Her turn?  Well, she was more than ready....

Still seated on her lover, she reached for the dice and shook them, smiling at the way his breath hitched as she jiggled in his naked lap.  He gave her bottom a good, hard smack to settle her down and reached forward to move her piece the required number of spaces.  He took the top card from the 'Dare' stack and handed it to her with a smug little grin.  "Out loud now, honey...."

She swallowed hard at the fire in his eyes and read the card.  "Dare - honesty.  Share with your partner your thoughts on.... spanking," her voice had gone all fluttery.  "Ask them to share their thoughts with you."

"Now we're talking."

Her face flamed and she buried it against the side of his neck.  "I'd rather bark like a dog and wag my tail."

"Too bad, baby.  Rules are rules.  Let's hear it... or do you just wanna get a little more naked?  I could help..."  He fingered her sweater suggestively and pretended to reach for his Leatherman.

"Get away from this sweater, mister!"            

"Heh."  He ran his hands down her back and settled them on her rump, squeezing firmly for emphasis.  "Then start talking."

"Oh.... God."  She burrowed further into his neck and took a deep breath while she screwed up her courage.  "I, uh... I like it when you, um, when you..."

"When I what?"  To his way of thinking she didn't talk dirty nearly as often as he'd like and he was planning on milking this one for all it was worth.

"When you, uh... you know.... spank me."  Her voice was muffled against his neck, but he heard it just fine.

"I know you like it."  The confident, arrogant tone was back in his husky voice.  "What I wanna know is why."  And if he ever found out who wrote that dare, he'd buy them a bottle of scotch.  The good stuff.

She thought back to the first time he'd done it.  It had happened one night out of the blue, in his office actually, long before she'd moved in with him.  He'd arrived home the night before after several weeks away working a case in El Salvador were he'd successfully negotiated the release of two hostages.  He'd been in a good mood.  Higher than kite, feeling the thrill walking the edge gave him and in the mood to have her join him there for a little stroll.

They'd been on their way out to a late dinner when he'd stopped to pick something up at the office.  The sight of the trappings of his job seemed to bring everything he was feeling rushing to the fore.  He'd been feeling extra dominant and had wanted her to make love with him right then.  Right there.  Modesty be damned.  Secretly she thought it was because he was aroused and wanted to see if he could make her want him enough to abandon all pretence of modesty and propriety.  Enough for her to forget about everything but him and how he made her feel.  And maybe a little to see if she'd reject him if he pushed her beyond her comfort zone or if she'd give in to his demands even though she knew there was a chance they'd get caught.

He'd been embarrassingly successful, and after some incredibly hot sex pressed up against his office window and more than a few mind-blowing orgasms, he'd told her she'd get a spanking if she didn't do what he asked, namely putting her legs up on his shoulders so he could pleasure her the way he wanted, when he wanted.  When she didn't comply after a repeated warning, he'd spanked her for her disobedience and for depriving him of her delectable little body.  Something she'd immediately rectified by putting her legs exactly where he wanted. God, that night had been amazing.

Drawn back to the present as he shifted under her, she smiled against his throat.  "I guess I just like the surprise of it, you know?  It's a nice counterpoint to the way you touch me the rest of the time.  Kind of like the way a crescendo makes you appreciate the softer parts of the music." 

He nodded, softly rumbling a masculine noise of approval deep in his throat.

Her voice dropped to a whisper.  "And I like feeling your strength that way, your dominance... like when you bite my neck and hold me still while you finish.  Like that."

"You always give me what I need, honey."  He loved that about her.  She almost seemed to recreate herself each time they were together.  Sometimes shy and sweet, other times hot and wild, submissive when he wanted that from her and dominant in her own way when he urged her to really let go.  "It's always good with you."

"Every time," a blush accompanied her whisper.  She kissed his throat and hugged him tightly.  "So, what do you think about it?"

"Fucking?"  His blood seemed to be somewhere other than his brain.

"Spanking."

"Oh, heh."  His arms tightened on her.  To be honest, there wasn't much he hadn't tried.  His experience far outstripped hers.  "I don't like it much."  He had his share of kinks, but that wasn't one of them.  Maybe if he hadn't undergone RIT.  Resistance to Interrogation Training; basically where they drop you in an op and tell you it's all about how well you do evading capture.  But the real point is that nobody can evade what's coming. 

Once they get you - and they always get you - it's about how well you resist their interrogation tactics while they fuck with your mind.  He'd lasted two days before they got him.  The following four were spent in a cramped concrete cell where he was routinely beaten and deprived of food, sleep, clothes and warmth.  He got extra marks for urinating on the American flag so enthusiastically.  (He'd never had to pee so badly in his life.)  To tell the truth, he got high marks across the board, but he broke eventually.  Everyone does.  And that was the real point of the op.  He'd come away from that experience with some impressive notes in his file, some deep insight into himself... and a serious dislike for being naked and at the mercy of someone intent on causing him pain, however well meant.        

But even if he discounted that experience, he figured he'd always been a dominant lover.  It was just something hardwired into his make up.  He shrugged.  "I like it when you fight me a little sometimes, when we're being really wild...."  His eyes caught the sparkle in hers as she too remembered the last time they'd played that particular game.  "But generally speaking, I like to be the one doing the spanking, honey."  He smiled wickedly and then added with a little smirk.  "I find it makes a hot fuck just that much hotter."  He palmed her bottom and gave it a rough knowing squeeze.  He didn't have to ask her if she agreed.  He knew she did.  And from the way she was melting against him now, his crude words had resonated with her.  Exactly as he'd meant them to. 

Flushing wildly and thoroughly beyond words at the moment, she only nodded and sat up to finish off her wine.  If there ever was a time for a nerve-steadying drink, that was it.  When he reached to refill her glass she stopped him.  "I shouldn't.  You know how I get..."

He sure as hell did.  "Yeah.  I do."  And with that, he refilled both their glasses, finishing off the bottle and placing it well out of range, should things take a turn for the wild later on.  He winked at her.  "It's okay, honey.  I'm a tough old bastard.  The bite marks never last long....."  He chuckled as her face flamed yet again and he picked up her discarded 'Dare' card.  "So what's it going to be?"  He read the 'Favor'.  "Foot massage or the chocolate leaf?"

She giggled.  "Well, as tempting as the offer for a foot massage is, have you ever known me to turn down chocolate?"

He smirked.  "Or the chance to put your mouth on me."

"That too."  She smiled as she moved off him and crawled around so she could reach the back of his neck.  Her breath tickled the fine ginger hairs at his nape. She paused a moment just to make the anticipation a little more intense.  Finally, her warm fingers touched him and she tugged down his collar slowly before he felt the warm, wet rasp of her tongue.  He squeezed his eyes shut against the pleasure as she licked and sucked at him, delicately erasing the mark she'd painted on him before giving him one last nipping bite and letting him go.

"Fuck," he breathed, drawing in a shaky breath.  "You have the hottest mouth.  Now, give me the dice before I lose my goddamn mind." 

The dice appeared before him in under a second.  "I know when to follow directions, sir," she purred seductively at his questioning glance, putting every last ounce of sexual innuendo she could into her words.  It had the desired effect.   

The intensely scorching look he sent her made her breath stop.  "Best you remember that later."  His voice never wavered and his eyes never left hers.  She shivered and pressed her legs together against the hollow ache forming between them at the sexual promise in his words.  He nodded knowingly and stroked his fingers up the inside of her wrist in a way that made her insides quiver.  "Don't worry.  I'll take care of you, honey."  The heat in his voice left little doubt as to what kind of 'care' she'd be receiving from him later. 

She smiled at the familiar words that now carried an entirely different meaning than the first time he'd spoken them to her, but her breathless answer was the same.  "Promise?" 

"Promise."  His wicked grin was back.  "Hell, if it weren't for this damn game, I'd be doing it already."  He let the dice fly, eyes gleaming dangerously as his piece came to rest on 'dare'.  "You're in for it now, girl."  He tapped the deck.  "This is going to be a good one.  I feel it."

"Yeah?"  She wiggled her eyebrows at him suggestively.  "Maybe if I'm lucky, I'll get to 'feel it' too."

He chuckled, shaking his head in amusement. "You're a real piece of work, you know that?"  He ran his fingers over her hip and gave her bottom a sharp pinch.  "But keep it up and you'll get another spanking."

"Promises, promises."  She swatted at the hand now lingering on her backside in a most distracting manner and squirmed, trying to get away from his teasing touch. 

His palm, heavy and warm, came to rest on the small of her back.  "Settle down."  His eyes glittered.  "You're interrupting my turn."

"By all means, read on, Macduff...."

He eyed her intently.  "Keep on sassing me, girl."  A low chuckle rumbled in his chest.  "It's the second best thing you can do with that mouth."  He ignored her playfully indignant gasp and pressed his palm more firmly against her back, a subtle warning to keep still - and quiet - while he read his card.  "Dare - persuasion.  Coax any visible physical reaction from your partner using only your voice.  Time limit, five minutes."

Drawing in a fortifying breath, she reached for the small hourglass in the box and set it on the game board.  "Do your worst."

He chuckled, not even bothering to spare the hourglass a glance.  "We both know I won't need that."  He spoke the words with an absolute confidence she found singularly disturbing.  "Now turn over."

"The card said voice only."  And the heat from the palm still resting heavily on the small of her back burned through her thin sweater like a brand.  There was no way she'd be able to ignore that.   

"And I said, turn over."

The fact that he didn't seem at all concerned with the rapidly draining sand in the hourglass did all kinds of melty-good things to her insides.  She turned over, coming to rest on her back next to his lean muscular body.  He gave her flat stomach one last caress before removing his hand.  His subconscious was talking again. 

He might not be touching her now, but he'd moved so close her every sense was filled with him.  She could feel the heat of his body and smell his warm, musky scent.  It made the taste of his skin still lingering on her mouth that much more intense.  She fought the urge to lick the last traces of him from her lips, not wanting to give him such an easy victory. 

"Close your eyes."  Her eyes fluttered shut.  "That's it....  That's it, honey...." he soothed, his voice low and husky as he lowered his head even more until his mouth was a heartbeat away from her ear.  "That's my girl."  She fought to keep still as his breath tickled her ear and his words stirred the fire in her blood. 

His gaze swept over her.  Her eyes were screwed tightly shut and she'd caught her bottom lip delicately in her teeth.  There was a flush of arousal across her cheeks and her pale, ivory skin glowed softly in the candlelight.  He'd originally intended to make his words so wild, so forcefully erotic that she'd have no choice but to respond to them, but as he looked at her, a great wave of emotion welled up unexpectedly, pushing that plan from his mind.  The feeling was overwhelming in its intensity, an odd mix of love and protectiveness, awe and passion, lust and possessiveness, and as always when he was with her, a soul-deep peace that tempered the primal instincts stirring violently within him.  In his mind's eye, he saw another her; a face softened with motherhood, her body heavy and ripe with his baby. 

What was supposed to have been erotically whispered loveplay became an admission of naked truth.  "I love you."  The words were low and quiet, forced through a throat thick with raw emotion.  That was always inside him now, along with the feelings inspired by the other sacred words he used with her more and more frequently as they weeks passed.  Home.  Family.  Forever. 

I love you.  That sentiment seemed to be etched on his heart these days and had been on the back of his tongue since he'd first seen her standing at the window tonight.  But he hadn't meant for those to be the words he spoke just now.  Those words were far too meaningful to him to ever try to use them to win some silly game, but they were somehow there on his lips.  He simply couldn't hold them back.  It wasn't the first time he'd said them, but it was the first time he'd said them like that.  The first time they'd ever come out sounding like how they felt inside.  And they had the most amazing reaction. 

An incredible look of joy spread across her whole face, like she was lit from within.  Her eyes were still closed, but she was glowing beautifully and her mouth had curved into a smile so soft and sweet it made him feel warm all over to look at it.  With a gentleness he didn't know he possessed, he brushed his mouth against hers.  "What I said... that wasn't the game."

"I know."  She still hadn't opened her eyes, but her hands were stroking his arms gently.  "I love you that way too, with everything I have inside me, right down to my soul."

"You're mine."

"I am.  Always."  The heat was beginning to flare between them again, rising quickly and she knew just how to fuel it.  "Always your girl."  She knew those three little words had power, knew they were the three that triggered his every primal instinct, that got him off better and harder than anything else.  "Always your girl, every last bit of me," she repeated emphatically.

The soft growl that had been building in his throat gained in volume as his eyes flicked to the hourglass.  He still had a minute or so left and he knew just what he wanted to do with it.  "Card said voice only.  No touching."  Her hands fell away from him immediately.  "Good."  His mouth hovered half a breath above her ear.  He knew the two words that got her off best and wasted no time in using them to twist her body to his will.  "That's my good girl." 

His breath was hot against her ear and she knew it wouldn't be long now before her body gave him what he wanted.  

"You know what good girls get, don't you?"  

She suddenly became aware of a soft rhythmic sound, the rasp of his sleeve rubbing against his body, and realized he was stroking his erection slowly as he spoke to her.  Her face heated, even as her body responded to his uninhibited carnal display.  She knew he'd gotten his 'visible reaction' out of her, but at this point she really didn't care.  She only wanted to know what 'good girls' got.  "What.... what do they get?"  She didn't even think it was possible, but her body trembled on the edge of release from nothing more than his words and the tone with which he spoke them.  "Dean, please..." 

"Mmmm... You need something, little girl?"  He knew she did.  Her body had no secrets from him.  And that small, breathy voice of hers?  That just made him damn glad to be a man.  Her man.  And she was his precious little girl.  She'd always be that to him, even when they were both old and gray.       

She was very aware the rhythmic sound had stopped.  Her eyes clenched tight briefly and then opened, dark and glittering with want as she searched his face.  It was flushed with desire and sweat had dampened the hair at his nape, but it was clear he'd regained control, at least momentarily.

"Answer me."  His voice was tight and his eyes heated dangerously when she nodded.

"Yes."

"That's against the rules."  

"I know."

"Are we done playing?"  He watched her shake her head 'no' and he nodded.  He didn't want to stop either.  They'd barely gotten started.  "Want me to take the edge off, honey?"

"Dean-"

"Yes or no?"

"Yes."  

"Enough to do whatever I say, no questions, no back-talking?"  A very male smile touched his mouth at her curt nod.  "Eyes closed."  She hesitated a second.  "Do it."  Despite the desire raging at him, he'd never been able to resist a challenge and he wanted to see if he could get her off with just his voice.  He slid down next to her and put his mouth to her ear, smiling wider as she closed her eyes and shifted restlessly.

"Dean-"

"Shhh....  No talking.  No touching.  Just listen."  For a minute there was nothing, and then slowly, a familiar rhythmic rasping.  He was masturbating again.  He knew it made her wild.  Just as he knew her naughty little mind would compensate for her sightless eyes.  His breathing picked up until he was panting against her ear.  Her lack of sight only served to make every other sense more intense and with each slow rasping stroke, her body wound tighter.  "That's the way....  That's it...."  He watched her hands clench and unclench at her sides.  "You just need a little more, don't you, honey?"  His low, husky voice touched her, as sure as any physical caress, and he smiled as she twisted on the quilt.  He knew exactly what she needed.  "I never did tell you what good girls get, did I?"  She made a keening noise deep in her throat and his voice dropped to a whisper as he told her exactly what good girls got. 

Her reaction was immediate and intense.  Her body shivered and she gasped as the world spun away in a warm rush of pleasure.  Satisfied he'd accomplished his goal, He gathered her into his arms and held her close, kissing her softly and stroking her arms and back as she trembled gently.  He knew the release he'd given her hadn't been very satisfying.  He hadn't wanted it to be.  He'd only wanted to blunt the worst of her hunger as they often did with each other early in their lovemaking to prolong the pleasure.  This evening was far from over.

"Mmmm..."  She burrowed into his chest a little tighter.   

He chuckled softly.  "Liked that, did you?"

"Mmm-hmm."  Her eyes fluttered open.

"Good."  His eyes narrowed and he caught her hand as she reached for the dice.  "Uh-uh."

"I thought you still wanted to play...."  She fell silent as she searched his face and suddenly realized that while her body was slack with the bonelessness of release, his was not.  He was tightly strung, from the firm set of his mouth to the wild look in his eyes. 

"I do want to play."  He plucked the dice from her fingers and dropped them in his breast pocket.  His voice was tight and his body ached with the need for the same release he'd just given her.  "But there's still the matter of my favor...."   He very deliberately put his 'Dare' card face down on the game board and held it there with one long, blunt finger. 

"What does it say?"

"This?  This card right here?"  He tapped it... but his eyes never left hers.  "It says you need to be using that sweet little mouth of yours for something other than asking questions."

She grinned.  "Mentioned me by name, did it?"

The look in his eyes never wavered.  "It most definitely did."

She sat up and pushed him to his back as she settled herself over him once again and touched her mouth to his.  "Well, rules are rules."  She winked at him as her kisses trailed lower.  She knew what he needed... and he was right.  This game was far from over.  

After they'd taken the edge off and recovered a little, their game play resumed and continued for more than an hour.  She was still on his side of the board, nestled against him with his hand resting on her hip, rubbing slowly.  Things had definitely progressed to a point where neither one of them wanted to stop touching.  Over the last hour, they had both lost quite a bit of clothing until she was down to a single sock and a necklace with his old dog tag on it that she sometimes wore when he was away.  He'd asked her about it once.  She'd told him shyly that she wanted to keep him next to her heart while he was away.  He hadn't asked about it again... but now one of his little rituals was to make sure he left it on his pillow for her to find after he'd gone.  

He had faired a little better, due to some pretty spectacular dares and the sheer luck of avoiding most of the 'Strip' squares that seemed to draw her black game piece like a magnet.  Down to both socks, one boot and his belt, still winking damnably at her over his shoulder, they made an odd pair, not even half dressed, though thoroughly aroused, and by this time most definitely buzzed from the wine they'd consumed.

They'd both gotten to do their fair share of painting - and licking.  As the evening had progressed, her body had sported a snowflake, a fish, her lover's name (which he'd chosen to write as 'Dean Thomas O'Leary' because it had better 'lick potential' than 'Dino') and one clover leaf that had tickled wickedly as he painted it on the inside of her right thigh, but had been all kinds of good when his silver tongue had removed it once again.

Of everything, his favorite had been the star he'd painted over her left nipple.  He'd taken great pains to make that one perfect - something that required repeated, agonizing brush strokes until she was quite literally quaking under the bristles, at which point, he'd 'accidentally' run the point of the brush across her other breast.  A mark he'd helpfully removed with long, slow strokes of his tongue until her fingers had tightened painfully in his hair and she'd dissolved in his arms with a breathless gasp, murmuring something about special rules allowing for things that felt that good.  He'd only grinned at her and told her he'd had always had his own set of rules, and there was no need to go messing with the system after he'd already become accustomed to it.      

Luckily, his body had been similarly adorned with symbols as the game wore on.  He'd made quite a delicious canvas for an artfully painted diamond, a heart, one paw print, a heart on his left buttock, and lastly, a pair of lips painted (and later agonizingly removed) from the hellishly sensitive skin between his navel and his groin.  Damned woman.  She knew he was ticklish there!  He wondered if her scalp stung where he'd used her hair to pull her away from him after he'd ordered her mouth off his body and she'd refused to comply.  From the way she smirked at him, he guessed her little act of defiance had been worth the price she'd paid for it.  Who knew his sweet little girl would play so damn dirty?  Ahh... but he loved that she never disappointed.    

That last one had very nearly ended the game, but he was determined to win the right to claim his request from her.  That thought, and that thought alone, kept him from ending their loveplay and sheathing himself deep in her body to burn away the fiery ache flaring wildly between them.  Quite honestly, he'd never extended actual physical foreplay so long before.  He found it enjoyable and incredibly arousing.... yet, at the same time, he could feel his monumental control slipping, becoming more tenuous with each passing minute.

Thankfully, the stripping and licking had been punctuated by several dares that had given him a bit of breathing room between bouts with her skillfully wielded paintbrush and her wickedly thorough tongue.  She'd had to flash him and jump up and down three times.  Thank God he hadn't gotten that dare.  By that point in the evening, it would have been somewhat painful, but watching her good parts jiggle had been all kinds of fun. 

She'd had to reveal her favorite erotic scent - his skin, as well as a sound she associated with his pleasure - the soft sigh he made deep in his throat when he was helpless in his pleasure (predictably).  She'd also had to confess her favorite position, which he'd already known, but loved listening to her describe in graphic detail.  So he hadn't been able to keep his hands off himself during that one.  So what?  Listening to her talk dirty had always had that effect on him.  He thought he'd died and gone to heaven when, on her next turn, she'd been dared to recount the last sexual dream in which her lover had played the starring role.  And to tell the truth, he was a little surprised.  Her subconscious was definitely naughtier than he'd previously given her credit for.   

He hadn't remained unscathed by the dares either.  He'd always appreciated a good lap dance, but never more so than after he'd had to give one himself.  He'd had to share his favorite place to make love - outside, and his favorite form of foreplay - watching her pleasure him with her mouth.  He'd also had to recount, in graphic detail, his last masturbatory fantasy involving his lover.  Something he threw himself into with gusto, grinning with unabashed pleasure as her face got hotter and her scent grew a hundred times more alluring.  Oh, yeah.  His woman definitely liked a little dirty talk now and again... and under the right circumstances, he was more than willing to oblige.   

There were a few harder dares, too.  He'd had to reveal what he considered 'romantic' - no easy feat for someone as jaded as he.  And he'd had to share with her his definition of love, something he found almost impossible to do.  He wasn't a big talker by nature, in his day job sure, but in his private life he usually preferred to let his actions speak for him, and he quite literally had no words to describe the incredibly overwhelming feeling of being so intimately connected to another person.  But most difficult by far had been to name a favorite body part - his and hers - and tell why he liked it. 

Actually, hers was easy.  Her mouth.  It was pure sex.  He thought she'd had a fuck-me mouth at sixteen, and he still did now.  He also liked how that mouth, something that could make him feel so indescribably hot, could be so soft and sweet and whisper such gentle things in his ear when she held him close at night.  Things that made him feel accepted and safe and loved and whole.  Things that shielded him from the rudeness of life. 

That part wasn't so hard.  It was having to talk about himself that he didn't care for much.  He'd reluctantly confessed his favorite body part was his hands because they could save, or take, a life.  That had been a difficult admission, and from her tearful response, equally as hard to listen to.

They'd held each other a long time after that one, at first in silence and then whispering little things to each other until the heat had risen between them once again.  As it had, they'd resumed the game, she once again seated on his lap as they played out the few remaining turns.  Though they'd enjoyed the game, they were both ready for something more.  All that remained was determining the victor.

Fighting back the urge to simply lift her up and sink himself deeply into her body, he leaned over and moved her game piece forward the correct number of squares, smiling inwardly as it came to rest on 'Dare.'  Despite the overwhelming need to bury himself in her body and bring them both the release they were so desperately craving, he was truly interested in the things the dares had revealed to him about her sexual likes and dislikes.  It was the ultimate in the 'little details' he was so fond of knowing.  For as much as he usually preferred non-verbal communication (it was often much more revealing - to say nothing of harder to hide) and adept as he was at reading it, there were just some things more easily conveyed through words. 

His eyes gleamed as he handed her the card and then he promptly shut them, gritting his teeth as she saw what was written on it and wiggled against him in embarrassment.  An act which served to inflame his body as much as it did to perk his interest.  What could she possibly find that embarrassing at this stage in the game?

He dropped a kiss on one creamy shoulder.  "I'm waiting."  He bit her lightly when she didn't immediately read the card.  "Come on," he prompted, putting a little more pressure into the bite. 

She cleared her throat, as flustered from his mouth on her body as she was from the card.  "Da-dare - performance.  Keeping eye contact with your lover, give your best impression of yourself reaching sexual climax." 

He chuckled against her shoulder and her face flamed.  "Heh.  Good one."

"God, what is this?  When Harry Met Sally?"  Embarrassing as it was, she didn't mind sharing intimate sexual details with him or even doing a silly dare like jumping up and down naked, but this was just too much.  "No way!  I'm not doing that." 

He eyed the necklace with his dog tag on it and her one remaining sock... and then slid his hand down her leg to wrap firmly around her ankle, fingering the top of her sock as he did so.  "You sure you want do that, honey?"

"Yes."  She nodded and then grinned, going from indignant to sassy in the blink of an eye.  "No way am I faking an orgasm."  Winking at him, she leaned into him and licked the shivery spot under his ear before whispering, "I never needed to before.  Why start now?"  That was especially true if she had to look him in the eye as she did it.  Something in her just resisted the idea of faking anything with him.  Ever.   

A slow grin teased the corners of his mouth.  "Come on... It isn't anything I haven't heard before......"  As a matter of fact, it wasn't anything he wouldn't be hearing again in a matter of minutes anyway.

"I know."  She smiled softly and let out a long sigh.  Her playful demeanor changed to one of utter seriousness.  "I just don't want to, okay?  Maybe it's stupid, but I don't want to make fun of the way I sound when I'm intimate with you.  I just don't want to do that."  She'd never thought she'd have this shot and what she had with him was far too special to her to demean in such a way.  "Okay?"

Suddenly understanding why she didn't want to do this particular dare, he caught her smaller hand in his and gave it a squeeze.  Her refusal to ridicule what they shared together stirred something deep within him and made him warm all at the same time.  He hadn't thought of it along those lines, and now that he had, he was glad she'd refused this particular dare.  Unexpectedly, his eyes prickled.  He'd known so few people in his life like her, someone who not only loved him, but cherished what they had together and worked hard to protect it.  She and Gen were the only ones who had ever looked out for him like that; ever worried the man who always protected everyone else might need to be protected sometimes too.    

His voice was low and quiet, gravelly with emotion.  "I'm glad you didn't want to.  I can't tell you how good it makes me feel to know you didn't want to do that."

The unsure look in her eyes melted away at his heartfelt words.  "I'm so glad."  She smiled shyly at him.  "Thanks."

"You bet."  He wrapped his hand around the nape of her neck and pulled her mouth to his, tasting her thoroughly before he broke the kiss.  A little of that playfulness crept back into his voice.  "I like hearing the real thing a hundred times better anyway."  His other hand deftly removed her sock and tossed it beyond the ring of candlelight.  "And don't even get me started on what feeling it does for me...."   

Brilliant blue eyes drifted over her slender curves and his body throbbed in response.  God, she was exquisite.  Looking away from her smiling face, he touched her necklace and moved his hand lower to cup her breast.  "Christ....."  Sometimes his legendary smooth went right out the window when he was with her.  Especially when most of his blood was not in his brain.  He opened his mouth and was crudely, candidly honest.  "You're hot as fuck wearing just my tag."

Her eyes glittered.  "I'd rather be wearing just you."  She rocked her hips against him gently and his breath hissed through his teeth.

He pinched her nipple sharply and she gasped.  "Tease."  He soothed her with the warm flat of his palm as he reached for the dice.  "You know... you're walking a thin line here, girl."  He had control, but only barely.  Like that was a big surprise?  He'd been gone for weeks and weeks.  They'd barely had their intimate little reunion and then she sprung this on him?  He was dying.  "Do that again and this game is over."  He ran his fingers possessively over her throat and there was fire in his eyes when he looked at her.  "Fuck or play, honey... what's it going to be?"

She smiled, knowing full well that whatever happened when the game was over wasn't going to be gentle or slow.  "Roll the dice."

Far more interested in the woman in his lap than the number on the dice, he let her move his piece and grinned wickedly when it landed on 'Dare'.  He kissed a trail down her neck and spread his palms wide over her back, holding her close as he nuzzled her neck.  Over the last hour, the 'favors' associated with completing a dare had become less and less like specific favors and more and more like uninterrupted foreplay, little kisses and touches stolen when they weren't painting designs on each other or completing a dare.  She drew a 'Dare' card and held it out to him. 

He lifted his mouth from her neck long enough to whisper, "You read it," before he returned his attention to the sensitive skin just under her ear. 

"Mmmmm...."

He chuckled into her hair.  "Read the damn card."  

Sighing with pleasure, she flipped the card over and read it.  "Dare - revelation.  Reveal your deepest, darkest fantasy involving your partner and-"

His whole body tensed under her.  "No."  He took the card from her slender fingers and decisively tore it in two, letting the pieces flutter to the ground.  "I'm not doing that one."  He toed off his forfeited boot and kicked it aside. 

There was no way in hell he was going to tell her that his deepest, darkest fantasy was one where he'd never walked out of her life.  He knew it was wrong, but the truth was he had fantasized about her at fifteen and sixteen and seventeen.  There was a part of him that didn't care that she'd been on that threshold between adolescence and womanhood.  Some primal part of his brain had simply insisted the female he was so inexplicably drawn to had been able to bear children for several years already and she was young and fertile and strong.... there was a part of him that simply wanted to have her in every possible way a man can have a woman, and to be had by her the same way in return.

It didn't really make sense.  At that time in his life, he hadn't wanted to be tied down and he knew on some level, that fantasy probably had a lot to do with the fire burning in his belly and the fact that he often walked that razor's edge between living and dying.  God, he hadn't been much more than a kid himself then, young and wild and stupid and so driven by his base urges.

Still, he was ashamed to admit he fantasized about that.  Ashamed the less honorable parts of him imagined filling her with himself.  It wasn't just that he'd wanted to protect her and provide for her and ease himself in her.... he'd wanted to keep her belly round with his babies.  He'd had softer fantasies too; it wasn't just fucking or even lovemaking.  He also dreamed of having someone to wrap himself around on nights when his heart ached with loneliness or when he was scared and hurting.  Someone safe who eased his soul as much as his body.  It was her he'd thought of when they'd kept him locked like an animal in that cell for four days during his interrogation training.  God, and what he'd seen of her in his head in those four days....  that part was hard enough to admit even to himself.       

Her fingers threaded themselves through his hair, touching him gently as she rested her head on his chest.  "It's okay, you know.  It's okay for you to tell me.  Whatever it is, I'll understand."  She pressed her mouth to the warm skin over his heart and kissed him softly.  "There isn't any part of you I don't love.  Not one bit."

He nodded roughly.  "I know."  He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly.  "I know, honey."  He was silent a long moment.  "But I don't want to talk about it.  Not now."  Realistically, probably not ever. 

"That's okay too, Dean."  She lifted her head and looked into his eyes.  "I only wanted this game to be fun, not uncomfortable or... or scary, just fun."  She kissed his lips softly.  "It's okay.  I don't mind.  Really."

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly as he gave a curt nod.  "Thanks."  He wanted to thank her for understanding, for accepting, for not pushing, but all he could manage was 'thanks.'

"Anytime."  She caught his hand in hers and pressed a tender kiss to his knuckles.  "Someday?"

He gave her a tight smile.  "We'll see.  That's the best I can do."

"Fair enough."  She scooped up the dice and gave them a shake that made her breasts sway enticingly.  This time he watched her roll intently.  If she landed on a 'Strip' square, he would win. 

"Better make this one count."  She gave him a triumphant grin as her piece came to rest one square short of 'Strip.'  He grunted.  "Luck."

"Skill," she sassed back as she drew a 'Dare' card.

"Don't get too cocky, you still have to do the dare."

She stuck her tongue out at him.  "Dare - exhibitionism..."  She paused and drew in a ragged breath.  "Using only your hands, touch...." her voice hitched, "....touch yourself at your partner's direction.  Time limit, five minutes."  She swallowed hard.  There was nothing that aroused him faster than watching her touch herself, but she'd never done it like this.  It had always been a part of sex, not a prelude to it.   

His eyes got darker.  "Damn.  This is hands down the best fucking game I have ever played."  She had gotten very still on his lap.  He raised his eyebrows at her.  "Refuse the dare and I win."  Hell, in this case he won either way.  A predatory smile turned up the corners of his mouth as he anticipated an early victory.      

Her eyes gleamed.  She might be a little shy, but she was going to make him sorry he'd ever challenged her like that.  She never could resist a challenge.  Especially when it came from him.  She was suddenly thankful for her pleasant buzz.  The wine blurred the edges just enough that she just might be able to pull this off without dying of embarrassment.  She reached for the hourglass.  "I'm all yours.  You just let me know what you'd like."  She purposefully drew out each word in a sexy purr; the one she knew got to him the best.

"Fuck."  He hissed the word under his breath as sweat prickled at the back of his neck.  He didn't actually think she'd do it.  He grasped her slender waist in his large hands and scooted her back so she was straddling his thighs instead of his hips.  He needed a little breathing room, not to mention the fact that he could hardly form a coherent thought as it was, let alone watch her touch herself while she was perched atop his groin.  He might be the best at what he did, but even he had limits.  He closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath before letting it out slowly.

"Dean?"  His eyes opened, and the heat in them nearly stole her breath.  "You're wasting time."  If she was going to pull this off, she needed to appear far more confident than she actually felt. 

He grunted.  So he'd wasted a minute.  Big deal.  He'd never be able to last the full five minutes anyway... maybe at the beginning of the game, but certainly not now.  Of course, he had no intention of tipping his hand.  Not yet anyway.  And there was always the chance, however unlikely, that her embarrassment would get the better of her before his control snapped.  He met her eyes, deliberately remaining silent, aware that would only heighten her anticipation.  Her eyes flicked from his face to the falling sand and then back again.  He knew full well what she was going to try to do once he told her what he wanted to see.  Her eyes were burning with a heat of their own and he wondered which one of them would break first. 

God, how he loved her fire.  She knew when she needed to submit, just as she knew when it was okay to challenge him, to push him into asserting his dominance and to assert a little of her own.  In truth, it was something he very much enjoyed, both for the challenge and for what came after.   

He picked up his discarded wine glass and tipped it so she'd easily be able to wet her fingers in the single swallow that remained in the bottom of the glass.  "Fingers in the glass, honey."  He watched her whole body tremble at his words, but she did as he asked.  "Good girl."  He could tell he'd caught her off guard, but he knew his advantage wouldn't last long.  "Now touch your mouth.  Real slow."  He set the wine glass down and sat back a little, breathing in hard through his nose as he fought to keep his voice even. 

She traced her lips, flicking her tongue out to catch the lingering taste of wine.  His eyes darkened as she slipped her fingers inside, just for a moment, before letting them trace a wet path down her neck.  The look in her eyes dared him to give her another order, one that would threaten the tenuous hold he had on his control, and he knew if he didn't, she'd improvise and he'd lose this impromptu little battle of wills almost before it had started. 

"Hold your hair up.  I want to see all of you."  Specifically, he wanted to see his tag against the backdrop of her breasts and quite frankly, her hair was interfering with his view.  The foreplay was arousing in and of itself, but seeing the proof that she'd kept him close to her heart while he was away brought it to a whole different level for him. 

She twisted her hair up into a loose knot and arched her back a little.  Not enough to make it a lewd display, but with a sensual grace unique to her.  She was no dummy.  She knew what he wanted to see, but she had her own ideas.  It was time to throw him a little off balance. 

Leaving one hand holding the heavy mass of her hair, she used the other to grab the slender chain around her neck and pull it taut, raising his tag from just between her breasts to the hollow of her throat.  She caught her lip between her teeth in a way that made his blood throb and pulled tighter on the chain until it just bit into the tender skin of her throat, not quite a collar, but close enough to hit a few of his major triggers.  She knew he'd never want to humiliate her by putting her in a collar.  That smacked of the subjugation he'd had to endure in training, but she also knew he had a definite thing for seeing her marked, even if it was something as simple as a faint red line left behind by his chain.   

A low growl rumbled in his throat and she dropped her hands, letting them skim down her body to cup her breasts.  Checking to be sure his attention was exactly where she wanted it, she let out a little growl of her own and pulled gently on her nipples.  She knew she probably shouldn't have done that, but at this point, she was as caught up in the game as he.

"Harder."  

She complied, biting back a gasp as the pleasure spiked higher.  Her eyes drank him in.  His lips were pulled back over his teeth and the flush of desire had stained the skin over his cheekbones.  She watched in fascination as a drop of clear fluid formed at the tip of his erection and slid slowly downward.  His hands were shaking. 

His body grew more tense and the growl got louder until he couldn't stand it another second.  "Enough!"  He roughly hauled her against him and buried his face in her neck.  "Fuck!"  He shuddered hard against her, dragging in a deep, shaky breath.  "That's enough.  You win the dare."  He groaned softly.  She was killing him. 

Her eyes glittered as she checked the hourglass.  "You sure?  You still have a whole two minutes left."

In answer, he found the rapidly fading red line on her neck and covered it with his mouth, sucking hard enough to leave a stinging red mark of his own.  He lifted his head and met her dark, heavy-lidded eyes.  His were wild, and utterly without any shred of doubt.  "Damn sure."  Making it to the end of the game was going to be a very close thing.  He wanted to push her off of him, but found he couldn't.  As much as he needed space to breathe and to think, he couldn't make himself put any distance between them.  Not now.  He craved her touch too badly.   

Silently, and without a single wasted motion, he rolled the dice and moved for what he hoped would be his last turn.  This time when he spoke, his voice was rough with need.  "Dare - technique.  Share what you like about the way your partner pleasures you orally.  Offer one suggestion for something new you'd like them to try in the future."

Thank God this was a 'talking' dare and not a 'doing' dare or he could kiss his hard-won victory goodbye.  He grunted.  "Humming."  

"What?"

"Humming.  I'd like you to try humming sometime when you're-"

"Oh."  She thought about that a minute.  "Ohhhh... gotcha."  She smiled, but her brow wrinkled as something else occurred to her.  "You could have asked for that before."

He shrugged.  "Yeah, I could have, but-"

She giggled.  "But what?  Your brain doesn't work when my lips are wrapped around your dick?"

"Heh.  Careful, girl."  He smiled dangerously.  "This isn't the time to be pushing."  His words were playful; however, the look in his eyes was anything but teasing, and she was very aware the game had stretched his monumental control to its furthest limits.

"What about the rest of the dare?"  She was also very aware he'd skipped over the first part of the question and it was something she really wanted to know the answer to.

"Are you fishing?"

"No."  She didn't need any compliments.  She knew what she did to him.  And she knew he liked it.  She smiled and tossed his earlier words back at him.  "I know you like it.  I just want to know what about it you like."

He was silent a moment.  Not surprisingly, there was a lot he liked.  Some of it had to do with the purely physical aspects of it, but some didn't.  "I like how you nuzzle me first.  How you kiss me so gently sometimes, too," he finally offered.  She was the only one who'd ever done that.  It felt like she was truly showing love to each and every part of him.  With her, even when it was hot and wild, it wasn't ever just about an act.  There was always emotion thickly entwined with the physical pleasure she gave him.  She never gave him one without the other.  He shot her a look to see what she thought of that.

"I love every bit of you, Dean.  Every bit."  She blushed to the roots of her hair.  "And you always smell so good to me... you know, down there...."  She also knew he liked his scent on her skin, especially that scent.  He chuckled at the heat in her face, but his hands tightened on her body as her words inflamed him further.  "What else?"

"You sure you want hear the rest?  It's pretty, uh..."  His voice trailed off.  There was talking dirty.  And then there was talking dirty.  The truth of it was, the rest was pretty graphic.  He wasn't really sure how to tell her that one of the things he loved the most was that she not only swallowed his come, but that she liked doing it.  Most of the other women in his past had either pulled away at the last second or had spit it out afterwards, like they couldn't stand having any bit of him inside them any longer than they absolutely had to once it was over.  Somehow, even though he was finding release with another person instead of alone, it only served to reinforce his feelings of isolation and a part of him, however small, had always been deeply hurt by that perceived rejection. 

She was so different from all those women.  She'd never once made him feel rejected.  Not even that day he really pushed things and made love to her in his office.  She'd known there was a pretty good chance they'd get caught and she'd done it anyway, simply because he wanted her to.  That she could give him that unconditional acceptance moved him beyond words. 

"Dean?"

He blew out softly.  "The rest?  It's not very romantic."

"The question wasn't about romance.  It was about what you liked, what got you off the best."  She took his hand in hers and gave his palm a tender kiss.  "Share it with me."

Something inside him snapped and his eyes gleamed with a feral light.  If she wanted the truth, he'd damn well give it to her.  "I love that you don't tell me no when I ask for that.  Not ever.  I love that you take all of it, honey.  Every last bit of my come.  That you never make me feel bad or ashamed for wanting it that way, and I fucking love that you get off on it too.  That you find come find me and beg to suck me off with that pretty red mouth of yours.  That blows my mind."  He wasn't sure what reaction to expect from her after that visceral outburst, but it sure wasn't seeing her face go all soft and sweet.

"Of course I want you like that.  Of course I do.  I love having you in my body and in my mouth as much as I love having you in my heart and in my mind.  Those places, they're just for you.  They always have been and they always will be, no matter what."  She slid her fingers from his shoulders into the fiery curls at his nape and met his intense gaze.  "And I love that you never make me feel dirty or slutty or bad for wanting you that way." 

"Nothing we do together is dirty or wrong."  He gave her a hard, reassuring squeeze.  "You always touch me out of love and there isn't a damn thing to be ashamed of in that.  Not one."

"Thank you."  She gave him a curious, lopsided smile.  "Do I really blow your mind?"

He groaned as she rocked gently against his lap.  "Well.... yeah."

"Good."  She kissed his chin and jaw before finally touching her mouth to his.  "You make me crazy too."   Her voice had grown softer, but was no less fierce.  "I want you so bad sometimes, I just can't help myself.  I just want to get on my knees and show you how much."

The soft growl that had been building in the back of his throat escaped, harsh and low.  "Uhnnngh... Fuck," He roughly tangled his fingers in her hair.  "Dice." 

Knowing he was moments away from losing all control, she quickly rolled the dice.  Both of them mentally calculated where her piece would land if either of them cared to move it.  "Strip," she breathed, reaching for the tag at her neck. "You win-"

"Leave it."

"Dean-"  Her fingers dug into his shoulders but he was already moving, urging her hips upwards.  His belt slid unnoticed from his shoulder to the floor, making a muffled metallic thunk as it hit; a sound lost in their combined groans as he slid deeply into the wet heat of her body.

"God!"  His clipped curse was cut off as her body clenched greedily around him, desperate for the feel of him.  Fingers entwined in his hair, she moved against him hungrily.  His hips surged upwards helplessly and he growled in frustration.  It wasn't enough.  Not like this.  He needed more.

Effortlessly, he lifted her from him, ignoring her needy whimper of distress as he slipped from her body.  He turned them easily and she gasped as the warm, sweaty skin of her back made contact with the cool, soft quilt.  He moved over her, an overwhelming presence of masculinity in full rut, wanting to be able to put his weight and power behind each thrust as he took her.  Sweat trickled at his temple and his heavy erection shone wetly in the soft light, slick with her body's acceptance of him.

Their eyes met.  "Deeper," he growled, covering her as he thrust forward strongly.  "Take me deeper."  She slid across the quilt with the force of his initial thrust.  Dragging her back, he caught one of her legs behind the knee and brought it up until she was fully open to him.  He met her eyes.  "Take all of me...."

The floor under her had no give and she gasped in pleasure as he surged forward yet again, filling her completely.  He stretched her hands above her head and laced his strong fingers with hers until they were palm to palm and heart to heart. 

She twisted under him wildly, overwhelmed by sensation; the soft quilt so cool against her back, the hot, hard body covering her, the rasp of his hair abrading her sensitive flesh, his breath hot in her ear as he grunted in pleasure with each forceful stroke.  Her fingers tightened on his as he felt her begin to flutter around him.  She was panting now and he held her firmly to him as he increased the power behind his thrusts, rocking into her until her eyes fluttered shut and a throaty groan escaped her full, red lips as her body clenched around his and she splintered apart beneath him.

Helplessly, he thrust into her, growling in pleasure as her body accepted even more of him as it grew slack and pliant beneath his.  Knowing he was lost in the grip of something instinctive and primal, she held him to her as he went after his own release.  He was keening now, an animal sound, but as he approached climax and his movements became stilted and jerky, she met his eyes and despite the ferocity of his expression, she saw nothing but love in them shining back at her.  One of his hands left hers to firmly grasp her hips, holding her to him in those final heart-stopping moments as instinct took over and he forced himself as deep as he could go, shuddering powerfully as he came against her small frame.  He shook as ecstasy seared through him, roaring loudly in his ears as his soul poured from his body to hers in a wet rush of intense pleasure. 

Trembling as hard as she had a minute ago, he collapsed against her heavily and rolled them to the side, fingers and bodies still intimately entwined as their thundering hearts began to slow.  Her face was flushed and sweaty, her eyes watery with the intensity of what they'd shared.  She tightened her fingers around his and slid her other hand into his hair, touching him gently as they stared into each other's eyes, sharing something that needed no words. 

He was equally moved.  He'd never felt as close to another person as he did in that moment.  What had started out as a simple game had become so much more.  He realized that for as difficult as it was for him verbalize some of his more private thoughts and feelings, connecting with her so intimately on an emotional level made the physical expression of that closeness a hundred times more powerful.  He stroked her back gently and when he spoke, his voice was uncharacteristically soft.

"You're so beautiful to me."  

She felt his whisper against her skin and her mouth turned up at the corners in a slow, warm smile.  

"I love you."  Her voice was equally soft, thick with satisfaction and fatigue.  Her eyes blinked slowly in the candlelight as sleep began to overtake her.   

He smiled back at her.  "Shhh... sleep....."  He touched her satiny skin soothingly.  He knew that between the wine, the foreplay, and the intense orgasm he'd just given her, she'd be asleep within minutes.  His body felt good, relaxed and satiated, but not exhausted, though he knew it would catch up with him soon.  He'd long since realised he wasn't Superman.  "It's okay, honey.... you just sleep.  I've got you....."  He pulled her closer, glad for the chance to watch over his woman as she slept, comforted by the rhythmic sound of his heartbeat and the soft patter of rain on the windows.

He held her until her breathing evened out and the flush of satisfaction began to fade from her creamy skin.  Careful not to wake her, he slipped away and set the game aside as he wrapped her in the quilt and carried her to bed, smiling at the way she snuggled into his pillows.  Silently, he returned to the den to blow out the candles and retrieve the two white envelopes responsible for fueling their pleasure this evening.

For a few minutes, he stood there, watching the rain come down and enjoying the soul-deep contentment he felt before he picked up the last burning candle and returned to their bedroom.  Setting the candle on the dresser and checking to be sure he hadn't disturbed her, he opened her envelope and smiled as he read her request.  She wanted his honest opinion of the game.  Nothing more.  Nothing less.  Quietly retrieving a pen from his desk, he turned her card over and wrote his response on the back.

Moving with a silent, predatory grace, he tucked the card back in the envelope and propped it against the lamp on her side of the bed for her to find in the morning.  Taking care not to wake her, he returned to his dresser and quietly opened the top drawer.  He removed a small, velvet box and opened it, checking the contents with a smile.  Nestled inside the satin was a small, gold ring set with a single stone.  The ruby glittered darkly in the warm glow of the candle.  She didn't like diamonds.  She said they looked like glass.  He was inclined to agree.  He liked the red much better.  It reminded him of them... of the blood he'd shed, of her passion, and of the fire that had always burned between them, even before either of them had given it voice and breathed it into flame. 

He closed the box and replaced it, putting his envelope with his request in it on top before shutting the drawer once again.  He wasn't quite ready to give her the ring and that card with its two little words.  He knew she wasn't ready either.  Not yet, but after tonight, he figured they were a whole lot closer to being ready than either of them had previously believed themselves to be.  He'd never even imagined feeling like that before, so close to her it was like one soul sharing two bodies. 

With a sigh of utter contentment, he blew out the candle and slid into bed beside her, gathering her into his arms and fitting her tightly against his warm, relaxed body.  A soft sound of pleasure rumbled deep in his chest as she snuggled against him and nuzzled his neck with a soft, "Mmmmm," as she drifted back to sleep.  Lulled by the soft sound of gentle rain and surrounded by the soft quilt and the scents of lovemaking and warm, sleeping woman, he closed his eyes and let the night take him.