Kenzo groaned softly as Utsu's hands, suddenly free, moved over him. He could sense her urgency as she pulled him close. Her whisper, breathy and intense, sent a thrill through him. Kenzo felt a sudden rush of emotion, mixed desire and love, made stronger by his knowledge that she felt the same way.

His lips met hers hotly, matching her passion. A sigh escaped his lips as his hands, moving to her back, brushed over the bare skin of her shoulders once more. The kiss lengthened, strengthened...

And then suddenly Utsu would find herself held aloft in Kenzo's arms, one behind her shoulders, the other holding her behind her knees. A playful smile was on his lips, but his brown eyes were intense. "That's what I've been wanting, too. Let's not wait any longer."

The trip to the bedroom took a little longer, Kenzo unable to keep from stealing kisses along the way. Carrying her over the threshold, Kenzo grinned. He righted her in the air, the arm behind her knees suddenly shifting to hold her waist, his arms flexing as he held her one moment longer before setting her on her feet.

Utsusemi let out a surprised, but delighted, giggle as Kenzo suddenly lifted her. And she was just as guilty as he was when it came to stealing kisses along the way to the bedroom, inbetween sweet laughter and playful caresses of his neck or earlobe.

As he settled her down on her feet, she stumbled a little against him... somewhat on purpose, even if it did make her laugh once more. Her hands locked together behind his neck. "Mmm... I could get used to being carried like a princess. I know heroes often do this, but do scoundrels do it too?"

Helplessly, Kenzo leaned his forehead against Utsu's, his solid shoulders shaking with laughter. "Oh, Utsu." He said, grinning. Of the many things he loved about her, her sense of humor was truly one of the best. "If that's what you desire, I'll carry you to bed like that every night."

His hands slid up and down her back, fingers gently stroking her bare skin, his gaze growing intense once more. "But it's true, that's more of the hero part of me." His lips sought hers, kissing her passionately, before parting just as suddenly. "This part, though, comes from the scoundrel in me."

His lips began to kiss along her jaw, down her throat once more, as his fingers found the ties to her dress. He gave them a gentle tug... and frowned, as they resisted his pull. Kenzo suddenly realized he wasn't sure how they worked; every time she'd had his back to him, he certainly wasn't looking at that. As he kissed her collar, Kenzo slid his fingers along the ties, hoping to determine their function by feel...

"I do like your scoundrel-side," Utsusemi chuckled, her head leaning back again as his kisses moved from her jaw and down her throat. Her own hands slid down over his shoulders, fingers pressing against his chest as they searched for the buckles.

"Oof..." she felt him tug at the lacing of her dress. "Mm, careful, I would be upset if you ruined my dress... should I turn around, perhaps?"

"Ah..." Kenzo gave her a sheepish grin. "I spent time figuring out the intricacies of the men's clothing. I suddenly feel as though I should have spent time figuring out the woman's clothing as well." One last kiss on her upper chest, his lips lingering. "I am thankful you showed how to tie a woman's obi..."

He straightened, his hands returning to her waist. "So yes. I should be very much obliged if you did. Utsusemi." His words were casual, but his tongue caressed her name, and his eyes were still alight. The heat of his passion was only delayed, not halted.

In return, Utsusemi kissed the top of his head, before giving him a playful smirk that lingered over her shoulder as she turned around. Hands moved to hold over Kenzo's at her hips.

"It is actually simpler than it seems," she murmured, hands guiding his up her sides, as she gave instructions on how to proceed. "At the top, you can see where the tie connects together in a knot, but don't unlace it all after undoing the knot. Just pull gently in the center of each cross-section to loosen up."

Even as her hands guided his, Kenzo stepped closer, drawn in by the playful smirk.

"I understand now." He murmured, his breath brushing against her ear. "It is rather simple." His lips gently nipped at her earlobe. "Just a gentle tug should do it."

Kenzo's fingers were nimble. One by one, the knots gave way, even as he kissed her ear again and again.

His kisses reward him with soft, almost inaudible, moans of pleasure.

As the lacings of the dress was loosened up, the next part was actually surprisingly easy. Shifting her shoulders a little and pulling the dress very carefully, it began to slide down over her form, revealing more of her pale skin. The only garment remaining as the gown slid down over her hips and to the floor was the underwear, but that was only a minor hindrance considering it was nothing new for Kenzo to overcome there.

"A little easier than kimono in some ways," Utsusemi chuckled, turning to face Kenzo, her near-naked figure pressed up against him as her lips sought his, and her hands sought the buckles that held his garment together.

They had been intimate together a number of times, and entirely unclad with each other more than that. And yet, Kenzo still found himself holding his breath as her dress slowly slid down. As she turned, Utsu would see his eyes open wide, hot and intense, looking at her almost reverently. "Utsusemi..." He murmured.

He lowered his head as her lips sought his, completing the joining. His hands slid across her, gently touching, exploring her bare form, tracing her curves. Their time together had given him some familiarity with her, and it showed now, his fingers finding the spots he knew she would most enjoy.

The buckles on his jacket were easy enough, and Utsu would have the advantage of sight. A solid pull, and the buckle would release, giving way.

The first buckle she fumbled a little with, still unused to the mechanics of it, but the movement became more familiar for each next step, until the last few were undone quickly. The jacket was pushed open as her wandering hands searched for his form underneath the clothing, her kisses growing increasing in yearning and desire as she helped him out of the jacket.

"I want you..." she said almost breathlessly as their lips briefly parted. It was already obvious she did, but a part of her just felt the need to voice it, for she could never voice it anywhere else except in private with him.

Kenzo gasped softly as the last buckle came free, the gasp turning into a needy growl as her hands explored the tight muscles of his torso. The jacket fell away, revealing a plain brown undershirt, meant to protect against the mild roughness of the jacket. Kenzo's eyes met Utsu's, and with a smooth motion, he pulled it off, tossing it aside, his bare chest heaving gently.

He growled again as his hands tightened on her body, pulling her to him. The softness of her against the solidness of his chest was a delicious feeling, and Utsu would be able to feel the intensity of his kisses grow to match hers.

"Utsu..." He whispered in response. The look in his eyes, so alive, would tell her everything about his desire. As his lips found hers again, his hands slid down her back, over the curve of her hips. Gently, he eased the last of her clothing off of her hips, letting it fall away...

Her utterance of his name was nearly drowned out in the blaze of their passionate kisses, and her hands eagerly traced over his half-naked form. Until reaching the borderline around his hips, fingers tugging playfully at his trousers until they found that it too had a similar design to the buckles before.

Soon could not come soon enough, even when she helped him undress as quickly as she could...

/fading to sexy time

With that one last buckle, Kenzo's form was left as naked as Utsu's. His hands slid down her bare body, gripping her slender waist. Once more, he lifted her, their lips remaining locked together as he carried her the rest of the way to the bed. After all, it seemed that neither of them could bear to wait any longer.

...................................................................

Once more, Kenzo found himself breathing deeply in and out, his arms wrapped around Utsu. Their inflamed passions had made them more vigorous then ever; it was taking Kenzo's breath longer to normalize, his chest rising and falling.

Smiling, he tilted his head, his gaze soft as he looked at Utsu. One hand came up to brush back a strand of her hair that had become disarrayed. "My goodness." He murmured softly. His voice was light, but still rough. "That was..." He shook his head, unable to find words. Laughing softly, he tightened his arms around her, holding his love to him.

Her skin felt sticky with sweat as she brushed a hand over her arm before moving it over Kenzo's arm. "Mmm..." Utsusemi breathed deeply, her mind elsewhere for the moment as she was trying to form her feelings into words, but... nothing. A part of her had hoped it would have been as easy as that, as Kenzo had suggested the other night.

Perhaps she really could only compose poetry when she was not at her best mentally.

Still, she snuggled up close to her lover, uncaring that parts of her makeup was probably now messed up. "... If it is going to be like this everytime we must wait a long time between each time we make love, then I wonder how it will be when we might have to wait even longer."

Kenzo glanced at Utsu, his eyebrows going up at her murmur. He noted the mild mussing of her makeup, the light sheen of sweat on her skin, matching his. His lips curled upwards as fond feelings welled up in him. He couldn't believe how beautiful she looked.

"A good question." Kenzo laughed softly. He shifted slightly, letting her snuggle closer to him, his arm resting on her back. "You make it sound rather appealing. It's been wonderful every time we've made love, but there did seem to be something special about this time..." He lifted his head to gently kiss her.

Utsusemi thought back to how it had been once they've settled in at the manor here... that time too had also been tense with passion and desire, but tonight's fire had been even brighter. In comparison, their first time together back in Dragon's Guard City had been brief and rushed.

As he kissed her, she took the opportunity to hug him gently. She enjoyed these moments after they had spent their passions, the loving caresses and physical reassurances of their feelings for one another - that this was more than just a physical relationship.

"You're right. Tonight did seem special," she smiled gently, her nose rubbing against Kenzo's nose before letting their foreheads touch. "... You look so handsome like this."

The words from Utsu couldn't fail to bring a smile to Kenzo's lips, and a hint of a pleased flush. He chuckled as her nose rubbed gently against his, before sighing happily as their foreheads touched. "Thank you, Utsu." He said, looking almost shyly at her through lowered lashes. He didn't think of himself as handsome, but her opinion there mattered the world to him. "I... confess I was just thinking how beautiful you look." His hand came up to gently brush across her cheek.

He sighed pleasantly, his hand gently stroking her back. "I think there may be more than just time. Although the time certainly built anticipation. And the anticipation... made this very sweet indeed." He grinned, tilting his head to gently rub his nose against hers, returning the earlier gesture.

He gave a gentle shrug, his bare shoulders rising and falling. "But... I feel closer to you, too. I've never lived like this with someone... or loved someone like this. And it's a little more every day." His arm around her tightened. "That adds its own intensity, I think."

"Aw... thank you." Her chuckle was soft and her lips against his cheek gave a tender kiss.

"I... have never felt like this with anyone before either, to be honest," Utsusemi admitted with a faint blush. "My husband was my first, and... while we got along nice in the start, it was never like this. Never this kind of gentle emotions, intimacy, and love." It made her a little sad to think of it... for such a long time, she had wanted to have something like this with her husband. It had seemed right. But now, she could not imagine it being possible... or if it had ever been. "But sharing it with you, experiencing it with you, it makes me happy, Kenzo. I did not know I could feel this way before you."

Kenzo's gaze was already soft, but it softened further at her words. "Utsusemi..." He kissed her again, just as tenderly as before. "That means a great deal to me to hear you say that. Truly. That I make you happy." He smiled, his eyes briefly closing. "I've never felt this before, either. Certainly not... before. Nor did I expect that I would." His smile grew. "Or that I would event want to. But now..." He sighed.

For a moment, he just listened to the sound of their breathing. "I do wonder what younger me would say. Love always seemed such a distant concept to him, and far too complex of one to be worth study." His lips twisted. "Of course, he also had a crush on you. Perhaps he would understand."

"The younger Kenzo might have been too eager for the physical parts, but not so much the emotions part, I wager," she teased with a playful grin before leaning in to kiss his neck. Teeth nipped carefully at the skin there.

"I do not think the younger me then would have even considered the possibility at all, when we met." The teasing stopped. Back then, she had little baby Yoshi, whom she had thought would magically just make everything better with his presence. He had been so dearly wanted, after such a long time of attempts to have a family.

"Back then... I was thinking of other things. Being a family for one... thinking maybe I could look forward to how all things would be better."