Confidantes
Lydia had insisted that Mary should be riding with her on the way home from Wickes town. Chris had helped the rather shaken woman onto the horse, and Lydia had climbed on behind her, her arms closing protectively around Mary's waist and her slender fingers taking hold of the reigns.
On the way home, the men kept an eye on both of them, knowing neither of the two women was too well. Mary had been abducted, tied up and taunted by Wickes, but she'd refused to go into what he'd said to her. Whatever it was, it had upset her greatly.
Lydia - whom Chris knew to be as tough as she could be gentle - was going out of her way in taking care of Mary, even while she was in a bad state herself. She had shot Wickes, and her hands were still trembling from the deed. She also thought it was her fault that the man had taken Mary in the first place. If she hadn't wandered around town so carelessly the night before, Wickes never would have known the women were still alive, and he couldn't have used Mary as a bargaining chip.
Back in Four Corners, Chris dismounted and helped first Lydia and then Mary off their horse.
Lydia seemed okay now, but Mary was trembling like a leaf.
"You okay?" Chris asked her gently, concern creasing his forehead.
"I'll be fine." She smiled gratefully. "Really, Chris. Don't worry about me."
"I think someone should stay with you," Chris decided, and his tone let her know he would not take 'no' for an answer.
Mary nodded, resigned.
Lydia looked at her, noting the scrapes and marks on the porcelain skin, and she said with determination, "I'm gonna stay with Mary. If she doesn't mind."
Mary looked at her in surprise, but nodded. Somehow, the thought of being in Lydia's care was comforting. There was a warmth and gentleness to a woman that a man simply could not duplicate. "I don't mind at all. Thank you."
Chris frowned, unsure. "You're both not feeling too good. Maybe Nathan..."
"Oh, stop worryin'! I'll take good care of her, Chris, I promise."
Lydia gave him her most determined look, and he knew her well enough not to refuse her. Not that he ever could - Lydia was one of the most persuasive women he'd ever known. Still, he had to ask. "Who'll take care of *you*, Lydia?"
"I will." Mary thought it her turn to make herself useful, so she spoke with enough resolve to ensure Chris and the others that they had nothing to worry about.
"Alright," Chris agreed. "But I still think you should have Nathan take a look at you, Mary."
"Apart from a few scratches and sore wrists, there's really nothing wrong with me."
Lydia nodded, saying reassuringly, "I know what to do. I've fixed up enough of Nora's injuries." She wrapped her arm around Mary's shoulder and with another look back and a nod to Chris, she walked her charge to the newspaper office. Best to be staying with Mary at her own place.
"Thank you, Lydia." Mary smiled at her, unconsciously shifting closer to her comforting warmth.
They entered the Clarion's public area and Mary locked the door behind them before leading Lydia out back into her private living area. She had done the best she could to make this place comfortable, but it wasn't a real home. "It's not much, I'm afraid..." Mary started.
"You have a lovely place, Mary," Lydia said honestly. She'd never had a proper home herself, and the cozy femininity of Mary's place was very inviting, especially compared to the drafty tents out at Wickes' town smelling of smoke and whiskey and sweat. She pushed the thoughts aside - they'd never have to go back there.
Mary noticed that Lydia was deep in thought, so she went to the kitchen to prepare a bowl of hot water, a clean cloth and some of the herbs Nathan had given her for a cut to her hand recently.
"Hey, that's what I'm here to do!" Lydia exclaimed, taking the items from Mary's hand as soon as the blonde woman reappeared in the doorway.
"Sorry." Mary smiled, letting herself obediently be steered into the main room and pushed down into the sofa.
Lydia took a seat close by her side. She held the bowl up and dipped the cloth into it, before squeezing it out lightly and beginning to dab at an abrasion on Mary's left cheek. "I'm not hurting you?" she asked.
"No." Mary leant forward to make it easier for Lydia to catch the excess water in the bowl as it dripped off her cheek. "As a matter of fact, the warm water feels quite nice."
Lydia smiled. "The herbs - are they meant to go into the water?"
"Heavens!" Mary remembered. "Yes, they are."
They both began to crumble up the herbs by rubbing them between their fingers, before they dropped them into the hot water.
Lydia continued the gentle dabbing, taking care of every scratch she could find while admiring the smooth skin. Mary was so pale. Her skin was like milk and honey. And that beautiful golden hair... it had come lose during their escape today, and it looked so very soft...
"Lydia?" Mary intercepted the other woman's absentminded stare.
"I'm sorry." Lydia got a hold of herself again quickly. "Any other injuries?" she asked.
"My wrists are a bit sore from the ropes."
Feeling anger well up against the dead Wickes, Lydia gently picked up Mary's hands and inspected the reddened, slightly swollen wrists, running her thumbs over them soothingly. "I don't think there's anything I can do. They'll have to just heal themselves."
"I know." Mary sighed. It really wasn't any bad kind of injury, but she had wanted to have Lydia hold her hands for a moment - she had expected that to be calming, and she was proven right.
"Anything else?" Lydia asked. She had spotted a scratch by Mary's collar bone. "What about that?" She lightly touched the skin, and Mary jolted.
"That's nothing." Mary said, a little embarrassed. Wickes had grabbed her by the front of her dress earlier, and in slapping his hand away, she had caused his nails to scrape over the spot.
"That don't look like nothing to me." Lydia wondered why Mary didn't want her to deal to that particular wound. "May I take a look?" she asked hesitantly.
Mary stared at Lydia for a moment, before reaching to the front of her own dress and undoing a couple of buttons. Then she held the folds of her blouse open to give Lydia access to the injury.
At the first touch of the moistened cloth to the open scrape, Mary winced.
"Oh Mary, I'm so sorry."
"Don't worry. It's okay now." Mary watched Lydia as she gently cleaned the tiny wound, dabbing at it with such care, almost as though she thought Mary might break otherwise. And in a way, she did break then, feeling tears well up in her eyes and a sob escape her before she could suppress it.
"Mary!" Lydia exclaimed at the sound, and looking up at the other woman's face, she saw the tears. Shock was finally catching up with her. She set the bowl and the sponge aside and said softly, "Come here," drawing Mary into her arms.
Mary cried against Lydia's shoulder, knowing she didn't have to put on a brave face. She knew that deep down, Lydia understood, and that made things easier and harder all at once. "I'm sorry, Lydia," she sobbed.
"What for?" Lydia was surprised, but she didn't cease stroking over Mary's hair and holding her close.
"The way I treated you when you arrived. I had no right."
Lydia smiled. "Oh, that," she said, as if it was nothing. She was used to being treated that way. And much, much worse.
Mary didn't listen. "I was afraid, Lydia. I can't explain it any other way. I simply don't know how."
Lydia drew back and raised Mary's face to hers with one finger under her chin. "You're a strong woman, Mary. You needn't be afraid of anything." She smiled, using her other hand to wipe the tears from Mary's cheeks. "But I think I know why you didn't want us around."
"You do?" Mary sniffled.
"When it comes to Chris Larabee, any woman would get possessive." Lydia smiled.
Mary blushed. She thought about that explanation, and she knew there was some truth in it. "It's not just that, though," she explained. "I don't think Chris has or will ever have that kind of feeling for me. He cares for me like he does for a good friend. But it's going to take someone very special to make him want to really start living again, and I know that someone isn't me."
Lydia knew Mary was right. She had - for a time - hoped to be that someone special herself.
Mary continued, looking into Lydia's eyes. "I had no right to judge you. And the worst thing is, even Wickes could see it. You know what he said to me?"
Lydia shook her head. She wanted Mary to tell her all she needed to say of her own accord.
"He said that the only difference between me and you is a family and a little bit of money, and that if it came to the worst, I wouldn't let my family starve to save my own pride." She sobbed. "He was right. No woman would."
Playing with a strand of Mary's hair, Lydia said softly, "I almost had those things - a family and a little money."
Mary sniffed, wiping a stray tear from beside her nose. "You were married?"
Lydia nodded. "Caleb and I were on a wagon train west, just after we got married over in Oklahoma." She smiled sadly. "We were so in love. We had all those plans - build a house, run a small cattle ranch, have a couple of kids, make a life. You know."
"Yes... I know." Mary sighed, remembering.
"There were only a few wagons, and we got attacked by stage coach robbers... we didn't stand a chance." Lydia took a shuddering breath. "Caleb... he wasn't gonna stand by and watch them take our few possessions. So they killed him. And the other men, too."
"Oh, Lydia," Mary said softly, taking the other woman's hands and holding them tight. She felt Lydia squeeze her hands back.
"They had more use for the women. Took us with them and handed us over to their boss."
"Wickes," Mary guessed.
Lydia nodded. "He set up a pretty lucrative business with us. First one in the territory," she said bitterly. "I guess it's one kind of pioneering."
Mary let go off Lydia's hands and drew her close. "I'm so, so sorry."
"I know, Mary. And I knew you weren't a bad person." Lydia let herself be held. No one ever just held her, apart from Chris and Buck sometimes. "People say and do things out here that they don't mean. It's a tough land. We all have to grow a protective skin."
"That's no excuse for my behavior, though."
"Yes, it is." Lydia pushed Mary back gently, her hands clasping her arms. "I forgive you, alright?"
Mary smiled a little, tilting her head shyly.
"Now you go ahead and forgive yourself."
Nodding, Mary looked into Lydia's eyes - gentle, compassionate eyes. "I'm glad you're here," she said, before she had even finished thinking the words.
Lydia was a little speechless. "Really?" she said.
Mary nodded vigorously. "And I'm glad you offered to take care of me, too."
"It's my fault Wickes got a hold of you in the first place, Mary. If anyone needs forgivin'..." Lydia looked down, letting go off Mary's arms.
"Hey." Mary smiled, waiting for Lydia to look at her again. "We've had enough guilt now. It wasn't your fault, or anyone's."
Lydia was going to protest, but Mary got ahead of her and pressed one palm across her mouth. When Lydia took the slender hand away and held it, Mary blushed.
"I don't know why I did that, Lydia. I..." Mary muttered. "I guess I'm just lonely. I don't remember the last time someone made me feel this comfortable."
With a smile, Lydia stated, "At least you didn't apologize again."
They laughed, both of them growing a little embarrassed.
Mary reached to button her dress up all the way again, but found her fingers stilled in midair.
"No." Lydia's hand was gentle and comforting when it reached around Mary's neck and pulled her close. "I know how hard it is to be alone." Her voice was compassionate and that went a little way towards calming the trembling in Mary's body as she realized that she was about to be kissed.
Soft, warm lips found Mary's mouth and after the initial shock, after wanting to draw back from that strange, yet so long missed gesture, Lydia managed to keep their lips connected until the kiss worked its own magic. The soft whimper from Mary made her smile into the kiss, as did the hesitant increase in pressure she felt from the other woman.
Lydia drew back just a little, and asked, "Do you want me to stop?"
Mary swallowed hard, pressing her lips tightly together as if she was weighing up whether the kiss was worth it. Then she made a decision. "No." This time, she was the one to bring their lips together again. Her arms moved around Lydia's waist, drawing her close.
Lydia parted her lips slightly, giving Mary time to think over the invitation. She was quite certain... no, she was positive, that Mary had never done this with a woman before. She knew something of her past - Buck was always very helpful in finding out the important things. And while she realized that Mary's "interest" might have something to do with her loneliness and lack of physical touch, it seemed as though she was also enjoying it.
They kissed with more tenderness than passion. Lydia didn't want to push Mary into anything she didn't want, and Mary was so unsure.
When their lips parted, Mary moved back a little, touching her mouth with one finger. "I... I..." she stuttered. "I've never kissed a woman before."
"Really?" Lydia said teasingly, feigning surprise.
"Have you?" Mary asked. Her voice was a little shaky with uncertainty.
Lydia smiled. "When you work for someone like Wickes, there are times when you need a little comfort from someone who... understands."
"Oh."
"It's okay, Mary," Lydia said a little regretfully; that kiss had been rather wonderful. "I think it's best if I leave now."
Mary watched her stand and straighten out her dress, before walking towards the door.
Lydia had made it halfway across the room when Mary called out after her, "Don't go!"
Turning, Lydia saw Mary looking at her with a curious expression on her face. "You want me to stay?" she asked.
Nodding, Mary held out both hands invitingly.
Lydia walked back towards her slowly. "Sure?" she asked.
Instead of a reply, Mary took her hands and pulled her back onto the sofa. "I could use a little comfort, Lydia. How about you?" She swallowed hard, unable to believe what kind of invitation she'd just issued.
Lydia was going to say 'no'. She couldn't imagine that Mary knew what she was asking for. But when she saw those beautiful green eyes look at her so trustingly, the milky skin now flushed with warmth and probably embarrassment, she couldn't just leave. And she didn't want to.
So she watched as Mary raised her hands slowly to the open buttons at her neckline and undid a few more until the barest hint of her breasts was visible. Her fingers were trembling. "Help me out here," she pleaded, her voice somewhere on the verge of hysteria and excitement.
Lydia laughed softly. "Gladly." She reached forward and undid the buttons on Mary's black dress all the way down to her lap while Mary watched her face. Then she slipped the dress back over her shoulders until Mary's upper body was bare except for the prim but romantically lacy undergarments. She took some time to admire the soft roundness of Mary's shoulders, the slim waist, the generous swell of her breasts... "You're very beautiful," she said honestly.
"So are you," Mary responded, reaching to run her fingers along the rounded neckline of Lydia's dress. It felt strange, touching another woman's skin this way. Strange and wonderful.
Lydia stilled Mary's hands, moving them slowly over her dress to trace the shape of her breasts and the line of her torso leading to her waist. She moved Mary's arms around her middle and drew her close, seeking out her mouth.
Mary had to shift slightly to lean into the kiss, bringing one leg up between Lydia's thighs and pressing the long, heavy dress against her lap.
Lydia trapped the leg there with hers, locking one over Mary's and using it to draw her closer still until the other woman almost straddled her.
Mary heard herself moaning softly when her bare skin touched the stiff material of Lydia's dress. And she realized she longed to feel Lydia's skin against her own. Her arms moved around the other woman's neck and she deepened the kiss, satisfied when she felt Lydia respond enthusiastically.
Feeling the hesitant touch of the tip of Mary's tongue against her own, Lydia parted her lips wider, drawing that tongue into her mouth. She played with it, tasted it, sucked on it, and eventually, she felt Mary's tongue join her own eagerly.
Mary began to work on Lydia's dress, fumbling with the closure while trying not to lose contact with her sweet mouth. She finally managed to tug the dress off far enough to bare Lydia's upper body, adorned as expected in a camisole made for seduction. She leaned back, taking a good look. "I've never owned anything like that," she admitted, appreciation evident in her tone.
Lydia smiled. "You *are* talking about my underwear?"
Mary laughed - a deeply resonant, feminine laugh.
"You ought to laugh more often, Mary," Lydia said. "It sounds lovely."
Shyly lowering her eyes, Mary smiled. A shadow fell across her face and when she looked up again, she suddenly realized that the sun was close to disappearing behind the horizon. The evening was close.
"It's getting dark," Lydia said, as if reading Mary's thoughts.
"Yes." Mary quickly stood, gathering her half slipped-off dress in her arms so it wouldn't fall off her, and went to light a petroleum lamp on the table. When she turned back to face Lydia, she was stopped by a hand on hers.
Lydia drew Mary's hands aside and the dress fell to the floor with a soft rustle of fabric. She reached around her waist and loosened the petticoats as well, letting them pool around Mary's feet.
Mary looked so shy and uncertain, Lydia almost felt as though she was taking advantage of her. But there was a definite glint of desire in the green eyes - darker now than they looked in natural light.
Lydia held Mary's hips and drew her forward. She swiftly removed Mary's corset and outer layer of underwear. When she had Mary dressed only in a crisp white chemise, she placed a light kiss on her stomach, through the fabric, and smiled at the sharp intake of breath.
Mary moved her hands into Lydia's hair, removing the pins holding it up until the mass of chestnut waves cascaded down over Lydia's pale shoulders. Then she bent down, cupped the other woman's face in her hands, and kissed her.
Lydia shifted and pulled Mary forward until she was straddling her thighs. She reached around her and beneath the golden tresses, feeling the burning heat of Mary's flesh through the thin fabric.
Mary moaned into the kiss when she felt Lydia's gentle hands follow the curve of her spine and move up over her shoulders and forward. She felt them tracing her collarbones and moving down towards the closure of her chemise. A finger trailed off slightly and dipped into the valley between her breasts. With a jolt, she drew back, overwhelmed by the unexpected effect of the touch. "Lydia!" she exclaimed in a breathy voice.
Lydia smiled up at her, noting that a lovely blush had colored Mary's cheeks and that her lips were parted, drawing shuddering breaths. She moved her hands lower still, her fingers almost accidentally running over the hardened nubs beneath the fabric before her palms cupped Mary's breasts.
Mary moved into the touch with a sigh, pressing herself harder against Lydia's groin, her hands holding on to her shoulders and her head falling back.
Lydia's hands moved upwards again, playfully tugging at the straps and drawing them halfway off Mary's shoulders. She unfastened the little bow holding the chemise in place and drew the fabric apart until Mary's breasts were partially bared. She heard her rapid breathing, felt how her heart was racing inside her chest, and touched her bare skin.
Mary whimpered softly, watching as Lydia bent her head and - slipping the chemise off her torso completely - touched her lips to the creamy skin. The touch was as light as a feather, but it burned like fire. When a tongue snaked out between those deep red lips, trailing across her flesh to flick over her hard nipples, she shuddered uncontrollably.
"Mary?" Lydia looked up, but she was overwhelmed to see the heat in Mary's eyes. Hunger, even.
Mary kissed Lydia, rubbing her bare chest against hers through the flimsy lace of Lydia's underclothes.
Lydia groaned, the gentle pressure causing her own nipples to draw into tight nubs as well. She held Mary's hips, but her hands wandered around to the barely clothed round orbs of Mary's buttocks, squeezing and kneading, causing Mary to buck against her. She prayed that she wasn't moving too fast, but she simply couldn't hold herself back. She slipped one hand beneath the cotton, moving it over the curve of Mary's slender hips and forward, where she briefly let it rest on the other woman's belly, waiting to see if Mary would protest. But there was no resistance to her touch, and Lydia's hand moved lower, between Mary's spread legs and straight to the wet heat of her lap.
"OH God!!" Mary had to try hard not to scream when Lydia's hand cupped her sex, but she couldn't help her reflex movement of rubbing against the slender hand, urging it to explore her further. And it did.
Lydia traced the moist outer lips teasingly before drawing several fingers forward over the whole length of Mary's vagina. Then, she pushed into her.
Mary's gasp turned into shuddering breaths when Lydia began to slide her slim fingers in and out of her, her rhythm growing faster and faster until Mary was so wet that Lydia's hand was coated with her silky fluids.
With a seductive smile, Lydia removed her hand. Her warm brown eyes now held an intensity and fire which awed Mary into silence, causing her to discard the stifled moan of protest before it even left her mouth. Raising her hand to her lips, Lydia proceeded to lick Mary's juices off one finger before presenting the hand to Mary.
Mary blushed deeply, but her desire overwhelmed her embarrassment and she closed her lips around two of Lydia's fingers, suckling her own taste from them.
Lydia finally withdrew her hand. She let her fingers slide from Mary's mouth, drawing them slowly over the full lips as they departed and smiling when Mary tried to prolong the contact by moving forward with her.
Mary gazed at her longingly, knowing that she had to feel and taste this woman who had awakened desires in her that she herself had long suppressed out of necessity. She considered asking for it, but shame got the better of her.
Somehow, Lydia knew, and when Mary's eyes followed her hand back to where it settled on Mary's shoulder, she smiled up at her. "Do you want me to undress for you, Mary?" she asked, her voice breathy and teasing.
Nodding, knowing her voice would inevitably fail her, Mary watched Lydia untie and unbutton her underclothes before revealing the smoothest, creamiest skin.
Mary reached to touch her, running a finger down the long neck past Lydia's collarbones and into the sloping valley between her breasts. Then she grew bolder, her finger leaving its trail and moving to the left, outlining the swell of a breast, feeling it firm and draw up underneath the touch. Exhilarated by the effect her exploration was having, Mary moved slowly towards the center of the smooth orb, rubbing over the rosy nub as if by accident, before retracing the movement, this time lingering, until the nub felt like a tiny pebble.
Lydia's breaths came fast and irregularly. She wondered if Mary had any idea what her shy touch was doing to her. When she looked up and saw the emerald eyes raised to connect with her own, she had her answer. Mary was a tease.
Smiling, Lydia shifted from her sitting position so that she could lie back against the sofa's cushions, drawing Mary on top of her until their legs entangled with each others' as well as the voluminous fabric of Lydia's dress and petticoats, held up only by her hips and their tightly pressed together bodies.
Mary bent her head to kiss Lydia again, this time moving the kiss from her mouth to her cheek and down the pale neck towards Lydia's shoulder, where she lingered, suckling on the smooth flesh.
Lydia took Mary's hand - which had remained at her breast - and led it between them, taking the wrist to move it down into the abundance of lace and cotton separating them. She knew now that Mary would be comfortable doing this, and she ached for her touch. When the long fingers brushed past her damp curls and the hand in her grasp was turned to allow them to enter her, she drew a deep breath.
Mary knew at that moment that there was nothing in the world that could compare to this. To the feel of another woman's warm center, so wet and open to her touch, contracting around her fingers involuntarily and drawing them in deeper and deeper. She felt Lydia press her thighs harder against her own, desperate to increase the pressure building within her. There was only so much she could do though, with Mary's leg between hers. So Mary used her own leg to push up against Lydia's sex, moving her hand harder against the damp, swollen flesh.
"Mary..." Lydia whispered, her tongue snaking out to wet her dry lips. "That feels wonderful."
Mary smiled. "Yes, it does." And she drew her hand forward, the way Lydia had done to her before, and in doing so, her index finger brushed over the tight little knot at the entrance to Lydia's body, causing the woman beneath her to buck up with a deep moan, pushing that spot against her finger harder, not wanting to let it go.
Mary obliged, slowly and teasingly stroking over the hard flesh against her fingertip, feeling it swell and grow ever more tender. Meanwhile, she lowered her mouth to the base of Lydia's throat, kissing the silky skin, nipping and tasting it while driving the other woman ever closer to a shattering climax.
"Please... don't stop what you're doing... Mary," Lydia pleaded, her body shaken by small spasms. Her long dark hair fell over the armrest of the sofa and her neck was bent backwards like an offering to Mary's searing lips.
"I won't," Mary whispered, moving against Lydia's partially bared body while her finger grew ever more insistent against her pleasure center. When she heard Lydia's moans becoming desperate, and she knew that she could take no more, she let her rubbing finger - joined by two more - slide deeper into Lydia's body, followed by a few rapid strokes in and out of her wetness.
And then, Mary caught Lydia's whimpered exclamation with her mouth and her hot climax with her hand.
When Mary looked into Lydia's eyes, she saw a mix of stunned surprise and dazed satisfaction there. She smiled.
"Who'd have thought?" Lydia said, her voice lazy and rough. She reached up a hand to cup Mary's cheek.
Mary wanted to ask for something, but despite their intimacy, she felt odd doing so.
Thankfully, Lydia got ahead of her. "Do you have a bed, Mary?" she asked, smiling when Mary nodded eagerly and scrambled to her feet. She let herself be pulled up off the sofa and, gathering her abundance of frilly petticoats with one arm, took Mary's hand and followed her into another room - the bedroom.
Lydia inhaled deeply of the clean freshness drifting from the neat, bright sheets. Another room bathed in Mary's personal touch... it was all flowers and dark wood, lit warmly by the lamp Mary had brought along. The linen covering the wide bed was thick, white cotton, tucked neatly into place. For now, at least, Lydia thought wickedly.
Mary was about to lie down when Lydia reached for her arm, drawing her back. "No," she said softly, taking the fabric of Mary's remaining underclothes from the blonde woman's fingers and letting it drop.
Mary closed her eyes, her shyness getting the better of her. It had been a long time before she was exposed this way to the eyes of a lover. A lover... how odd that seemed. Not because her lover was a woman, if she was honest to herself, but because the entire concept had become so foreign to her over the past few years. She had never even realized how lonely she had been, and how much she had craved touch and intimacy.
Intimacy Lydia was only to happy to bestow on her when she sank to her knees now, slowly sliding Mary's garter and stockings down the long, slender legs and removing them together with the soft, black boots. She stood again, looking up at Mary's face, watching the fluttering of eyelids, the trembling lips, the flaring nostrils... "You have nothing to worry about, Mary," she said, her voice carrying a husky tone. "You're such a beautiful woman."
Mary looked at her with a grateful smile, allowing herself to be pushed back onto the bed where she lay back, watching Lydia strip off the rest of her clothes. Her breath caught when she realized how aroused she was by the slow revelation of creamy flesh, the contrast of pale skin and flaming red hair. Her eyes roved over Lydia's beautiful form appreciatively, coming to rest again on those soft, dark eyes. She wanted to say something, to compliment the other woman, but words failed her when she found the object of her lustful gaze slowly inching her way up the bed and towards her like a cat.
Lydia smiled when she parted Mary's thighs gently, her fingers tickling the soft skin on the inside until Mary jerked involuntarily, her legs falling open further.
Moaning softly, Mary allowed Lydia's gentle fingertips to brush over the juncture of her hips, tracing a line upwards over her hipbone and back over her belly, where they slowly moved downwards until they entangled in her soft, light curls. And then she watched wide-eyed as Lydia bent down, pressing a few soft kisses on the inside of her thighs, one after the other, before licking a path towards her wet, aching sex.
Clawing the bed sheets, Mary held her breath, her eyes fixed on the sight of Lydia as she let her tongue flick out briefly, making contact with hot, swollen flesh. *Her flesh. "Please..." she whimpered, growing more sensitive and wet by the moment.
Lydia looked up at her, enjoying the hazy look in Mary's eyes, before diving down on her, holding her folds apart a little while dipping her tongue into her moist abundance, allowing Mary only a brief shudder before delving in deeper, drawing her tongue through the luscious wetness, rasping over the nub at the very front of Mary's opening, causing her to jolt and groan out her need.
"You taste so sweet, Mary..." Lydia whispered huskily, noting that her words had nearly the same effect as her wet caresses. She continued both, alternating between them.
Mary's fingers clenched the sheet while she had the irresistible urge to clamp her thighs shut to increase the pressure.
As if she knew, Lydia reached around the smooth legs and drew them over her shoulders, bringing them together until she was entirely buried in Mary's lap, her tongue lapping and teasing her mercilessly at every angle and in every way she could until she had Mary reduced to a whimpering bundle of raw nerves.
Mary felt the need for release building inside herself, demanding to be set free. And with another flick of Lydia's tongue, followed by the overwhelming sensation of the soft, red lips closing around her most sensitive spot, Mary came, stifling a scream by biting down on her lip until she nearly broke the soft skin.
Lydia lapped up as much of the pearly essence as she could reach before sliding up over Mary's stomach, coming to lie on top of her and in her arms. "Mmm..." she murmured, licking her lips and ensuring that Mary would see it, before taking her lover's mouth in a tender kiss.
+ + + + + + +
When they lay together later on, Mary tightly curled up in Lydia's arms and a thin blanket protecting them both from the chilly night air, Mary whispered softly, "Thank you."
Smiling, Lydia raised Mary's chin until she could see her eyes - glowing like sparkling gems in the light from the oil lamp. "For something so selfish?" she joked.
Mary nodded seriously. She had something on her mind. It showed in the tension of her shoulders and the frown on her pretty face. "Lydia?" she started.
"Hmm?" Lydia sighed, pressing the blonde head tightly against the side of her neck.
"Where are you going to go?"
Sadly, Lydia admitted, "I have no idea, Mary."
Mary considered something. "You could stay."
"And do what, darling?"
Smiling at the endearment, Mary reached up to cover Lydia's hand with her own. "You could work with me. Remember - you told me you were good at lots of things." She smirked. "You weren't exaggerating."
Laughing softly, Lydia admitted, "That wasn't something I figured you'd find out about."
Mary chuckled but grew serious almost immediately. "I'm glad I did."
"So am I."
Their eyes met for a moment and they shared a smile.
"But I meant it about the job," Mary said.
"I wish I could, Mary." Lydia sighed. "But I just don't see myself settling down. Not anymore. Besides..."
Mary knew what Lydia was about to say and of course, she was right. Nodding her agreement, even if it saddened her, she buried her face in the crook of Lydia's neck, inhaling her faintly sweet scent.
"I'm never gonna forget you though, Mary," Lydia said, holding Mary close. "And who knows, maybe I'll be passing through town again some day."
Raising herself on one elbow, Mary nodded. "I'd like that." With a mischievous twinkle in her eyes, she added, "Someone to talk to..."
"Someone to confide in," Lydia supplied.
"Someone to make love to."
Lydia smiled. "The night only just started, Mary."
And Mary leant over her, tracing her lips with a finger before bestowing a tender kiss. "Lets not waste any of it then."
END