The Longest Night: A Meridian Society Christtmas (TheCorsair & Madame Mim)

"Yes, of course," Anne Marie agreed with mock seriousness. "How could one say that such a thing could be as intimate as the touch of a lover?"

She had to bite her own tongue at the feeling of his hands on her thighs and knees. God damn his stubbornness! It hurt her pride to admit defeat, but other parts of her hurt even more to feel his hands on her, but not all of him. She needed him, and she knew he needed her...but of course he would never give up. Their game had already gone on far longer than she'd anticipated; she'd thought Algie would have given up long ago. Beneath the silk tie around her eyes her lips pursed into a pouty sort of frown.

"You are a stubborn ass, Algernon Swift," she said sternly, "and you deserve half as much as I'm willing to give. I hope you realize this."

Her lips turned up into a small smile again, then her mouth fell open as she finally, slowly, lowered herself onto Algernon's throbbing shaft. Her hands finally touched him, coming to his chest to balance herself as slowly she shifted her hips forward. Her cunt pulsed and clenched around his cock in another miniature orgasm, but she wasn't anywhere near done with him. Not yet.

Algernon's eyes nearky rolled back in his head at the feel of Anne Marie's slick heat engulfing his cock, and he whimpered in agonized pleasure as she clenched around him. "Half... may be more than I deserve," he answered in a breathless voice, "but... I will revel... in all.. that you give..."

Her hands braced on his chest as she moved on him and he caught his breath, stunned by the sensations of her body gripping his. He gripped her hips, revelling in the feel of her muscles rolling as she ride him, toying with the idea of allowing himself to climax. But no, not while he could control it. He wanted her to break his resolve, wanted to experience this sweet torture until he could withstand no more.

He grinned up at her, letting his nails drag over her skin as he slid his hands upwards. He traced her hips, then up her back and over her ribs. "You... still wear... my blindfold..." he gasped, cupping one exquisite breast and lightly pinching her erect nipple. "Are... your senses... more acute..?"

His other hand gripped her shoukder, pulling her down to him. "Is it better?" His breath was hot pants in her skin as he struggled against his own pleasure. Squeezing gently, he brought her breast to his mouth. "Feeling... and not... seeing?" The soft surface of his tongue lapped at her nipple now, and his hips moved in the same rhythm as her own. "Is it... better... fucking me? Like this?"

Goosebumps raised wherever Algie's hands went, raising in his wake. Her hips rolled smoothly, steadily as she enjoyed the divine sensation of him inside of her. Was this really only their second night together? It felt as though they had been lovers for a lifetime, love forged in the fires of turmoil and time. Anne Marie shivered when his nails dragged over her skin and grinned when he asked whether her senses were more acute.

"Mais oui," she panted. "I can hear...the lust...in your voice..." She interrupted herself with a moan and arched her back as a particularly difficult and pleasurable angle was achieved as he cupped her breast. "I can...smell the sweat...on your...skin..."

She let out a noise of surprise when he pulled her down and shivered again at his hot breath against her neck. She moaned in pleasure when he took her breast in his mouth and met her thrust for thrust. "My love..." she chided breathlessly, "you seem to...to be under...the impression...that--ah!...I would not...always be most pleased...by seeing...my lover." She pulled at his hair to tug his lips away from her breast for a moment to press a hard, desperate kiss to them. "That I...get no pleasure from...from fulfilling...that forbidden fantasy...that has...distracted me...these past years."

There was a bit of a pang at the phrase "forbidden fantasy", an awareness that what they were - what he was - doing was wrong. Forbidden. But... he would feel guilty later. For now, there was only Anne-Marie and this moment. So he moaned into her skin as she rode him, allowed his lips to trace over the curve of her breast and up her throat. His lips found here, teased them open and sucked at her tongue. "And here's" he groaned, arching his hips against hers, "I thought you derived pleasure from this."

He rested his hands on the lush curve of her rear, feeling muscles roll and shift as she moved up and down his shaft. "Can you hear the lust in my voice now?" he whispered against her lips, spreading his palms to cup the curved flesh. "Can you... can you hear... how much... I crave you..?". He leaned into her, seeking the feel of her body against his, driving himself deeper into her. "How much... I want...". A gasp as his cock twitched within her, warning of a building orgasm. "You."

His grip tightened, encouraging her to take him deeper, to ride him harder. A gutteral sound escaped his lips, and his teeth scraped her skin as he bit at her shoulder, her throat, her lips. "From... from the moment... you... teased me..." he growled. "I wanted... to take you. Hard, furious, like a beast. To use you... as mine. To make you... mine!". He gasped again, digging his nails into her skin. "Close..." he moaned "Too.. close. Cum... find with me, Anne-Marie. Cum... with... me..."

She was already there. Anne Marie gasped as he twitched inside of her and rode him harder, urging him toward that pleasurable cliff. "It's...too late." She gasped a breathless laugh then arched her back as his nails dug into her flesh. "I am already...yours....Have been...for years..."

With a strangled cry her entire body convulsed as she clenched around him. She arched her back as she rode him through her own orgasm before her chin dropped to her chest with a convulsive twitch and the pleasure became too much. Finally she brought a shaking hand up to remove the blindfold from her eyes while still attempting to catch her breath. Her thighs felt weak and her limbs trembled, but Anne Marie smiled more broadly and more genuinely here, alone in the bedroom with Algernon, than she had anywhere else for nearly twenty years. The feeling of his cock inside her was Heaven...a privilege to which she never thought she'd be privy. She laughed and let her head hang back, hair spilling down her back, reveling in the glory of this newly requited love while she put her hands on his chest to take some of her weight.

"That was..." Anne Marie trailed off and shook her head. "You are incredible, my love. I hope you realize that."

Algernon cried out as he climaxed, hands slipping over Anne Marie'half-man' body as he arched up into her. He gasped for breath as he spent himself, stunned by the intensity of it, and he sagged against her as the feeling ebbed. Her laughter was music to his ears, and he smiled as he let his head rest against her shoulder. "One of us, at least, is incredible," he murmured. "I'm just glad you think I am.". His arms tightened a little, becoming an embrace as he nuzzled the base of her throat. "But I would argue that I am merely inspired to seek greatness."

It would be a delight to remain like this, tangled and joined together. But his back was twinging a little. So he carefully laid back, pulling her down to rest on his broad chest, and gently explored the contours of her back. "But, since you believe I am, then I will continue to strive to be incredible.". He smiled, gently brushing her lips with his. "And perhaps, some day, I will be as incredible - as magnificent - as you."

Closing his eyes, he settled back and listened. The sound of her breathing and the feel of her heart beating was joy, unlike any he had experienced in longer than he cared to remember. "it would seem, though," he chuckled, "that I have yet to fall asleep - perhaps because I have been tempted from my rest.". He squeezed her rump playfully. "I was supposed to be in bed, now."

Anne Marie shifted, gently lifting herself off of him with a quiet gasp then laying down, sprawled across his chest. How could he not believe in Heaven when this right here was a taste of it? No matter. The feel of his hands along the curves of her body and the brush of his lips against hers was enough to make the moment perfect. When he closed his eyes she kissed from his cheeks down his throat, to his chest, to nibble at his collarbone briefly before laying her head against his heart. That heart was beating for her, which was the closest she'd been able to get to absolute truth in years, and filled her with so much bitter joy she was near to tears.

Algie's voice rumbled in his chest when he spoke again, sliding his hand along her skin and squeezing her playfully. Anne Marie giggled and squirmed a little, then looked up from her place on his chest. "Well...you are in bed, chere," she pointed out with a grin, followed by a dramatic sight. "But I suppose if you meant to actually sleep then yes, I have been your temptress. Perhaps you ought to punish me for being so wicked and depriving you of your much-needed rest." She chuckled and kissed his chest. "A spanking may be in order, just to teach me a lesson."

"It may indeed," Algernon chuckled in return, wrapping his arms possessively around Anne Marie's shoulders. "However, I fear I must catch my breath first.". Smiling, he kissed the top of her head and stroked her shoulders and tried to ignore the faint thread of guilt in his heart. It had been nearly three decades since he'd felt like this. Surely he deserved a little happiness? Deserved to lie in the arms of a woman he loved? He kissed her head again, drinking in the scent of her hair as he did, trying to banish the creeping thoughts. "I'm a fool," he murmured. "For... well, for not being willing to see what was right in front of me."

Settling back into the mattress, he closed his eyes and listened to her breathe. Enjoyed the soft, warm weight of her body atop his, and the musky scent of their mingled pleasure, and sighed contentedly. Then he cupped her cheek, urging her to look up at him. When she did, he kissed her. The first one was gentle, expressing live and affection with the gentle touch of lips on lips. The second was deeper, lingering over the act as he tasted her mouth. And the third was long and deep, all sounds of pleasure and passion as mouth opened and tongues slid over one another. One hand combed through her long hair to find her head, pulling her deeper into the kiss, and the other explored the delicate, strong arch of her back.

"I think," he gasped as the kiss ended, "that coming to bed has worked wonders.". His hands framed her race as he kissed her again. "I seem to be tired no longer, and the night is still young." His smile turned impish as his hands slid down her face and along her throat "However shall we pass the time, my love?"

"It takes two, my love," she murmured when Algernon chided himself for being a fool. "It was dangerous for both of us. It could have lost us a dear friendship, and is unprofessional besides. You will notice that I didn't make any sort of move either."

Anne Marie was content to lay on his chest, wrapped up in his arms, eyes drifting closed as she listened to his breath in his chest and the beat of his heart. She was nearly asleep when he cupped her cheek and brought her up to kiss her. Each kiss was more passionate than the last, each expressing some deeper facet of their relationship. She made a noise of pleasure and sat up a little more, adjusting herself over his body to press deeper into the third kiss even as his fingers threaded through her hair. He cupped her face in both hands and Anne Marie grinned when Algernon decided that he was no longer tired. His hands slid down her throat as he mused about how they might pass the time.

"Oh I haven't the faintest idea," she quipped. "I cannot imagine that we could do anything nearly as consuming as we've just done. There is the matter of my punishment for keeping you so...but you are a kind man. I cannot imagine you laying a hand to your lady love." She crinkled her nose briefly with a smile as she teased him.

"Punishment, hm?". Algernon looked up at her, amused by her playful smile, then kissed the tip of her nose. "I suppose that is in order, yes.". He kissed her again, stroking the fingers of one hand through her silken hair and groping around for something on the mattress with the other. "You were, after all, remarkably defiant..."

Silk whispered across her shoulder as his questing hand returned to her, pushing her up slightly and slding down her arms. Still smiling he pulled her into an embrace, enjoying the feel of her breasts pressing into his chest as he crossed her wrist behind her back. The silk whispered over her spine and buttocks as he wrapped it loosely around her wrists. Then he tangled his fingers in her hair as he kissed her, before slding her off his chest and into the bed,. "Now," he said, curling up against her side and running a slow finger down her back and over her bound wrists, "whatever shall I do with you?"

The fingers trailed lower, nails scraping lightly over flesh as he traced the vally between her buttocks. "I know your training," he whispered, nipping at an earlobe as he squeezed her rump "So I know this will take time. But, for this discipline to be effective, it must continue.". Lifting his hand, he brought it down lightly, just sharp enough to else cut a crack of skin on skin and a slight sting. "But you will admit your fault, my Anne Marie.". Lifting his hand he struck again. "You will admit, in time, that you are simply a tease.". He bit her ear again as he slapped her rear again. "And you will beg me to take you, to use you as I wish."

She hadn't known what she'd expected when she'd mentioned punishment. It had seemed like a natural transition, and it wasn't like she hadn't played with light bondage before. Of course, she was always the one punishing in those situations. She wasn't sure if she'd ever been the one restrained. Not since...

Algernon kissed her and pulled her into an embrace has his hands slid down her arms. The silk tie raised goosebumps along her arms as it slithered in the wake of his touch over her flesh. Her stomach clenched at the feel of it, soft and light, trailing down her spine and twining around her wrists like a serpent. He hadn't tied it tightly, but it still felt as though it might cut off her circulation. It was hard to take slow, deep breaths as he kissed her but once he had slid her onto the bed it was easier. Anne Marie shivered as he trailed a finger down her back. She closed her eyes and bit her lip, trying very hard to control her breathing as he nibbled at her ear and groped her ass. Why did she feel sick?

"I know your training," Algie whispered, "so I know this will take time. But, for this discipline to be effective, it must continue."

"I thought I'd taught you better than this, my little doll." A sigh from somewhere behind her. The rope was made of silk but it still cut into her wrists and ankles, tight far too tightly. "I suppose I shall simply have to discipline you more firmly." The scrape of a belt buckle against her back as he brought it down on her and she tried not to cry out. She didn't want to give him the satisfaction.

Her rear stung only slightly when he brought his hand down against her flesh. Even so she tasted metal. She didn't need to close her eyes anymore: her vision had narrowed down to a pinprick and her chest felt constricted by an iron band. She tried desperately to keep her breath even. It was just a panic attack and she knew it; it wasn't like she was any stranger to them. But he was so close to her and she couldn't see him...

"But you will admit your fault, Anne Marie! You've made me do this. I saw the way you watched the Viscount, the way you smiled at him, that look you had when he danced with you." Lifting his hand he struck again and she winced at the blow. Anne Marie bit the pillow as she felt blood flow across her back, into the frills of the girlish pink dress he'd forced her to wear before binding her and tearing it open. "You will admit, in time, that you are simply a tease, hm? Did I marry a whore?!" His hand curled around her throat and she felt claustrophobic as she felt his chest leaning against her back. "You will learn your place, Anne Marie, and you will learn how to behave in public if it's the last thing I do. And you will learn that I will do as I wish with you, that I can use you as I wish."

"Stop!" Her voice came out more sob than request or demand. Anne Marie's chest heaved with hyperventilation and she struggled against the loosely-tied silk but couldn't seem to manage it. "Don't!" Her tone was as sharp as she could make it through the tears and the gasping as Algie reached to help her, and she finally managed to pull her wrists apart and scramble to a corner of the bed where she wrapped her arms around herself and tried to gain control of her breathing. "Cinq...choses que...je peux voir..." she murmured to herself, looking around and struggling to see the room through her tunnel vision, "quatre choses que je...je peux toucher...trois choses que je peux...entendre...deux...choses que je...peux sentir...une chose que je peux goûter..." The only thing she could taste was metal, but by the time she was done with this ritual her breathing had slowed enough to regain control and the darkness had faded from her vision.

"I...I'm sorry," she mumbled, still holding herself and shaking. "I thought I could do it because I trusted you. I...it seems...trust makes it worse..." She swallowed hard but a tear still slid down her cheek. "I'm so, so sorry Algie. It isn't you, or me...it's him."

Shocked, Algernon tugged at the silk tie until it came away from her wrists. Tossing it aside, all thoughts of desire washed away by her evident panic, he gathered Anne Marie I to his arms and held her close, stroking her hair and murmuring soothing no sense until she slowly began to relax. Her breathing slowed from hyperventilation to mere breathlessness, and her speech moved from rapid fire French to moderate English as she struggled to explain. As she did, he cursed himself for a fool. "No, no," he assured her, "no apologies. I... I should have guessed. I, I knew what he did. Some of what he did. I should have..."

What? Never recruited her into his war? Never have subjected her to the tortures he inflicted? Had the courage to simply abduct and torture the man himsel? It was too late now, too late to change what had happened. His hand shook as he brushed the tears from her eyes, and he indulged himself - for a moment - in the idle daydream of a world in which she'd been spared these horrors. But then, perhaps he could command the tides to halt.

"Never apologize," he whispered. "You have nothing to apologise for. And you are my love, my Anne Marie. And you will always be safe with me.". Then he held her, waiting til the trembling subsided to move. The air beyond the curtains of the canopy was cold on his bare skin as he slipped into the floor, a fact he hadn't paid any attention to earlier. But it was a matter of moments to unstopper a decanter and pour two glasses, then carry them back.

"Here," he said, handing her one glass. "Brandy. I use it myself, upon occasion, when my sleep is disturbed by memory.". He lifted his own glass, and lifted an eyebrow. "As I suspect will be the case tonight.". With a wink, he clinked his glass against hers. "Your very good health, my love. And, from the clock, happy Christmas."

She didn't want to be touched. It took all of her will not to shove him away with all of her strength. He was only trying to make things better and she knew that, and there was no way for him to know that he was making in so much worse. Instead Anne Marie trembled in his arms and waited for her heart to stop racing while Algernon assured her that she would always be safe with him. She bit her lip to try to stop it trembling and sniffled.

"I know that," she assured him. "I've never felt anything less than safe with you. It's just..." She sniffed again. "If there were any way for ghosts to exist, we would be haunted by him. And you didn't know." She looked up at him somberly. "You could never know the least of what he's done, and you never will because I will never tell you. Nobody deserves to have the burden of Gustav LaMonte on their heart. Not any more than he already is." She reached up and ran her hand affectionately through his hair, giving him a sorrowful smile. Eventually he moved from her and Anne Marie felt like she could breathe again. Algie wasn't normally smothering, and probably wasn't being so now, but she needed space and air right now. There was too much touching.

As the clock struck in the distance Anne Marie took the brandy and gave him a watery smile. "Happy Christmas, Algernon."