Intaglio: Dragons All The Way Down (22 page)

She fought
against the loss of her reverie.  She’d been dreaming a moment before.
 ‘It
was something important…’

His hand roved
over her breasts and hips, kneading and grasping. 

“Cole...?” she
murmured groggily. 

He ground
himself against her, the heat of his body spreading through her thin panties
and tank top.  She could feel his arousal nudging her as he moved, brushing the
curve of her ass as he pulled her closer.

“Want you,” he
murmured against her shoulder.

He pushed her
flat on her back, dropping his lips down her neck while his hands impatiently
rucked her top up.  In the darkness, she felt rather than saw him drop his
mouth to hers, the kiss sudden and needy.  Ava’s hands rose to his shoulders,
clutching onto him even as her mind scrambled backward, struggling to hold onto
the disappearing thread of the dream. 
‘It was about one of my paintings…’
 Cole’s
lips let go of hers for a second so that he could pull the shirt free, then
moved to her breasts, sucking hard against the raised peak of one before moving
to the other.  His hands shoved the thin fabric of her panties away; his
fingers slid downward, hinting at the path his mouth would follow.

She was still
struggling to awaken under the onslaught of his caresses.  It seemed like there
was something she was supposed to tell him... but it was a wash of colours
now. 
‘Davy’s green?’
Ava wondered...
‘or was it Burnt Sienna...?’ 
The
message was no longer clear.  Her attention was drawn to the burning spots of
pleasure where his mouth and fingers focused.  His lips dropped from her
breasts to her ribs, moving across the flat plane of her stomach over to her
hips and inward, nuzzling against her curls before angling her leg over his
shoulder.  Finally he leaned in and tasted her.

Ava gasped as
his tongue began lapping against her, desire coiling tight in her core. 
Flashes of her dream appeared behind closed eyelids as waves of ecstasy rode
over her.  There was the shipyard... and the shore beyond… and then the field
and the sea.  It was like her painting, but different.  She moaned as his
tongue moved faster, his shoulder pressed against her thighs, pushing wide
. 
‘The dream’s changed...’
she realized, but now Cole's fingers were inside
her in time with his mouth, and the only thing she could say was his name.

Her body was
tensed and shaking as the motions grew faster, her moans rising in intensity
until he finally pulled back, sliding into her.  The feel of him, thick and
tight inside her, left her crying out for more.  His tongue pushed inside her
mouth, possessing her.   She could taste herself salty on his lips, his kisses
leaving her breathless as he moved in an ever-increasing rhythm.

Wave after wave
of sensation lapped against her, blotting away the pressing need to tell him
what she saw.  It felt too goddamn good: one of his hands wrapped tight in her
hair, the other pulled up her knee while he drove into her.  Ava moaned, eyes
shut; the colours were there again.  This time it was in the shadows... Delft
blue sharpened the focus of the light in a too-bright sky.  The memory loomed
nearer. 
‘Something changed!’
her mind shouted, while her panting
increased.  The agonizing coil of desire was tightening like a spring, focused
on the spot where their bodies were joined, thoughts emerging as sounds of
pleasure. 

Cole moved
faster now, hips thudding against her.  He slid his hand in between their
writhing bodies to reach the point where they joined.  Ava cried out as he
brushed the spot and his body shuddered at the sound of her ecstasy.  He paused
mid-thrust, gasping against her ear until he regained control.

Seconds later he
was moving again.  His hips pumped faster while her moans built to cries of
desire.  The flashes of colour and memory quickened.  The shipyards, and the
feel of the wind on her face, the Azure blue of the sky, gold in the light, the
hint of purple in the shadows, all flickering together... reminding her. 
Cole’s fingers were moving faster, leaving her legs jumping in desire,
sensations meshing with the rush of memories. 

She wavered near
the peak, her body writhing in time to his rhythm, the importance of this dream
hanging just out of reach. Cole’s body distracted her from all thought.  With a
ragged cry, she tumbled over the edge, her body breaking around him.  Shudders
left her limbs rubbery and weak as Cole thrust twice more, gasping her name as
he collapsed atop her.

For a few
moments, he didn’t move.  She smiled against his hair, feeling the moment he
realized he was probably crushing her and quickly slid to the side.  He pulled
her toward him, so that she lay in the tight circle of his arms.  Cole’s
breathing began to slow.

“That’s a nice
way to wake up,” Ava said with a giggle.  “Some special occasion I should know
about, or is this just a kink about being in your parents’ house?”

He laughed
tiredly, turning so he could kiss her again. 

“I had a dream,”
Cole said.

Ava froze.  She
could feel her own dream again, wrapped tight around her.

“W-what?”  she
stammered.  With shaky fingers, she reached out for the bedside lamp, filling
the room with hazy light.

Cole watched
her. When she lay back down, he dropped a light kiss on her lips.

“I had the dream
I always used to have... the one with the storm, and then the field.  The one I
told your dad about that night after the Student Show when he was reading
teacups.”

Ava nodded.

“Yeah... I
remember.”  Her voice was wary.

Cole's face was
on the pillow next to hers, close enough that he could hold her eyes without
straining. 

“Well, I had it
again... but it changed.”

“The part about
Hanna?” she asked in worry. 

“Not Hanna,”
Cole laughed. “The thing about everyone being in the water together.”

Ava pulled
herself up on her elbow.  She could remember something else, but hers was
wrapped up in the painting of the dockyard.

“I don’t… I
don’t know what you mean,” Ava muttered.  Every time she tried to remember her
dream she got a wash of colours:
Delpht blue and Burnt Sienna.
 

“The Hopi
proverb,” he said with a grin.  “You see, the ending changed.”  He leaned
forward, kissing her again.  “This time you were there in the water with me
too…”

: : : : : : : :
: :

There was a
faint sound of tapping.

Ava slowly
emerged from the cocoon of sleep, itching with the swirl of warm breath on her
neck.  Cole slept behind her, one arm stretching around her ribs, his fingers
cupping her breast in sleep. Sometime in the night, his legs had tangled with
her own.  She smiled and let her eyes close.

She had just
begun to drift when she heard it once more.

Twisting, she
glanced at the curtains.  It was daylight, a rectangular corona of light
marking the edge of the window.  She wasn’t sure what had awoken her.   The
quiet sound of hesitant knocking returned.

Easing herself
out of Cole’s arms, Ava grabbed one of his t-shirts, pulling it atop her naked
chest, and donning a pair of sweatpants.  She tugging her clothes into place as
she crossed the floor to the entrance, hoping not to awaken Cole.

She pulled open
the door. Nina stood on the landing, wearing a camel hair coat and knee-high
boots.  Seeing her, Ava frowned, stepping onto the narrow landing and closing
the door behind her.

“You okay,
Nina?”

The older
woman’s eyes were red, face tired and drawn. 
‘The older Josephine…’

“Long night,”
she answered with a wan smile.  Before Ava could ask, Nina pushed a small pile
of books into Ava’s open hands.  “You forgot these in the library,” she
explained, “and I found the third of the trilogy this morning.” She gave a
tight smile. “I wanted you to have them before you left.” 

Ava glanced
down.  The final image was one Ava recognized from Wilkins’s class last
semester.  It was a painting of David’s, Josephine being crowned by Napoleon. 
She no longer looked like a woman, Ava thought, but like a doll dressed up for
display.

“Thanks...” she
said, gesturing to Nina’s coat.  “Are you leaving or something?”

Cole's
stepmother gave her a brittle smile, fidgeting with her buttons.

“Frank and I had
a bit of a…long night.”  Nina ran her fingers through her curls, leaving them
dishevelled.  “We’re going to go for a drive this morning.  There are a few
things we need to do, and talk about.  And, um…”  She glanced at the closed
door.  “I’m sure Cole has a few things he’d like to…think about too.”

“Do you want me
to wake him up?”

Nina’s eyes
widened.

“Oh no!” she
said too quickly, “let him sleep.  I just wanted to give you the books.  No
need to bother him.”

She turned,
ready to start back down the stairs, but Ava's words stopped her.

“Yesterday you
said the whole truth,” she said quietly.  “Did you mean it?”

For a moment, it
seemed like Nina was going to say something, her mouth half-opening, but then
she shook her head.  Instead she gestured to the volumes in Ava’s hands.

“Read the
books.”  she said earnestly.  “And enjoy your trip... there’ll be plenty of
time to talk when you return.”

Cole and Ava
headed back to campus later that day without seeing Frank or Nina again.  Ava
was lonely by herself in the truck but blasted her music, singing loudly as she
drove.  She followed Cole’s bike along the looping curves of the coastal
highway, heading toward the city.  Watching the easy movement, her daydream
began again: she wanted a bike.

The next week
rushed by in a blur of preparations for Spring Break.  Suzanne had organized
the itinerary, but Marcus was event planner; he spent evenings fussing over
details, driving Ava crazy with his checklists and last-second questions.  Cole
was her tether to sanity, teasing her about Chim’s antics and insisting that
she buy a bikini for the vacation. 

Their trip to
Martinique was about to occur.

: : : : : : : :
: :

Cole Thomas was
a nervous airplane passenger.  It wasn’t something he ever really talked about
(or had much experience with), but as they reached the airport, he started
worrying.  This flight would be the longest he’d ever taken.  A niggling voice
in the back of his mind kept warning him to come clean… that Ava should
probably know, just in case.  Before he could, Suzanne and Chim started arguing
over the best place to park her car for the week, distracting Cole from his admission. 
Suzanne ground the bumper against a cement parking block in the long-term
parking garage in her haste;  Chim raised his eyebrows at the sound.

“I offered to—”

“Don’t even say
it,” she snapped. Everyone burst into laughter, Cole included, the fear
temporarily forgotten.

His worry
returned at the sight of planes landing outside the floor-to-ceiling windows. 
His palms were sweating when the four of them reached the arrivals lines, his
breathing rapid by the time they plodded through customs into the main
terminal. 

“You look
green,” Ava said, dragging him out of his spiralling thoughts.  “Are you okay?”

“I should
probably let you know,” Cole answered,  “I get a bit freaked out by planes. 
Uh... sorry.  Thought I’d give you fair warning.”

Ava grinned up
at him.  Her hair had grown long during the school year and she had it pulled
back into a ponytail, wayward strands framing her face.

“Really?” she
asked, perplexed.  “Why?”

Cole shrugged,
walking faster, moving his carry-on baggage to the other shoulder. A blush rose
up his neck.  He didn’t want to talk about it.

“Not sure,” Cole
mumbled.  “I just...I dunno, kind of like being in control of things and when
I’m stuck inside a plane, I have none.” 

The excuse
sounded lame to him, but that was as clear as he could make it.  Next to him,
Ava quickened her pace, her strides matching his.  She grinned mischievously
and grabbed his hand, dragging him toward the restaurants and lounges that
lined the mezzanine.

“What...?” Cole
asked nervously.  He recognized the impish look.  She giggled, raising her
eyebrows and pulling him into a bar.

“Sounds like
it’s time to get primed for the trip!”

: : : : : : : :
: :

Cole was happily
buzzing when they reached their gate.  He was warm and content... and not just
a little bit distracted by Ava standing at his side.  There was something about
the way she kept laughing and leaning into him, her fingers reaching up to
brush her lips that made him want to push her up against the wall and fuck her
right here.  He grinned as the thought came to mind.

‘Yup, definitely
drunk,’
his
mind observed dryly. 
‘...drunk AND horny.’