NOTE:
This story is a direct sequel to "The Shadow of A Starless Night". Its only justification in existing is to serve as pure self-indulgent mind candy for those few of us who can't get enough of Kitty and Pete in bed together.

WARNING:
THERE WILL BE EXPLICIT SEX IN THIS STORY. If reading scenes like that would offend you, or if you are below the legal age where you live, please don't read this. If you want to comment, send email to <luba@lubakmetyk.net>

Safely back on Muir Island, Meggan and Amanda coddled the recovered pair with welcome hot drinks, hot baths and fresh clothes, after Moira's preliminary exam showed no signs of frostbite or other exposure problems.

After she'd rested and cleaned up, Kitty came down into the main living room. It was more crowded than usual, since Betsy and Warren had come to visit Brian and Meggan, and Beast had accompanied them to consult with Moira about their Legacy research.

She paused in the doorway, looking for an empty seat. Colossus got up, where he was sitting talking to Kurt, saying, "Wait, Katya, I will fetch another chair."

"Don't bother," Wisdom said in a hard voice, holding out his arm to Kitty from where he sat slouched in an armchair. She smiled, recognizing the same gesture he'd used before in that old cottage, and went to him without a moment's hesitation. Pete pulled her down to sit in his lap, where she nestled comfortably in his arms as he bent to kiss her.

Everybody was watching in amazement, especially Rasputin. Everyone, that is, except for Wagner who smiled to himself in pleased satisfaction. Kurt knew how much Kitty needed such a public admission and validation of her new relationship, after the secrecy of her old affair with Peter.

After a moment with her mouth hanging open in shock, Moira demanded, "So, what's happenin' exactly between you two?"

"Bloody hell, MacTaggart, take three guesses," Wisdom grinned at her cheekily. "An' here I 'eard you was supposed to be so smart..."

Colossus made an aborted move forward. But they'd never know exactly what Peter might have intended, since he immediately subsided again at the silent glares aimed his way by Wisdom and Nightcrawler, Amanda, Meggan, Betsy and Moira herself.

Similar smug smirks on their faces, both Kitty and Pete absolutely refused to answer the many further questions on their personal matters. The conversation gradually returned to more general topics, although everyone kept staring at the new pair in spell-bound amazement. After a while, tired of the others' stunned expressions while they kept rehashing the mission for their teammates' benefit, Pete looked down at Kitty's flushed face so close to his, and asked her, "Ready to call it a night, love?" At Kitty's nod and smile, they got up and left the room together, hand in hand.

They left the others sitting silent in amazement, sharing a laugh at the looks that followed after them. But, once the door was safely closed behind them and they had gone some distance away from the living room, Pete stopped in the hallway, tugging gently on Kitty's hand to bring her to a halt next to him. Looking into her eyes intently while reaching up his other hand to tenderly stroke her cheek, he said in a husky voice, "Right, now we've stuck it to the others. But that still don't mean you gotta do anythin' you don't want to, or you ain't ready for. So, are you all tired out, or do you want to stay up a bit more? Alone, or with me?"

Kitty's chuckles disappeared in a wave of nervousness, which in its own turn was drowned by a hot flood of desire. She bit at her lower lip in sudden bashfulness, not sure how to tell him what she wanted. But her lithe body swaying toward him was all the answer Wisdom needed, that and the glow in her enormous brown eyes, which had dropped to the floor for a minute but then returned to his face as if drawn there irresistibly.

Pete leaned over to kiss her gently, unable to resist the temptation of her small white teeth still worrying at her lips. Then he straightened up, and pulled her forward by the hand as he took a few steps backwards. Kitty realized he'd stopped them at the door of her room, when he'd paused to ask her preference. Smiling brilliantly now, she reached past him to open her door and went in, pulling him inside after her in turn, carefully shutting and locking the door behind them.

Once inside her room with him, Kitty began feeling anxious again, as the irreversability of her decision gradually sank in. Pete sensed that, and tried to wait as patiently as he could manage, holding her tightly with one arm while he ran his other hand up into her thick glossy hair, cradling her head in position for another deep kiss but not initiating any other, further action. He could feel the tension gradually draining from her quivering body in his arms, as he could feel her initial passivity rapidly turning into more active involvement.

After an indeterminate time, Wisdom lifted his mouth from hers, and stared into her face so close to his. He wanted to memorize it forever as it was at this moment, to lock away forever in his heart the image of her flushed cheeks, her swollen lips and her soft brown eyes heavy-lidded with desire. Kitty gazed back at him in growing wonder, feeling as if she was seeing his face for the first time, also. She could remember hating that perpetual five o'clock shadow, thinking it slovenly grooming, and now she felt like swooning just feeling the prickling sting of those short, coarse hairs rubbing against her own skin. She wished she could dive into his deep blue eyes staring so intently into her questioning ones, their usual cold mocking glint gone for once to be replaced by a softer and warmer glow. She wanted to run her hands through his unruly black hair and, with a small pleading sound that was almost a whimper, she did run her hands up into that thick mane, to pull his head back down for another deep kiss, as she closed her eyes to better concentrate on her other senses.

Pete drew back again after a moment, and twisted sideways to pull her along with him, his arm wrapped snugly around her waist, towards a deep, comfortable armchair. He seated himself and pulled her down into his lap as before, keeping one arm around her waist. She leaned toward him for another kiss, but his hand caressing her neck and cheek held her back gently but firmly. As Kitty stared at him in surprise, Wisdom looked back directly into her eyes while still stroking her face delicately. "Were you tellin' me the truth earlier, Kitty, that Scots harriden made sure you can't get preggers, until you decide you want to on purpose?"

Blushing, Kitty tried to look away in embarrassment, but Pete's fingers kept her facing him as she exclaimed, "Of course I was telling you the truth. Why are you bringing that up now? Does it really matter?"

He grinned at her obtuseness, and hugged her to him tightly. "Of course it matters, love. I'd never take a chance of gettin' anyone up the duff, much less you. I always used Johnies before." At Kitty's blank look of total incomprehension, Pete explained bluntly, "That's a condom, love, what you Yanks call a rubber... But I know we don't need one for bugs, ain't any bug around could survive what that damn witchdoctor puts us through. I got to admit, the ol' battle-axe does know her stuff. So, if she says you're safe, that makes one less thing for me to worry about 'ere, an' I can relax an' enjoy you properly... if you want me to..."

His hand had dropped down from her face, to rove tentatively over her whole body, but her thick sweatshirt and jeans still kept his touch from being more than a tantalizing potential. Feeling Kitty pressing forward against him, Wisdom slid his hand under her sweatshirt, seeking the soft skin hidden beneath.

As he'd half-expected, he could feel her stiffening at that intimate contact. He pulled his hand away immediately, to look at her as he said, "Talk to me, Pryde. Tell me what's wrong... Is this too much for you? Have you changed your mind? Believe me, it's all right if you 'ave..."

"No, please, Pete, don't stop... I do want you, I want you to make love to me, but..." Kitty couldn't look him in the eye as she answered. She wasn't quite sure herself exactly what she was so afraid of, how to confess her ignorance despite her experience. She didn't really think that Pete would yell at her or hit her or anything. Even Peter had never done that, he'd just been so very obviously disappointed with her in bed. Once that thought had come to her, Kitty realized that, mostly, she didn't want Pete to just give up on her in disgust as a hopeless case, or take her inexperience as a lack of interest, but a small and secret part of her was still afraid Wisdom would reject her, as flawed or undesirable, just as Colossus had ultimately done, saying he'd found his true love, his soul mate, elsewhere and that Kitty couldn't compare to his lost Zsaji. Kitty looked away, flushing in embarrassment again instead of arousal, while she forced herself to go on, to admit in a small voice, "but I don't really know what I'm supposed to do, what to do for you, and I'm so afraid you'll be disappointed in me..." But instead of any sign of rejection, she felt Pete's lips on her forehead, a feather-light touch filled with tenderness and concern that tugged at her heartstrings, just one more gentle attack on the shell she'd tried to build around herself over the past few years.

Pete hugged her tightly, then lifted her chin up with a finger until she was looking at him again. "Trust me, I'll teach you all kinda things to do to me, for me, with me... but not this time. This time is just for you, love. I want you to just relax, stop worryin' an' enjoy yourself. All you have to do is whatever feels natural. This ain't a test with right and wrong answers, love..." Pete smiled triumphantly at Kitty's surprised little giggle. "Whatever you want is fine by me. An' if you don't enjoy something I try, you just tell me. You bitch at me about my smokin' botherin' you, I want you to bitch the same way if somethin' about my lovin' bothers you. Hell, Kitty, you're not fourteen now, to be afraid to speak up for yourself. I won't get upset, love, I promise, I'll stop whenever you want, an' I'll change whatever you don't like..."

As she listened to him intently, hanging onto his every word as if to gems of sublime philosophical wisdom, he continued, more seriously, "An' I'll start your lessons by tellin' you somethin' never to do when makin' love, an' then I'm goin' to tell you to break that rule this one time." As she looked back at him with a puzzled frown, a hint of worry appearing in her expressive eyes, he smiled at her reassuringly as he stroked her cheek gently, then ran his fingers lightly across her parted lips as he went on, "You don't talk about your previous partners to your current lover, an' you don't ever compare 'em, 'specially not while you're makin' love." Pete suddenly grinned. "At least, not out loud. But this one time, love, I need you to tell me about before, if somethin' bothers you 'cause it reminds you of them other times..."

Her body had been growing more rigid during the latter part of his impromptu lecture but then began relaxing again in his arms, as soon as he pulled her close for another kiss, while his hand returned to its gentle explorations under her sweatshirt, carefully avoiding any but the most accidental contact with her breasts for the moment in an effort to avoid rushing her. Kitty didn't freeze up or pull away this time but, as soon as he lifted his mouth from hers again, she said softly, "I never knew what to do before... And I didn't know how to ask, I guess I was afraid to ask... But I really do want to do something. Please, Pete. I feel so useless, it seems so unfair to let you do everything." She watched him carefully, to see his response.

Wisdom grinned back wryly. "Ok, I did tell you to speak up if you was bothered." He loosened his hold on her to lean away slightly. "The obvious thing now, love, if you want, is you take off my tie and shirt..." He kept his hands busy stroking her skin wherever he could reach, as she fumbled at the knot in his tie, pulling it off to drop it on the floor, and unbuttoned his shirt, removing his hands only long enough for her to push his shirt down his arms to join his tie in a discarded pile.

He wondered just for a moment what she thought of him, as he saw her staring fixedly at his bare chest. Pete knew he couldn't match Rasputin in body, not if he worked out every single hour of every single day for a century, and Pete's habits in no wise included such activity. He normally accepted his thin, wiry body. In most situations, it served him well, and helped people to underestimate him, a big advantage in his previous work. But he suddenly found he cared. He didn't want Kitty underestimating him, dismissing him as not worthy of her consideration.

His own self-consciousness would have stunned Kitty if she'd known. She had no interest at all in comparing the two men physically, as Pete himself would have realized in an instant if he weren't so emotionally involved. After having experienced both, she wouldn't have traded Pete's loving care for Peter's bulging muscles for an instant, much less given up the sensations Pete's caresses were creating within her, a growing sexual arousal far beyond the vague frustrated yearning Peter had inspired in her.

"Ok, what next?" Kitty tried to sound calm and practical, but he could hear the slight catch in her low voice as her breath began coming faster, both at the sight of his body, and at the seductive touch of his hands on her body.

Wisdom's own breath was getting ragged as he saw her tongue licking at her suddenly dry lips. He pushed away his own niggling doubts and fears firmly, to concentrate only on Kitty again, on getting and keeping her aroused without triggering any of her anxieties.

"Now you just get used to the feel and taste and scent of me, like I'm doing with you, to be sure you're really turned on." Pete bent over to nuzzle and lick at her neck, in illustration, as he kept his own hands running over her skin under her sweatshirt. "There's nothing secret or magic about it at all, love. Just touch me however you want, you run your hands over my skin, front and back, or wherever you want. You can kiss or lick, or even nip if you fancy a taste, get close enough to smell me, make sure I don't turn you off close up..."

She didn't need any more instruction to place her hands gently on his chest, feeling the coarse hairs tickling her palms. She could feel his heart beating under her palms, and bent to lay her head against him, to just listen to his heartbeat, to experience this new closeness better, for just a few moments, before her usual curiosity drove her on to continue touching him. Kitty simply ran her hands over him for a while, but she was losing her timidity quickly, and she soon leaned forward to kiss him lightly on one thin shoulder. Feeling her warm lips on him, Pete couldn't suppress his low groan completely, but that sound didn't seem to frighten her as he'd feared it might. Kitty did pause, but just for a moment, then her hot mouth returned to his chest as she began trailing kisses across his bare skin, her hands revelling in the hidden muscle underneath the taut skin.

Kitty was so engrossed in her tentative explorations of his body that she didn't really notice when Pete pushed up on her sweater, to pull it off up over her head and throw it aside. She hadn't bothered with a bra after her bath, her small breasts were firm enough she could easily do without. But she had to stop petting him at the wave of new sensations she felt when Pete finally lifted his hands up to cup her bare breasts lightly. He could feel the soft mounds quivering under his palms, as he could feel her body shuddering at this new kind of touch. As he fondled her breasts gently, Pete lowered his head to lick at the nipples lightly, then peered at her face questioningly, to see her reaction. Kitty just smiled at him and cuddled up closer, wrapping her arms around him so her hands could stroke his bare back. Her breasts flattened against his hard chest as she pressed herself even closer to take full advantage of her bared skin being able to touch his, enjoying the welcome warmth of his body contrasting with the cool waft of air across the rest of her skin.

Wisdom returned her tight embrace for a moment, kissing her, but then he pushed her away gently. Kitty looked back at him in sudden shy doubt. "What is it? Did I do something wrong?" But something in the intent look on his face reassured her, even before he shook his head and muttered, "Don't be daft, love, I just need to be able to reach, is all..."

He slid one arm under her legs and the other around her back, and stood up with her in his arms. Crossing the room and laying her down on her bed, sitting down next to her, Pete began playing with her breasts, running his calloused fingers across and under and down their slopes and finally brushing across the nipples, hearing her gasp, seeing her biting at her lower lip again. Then, placing his hands over her breasts, Pete cupped his palms to cradle them lightly and began a slow, circular motion. Kitty responded almost immediately, pushing her chest forward and upward into his touch. Her breasts were swelling already, reaching out as if yearning to feel his hands. Wisdom gradually increased the pressure into a deeper massage, and felt the small sensitive nipples stir beneath his fingers, as it was Kitty's turn to let out an involuntary moan.

Kitty was panting now, arching up toward him eagerly, as she softly moaned again, "Please..." Removing one hand to slide it down around her waist, Pete leaned down to caress one breast with his tongue, up and down, capturing the small but perfectly formed nipple and pulling it deep into his mouth. He heard Kitty sign as she strained upward to meet his touch. Somewhat reluctantly, he gave up the hardened nipple and turned to her other side. Pete lifted the waiting breast with his palm and pulled the soft flesh into his mouth. Listening to the changes in Kitty's breathing as he sucked on her, he used his tongue to draw a series of little circles around the tip, at first avoiding direct contact with the erect nipple. As her breathing got even heavier, his tongue and teeth finally teased the nipple lightly a few times, before he drew away. "All right, love?" He chuckled when the only answer he got was her hands tangling in his hair to pull his mouth down to her breast again with another wordless moan.

It was obvious to him, from those first few moments, that Kitty was extremely susceptible to any stimulation of her small but perfect breasts. Wisdom couldn't imagine how anyone else could have been with her without discovering and indulging this wonderful sensitivity, but it was equally obvious to him that Kitty herself was both surprised by her own sensations and reactions, and pathetically grateful for his attentions. His opinion of Rasputin plummeted even lower as Pete wondered what kind of a selfish lover would not have bothered to pleasure his partner in such an easy and enjoyable way, before he stopped worrying about Kitty's long-ago past to concentrate on her in the present, in his arms and bed where she belonged.

He was so ravished, both by his own sensations and by Kitty's obvious response to his caresses, that Pete almost forgot about everything else while suckling at her breasts for a time. But her increasing writhing and moaning gradually penetrated his fog of arousal, and he lifted his head to gaze down at her, intoxicated by the sight of her glorious eyes glowing in her flushed face. She'd cried out at first, when he'd stopped, but now she looked back at him from those beautiful half-lidded eyes as she asked huskily, "Now what? Tell me what to do, Pete, please... I really do want to something for you, to thank you..."

Stretching up to kiss her mouth deeply, Wisdom was touched to the quick at how she couldn't lose her concern for him in her own pleasure. "Just enjoy yourself, love..." Seeing Kitty frown when he didn't seem to be taking her seriously, Pete kissed the tip of her nose lightly, then grinned at her. "But, alright then, since you insist... now you take my trousers off, an' I'll take yours off. It's lots more fun that way than each of us just takin' off our own. An' you get to go first, since you insist on contributin'."

He wasn't surprised to see her flush and feel her tense a bit at the idea, but her hands went straight to his waist without any hesitation. His belt was easy, she unbuckled it and pulled it off to drop it on the floor, but her shaky fingers fumbled at the buttons and zipper as she tried to get them undone.

Chuckling quietly at her look of frowning concentration, Pete said, "Don't rush it, love, it's just like your jeans." Seeing her succeed in opening his fly, he lifted his hips slightly to let her pull his pants down, then caught her hand and held it. Smiling at her puzzled look, he said, "Hang on just a sec," as he bent over to pull his shoes and socks off quickly, then helped her by yanking his pants off the rest of the way. Kitty ran her hand up and down along his bare leg without any prompting on his part, marvelling at the different feel of hair and skin on different parts of his body. Then she reached up, to touch his briefs hesitantly, but he pulled her hand away gently as he said huskily, "I told you, love, don't rush it. Time enough for pants an' knickers later. It's my turn, now..."

He bent over to kiss her breasts again, and the soft skin between and under the small firm mounds, as his hands dropped to undo her jeans. He saw Kitty was breathing faster now, and squirming around again on the bed, quite unconsciously. She raised her hips to let him pull her pants off with no instruction needed. But she began feeling shy and awkward again, when he had her jeans down around her ankles, and had bent down to unlace and pull off her shoes and socks before pulling her jeans off completely.

Feeling her stiffness return, Pete sat back up and looked down at her, forcing himself to hold back and not just throw himself on her as he so desperately wanted. "Do you want to stop, love?" he asked, almost afraid of what her answer would be. But Kitty just reached her arms up to him and pulled him down to her for another kiss, winding her leg around one of his instinctively, and Wisdom realized she was still willing and eager, but fearful at the same time, as she embraced him tightly.

He pulled back after a few moments, enjoying her wordless cry of complaint at his withdrawal, and murmured softly, "Just lie back, love, and relax, I told you it was my turn..." Laying a hand on her leg, he explored the firm muscles along the back, then traced the curve of soft flesh, lingering at the satin smoothness of her inner thighs. Kitty shifted slightly on the bed, opening up her legs a bit in response to the feel of his fingertips. Accepting this unspoken invitation, Pete's mouth followed his hand, kissing the inside of her leg as his hand stroked its outside, first one side and then repeating the same silent blandishments on the other side, feeling her shiver and squirm as the rough stubble on his chin tickled her soft skin with new and unimagined sensations.

As his mouth moved higher up the inside of her thighs, he could feel Kitty flinching again. As he reluctantly lifted his mouth from her leg to look at her again enquiringly, she smiled back at him tremulously, saying softly, "Please, it's all right, I'm all right, please don't stop..."

Seeing the glow in her eyes, watching her body shift position subtly in unspoken invitation, Pete decided it was in fact all right to go on. He stretched up to suckle at her breasts again for a few minutes, feeling her relax and hearing her moan in pleasure, as he debated his next move. Deciding she'd feel more comfortable with him keeping the lead now, Wisdom reached down to pull his briefs off, grinning at her as he tried gamely to relieve her apprehension, and his own, by joking, "Now, don't you laugh at me family jewels, Pryde, I got a delicate ego, I do..."

But Pete knew there wasn't really any danger of Kitty making fun of him. Indeed, her eyes widened as she got a close look at him, since she'd never really seen Peter clearly in the dark, just felt him. Just when she was reminded of Peter and their times together for the first time in quite a while, Wisdom had managed to forget about Rasputin and his past with Kitty and any comparison between them for the first time in quite a while. So he wasn't prepared for the effect it had when, trying to make her less skittish, he took her hand and gently guided it to touch his erection. Just as her fingers made contact, Kitty jerked her hand away, and he could actually see as well as feel her body go rock-hard in shock.

Leaning back slightly, leaving her some space, Wisdom looked down at her in concern. "What happened just now? Something went wrong... tell me what... c'mon, love, tell me, please..."

She was biting her lip again, cheeks flushed red in embarrassment as she wondered how she could answer him, whether she could answer him. She felt him run his fingers gently along her face, putting no other pressure on her, waiting patiently for her reply. It took Kitty a while to get up the nerve to answer. Then she turned her head to kiss his hand still soothing her face, and looked up at him to say in a low trembling voice, "Peter wanted me to... touch him there, always, from the first time, and I never knew exactly what he wanted me to do, and he'd get angry... and I still don't really know what I'm supposed to do with my hand... there, what you want me to do for you..."

Pete had to suppress his growing urge to get up and go find Rasputin and bash his smug face for having taught Kitty to dread something supposed to be a mutually enjoyable activity. He wasn't missing those mentions of anger and fear within Kitty's disjointed descriptions and explanations, either, and Pete despised the younger man for feeling and indulging a need to subjugate and use her so callously. But Wisdom pushed off any such thoughts, to remain concentrated on Kitty's needs and fears, to get her to relax and enjoy this encounter, to introduce her to the pleasurable side of sex and love, for both their sakes.

He leaned down to kiss her again, and held her to him tightly, but he could still feel the tenseness in her body. When he lifted his mouth from hers, he said softly, "I ain't goin' to get angry with you, Kitty, not now, not ever... an' I wasn't expectin' you to do anything for me yet, by touchin' me... Trust me, love, I'll teach you that some other time, I promise... An' I'll enjoy teachin' you, too, an' you'll like my lessons." He grinned down at her, with a devilish glint in his blue eyes that had her breathing faster just seeing it. "Right now, I don't need you to do anything 'for me'. Fact, the last thing I need is you workin' on me to speed things up, to get me more hot an' bothered. That's usually why you touch a man there, to get 'im more interested, more hard. I don't need that now, I'm more 'n ready. I just wanted you to touch me to get used to me, to feel what I'm like there, to get less nervous..."

Kitty seemed to relax a bit at his words, but he could still feel the taut strain in the rest of her body as her hand reached out tentatively, to touch his erection lightly with her fingertips. Pete had to bite his own lip, hard, to control his reaction when her warm fingers first met his manhood, the light contact teasing and arousing him far more than any more experienced technique could have, because it was her touch and not anyone else's. He stretched out next to her on the bed, and let her handle him for a few minutes as he got even bigger and harder, enjoying the entranced look gradually spreading across her face as she made a long, curious exam.

As Kitty studied him intently, Pete was torn between intense joy at his incredible luck at having her touching him so intimately, and not inconsiderable worry once again at how she might be comparing him to that hulking Russian. He wanted to ask her more about those other times, but retained just enough sense to realize that prurient interest was for his own sick curiosity, not for any benefit to her in this encounter, so he suppressed his urges and qualms firmly.

In the meantime, while she became a bit more familiar with that very important and very needy part of him, Pete ran his hand over her breasts and neck lightly, until he felt on the verge of exploding and had to reach down to lift her hand away. When Kitty looked up at his face in surprise, Pete brought her hand up to his face to kiss the palm and nibble gently at her fingertips, as he explained in a deep voice husky with arousal, "Sorry, love, but you touch me there any more and this'll be over a lot sooner than would be good for you..."

"What do you mean, Pete? Is that just your polite way of telling me I was doing something wrong?" Seeing her skeptical expression made him chuckle, even as he was glad she felt willing and able to ask.

"That's me polite way of tellin' you you're doin' too right, love." She propped herself up on one elbow to see his face better, not sure she really believed him. Sighing, Wisdom pulled her down into his arms, to lie comfortably with her head on his chest as he lifted one leg to lie entwined with one of hers. "The man's usually ready first, Kitty, long before the lady is. That's why I really don't need you to do much for me, even though I'll show you stuff later that's fun. And that's why I want you to just lie back and stop worryin' so much an' let me do all the work this first time, to get you ready. That's important for you, love, that's what makes the difference between you enjoyin' it or not."

Kitty snuggled up closer to his warm body, loving the hardness of him against her and the comforting sound of his heartbeat beneath her cheek even as she treasured the calm and serious way he talked to her, as though her doubts and fears and ignorance were all perfectly natural and normal, enjoying the piquancy of rational analysis and explanation combining with the electric touch of his hands and the sexy hoarseness in his gruff voice raising goosebumps on her skin. She nuzzled at his chest, then lifted her head to look at him and say, "Ok, Pete, I guess I should trust you to know what you're doing... Now what?"

"Now we either keep playin' aroun' just like we were for a while longer, or we move onto the next step. Which would you rather, love?" He was really afraid she'd want to slow down or stop, too afraid to even put those other choices into words, although he would if she asked. Pete was having increasing trouble controlling himself, but he was determined to last however long Kitty needed to be ready.

Staring directly into his deep blue eyes, Kitty said softly, "What do you want to do, Pete? Are you ready to show me that next step?" Her hand was making lazy circles on his chest, and she dropped her head to lick delicately at his nipples, which made him jerk and groan. He could feel her pulling her hips up higher onto his body, coming closer to the straining erection that really didn't need any more stimulation right now.

Wisdom rolled them over suddenly, so that she lay on her back on the bed, while he loomed above her. He leaned down to kiss first her mouth and then each breast, before saying gruffly, "I've been ready for a long time, for whatever you want me to do..." He lowered his head again, to nuzzle and lick at the valley between her breasts.

"Then, show me, please... teach me..." Kitty's voice was almost a whisper, as she squirmed beneath him, arching up her hips unconsciously in an attempt to press against him.

He sat up and reached his hands down to her underpants, the last item of clothing left. She lifted her hips high immediately to let him pull them down, and then shifted her legs to let him pull them off. As his hand stroked her bare, flat stomach and then inched downward, Pete thought he could actually feel her fear returning, even as she opened her legs to him. He slid his hand past the curly brown bush of hair to fondle her inner thighs again. She moaned and her legs opened wider, but he could still feel the stiffness in her. Her hands had left him now, and clutched tightly at the rumpled duvet cover clenched in her small fists.

Still stroking deliberately all around her center while avoiding any direct contact, he said quietly, "Talk to me, love... tell me what you're so scared of..."

Pete waited again, as patiently as he could manage, as she visibly fought another internal battle over embarrassment and shame, his hands moving over her silky skin comfortingly and his mouth returned to suckling at her breasts, a delicate attention he'd quickly discovered she was very susceptible to. At last, she answered, in such a low voice he had to strain to hear, even after he lifted his head, "I... It scares me, what you're going to do next... I know it's going to hurt, Pete... I don't want this wonderful feeling to stop, but I don't want to ruin this for you, I know you need more..."

If he could have gotten his hands on Rasputin at that moment, Wisdom would have murdered the giant Russian with not even one moment's regret or hesitation. "I'm not goin' to throw meself on you, Kitty, I know you ain't ready yet." Pete couldn't keep the hardness out of his voice, and he saw her cringe as she took his tone as directed at her personally, at her fears and reluctance. He softened his growl immediately, as he went on, much more gently, "Trust me, love, that's not what's next, we're not that close to done yet... An' it's not your fault you're not ready yet, Kitty, it don't mean there's anythin' wrong with you or anythin' you're doin'. It's just that I'm tryin' to go slowly here. I'm goin' to try to get you ready now, that's what I was intendin' for our next step..."

Kitty looked up at him in surprise, obviously with no idea of what he was referring to. Pete looked down at her flushed face, and leaned down to kiss her mouth again lingeringly, then kissed the hollow in her neck and the valley between her breasts as he slid down the length of her body, licking at the flat plane of her stomach, and running his tongue into her navel. He trailed his hands along her thighs and felt Kitty shifting her weight, opening her legs again still in unconscious invitation. Pushing Kitty's knees apart further, he thrust his head between her legs to nuzzle at the damp patch of hair, and lick and suck at the skin folds beneath it.

Pete could feel her legs opening wider and her hips thrust forward to meet him at that touch but, although she made no effort to push him away, he couldn't feel her relaxing any. He shifted upward slightly, to kiss her stomach again before lifting his head to ask bluntly, "That bother you, me kissin' you there? Why? You think it's dirty, or wrong, or somethin'?"

He was fascinated to see Kitty flush scarlet, not just her face but her neck and upper chest also, down to the tops of her pale breasts, as she exclaimed, "Of course not..." As he kept staring at her doubtfully, she let go of the bed linen to run her hands through his hair and along his face, as she continued, "I do trust you, Pete, I know nothing you want us to do could be wrong..." But the unvoiced tension remained even as her body shifted slightly under his hands, straining toward him.

"Think about what's botherin' you," he instructed her, gently but firmly. "Then you tell me what it is. It's alright if you don't want me kissin' you there, I tol' you there ain't no right or wrong answer 'ere. But I ain't goin' to do anythin' more until you tell me the problem..." He knew Kitty would tell him eventually, she could analyze her response and talk about it, it was just hard for her and it took her a while.

He faced the play of emotions across her face, in her eyes, as she tried to dig into her unconscious apprehension and then put it in words. After a long moment, he was surprised to see her lips curving in a slight smile, as she admitted hesitantly, "I know it's silly, it'll sound silly, but... I was afraid you'd bite me, there."

That was the last thing he'd expected to hear, and the idea surprised a snort of laughter out of him, before he reared back to demand in shock, "Did... did that happen, before?"

"No, of course not..." Kitty saw the stunned, worried look on Pete's face and reached up to pull him down to her, to hug him tightly, both in reassurance and in gratitude, before going on slowly, "He never... did anything like you were doing. Please, believe me, nothing about tonight is anything like... what happened before. I'm sorry, I told you it was silly, I was just surprised, I didn't know what to expect..."

"I was just doin' what I said, love, tryin' to get you ready..." Wisdom breathed a silent sigh of relief at her comment about everything being different, and he hoped fervently, better than before, then decided he needed to explain more. He'd seen that putting things in words seemed to help Kitty relax and accept his loving. Pete felt awkward talking about such intimate matters, but Kitty seemed to need that, so he sought for the right words now. "If I lick and kiss you there, it should help in two ways. My spit'll get you wet there, and if you can just let yourself relax an' enjoy it you'll start getting wet yourself, and that'll make things much easier later. I won't bite, I promise..." Wisdom chuckled suddenly, a warm, comforting sound. "Maybe I will, a little nip someday, when you've had a lot more practice, when it won't bother you, but not tonight, trust me. But I will use my hand, me fingers, just so you know, so don't let that scare you. But I'll stop if it hurts, just tell me an' I'll stop..."

Kitty still didn't understand everything he was telling her, but she had to believe him. He'd already proven it to her, several times since they started, that he would stop if she seemed bothered, and talk to her. The fact that he would, and that he'd always tried to respond so calmly, combined to reassure her, a relaxation he could feel in her body under his hands. She spread her legs widely and let her head loll back on the bed, murmuring softly, "Show me... please, Pete..."

Accepting the invitation, Pete slid down the length of her body again until his head was back between her legs. Then he bent down to lick at her thirstily, enjoying the taste of salt and honey, twisting the sticky hairs around his teeth and tongue, teasing her clitoris with gentle sucking kisses. It didn't take her long at all to lose her relaxation in the flood of sensation he was generating in her. After a brief time, he could feel Kitty whimpering and straining to jut her hips further out and open her legs more fully to his touch, clutching at his hair to hold him closer to her, shuddering and catching her breath as he pleasured her.

Forcing his head up slightly against her grip, he could see the wetness between her legs, smell it, feel the damp heat radiating from her. He held her lower lips apart with one hand, while he ran his fingers up and down the soft, exposed membranes in a light caress. The slipperiness of her lubrication was a liquid whisper as his fingers rubbed her. Then he slipped a finger inside her, gradually pushing it deeper within as his tongue and lips kept teasing that little nubbin of flesh between her lower lips. Kitty had closed her eyes again, biting down on her lower lip, lost in a hot passion she'd never known before. Drops of sweat broke out on her forehead, and perspiration drenched her thighs, mixing with her other fluids. Pete added a second finger and then a third, setting up a slow smooth in-and-out rhythm that Kitty's hips followed immediately.

She cried out loudly in complaint when he straightened up suddenly, pulling his hand from her at the same time, and she stared up at him in wordless reproach. Wisdom had to laugh at the frustrated look on Kitty's face, then bent down to kiss her quickly before saying with a smug grin, "See, love, that's how you get ready..."

As she gazed at his complacent expression in dawning understanding, Pete pushed three fingers back into her, easily, chuckling at the amazed look on her face even as her hips thrust upward automatically to meet his hand. He pulled his hand away again, and she couldn't completely stifle her low moan of renewed frustration. Wisdom reached down and took one of her hands in his other hand, pulling it up to rub his fingers in her palm, the fingers he'd just had deep within her, so she could feel the slick film covering them. "See, love, that means you're ready now, that juice flowin' down there..." He held those three fingers up in front of her face. "I've had this inside you, an' it didn't hurt, now, did it?" He waited until he saw her shake her head in response. "Yeah, I'm bigger, but trust me just a little bit longer, you'll just stretch some more, and it won't hurt any more than me fingers did, it's the wetness makes all the difference... An' if you was still too dry, well, there's all kinds o' stuff around to help out, bath oil, hand creme, vasoline, even good ol' butter or mayo' would work in case of emergency..."

Kitty had been listening to him intently, concentrating on his words as her breathing slowly returned to normal even as the warmth and craving between her legs remained at fever pitch, until his last words, which drew a slightly hysterical laugh from her. Pete had been angling for that, and smiled down at her as she relaxed again.

He positioned himself between her legs and began pushing in slowly, one hand holding her lower lips open at the start and then slipping a finger within to keep rubbing her clit gently, the other arm supporting his upper body as he bent to suck the hard nipple on one breast. Despite all his explanations and assurances, Kitty had still been sure it would hurt, but she was determined to try her best to hide that from him, and to give him pleasure, to repay him for all his care and concern. So she was astounded at how easily Pete slid into her and moved within her, and at the incredible feelings that penetration aroused in her body and soul, before the overwhelming flood of sensations his thrusts and his hand and his mouth were creating put an end to any conscious thought on her part.

In the beginning he moved slowly within her, pausing often to make sure she wasn't in any pain or distress. But he was thrilled to find that Kitty would whimper and thrash around under him in protest only whenever he stopped, not while he moved within her. Yes, she also whimpered and thrashed around all the while he thrust into her, but Pete was experienced enough to tell eagerness from fear or discomfort. He watched her face in the beginning, but could see that she was lost in her own fervid response to his actions. She didn't understand what was happening to her, what she was feeling, but she knew instinctively that she wanted and needed more. Seeing Kitty lose all her cautious restraint, Pete let himself gradually accelerate the rhythm of his thrusts, always careful to go slower than Kitty's frantic motions under him, as he thought to himself how lucky they both were that she was so inexperienced that she didn't know how to make him lose the last little bit of control he had left.

Pete was rewarded for all his loving care and concern, his determined efforts to maintain his patience and self-control, when he saw and felt Kitty lose herself in orgasm. He was sure it was her first ever, from her current reaction and her earlier descriptions of her previous encounters with Rasputin. And it didn't take any more than just knowing and feeling that for Wisdom to come himself, since he'd been teetering on the hairy edge of losing all his self-control for a long time now. Wisdom spent himself within her quickly, while Kitty was still deep within her own pleasure, and collapsed down upon her as she herself stiffened and then relaxed limply after her own climax.

After holding back for so long, and watching Kitty and her reactions so carefully, Pete was much too exhausted to do any more than roll off her to lie stretched out on the bed, pulling Kitty along to lie pillowed on him, her head on his chest, her legs tangled with his. He held her as her gasping and shaking slowly died away, hugging her to him and kissing her face gently, waiting for her to recover. But he couldn't resist, after a minute he asked her hoarsely, "Did you like that, love?"

Kitty raised her head, to stare at Wisdom with a wondering expression in her glazed eyes. He awaited her answer eagerly, reassuring himself he couldn't have been misreading her response all along. "Thank you..." she sighed softly and murmured "That was... absolutely incredible, Pete." She couldn't continue for a moment, since he pulled her to him for another deep kiss at hearing her words, but went on as soon as her lips were free again, "You could have told me what to expect over and over, and I would never have believed you, I couldn't have imagined anything feeling that good, not in a million years." Kitty ducked her head down to nuzzle at his chest, as she asked hesitantly, "Did... did you enjoy it, too?"

Rolling her over suddenly to stare down into her enormous brown eyes, "Of course I did, you stupid little idiot," Pete exclaimed loudly, before realizing that he could have chosen more tactful words. But his bluntness didn't bother Kitty, instead it made it easier for her to believe him and let go the last little shreds of her self-conscious concerns.

She smiled up at him happily, asking "So, was that everything? Is every time supposed to be just like that? What about all the other stuff you said you'd teach me?"

He grinned back at her light-hearted teasing. "That was just the basics, Pryde. There's a lot more, but it's all just frills and icin' on the cake. An' each time'll be different but, yes, every time should be just as good." Wisdom continued wryly, "I'm a little too tired for more lessons right now, love, but I'll be glad to continue your education as soon as I rest up a bit..." He paused for a moment, then asked her in a more serious tone, "Do you want me to stay or to leave, Kitty?" Her arms tightened around him convulsively at that, and Pete realized he'd somehow hit a trouble spot again. "What is it, love? What'd I do wrong?"

She didn't answer him, just tried hard to pull back, to turn away. But he held her taut body tightly to his chest, her head tucked just under his chin, rocking her gently as he murmured into her hair, "I'm sorry, Kitty, I don't know what upset you, but I didn't mean to, believe me..." As she began to relax against him slowly, he kept asking, "Tell me, love, please, I didn't mean to 'urt you..."

Finally Kitty looked up at him and Pete could see her eyes shining with unshed tears, as she said in a low voice, "Peter always left me right after... I'd ask him to stay just for a little while, I wanted him to just hold me, but he wouldn't... And I want you to stay with me, Pete, please, I want you so much more than I ever wanted him, but if you want to go..."

Pete stopped her with a kiss, then stared into her glorious eyes as he said forcefully, "I'll stay as long as you want me, Kitty, I'll stay forever if you want... I just thought you might be more comfortable sleeping alone, like you're used to, that's all, that's why I asked. But I want to stay with you here if you'll have me, love, I can't think of anything I want more than to stay here an' hold you while we sleep..."

Even after all this time to rest and catch his breath, he was too tired out to do any more than roll over to the edge of the bed, pulling Kitty's body along with him, then yank back the bedcover and shift both of them to lie cuddled together snugly under the covers as they fell asleep together. Wisdom wasn't sure whether she stayed awake long enough to hear him murmuring his love into her ear softly even as they drifted quickly into slumber, but he knew he'd have many more chances to tell her so, just as he'd have many more opportunities to teach her all about loving as he'd promised, starting as soon as they woke up to face a new day together.

THE END