Paradise

"Are you healed?" He inquired, his eyes returning to my face to hold my gaze. Startled by the sudden sound, I jumped. Carefully I moved first my arms, then my legs, gauging the soreness of each limb. The bruises had faded and the cuts on my shoulder no longer burned, but still my muscles ached.
Turning my head up to meet his gaze once again, I flushed. The expression in his eyes was one I'd seen only once before, when Adam came for me. It should have frightened me, but in his eyes, it inspired no fear. Much to my surprise, it captivated me, made my heart race. I mumbled my reply, too wrapped up in a whirlwind of previously undiscovered emotion to manage more.
In a moment he was seated beside me, his bare chest so close I could reach out and touch it, should I so desire. I bit back the impulse. It seemed too powerful an act, as if by making first contact, I would seal an unbreakable covenant between us. Instead I allowed myself to admire the beauty of him, of the smooth, unmarred skin which stretched over taut muscle. He’d neglected to shave that day, and the faint blond stubble graced his noble face as if it were always meant to be there.
“Does my form please you?” He asked simply. I blushed crimson at the directness of his question, my sense of shame brutally ingrained from the beating I received at the hands of Adam and his minions. I remained silent until he spoke again. “When I ask something of you, I expect an answer, little one.”
I stumbled over my words, but managed to squeak out a faint yes. He smiled at my awkwardness, as if it were an admirable trait.
“I am going to kiss you now.” He said with little ceremony. I tensed, remembering the bruising force of Adam’s mouth on mine. Anticipating my trepidation, he laid a reassuring hand on my arm. “I know that fool Adam tried to kiss you, but he is ignorant of how to please a woman. I am not. I promise that you will enjoy my kiss.” He reassurance warmed me, but it wasn’t until I felt his mouth on my own that my fear melted away.
He tasted divine, masculine and sweet all at once. His mouth was soft and coaxing, encouraging me to explore my own passions with him as my guide. I drank it in hungrily, sampling his mouth like a fine delicacy. When he finally pulled away, a soft cry escaped my lips, a mourning of the loss of his mouth against mine.
“Now you must rest and recover.” He stood. I reached out to touch him, to bring him back to me, but he disappeared before me, leaving nothing but the faint smell of sulfur in his wake. I cried out at the loss, trapped by a sea of unfamiliar emotion. Without his presence, the desires stirring within me changed to feelings of devastation and loss. I did not understand his intentions, but ached to understand more about the connection we’d shared when his lips touched mine.