Celine settled behind me and nuzzled my neck. "How are you feeling?"

"Totally f.u.c.ked," I admitted. I barely had the energy to speak. The s.e.x energy was fading, and the subsequent rush of satisfaction endorphins made me want to sleep.

"Good. That was my goal."

"You may have done your job too well. I could sleep all night, right now."

Her hand brushed the side of my breast, and she slowly, deliberately took hold of my still sensitized nipples. I gasped at how good it felt. "You could, but I don't think you will."

A different kind of arousal swelled through me. My d.y.k.e ego wanted to have something to strut about, too. I reached back with my hand, finding her thighs, and without hesitation pushed it between them.

She was steaming hot, slippery, and she moaned. She moaned low and long, and her legs opened for me.

My back still to her, I said huskily, "You liked f.u.c.king me, didn't you?"

"Yes." It sounded like she was gritting her teeth.

Grinning with antic.i.p.ation, two of my fingers were quickly slicked with her copious juices. She slid her c.u.n.t along my fingers, gliding over them. She felt very good, swollen and thick.

Without removing my hand I slowly rolled over to face her. She was panting and not hiding it.

Slowly, so I understood every word, she said, "I like to be f.u.c.ked hard. And I like it to be fast."

"Let's take care of this and have some fun, then." I used my free hand to undo one buckle of her harness. After a moment, she undid the other. Two snaps later I tossed the harness and toy onto the room's other double bed.

I firmly believe that all women are beautiful naked, and Celine was all that and more. The dark curves of her hips against the white sheets tempted me to ma.s.sage them and I knelt to kiss her stomach, her chest, then her small, firm b.r.e.a.s.t.s.

I was settling in to tease her nipples when she shoved my hand between her legs.

"f.u.c.k me, hard and fast."

"Yes," I murmured. "Let's do that." I gave her nipples a longing look. I'd have liked to linger a while. But it was obvious that she was ready to move to higher pleasures.

I slicked the back of my hand with lube and her wetness and sank two fingers inside her. It wasn't enough. With a thrill running down my back, I went into her with four and brought my thumb down on her c.l.i.t. My fingers were gloriously, deliciously wet.

She hissed in response and her hips met my first hard, deep thrust. "Like that! Don't stop."

My knuckles ma.s.saged the trembling walls of her c.u.n.t and I reveled in the way she tightened in response. Her c.u.n.t was tight and wet around my hand and we groaned together when a contraction seized her. She was close. I couldn't feel her G-spot but it hardly seemed to matter. She caught my waist with her legs, crushing me to her, and I felt wave after wave of rippling muscles inside her c.u.n.t, loving my hand back.

Panting over her, I waited for her to slump before I took my hand away. Her low, easy laugh had me crawling into her arms.

"Would it be rude of me to ask where you learned to f.u.c.k like that?" I traced a lazy circle on her chest then settled my head against her again. We'd been cuddling for a half-hour, just talking off and on about whatever topic came to mind. s.e.x, primarily.

"Not rude... I can't really say I've had lessons. I've just always done what I preferred and practice always helps."

"Reps and sets, eh?"

"Something like that. It's a good workout, wouldn't you say?"

"You need to remember to stretch out before and after."

She did stretch, her long body going rigid, then limp against me. "Thank you, O, physical trainer. You must get lots of practice."

"Of one kind or another. Straight women seem to find me attractive." I thought of Tess yet again. I was so confused. I needed to talk to her, obviously.

"I imagine that has its limitations."

"Yes, it does. I got tired of being that kind of physical trainer. There was a girl in college. Madeline. I should have learned it all then, I think."

"Broke your heart?"

"Yeah." I hadn't thought about Madeline in a while. "She told me she was straight, but she made love like a d.y.k.e. And wanted me. And liked s.e.x with me. I thought she loved me too."

"And you were thinking about forever?"

In the dim light I couldn't tell if she found that unsophisticated. "I was. I've given up on that. Forever isn't real."

"I used to think that. Now, I think it's just a lucky few and I'm not one of them."

"Me, neither." The endorphins were starting to fade and I felt vaguely depressed. "My parents are still married, but it's not the kind of forever I want, with a tankard of Trapped for dinner chased by a bowl of Bitter for breakfast. Of course, working here I don't get much chance to meet anyone."

"Why don't you move someplace with more d.y.k.es? You'd have a fun time."

"I suppose in time I might go for a teaching credential and see if I can get a college or high school job. But this one seemed pretty nice when I took it. Not a lot of responsibilities."

"You're just putting off growing up. It's inevitable."

Frowning, I said, "If growing up means standing in one place, I'd rather not."

"Ignore me, then." Her voice had softened. "h.e.l.l, it's rare enough in this world to make your living at what makes you happy. Go for it. Believe in it."

"Thanks." I kissed her shoulder. "My best friend and I occasionally get off this island and into Fort Myers, even Tampa, but the best I can hope for is the riot girls' bar. I've been saving for a trip down to Key West just to hang in a gay-friendly place. But then LOVE came to visit my world."

"I don't usually do this, Brandy. I mean, I do. I like women and I love nights like tonight. But I don't usually find someone on the first night. I live in Cheyenne near my folks when I'm not traveling. Doing tours is just moving from town to town. I tell jokes to audiences full of d.y.k.es and they all go home and I go to the motel. Then I get to these vacations and there's this magic in the air, all these lesbians filling up the ship or the resort and I get... really ..."

I cupped her breast and was delighted to feel her nipple harden under my palm. "I know. Something hit me like a sledgehammer the moment LOVE arrived."

"There was this one night in Alaska, seven hundred women on the ship. The inland pa.s.sage was like gla.s.s, the moon was full, and it was actually mild out. After the night show the place emptied. n.o.body went to the disco, n.o.body in the casino. Everyone was out on deck or in their cabin. The captain asked me if it was some sort of special night for the ladies, like solstice or something. I just looked at him and said of course it was special, they were all in love and free to feel it. He just laughed and admitted he was used to a more geriatric crowd, and he'd set the stabilizers for a lot of rocking motion."

"And even though it was smooth out, did anyone get seasick?"

She laughed. "That's a good punch line. I'm gonna steal it."

"Okay." Her nipple had stayed hard and I slowly circled it with my fingertip. I wondered if I'd hear my words in some future routine. It was one way to be memorable, I supposed.

"Nights like that I believe more in forever. But mostly, I don't think it's for me." She sighed. "Of course I can't decide if I've made up my mind it's not for me because it's never going to happen, or if it's that I'm really not a forever kind of gal. You, at least, have a couple of decades until you get to where I am."

I sighed. "And I'll never know, just going to bed with straight women who really like the s.e.x until it's time to touch me. At least in college there were lesbians. I was a phys. ed. major, and believe me, there were lots of lesbians."

"Where'd you go to school?" Her hand played slowly along my hip.

"U.C. Santa Barbara. I played golf and soccer. I was nearly an alternate for Women's World Cup."

"Wow." Her hand cupped my a.s.s. "I can feel all that."

I leaned over her to lick her tantalizing nipple. "You can feel it all you want tonight."

"Just tonight?"

"I'm here all week." I slipped my hand between her thighs, just to see if I was right about the slight movement of her hips. Why yes, I was right.

She opened her legs and we smiled at each other in the low light. I wouldn't be so foolish as to fall in love with those yellow-ringed eyes and that supple, powerful but yielding body, but I could hold a serious case of l.u.s.t for quite a while.

My day ended much better than it began, with the two of us moaning long into the night. As I finally drifted to sleep, under the weight of Celine's arm, I wondered what Tess was doing, and if she was happy. I wanted her to be happy. I wanted her to know... I wanted her to...

Chapter Four.

Too soon my body's internal clock woke me. I didn't have to look to know it was after eight. Morning Stretch was in less than an hour. I needed to shower and get some water and protein in my body before then.

I slipped out from under Celine's arm and didn't mind in the least that parts of me were sore. I obviously hadn't stretched sufficiently beforehand, and the workout had been intense. I paused long enough in the bathroom to scrawl "See you later?" on a notepad, which I left propped over the bathroom faucet so Celine would definitely see it.

Smiling, I made my way to my quarters, trudging up the stairs with a goofy look on my face. I knew it was goofy because I ran smack into Tess, and her smile was exactly the way I felt, and it looked goofy.

We stared idiotically at each other. Without thinking better of it, I said, "So when did you give up on men? Or have you?"

Tess shrugged. "Men are men. I just haven't wanted one in a while. I got tired of never feeling safe. And never having anything to talk about. And not getting what I needed nine times out often."

I hesitated. "Was it because of..."

"Geez, Brandy, are you angling for another toaster oven?" Her eyes flashed. "Fine, you get the prize. List me as a reference."

"That wasn't what I meant." But I was talking to Tess's back.

"I need to get ready for Body Pump," she said over her shoulder.

She had an hour more than I did to get ready for her day. "That really wasn't what I meant. Tess?"

Her door closed and I stood there for a few minutes, trying to figure out why the conversation had derailed. I finally decided that coming out was never easy, and Tess was probably just as surprised by it as anyone would be. I'd give her a lot of time and s.p.a.ce and eventually my best friend would talk to me about it. I could wait until lunch, even.

Sundays most of the guests sleep in, but there is usually a half-dozen core group of devotees that rises with the sun, jogs on the beach, makes protein shakes for breakfast and then turns up for Morning Stretch. Sunday is the first full day on the premises and the goal is for every guest to take part in at least one activity. We want them to join the Club Sandzibel family, yes we do.

Munching the last of my banana and yogurt, my footsteps slowed as I reached the deck where guests were already gathering. There must have been twenty-five women there, slipping out of their Kangaroos and Tevas, shinnying off beach covers or mopping their brows-and chests-with towels from the fitness center.

Wow. I was about to have at least two dozen d.y.k.es on their backs, panting for me. Okay, panting with me, but a girl could fantasize, couldn't she?

I didn't really have to work at fantasizing. Pelvises raised and lowered, legs spread and crossed, and arms reached out in supplication at my merest command. I was a Nathor, G.o.ddess with Upraised Arms, and they were my acolytes, eager to please my every whim.

Wow. This was pretty cool. I felt as if sunlight sparkled in my blood even though I'd been up late. I could have given them all a workout for the entire morning, but Tess showed up to urge everyone to Body Pump, and when nearly everyone went, I tagged along.

Now Tess was Nathor with a barbell and we were all in heaven. I was at the back of the cla.s.s, and if the landscape had been sublime with all of those lovely women on their backs, it was even better when they all touched their toes.

I guess I was no better than a guy, ogling all that female flesh, but at least I didn't think I owned it or had a right to it. I was just enjoying the view, in all its variety. There was no end to the diversity of women's b.u.t.ts.

Tess caught me at it, and I blushed.

Looking wicked, she said, "Brandy, maybe you'd like to help me go through the arms portion."

Well, d.a.m.n. I nearly pouted, but as I reached the front of die cla.s.s and regarded the rows of muscle-shirted, tank-topped and sport-braed figures it was all okay.

Maybe someday I would grow up, but I hoped never to be so closed up that I couldn't look at women and feel the magic of the female working in my blood.

"You were showing off," Tess accused me when the cla.s.s was over.

"Was not." I put down the twenty-pound weights I'd been using for curls, carefully hiding the wince as my muscles went into spasm. I had no idea what Tess meant.

"You won't be able to raise your arms tomorrow," she predicted.

I couldn't raise my arms right then, but I wasn't telling her that. "First time I've ever seen you use a fifteen," I pointed out.

"I was due to step up."

"Right." I saw the bleached blonde from last night approaching, looking very cool and calm. Studly. Smug. No way, I thought. Even though the very first time with Tess she had said I'd taken care of her better than she ever had been before, it still had taken several times to get scratches-down-the-back perfect.

Bleachie had no right to look so insufferable. Good s.e.x was hard work, and Tess and I had practiced and we were... not a couple, okay. But we were something. What if Tess was looking at the future, too, the way thoughts of it had been plaguing me for the last twenty-four hours? What if she was thinking about forever. Well, she wouldn't find it with some one-week wonder. I don't think she realized that d.y.k.es were the same as straight women when it came to vacation conditions-no relationship would last past Sat.u.r.day.

Tess was already saying h.e.l.lo, flipping her hair. While I stood wondering how to cut Bleachie off at the pa.s.s the two of them were falling into step toward the guest rooms in building B. Obviously, Tess had plans for her hour's break.

It didn't seem right that Tess was getting more, given that she was the newbie, while I was wondering if I'd see Celine again before nightfall. I was the one with experience dating d.y.k.es. Okay, maybe not so much lately. But wouldn't it be just perfect if Tess went and fell in love with the first d.y.k.e she went to bed with?

I stomped back to my quarters and shoved Celine's framed magazine cover in a drawer. Really, Tess had had no right to imply I was being childish by showing off with the weights. Holding back a groan at the ache in my arms, I did some basic cleaning up in case I needed to invite somebody in for some reason. My hour's break was nearly up before I had finished the dishes and sweeping. The laundry pile was just going to have to wait. I had to hotfoot it to KidZone to relieve Rhea and her staffers in time.

There was no sign of Tess, of course. She was busy getting laid, I was sure. Rajid and I showed a group of five-year-olds how to do somersaults. I bandaged a sc.r.a.ped knee-including filling out the incident report-and left an hour later not terribly improved in mood. Tess was in the pool by then, for another round of pool games. Her skin looked flushed and alive and her eyes were glowing with vitality. She looked like she'd had a wonderful morning. Which was just perfect.

It was even more perfect when she clambered out of the pool and I got a look at her back where the swimsuit usually snugged up. Scratches, four on each side, which meant Bleachie had had a good time too.

Time for lunch. I snagged the last three slices of chocolate bread and d.a.m.n me if I was going to share.

With a little time before the afternoon Body Pump, I took my water bottle down to the beach. I had twenty minutes to soak up the peaceful sounds of the surf, and the turmoil I felt in my head was giving me no peace.

It was the scratches. That meant that Tess had been on top and Bleachie had been feeling really good. I had scratched Tess's back, just that way, when what she was doing to me felt so good I couldn't help it. I wasn't the only one, either. I shivered when I remembered Tess's nails going down my back that first night, not to mention several nights since. But that first night she'd marked me the deepest.

I'd felt a little shy when I'd put on the harness. Her toy was larger than I was used to wearing, and switching the ring to hold it and then readjusting all the buckles had, I thought, diminished some of the magic with tedious technical details. When I was finally set to go, Tess sat back on the bed and openly looked me over.