shadowland

by Radclyffe

  “Right.”

  Chris nodded, her eyes still warm. “It seems strange at first, but I think you’ll find out it’s just another way of communicating your desires.” She finished her beer and regarded Kyle seriously. “I can’t stay tonight, but I hope you do. Maybe you’ll find what you’re looking for.”

  Is that why I’m here? To find...something? Kyle returned her gaze intently. “I’ll be staying.”

  *

  Kyle noted with regret that it was almost closing time. She’d quit drinking right after Chris left, because riding the bike high was suicide. Now she was sober and restless. The atmosphere was charged with sex and had become more so as the night wore on. At one point she’d walked into the labyrinthine hallway looking for the bathrooms and had practically stumbled on two women in the midst of a tryst in the shadows. One woman leaned against the wall, head back and eyes closed—clearly about to come—as another rhythmically pumped an arm between her legs. At first glance, they looked like any two women having sex until Kyle noticed that the hands of the woman against the wall were handcuffed behind her back. Kyle couldn’t look away, fascinated by the intermittent glint of dancing silver as the bound woman thrust her hips and jerked her restrained hands from side to side. Kyle couldn’t remember having made a sound, but maybe she had, because the woman opened her eyes and stared into Kyle’s as she started to come, crying out in a strangled voice. Kyle had held the woman’s gaze, watching the orgasm rage across her face, until the woman sagged against the wall, head lolling, moaning softly. The other woman reached around, released the cuffs, and pushed them into her back pocket. Then she turned and saw Kyle.

  Kyle met her cool, appraising look unflinchingly.

  “She likes to come again right away,” the stranger advised in a nonchalant tone. “Don’t make any marks, and don’t forget—she leaves with me.”

  And then the woman who had pocketed the cuffs walked away, leaving Kyle to stare into deep blue eyes, still glazed and unfocused.

  “Please,” came a soft whisper.

  Kyle’s belly had twisted with sudden lust, a fierce wanting that burned still. She lowered her eyes, saw the expanse of bare stomach tapering down to the vee of the open fly. She’d hungered to slide her fingers beneath the worn denim and slip through the slick heat that she knew awaited her. She longed to enter this stranger and feel the last tremors of the climax she had witnessed ripple around her fingers. She ached to hear that choked cry of pleasure again—for her.

  She’d fisted her hands and swallowed her need and slowly shaken her head. “I’m sorry,” she’d murmured and walked away.

  But she’d wanted her. She didn’t even know her, but she’d felt some connection as basic and simple as a shared need to touch and be touched. She could have taken her, would have reveled in her, would in all likelihood have come just from being inside her, but she hadn’t. And she wasn’t entirely sure why. She still wanted her or someone—something—so much that the arousal had turned to pain.

  Lost in the memory of the scene, Kyle failed to notice a woman approaching until her vision was suddenly blocked and, at the same time, she became aware of a body so close she could feel its heat. With a sharp intake of breath, she recognized the blond she had seen earlier leaning against the pole. So near to her now, Kyle observed that her hair was indeed a rich gold and her eyes so blue they verged on indigo.

  Kyle found she had to look up at the woman, who regarded her with an air of easy confidence, her hands thrust deep into the pockets of her jeans, her long legs straddling Kyle’s. Her amused smile was nearly insolent, softened by the merest hint of a dimple adjacent to one corner. Her eyes, however, were not smiling. They were fiercely intense and searching.

  Uncertain of what showed in her own eyes, Kyle was at once uneasy and intrigued, and, unaccountably, she dropped her gaze. In that second, she fully realized that she did not know what to expect next.

  “How’s the sightseeing going?” a cool voice questioned. “Got it all figured out yet?”

  Kyle’s head snapped up, heat rising to her face. “I’m not a tourist!”

  “Oh my...touch a sore spot, did I?”

  Kyle was pissed. Who does she think she is, coming up uninvited and giving me a hard time? Jaws clenched, she started to turn her back. She would have told her to fuck off, but she’d learned a little patience over the years and knew it wasn’t worth a confrontation.

  A hand closed firmly on her upper arm and held her in place.

  “Wait a minute. We’re still talking.” There was just a hint of laughter in the voice, as if at a private joke that Kyle had missed.

  “I don’t think we have anything to say.” Struggling to appear unaffected by the monumentally annoying stranger, Kyle reached for a cigarette. She felt a little cornered with her back to the bar, and she needed the familiar ritual to give herself time to think. As she pushed her hand into her pocket for her lighter, a match flared before her.

  “Well, that’s up to you, isn’t it?” the woman asked softly, cupping the flame in her long, tapering fingers.

  “Is it?” Kyle frowned slightly as she drew on her cigarette, pulling the smoke deeply into her chest. She exhaled slowly, searching the perfectly sculpted, perfectly remote face. She didn’t know the right answer if there was one, but she knew what she felt, and she went with it. “Somehow I thought you were the one calling the shots.”

  The blond nodded, touching the match to her own cigarette. “Very good—but only if you want me to. Only if you let me—understand?”

  Kyle sighed, looking directly into the blue eyes that still calmly searched her face. “I’m afraid that I’m going to disappoint you.”

  Suddenly the woman smiled, a flickering luminescence that dispelled the aura of aloofness that had surrounded her. Just as quickly, it was gone. “Oh, I don’t think so.”

  Kyle felt foolish. This was a woman like her, a woman in a club filled with other women, all of them linked by a common bond. Why did I think that these women would be so different from all the other lesbians I’ve known?

  She’d been so caught up in the mystique of the dress and the attitude of these leather-clad figures that she had failed to recognize the women beneath the costumes. Her body relaxed as her old confidence returned. She might not know all the signals, but she knew who she was.

  “My name is Kyle.”

  “I know.”

  Kyle raised her eyebrows slightly.

  “Chris informed me.”

  “I’m slow tonight,” Kyle said, shaking her head.

  The woman was only inches away from Kyle now, and her next words were spoken so softly that only Kyle could hear them. “I’m not rushing you.”

  The blond had not changed her stance but still stood boldly in Kyle’s view, legs spread, her thighs just brushing the outside of Kyle’s. Kyle realized that this stranger was presenting herself, a gesture at once arrogant and vulnerable. She took advantage of the moment to study her, having only gotten a sense of her lean build and sharply sculpted features from her earlier appraisal. This time, she slowly surveyed the slim torso beneath a faded denim shirt that molded to a solid waist and disappeared into well-worn denim jeans. A black leather belt rode low over narrow hips, and a few keys hung from a leather strap on her left hip. Kyle took note of the thin leather band buckled around her tanned left wrist. Her study was interrupted by the woman’s voice.

  “Like what you see?” Her voice was low, intense, intimate.

  “Yes,” Kyle answered honestly. She raised her eyes, met the deep blue ones unflinchingly.

  “Come dance with me then.” It was not a request.

  The room came sharply into focus as Kyle became acutely aware of the heavy, pounding rhythm that reverberated through the air, through the floor, through the very walls. Insistent and unrelenting. It echoed the pulse that beat through her blood and her bones. This is it. Do you really want to do this?

  Without a word, she nodded and followed the woman onto the dance
floor. There were other couples there, but they quickly faded from Kyle’s consciousness as the stranger turned and put both arms around Kyle’s waist, pulling her near. As they pressed close together in the crowded space, Kyle felt for the first time the strength contained in her companion’s deceptively lithe body. The arms that held her were sinewy and strong, the slender frame solidly muscled and hard. The soft swell of breasts was a startling counterpoint to that stark physicality, and the desire that had simmered for hours in Kyle’s depths flared to life.

  It seemed entirely natural to rest her head against the blond’s shoulder where the sweet scent of soap and something more primal made Kyle’s belly flutter. The hand in the curve of her back held her confidently, and when the woman insinuated one tight thigh securely between Kyle’s, her hips lifted in silent welcome. As they danced with their breasts slowly melding, Kyle felt the blond’s nipples harden beneath the fabric of her shirt. Her own stiffened in response, painfully taut and aching. When the hand on her spine guided Kyle’s hips rhythmically against that slow-moving thigh, all the heat of their two bodies seemed to coalesce into one point between Kyle’s legs. She moaned without meaning to and could almost feel those long fingers on her skin.

  Never had she responded so quickly or so certainly to another’s touch. The people around her, the soft hum of conversation, even the steady beat of the music faded as she lost awareness of everything but the firm muscles, demanding hands, and hot breath skimming her neck. The promise of those hands, that insistent pressure calling blood to her loins and urgency to her flesh, were all she knew. When Kyle slid her hands down to the woman’s hips, striving to pull her closer, hoping to ease the aching pressure, the woman’s deep voice penetrated the blur of arousal.

  “You don’t get it for free.”

  The denim-clad stranger’s lips brushed Kyle’s neck and a single arrow of excitement pierced her to the core. She wanted only that the exquisite torment not end. “Tell me the price, then.”

  “Later.” The woman reached one hand up into the soft waves at the back of Kyle’s neck and spread her fingers in her hair. Her mouth against Kyle’s ear, she murmured, “Come home with me. Now.”

  For an instant, reason intruded, and Kyle hesitated. Who are you?

  The blond slipped a hand between them and slowly, deliberately, squeezed Kyle’s nipple. Kyle’s knees buckled as her clitoris stiffened, and she leaned heavily against the unyielding stranger. Oh, Jesus, God!

  “Say yes.”

  There was just enough urgency in the whispered demand to let Kyle know that it was not her need alone that brought them together.

  “I...”

  “Say yes.”

  Another brush of soft lips along the edge of her jaw, another roll of her nipple between thumb and fingers, and Kyle was forced to close her eyes against the sweet torture.

  “Yes.”

  Chapter Three

  Kyle, her legs still shaking, allowed herself to be led from the club by the stranger’s touch on her back. The cool steady drizzle slapped into her face, shocking her. She’d forgotten that there was a world outside the hot, dark shadows of her own desire.

  “What about my bike?” Kyle asked hoarsely as they reached the street.

  “We’ll take it. I’ll tell you where to go.”

  Kyle took a deep breath of the chilly night air, hoping to clear her head for the drive. She was uncomfortably swollen inside her tight leather pants. She unlocked both helmets and extended one.

  “What’s your name?” Kyle asked quietly.

  The woman stared at her for an instant, and for a moment, Kyle thought she wouldn’t answer. Then she reached for the second helmet and settled it over her head, drawing the opaque visor down. “Dane.”

  Wordlessly, Kyle straddled her motorcycle and, raising her right leg to kick start the engine, felt Dane climb on behind her.

  “Do you know where Cole is?” Dane shouted above the roar of the powerful machine.

  Kyle nodded in acknowledgment.

  Dane reached around Kyle’s waist, slid one hand beneath the leather jacket against Kyle’s stomach, and with the other, cupped her crotch. “Drive.”

  Kyle maneuvered her bike as quickly as she dared over the rain-slicked streets, aware only of the engine throbbing rhythmically between her thighs and the steady pressure of Dane’s hands. By the time they reached Cole and Dane signaled for her to pull over, she was trembling. Despite the chill of the night air, sweat dampened her hair and soaked her shirt. She was wild for the feel of Dane’s hands against her naked flesh, unencumbered by the barriers of leather and denim.

  Dane led the way up six stone stairs to a narrow building, unlocked the front door, and motioned Kyle into the vestibule. From there, Kyle followed her up another flight of stairs, through another door, and into a darkened apartment.

  Once inside, Dane said, “Wait here.”

  *

  Kyle was aware of lights being turned on in other rooms and the sound of soft music. She stood and waited, not thinking at all. When at last she heard Dane’s sure footsteps approaching, her body stirred in anticipation. The effect this woman had on her was inexplicable, and, lost in the moment, she didn’t try to understand. She responded purely with her senses, and she reveled in that feeling of abandon. She didn’t want to think. She wanted to feel.

  Dane took her hand. “This way.”

  Kyle found herself in a bedroom lit solely by soft blue lights in a recessed ceiling track. A small table stood next to a large rectangular bed that dominated the otherwise bare room. When Dane turned suddenly to face her, she stood absolutely still. In silence, Dane reached out and loosed the buttons on her shirt, being careful not to touch the skin laid bare as the shirt fell away. Once exposed, Kyle’s nipples contracted almost painfully, an urgent plea for contact.

  “Your boots.”

  Kyle hesitated only for a second, then unbuckled her heavy black boots and pulled them off. Naked except for her leather pants, she stood before Dane, still waiting. Dane reached out a slender hand and traced the muscles in Kyle’s shoulders and arms with a finger. Then she placed both palms flat against Kyle’s chest and pressed, softly massaging the muscles beneath the smooth skin. Her hands moved down to Kyle’s abdomen, carefully avoiding her breasts, until she stood with her thumbs together in the middle of Kyle’s firm body, her fingers splayed out against Kyle’s sides.

  The muscles in Kyle’s stomach twitched beneath Dane’s hands, and Kyle caught back a moan. The slow, wordless survey of her body had brought her blood to a boil again. She felt her clitoris swell and moisture flow in response to the stimulation. Her chest was covered with a thin film of perspiration, and she panted slightly in the still room.

  “Lie down on the bed,” Dane instructed, her voice perfectly controlled. “Face me.”

  Kyle complied, her eyes fixed on Dane, who came to stand at the foot of the bed. When Dane’s eyes traveled from Kyle’s leather-bound crotch slowly up to her face, Kyle felt as if a hand had caressed her naked flesh. Her stomach tensed and her thighs quivered. She knew the wanting must show in her face.

  “You can say anything you want to me right now,” Dane said, “but after this, no more. I won’t hurt you, but I won’t stop until I’m done.”

  Kyle looked back at her steadily, searching for a clue as to what was about to happen. Who are you? The face was edgy and strong. The eyes, even in the half-light, were piercing and clear. Although she saw no answers, inexplicably, she sensed not danger, but honesty.

  “I’m all right.”

  Dane nodded once and then moved purposefully to the side of the bed, reached somewhere beneath the frame, and pulled out soft, padded leather restraints. Deftly, she bound Kyle’s left hand, then moved to the other side and restrained her right hand, then her ankles, leaving Kyle securely but not painfully bound with her arms and legs spread wide.

  Dane stood once again at the foot of the bed, slowly removing her own shirt, methodically baring her upper body.
Small high breasts accentuated the finely muscled torso, and a pulse beat close to the surface of a pale throat. Silence enclosed them in the cone of blue light.

  Kyle was bombarded with conflicting sensations. The feeling of being helplessly bound was at once frightening and exhilarating. She wanted this woman on top of her, she wanted her inside of her, she wanted more than she could put words to. Her inability to actually seek her own release made her even more acutely aware of her desires. Her clitoris strained against the seam of her pants, threatening to explode just from the constant contact as her hips rocked back and forth. She stifled a groan as she stared transfixed at Dane’s body, so close to her and yet so completely untouchable.

  After what seemed like hours to Kyle, who had lost all sense of time, Dane moved to the head of the bed. From that vantage, Kyle was totally exposed to her view but Kyle, in turn, could barely see Dane. Dane placed her hands firmly on either side of Kyle’s face with her fingers curled around Kyle’s lower jaw. She moved surprisingly gentle fingers over the flesh and bones of Kyle’s face, as if imprinting a physical sense of Kyle in her mind. Then, with one hand under her chin, Dane tilted Kyle’s head back, exposing her neck to its fullest.

  “Close your eyes and keep them closed.”

  With one hand still firmly controlling Kyle’s head, Dane traced the vulnerable structures of Kyle’s throat, feeling breath flow in the fragile windpipe and blood ripple through the pulsating arteries just below the skin. With her fingers pressing into the muscles on either side of Kyle’s neck, Dane leaned closer. She ran her tongue lightly from Kyle’s collarbone to her ear. When she spoke, her voice was barely a whisper.

  “I don’t want you to move. Just keep remembering my hands on your throat while I’m making you come.”

  The words made Kyle’s hips jerk, and she bit her lip to stifle a cry. She had never felt so physically vulnerable in her life. The restraints on her arms and legs were barely perceptible and yet she was totally immobilized. Now, with her throat exposed, locked in darkness, she felt as if she had lost control of her very life. Despite the helplessness of her position, she was powerfully excited. The merest touch was going to set her off.