Robbie's eyes soaked her in, a look of awe on her face as she began tracing the jagged scar with her fingertips. Her lips soon followed. She drew them slowly along the line from Tanner's hip, over her stomach, her chest, and around her breast. Tanner could only clasp the back of Robbie's head, threading her fingers into the soft blond hair as Robbie completed this ritual over and over. It was so loving that Tanner felt as if her bones, once crushed, had now melted. When Robbie latched onto her nipple and began twirling it with her tongue, Tanner felt the telltale quiverings of a pending o.r.g.a.s.m and wetness oozed from her. Wanting to feel skin, she grasped Robbie's shirt. ''Take this off!"

Sliding off the bed, Robbie quickly pulled her shirt free and dropped it to the floor. Her fingers were clumsy as she tried to unhook her big silver belt buckle. When it finally came free, she pushed her jeans off her hips, along with her boxers. She paused, and they both stared down at eight inches of hot pink latex that protruded from Robbie's hips like a steel rod.

"I'll take it off," Robbie said quietly.

Humbled by Robbie's willingness to lay aside the thing that represented her most s.e.xual self, Tanner knew that she could never ask that of her. She felt naked, hungry, because of Robbie's absence. She lifted a hand, beckoning her. "Leave it on."

Robbie crawled to Tanner's side, capturing her mouth in a kiss as she ran a hand down her body. When she reached the band of boxer shorts, she pushed them down as Tanner lifted. Once they were free, she traced her fingers up inner thighs that opened for her. With a deep moan, she slid her fingers into the wet depths. Tanner called out her name and sank fingernails into the flesh of her back.

Robbie circled Tanner's hard c.l.i.t over and over, causing bright bursts of light to appear behind Tanner's eyelids every time contact was made. Lifting her hips, she arched against those hands, trying to bury them deeply inside herself. Robbie shifted to kneel between her legs but didn't attempt to penetrate her. She claimed Tanner's nipple with her hot mouth before slipping her hand back between their bodies.

Tanner had feared that her body's ability to feel pa.s.sion had been crushed by her death-defying crash into unbending steel, but it burst back to life under Robbie's hands. As her o.r.g.a.s.m claimed her, she heaved upward, her body frozen until spasms, deep tremors that seemed to originate within her heart, wracked her body.

Gasping for breath, she pulled Robbie up, needing to kiss her again. She felt a new shock wave surge through her as Robbie's c.o.c.k rubbed against her c.u.n.t. Her o.r.g.a.s.m had not even fully subsided but she wanted Robbie inside of her. She wanted to give herself to Robbie, to hold nothing back. When she felt the tip of the c.o.c.k slide inside her folds, she frantically clutched her lover's shoulders. She knew that Robbie was waiting for her to take only what she wanted, so she wrapped her legs around Robbie's hips, curling her calf muscles to propel Robbie forward The movement forced Robbie into her depths.

They both moaned and shuddered at the joining.

Slowly, sensually, Robbie began to rock and the pace built as Tanner lifted to meet her stroke for stroke. As Tanner's o.r.g.a.s.m approached, she sank her heels tighter into Robbie's a.s.s, impaling herself even farther onto the shaft as she screamed, ''Oh G.o.d, Robbie! I love you so f.u.c.king much!"

Robbie whirled over onto her back, bringing Tanner upon her. In the dim light of the room, she once again took Tanner's face in her hands and softly kissed Tanner's trembling lips. "I love you too, baby."

Tanner could not stop a ragged sob when Robbie slid out from under her, separating them, leaving her feeling empty. Instead of pulling away, Robbie gripped Tanner's hand.

"I'm not going anywhere. Help me," Robbie said as she stood by the bed, unbuckling her harness. When it came free, she held it out to Tanner. "Put it on."

Amazed, Tanner stared at Robbie, fresh tears flowing, as she comprehended that Robbie was making herself as vulnerable and open as was humanly possible. She was offering to give Tanner everything, just as Tanner had done. Mutely, Tanner did as she was told while Robbie helped buckle the harness onto her hips. She felt like an invalid child instead of an experienced d.y.k.e who used to wear a strap-on to the 7-Eleven just because she felt naked without it. Once it was in place, Robbie lay back on the bed with her knees raised. When Tanner came between them, it was Robbie who was quivering with nervousness.

Tanner felt as if she were kneeling in front of an altar. This woman, this tough but sensitive d.y.k.e, had brought her back to life.

Robbie had loved her the way no one else had, and she was everything Tanner wanted. Reverently, Tanner caressed Robbie's legs, allowing only her fingertips to glide along the path from toes up to the softer flesh of inner thighs. Robbie's eyes were glazed with l.u.s.t as she began dancing against Tanner's moving hands. Tanner knelt even more prayerfully and sank her mouth onto the wetness of Robbie's s.e.x. Robbie guided her with her hands as Tanner explored, drinking the rich nectar until Robbie came, contracting and pulsating around her tongue.

Not willing to relinquish the pleasure, Tanner stayed away from Robbie's sharply sensitive c.l.i.t but continued to lick her, tasting her.

While Robbie softly stroked her hair, Tanner slid her hands under Robbie's hips and lifted her tighter against her mouth. She slowly brought her pa.s.sion forth, letting the next wave of desire build. Rising, she lay upon Robbie, capturing her mouth in a fevered kiss. Then, taking Robbie's hands in her own, she interlaced their fingers. She whispered softly, "I want to f.u.c.k you."

Robbie tensed but, her eyes locked on Tanner, reached between them and guided the head of the c.o.c.k to the mouth of her c.u.n.t. "Go slow. I've never let this happen before."

Tanner already knew that. They had talked about the need to be in control many, many times. As she slowly pushed forward, she prayed that Robbie would feel the same sense of rightness that she had felt when Robbie filled her. Clinging to Robbie's hands while she sank inside, she said, "Feel me loving you, Rob. Feel me inside you. I didn't even know that that's where I wanted to be, but it feels so right. So perfect."

As she continued her loving litany of words, Tanner thrust slowly in and out, her body moving with a graceful ease that belied her weak, damaged muscles. She watched Robbie's face closely as the tense anxiety slowly gave way to fiery pa.s.sion. As Robbie's tender, strong hands clung to her, guiding her deeper, faster, with each stroke, Tanner's love for her burgeoned.

Tanner's accident had left her wounded, savagely bent, twisted and broken. The hospital staff had saved her life, but it had been Robbie who had healed her, Robbie who had somehow transformed stone.

QUIET, PLEASE.

RACHEL KRAMER BUSSEL.

was in the middle of telling Jackie all about my day at work, the words tripping over themselves as I rushed to get them out I quickly, my hair falling sloppily across my forehead as I took another breath, when she reached her fingers up and put two of them to my lips. "Shh," she said. ''No talking."

At first, I was upset; wasn't I in the middle of telling her an important story, trying to get her to understand how rough my day had been? But then I took another look at her pretty face, the light dusting of freckles across her pale skin, the shock of red spiky hair sticking up from her head, her natural red color enhanced with day-glo chemicals she seemed to apply every other week. Her pale, lightly frosted lips were pursed, as if about to blow on a cup of cocoa, but she was simply telling me she wanted my full attention. Then Jackie leaned forward, letting her fingertips trail down my cheek, along my neck until they'd reached my bra strap. She fiddled with it while bringing her own lips forward, until their glossy, sticky surface met my bare ones, brushing against mine slowly, lightly. My body, starting with my shoulder blades, relaxed, the pent-up story slowly leaking out as I sank into the chair, into the kiss. I tilted my head back slightly and she angled forward, pouncing on me as she moved to straddle me, her body edging over mine as her fingers snaked down lower toward my breast. Her other hand easily slipped the ponytail holder from my hair, letting it fall in a wave down my back.

Jackie's smaller than me, thin and lithe, but I never underestimate her.

She's like a snake, careful to bide her time, slithering her tongue out just so when she wants something, like she did just then, her tongue darting between my lips for a brief instant, long enough to connect with my tongue and ignite a fire that began in my mouth and coiled all the way down my throat, into my betty, and settled in my groin. I could feel its rumblings stirring my p.u.s.s.y and felt the very last vestiges of the day's stress leave me as I succ.u.mbed to Jackie, my Jackie, the girl of my dreams for the last decade.

Jackie stayed home painting her masterpieces, for local galleries, occasional magazine work, or commissions, and I often returned to find her covered in paint, her eyes so focused on the canvas in front of her she hardly took notice of the smear of blue or yellow across her cheek.

I'd sometimes find errant streaks along her hands, and we'd made washing her off a very s.e.xual ritual. But today she'd been scrubbed totally clean, as if ready to attack, which is exactly what she did, pinning me to the chair as her fingers tangled in the roots of my hair, pulling it just the way she knows makes me gasp, makes my p.u.s.s.y contort with pure need. I started to moan, to say ''Yes,'' but once again, she shut me up, this time with a kiss. "No talking," she insisted, and when she moved on to my chest, her lips leaving mini-kisses along my dewy skin until she reached the gap between my b.r.e.a.s.t.s, I clamped my lips together and let her show me what she had in mind. She burrowed her head in the expanse of my cleavage, reaching her arms behind me to undo my bra. I wasn't used to being so pa.s.sive, to taking and taking without giving anything back, but from Jackie's fevered panting, she was apparently getting off on our silent adventure just as much as I was. She lifted her head from my skin to remove my shirt, then pulled my bra forward, over my arms, but instead of dropping it on the ground she moved behind me, tying my wrists behind my back with the slightly clumsy but effective bow of my bra.

I'm usually the one to take charge, so this must have been something she'd been saving up for a while, and from the hungry look on her face when she was once again before me, Jackie was totally enjoying her newfound power. And, a bit surprisingly to me, so was I. Having no choice but to surrender to her, I reveled in the way she danced around me, bent over so I could see her tight jeans strain against her a.s.s, which she thrust up in my face before grinding herself against my lap.

Normally, it's Jackie who's lying across my lap while I spank her a.s.s until it's bright red, but watching her from this position made me see my little nymph in a whole new light. She knelt down in front of me, looking up at me as she prepared to lick my p.u.s.s.y through the fabric of my jeans, her blue eyes gleaming. She began with her fingers, pressing her folded knuckles against the tightness where my jeans stuck to my s.e.x, pushing against the damp fabric while I melted further into my seat, my c.u.n.t spasming already as she glided her fingers along my slit and then focused on my c.l.i.t, kneading me in such a way that made me desperate for her. She pinched my c.l.i.t through the layers, then brought her fingers to my nipples, which were poking forward into the air. She twisted them between her fingers while I spread my legs as best I could, giving her room to smash her face against my p.u.s.s.y, making her mouth felt against the thickness of the denim. Her licks traveled slowly, teasing me as she tapped her tongue against my c.u.n.t, the m.u.f.fled response causing me to twitch in the chair, feeling the bra straps sc.r.a.pe against my wrists as I moved. I wanted to cover her head with my hands, to press her deeper to me, to clasp her tight, but instead, I alternated thrusting my thighs far apart so they b.u.t.ted against the edges of the chair and then closing them, trapping her head between my legs while she burrowed as deeply as she could until finally, Jackie had mercy on me and lifted her head slowly, inching her tongue along the metallic tang of my zipper before taking it between her teeth and sliding it down, her fingers leaving my nipples to undo the b.u.t.ton. I was grateful I'd chosen my most comfortable pair, because she easily slid them down my legs, leaving me sitting there in only my black cotton panties. Once again, Jackie breathed against my p.u.s.s.y, pressing her tongue against the musky wet cotton before finally moving it aside to taste the real thing.

Her tongue slipped easily inside my hole, and my whole body seemed to twist and tense like a pretzel, contorting as my breath caught in my throat, my p.u.s.s.y clamping down around her wet, slippery tongue.

But Jackie wouldn't let me hold her, and she pulled my panties down roughly, the elastic clawing against my calf until they were off and she had me, her prey, spread out in front of her. I had no time to be nervous or embarra.s.sed, to worry about what this role reversal might signal, because there was Jackie fishing something out of her pocket, a small, tiny vibrator I hadn't noticed before. It must have been new, and I looked down to see the bright blue buzzing toy about to connect with my c.u.n.t. I could hear it whirring, and my body braced for the onslaught. Jackie slipped two fingers into my p.u.s.s.y, pushing deep inside me as she rubbed the toy against my c.l.i.t, making me tense up once again. Her eyes sought out mine once again, willing me to relax, and I let go of that final edge of control I'd been unknowingly clutching, that last barrier between my independence and my o.r.g.a.s.m, and gave myself, all of myself, to my lover. Her fingers edged along my insides, seeking, stroking, healing, as she easily pushed another finger inside, filling me as she spread them apart and turned them for maximum impact. I lifted my a.s.s slightly, feeling her fingers curl and caress in the most powerful of strokes while her other hand kept the vibe trained directly on my c.l.i.t, and suddenly, I didn't want to pull away at all.

I was no longer afraid of what might happen, only curious, desirous, as I looked down and watched my body accept that of my true love. She eased the toy away, leaving my c.l.i.t pulsating, the air a revelation as my engorged skin continued to contract with need. And then her mouth was on me, her lips wrapped around my c.l.i.t as her fingers probed me everywhere I needed her to be. I shut my eyes as her tongue gently brushed my nub, a softer, gentler pressure that seemed to radiate inward and outward at once, leaving me light-headed. Tears of pleasure welled up in my eyes as her fingers pressed quietly and deeply as far as they could go, touching that part of me that only Jackie has ever been able to access, that special place where my cervix meets my soul. I felt a tear fall as her tongue wandered along the contours of my c.l.i.t, as if she were tasting me, meeting me, pleasing me, for the first time. And in some ways, it felt like that long-ago moment, except now we were giving and taking so much more, and when Jackie flattened her tongue against my c.l.i.t, and I felt the pressure not just of her tongue and fingers but her entire heaving body, every breath and beat of her heart thudding against me, I came, making the chair teeter as my liquid trickled down onto her fingers.

Jackie kept her head pressed against my lap, kissing my inner thighs, stroking me with her wet fingers, until our breathing faded back to normal, the silence moving from one of frantic arousal to soothing calm. She finally rose, her b.r.e.a.s.t.s hovering near my lips as she reached behind me to unclasp my arms before sitting sideways across my lap, her legs dangling over the chair's edge. Her face was streaked with sweat, that same sweet, intense smile lurking across her features. "See what happens when you sit still and quiet down, baby?" she whispered before resting her head against my shoulder. We stayed curled like that in the chair for over an hour, neither of us daring to break the stillness.

EROTICA 101.

RADCLYFFE.

he really good thing about having a best friend you've known since grade school is that you don't have to lie about T anything-she's already seen you puke in the gutter, treat nice girls badly, fall for the bad girls who always break your heart, and generally act like an a.s.shole. Even more important, maybe, is that you don't have to clean the house or get dressed up when she comes by unannounced to "just hang."

So when Angie knocked on my door at a little after seven on Friday night, I was ensconced on the battered leather sofa in front of the fireplace in my living room, wearing baggy sweats with the cord missing from the waistband and a faded T-shirt that was once blue, reading s.e.x stories from my favorite d.y.k.e publisher.

"Hey," I said as I held the door open for her. "Come on in. Want a beer or something?"

"That'd be cool," Angie said as she breezed by, bringing a cold rush of winter night air along with her. She draped her faux leopard jacket on the newel post and disappeared down the hall in the direction of warmth.

I watched her go, wondering why, if she was going to wear a skirt that barely covered her buns, she didn't wear a coat that reached a little lower. I was willing to bet that the calf-high, black leather boots with the three-inch, needle-thin heels didn't do much to keep anything else warm either. In between the top of the black leather boots and the bottom of the teeny black skirt was a long, long expanse of creamy skin and toned muscle.

Five minutes later, I handed her a pilsner with a perfect head, set a bowl of mixed nuts on the coffee table in front of us, and sat opposite her on the sofa. She was curled up in the corner, her feet drawn up beneath her b.u.t.t, her boots abandoned on the floor. Her normally vibrant brown eyes were sulky, her pretty pink Cupid's bow lips tightened into a thin pale line, and her heart-shaped face a study in discontent beneath a riot of black curls. It wasn't like Angie to be moody. Unlike me, she wasn't given to dark thoughts and a desire for long stretches of solitude.

On Angie, quiet was bad.

"Give," I said, patting my lap. Wordlessly, she stretched out her bare feet and planted them solidly in my crotch. I covered her toes with my palms and rubbed my fingers over the cool b.a.l.l.s of her feet. "What's the matter?"

She shrugged and swiped her tongue over the foam that hung on the rim of her gla.s.s. "I got stood up."

Rapidly, I ran down the list of her latest conquests. A face came into focus. One not unlike mine, really. Short dirty blond hair, pale blue eyes, broad expressive features no one would ever call delicate. St.u.r.dy body, kind of like mine too. "The cop, right?"

"Umm." The pout got poutier.

"So what happened?"

"We were supposed to go to a movie and then out clubbing."

"She canceled?" My voice reflected my surprise. Angie was a looker and always had studs standing in line. She was not the kind of girl you kept dangling.

"Work." She said it as if it were a dirty word. "Somebody called in sick and she bad to take their shift."

"Doesn't sound like she stood you up," I ventured carefully. "You know, just one of those things that happens."

Angie shook her shoulders dismissively and burrowed her feet a little tighter between my thighs before announcing. "I was looking forward to it all week. And now I'm h.o.r.n.y."

I laughed. "Oh, now I get it."

She glared at me.

"So, did you make another date?"

"Tomorrow," she said as if it were a decade away.

"Well, you'll probably survive until then." I wiggled her big toe between my fingers. "You could always, you know, take matters into your own hands in the meantime."

Her pout turned to disdain. "Hardly. It's boring."

I felt my eyebrows lift. Now, I enjoy a night with a hot s.e.xy woman as much as the next d.y.k.e, but whether I'm getting it regular or not, I've never found a do-it-yourselfer boring. In fact, a lot of the time, it's faster, easier, and hotter to get exactly what you want exactly the way you want it. "Boring? You're kidding, right?"

"It just...oh, I don't know...it never really works for me."

The little bit of sadness in her tone wiped the grin off my face. I sat up straighter, unconsciously stroking her ankles and calves. "You mean you don't think jerking off is fun?"

"Most of the time I can't do it. I just get more frustrated."

In the firelight, her color seemed to deepen, and I wondered if she was blushing. How could I not know this about her? We'd been trading s.e.x stories since we were old enough to think about s.e.x, let alone have any. And she'd never once told me that she didn't like to m.a.s.t.u.r.b.a.t.e.

"Maybe you need more practice."

"Please."

I laughed. "Okay. Let's a.n.a.lyze this rationally."

"There's nothing to a.n.a.lyze. I don't get that excited when I do myself. I just get tired and my mind wanders." She snorted. "Before I know it, I'm running through my grocery list."

''Well maybe you need better fantasies," I suggested helpfully.

"That's just it. I can't seem to find anything that...well...gets me turned on enough to get me off."

"Instant replays?" For some reason, enhancing Angie's solo career had become my mission.

"Been there, done that." She dropped her head back on the arm of the couch and studied the ceiling. Her hair shimmered in the red glow of the firelight, a reflection of the hot coals dancing. "Once I've done it for real, I'm not interested in fantasizing about it anymore."

"Okaay." I cradled her feet against my stomach and leaned forward to snag the book that I had dropped on the coffee table when Angie arrived. I held it up to show the cover image of two naked women, arms and legs entwined. ''Maybe you should try this. It always works for me."

Again she gave a dismissive sniff. ''That stuff is just c.r.a.p. It's either totally unbelievable or it sounds like it's been written by some high school boy."

"Then you haven't been reading the right erotica," I said defensively. "I guarantee there's something in here that would make you hot."

Even in the dim light I could see her eyes glitter. Angie loved to gamble.

"Oh yeah?" She nudged my thigh with her heel.

"Yeah."

"Whatcha wanna bet?"

There was something more than playful about the way she worked her foot back and forth on my leg. Intrigued, I decided to take her on. "I bet you dinner at the restaurant of your choice that I can find a story that makes you hot enough to come."

"And just how are you going to tell?"

Her voice was husky and her eyes huge. I'd been just about to get down to some serious self-pleasure while reading earlier, and now the way she slowly slid the tip of her tongue over her lips zinged straight down to my crotch. Zap. Twitch. Clench. Uh-oh. I was wet, and if it weren't for the thick sweatpants, Angie would be getting a sample of my excitement on her skin. I eased my hips back, away from her slowly rocking foot. In a voice that I hoped sounded steady and cool, I said, "We'll use the honor system."

She grinned and scrunched a little lower into the sofa. The movement caused her skirt to ride up her thighs, and I caught a glimmer of blue satin panties framed by pale velvety skin. My stomach tightened into a hard, hot ball as I casually flipped through the pages of the book, trying to find the one I'd been about to jerk off to. Then, when my brain cleared for a second, I remembered the object of my search and zeroed in instead on what I thought would turn Angie on.

"Here you go." I held out the book and she took it with an expression that said, You've already lost.

Confident, I shifted one leg up onto the couch so that Angie's feet were between my thighs and settled back for the show. I could see her face above the top of the book, her expression one of polite disinterest.

"I can feel you watching me," she said, without looking up from the pages.

"Uh-huh."

She smiled, pleased, I thought.

A minute went by, then two. She shifted her hips. Sighed.

"Think it's s.e.xy?" I asked.

"Mmm. Sort of. Be quiet."

Her face had tightened, her eyes narrowed just a little. Interested now. The foot resting on my inner thigh twitched.

"What part are you reading?" I couldn't help myself. I wanted to know what was getting her hot. I palmed her foot, caressed her arch. My c.l.i.t jumped every time her toes dug into my leg.

"She just saw the outline of the blonde's c.o.c.k in her leather pants,"

Angie said idly and flipped the page. "She's feeling her up."

Angie slid the foot I wasn't touching higher up between my legs until it was snugged against my crotch, then kind of rolled it back and forth in short, jerky little movements. The vibrations tingled the length of my c.l.i.t and I ground my teeth. My thighs hurt from clenching them so tightly, trying to keep still. I knew the scene, I'd read it more than once, and I never failed to come with the base of the c.o.c.k riding over my c.l.i.t as some dark beauty jerked me off in the shadows of a nameless bar.

''Hot,'' I croaked.

"Mmm, yeah."