Chapter 14: THE NINTH

The smell of bacon filters through my senses. I lie with my eyes shut as the memories of last night filter through. My body is aching from using muscles I didn't know I even had, but for the first time in my life, I feel whole. I try to think of what I felt like before I met Taylor, but it is as if that girl no longer exists. The reality is that I wasn't a virgin, but last night it truly felt like I had given Taylor my virginity—or even more than that, a piece of my soul.

I find myself smiling, and I put out a hand, expecting to find Taylor lying beside me. I come up empty, and realising that I am alone, my eyes pop open. For the first time, I can properly take in the room I am in. The whitewashed walls, the floor-to-ceiling windows along the back wall with views across to a small lake, the overlarge bed with sumptuous pillows. There seems to be very few personal touches until I spot a montage of pictures of Taylor with a girl. Suddenly suspicious, I creep out of the bed to get a better look. Realising that the girl shares many of Taylor's features, I take a deep breath and rationalise that she must be family. The thought calms me but makes me realise that so far Taylor has avoided all talk of his family. Flinging on a robe that I find on the back of the door, I make my way downstairs, following the delicious smells of breakfast being made.

The creak of the stairs alerts Taylor to my presence, and he looks up as I enter the room, a soft smile lighting his face. "Morning, beautiful. I was just about to come and wake you." I feel embarrassed by his use of the word ‘beautiful’, but I shrug it off and smile back at him with a soft "Morning."

"Did you sleep okay?" Taylor starts loading up two plates as I climb up on a stool at the breakfast bar. I fidget with my robe, trying to cover my nakedness, hoping that Taylor won't realise how nervous I am about being here.

"Yes, thanks." I am feeling so desperately shy that I can't think of what to say next. I have never been in this situation before. The two whole times I have had sex before, there was no breakfast the morning after, only humiliation and hurt, and I just don't know how to handle this. Fortunately, Taylor seems to realise my unease, smiling over at me in a way that calms my nerves. Placing the biggest plate of food I have ever seen in my life in front of me, Taylor chuckles and puts on a weird French accent. "Madam, your breakfast is served."

A giggle escapes my lips, and I realise that underneath Taylor's calm exterior, he is a little bit nervous too. "Wow, this looks amazing!" I exclaim, and truly it does. A freshly made waffle is covered with a mound of bacon, poached eggs and asparagus tips in a hollandaise sauce. My stomach rumbles loudly as Taylor brings me a tall glass of juice.

"Dig in. It'll get cold." I take a mouthful and groan. Taylor looks over, worried. "Is it okay?"

"Delicious. Maybe the best breakfast I have ever had."

"Well, I wouldn't go that far."

"Seriously, Taylor, no one apart from Nonna ever cooked me breakfast, and her version was always a little on the greasy side. She was a great cook, but breakfast was not really her forte."

"What do you mean, no one cooked you breakfast?" Taylor looks at me quizzically.

"Well, my folks don't really eat breakfast, or anything full stop, so if I was hungry I had to fend for myself." A dark look crosses Taylor"s face, and I see his fists bunching. "Don't get me wrong, there was always food. It just didn't come like this." Taylor calms and comes around to sit beside me, placing a light kiss on the top of my head. We eat in comfortable silence, and I marvel at the fact I am sitting here, the morning after the night before, feeling more at ease with Taylor than with some of my friends I had known for years.

"I thought we could go for a walk this morning and stop in for coffee at a great little place I know, if that works for you?"

"That sounds lovely. Would you mind if I grab a shower first?"

Taylor gives me a wicked grin. "Sure, not at all. Go on up while I clear up in here."

It takes me a few minutes to work out how to get the space-age shower working. There seems to be a million jets in the giant cubicle available to pummel my body in every direction, and once I get used to them, my body starts to relax from a tension I didn't even realise I was holding on to. I don't hear Taylor come into the room, let alone open the cubicle door, so when his arms wrap around me from behind, I let out a small gasp of surprise.

"I thought I would join you." Taylor gives me an impish grin.

"Oh, did you?" I retort, suddenly feeling very exposed as Taylor starts to run his hands up and down my body. I find myself stiffening, not sure about what is happening here.

"Relax, Abby, I don't bite," Taylor whispers into my ear, nipping at it affectionately.

"Ha ha, what do you call that, then?" I snort.

"Hmm, well, just a little, then." I can feel Taylor's grin as he starts kissing my neck.

"That's not really what I am afraid of."

"Oh no, then what is it you are afraid of?" I am not sure I can articulate what I am feeling at the moment.

Taylor leans across and grabs some shower gel and squeezes some out into his palms. He starts working his hands together to create a lather, which he then starts rubbing the foam across my breasts. My breathing quickens the lower his hands wander, and I find myself putting my hands out to stabilise myself.

"Maybe you are afraid of this?" Taylor slips a finger between my swollen lips and, on finding my clit, starts to rub in slow circles. The warmth in my abdomen quickly builds with sparks of pleasure threatening to unbalance me. Taylor holds me against him, his other hand continuing to massage my breasts. I feel him growing hard as he pushes into my back. My brain takes a leave of absence, and it is all I can do to ride the waves threatening to overwhelm me.

"Come for me, baby." Those four words and that’s all it takes for me to unravel. My shaky legs threaten to collapse, and sensing this, Taylor reaches down and sweeps me into his arms. He walks me across to the counter and gently places me sitting on the top. I can feel his need as he kisses me hungrily, so I pull him to stand between my legs. We are both breathing too hard to talk, desire overriding everything else as hands tangle in hair, lips move across bare skin, tongues crash.

Without pausing for a break, Taylor slips on a condom and then nudges his head slowly into me. I sigh as the fullness claims me once again, my muscles tightening around his girth.

"Fuck, you are so tight, Abs." Taylor cups my ass, pulling me onto him so that I am full to the hilt.

"More, I need more," I whisper, my need to fly making me plead. "Fuck me, please, Taylor." I can't quite believe my words, but in the moment they feel wholly appropriate.

"With pleasure, baby." Taylor slowly eases out of me, and I whimper in longing as the emptiness consumes me. He looks me straight in the eye and then slams back into my body. Holy fuck! Taylor has reached a part of me I thought only existed in grown-up fairy tales. "Argh," I scream, the pleasure bordering on the sweetest pain I have ever felt. Taylor stills, concern in his eyes.

"No, more please." My words are garbled, and Taylor goes completely still, unsure of my meaning.

"Taylor, not 'no'—more, please. Fuck me." My breathing is ragged. Taylor's eyes light up and he grips my ass once more, slamming into me with force. I moan in ecstasy as he slams into me again and again and again, and then I explode, taking Taylor with me. Minutes pass as we stay bound together, his forehead leaning on mine, waiting for the shockwaves to subside. Tears start to leak down my face, my body completely overwhelmed by the sensations it has just experienced.

Taylor starts and looks at me with concern. "Did I hurt you, Abby?" he asks in a whisper, clearly anxious.

"No…no. These are happy tears." I can see he is unsure, so I wipe away the tears and plant a soft kiss on his lips. "I am all good, Taylor. That was just…a little overwhelming." Taylor smiles and hugs me tightly, kissing the top of my head lightly. Taylor slides out of me gently and pulls me back into the shower, soaping my body with light caresses.