Lynn reached out to touch the softness of Kim’s skin, trying to draw her back, but Kim stretched down to untie her own shoelaces. After a few deep breaths, Lynn managed to sit up as well, slipping her arms free of her open shirt. She tried to copy Kim’s actions, but her fingers had lost their dexterity and she needed Kim’s help to complete the task. Kim then pressed her back to lie on the grass before moving her attention to the fastening at Lynn’s waist. Her eyes met Lynn’s in an appeal for assistance. Lynn braced her shoulders and heels on the ground, lifting her hips and allowing Kim to remove the last of her clothing.
Lynn faltered briefly, looking down and seeing her own body lying naked in the moonlight. But then Kim was back with her, also naked, driving away any doubts with the touch of skin on skin and taking her to unimagined levels of arousal. Her own mouth was moving over Kim’s neck and shoulders, tracing the edge of Kim’s jaw, and returning time and again to Kim’s mouth. Kim’s hands became ever more eager, cupping her breasts, running over her stomach, down her hips, and along the outside of her leg. The gentle stroking awoke every nerve in Lynn’s body in tingling ripples. Passion swelled with each minute until it seemed impossible for it to get more intense, but finally, in a deliberate move, Kim’s hand slipped over the knee and onto the soft skin of Lynn’s inner thigh.
The breath stopped in Lynn’s throat. Her body froze in the shock that swept through her, and then slowly Kim’s hand began to travel higher, getting closer to the center of the paralyzing response. Tremors seized Lynn, shaking her in small convulsions while the sensation grew stronger, until Kim’s hand finished its journey. Lynn heard her own voice whimpering, but she no longer had control over herself. All she could feel was Kim’s fingers, stroking, exploring, delving in the folds between her legs, until finally they entered her.
Lynn’s body arched, her arms clinging around Kim’s shoulders, but the support was withdrawn as Kim slid away. Lynn reached after her, feebly trying to pull her back, but Kim moved with sure intent, her mouth fixing over its goal. Lynn felt the soft, wet warmth of Kim’s tongue imposing a new rhythm on her waves of arousal, sweeping her along until nothing existed except the ever-growing ecstasy.
Abruptly, there was a moment of emptiness as the tongue left her, but Kim’s hand maintained the rhythm. Lynn opened her eyes and looked up to see Kim’s face above her, staring down into her eyes. Suddenly, everything bound together: the fingers inside her, the pressure outside, and Kim’s face. The surge of orgasm crashed and burst over her. Lynn heard a voice cry into the dark and knew it was her own. A ball of pure pleasure erupted inside her, racing down her legs, up her spine. Kim’s face became one with the night sky, while the ground under Lynn’s shoulders fell away, twisted inside out, and flowed back.
And then the world dropped back into place and she was lying, gasping in the grass, with Kim beside her, holding her tightly. Lynn’s limbs were heavy with the weight of the release.
Kim’s mouth twitched into a smile as she asked, “Are you all right?”
This was such a silly question that Lynn was seized by a fit of giggles.
“Can I take that as a yes?”
Lynn’s heartbeat was returning to normal. She looked up at Kim and then raised her hand to stroke Kim’s cheek. Kim twisted her head, kissing Lynn’s fingers, eyes closed. Lynn studied Kim’s face, the tautness around her mouth, the faint lines across her forehead. Despite her own feeling of peace, no sensitivity was required to see the tension that still held Kim, or to know what was needed to dispel it.
Lynn shifted her hand to Kim’s shoulder and pressed her back until Kim was lying on the grass and Lynn was the one raised on an elbow. Lynn looked down the length of Kim’s body, taking in the clean lines of Kim’s legs, the dark triangle of hair, the soft curves of Kim’s hips and stomach, the arch of ribs, and Kim’s round breasts. Finally, Lynn’s gaze came to rest on Kim’s face and the watchful expression there.
One corner of Lynn’s mouth twitched down in a faintly apologetic look as she said, “I’m afraid, my love, that I’m not going to be very good at this. It’s your own fault for picking a novice. I’ll try my best.” Lynn felt a grin growing on her lips. “But I may need to practice quite a lot.”
Lynn placed her forefinger on the hollow at the base of Kim’s throat, and then very slowly, she began to trace a line down.
*
It was a long time later when Lynn stirred herself. The night was growing cold, picking at exposed skin, although the parts that were pressed against Kim were still hot. Lynn shifted around slightly, making space. Kim nuzzled back against her, drowsy in the languor that had followed their lovemaking. A soft smile crossed Lynn’s face, but they could not stay there all night. She ran her hand over Kim’s shoulder.
“Do you think we should be going back?”
“Mmm, probably,” Kim murmured, though she made no attempt to move. But eventually, she roused herself and sat up. Hardie had traveled across the sky and the crescent of Laurel was just rising. Kim stared at the moons while her expression shifted through a range of emotions, then she looked back down at Lynn and asked. “How do you feel?”
“Wonderful.”
Kim grinned, but then her face became serious. “I meant with regard to...”
Lynn finished the sentence for her. “Imprinting?”
Kim gave a quick nod.
Lynn shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m not sure how it would feel not to be an Imprinter, and I probably won’t know until I put it to the test. But...”
“But?”
Lynn sat up and leaned against Kim. “No matter how it works out, I’ve got no regrets.” She raised her head and stared in the direction of the village.
“You’re looking thoughtful.”
“I’m wondering if there’s any food left.”
Kim laughed. “With a whole squadron of Rangers down there? No chance.”
The walk back down the hillside was a minor revelation to Lynn. Of course, she knew there were going to be adjustments to her life, new complexities to deal with. What she had not considered was that even mundane things like walking would be affected, but she became aware of it rapidly, once they set off and Kim put an arm around her waist in the way of lovers. Lynn had watched women walking like that, even dreamed of strolling with Kim’s arm around her. What she had not expected was how much it upset her balance, and the need to adjust her stride to the woman beside her. It was worth persevering with, of that Lynn was sure, but how much else would she have to relearn?
The village square was much quieter than when they had left. The music and dancing had stopped long ago, and most women had gone to their beds, although a few were still gathered, talking quietly. Midnight was not far off, and folk would be rising for the next day’s work in under five hours. The cows would not take account of the festival in their demands for milking.
They separated at the edge of the square, with Kim suggesting, “If you can find some food, I’ll see if there’s anything left to drink.”
As predicted, most of the food containers were empty, but Lynn found a pot with a few centimeters of spicy sauce at the bottom and half a loaf of bread to scoop it out. She was working her way through the other bowls when her attention was diverted from the food by a figure who came and crouched beside her.
Chip reached out and squeezed her shoulder. “It’s okay. You don’t have to say anything, just nod if I’m forgiven for dropping you in it again.”
“I’m not sure.” Lynn’s voice was lightly teasing.
“You’re not sure,” the Ranger repeated skeptically. She nodded toward the bread in Lynn’s hand and said, “It gives you an appetite, doesn’t it?”
From the grin on Chip’s face, there was no mistaking her meaning. Lynn felt a faint blush rise on her cheeks and averted her face. She then turned back to the Ranger and began, “What makes you...” But she felt laughter rising and could not finish the question. Over Chip’s shoulder, she saw Kim returning.
Chip’s g
rin became even broader as she followed the direction of Lynn’s eyes. She answered Lynn’s unfinished question. “What makes me leap to conclusions? It’s easy. There’s only one known activity that puts a smile on a woman’s face like the ones you and Kim have got.”
Chapter Twenty-Three—Trouble
“Lynn, what is your last name?” Katryn asked in idle curiosity.
Lynn looked across at the Ranger, who was lying on the grass with her head cushioned on Chip’s legs and a half-eaten apple in her hand. “It should be was, not is. And the answer is that I don’t remember.”
“You don’t?” This time, Kim was speaker.
Lynn had to twist her neck to look at Kim. Her lover was currently sitting behind her, serving as a backrest. The four women were by the banks of the river, taking a light lunch and sheltering from the midday sun in the shade of a tree. It was the sort of gathering that had become a common event in the month since the festival. It was also a display of the adjustments in Lynn’s everyday life—the inclusion as part of a couple, the casual sharing of physical space with Kim, and the intangible sense of being seen as slightly less different from everyone else. The subject of her family background had probably never occurred to Katryn before.
Lynn explained, “I think I knew what my last name was when I was a child, but it wasn’t very important to me. I came from a small community where everyone recognized me and knew who my parents were. Anyway, the name of the farm was more useful in identifying me. Then, after I went to the temple, it was never mentioned again, and I just forgot.”
“If you want, we could invent a new name for you, like Gina’s,” Chip offered mischievously.
“No, thank you,” Lynn said and then looked over to the Ranger as an old question occurred to her. “While we’re on the subject of names, why are you called Chip, and what’s your real name?”
At the question, Katryn gave a yelp of laughter and Kim said dryly, “Careful, my love, you’re on dangerous ground. Her first name is not something to be thrown about lightly. All you need to know is that she answers to Chip when she’s in a good mood, Coppelli when she’s being a proper Ranger, and when you hear her rank thrown in as well, you know it means trouble.”
“But what’s wrong with her name?” Lynn was undeterred.
Chip sighed in resignation. “My name is one of the many things I hold against my parents. They wanted me to join the Sisterhood. Not because they were particularly religious; they had ulterior motives.”
Lynn stared at her for a second and then curled forward, laughing at the thought of Chip in a Sister’s white robes, and the impact her blunt honesty would have on the intrigues of a temple sanctum.
“Why does everyone start cackling like a lunatic when I tell them that?” Chip feigned surprise. “Anyway, my parents decided to give me a shove in the right direction with what they thought of as a suitable name—Piety. And before you start getting ideas, I’ll warn you, I’ve thumped people in the past for calling me it.” Chip scowled, but her tone removed any threat from her words. “They sent me to a school at the temple. Like many children, I loved chips and a Sister made one of those daft comments along the lines of”—she adopted a high-pitched whine—“If you eat any more, we’ll have to start calling you chip.” She dropped back to her normal voice. “I said that I’d rather be called Chip than Piety. The other kids overheard me and I got my wish.”
“It was a good thing her favorite food wasn’t tarts,” Katryn cut in, teasing her partner, who responded by poking her in the ribs.
Lynn watched the resulting hand-wrestling match with a happy grin. She was more content than at any time she could remember, and for more reasons than the obvious one. Mind you, she thought, snuggling back against Kim, the obvious one is pretty damned good. Then her eyes shifted to the vegetable patch and she sighed. Not everything could be perfect. It was time to get back to work. She was about to twist around and tell Kim, when a shout came from the general direction of the wall.
“Captain Ramon, Lieutenant Coppelli!”
A Ranger was running toward them, a recently returned scout by the look of her, still dressed in full field kit with a scabbard swinging at her side. In her haste, the woman stumbled recklessly along the uneven footpath, racing on legs that seemed none too steady. She was clearly pushing her body to its limits.
“And this is trouble.” Katryn gave her judgment even before the Ranger was close enough to recognize.
Kim was on her feet in an instant and advancing to meet the scout. “What is it?”
“Captain Ramon. Rozek is back with more Guards.” The Ranger skidded to a halt, speaking between gasps.
“How many?”
“Two hundred or so.”
“Where?”
“When I left, they were still a day’s ride east of the old farm. Sergeant O’Neil and I were supposed to be meeting a family of heretics who’ve had to flee the Sisters, but when we saw the Guards, I came straight back here. The sergeant is staying to keep an eye on them and to see if she can find the heretics before Rozek does.”
Kim nodded as she considered the information. Sergeant O’Neil was one of the oldest women in the squadron, a very experienced and competent Ranger who would have no trouble avoiding capture, but she could not be left to deal with Rozek on her own.
Kim looked back to the scout. “How long ago was this?”
“Seven days. I had O’Neil’s horse as well.”
Lynn looked at the woman with respect and more than a little concern. It was scarcely surprising the scout looked so exhausted. She must have punished herself getting back so quickly, and even with switching mounts, the horses would be in a worse state.
Kim’s thoughts had moved on. “So by now they will have gotten to the site of the old farm and discovered we’re not there. I guess it’s too much to hope they’ll have given up and gone back.” She looked at Chip. “Let’s find Gina. We need to make plans.”
*
The still night air carried the cry of a hunting bird to Lynn, a high note overlaying the distant murmur of the river. Weak moonlight edged between the window shutters, just sufficient to pick out the pile of clothes on the floor and Kim’s motionless outline in the bed beside her. Lynn sighed and rolled onto her back.
“Can’t you sleep?” Kim whispered.
“No. Can’t you either?”
“Well, not with you tossing and turning every five minutes.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Are you worrying?”
“I can’t help it.” Lynn stared at the ceiling, making sure she had full control of her voice before adding, “When you ride out tomorrow, promise me you’ll be careful.”
Kim put an arm around her and held her tight. “I’ll be careful, I promise. I’m not going to gamble with the lives of half the squadron.”
“I guess that’s partly it. There’s going to be you and two patrols. Seventeen Rangers, against two hundred Guards.”
“Most of us would say it was pretty even odds.” Kim tried to joke, but Lynn was not amused.
“No, it’s not.”
Kim stroked the hair back from Lynn’s face. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to engage Rozek head-on. If there’s a suitable opportunity, I’ll make things unpleasant for her and her Guards, so they’ll think twice in the future before coming into the mountains. But I won’t take risks, because there’s no need. They don’t know where Westernfort is, and even if they did, it would take more than two hundred Guards to force their way through the wall.”
“And Rozek?”
“What about her?”
Lynn paused, trying to put her fears into words. “She had you beaten and flogged. And when she couldn’t rig it that you were hung by the court-martial, she deliberately tried to murder you. I’m scared you’re going to want revenge, and you might not think things through clearly.”
Kim leaned forward and kissed Lynn gently on the lips. “No, my love. Revenge is just a way of sacrificing your future to your past,
and I’m not going to play that game. Believe me, I know what I’m talking about.”
*
The Guards’ encampment at the site of the old village was the highly disciplined shambles the Rangers had come to expect. Kim studied it from a concealed hilltop vantage point and shook her head, bemused that any soldier would value straight lines over making use of the land’s topography. The sentries were evenly spaced out, regardless of their field of view or any other sensible consideration. Even the decision to occupy the village was questionable. There was no spot from where a commander could observe the whole site, and the heretics had arranged the village for domestic rather than military purposes, yet without thinking things through, the Guards had placed their supplies in the old barns at the edge of the site, where they were exposed to attack, as well as being a long way from the nearest source of water.
“Doesn’t it just scream ‘Raid me, raid me’?” Sergeant O’Neil was equally impressed.
“Possibly,” Kim said.
“Are we going to?”
“I must admit it’s tempting to see what a fire in the stores would do.”
Sergeant O’Neil chuckled. “Give them a hungry journey home.”
Kim continued her appraisal of the site. When Rozek had not shown up by the beginning of August, she had assumed the Guards were not coming that year. Otherwise the old farm would never have been chosen as the rendezvous for the family of heretics. It was still anyone’s guess why the Guards had bothered coming so late in the year. September was passing rapidly, and Rozek’s troops would have to start their return journey very soon if they did not wish to be overtaken by winter. Possibly the turmoil caused by Lynn’s escape had delayed the Guards. The absence of Rangers in the company might also have caused delays. A smile crossed Kim’s face as she wondered how many times Rozek had gotten lost trying to retrace her steps from the previous year. Maybe she had even been forced to return for more supplies. Presumably, Rangers were no longer trusted after the desertion by the 23rd Squadron.
The Temple at Landfall Page 25