Ethereal

Chapter 5: Loved

The pale strands of morning light were peeking through the curtains, caressing Stefani's blonde hair and bare shoulders; Bradley watched her sleep soundly, breathe evenly. Her head was rested on his shoulder, her relaxed, beautiful face turned to him; laying half on top of him, she felt light as a feather, one slender arm thrown across his chest.

Their incredible third night together hadn't come as any sort of a surprise; from the moment at the benefit when they had agreed on meeting at her house the following evening, he had known there was no way he would be able to stop himself, no way he would be able to keep from touching her. During the past year absence had truly seemed to make their hearts grow fonder, the longing and the electricity between them reaching unbelievable heights; she still had a ring on her finger and he had been with Irina for nearly a year now, been with her as fully as it was possible to be when there was another woman occupying a huge portion of his heart but just like in Las Vegas, everything had faded to the background the second his eyes had connected with Stefani's and nothing else, no one else, existed anymore.

His mind flashed back to the April morning a year ago when he had woken at the MGM Grand, alone in the bed that had felt so huge and so cold and he knew she was already gone from the city; that was the moment a hollowness had settled inside his heart, an emptiness that only one specific person in this world could fill. He had spent a lot of time over the next months with Irina, perhaps surprising her with the way he had thrown himself into the relationship in order to get Stefani out of his mind; Irina had often studied him with an expression that told him she knew something was up but she had never asked and despite increasing arguments and their schedules constantly conflicting, they were close. But the emptiness had never disappeared from his heart, not until two nights ago when Stefani had returned to his life and filled the void with her warmth and her presence and from now on there was just no possibility that he would ever let her disappear again, no matter what their situations in life may have been.

Bradley turned his head to check the time, his eyes falling on the little note she had left for him on the previous evening, telling him where to find her; it had made his heart swell with tenderness then and also did so now, tenderness towards this incredible, caring woman and he swallowed, buried his face against her hair.

She shifted a little, straightened her legs and sighed, her hand starting to move on his chest, drawing indeterminable patterns and he smiled, kissed her forehead.

"Good morning."

"Hey," she whispered, looking up at him, sleepy green eyes beneath messy blonde hair and suddenly everything was so clear to him: he was in love with her, deeply, completely and irreversibly, in love with her face and her eyes and her voice and just every single part of her, more than anything with her huge and amazing heart. Stunned by his realization, he crushed his lips onto hers, turned to press her onto the bed, feeling her hands tangling into his hair; after a few moments of feverish, passionate kisses and caresses she arched her hips and he nudged her legs apart with his knee, hearing her long low moan against his lips when he slid inside her, her warm wetness enveloping him like a glove. They kept kissing, neither of them unable to give up that connection, moving fluidly together in a perfect rhythm until she tore her lips from his, gasping and he watched the pleasure ripple over her face, the sight of it and the feel of her at the moment of orgasm making it impossible to hold on and so he let go, shuddering through an intense release, hissing her name with his lips against her jawline.

They remained silent and still for a moment, both breathing hard until Stefani finally moved, her lips curving into a smile and grazing his forehead. "Well, that definitely woke me up. On a very nice way."

Bradley chuckled, feeling so content now, his body comfortably heavy but his heart light with joy; turning to his back, he pulled her on top of him again, yawned. "I think I'm still tired. Not that much sleep last night, really."