This is a work of fiction, using characters from the film, “Proof of Life”.  No insult or invasion of privacy or infringement of copyright is intended. The story is for readers over the age of 18 only, and contains adult language. The writer is not responsible for any "discomfort" caused to the reader by this language and these situations.

Full Length Of The River

©2008 by: Darrin

Chapter Thirteen

The night was anything but quiet.

About an hour after they’d all fallen asleep, Terry was woken by Stephanie leaping out of his arms and then the bed.  Her scream pierced the darkness and Terry was up and making two long strides to the corner of her room where she’d scrambled and was trying to climb into the wall.  When he attempted to pull her into his arms, she hit his hands away, trying to fight and flee at the same time.

The light came on as Dino entered the room.  Stephanie’s screams were still ringing in the room but Dino managed to shout over them.  “What can I do?”

“Dunno, mate,” Terry replied loudly, still struggling to get at least one of Steph’s hands in his.  This was bad.  He hadn’t had her fight him this much before.  “Stephanie!  Wake up, luv, it’s just a dream!”  He repeated this over and over as she hit and kicked from her corner.

Dino tugged at his shoulder.  “Ter, come away, this one’s bad.  Just let her wake up on her own.”

“Maybe you’re right.”  Terry pushed himself back from her and with nothing to hit, Steph turned back to the wall and tried climbing into it again.  Her screams died down to crying mixed with a few words Terry couldn’t understand.  He looked to Dino but he shook his head.  Then two words came through very clear.

“T… please…” and she pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms over her head, rocking back and forth.

Terry came closer to her again and whispered softly, “I’m right here, luv.  Let me hold you.”

Stephanie’s head raised slowly and Terry could see she was awake now.  She crawled over to him and let herself be pulled into his lap.  Her legs and arms went around his body and she wept softly against his neck.  With Dino’s help, they got back onto the bed and Terry shh’d her, gently rubbing her back, letting her cry her scare away.

“That wasn’t good,” Dino said softly, master of the understatement as always.

“Hadn’t seen that before,” Terry agreed.

Steph’s weeping slowly subsided and Terry kissed her temple.  “You wanna try sleepin’ again, luv?”  She shook her head.  “Maybe some telly?”  That got a nod.  Terry smiled at Dino and he chuckled.

They returned to the living room, this time Terry settling into one of the recliners with Stephanie still wrapped around him and Dino stretched out onto the couch again.  They found a quiet show on the History channel and a half hour later found all three of them asleep again.

And awake again an hour after that.  This time Terry was able to keep her in his arms as she struggled with whatever she was seeing in her mind’s eye.  The struggle was brief but intense until he could get her to wake up.  Dino tried to help but neither of them could wake her up until Terry shouted her name at her and she stopped struggling, staring at him as if she had no idea who he was.  Then broke down weeping again.

“What is it, luv?  What are you dreaming about that has you so upset?”  Terry didn’t want to know, but he was desperate to get her through the rest of the night, somehow.

“I-I d-don’t know!” she cried out, her face buried against his neck again.

“Shh, it’s okay.  You don’t have to remember just now.”

“Yeah, Princess, it’s okay.  We’re right here and we’re gonna protect you from everything, you know that, right?”

Stephanie nodded and sniffed.  Dino went and fetched a flannel, wet with cold water and gave it to Terry who wiped her face gently as she calmed down slowly.

“It’s d-doors,” she finally whispered.  “Something behind the doors and I d-don’t wanna see it.”

“Okay, babygirl.  You don’t have to.  We said we weren’t gonna force anything, just let it happen naturally.  But maybe you should take some of those meds tonight so you get some real sleep, okie dokie?”

Steph looked doubtful but after a minute or two, nodded and Terry carried her into the bathroom where she took the pills and they said goodnight to Dino once more.

When morning came, Dino had a shower in Terry’s bathroom in case Steph woke up and then ran down to the Starbucks nearby for industrial strength coffee while Maggie made her famous french toast.  Terry was moving slowly himself.  Once he extricated himself from Steph, he had his own shower.  He overheard Dino chatting with Maggie when he headed towards the kitchen and knew she was getting a report of the night’s events.  Confirmed when he heard, “Poor wee lamb,” as he approached the kitchen.

“She’s still asleep,” he announced as he grabbed his coffee from Dino and sucked down a quarter of it.  Then he picked up Stephanie’s and returned to her room.

He sat down on her bed and held the cup near her nose.  “Wakey, wakey, babygirl.  We need to get some food into you.  It’s french toast Friday.”

Stephanie’s eyes slowly opened and a small smile briefly lit up her face as she smelled the coffee.  Her eyes were haunted and there were dark circles under them.  She pushed herself up into a sitting position and took the cup from Terry with both hands, sipping a little before returning it to him.  He caressed her cheek gently.

“How are you feeling, luv?” he asked softly.

“Groggy.  Scared.”

Terry put the cup down and pulled her onto his lap.  “S’okay, Steph.  It’ll all be okay soon.”

She didn’t respond, just snuggled against him, resting her head on his shoulder.  They sat that way for a long while until the smell of maple syrup came drifting into the room.  Stephanie’s stomach growled and Terry chuckled.

“Toldja, we need to get some food into you.”

“Okay, T,” she replied, her voice weary.  Terry was saddened by the defeat he could feel from her.  He had no idea what to do.

“You wanna shower first?  I can get Maggie to come help with that,” he said, wishing he had something more profound to say.

“Okay,” she repeated.

Terry, feeling helpless, simply pushed forward trying to make the day as normal as possible.  Maggie came from the kitchen to see if she was needed and went into the guest bathroom with Stephanie.  Terry took the opportunity to call Mr Graydon to announce Dino’s visit and after a brief conversation with his secretary, was assured Dino would be given an appointment that afternoon.  Steph and Maggie emerged a short while later and they all sat down to a much-needed breakfast.

Maggie went about her duties after Dino left for the office and Stephanie and Terry went out for a walk.  She was still exuding a deep sadness that Terry was wracking his brains how to overcome.  He suggested going out for a movie, shopping, a trip on the ferry, going to a museum, but all suggestions were met with a brief smile and then a reply of “Maybe,” which Terry could tell was her saying no.

“Well, how about a nap and see if you feel up for something when you wake up?”

She thought about that for a minute as they re-entered Terry’s building and then nodded.  “Okay,” she said softly.

Terry knew this was a dangerous point for her to be at, knew he needed to get her out and doing things or she’d slip into a depression that would be difficult to get her out of, to say the least.  But she deserved a sleep for now.  After that he’d figure out a way to turn that “maybe” into a “yes”.

Maggie had left when they got back into the apartment, so Terry grabbed his laptop and joined Stephanie in her room so he could work while she slept but not leave her alone.

A few hours passed.  Terry got through a lot of emails and caught up on a few projects he had in the works that Dino had left him the necessary information to get further along on earlier in the week.  He checked the time and wondered how Dino’s meeting with Graydon was going.  Then he looked at his sleeping sheila wondering if he should wake her.  He knew sleeping too much was a bad sign, so he sat down on the bed next to her and brushed her hair from her face until her eyes opened.  Another of those fleeting smiles passed over her face and she turned her head to snuggle against his hand.

He leant down, meaning to give her a little kiss, but found himself kissing her mouth a little more passionately than he’d intended.  He was feeling extremely protective of Stephanie but at the same time desperately wanting to get that smile to remain on her face.  He pulled her up to sitting next to him as their kiss deepened.  He heard a small whimper from her as he cupped her cheeks in his hands, his tongue opening her mouth to him and engaging hers in a deeper passion he suddenly felt take him over.  Her hands slid around his neck and she wrapped her body around his, actively kissing him back.

Terry had time for one fleeting thought – I knew she’d know before I did – and then had her in his arms, standing and carrying her to his room.

They didn’t stop kissing as he brought her to his bed.  When he placed her on top of it gently, they separated briefly and Terry was delighted to see the smile on her face, despite the apprehension in her eyes.  He returned to the kiss, unable to get enough of her kisses and could feel her heart pounding wildly against his chest.

“It’s okay, Stephanie, gonna be okay,” he whispered to her softly as he moved them both into a position that had him sitting against the head board with her on his lap facing him.  The wild look in her eyes reminded him they’d need to slow way down.  She might be ready, but she was still a tremulously scared butterfly he was holding in the palm of his hand.

He pulled his shirt off and then helped her with hers.  She’d taken off her jeans for her nap and so was sitting on his lap in just her underwear, blushing deeply as he drank her in with her eyes.  He realized that the bandages on her breasts were gone and that Maggie had only replaced two bandages on her back.  She was healing fast with all the antibiotics in her system.

“My beautiful sheila,” he whispered, pushing back her hair behind one ear.  “You’re the most beautiful sheila in all the world, did you know that?”  Steph shook her head, ducking down from seeing his gaze and blushing across her cheeks and shoulders.  But the grin on her face told him he’d said the right thing.

He leant down and kissed the top of one breast peeking out from her bra and smoothed his hands slowly around to the clasps, unhooking each one slowly.  Her breathing increased dramatically and he looked back up at her, his other hand on the back of her neck, pulling her to him for another kiss.  Softly, mate, softly… he thought to himself.  Her bra undone, it fell forward and he pulled it from her arms, separating them again from their kisses so he could gaze at her breasts, now with an eye to foreplay instead of as it had been before when he was caring for her.  His hands filled themselves with her flesh as he bent down and tucked one nipple into his mouth and sucked it into a hard peak.

Stephanie was panting above him, her hands pushing themselves into his hair.  He could hear both passion and fear in those pants.  When he moved to the other nipple, she let out another small whimper.

“Shh,” he whispered to her, looking back into her eyes.  “Slow, luv.  That’s how we go.  Nice and slow.  Just feel me touching you and let your body and mind enjoy it.  Just me and you here.  No one else.”

“O-o-okay,” she whispered back, tremulously.  Her body was trembling in his arms as he gathered her against him, kissing her once more.

He caressed her skin, moving his hands all over her body everywhere he could reach.  When at last he felt her hips begin making tiny, instinctive movements against his, he knew he could take them a little further.  He let one hand inch slowly down to her legs, gently touching her inner thighs until he reached her panties and snuck one finger under the material into her curls.  She drew in a breath, gasping at his intimate touch.  The heat pouring from her sex felt as though it would burn him.  He smiled into their kiss and opened his legs, letting her bum drop to the bed.  Then he tugged at her panties until she maneuvered herself into allowing him to take them from her.  Again, he could feel her heart pounding a mile a minute as he followed her to where she was lying on her back now, bending down to suckle at her breasts again.  He moved to his side, knowing she wasn’t ready to have him between her legs just yet.  But his fingers now crawled into her curls, pushing further and further until he reached his prize.

As he gently touched her little nub, she cried out.  It wasn’t fully a passionate cry, but it wasn’t nearly as filled with fear as he’d expected it to be.  And when he went a little further to her slit, she was already wet.

“Oh Steph… Feel this.”  Terry took her hand in his and brought it to her entrance.  He pushed her finger against her slit and smiled down at her, enjoying the somewhat shocked look on her face as she realized what he wanted her to feel.

“I… I…” came the scared little whisper.

“You want me, babygirl,” he affirmed.

Stephanie smiled at him, incredulous.  Terry just grinned in response, pulling her hand up to brush her own finger against her hard little nub.  She gasped again.  The look in her eyes told Terry she’d forgotten this sensation.  He decided she deserved to feel it again, taking over.

“Keep your hand on top of mine, luv,” he whispered in her ear, kissing her neck as he began rubbing her button in a practiced way he’d learned over the years.  Every sheila was different, he knew that.  But he knew well how to get them to open up and show him their own special rhythm.  Stephanie did as he asked and as she closed her eyes it seemed to Terry she didn’t even realize she was showing him what to do.  Little movements from her hand on his let him know when she was feeling what he wanted her to feel.

He slowly built her up, dipping now and then to her opening to gather up more of her moisture to give him that extra slipperiness that he knew she was enjoying.  Soon her hips were moving in time with his hand and he kissed her tenderly then moved to her ear and kissed the lobe, whispering gently.

“That’s my sweet sheila, you can feel it, building up inside you.  Gonna come for me, gonna make me so happy to feel you come.  That’s it, show me what you need…”  He trailed off and let her concentrate on what he was doing to her.

Her hips began moving much more purposefully and her hand tightened on his, her breath coming faster and faster in his ear until he heard her begin to moan a little, then the tell-tale, “oh-oh-oh…” just before her body tightened and the spasms began flowing through her as she came.  Arching up, she cried out, “Oh my God, T!” and then dropped back against the bed, panting and writhing in a delicious way that had Terry’s cock thick and full behind the denim of his jeans.

He just kept moving his finger against her nub, not stopping, letting her enjoy the aftershocks for long moments.  When she finally came back to him, opening her eyes, the smile on her face was that of a little Cheshire cat who had lapped up all the cream in the house.

“Enjoy that, luv?” he said with a low chuckle.  She giggled.  It wasn’t until he heard it that he realized how much he’d missed it.  He raised his hand to his mouth and licked his finger as she watched and then caressed her cheek.  “That’s my sweet sheila.”  He bent down to kiss her again and her arms went around his body, turning hers so that he felt it all along his own.

He smoothed a hand down her abdomen to her thigh, letting it rest against the back of it, not pulling, just letting her know when she was ready was fine with him.  Both of their hearts were now beating a similar beat, fast and hard.  Terry’s in anticipation, but he wasn’t entirely sure if she was ready or if hers was beating with apprehension.  When he felt her leg move up and around him, he couldn’t stop the grin from forming on his face.

He gently pushed a hand between them and undid the flies on his jeans, feeling her breathing increase as he did so.  “S’okay, luv.  Slow, we go slow,” he whispered, pulling back to look down at her.  “You say when.”  She nodded, fear and love fighting for purchase in her eyes.  Terry pushed his jeans down, his shorts going with them and kicked them onto the floor behind him.

Stephanie returned to laying on her back, Terry following her, one leg between hers.  Kissing her again, he pushed her legs open a little further and settled his body between her thighs.  His cock was rigid, desperately in need of being buried inside her heated cunnie.  But he would wait until she let him know it was okay.  He pulled up from her, watching her eyes for the decision.  She slowly raised her knees on either side of him but he saw tears trace their way into her hair.

“Shh, babygirl.  If we need to stop, you tell me that.  I love you too much to scare you.”

“I… I know, T.  I want you… I need you.  I’m just scared.  I want to be here with you, but these images in my head… I k-keep flashing on…”

Terry held her face in his hands and kissed her tenderly.  “I know, luv.  But it’s just me and you here.  No one else.  Just me and you and we love each other.  There’s nothing to be afraid of, I promise you.”

“I believe you,” she replied in a breathless but trembling voice.

Terry bent to her ear again and whispered low, “I need to be inside you, Stephanie.  I need to hold you and love you and show you how I feel.  Show you what you do to me.  Will you let me in?”

He heard her gasp as he began speaking.  Then heard her whimper as he asked his question.  Then felt her nod almost imperceptibly.  He grinned down at her as he pulled back to look into her eyes.  He wanted her to be seeing his eyes as he joined with her.  She smiled back, he could still see the fear there, but love was winning.

Gently, barely moving, he adjusted his hips until his cock was at the entrance to her passageway.  She was soaking his tip with how wet she was and Terry grunted, willing himself to keep from thrusting into her.  He began pushing into her.  She caught her breath and her eyes widened.  He caressed her cheeks with his thumbs, smiling and gently shh’ing her as he kept moving, inching his way inside her.  At one point she closed her eyes, looking frightened and he whispered to her softly to stay here with him, to be his and no one else’s.  Negotiating away her fear and when her eyes opened again, he could see he was winning.

She was so wet and her cunnie so warm, it was all he could do not to just take her hard.  But he kept staring into her eyes as he entered her at last cocooned inside her body to his root.  Stephanie was panting, her hands had made their way to his forearms, holding on tight.  Terry bent down and kissed her.  “My sweet, beautiful sheila, all mine,” he chuckled.  She smiled back at him, more tears escaping and he bent to kiss them away.  “Mine,” he whispered again.  Then slowly began moving his hips, creating the sweet friction deep inside her body.  It took a great long while to get her up to where he was.  Her eyes would cloud with fear and he’d whisper to her that he loved her, loved how she felt around him and they’d clear and she’d smile again.  Terry kept his movements at a painstakingly slow pace, sweating now with the effort it took to keep her fear at bay.

Then he saw and felt a remarkable thing happen.  Her eyes grew darker, then closed as she arched, writhing beneath him.  Her breathing took on a needful quality and he could feel it, her passageway was tightening around him and her hips were beginning to mirror his movements.  He held his breath, not wanting to disturb this fragile moment where she’d come around him, his cock bringing her to climax, something that hadn’t happened for her for too long.  He increased the speed of his motion inside her by imperceptible degrees until he could see she was just on the verge and in his mind’s eye he saw himself leading her to the edge and then taking her into his arms and falling over into her bliss.

A long, loud moan erupted from her throat as she came again.  Her whole body reacted this time as she wrapped herself around him and fell into her orgasm with an abandon he hadn’t hoped she would be able to achieve but here she was, crying out to him again as her release flooded through her body.  He slowed back down to the tempo that he’d begun with until her eyes fluttered open, looking up into his and smiling once again.

“T…” she said softly and tears traced their way into her hair again but these weren’t from fear.  The look he was seeing was one of pure happiness.

“Yeah, luv, that’s how it’s supposed to feel.  That’s what I want to give you every time.”

“I won’t survive,” she said with a grin that said she wouldn’t mind at all.

Terry chuckled and began moving inside her again, just a little more firmly, a little more purposeful, increasing the speed still slowly though, but it was much easier this time and she remained with him.  His cock felt ready to burst and he had to concentrate on not just driving into her once more, seeking release.

“One more, with me, Steph.  Need my sheila’s sweet cunnie to come around me when I do.  Need you, luv.  So much.”  He kissed her mouth, pushing his tongue in and kissing her passionately.  She responded to him completely.  He felt that she was finally just giving in and letting him take her where she knew she wanted to go.  Terry raised her thigh up closer to her chest, thrusting gently but still thrusting into her body, touching that very sensitive part of her and she gasped as he did, her hands gripping his upper arms and panting between her moans.  Long moments passed where the only sounds were Terry’s soft grunts and Stephanie’s whimpered moans until she began her slide into climax, signaling it to Terry through her cries and through her body, arching up into him and clutching at his cock as her spasms began.

He couldn’t hold onto his release any longer and began spurting, stroking deeply into her as his cock pulsed with each release of his seed into her womb.  “Fuck!” he growled, coming much harder than he’d realized he would and she held onto him, her body still coming with his.

Finally he was able to slow and then stop moving inside her.  The heat emanating from where they were joined making Terry sweat more.  Their bodies glistened from the exertion of their coupling and Terry collapsed on top of her, spent for the moment.

“Christ, luv,” he whispered to her, unable to say anything else.  Steph didn’t say anything and he felt her trembling again.  “Shh, babygirl, it’s okay.  It’s just from how much you love me.”  He kissed her neck and then up to her mouth, looking down at her and brushing her tears away.  “My sweet, beautiful sheila.  Love you so much.”

“I love you too, T,” she whispered back, the tremor in her voice making him smile.

He couldn’t stop kissing her.  He was still kissing her when he slipped from her body.  She whimpered softly as he did and he looked down at her.  “Everything okay, luv?” he asked with a grin.

“Just wanted you to stay there forever,” she replied.

“I’d love to be buried deep in your cunnie continuously too.  But we hafta be able to go for walks.”

Stephanie giggled.  “Okay.  But I still wish it.”

He grinned and wrapped his arms around her.  He’d been wishing since he’d found her that he could simply hold her forever.  To hear her wishing for the same thing and more made his heart beat quicker.  He didn’t bother wondering how he’d gotten so lucky.  Stephanie needed him and he needed her.  There wasn’t anything else that mattered.

They stayed wrapped up in each other’s arms for an hour or more.  Kissing and dozing and then kissing some more.  Then first hers then his stomach growled.

Terry kissed her forehead.  “We should shower so we can get something to eat.  And so we don’t become permanently glued together.”

Stephanie’s eyes filled with concern suddenly.  “You… you didn’t use a condom.  What if…”

“Not worried about a thing, luv.”

“Okay,” she said, blushing a little.

They slowly extricated themselves from the position they’d ended up in and made their way to Terry’s bathroom.  Terry got the water running and turned to his sheila as it warmed up.  He searched her eyes, making sure she was okay.  He’d learned to read those eyes very well even in this short time and what he saw there made him happy.  He smiled at her, filling his hands with her “freshly fucked” wild hair and pulled her to him for a deep kiss which she responded to with equal passion.

The steam was beginning to build in the bathroom before they’d finished enjoying their kiss and Terry chuckled, pulling back from her reluctantly.  “We should get in the shower, babygirl,” he whispered, unable to stop touching her, her hair, her cheeks, her breasts… Fuck, I could lose myself in her cleavage, he thought and then laughed softly.  “Not really my ‘babygirl’ anymore though, huh?”

Stephanie blushed crimson and looked up at him from under her lashes.  “Can call me that anyway,” she whispered.

“Okay,” Terry said and kissed her forehead.  Then took her hand in his and lead her into the shower.

Chapter Fourteen