Hi Kittens - Here's the final update to Chapter 4. It's a bit longer than the rest, which may be to the good.
Rating: NC-17 throughout.... If you have an emergency thudding kit, you might want to have it ready. This may be safe to read at work, or you may have to leave work early - I can't tell anymore.
Angst rating - about a 6 on a scale of 1-10.
Oh, there is one image I want to share: Susan St. James in the movie "Love at First Bite" - if you don't understand or don't know the movie, I'll explain later....
Anyway, have fun.
****
Willow shivered happily as she watched Tara’s mouth descend toward her face. Having Tara take inventory of her back had been the most sensual experience of her life. Personally, she found fronts far more interesting, and she guessed that her lover did as well. More to play with. She parted her lips for Tara’s questing ones and drew her into a deep kiss.
“So – should I start at your head or your toes?” Tara murmured into her mouth.
She considered for just an instant and suggested, “Both?”
Tara chuckled. “You just want me to end up in the middle.”
“Well, yeah, I kinda do.” Willow ran her hands through the blonde hair. It was so beautiful, shimmer-y and soft, and she loved to wind her hands in it and play with it.
“Vixen.” Tara kissed her lightly. Her lover began backing down towards her feet, brushing her with her nipples and trailing hot kisses in their wake. Slipping off the side of the bed, Tara knelt between her dangling feet and planted a kiss on each knee. “Can you sit up a bit, sweetie, or maybe just lean on your elbows?”
“Uh-huh. Why?” she asked, as she shifted back a bit and up onto her elbows.
“Don’t you want to watch?” Tara smiled, and Willow shivered as she recognized her lover’s naughty smile.
“Ummm, okay,” she agreed hesitantly. Part of what had been so erotic when Tara had “mapped” her back was not knowing what her lover was up to.
Tara’s smile broadened into a grin that narrowed her eyes. Willow felt her tummy flutter in response and she licked her lips nervously.
Her lover cupped her left foot between her hands and gently massaged it. She could feel the bones and muscles shift a bit as Tara squeezed it between her hands. With her fingers she pulled each toe to its fullest extension and rubbed the webbing separating them. Her strong thumbs pressed into the inside of her foot, then with the back of a fingernail she drew a line along the side of her foot from her heel to her big toe.
Willow gasped and tried to jerk her foot free, but to no avail. She looked directly into the blue eyes and opened her mouth in protest, but said nothing verbally as Tara bent her head over her foot. Inwardly, she was practically screaming, ‘don’t lick my foot!’
That was to no avail as well.
Tara’s mouth covered the top of her foot with warm wet kisses. Tara-tongue swirled around her ankle and trailed over the same path her fingernail had taken. Short of ripping her foot away or kicking out, all she could do was watch. A flood of tension left her when Tara finally relinquished her foot with a gentle kiss on her ankle and a soft “Willow-foot.”
She should have stopped her lover then but hesitated, and Tara captured her right foot and began the process anew.
Should have, could have.
Didn’t.
Trembling, Willow endured the beginning of Tara’s assault on her right foot. Somehow she managed not to plant her free foot on Tara’s shoulder and push her back. By sheer force of will, a whole lot of squirming and twisting, and considerable clenching of her hands in the covers, she didn’t kick her lover.
“Willow-foot.” Tara kissed her ankle and she relaxed.
“Good God, Tara! Do you realize I almost ….”
“I trust you, sweetie,” Tara interrupted.
“Yeah, well,” Willow sighed, not terribly mollified, “that tickled.”
“So then, you didn’t find any of that, um, stimulating?” her lover queried, and smiling very slowly, arched one eyebrow.
She looked past her knees into the dancing blue eyes and couldn’t lie. “I think I’m sitting in a puddle.”
“Good thing amoebas can swim,” Tara chuckled. Lowering her head again, she began caressing the inside of her right ankle with her tongue and fingers.
Willow watched, lips slightly parted, and ignored the amoeba comment. Some things you just let go, particularly if the distraction was good enough, and she had a very good view of Tara’s pink tongue as it darted in and out between her full lips to lick her ankles. Her lover was alternating between right and left.
Very nice, very distracting – she squirmed again, and it had nothing to do with being ticklish.
Kiss. “Willow-ankle.” Kiss. “Willow-ankle.”
“Um, can I request an intermission?” Willow sat up completely and reached out toward her lover.
Tara caught up her hand, kissed her fingers, and gripped her wrist. Ignoring her question, she nibbled and kissed. Her tongue slipped the lengths of her fingers, gliding between them, over them. Opening her mouth, she sucked each finger in turn, then her thumb. Tara nibbled the fleshy bits with her teeth and then slowly explored her palm.
“Willow-hand,” she whispered softly. “Let me have your other hand, sweetie.” Willow watched as her other hand, seemingly of its own will, reached out toward Tara.
Fingers, palm, Tara-lips, Tara-tongue, and finally another soft “Willow-hand.” Tara held her hands lightly in her own, and gave each another kiss. “Did you have a question?”
“Uh ….” Willow could only stare into the narrowed blue eyes.
“Why don’t you lean back on your elbows then?” Tara suggested, and somehow Willow found herself doing just that again.
Tara’s hands rubbed up and down her left calf, her fingers kneading her muscles.
“Feels nice,” Willow said softly.
“That’s the idea,” Tara replied. She nibbled her way up one side of her lower leg and back down the other, then licked the length of her shin. “Willow-leg.” She switched to the right. Hands stroking up and down, she suddenly stopped, her fingers caressing a small area on the outside just above the ankle. Her head lifted and she looked in Willow’s face. “What happened?”
“Oh, that. That’s the scar from when MOO tried to burn me at the stake,” Willow explained. “Cordelia didn’t quite get the fire out in time, so my pants kinda caught fire and my sock melted a little. Nothing too major really, it’s just that little bit in that one place.”
Tara looked up at her, eyes wide, “Y-You didn’t say you were hurt.”
“Um … oops?” Willow shrugged it off. “It’s not like it was a big burn, not even as long as my little finger and barely 2nd degree, I didn’t even go to the hospital, just the doctor the next day, um, after mom found out.”
“She didn’t know?!” Tara seemed aghast.
“Well, uh, no. Can we not talk about my mother?” Willow asked. “Can you just go back to doing what you were doing? ‘Cause it feels really nice.”
Her lover’s normally serene expression hardened for a few moments, her chin lifting and firming, her blue eyes flashing – and not in a humorous way. But she slowly lowered her mouth.
Willow’s eyes closed as Tara’s mouth closed over the scar, aroused that her lover would even love one of her blemishes. She sucked gently and, while the scar itself had no feeling, it made all the nerves in the surrounding skin quiver. She didn’t feel the kiss either, but Willow heard the soft intonation “Willow-scar,” and opened her eyes.
Tara leaned forward onto the bed and gazed at her with a very earnest expression. “Y-You are d-danger girl.”
She shook her head in denial, but when she tried to speak Tara squeezed her knee and shook her own head.
“N-No, you are. Just p-promise me that if you get h-hurt, even just a little, you’ll t-tell me. You won’t h-hide it.” Tara’s eyes glistened with unshed tears.
“I promise.” Willow supplied the only acceptable answer, and bewildered by the alternating waves of arousal and distress, asked, “Why don’t you come up here with me for just a little while?” She lay back completely to encourage her lover.
Tara nodded sharply once and crawled back up her body, snuggling into the corner made by her right shoulder and arm. But Willow turned towards her and pulled her closer still, cradling her in her arms as her left leg lifted and draped over her legs.
Nose to nose, she looked deep into her lover’s eyes, unsurprised by the depth of love she saw there, but still frightened that someone could love her that much. Swallowing hard, she looked away.
Tara kissed her on the cheek. “S-Sorry, sweetie.”
Willow looked back, and Tara had it locked back down. The love was still there, but it no longer threatened to sweep her away. Her hand tangling in the blonde tresses, she kissed her gently.
Simply holding Tara was something she thought she could do for hours. So she did that for a good long time. Just holding and kissing. Listening to Tara breathe and knowing that she was listening to her. Just being Willow, just being Tara.
Gradually, slowly, Tara began mapping her body again with more gentle kisses. Willow-hair was followed by Willow-eyebrows and Willow-eyes.
Willow’s lips parted as Tara kissed her lips and chin, languidly placing kisses over her throat. Her eyes closed to slits when a moist tongue replaced the soft lips. Tara used long slow licks, from the base of her throat up to her jawline, working her way from front to back on the left side of her neck. It felt so good having the warmth of Tara’s tongue gliding over her skin, and then having her breath cool the saliva almost immediately. Tara’s mouth felt so different from any other that had licked or nibbled her neck. Oz’s chin and upper lip had been prickly, which wasn’t a bad sensation in small amounts, and the vampires’ mouths had been cool to cold. She shivered involuntarily in memory.
“Willow.”
Uh-oh. Willow recognized that tone of voice. Not exactly cranky, but – perhaps peeved was the best description of her lover’s voice. And she didn’t want Tara cranky – or peeved – she just wanted Tara to keep on doing what she was doing. She wondered if she needed to reply.
Tara lifted a hand and probed an area back towards her ear.
Damn. Willow sighed. “Tara, ….”
“D-Did she bite you?”
“Huh? Oh. Evil-me, no, she only licked. That was Harmony,” Willow explained quickly, not wanting the interruption to last too long. Nonetheless she suddenly found herself staring into Tara’s blue eyes.
“Who is H-Harmony?”
“One of Cordelia’s sheep. We were in school together from third grade on. She bit me last semester before Halloween. At the Bronze. When I was helping Oz load some stuff in his van.” Willow could see Tara’s anger and concern build with every statement. “I think she got turned at graduation. Anyway, it was really fast, she barely had a chance to take any blood before Oz drove her off.” She tried earnest-Willow on Tara, and got only a lifted chin and a look of disbelief. Okay, not gullible like Buffy. Good to know.
“You kn-knew her?” Tara asked.
“Well, yeah.” Willow wriggled, ostensibly trying to find a more comfortable position, and sighed. “She picked on me for ten years. Stupid vacuous tramp.”
“S-So, when she bit you,” Tara suddenly looked relieved, “… it didn’t …”
“EWWwww! Tara, that is just unbelievably gross. Harmony turning me on? Double ewww, and blech, too. I’d almost rather have Spike, at least he has a brain, sort of, and ….” Willow suddenly stopped that thought cold at the considering look Tara was giving her.
“He said you were y-yummy.”
“Tara, no. Not with Spike. Not ever. He tried a couple times, yes, but he has that chip now that keeps him from biting. So, no.” Willow remembered how horribly afraid she’d been, but then also how funny it was, in a weird sort of way – that is, if they both hadn’t been so totally pathetic. Angelus, on the other hand, hadn’t been either pathetic or funny; that had been totally terrifying. She thought maybe she should keep that encounter to herself, at least for the moment.
“H-He’s not bad-looking.” Tara pushed.
“If you’re into the evil un-dead, maybe, but I’m not,” Willow retorted. “Not even when the evil un-dead is me.” She shuddered melodramatically, although she’d already admitted to Tara that having her vampire self lick her neck had turned her on. “Buffy’s the one with the vampire thing, not me, and how warped is that anyway – the Slayer loving a vampire? Even if he is a good vampire with a soul and all.”
“That w-would be Angel? H-He’s in L.A., right?”
“Yeah. He moved away because they really didn’t have a future together.” Willow frowned as she remembered what it had been like. “When they were together, they were always sad. Buffy’s happier now – with Riley – even when she’s mad at him like now. And that’s all good.” She glanced at Tara’s face, which was less … open, she guessed, than it had been. “Something wrong, Tare?”
“N-No. Nothing.” Tara glanced away for a moment and when she looked back she was smiling. “N-Now where was I?” She began licking the other side.
Avoid-y Tara – again, Willow thought, and wondered just what was being avoided. But only for a moment – her lover’s mouth and tongue proved too great a distraction. She made a mental note, filed it in her “Tara” drawer, and then let her conscious mind go. No thinking from here on out, just reacting.
*****
Her mind buzzing like a hive of bees, Tara licked the right side of Willow’s throat. None of this was going quite as she had intended. Talking while they made love or played was usually fun. Having these kinds of conversations, on the other hand, was distracting at best, and rather disturbing.
She felt as though she’d been on a roller coaster after all the junk food at the carnival. Emotions roiled through her: concern for Willow, anger at her oblivious mother, hot jealousy that someone else had played with her sweetie’s neck. Someone besides Oz and Vampire Willow that was; she was already jealous enough of the two of them. Or the one of them, or … whatever. She sighed inwardly.
Then add Buffy’s love life, which she had thought might serve as a guide for theirs when she turned twenty. She pressed her eyelids closed to keep the tears within. She was happy now. Willow was happy now. That had to count for something when she did leave or transformed or .....
Willow moaned beneath her lips and tried to pull her mouth closer. Wanting her lips and teeth, wanting to be bitten gently. Would she even have lips and teeth next year? Would she even be able to make love to Willow then? More importantly, would Willow want her to? And it was really, really stupid to be thinking these things right now.
Pushing back against Willow’s hand, outerTara covered both sides of her lover’s throat with kisses. InnerTara swept all her nasty questions into a pile in a closet and closed the door without looking back. Later for that.
“W-Willow-throat.” She kissed her way downwards over her love’s shoulders and collarbones. Her lips and tongue played over each of Willow’s arms in turn. She gave each a small biting kiss on the inside of the elbow. “Willow-arm” – kiss – “Willow-arm.”
Willow wound a hand in her hair, anticipating her next moves, and wriggled beneath her as she inched upwards, letting her nipples give her lover their own kiss. Her lips met Willow’s in a sweet, slow kiss. Pulling back, she gave Willow’s nose a kiss, “Willow-nose,” and was rewarded with a soft giggle.
She backed slowly down and then up again. She did it several times watching Willow’s eyelids grow heavier with each pass, watching her lips part and her sweet tongue moisten them. So hot, so sexy.
At last she lowered her head and heard her lover whimper in anticipation, her hand tightening in her hair. Tara grazed the strawberry nipples with her lips, a caress as featherlight as that of her nipples. Back and forth, she shifted, feeling the nipples harden with each pass, hearing Willow’s breathing roughen. Poised over her lover’s left nipple, she could feel Willow’s body vibrating with tension. She parted her lips, and sucking gently, drew it into her mouth. Willow’s vibrations became an audible moan as she flicked her tongue rapidly over the small nipple. Small, but perfect, just like her breasts. Breasts large enough to hold, that filled her hand nicely. She swirled her tongue around the nipple, coating the aureole with saliva. She kissed and sucked and licked the soft creamy mound, returning again and again to lick and suck that hard nipple. She caught it gently in her lips and teeth and pulled upwards, stretching the skin taut. Hearing Willow’s breath catch in her throat, she flicked it with her tongue over and over.
“Oh God, Tara!”
She released it and gave it a gentle kiss. “Willow-nipple.” Her lips brushed over the whiteness, “Willow-breast.” And she shifted to the right.
Willow moaned and whimpered as she began anew on the right breast. One hand clutched her shoulder, the other wound fingers through her hair. In spite of Willow’s wordless pleading Tara refused to rush. Slowly she loved the nipple, played with the aureole and soft breast. The nipple was hard, stiff and swollen, when she began pulling upwards.
Back arched, Willow twisted hungrily beneath her, the tongue flicks driving her right to the edge. “Willow-nipple. Willow-breast.” Tara tracked downwards. Her tongue tasted, questing over the ribs and lean midriff to the soft belly. She deposited a wet kiss, “Willow-navel”, and accepted Willow’s encouragement to keep going down.
Tara grinned. Yes, that was exactly what she was going to do. She backed off the bed and kissed her lover’s inner thighs. She inhaled Willow’s warm scent and licked her lips in anticipation. Witchy puddle, indeed.
“Willow sweetie, scoot down towards me.” Her voice was hoarse with her own hunger, and her eyes had long since narrowed to slits; the only thing in focus was Willow. But that was more than okay, she thought, as she watched her love scoot towards her waiting mouth. “Can you get up on your elbows? I want you to watch.” Tara’s own nipples hardened further as Willow complied.
“Eat me,” Willow commanded in a very soft, very hoarse voice, and opened her legs wide.
Tara glanced at her lover – her blushing lover – and teasingly asked her, “You want me to fuck you with my tongue?”
Willow turned even redder, but nodded sharply. “With your tongue.”
She smiled and crouched into position.
“No, wait … just a minute,” Willow suddenly requested. She scooted right to the very edge of the mattress and sat mostly upright, leaning back just a bit on her hands. “There, I think I can see you better.”
Tara crouched down, but then smiled wickedly, “Sweetie, I just want to certain. What do you want me to do again?”
Willow raised one hand and lightly traced her cheek with one fingertip. “I want you to fuck me with your tongue.” The hand slipped behind her head and pulled.
It was encouragement Tara didn’t need. Her mouth pressed against her lover’s pussy, she slipped her tongue within the welcoming wetness. She slid her arms under Willow’s thighs, lifting her closer. Her hands curled on either side of Willow’s hips, stabilizing her as Willow’s hand dropped from her head back onto the bed.
“Fuck me hard,” Willow hissed. Tara glanced upwards as she drove her tongue more urgently inside her lover. Willow’s eyes were focused intently on the point where Tara’s mouth covered her. Tara doubted she could actually see anything of what she was doing, but apparently imagining it was an additional stimulus to what she was actually feeling.
Tara found her lover’s clit and began flicking it with her tongue. She freed one arm and slid two fingers deep inside Willow.
“Yes, Tara!” Willow stiffened as she orgasmed.
Again and again, Tara brought the redhead up and over, until her own hunger was nearly unbearable, then with a final kiss and lick said, “Willow-pussy.” Withdrawing her fingers, she sat back on her heels for just a moment, licking Willow-juice from her lips. Her lover still leaned back on her hands, her eyes now closed, breathing heavily. Such a beautiful woman. And hers.
She moved up, pushed Willow back against the bedding, and pulled her lover’s mouth to hers. She kissed it hungrily and felt her respond. “Willow-mouth, Willow-lips.” Her tongue slipped within and teased before withdrawing. “Willow-tongue,” Tara whispered against her lips, and kissed along her jaw. Mouth poised next to her ear, she murmured, “Fuck me, sweetie.” She rolled to one side and arched her back.
“Hard, or not so?” Willow asked. She rolled toward Tara, her fingers dancing over her belly.
“Not so hard at first … oh, yes,” Tara moaned as Willow-fingers found her nipples.
“Fingers or tongue?” her lover whispered into her mouth as she began kissing her.
“F-Fingers,” Tara murmured distractedly as Willow-lips kissed her throat.
And while her lover’s mouth kissed hers or nibbled her neck, Willow-fingers swirled in circles over her belly and through her soaking pussy hair. “So wet. Good thing I’m a witchy amoeba.”
She felt Willow’s fingers glide between her lips, rubbing gently. “Yessss, soo good.” Willow-tongue flicked over the nearest nipple and she reached up to guide her lover’s head. Willow caressed her with long, slow strokes of her fingers and teased her nipples the same way. She began to pant and lifted her hips to her lover’s fingers.
“Want more?” Willow asked softly.
“In, yesss. Fuck me now,” she moaned. Eyes closed, she felt Willow shift so that she rested on top of her. Willow-lips found her mouth, and kissed her hard, her tongue meeting hers as Willow-fingers entered her.
Willow fucked her with firm, long, hard strokes, her fingers penetrating her fully and then withdrawing to rub along her clit.
“Oh, yesss!” She writhed beneath her lover’s hand, moaning as Willow sucked on her nipples. Her heel and ankle found Willow’s lower leg and locked onto it. She thrust up hungrily, spasming, and used the first peak to climb to an even higher plateau.
Willow withdrew briefly, slipping off her and the bed. Before Tara could protest, the fingers were back inside her, wriggling gently. Then there was Willow-tongue.
“Eat me, yes, oh yessss.” She rode Willow’s tongue as it flicked, licked and circled. She inched ever upwards, until she was poised at the crest of a wave of pure pleasure. Willow began sucking, her lips and teeth gripping her softness until the wave broke. She screamed Willow’s name, bucking and twisting, thrashing beneath her lover’s mouth. As the pleasure swept through her, all her senses except touch disappeared. Willow-mouth, Willow-fingers, and her cunt – that was all there was ….
Gradually, the darkness lifted and she gazed into a pair of concerned green eyes. She wished she had the energy to lift a hand to touch the sweet face above her.
“Are you okay? I didn’t hurt you, did I?” Willow sounded almost frantic.
“Gods, no, sweetie, that was just wonderful. It was just so good I went elsewhere for a few moments,” Tara whispered hoarsely.
“Oh, ‘le petit mort’ – the ‘little death’.” Willow nodded in sudden comprehension and grinned smugly at her. “For a minute I thought I’d broken you.”
“Oh, so-not-broken here, sweetie. Just extremely happy.” Tara did finally manage to lift a hand, but could only rest it on her lover’s shoulder. “You’re okay?”
“Very, very. I did when you did.” Willow grinned wider, and when she lifted an eyebrow, explained, “It sounded so good ….”
“Oh, good, ‘cause I don’t think I can move.”
“No problem. We can snuggle now.” Willow settled beside her.
They lay curled around one another. Gradually Tara found enough energy to pull her legs up and shift back onto the bed the proper way. She yawned.
“Um, Tare, it’s sort of hard to snuggle with you up there and me, well, here,” Willow pointed out as Tara rested her feet on her tummy.
Tara smiled. “We can snuggle better with pillows and blankets. Much warmer. Can you grab the pillows? I think they ended up on the floor over there.” She pointed toward her desk.
“You’re cold! Why didn’t you say you were cold?” Willow slipped off the bed, snagged the errant pillows, and tossed them on the bed. She located the sheet and blanket and brought them with her as she climbed in.
“I wasn’t cold yet. I just wanted to be snuggled up with you before I got cold.”
“Oh.” Willow tucked herself into her body. Pillowing her head on her shoulder, she yawned. “This is nice.”
“Yes.” Tara brushed her lips over the red tresses and thought “Willow-hair.”
“Tara.” Her lover’s voice was soft.
“Yes?” She opened her eyes as Willow lifted herself up on her elbow to gaze into her face.
“Is it always this good?” Willow had a little half-frown on her face. “I mean, was it – with your other girlfriend?”
Goddess, her love didn’t ask easy questions! Tara brushed several strands of red hair from Willow’s face and considered her answer. Answers, really, since there were far more questions than a mere two in the pair that Willow had posed. But the best ones edged on issues Willow was still avoiding.
“I think l-lovemaking is always good. Not necessarily fucking – that can be kind of empty, I think – but lovemaking, yes. Not that I h-have l-lots of experience or anything.” Tara chose the best of the available non-answers.
Her lover lifted one eyebrow. “You’re being avoid-y.”
She sighed and looked away. She really didn’t want to do this now, but she didn’t want to hide either. She sighed again and turned back. “W-With you, everything is incredible – the w-way you move, the w-way your eyes s-sparkle. The way you m-make l-love to me – I’ve never felt that way before. W-With anyone. P-Part of it is b-because I know you.”
“Because of the spell? Because you anchored me?” Willow queried.
“Y-Yes.” Tara nodded, but didn’t add that she felt she’d known her all of her life. That she would have known her – and loved her – anywhere, anytime.
“Tara, …” Willow hesitated. “I’ve never felt this way about anyone before either. And I don’t know how much of it is because of the spell and how much is ….” The green eyes closed for just a moment, remembered pain etching lines in her face. “I just don’t know what all of this is. With Oz, I thought I knew … what we had … but then he left, and I hurt sooo bad. And now I’m not sure that what we had was what I thought we had, you know? And I know that it’s really tacky to mention him when I’m with you, but ….”
Tara lifted her fingers and covered Willow’s mouth. “I … I understand, s-sweetie.” And she did, somewhat to her surprise and horror. “H-He was your first l-lover. He’s m-male, and I’m female. You’ve had two very d-different people in y-your life. It’s only n-natural to be curious – to m-make comparisons.”
“And do you – you know, me with ….” Willow couldn’t even say compare.
“W-With Megan? No.” Tara shook her head for emphasis and before her lover could ask, explained, “I don’t need to. What I f-feel when I am simply holding y-your hand is so much more than anything I ever felt with her.” They were skirting very close to Willow’s danger zone, but Tara needed be honest – about her love, at least.
“Was she pretty?” Willow veered away from the emotional stuff, and Tara sighed, half out of amusement, half in despair.
“Ummm … attractive, not pretty. S-She’s too strong-featured to call pretty.” Tara thought about the rather sharp-faced girl who had been the most popular girl in her school. “She had lots of boyfriends, and a few girlfriends, but mostly M-Megan was always h-herself. She d-did what sh-she wanted, not wh-what was expected.”
“Oh.” Willow was apparently trying to picture her with this stranger and failing.
Well, they had made a very odd couple, her last year of high school. “I was her p-project.”
“Huh?” Willow looked extremely bewildered.
She played with a few locks of Willow’s hairs as she chose her words. “Wh-When my m-mother died, I t-tried to run away. I d-didn’t have anything with me, and it started to r-rain.” It had poured, and she remembered thinking that the heavens were weeping because her mama had died. “M-Megan was r-riding around in the storm with s-some friends and sh-she saw me walking along the highway. I’d n-never even s-spoken to her, and she p-pulled the car over to s-see wh-why I was out in the rain miles from h-home.” Her friends had been none to happy about it, either. “She g-got me in her car, d-dropped her f-friends off, and t-took me home w-with her to dry off.” Tara glanced at Willow. Now was not the time to tell her lover that she had flatly refused to go back to her own home. Or why.
“So how did you become lovers? Oh, god – that was a project?!” Willow asked.
Tara smiled and shook her head. “Well, we t-talked as my th-things dried. I was curled up in her b-bed drinking cocoa. And she – she k-kissed me.”
“Opportunist much? Jeez ….” Willow’s anger flashed.
“N-Not like that. It s-sounds b-bad, but it wasn’t.” Tara defended her ex-girlfriend. “She just tucked me in and left the room.”
To go downstairs and talk to her father and mother, it had turned out. The bruises on her body had been too obvious to miss, but there was no reason to tell Willow about her older brother. Or her father. Or the hall closet. The hard part had been when Megan had returned with her mother; convincing Megan and her family that calling the police was a bad idea had been the hardest thing she’d ever done.
“Yeah, well ….”
“Sh-She became my first real friend. I’d never h-had one before. She made me feel like I mattered – that was the project. The rest h-happened slowly, over several months. Megan never l-loved me. She liked me, and she liked what we d-did together, but that was all. I didn’t mind, really. It h-hurt when she r-replaced me with a boyfriend, but w-we never had a f-future together. I was coming h-here and sh-she was going to Harvard.” Tara rolled onto her side and cupped her lover’s face in her hands. “I never felt with her what I feel with you.
“How did I get so lucky? I mean finding you, finding this.” Willow shook her head slightly, little frown lines between her eyes.
“I ask myself that too, sweetie.” Tara lifted herself enough to kiss her lover’s lips. “My mother always said that some things just are. They’re just meant to be.”
“I wish I could have met her.” Willow lowered her head and snuggled closer.
So do I, Tara thought to herself. So do I.
*****
Some hours and a trip to the bathroom later, Tara eased the door closed behind her and walked about her room, blowing out the candles and turning off the fairy lights. Tossing her fluffy robe in the chair, she carefully climbed back into her bed.
Her lips curved in a smile as Willow snuggled up against her again. Lovely. She tucked a strand of hair behind her sleeping lover’s ear and whispered softly into the cool darkness, needing to verbalize what she felt for the woman sleeping beside her. Even if her lover wasn’t ready to hear it, she was ready to say it.
“Willow, I love you. I’ve been falling in love with you since I met you. I knew I loved you the first time we kissed. That’s why I gave you the crystal. When you finally accepted it, I hoped that we could be more than just friends. When you said “I trust you”, I knew that you loved me too, even if you’re not certain that you’re … in love with me. I trust you, love. I can wait.”
She lay in the quiet, listening to her lover and herself as their breathing and heartbeats tried to synchronize … listening to them becoming ‘Willow and Tara’.
You are very welcome for the chocolates. Hope you liked them.
I'm looking forward to the update, whenever you do post it, no matter how long or short it is. I'm sure I'll love it. I'm still writing, Mel. Bear with me.
Jenn had a bigger version of her avatar up once and it was very clear then...slow motion helps 
- whew...this is a much welcomed update to read after driving through the god forsaken traffic in connecticut...
It's true though, about your writing. You're very welcome. 
Lovely though that Tara stopped for a time when she found the scar. She was so concerned for her Willow. sigh
