Falling for the Enemy

Love

                                                                        Catherine

Stepping closer he continues tracing the maze of lines on my back.  The entire time he maintains eye contact with me in the mirror.  

“What man is ever going to find me attractive again?” a single tear runs down my cheek.  

Henry places his lips to my shoulder and gently kisses my bare shoulder still keeping his eyes on mine in the mirror.  I can feel his warmth all around me.  My skin comes alive where he touches me and instantly burns with a strange fire.  I want him to keep touching me.  Still keeping his eyes locked with mine he gently kisses the top of my shoulder following in a line to my neck.  Then ever so lightly he kisses the nape of my neck.  His eyes are intense and burning into mine in the mirror.  Both of his hands are on my body now, one still caressing my back and the other lightly brushing over my neck.  The feeling being created inside my body is too much to take. Tilting my head back I lean against Henry’s chest and break our gaze in the mirror.  

Henry continues to place kisses on my bare skin, setting each one of my nerve endings on fire. My body feels like it has truly come alive for the first time.  Slowly opening my eyes to look at him our lips awkwardly meet, and slowly begin moving in rhythm together. However, the connection between our lips cannot be fully made with our bodies turned the way they are. Feeling the urge to be as close to Henry as possible, I drop my lips from his and let go of the pillow I have been hugging in front of my naked body, and rapidly turn to face him. Wrapping my arms around him, we are now entangled in each other’s arms and our lips meet once more.  This time our lips mold perfectly to one another and move effortlessly together.  Bringing my hands up to Henry’s chest I begin undoing each one of his buttons, and then I slowly push the shirt from his arms.  Feeling his chest against my chest, and his skin against my skin sends shivers down my spine.  He is beyond anything I have ever imagined.  His chest is hard and strong, and his muscles tense on his abdomen as I gently caress his bare stomach.  

Our need is becoming more intense now and I am finding it hard to distinguish between where his body ends and where mine begins.  Henry’s hands glide to the hem of my skirt and he begins sliding both my skirt and knickers to the ground.  As he moves down my body he plants gentle kisses on my legs.  Standing up he stares at me, his eyes burning into mine.  I suddenly feel very exposed with him staring at my completely naked body.  

“Catherine, you are more than beautiful.  You are indescribable.”   

With those words, we are entangled in one another again.  Picking my body up into the air I wrap my legs around his waist as he carries me to the bed.  Placing his hand behind my head he gently lies me down on the bed, and with one smooth motion he shifts his body on top of mine and I can feel him everywhere now.  We make love multiple times throughout the night each time becoming more familiar with each other’s bodies.  Only when we have both reached total and complete exhaustion do we finally break our connection and sleep finally finds both of us. 

                                                                            Henry

I can’t remember the last time I have slept so peacefully and so deeply.  I am completely and utterly content in every single way.  I am only awake now because of the immense heat I am feeling from being surrounded by Catherine’s body.  She is lying on my chest and my arms are draped around her holding her tightly. I gently slide out from underneath her body and lie on the bed next to her watching her sleep.  She is an amazingly beautiful woman.    Seeing her asleep with all of her walls down with nothing being shielded or guarded; was a sight I never thought I’d see. She is completely at peace and it looks wonderful on her. 

I gently trace the scars on her back just as I did last night.  I cannot imagine the pain she endured at the hands of those monsters.  I can count over 30 scar lines on her back, and slowly my stomach turns.  I am sickened by the thought of what she went through, but she is here now.  She is safe and sound and she is mine.  She is completely and utterly mine and I am hers. I watch her back rise and fall as she takes each easy breath.  Gently, I push a strand of hair off her face being sure not to wake her.  I am in love with this woman and I will have to leave her alone in just days to return back to a war that I still believe in but now that I have found Catherine I am hesitant to return to.  

When I joined the war two years ago, there wasn’t a thing holding me back.  I was ready to fight for my country.  I wanted to come back as a war hero, but now that I have found Catherine, my goals have changed.  I still believe in preserving the Union and freeing all the slaves but now if I die it seems like I will be losing a beautiful life that I didn’t see before me two years ago.  

Then I am reminded of the awful thought that she is engaged to be married.  What if tonight didn’t mean the same thing to Catherine as it did to me.  What if she still truly loves this Nathan Buckley?  Where will that leave me?  Can I ask or expect her to give up the life she had created prior to me stumbling into hers?  Also, will she wait for me?  If she does love me, will she wait for me?  She was waiting for Nathan and then I came into her life.  What if when she is waiting for me to return someone else comes into her life and steals her heart.  I have no idea how long this war is going to last.  In my heart I know one thing is true.  I would wait for her for eternity, and if she feels the same way about me, then I know she will wait for me too.  

There are only two things I am sure of right now and that is my love for Catherine Cooney and the fact that I must return to the United army in New Bern to fulfill my duties as a soldier.  I cannot turn my face away from the cause for this war because it is something that I truly believe in and it is something that I think Catherine has come to believe in too.  

I watch Catherine sleep well into the morning, while the sunlight casts rays onto her skin.  I know I will be leaving soon and I want to remember this moment for as long as I live.  Slowly, Catherine begins to stir from her sleep.  Her bright blue eyes blink open as she stretches her body out across the bed.  

“How long have you been up?” she asks lifting her head from the bed and resting it on her hand.  

“Oh, a few hours or so,” I say touching her face.  

“Why didn’t you wake me, I’m sure we could have found something to do.” 

She is teasing me and she is enjoying it.  I like seeing her this way.  I like seeing her carefree.  Moving towards me Catherine wraps her arms around me and guides my lips to hers.  We are once again entangled in one another and this time there is desperation present in each touch.  I know we don’t have a lot of time together and I want to make the most out of our time.   The feel of her skin is so soft and smooth against mine.  All I can focus on is how she feels and how she makes me feel.  Once more we are lost in one another, making love, but this time I am desperate for her.  Catherine must feel my need because she returns it on command.