Page 83 of Marlin's Faith

Every little care he took towards my wellbeing like this, I noted it. Every time he gave me a nuanced look, checking on me, checking to see if this or that was alright, every time he kissed me with such reverent care, every time he stopped at the first sign of my distress, every time he’d squeezed my knee in reassurance, or kissed the hurt away, or touched me with the reverence he was showing me now… I fell more deeply in love with him.

He lowered his lips to mine and gently slipped inside me, eliciting a deep, impassioned moan from me. I pushed at him and he smiled against my lips, turning with me, holding me close so that he lay on his back and I rose above him, his cock still seated deeply inside of me as I looked down at him from my perch along his body. I wanted to love him as thoroughly as he loved me, and I loved that he let me do it.

I rose and fell gently along his length and loved it when his eyes drifted shut and he moaned, giving himself over to the sensations of our bodies meeting. I made love to him for a long time this way, until time melted and distorted in the haze of euphoria we shared and we either had to finish or Marlin had to take over, my legs trembled so badly from fatigue from the sustained, unfamiliar position I had them in.

It ended up being the latter, Marlin sitting up and curving his strong arms behind my back. He lifted me and turned me without slipping free of my body, but still managed to not lean on one of my legs in the transition to where it felt like the bone very nearly bent. I loved that about him, so thoughtful and he thought ofeverything.

He took over, and I closed my eyes, drowning willingly in the feeling of him moving above me and inside me. Relishing how the pleasurable glow of our lovemaking coalesced into sparks of energy, flowing through me and alighting on my skin. Glowing off and on like the random little fireflies in his parent’s back yard.

When I came, it was with him, and it was, in fact, as if the earth moved. Like my axis reversed polarities and settled, just a little bit more, into who I had been before my trauma, only more like it settled into who I would be and it only had one word to apply to it:stronger.

Marlin gathered me to him in the dark of the room, and we lay, pressed together, breathing heavy, safe in a world of our own making.

“I love you, Faith,” he whispered when he’d caught his breath enough.

“I love you, too.”

It was nice, because in that moment of post lovemaking bliss, I felt it as sure as the sun would rise tomorrow… I was going to be okay. We were going to be okay.

Here was a new beginning. One full of potential… one without end. Marlin hugged me tighter and placed a kiss against the top of my hair. I sighed out, and laid even more of my burden down.

* * *

Three weeks later…

“Are you looking up my skirt?” I asked laughing. Marlin caressed my calf, running his fingers lightly up behind my knee, taking the liberty of continuing all the way to my lower inner thigh. I shivered, and stilled on the ladder and he chuckled.

“Maybe, but can you blame me?”

“No, I suppose…” I trailed off, standing straighter at the roar of pipes growing closer. I started leaning this way and that, trying to see through the trees and Marlin laughed outright, Bobby with him.

“Easy, Baby Girl; I don’t want you to fall, come down here.”

I took a step or two down and Marlin gave a pull, with a surprised squeal, I fell into his arms. He laughed and kissed me, before setting me on my feet.

“There you go!”

We rushed back to the house and around front where Cutter, my sister, and the rest of The Kraken who had stayed in New Orleans were getting off their bikes.

“Hope!”

I ran to my sister and hugged her tightly. She looked surprised, bewildered even and hugged me back tightly.

“Are you okay? I mean what happened?”

“Calm down, Firefly! We’ll get to it.” Cutter wrapped an arm around my sister’s waist and hugged her into his side.

“Youareokay, right?” I asked her anxiously.

She gave my hand a squeeze, “I will be after I get some real food,” she said and she was as closed off and shut down as I’d ever seen her, which meant that no, she wasn’t alright. I had only spent a night in that place and Hope had been with me… I can’t imagine what a month with no one familiar had been like.

“Are you done?” I asked, and I was apprehensive, I mean, what if she had to go back?

“Yep! All charges were dropped and the cops that picked you up are under some hardcore review,” Radar crowed.

“So, what happened?” I asked.

Cutter laughed, “I said we’d get to it! Relax Firefly, damn, although it’s good to see you bein’ you.” He winked at me and I blushed.

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