Chapter 44 - The Touch Of You

[WARNING: MATURE CONTENT]

Before she could react, his mouth had touched her ear, gently nuzzling her with his warm soft lips. The fragile touch sent thrills down her spine.

Before she could even react to those gentle caresses, he had entered her ear with his tongue.

Candi gasped.

A rumbling began in his throat, moving lower into his chest as he delved the tip of his tongue into her ear, probing and licking that delicate area.

The ticklish feeling was churning her stomach into mush. She moved her head to avoid his probing tongue but there was no stopping him.

He cradled her head with both hands and gently bit her outer shell all the way to her earlobe, and as she murmured a half-hearted protest, he began suckling her lobe.

"Hahhhhh…" she gasped.

How was it possible for Slate to instinctively know where her most sensitive areas were when even she herself did not know?

"Hmmmmm. I love the taste of you…" he sighed as his fingers reached for the fasteners at her throat.

"No more. I need a bath."

Slate pulled back and gazed at her, his brilliant blue eyes sparkling with anticipation.

"I thought you'd never ask."

With a wave of his fingers at the ceiling, the empty center of the transport pod transformed into the familiar round bathtub. There was a sound of water bubbling into the tub as it began to fill.

"You like flower scented bubbles, I remember that." He smiled as the delectable scent of night jasmine and orchids floated out from the tub.

As the warm water began to rise from within the tub, steam began billowing from the surface, rising gently into the interior of the pod.

Another wave of his hand and the lights had dimmed down to the lumens of a handful of candles.

"You like Earth piano music. That I also remember." He murmured as his hands began roaming towards all the hidden fasteners of the bat body suit.

From somewhere, soft strains of Debussy's Claire de Lune filled the air.

As he began undoing them with the swiftness that only one who has worn such clothing regularly would know how to undo, he continued cooing to her gentle reassurances.

"The suit is fitted tightly so you can do your work, but you must take it off afterwards so your body has a chance to breathe and relax."

He stripped the suit off her, layer by layer.

"Come now. Breathe deeply for me Candace."

She began breathing.

Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.

His voice was warm and soothing, and he was making her more and more relaxed.

In minutes, she stood before him, perfectly formed and completely exposed to his eyes.

She cast her eyes downward as shyness began to overtake her. It wasn't has if he had never seen her body, during the times when he was healing her of welts and bruises.

Without a word, he picked her up and took her over to the tub. Gently, he lay her down into the fluffy scented bubbles.

Then, in one quick move, he had stepped into the tub behind her.

Candi's eyes widened with alarm.

"What are you doing?"

"Don't be alarmed. I'm going to sit behind you and wash your hair. Just relax."

He eased her body into the water until she was completely submerged except for her face, and then slowly, he pulled her back up into a reclined position, resting up against his hard chest muscles.

As he slowly began massaging the soap into her hair and body, Candi felt as if she was melting into the water. It was so warm, and she had been pushing her body to the limit all day.

Feeling her body relax under his ministration, Slate began to massage her body.

In between his deep tissue massage, he began touching her shoulders, and then her neck, dropping kisses in random spots and when she least expected them.

"Slate?"

"Hmmmm?" His voice hummed as he clamped his teeth on her skin and suckled hard, leaving a dark mark.

"Slate. What are you doing?"

"You taste so good."

Suddenly, his movements increased with intensity. His lips and tongue began consuming her skin like a starved wolf devouring his first prey in ages.

"Haaahhh. Woman, for so many nights, I have been thinking about your sweet flesh. I am starving..."

He pressed himself against her back and she gasped, feeling a very hard bump pressing up against her body.

As his kisses hungrily moved over her nape, he made new dark red kiss marks on her shoulders and back.

His hands found her nipples and began tugging them between his thumbs and fingers, starting a tingling sensation that traveled immediately to her lower body.

He continued teasing them with a vicious pinch, only to bring about relief with every pull he enacted. The sensation was overwhelming and awakened something carnal from the depths of her womanhood.

Candi gasped with pleasure.

"Aren't you supposed to…to not touch me, or something like that?"

"Not touch you?" He nibbled her ear, grasping her breasts from behind with both hands. "Who said that?"

Candi gasped. "Didn't your father say you weren't supposed to touch me?"

"Hmmm. Did he say that?" he paused to plant more kisses on her neck. "My brain is a bit foggy at the moment…"

His left hand continued to fondle her breast while his right hand slowly reached downward, past her lower abdomen, into the depths between her thighs.

As his fingers traced a path into the folds of her flower, he breathed a sigh into her ear.

"Oh Candace. What are we going to do?"

He gently slid his fingers across her labia and spread them wide.

"I cannot hold myself back no matter how hard I try."

He slowly made his way between the folds of her petals and caressing them, rubbing them up and down several times, just to watch her squirm before finally opening them up.

Slate began tickling her, playing with her sensitive bud. His fingers continued stroking, gently at first, but then increasing in tempo as her breathing accelerated.

Candi hissed, closing her eyes as his fingers focused on the sweet spot in between her legs. She held still, trying to keep her body from betraying her with its desire to be loved by this man, but it kept reaching for his touch despite her best efforts.

She moaned and shuddered, unable to hold herself back from the pleasurable sensation his fingers were creating as he slid his fingers in and out of her body, stimulating the juices to begin running.

"Ah. There is your nectar." He whispered gently into her ear.

Candi squeezed her eyes shut. His fingers felt so good, she was barely able to keep her mind on their conversation.

"Why—why did the Emperor say you are not supposed to touch me?"

Slate froze. His fingers paused mid-play.

"Because you are not mine to touch," he whispered with frustration.

"But Baby, I cannot stop myself," he mumbled against her skin, his fingers once again roaming all over her body.

"Even if I fail and lose everything, I need to feel you, to caress you. Damn it! I need to taste you!"