To Love by Dori Lavelle Page B

it. Will you wear it for me?"
    Carmen shook her head, her long black hair swinging like a rich curtain. "Not yet. I have to show you my present first." She felt around her on the bed. "My cane?"
    Shaun handed it to her and helped her to her feet.
    "Can you find my handbag?"
    Shaun looked around for it. Carmen’s handbag was large and bright red—hard to miss. He couldn't remember bringing it in from the taxi. "I don't see it here."
    Carmen shrugged. "We must have forgotten it at home or in Mom's car." She laughed, and the sound rang so clear it soothed him. "Well, there goes my surprise."
    Shaun reached out for her and lowered her onto his lap. "You can tell me about it. I can try to visualize it." He whispered into her ear. "Is it the kind of thing I always want on our anniversaries?" He gave a mischievous grin.
    "What else?" Carmen traced his jaw with her fingers, sending pleasant shivers down his spine. "I know it's been a while since we... I thought tonight..."
    Before she could finish talking, Shaun tipped her to the side and lowered his lips to hers. She didn't resist. Her warm mouth opened and he tasted her, bringing her back to them. As he tightened his arms around her, refusing to let her slip away, he wondered why she was not wincing from pain. Sometimes a single touch could awaken the dormant pain, which attacked her every few hours, every day.
    Maybe the new pain medication the doctor had prescribed two days ago was working.
    He shoved these thoughts aside and enjoyed his wife; he was aching for her so bad he thought his hardness might burst through his pants. They kissed as if they had only just discovered how good it felt.
    They kissed, moaning, until any thoughts or worries inside Shaun's head had turned to mush, until the world stopped turning, and he forgot what had happened to them, what awaited them. Until she pulled away.
    "Don't stop," he begged, breathless. "Please."
    Carmen rose. "I have no plans of doing so. I want you just as much as you want me." She lifted an eyebrow. "That rock inside your pants needs softening."
    They both laughed. Slowly, Carmen opened the buttons of her dress and let it fall to the floor.
    Shaun bit his bottom lip and lay back on the bed, resting on his elbows. "I love what I see." He prayed that this time they made love, she wouldn't cry. And he wouldn't feel like an ass for hurting her.
    Carmen removed her bra and her round, full breasts were released, driving Shaun out of his mind.
    With her face turned toward him, she slipped a finger into the elastic of her panties, ignoring her protruding hip bones, and lowered them down her hips.
    Shaun sat up and unbuckled his belt. His eyes didn't leave Carmen's body; he swept her with his gaze, from her beautiful face down her graceful neck, over her perfect breasts, down her flat stomach, and rested at the small triangle between her legs. He yearned for her so badly he had to force himself to be patient, so as not to ruin it. She was reaching out to him, to them, and he would not mess it up.
    Finally, the panties pooled at her feet and she stepped out of them, and took a few timid steps toward the bed. She knew she was going in the right direction, and if not, he'd steer her. She never needed her eyes to see him.
    He stood up to unzip his pants and remove them, but Carmen pushed his hands away and did it for him. Then she pulled his t-shirt over his head. Once they were both fully naked, standing face-to-face, breathing heavily in the quiet room, she took his hand and they lowered themselves onto the bed.
    Under the covers, they took their time rediscovering each other, relearning the paths they once knew so well and had almost forgotten. He kissed every inch of her, taking everything she wanted him to have.
    When he thrust into her, she screamed out, her voice loaded with passion. Each gentle thrust was a promise that all would be well, that they could overcome even the worst sentence fate handed them. This, what they had now,