CEM: The Moments In Between

When It Rains...

Rayne loved to watch Avi while he slept. His breathing was even and slow, his heart beat steady and strong under her palm. She lay next to him snuggled tight under the heavy warm blankets safe and secure in Avi's loving embrace. There was no place she'd rather be. It always felt like he'd been gone for years when he was not there to share her bed. It didn't matter how long he was away, her home was not home when he was not there. It felt like forever had passed since she could lay in his loving arms and feel his tender kisses in her hair and on her lips. She smiled into his bare chest, let her fingers dance through his dark chest hair and kissed his skin. He stirred under her touch and mumbled something incoherent softly in his sleep. He was always so hard to wake up, not that she was trying to wake him. She watched his face as he slept in peace. She giggled. He was just so damn cute, even when he was sleeping. She tried to slip out from under his arm and crawl out of bed, but the moment she shifted his arm, Avi pulled her tight.

"Where, My Love, do you think you're going at this insane hour?" He softly asked by whispering in her ear, before he nibbled at it. She giggled at his touch. He slid his arm around her and pulled her with him as he rolled onto his back. She happily complied and leaned down to kiss a not so sleeping Avi. His sleepy little smile always gave her pause. She watched the moon light sparkle in his eyes, felt the warmth of his touch on the small of her back.

"Why don't you stay with me a while?" His hands pulled at her. He spread his fingers open pushing his thumbs over her narrow hips, his fingers almost touching on her thin and powerful back. That mischievous smile promised some great rewards if she stayed in bed with him. His long dark hair was a nimbus of tangled waves all around his head. His sweet green eyes were more brown than green in the early morning dimness of her bedroom. The deep purple sheets beneath him were a direct contrast to his creamy pale skin. He hadn't shaved once in the three days that he'd been with her so his beard was full on his cheeks and neck. He gave her that warm sleepy smile and combined it with a promise of sweet release before he reminded her why she loved him.

His movements were unexpected. He grabbed her waist firmly in his hands, pulled one shoulder up from the bed while forcing the opposite hip down. He used his foot as leverage and flipped her to pin her beneath him. His eyes danced and he laughed at the little shriek that escaped her. He kissed her fiercely before he let his fingers go wild over her sides. She squirmed and fussed under his slight weight and allowed him to tickle her senseless. They laughed until neither of them could breathe. Then laughed some more.

Avi went to roll over so he could lay beside Rayne after tickling her until he couldn't breathe. He was always surprised when she let him move her like that. He watched her practice martial arts and knew she would not have any problems defending herself or fighting him off, yet she let him roll her every time he tickled her. It never got old. The hardest thing about tickling her was just tickling her. All her squirming under him drove him absolutely wild and made him want to do so much more than just tickle her. When he was certain that neither of them could laugh no more he shifted his weight to move. Rayne wrapped her arm tight around him and held him fast.

"Now, where exactly do you think you're going My Love?" She purred back at him. This time her eyes were bright and promised pleasure. He just smiled. He wasn't going anywhere. He leaned down and took her lips gently, kissing her for all he was worth. She smiled into his lips and pulled his weight down over her.

She woke, tangled in Avi's arms and legs, to the sound of a cold winter rain falling on the roof of her home. It took some doing but she finally extracted herself from that sweet tangle. He mumbled and groaned and reached for her as she slid out of bed. Luckily, he was actually sleeping. She gave him her pillow and watched as he wrapped himself around it. His sleeping mind really didn't know anything, did it? Rayne shook her head and suppressed a solid laugh. "So Fucking Cute." She whispered to herself, grabbed his discarded shirt from the floor and slipped out of the room.

Avi Woke up some time later wrapped around her pillow, a small fire was burning in the hearth keeping the room warm. Rayne was nowhere in sight. He almost panicked. He looked at the clock and groaned. No wonder he was hungry. What time did they wake up earlier? They did wake up earlier, didn't they? That wasn't a dream, was it? His sleepy mind didn't want to wake up. But it was past noon. He needed to. He looked at the bathroom door and shrugged. May as well.

Rayne sat quietly in the bay window, notebook in her lap, looking out at the rainy forest. It was the beginning of winter, late fall, so the ground was still warm when the rain started to fall. The rain was cold. A low mist clung to the ground giving the area a mysterious fairytale look. She closed her eyes for just a moment and let her imagination run free. The rain fell heavy on the glass above her. It ran in brilliant streaks down the front of the window. She smiled. She loved her home. Though the sun was not visible behind the clouds she knew exactly where it was. She picked up her pen and put it to the page of her journal. She had eaten breakfast, she made a quiche, and left some for Avi to eat when he woke. She was confident that he'd find it, but left him a note in the kitchen just in case. The fire blazed in the hearth, spreading warmth and light into the room. After a while she switched to her notebook and started working on her story. Rayne was so engrossed in her writing that she didn't notice Avi walk into the room.

Avi stood in the kitchen and watched Rayne as she wrote. She was beautiful as always, and wearing just his shirt and a pair of panties. She was a vision to be had. He often wondered how he got so lucky.

"There you are." He called out quietly from the kitchen and waited for her to acknowledge him before he approached her. He didn't want to startle her, that was never a good thing, she looked lost in her writings again and hadn't immediately noticed him. She looked up at him and smiled, then he approached. He kissed the top of her head.

"It looks nasty out there and really pretty." He said looking out the window at the fog between the trees. She smiled at him again and put her pen in her notebook. He kissed her forehead and put his hand on her notebook. You don't need to stop. I don't want to interrupt you. Let's just," He shrugged, "I don't know, notebook and chill." The look on his face was priceless. He was honestly the most amazingly talented, super silly dork she'd ever loved. He held up his favorite book. "I'll read. You write." He kissed her face and then retreated to the other side of the window, sat on the seat, opened his tattered book and started reading. They sat like that for peaceful hours as the rain fell outside.

Rayne watched Avi from over her notebook. She had reached a stopping point in her story. Based on how his eyes devoured the pages of his book, he hadn't reached a stopping point in his. She noticed what she hadn't noticed before. He had shaved and trimmed his beard. He must have washed his hair and left it down to dry, it fell in dark beautiful ringlets in front of his shoulders. He hadn't bothered with getting all the way dressed though. He put on a clean tee and a pair of boxer briefs. He looked so precious and adorable sitting there, one leg up and the other stretched out on the bench between them, reading his book. She set her notebook down and moved towards him, crawling between his legs and settling into his embrace. He never took his eyes off his book as he moved his legs to make room for her and wrapped his arms around her. She folded herself gently into his arms and lay her hand and head upon his chest.

"Will you read to me please?" She sighed against him. The sound of the rain falling on the world outside was almost as comforting as resting in Avi's arms.

"The dragon roared and..." Avi's voice rumbled through his chest. She couldn't understand a single word he said. She didn't need to, the vibration and deep tones soothed her soul and relaxed her heart. She closed her eyes and listened until she was sleeping again, comfortable in Avi's arms.