Insight

by Jennis Slaughter

  Taking a sip, Raelin finally opened her eyes to look at her lover. “Hi.”

  “Hey, there’s my beautiful girl. You gave Rori and I quite a scare. Let Kasey here patch you up a bit and then we’ll finish getting you home. I’ll run you a nice hot bath to soak in and then put you to bed. How’s that sound?” she asked, her own worries fading somewhat as Raelin looked at her.

  Raelin nodded her head, and leaned against Delaney’s chest, listening to her heartbeat.

  Del nodded at Kasey and watched as she cleaned the worst of the cuts. Most of them could wait but a few, like the one across her cheek, needed cleaning straight away. When she was done, she packed up the kit and replaced it into her backpack. “So how do you want to do this Del, it’s best if I take most of her weight because I’m closer to her height. You can get the other side of her and handle whatever I don’t. Sound okay?” she asked the detective.

  Del agreed and turned her attention to her lover. “You ready to go or do you need a few more minutes?” she asked, kissing the top of the brunettes head.

  “M’kay...home.” The brunette smiled weakly.

  “Yeah, let’s go home,” she smiled, helping the woman to her feet. Kasey took Raelin’s left side and Dell took the right, slowly they started for home.

  Jenny ran onto the porch when she saw the three woman approaching, Raelin all but carried between them. She held the door open for them and followed them up the stairs until they got to the master bedroom. “I’m going to run you a bath Darlin’, be right back,” she nodded for Kasey to follow her into the bathroom and once they were alone, she pulled the agent into a hug. “Thank you, I wouldn’t have been able to get her home alone.”

  “Not to worry. Would you like Jenny and I to fix some soup or something?” Kasey smiled at the detective. She knew that Raelin needed to get something in her stomach.

  “Yes, there should be some in the fridge. Where have you been staying in town?” she asked, turning to start the water for a bath.

  “Jasper had a spare room and a sofa...Sumners took the spare room,” Kasey explained.

  “Bastard actually made the lady sleep on the couch?” Del shook her head in disgust and dropped the stopper in the tub now that the water was the right temperature.

  Chucking, Kasey left the room and headed downstairs to the kitchen to start dinner and found Jenny sitting at the kitchen table, crying.

  “Hey now, a pretty face like yours shouldn’t be shedding tears, what’s wrong?” she asked, kneeling beside the young girl.

  “It’s my fault that Rae’s hurt. I should have stayed here this morning, but I had to see that no good asshole who is my father.”

  Kasey squeezed the girl’s knee, trying to offer some comfort. “You’d been thrown into this crazy situation, shocked by some really outrageous news, and felt betrayed by your own mother. Nobody expected you to be okay with it. You were angry and upset, and you made a mistake, but you can’t blame yourself for it. I don’t, Delaney doesn’t, and I don’t think Ms. Montrose does either. Everyone has been put through the ringer the last few days; it hasn’t been easy on anyone. You can’t let this eat away at you. It’s over, you’re okay, Ms. Montrose is okay, and that’s what we need to concentrate on okay? So cry it out for a few minutes, and then let it go.” The agent opened her arms for the girl, hoping she wouldn’t balk.

  Without a second thought, Jenny went into the embrace, wrapping her own arms around the woman’s neck.

  “It’s okay; you’re going to be fine.” Kasey knew that she shouldn’t let herself fall for this girl, but she knew it was too late. Right now though, her first concern was calming the girl, maybe someday she’d try wooing. So she let the Jenny cry on her shoulder, rubbing her back and whispering reassuring words in her ear.

  j

  Del helped Raelin lower herself into the hot water, smiling when Raelin let out a long satisfied moan. “That good huh?” she asked, her chin resting on her hands on the edge of the tub.

  “You have no idea how good this feels” Raelin whispered, her voice still soft. “I thought I could make it home, I’m sorry.”

  “You have nothing to apologize for. What you did was incredibly brave; it was because of you that we got home safe. I’m not sure I like the idea of you putting yourself in harm’s way all the time, but I am proud of you anyways.” Using one hand to cup warm water and pour it over Raelin’s shoulders.

  “I did what you would do if you had to. I’m not sure that I like the same idea,” Raelin admitted.

  Del laughed a little, “I guess that makes us even. Hey, would you mind if Kasey stayed here tonight? She spent the last night on a sofa, because that jackass Sumners took Jaspers spare bedroom. She’s been a big help and I think I like having her around.” Del’s fingers drew designs on the water’s surface, occasionally reaching out to run them over Raelin’s fingers.

  Nodding her head, Raelin caught hold of Del’s fingers and tugged her closer. “I need a kiss.”

  “Demanding aren’t we?” she giggled, but obliged the woman anyway by leaning in and kissing her gently. Pulling back, she noticed that the water was cooling. “You want me to refill the tub or are you ready to get out?”

  “I’m ready to get out and maybe get something to eat.” Raelin placed her hands on either side of the tub and pushed herself up.

  Del didn’t move, frozen by a glorious naked Rae, standing above her, water dancing over her bronze skin. She watched, entranced, as a single droplet left the end of a dark curl and trailed a path down her neck, sliding down over her collarbone and then following the curve of a perfect breast. It continued its journey over a firm stomach before finally disappearing in the dark curls at the apex of her thighs. Del swallowed audibly, trying to slow her heart down and stop the images rushing through her mind. She’d kept her eyes averted respecting Raelin’s modesty as she’d helped the witch in, but she’d been caught by surprise by Raelin suddenly rising out of the tub. Now that she’d seen Raelin, the remnants of the bubbles from the bath carving trails down her generous curves, she wouldn’t have been able to look away if she’d tried.

  Holding out her arm, Raelin silently asked for Del’s help, but smiled as the woman seemed to be frozen, staring at her body. “Delaney...” the witch whispered.

  Del’s eyes immediately snapped up to Raelin’s, her face flushing an intense red. She attempted to apologize, but an embarrassed stuttering mess was all she was managing so she just quit while she was ahead and helped the woman step out of the claw foot tub. She reached over, grabbed the giant bath towel, and wrapped it around Raelin’s shoulders, turning her back to Raelin and leaning against the sink when she was done.

  Wrapping the towel around her, Raelin leaned against the vanity. “You all right?”

  Del jumped at Raelin’s voice. “Yes!” she squeaked and cleared her throat. “Yes, um I’m fine. I’m just going to go ah, check on the soup. Yeah, I’ll just get to that now. I’ll be back,” she knew if she didn’t get out of that small space with a very naked Raelin, she was going to rip the towel off her and take her on the counter. She quickly turned and headed for the stairs to the kitchen.

  Raelin stood there for a moment, wondering what happened. Slowly she dried herself and, and by holding onto the wall, she made it out into the bedroom where she sat on the edge of the bed to catch her breath. After a couple of minutes, she pulled on her favorite button up shirt and some underwear and crawled into bed, collapsing against the headboard.

  Del paused halfway down the stairs, letting her body calm down. She had pretty good self-restraint for the most part, but that episode in the bathroom had tested it to its limits. Finally, getting herself under control she finished the trip to the kitchen. Walking in she stopped at the sight she found on the floor next to the table. She quirked an eyebrow when Kasey looked up at her, being careful not to disturb a sleeping Jenny in her lap. “Well, you certainly look comfy don’t you?” She grinned, pulling the soup out of the fridge so she could warm it up
.

  “She was crying when I got down here, so I told her to let it all out. She did, and then she fell asleep,” Kasey quietly explained.

  Stirring the soup, the detective looked down at the young agent, she now considered her friend. “Oh, you are smitten,” she laughed.

  “The minute I laid eyes on her,” the agent admitted as she ran her hand through silky hair.

  “Does she know?” she asked, taking a sip of the soup and deeming it needed a few more minutes.

  Shaking her head, Kasey looked down at the sleeping woman. “I don’t know. We talked a little while you were going to Rae. I know that she is pure and I won’t push her, but I don’t mind waiting.”

  “She’s a good girl yeah? You take care of her,” she smiled as she turned off the burner, pouring the now warmed soup into a bowl.

  “Do me a favor and help me up? I want to put her in her bed,” Kasey asked.

  Del reached down and helped balanced Jenny’s weight so Kasey could stand. Once she was up, Del led the agent through the utility room into what was becoming Jenny’s own space. She pulled back the sheets so that Kasey could lay her in the bed and tuck her in. “By the way, I asked Raelin and she said it’s okay for you to stay here. There’s a spare bedroom upstairs you can stay in, unless you’d rather stay here of course. I imagine it will be better for your back than a couch.”

  Kasey nodded her head, covering Jenny with a sheet and stood there looking down at the young woman, not even noticing that Del was walking out of the room. “I am in such trouble.”

  “No, but you might be if you don’t get over here and hold me,” Jenny’s voice floated up.

  Del just laughed and left the two women to it, heading to the kitchen to grab the soup and take it to her lover.

  Kasey watched Del leave before turning back to Jenny. “If you insist,” she slid next to Jenny on the bed, opening her arms for the girl to cuddle into. “This is dangerous, you know.”

  “I promise to be gentle,” Jenny teased.

  A Chapter 17 a

  Raelin opened her eyes as her bedroom door was pushed open and Del walked in holding a tray bearing a bowl of soup, a glass of juice, and a single rose.

  “Hey, I got your supper for you.” She walked hesitantly to the bed, knowing that she had probably either confused or upset the witch.

  “Good and you brought orange juice.” Raelin waited for the blonde to place the tray on the nightstand.

  Del set the tray on the nightstand and took a seat on the bed. She handed the rose to Raelin, smiling lightly. “Sorry, I had to try and find some shears in the dark. Then I had to find the roses in the dark. I think I might have tripped over Rori at some point too, but here we are. I just warmed up some soup, if you want something else I can get it.”

  Sniffing the rose, Raelin laughed. “No, Rori is over there,” she said pointing to her dresser where the cat was bathing himself. “He has the cat patrol on full alert.”

  She gave Rori a smile. “Hey Rori. Thanks for having your friends keeping an eye out. You sleeping in here tonight?” she asked. Considering the scare they’d had with Raelin earlier, she wouldn’t have been surprised if the familiar wanted to stay close to his witch.

  “No, I’ll prowl tonight. Things are still too hinky to suit me,” the feline stated.

  Del nodded. “You know how to get in if you want to check up on her,” she laughed, knowing he’d pop in at some point. She turned back to Raelin, watching as she sipped slowly at her soup. “Is it okay?”

  “It’s perfect. Is Jenny okay? I know that she is probably feeling really guilty,” Raelin reached out to run her fingers over Del’s thigh. She needed to touch her detective.

  “She seems okay. Kasey’s taking pretty good care of her. I found Kasey on the floor of the kitchen with Jenny asleep in her arms when I went down.”

  Raelin winced as she sat up. “Do you think that Kasey will hurt her?”

  Del thought a few moments. “No, I don’t think so. If anything, I’d be more worried about Kasey. As far as we were aware, Jenny was straight up until she met Kasey. Then again, you know what they say; every girl is straight until she’s not.” Del laughed, fingering the sleeve of Raelin’s shirt.

  Putting the bowl of soup down, Raelin tugged the detective closer. “Delaney, I need to touch you...please...we don’t have to do anything...I just want to touch you.”

  “Sure thing. Just let me get into something I can sleep in,” she gave her witch a kiss before standing and pulling the shirt she’d slept in last night out of her bag. She knew it was Raelin’s but she hadn’t wanted to give it up. She stripped down to her panties, only covering herself with the button up. Returning to the bed, she climbed onto the foot of it, crawling all the way to the head of the bed before she burrowed under the warm covers. She curled into Rae’s side, letting the witch take whatever she needed. “This better?”

  Closing her mouth after watching her blonde haired lover crawl up the bed, Raelin scooted down so that she could gather the woman in her arms. “Much better.”

  Wrapping her arms around the blonde, Raelin didn’t bother suppressing the shudder that rolled through her body. Feeling this woman in her arms; made everything that she went through that day worthwhile.

  After a few minutes in silence, Raelin asked, “Would you mind turning off the lights? There is something that I want to talk to you about, and it’s easier for me to do it in the dark.”

  Del looked at her witch for a moment, seeing the serious but scared look in her eyes and nodded her head. She scooted out of the bed to turn the lights of, and returned nearly tripping over her bag on the way back. Once settled against Raelin, she burrowed into her neck, kissing it softly. “You can tell me anything. I’ll always listen.”

  Feeling Delaney’s warm breath against her neck, gave the witch the courage to say what she needed to say. “While I was out there today, I saw Momma. She kept telling me to push on...to get home to you, when all I wanted to do was to lie down and go to sleep.”

  The blonde heard Raelin swallow and sniff, and knew that she had something more to say.

  “She told me to tell you why I dislike guns so...it was a day a lot like today. A few clouds in the sky, a cool breeze, and you could smell the sunshine...it was a beautiful day. Anyways, Momma went out to gather some herbs that we preferred to gather wild and she told me that she'd be back in an hour or so...when she hadn't come back by early evening, I went out to find her. Someone had been out hunting, and had evidently missed, but they hit Momma instead. She had been killed instantly. They never found who did it, though I don't feel that Brito looked very hard.”

  “I’m so sorry Raelin.” Del sensed Raelin’s sadness and pressed closer; giving her what little strength she could with her touch. Del closed her eyes against the hurt and anguish she could feel coming from her witch. She pulled the woman closer, trying to offer any kind of comfort she could, her hands running over her hair and back. ”I’m so sorry Raelin. If I’d known, I wouldn’t have been such an ass about my gun that day. I can get a lockbox for downstairs if you want. For now, I’ll keep it in the Jeep.”

  “How could you? No one knows how I feel about anything other than Jenny. She's the only one that I talk to about personal matters.” Raelin looked at the blonde. “Now I have you, and I can't even begin to tell you how that makes me feel.”

  “Today, when I was trying to get home, there were times that I just wanted to give up and she just kept saying that you were waiting for me.” Even though the room was dark, Raelin could make out Delaney’s silhouette and she reached up to run her finger over the detective’s lips. “Momma said that you were worth fighting for…that you are the type of person that she always wanted for me, and you are Del.”

  Turning so that she was leaning on one elbow over the blonde, Raelin placed her hand on her lover’s stomach. “I came home for you.”

  “I can honestly say I’ve never been more grateful for anything in my life.” Del smiled, her finge
rs tracing the bronze skin of her lover’s neck. “Now come down here and kiss me like I know you want to.”

  “Awfully confident in yourself, aren’t you?” Raelin lowered her head until her lips were barely touching Del’s. “If you want a kiss, all you have to do is ask.”

  Del’s reply was to wrap her arms around Raelin’s neck and pull her into a hungry kiss. She held Raelin against her, crushing their bodies together as she slid her hands down to squeeze Raelin’s slim waist.

  Moaning, Raelin shifted her position so that she was full against the blonde and unconsciously rolled her hips against Del’s. She kept her weight on her elbows that she had on either side of Del’s head.

  Del ripped away from the kiss panting and nearly growling when Raelin’s hips pressed down in just the right place. “My God, I may never survive you.”

  Moving her lips to the creamy expanse of the woman’s neck, Raelin muttered, “I really want to find out.”

  Changing position once more, Raelin straddled Delaney’s hips, and as she settled, she gasped as the blonde fit perfectly between her legs. Rolling her hips, she swallowed hard as she reached down to slide her hands underneath Del’s shirt to cup her breasts.

  Del sucked in a breath at the first touch of Raelin’s hands, her senses narrowing to the trails confident fingers were mapping on her chest and where Raelin’s weight sat deliciously across her hips. “You know you’re too tired for this Darlin’, you shouldn’t start something you can’t finish,” she whispered, not making any move to hinder Raelin’s progress under her shirt.

  “I need...I need to touch you, so unless you really don’t like that shirt, you might want to get it off before I rip it off,” the brunette growled. She needed the blonde in the worst way; she wanted to reestablish their link. Today had proven to the witch how much she needed this woman in her life. “You might want to hurry.”

  Del wanted to protest, but when she caught Raelin’s dark eyes; seeing want, need, and most importantly love shining in them, she thought better of it. She sat up quickly, kissing Raelin with an intensity she’d never experienced, her fingers working the buttons of her shirt .She pulled it off her shoulders and tossed it in some unknown direction, never breaking the kiss.