A Little Piece of Paradise
By Midgit.
Part 9
Eden woke again just after mid-day. She was still wearing the blouse she`d worn
out the night before. Padding down the stairs to the lounge she found the boxes
that Tori had failed to unpack.
She rifled through them and managed to find another of Tori`s teeshirts and some underwear. The heating was still on, for which she was grateful. Outside the snow had turned back to rain, and although it was only noon, it was depressingly dark.
She went through the kitchen to a small room where she found a large pile of logs. Taking them one at a time, in her good hand, she piled a few in the fireplace, and the rest at the side of it. Then, using the firelighters she found in one of the kitchen drawers, she managed to light the fire. She watched it for a moment as it gathered pace and smiling, went upstairs to the bedroom.
She threw the shirt and underwear on the bed and went to the bathroom. Convinced she`d feel better after a hot bath she started it running.
It was a struggle getting out of her remaining clothes, but she managed, and as she sank into the hot water she was careful to keep the bandaged hand out of the way.
After her bath she took the quilt from the bed and went back to the lounge. Wearing just the teeshirt and the briefest pair of briefs, she snuggled down on the couch in front of the roaring fire.She turned on the tv and, with a sigh, settled back to wait for Tori.
A couple of hours later she heard the sound of the Shogun as it stopped out the front. She jumped up and looked out to see Tori struggling with lots of bags of shopping. She opened the front door just as Tori went to put her key in.
"Hi." Said Eden, holding the door open.
Tori seemed to find words hard to come by. She took in the vision in front of her. Eden, in one of her white teeshirts and little else.
"You`re getting wet Tori." Eden said, a faintly amused look crossing her face.
"You`re right." Said Tori, bending to pick up the parcels. She moved them just inside the front door and closed it against the storm. She stood for a moment, facing the door, then turned. Eden hadn`t moved from her spot and two strides took Tori into the blonde woman`s arms.
"Hi honey, I`m home." She said, smiling into the fair hair.
"That`s corny." Said Eden, and claimed Tori`s mouth before she could reply. The kiss was gentle, and welcoming, with the hint of a promise of things to come.
"Mmm, you smell good. Have you had a shower?" Said Tori, leaning back and pushing blond hair back from Eden`s face.
"No, a bath. I found some bubble bath in the cabinet, but no soap. I just needed to feel clean." Eden took a step back as Tori released her and reached for her injured hand.
"You didn`t get the bandage wet, did you?" She asked, gently inspecting the binding.
"No, I was careful." Eden turned her attention to the bags as Tori removed her wet jacket and hung it on a hook by the door. "What did you get?"
"I got us some dinner, the only thing I can cook." She picked up the bags and made her way to the kitchen, putting them on the table.
"What`s that?" Said Eden following like a lost puppy.
"Spaghetti bolognese." Said Tori proudly.
"That`s going to be tricky." Eden smiled, waggling her injured hand at the taller woman.
"Well, I`ll just have to help you, won`t I?" Tori stood a moment, enjoying the closeness. "Go on into the lounge, I`ll start cooking."
"No, come with me first, I want to show you something."
Tori shrugged and allowed herself to be pulled into the lounge. The silliest grin crossed her face when she saw the roaring fire. "Wow, that makes a difference."
"Doesn`t it just. Makes it cosy, don`t you think?" She looked at the pile of boxes. "Shall we get these unpacked first? Then we`ll eat."
Tori looked at the boxes, one of her pet hates being unpacking. "I`ve been putting it off, but you`re right." She walked over and started sifting through the boxes. "These are all clothes, they can go upstairs. The computer stuff can go in there." She indicated the small room she`s earmarked on her first visit as an office with a nod of her head. "I have a couple more cases in the car from the hotel."
"Did you check out then?"
"Thought I`d better, the bill was running up." Tori lifted the box and stood, she looked back just in time to see Eden attempting to lift the computer. "Hey! Don`t even think about it. You`ll pop those stitches."
Eden threw her hands in the air. "So what should I do then?" She said slumping down on the sofa.
"Make some tea." She said and disappeared with the box. "How`s your stomach and your head?" Came the voice from the top of the stairs.
"Fine. Surprisingly. I thought I`d feel really bad, but I think that couple of hours sleep helped." She held her feet up to the fire and wiggled her toes.
"It also helped that you got rid of most of the booze in the hospital carpark." Said Tori who was leaning against the door jam watching the blonde, a cheeky smile on her face.
"I had some sandwiches when you were out, that helped too." She watched the tall woman as she crossed the floor and sat beside her.
"I brought some jeans from your flat if you want to put them on."
"You saw Cathy?" Asked Eden.
"Yeah, she was glad to hear you`re ok." Tori placed her hand on a bare thigh. Again. "Are you ok?"
"I am. Thanks. My hand hurts a little, but apart from that I feel fine." She placed her hand over Tori`s. "What about you?"
Tori nodded. "It was nice, coming home knowing you`d be here." Blue eyes found green, "I`ve never had that before."
"No-one waiting for you?"
Tori shook her head.
"What about you and Damien?"
"I told you I loved him didn`t I." Tori watched the blonde head nod. "I don`t think I did. I tried to convince myself I did when it looked like I was going to marry him. I never got round to living with him. We went back to his flat twice. After our second night together we agreed that it wasn`t working, but we`d go ahead with the marriage." Tori shrugged and shook her head.
"Why?"
"Because it was what my father wanted. I felt I owed him, felt I should do what he expected of me." Tori snaked an arm around the blonde`s shoulders and pulled the willing body closer. "Didn`t really think it would matter. I`ve never loved, never been loved. What difference would a marriage without love make. I.............."
A shifting of the warm body beside her stopped her. "Tori." Eden said turning in her seat to face her. "You`ve never been loved?"
Tori smiled at the concerned look on her new friend`s face. "Never." Was all she said.
"But your parents..........."
"............didn`t love me. Up until Rory died I hadn`t seen my father for over four years. I worked in another branch of the company. We talked on the phone, but only as an employer would to one of his employees." She cupped a flushed cheek. "Don`t worry about me Eden, I`m used to it."
"No, no-one should be used to that. Everyone needs someone to love them."
"I don`t. I wouldn`t expect something I couldn`t return."
There was silence for a long moment. Then Eden leaned forward and kissed the woman gently on the lips. "You have love in you, I can feel it." She said, her breath warm on Tori`s face.
Tori stood so quickly that Eden almost toppled forward. "I`m gonna cook." She said and walked quickly from the lounge to the kitchen.
Eden sighed and followed. She found Tori emptying the minced beef into a frying pan. "You ok with bolognese?" Tori said without looking up.
Eden leaned against the worktop. "Fine, but no spaghetti for me, I get in enough of a mess with two hands."
Tori looked up. "It won`t be spaghetti bolognese without the spaghetti."
"It`ll be fine without." Eden assured her. "Did you get any wine?" Tori nodded towards one of the bags. "Great." Said Eden, "I`ll lay the table in the dining room and we`ll have a romantic dinner."
"Ok." Said Tori who turned back to her cooking, only to feel a soft touch on her back. She turned to find smiling green eyes regarding her thoughtfully.
"Relax." Said Eden and then she was gone.
Tori blew out a long breath and picked up the jar of bolognese sauce, reading the instructions a couple of times before putting it down again.
Eden managed to find a couple of candles and a table cloth in one of the drawers of the huge sideboard in the dining room. The table was laid and she was sitting on one of the chairs watching the gently falling snow when Tori emerged from the kitchen with two plates.
"Hope it`s ok." She said as she placed the plates on the mats Eden had set on the table.
"I`m sure it`ll be fine. There`s certainly plenty of it." Eden sat opposite Tori and took a fork in her right hand.
"Is it too much? I`m never very good at judging how much to do."
"No it`s great, I haven`t had much in the last few days."
Tori reached over and pulled the cork from the wine which Eden had loosened earlier. She filled both glasses and raised her glass. "Cheers." She said.
Eden touched her glass to Tori`s "Cheers, here`s to.............." She looked into Tori`s eyes hoping she`d finish the toast.
"Us?" Said Tori, and shook her head slightly, uncertainty causing her to drop her eyes from the blonde woman`s.
"Yeah, us. Wanted you to say it though."
Tori smiled at her. "Eat your dinner."
Later that evening the two women sat on the couch in front of the blazing fire. The tv was on, but not being watched. The quilt that Eden had brought down earlier in the day was on the floor in front of the fire. Tori had her back against the arm of the couch and Eden was lying back against her chest.
"Comfy?" Said Tori her right arm circling the smaller woman`s waist.
"Mmm, very." Said Eden, her own hand covering the larger one.
"Hope you`re warm enough in just that teeshirt."
"I am, but I can put some jeans on if you want."
"I don`t want." Said Tori and moved the blonde hair aside so that she could kiss the soft skin of Eden`s neck.
Eden tilted her head sideways as Tori`s soft lips made their way up to an earlobe and took it between even, white teeth.
"You ok?" Tori husked into the ear by her lips.
"I`m great." Said Eden who turned on her side and claimed the soft lips in a searing kiss. Tori opened her mouth when a hot tongue licked along her top lip, asking for permission to enter.
Eden lay comlpetely on top of the woman now, her elbows on either side of the dark head. She felt Tori`s hands find their way under the back of the teeshirt, smoothing the flesh there in long strokes. The blonde ducked her head and suckled an elegant neck. "I want you Tori." She moaned into the warm skin.
Tori`s hands smoothed lower, under the waistband of the briefs that Eden wore, and cupped the firm globes she found there. She dug her fingers into the silky flesh and ground the woman into her own body.
Eden leaned back a little and pulled the teeshirt Tori was wearing out of the waistband of her jeans with her good hand Without further ado Tori pulled the shirt over her head and threw it behind the couch. The bra had a front fastening on it, so that disappeared quickly too.
Tori smirked and got hold of the bottom of the shirt that Eden wore, pulling it off in one movement.
Eden settled back down onto her human matress, and both women sighed in unison. She took the face below her in her hands and kissed the woman deeply.
Suddenly Tori took hold of the blonde and rolled them both over and onto the floor. Tori ended up on top, she straightened out the quilt and pulled them both onto it. "Is your hand ok?" She whispered. Eden nodded.
Eden felt the warmth from the fire against one side, and the warmth from the body on top of her on her stomach.
Tori slid down, trailing tiny kisses across Eden`s collar bone and up past the pulse point to her earlobe again. Then she made her way back down. Eden sucked in a breath when she felt the warm lips attach themselves, almost gently, to a nipple. Soft fingers found the other and soon both peaks were rampant and almost painful.
Eden entwined her hand in soft ebony hair, urging the warm mouth to continue its torture. The drawing became more intense and Tori`s free hand came to rest on Eden`s hip. She made tiny circles there, the flesh producing goose bumps in her wake. Then the hand moved up along her ribs to cup the side of the breast she was suckling.
Eden opened her mouth to gasp Tori`s name but found her mouth claimed by the hot lips of the taller woman. The kiss was hard and passionate, and Tori shifted, placing a thigh between the blonde`s legs. She cupped a breast in one hand, the other tangled itself in the golden hair, pulling the blonde head back she fastened onto Eden`s neck.
Eden managed to get her hands between them and found an already hard nipple. She rolled it between her finger and thumb and smiled into the kiss when she felt Tori twitch above her.
Suddenly Tori knelt up, hooked her hands around the underwear Eden was wearing and drew it down and off her legs. She knelt still for a moment, taking in the sight of the naked woman beneath her, the skin glowing in the firelight.
She lay down beside the blonde, her head propped up on one hand. "You`re beautiful" She said, her hand gently rubbing the soft abdomen.
"So are you." Said Eden, closing her eyes as the hand moved lower with each circle it made. Eden gave herself up to the feeling of the hand on her stomach. Then she felt the lips on her breast again just as the hand moved down and claimed her. Her hips jerked as Tori`s fingers found her warmth and wetness. She placed a bandaged hand on the dark head, smoothing the hair gently. Then she felt the head raise up as Tori looked intently at her, wanting to watch the emotions flit across her face as she took her. Green eyes opened to find blue boring into her. The stroking became more insistant, then she was filled and pulled Tori`s head down, gasping into her mouth as the pressure at her centre became unbearable.
Tori released her mouth and watched her lover`s face as her body convulsed and Eden screamed Tori`s name. She stilled her hand until Eden lay still and then gently withdrew from her.
Snaking an arm around her back she drew the woman into an embrace and pulled the quilt around them. Eden was limp in her arms, she brushed some golden locks back from the sweating face and ducked her head to look into the lovely face.
"Eden?" She said.
"Mmm?"
"You ok?"
"I`m wonderful." Eden squirmed around so that she was, once again, on top of her lover. "You ok?"
Tori nodded and Eden reached up to the couch and pulled down two cushions, placing them under Tori`s head. "There." Said the blonde, and nestled her head into a warm shoulder. Then she knelt up and awkwardly with one hand undid the buttons on the jeans. "Take them off." She asked, huskily.
Tori did so quickly and once she was as naked as Eden she welcomed the smaller woman back into her arms and settled back in front of the roaring fire.
Under the cover of the quilt a small hand made its way from the hip to a small patch of dark curly hair. "No." Said Tori, capturing the hand and moving it back to her own stomach.
"Let me." Said Eden, kissing the taller woman along the jaw line.
"No." Tori said again. "I can`t."
Eden leaned back so that she could look at her lover`s face. "What d`you mean, you can`t?"
"Just can`t." Tori closed her eyes, a tear escaping and meandering down to join the hair at her temple. "Let me just hold you." She opened her eyes and Eden saw pain in the blue orbs. "Please?" Tori asked.
"Ok." Said Eden and allowed herself to be pulled back down onto the warm body. `For now.` She thought.
Eden must have dozed, because she was awakened by the pain in her hand. Tori had rolled over and was lying slightly on it.
"Hey there." She whispered into the dark hair. She could make out Tori`s face in the firelight and knew she was asleep. There was no reaction from the taller woman so she eased her hand out from underneath her. She got up onto her elbow and looked down into her lover`s face. She saw where the tears had dried on the high cheekbones and wondered what the source of the pain was that caused them.
Pushing the quilt back from the lean body she raked her eyes across the perfect breasts. `I will claim this body.` She thought to herself.
Gently rubbing Tori`s abdomen to accustom the sleeping woman to her touch she watched her own hand as it made lazy circles. Looking up into the sleeping face she watched the tiny twitches as her hand moved lower.
`Why don`t you want to let me give you this?` She said as her finger found the bundle of nerves in the wetness.
Tori`s thighs twitched spasmodically and Eden eased her touch, not wanting to wake the woman yet. Resting her hand on the dark mound she waited, then resumed the gentle stroking. She watched Tori`s face and when her lips parted she bent and kissed her gently, slowly deepening the kiss as she felt the woman wake beneath her.
Tori grasped at the younger woman`s head. Pulling her into the kiss that she woke to, then gasped as she climaxed, trapping Eden`s hand at the juncture of her thigh`s.
"There, that wasn`t so hard was it?" Said Eden, her smile fading when she saw tears coursing down the woman`s face again.
Eden eased her hand away and lay heavily on the solid body, wrapping the dark head in her arms and kissing away the tears that still fell from the blue pools.
"What is it?" She whispered into soft hair.
"I don`t think........... I don`t deserve this." But even as she said it, she knew, she wouldn`t be able to do without it. Not now.
"Well, that doesn`t really concern me." Said Eden. "You didn`t have much of a say in the matter. I took you. You`re mine now."
Tori couldn`t help laughing and Eden laughed with her. "Am I now, and what d`you plan doing with me?"
"Anything I like, whenever I like."
"Ok." Said Tori and pulled the blonde down for a lover`s kiss.