I hugged him and he held on to me a moment longer, his head pressed to my bosom, his eyes closed.

"You've given me much more," he whispered, his voice cracking.

I lifted his head away, looked down at his loving face and lowered myself to kiss him. The music, his devotion, made him the most handsome man in the world to me at that moment. His hands reached around my waist and pressed my rear as he brought his lips to my lower stomach and then lower and lower until I felt a rush of excitement shoot with lightning speed through my blood to my heart. He looked up at me again, his eyes drawing me. Did I have the strength to say. "stop," again?

Moving together, touching each other, even through mere looks and words, was like trying to navigate a minefield in which passion could explode at any time if we accidentally triggered it through a deeper look or an innocent caress.

"Step back. Ice," I told myself. "Hurry before it's nearly too late again."

However, my own fingers, like little traitors, betrayed me. They came around to undo my pants. Baiwin began to lower them over my hips. His lips moved over my naked stomach, pushing into the waistband of my panties. I moaned as his hands went under them to grip my buttocks and hold me.

He breathed deeply as if he wanted to commit every aspect of me to his memory. Then, he lowered his arms, surrounding my legs behind the knees, and stood, lifting me.

"See how strong I've become?" he asked. smiling. I kissed him again and we were back on the settee. This time. I lay there quietly as he carefully and patiently removed every piece of clothing from my body, including my socks. Then he knelt at the settee and put his forehead on my stomach. My blood felt like it was at a boil. When he lifted his head and perused my body. I looked at him and saw the pleasure and the utter amazement and joy building in his eyes. He hovered over me, taunting me with his lips and his fingers.

"Turn off the lights." I whispered. He rose to do so.

"I understand," he said, "You're not ready to see me like this yet. Got a ways to go, huh?"

"That's not it at all, Ballwin."

"Sure it is. That's fine," he said. "I'll be there soon." he vowed.

He slipped out of his clothing and then lay beside me. We kissed and held each other.

"Muddy waters clearing any?" he asked.

I was so deep down in the well of passion, his voice seemed to reverberate above me. I was losing the battle. In fact, it might be all over. I thought. My own curiosity and excitement were plashing caution away from the controls. Alarms were being drowned out by the drumroll in my heart, the parade of desire and lust marching up from my thighs to the back of my neck and around to my lips.

He moved closer. closer...

And then, we heard the upstairs door open and close and his parents' voices, his father's laugh and his mother's following.

Balwin practically flew away from me, scurrying like a rodent over the floor to gather his clothes. I rushed to get mine on as well,

"The lights!" I cried. "They'll wonder why we're down here in the dark."

He flicked on the lamp at the piano just as we heard the door to the basement being opened. I rushed around the corner to keep out of eyesight as I completed dressing. Balwin tapped out some notes, pretending to be working at the piano.

"Hev!" his father called down. "You still working with Ice down there?"

"Yes. Dad."

"Getting late, son," he said and closed the door.

I came around quickly and we looked at each other. Most of the lights had been off. Surely, it looked suspicious and strange.

"It's all right." Balwin said trying to reassure int. "Don't worry."

"I'd better get home,' I said. He nodded and we started up the stairs.

When we stepped into the hallway, his father appeared in the living room doorway, gazing at us, a wry smile on his face.

"Making music down there?" he asked.

Balwin looked at me, his eye shifting every which way as he searched desperately for just the right answer.

"Yes," I said for him.


Tags: V.C. Andrews Shooting Stars Horror