CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

 

Shy drove them out to the soft rolling slopes on the eastern outskirts of town that the locals called the Velvet Hills and laid out a blanket for them to lie on amid a field of short, fuzzy red-tipped caterpillar grass. The plant was native to Sirona, and Thisbe couldn’t stop running her fingers along the tops, stroking the grass like a cat as she and Shy passed the bottle of wine back and forth between them.

The night air on the open hill carried a cool breeze, but thankfully with no hint of rain, and Shy slipped her arms out of her jacket so that the two of them could share it like a blanket for warmth. Thisbe snuggled as close to Shy as she could, quietly reveling in the way it seemed like Shy’s scent clung to her skin already. She gazed thoughtfully up at constellations she had no names for.

“What’s that one called?” She pointed up to a bright cluster of twinkling stars.

“What’s what called?”

“The constellation! People have to have named them all by now. I think it looks sort of like a circus dog balancing a ball on its nose.”

“Hmm… I don’t think so.”

Thisbe couldn’t believe such an opportunity had gone to waste and said as much.

“What a waste. Do you know what these unnamed constellations remind me of?”
      “Circus dogs, apparently.”

“Shut up, no. No! Don’t make me laugh, I’m trying to make a point. They remind me of towns back on Earth. You know, people set out from the over-crowded cities and headed into the great unknown and finally found patches of land good enough to start whole cities in and what do they name them? New This and New That. They just named them the exact same thing as the cities they’d left! I bet all these constellations are just like… New Capricorn. New Libra.”

“Well, people got homesick, back in the day. They knew it was likely they’d never see their old cities again and wanted something to remind them of what they left behind.”

“I cannot fathom it. If I were going to go to the trouble of founding an entire city, I wouldn’t name it after the city I’d just left—and I certainly wouldn’t name it after my family. How tacky.”

“What would you name it?”

“What would I name a new city?”

“Yeah.”

Thisbe thought about the question, enjoying the way Shy’s beautiful face caught the starlight. She propped herself up on one elbow and took a contemplative swig of wine before answering.

“Big Titty City,” she said with finality.

Shiloh exploded in a guffaw of helpless laughter.

“What? What’s wrong with that name?” Thisbe’s laughter joined Shiloh’s, and their joy echoed over the dark hills around them.

“This is why people stuck with what they knew!”

“Okay, but what about like, a zodiac?”
      “Star signs?” Shiloh wrinkled her nose. The concept of certain stars influencing your entire life was an old-fashioned, romantic idea, but one that persisted through the decades back on Earth, waxing and waning in popularity.

“Yeah. Back on Earth I’m a Leo. What would I be here on Sirona?”

“Hmm… A Leo, huh? Let’s see.” Shiloh gazed up at the sky, as if searching for the right pattern. She pointed to a series of sparkling stars just off the horizon. “There, that’s your star sign.”

“What is it?” Thisbe couldn’t keep the curiosity out of her voice; she had no idea what the shape was supposed to be, but she was suddenly dying to know her Sironese star sign.

“It’s called… the Big Fat Space Tiddies. Here on Sirona, you’re an earth sign! The future is so crazy like that!” Shy ended the explanation with a shriek of laughter as Thisbe jumped up and wrestled her way on top of her.

“Shy, have some respect for the eternal stars!” Thisbe yelled.

They laughed, tumbling against each other in the soft grass, a tangle of thighs and fingers, hips rolling against hips. Thisbe ended up back on top, straddling Shy with their hands entwined above Shy’s head, pinning her to the ground. Their laughter trailed off and Shy’s grin turned to an almost apprehensive I-dare-you look. Thisbe’s heart caught in her throat, pounding in her ears as she lowered her lips to brush softly against Shy’s.

Their warm breath mingled in the space between them and Shy tilted her chin up to flutter her lips along Thisbe’s. Thisbe’s body responded instantly: desire curled in her belly like thick smoke and licked through her veins before wrapping around her brain, drawing her deeper into the sound of their twin heartbeats over the susurrus of the wind in the velvet grass.

Thisbe let go of Shy’s hands, using hers to cup the other woman’s face into a deeper, fiercer kiss, and Shy responded by sliding her free hands up the hot, smooth expanse of Thisbe’s thighs, pushing her little black dress up until it sat just above the curve of Thisbe’s naked hips.

Goosebumps followed in the wake of Shy’s touch, like stardust trailing white hot comets. Thisbe’s mouth pulled away from Shy’s, a low growl of desire in the back of her throat, and kissed her way down Shy’s jaw and neck and collarbone. She licked and nibbled a path with no specific intent, just a fevered need to taste Shy. To experience her fully.

I need to slow down, Thisbe thought, somewhere in the part of her mind that was still capable of thought. She’s going to think I’m an absolute horndog. Or she’s ten seconds away from being absolutely repulsed by my lack of control. Or—ohhh heavenly bodies, what is that thing she’s doing with her hips right now? More… yes, more of that…

Thisbe had never lost herself so completely to a lover, not once in her life. She could never afford to. What would it have done to her reputation, to be known as the overly-emotional lay? To expose her soul bare alongside her body, at the mercy of the pampered arms of a fellow high-powered scion? No, her family and her peers had taught her that, like every aspect of their rich and glittering lives, pleasure was a currency. You took it as the opportunity presented itself, but you never, ever gave anything away for free.

And now here she was on an open slope, half-naked and careless, exposed in the wind and her mind an utter puddle of lust and devotion for the woman writhing between her thighs. She felt animalic, primal, like a goddess, like a pet. Like I belong to Shiloh, and she belongs to me. She felt complete.

The realization caused a sudden bubble of joyous laughter to escape her mouth, and Shy looked up with curiosity, but Thisbe saw a flicker of doubt in her dark eyes, too.

“What’s funny?” Shy murmured. Thisbe shook her head and raised her lips back to Shy’s for a long, deep, tongue-twining kiss before she pulled back to respond.

“I’m just really fucking happy,” Thisbe whispered back. It felt strange to be so honest, with no armor of reserved artistry or coy wordplay to shield her heart.

One of Shy’s hands moved away from its grip on Thisbe’s ass cheek and slipped into the hot, slick crevice between Thisbe’s thighs. Thisbe gasped and moaned, grinding against Shy’s fingers as they gently but firmly explored the shape and depth of her.

“Yeah,” said Shy. “I’m right there with you.”

Thisbe clung to her then, and Shy pushed her fingers deeper into her and ground her palm slowly against Thisbe’s sensitive, attention-starved clit. The look in Shy’s eyes stripped Thisbe further, undid her self-consciousness, set fire to all thoughts of Earth or expectations in the bedroom. There was only this woman, her touch, her kiss, her heartbeat racing against Thisbe’s.

When she came, she inhaled the sharp, high scents of clover and dead leaves against the warm, honeyed milk musk of Shy’s skin and cried out Shy’s name in the quiet night, coiling and uncoiling around Shy’s strong fingers.

Shiloh kissed Thisbe’s sweat-damp forehead and tenderly pushed limp strands of hair out of her eyes as Thisbe took shuddering breaths and struggled to get her pulse back under control.

She marveled at how invulnerable, untouchable she felt in Shy’s arms, even when the two of them were so exposed, out in the open. Wrapped up in Shy, it was as though they became something far greater and more sacred. They were shimmering, molten metal Venuses, yielding to no one but each other.

When the world stopped spinning a little, Thisbe wriggled out of Shy’s arms, sat up, and licked her lips. Shy’s turn. Earthy, sensuous, quiet, reserved Shy. Thisbe considered for a moment how best to please her lover, then reached down and slowly unzipped Shy’s soft, weathered jeans.

She pulled the fly open just enough to expose a flash of skin and the top of a pair of black cotton underwear. The jeans were loose enough that Thisbe could easily slip one hand down the front, beneath the panties, and dip into the shockingly wet folds of Shy’s pussy.

All this she did while her eyes held Shy’s gaze. She watched hungrily as the other woman’s expression passed from languid pleasure to guarded and wary, surprised tension, and finally half-lidded yearning.

“Is this okay?” Thisbe asked softly.

Shy nodded, still silent, but her swollen lips parted and she gave a breathy exhalation of wanting by way of response. Thisbe smiled and slipped her hand out of Shy’s jeans—earning her a small whimper of protest from her lover—and gently gripped Shy’s still-clothed shoulder. She leaned down until her lips were parallel to Shy’s ear.

“Turn over for me,” she whispered.

Shy hesitated long enough for a strand of doubt to creep into Thisbe’s mind; had she misjudged Shy’s tastes? Had she jumped too far ahead? But then Shy nodded softly and, trembling just a little, turned over to lie on her belly on the blue plaid blanket.

Thisbe drank up the delicious sight. Her strong, formidable, indomitable Shy, spread out before Thisbe with her high cheekbones pressed against the soft flannel on one side, caressed by the cool autumn breeze on the other. She straddled Shy from behind, moving both of her hands beneath Shy’s shirt to slide steady fingertips up along her back, reveling in the exploration of this new territory.

Each crevice or bump in the smooth, supple heat of Shy’s skin was a delight to her. I’m going to memorize each and every bit of you, inside and out. And I will take my time, my love. Thisbe tried to transmit these thoughts through the pressure of her fingertips, tried to spell them out in the way she stroked between Shy’s shoulder blades (and delighted in the way Shy’s unbelievable back muscles rippled with pleasure at her touch).

She continued moving one hand up to wrap gently around the back of Shy’s neck and kept the pressure there light, but present. More a question than a demand. Shy responded by leaning her neck back ever so slightly, exposing the pulse of her rapid heartbeat for Thisbe’s pleasure. Thisbe couldn’t help but give a little squeeze at that, which caused Shy to close her eyes rapturously and let out a low, soft moan.

That did it. Thisbe moved her other hand down the back of Shy’s jeans, cupping Shy’s mound from behind. Shy was unbelievably wet, and she squirmed eagerly at Thisbe’s touch, but Thisbe was in control now, and she did control very well.

She lowered her body against Shy’s and pressed her mouth to Shy’s back, nibbling and licking in time with the rhythm of her fingers that stroked between Shy’s legs. Thisbe kept her speed slow and focused on gradually building up the intensity all over her lover’s body, deliberately wrapping her in a blanket of starlight and sticky sweet musk. Shiloh was the earth, the mountains, a force of nature, and she would not be moved to climax with speed. It would take an earthquake could shake this goddess to her core.

Only when she saw Shy’s fingers grip the blanket beneath her, when Shy’s eyes went wide before her eyelashes fluttered closed in ecstasy, when the woman beneath her tense with undeniable need, only then did Thisbe dip two fingers inside her, keeping her index finger out to continue rubbing Shy’s clit. She was rewarded with the feel of Shy’s hips rolling and grinding against her hand.

“This is how you like it best, isn’t it? On your belly? Lost in the darkness?”

“Yes,” Shy breathed. Already, Thisbe felt Shy clenching around her fingers in small bursts. She gave Shy’s neck a little squeeze and smile in satisfaction as it caused the other woman to shiver and flutter around her fingers again.

“You’re so sensitive,” Thisbe murmured against Shy’s ear, nipping at her earlobe. “Like an exquisite instrument, dying to be touched, to be turned into starsong.”

Shy only responded with a whimper of pleasure, so Thisbe squeezed the back of her neck ever so slightly more and amped up the intensity of her fingers buried inside Shy’s pussy. Shy held out for several glorious minutes of stroking, writhing, and faint whimpers and moans into the blanket, and Thisbe moved back up until she was straddling Shy’s hips, grinding her pelvis against Shy’s ass.

That pushed Shy well beyond the edge; Thisbe felt her coil up all at once, those glorious muscles of hers rippling beneath soft skin, and then Shy let out one single, beautiful, gorgeous cry that echoed over the velvet hills, and then she was squeezing Thisbe’s fingers over and over again, coming sweet and salty all over her hand, dampening the blanket beneath them.

Shy went limp in her arms, and it was Thisbe’s turn to sweat-stuck hair from her lover’s brow. After a minute, she withdrew her hand and Shy turned over on her back so that they were face to face and grinning like absolute idiots at each other.

“Thisbe Vandergoss, you gorgeous daydream. I don’t know what I did to deserve you, but I’m sure glad I did it.”