The Nature of Man

By Kenn Ghannon



The Rules

I thought, before we got to the actual reading of this story that we should set down a couple of ground rules:

1) This story involves frank and explicit descriptions of sex.  If it is immoral or illegal in your area to read about topics of this nature, please quit reading here.  If you don't want to read about topics of this nature, please quit reading here.  (I don't, by the way, agree with the legal aspects of this.  I believe that the United States, as a society, has gone too far in putting the onus of maturity on a rather arbitrary physical age.  I've known 13 year olds who were far more mature than some 40 year olds.  Of course, this may be the exception to the rule, but still.)

2) If you are looking for a story where everyone is always happy all of the time, please find another story.  If you are looking for a story where everyone is always sad all of the time, please find another story.  Reality is somewhere in-between these two extremes and I try to write as near to reality as an erotic fantasy can get.  Do I succeed?  Only you can tell me.

3) If you are looking for a story that absolutely revolves around sex, sex, and more sex, please find another story.  I *WON'T* write one of those.  There is sex here, but only as a function of the story.

4) Everything you read here is fiction.  It never happened, so I am definitely not writing about YOU.

If you've read this far, I hope you enjoy this.

Author's Note

The last chapter was not meant to be so dark, but it had to be.  No matter how hard we try to escape our inner demons, they cling to us.  They hold us and clutch at us.  Even when we think ourselves rid of them, they're not truly gone.  They lie just beneath the surface of our skin, waiting for a moment of weakness so they can come out and claim us once again.

Life is like that.  Our trials and tribulations are all too often of our own making because we know the darkness of our own soul.  It is a darkness we choose to hide from the world, for the most part, but it lies within us just the same.  The game, then, is simple.  As long as we don't succumb, as long as we hold our personal hell at bay -- we win.

Eric doesn't realize this; not many people do and certainly very few teens.  He knows -- in an instinctive way -- that we tend to become what we are shown, what we are taught, no matter how hard we rebel against it.  It takes a strong heart and a strong mind to rebel against our taught inner nature.  In moments of weakness, we fail.  As long as our weaknesses are short, though, we might yet survive.

Dedicated, with respect, to Frank Downey.


Chapter 10: Of Girls and Gifts

She was a vision of light in a room that seemed too full of darkness.  The lingering after-effects of his nightmare clung to Eric like a straight-jacket; tight and cloying.  A single look at his red-haired angel, though, and that darkness seemed to shatter.  Her face, her hair, the gentle swell of her breasts, the erotic turn of her hips, all served to drive the evil images from his head.

Slowly, his gasping breath returned to normal.  His hearbeat, thudding and pounding like the footsteps in his dark dream, inexorably returned to its familiar rhythm.  Even the sweat pouring from his pores began to slow and the chill of his room began to leave.  With a purpose, he closed his eyes and clenched his fists to use the beautiful light of Shawn's presence to drive the horror from his thoughts.

When he opened his eyes, Shawn still stood at the doorway, her crisp, blue eyes filled with a strange mixture of fear and worry.  She looked as if she had half convinced herself to run but could not get the other half to go along.  Stuck between going and staying, she stood just inside the closed door trying to make her choice.

Eric marveled at her beauty even as he worried at the fear he saw in her eyes.  Her soft copper curls draped down behind her, hanging free.  The light freckles on her cheeks shone unusually bright and brilliant.  The long, flowing dress hugged her body in all the right places, showing nothing yet revealing all her womanly charms just the same.  Even now, she looked perfect; a wonderful angel sent from heaven to walk with mere mortals.

A knock on the door behind her startled her, breaking her from thoughts of her decision and unintentionally making it for her.  With a slight gasp, she took a few unplanned steps further into Eric's room.

"Is everything okay in there?" Aunt Jean's voice called.  Though her voice was muffled and quiet, you could make out the worry hidden within her words.  This was not the first time she had heard Eric screaming.

"I'm fine, Aunt Jean," Eric called out in response, his worried gaze still watching Shawn cautiously as she stood seemingly undecided in the middle of his room.  Even to him, his voice sounded distant, weak.  A dry, hoarseness clung to each word.  Either his aunt didn't hear the strange quality in Eric's words or the response was enough to satisfy her; Eric sensed rather than heard her move away.

"Are you okay?" Shawn echoed his Aunt, her voice a mere whisper.  She put slightly more stress on the first word as if wanting to be sure of his response.  Even the look in her eyes questioned his words.

"I'm fine, Shawn.  Really," Eric strove to reassure her.  That same dry hoarseness, a darkness, remained in his words to belie them.  "What brings you out here on a cold day like this?"  Eric's attempt at levity didn't work; his voice was worried and unsure, asking a more serious question than the one that was voiced.

Of course, this wasn't the first time Shawn had come to see him.  She had been at the hospital and had even come to the house a few times.  But this was the first time she had ever been alone with him since that day in the football stadium.  Every time she had come to see him, she had always been aloof and distant though, as if she were there but hadn't truly been with him.  Her distance worried Eric, but he didn't know what to say; what questions to ask.  She was there, but not there.  Eric had always been sure she would eventually get around to talking to him of her troubles.  It looked like that time had come.

Still, Shawn stood immobile.  It was frustrating to Eric and ownly served to fuel his worry.  "Shawn, is there something..." Eric began his question, but Shawn interrupted him before he could complete it.

"I brought you your homework," she said, placing a big paper sack on the chair by his desk.  Eric stared at the parcel; he had not seen it in her hands.  The mere sight of her was enough to drive most rational thought from his brain.  "Your teachers were really great about everything.  They said you'd have to take some tests when you got back, but that if you did the homework you should be able to catch up easily."  Her voice was unnaturally even and dispassionate.  There was no hint of the worry that Eric could see within her eyes.  Something was wrong.

"Shawn..." he began again, all his fear and worry seeping into that single word.  Desperation began to surge through him.  He wanted, needed to know what was wrong but Shawn merely interrupted him again.

"No, Eric," she began.  Her look to him was both pensive and needy, worried and wanting.  "I need to talk a little, okay?  I'm just having a hard time getting things out right now.  I'm having a hard time knowing where to begin."

"You can talk to me about anything.  Just say it, I'll understand," he spoke to her, his worst fears seemingly coming true.  She wanted to break up before they even had a chance to start, Eric was sure of it.  His mind grasped at things he could say to change her mind as his heart began that fearsome thudding once again.  He struggled to hold the tears that hovered in his eyes, to keep them at bay.

Shawn smiled at him winsomely but like so often in the past few months, the smile somehow never touched her eyes.  They remained dull and unresponsive and Eric could see the fear still anchored within them.  His breathing grew more shallow as the full import of what she must be ready to say struck him like a hammer.

"I know that.  It's just...I'm not quite sure how to say what I want to..." her voice trailed off thoughtfully.  The uncertainty rose like a crescendo in her eyes as the visible effects of her inner turmoil flashed over the features of her face.  After a moment that seemed an eternity of hell for Eric, her face grew silent.  A resolve seemed to shine in her eyes, as her gaze moved to his blankets.

"It's a little chilly in here...do you mind if I climb in with you?"

Whatever Eric had expected to hear, that wasn't it.  It seemed a simple question, but whole volumes of complexities existed within it.  For a moment, Eric didn't know which way to turn.  His gaze touched her own for a moment, the merest moment of hesitation before he could make his decision.  With a perplexed frown, he slid over and pulled his blanket down to make room for her.

Once again flashing the smile that wasn't, Shawn slid into the bed with him and pulled the covers over her.  Her side touched him and everywhere his body touched hers Eric felt a warmth spreading.  With a sigh that seemed equal parts contentment and concern, Shawn laid her head down and shared his pillow.

The scent of her hair flowed over Eric like a warm blanket.  It nuzzled his nose and drove his concentration from him.  Slowly, he turned on his side to look at his angel but she chose not to return his questioning look preferring instead to fix her eyes on the ceiling.

They sat there like that for several minutes, lying together, joined but not joined.  Every nerve-ending in Eric's body screamed at him to touch her, hold her but he knew that he didn't dare.  The mixed messages he read from her and the betrayal of his own body frightened him.  He wasn't sure exactly what was going on and he was more than a little scared.  The merest chance that his touch wouldn't be welcome was more than he could bear.

The minutes drew inexorably onward, one after the other.  Still the silence grew until it was an emptiness that couldn't be ignored.  Finally, just when Eric thought that he could take the silence no longer, Shawn began to speak.

"I was very angry with you, you know," she began in almost a bemused tone, but there was a steel and serious undertone that underlied it.  "I had almost gotten raped and no matter how I turned it, you were the cause."  She glanced at him for a moment, her questioning eyes trying to gauge his reaction.

"I'm sorry, I..." Eric began to explain, but Shawn interrupted him again.

"Let me finish, Er," she whispered, her voice strained and begging.  "I need to get through this and I don't know if I'll be able to do it if you interrupt, okay?"

Eric just looked at her for a second.  His mind screamed at him to go on, to tell her the whole story, to apologize, to do something, to do ANYTHING to win back her heart.  But instead he just nodded slowly.

"Thanks," and she smiled briefly...a real smile that lit up the room and filled Eric's heart with a strange combination of joy and dread.  The effect of the mere hint of her happiness was strange and unreal...but it was compelling nonetheless.  Eric knew that no matter what it took, he would do anything in his power to make her happy -- to make her continue to smile that smile at him.

Once she was satisfied that he truly understood, she turned and resumed her scrutiny of his ceiling.  Again the moments of silence stretched out.  That silence engulged the two of them completely and Eric's worry mounted with each second.  Like an anvil, Eric's fear and insecurities pounded at him until he thought he would die if something was not said soon...but he remained true to his word and uttered not a sound.

"I think I...I...I hated you then," Shawn continued, a strain showing in her voice.  "Deep inside, I knew you had to have a reason, of course...it was so out of character for you to do something like that...but I couldn't see it.  All I knew was that I was in pain and you seemed to be the cause.  I trusted you and I got hurt.  I didn't know what to do, though, because even in hurting me you did it so nobly..." her voice trailed off and she sniffled slightly.  Eric could see tears gathering at the edges of her eyes.  He wanted so badly to brush them away...but his promise hung before him and he did nothing.

"Then I found out why you had gone after Evan and I was so ashamed.  I came to visit you, but I thought you could see how ashamed I was and that just made me more ashamed.  I was hurting you and I didn't mean to, but it was, like, a vicious cycle, you know?  I didn't know what to do nor how I should feel.  I wanted to make it up to you, but I didn't know how.  And all the while you just lay there, in pain, and all I could do was think about how hurt I was...but you were hurt far worse..."  The tears could be contained no longer.  They rolled down her cheeks quickly before dropping from the edge of her jaw onto the waiting cover below.

Eric didn't know what to do.  He had promised, but he couldn't stand to see her there, hurting.  He fought with himself for the barest of moments before knowing what he had to do.  He slowly, carefully put his arm around her and pulled her closer.  He worried that she might pull away, so his touch was tentative, ready to pull his arm back at the slightest sign that Shawn was uncomfortable.

Rather than shrinking from his touch, though, she seemed to welcome it.  In one savage move she turned towards him and held him, her face buried in his bare chest, sobbing softly.  Eric struggled to get his other arm under her; when he did he hugged her fiercely.  His hands found their way to her flowing copper locks and he ran his fingers through them.  The warmth of her body against his mesmerized him but his heart broke with each sob that shook her.  How could he have dared to hurt her, he screamed within himself.  How could he be the one that cause her this pain.

"It's okay," he whispered.

"No.  It's not," she sobbed against his chest.  "I felt so unworthy of you for so long, I didn't know what to do.  I tried to make it up to you, but every time I came to see you I could see my own lack of trust in your eyes.  I didn't know what to do.  So I came less frequently.  But...I..."  She trembled, struggling with herself.  For a moment, it seemed that she wasn't going to be able to continue.  Then, her resolve strengthening, she continued quickly, as if she felt if she didn't rush she wouldn't be able to get it all out.  "I...I love you.  I know it's wrong to say that.  I know it's too early to say that.  I have to, though, because it's a feeling I have that is just too big for me.  Somehow, I fell in love with you.  I wasn't looking for it; I didn't even want it to happen and I fought against it, but in the end it didn't matter.  I've been trying to figure out a way to say it without saying it, because I was afraid I'd scare you off...or, worse, that you wouldn't feel the same and I'd have to live with that.  I can't couldn't hold it in any longer and had to find a way that you'd know without me really telling you.  I just...I never...I couldn't find a way.

"Then today came, Valentine's Day, the day for lovers.  I thought about getting you a card that said how I felt, but I couldn't find one that fit and it didn't seem right anyway.  I was going to get you flowers...but you really can't get those for a guy and then I thought chocolates, but you're still not altogether well and who ever heard of buying a guy chocolates anyway.  So I have nothing to give you..."

"It's..." Eric began.  He needed her to know that he felt the same way, that she didn't need to show her love or to tell him.  He never got the chance to finish his words, though.

"I know it's okay, Er.  But it isn't.  Not after all this.  Not after the roller coaster ride that I've gone through.  Not after doubting you.  I needed to give you a present that was as significant as how I feel...and I couldn't find anything. Everything seemed too small, too...trivial.  There was no good way to tell you, to show you the way I felt.  At least, not right away."

She pushed herself away from his chest and the fear was renewed in her eyes.  She took a deep, ragged breath and looked into his eyes.  "Then I found it.  It's me.  I'm your present, Eric.  Me.  I can only give you my heart, my body and my soul and hope that it's enough.

"When I was little," she continued quickly, before Eric could interrupt.  "I promised myself that I'd save myself until I found the right man...until I found someone that was worthy of me and that I could love and trust.  Someone that would be mine and let me be his.  It wasn't until I went searching for that gift that I realized that you're the one.  You're the guy I've always dreamed of...I just never knew it."

The smile she gave him was shy and demure.  Pensive.  A worry tugged at her eyes, a worry that he would reject her.  That he would not feel the same.  With her next sentence, though, she committed herself.  There was no turning back.  "I'm not wearing anything under this dress, Eric.  I'm completely naked..." her voice trailed off hopefully.

Eric was stunned.  He didn't know what to say or think or feel.  Here was the angel, his angel, the girl -- no, woman -- who he couldn't get out of his head offering herself to him.  He fought to find the words that would say everything that was rushing through him, he fought to find the words worthy of expressing his feelings for her, but they wouldn't come.  So he did the one thing that seemed perfectly natural.  He pulled her closer and kissed her.  Their lips met, his brushing softly against hers.  His tongue was tentative as it crossed into her mouth, hers was anything but as it thrust against his own.  The kiss dragged on, but neither Eric nor Shawn noticed the time flow.  They were content to remain in that timeless void that was the home of all lovers.

Slowly, though, he pulled his lips from hers and allowed himself to travel over her chin to the soft touch of her neck.  He nibbled on her skin there, his tongue flickering out to briefly touch and taste her flesh.  She gasped in response, her arm enfolding his head and pulled him closer.

Then, he broke their embrace, not enough to break their close contact, but enough to gaze into her eyes.

"Shawn, I love you too," Eric began, his eyes captivating hers.  Relief shone in the orbs of her soul.  "I've loved you since the moment I first saw you.  I thought you were an angel...I still do.  You are the most beautiful, most wonderful person I've ever met."

He paused a moment and smiled.  "...but...I'm not ready.  Not yet.  Not physically and not mentally.  I want you...I've wanted you since I laid eyes on you.  But right now, it just wouldn't mean the same, you know?  I wouldn't be able to give you all that you deserve..."

Shawn looked at him, her eyes intent on his own.  Satisfied, with a bright smile and a small sigh, she replied, "I understand, my love.  I just want you to know that I *am* ready.  I will always be ready for you.  I will always be willing for you."  Still smiling, a smile that lifted Eric higher in rapture than he ever thought he could ascend, she began to withdraw from the covers.

"Oh?  And where do you think you're going," he looked at her archly, the beginnings of a grin just twinkling along the edges of his lips.  "Just because I'm not ready for THAT doesn't mean that we should led a perfectly good nakedness go to waste, does it?"  He laughed, his eyes bubbling merrily.

"It depends on what you had in mind," Shawn giggled back to him, but she changed her direction and crawled back under the covers.  She let out a soft sigh as she snuggled up to him.

His lips met hers as he pulled her close, her body in tight contact with his own.  Slowly, his right hand ventured down her back, lower and lower.  As he reached her hips, he changed direction going up...then down again.  He rubbed her back through her dress and with each downward stroke his hand dipped lower, and more brazen.  When he reached the rounded hills of her ass, he cupped his hand, holding her.

Eric was in heaven.  How he had grown lucky enough to be here with Shawn was beyond his comprehension.  Holding the soft, round hills of her butt, feeling her heartbeat against his chest...nothing he had ever done could compare with this.  In his chest, his heart thudded hotly...but this time the thudding was welcomed, even enjoyed.  There was no dark overtones to what he felt within it.

His mouth once again moved from her own, as he kissed and nibbled his way across her cheek.  Slowly, inexorably he drew down her jawline to her neck, each kiss lighting another small fire of desire in Shawn's body.  She trembled against him, her own hands working their way further and further down his back.  As his hand squeezed her bottom through her dress, she gasped at the fire raging within her.

Eric moved his hand lower as his kisses touched that gentle slope between Shawn's neck and her ear.  He trailed his tongue lightly against her skin, while his hand rubbed down her legs.  His kisses turned to nibbles then back to kisses as he slowly reached the extent of his grasp near her knee.  For a moment, he just left his hand there, trailing it across the back of her knee.  His fingers brought goosebumps to her legs as they continued their playful march.

For a few seconds, Eric waited unsure what to do.  He pored over his memory, trying to remember all of the romance stories, the sex manuals, ANYTHING that would help him here.  His mind, however remained blank, save for the singular sensation of Shawn lying next to him.  'All of those days reading, wasted' he thought wryly.  It wasn't until he realized that her dress was moving with the strokes of his fingers that he realized what he had to do.  With an inward laugh, he let his hand catch on the cloth of her dress so that when he began rubbing up her leg, the dress came with it.

Shawn sighed as he slowly pulled her dress upwards, at once both aware and unaware of what he was doing.  His kisses were lighting a fire within her that she had never known before.  It felt as if the entire room were fading out of reality and that all that existed was his lips upon her neck, his body against her own, and that slow hand gently making its way up her leg with the hem of her dress in tow.  She knew that she should be nervous; she had never had anything like this happen before -- she had never wanted anything like this to happen before.  Now, though, lying here with Eric, she felt strangely and completely at ease, as if this were where she was supposed to be.  A whispered gasp escaped her lips as his hands came closer and closer to her hips.

The dress reached the tops of her hips and Eric could feel a light shiver run through her.  He opened his mouth and suckled softly on her neck; not enough to leave a mark, but enough to bring another gasp from her lips.  He ran his fingers down the bare expanse of her leg, reveling in the feel of her soft skin and the gooseflesh his fingers were causing.  There was a tentative, nervous nature to his touch, but he wouldn't let it stop him.  He was bemused, as strange tightness welling within him.  He was so hot, hotter than he had ever been before, yet the barest tingle of a shiver ran through his body.

Shawn, too, was on fire.  The turmoil she had endured for the past few minutes as she bared her soul to the man she loved broke within her and left only the desire she had for this boy, this man.  She could feel the tingle of every nerve ending wherever there bodies touched...and she could feel herself grow wet for him.  She felt herself drench in that wonderful ointment that signaled the love she felt for him.  She wanted to feel more, but his hand stroked maddeningly slow across her leg.

His hands rose up her legs, as his head dipped slightly lower, to that sweet spot of flesh where the shoulder meets the neck.  He nuzzled there as his hand rose to her bare butt.  He cupped her again, but this time there was no cloth between them to buffer the feel of him.  The feel of the bare flesh of her ass against his fingers set his fingertips ablaze.  He could feel the warmth of her skin, and it was growing to be too much for him.  He felt his member rise within the folds of his pajama bottoms and he knew that she could feel the tip of him against her leg.

She felt his hardness against her and struggled to decide whether to reach for it.  It was only when she realized that doing so would hamper the wonderful things he was doing to her that she decided against it.  There was plenty of time for that later.

She couldn't believe the way her heart grew large just with the thought of Eric.  She recognized that she would do anything for him, would do anything to make him as happy as she felt at this moment.  She struggled to think of what she could do to increase his pleasure, but her mind wasn't working correctly just now.  His touches were driving her wild with lust.  She trembled again, wondering how someone could make her feel so wonderful, so hot just with his touch.

Slowly, he crossed his hand over her hip.  the barest tremor of fear quaked through him, fear and expectation as he realized that there was nothing to stop him, that Shawn would not stop him from what he was about to do.  As he reached the cusp of her hip, he methodically drew his hand down, searching for her most private of spots.

Shawn held her breath.  She had never allowed anyone to touch her there, but she had often done this herself.  She wondered how his touch would differ from her own.  Would it feel better?  Worse?  She trembled, waiting, hoping that her apprehension was unfounded.  she was already hotter and wetter than she had ever been in her life.

When his fingers found the barest of fuzz that grew above her pubis, she let out her breath in an explosion of need, of desire.  She could feel her need soaking through her dress.  When his finger gently brushed her clit on its way down, she couldn't help but close her eyes and moan as an explosion of pleasure burst within her.  She trembled and moaned, willing him to move faster, but he kept his gentle pace.

Eric cupped her mound, then, his palm contacting her clit which had risen to a hard nub.  Shawn bent her left leg, then, and put her foot on the bed near her knee.  Now, her entire pubic region was opened for him.  She needed him to have room, needed to feel a part of him inside her.  His finger was not the part she was hoping for, but it would have to do.

Eric had never done this before, but he had read about it, he had read what to do.  Still, the words would not come.  His mind remained a twisted jumble no matter how hard he tried to remember.  It seemed that the harder he tried to pull the words from his mind, the further they slipped from his grasp.

He was surprised at how wet she was.  He could feel her oil, her moisture, seeping through his fingers.  He rubbed the oil against her flesh, reveling in the feel of it.  It must have been the right thing to do for Shawn shuddered lightly against him, laying her head on top of his own.  She mumbled into his ear, but he could not interpret the words.  All he could feel was the ragged rush of her breath against his ear.  It intoxicated him.

Eric rubbed in a circle, his palm brushing lightly over Shawn's clit.  Her legs spread wider of their own accord, her foot traveling further towards her ass, and a moan escaped her lips.  Yet Eric just continued to rub in circles, circles, giving just the barest of massages to Shawn's aching clit.  It was teasing her, driving her crazy. She needed him to finish, needed to feel her body give in to the rapture of her orgasm.  Still, Eric rotated his hand slowly, slowly.  She wasn't sure if she was going to have to kill him or rape him.

"Oh, God" Shawn called when Eric slowly curled his finger and inserted it into her.  He pulled it out then, unhurriedly, before returning it inside of her.  Slowly, slowly, his finger went deeper and deeper.  It touched inside of her, and then was gone, moving slowly through the folds of her flesh.  It brought a desire raging through her that she could not believe could be contained within her body.  Without even knowing it, her hips began rotating to meet the achingly sluggish thrust of her fingers.

She was beyond her limits, beyond Eric's teasing.  She had never been able to bring herself to this level of arousal, ever.  Her body screamed at her to finish this, to let it trip over the edge of that wonderful cliff and into the waiting arms of orgasm...but she wasn't in control.  She couldn't think, couldn't move.  She couldn't breathe any more.  All that existed was her clit, her pussy, and Eric's wonderful hand that was moving too slowly, too teasingly.  She needed it to end before it drove her completely mad.

She couldn't help herself any more.  She was no longer in control of her actions.  Her lust controlled her now.  With a gasp, she grabbed his hand in her own and pulled his finger deeper insider of her.  She thrust his finger against her hymen, but the slight pain only heightened her arousal somehow.  She tried to push and pull his hand into her as fast as she could, but she couldn't quite force it to move fast enough.  Her need drove her, and her hips began thrusting with a life of their own.  Faster and faster her hips moved, pounding his finger faster and faster within her.  With every thrust against her hand, his palm made delicious contact with her clit, driving her higher and higher.  Finally, she flipped her hips hard against him driving his whole hand into contact with the fevered folds of her pussy.

The sudden insertion, coupled with the force of Eric's palm engaging on her clit was enough.  Shudders ripped through Shawn's body, and she found herself thrusting wantonly against Eric's hand.  She couldn't help it, it felt so good, so right.  She opened her eyes as Eric's face pulled away from her neck and she looked straight into his eyes as she came against his hand.

Her mouth parted as spasm after spasm rocked through her.  Eric took that as an invitation and bent his head to place his lips against her own.  Shawn thrust her tongue into his mouth as his finger was thrusting into her pussy.  The touch of his lips to her own enhanced her orgasm and the shudders crested anew driving her on wave after wave of lust-filled orgasm.

Eric could feel Shawn's orgasm crest over her.  He could feel every shudder, every tingle and he took pleasure from her own.  He knew what was happening and he reveled in it.  He had managed to bring pleasure to the woman he loved and that filled him with a great sense of happiness and fulfillment.  Just the look on her face as her orgasm washed over her, the look of love from her eyes as they gazed at his own, was enough to fill him with contentment.

Slowly, Shawn ceased her shudders and her tongue ceased its playfulness within his mouth as her body came down from the heights of passion.  She weakly released his hand and grabbed at him, pulling him into a soft embrace.

"My god, Eric," she whispered in his ear.  "That was...that was...wow..."

Eric's chuckle was muffled in her hair.  "I'm glad you liked it."

"Liked it...god...I can't describe how it felt..."  She pulled back slightly and looked in his eyes.  "But what about you?"  She could feel his hardness against her leg and she yearned for it.  She began to reach for it, but Eric stopped her.

"No, love.  Not today.  I need to keep my strength to get better.  Today was just for you.  I hurt you before...I needed to try to make up for that."

"Eric," Shawn replied, worry once again filling her voice.  "You have nothing to make up to me."

"I wanted to anyway," and he smiled softly at her.

"Well, that's alright then."  And the impish grin she gave him lit up Eric's heart.