Cruising the Seas.

Panorama.

Karin Kallmaker.

"I can't believe that Italy is behind me and a ship full of lesbians is in front of me." Sissy scooted her carry-on suitcase a few inches ahead as the queue for the gangplank moved slowly forward.

"I can't believe half our vacation is already over." Gab sipped again from her water bottle and offered it to Sissy.

After a refreshing swig-the gangplank access was airless and muggy-Sissy handed the bottle back. "I'd rather think that we have half our vacation still to come. I loved Venice and Italy, but I am looking forward to the next week even more."

"I know what I'm looking forward to."

"Pool games? The Lip Sync contest?" Sissy looked up from the newsletter highlights they'd been handed after their pa.s.sports and booking doc.u.ments had been checked.

Gab gave her a level look.

"Oh." Sissy flushed. "Yes, well, the walls were very thin at that bed and breakfast, weren't they?"

"I'm hoping a ship is a lot more private, yes." Leaning close, Gab whispered, "I know you don't have as much fun when you have to be so quiet."

Sissy whispered back, "It wasn't having to be quiet, it was having to be still. The bed creaked so loudly. I thought it was going to fall apart under us."

Gab nodded, a smile broadening over her round face. The sun of the last week had put a lovely glow on her cheeks, Sissy mused, making her even more adorable. "Okay, that did stifle my creativity. I say we go directly to our cabin and do it like rabbits."

Sissy reveled in the shiver that started in her spine and danced across her shoulders like hot sunlight. "Okay, it's a deal."

After a thoughtful pause, Gab muttered, "The lube is in the luggage and who knows when the stevedores will get it to our room."

Since it wasn't often that she could zing the far more flirtatious Gab, Sissy just smiled until Gab said, "What?"

"Honey, we're not going to need lube." Sissy watched Gab swallow hard, and she smiled with satisfaction.

The queue was long, but finally they stepped past the welcoming line of ship's officers, consulted the map and found the nearest stairs that would lead below deck. Sissy gazed around in awe. Any other time she might have been looking at the lush carpet or the gleaming bra.s.s and marble of the ten-story atrium, or gazing raptly at the sensuous sculpture of dancers suspended in mid-air above their heads. What registered instead were the cl.u.s.ters of women and nothing but women, all kinds of women, every size and shape. Her gaydar started pinging and just wouldn't shut off.

There were at least a hundred women and they were all gay.

Gab said from behind her, "I don't think we're in Kansas anymore."

Sissy grabbed Gab's hand and dragged her toward the stair-well. "Let's go prove it, babe."

They descended a flight, pa.s.sing a dining room, casino and a series of lounge areas, only to be confronted by a chain across the next stairs down and the polite missive to allow for prompt delivery of your luggage, we request that you remain above deck at the present time.

"Oh, heck." Gab fiddled with the chain. "It's only a request. We could still go down." She rolled her eyes when Sissy giggled over her word choice.

"I don't want to get into trouble our first hour on board," Sissy said. "We'll just have to wait, won't we?"

For an answer, Gab leaned her gently against the steel of the door frame and kissed her. It wasn't a light kiss either and, after a moment, Sissy pushed her away with a furtive glance to both sides.

"We're not in Kansas," Gab repeated. "If anybody's looking it's because they approve."

"Oh. Sorry." Sissy ducked her head. "Force of habit. Topeka is a long, long way away."

"Yes, it is," Gab said, and she kissed Sissy again.

It took a conscious effort to conquer her fear of being seen, but when Gab's hands slid around her hips with a possessive grasp, Sissy gave herself over to the tingling magic that she tried so hard not to let show in public. It was okay here. It was safe here.

"Honey, this is going to be a long wait," Gab murmured against her lips.

"You got that right. You want to explore?"

"Sure. Let's celebrate with one of those blue drinks with an umbrella in it and check out the pool."

The Talia Lounge was filled with yet more women, and Sissy tried hard not to gawk. Lesbians, all of them, and most were holding hands or standing close... Shut off the gaydar, she told herself. You don't need it.

Drinks in hand, they wandered through the sumptuous Piazza Casanova then traversed the length of the Cleopatra deck, encountering polite but busy staff bearing the blue and gold logo of the Riviera Andante on their otherwise pristine white uniforms. A number of other women were doing exactly what they were. Every time they pa.s.sed another couple, Sissy had to forcibly restrain herself from the usual elbow nudge she would give Gab at the sight of another pair of lesbians.

A skirl of raucous music drew Sissy's attention to the Medusa Lounge, whose dark entrance was flanked by placards proclaiming that Chain Maille would be performing later. The band photo featured three women in heavy metal leather, two with guitars strapped on suggestively low. A powerfully built brunette emerged from the club and brushed by them, her spiked hair and vivid tattoos making her easy to recognize as the lead guitarist in the band photo.

They were so very definitely not in Kansas anymore.

"Oh my word..." Gab had stopped at a picture window and was looking down to the deck below.

When Sissy joined her she almost couldn't breathe. She finally managed to say, "How did they all get their swimsuits?"

"Maybe they knew to have them in their canyon stuff. And not everybody has a suit."

"Oh. Wow." Twin pools separated by a raised whirlpool were surrounded by women. To the far aft was a water slide arriving from the deck above-two women wrapped around each other toboggan style arrived with a huge splash.

At first Sissy didn't know why she felt... shocked. It wasn't the cl.u.s.ter of topless women, even, that stunned her. It was something more basic. None of these women cared who looked at them as they held hands or kissed. Sissy saw more than one purring as a friend-lover, she told herself, use the right word- rubbed suntan lotion on a bare back. It wasn't that anyone was doing anything she hadn't seen done at any public swimming pool she'd ever spent time at. It's just she'd never seen two women showing that easy and simple familiarity that het couples showed all the time, whether they knew it or not. There was laughter and flirtatious tips of the head, gleaming bodies ... She stepped back abruptly.

"What's wrong?" Gab looked away from the panorama. "You okay, honey?"

"Yes. I just... wish we could go to our room." In her head she had no trouble at all imagining every pairing on the pool deck tonight, all those lesbians, having lesbian s.e.x in every stateroom on the ship. Her whole body throbbed at the idea-all that love, all that energy. She felt giddy and high.

"Me too." Gab's gaze flicked to the wall behind Sissy, and she took Sissy's hand. "Why wait until we get to our room?"

"Gab! n.o.body's doing it in plain sight."

"There's a restroom right behind us." Gab pulled her close and whispered, "You're all flushed, honey. I can practically smell you. How about a little something to stave off the fever?"

"Gab... we'll get caught." Even to her own ears, her tone screamed yes.

Gab let go of her and headed for the restroom. Sissy looked after her and then couldn't help but follow.

They were a long way from home and the air seethed with freedom, but that didn't mean they had to get arrested. Did they actually arrest people on cruises?

The restroom was opulent by any standards, with chilled marble walls and floors. It was also quite unoccupied. She followed Gab into the stall at the very end, feeling shy and not at all certain that anything more than frustrating gropes could happen. "I don't think this is going to work I'm sorry."

Gab shushed her as she locked the stall door. "Just a little something, honey." She pushed Sissy against the wall and kissed her hungrily this time, hands cupping her face.

Enhanced by the cold wall against her back, goose b.u.mps started in Sissy's toes like they always did, running like chilled fire up her legs to her thighs. She tried to fight it back, but Gab was whispering hot little words in her ears. It wasn't that she wasn't turned on, but she was used to not allowing feelings like these to blossom outside of their bedroom. She'd not realized until now that the habit was so deeply ingrained.

"Come on, honey," Gab whispered. "Let me touch you. I want to lick you everywhere. Let me inside you." Her hands swept around to firmly squeeze Sissy's bottom. "A little taste of what I'm going to do to you later."

"Heaven above, Gab. You're making it hard to say no."

"Good."

A quickie in a public restroom was in every lesbian erotic anthology she'd ever read, almost as if it were a rite of pa.s.sage, but she'd never thought it was something she could do. It wasn't safe-and that was part of the thrill, she had to admit as Gab pushed her shorts down slightly-but it was as safe here as it was ever going to be.

The goose b.u.mps swept up her tummy, over her chest, and Gab smiled into their long, wet kiss.

"What?" Sissy gasped against Gab's mouth as fingers slipped down the front of her shorts.

"I love it when your nipples get hard like this. I can feel them burning holes in me. Later, honey, later, I'm going to give them all the attention they want. But right now, this."

A surprised, loud moan escaped Sissy before she could stop herself, echoing off the marble walls. Gab's fingers were warm and direct, and the sound of pleasure Gab made as they kissed again added more fuel to the fire.

"You're so wet, honey."

"I want you." Sissy frantically unb.u.t.toned her shorts and shoved her clothing down. She'd never had her panties all the way off in a public restroom before. She hoped it didn't shock Gab. There was something more than the heat of the moment happening.

Gab went to her knees with another sound of ravenous pleasure and Sissy flattened against the wall, trying not to fall down as the heat of Gab's tongue seared over her c.l.i.t. Then Gab's fingers were pushing her open, slipping inside her, and Sissy realized that even if she heard someone enter the restroom, she couldn't stop now.

Gab gave a smothered laugh of delight and pushed in harder as her tongue continued its dancing circles. I'm making her happy, Sissy thought, with the little part of her brain that wasn't overwhelmed by the ripples that had begun to pulse between her c.l.i.t and the deep place that Gab was ma.s.saging with her fingers. Gab knew her body so well, knew just what to pleasure and tease and stroke.

She was distantly aware that her cry of climax reverberated off the bathroom walls. She wound her fingers into Gab's hair as she jerked against her mouth, two, three, four times, then just as Gab began to let go of her, one last time accompanied by a surprised giggle.

Gab, being Gab, made a show of licking her lips, then wiping off her mouth. "Will that help you last until we can get to our stateroom?"

Sissy seized Gab in a comfortable, pleased embrace. "Yes, you wild woman." I do make her happy, Sissy thought again. It suddenly seemed abundantly unfair that the only place she felt safe to do so was behind a locked door.

Gab helped her step into her panties and shorts, and gave her c.l.i.t one last parting kiss. "I love you, honey," she said somewhat shyly as she pulled Sissy into her arms. "Thank you for letting me do that."

"Thank you for wanting to. Thank you for..." She struggled to find just the right words. "For not being afraid. At home-"

"But we're not there." Gab's face smelled like really good s.e.x as they kissed again.

Sissy pulled Gab out of the stall after her. "Let's go ogle some more d.y.k.es."

"You bet." A glance over her shoulder confirmed for Sissy that Gab was strutting. It felt for a moment like her heart would burst with happiness.

When they emerged into the corridor there was another couple at the gla.s.s looking down at the Solarium deck. One of the women turned to study them for just a little bit longer than a polite glance.

Oh h.e.l.l, Sissy thought, how loud was I?

Then the woman grinned, ear-to-ear, and gave them a friendly nod.

Sissy couldn't help but blush a little in response to the other woman's knowing look. Nevertheless, she maintained the eye contact and grinned back as she took Gab's hand in her own. She thought, with the surprise that comes from realizing that the truth had been there all along, that this was the world the way it ought to be.

Uncharted Course Radclyffe "Here you are," the purser said, handing two pa.s.sports and a folder across the counter. "Have a great cruise."

"Thank you, I'm sure we will." Cynthia Wilson stepped aside so those in line behind her could take care of their pre-departure paperwork. She recognized a starry-eyed couple who had been waiting to board with her earlier and recalled overhearing one enthuse to her girlfriend, "I don't think we're in Kansas anymore." Scanning the crowd of women in all sizes, shapes and colors that spilled out into the atrium, Cyn had to agree. Definitely not Kansas, and for a second she let herself drift on the over-the-rainbow excitement everyone seemed to be infected with.

Reality intruded as soon as she searched for her employer and discovered her, not surprisingly, in the midst of an animated conversation with Jessica Parry, their very attractive tour director. After serving as Rian James's administrative a.s.sistant for almost three years, Cyn didn't know why it still bothered her to see Rian with yet another new woman in her thrall. Rian was not only a successful corporate headhunter, but also a prominent lesbian activist, and drew attention almost anywhere she went. At thirty-five and single, not to mention drop-dead gorgeous, she was considered one of the country's most eligible lesbian bachelors. Cyn was used to seeing her with beautiful women, many beautiful women, but she just wasn't in the mood to witness a new conquest. Deciding to slip away with the excuse of viewing Venice from on deck as the Riviera Andante left port, she was almost at the door when she heard Rian's husky alto.

"Cyn! All done?"

Fixing a smile, Cyn turned. "Yes." She had little choice but to join Rian and Jessica. Rian's deep brown eyes, Cyn realized, were marred by smudges beneath each one, and her cream-colored linen pants looked loose on her lean frame. She's lost weight. She needs this vacation, even if part of it is work.

"I was just going to the cabin to make sure the luggage is taken care of," Cyn said while indicating the folder in her hand. "And I need to put this away."

"I'll come with you," Rian said.

Cyn slid a glance at the decidedly voluptuous redhead by Rian's side, but couldn't detect any sign of displeasure. If she had glimpsed the makings of a liaison, neither Rian nor Jessica gave any sign of it. Still, it was her job to see to the travel details, not Rian's. "That's not necessary. I'll take-"

"Cyn," Rian murmured, as she slid an arm around Cyn's waist and guided her subtly but firmly into the hall, "you're on vacation too. We agreed on that before we booked the cruise."

"You know neither one of us is going to be completely on vacation." Cyn tried not to shiver from the heat of Rian's hand searing through her blouse. The light pressure of Rian's palm wouldn't have been quite so hard to ignore if she didn't know exactly what Rian's hands could do to her body. For a few brief minutes one night almost six weeks before, she'd felt those hands inside her. Determined not to think about that one night, a night to which neither of them had ever subsequently referred, Cyn injected a note of mock reprimand into her voice. "You've got two ship-to-sh.o.r.e phone conferences and one onboard meeting scheduled, and we haven't even left port. I'm lucky I held you to that."

"As I recall," Rian said, her fingers drifting up and down Cyn's side, "you were quite forceful, and I had no choice but to submit."

Submit. Is that what Rian had done when Cyn had seduced her in a limousine on their way to a fundraiser? Rian had let herself be taken, had let Cyn kneel between her legs and tease her with her hands and her mouth until she'd come. But it hadn't felt like Rian's submission when Cyn had curled up in Rian's lap and Rian had slipped her hand beneath Cyn's black vintage Dior and caressed her to o.r.g.a.s.m. Even now, the memory of the shattering pleasure was overpowering, and Cyn shuddered.

"Tired?" Rian asked gently. "It was a long flight and I know you were up half the night finalizing that last prospectus."

"No, I'm not tired," Cyn said brightly, trying unsuccessfully to slip out of Rian's grasp. "Just excited ... about the cruise."

"Me too." Rian's voice was throaty and warm.

Cyn realized then that it had been a mistake to book a suite, even if their beds were in separate rooms. How she'd ever thought she could be in that kind of proximity to Rian for a week, she had no idea. Well. She would just have to get through it the way she got through every day-by doing her job. After all, Rian had made it clear by not mentioning their encounter that she wanted to keep their relationship strictly professional. "We've got four hours until the Captain's Reception. I want to make sure your suit gets unpacked. It's bound to be wrinkled-"

"It'll be fine." Rian unlocked the door to their suite and held it open for Cyn, then followed her inside. "I don't suppose you packed that Dior, did you?"

"I..." Cyn turned quickly away and pretended to look out the double gla.s.s doors to the veranda. G.o.d, she was in trouble when just the mention of the dress she'd worn the one and only time they'd made love could make her blush. Not just make her blush, but make her wet. She folded her arms around her middle. "No."

"That's too bad," Rian said from somewhere very close behind. "I'm very fond of that dress."

Stepping sideways, Cyn pivoted and managed to get around Rian without touching her. She crossed the room to where the porter had left their luggage standing in front of the closets, and turned the larger piece onto its side. She knelt to open it and then grew still as she realized Rian had come to stand beside her. Without looking up, she said, "I'm going to get these clothes put away. Why don't you relax for a while?"

In the other room, Cyn thought desperately. Somewhere, anywhere, where you're not so close to me. Somewhere where I can't smell your cologne. Somewhere where I can't see you and want to...

"I think we should make a deal." Rian clasped Cyn's hands and drew her to her feet.