by Radclyffe
"Happy?" Cam leaned up on an elbow, resting her head on her hand as she drew her fingertips along the edge of Blair's jaw. She marveled at the beauty of Blair's face in the moonlight. Being with her like this, alone in the middle of the night, was a rare occurrence, but one that she knew would never cease to thrill her, no matter how many times she experienced it. Blair was so many things she loved—intelligent, strong, vital, and passionate. She was also very beautiful. And Cam loved to look at her.
"Mmm." Blair started to shift onto her side to see Cam better, but Cam's hand on her shoulder restrained her.
"No," Cam murmured, drawing her fingertips back and forth in the valley between Blair's breasts. "Stay like that. I want to look at you."
The low heavy beat in Cam's voice settled in the pit of Blair's stomach, and her heartbeat quickened. "Just look?"
The corner of her mouth lifted in a grin, and Cam nodded. "For now."
"You've been playing with me quite a lot this evening, Commander," Blair chided just a bit breathlessly. Cam's fingers had shifted onto her breast, although they lay motionless just below her nipple. Even the promise of a touch from those strong, sensitive fingers made her breasts ache and the nipples tighten into hard knots of desire.
"Not nearly as much as I intend to." Cam brushed the sheet down Blair's abdomen with the edge of her hand until it angled across Blair's hips, white and sharp in the moonlight. Cam traced a finger beneath the edge of the cotton, lingering for an instant over the swell of flesh between Blair's thighs.
Involuntarily, Blair raised her hips, but the tantalizing touch was already gone. "What if I told you I'm too tired?"
Cam dipped her head and brushed her lips over the hollow at the base of Blair's throat. With her mouth against the racing pulse, she murmured, "Are you?"
The heat in the pit of Blair's stomach flared, searing her blood. Fighting to keep her voice even, she replied, "I asked you first."
Chuckling as she kissed a spot between Blair's breasts, Cam reached down and pushed the sheet away completely. She trailed her fingers back up the length of Blair's thigh and smoothed her hand along the curve of Blair's hipbone. Then she rested her cheek against the firm rise of Blair's breast and watched the muscles flicker in her lover's abdomen as she walked her fingers along the inside of the arched prominence, over her belly, and up to her navel. She flicked at the gold ring piercing the skin there. Then she caught it between thumb and forefinger and tugged.
Blair gasped, her legs twisting restlessly on the bed as she gripped Cam's shoulder hard.
"If you're tired..." Cam tugged again. "Then I'll just have to put you to sleep."
"How?" Blair's throat was tight with urgency. Patience in bed was not her usual fare. She liked Cam to take her hard and fast, especially the first time—or she liked to have Cam the same way. Perhaps it was because they rarely had the luxury of time on their side; more likely it was due to her relentless hunger for Cam, like an ache in her bones. Whenever she touched Cam, the need to be close to her, to be inside her, to take her inside, obliterated all restraint. But tonight, after all that Cam had given her, she wanted Cam to have exactly what she desired. She would let Cam take her, and she would rejoice in the giving. "Tell me how you'll put me to sleep."
Still toying with the gold ring, Cam flicked her tongue over Blair's nipple. "With my mouth."
"God, I love your mouth on me." Blair couldn't help herself. She was burning from the inside out. Moaning softly, she drove her fingers into Cam's thick hair and pressed her lover's face more firmly to her breast. Still, she went no further, even though she ached for Cam to fill her.
"I know." Cam shifted lower, capturing Blair's leg between her own. She pressed against Blair's firm thigh, knowing that her lover would feel the evidence of her arousal, slick and hot and hard. "And I'm going to kiss you, everywhere, until you come."
"Oh, yes," Blair whispered, pushing up on her elbows to watch Cam suck her nipples, one then the other. Seeing Cam's lips caressing her throbbing flesh and feeling the electric shocks of pleasure at the same time made her shudder and twitch. Watching Cam's hips thrust indolently against her thigh, feeling her lover's passion coat her skin, made her stomach convulse. "I need you to touch me so much. Don't make me wait too long."
"I'm going to make us both wait." Cam eased her hips away a fraction, relieving the exquisite pressure against her screaming nerve endings. She was in danger of climaxing just from the thrill of exciting Blair. "I'm going to touch you everywhere." She danced her fingers down Blair's abdomen, brushed tantalizingly over the heat between Blair's legs, then skimmed lower, stroking the soft skin of her inner thighs. "I need to touch you everywhere."
Strength failing, Blair surrendered, falling back against the pillows with a low whimper. "God, I don't care...do anything... everything. Just don't stop."
The surface of Blair's skin sang. Cam's fingertips painted images of moonlit glades and sun-drenched valleys on the canvas of her mind. Her heart thundered with the joy of loving and being loved. Carried on the inexorable tide of her lover's devotions, she was unaware of the lips caressing her turgid flesh or the mouth that drew her passion forth on a sea of desire. All she knew—in her body, in her soul, in the deepest reaches of her heart—was the woman who claimed her, and freed her, with the power of this love. Cam. Cam.
Her orgasm rose slowly, gathering force from some place far, far beyond her fragile body. Only when the fist of need in her depths opened and pleasure flooded her thighs did she become aware of the relentless joy of Cam's mouth driving her to climax. Panting, she pushed herself up, forced her eyes open, and clenched a hand in Cam's hair. "I want...to watch...you...make me come."
Then the sharp edge of pleasure verged on pain, the muscles shredded from her bones, and her soul soared on the sweet ache of fulfillment. Bent nearly double, she clutched Cam's shoulder as she shuddered and moaned. When the wracking spasms released her, she collapsed onto her side, her fingers still tangled in her lover's hair.
Cam rolled with her, gathering her close and pressing Blair's face to her chest. "I love you. I love you so much."
Blair couldn't speak. She could barely breathe. It wasn't the exquisite orgasm that had stolen her control but the overwhelming emotion that she was unable to contain when Cam touched her. Not just when she touches me. When she looks at me. When she's anywhere near me.
"Baby," Cam murmured tenderly, her cheek resting gently against the top of Blair's head. "We need to get under the covers. You're going to get chilled."
"In a minute," Blair mumbled, wrapping her arms around Cam's waist and burrowing closer. "I feel so good. You feel so good."
Cam laughed and fumbled the sheet partway over Blair's body. "Yeah. I feel pretty terrific."
Blair's head lolled back on Cam's shoulder and she regarded her through heavy eyelids. "Pretty pleased with yourself, aren't you?"
"Pretty much." Cam kissed Blair's nose lightly. "I've been thinking about doing that all night."
"Really." Blair chuckled weakly. "You have remarkable powers of restraint, Commander."
"Not really." Softly, Cam kissed Blair's mouth, tracing her tongue over the full curve of Blair's lower lip. "I came just now— all it took was feeling you let go."
Blair groaned. "Cameron Roberts, you are the sexiest woman I've ever known. If I weren't completely wasted, I would throw you down this moment and ravish you."
Laughing, Cam eased back against the pillows, drawing Blair with her. As she went, she pulled the covers after them until they were cocooned in each other's arms. "There's always the morning."
"Yes," Blair whispered drowsily. Although she knew that wasn't necessarily true, that it might be years before she could go to sleep in her lover's arms and count on awakening with her, she refused to allow anything to dispel her happiness. That, too, was a new sensation—the willingness to accept joy, however fleeting, as the gift it was. "Loving you is the best thing that ever happened to me,"
"Blair," Cam br
eathed, softly stroking the blond head resting against her shoulder. "You can't know how much that means to me."
"I do know." Blair reached out, found Cam's hand, and entwined their fingers. She drew their joined hands between her breasts, held them against her heart. "I feel it in here. I feel you inside me, loving me. Loving you has made me whole."
"I never intend to stop."
Promise? Blair didn't dare ask.
Cam moved their joined hands to her chest and pressed them to the spot above her heart, unmindful of the scar that marked it. "I promise."
There were two levels at the top of the monument, one inside and one outside, offering a 360-degree panoramic view of Paris and its environs for 80 kilometers in every direction. The night was clear, and although it was summer, at 280 meters above ground level, the air was cool. It was also nearly midnight, and there were very few visitors on the outside observation deck. Below them the city sparkled, lights blazing like fiery jewels. The wind ruffled Stark's hair as she leaned forward to capture as much of the view as possible. She held Renee's hand, grateful for the contact, needing to feel grounded as the diz2ying heights left her disoriented.
"It's really incredible, isn't it?" Stark raised her voice above the wind, her eyes bright with a shimmer of tears. She could write that off to the effects of the wind, but the tightness in her chest wasn't due to the weather or the elevation. All she could think as she stood on the edge of Wonderland were the quiet words of the woman beside her. I want to remember two things about tonight: seeing Paris from the top of the Eiffel Tower and making love with you.
Renee wasn't looking at the view. Stark's face glowed with youthful enthusiasm as her dark hair whipped about her face. Her fingers gripped Renee's tightly, and her voice had been husky with emotion. I hope you never learn to hide your feelings.
"Beautiful." Renee moved closer and threaded her arm around Stark's waist beneath her jacket and leaned her head against the sturdy shoulder. You 're so beautiful
Stark slid her arm around Renee. "I'm really glad you let me ride the elevator. If you hadn't, I probably would have had to lie down when we got up here, and then I would have missed the view."
"I'm sure you could have made it," Renee assured her, "but I really didn't want to tire you out so soon. I have other plans for doing that."
Stark gave a slight jerk, then turned her face from the view and met Renee's eyes. "You know, I'm constantly excited when I'm near you. Actually, I'm constantly excited most of the time just thinking about you. So it would be good if you didn't remind me of it too often, because I think I'm starting to get tissue damage."
Renee cupped her hand behind Stark's head and drew her close. She kissed her, unmindful of the occasional person passing by. Part of the reason she had been able to wait as long as she had before dragging Stark into bed was that kissing Paula Stark was an experience in itself. Stark's lips were full and warm and incredibly inquisitive, coursing over Renee's in a continuous wave of soft caresses and tender sucks. Every now and then, she'd feel a tiny pinpoint of pain that was quickly soothed by the gentle stroke of a warm tongue, and she'd realize that she'd been bitten. The surprise, the pleasure, the shifting sensations, first gentle then demanding, settled deep in her core and made her ache with wanting. But the hunger was so enjoyable that she was happy to let it rage unanswered. At least she had been. Now with every passing second it was becoming more and more difficult to hold her need at bay. She pulled her head back, gasping. "I want you. God."
Stark rested both arms gently around Renee's waist, their thighs lightly touching. They were alone again in their small section of the monument, with all of Paris at their feet. She couldn't quite believe that this incredible woman wanted her. If Renee only knew that she hadn't a clue as to how to please her, or even how to begin to show her how much she wanted to be with her. Other than a few less-than-memorable forays into relationships with men, which she had been more than willing to set aside when she entered the training academy, she'd had one night of true passion. And that night had been with a woman she did not love and who did not love her. It had been unforgettable—an epiphany, both physical and emotional—and she couldn't honestly say now that she regretted it. It had been an important part of her self-awakening, but the fevered lust had been an inferno, leaving nothing in its wake but ashes. And in those few heated hours, she'd done little more than allow herself to be consumed. "There's something I have to tell you."
Hearing something close to self-recrimination in Stark's voice, Renee tilted her head, then shook it slowly. "No, there isn't. Unless there's someone else, right now, there isn't a thing you need to tell me."
"There isn't anyone. That's what I wanted to say. There never has been anyone. A few hours, once, but—"
"Are you trying to tell me that you're inexperienced?"
Mutely, Stark nodded, glad for the darkness to hide her humiliation. "I want.. I want tonight to be everything you hope it will be. And I—"
"Oh God," Renee murmured. She framed Stark's face in her hands. "Sweetheart, it already is what I hoped for. More, even." In the moonlight, she saw the fleeting look of consternation cross Stark's face. "You don't know, do you?"
Feeling more inept every second, Stark shook her head again.
"When I'm with you," Renee said gently, stroking the bold, strong angle of Stark's jaw, "everything is new. Because of you... because of your kindness and your tenderness and your honesty. Nothing before tonight matters, because tonight—with you—will be the first time it's ever been right for me."
Stark's heart fluttered, and she was glad for the hold she had on the woman in her arms, because, for an instant, she felt as if she could fly. "Would you mind if we left now? I just don't think I'll be good for anything else until I can hold you with nothing between us."
"That sounds just exactly like what I need."
Arms around each other's waists, they cast one last glance at the City of Light, then headed for the elevator and the promise of the night.
CHAPTER TWELVE
S tark stared at the numbers on the rectangular panel to the right of the elevator doors as they slowly ascended. Renee stood silently beside her, the fingers of her right hand lightly wrapped around Stark's forearm. She could feel the heat even through the brushed cotton of her blazer. 12... 13... 14...With each passing floor, her heart rate accelerated and the roiling in her stomach ratcheted up a notch.
I'm going to blow it. I don't even know what she likes. I'm not even sure I'd know how to do it even if I did know what she likes.
The elevator glided to a stop with a barely perceptible hitch. For what seemed like an eternity, Stark thought the doors might not open. Then she found herself in the hallway outside room 2010 watching Renee slide the key card through the lock. She cleared her throat and resisted the urge to shuffle her feet. Instead, she dutifully followed Renee inside and stood waiting while Renee reached behind her, removed the Do Not Disturb sign, and hung it outside on the door handle.
Oh my God.
Uncertain of the next move, Stark remained statue-still while Renee locked the door, set the security chain in place, and moved around the room to turn on a few lights. Mouth dry, heart jackhammering in her ears, Stark searched frantically for something to say.
My legs are numb. I can 't feel my hands. Jesus, what if I can't come. She'll think I don't like it. Don't like her.
Renee twisted the dimmer switch until the lights in the sitting area were barely a faint glow. Then she crossed back to Stark and slipped both hands inside the edges of the dark blue blazer, resting her palms against Stark's chest, her fingertips riding the edges of her collarbones. She gently smoothed her hands back and forth.
"This isn't a test. There's no right or wrong way to do it. There's just us...together...touching."
The sound of Renee's calm, kind voice, the brilliant light in her eyes, the warm welcoming touch of her hands—those were the things that quelled Stark's anxiety and left her smiling. She cupped her
palm to the back of Renee's neck and leaned forward, skimming her lips over Renee's. Lost in the soft heat of Renee's mouth, she didn't think beyond the next caress or any further than the small nip of flesh and the moan of pleasure the gentle bite elicited. She couldn't be nervous when Renee was all she knew.
Wrapping her arms around Stark's solid waist, Renee sighed and tilted her head back, her eyes liquid. "You're so damn good at that."
"What?" Stark's voice was husky as she slowly worked her hand between Renee's sweater and the blouse beneath, circling her palm over Renee's lower back, loving the way the strong muscles tensed beneath her fingers through the thin covering of silk.
"Kissing. You're an amazing kisser."
"Yeah?" Stark grinned. "Then I have a suggestion."
Renee struggled to follow the conversation as the lower half of her body turned molten under Stark's hands. It wasn't even an intentionally seductive caress, just a steady massage of fingertips along her spine, and yet, her thighs trembled. What will happen to me when those fingers finally touch my skin? She moaned softly, then sharply caught her breath at the rapid flutter of excitement in the depths of her belly. She forced herself to focus. "What?"
"Since I'm doing okay in the kissing department, let's just lie down and start there."
"Good idea." Renee took Stark's hand. "I don't know why I didn't think of it myself." Except none of my brain cells seem to be firing at the moment, and all the blood in my body is headed in the opposite direction.
Renee left the lamps off in the bedroom, but enough illumination filtered through from the room beyond to light their way. Once at the bedside, she lifted off her cashmere sweater and tossed it onto the back of a nearby chair. Since she was in Paris on vacation, she wasn't carrying her weapon. But Stark was, and after removing her blazer, she slid the holster from her waistband with the kind of practiced move that was automatic and set it on the night table. Renee kicked off her shoes as Stark sat on the side of the bed and removed hers.