Her hands unzipped his tunic and he broke away just enough to pull it over his head. Her fingers began playing through his chest hair, fingernails scratching lightly. His hands went to her breasts, caressing them through the satin, loving the way they fit into his palms, the nipples taut with excitement. He kissed them through the fabric and she moaned at his attentions, the sound encouraging him to slide the gown below her breasts.

His left arm slipped round to steady her and he took one nipple into his mouth, swirling his tongue over it, feeling it grow harder while her fingers twined through his hair, pulling him closer. His right hand trailed down her hip, reaching through one of the gown’s slits to touch the skin of her thigh. Wandering higher, his fingers sought to cup her rear and pull her hips tight to his. Awash in testosterone, his brain registered more smooth skin, nothing under the gown but her. “Oh, Helena,” he groaned as his mouth moved from her breast back to her lips, capturing her mouth in a crushing kiss that took her breath. Without breaking the kiss he bent and lifted her in his arms, carrying her to the bed and laying her upon it.

She watched him remove his boots and socks in record time then, as he stood beside the bed, she reached out and ran her hand over the front of his trousers, feeling his prominent arousal. She made quick work of the zipper, shoving first his trousers, then his briefs out of her way so she could touch him with nothing to separate them. She had seen John naked on a professional basis, but the imposing erection that met her gaze was new and captivating territory. He was more generously endowed than he’d been in her numerous fantasies and she’d given him a lot of credit in those fantasies. She wound her fingers around him, her thumb stroking and feeling that first slick drop sitting at the tip. She couldn’t wait to feel him inside her.

He forced himself to stand still as she explored him. The feeling of her hand on him in reality was so much better than all the times he’d imagined it. He watched as she glided her fingers up and down his shaft, running her thumb over the head. When those same fingers circled under his balls and brought him to her lips, he thought he might die.

He wound his fingers through her hair and pulled it away from her face to give himself the thrill of an unhampered view. Her lack of shyness surprised him a little, but he wasn’t about to complain. This was the Helena he’d suspected existed under the daily professional veil, the one he’d had beguiling glimpses of a time or two, the Helena no one else on Alpha knew. John watched, fascinated, his breathing coming closer to panting every second, as she kissed his engorged head, then licked carefully around the tip, tasting him. She continued to caress his balls while holding his shaft upward and sliding her tongue down the backside, tracing the course of the large vein that ran his length. As she reached the base, she reversed direction, re-tracing the vein upwards and closing her mouth around him, sucking lightly and stroking him with her hand. Reluctantly, he stopped her.

“Honey, I won’t last two more seconds if you keep doing that,” he whispered and slid his trousers and briefs down together, stepping out of them and joining her on the bed. Kneeling by her side, his hands went to the gown, its top bunched around her waist. With her assistance, he slipped it down her hips and off, tossing it over his shoulder and onto the floor.

John took a moment to appreciate the sight of her, naked at last before him, her breathing shallow with desire. Fingers of one hand snaked again through her hair while fingers of the other traced wavy lines from her hip over her abdomen, around the curves of her breasts and up her neck.”So beautiful,” he sighed. One of his legs slid between hers and she pulled him down into her arms, tongues entwining in mouths as legs entwined below.

Sinking against her, the jolt of their first intimate embrace sent a shudder through them both. This already felt more right than any sex either of them had ever had, and they’d barely begun. The air around altered, became an almost living entity thick with low moans and murmurs, the occasional muted laugh of discovery and little sighs of pure delight. He wanted to memorize every smooth centimeter of her; she wanted to feel his hot bare skin touching hers for the rest of her life.

His fingers stroked her collarbone; his teeth grazed the vulnerable hollow of her throat. Her nails grasped into his back, raked delicately across his skin. She nibbled his neck where it joined his shoulder. Then their mouths came back together, lips unwilling to leave each other for long.

Helena rubbed herself against his thigh and he could feel how ready she was, so ready for him. But he wasn’t, or rather he was all too keen. John was very aware he wouldn’t last long once he entered her. He wasn’t worried about making up for that later, but after everything she’d been through, everything they’d both been through in the long journey to this moment, he wanted it to be enjoyable for her even more than he wanted to enjoy her.

She pulled from their fevered kiss, both to catch her breath and to whisper, “I want you so much, John. I want you inside me. Please.” She lightly bit his earlobe and licked his neck, tasting his subtly salty skin. Her fingernails etched deeper into his back. She pressed her hip against his shaft, catching his erection between their bodies. He was so big and hard, and he felt so good against her.   

John taxed his resources not to come. His fantasies of Helena had always been hot, more than occasionally visiting the bawdy realm, but in his rational mind, he’d never allowed himself to believe the composed Dr. Russell could be turned into what he saw now. The feel of her body writhing beneath him, spreading her legs for him and begging for it was nearly more than he could stand. With effort, he smiled into her eyes and murmured, “Soon, baby, I promise. But not yet.”

She whimpered in complaint but it became a soft moan as he took a nipple back into his mouth and sucked it to a rosy peak, while one of his hands slid down between her legs, caressing the skin of her inner thighs. She attempted to maneuver his hand higher, where she wanted it, where she needed it, but he avoided her tactic. He moved his mouth to her other nipple as his hand continued to play between her legs, still not touching her where she craved it. She whimpered again as he removed his hand altogether and began to kiss his way down her body.

He snickered in the back of his throat as his lips kissed around her belly button and he felt her hands move to his head to try and push him lower faster. “I thought I was the impatient one.”

“John, please, touch me….just touch me, please,” she was pleading and she didn’t care. She’d never felt this frantic for any man’s touch, never wanted any man so much.

He looked into her beautiful green eyes, cloudy with need and love and complete trust. He moved down the bed, positioning himself between her parted thighs. Without taking his gaze from hers he sharply inhaled the intoxicating scent of her, then lowered his eyes to admire the glorious sight of female moisture that already covered her.

His hot breath tickled her, making her hips rise off the bed toward him. If he didn’t touch her now, she thought she would die. “John…” She was scarcely able to form words anymore, close to weeping with frustration.

With both hands, he carefully spread her open to him, revealing the tiny bud of nerve endings so swollen and desperate for his attention. He wrapped his arms around her thighs to still some of her wriggling, whispering, “Is this what you want, baby?” and without waiting for her answer, pushed his tongue hard against her, then began swirling it over her as he heard her crying out his name.

She nearly started to come the second his tongue touched her, hips lifting toward his mouth. She grabbed one of his hands where it rested on her thigh and threaded the fingers of her other hand through his hair to increase his pressure on her. “Oh, God, John…..yes, there…ohhh, Johnnn!”

Her response delighted him and spurred his enthusiasm. He sucked and licked at her, tongue alternately pressing and flicking, making small twirling moves across her sensitive knot of flesh. She bucked against him, hips thrusting in the same rhythm as his tongue’s laps. Her pleasure was his pleasure, her reactions exciting him all the more. He felt her body tense and press demandingly toward him and he slipped one finger, then two, inside her, sliding in and out, feeling her inner muscles contracting. The wave ripped through her and he helped her ride it with fingers and tongue, keeping the same intensity of movement until he felt her gradually relax and heard her sigh his name.

He smiled and reduced his pace, but didn’t raise his head. He removed his fingers and replaced them with his tongue, drinking her in, relishing the slick musky saltiness of her as though she was his personal gourmet offering. He allowed her some moments of calm, then began to increase his pace again, placing his fingers inside her once more and lapping at her with long strokes and fast licks.

It had been years since Helena had felt anything close to this…if she ever had. Lee hadn’t taken a lot of pleasure in performing oral sex and had never gone at her wholeheartedly. The other lovers she’d had were mostly less than memorable, but from the way John was behaving, she knew he was enjoying every second and that made it even better. She was aware of nothing but him and the moment, not cognizant of how many times he made her come. Her body coursed from orgasm to orgasm under his talented tongue. She tensed and relaxed over and over, gasping and moaning his name, till finally she had to stop him just to allow her flesh to desensitize…No, she’d never experienced anything like this.

He kissed his way back up her body, tenderly tracing over her belly, her ribcage, her breasts with feathery brushes of his lips. He moved deliberately, giving her time to recover, himself a chance to lockdown his own control one last time for a few minutes more. A few minutes were all he’d be able to manage.

His mouth reclaimed hers, tongues joining again in a sensual dance. Tasting herself on his tongue, she reached down between them to grasp his rigid shaft and caress his balls, so firm and full she wondered how he’d managed not to explode already. He moaned through their kiss as he felt her stroking him, guiding him to her warmth.

John broke their kiss to stare into her eyes as he pushed forward gently, entering her little by little, frustrating himself almost beyond endurance but desperate not to hurt her now that they were nearly there. Her body yielded to him, every movement on his part bringing increasing acceptance on hers. He felt her hands move to his hips pulling him toward her, wanting all of him, and he pressed completely into her, keeping watch on her face to register discomfort or uncertainty. With his last shred of restraint, he held still and waited as he savored the sensation of being buried inside her at last. Her inner muscles quivered, adjusting around him.

Helena lay beneath him, letting her body accustom to his presence. She’d never been with a man of John’s proportions; he felt huge inside her. This would take some getting used to and it wouldn’t surprise her if the morning found her feeling an almost virginal soreness, but it would be well worth it. It had already been worth it. The searing twinge high inside that had begun with his last thrust was giving way to a far more pleasurable throbbing. She bent her knees up along his sides and tilted her hips, providing him with a deeper, and her, with a more comfortable, position. The intimate shift of angle made them both gasp.  

She felt so filled, so occupied by him. To be together this way finally was such a gift after all the waiting and wondering. All the horrors and traumas they’d had to face, and it came down at last to this; lying so close to him, feeling so loved and cared for, every nerve ending on fire from his burning touch…and he was so near to finding his own relief inside her. He was close to desperate she could tell, and she wanted him to come. Helena wanted to feel completely possessed by him, wanted to feel him lose himself in her arms as she’d lost herself to him.

Inside, oh, God, inside she was so tight and so hot and she seemed to want him so much. He was barely hanging on. It had never been like this, not with any other woman. He felt merged with her, on levels well beyond his ability to comprehend. She had given herself to him in unconditional offering; he was more than ready to abandon himself within her. Those beautiful eyes, which had closed the moment he penetrated her, opened wide and looked discerningly, lovingly into his.

“Okay?” he whispered.

She smiled and nodded, noting the high level of tension she saw printed on his features. “You look like you’re about to burst,” she whispered back. “Feels like it, too.”

“You have no idea.” His voice was nearly a croak.

She raised a hand to stroke his cheek. “Come, John,” she encouraged. “I want to feel you come inside me.”

Her words were the last straw. He’d try to be sensitive, but he’d held back as long as he could. His hands slid under her and grasped her shoulders. His strokes began, pulling nearly all the way out of her then sliding powerfully back in, but they increased in speed and decreased in length as her long dancer’s legs wrapped about his body, urging him toward his own orgasm. She arched against him, hips grinding upward to meet his every thrust. When he saw her eyes close once more and heard her gasping his name and felt her muscles contracting again, this time around his shaft, he let go everything deep inside her, pumping hard, spurting months of pent up yearning as he loudly moaned her name, told her he loved her again and again.

Helena smiled as all the stress left their bodies at once. John relaxed into her arms, his lips resting against her neck. Very slowly, time resettled and resumed, and each felt the other’s heartbeat return to normal.

John raised his head and kissed the delicate skin of her throat, murmuring, “Are you alright?”

She exhaled a giggle. “I don’t think I’ve been this alright in years.”

He laughed, too, and kissed her again as he started to pull out, but she locked her legs around him and shook her head. “Okay, I’ll stay,” he whispered and settled back carefully on top of her, shifting his weight to the side.

“I have to ask…how many times did you get there anyway?” He wasn’t enquiring entirely for the sake of his ego, he was genuinely curious. His wife, though seeming to enjoy their sex life well enough, had never kissed him like Helena had and she’d never been as reactive to his touch. Reactive didn’t define it; Helena had been rendered practically inarticulate. Maybe it was all the months of contained frustration.

He’d been with women who lay there motionless, he’d been with women who’d enjoyed his company and sooner or later wanted more than he was willing to give, and he’d been with a few that he knew were only acting their passionate throes, though that wasn’t something he or any other man would readily admit to realizing…Those latter occasions were moments he wasn’t proud of because they represented encounters when his main objective had been to satisfy himself, not his partner of the moment. But this woman, he never wanted to disappoint. This woman he’d wanted to satisfy and he knew he had, the telltale pink flush only now beginning to fade from her chest.

“I lost track way back there. I don’t know,” she answered honestly. “My God, John, where did you learn….never mind, don’t tell me.”

He chuckled, at her comment and the sudden blush to her face.  “The answer wouldn’t be what you think…Your, uh, responsiveness inspired me to try and excel.”

“Oh, you excelled, John,” she assured him. “If I’d known it would feel like this, I would’ve wanted you to take me to bed the first day we met.”

“If I’d known it would feel like this, I might’ve tried it.”

She relaxed against his chest and held him, her nails sketching circles on his back. A contented sigh escaped her as they playfully began to kiss again, taking their time and allowing their fingers to explore, collecting tactile information for future reference. He shifted his weight onto his elbows to deepen the kisses and she felt a coinciding stir of renewed interest inside her body. “Ready for more, Commander?”

“Getting there, Doctor,” he answered between kisses. “How about you?”

In response, she smiled and purposely squeezed her inner muscles around his engorging shaft.

John snickered. “I see. I’ll take that as a yes.”

They continued to kiss and stroke each other until she felt him returned to full erection, then with an impish look, she rolled them over on their sides and he, laughing, took them the rest of the way around till she was on top of him. She sat up astride him, holding him inside, studying his face.

Looking into his eyes, she saw and understood, finally, why he’d sent her away; that her life, even if there was only a slim chance at safety, meant more to him than his own. But here, at this new stage of their relationship, it was too soon to say that she never wanted him to be that sacrificing again. If they were to die, she’d rather die with him and be done with it. It was too soon to be making such declarations, too soon to speak that seriously, and not the moment to be talking of death. She settled for, “You know, there was a while there when I thought if I ever saw you again, the first thing I was going to do was find something to punch you with. I was so mad at you for making me go.”

He considered her words and saw the rest left unspoken in her eyes. They’d only just made love for the first time; would he make her angry if he said he would make the same choice again if he had to? Was it too early to say that preserving her life meant everything? That even now, he dreaded the thought that someday, he might have to make a choice between her and Alpha…and he already knew Alpha might lose?

“I was wrong to make you leave, but believe me,” he told her softly, keeping the mood light, “this is much better than a punch.” He stared at her body as she straddled him. “The view’s pretty good, too.” He sighed as she raised herself up his shaft and lowered down on him again, reaching one hand behind her and between his legs to gently cup his balls. “Oh, that’s nice,” he whispered. He slipped one of his hands forward between her legs and pressed his thumb unerringly against her, smiling with satisfaction as she moaned and leaned backwards to give him more contact.

Continuing to lean back, she braced both hands on his thighs, the better to slide up and down, and allow his hand optimum movement between her legs. He began to work his hips in matching tempo to her rhythm, his fingers steadily working her toward yet another orgasm. He watched, transfixed at the sight of her breasts bobbing up and down with their thrusting motions, marveling at her beauty as she rode him.

Abruptly, he heard her gasping and felt her fingers digging into his thighs. He increased the speed and pressure of his fingers, amazed she was able to keep coming, thrilled that she was enjoying their first time together as much as he was. He felt her contracting around him again and he kept at her with his hand until she shuddered and leaned forward into his arms.

They held each other while she recovered the willingness to move again. Staying in the circle of his arms, Helena slowly began to slide herself back and forth on his shaft while he thrust his hips in tandem with her, both of them leading him toward his own release.

John groaned as he felt it nearing and placed both hands on her hips to help her move faster, his thrusts still matching hers. She kissed him deeply as they slid him almost all the way out of her, then plunged him back inside. Their movements increased in intensity, bodies slapping together in concert, willing the next step, wanting it, needing it…Then the surge hit them at the same time and they were both climaxing; united from individual heights, spiraling off the cliff and tightly rocking together, they moaned declarations of love and spent what felt like every ounce of energy either one of them possessed.

Helena collapsed into him, her head settling onto his shoulder. His arms secured her. She’d never felt so treasured and safe, so completely relaxed. Sex had never been so amazing; she never imagined it could be. If she wasn’t so exhausted, she’d want to begin all over again; it was that good. That she could feel this way for even a moment in their state of unnerving daily existence was, to her, nothing short of magical.

John kissed her hair and stroked her back, afraid to feel as lucky and happy as he did, but unable to prevent himself. “Are you still alright?”

She started to laugh at what seemed an absurd question. The burst of her laughter pushed him brusquely out of her at last and they both laughed. She slid off his chest and cuddled against his side. “I’m very alright, John.” She kissed his chest and let her fingers play with the dark hair on his arm. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

He kissed her again and held her as they dozed. Later, they woke and ate, more to regain their energy than out of hunger, and made love again. Eventually they fell asleep curled in each other’s arms. It was the most peaceful sleep either of them had experienced in years.