23 - A Thousand Years

They stood nose to nose as the sound of water draining from the tub echoed off the marble floor.

Ariana gazed into eyes that were the color of a deep blue sea shimmering in the sunlight, and the emotion there was a reflection of what she felt in the center of her chest.  He would give her the strength to get through this.  All she had to do was accept it.

Lifting her face, she grazed his jaw with pillowed lips for first one kiss, then another.  The kisses found their way down to his collarbone and up the solid warmth of his throat to his ear.  She worshipped him without a word until her lips hovered against his.

“I love you,” she whispered with raw honesty, twining fingers into soft waves of blond to draw him closer. 

The first touch of their mouths was a tentative one, like she was kissing him for the first time.  He didn’t rush her, and the caress of warm lips under hers was softer than she could ever remember it being.  She lingered there for a moment, savoring his taste and running a lazy tongue across his bottom lip.

The flavor was not only familiar, it carried something she could remember quite clearly.  Something that stirred a rush of adrenaline in her belly.

When the weight of Jon’s hands became heavier against the small of her back, she readily arched against him.

Ari wanted him as much now as she had that night in Rio.  More.  Because this time she didn’t have to hide from her feelings – or hide them from him.  She wasn’t going to hide them from him.

He let himself be led blindly until the mattress hit the back of his knees, and his groan of disappointment when she broke their kisses was another shot of adrenaline.  Rays of moonlight lit the room as she lifted his arms and reached for the hem of his shirt, pulling it over his head. Impatient hands played with the pelt salt and pepper chest hair, and teasing thumbs traced circles over his nipples on their way down his toned, tanned stomach. 

She undid the button of his jeans as desire flushed in her cheeks.  Her heart pounded while she slipped denim and briefs over narrow hips, and they fell easily to his knees and caught.  Urging hands found the top of muscled shoulders, and she pushed downward in silent command.  He obediently sat on the edge of the bed, and she knelt before him to finish removing the clothes that were completely unnecessary. 

He could feel her hands trembling against his thighs when she pushed against them to stand.  Dewy green eyes watched him, and their beauty resembled the freshness of grass after a morning rain. 

Those eyes weren’t the only thing he found beautiful, and Jon tugged at her towel.   When it slithered to the floor in a damp heap, his palms settled against the bare indentation of waist to pull her closer.  His nose nuzzled between her breasts, where he inhaled the scent of candied apples until it completely filled his nostrils.

A soft sigh escaped her as his breath hitched against the fragrant flesh.

Ariana cupped a lean cheek and brought his eyes to hers. “Let me love you.”

“Only if you promise not to stop.”

She smiled against his lips, kissing him slowly at first – a single, soft peck was followed by another.  Those were chased by clinging lips and heated breath until there was no telling whose lips were whose. 

Ari was lost in the taste of him – them – as she pushed him to lie back on the bed and straddled his waist.  Her swaying breasts had nipples scraping his chest when she bent close, whispering in his ear.  “I’ll… never… stop.”

Eyes closed, she nibbled the vein that protruded from his neck.

“I have loved you...” She licked her way towards his Adam's apple, his five o’clock shadow tickling her tongue. Ari felt Jon’s thick erection against her folds as she slid further down his thighs, the tops of her feet resting on the middle of his shins. “...from the first day I saw you.” 

Her tongue twisted around his nipple, causing it to harden.

“Crash,” he moaned.

“Sshhh...”  She took the hardened peak of his other nipple between her teeth and bit gently.  “Not a day… has gone by… that I haven’t… loved you.”

Feathery kisses over his well-defined abs punctuated every word. When she lifted her head to look at him, her half-damp locks grazed his sides making his eyes jolt open. 

Steering her hips, he pulled her onto his aching hardness and slowly slid them into Heaven.  It had to be Heaven, because they fit each other perfectly, as if God had made them for one another.

Whimpering quietly, she rocked back and forth on the hard body that made her soft inside.  Not a day would go by that she wouldn’t love him.  

Jon’s hands revered her body – breasts, the dip of her spine, quivering thighs and round cheeks.  The smooth softness of her skin felt good against his, both inside and out.  He felt the constant twitching play of her muscles clenched around him as her flesh smoldered under his touch.

“Ari, look at me.” Hooded eyes gazed up at him, an endless field of green. “I love you.”

Their mouths locked together, and fevered tongues intermingled as they melded into one being.  They absorbed the pleasure of making love without reservation until they catapulted into the clouds of their personal Heaven together.

Breathless and weak, they lay in each other's arms still stroking.  Still as one. 

And as Ariana drifted towards sleep, she finally claimed what had been the truth all along.

I’m his, and he’s mine. 

♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱ ♱

They were lying snuggled close, with her head on his chest and his right arm wrapped around her waist. The steady sound of his breathing sang softly in her ear as shafts of light streamed through to light the room, and her mind wandered over the past few days.  So much had happened, but where would they go from here? 

“Jon? You up?”

“Mm.”

“We need to talk.”

“I know,” he sighed, but it didn’t deter her from pressing.  All this speculation was making her nuts.  She needed some concrete plans.

“What are you going to do? I mean... really?”

“I haven’t thought it out completely, but I plan on talking with Dot as soon as I go home.”

“Can you think it out before you go, please? And are you going tell her about me?” 

“Yes.”  His confidence was equally comforting and anxiety-inducing.  “I’m not hiding us anymore. We deserve to be together, and she deserves to know the truth. I’d like to have this all out in the open before the tour starts.”

Things were getting very real and very complicated, causing Ari to unconsciously gulp.  There was no way around it, though.  “Okay. I’ll stand by whatever you do.” 

“Baby, you know it’s not going to be a smooth ride? I mean things with me and Dot haven’t been good for a while, but I’m not sure how well she will handle how long you and I have been together.”

“Oh, she’s going to be furious,” Ari predicted. 

“I have no doubt she’ll be mad, and I can’t blame her.”

“I should have let you leave her, but then you wouldn’t have... Jon, what are you going to tell the kids?” 

“Ari, don’t do that. We’re here now, and as for the kids…  I’ll talk with Dot about what she thinks.  For now, it’s probably just best if we tell them we’re getting divorced.”

“So, do you plan on telling them about us?”

He lifted his head off the pillow and looked down at her.

“Of course, I do.  I plan on telling everyone.” He placed a kiss on her forehead. “Since we’re talking plans here, what are you planning on doing? I want you with me on the tour.”

She sighed and put her face in his chest to hide the sadness that he would undoubtedly see.

“I have commitments here to take care of. Then there’s my job, and I should go check on the house in California. Besides, do you think it’s a good idea me for me to be on tour with you?”

“You and me waking up like this every morning? I’d say it's an excellent idea.” He gave her bare cheek a squeeze, trying to lighten the mood. 

Lifting her face, she hit him with a light scowl. “Jon, I’m serious.”

“I know you are, babe. And I understand you have things to work out, but the tour doesn’t officially start till February.  There’s some promotional stuff to do.  That’s mostly local, but we do have to go to London to tape the ‘London Radio Theatre’ gig.  Maybe I can tack on a few days, and you can meet me there.”

“London. When is that again?”

“Beginning of November sometime, I think. I know we’re done on the twenty-fifth for the holidays. I’ll check with Jeanie in the morning.”

“Um...okay.”

“Hey.” He nudged her while softly playing with her hair. “What just happened here?  You got all sad sounding.”

“Nothing. It’s just...this will be my first holiday without Lili.”

“Aw, Ari I’m sorry.”  He squeezed her into a hug.  “You know I’d be here if I could.  It’s just...with the situation. I think it would be best if I spend it with the kids this year.”

She sat up hastily.  “Of course you should! It’s where you belong. They’re your family, and I wouldn’t expect you to be anywhere else.” 

“Ariana, you’re family,” he reminded sternly. 

“I didn’t mean it like that, Jon.  I just meant it’ll be difficult for them to learn their parents are getting divorced.  They’ll need you around.” Tucking the sheet under her arms, she assured both him and herself, “I’ll be fine. Cara and Max will be here, and we’ll do our traditional holiday stuff. It’ll just be sad not having Lili with us.”

“Yes, it’ll be tough, but she’ll be right here with you.” He touched his finger over her heart.

“I know.”  Ari found his eyes and told him with quiet determination, “I know it isn’t going to be easy, but I haven’t changed my mind.  I want us.”

“Good, because I want us, too.  You just gotta have a little faith that it’ll all work out.”

His quick movement had her under him, and she blinked up, noticing how his shoulders bunched as he shifted weight from one hand to the other. 

During the last twenty years, she had studied every inch of his body a thousand times, yet today it seemed so different – his tanned skin and blue eyes, the distinguished lines bracketing his goofy grin.  Everything was the same yet unfamiliar.  A new day was dawning, and it was going to be a bright, sunshiny one.