Matrimonious Union

"With you," I gasped. He smiled and chuckled.

"Perfect."

"Let's go into the bedroom. I want to be with you fully like a real married couple."

Once we were showered, we got out and pulled on the robes. They were softer than any hotel bathrobe I'd had tried and that was speaking from a lot of experience. I rubbed my hands up and down Bram's shoulders, feeling the luxurious fluffy material.

We sneaked out and made it to the bedroom. As soon as Bram closed the door, he came over to me. At once he laid me down on the bed.

While the momentum between us was usually fast paced and lustful as it had just been, I felt an immediate change. Bram gazed into my eyes as he climbed up over me and I saw something there that I hadn't before.

As he entered me slowly, I realized that he wanted to actually make love to me. When he slipped down to me, pressing his cheek to mine, I felt tears in my eyes. They were for both joy and relief, not least of all, love.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed his cheek, my soft lips pressed against his scruff. Then he turned to meet my mouth with his. We kissed slowly, though deeply, enjoying every moment together.

The sensation of his skin against mine and the closeness of our union was other-worldly. I slowly wrapped my legs around him and held his head in my hand, running my nails through his thick midnight hair.

I couldn't believe it, but I saw tears in his eyes as he smiled at me. An irresistible longing filled my chest and it felt like I was swelling between my ribs. Without the ability to stop myself I pulled him to me, desperately clinging to him.

In that moment I wanted nothing more than to take care of his every wish, to be at his beck and call, just as he had wanted before. All along the time together with him being so hurtful and controlling, no matter how damaging, had led to right now. I was his in the way he wanted naturally.

I believed I always knew that about myself which was why I didn't fight him more than I did. I also knew that he was the person I was seeing now. His true self was capable of love, patience, caring, and thought.

My grasp turned into clutching him, full of desire and need. I was shaking against him, and I could tell that once I climaxed with him here, there would be no going back. We were about to change the path of our lives.

The tingling sensation I felt began in my feet and then crawled up my legs, between them, goosebumps covering my entire body. I pressed my chest to him, my stomach fluttering and rising with every breath. He was already sweating, his pectoral muscles pressing against me.

My fingers slid from behind his trapezius then his right deltoid until he rose, suspending himself over me. Without choice, I had to marvel at his beauty. I never had felt comfortable looking at him fully, both because of my longing for him and shyness. This time, I appreciated how sculpted he was and stared at every etched striation.

"You're so gorgeous," I let slip out, but I had no other words. I wanted to have dynamic levels of depth, but I was reduced to not only my base but most vulnerable parts, involuntarily. I ran my hands over his pecs and then touched his nipples.

He smiled at me knowingly, understanding the connection I was making with myself. When he lowered himself to me once more, I pulled him to me tightly, our cheeks once again pressed together. I could hear him moaning and grunting in ways that I hadn't before. It sounded like he was crying.

Our rhythm was now in sync and without words we knew we were together in our lovemaking. We clung to one another as if letting go would be impossible. I whimpered his name repeatedly. Each time I breathed into his ear, my uncontrolled utterances affected how slowly or deeply he proceeded.

"Is that how you like it?" he whispered.

"Yes, Bram." My words were trickling out of my throat, competing with my rapid skipping breaths.

"Do you like ... this?" he asked as he pushed himself fully inside me. I nodded with a cry of pleasure. I could feel his smile on my cheek as his own breathing picked up rapidly. "Tell me something, Alex."

"Oh, what would you like to hear?" I moaned.

"Tell me you love me."

"I love you, Bram. I'll tell you that anytime you want to know."

He looked at me as I held his face. I petted his thick raven-black hair, the sides still spiky but grown in even more. I pulled on his bangs then cupped his cheek.

A smile came across his face once more and then he moved back to me, kissing me deeply. I kept him with me and then we gazed into one another's eyes. We continued like that for as long as we could hold out and then we relented to one another on every plane of existence.

We became connected with every climax, until we were breathless and the tetany in our muscles could take no more. It was pleasure, comfort, and passion at once and as we both sank into the bed out of exhaustion, we caught one another's eyes. There was a sparkle in his that I knew had to be in mine. We were in love all over again.

***

After we got some rest, we were surprised that Rhys provided us both with new wardrobes. We loved our new threads as they felt good on our skin and fit perfectly. Bram and I agreed that I should try to help Rhys again.

We all gathered in his room and sat by his bed. By now Rhys was feeling poorly again so I knew I had to act fast. When we sat down and I took Rhys's hand, he nodded to me. I stared into his eyes and asked, "Are you ready?" He gave me a quick nod.

Bram sat beside us along with Jenna and Anna. Once I felt connected, I closed my eyes and slipped inside. It wasn't hard to find the tumors once I was closest to his lungs. The sound of his expanding lungs as the cancerous masses dissolved was wonderful. His body was riddled with them, and I spent much time in there using my Noir granted gift.

There wasn't much that I could see, necessarily, but I could sense the disintegration of each cell as they sloughed off. After a while, it was too hard to work my way in without running into the waste. I knew that I'd better exit.

I felt the energy in my body transfer once again, then I was back. Slowly, I opened my eyes. Bram studied me as his brow was furrowed in worry. He searched my face but upon realizing I was fine, his attention turned to his brother. Rhys's eyes were closed, and he appeared to be deeply sleeping.

Everyone was quiet, Jenna holding her chin and Anna fighting back tears. "Did it work?" Bram whispered. I motioned for Bram to walk with me in the hallway.

"It definitely worked," I whispered.

"How do you know? What is it that you see?" he asked.

"It's like traveling down a million hallways of differently lit tissue," I replied. "I don't know if I can describe it using regular language."

"That's okay if you can't right now. I'm sorry to be pushy," Bram apologized.

"It's understandable. I have a few reservations."

"What are they?"

"I'm a little worried because of all the cellular ... material. Do you think it could make him sick? He may have more tumors, but the way was blocked because of the collection."

"Yes, that makes sense that he'll probably have to take a few days to get rid of the excess waste. Jenna will make sure he's okay. But what about you? Are you alright?" he asked with genuine concern on his face.

"So far," I said softly with a shrug. He pulled me to him and held me. I hugged him back. When we parted, we both checked in on Rhys and his wives. Everyone seemed to be in the same poses they were before.

"Hey," Bram whispered. The two women turned around. "Things okay?"

"We got this!" Jenna whispered with tears spilling down her cheeks.

"Let's head outside," Bram suggested. I shot him a curious look. He gave me a side-smile and then dashed into the bedroom. I watched him grab our towels and robes. We snickered as we hopped down the stairs together.

He grabbed my hand and pulled me outside until we were in the backyard. We made our way to the hot tub. There were white lights at the bottom of it that we could turn on or off. For now, they were helpful for navigating our seats.

We completely disrobed and slipped into the warm water. The desert was getting cool again now that it was night in the late fall. When I slid next to him, he put his arm around me as the jets bubbled the crystal-clear water over us.

He kissed me once and then we leaned our heads back, in the comfortable neck rests. The sky was brilliantly full of stars as though someone had painted them there.

I expected that Bram and I were going to become intimate but as we were sitting in comfortable silence, I realized that wasn't what I wanted and neither did he. It was nice that we wanted to simply enjoy the moment.

Bram took my hand, linking his fingers with mine, holding it under the soothing, warm water. When I caught his eye, he gave me a tiny smile, but I could tell something was on his mind.

"I've been wanting to find a way to ask you," he said, pausing. "How do you feel ... being here?" I watched him run his teeth over his lower lip for a second, nervously.

"Because this place is my childhood stomping grounds?" I asked.

"Well, yes, and because it's the reason we were forced to get married. All of that must be hard to think about. Fuck, I'm not sure why I'm bringing this up. You were so happy—"

"No, Bram, thank you for asking. It means a lot that you care." I placed my hand on my chest. "To answer your question, when we first got here, when we touched down and then on the way driving over, I was beginning to feel a little anxious," I said, wishing I had the proper words to describe the knot that twisted my insides up when I remembered my past.

"What would it be like to talk to him again?" Bram asked. I glanced at him once more, noting the floating bubbles just barely concealing between his legs. So much for thinking we wouldn't get intimate. I moved toward him and began to kiss him, but he gently pushed me back.

"What's wrong?" I asked him. He gave me a knowing half-smile.