Shipmates
part 6
By Azurenon & Savanna Mac
Please see part one for all disclaimers.
6
Gabrielle awoke to find they had changed positions in their sleep. Xena was now lying on her back, Gabrielle’s head laying on her chest, her left leg thrown over Xena’s right, and the warrior’s left arm up under her neck.
You are so beautiful, she thought, glancing up at her lover’s sleeping face. I can hardly believe this is real. It certainly feels real enough. But, oh by the gods, if I wake up and find this is a dream I’ll... throw myself in the ocean, I swear! she promised herself, lifting her free hand to gently touch the bare skin of her lover’s shoulder. Xena gave no indication that she even felt this contact. Good, the bard thought, ideas about exploring the warrior’s body while she slept, drifting through her sleepy, yet aroused little mind. I want you, she thought. I want to make you mine, as well, she added, her hand slowly skimming over the warrior’s chest and down to her right breast.
Ever watchful for some reaction from her lover, Gabrielle gently ran her index finger around the smooth light brown aureole. Her fingertips sensed the tightening of the skin, though Xena gave no indication of noticing her own arousal. Gabrielle cupped the full mound in her hand, the warrior’s dark nipple rising in height between the bard’s outstretched fingers.
"Umm," Xena finally murmured, the right side of her body turning slightly towards Gabrielle, as if asking for more of the same.
The bard licked her lips, her mouth watering at the thought of tasting this enticing part of her lover’s anatomy. She eased up on her right elbow, then lowered her mouth to her lover’s breast.
"Hm-mp," Xena whimpered, her hand moving to her lover’s head now.
The bard flicked her tongue back and forth across the erect protrusion, as her lover had done to arouse her, and felt the nipple rise even higher, though her lover gave no more indications that she had awaken.
By the gods, how I ache for you, she thought, feeling her own groin muscles tighten in response. And she soon found her free hand roaming down her lover’s body, stopping at nothing, until it reached the mass of soft dark curls at the apex of the warrior’s firm thighs. Tentatively, at first, she eased her hand lower, her fingertips inching between the warm folds. She had expected to find a great deal more dampness here and was somewhat disappointed when things did not live up to her expectations.
"Hmm," she murmured, refocusing her attention for the moment, on her lover’s breast, where she began sucking on the erect nipple like a child seeking sustenance.
Xena moaned again and suddenly Gabrielle was surprised to encounter a slightly salty, musky flavor that not only tantalized her taste buds, but sent lightning bolts careening down her body to explode at the center of her own desire. Her fingers flinched involuntarily at this sudden jolt to her system. Then she was rewarded with yet another surprise, as her fingertips now encountered the wetness they’d been searching for to begin with.
"Hmph," she grunted, as her hand moved lower of it’s own accord, her fingertips now touching the outer edges of her lover’s inner chamber.
Xena’s right thigh then moved slightly, offering her the open invitation she’d wanted. The bard’s index and middle finger slowly insinuated themselves between the warm, wet silky folds and gently penetrated the slick inner chamber.
"Wha-at are yo-ou do-oing to me?" Xena whispered, as her fingers slipped into the bard’s soft hair.
"Making you... mine," Gabrielle murmured against her lover’s breast.
"I... already am yours," the warrior said with a sigh, as her lover’s fingers slid further into her now aching chamber.
"Uh,... not yet," Gabrielle corrected, raising up briefly to look into her lover’s eyes. "Not until I claim you... my way," she added, her fingers probbing even deeper.
"Umm," Xena murmured, reaching up with both hands and taking hold of the bard’s face, then lifting it up to meet her own. "Then take me, Gabrielle," she murmured against the bard’s lips, just before attempting to devour them.
Gabrielle groaned as Xena’s words, as well as, the movements of her hips, (the latter of which enclosed the bard’s fingers nearly to the hilt) sent waves of passion flooding through her entire being. As Xena coaxed Gabrielle’s tongue into her mouth, then proceeded to suck on it, the bard felt paralyzed by the onslaught of all these unique and overwhelmingly pleasurable sensations. She couldn’t decided where she wanted to focus her attention. Did she want to move her tongue or her fingers? she debated. Then suddenly, she knew exactly what she wanted to do and had wanted to do from the beginning. She’d just got sidetracked.
The bard broke away from Xena’s passionate kiss and started working her way down her lover’s chin to her neck. And from there to her left breast, where she stopped for a moment. She circled the nipple with her tongue only once before surrounding it with her mouth and sucking vigorously.
"Oh-h-h, yes-s." Xena murmured, her fingers once again darting into the bard’s hair.
Gabrielle was pleased to once again be treated to the slightly salty, musky taste that filled her mouth. "Umm-mph," she whimpered, as Xena arched her hips again and began that slow rhythme Gabrielle so loved.
The bard’s fingers slid in and out of her lover’s hot wet chamber over and over again, intensifying her own passion to a fever pitch. Her ears burned, as if they were on fire.
I can’t wait any longer, she thought, leaving her lover’s breast and venturing downwards at a pace set solely by her own passion and desire to please. Her lips brushed against the soft mass of curls, the musky odor of her lover’s juices assailing her senses. Her groin muscles tightened and flexed, as she crossed over her lover’s left leg and slowly positioned herself between the warrior’s muscular thighs.
"By the gods," she breathed into the soft curls, as her lover raised her legs into a bent knee position, offering her an open invitation.
The first taste set the bard’s insides on fire, as did Xena’s deep whimpering growl. And before she knew it, the bard found herself with her face buried between her lover’s thighs. Her once probbing fingers having abandoned their mission, provided her the opportunity to wrap her arms around her lover’s hips; her tongue now taking on the task her fingers had abandoned.
"Oh-h-h Gab... Gab-brielle," Xena stammered, her hips arching to meet her lover’s gently probbing tongue. "Yes-s lo-ove... oh yes-s-s," she hissed, as the bard used her upper lip to massage the anterior node just above her inner chamber. "Oh-h, swe-et go-ods above!" she further murmured, as her lover suddenly decided to focus all her attention on this one sensitive area. "Oh-h, Oh-h.... She-ee-ee-ya!" Xena screamed, then quickly covered her mouth with her own hand, clamping down on the side of it with her teeth, as the bard coaxed her into that blissful never, never land, where fullfillment reined supreme.
Xena slowly drifted back to the land of reality, as her lover stretched out on top of her body and snuggled close to her neck. "Now... you are mine, Warrior Princess," Gabrielle whispered in her ear. "And don’t you ever forget it, either."
"Oh believe me, love, I won’t," Xena responded, her hands roaming over her lover’s back and pressing her close. "And don’t you dare forget you’re mine," she added, her long legs wrapping around the bard’s small firm hips.
"Umph," Gabrielle grunted, feeling the extreme dampness and heat of her lover’s desire press against her own. "Oh Xena... I ache for you," she murmured, her hips moving ever so slightly.
This was all Xena needed to hear to recharge her system. As her legs eased off the bard’s hips, her right hand was already inching down between their bodies. "Great Zeus," she murmured, her fingertips encountering her lover’s slick juices that felt even more plentiful than the last time she’d been here.
Gabrielle sighed and moved her hips slightly to give her lover better access. "Slowly," she requested, as the warrior eagerly penetrated her inner sanctuary.
"Oh yes, tell me what you need," Xena whispered. "Let me know just how to please you, for that’s all I wanna do."
"Teach me... what you need, as well," the bard responded. "Because I wanna learn every way there is to please you."
"Yes, love," Xena said, as she slowly rolled her lover over on her back. "I’ll teach you everything I know. And the rest... we’ll learn together."
****
Xena awoke slowly, her eyes opening and closing at intervals, as her brain struggled towards consciousness. "Umm," she murmured, feeling the backside of a small warm body fitted against the front of her own.
We fit together like the pieces of one of those puzzles I saw in Chin, she thought, her hand roaming over her lover’s slim firm stomach. "Umph," she grunted, as sunlight stabbed her eyes. Morning already, she mused, and... I still want her,.... even more than I did the first time, she continued, thinking about the events of the previous night. Oh yes, how much I dearly want her, she added, all her senses awake now and sending a series of different messages to her brain.
The aroma of passionate love making hung in the air around them like a cloud of smoke. The rumpled blankets at the foot of the bed, stood as mute testimony to their feverish manueverings as well as the feverish heat generated by their bodies, not to require any cover.
I am so in love with you, Gabrielle, she thought, her mind returning its focus to the lovely woman in her arms. And I think I have been for a long time now. I just didn’t want to admit it. Especially not to you, when... I thought you’d be hurt by it. How silly of me, she thought now. If only I had known you felt the same way I’d....
Face it, Xena, she interrupted her own self, things turn out the way they do for a reason. You may not see it now, but there’s a reason you both needed to wait this long. The warrior sighed heavily. I suppose so. At least we finally admitted it.
No, we didn’t, her mind argued, she did.
Well, yeah, she did.
If it had been left up to you...
Xena shook her head to clear it. She didn’t want to argue with herself this
morning. All she wanted to do was enjoy the pleasure of having this lovely woman
next to her as her lover. I want you again, my sweet little lover, she
thought, as her hand began to wander, like her mind. Right here and right
now. Just like this, she added, her hand moving lower.
"Ummph-hmm," the bard murmured, as Xena moved her hand from the bard’s stomach to her inner thigh and gently insinuated her leg between her lover’s, allowing her hand easier access. "Hmm?" Gabrielle said, flinching when Xena’s fingers slid between her folds. "Xena... wh-what...?"
"Ssh," the warrior requested, kissing the back of the bard’s neck.
"Oh-h-h Xe-na," Gabrielle murmured, the warrior’s lips having hit a sensitive spot on her neck that evoked instant arousal.
"No, don’t move," Xena suggested, as her lover started to roll over towards her. "I want you like this," she added, in explanation.
"Umm," the bard agreed, while Xena pushed her leg between the bard’s, forcing her thighs farther apart.
"Yes-s-s," the warrior hissed, her fingers easily slipping inside her lover’s hot sanctuary. She then attacked the bard’s neck and was rewarded with a series of moans and growls that set her heart to pounding.
Oh yes, love, she thought, I want it all... as many times and in as many ways as you will allow.
****
"Hungry?" Xena inquired, her lover laying still and silent in her arms, the bard’s own arms wrapped tightly around her, as well.
"For you," Gabrielle replied, kissing her lover’s neck.
"Umm, you are insatiable, aren’t you?" the warrior teased, pulling back slightly to gaze down at her lover.
"You make me that way."
"Well, I’m glad I have that affect on you. But,... I was referring to food, ya know."
"Food? What’s that?" Gabrielle mumbled.
Xena chuckled. "You know the stuff you put in your mouth to satisfy your hunger."
"Hmph, I thought it was you that satisfied my hunger," Gabrielle teased.
"Umm, well, I hope I do. But, you can’t live on love alone."
"Who says?" the bard retorted, nuzzling against Xena’s ear and lightly nibbling.
"Hmm, you keep that up and... we’ll both die of starvation," the warrior murmured, her right hand roaming down to the bard’s behind.
"Umph," Gabrielle grunted, suddenly feeling the pains of a full bladder. "I may not be hungry, but... there’s something else I’m afraid I need to take care of."
"Call of nature?" Xena guessed.
"More like a scream," the bard grumbled, as she pulled back. " I.... don’t wanna get up, ya know," she added, gazing into her lover’s eyes.
"Go ahead," Xena prodded. "We gotta get out of bed sometime. I’m gonna go get that orange left over from last night and then... I’ve gotta go, too. But..." she paused, as the bard started to roll away and she caught her with one hand. "I want you right back her once we take care of the necessities, hmm?"
"You won’t get any argument from me," the bard responded.
****
"Want me to peel that for you?" Gabrielle asked, laying on her side next to Xena, watching the warrior mangle the orange peeling, as well as bits of the fruit itself.
"How... do you do that anyway?" her lover asked, ripping off another small chunk of rind.
"Guess I’ve... just got the touch," the bard responded.
"You can say that again," Xena murmured, cocking one dark eyebrow and glancing over at her friend.
"Let me see it," Gabrielle said, with a slight smile, as Xena handed her the orange. She then rolled over on her back and proceeded to peel it.
When a drop of juice dripped onto her chest from one of the mangled sections, Xena grunted. "Let me get that for you," she offered, with a lascivious smile, as she rolled over on her side, her lips going for the juice high up on Gabrielle’s chest. "Umm," she commented, as her tongue lapped up the sticky substance. "Whaddaya say... I squeeze some... right here?" She indicated the bard’s clevage with her tongue. "Then over here." She moved to the bard’s right breast, her tongue flicking out and grazing her lover’s nipple. "And over he-ere," she continued, moving to her left breast now and delivering the same treatment. "And last, but of course not least..." She paused, one dark eyebrow shooting skyward, as she manuevered herself between the bard’s thighs. "My favorite spot," she added, pressing her lower body against lover’s. "Whaddaya say, hmm?"
"I’d have to say... what do we need the orange for?" the bard responded, arching one light brown eyebrow of her own.
"Good point," Xena agreed, as she started down on her lover.
"I thought you were hungry.... for food," Gabrielle reminded her.
"Later," Xena responded. "Right now all I have a taste for is you."
The orange fell from Gabrielle’s outstretched hand onto the pile of clothes beside the bed on the floor, as the bard reached out for her lover instead.
****
"Whadidya do with that orange?" Xena asked, as her stomach growled beneath the bard’s hand.
"Um... I’m not sure," Gabrielle responded, feeling too satisfied and drowsy to think straight at the moment, as well as, reluctant to move from her position of lying half on top of her lover. She slowly licked her lips, still wet with her lover’s juices, as she tried to remember. "Oh," she suddenly announced. "I think... I dropped it on the floor."
Xena sighed heavily. "Oh well, guess I won’t starve. I’ll go get something else.... later," she said, pulling her lover closer.
****
"Good morning to sleep in," the captain commented, as Xena ambled up the steps to the upper deck. "Gonna run into some rain by afternoon, I expect." he added, gazing out at the dark clouds on the southern horizon.
"Hmph," Xena grunted, as the wind whipped her hair around her face.
"Bad night?" the captain inquired, glancing over at her.
Xena quickly brushed her hair out of her face, thinking she’d glimpsed a slight smile on the captain’s face. "Beg pardon?" she said in a gruff voice.
"Oh just... heard some... loud voices, coming from your cabin last night and... figured the storm had maybe caused you... or your friend, to have a few nightmares or something."
"Hmph," Xena grunted, as she wondered what storm he was talking about, the one in their cabin or one on the sea that they’d obviously missed. "Uh yeah, nightmares," she finally mumbled. "My... friend is... prone to sea sickness, too."
"Uh-huh," the captain nodded, as he glanced down at her bare feet.
"Uh, I was just... on my way to get us some breakfast," she explained.
"She holding down food this morning?" The captain queried, as his eyes traveled up her body and suddenly stopped at her neck.
"Huh? Who? Oh,... yeah... some," she responded, turning her head, so that the wind would blow her hair forward and cover the mark she knew without a doubt was glaring from her neck. "Need to get going so... I can get back," she mumbled, slowly starting to walk away.
"Well, take care that she drinks enough spring water," the captain called after her. "I’ve heard too much saltwater has driven men crazy. Not sure what it might do to a woman."
"Thanks," Xena said over her shoulder, as she heard the captain snicker.
He knows, she thought. He heard us last night. "Damn and blast," she mumbled. Hope he doesn’t tell anyone else or... it’s for sure I’ll have to... kill some idot who thinks she should have a man instead of me. And that he’s just the one for the job. "Damn!" she cursed again. I’ll be glad when we’re off this blasted ship. Why in the world did this have to happen on a deadgum ship of all places? "For the love of Zeus," she mumbled, "there had to be more convenient places."
"Excuse me?" the cook asked, as she found herself entering his kitchen doorway.
"Uh... convenient place," Xena muttered, taking in the large fat baldheaded man and his nasty, blood-streaked apron. "Nice," she cleared her throat. "Um, you got anything for two hungry travelers?" she asked with a slight smile.
"Squid," the big man answered proudly, "caught fresh this morning."
"Hmph," Xena grunted, her belly so empty that the sight of the large while slimy squid the cook was holding out towards her, nearly turned her stomach.
"Uh... no thanks. How about some fish... those red snappa’, perhaps?"
"Cooked or raw?" he inquired, turning back to his work.
"Cooked, please."
"Help yourself," he said, gesturing to a plate with only two small fish on it. "Breakfast was hours ago," he added, "You’re lucky there’s anything left."
"These’ll do just fine. Along with... a few of these oranges," she said, picking up four oranges and piling them on top of the fish. "Any rice?"
The cook shook his head. "All gone."
"Bread?"
Again he shook his head. "Gotta wait til supper."
Xena shrugged, this would have to suffice.
"Bread, rice and squid stew tonight," the big man announced.
"Hmph," Xena grunted. "Uh... .mind throwing a few fish on the grill for me and my friend. Squid isn’t exactly... appetizing to someone sea sick."
"Sea sick? Hmph. Try some wood ashe. Works every time."
"Uh, thanks," Xena said, as she quickly turned to exit the cabin.
"Poweful aphrodisiac in that squid," he called after her.
"Thanks just the same," she said over her shoulder. An aphrodisiac is last thing I need at the moment, she thought, And the god’s forbid I should give any to Gabrielle.... we’d never get any sleep.
****
"Last bite," Xena said, offering the piece of fish to her lover, whom she had been hand feeding the whole meal.
"No... you eat it. I’m full," the bard responded, laying her head down on Xena’s shoulder.
"Wanna go up on deck after I finish this?" Xena inquired, sensing her friend was either not feeling well or not in a good mood at the moment.
"No. All I want is you," she replied. "And a warm bath," she added.
"Another bath?"
"You could use one too," the bard suggested, glancing up at the warrior. "You smell like... well,... like me."
"Umm, but I like the way you smell," Xena teased.
"Yeah well, if you’re going up on deck, you better wash your face, this time. No sense in the whole world smelling me... on you."
"Hmph," Xena grunted. "Yeah, that might attract some unwanted attention at that. Smelling like a mare in heat, I’d probably attract every fly for miles."
"Xe-e-na!" Gabrielle screeched, "I do not smell like a..." the bard paused, as she raised up and saw the smile on her lover’s face. "Oh... you," she said, popping her lover on the shoulder.
Xena quickly put the empty plate aside. "Cum’mere you and... kiss my smelly face," she said, wrapping her arms around her lover and pulling her close.
Continue to part 7