life. Maybe she’d regret asking him the truth, but she needed to know. “Were you serious?”
Looking up again, he wondered if he was hearing things. They couldn’t be about to talk about this, could they? “Was I serious about what?”
“About wanting to marry me?”
He had never heard her so vulnerable or fragile sounding and he was sure that there must be some kind of catch. Was this her way of getting him back for the scene in the foyer? “As serious as I’ve ever been about marrying a man,” he replied, watching her expression stiffen at his reply. He instantly felt a twinge of regret. “Yes. I was serious. Dead serious.”
She nodded in acknowledgement. “Ok…” Looking between her hands and her shoes, she looked back up at him. “Why?”
“Why?”
“Why would you want to marry me?” The tone of her voice told him that maybe things weren’t such a lost cause. Maybe there was a chance that things weren’t as hopeless as he had thought.
“I don’t know what you want me to say,” he said honestly. “I love you. I think that I could make you happy, if you gave me the chance.”
Niles said it so effortlessly. He loved her. Not just lusted. It wasn’t even a matter of just liking her, or wanting her for the baser carnal pleasures. He loved her and better yet was that she could genuinely believe it. The tenderness in his voice was so honest, she was compelled to believe him. “But what about you?”
“What about me?” He was genuinely confused. Wasn’t loving her enough? Wasn’t wanting to make her life complete enough of an answer as to why he’d want to marry her?
“Would I make you happy? Do you think I could?”
Nodding his head, Niles closed the space between them, forgetting for the moment about his open bag and drawers of clothes that needed to be emptied. “If I didn’t honestly believe that we would be happy together, I never would have proposed to you – you need to know that, CC. I didn’t do it because I thought it would be funny, or because I thought it would be convenient. I did it because I wanted our lives to be spent together, making each other happy.”
“You don’t think we might make each other miserable?” She felt guilty asking this. What she really meant was, did he honestly believe she could make him happy? “You don’t think that we’re both too old to learn how to share?”
A small laugh escaped his lips. “You’re old, but even old dogs can learn new tricks,” he said tenderly, his voice clearly relaying his affection for her. There was no doubt in his mind that this was progress, even on the most basic level. “I think we could teach each other a lot of new tricks.” His hand reached for hers, to lead her to the bed. “Sit, girl, sit,” he said, pointing to the spot beside him. When she cracked a smile, he knew he was winning.
“You know, I may be a dog, but you’re a troll,” she said perfectly seriously. “Cornering me constantly and proposing…Do you know what that does to a woman’s feelings?”
“Make her feel loved? It’s just a guess…”
CC smiled, preferring this pace in the conversation. “No. When you have as much history as we do… it puts her on edge and makes her nervous. If you were toying with my emotions – which you have been prone to do – then I would have been a completely vulnerable mess.”
“A vulnerable, loved mess?”
Nodding, she moved a bit closer. “Maybe just a *little* bit loved. But mostly completely on edge. You do realize that we’ve spent most of our adult lives at each other’s throats?”
”I think there are so many better things to be at – but that’s my personal opinion,” he said wryly.
“I’m not ready for marriage,” she said quickly, the tone of the moment taking her by surprise. More than anything she wanted to kiss him, but the last thing she wanted was another proposal of marriage. That might just be enough to break her will, and at this moment that was something more than she could handle. Marriage would have to wait – not necessarily forever, but for now.
“I’m not ready to propose to you again,” Niles answered, looking into her eyes. “I mean, as long as you’re ok with it, maybe we could try this relationship thing a different way?”
She chewed her bottom lip as if in consideration. “I suppose we could try it. I mean, it can’t hurt, can it?”
He fought the urge to make a comment. “It could be pretty fun. And if it works out, then maybe we could try something else, and see if that works.”
She knew what he meant. He was still very seriously considering this marriage thing, but somehow she couldn’t let that scare her away. As she saw it, there were two choices – she could accept his love, all of it, right now and enjoy the feeling of being that woman, or she could push him away and regret it forever. Regrets, she realized, she had far too many of already, and the last thing she needed was another. Especially where Niles was concerned. “I do like trying things,” she told him mischievously.
“Mmmm…” Watching as her breath seemed to catch in her throat, Niles couldn’t help but move in closer for a kiss. He was a goner.
Not that it was the first time they had kissed, by any means, but it was the first time that they had kissed and known that it was a promise of what was to come. Their hands became entwined as they closed the distance between them and suddenly their chests were pressed together.
Niles was the first to break the kiss, moving just barely away from her. “You know what you said about trying things?”
CC nodded, knowing what he was thinking. “I think now would be a great time,” she managed.
Grinning, he began to press her back towards the bed. He was going to make sure it was a night she would always remember.
~*~*~
The funny thing about new chapters is that they never seem to take on the direction as set out in the first. That would probably be what makes for a great book, suspense and mystery right through the end, but the chapters of life had an unusual way of being even more unpredictable.
The thing was, once Niles and CC stopped fighting, they couldn’t stop making love. They weren’t complaining at least, because as they both saw it, there was a decade to make up for, and life is short. Acrobatic affairs were good exercise and had the added bonus of keeping the relationship new and exciting.
The other occupants of the Sheffield house, however, seemed to be put-off by the constant innuendo between the two who had been silly enough to believe they were being discreet. Anyone with eyes could see the difference between their mannerisms toward each other and worse yet were the noises which would emanate from various rooms throughout the day.
Niles felt the most incredible excitement at the prospect of every new day with CC, who in the past weeks had opened herself up to him and allowed him to see her much more human aspects. Maybe they weren’t the typical love story, but they were definitely that in love.
In fact, every day it was harder for him to come to terms with not marrying her. The possibility of living a minute without her seemed too insurmountable. Still, he had to appreciate that CC did not want to rush into anything, and if it somehow managed to make her feel better about their decisions, he would spend every day reminding her why she should desperately want to marry him.
He didn’t even hear her when she entered the kitchen that morning after breakfast. He had so many things on his to-do list, that he was trying to clean up all of the mess from the morning’s meal while also getting dessert for that evening started. The ingredients were all neatly lined up on the counter, waiting for his attention while he cleared off the dishes on the island.
“Maxwell has left to take Sylvia to France to court her into signing over the rights to Yetta’s Letters,” CC said, eyeing him mischievously.
“Oh really? He’s not going to let this one slip between his fingers?” Niles asked, continuing to load the dishwasher. The sooner he was done, the sooner he could take her in his arms and sneak her aside for a kiss.
“Hmm. He seems to have learned his lesson after six past-over Tony award-winning plays,” she said, laughter evident in her voice. Niles still hadn’t looked up at her yet and she was so desperate to see his reaction to her ensemble.
“Apparently Fran is taking the kids to Flushing to help her take care of her father, at Sylvia’s urging,” CC added. “Something about his hair needing an extra set of arms to put on properly? You know what that means though, right?” After a beat she debated telling him or letting him figure it out for himself. It wasn’t as much fun letting him do it himself.
“It means that we have the house to ourselves. Completely. No kids, no Fran. No Max. And a whole to-do list.” She grinned widely, waiting for his reaction.
That was enough to get his attention. Niles looked up to see her standing there before him, looking absolutely radiant in a flowing, white floral-printed dress. “Who are you and what have you done with Miss Babcock?” It wasn’t what she would normally wear, but something about it made Niles feel even more in love with her. He wondered if it wasn’t because it made her look so much more approachable, and so much more attainable, or if it was merely the fact that he had yet to see anything he didn’t love the looks of her in.
She laughed at his shocked expression, before drawing her finger along the scoop-neck of the dress. “This is what happens when I stay over for days on end. Fran is starting to suspect something, and this was the only clean thing I had with me – and before you ask, it was meant to go in that blasted clothing drive Fran was pestering me about. Turns out I had to wear it instead.”
She ran her fingers across the smooth countertop seductively as she watched his eyes travel the length of his torso. He was definitely enjoying what this dress revealed of her body, and by extension she was suddenly growing much more fond of it.
It wasn’t really her style, per se, as much as it was something her brother’s new girlfriend sent along in a care package. Noel had a taste for homebodies, and Carolyn, his new girlfriend, somehow thought it’d be perfect for her. It had been in her briefcase to leave at the mansion but it never quite made the bin. She really did have to see about leaving a few items there for just these circumstances.
No matter what the case, Niles was definitely appreciating her … finer assets and the dress earned itself a reprieve. Leaning across the counter just far enough to be close, but not touching him, she smiled mischievously. “So…do you think we could do some…baking of our own?”
Niles laughed at her euphemism. Through the past few weeks, they had been getting more and more creative in both hiding their lovemaking and in finding places to do it. “Why do I suspect you aren’t proposing we work on this crème brûlée together?”
“Because I have an entirely different kind of heat in mind? You’ll definitely be seeing flames though.”
The slightly flushed colour of her cheeks reminded him of the night before and he had to fight the urge to take her right there on top of the granite counter.
That damn white dress was unlike anything he had ever seen on her – it was softer and more feminine, but it also was so very distracting. It dress wasn’t sexy, at least, not in traditional terms, but the way it covered her body was different than her typical attire and he quite enjoyed this other side of her. He couldn’t stop himself from considering the ways he might take it off of her.
“Are they really gone?” Niles asked, a gleam in his eye.
”Yep. I practically had to beg Maxwell to be the one to tell you – by the way, he may be under the distinct impression that I’m playing a prank on you right now.” She wiggled her eyebrows playfully at him.
“Are you?” he asked, somewhat seriously.
“I never joke about things like this, lover,” she replied, her tone perfectly even and dead-serious.
Oh, and how he knew it.
“You know, we have quite the list of places in this house to cover. But I’m not sure I’m in a leather sofa mood right now,” he said suggestively. It only took him a moment to make his way around the island and to wrap his arms around her, sliding his fingers over the material of her dress.
“Hmm,” she managed, as if pondering the prospect. “I suppose we do have a few options…” The wheels were already spinning in her head. In fact, she knew exactly what she wanted, and where she planned on having it. Her fingers worked their way into his hair and grasped at the soft strands at the base of his neck. She loved having him this close to her.
His lips softly brushed over hers in a tender kiss, and he could feel her pressing her body more firmly against his. “You’ve not named the place,” he whispered.
She grinned against his mouth, her lips curling up as she pressed another kiss to his lips. This time she guided them backwards and toward a door not far off.
It only took him a moment to realize what she meant.
Their first night, that very first night after they had made love and exhausted each other, they had lain in each other’s arms sated and happier than either had ever been. In a somewhat strange course of conversation, Niles had mentioned to her that through the years he had fantasized about various locations in which they could make love, not the least of which was the butler’s pantry. There was something about sneaking off in the middle of the workday and ravishing each other in the pantry that intrigued him, and his interest only grew when she told him that she thought it could be fun; she had fantasized about a couple of places herself.
Those were famous last words because for the past several weeks, Niles and CC had been making love in many unusual places, all the while crossing them off of a to-do list he kept in his bedside drawer. This was, for all intents and purposes, a very fun game which they both enjoyed playing.
The big problem with the pantry, though, was that there was almost never the opportunity to make use of that particular room. There was all too often several people home, and as much as they didn’t mind the thrill of the chase or the prospect of getting caught, the pantry was just that little bit too iffy to take the chance on.
Of course no such reason to find a different place existed now. There was no reason they couldn’t make the most of the opportunity.
As they made their way through the swinging door, their hearts were racing with anticipation. Each time they did this – each time they made love in a new place, or made love at all, really – there was a renewed sense of adventure, and at this rate, they were certain the spark would not soon leave their romance.
Niles pressed her against the wall of the pantry, his hands settled firmly on her hips. She did this to him – she had such intense and inexplicable control over him – and he loved every moment of it.
He felt her press back against him, as if battling for some semblance of control and he knew that if he pushed too hard too soon, they didn’t stand a chance of crossing the ‘butler’s pantry’ off their list.
Stopping himself, he took a breath and looked into her eyes, pleased by the desire he saw evident in them. “You are the most beautiful woman I have ever met,” he told her, nuzzling against her collarbone.
CC moaned in response. As his tongue worked its way further south to the valley between her breasts, she contemplated various things she wanted to do to him, all of which would have him screaming her name in ecstasy.
His fingers worked over the zipper that was at the back of her dress, sliding the material apart and caressing the newly revealed skin with his fingertips.
“This is not the sexiest dress to get out of,” CC managed, as she felt his fingers travel back up along her spine and then stop at her shoulders, working the material forward.
“I don’t know… I think it’s pretty sexy. It’s like unwrapping a present,” Niles whispered, kissing her again as he continued to pull the fabric over her shoulders and slide it down, all the while his fingers brushing over her skin and causing her to shiver with delight.
He divested her of her dress easily, leaving her clad only in her matching scraps of lace, which he was now intimately familiar with. Even the image of her lingerie hanging in his bathroom (after she had taken the care to hand-wash it *again* to save a trip back to her penthouse) had become sexy. Still, he much preferred the lingerie on her. She kicked the dress away, and blushed as his eyes traveled over her body.
It still eluded her that he found her so incredibly sexy. After all, as much as CC tried to keep in reasonable shape, she wasn’t at her thinnest, or her firmest, but he seemed quite happy with what he saw, and he proved it to her time and time again.
Niles smiled softly at her and leaned nearer, his mouth finding her stomach and pressing against it in a series of tender kisses. CC felt a rush of cool air followed by his mouth dragging across her skin, his fingers delicately wandering over her body in feather-light teasing. God, this was sinful, she thought, as she pressed forward against his mouth.
Her fingers entwined in his hair and her head pressed back as his lips lazily trailed over the material that was covering her breasts. He always knew what buttons to push and she always appreciated his dedicated attention to her body. If only she had known it would be like this, she would have jumped him a decade ago, to hell with propriety and to hell with romance. That would have come eventually, and even if it didn’t, something this delectable was too good to pass up.
Feeling his trail of kisses stop, she steadied herself for a moment and watched as he came back to eye-level with her. “I love you,” Niles said smoothly, looking her in the eyes. It was almost as if he didn’t think she’d believe the proclamation if he didn’t say it directly to her. He didn’t want her to miss it, or to doubt it in anyway.
As she searched his eyes, she realized that he meant it and she could believe him whole-heartedly. Niles said it that first night in his room, as they were discussing the state of their non-relationship, and she hoped then that she could believe him. It wasn’t until now, after all of his demonstrations of love, that she knew it was completely true.
She wondered if he had been purposefully avoiding saying it up until now, as if to provide her with evidence and then reassurance. Whatever it was, she knew it was true. It wasn’t said out of lust or desperation, but was a true reflection of what he felt in his heart. CC had waited her entire adult life to hear those words, and he had just offered them up for her approval.
Kissing him fiercely, her tongue demanded entrance to his mouth while her hands held him near. Love was… something she had always assumed was just beyond her grasp. Sure she had felt physical gratification, but that was nothing compared to the completeness she felt now.
Her tongue plundered his mouth while her hands tugged fiercely at his shirt. Maybe she wasn’t quite ready to say the words back, but she was more than ready to show him.
Niles felt her quickly turn them about as she forcefully pushed him against the wall and he reveled in her aggressiveness. Although she was always a very receptive lover and their love-making was more than satisfying, this forceful side of her was extremely erotic.
CC’s hand worked over his cotton undershirt and pulled it over his head, but allowed it to tangle in his dress shirt, effectively pinning his arms behind him.
Niles, engrossed by the trail of hot kisses she was leaving across his chest, almost didn’t realize until she began to slide down his zipper that he was confined to his shirt.
“CC,” he managed, though what he was trying to say was lost on him. Her name escaped his lips and he wasn’t entirely sure there was purpose outside of reminding himself that he really was with this perfect woman.
Grinning wickedly, she tugged his pants and his boxers down in one fell swoop, freeing him from the constraints of his snug boxer-briefs.
This was her favourite part – other than feeling him inside of her of course – because it was one of the few moments he held such little control, and rarer yet, it was one of the few times he became completely speechless.
Placing her hand against his chest, she felt him shiver at the contact. CC grinned wickedly as her tongue dragged across his firm chest and flicked across his nipples.
She could have sworn she heard him whimper.
CC dragged her tongue lower, across his stomach and to the sensitive flesh just above his throbbing penis. “You know,” she whispered,” I love when you let me take control.”
His reply was an incoherent grunt as her index finger ran the length of his engorged shaft. This was pure, sinful pleasure unlike any he could remember.
She continued to stroke his length tenderly, running the tip of her tongue against him and being rewarded with a full-body quiver.
Finally, she took him inch by marvelous inch into her mouth, placing one hand firmly at his base and applying pressure as she pumped his length.
The taste of him on her tongue only excited CC more as she realized for the first time that this wasn’t an act of approval-seeking or desperation. This wasn’t a power play or even an attempt at leveling the playing field. CC Babcock was in love and she wanted to show him just how great they were together.
Stroking him firmly as her mouth continued its journey up and down his now-glistening shaft, CC listened to every incoherent mumble and moan, and used it to guide her efforts.
Niles could feel her stroking and sucking his hardness and felt his body respond. His lips thrust ahead and further into her hot mouth. As she willingly took him further, he groaned in ecstasy. She was exactly what he needed to be pushed over the edge, sensuous blue eyes looking at him under heavy lids and magical fingers adding just the right pressure to complement her mouth’s actions.
When she ended up on her knees he would never remember, but the sapphire blue of her eyes mesmerized him as the sensations of her actions made him feel as if he would lose control at any moment.
Niles knew that if they continued on this path they wouldn’t stand a chance of crossing the pantry off their list, but at the same time, she was working sheer magic with her tongue.
He was torn by the idea of finishing this, or starting the next round. The fact that he couldn’t move her hair out of her eyes when she shifted bothered him even more. His arms, which he was now leaning back on, as he thrust his hips forward into her mouth, were still snuggly confined behind him.
“CC,” he mumbled, trying to regain a little bit of his sense, and when she looked up at him, he felt like he was going to lose it completely. “I want to finish this properly,” he managed, though tying that many words together proved difficult with his current state of breathlessness.
She knew what he meant, and as much as she wanted to finish him, right there, she also knew that they wanted so much more from this experience. Grinning around him, she tugged gently at him and then dragged her nail over the inside of his thigh, before raising herself back up the length of his body.
“You’re evil,” Niles whispered as she moved in closer for a kiss. He could taste himself on her lips and tongue, and he realized that never before had he found a woman so erotic, or so tempting. He couldn’t look at her without wanting to make love to her, and whenever she was near he felt the urge to kiss her just to remind her of his love. “You need to help me untangle my hands.”
He longed to touch her, and to stroke her, dragging his hands over the soft planes of her body. He couldn’t wait much longer to hold her and push into her, but as it stood his abilities were hindered by the tangled mess of material around his wrists.
Reaching behind him, CC pressed her body firmly against his as she trailed kisses over his shoulders and up his neck, working loose the fabric that bound his hands as she lavished him with attention.
The moment the material fell to the floor, Niles was once again spinning them around and pushing her against the wall, nipping at the swell of her breasts. His hands quickly reached around her and his fingers deftly found their way to the fastening of her bra, which he expertly opened, releasing her curves from the restrictive lace.
Grinning, he pressed firmly against her, his still-wet shaft pressed against her thigh, and he took her nipple in his mouth, teasing the rose-coloured flesh with his teeth. CC arched toward him, feeling his tongue inflict both pain and immense pleasure on her sensitive nub.
His fingers dragged along the sides of her body and along the swell of her curves, teasing and eliciting a moan from her as he went.
Finally, he reached his target and tucked his fingers into the small scrap of material around her hip, dragging it down slowly. The friction of the material as it trailed down and against her skin was overwhelming and she gasped at the cool air as it reached her newly exposed skin.
Niles smiled as he finally divested her of the very last scrap of material. He loved her, completely and unwaveringly, but when he looked at her like this he realized that she really was all his, and his heart burst with love for her.
She was all alabaster skin with soft and supple curves, glorious, pert rose-coloured nipples and the most stunning hour-glass shape. And it was all for him. This vision of sheer, erotic perfection was for his eyes only, and he loved every inch of her, every soft curl and fold. It was moments like these when he realized that there had never been another woman he even remotely cared about, not in comparison to the heart-pounding passion he felt when they made love.
CC smiled coyly, watching as his eyes trailed up and down her body. When his hands anchored on her waist, she knew that it wouldn’t be long until they would be joined, and she felt totally complete.
His mouth reached once again for hers, as his hand tenderly trailed down between them and found her soft folds. Parting them, his thumb flicked over her clit and she instantly bucked against his hand in response. The wetness he found there proved that she was more than ready for him, and he knew that neither one would be able to hold out much longer.
Placing his hand behind her knee, he gently raised it up over his hip and allowed his hard shaft to tease at her moist entrance. It was taking all of his strength not to push forward and enter her right away, but he knew all too well that once they traveled down that path, they wouldn’t be long from finishing.
Savoring the moment, Niles gazed into her eyes and saw his passion returned. He tenderly teased her lower lip with his teeth and pulled at it, watching as her breasts came forward as her back arched. CC was trying to join their bodies together.
This game they played was one that absorbed them both, as she pushed forward, trying to feel that heat between them, and he moved slightly back, raising the temperature in the pantry several degrees.
Finally, a moment later he guided her other leg over his hip and began a slow movement towards her center. The head of his penis slowly pushed into her, and he heard a sharp gasp of breath at the invasion. Her hot flesh pulled at him, and even with such short penetration he could already feel her squeezing at him, practically begging him further in.
CC felt him entering her, his head pushing past her entrance and stretching her sinfully, the ache she was feeling between her legs now one of wanting him so desperately. He was addictive, and each time they did this, she wanted nothing more than to live the rest of her life, and hopefully die, just like this.
The hot, wet velvet feel of her around his head almost sent him over the edge right there – there had been enough foreplay to have them both sitting on the precipice for too long now. Holding his breath for a moment he pushed a little further in, and was rewarded with more pressure around him.
Inch by inch he pushed forward, and then pulled back a little more, only to push forward again and give her a little more each time. Niles hands were planted firmly on her ass, holding her weight against him and using the wall behind her as support. His mouth nipped at her collarbone and teased at her mercilessly as he continued to thrust slowly in and out of her.
The heat that was building between them seemed to become more like a fire, their hearts both racing at the intimate contact between them and the emotions they were feeling.
Pushing with a harder thrust, he was all the way inside of her, and they both stared in each other’s eyes for a moment, as if savoring it.
Kissing her tenderly, she smiled against his lips and caught her breath as best as she could. She knew that in a moment it would all be about finishing what they started and finding their release.
Niles began to thrust into her, his hips moving them both as he pushed forward and then pulled back. The pressure of the position was providing the most incredible friction on CC’s clit, and with each new push forward she felt like her heart would stop beating.
He pressed his chest against hers, the sensation of her smooth breasts against his hard chest and coarse hair heightening the moment as he thrust harder into her.
CC felt his hardness stretch her and fill her, pressing against all the right buttons and she could feel the tightness begin, body feeling wonderful waves of pleasure at each new movement.
Niles felt the walls of her body tighten around her and pull him in further and the sensation was proving too much. He knew he wouldn’t be able to hold on long, and in an effort to help her to climax, he pushed upwards harder, and faster than he had been before.
His thrusts because long and fast, pressing deep inside of her and hitting a spot that made the waves she was feeling seem more like earth-shattering bliss, and CC knew it was just about over.
Her hands had somewhere along the way wrapped behind his neck and lazily draped over his shoulders, but suddenly he could feel her nails digging into the flesh of his back and with this new painful pleasure, he pressed even harder and faster.
Niles felt her tighten around him, and then the pulsating, pulling feeling of her climax, pulling him further in her and begging his release.
Unable to hold on any longer, he felt the rigidness of his penis go even deeper, and then he felt the tightening.
His motions became frantic as he continued his motions and finally felt himself spill into her, the walls around him still pulling him in and inviting him deeper.
They remained against the wall, flushed and breathless, as the final few spasms left their body. Niles’ head rested comfortably on her shoulder, his knees weak from the exertion and the weight of her body on his as well.
“I’m amazed we haven’t died yet,” CC said, her breath catching in her throat as she attempted the words. Her heart was beating so fast she was sure he could clearly hear it from where he was resting. Holding him against her with her ankles locked behind his back, she enjoyed the feeling of him still inside of her as he softened. This was, in her mind, the epitome of intimacy – those moments where they remained rapt by the afterglow, and still connected so intensely.
He knew she was talking about his heart, which they had discussed very early on. Their acrobatic lovemaking worried her at first, knowing that he wasn’t that long recuperated from his heart attack, and the last thing she wanted to do was lose him now. It had taken days worth of reassuring and various displays of his coronary savvy to convince her otherwise.
“If I’m going to die, this is how I want it to be,” Niles assured her, pressing his lips against her neck. Still, he felt her body tense against his and he knew it was the wrong thing to say. “But it won’t be for a long time,” he promised.
CC didn’t want to lose the contact with him, instead bringing him tighter against her. Her mind was reeling trying to process all the emotions she was feeling. She couldn’t help but be overwhelmed by the way he stirred such passion inside of her, and how he knew to play her so intimately, but so thoroughly. It was what she always thought she’d never have, and now that it was playing out before her, she was feeling an overwhelming amount of joy.
“I love you,” she whispered against his hair, afraid to say it to his face. She knew he loved her as well, but for a moment she realized that he might not believe her.
Pulling back just enough to be nose-to-nose with her, Niles was beaming. “Say it again?”
This time she was able to say it a little louder, and she felt safe in his arms. His eyes encouraged her. “I love you,” she said, her eyes sparkling.
“I love you too,” he said again, his heart so close to bursting with joy that he didn’t know what more he could say.
Pressing a kiss against her lips, he realized that even if she wasn’t ready for marriage now, things would change, and it wouldn’t be that long, he hoped. No matter what was to come, he knew they’d be together, and they’d be able to enjoy more of these impromptu sessions in unusual places. For now that was enough.
Smiling, his fingers trailed over her naked hips and held her tight to him. This was the way they were going to be, forever, and he wouldn’t let anything stand between him and his happily-ever-after.
So maybe all the chapters up to now had taken turns that he never would have expected, but this was a direction he liked, and he knew that this would be the beginning of a new chapter.
Allowing himself to fantasize, he dreamt of lazy mornings in bed, sheets heaped around their waists as they lay completely exhausted from making love. He allowed himself to dream about the beautiful children they might have, and the wedding that he knew she deserved, and would one day want. Whatever the next chapters would bring, he was sure that it would be them, together, happy and in love, and whatever curves there would be, there would be nights of lovemaking that would bring them back to earth and bond them together. And all that really mattered was that they’d be together.
Leaning against the wall of that pantry, Niles realized that every chapter up until now had been preparation for this; every minute of his life up until this very second had been preparing him for being so totally in love with this woman, and so helplessly enthralled by her, that he couldn’t allow room for any of those old regrets.
In its very own way, this was his happily-ever-after.