by Radclyffe
Her heart felt leaden, as if every beat were an effort. Nothing felt quite right. This haunting sense of emptiness was nothing like the loneliness she’d lived with all her life. That had been merely a distant ache she’d learned to ignore by refusing to acknowledge her needs and desires. This was like having a piece of her soul missing.
Adrian’s heart leapt at the site of the Stillwater truck coming down the road. She was on the front porch, brushing impatiently at the snow collecting on her eyelashes, before the truck came to a stop in the driveway. Dominic stepped out and after a few seconds, she realized he was alone. Disappointment sliced through her.
“Hey, Adrian,” Dominic called as he stomped his way through the freshly fallen snow to the porch. “Thought I’d do some inside work today. Can’t do much outside.”
“Where’s Rooke?”
“Pops said she’s been working since yesterday morning.” Dominic shrugged. “She does this every once in a while. Gets so into whatever she’s into that she forgets to eat or sleep or anything else.”
“You didn’t talk to her?”
“Just Pops.” Dominic regarded her pensively, with none of his usual flirtatiousness. “Sometimes she overdoes it, you know? Pushes too hard.”
“Does she.” Adrian took him into the house and retrieved her jacket and keys from the foyer. “Lock the front door when you leave. I’ll be out for a while.”
“Sure thing,” Dominic said. “Take your time.”
*
Adrian pulled into the driveway at Stillwater and tried Rooke’s cell again. No answer. Pops had the kitchen door open before she could knock.
“Hi, Pops,” Adrian said.
“Adrian. Nice to see you.” Pops beckoned her in. “Something I can help you with?”
“I…” Adrian chewed her lip, her hands balled in the pocket of her jacket. Her anxiety had blossomed into a paralyzing sense of dread. “I’m worried about Rooke.”
“She worked all night. Could probably do with something to eat about now.” He hesitated. “You want to fix her something and see if you can get her to take a break? We kind of share the kitchen over here, so you’re welcome to use it.”
“Actually,” Adrian said slowly, seeing her worry mirrored in his eyes, “I was hoping maybe you could do the cooking, and I’ll do delivery.”
“I could do that, sure,” Pops said, the creases in his face relaxing. “I could do that right now.”
“Great,” Adrian said.
“Everything go all right down in the city?” Pops asked as he pulled bread and cold cuts from the refrigerator.
I found my heart, she thought. My love. Pops regarded her quizzically and she smiled. “I know you know this, but Rooke is really special. Really special. She handled it all just fine.”
“Figured she would.” Pops buttered toast, assembled a sandwich, and handed it to her on a napkin-covered plate. “Having you there musta helped.”
Adrian kissed his cheek. “Thanks, Pops. I shouldn’t worry when I know she has you taking care of her.”
“I think what she’s needing is more along the lines of a visit from you.” He paused, seemed to consider his next words carefully. “Maybe more than just a visit.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t be going anywhere.”
“That’s good, then.” He fished a key off a row of them next to the door and handed it to her. “That’s to the main door. She’ll be in her shop at the back.”
“I know where it is.” Adrian took the key. “We’ll see you later. Maybe dinner?”
“Whenever, you just let me know. You just see to her now.”
*
The first thing Adrian noticed when she let herself into the shop was that it was cold. No fire burned in the wood stove. She’d expected noise of some kind, the whine of a drill or the sharp report of metal on stone. The silence was unnerving and her pulse kicked up. She didn’t give herself time to consider that Rooke might not want to be interrupted, that she might resent an invasion of her private space. Adrian loved her, and if Rooke had a problem with being taken care of, she would just have to get over it.
“Rooke?” Adrian called, knocking firmly on the closed door to Rooke’s shop. “Rooke? It’s Adrian.”
Adrian held her breath, straining to hear a reply. After what felt like an eternity, she heard the rasp of metal as the lock snicked open and a second later, Rooke stood in the doorway. Grimy trails of sweat and stone powder streaked her face, her hair lay plastered to her forehead in damp strands, and her soaked T-shirt clung to her chest and shoulders like a second skin. She was a mess. She was the most gorgeous woman Adrian had ever seen.
“Hi, baby,” Adrian said, lifting the plate. “I brought lunch.”
“Lunch?” Looking confused, Rooke reached for her, then abruptly halted. She pulled her T-shirt up, exposing chiseled muscles, and wiped her face on the shirt. “I can’t touch you. I’m…”
“I don’t care.” Adrian set the plate blindly on the counter next to the door and threw her arms around Rooke’s neck. She kissed her, tasting iron and salt and things of the earth. Instantly, every aching, empty corner of her soul was filled. “I missed you so much.”
Rooke lifted her from the floor, crushing her to her chest, kissing her back, drinking her in. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
“Always.” Adrian wrapped her leg around the back of Rooke’s thigh to keep her close and caressed Rooke’s chest. The flesh beneath their fingertips quivered and she realized Rooke was trembling all over. “You’re exhausted, baby. You need to get some sleep.”
Rooke rested her forehead against Adrian’s. “I had to finish. I’m sorry, I forgot to call but—”
Adrian stopped her with another kiss, then murmured against her mouth, “No. Don’t apologize. I was just worried.”
“Will you stay?”
Adrian laughed. “Try getting rid of me.” She stroked the hair from Rooke’s forehead. “If you can stand to have me around, I think I might need to hang out with my computer in your apartment while you’re working. I was going crazy without you. At least if I’m upstairs, I won’t miss you so much.”
“You’re all I could think about while I was working,” Rooke said, her voice gravelly. She gripped Adrian’s hip and pulled her more firmly against her pelvis. She raked her mouth over Adrian’s neck, sucking softly until Adrian whimpered. Rooke groaned. “I’ve wanted to make love to you for hours.”
“God,” Adrian gasped, “I need you. I need you inside me.”
“I have to shower first. Come with me.”
Rooke backed her toward the door, still ravishing her with kisses, but Adrian resisted with her little remaining strength. She grabbed fistfuls of Rooke’s hair and dragged her head back. “I want to see what you’ve done. Will you show me now?”
Chest heaving, Rooke finally loosened her hold. She pulled Adrian by the hand to the center of the room where the previously covered sculpture now stood exposed. Wrapping her arms around Adrian from behind, she embraced Adrian tightly, her chest hard against Adrian’s back. Her hot breath trickled over Adrian’s neck. “You were all I saw, all I felt, while the stone called.”
“Oh,” Adrian breathed, gripping Rooke’s hands where they clasped her waist. The figure Rooke had given life stood defiantly, her head thrown back, long, thick hair flowing wildly, breasts lifted high, the muscles in her arms and legs taut with tension. Her left hand was closed in a fist, the right held a shield, and her mouth was open in a cry of victory. “She’s glorious.”
“She is that and more.” Rooke kissed Adrian’s neck, then brushed her mouth over the shell of Adrian’s ear. “An ancient myth tells of shield maidens, warrior women who defended the keep when the warriors rode to battle.” Rooke turned Adrian and cradled her face, her dark eyes shimmering with the reflections of flame on stone. “She is the protector of the warrior’s heart, like you are mine.”
Adrian cleaved to Rooke, deluged with the flickering images of fire and blood and unbreakab
le promises. She found Rooke’s hand and clasped it to her breast, molding it to the spot where her heart beat only for Rooke. “I pledge to keep your heart safe, through this life, until the end of time. I love you, Rooke. Now. Forever.”
“I give you my love,” Rooke whispered against Adrian’s throat, “eternally carved in stone.”
About the Author
Radclyffe is a retired surgeon and full-time award-winning author-publisher with over thirty lesbian and anthologies in print. Seven of her works have been Lambda Literary finalists, including the Lambda Literary winners Erotic Interludes 2: Stolen Moments edited with Stacia Seaman and Distant Shores, Silent Thunder. She is the editor of Best Lesbian Romance 2009 and 2010 (Cleis Press), Erotic Interludes 2 through 5 and Romantic Interludes 1 and 2 with Stacia Seaman (BSB), and has selections in multiple anthologies including Best Lesbian Erotica 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009; After Midnight; Caught Looking: Erotic Tales of Voyeurs and Exhibitionists; First-Timers; Ultimate Undies: Erotic Stories About Lingerie and Underwear; Hide and Seek; A is for Amour; H is for Hardcore; L is for Leather; Rubber Sex, Tasting Him, and Cowboy Erotica. She is the recipient of the 2003 and 2004 Alice B. Readers’ awards for her body of work and is also the president of Bold Strokes Books, one of the world’s largest independent LGBTQ publishing companies.
Her latest release is an all-Radclyffe erotica anthology, Radical Encounters (Feb 2009) and the romantic intrigue novel Justice for All (April 2009). Her forthcoming 2009 romance is the sixth in the Provincetown Tales, Returning Tides.