Serafina and A Kiss

JC hadn’t planned on Ciel being uneasy in a crowd – and the party was definitely packed. She clutched at his hand, not letting him leave her side. Being shy himself, he understood how intimidating a crush like this could be. He smiled his encouragement and kept her close,

“They call you ‘JC’,” Ciel pointed out.

“Most people know me by my initials.”

”Do you prefer it? I call you ‘Joshua’.”

“I don’t prefer JC. That’s just the way it is.”

“Do you want me to call you ‘JC’?”

“No, Ciel, I don’t.”

“JC! Nice to see you came down from your tower for my little party!” The cool, blonde hostess teased.

“I needed a breather from the clean air, Lauren,” JC replied with a smile.

“And who do we have here?” she asked of Ciel.

“Lauren, this is my friend Ciel. Ciel, Lauren Huxley.”

“Ciel. What a lovely name for a lovely girl.” The woman offered Ciel a warm smile, putting her at more ease.

“Thank you. You have a beautiful home.”

“And what does Ciel do?”

JC wrapped a comforting arm around his companion. “She inspires me.”

Ciel looked down to see a fluffy cream and brown cat winding itself around her legs. “Ooh, aren’t you pretty!” Immediately, she bent down to pick the animal up. The cat bumped its head against her chin affectionately.

“I have never seen her be friendly to anyone,” Lauren remarked. The seal-point Himalayan cat was cold to everyone.

“Ciel has a special way about her,” JC announced, bemused.

“What’s her name?” Ciel asked.

“Serafina. She was my grandmother’s kitten. When she passed away unexpectedly, no one wanted Serafina, so I was stuck with the anti-social furball.”

“Serafina. Pretty angel, aren’t you?” Ciel cooed to the animal. She was rewarded by a loud purr from the blue-eyed cat.

Lauren was amazed. “Ciel…if you want her…”

Two pair of bright blue eyes peered up at JC, girl and cat. “Might I have her?” Ciel asked quietly.

She never asked for jewels, clothes or cars – she wanted Oreos and a cat! “Angel girl, you got yourself a furball,” he told her with a fond smile.

“Oh, thank you, Joshua!” Ciel hugged him with one arm as she held her new pet with the other.

To the woman, he said, “Lauren, you have just sold yourself a cat.”

“No sale. Lock, stock and litter pan, she’s a freebie. I’ll gladly give her to Ciel. May girl and cat be happy.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” Ciel said.

“Not ma’am. It’s Lauren. I am just glad Serafina has found someone she likes who likes her.”

“Don’t you think you should join the party?” JC asked Ciel when he found her holed up in the library, away from the crowd. She sat on the floor playing with Serafina and a ratty looking cat toy.

“I am not much of a partier, I think.” Here she was at one of Hollywood’s most exclusive parties, wearing an expensive dress and she’d rather play with a cat.

Squatting down, he stroked the cat’s soft fur. “I know you aren’t much for this stuff, Ciel, but it’s part of my lifestyle.”

“Then perhaps, I don’t fit in your lifestyle, Joshua,” Ciel said quietly.

“Ceely, don’t say that.”

Sad sapphire eyes gazed at him. “I’m sorry, but it’s true.” She nodded towards the glass in his hand. “That fits you better than I do. You seem to find more comfort from that than you do from me.”

“No, baby, that’s so not true.” JC bent his head to touch his mouth to hers.

It was more than a mere kiss. His head spun dizzily. He could feel the warm satiny texture of her lips. He tasted her innocence and sweetness. He could smell the cleanness of her coupled with the wildflower scent of her shampoo. Behind his closed eyes, her lovely face swam among soft clouds. He heard the tiny gasp of her breath as she experienced the kiss as he did.

Lifting his head, he saw her dazed, wondering expression, as if she had never known a man’s mouth on hers before. “Ciel…” he whispered huskily.

Her eyes fluttered open and she smiled tenderly. “Joshua.”

A line had been crossed and there was no going back.

Ciel took a glass of the sparkling liquid at JC’s urging. She giggled as the bubbles tickled her nose. Taking a tentative taste, she didn’t find the flavor particularly pleasing. “I prefer grapes,” she announced.

JC chuckled. “Expensive champagne and that’s all you can say?”

“Does that make me horrible?”

Kissing the tip of her nose, he answered, “No, it makes you the angel girl I adore.”

The second sip was less offensive, as was the third and fourth. By the fifth, she was feeling giddy and hazy. She couldn’t seem to control her little giggles and words didn’t seem to come out in the right order. “Jah-shoo-uhh, Sar-ah-fee-nuh…where is she?”

“Mmm…enough of this for you.” He plucked the champagne flute from her hand. “What a light-weight,” he teased.

“Cat mine.”

“Yes, Serafina is now your cat.”

“Tha’s right!” She leaned heavily against him and giggled.

Depositing his and her glass on a passing tray, JC held the suddenly boneless Ciel up. “Whoa, baby!”

“Kish me wanna?” She puckered up.

“Uh…not right now.”

“Jah-shoo-uhh?”

“Yeah, baby?”

“Sick I gonna be.”

Somehow, he made it to the guest bathroom and held her head as she tossed her cookies into the toilet. Poor baby…She wasn’t even a lightweight – she was a featherweight when it came to drinking. Five sips of champagne had her silly, talking like Yoda, and puking her guts out.

Then it struck him. How many times has she seen him drunk? Hung-over? And he wasn’t a sweet little drunk like she was – he was morose and darkly mooded. Is this how Ciel saw him?

Setting her on the commode, he wiped her face with a cool washcloth to soothe her. “Better?”

“No more. Dona like sick,” she muttered.

“I’ll never even suggest it.”

“’Kay.” Her curt nodded had the green coloring returning to her face.

Quickly repositioning her over the toilet, JC held her hair back as she was sick once more. “I’m sorry, Ceely. Never again,” he promised.

Once she seemed to be able to move without another eruption, he washed her face once more. She was still pale but no longer had a greenish hue. She seemed very weak.

“Spoiled your party,” she murmured.

“No. No, Ceely, you didn’t. This is my fault,” he told her. She looked so lost and miserable, he felt terrible.

“Send me home.”

“I’ll take you to my house and I’ll stay with you.”

“Serafina…”

“We’ll get your cat from Lauren before we go.”

JC set up Serafina’s litter pan and water dish in the master bathroom of his house. There was no way he was letting Ciel sleep alone as ill and upset as she was. “She’s set for the night,” he announced to Ciel as she sat at the foot of his bed clutching the cat. If he didn’t know better, he’d say the feline was giving him an accusatory glare. Sitting next to her, he stroked Ciel’s soft cheek. “No more Hollywood parties or champagne for you.”

“But—but you said they were a part of your lifestyle,” she said forlornly.

“Some parties are, but I don’t have to do all of them – and you don’t have to drink anything stronger than water if you don’t want to.” His lips replaced his fingers. Her skin was so sweet to the taste. “You’re part of my life, Ceely. I want you in my life,” he whispered against her cheek.

Ciel shivered at the sensual sensations he was creating with his words and touch. Releasing Serafina, she closed her eyes as he nuzzled her neck.

“I forget you’re an innocent lamb sometimes. So sweet, so soft, so delicate…” The husky timbre of his voice seduced her further.

An angry yowl of the cat had Ciel’s eyes flying open. Released from the sensual fog, she blinked. “I—I have to get ready for bed.”

“You do that but then come back here.”

“Why?”

“Serafina’s litter pan is in here – and I want you close in case you’re sick again.”

“I’m fine.”

“I want to make sure.”

Ciel nodded. It was no big deal really…They had slept together before, like frightened children clinging in the night.

It was twenty minutes later when Ciel settled beneath the sheet next to JC. His arm went about her to bring her against him.

“Good—good night,” she whispered.

“Night, baby,” he murmured and was soon soundly asleep.

She lay there staring at the ceiling. They had never slept like this before, so close she could feel his heartbeat. Had one kiss changed everything? He was a man and she could no longer ignore the fact since the kiss – he was a man who found her attractive – and vice versa. What did the attraction mean – and where would it lead? And not knowing who she was, should she let it lead anywhere? Serafina curled up against Ciel’s other side, purring loudly. “Are you my new common sense?” she asked the cat.

JC woke with two pair of blue eyes studying him. Serafina sat on his crotch, looking for all the world as is she was ready to use his morning erection as a scratching post. He turned his attention to the thoughtful sapphire gaze from the woman who lay with her head on his shoulder. “Morning, angel girl.”

“Good morning, Joshua.” Ciel offered him a shy smile.

“I—uh—would you ask your cat to move?” He eyed the feline warily.

“Serafina,” was all she needed to say. With a swish of her bushy tail, the cat moved away and JC could breathe easier.

“Now…” He smoothed Ciel’s sleep tousled hair. “Good morning, baby.” His voice was low and intimate.

Ciel traced the outline of his lips with a single finger. “Things changed last night.”

“Probably. How do you feel about that?”

“I don’t know. I’m not sure.”

“It’s okay not to know right away. I won’t push—“

“I liked it when you kissed me, touched me. It made me feel warm and delicious and giddy…” She sighed. “I don’t know…”

“I can control myself.”

“Maybe I don’t want you to.”

“I’m pretty sure you aren’t ready for me to lose it.” He took her upper lip between his and nibbled it lightly. He repeated the same to her lower lips. She gave a little moan when she felt heat rush through her. To prove his point, JC urged her lower body against his. He was big and hard, and she was innocent and small. Her gasp and wide eyes told him all he needed to know. She was not ready for him. Not in the slightest. “I can control myself, Ceely.”

“But will you kiss me again?”

His smile was grim. It was going to be torture from here on in. Sweet, delicious torture he wouldn’t avoid for a second. “Oh, yeah…”