Tender (Chapter 23)
Title: Tender (Chapter 23)
Author: naughtybunny23
Character/Pairing: Ten/Rose, TenII/Rose, Jackie Tyler, Pete Tyler, OC, Torchwood
Beta: Still wildwinterwitch - if you aren’t reading her stuff, you are really missing out. And check out emraldeyedauter - her writing is engaging, and she gave me a killer Christmas gift.
Rating: Adult. Not work friendly. Smut involved. You’re going to try to figure out how to open this at work, aren’t you?
Summary: The Doctor and Rose reconnect in mind, body and heart.
Disclaimer: I know all the Doctor Who stuff is property of the BBC, and, no, if I was making money off my Who writing do you really think I would be posting to this blog?
Notes: I am supposed to be drafting a business plan for a film project. I am instead writing fan fiction. Is it any wonder I have no money?
She welcomed him back to their bed that night, but although his body wrapped around hers in a familiar way in the moonlit room, there remained an awkwardness between them that prevented a deeper, more intimate connection.
And that intimate connection was right now at the top of his mind as he struggled to maintain his composure. He lay against her, his chest pressed against her back and his face brushing against her hair every so lightly. He could see the clock on her bedside table, its illuminated face casting an eerie blue glow across her side of the bed.
3.17 am
He had slept for a few hours, then surfaced to full wakefulness almost an hour ago. He had lain here almost motionless, wide awake but afraid to move lest he wake her, who seemed to still be deep in sleep. He nuzzled against her neck, inhaling a scent that had lived so vividly only in his mind over the past months. The coconut shampoo, the jasmine of her bath gel and the undertones of just Rose all blended together to permeate his brain and overload his senses, resulting in the stirring in his groin that he was now trying to control. She moaned softly in her sleep and shifted her position slightly, rubbing her bottom against him and making his situation even more precarious.
Despite her admission that morning that she missed feeling their link, he hesitated to re-initiate it, feeling that they needed to move beyond this tenuous stage of their still-healing relationship to a more intimate level. Right now, however, he was sorely missing the warmth of her desire washing over him, communicating to him silently yet vividly the need of her body for his. He moved his hand to rest on her hip, and pushed his body slightly away from hers, hoping that the inch or so of air now between them would calm his aching and hardened flesh.
“Did you sleep with Donna?”
Her voice startled him in the darkness as he struggled to sink back into the depths of sleep. The question was asked softly with her back still facing him. He wondered how long she had been awake and how long she might have felt his desire pressed against her bum.
“Rassilon, no,” he answered before he could check the volume. That question really came out of nowhere. He chuckled and added more quietly, “She would have slapped me harder than even your mother ever thought about.”
He gently pulled her hip toward him, rolling her over on her back so he could see her face. She had a hard time meeting his eyes, not just because her eyes were slow to adjust to the dim moonlight coming through the window.
“Donna was my best mate. I never had a sister, but I always imagined that if I had, she would have been an awful lot like Donna.” He swallowed against the lump that suddenly rose in his throat.
He was silent as images of the fiery redhead ran through his mind, and he absent-mindedly traced small circles on Rose’s hip, waiting for the next question he knew was coming.
“What about Martha?”
He blew a breath out slowly, not sure where she was going with this line of questioning. “Rose-’’
She rolled to her side so that she was facing him. “I want to know. I know we weren’t together then, but-’’
“I wasn’t fair to her.” He paused, his heart still heavy with guilt even after all this time. “She had…” He stared at the clock. 3.36 am “Feelings for me. I knew that and I chose to ignore them, using her, taking advantage of her. I knew she would have done anything for me, and I made her into something that hurt her family, almost destroyed them, almost destroyed her.” He rolled away from her onto his back and stared up at the ceiling, feeling as if it would drop and crush him at any moment.
She wiggled over to be closer to him, resting her head against his chest. “I’m sorry,” she said simply.
He pushed his cheek against the top of her head and brought his arm back around her. Feeling her goosebumps, he reached down and pulled the coverlet over her before asking, “What for?”
“That I wasn’t there for you then.”
“I should have torn apart creation for you.” He hugged her against him. “I changed without you.”
They lay in silence together and he reveled in the feel of her warmth pressed against him.
“Was there anyone for you then?” He regretted the words even before they had left his lips.
She stiffened against him and did not immediately answer.
He rubbed her shoulder and kissed the top of her head. “It’s alright. Even though it killed me every time I thought about it, I hoped that you weren’t alone, that you had someone. Mickey-“
“Mickey and I hadn’t been like that, not since I first met you,” she said defensively, rising slightly to look him in the eye.
He stroked her cheek and smiled sadly at the wistful look that crossed her face at the mention of her former boyfriend and best mate.
“There’s no condemnation, Rose. I was telling the truth when I said I hoped you had found someone who would give you that life you deserved. I’m so sorry that you had to face that time alone.”
She settled back down against him and ran her fingers lightly through the hair sprinkled across his chest. “Mickey was still my best mate, and there was Jake. The two of them were there when I needed them. They helped me with the dimension cannon. I don’t know if I could have made it without them.”
He could feel a tension in the air between them, as if something still hung there unsaid.
“But sometimes they weren’t enough.” He had opened the door; now she needed to step through.
She sat up to face him, holding the coverlet against her chest to keep warm. “No. Sometimes when it all got to be too much, if I had a bad day at work, or I saw something that reminded me of you, I would just think it really was all so hopeless, that I’d never see you again. A couple of times I did… I found someone, and I’d just try to forget about you for an hour, for the night. But it never worked.”
Her voice trembled as she continued. “I would just feel worse because they weren’t you, and I would get angry at them, angry at me and angry at you because you weren’t there… why couldn’t you have been there?” Her voice broke then and she started to cry.
He sat up in the bed and pulled her to him, crushing her to his chest. “Too long,” he whispered as he felt her tears wash across his flesh. “Too long I waited to make love to you the first time, too long to bond with you, too long away from you, too long to realize I can’t be without you, too long to tell you…”
He grasped her shoulders and, pushing her gently away from him, looked directly into her eyes. “No more, Rose Tyler. I have one life now and no room for waiting, for mistakes, for missed opportunities. There is no one for me but you, I know that now. This life, this place, this woman-’’ He shook her gently as he spoke the words. “--is where I want to be, where I need to be. Please, Rose, I can never say enough how sorry I am for everything I have done in my lives to hurt you. Please forgive me.”
She took his hands and placed his fingertips on her temples, smiling as she closed her eyes. In the darkness of the still room he too closed his eyes and opened his mind, feeling the warmth of her love wash through him in waves as broad as the universe.
Can you hear me? Her words echoed in his head and his single heart jumped as, with that simple question, their bond flashed back to life. He leaned down and pressed his lips against hers, moving his hands from her temples to slide down her neck.
Welcome home, she whispered into his head.
She rose to her knees and clasped his face in her hands, pulling him to her. He could feel her breasts against him, her nipples hard through the cloth of the thin vest she wore.
“You’re cold,” he said, suddenly remembering she was still recovering from her recent fight-to-the-death with an alien entity. He reached down to pull up the coverlet that had slipped down between them.
She stilled his hand and smiled seductively from under lowered lashes.
Then warm me.
She lay back against the pillows, pulling him down with her. He moved over her, careful to support his weight on his forearms so as to not crush her still fragile body.
“Are you sure?” he asked with concern.
“Please,” she answered, “I need you.” She reached down and stroked him through his pyjama pants, her fingertips light as a feather as they traced down, then back up to grasp the head of his cock. He moaned and quickly moved her hand away, feeling that with just one touch she could bring him to climax. He had been without her too long and this human body was still not completely under his control; not that his Time Lord one had been any better when making love with her.
He pulled up her vest and reverently looked at her breasts before cupping the left one gently in his hand. “So beautiful, so perfect.” He leaned down and sucked the pink bud into his mouth, laving it with his tongue and relishing in the familiar little squirm and throaty moan his actions elicited. He spent a few minutes on one, then moved to its twin, peppering the path in between with light kisses.
She tangled her fingers in his hair and yanked hard as he raked his teeth across her nipple. Still kneading and suckling her breast, he moved his other hand down her torso, stopping at her belly and lightly tracing his fingertips around her navel in a circular motion. Her moan vibrated through him, causing his hardened cock to twitch, the pain an exquisite reminder of what was waiting for him.
His fingers continued their journey down to the waistband of her pyjamas. He fumbled for a moment until the drawstring was undone. He popped her kiss-swollen nipple from his lips as he looked down at her jim jams. “The duckies are adorable, but really... they must go.”
She giggled as she lifted her hips helpfully so that he could slide her pyjamas down her legs. She wasn’t wearing any knickers under them.
He slid from the bed and quickly wiggled out of his clothes, never taking his eyes from her and enjoying her dark look of desire as she watched him strip. He cocked an eyebrow, then settled back into the bed beside her, tucking up against her side and nuzzling into her neck.
He groaned as her small hand stroked down his length then grasped the head of his cock firmly in her fingers. He reached under the coverlet and wrapped his hand around hers, relishing the feel of her skin against his as he guided her movements up and down. His brain tingled as the heat built in his groin, the pressure quickly mounting until he had to still her hands lest this end much too soon.
He moved her hand to his lips, sucking her fingers into his mouth one by one before resting it next to her, their fingers woven together. She whimpered and arched against him, and her eagerness heightened his arousal until he felt as if his throbbing flesh would burst. He moved over her then, careful to keep his weight off her and on his arms. He leaned down and whispered into her ear.
“I can smell how much you want me.” He moved back to look at her face, now coloured with the flush of desire. “Still superior Time Lord senses, you know.” He raised an eyebrow as he tapped the side of his nose and she giggled at his cheekiness.
He shifted his weight and moved down her body to settle between her thighs. He spread his fingers against her mound, ruffling through the dense curls.
Rose reached down and covered his hand with hers. “Sorry,” she whispered, “but I haven’t waxed in a while.” He could feel her discomfort in the darkness.
He leaned over and kissed the top of her hand, then gently moved it aside with a chuckle. “No, it’s okay. I like this. It’s different and very sexy.” He said the last words with a low growl.
He inhaled against her skin, filling his nostrils with the heady scent of her arousal. He pushed his finger between her folds, searching, then finding the small nub that was the trigger to her pleasure. He flicked his finger against it a few times, chuckling at the quick response as she wiggled under him. Unable to wait any longer, he delved between her thighs, running his tongue along her centre, then sliding his finger into her tight warmth.
He could tell from the way she moved against him that she was not far from climax, and his tongue quickened its pace as he added another finger, now crooking the two to brush against the sensitive spot inside her as he began to slide them in and out. He could feel her muscles clenching, and his cock twitched and jerked in response to her movements. He was lying on his belly across the bed between her thighs, and he ground his pelvis against the fabric under him, desperate for the friction to alleviate his own quickly building ache.
She suddenly came with a cry, tangling her fingers in his hair and pulling him against her. He could feel the waves rippling through her, and he gripped her thigh with his free hand hard enough that he was sure to leave marks for the next morning. He nuzzled her softly and chuckled at her satisfied sighs as she sank into a post-climactic daze. His quiet amusement elicited a tug on his hair followed by a light slap to his skull.
“Oi! What’s that for?” He sat up and smiled at her as he rubbed the side of his head.
“You’re just all that, yeah?” She pushed up to rest on her elbows and tilted her head playfully as she looked at him.
He moved up her torso to cover her body with his, leaning down to kiss her on the nose. “Yep, still got it,” he whispered, smiling proudly, then moved down to press his lips against hers in a long and languid kiss.
I missed your taste.
I missed yours, she answered inside his mind. He immediately caught an image of her lips wrapped around him.
He caressed her cheek and looked lovingly into her eyes. “You don’t know how much I missed you.”
“Don’t ever leave me again.” She pulled his face down to hers, touching her forehead to his.
He trembled against her, pushing his thoughts out to her, searching for that golden light that would soothe and warm him from within. Electricity coursed through his body as he made the connection.
Come into me.
The invitation she whispered into his brain was reflected in the desire he saw cast across her face. He closed his eyes, and all the colours of the universe exploded inside his mind as he opened up completely to her. He could feel the blood pulsing through her veins, the wetness released from her core, her heart’s rhythm echoing the quickening staccato of his.
Are you sure? “I don’t want to hurt you.” The last he spoke softly, mindful of the double meaning of his question.
“I need to know this is real.”
“It is, my love.” Can’t you feel it? He drew back to look deeply into her eyes as he pushed between her thighs, nudging gently at her centre.
For the rest of his life, this moment would burn brighter in his memory than any other, even more than a lifetime ago when he had made love to her for the first time on that dark planet beneath a collapsing black star. He had lost her, found her, then lost her again. As he pushed into her tight warmth, he pressed his forehead against hers, pouring into her mind all the hope and gratitude for this second chance given to him, not by fate or cosmic forces or by the universe, but by her.
As he moved within her, he clung to her tightly, desperate to keep her close, to keep her safe. She raised her hips to meet his thrusts, pushing her head back into the pillow as she concentrated on the warmth flooding through her body and her head.
He lifted her leg to wrap around his waist, needing to lose himself as deeply inside her as he could. He could feel her body tensing as he drove her toward her second climax. She arched into him, reaching up to pull his face down close to hers.
“I missed you so much,” she moaned, and he kissed her hungrily in response. With a slight twist of his hips his thrusts began to hit directly against her sensitive centre and she mewled softly as the orgasm rippled through her. He stilled his movements, wanting to prolong this moment and lost in the feel of her pulsing around him.
“I’ll never leave you again, I swear,” he said breathily. “Being away from you, what I did, what I have done-’’There was so much he needed to say to her, regardless of how his body literally ached for the release that was so close to his flesh.
She reached up and placed her finger across his lips. “No,” she said, “don’t. You’re here now. That’s all that matters, yeah?” She twisted her hips under him, her warm hand grasping and pulling at his buttocks as she sought to entice him back to their lovemaking.
He grasped her hand and gently pushed it above her head, bringing her eyes in line with his. “No, listen to me, please,” he pleaded, looking into her eyes. He pulled out of her then, ignoring her soft cry of disappointment as he pushed down her leg and moved off her. He turned on his side to face her.
“When he left us on that beach, I felt abandoned and betrayed.”
She rose up and looked at him, and the pain so plainly displayed on her face cut him deeply. “You said you loved me.”
“Oh, Rose, I did-I do. That will never change. But underneath all the love I felt for you, there was so much bitterness. I didn’t know how to deal with it. I felt as if I was being eaten from inside.”
“Why couldn’t you talk to me?”
He huffed in disbelief. “You were dealing with your own pain, most of which was caused by me. You wouldn’t have been here if it hadn’t been for me. If I hadn’t been created, you could have stayed with him.”
She rolled over to him. “Do you still think about him?”
“Every time I look in the mirror, or at my hands,” he answered. “Don’t you? Every time you look at me?”
“I did, yes, in the beginning. But as I started to get to know you, I started to think of you as, well, you.” She reached out to caress his face, scratching her nails through the stubble on his cheek. “I fell in love with you, but I’ve always loved you. You’re him, but you’re not - you’re more you.”
She bit her lip, and he had to chuckle at her confused look. “What?” she asked.
“Us,” he said. “Do you think he had any idea how complicated this was going to be for either of us?”
She pushed him onto his back and climbed over him to straddle his chest. “I do think about him every day,” she said as she traced her finger down his cheek, the feel of the stubble sending little sparks up her arm that somehow ended up in her groin. “And I think about how grateful I am for this second chance.”
He grasped her hips and wiggled beneath her. “I almost lost you.” He looked up at her, his eyes roving down her body. The pale moonlight coming in through her window reflected off her moist skin, making it seem to sparkle. He felt his cock hardening again beneath her. “You’ve given me another chance, Rose.” He could feel the tingling in his brain, and he smiled at the reminder of her presence there.
How long will you stay with me? She pushed down on him slowly, her eyes never leaving his.
“Forever,” he gasped as he gently rolled them over, careful to keep their connection both in mind and body. He began to move slowly inside her, reveling in the tight warmth that surrounded his flesh.
Buried inside you I feel whole again.
He created a gentle rhythm between them, mindful of her still-healing body and wanting this moment to last. He bent his head to kiss her, touching his forehead to hers and pushing his thoughts out to connect with hers.
Come for me, Rose.
The warmth flooding her senses and the silken sound of his voice as he whispered inside her head combined to push her over the edge to her third climax. While she was still in the throes of her release, he stepped up the rhythm, striving to join her in the fall. He could feel her orgasm through their connection and through his length buried deep within her. Her throbbing heat and rippling sensations quickly pushed him over the edge. He cried out loudly as he came, begging her to take away his pain and to forgive him. He pushed into her one last time, then collapsed against her.
He rolled over on his back, pulling her with him to rest against his side. He pulled one of her legs across his, and he could feel the moistness of her thighs as she settled next to him. She placed her head under his chin, her hand across his heart.
She giggled softly, and he smiled in puzzlement. “It could be considered a bit of a jolt to the ego when one’s lover laughs after what one thinks was a superb performance.”
She leaned up and kissed his nose. “I missed the whole mind-sex thing, you know.”
She didn’t need to see his expression to know he was preening from her comment.
They lay in silence for a while, the only sounds in the room the occasional creak of the bed as one of them shifted.
“Will we be alright, you think?” He kissed the top of her head as he spoke.
She paused before answering. “I don’t know,” she said, her honesty tugging at his heart.
She rolled away from him to lie on her back. “We still have a lot of problems, you know,” she said, staring up at the ceiling. She turned her head towards him, and he was warmed by her sly grin. “One good shag isn’t going to solve everything.”
He sat up in the bed and pulled the coverlet over them, taking extra care to tuck it in around her. He looked down at her and tried for his best pouting look. “Good? Just good?” He lay back down and curled himself around her under the covers. “We have been apart for a while. Perhaps I just need some practice.” She giggled as he slid his hand down her belly, lightly brushing against her still moist curls. “Lots of practice,” he said.
He pressed his lips against hers, feeling a lustful fire once again igniting deep within him. He could also feel that same fire stirring again within her body and her mind, and he was overwhelmed by the flood of emotions that suddenly washed over him through their link.
She caressed his cheek softly, brushing her fingertips through his sideburns to curl her fingers in his hair. “And in between the incredible--’’
“That’s better-’’
“--shagging, you’ll talk, yeah?”
“We’ll talk. I promise.” He peppered kisses along her jawline as he gently turned her to her side, her back to him. He spooned behind her, drawing her tightly against him so she could feel his hardened flesh against her. “I want to spend the rest of my life making love to you,” he whispered as he trailed his lips along her shoulder. “Well, if you’ll let me, that is.”
He could feel their bond strengthening as he caressed her. When he closed his eyes, he felt the warm familiar swirling within his head and he knew that now, no matter who or what would separate them, they would never again be apart. She was the better part of him and with her, he would be the man he was meant to be. The Proper Doctor was right - she would make him better.
As he pushed slowly into her yielding flesh, there was only word that would echo within both their minds and their hearts.
Forever.
# # #
Tender Chapter 1
Tender Chapter 2
Tender Chapter 3
Tender Chapter 4
Tender Chapter 5
Tender Chapter 6
Tender Chapter 7
Tender Chapter 8
Tender Chapter 9
Tender Chapter 10
Tender Chapter 11
Tender Chapter 12
Tender Chapter 13
Tender Chapter 14
Tender Chapter 15
Tender Chapter 16
Tender Chapter 17
Tender Chapter 18
Tender Chapter 19
Tender Chapter 20
Tender Chapter 21
Tender Chapter 22
Author: naughtybunny23
Character/Pairing: Ten/Rose, TenII/Rose, Jackie Tyler, Pete Tyler, OC, Torchwood
Beta: Still wildwinterwitch - if you aren’t reading her stuff, you are really missing out. And check out emraldeyedauter - her writing is engaging, and she gave me a killer Christmas gift.
Rating: Adult. Not work friendly. Smut involved. You’re going to try to figure out how to open this at work, aren’t you?
Summary: The Doctor and Rose reconnect in mind, body and heart.
Disclaimer: I know all the Doctor Who stuff is property of the BBC, and, no, if I was making money off my Who writing do you really think I would be posting to this blog?
Notes: I am supposed to be drafting a business plan for a film project. I am instead writing fan fiction. Is it any wonder I have no money?
She welcomed him back to their bed that night, but although his body wrapped around hers in a familiar way in the moonlit room, there remained an awkwardness between them that prevented a deeper, more intimate connection.
And that intimate connection was right now at the top of his mind as he struggled to maintain his composure. He lay against her, his chest pressed against her back and his face brushing against her hair every so lightly. He could see the clock on her bedside table, its illuminated face casting an eerie blue glow across her side of the bed.
3.17 am
He had slept for a few hours, then surfaced to full wakefulness almost an hour ago. He had lain here almost motionless, wide awake but afraid to move lest he wake her, who seemed to still be deep in sleep. He nuzzled against her neck, inhaling a scent that had lived so vividly only in his mind over the past months. The coconut shampoo, the jasmine of her bath gel and the undertones of just Rose all blended together to permeate his brain and overload his senses, resulting in the stirring in his groin that he was now trying to control. She moaned softly in her sleep and shifted her position slightly, rubbing her bottom against him and making his situation even more precarious.
Despite her admission that morning that she missed feeling their link, he hesitated to re-initiate it, feeling that they needed to move beyond this tenuous stage of their still-healing relationship to a more intimate level. Right now, however, he was sorely missing the warmth of her desire washing over him, communicating to him silently yet vividly the need of her body for his. He moved his hand to rest on her hip, and pushed his body slightly away from hers, hoping that the inch or so of air now between them would calm his aching and hardened flesh.
“Did you sleep with Donna?”
Her voice startled him in the darkness as he struggled to sink back into the depths of sleep. The question was asked softly with her back still facing him. He wondered how long she had been awake and how long she might have felt his desire pressed against her bum.
“Rassilon, no,” he answered before he could check the volume. That question really came out of nowhere. He chuckled and added more quietly, “She would have slapped me harder than even your mother ever thought about.”
He gently pulled her hip toward him, rolling her over on her back so he could see her face. She had a hard time meeting his eyes, not just because her eyes were slow to adjust to the dim moonlight coming through the window.
“Donna was my best mate. I never had a sister, but I always imagined that if I had, she would have been an awful lot like Donna.” He swallowed against the lump that suddenly rose in his throat.
He was silent as images of the fiery redhead ran through his mind, and he absent-mindedly traced small circles on Rose’s hip, waiting for the next question he knew was coming.
“What about Martha?”
He blew a breath out slowly, not sure where she was going with this line of questioning. “Rose-’’
She rolled to her side so that she was facing him. “I want to know. I know we weren’t together then, but-’’
“I wasn’t fair to her.” He paused, his heart still heavy with guilt even after all this time. “She had…” He stared at the clock. 3.36 am “Feelings for me. I knew that and I chose to ignore them, using her, taking advantage of her. I knew she would have done anything for me, and I made her into something that hurt her family, almost destroyed them, almost destroyed her.” He rolled away from her onto his back and stared up at the ceiling, feeling as if it would drop and crush him at any moment.
She wiggled over to be closer to him, resting her head against his chest. “I’m sorry,” she said simply.
He pushed his cheek against the top of her head and brought his arm back around her. Feeling her goosebumps, he reached down and pulled the coverlet over her before asking, “What for?”
“That I wasn’t there for you then.”
“I should have torn apart creation for you.” He hugged her against him. “I changed without you.”
They lay in silence together and he reveled in the feel of her warmth pressed against him.
“Was there anyone for you then?” He regretted the words even before they had left his lips.
She stiffened against him and did not immediately answer.
He rubbed her shoulder and kissed the top of her head. “It’s alright. Even though it killed me every time I thought about it, I hoped that you weren’t alone, that you had someone. Mickey-“
“Mickey and I hadn’t been like that, not since I first met you,” she said defensively, rising slightly to look him in the eye.
He stroked her cheek and smiled sadly at the wistful look that crossed her face at the mention of her former boyfriend and best mate.
“There’s no condemnation, Rose. I was telling the truth when I said I hoped you had found someone who would give you that life you deserved. I’m so sorry that you had to face that time alone.”
She settled back down against him and ran her fingers lightly through the hair sprinkled across his chest. “Mickey was still my best mate, and there was Jake. The two of them were there when I needed them. They helped me with the dimension cannon. I don’t know if I could have made it without them.”
He could feel a tension in the air between them, as if something still hung there unsaid.
“But sometimes they weren’t enough.” He had opened the door; now she needed to step through.
She sat up to face him, holding the coverlet against her chest to keep warm. “No. Sometimes when it all got to be too much, if I had a bad day at work, or I saw something that reminded me of you, I would just think it really was all so hopeless, that I’d never see you again. A couple of times I did… I found someone, and I’d just try to forget about you for an hour, for the night. But it never worked.”
Her voice trembled as she continued. “I would just feel worse because they weren’t you, and I would get angry at them, angry at me and angry at you because you weren’t there… why couldn’t you have been there?” Her voice broke then and she started to cry.
He sat up in the bed and pulled her to him, crushing her to his chest. “Too long,” he whispered as he felt her tears wash across his flesh. “Too long I waited to make love to you the first time, too long to bond with you, too long away from you, too long to realize I can’t be without you, too long to tell you…”
He grasped her shoulders and, pushing her gently away from him, looked directly into her eyes. “No more, Rose Tyler. I have one life now and no room for waiting, for mistakes, for missed opportunities. There is no one for me but you, I know that now. This life, this place, this woman-’’ He shook her gently as he spoke the words. “--is where I want to be, where I need to be. Please, Rose, I can never say enough how sorry I am for everything I have done in my lives to hurt you. Please forgive me.”
She took his hands and placed his fingertips on her temples, smiling as she closed her eyes. In the darkness of the still room he too closed his eyes and opened his mind, feeling the warmth of her love wash through him in waves as broad as the universe.
Can you hear me? Her words echoed in his head and his single heart jumped as, with that simple question, their bond flashed back to life. He leaned down and pressed his lips against hers, moving his hands from her temples to slide down her neck.
Welcome home, she whispered into his head.
She rose to her knees and clasped his face in her hands, pulling him to her. He could feel her breasts against him, her nipples hard through the cloth of the thin vest she wore.
“You’re cold,” he said, suddenly remembering she was still recovering from her recent fight-to-the-death with an alien entity. He reached down to pull up the coverlet that had slipped down between them.
She stilled his hand and smiled seductively from under lowered lashes.
Then warm me.
She lay back against the pillows, pulling him down with her. He moved over her, careful to support his weight on his forearms so as to not crush her still fragile body.
“Are you sure?” he asked with concern.
“Please,” she answered, “I need you.” She reached down and stroked him through his pyjama pants, her fingertips light as a feather as they traced down, then back up to grasp the head of his cock. He moaned and quickly moved her hand away, feeling that with just one touch she could bring him to climax. He had been without her too long and this human body was still not completely under his control; not that his Time Lord one had been any better when making love with her.
He pulled up her vest and reverently looked at her breasts before cupping the left one gently in his hand. “So beautiful, so perfect.” He leaned down and sucked the pink bud into his mouth, laving it with his tongue and relishing in the familiar little squirm and throaty moan his actions elicited. He spent a few minutes on one, then moved to its twin, peppering the path in between with light kisses.
She tangled her fingers in his hair and yanked hard as he raked his teeth across her nipple. Still kneading and suckling her breast, he moved his other hand down her torso, stopping at her belly and lightly tracing his fingertips around her navel in a circular motion. Her moan vibrated through him, causing his hardened cock to twitch, the pain an exquisite reminder of what was waiting for him.
His fingers continued their journey down to the waistband of her pyjamas. He fumbled for a moment until the drawstring was undone. He popped her kiss-swollen nipple from his lips as he looked down at her jim jams. “The duckies are adorable, but really... they must go.”
She giggled as she lifted her hips helpfully so that he could slide her pyjamas down her legs. She wasn’t wearing any knickers under them.
He slid from the bed and quickly wiggled out of his clothes, never taking his eyes from her and enjoying her dark look of desire as she watched him strip. He cocked an eyebrow, then settled back into the bed beside her, tucking up against her side and nuzzling into her neck.
He groaned as her small hand stroked down his length then grasped the head of his cock firmly in her fingers. He reached under the coverlet and wrapped his hand around hers, relishing the feel of her skin against his as he guided her movements up and down. His brain tingled as the heat built in his groin, the pressure quickly mounting until he had to still her hands lest this end much too soon.
He moved her hand to his lips, sucking her fingers into his mouth one by one before resting it next to her, their fingers woven together. She whimpered and arched against him, and her eagerness heightened his arousal until he felt as if his throbbing flesh would burst. He moved over her then, careful to keep his weight off her and on his arms. He leaned down and whispered into her ear.
“I can smell how much you want me.” He moved back to look at her face, now coloured with the flush of desire. “Still superior Time Lord senses, you know.” He raised an eyebrow as he tapped the side of his nose and she giggled at his cheekiness.
He shifted his weight and moved down her body to settle between her thighs. He spread his fingers against her mound, ruffling through the dense curls.
Rose reached down and covered his hand with hers. “Sorry,” she whispered, “but I haven’t waxed in a while.” He could feel her discomfort in the darkness.
He leaned over and kissed the top of her hand, then gently moved it aside with a chuckle. “No, it’s okay. I like this. It’s different and very sexy.” He said the last words with a low growl.
He inhaled against her skin, filling his nostrils with the heady scent of her arousal. He pushed his finger between her folds, searching, then finding the small nub that was the trigger to her pleasure. He flicked his finger against it a few times, chuckling at the quick response as she wiggled under him. Unable to wait any longer, he delved between her thighs, running his tongue along her centre, then sliding his finger into her tight warmth.
He could tell from the way she moved against him that she was not far from climax, and his tongue quickened its pace as he added another finger, now crooking the two to brush against the sensitive spot inside her as he began to slide them in and out. He could feel her muscles clenching, and his cock twitched and jerked in response to her movements. He was lying on his belly across the bed between her thighs, and he ground his pelvis against the fabric under him, desperate for the friction to alleviate his own quickly building ache.
She suddenly came with a cry, tangling her fingers in his hair and pulling him against her. He could feel the waves rippling through her, and he gripped her thigh with his free hand hard enough that he was sure to leave marks for the next morning. He nuzzled her softly and chuckled at her satisfied sighs as she sank into a post-climactic daze. His quiet amusement elicited a tug on his hair followed by a light slap to his skull.
“Oi! What’s that for?” He sat up and smiled at her as he rubbed the side of his head.
“You’re just all that, yeah?” She pushed up to rest on her elbows and tilted her head playfully as she looked at him.
He moved up her torso to cover her body with his, leaning down to kiss her on the nose. “Yep, still got it,” he whispered, smiling proudly, then moved down to press his lips against hers in a long and languid kiss.
I missed your taste.
I missed yours, she answered inside his mind. He immediately caught an image of her lips wrapped around him.
He caressed her cheek and looked lovingly into her eyes. “You don’t know how much I missed you.”
“Don’t ever leave me again.” She pulled his face down to hers, touching her forehead to his.
He trembled against her, pushing his thoughts out to her, searching for that golden light that would soothe and warm him from within. Electricity coursed through his body as he made the connection.
Come into me.
The invitation she whispered into his brain was reflected in the desire he saw cast across her face. He closed his eyes, and all the colours of the universe exploded inside his mind as he opened up completely to her. He could feel the blood pulsing through her veins, the wetness released from her core, her heart’s rhythm echoing the quickening staccato of his.
Are you sure? “I don’t want to hurt you.” The last he spoke softly, mindful of the double meaning of his question.
“I need to know this is real.”
“It is, my love.” Can’t you feel it? He drew back to look deeply into her eyes as he pushed between her thighs, nudging gently at her centre.
For the rest of his life, this moment would burn brighter in his memory than any other, even more than a lifetime ago when he had made love to her for the first time on that dark planet beneath a collapsing black star. He had lost her, found her, then lost her again. As he pushed into her tight warmth, he pressed his forehead against hers, pouring into her mind all the hope and gratitude for this second chance given to him, not by fate or cosmic forces or by the universe, but by her.
As he moved within her, he clung to her tightly, desperate to keep her close, to keep her safe. She raised her hips to meet his thrusts, pushing her head back into the pillow as she concentrated on the warmth flooding through her body and her head.
He lifted her leg to wrap around his waist, needing to lose himself as deeply inside her as he could. He could feel her body tensing as he drove her toward her second climax. She arched into him, reaching up to pull his face down close to hers.
“I missed you so much,” she moaned, and he kissed her hungrily in response. With a slight twist of his hips his thrusts began to hit directly against her sensitive centre and she mewled softly as the orgasm rippled through her. He stilled his movements, wanting to prolong this moment and lost in the feel of her pulsing around him.
“I’ll never leave you again, I swear,” he said breathily. “Being away from you, what I did, what I have done-’’There was so much he needed to say to her, regardless of how his body literally ached for the release that was so close to his flesh.
She reached up and placed her finger across his lips. “No,” she said, “don’t. You’re here now. That’s all that matters, yeah?” She twisted her hips under him, her warm hand grasping and pulling at his buttocks as she sought to entice him back to their lovemaking.
He grasped her hand and gently pushed it above her head, bringing her eyes in line with his. “No, listen to me, please,” he pleaded, looking into her eyes. He pulled out of her then, ignoring her soft cry of disappointment as he pushed down her leg and moved off her. He turned on his side to face her.
“When he left us on that beach, I felt abandoned and betrayed.”
She rose up and looked at him, and the pain so plainly displayed on her face cut him deeply. “You said you loved me.”
“Oh, Rose, I did-I do. That will never change. But underneath all the love I felt for you, there was so much bitterness. I didn’t know how to deal with it. I felt as if I was being eaten from inside.”
“Why couldn’t you talk to me?”
He huffed in disbelief. “You were dealing with your own pain, most of which was caused by me. You wouldn’t have been here if it hadn’t been for me. If I hadn’t been created, you could have stayed with him.”
She rolled over to him. “Do you still think about him?”
“Every time I look in the mirror, or at my hands,” he answered. “Don’t you? Every time you look at me?”
“I did, yes, in the beginning. But as I started to get to know you, I started to think of you as, well, you.” She reached out to caress his face, scratching her nails through the stubble on his cheek. “I fell in love with you, but I’ve always loved you. You’re him, but you’re not - you’re more you.”
She bit her lip, and he had to chuckle at her confused look. “What?” she asked.
“Us,” he said. “Do you think he had any idea how complicated this was going to be for either of us?”
She pushed him onto his back and climbed over him to straddle his chest. “I do think about him every day,” she said as she traced her finger down his cheek, the feel of the stubble sending little sparks up her arm that somehow ended up in her groin. “And I think about how grateful I am for this second chance.”
He grasped her hips and wiggled beneath her. “I almost lost you.” He looked up at her, his eyes roving down her body. The pale moonlight coming in through her window reflected off her moist skin, making it seem to sparkle. He felt his cock hardening again beneath her. “You’ve given me another chance, Rose.” He could feel the tingling in his brain, and he smiled at the reminder of her presence there.
How long will you stay with me? She pushed down on him slowly, her eyes never leaving his.
“Forever,” he gasped as he gently rolled them over, careful to keep their connection both in mind and body. He began to move slowly inside her, reveling in the tight warmth that surrounded his flesh.
Buried inside you I feel whole again.
He created a gentle rhythm between them, mindful of her still-healing body and wanting this moment to last. He bent his head to kiss her, touching his forehead to hers and pushing his thoughts out to connect with hers.
Come for me, Rose.
The warmth flooding her senses and the silken sound of his voice as he whispered inside her head combined to push her over the edge to her third climax. While she was still in the throes of her release, he stepped up the rhythm, striving to join her in the fall. He could feel her orgasm through their connection and through his length buried deep within her. Her throbbing heat and rippling sensations quickly pushed him over the edge. He cried out loudly as he came, begging her to take away his pain and to forgive him. He pushed into her one last time, then collapsed against her.
He rolled over on his back, pulling her with him to rest against his side. He pulled one of her legs across his, and he could feel the moistness of her thighs as she settled next to him. She placed her head under his chin, her hand across his heart.
She giggled softly, and he smiled in puzzlement. “It could be considered a bit of a jolt to the ego when one’s lover laughs after what one thinks was a superb performance.”
She leaned up and kissed his nose. “I missed the whole mind-sex thing, you know.”
She didn’t need to see his expression to know he was preening from her comment.
They lay in silence for a while, the only sounds in the room the occasional creak of the bed as one of them shifted.
“Will we be alright, you think?” He kissed the top of her head as he spoke.
She paused before answering. “I don’t know,” she said, her honesty tugging at his heart.
She rolled away from him to lie on her back. “We still have a lot of problems, you know,” she said, staring up at the ceiling. She turned her head towards him, and he was warmed by her sly grin. “One good shag isn’t going to solve everything.”
He sat up in the bed and pulled the coverlet over them, taking extra care to tuck it in around her. He looked down at her and tried for his best pouting look. “Good? Just good?” He lay back down and curled himself around her under the covers. “We have been apart for a while. Perhaps I just need some practice.” She giggled as he slid his hand down her belly, lightly brushing against her still moist curls. “Lots of practice,” he said.
He pressed his lips against hers, feeling a lustful fire once again igniting deep within him. He could also feel that same fire stirring again within her body and her mind, and he was overwhelmed by the flood of emotions that suddenly washed over him through their link.
She caressed his cheek softly, brushing her fingertips through his sideburns to curl her fingers in his hair. “And in between the incredible--’’
“That’s better-’’
“--shagging, you’ll talk, yeah?”
“We’ll talk. I promise.” He peppered kisses along her jawline as he gently turned her to her side, her back to him. He spooned behind her, drawing her tightly against him so she could feel his hardened flesh against her. “I want to spend the rest of my life making love to you,” he whispered as he trailed his lips along her shoulder. “Well, if you’ll let me, that is.”
He could feel their bond strengthening as he caressed her. When he closed his eyes, he felt the warm familiar swirling within his head and he knew that now, no matter who or what would separate them, they would never again be apart. She was the better part of him and with her, he would be the man he was meant to be. The Proper Doctor was right - she would make him better.
As he pushed slowly into her yielding flesh, there was only word that would echo within both their minds and their hearts.
Forever.
# # #
Tender Chapter 1
Tender Chapter 2
Tender Chapter 3
Tender Chapter 4
Tender Chapter 5
Tender Chapter 6
Tender Chapter 7
Tender Chapter 8
Tender Chapter 9
Tender Chapter 10
Tender Chapter 11
Tender Chapter 12
Tender Chapter 13
Tender Chapter 14
Tender Chapter 15
Tender Chapter 16
Tender Chapter 17
Tender Chapter 18
Tender Chapter 19
Tender Chapter 20
Tender Chapter 21
Tender Chapter 22