"I'm still not feeling good, Daddy. I'm real hot. But then sometimes I'm real cold, too. My head hurts. And my tummy hurts. My tummy hurts real bad. I don't want to eat because it makes my tummy hurt more."
"I'm so sorry, my little angel," he said hoarsely. "But you're gonna feel better really soon, alright? I promise you that. The doctors are working hard to make sure you feel better."
"I don't like staying here, Daddy. I want to go home."
"I'm sorry, sweet pea, but you can't. You have to stay here because otherwise, the doctors can't make you better."
"But ... can't the doctors come to our house? Can't I stay there, and they come see me?" her little voice trembled.
"I'm sorry, sweet pea, but you have to stay here. The doctors can't come to our house."
We sat and talked with Jane for another half hour or so until a doctor came in.
"We're going to give her some sedatives now," he said gently. "She needs a lot of rest. This should help her rest for the entire night."
"Alright," Everett sighed. “I’ll just wait here until she falls asleep.”
He kissed her on the forehead and squeezed Jane’s hand.
Thirty minutes later, she was sleeping peacefully.
"I'm so sorry, Everett," I said. "It must hurt terribly to see her like that."
"Like no one would believe," he said. "But at least she's getting better. I just pray that the speed of her recovery gets a little faster. I don't want her here by herself for a moment longer than she needs to be."
"I understand, and I hope that she gets out soon, too."
"Let's go," he said with a sigh. "I don't know about you, but I'm pretty damn tired. Let's just get some takeout and veg out in front of the TV for a while."
"We can do that."
***
We were curled up together on the sofa, watching the final credits of The Big Lebowski roll. Both of us had laughed a lot during the movie, and it had certainly helped us each to get our minds off the things that were worrying us.
"Thanks for a nice evening," I said to Everett, cuddling to him.
He kissed me softly and hugged me closer.
"Thank you for being there for me. I'm glad you're here."
I looked up to find a deep, intense passion smoldering behind his stare, and a stirring bubbled inside me. Everything in me wanted him. By the way he was looking back at me, he was feeling it, too. Our lips met and parted, and soon a voracious hunger took over. After unbuttoning and opening my blouse as we kissed, he slipped his strong hands deftly under my shirt, reaching for my breasts. I reached behind my back with eager fingers and unclipped my bra, allowing him access, and then I dropped my shirt from my shoulders.
With my breasts free, he cupped each once gently in his sizeable hands and started massaging them, rubbing his thumbs gently over my nipples, which soon began to stiffen and swell with joyous arousal.
I, meanwhile, unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it off of him as his tongue continued to dance with eager enthusiasm in my mouth. I traced my fingers flirtatiously over his hulking muscles, experiencing each ridge and peak and valley of his hard, granite-like physique with my fingertips. At my light, teasing touch, he shuddered with pleasure and increased the pressure with which he was caressing my breasts.
My nipples were now swollen with arousal, full and stiff with pleasure. I began to move my hand down, tracing the contours of his abdomen. As I reached the top of his jeans, I started to unbutton them.
He pulled his mouth away from mine and began nuzzling my neck and throat, teasing me with sharp little nips and gently pressing his teeth against my flesh. His breathing was heavy, and I could almost hear his heart hammering in his chest. I knew that when I unleashed his manhood, it would be fully aroused and ready for action.
With fingers moving slowly with a teasing eagerness, I unzipped his jeans and positioned myself for what I wanted to do next. Then, with one swift yank, I pulled them down around his knees. His cock sprang eagerly out, directed skyward with the swollen intensity of arousal. I wrapped my fingers appreciatively around its substantial girth and began rubbing my hand up and down its equally generous length.
He shuddered and gasped with pleasure. His hands slid from my breasts and caressed down my sides as his mouth left trails of heated kisses in their wake until he was swiftly unbuttoning my jeans. Pushing them down my thighs, he began to kiss and nibble, moving closer and closer to my center which was growing wet and swollen with hungry excitement beneath his touch.
He slid my panties down, exposing me completely. A ravenous hunger for him exploded in me, and I was beginning to lose every ounce of self-control I possessed. I wanted him so badly, so madly at that moment, my blood was near boiling, and my heart pounded with the furious thumping of a jackhammer inside my chest. He began to edge his eager mouth toward the meeting of my thighs, but instead, I stopped him.
"No," I whispered.