Le Feu

Champagne spills from my mouth as I release a sparkling laugh out into the night. 

They are laughing too, full bellied enough for our neighbors across the street to sneak a glance at us over their cigarettes.

"You're wasting the champagne!" Gina squeals. Her voice joins the sounds of Montmartre, slipping down the narrow Parisian streets.

“I don’t think we’ve got anything but champagne.” Henry laughs. “I’ll get you a towel.”

“Let me. I’ll grab another bottle too, seeing as it’s a celebration!” Gina says, tossing her gorgeous crimson curls over a bronzed shoulder as she disappears into the dark apartment. Her mane of hair, thick and untamed, cascades down her back like spilt wine. 

"God, I've got it everywhere," I laugh, and look up at Henry. 

He’s leaning against the railing, his slightly unfocused gaze lingering on the damp fabric molded around my breasts. Heat flushes my cheeks and drips down my throat. I let my hands fall to my chest to lightly palm my breast, my nipple hardening under the soft graze of my thumb. He swallows, looks up at me. I gesture the champagne bottle to him and smile.

“Thirsty?”

He lets out a low deep laugh, running his hand over his mouth, his rough facial hair. 

“Practically dehydrated,” he says, and lifts his cigarette to his lips.

The dark waves of my hair stick to my skin over the low back of my dress. I pull a loose curl behind my ear as he takes the bottle from my hand. He passes me his cigarette and I place it between my lips, resting my hand beside his. He steps closer, mirroring me. His eyes are a dark and delicious black. Silky tangles of thick brown hair frame his features. Olive skin, an aquiline nose, and full lips. He moves his thumb over each of my fingers, hovering over my left ring, now conspicuously bare. The ghost of a band still shimmers over the surface. His dark eyebrows bunch together ever so slightly before drawing his hand to my wrist. His fingers move like a whisper as he brushes them up my arm. 

“How are you feeling?"

"I don't know," I reply. “Slightly too many feelings to pick.”

Pissed off, heartbroken, relieved, confused, ecstatic.

“I feel…hot. A little tipsy.” I glance down. “And sticky.”

I look back up at him, “And I feel free. So, I suppose I’m closer to happy than sad.”

His soft, steady touch is a cool breeze over my hot skin. His tall muscled body and broad shoulders attract attention, though he spends most of his time with his head in a book. His eyes are deep-set obsidian, framed with impossibly long lashes. 

“That relationship—” I say, feeling a need to answer the real question in those eyes. “We were over a year before we ended. Today was just…pen to paper.”  

It was becoming slightly difficult to breathe, feeling his hands like this, staring into his eyes. 

“Is there anything that I could do to move you closer to happy?” he says to me. A small, sweet smile playing in the corners of his mouth.

I look into his eyes; left, right, down to his lips. They fall open slightly as he releases a soft breath. A ribbon of smoke curls around us from the cigarette balanced between my fingers. His thumb is drawing a small circle in the crook of my elbow. 

My body burns for him, but I do not move, do not look anywhere but his beautiful face. We share studious concentration there, patience. Complete immersion. As if he were memorizing the places where his fingers touched me. His hand trails my collarbone, moving lower still, until his fingers brush against my nipple. I swell at the tenderness of it. His breathing grows ragged as he feels me beneath his fingers. I’m aching to feel his hardness pressing into me, to drag my teeth along his lips. Dampness licks between my thighs. 

“Kiss me,” I whisper. He drags his hand up my chest and laces it behind my neck. I lean into his touch.

"Are you sure?" he asks, eyes searching mine. His thumb brushes the side of my throat and I shiver, my soft consent meeting the waiting dark. He steps closer, eyes hardening with resolve, darkening with lust. We are so close that one deep breath would have me pressing against him. His hand slides up my neck, burying his fingers in my hair as he tilts up my face. With his other hand, he takes a sip. He reaches behind me to put the bottle on the table before placing his hand at the small of my back and pulling me against him. Lowering his mouth to mine, he lets the alcohol drip between my parted lips. We collide, wet and wanting. My tongue slips into his mouth, touching the taste of smoke and champagne. My cigarette falls to the floor.

The kiss is rough, heavy, overdue. His hands grip my hair and I press myself against him. He groans deeply, slipping his tongue over my lips. He grabs my ass and I move against him harder. My short dress has ridden up my thighs and I can feel my underwear against his pants. I force myself to slow down as he kisses my lips, my cheek, coming to rest his hot mouth on the skin of my throat. 

"Fuck, I can feel how wet you are," he moans into the crook of my neck. 

"Taste me," I pant. He growls into my throat, gripping my ass harder. 

He rolls his hardness against the slick lace of my exposed panties, groans against my throat as I breath him in. His skin smells like tumbled earth, like burned coffee and toasted bread. Images of him in the café float through my mind. The morning I made him laugh for the first time, when his hair was damp with frost, specks of snow still stuck on his brown coat.

~~~

We met as newcomers in Madrid; I had moved for my new husband and he had moved for his new degree. Six months into my marriage and I was already unravelling at the seams. By the time I met Henry, I was hardly more than an echo, floating in a hollow love. He was beautiful and shy, an academic who found comfort in a lonely English speaking barista. His friendship brought me back to earth. We sipped sweet coffee, laughed, and smoked until our words were raspy. I craved his embrace and lingered in his strong arms when he hugged me goodbye.

Then he met Gina, and she set us both on fire. Her flame shattered the brittle glass that sheltered me. She was Parisian, her arrival in Madrid as wild as her wit. Chic and luxurious, her deep copper skin, celestial nose and bright eyes lit up my nights. She stole me away for hours, to dance and laugh and explore the city that had swallowed me whole. Our long wine-soaked evenings were filled with secret moments. The innocent brush of her hips against mine, her painted lips just a whisper too close to my own. 

There was no affair, outside of the secret fantasies I touched myself to. I spent nights alone quietly bringing myself to orgasm with thoughts of her dark satin skin. And now I see her curves silhouetted in the doorway of her Parisian apartment, watching us below heavy lashes.

~~~

I jump away from Henry, quickly pulling down my dress. Gina’s honey brown eyes slip over us, clocking the deep flush in my cheeks, the wet patch on his pants around his crotch.

"Spilling more of my champagne?" she asks, her voice slightly higher than normal, catching the lyrical lilt in her French accent.

A small part of me registers that I should be embarrassed, but the focus in her eyes washes it away. A flame laps over my chest. My mouth is ready and waiting, as she closes the distance between us and kisses me. Her kiss is passionate but gentle, a question and an answer. I was swimming in my lust, and now I am drowning in her. 

"I missed you," she says softly, her hands framing my face as delicately as if she were holding a flower. I feel myself bubbling up inside, holding back the need, the hurt, the regret of wasted youth on an unfulfilling love. 

I am alive again. I am ready to celebrate.

I pull her close, wrapping my arms around her waist, deepening our kiss, bruising her perfect lips with my own. We pull back breathless and turn towards Henry. Together, one hand holding each other, we reach out, as if we are a single being beckoning him into our embrace. He meets our eyes, tilts his head back in a hoarse laugh. Pushing himself off the rail he moves towards us, leaning into Gina’s smiling mouth. Their kiss is all smiles, teeth, and breath. Best friends, and long-time lovers. I move one hand down her ass, and my other over the front of his pants. They gasp into each other’s mouths as I grab them. I rub the heel of my palm along the hard length of him. I massage her ass, toying with the ends of her dress, my fingers dancing along the warm parting of her thighs. They pull me in and we lose ourselves in each other. My teeth on the velvet softness of her neck, riding my wetness along her smooth thigh, his callused hands running up my neck, her nails pulling on his hair, sucking, kissing, licking and pawing at each other. A thin whistle breaks us apart. We turned to see the neighbors across from us, grinning and whooping like teenagers. 

"Putain de merde!" I shout, grinning despite the embarrassment. “Va te faire!”

Gina howls with delight. A laughing Henry flips off the boys and pulls us into the apartment, drawing the curtains behind us.

The streetlights trickle through the shadowed room, quiet besides our heavy breathing. Gina is moving around her living room, relighting the remnants of melted candles. Henry moves behind me, his hands resting on my hips. He moves my long black hair away from my skin, his lips finding the sides of my neck again. He trails soft, slow kisses along my neck and shoulder. 

"You asked me to taste you..." he says, gripping my breasts before trailing his hands to my thighs. His fingers touch under the thin lace of my underwear, feeling my moist heat. He swears into my ear, as he slides his hand over my swollen vulva, his fingers slipping between the part of my lips. I let out a shallow moan, head falling back into him as he dips into me, teasing my sensitivity. He brings his hand up to my mouth, letting me taste my arousal on his fingers. He dips a finger into me, then two, then three. He massages my g-spot and palms my clit agonizingly slowly. I am rolling in his arms when his other hand comes up to circle around my neck. 

"Do you like that?" he whispers,

"Yes, fuck," I moan as his hand grasps my throat, the muscles in his forearm clenching as he explores my pussy.

Gina is watching us from the sofa, red hair lit up around her hungry eyes like a halo. Henry is fingering me steadily now, rolling his hard dick against my ass. Twice now I've been rubbed close enough to come, and twice I’ve been interrupted, forced to cool down. 

"Stop," I whisper, need dripping out of my voice as I fight to find my own patience. I feel a nervousness hiding beneath my skin. What if this ruins us, what if I ruin this? A flurry of worries suddenly overwhelm me. Henry pulls out of me and kisses my neck. Wrapping his arms around me, he rests his head against mine as we soften our breathing together. He has held me like this before. Grounding me, comforting me. More than a friend, more than a lover. I want this. Our breathing calms, my nerves are static energy, pulsing over my skin.

Gina pulls the cork out of the champagne with a pop. She lifts the bottle to her mouth, and parts her legs, inviting me. I move towards her, pulling the thin straps of my dress down my shoulders. I slip the rest of my dress over my hips, sending my soaked underwear to the floor. I am now the only one completely naked. I hesitate, a sliver of panic biting my veins. The heat of their gaze nips at my bare skin and sends a shiver straight to my core. I hear Henry suck in a breath from behind me as he takes it all in. The curve of my back and ass, the dancing light of the candles, Gina spread open in front of me. The raw sound emboldens me.

I lower myself onto my knees in between her legs. Lifting her fingers to my mouth, I graze my teeth around the fleshy tips. Her breathing gets faster as I pepper kisses along her thighs, teasing and sucking at her skin with my lips. This isn’t my first time with a woman, but it is my first time with Gina. Moving her underwear down her legs, I marvel at her. The slick wet hair around her vulva, her swollen soaking lips. I lower myself to her sweet clit and kiss it, gently, softly. I put my lips around the hard nib and blow. I feel her leg shudder beneath my hands, so I do it again.

I move my tongue lower, tasting her. My pussy clenches as I think about how I like to be kissed here, remembering sucking my own juices from Henry’s fingers, and mingling those memories with Gina’s sweet, heavy scent. I make tiny, circular motions against her clit with my tongue, sliding my middle and ring fingers inside of her. She's loud—her moans are deep and breathy, as she rolls her hips against my face. I close my eyes and breathe her in, letting her fill my mouth. "Let's hear you, Gina, we love hearing you,” Henry says, as he moves to stand behind her. She raises her arms knowingly, and he pulls her dress over her head. His hand cups her heavy breast, pinching, and releasing her nipple. Her body is a sculptor’s dream, with glowing curves as smooth as melted gold. I drag a hand over her soft stomach, drawing a finger over the thin silver hoop in her belly button before pressing my palm lightly into her abdomen. She arches her back as my other hand wraps around her thighs. He massages her scalp as his eyes move from her face, down her curves, to my lips on her cunt. I stiffen my tongue, drawing a firm line up and over her clit.

"That's right Gina, scream for us." Her moans get louder and more vocal. Taking his cue, I pull my mouth away and look into her eyes, my fingers still moving in and out of her.

"You're so perfect, so beautiful, so fucking wet," I mumble back against her, finding the rhythm that keeps her legs shaking. Henry pulls her head back to him, and lowers his mouth to hers, swallowing up her scream of pleasure as she comes onto my tongue, her hips rolling out her orgasm against my face as I hold on. I listen to her breathing as I rest my head on her abdomen.

"I love your body," I whisper. Henry sits beside her, picks up the champagne and takes a long sip, twisting to pour it into her panting mouth. She laughs as it pours over her chin and down her body. I smile against the skin of her stomach, loving the smiles on their faces, the deep blush in her brown skin. 

"That actually feels really nice," she says, "It's hot as hell in here."

“You’re telling me,” I say, still watching her face. She leans forward and takes my face in her hands. “That was incredible,” she says against my mouth, “You are incredible.” 

Gina sits back and brings her lips to his neck, as I move between his legs, unbuttoning his pants. She sucks his earlobe between her teeth, moves her hand through the hair on his muscled chest and cups her palm around his dick. I move to sit beside him, running my hands along his collarbone. He draws in a breath, and I lean down to kiss his mouth. I explore his mouth with my tongue, breathing into him, as Gina kneels between his thick thighs. I kiss along his jaw, the side of his mouth, sticking the fingers that fucked Gina into his mouth. She spreads his legs wider and gently pulls his underwear down. I feel myself pool at the sight of his long thick cock, ferociously hard. Gina grabs him without hesitation, her long fingers wrapping around his cock and moving up and down slowly. With both hands she massages his head, spreading his glistening precum with her thumb.

"How do you want it?" she asks him, her voice heavy.

“Embrasse-moi” he says.

She leans down and lays her tongue against the base of his shaft, licking up the length of him. She licks him again, and once more, moving her tongue around his head, dragging her hand down his cock. She places her swollen painted lips around him and takes him in. My core erupts at the sight of her fucking him with her mouth. She moves up and down, taking him in as far as she can, her hand and mouth working rhythmically. 

He groans, his voice breaking as she sucks him hard, exactly the way he wants it.

Where Gina loves to be praised, he loves to be touched. A detail that Gina let slip one-night, secret knowledge that I had stolen and tucked away into my memory. I move my fingertips over the thin lines of black ink that decorate his chest. I nestle my nose into his neck, licking at the sweat and champagne on his skin. My hands travel over his skin, touching every part of him that I can through his open shirt. His arms, his nipples, the tight hot muscles on his stomach. He shudders, bringing his hand to the back of my head, dragging his fingers into my hair, and pulling at the root. His other hand reaches down, tangles in Gina's curls. I kiss and bite at his neck, listening to the wet sounds of her mouth sucking his dick, his gruff moans. We move like that for a long moment, the sounds of our sex mingling with the laughter from the street. She moans, a deep muffled sound, her vocal cords vibrating against him. I am breathy and high pitched; he is deep and primal.

"Stop," he grunts, his body tensed. She does, resting her smiling mouth just above his wet tip as she looks up at him. He turns his face to mine, and whispers, 

"Fuck me."

Something shatters inside of me as I swallow, nod, and look back at Gina.

Still smiling, she gets up and moves towards the bookshelf on the side of the wall. She reaches into a small ceramic pot and pulls out a condom. He leans forward and pulls off his shirt. 

There we were. The three of us. Naked, sweating, swollen, throbbing for each other’s touch. 

Gina kisses him deeply as she hands him the condom. I clench my thighs together in anticipation. She grabs me by the waist, wraps her hand into my hair and kisses me breathlessly. Her large soft breasts push into mine; our stomachs and pussies press together. I grind against her as I feel her wetness mix with mine. She grabs my ass, pulling my cheeks apart as I moan into her mouth. I had almost forgotten how to breathe without her. 

Taking my hands, Gina leads me to him. I straddle his hips and kiss him, pulling at his hair as he teases the tip of his cock against my entrance. I cover his hand with mine, moving him over my throbbing clit and down my lips. Gina’s hand is on my ass. She slips her fingers between my cheeks and touches her fingertips to my hole. I gasp as she slips the tip of her finger inside of me, and I ride my clit against his cock as she lightly fingers my ass.

I am begging for release. My whole body is burning, clenched up tightly. We are one writhing, twisting, groaning beast of pleasure, love, and joy. He can see it in my eyes, the burning, the hunger, the desperation, and I watch the dam break within him too. His perfect patience, spilling out of him, ready to submerge us. I hold on to his strong shoulders, as he makes quick work of the condom, ripping it open and sliding it on. 

Gina withdraws from me, reaching down for the champagne. She takes a sip, stepping behind me to drag the chilled bottled up my spine, the condensation running down my back. She angles my head back, and I gaze up at her stunning face, tilting my mouth open for her kiss. She cups my jaw and gently pours the bubbling alcohol into my mouth. I hold it there, as she cups my breast and pinches at my nipple. Shimmering candlelight flickers in the dark depths of his eyes, like stars reflected on the oceans rippling surface. I drape my fingers around his throat like a necklace and squeeze. I part my lips softly, letting the champagne drip into his mouth in a thin stream. He gurgles and groans as he swallows, his cock dipping inside of me. I sink into him, inch by inch, letting my body adjust to a new man. I lower and lift myself until he is panting beneath me. I slam my mouth down to his and bite his lip hard as he sinks into me completely. His cock heavy and thick inside of me, his hands digging into my back. I move against him, my clit pressing against his pelvis. 

I ride my hips against him, feeling my orgasm building. He is grabbing my ass, digging his fingers into my skin, moving me back and forth. Euphoria engulfs me, burning from the place our bodies are connected, feeling him at the center of me. Gina is standing behind me, cupping my breasts in her hands. Her perfect fingers are pulling and pinching my nipples. I ride myself to the edge and fall all at once. My moans are desperate, begging him for more as his thick cock fills me up, pounding against the innermost part of me. I clench around him, fucking him hard. His moans are deep and rasping as he throbs inside of me. I clench around him, his fingers tattooing his passion into my flesh. I need to come. I do not know if I want to cry or scream or laugh, and the sound that comes out of me was all and none. My orgasm shivers across my skin, every muscle in my body expanding with all-consuming release. His body tenses, and I fall into him as he cries out and empties into me.

With his soft breath at my throat, and her lips kissing my shoulder, we ride our way down from an impossible high. More than friends, more than lovers. We are three imperfect pieces finally putting ourselves together.

Photo by Ruby Ruby