Unknown - driven

“Do tell,” was Dylan?s droll reply.

“I?m serious, Dylan.” She knew she sounded a bit whiney, but that?s what unintended naps did to her.

“So am I.” Relenting a little, Dylan grasped Cat?s chilled hand. “I promise you, no one is inside this house.”

Cat read the truth in the press of her hand, and nodded. Then she looked up in shock. “This is your house, isn?t it.”

Dylan grinned, reaching the mailbox and pulling out several envelopes and showing them to Cat. “I sure hope so, or else I?m paying someone else?s bills.”

Cat looked at the bills in amazement, then up into Dylan?s smirking eyes. “Wow. A house in Birmingham, one here. Are there any more hiding around?”

Dylan?s eyes lit with devilment. “Maybe,” she said with just a hint of coyness. Then, laughing, she released Cat?s hand and reached into her pocket for the house key. Inserting it into the lock, she twisted, and swung the door wide, grasping Cat?s hand once again and escorting her inside.

“Jesus,” Cat breathed, looking around at the impressive accommodations. Directly in front of her was a sunken living room with all the high tech amenities that a soul could want, fronted by an enormous fireplace that took the chill off the cool night air. “This place is gorgeous!”

“Thanks,” Dylan replied, turning the recessed lighting to a soft, warm glow. “I usually spend some time up here in the off-season. My caretaker looks after it when I?m away.”

“Now there?s a job I wouldn?t mind having.”

Smiling, Dylan led Cat over to the large French doors, their view of the world beyond shaded by vertical blinds. “I know you were looking forward to a shower, and if you really want one there?s no problem, but I thought I might be able to interest you in this instead.”

Flipping open the blinds, Dylan exposed a view of a sizable, terraced deck in the center of which was a very large Jacuzzi, lit from within and swirling and bubbling in anticipation of their visit. Next to the swirling pool was a small metal ice bucket, and inside that bucket, Cat could just see the tip of a wine bottle emerging. Two long-stemmed crystal glasses sat on a folded cloth next to the bucket, and beside them, a thin, crystal vase holding one perfect red rose.

Cat was silent for so long that Dylan began to feel a tiny sliver of uncharacteristic fear tracing its way through her belly. Looking at her partner?s shadowed profile, she softly cleared her throat. “I?um?.”

Seeing a tear trail its gentle way down Cat?s cheek brought the fear out in full force. “Cat?”

Cat turned to her then, the smile on her face breathtaking in its beauty. “Thank you,” she whispered before closing the minute distance between them and wrapping her arms around Dylan?s taut body. “Thank you.”

After a moment of near dizziness, where total relief washed away the tide of fear, Dylan enclosed Cat in a fierce embrace, holding her as if in the holding, her own life had been spared.

They parted by mutual consent. Cupping Cat?s cheek, Dylan looked into her eyes, one thumb brushing away the lone tear that had fallen. “You?re okay,” she murmured, half question, half affirmation.

Cat nodded, fingers brushing against the hand so tender on her face. Her smile was radiant, her eyes shining like emeralds under glass. Dylan was mesmerized, unable to remember her own name, let alone when or where she had ever seen such beauty before.

Taking in a deep, slow breath, she centered herself and trailed the very tips of her fingers from Cat?s cheek to her hand, smiling at the goosebumps that followed her gentle touch. Reaching out with her free hand, she flipped the lock and opened the doors, letting in cool, clean air heavy with the scent of pine. She stepped out into the night, leading Cat by the hand to the lip of the Jacuzzi.

They stopped there for a moment, still linked, as they stared up into the star-blessed sky. The moon, pregnant and ripe, smiled down on them, gilding their forms in silver and white.

Letting go a soft sigh, Dylan released Cat?s hand, facing her at an oblique angle and taking in her shining profile. Cat?s eyes were closed, face turned up to the moon as if to a lover, awaiting a kiss.

“So beautiful,” Dylan breathed, reaching out to touch the silvered hair, feeling the exquisite softness against her callused fingers.

Cat turned then, and, using gentle force, brought Dylan?s lips against hers, brushing her suppleness in tribute before melding with her, tasting her heat. Dylan?s hands came naturally to Cat?s trim waist, then slid upwards against the tight pull of her shirt, feeling the warmth and the strength of the body beneath stretched out against her own.

Cat moaned softly as Dylan parted her lips, welcoming her within, tongue stroking with indescribable softness. Reaching into Cat?s hair, Dylan took control of the exquisite kiss, drawing in Cat?s bottom lip and stroking it deftly with her tongue and teeth.

It was Cat who broke first, pulling away to rest her forehead against Dylan?s broad chest, drawing in heavy, deep breaths as her heart hammered in her ears and her body raged and quaked. Dylan held her gently and close, pressing soft kisses against the crown of her hair.

Looking up, Cat gave Dylan a tremulous smile. “I?.God!?.That was?..” Dropping her head, she groaned in frustration.

Dylan laughed softly and, after one last hug, stepped away, smiling down at the frustrated young woman. “C?mon. Let?s slow it down a little. Could I interest you in a hot soak and a little wine?”

Giving up trying to speak full sentences, Cat settled for an emphatic nod.

Without posing or pretext, Dylan unbuttoned her crisp, white shirt and casually slipped it off her broad, tanned shoulders. Long fingers made short work of the button fly of her jeans, and she slid them down the long length of her legs, stepping out and kicking them to the side with idle grace. Her undergarments were eased off, and as she straightened, she felt the weight of eyes upon her.

Standing calmly, muscles loose and relaxed, she allowed the examination, feeling the tender heat of Cat?s gaze as if she were being caressed.

“You really are a goddess,” Cat whispered, in awe of the vision she was seeing. To Cat, Dylan was perfection personified, her body flawless and without compare. It truly hit her then, where she was, and who she was with. This was her hero, the woman she had looked up to for so many years, standing naked before her, inviting her glance and her touch. Her knees weakened a bit, muscles threatening an all-out rebellion, but she hung on with a tenacity deeply ingrained. She could no more look away than she could stop breathing.

If it had been within Dylan to blush, she might have done so. Instead, she gave a crooked grin and gracefully descended the steps into the Jacuzzi. Lowering herself into the molded seat, she stretched out and allowed the heated waters to swirl against her skin.

With just a bit of uncharacteristic shyness, Cat began to fumble with her own clothing, placing her T-shirt and shorts carefully on the ground beside the tub. Reaching for the clasp of her bra, she shot a look to Dylan who, thankfully, was preoccupied with opening and pouring the wine. Quickly stripping the rest of the way, she entered the tub, immersing herself to her shoulders and sliding into a seat. She couldn?t help the groan that flowed from her lips at the feel of the heated water penetrating her skin, soothing her muscles and calming her nerves.

She looked up in time to accept wine that Dylan held for her. A slight touch of their glasses, and they sipped, enjoying the dry, subtle flavor of the wine. They sat in companionable silence for a time, enjoying the soothing waters and the clear night spread out before them.

“More?” Dylan asked, noticing that Cat?s glass was very close to empty.