PeakExperience (15 page)

Such beautiful words. He kissed her softly. “Thank you.” He
let go of her hand and walked into the room first, going to the pictures
resting on side-by-side easels.

They were watercolors in which the images of urban and
pastoral life were mixed. In one it looked as though her apartment in the city
was lifted and planted where one of the camper bunks should sit. “Does this
have a title yet?”

“Yes, ‘Where do I belong II’”, she said. “The first in the
series is on the other easel. I’ve been working back and forth on the two
pieces, depending on my mood.”

He looked at the second easel and saw her office at Crane
and Fulton juxtaposed with the rooms in the Great House and, he recognized,
this studio. It was clear she was either trying to make the two worlds fit
together or make a decision between them. It was something he understood, the
marriage between the creative and the practical. He knew how fortunate he was
to have built a career on both. “I like these. You’ve put a lot of story into
them,” he said.

“They’re both unfinished. I’ve never worked on related
pieces simultaneously, but these three needed it.”

“Three?”

“Yes,” she said quietly. She pointed. “The third is on that
easel, facing the wall.”

He saw it off to his right. “Can I look?”

She nodded. He waited. “Yes,” she said.

He turned it around gently and nearly gasped. It was not
only exquisite, but the truth of emotion portrayed was extraordinary. He
recognized Lena as the focus of the picture, looking small and bewildered among
colorful and looming giants. While it was clear the creatures didn’t mean her
harm and wanted her to join in their fun, the young woman wasn’t certain. She
looked at them with a combination of longing and worry Daniel recognized.

Before he could stop himself he asked, “What is it you
fear?”

“Fear?”

“From what I see, the woman in the picture wants to race and
run and dance with the same abandon as the giants around her, but there is also
concern in her expression. I saw the same expression in your eyes at the Wagner
Gallery on the night we met.”

“Remind me not to try and hide anything from a fellow
artist,” she said with a self-deprecating laugh.

“I’ll take that as a compliment, but you didn’t answer my
question.”

“I know, and truthfully, I’m not certain how to answer it.
Even though I started these pictures last year, I only recently began to accept
the question myself. I’m not certain where I fit in, how I feel about my
choices or how I truly want to live my life.”

“Fair enough,” he said. “I think it’s great you’re letting
the question and answers come to you through your art.”

“As I said, it’s a first for me.”

He kept walking around the studio, amazed at the number of
supplies and works in progress she kept, especially since he knew she didn’t
spend much time here. He was looking at years of work.

In the far corner were canvases stacked against each other.
He could tell from a distance they were not blank and there were so many in the
group he couldn’t help but be intrigued. As he crossed to them he asked, “What
are these?”

“Believe it or not, that is the one collection I consider
finished. Remember when I said mistakes can make beautiful art?”

“Sure.”

“Well, I call that grouping ‘Fortunate Accidents’. They are
canvases that came from either photographs or paintings that didn’t turn out as
planned. They inspired me to create more. I guess…” She paused. He waited. “I guess
I thought just because something doesn’t turn out as you expect doesn’t mean
there isn’t something of beauty and value there.”

He let her words sink in and knew she was thinking, as he
was, about their relationship. “Can I look?”

“Definitely. Those are some of my favorites.”

He went to the pile and slowly looked through them. Here in
her art was the woman he was falling in love with. Strong, flawed and amazing.
During their time together he couldn’t take his eyes off her and the same was
true for the pictures. He started to separate them, placing them along the
walls so he could see them side by side. Photos of different sizes, double
exposed and overexposed were blended with other mediums to create completely
new visions and images. A few were serious, while others had a lighthearted
quality. All were an explosion of color and energy, and all showed Lena’s
unique and beautiful vision.

“I love these,” he said after walking past them several
times. “I can’t decide which my favorite is. It keeps changing every time I
look. You have got to show these, Lena. They are fantastic.”

He turned to look at her and couldn’t read her expression.
There was joy, which he understood, but there was fear too. “Lena, what’s the
matter?” She shook her head. He walked over to her. “Are you okay? Say
something.”

“Something,” she said.

“Did I say the wrong thing?”

“No, you said very right, but very scary things.” Reaching
up and putting her hands behind his head she pulled him close for a kiss. The
images of her pictures faded into his need for her, and he sensed her matching
need for connection and contact.

“You, my beauty,” he said between kisses, “are something
else.”

“Take me to bed,” she said.

“With great pleasure.”

Holding his hand, she led him out of the studio, back into her
bedroom, straight to her bed. They fell onto it and immediately began to remove
each other’s clothes. He pulled her shirt off while she undid the buttons on
his polo. He loved the first moment of skin on skin as his chest pressed
against her. He unhooked her bra and as soon as her breasts were free, he bent
to lick and suck at her nipples, making her moan softly as she fumbled with the
zipper on his pants.

“Do you want help?” he asked.

“No, don’t stop what you’re doing. It feels too good,” she
said, arching her back, getting closer to him. She was so responsive. It was
intoxicating.

He knew she’d succeeded in undoing his fly when the pressure
on his cock eased. With her hands on his hips she pushed the pants down as far
as her arms would let her, then he used one hand to get rid of the rest along
with his underwear as he continued to caress her with the other.

“I love the touch of your skin, so soft, so warm,” he said.

“And getting warmer.”

“Glad to hear it.” He quickly took off her pants, but
intentionally kept her red silk underwear on. There was something very tempting
about a woman naked except for a thin slip of material covering very little.

As they continued to kiss, a moment of clarity cooled him.
“Sweetheart, I don’t have any protection here with me. Don’t move, and I’ll be
right back.”

He gave her a quick kiss and dashed out of the room. It was
odd running around the house naked, but he was in a rush. When he opened the
bedside drawer the small bottle he brought with him caught his eye. Smiling, he
grabbed it along with the condoms.

When he returned to her room he found Lena with her hand in
her panties, slowly masturbating. “Now that’s a picture worth many, many
words,” he said.

She reached her other hand out to him and he joined her on
the bed, putting the new objects on the nightstand. He wanted to touch her
everywhere. He teased her nipples and bent his head to suck one then the other.
It excited him to feel them rising to peaks beneath his lips. She arched and he
fed on her skin, savoring each sigh.

“Not enough,” she said.

“What isn’t?”

“I need more, want more.”

“Tell me,” he said.

“I want to take you in my mouth while you take me in yours.”

Her words created a powerful visual in his mind and a surge
in his cock. In no time he was hard as steel. There was so much fire in her,
and he loved when she unleashed it. He rolled to the side and allowed her to
determine their positions.

She turned to face him and kissed her way down his body.
Every touch sent sparks through him. When she finally wrapped her mouth around
his cock, he couldn’t stop the groan. He pulled her legs toward the top of the
bed and her pussy to his mouth. He loved to taste her and there were so many
ways to please her. Every fold, every swell caused different responses.

This time, however, his focus was distracted by what she was
doing to his cock. Her mouth was hot and her tongue was finding new ways to
excite him. If her touch hit a particularly sensitive spot, she pulled away so
he wouldn’t come too soon. When she swallowed him so deeply her tongue licked
his balls he was sure his eyes rolled back in his head. He let his fingers
tease and pleasure her until his breathing was back under control.

Her touch trailed to the vulnerable area under his balls and
he moved to the matching spot on her, teasing her ass and, using her wetness,
inserting his finger to the second knuckle. She moaned and the vibrations
radiated through his body.

Wanting her to come before he entered her, he did his best
to block out her actions and focus on bringing her to her peak. Knowing she
loved when he combined licking and fingering her that’s what he did. In this
position, with one hand teasing her ass, he used two fingers of his other hand
to stroke in and out of her, bending them slightly as he withdrew to increase
the sensations. With his tongue he lapped and swirled her sensitive clit. A
rush of wetness preceded her releasing him to cry out his name as she climaxed.
He never got tired of hearing her say it, her voice thick with desire.

He slowed his movements, kissing her thighs, easing her down
from her peak. She turned and when they were face-to-face she smiled.

“Yes?” he asked. Clearly there was something she wanted.

She wrapped her hand around his cock. “More.”

Being in bed with Daniel made the vulnerable and exposed
feelings that came up while he walked through her studio easier for Lena to
bear. Usually those emotions made her want to be alone until they passed, but
Daniel changed that for her. She wanted to be close to him, where his passion
and desire matched and mirrored hers.

When he reached to the side to grab a condom, she saw the
bottle of clear liquid he’d brought. She was fairly certain she knew what it
was but asked anyway.

“Lubricant,” he answered. “A slippery silicone based one,
perfect for prepping you to take my cock in your ass.”

She gasped at his bold words. Her heart pounded faster and
she thrilled at the rush that passed through her body. She’d been imagining
this since he first mentioned it, and she was ready, excited.

“But first,” he said, covering his erection, “I want to fill
your sweet pussy.” With no other warning he entered her and thrust deeply.
Still swollen from her orgasm, he stretched her, touching every inch of her. “I
love having you open for me.”

She answered by lifting her hips, taking more of him and
making them both moan. She reveled in how wonderful they were together.

“Turn over, Lena. I want to enter you from behind.”

She shivered as she got on her knees. As soon as she spread
her legs, he was there, in her. She loved the control she had in this pose. The
ability to meet and match his every stroke. They moved together, her excitement
building.

He slowed and leaned over her back to get the bottle. “There
are two things I need from you.”

“What’s that?”

“To relax as much as possible and to talk to me. You have to
tell me what you’re experiencing and if anything hurts, okay?”

“I will. I trust you.”

He kissed her between her shoulders. She heard the bottle
open and a breath later drops of liquid touched her skin. His fingers massaged
her opening before slipping in easily. She gasped when he added more lube and a
second finger, and did her best to relax as he suggested.

“How does it feel?”

“Different. Thrilling,” she said.

“Good.” After continuing to stroke her for a while he gently
pulled his fingers out. More drops of liquid slid down between her ass and then
she felt the tip of his cock. “Relax and breathe out,” he said.

She did as he said but couldn’t help biting her lip and
gasping when he entered.

“Talk to me. Does it hurt?”

“A little, but it’s more remarkable than anything.”

“Should I continue?”

“Yes,” she said and focused on letting her muscles loosen.
This time he entered her deeply. There was a moment of sharp pain that made her
cry out, but it passed quickly. In its wake was a new sensation, a sense of
fullness she’d never known. She pushed back on him until he was completely
inside her.

“Lena?”

“Don’t ask me to describe what I’m feeling. I can only tell
you it doesn’t hurt and I don’t want you to stop.” She heard the bottle land on
the floor before Daniel placed his hands on her hips and started to move with
her.

She was stretched and filled and exhilarated by this fantasy
come true. No teasing could prepare her for the intensity of sex in this
position. As she followed his movements with her body, he bent forward, let go
of her hips, and found her clit with his finger.

The added sensation was overwhelming in its force. Pleasure
coursed through every part of her along with a new feeling of connection to
Daniel. Letting him into her studio was an act of deep trust—and this was too.
The understanding was so freeing she began a quick climb to a second climax.
Once he was inside her it was easy to move together. The sensations were both
similar and different from regular sex and the difference was thrilling. She
felt beautiful, desirable and totally wanton.

And she loved that this first time was with Daniel. She
rotated her hips and he moaned.

“You’re driving me crazy,” he said.

“Then we’re even.”

Clearly, Daniel held back long enough because his pace
quickened as her moans got louder. She gripped the pillow until her knuckles
were white as he roared out his orgasm, bringing on hers in a final, exquisite
rush. When he covered her back with his body, she thought she could feel his
heart beat through his chest. They were both breathing hard.