It started out as such
a silly thing, I thought as I walked down the corridors of Medical,
listening to the squeak of my shoes. I
loved that particular noise. It reminds
me of bed springs. We'd been sitting in
the canteen, enjoying something laughingly referred to as coffee and something
else referred to as crumb cake. It was
all crumbs, no cake at that point.
"Nellie, I bet even you couldn't." Sherrie was slowly tearing her napkin into
tiny bits, one of her favorite pastimes.
It kept her distracted from the crumb cake.
"Even I couldn't what?"
I set aside my coffee and checked my watch. Even though we were slow down in Medical, I
made it a point to never be late back from my break. I'd learned that you led by example. A good looking dark haired agent had taught
me that a long time ago and I had never forgotten it.
"Get the Blond under the mistletoe."
"The Blond? Mr. Kuryakin, you mean?" Personally, I called him The Pretty, but they
didn't know that.
"The one and only." It was a well known fact that Sherrie had it
bad for the Russian - something everyone seemed to know, except for the object
of her affection. Illya was apparently
blissfully unaware of it, although he frequently was more astute than he let on.
"We need to have a contest," Suzie, Dr. Wallach's assistant,
announced. "This year, our Christmas
goal should be to see which one of us can get Illya under the mistletoe."
Immediately my cheeks colored and both of my friends started
to laugh. They thought I was embarrassed about the thought of kissing Illya. They had no idea about the very interesting
evening I'd spent with him just about a year ago and a few more since then. When he took me home from a retirement party,
Illya and I had spent the evening playing doctor and the man had an incredible
surgical probe... I'm just sayin'....
That was what had made my cheeks flame - thinking of him
lying there, hard and needing me. The
interesting little sounds he made just before he came... I took a deep breath and
started mentally reciting the Kreb's Cycle.
"Nellie, when are you going to join the rest of us
experienced hussies? Being a virgin
isn't as much fun as the other. Even God
knows that."
I hid behind my stammering, letting them think what they
would. My promise, an oath I'd made long
ago, was that no one would know about my relationship with Illya. Only Napoleon seemed to have made the
connection and it's possible that Illya told him - I have a feeling there are
no secrets between those two.
"Is it a deal?" Suzie
asked, starting to gather her trash together, including Sherrie's napkin bits in
with hers.
"What do we win?" I
needed to know before we started what I was going to be losing. This was one bet I refused to win.
"Um, how about a night out in a really
nice restaurant and the others pay?"
That was perfect; I'd just gotten a raise and my bonus. My Christmas shopping was done and I was
wondering how to celebrate. This was
perfect!
"That sounds great to me!
I'm tired of tuna fish and crackers."
Sherrie was always watching her figure, although I didn't know why. She was about ten pounds underweight and was
always getting sick from this or that.
If she gained a little more weight, she'd be a little healthier. But what do I know? I'm just a nurse.
Illya was stretched out on the exam table, one hand behind
his head, the other arm tucked between my body and arm as I prepared to insert
a transfusion needle into his vein. We
make it a practice to keep at least a couple of pints of all the agents' blood
on hand, although some go through it much faster than others. Illya, for example, seemed to use up his
supply as fast as we could pump it.
"Illya?" I felt safe using his given name, since we
were the only ones in the small room.
"Yes, Nellie?" I knew he was looking at me now even without
turning my head as I swabbed his arm with Betadine. I always took a little longer than I needed
to, but I loved the feeling of being so close to him.
"Maybe this is wrong, but I wanted to give you a heads up."
"About." He stiffened
slightly as I slipped the needle in.
I taped the needle into place and released the rubber tube
I'd been using as a tourniquet. He began
squeezing the ball I'd given him. I watched the muscles in his forearm flex and
felt a little spot in the pit of my stomach start to glow. "You are the focus of the annual Christmas
challenge this year."
"Not again. They're
not going to try to make me wear women's underwear or something equally
ludicrous, are they?"
I opened and closed my mouth at the mental image of Illya in
a merry widow and stockings. "Ah... no,
but I thank you for that very naughty thought.
The object of the bet is to get you under the mistletoe first." I squatted down to check the bag and then
stood up, catching his eyes. The man has
the most incredibly blue eyes. The warm
spot started to spill over into other parts of my anatomy.
"That's it? That's
not much of a challenge. Who is involved?"
"Suzie, Sherrie, and me."
His lips curled upwards and I thought my heart was going to
flop out of my rib cage. "You don't need
mistletoe for me to kiss you, Nellie.
All you need do is ask."
"I know, that's why I can't win."
"Why is that?"
"Illya, Sherrie has it so bad for you - one kiss from you
and you'd make her year. Heck, you'd
make her decade."
"Hasn't she gone out with Napoleon?"
"Of course." Nearly every woman at HQ had gone out with
Napoleon if they wanted to. Napoleon was
an equal opportunist.
"Then why would she want me?" I loved this part of Illya. He just couldn't understand what people,
women people mostly but there were a few guys as well, saw in him. The fact that he was sex on a plate never
even occurred to him and that just added to his appeal.
"Because you are you." I
smiled at him in a knowing way as I checked the bag again. "Okay, stop squeezing." Instantly, his hand went limp. "But you can't do it too easily or else
she'll know she's been set up."
"And what does the woman who succeeds in this venture win?"
"Besides a kiss from you? Dinner in a nice
restaurant, gratis the other two."
"All right." I placed a wad of gauze over the needle and
slid it out. "Pressure
on that." I didn't need to tell
him, but I still did. We went through
this song and dance every few weeks. He
knew the drill better than I did, right down to the cookies that were being
served. I know he likes Oreos and apple
juice, so always made sure to have some on hand for him. At least it kept him around for a few more
minutes.
We went through the usual caution and I helped him sit up,
not because he needed my help, but because I like touching him, even
casually. This time he surprised me by
pulling me in and giving me the sweetest kiss possible.
"What was that for?" I asked when my voice was working
again.
"For being a good friend. I will make sure that Sherrie is successful..." He paused and smiled again, stroking my
hair. He released me slowly. "But not too easily."
And so began the dance of trying to get Illya under the mistletoe. He was particularly astute at detecting it
and side stepping at the last minute. Sherrie
and Suzie were frustrated to tears and I played along, just because it was fun
watching and listening to them scheme during our breaks. To keep things interesting, I passed the info
to My Pretty.
It was at the Section Four Christmas party that it all came
to a head. The eggnog was flowing freely
and several of my co-workers were already three sheets to the wind. Mr. Waverly was playing Santa to some of the employees'
kids and I felt a yearning in my heart. I wanted a little one someday, like my
sisters, and I felt my attention wander over to where Illya was talking with a
group of his fellow agents. They were
laughing about something and I couldn't help but think what pretty babies Illya
would make.
"Penny for your thoughts, my sweet." Napoleon planted a kiss on my cheek and I
giggled, blushing.
"Napoleon Solo, you are a scoundrel, creeping up on a woman
like that."
"It's the only way he can get a woman these days. Most see him coming and head for the hoosegow,"
Illya mumbled, hiding behind his cup of egg nog. He winked at me and I giggled again.
"Hoosegow? Where did you hear that term, partner?"
"A cowboy thing." Illya pointed over his shoulder vaguely and
now I laughed.
"I think your friend is a little drunk, Mr. Solo," I kept my
voice pitched so that it carried over to my two co-workers. They'd been drowning their sorrows in some of
Mrs. Waverly's homemade fudge and I saw Sherrie's head swivel in our direction,
her expression hopeful.
"Is everything okay over here?" Immediately both Sherrie and Suzie were all
attention and at our sides, ready to help.
"Huh?" Illya swayed
slightly as he turned. "Everything is
great." He made a wide gesture with his
arms and Napoleon snatched the cup of eggnog mid flight.
"I think perhaps Mr. Kuryakin could do with a bit of a
lie-down or some fresh air. Nellie?"
"I'll do it!" Both Sherrie and Suzie stepped forward.
"Well, Miss Suzie, I was hoping that you and I could dance
for a while." There was a soft silky
edge to Napoleon's voice and I knew Suzie was a gone goose. With a happy sigh, she held out her hand to
Napoleon and he led her away onto the dance floor. I suspected they'd be doing a different sort
of dancing later on.
I gave Illya a nudge and he took a funny little side step,
bumping into Sherrie.
"Oops, it was a dark and stormy night," Illya muttered,
seemingly dazed by my action.
Sherrie glared at me and I pointed upwards. Mistletoe - a parasite to some, paradise for
others. She nodded, put a hand on either
side of Illya's face and planted a kiss directly on those very kissable lips of
his. He acted surprised, but not as much
as she did when he enthusiastically reciprocated.
A few minutes later, I watched him leave, arm-in-arm with my
coworker, and felt a little sad. She was
going to get the best my Pretty would have to offer tonight and Suzie was going
to be on the receiving end of some lovely action from the Brunet. I, on the other hand, went home alone, as
usual.
Even though I live alone with just a couple of cats for
company, I still like to decorate, especially the tree. Mom and my sisters come over and we have a
tree party, with Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, and Lawrence Welk. We laugh and remember all the good things
that happened during the year; bad things were not permitted, not then.
So, I was all cuddly in my robe with some peppermint tea,
complete with a candy cane stirrer and two cats curled up on the afghan I had
over my feet. The tree was twinkling prettily,
but my heart wasn't in it. Nor was it in
the Christmas variety show on the TV that I wasn't watching. I was letting my thoughts drift as like the
snowflakes across my balcony. The
Christmas tree, all beautiful with its bright lights, sat in the corner, trying
hard, but it still didn't make me feel any better.
Why do I feel so lousy
when I know I did something good? I
wondered as I sucked on the candy cane.
I knew I wasn't the only woman Illya slept with, but I still felt a
sense of loss. It had been months since
we'd connected in that way and while I knew it had to be on his terms, I just
felt so lonely tonight.
There was a knock on my door and I frowned as the two cats
took off for places unknown. Well,
beneath my bed, but they think they are well hidden. Who
would be out tonight? A peek and I
started laughing, hurriedly undoing the locks and bolts.
"Illya, what are you doing --?" I didn't get out more because he was kissing
me, really kissing me, one that I could feel down to my toes and make me swear
he was blowing belly button lint out my navel.
"You," he whispered, when he at last surfaced, "are a much better kisser."
"I... I am...?"
He was pulling off his coat, his jacket, his holster, and
everything else as fast as he could until there was nothing between us except
the fluff of my robe and then that was gone as well. The franticness of his actions sort of
startled me. The last time we'd made
love, he had been so cautious, so careful to take into consideration my
feelings and concerns. Not this
time. He was a man on a mission and I
had the suspicion that it all centered on just one part of my anatomy.
Not that I was worried about my physical safety. I knew, just somehow knew, if I said stop he
would. Well, my mama didn't raise a
fool. I shivered, not so much because
his hands were cold, which they were, but from knowing what was coming.
Making love with Illya is never quite the same thing twice. I was unashamed of my nakedness; in fact, the
way Illya was caressing me, I was damn proud of it. The bedroom was too far away and I led him to
the couch. That proved too far as well
and the next thing I knew I was stretched out on the faux bear skin rug that my
kid sister had given me last year.
All the while Illya's hands and mouth moved, finding all the
right spots to make me gasp and sigh in pleasure. He was in a hurry, of that there was no
doubt, but not for the moment of penetration; he was more concerned with the
trip there, making pit stops along the way.
I didn't know what got him so worked up, but I was delighted to know I
was where it all stopped.
When he slipped into me, I was surprised that he had somehow
along the way, gotten a condom on. The
man is a mystery, that's all there is to it, but there was no mystery now. Now there was just
us, moving in concert with each other, feeling Illya shudder and buck as he
pistoned in and out of me and listening to our voices.
It was a long time before I could look at that bit of rug in
front of the tree without blushing to beat the band. I see it and I can still feel the way his
fingers curled into my hips, the half sob, half groan he made when he climaxed.
I got rug burn on my
bum and he got it on his knees. The
next door neighbors probably thought I dropped a pot of boiling water down my
front. I probably was doomed to a lifetime
of confessions, but it didn't matter.
Feeling him in me, in my arms, knowing that just for the moment, I was
the most important thing in his world was all worth it.
I loved the sweet look that came over his face - post coital
bliss the text book calls it. I have a
better word: Contentment. I loved that
he didn't make petty conversation, didn't ask me stupid questions like, "Was it
good for you, too, baby?"
That made me giggle and he looked down at me smiling. Effortlessly, he rolled, taking me with him
and then I was on top. I knew he was
taking care of the used condom and did my part to not notice, happy to rest my
head on his chest, listen to the steady strong beat of his heart.
"I'm sorry," he said after a minute and I propped myself up,
making sure my elbows didn't dig in.
"For what?"
"Usually I ask before I..." He made a waggling motion with his head. "... take."
"Not to worry, I was more than willing. Besides, I knew if I said something you would
have stopped. Albeit not happily, but
you would have stopped. That's why I
trust you." I resumed my prone position
and toyed with his chest hair, daring to let my finger travel over to trace
around one of his nipples.
He caught his breath and I smiled. I had a feeling I wasn't the only one who was
going to have rug burns all over their can.
I raised up a little so I could
reach the nipple just beneath my cheek and lowered my mouth to suck it in. He arched, his eyes closed. It was incredible to have this sort of
control over a physically powerful man.
To permit himself to be weak and wanting to me,
that was a real rush. On the other hand,
I wasn't in one and I took my time, nursing one nipple, then the other until I
was ready to move on.
By the time I got down to business, his erection was
straining skyward. Illya's had been the
first uncircumcised penis I'd encountered in bed. Granted my experience wasn't much, but still
this had been a whole new experience for me.
Illya knew this and had patiently permitted my lengthy examination and
answered my questions. He showed me what
he liked and what gave him the most pleasure.
The first time had been sort of hit and miss, but not now.
Of course, as hard as he was, the foreskin wasn't much of an
issue at the moment. I positioned myself and blew
lightly across the glistening tip of his penis.
He caught his breath and I knew if I were to touch my tongue to it, he'd
go off like a skyrocket. I didn't want
that, so I sat back on my heels, straddling his knees.
I looked around and his head came up off the floor.
"Problem?"
"Condom?"
"Right pants pocket."
I really didn't want to get up, but common sense made me to get
to my feet and I hurried over to where his clothes were piled. It took me longer than I wanted, but at last
my fingers found a familiar foil packet.
I handed these things out in Medical as if they were candy, but do you
think the guys use them? You wouldn't
know it from the penicillin shots I administered on a regular basis. I opened the packet as I walked back.
"Do you want me to...?"
Illya started, reaching for it, but I shook my head.
"No, I can... well, in theory, I can." I positioned it and began to roll the
rubber. "I mean, it can't be much
different than putting it on a banana."
"I beg your pardon?"
Illya propped himself up on his elbows and had a really weird look on
his face and I giggled.
"That's how we used to practice."
"Oh..." He laid back down and shook his head slightly. Obviously women were a mystery to him.
I got lots of practice that night. First straddling and riding him as if he was
a bucking bronco, then in bed, side by side.
The man knew more positions than was healthy and he shared a few of them
with me that night... and the next morning.
I was startled to wake up and find him in bed with me, still
asleep, his arm still across my stomach.
He'd been gone the last time... and the time before that. I shifted and immediately two blue eyes were
staring at me.
"Sorry," I murmured, stroking his face. His cheek was rough with whiskers and he
caught my hand and kissed it. "I didn't
mean to wake you."
"Hair trigger," he explained, settling back against the
pillows.
"So, you are still here."
"I am still here."
"What should we do about it?" I glanced over at the bedside clock. I still had over an hour before I had to get
ready for work.
That morning was a number of firsts for me- can you believe
it? The first time I woke up with
someone in bed, the first time I made love in the light of day, the first time
I watched a man ejaculate to my own doing while we were exploring each other in
my first shower with someone else. It
was quite a start to the day.
It started out as such
a silly thing, I thought as I walked down the corridors of Medical,
listening to the squeak of my shoes. I
loved that particular noise, but there was another noise that I was becoming
equally fond of - the sound of two people as they moved as one. I wasn't sure what else Santa might be
leaving me under the Christmas tree this year, but I had the feeling he was
going to have a helluva time beating the one I'd already unwrapped.
I knew I'd giggle at whatever story Sherrie brought to the
Canteen that morning, I knew I'd not be able to keep a straight face anytime
afterwards spotting mistletoe and I knew, sure as God made little green apples,
I knew who I would be kissing under the mistletoe that night.
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