Touching Shadows

A long goodbye

AUDREY

He looked up at me in surprise. He obviously didn't expect that response, and he didn't know what to do with it.

"Why haven't you told the media the truth, Cohen? Brittany ruined your career and your reputation. I don't understand why you didn't fight back?"

He shook his head sadly.

"I know what she did was terrible and unforgivable... and thinking about it still makes me so angry I want to punch something or drink until I forget. But she is still my wife. And when I look at her, I still remember the school girl I fell in love with. I can't do that. I just can't. "

I put my hand on his cheek and turned his head towards me.

"You are still putting her first Cohen. Sacrificing yourself for her again. It sounds like that was your whole relationship. You could do what you wanted as long as it didn't impact on her plans, her career, her reputation, her aspirations. When did she ever put you first? When did she ever consider what you wanted and needed from her?"

I paused, trying to collect my thoughts. I needed to make sure I chose my words carefully and didn't overstep, but I needed him to hear me, and see it from outside his own broken hearted perspective.

"When are you going to stop protecting her? When do you get to have what you want?"

I looked into his eyes, trying to read him. He swallowed hard, then pulled me towards him. I put a single hand on his chest, holding him still.

"Cohen?"

"Please, Red."

He was begging. I dropped my hand away and inched closer.

And his lips were on me, bruising mine, needy and urgent. He nipped at my elongated neck and I groaned. I didn't fight it. Right now, I needed this as much as he did.

He lifted me onto his lap in one swift movement. He began undoing my shirt buttons while kissing along my collar bone. It seemed to take forever, but finally he had finished the last button and my shirt was off, quickly followed by my bra. My breasts were free, and my nipples were desperate for his mouth.

He took them, one at a time into his mouth, as I watched. He began licking gently, before sucking and biting them almost to the point of pain, before gently caressing them with his tongue again. The contrast between tender and intense was driving me crazy with want.

I stood and slipped my bottom half off quickly. Cohen undressed just as fast. Then he was against me, kissing me hard while steering me up against a table I hadn't noticed before. He lifted me up onto it and I gasped as my bare skin was lowered onto the cold tabletop.

"Fucking hell, Red."

He breathed heavily as I wrapped my fingers around him, stroking the length of him slowly. His mouth had found my neck again, and he was kissing, licking, biting me into a frenzy.

His fingers were inside me then, and he circled my clit with his thumb. I moaned loudly, encouragement for him to continue with his enthusiastic stroking.

"Fuck me, Cohen."

"How?", he mumbled against my shoulder.