Together we return, hand in hand to our room in the little village inn. We have been driving the countryside touring the vineyards and wineries, sampling the many wonderful vintages and buying a few. The day was long, exhausting but wonderful, as it was selfishly spent in each other's company.
As we have spent the better part of the day in and out of the car, we are both weary and looking forward to a hot soak and drinking some of the 'fruits of our day's labours', and of course other more intimate pleasures.
Our suite is painted a pale yellow, has a high ceiling with windows to match. Each is draped in heavy brocade curtains, which add richness to the room. There is a single double bed (who needs more?). The fireplace has been lit in anticipation of our return and quickly the chill is drawn from our bodies. Before the hearth is a coffee table laden with fresh fruits and aromatic cheeses with crackers. A carpet picnic for lovers.
The wines are deposited on the bar and a 5-year-old vintage Merlot is selected for sacrifice.
As you busy yourself with putting on a couple of CDs, I start the Jacuzzi and add a little scented oil and bubble crystals. The candles are lit and the lights dimmed. Two glasses and the wine are placed on the small shelf above the tub.
We meet in the middle of the room by the glowing fireplace. I take you in my arms and nuzzle your neck with my lips. You lean your head back, exposing your throat. I inhale your perfume β that which you dabbed this morning and the natural fragrance of a woman in love.
Your hands are in my hair β short (you say) and getting grayer and grayer each year. It is pure pleasure to have you massage my scalp from forehead to the back of my neck. Your fingers are strong and tender. They have an eagerness about them. Your nails gently scrape my skin and the little finger invades my ear β sending shivers down my spine to my growing hardness.
We have been together for twenty-one years - 184,080 hours. We've had good times and hard times, raised two wonderful kids and amazing in today's society we are still together and still in love. More in love than when it all began that wonderful fall day. A half-day stolen from a short business trip as we wandered Niagara Falls, hand in hand. The early evening in the lounge of the Prince George Hotel in Niagara-on-the-Lake, seated on the couch, our thighs touching, and our breathing rapid, sipping wine, oblivious of our surroundings and the others about us. You wore a burgundy coloured corduroy suit with a slit, high on the skirt. Your blouse of cream with ruffles at the neck and sleeves was perfect. After twenty-one years, it is as vivid today as then.
That is what love is.
I bring my hands to your hair and slowly remove the clip holding it back from your face. Your autumn-red locks tumble on either side of your face. You shake your head with a sense of freedom. Your pale skin is beginning to glow. Is it from the increasing heat of the room or the building fire from within?
We look into each other's eyes and I bring my lips to yours - gentle at first, but slowly more insistent. My tongue explores your lips with the faint taste of the fresh strawberry you have just eaten. Your lips part and your tongue meets mine. They dance together, tip-to-tip - then bolder, as each invades the warm, wet cave of its partner. Sharp teeth, soft tongue, hot breath β all elements of the erotic and sensuous mouth -- mouths that give and receive pleasure. The first of the tactile senses to be employed by lovers.
Our kiss becomes more urgent. Lips pressed tight. Tongues wrestling. Hearts pounding. Blood racing. But time is our partner, not an enemy as is normally the case. This is our day, our night, and our time. The object is to move slowly, sensuously, provocatively, exciting our partner with subtle escalations of passion.
Our bodies separate slightly to allow hands to explore. Your blouse is rising and falling with your deeper breathing. Your hardened nipples make twin-peaks just begging for attention. My hands descend your back to the base of your spine, caressing your skin through the silk of your blouse. My fingers leave sparks of electricity on your emotionally charged nerves.