Guardian Girl (The Chronicles of Staffordshire) (25 page)

Lena stepped closer to Lenore, trembling, fearing the certain outcome of their shared journey. Lenore stepped forward and touched Lena’s fingertips. She looked into Lena’s eyes, accepting Lena’s unspoken forgiveness, delicately weaving their fingers together. Lenore hesitated, waiting for one final confirmation before springing her trap. Lena nodded and offered a wavering smile.

Through the bedroom they walked, past the satin-sheeted bed, past the rose petal-covered comforter, and into the bathroom. Each romantic touch stirred Lena’s longing and crushed her resistance. The women stopped at the antique, free-standing tub, Lena standing motionless, staring trance-like at the water. Candlelight danced in the rippling, reflective surface. The fragrance of scented salts floated upward, filling her nostrils. Lena closed her eyes and imagined life the way it used to be, the girls cuddling at bedtime - only cuddling - embracing one another as girlfriends, not lovers.

Lena whispered her permission. “Prepare me, Lenore.”

“Lena! I… I cannot! I must not do this to you! I have done too much already! You must stop me! I cannot stop myself! Lena, I cannot stop myself from seducing people. Please stop me!”

The tables turned. Lenore trembled, fighting her urge to attack Lena and strip away her clothing. Lena felt Lenore’s fear in her quivering palm.

With her eyes closed, Lena lifted their clasped hands and placed Lenore’s hand high on her shoulder. On practiced impulse, Lenore slipped her fingers upward and back, spreading them across the nape of Lena’s neck. Electrified passion charged through Lena’s skin as Lenore’s fingertips brushed through sensitive hairs.

“Please, Lenore. Prepare me for my bath. I’m ready. I won’t be ready for long. I might chicken out if you don’t do this right now.”

“But Lena… My God… Are you certain?”

“No! I’m
not
certain!
I’m scared!
” Lena sniffled. “I’m just certain about one thing, Lenore. I am
absolutely certain that I love you and I want to be with you forever.
Now… Take off my goddamned clothes before I totally lose my nerve!”

Lenore stepped behind the Wild Child and slipped her hands around to Lena’s stomach. Grasping the T-shirt by the edge, Lenore pulled it up and over Lena’s head.

Lena’s naked back fascinated Lenore. The buxom roommate’s curvaceous breasts hung wide on her trim torso. It would only take a second for Lenore to reach around and grope Lena’s tits.

Lenore resisted.

Lenore knelt behind Lena, her breath warming Lena’s bottom. She lifted each foot, removing the tennis freak’s sneakers. Lena’s erotic, bare feet tempted Lenore, begging her to kiss and rub them.

Lenore resisted.

Lenore stood up, maintaining a few inches distance with Lena’s back, desperate to avoid touching her breasts to Lena’s skin. She reached past Lena’s stomach and found the top button of her jeans. Lenore unfastened Lena’s skin-tight denims and wriggled them down her legs, taking the panties along with the pants, first one leg, then the next, leaving Lena standing naked next to the tub.

The seductress paused, awaiting her prey’s permission to continue.

“Take down my hair, Lenore. Brush it the way you always do.”

Lenore breathed heavily. The intimacy of the girls’ nightly hair brushing exchange often caused Lenore to disappear into the bathroom to secretly masturbate.

“Lena! I cannot stop myself! I cannot hold myself back! If I brush your hair… I will give in. I will touch you. I am trying to stop myself!”

“Just do it, Lenore. We’ve come this far. Please… Just do it. Go. Get your brush. I’ll wait. Go ahead, Freaky. I want you to do it.”

Lenore left the bathroom and returned with her personal brush. She removed pins and bands from Lena’s hair, letting Lena’s long, dark, Mediterranean locks fall and flow across her broad, powerful back.

Stroke after stroke after stroke Lenore brushed, running her fingers through Lena’s hair, releasing the roommate’s soft, silken sheen in the candlelit bathroom. The gentleness of Lenore’s ministry melted Lena’s heart, heightening her longing for her world-desired roommate.

At the conclusion of Lenore’s preparations, the Wild Child stepped forward into the bath, lifting her hair up and away, settling in, draping it over the edge of the tub before slipping beneath the water’s surface. Lena closed her eyes and reclined her head.

Lenore stood next to the tub, legs parted in an overt attempt at a seduction she could no longer restrain. A tear formed at the corner of Lena’s closed, right eye. The scents, the warmth of the bath, the intoxicating setting, the exotic beauty of the seductress, all fueled her long-brewing desire for Lenore.

“Bathe me, Lenore.”

Lena’s eyes snapped open, piercing Lenore’s soul with loving terror. Lenore imagined Lena’s spirit stepping out of the tub and floating into her chest. She felt their souls become one. Whatever Lenore would do to Lena, the bathing beauty sent an urgent message…

“My heart is yours, Lenore. Be gentle.”

Lena closed her eyes, nervously anticipating Lenore’s first touch.

Lenore knelt next to the tub and picked up a large loofa. Dipping it into the water, she ran it up and down Lena’s right leg, staying well clear of Lena’s private paradise. Moving to the end of the tub, Lenore lifted Lena’s leg above the lip and kissed the sole of Lena’s foot. She kissed Lena’s toes, stroking the sponge across Lena’s leg, sending tingles and tremors throughout her lover’s body.

For a moment, Lena’s fear and anxiety floated away with the bath salts. Her body relaxed as Lenore shared intimate touches learned during their fully clothed, make-out sessions at Paulson. Lenore ran the sponge up and down both legs, repeating the same sole-kissing, toe-tickling motions on each half of Lena’s body.

A vivid scene played out in Lenore’s mind, of the drenched tennis pro’s legs wrapped around her body, crushing the lithe model with an athlete’s powerful muscles, pressing Lena’s pussy into her abdomen. Lenore imagined the two women lying naked in a field together, her head settled on Lena’s belly as Lena’s legs cradled her torso.

Lenore crawled to the side of the tub, inclining across to continue her cleansing ritual. Lifting Lena’s arm, Lenore bent forward and soaked the sponge. Her original, evil intent reared its head as Lenore pressed her breasts forward into the water and swept her nipples across Lena’s chest.

Fight or flight reflexes kicked in and Lena’s body tensed! Her toes pressed against the end of the tub. Her hands gripped the edges. Lenore saw Lena’s reaction and backed off. The subject of Lenore’s obsession relaxed, releasing her tension back into the warm waters of the bath.

Lenore lifted Lena’s arm again, staying well clear of another chest-mashing moment of terror.

Lenore’s instincts for seduction suggested another tack. She placed herself at the head of the tub, bending over Lena and dangling her breasts above her roommate’s face. Lenore placed her nipples within inches of Lena’s forehead, but did not touch her. She dipped her sponge in the water and rubbed Lena’s belly in a swirling motion, a move Lenore knew aroused the girlfriend, a move for which the frustrated roomie received many hand-swats during their Paulson years.

The sigh of a contented coed emboldened Lenore, leading her to run the sponge up and into Lena’s cleavage, eliciting further contented sighs and a leg-shuffling hint of arousal. Lenore slipped back and kissed Lena’s forehead, continuing light scrubbing motions. She swirled her sponge around Lena’s breasts, floating her sponge over Lena’s nipples, drawing out a pronounced moan from her thawing sweetheart.

A moment of risk lured the untrustworthy servant, leading her to swiftly plunge her sponge into the waters between Lena’s thighs, withdrawing it directly over Lena’s pussy. Lenore lifted the sponge high and squeezed, dripping warm water onto Lena’s clit. Lena moaned loudly, writhing as water splashed into her virginal cunny.

Spreading her legs against the sides of the tub, Lena offered herself to Lenore. Lenore went along, plunging the sponge more aggressively into the water between Lena’s legs and dragging it across Lena’s sex. Lenore positioned her thumb to slip between Lena’s labia and withdrew the sponge. Lena’s back arched, her chest shot forward, and her head pressed backward against the tub edge. Her body twisted and contorted, ripples of unfamiliar pleasure spreading from her toes to her face.

Breathing heavily, Lena opened her clenched eyes. Though tense, her body tilted more toward lustful anticipation than fearful dread. “Lenore… Before you do anything else, can you climb into the tub and lie here with me? Before you use more of your freaky supermodel moves on me, can you just lie with me like we always do at bed time?”

“Gladly, my beautiful Wild Child.”

Caught by remorse, Lenore stopped mid-rise, quickly returning to a kneeling position by the head of the tub. Lenore pressed her mouth to Lena’s ear and confessed her darkest fear.

Entrapment.

“Lena, I cannot do this!
I want you you so much!
I have wanted you for
years
, since the first time we kissed. I have wanted to make love to you every night of these past four years.” Tears streamed from Lenore’s eyes. “But Lena…
You cannot trust me!
If I get into this tub with you I will not be able to stop myself. I will make love to you, I know it! And once I do, you will never be able to leave me! I do not want to trap you, Lena! I just want you to love me!”

Turning her head to meet Lenore’s eyes, Lena lifted a wet hand and pressed it to Lenore’s cheek. “Easy, Lenore… It’s okay. Just lie with me for a while. Just climb in and hug me the way I always did to you at bedtime. Just lie with me. Please, Lenore. I don’t want to be alone in here. I need to feel you next to me. Just… Please, Lenore… Let’s... Let’s go slow, okay?”

Lenore nodded, walked to the side of the tub, and stepped in. A snug fit meant pressing her flesh against Lena’s, twisting her legs together with Lena’s, pressing her thigh between Lena’s legs and tightly against Lena’s pussy. She slipped one arm under Lena’s head while wrapping the other across Lena’s rising and falling chest.

Naked together at last, Lenore kissed Lena’s cheek. She kissed her lips. Her heat growing, Lenore kissed Lena’s forehead, her eyelids, and her ears.

Breathing heavily in Lena’s ear, Lenore offered her devotion. “I love you so much, Lena. I will try to take as long as you need. I am desperate to make love to you, but I will try to hold myself back and take whatever time you need.”

Lena closed her eyes and wept.

“What is wrong, Lena? Why are you crying? What can I do?”

“I’m afraid, Lenore! I’m so afraid!”

“Of what?” Lenore asked, kissing Lena’s cheek.

Lena started shaking. She clutched Lenore’s arm, pulling it tight to her chest.

“Lenore… I’m afraid of
you!
”

Seventeen

“Literal Lenore” misunderstood Lena’s use of the word “fear.”

“But Lena… I will not hurt you! Remember? I tried to let you take your bath by yourself. I would never do anything to hurt you. I love you!”

“That’s not it, Lenore! I’m not afraid of you
hurting
me. I’m afraid of
losing myself
inside you!
I’m afraid that if we do this I might never want to be with a man!
I might never want to leave you because once we’re lovers… I could… I’ll lose my dream! Lenore… You’re so… You’re so… God, Lenore, if I make love to you I might get lost inside you and I might never want to leave! I already love you so much I feel like I’m already losing my dream! If we make love… I may never love a man! I want to be in love with a man, Lenore!”

The Wild Child flipped sideways in the tub and grabbed Lenore, burying her head in Lenore’s shoulder, weeping. Lena clutched Lenore, pressing her fingers into Lenore’s back, not wanting to succumb to her urges and move forward, not wanting to abandon her lover.

“But I love you, Lenore! I love you so much I can’t breathe sometimes! I feel so alone and afraid when I’m not with you! I never want to lose you! But… I want a
man
! I want to love a
man
, and I want to live with a
man
, and I want a
man
to make love to me, and someday I want to have a baby with my
husband!
I never wanted to be a
lesbian
, Lenore!”

Lenore finally understood the carnage she had unleashed upon Lena’s innocent soul. She struggled against unchecked seductive impulses, saying words she meant but did not believe she could fulfill as she caressed Lena’s head.

“Lena… Lena, my beautiful Wild Child! I will
wait!
I will not do this if you are not ready. I will get out of this tub, I will put on some clothes, and I will let you enjoy the rest of your bath in peace. I will even sleep in the other room if I must! I will sleep on the couch each night and I will hold back every desire if it means proving to you how much I love you!”