Chapter XXVII: Another Kind of Sleeping Pill

The dark sheets slid across the bed and its occupant with a sensuous whisper, while the still air was disturbed by the dark woman's exasperated sigh. The release of breath ruffled Taylor's bangs but didn't deter her from playing an erroneous game of connect the dots with the popcorn ceiling. With a long fingered hand, the admin scratched the top of her nose before re-linking it with the other hand pillowed behind her head. Pale blue eyes rolled in irritation when the connective pattern formed into a rough rendition of that flaky yellow bird, Woodstock. Huffing again, the brunette turned to the side and cringed at the big red numbers staring back at her from the clock on the nightstand.

3:17am.

The colon in between the numbers blinked with malice, reminding her of the seconds ticking away. 'Three hours of possible sleep left, and it's all her fault.' Taylor felt a wry grin tugging at her lips. 'Not that I'm complaining. I just hope I'm not a bear in the morning, especially on a Monday.'

They had spent the rest of the weekend together talking, laughing, and touching. Taylor got the feeling that is was remembering the touching part that was keeping her up. She closed her eyes recalling the scalding heat rolling off satin like skin: the blonde's cheeks, lips, neck, and shoulders. That night after Cory regained coherence, they made their way to the couch to talk. Taylor laughed as the blonde drew a mental picture of her parents' antics. But, it was tinged with sadness. 'Would I have turned out like her if my parents cared? Would we have had to go through all the subterfuge to get where we are now? Would I have let her in sooner?' Tired eyes closed as she recalled how astute green eyes saw through the laughter.

Cory's concerned touch opened a floodgate. With just a caress of her cheek, words spilled from Taylor's mouth, and it was then that she felt it. The takeover was complete, and her heart was wide open. The admin heard the words fall from her lips as if from far away. Hanging her head, Taylor told the blonde caseworker about the pain and the nightmare that never seemed to go away; about the women she walked out on when they got too close; about Wendy; about her inability to open up; about everything. Through it all, the touch of the blonde's small hand was constant, serving as a lifeline and letting the admin know that the present was in front of her and the past a was as distant as her voice.

It seemed like hours later when she finished and as the last words trailed from her lips, Taylor felt a small hand under her chin, bringing her head up. Blue peered into green flooded with compassion and understanding. The brunette felt her insides burst as she watched a watery smile form on smooth features. Two words made Taylor feel like she was floating, making everything finally okay. The blonde whispered, "I understand." Some how the admin ended up in the blonde's arms pillowed against her breasts, feeling protected and cared for. For the first time in thirty three years, Taylor allowed herself to be held. She didn't break. She didn't feel weak. She only felt cherished. This in itself only led to more talking.

Taylor listened as Cory filled in the gaps: the responsibility she was saddled with so young., the confrontation with her mother, and the need to help. It explained so much about her, especially the situation that the caseworker had been going through recently. They had even called Wendy to tell her the good news and laughed when the redhead cursed them for the early hour. With the sun shining high in the sky, they finally found themselves in bed. Having someone in her arms who meant something made the admin feel whole for once in her life. She pulled the petite blonde closer. The room was filled with silent whispers, gentle laughter, then finally slow deep breaths.

The night and the next day together passed as if the hours were eating each other. There wasn't enough of them left.

Taylor opened her eyes to look at the clock once more as sleep continued to elude her.

3:48am.

It seemed like forever since Cory left when it had only been eight short hours ago. 'I miss her. Have I gotten so used to her being in my bed that I can't be here alone anymore? She's only been here a couple of times.' Taylor groaned inwardly as LS decided to finally wake up and add her two cents. Addicted already. Pale blue eyes slid from the blinking clock to the silent phone. 'I wonder what she's doing. Is she cuddled up to her pillows like she cuddles up to me. Is she dreaming of me, or is she awake and thinking about me?'

Oh for goodness sake! Call her!

"I can't! She's got work in the morning!" Taylor said aloud.

So do you. Go on and do it. She might enjoy it.

With that in mind, Taylor reached for the phone and said Cory's name after the beep. 'Good thing I programmed her number in before I went to bed.'
******

Cory growled in protest as she looked over at the clock. "It can't be almost 4am." Sighing in frustration, she pushed herself up with one arm and used the other one to punch the pillow in attempt to make it more comfortable. 'Why the hell can't I get to sleep?' Cory snorted. 'Cause you're used to her girlie with the way she smells, feels, and touches you.' The blonde grabbed the other pillow, as she turned on her back, and cuddled it to her chest. Biting her lip, she brought the pillow up to her nose. Groaning, she buried her face in it. 'Oh God! It still smells like her.' Suddenly feeling ashamed, she snatched the pillow away and looked around the room guiltily. "Aaargh, this is ridiculous. Just go to sleep, Cory. You've got a couple more hours."

The caseworker turned on her side and closed green eyes, hoping to use mind over matter. Taking a deep breath, she caught another whiff of the pillow next to her. It brought with it the images and feeling of large hands, languid touches, soft, full lips and pale blue eyes. Jade eyes snapped open and Cory gritted her teeth. 'If I feel like this now, how is it going to be in the office? I can't look at her like I want or touch her how I want.' The blonde gulped. She had no idea it would be this hard. Was there anyway to hide what she felt from prying eyes? With its icy fingers, fear gripped her heart. 'If people find out, we're both finished. Is this worth it?' Cory closed her eyes in an attempt to remember why she was doing this. Images of the last few months and days filtered themselves behind green eyes and her heart rammed against her chest. 'The way she touches me inside and out is that enough?' The caseworker opened her eyes to stare at the darkened ceiling and asked out loud to anyone who was listening. "Is this worth it?"

She jumped at the shrill sound of the ringing phone, and immediately Cory put herself on point. A phone call this early usually meant some type of trouble. It rang again. 'Am I ready for this after all that's happened?' Sitting up, the caseworker answered her own question. 'Only one way to see.' Cory picked up the phone and spoke hesitantly into it. "H-hello?"

A husky familiar voice answered, "Did I wake you?"

Unexpected pleasure arced through the blonde's body at the sound of the admin's voice. Cory swallowed. "Uhm, no not really. What are you doing up?"

Not possessing the ability to hide anymore, Taylor answered truthfully, "Thinking about you."

Cory's stomach clenched and she just resisted the urge to whimper. "R-really?" The blonde asked breathlessly.

Taylor smiled inwardly, loving the surprise in the other woman's voice. "Mmm hmm, really. What were you doing?"

Cory blew out a breath that she didn't know that she was holding. Out with the breath came her own admission, "Thinking of you." Hearing the sexy chuckle, the caseworker bit her lip.

"We are a pair, aren't we? I've gotten so used to you that it's hard for me to be alone now."

Cory closed her eyes as a smile tugged at her lips, knowing now that the admission was given freely. The blonde turned in the bed and piled the pillows behind her in order to sit up. "Hold on a min."

In the meantime, Taylor pushed the covers off her prone form, letting the cool air kiss her bare arms and legs.

"Back."

Feeling her heart spill into her mouth, the admin uttered softly, "I miss you."

The blonde's toes curled, and this time the whimper escaped. "Taylor don't . . .you make me wish you were here," she gasped.

Strong legs rubbed together sensuously and Taylor pressed a large hand under her t-shirt, against her fluttering stomach. The cool air disappeared as heat rolled off her long frame in waves. The admin's voice lowered a husky octave. "I do. . . wish I was there, touching you, holding you----" The brunette groaned inwardly, feeling her center swell and dampen at the sound of the blonde's heady moan.

"God," Cory ran a shaky hand through short, blonde locks and looked down to see what she could already feel, nipples jutting painfully against her shirt.

Now that they had admitted their feelings, all doors had been opened physically, sexually, and emotionally. Taylor decided to push her way in a little further. "Can you feel it? My hands on you? Where do you want them?" The admin's back arched off the bed as she tried to get air into burning lungs. The fluttering in her stomach had increased and moved to encompass her sex, leaving her brain scrambled with the lack of blood.

Bunching the sheet within her free hand, Cory let the flashes of fire move from the top of her spine to between her legs. Breathing fast and shallow, the blonde responded, "All over. I wanna feel them everywhere." Green eyes closed and envisioned big hands and long fingers running teasingly over her breasts. "God!" The blonde licked her lips and did the only thing she could at that moment, ask for more. "Your tongue. Can I have your tongue?"

The brunette's response was a long, low moan. The hand that had been previously purchased on a flat stomach, moved with purpose to the waist band of brief shorts. How did they get here? It would have been so easy to slip her fingers inside and let the blonde hear the results, and Taylor figured it would be just as easy to get her to do the same. Somehow, she knew that it wouldn't be enough. The admin wanted the petite woman here under her, on top of her, inside her. Taylor groaned again, but this time for a different reason. Somebody had to stop this, and it looked as though she was elected. With a voice deep and husky with need, the admin replied, "You can have anything you want, sweetie, but I think we need to stop this." The resulting whimper landed dead in her center. "God, baby don't make noises like that."

Cory pressed a hand against her hammering heart. "Why?"

"Mmm, cause it's making it hard to stop this. It makes me want to hear it louder."

"We don't have to stop." Cory kicked the blankets off her legs, hoping the cool air would shock her skin. It only made her more aware. Slick thighs rubbed, causing the blonde to moan again. Never had the sound of another woman's voice done this to her. "Please."

Taylor closed her eyes and counted to ten in hopes of getting some semblance of control. She licked dry lips. "When I make love to you, I want you here so I can smell you, see you, and taste you. Don't you want that? I didn't mean to start this. I'm so sorry, but we need to stop."

Cory leaned back heavily against the pillows, willing her brain to listen and her body to cool. Taylor was right. Phone sex would pale in comparison to the real thing. 'Oh God, do I want the real thing.' "You're right, and it's not your fault. I should have had the strength to stop this when I saw where it was going, but you just. . . how do you do that anyway?"

"Don't know what happened. Things just started coming out of my mouth. Let me put it this way, if things had gone on, we both would have been able to get some sleep afterwards," Taylor added wryly.

Cory chuckled despite her humming body. "Nothing like an old fashioned sleeping pill."

"Mmm, exactly, but I'd rather for you to be here when I give it to you."

The blonde whispered quietly, "Me too."

A quiet connection blossomed between them as both women struggled for composure. Cory's mind was once again over run with questions. "Taylor? How are we going to do this at the office? If this happens when we talk on the phone, what's going to happen when we get there and actually see each other? I need my job and I love what I do. I don't want---"

Dark brows drew together in consternation. "Shhh. Cory, why didn't you tell me how you felt about this earlier?"

Feeling slightly petulant, the blonde answered, "I didn't feel like this earlier. I couldn't think with you touching me, and being at home gave me time."

Taylor pushed dark bangs off her forehead, hoping what she was about to say was enough. "I don't have any ready answers for you. All I know is that I want to be with you, and I want my job. To keep both, we have to try. Let them see that we're friends. There's nothing wrong with that. We work well together, and there is nothing wrong with two friends talking, laughing, and going out to lunch. It's not like they are going to be all piled into my office anyway. So, we'll just take it slow and see what happens, okay? If we need to, we'll find someway to release the tension first thing in the mornings, enough to keep us going so to speak."

"I don't know. Can it be that simple?"

"I don't think it will be simple at all, but we should try." A sliver of doubt pushed its way in. "Do you want us to be together?"

Cory was almost immediate with her answer. "Yes! How can you ask me that?"

Taylor inwardly sighed with relief. "I'm sorry. It's just that I know this is going to be hard and with what you've been going through lately, I would understand---"

"Okay, stop right there. You are the reason why I'm able to get through all of that. I-I need you." Cory swallowed and hoped that she hadn't said too much.

Taylor's insides did a flip, knowing what it meant for the blonde to admit such feelings. "I'm here."

After a moment of silence, the brunette cut her eyes toward the clock.

4:31am.

"It's an hour and a half before I have to get up. Do you think that you can sleep now?"

Cory smiled finally feeling relaxed. "Yeah, I think I can. What about you?"

"I think that I just needed to hear your voice." Taylor could hear the blonde smiling.

"You are so sweet."

A throaty chuckle was Cory's reply. "I'll see you in a few hours?"

"Yea, see you then. Night."

Leaning and reaching over, Cory sat the phone softly into its cradle. Her question was answered. It was indeed worth it. Turning on her side once more, the blonde took the scented pillow and pulled it to her chest as sleep finally laid claim.

Chapter XXVIII: Easier Said Than Done. . .

Cory tapped the erasure end of the Shaggy pencil on her desk. She was late. Only ten minutes late, but she was still late. It was a double edged sword as pleasure and guilt both vied for room. It was her fault that the admin was up all night thinking about her. The urge to smile and nibble on her lip was great. Green eyes looked toward the front of the office. 'I hope she looks better than I do. Hopefully, the make up covered the bags.' Glancing over, the blonde spied Ray heading for her cubicle with two cups of coffee in his hand. Gray eyes smiled into hers as the tall, black man sat on the edge of the sturdy desk. He sat one cup down and immediately began sipping out of the other. After a couple more sips, Ray pulled the cup from his lips. His eyes continued to hold the blonde's. Lifting his hand, Ray traced gentle fingers over the dark smudges that cosmetics were unable to hide. Cocking his head to the side he declared, "You haven't been using that coffee bean facial I recommended have you?"

Blonde brows shot up, and Cory bit the inside of her lip. She cut an eye over toward the empty desk , wishing Barb was here to share this Ray moment. 'What would Barb say?' A light bulb went on. "Uhm, I drink tea at home. You know the cheap kind that comes in bags?"

She bit down harder on her lip at the look of disgust that crossed his face. He took his hand away and pushed the second cup of coffee toward her. "That's not good.." Standing up, Ray reached into his pocket and took out a card. "Here. He's the best coffee distributor in the state. I don't need it anymore because I've got it memorized." The disgusted look refused to leave his craggy features. He took another sip of his coffee, turned, and walked away. "Whooo! Ookay." Cory's eyes followed Ray as he sat down at his own desk. 'Maybe it's time for that man to switch to Sprite.' She paused in her thoughts. "Now, where is she?" The blonde whispered.

Taylor looked at her watch as she walked briskly toward the building entrance. 'I'm late, but who gives a damn, I'm in a good mood.' A strong hand pulled open the door as the other juggled with a briefcase. The front desk assistant looked up with a blank expression. Feeling mischievous, Taylor decided to do something that she had never done before. The brunette gave the younger woman a full, toothy grin followed by a enthusiastic hello. The admin almost giggled when Maggie's jaw dropped and nervous hands fluttered about. Making her way midway through the carpeted path between the cubicles, Taylor stopped and turned slightly to see the dark haired woman lunge for the phone. The smile turned to a chuckle as she heard, "Annette, you won't believe what she did!"

Cory knew that the admin had arrived. It was like all the buzz in the office stopped. The blonde leaned to her side to get an unobstructed view. At first glance, she was riveted. Jade eyes widened as they took in the length of smooth legs encased in sheer panty hose; thighs that she knew were soft and strong covered with a dark skirt that outlined feminine curves; and a chest that the blonde would have loved to get into, hidden in a white sleeveless silk shirt. Cory's gaze finally reached sparkling azure. She blindly grasped for the coffee cup, wanting to wet her dry throat. She thankfully brought it to her lips and took a healthy swig of the lukewarm beverage. The cup threatened to topple from her fingers as she glanced upward again to see that the blue gaze had not wavered in the least. Feeling her breath leave her, Cory gulped the coffee as she tore her eyes away, but not before one blue eye closed in a wink as the tall woman breezed by.

Taylor leaned heavily against her office door and let out a long breath. 'I was fine until she looked at me. Oh God, why did she have to look at me like that?!'. Tension coiled in her belly and oozed downward. A small smile formed as a plan took shape in her cloudy brain. Dropping her briefcase, she walked briskly to the adjoining door and leaned an ear against the door, hoping beyond hope that Shelley was out of the office doing. . . well anything. Confident that the coast was clear, the admin decided to lock the door anyway. Taylor tiptoed back over to her desk before she realized that she was acting like a guilty child. Still standing, the brunette picked up the phone and punched in a familiar extension.

Cory wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, while wishing that she had something stronger than coffee. Her insides were in knots, and the caseworker began to think that phone sex was better than no sex. Her eyes grew to the size of saucers when the desk phone rung. She peered at the phone then around her before picking it up.

"Uhm, hello?"

"Can I see you in my office? I need to talk to you about something," came the soft response.

"N-now?"

"Yesss," the admin purred.

Cory hung up the phone and swung her chair toward the closed door. Sex on a desk was even better.

Not bothering to knock, Cory let herself in and immediately found herself against the door with all six feet of the admin glued to her front. The blonde groaned at the heat rolling off the other woman's body. One large hand encased and caressed her throat in deliberate fashion while the other arm rested above the blonde's head. Taylor leaned in close to the caseworker's ear, and in a low husky tone whispered, "That is not the way to relieve tension in the morning."

Warm, moist breath brushed Cory's skin, causing a shiver. Taylor reveled in the rapid pulse beating against her fingers and the leap of need in green eyes. She leaned in further until she could taste the blonde's coffee laden breath.

"This is." The admin covered quivering lips with her own. Twin moans filled the room as mouths open with wet, needy accuracy. Tongues twirled a hungry dance as they fought to see who would lead and who would follow. Cory dug blunt nails into the admin's shirted back, feeling excitement tear a path through her body and shoot out her fingertips. She moaned loud and long.

'God, I love that sound,' the brunette thought to herself as she made one of her own. The admin's lungs screamed for air, and she reluctantly listened by slowly pulling away from the kiss. Unable to stop completely, Taylor added a few smaller kisses and smiled at the blonde's sigh. Ethics books piled around her feet as they fell right and left, and the admin mentally kicked them out of the way. Some things were just more important.

Cory swallowed and tried futilely to get her breathing under control. "Uhm, is this how we're going to relieve tension every morning?"

The brunette studied the woman under her through hooded eyes. "Yes. Will there be a prob—"

Cory shook her head vehemently. "No, no just checking. It'll be better than coffee."

They smiled goofily at each other then jumped apart at the rattling of the adjoining door. Taylor was the first to act. She walked briskly to her desk, opened a drawer, and took out a lipstick. She applied it hurriedly before throwing it to Cory as she sat down in a nearby chair.

There was a knock then another rattle. "Taylor? Your door's locked," Shelley said in confusion. Making sure everything looked at least semi-normal, Taylor went to unlock and open the door. Shelley looked up at the younger woman startled. "Your door was locked. I was a little worried."

The admin smiled. "No, nothing's wrong. I was just taking your advice. Do you have messages for me?"

Shelley blinked and slyly leaned to the side, seeing another person in the office. Realization dawned. "Morning, Cory," the older woman retorted dryly, "nice to see you back." Shelley didn't consider herself pushy, but she shouldered her way in anyway. Taylor rolled her eyes toward the blonde who tapered down the urge to giggle. Cory smiled full out, "Morning Shelley."

The admin assistant sat the messages on the desk then turned to peer at the two women. Pursing her lips in approval, she added, "Good to see you two smiling again." Shelley shook a finger in her boss' direction. "and it's good to see that the bear from Friday is gone too." With that, Shelley made her way back through the adjoining door. It closed, and she heard the distinctive sound of the lock catching. A smirk curled the older woman's lips. Those two were up to something. 'Strange, and I barely had to do a thing.'

End of Part I. More to come soon. Don't go strictly by the summary because that(the plot) is subject to change. Give me a holler at Minerva to let me know what you think so far