Heat Wave
Esme
From the time I was young, I…dreamt of
being held close, close enough to someone to
feel the warmth of their body against mine.
I longed for it. Sometimes I ached for it.
To be …held tenderly, against the breast of
a woman. To have my head stroked gently,
to hear a voice whisper that all was safe and
well.Vincent’s Letter to Catherine from "Song of Orpheus"
The heat wave had gripped New York for several days. Night after night the hot heavy air blanketed everything with stifling moisture which made city dwellers cranky and argumentative. Those New Yorkers who had air-conditioning were the fortunate ones; those who didn’t relied on fans to obtain relief.
Vincent took advantage of these sultry summer nights to wander the city streets in safety. Shortly before midnight each night, he would climb up to Catherine’s balcony to watch her while she slept. Since her apartment was eighteen floors above the steaming sidewalks, she left her French doors ajar to capture the few cool breezes which negated her need for air-conditioning. Vincent observed her as she lay atop the cool sheets in dreamless sleep. Her head rested on her right hand and her ivory satin gown clung to her lithe form. One spaghetti strap holding the bra portion of the gown had slipped off her shoulder exposing her left breast to the moonlight which illuminated her body with a silvery sheen.
Inhaling sharply, Vincent blinked away the tears dimming his eyes. She was so beautiful in this pose which reminded him of the Greek statue of Artemis with a bared breast he had seen in Father’s mythology book. In his mind, Catherine was that chaste and pure goddess he could never touch in an unholy way. He had never told Catherine about these nightly visits, nor did he share with her the exquisite physical pain he endured while watching her. His hunger for her was too great and he was terrified his bestial desires would frighten and alienate her. That was something he could not bear. To lose her was unthinkable. She must never know what these visits cost him.
Catherine stirred and as she did, the satin slipped between her thighs outlining her sweet curves. Unable to look away, Vincent steadied himself against the brick wall. The throbbing in his groin had already begun. There was no way to quell his body’s insistent need for Catherine. The end result of his nightly watching ritual was always the same. The swollen member trapped inside his jeans would become excruciatingly painful until finally his arousal would burst, and shame and embarrassment would overcome him as he viewed the wetness which stained his trousers. Catherine must never see him like this and yet, he found himself unable to tear himself away from watching her to return to the tunnels to change clothes.
The cool breeze playfully teased her exposed nipple, and the erotic chill caused her to awake with a start. She sat up in bed unable to believe her eyes. There on the balcony was Vincent silhouetted in the moonlight. Without thinking, she leaped to her feet and ran barefoot ready to embrace him. Gently he pushed her away.
"I should never have come here," he whispered hoarsely. "I only wanted to see that you were well and safe."
Catherine was puzzled by this action. He had never done that before. As she searched his huge frame for some behavioral clue, her eyes shifted to the area below his belt. She immediately sensed his dilemma.
"My poor Vincent," Catherine cried. She cradled his head to her exposed breast and crooned softly to him. His body shook violently and she could feel his hot tears on her soft skin.
"I didn’t want you to know or see me like this, Catherine," he wept. "I am so ashamed, but when I am with you or see you…"
"What has happened to you is normal, Vincent. You have nothing to be ashamed of. You have been given a magnificent body to share, but because you constantly deny your desirability, the end for us is always the same,’’ said Catherine in a comforting voice. In her mind she was thinking ‘All those wasted babies!’
But Vincent would not be comforted. "I am not normal, Catherine… we both know that…how can you love me when you don’t know what I am?"
"You are the best part of what it is to be human, Vincent. That I do know."
Vincent withdrew from her embrace and gazed at her intently. "You have so much courage, Catherine… to love what is unlovable…" He was unable to continue. Seeing her partially naked, but clothed in moonlight, his insatiable hunger arose again. Catherine could see in his eyes that he wanted her desperately. Her gaze dropped to his still-soaked jeans. Yes, the bulge which tortured him was again becoming readily apparent and Catherine’s own loins began to ache for what he had denied her.
Suddenly the breeze shifted and the sultry air caused beads of moisture to form on Catherine’s half-clad form. How her skin glistened in the moonlight, thought Vincent. He longed to lick to salty sweat beads which adorned her breast like diamonds in a necklace.
"We can’t stay here. You must come inside, if only to …’’ what could she say that would not humiliate him? She sensed his uneasiness as he followed her into her bedroom… the sanctum sanctorum…where his goddess dwelt.
"Perhaps a cool shower might help you," she suggested. But Vincent shook his head. The thought of his using her most intimate facilities was out of the question. He sank to his knees and buried his face in his hands.
"I am not worthy of you, Catherine. I never will be. I know what I am. You must find someone to love who can give you what I cannot."
"My poor noble knight," she moaned. "I have never known such a practitioner of courtly love." Grasping his head between her small hands, she pressed his face against her satin-covered abdomen and stroked his spun gold mane. His acute sense of smell inhaled the heady fragrance of the sachet lingering on her gown. Drunk with the scent of her and without thinking, his right hand slipped the remaining spaghetti strap from her shoulder. Catherine stepped back allowing the garment to drop to the floor with a whisper.
Now she was naked and completely vulnerable. The blood was pounding in his head and he sensed himself losing to "The Other". Tossing his magnificent leonine head back, he roared with determination to have his prize. Clasping Catherine’s neck with his left hand, he thrust his right hand between her legs and cupped her glistening crotch. His awareness of her need only inflamed his terrible lust for her. He lifted her in this position and laid her on the bed.
His control was now completely lost. He stripped off his homespun shirt and unclasped his belt. At last he would be free of the tight confining jeans which had tormented him for so long. With the removal of his boots, he stood before her entirely naked while she studied his exquisite physique. His turgidly engorged manhood promised delights that Catherine heretofore had not known, but his great girth made her think that she might be unable to accommodate his overwhelming size. Her eyes widened at the sight of his enormous testicles and she thought, He’s hung like a bull. She felt a stab of fear and for a moment believed that Vincent had been right in not consummating the relationship. Compared to his Herculean size, she was small and delicate.
Kneeling over her Vincent placed his huge hands on her breasts. The part of him he had fought so hard to deny controlled him totally. With his thumbs and forefingers, he teased her cherrystone nipples, until the tips turned ruby red and Catherine writhed beneath him with unabashed pleasure. She begged him to enter her, but he covered her mouth with kisses to quiet her pleading. After licking the salty sweat from her cleavage, he buried his nose between her nether lips, then titillated her bud with his tongue. Maddened by her wetness and scent, he thought he could never get enough of her. Now it was time. He would wait no longer; no more would he hold back. He would claim what was always meant to be his. Spreading her legs far apart with his powerful hands, he pierced her moist velvet blackness with demanding thrusts. The beast in him took her savagely. Catherine moaned and submitted willingly without complaint.
She had waited so long.