Her back hurt. Actually, it was her shoulder blades and lower back that hurt the most but at that moment she didn't mind. She looked down at the naked body that lay sprawled face-down across hers and smiled at the sheer perfection of it. Over the years she'd heard a multitude of comments with regards to her lover's backside but as she studied the dip in his back and the swell of his butt she realized none of them truly did him justice. Nick Carter had the world's best ass.

His breathing was even and he was perfectly still. Probably passed out from sheer exhaustion, Kelly surmised. But despite his utter fatigue from the past few days, Nick had loved her more tenderly and completely than ever before. If she hadn't already been dead, Kelly thought her heart would suffocate her from so much pain at the thought of leaving him.

It wasn't right--she understood and all but it just wasn't right.

"When do you have to go back ?"

His voice made Kelly jump slightly but he remained still.

"I'm not sure, baby" she answered quietly as her fingers plowed gently through his unruly hair. "They didn't really tell me that part."

Silence.

"I love you, Kel."

Silence again.

When Nick heard no response, he lifted his head to look into her eyes and saw all that she couldn't say. He knew she loved him, he had no doubt about that and from her soft gaze he could tell she understood how he felt as well. He smiled softly and pulled himself up so he could bury his face in her neck, nuzzling her sensitive skin with his nose.

"Baby ?"

"Mmm ?" Kelly's response came out more like a soft moan as she felt Nick's tongue slide ever so lightly across her neck and her eyes involuntarily closed as her head fell back a bit in response to his touch.

Nick immediately recognized her body's reaction and it turned him on to no end. He withdrew his tongue and began taking tiny bites of her skin, alternating them with sweet and gentle kisses. He was moving extremely slow and rubbing his body against her as his mouth worked. He was deliberately torturing her in the sweetest way, and he loved the fact that he could do that to her.

Between the tiny movement of his hips against hers and the feel of his heated breath in her ear, Kelly thought she would explode. Nick had always claimed that she could turn him on by doing practically nothing and the feeling was definitely mutual.

"Tell me." He whispered in her ear just before biting the lobe. "Tell me you love me."

A soft smile came to Kelly's lips as her hands wandered down his back. It was arching just a tiny bit with each pelvic movement and she could feel the play of his muscles beneath her fingers.

"Mmm ....I love you baby" At the sound of her words, Nick began to move a bit more and Kelly could feel just how much of an effect her words were having on him by the growing mass she felt against the inside of her left thigh.

"Always ?" Nick's lips had moved up to her face and never left her cheek as the words came out between labored breaths. "No matter what ?"

Kelly's body was now arching up to meet his movements and she could feel the moisture on her leg which enabled him to slip closer and closer to her core with every movement.

"Forever--always and forever". A slight gasp cut her off as she felt Nick push into her and ignite every one of her nerve endings.

Nick began thrusting into her with purpose now, not with the gentle tenderness as during their previous lovemaking session. His face hovered above hers as he bit and licked her already swollen lips and his eyes remained open and fixed on hers. He needed to see it in her eyes. He needed to feel it throughout his bodythat she was his. That no matter what happened or how far away they took her, she would always be his. That she would wait for him, no matter how long it took, and he would be with her again because, after all, they belonged to each other.

With every repeated collision of their bodies, he was repeatedly convincing himself that he truly possessed her. And deep within her heavy-lidded eyes, he saw her reassurance, her agreement and consent. That she would forever be "Nick's Kelly".

"Oh God Nick" Kelly's nails were digging into his back. "Oh God, I love you baby".

Nick's eyes closed and his head dropped until his crinkled forehead rested against Kelly's lips.

"Mine forever babygirl ? Say it...tell me"

"Your's...only yours."

The familiar tingle was building throughout Nick's body and he knew it wouldn't be long. He knew Kelly was close too since she had closed her eyes and he knew her enough to know that that gesture was her surrender. She'd once confessed that she loved staring into his eyes during their lovemaking and only closed hers when the feelings of erotic pleasure became so great that she absolutely couldn't keep them open anymore.

"Promise me, Kel" Nick whispered between pants, "Mine forever, promise ?"

The mixture of raw passion and desperate need in his voice was enough to send Kelly spiraling out of control and she could feel Nick taking her yet again to that place where only he could. "Oh God yes Nicky, only yours baby forever, only you I promise forever...".

Feeling Kelly spasm around him was enough to send him over the edge as well and his body convulsed with the sheer force of his climax, sending him alongside Kelly to that wonderful place.

For a long moment after their successive descents, they remained still. Nick remained on top of Kelly with his elbows propping him up but his forehead still resting against her chin as they caught their breath.

When their breathing had slowed somewhat, Nick finally opened his eyes and looked up into hers.

There it was just as he expected.

In her eyes he saw forever.