This is a work of erotic fantasy, so there’s quite a lot of sex. However, there isn’t sex happening in every chapter. There are many passages that include setup, character development, and all that boring stuff which makes the sex that much more meaningful when it finally happens. I know not everyone cares about backstory or getting to know the characters, so each chapter which does have sex in it also has a heart following its title: ♥

The sex is not intended to be pornographic or paraphilic. It’s just the kind of stuff that happens between people, though sometimes in somewhat unusual situations. This includes threesomes and groups, intimacy taking place among people under the age of eighteen (with no one over eighteen present), same-sex partners, and scenes involving brother-sister incest. If you live in the kind of world where you believe those sorts of things never happen, or should never happen, you’re both (1) welcome to stop reading now; and (2) not even remotely in touch with reality in any way at all.

There is cover art for Book 2! It’s non-nude. If you’d like to see it, it’s here on imgbox.com.

Finally, Nifty has been providing some primo material for years now, and can always use a helping hand. Websites aren’t free to operate or maintain, and no one’s getting paid to do any of this. Donate what you can, as you’re able!

Enjoy!

— Harmony Brücke, fricfic at gmail | Twitter @BruckeHarmony

Kaeleigh Goes All the Way

Book 2: 2024 • Part III: Brushes with Divinity

3. Finding the Goddess ♥

Luke, with the attentions of two high-sex-drive women focused entirely on him, managed his usual outstanding performance, but by midnight he was too drained to do anything for either of them, and had sunk into a well-earned sleep. Lana and Kaeleigh were on the couch with him, but this time with Luke’s head in Lana’s lap, and his legs over Kaeleigh’s. She watched Lana for a while, saw how she caressed his head and smiled down at his sleeping face, warmth glowing in her eyes. She liked seeing the love there. Luke deserved to be loved. “Pore li’l cowpoke. We done went and tuckered him clean out.”

“I’m sure we could figure out a way to wake him up, if you wanted more,” Kaeleigh said.

“Oh, let him sleep it off,” Lana said. “I’m not totally done, but I’m close enough, and I don’t want to kill him. He worked hard. I’m glad I wasn’t dealing with it by myself.”

“Yeah, he gets that way sometimes. It’s tough to manage one-on-one. It’s always better if there’s another girl to help out.”

Lana smiled. “Well, I’d say I made the right decision, then.”

“Me too. I’d really like it a lot if we could keep doing this together. You’re so beautiful with him, and he loves you, and I like seeing how happy you are with each other.”

“I think I’d like that,” Lana said. “Thank you.”

“Cool. Our weekends are usually pretty busy, right now, but if there’s a weeknight you can fit us in…”

“Well, I’m … he and I, uh, we usually … on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons … you know that, of course. Maybe we could do something one of those days?”

“But that’s your time to be with him,” Kaeleigh said. “I don’t want to cut into that.”

“But I don’t want to cut into your time with him,” Lana said. “You’re his wife.”

“Well, yeah, but that means I get to be with him all the time.”

“No … no, honey, look. It’s okay. Like you said, he can get to be a lot for one girl to handle. I wouldn’t mind a little help myself sometimes. How about … say, Tuesdays, we make it an overnight thing, the three of us?”

“Sure,” Kaeleigh said. “Yeah, that’d be great.”

“Okay. Want to do it at my place next time around?”

“Yeah, I’d like to see your apartment. That way, the next time I’m imagining him with you, I’ll have a clearer picture. We can go back and forth, if you want, you know, alternating places each week. We do that with Marta now, and it works out great.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Lana said. “Will that interfere with your time with Meilin?”

“Huh-uh. She has me, usually, on Mondays and Wednesdays, and sometimes Luke’s there too.”

“You’re a busy … well, I guess you’re both busy.” She blinked and shook her head. “I can’t believe there’s no drama around any of this. You and Meilin, Luke and me…”

“Why should there be?”

Lana shrugged. “I guess it’s the vanilla in me talking. Mostly I’m just a little … surprised, at how easily one of my boundaries just sort of … evaporated. And how little I miss it. How glad I am that it’s gone, actually. My first threesome, and there wasn’t another man, and … that’s actually okay.”

“It’s been a hell of a night for you,” Kaeleigh said, lifting her glass.

Lana chuckled quietly and saluted with her own glass. “Thanks to you.”

“Oh, I dunno,” Kaeleigh said. “He and I were never all that hot on anal before tonight. Now I think it’s going to be part of the regular lineup, something we do when we both want to get off insanely hard. We never thought of using toys before.”

“Well, if neither of you were into it, you wouldn’t be doing it enough to experiment, right? I’m sure one of you would have thought of it eventually.”

“Maybe. We use Luke Junior sometimes just for fun. He likes to watch me play, and I like it when he joins in. It’s great to suck him off and be fucked by him at the same time. Especially when both of him come at once.”

“Ooo,” Lana said, her eyes brightening.

“Better save that for the morning.” They both giggled. “I hope to hell you’re feeling as good as I am right now. And I hope to hell you’re really, really damn proud of yourself. You tried something new, you taught us something new, and you sent us both into orbit. He and I have about the best sex life anyone ever had. And now it’s even better.”

“Did you feel like you were missing out on anything, though? Not doing anything with me?”

“That’s not … mmm, that’s not how I see sex,” Kaeleigh said. “That’s more of a guy thing, I think. Well, some guys. Not this one.” She patted Luke’s leg. “They think of sex in terms of what they get from it. I think of it more like … how to make it as good as possible for everyone. The better it is for whoever else is in the room with me, the better it is for all of us. I made a new friend tonight, got to see her have sex with the man I love, and got to see how much you’re in love with each other. I know you’re straight, and that’s perfectly okay. We can just be friends without the benefits. I’m not missing out on anything, Lana.”

“Thanks. I’d say that even if I thought you were being polite, but I think you really mean it.”

“I do.”

Lana looked down at Luke’s face, peaceful in repose, and her eyes drifted along over his broad chest, his hilled abs, the groomed hair around the root of his softened flesh, the way his penis lay across one sharp hip. She could look at him like this, could see his body and know his flavors, because of the generosity of the woman he’d married, and she appreciated not just the generosity, but the real and warm friendship that came with it. Just to the other side of his root, the little heart tattoo made her smile. “I love how your hearts line up when you’re together. It’s so sweet, like they’re making love too.”

“Yeah, that was the idea. We got them when he left for college, so we’d have something to remember each other by, and something to look forward to when we were together again.”

“But they line up perfectly when…”

“That was also the idea,” Kaeleigh nodded.

“But how? I mean, I don’t imagine you were having sex while you were getting them…”

“Oh. Oh, yeah, no, a needle … yeah, that woulda kind of put the damper on the mood. No, what I did was take some eyeliner and draw a big spot on me, where I wanted the tatt to be, and then Luke … got himself lined up, you know, at the right place and angle, and where our hips pressed together, the eyeliner put a mark on him too. So then we took markers and drew circles around the marks, and that was where we got the hearts done.”

“I see. You literally left your mark on him.”

“Yup. It sort of sucked because we could only do oral, really, for about a week until everything was healed up. Well, I guess in my case it literally sucked.” They giggled again. “And then we checked the alignment for real, and it really was just perfect. It helped a lot while he was away, when I couldn’t be with him. I’d see a scene he was doing, I’d see that heart tattoo and how it didn’t have its twin on the girl, and I always knew what it meant.”

“You’re the only match for him?”

“Yeah. No matter who he’s making love with…” she sighed. “Well…”

“You always have his heart, and he always has yours.”

“Sorry,” Kaeleigh said. “I guess it’s kind of … I don’t want you to feel excluded. Left out. I know he loves you too, I know he does.”

“No, I understand. You’re the woman he married. It’s right that there should be a special bond between you. No one should expect to share it with you.”

“Thank you,” Kaeleigh murmured.

“You extended your understanding with me,” Lana said. “It’s only fair. I know there are a lot of women who seem to have fuzzy lines about being with other women. I’ve never been one of those, I guess. It doesn’t bother me any to see it, but it doesn’t fire me up in the way seeing a man with a woman does.”

“Men can have fuzzy lines too, though. Luke’s been known to give head at ATW games. Some of it’s how comfortable you are with the other people you’re with, maybe, and some of it’s … yeah, there is such a thing as orientation, sexual orientation, but I don’t think it’s divided up into three clear categories, gay, bi, and straight. It’s not that … compartmentalized. It’s a, you know, a spectrum, like a rainbow, like the rainbow flag, but like a real rainbow. You can see the difference between red and orange, you know, but when you look closely, you can’t tell where they’re separate. Red blends smoothly into orange, orange blends smoothly into yellow, all the way along the line. The colors exist, they’re real, you can say yup, that’s green, and yup, that’s blue, but where they actually separate from each other is … they don’t.”

“In other words, the divisions are arbitrary,” Lana said.

“Yeah. Orientation’s like that too, I think. Some people are just way straight, like you. Some are way gay. And in between is this huge category of options, the one we call bisexual, but it can be almost totally gay and a little straight, or almost totally straight and a little gay, or straight most of the time but not Friday, or full bi, or … it’s just such a huge range, and I think a lot of people are somewhere in the bi range.”

“But not everyone,” Lana said.

“No, not everyone, you’re right,” Kaeleigh nodded. “I knew a couple gay guys back home, and one time I tried having sex with them. They both wanted to try it with me, to see if anything would happen, so we decided to do a threesome. And nothing happened. Literally nothing. Not a hardon, not even a twitch.”

“Seriously? I’d think even a gay boy would be able to get it up with you in the room.”

“Thanks, but no, it was like they had Novocain in them. They weren’t disgusted or anything, I mean, my body wasn’t something awful to them. They didn’t look at my tits or pussy like they were the most horrible things they’d ever seen. They both went down on me to see if they liked it, and they both said it was okay. But they didn’t get hard. And I sucked on them both for a while too, and they got hard then, but it didn’t last. They just were not turned on, was all, and they were not ever going to be. Then I showed them a photo of Luke with his shirt off, nothing more than that, and suddenly it was boners ahoy.”

Lana giggled. “Did anything happen then?”

“Yeah, we got the job done after that. But … usually when I had a boy over, there’d be some kind of afterplay in the shower, and even that didn’t happen with them.”

“Wow.”

“Yup, totally gay. But it was a good time anyway, because neither one of them came for a while.” They giggled quietly. “But really, you only see the categories at their extremes. So I think it’s probably better to think of them more as preferences or guidelines than hard-set boundaries, most of the time, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t respect how others identify.”

“I kind of see it the same way,” Lana nodded. “As a continuum, or a spectrum, yeah. A Bell curve, with straight being the hump, and gay-lesbian being to one side, and bi on the other, with the tails joined so it’s shaped like a cylinder.”

“I like that, yeah,” Kaeleigh nodded. “It all blends together no matter where you are.”

“Yeah. I think horniness levels are like that, too. Some people are asexual. They’re good with a cuddle, but nothing much more than that. They might be gay or straight or whatever, they might be drawn to a specific sex, but the act of sex isn’t in their area of interest. They’ll date, they’ll snuggle, they’ll even get married, but they just really aren’t into sex, so it doesn’t happen much. And others can be just the opposite, wanting to fuck all the time. I think most people imagine that’s what it’s like for porn stars. I thought that too, at first, but I know better now. You’re just more willing to let other people see you do it, and you might be willing to do it with a wider range of partners, but you still have to be in the mood before it happens, and you’re not walking around in heat every minute of the day.”

“Yeah, that’s right,” Kaeleigh nodded. “I know for sure I’m not hypersexual, but I’m also definitely not asexual. The other people I work with are the same way. We’re just more willing to fuck with cameras around, and maybe without all the drama beforehand, is all. It’s more like, hey, you’re attractive, want to fool around? Instead of months of dating before second base or whatever.”

“So you prefer the direct approach?”

“Don’t you?” said Kaeleigh.

“It is a lot easier. And there’s less time wasted.”

“Exactly. That’s how Luke and I have always seen it. Our first time together was mostly me just asking him if he wanted to fuck, and him saying yes, and we did.”

“I’ve done that a couple times myself, with other guys. They always seem surprised that it’s so easy. But I’ve never really understood why it should be complicated.”

“I never really got that, either. Just get to the fucking, you know?”

“Skip the dinner,” Lana nodded. “It’s not safe to go diving until an hour after a meal anyway, and that’s a wasted hour. He can eat me instead. I’ve always liked good oral.”

“Tell me,” Kaeleigh said. “There’s nothing like being eaten out by a pro.”

“I’m in a far better place to know that than I was a couple months ago. I’m not anywhere near asexual, myself. I think I have a higher sex drive than some people, but I don’t think I’m a nympho. I’m somewhere in between, and the thing is…” Lana sipped her Champagne. “The thing is, there are some times when I am asexual, for a while. When I just don’t want to do anything. And there are other times when I can’t get enough. I guess I’m feeling that way tonight. So I guess I can see where you’re coming from with orientation, too. My sexual response to a man depends, at least a little, on what kind of … meta-mood I’m in. And maybe, if my orientation was more plastic, I’d feel the same way about men or women. I mean, I’ve seen you in Pinks, so I know you can get off with a girl, and get off good.”

“You watch the Pinks?” Kaeleigh said.

“Not usually, but you’re Luke’s wife, he loves you in every scene you do, and I was curious. He showed me some of the work you’ve done with Meilin, who is as beautiful as you are, by the way. I’m not a big follower of girl-on-girl action, but I could appreciate the aesthetics, it was obvious you and she had a deeper connection than just sex, and you do have a beautiful body and a lovely face.”

“Thank you. Please allow me to return the compliment.”

“And allow me to return the thanks. But I also know you can get off just as good with a guy. I’m guessing that’s a mood thing, too. Sometimes you want pussy, and sometimes you want dick, just like sometimes you want sex, and other times you don’t.”

“Yeah,” Kaeleigh said. “Yeah, that’s right, exactly. If I’m in the mood for dick, I won’t say no to pussy, but it’s not exactly the flavor I’m looking for. It’s good, it’s great, I’ll always go down on a girl … but I still want dick afterward.”

“Were you in the mood for pussy tonight?”

“I’m always in the mood for either one,” Kaeleigh said. “Sometimes one more than the other. Tonight’s … I’m about where I usually am. I just wanted to have sex, and I did, and that’s good enough for me.” She sipped from her glass. “But I do like pussy, and if you’re still horny, I wouldn’t mind eating you out.”

Maybe it was the Champagne, or the mood, or how comfortable she felt right then, but Lana found herself tempted by the offer, whatever the reason. “I dunno. I’ve never had my pussy eaten by a girl.”

“We’re better at it,” Kaeleigh said. “We know where all the good spots are.”

“That’s what I’ve heard, yeah.” She eyed Kaeleigh.

“We don’t have to do it. We don’t have to do anything. I won’t be heartbroken if you say no. But I like you, Lana. I think of you as a friend, and I like doing favors for my friends. That’s all it would ever have to be, just us having a little fun. No strings or expectations.”

“We’d probably wake up Luke.”

“We could go to bed and do it there.”

“Well … what are we talking about actually doing?”

“Me eating your pussy. That’s all. No fondling or kissing, no making out, no me shoving your head down or trying to crawl on top of your face. Just me going down for a visit.”

Lana considered. There were worse things she could think of doing, and … she wasn’t quite done for the night. Luke had performed wonderfully, but there were limits to every man’s endurance, and his had been reached before hers had. “You sure you don’t mind?”

“Definitely,” Kaeleigh said. “I’ve done it for friends lots of times.”

“What the hell,” Lana said, and finished her Champagne. “I could use one more good cum to top me off. I guess it’s that kind of night.”

“Awesome.” Kaeleigh worked her way out from under Luke’s legs, then helped Lana move out from under his head, settling it back on a pillow. He stirred and murmured, but she kissed him gently and shushed him, and soon he was back in dreamland. She covered him with the throw draped over the back of the sofa, and then they padded down the hall together. “I’ll keep it below the waist, okay?”

“Thanks. I feel like I’m using you, though.”

Kaeleigh paused to push the bedroom door most of the way shut. “Do you ever just blow a guy because you want to? Not to get sex from him, but just because you like sucking dick?”

“Yeah,” Lana shrugged.

“Same thing.”

“All right.” She sat on the mattress, feeling her heart beginning to thud again. She was doing something else new, something else she’d never done before, and she’d seen the way the Meilin responded to Kaeleigh’s attentions in their Pinks. She wouldn’t be getting the full-body treatment, but she had a hunch she was in for another good adventure. “So … do I just lie back, and…” she giggled. “And think of Gallifrey?”

Kaeleigh laughed too. “Go ahead and get comfortable,” she said, kneeling on the bed beside her, naked and fearless. “Once you’re settled in, I’ll take a dive.”

She did, reclining on the bed that smelled of the three of them, of their sweat and fluids, and she was a little surprised when she parted her thighs and felt how wet she’d become since Kaeleigh mentioned this option on the sofa. “Guess I want it a little more than I thought,” she said as her glisten became visible.

“You’ll have as much as you want,” Kaeleigh murmured, settling on her haunches between her legs. “Just relax and don’t worry about anything. This is all just for you. If I do anything you don’t like, tell me, and I’ll stop, okay?”

“Yeah,” Lana said. “Thanks.”

She looked at Lana’s naked body, then down below her mound, and bit her lip. “God, that’s a work of art. It really is.” Her hand was there next, her fingers warm and her touch gentle, a light tickling stroke over her outer labia, and then a soft smooth glide from her thumb. She lifted her hand to her mouth, sucked her thumb and licked it until it shone, and returned it to Lana’s center.

This time the caress was like warm silk, smooth and sweet, with firmness behind it bringing pressure and pleasure to her soft inner folds. Lana felt them begin to respond, expanding under Kaeleigh’s expert caresses, and saw enjoyment in her clear grey eyes, as well as concentration. She wasn’t just arousing her; she was studying her responses, paying attention to what worked best, looking for the subtle cues that — yes — only another woman could really understand.

She found them all fast, moving her thumb, ultimately, in a slow figure eight, circling her clit, gliding down into the soft, slowly-rolling flesh in her crease, widening back out in an arc over her perineum, then gliding back up the center again to circle around her clit once more. She wasn’t hitting anything directly except her inner labia; and Lana had never been quite so wet before from just a little hand action, not even her own. “God,” she breathed. “God, that … that’s really good…”

“Your pussy is so beautiful,” Kaeleigh murmured. It was, the inner labia a deep dark hue at their crests, but as their glossy, rich ripples clove inward, they gradually became a gorgeous and beckoning pink. Her clit was similar, shading from rich warm black to a lighter tone, risen now in its shroud, creating the architecture of desire Kaeleigh knew so well, but was always different in every woman. “It’s no wonder Luke can’t get enough.”

“Take your time,” Lana whispered, though she knew it wasn’t necessary. Kaeleigh knew what she was doing, not moving too fast, not rushing anything, just building and building the delight, a single skilled stroke at a time. Lana could hear herself now, hear how wet she was as the girl’s thumb continued teasing and pleasing her; and when Kaeleigh shifted around a little and crouched between her thighs, it was at exactly the right moment. She stared down into her face, seeing the enjoyment there, and sighed softly when she felt Kaeleigh’s lips press, very soft and warm, at the top of her arch, sending a slow, subtle thrill through her body.

She kept that slow figure-eight going steadily as she kissed her way down, a fraction of an inch at a time, visiting every tingling ripple of her arousal with a single, delicate, glowing kiss. The motions of her thumb didn’t interfere with her progress; she timed it all perfectly, and when she at last let her thumb slide away from Lana’s slick center, she replaced it with a slow, rolling nuzzle that had her lips moving in a warm oval up, around, down, up again, just massaging her easily with her mouth.

“Oh…” Lana sighed, staring down at her. “Oh … yeah…”

Kaeleigh’s face was utterly smooth, as smooth as a young boy’s. There was no stubble, there was no mustache or beard, there was only soft, downy skin, smoother even than her own hands, and she was working her lips now as she went on with that beautiful round caress, pursing them out to bring pressure and gliding strokes to her risen flesh at just the right moments, and Lana saw her wetness on the girl’s face, heard the sound of it as she went on with her gentle, rolling pleasuring of her. She didn’t do it like a man at all; she didn’t charge in for her clit, didn’t even focus on her inner labia; instead she nurtured her flesh to an even heat until it felt like her whole vulva was glowing, and only then did she change her technique. Her head’s motion slowly became more linear, more up-and-down, until she was massaging Lana’s groove with her nose, lips, and chin, burrowing in gently but irresistibly, and Lana did not want to resist. She felt it when Kaeleigh’s lips parted, when she began kissing her risen folds as she moved, giving her the gentlest suction, just the slightest invitation for them to swell more, to rise to fullness and meet her easy, perfect strokes. She realized she was rocking her hips slowly, moving counterpoint to Kaeleigh’s actions, and sighed again. “Jesus Christ, that is sweet. Keep going, girl. Keep going…”

Kaeleigh said mmm and kept it up, parting her lips more and more, and Lana felt her tongue begin to flicker against her now, felt its tip visit and probe deep in her creases, adding a harder tingle to the good warm glow she was already enjoying so much. If the slow facial felt like the tide, those little flickering licks were like sunbursts sparkling on the waters. “Oh my God,” she cooed. “Oh my God girl yeah…” She was cupping her breasts now, her fingers working slowly at the nipples, sending answering sparks southward as Kaeleigh’s tongue continued its bright dabbing magic, as her lips went on with the sweet massage, as her face rolled the pleasure into her swollen, hot mound. “Fuck, that feels better than cock…”

“You taste so good,” Kaeleigh murmured, her words muffled by the glory she was enjoying. “Oh Lana, you taste so good…” Lana had heard those words before, most recently from Kaeleigh’s own husband, but they were always a pleasure to hear from someone new. Even, she was discovering, from another woman. She kept it steady and slow, warm and wet and wetter, and when Lana first felt the full stroke of her whole tongue, the timing was once again perfect. A minor floodgate burst in her then and she shuddered, having a gentle and slow orgasm on the girl’s face. “Yeah,” Kaeleigh murmured as she felt and tasted the slight rush of wetness. “Yes, Goddess, yes…”

Lana smiled, her breath settling. “Am I Hera?”

“Bigger,” Kaeleigh murmured, still moving, still moving, her eyes bright as she looked at Lana. “Older. Better. The first goddess, the source of all life…”

Lana smiled again, more warmly. “I feel Her…”

“Let Her come,” Kaeleigh murmured.

She did, in more than one way, another soft and long climax eased from her glowing core, worked gently into life by the skilled ministrations of her skilled and good friend. And as she came, Lana felt something else come, a deep and vast presence, different from how it was with Luke, something older than humanity, older than Earth, older than anything, and it was feminine, it was She … and She was black. Black as space, black as the sky before the first star burst into light, black and rife with every possibility of everything. “I feel Her,” she said again. “She’s here…”

Kaeleigh lifted Lana’s leg and settled it over her shoulder. The skin contact was warm and electrified Lana, and she moved her other leg, drawing Kaeleigh into the taut embrace of her thighs, feeling her shoulders rock beneath them as her movements, her slow loving, went on, building and building. Nothing was happening too fast. Nothing was being missed. Kaeleigh’s awareness of her as a woman was complete, and her focus was total, and her actions were flawless. “Welcome, Goddess,” she said, slipping her hand up, slipping her finger closer and closer to Lana’s vestibule, slipping it inside. “I love you.”

“Oh,” Lana murmured, her heart swelling with abrupt warmth, flooding with light and joy. “Oh I love you too…” She didn’t know if it was she who spoke, or She, but it didn’t matter, because the words were true. She shivered, her hairs risen, and came again, longer and stronger than before, feeling the light and flawless stroke of Kaeleigh’s finger inside her, feeling it working up and out, all through her body, feeling that same glowing acorn she got with Luke, but it was brighter, and it was being expertly tended, and its growth, when it happened, was a race of clean, pure radiance through every nerve in her skin and flesh, turning her vision into a blaze of searing white heat that did not burn or blind, consumed her and left her whole, and then it was fading, easing back, but it was there, it was there in her and in Her, it was the full and glorious fruition of the whole Tree of Life and Kaeleigh knew it, knew how to tend and draw it, knew how to love and worship it, and she did, oh she did, with tongue and lips and finger, and Lana baptized her in her sparkling fount, crying out words that were not in any language, crying out joy that was deeper than life, singing with a choir that was vaster and more fully throated than any mortal throng had ever achieved.

The transcendence was eternal, and at the same time folded into only a few minutes, in the end; her physical shell could not tolerate such radiance indefinitely, and Kaeleigh knew that as surely as she knew everything else. Lana felt herself gentled back to Earth, back to linear time, her eyes blinking at images of nameless beauty she would never be able to describe, but would recognize again when she saw them. The numinous withdrew, but slowly, lovingly, with a promise that it was always there to be found again, that once she’d been touched by Her, she would forever be known to Her.

Time, once more, began to pass.

Lana drew a deep, slow breath, feeling herself back in her body, aware of a warmth and quiet satisfaction at her center that she’d never quite known before, even with the best lovers, even with Luke. She looked down to see Kaeleigh’s face streaked with fluid, her bangs plastered to her brow, her eyes bright and joyous as she looked up at her, still cleaning away the last traces of her life’s single greatest moment of sexual pleasure. “Kaeleigh,” she whispered. “Thank you.”

“You’re so very welcome,” the girl murmured, and kissed her vulva. “Thank you, Goddess.”

“She … She’s not here any more.”

“Yes, She is,” Kaeleigh said. She kissed her again, kissed her at the center of her life and the source of all life. “She always was, and She always will be.”

She propped herself up on her elbows as Kaeleigh sat upright, returning to her haunches. “I never felt it like that before with anyone.” She chuckled. “I never had it that good with anyone.”

“Yeah. Me too.” She shook her head slowly. “It gets deep with Meilin. I know I’ve had her close to the Goddess, but she keeps holding back. I think she’s afraid to really let go. She’s working on it, and I know we’ll get there, but this is the first time I’ve actually felt Her in a woman. It was wonderful. It was amazing.” She smiled at Lana. “Thank you.”

“I feel like I owe you,” Lana said. She sat upright and knelt beside Kaeleigh.

“You don’t. I came when you did.”

“You … you did?”

Kaeleigh smiled. “What do you think I was doing with my other hand, all that time?”

Lana gaped at her, and then they both broke into giggles. “You sneaky little cracker!”

“Hey, like I say, women are better at multitasking.” They giggled harder.

“I still feel like I owe you, though,” Lana said, her hand going to Kaeleigh’s knee.

“Really, Lana, I’m cool. I know you broke through a lot of boundaries tonight, and maybe you’re feeling ready to knock another one down, but…”

“I think I am,” Lana breathed. She squeezed her knee. “Yeah.”

She took Lana’s hand in both of hers and kissed the fingers, then held it. “I really, really appreciate what you’re suggesting, and I’m tempted. I really am. Apart from Meilin, I’ve never been this attracted to a woman in my life. But … let’s not push it, okay? We’ve both had Champagne, you had a lot of pretty intense cums, and I’d … feel a lot better if we talked about it when your head was a little clearer. And mine, too.”

Lana saw the wisdom of it, even as she wanted to deny it, but Kaeleigh was right. Good sex, a good orgasm — particularly a very large number of them in rapid succession — could be as intoxicating as booze or a drug and throw off anyone’s judgment, enough that they might do something in the heat (or afterglow) of the moment they might go on to regret. And Kaeleigh was right, too, that they now had a friendship far too precious to risk damaging with any kind of wedge, such as Lana, who considered herself quite heterosexual, making full-on love with another woman. Here in the lights Luke had put up on the wall for his wife, it looked like a good idea. In the full bright light of the next day … she just couldn’t be sure. She hated herself a little for not knowing, but Kaeleigh was right about that too. She’d blown through several limits in the last few hours. Maybe it really was best to let it rest a while and see what happened, how she felt about things later on, when her blood had settled and her head had cooled.

“Yeah,” she sighed. “Yeah, okay, girl. You’re right. But now would be a great time for a happy hug.”

Kaeleigh grinned and drew her close, their bare bodies warm together, soft in so many of the same places. It felt strange to Lana, but good. “Thank you for trying it. And thanks for letting Her through.”

“I think we’ll both be seeing Her again. And Kaeleigh…”

“Yeah?” Her breath was a feather’s brush at her ear.

“What I said before. I meant it then and I still mean it now. I love you.”

“I love you too, Lana,” Kaeleigh whispered, and tightened her arms around her, drawing her nearer. “I love you too.”

They rocked together for a while, keeping the embrace close, until Lana eased back at last. “Maybe we should see if Luke’s ready to turn in for the night.”

“Yeah, good idea. If he wakes up on the couch all alone in the middle of the night and finds us in here asleep, he’ll get all kinds of crazy ideas.”

“Oh,” said Lana as they got up to go down the hall. “They wouldn’t be all that crazy.” They giggled quietly together as they made their way back to the living room and collected Kaeleigh’s husband, briefly, from the clutches of Mister Sandman. Ten minutes later, they’d all settled into his warm, soft arms.

* * *

When Lana woke late the next morning, the first thing she was aware of was sunlight streaming golden across her body, casting its warmth into her skin. She lay in its decadence, letting her awareness encompass the sounds beside her, a man and woman finding joy together to greet the breaking day. (Even if they were behind the curve a little; by the slant of the light it was already around ten.)

She looked over and saw what she expected to. Luke and Kaeleigh were making love, as slow and sweet as the close dance they’d shared last night at the Chamber ceremony, and as unforgettable. She watched the light in his eyes, reflecting hers; sparks and glows of inexpressible affection were all around them both, a deep and nameless connection that was in their bodies, but deeper than that too, an easy and unrestrained melding of their souls. They were too close together for their little hearts to show, but Lana knew they were there, just as surely as the hearts in their breasts that beat in slow time together, lingering with them in their unity.

They were in no hurry, and they knew she was awake, and they let her see them in their perfection, and Lana understood why Luke and Kaeleigh believed some things were too personal to share on camera with the world. As each orgasm rolled through Kaeleigh, building in her as surely as the sea built on the shore, she saw, more and more, an awareness in her eyes that both was, and was not, this good, sweet girl she knew and loved. There was something else in her eyes, something that might have been a goddess, yes, or it might have been Kaeleigh herself, baring her essence, washed down by the gentle action of those waves of love, falling back in time and opening up in honesty until she was the totality of the woman Luke adored. It might have been Eris who lay there beneath her worshipper, cradling and accepting him; or it might have been the true seed of Kaeleigh, a girl with fire in her eyes and hell in her smile, a girl capable of almost anything, but whose power, balmed and soothed by the endless stream of love pouring from her man, was turned instead to thoughts of unfettered union.

Two were one, and in the end, even after the final cries had fallen silent, that oneness remained.

She watched them in their lingering kisses, watched Luke ease himself from the embrace of his wife, and when he turned to her, Lana was ready.

He began it with her as he always did in the morning’s first love, as she now knew he did with Kaeleigh too. Deep slow kisses warmed her throughout, his hands deft and knowing; his lips dabbed gently in a wending line down and down her body until there was another kind of kiss, this also deep and slow, enlivening her as it gentled her, making her heart race and her blood sing, making her body relax into his holy act. She felt Hera, yes, but She was there too, the oldest Goddess, the ur-Goddess, the wellspring of existence and of Whom all other goddesses were facets, reflections caught within a jewel of infinite depth and beauty. When he moved up once more to take her, he was as ready as he had been with his wife, and as easy and sweet and true. The love went on and on, and she opened herself as she always did, but more freely and wholly this time, feeling him move inside her, seeing the pleasure in his eyes each time she found her pleasure in his ministrations; and his finishing motions in her were every bit as rich and complete as they’d been in Kaeleigh, half an hour before.

She sheltered with him for a time in the afterglow, looked over at Kaeleigh, and smiled at her smile.

“There’s just no better way to start the day, is there?” Her voice was quiet, a whisper proper for a sacred space.

Lana shook her head, reached, and took Kaeleigh’s hand.

Luke stirred and slipped out of her, rose, and donned a robe. “You two just relax for a while. I’ll be back soon with breakfast.”

“All this, and he cooks,” Lana murmured after he’d left them.

“Mmm,” Kaeleigh said. “Cinnamon rolls. He makes a load of dough once a month and freezes it, and spoils me rotten every Saturday. They’ve been defrosting in the fridge since yesterday.”

“Feel like joining one of those churches where the man has more than one wife?”

She giggled, her hand tightening in Lana’s. “I don’t think he’d survive long.”

“We did use him pretty hard. But it went both ways.” She stretched a little, aware of twinges in her shoulders, back, and legs that were always the hallmarks of a superior night of exercise. “Thank you,” she breathed as she settled back, her fingers still laced into Kaeleigh’s. “Thank you for sharing your man with me. Thank you for your friendship and love, and thank you for last night. Especially how we ended it.”

“It was perfect,” Kaeleigh sighed. “All of it.”

“You were right,” Lana said, her voice trembling a little. “What you said.” She looked at her friend and saw … not puzzlement, not judgment, just understanding. “I feel like such a coward. I’m sorry. I love you, I really do. And last night, I was … I was feeling it so much, and I was ready, I thought I was ready, to show you, but…” She swallowed and shook her head. “I don’t know what the hell is wrong with me.”

“Nothing,” Kaeleigh murmured. “I understand. It’s … big. I know, I really do know, what it’s like to feel deeply that you want to do something, and to butt up against another part of yourself that’s just as big, just as deep and powerful, telling you not to go on. What we shared last night was beautiful, and if it never goes beyond that, it’ll always be okay. Don’t push yourself so hard that something breaks, Lana. I love you as you are now. There are no conditions.”

She smiled through the blur in her eyes. “I bet you didn’t have any trouble getting past whatever it was.”

“No, it’s still there,” Kaeleigh said, her hand tightening again. “I just … I learned how to … deal with things as they are, not how I wished they were. It makes it easier to … to face those struggles, to step back and look and really see what’s happening in yourself, and come to peace with it.” She reached and wiped away Lana’s tears. “Take your time. Do what’s right for you. Whatever it is, it’ll be right for me, too.”

“I love you so much,” Lana said. “I think you’re the best friend I’ve ever had. Or ever will.”

Kaeleigh smiled again, lifted her hand to her lips, kissed it gently. “That’s more than good enough for me. I love you too, Lana, and I’ll never stop being glad you’re a part of our lives. Mine and Luke’s.”

Lana stroked Kaeleigh’s cheek and they lay, side by side, facing each other, patting each other, sharing something that wasn’t sex, but felt much more intimate. “Oh God,” she murmured after a while. “Something smells like heaven.”

“They’re just about out of the oven now,” Kaeleigh said, and sat up. “C’mon, babe. Let’s throw on some robes and present ourselves as the goddesses we are.”

“Wouldn’t goddesses be better on the half-shell and au naturel?”

“We like to have some secrets from our worshippers, don’t we? It gives them something to look forward to, later.” Lana giggled and took the robe Kaeleigh handed her, wrapping up and tying off with her, and then they settled back against the headboard, their arms around each other’s waists, and awaited the attentions of their man.

Luke came in carrying two plates, along with a couple of mugs of rich coffee. “It seems we all like it black,” he said, smirking a little, as he handed the plates to the women. Lana snorted while Kaeleigh rolled her eyes, and then she gaped at what was on display. It wasn’t a cinnamon roll so much as a small loaf, plump and lush and utterly drenched in rich cream cheese frosting. Alongside it a small bowl held apple slices and cubes of soft Gouda.

While Luke went back to the kitchen for his own portion, Lana sampled the roll, cutting off a segment with her fork. It was far too large for her to eat any other way. The bread melted on her tongue, mixing liberally with the buttery cinnamon-sugar filling, a hint of clove adding redolence and offsetting the decadent richness of the frosting. “Oh my God.”

“I know,” Kaeleigh nodded, going to work on her own portion.

“You should weigh three hundred pounds.”

“We work it off,” she shrugged.

“You’d have to. And believe me, it would not be a chore.”

“I’ve found my wifely duties to be satisfactory,” Kaeleigh nodded, biting into a slice of apple.

“How is it?” Luke said, sweeping back in with his breakfast. He managed to wear a robe like some people wore capes, adding dash and a generous flare of broad shoulders.

“Just when I thought my day couldn’t get any better,” Lana said, and took another bite, “I find myself glad to be wrong.”

He grinned and Kaeleigh said, “Hey, how about we go on the roof?”

Lana swallowed and picked up a piece of apple. “Now?”

“Sure. The hood’s waking up, we’re waking up and not even naked, and it’s like Saturday morning cartoons. It’ll be warm enough now, for sure.”

“Sure, okay.” They got up, Luke extended the stairs, and they made the climb up and out. The late morning sun streamed down over the city, the distant buildings shimmering a little in heat haze, the neighborhood burgeoning with activity. Trash and recycling were being taken out, lawns were being given one of their final mows for the season, early-fallen leaves were being raked. It was strange to watch the bustle, so close and so audible, and be entirely unobserved in their observations of it all, as though they were on an island in the middle of a busy sea, or … deities, why not, seated on a cloud and observing the mundane behaviors of the mortals below. “Doesn’t anyone ever notice when you’re up here? I can see how they might not at night, but it’s broad daylight right now.”

“Most people don’t spend a lot of time looking up,” Luke said.

“It’s true,” Kaeleigh nodded, sipping her coffee. Her cinnamon truck wheel was about half gone, vanished into her slender capable body. Lana had also done serious damage to her portion, and wasn’t quite slowing down just yet. Yeah, you bet they worked it off. “They’ll watch their dogs while they walk them, they’ll watch the ground for cracks or potholes, they’ll look at the bushes and flowers and sometimes even the trees, but they just never seem to go above the roofline. Watch.” A man, a little older than Lana, was walking a Jack Russell along the sidewalk in front of their house, and Kaeleigh waved to him. “Hey, Mike!”

The man blinked and looked around, and only spotted her when she called again. “Oh, hey, Kaeleigh.” He paused on the sidewalk, shading his eyes with his hand. “Didn’t see you up there. Hell of a day, isn’t it?”

“The best,” Kaeleigh said. “This is our friend, Lana.” Lana waved cheerily, smiling at the man’s nod. “We’re just spoiling ourselves with Luke’s cinnamon rolls.”

“Oh you lucky gals,” Mike said. “Dave baked me some last week. I don’t suppose you feel like husband-swapping sometime, do you?”

Kaeleigh laughed with him while Luke grinned. “If he ever gets banished to the couch, I’ll send him your way. How’s that sound?”

“Get into as much trouble as you possibly can,” Mike advised Luke.

“Way ahead of you,” he said.

“Looks like it. Well, Billie Jean isn’t gonna walk herself. As much as she’d like to.” The Jack Russell was all attention, her head up and nose in the air, her little body vibrating as she tugged at the leash. “Have a great day! It was nice meeting you, Lana!”

“And you!” she called, waving with the others as Mike was half-dragged along by the minuscule bundle of energy before him.

“See?” Kaeleigh said. “They just don’t look up.”

“Huh,” Lana said. She didn’t either, now that she thought about it.

“Mike’s a total sweetheart. He and Dave tied the knot a couple years ago, and they’re still going strong. Dave’s a postgrad in English. Mike’s wrapping up his JD. Civil law.”

“Do they know about your work?”

“Yeah,” Luke said. “They both wish I’d do gay porn, but…” He shrugged while Lana giggled. “They’re great guys. Billie Jean can be a handful, but all those little dogs are like that.”

“They’re talking about adopting after they’re done with school,” Kaeleigh said.

“Hey, great.” Lana had made it through her cinnamon roll and was just polishing off her fruit and cheese.

“Yeah, whatever kid or kids they end up with are gonna be pretty lucky,” Luke said. He was sitting with his knees up, sipping his coffee, giving the women a rather nice view of things from behind the tails of his robe. Even soft, he was impressive, and very much worth admiring. “So what were your plans for the day?”

“Hadn’t really made any,” Lana said. “What about you?”

“Well, we have shopping to do later this afternoon,” he said. “But before then, we’re both free, I think.”

“Totally,” Kaeleigh nodded. She’d finished her breakfast as well. “We can make love again, if you want, then break for lunch, and Luke’ll take you home in his cute little convertible.”

“And make love to me again there?”

“As the lady requests,” he grinned.

“Thought you said you weren’t a nympho,” Kaeleigh said.

“I thought we said it was a mood thing.”

“Must be. Because I am very much in the mood.” They laughed, collected the dishes, and went back inside to spend the rest of the morning working off those cinnamon rolls.