DISCLAIMERS:

Most of the characters herein belong to Renaissance Pictures, MCA/Universal, Studios USA, Flat Earth Productions, and any other individuals or entities who have an ownership interest in the television program Xena: Warrior Princess. This story was not written for profit and no copyright infringements are intended. This was written at about the same time the movie by the same name came out, but no other title fit. No copyright infringements intended toward the movie owners.

Violence: Nope. None. X & G are on vacation.

This is my first XWP short story and my first attempt at graphic alt fan fic. Comments are welcome at lindac@texasatty.com

Setting: This story falls sequentially between "A Solstice Treaty" and "Cleopatra 4 A.D." (in progress - not yet posted), but it can be enjoyed without reading any of my other stories.

Note to Followers of My Regular Series: This was written as a break while I was writing "March the 16th," and took me completely by surprise as it came pouring out across my computer screen. I have re-written certain parts to make it fit better within the context of my longer stories. However, it is very graphic in nature, so consider yourself warned. This story has nothing to do with my ongoing plot, so if you prefer PG-13, you can skip this story and move on to "Cleopatra 4 A.D.," and you won’t miss a beat. Today is March 27, 2000, and part one of Cleo should be posted in about two weeks. My long stories will remain PG-13. <G>

THE SIXTH SENSE

By Linda Crist a.k.a Texbard

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- from "Love’s Recovery" by Emily Saliers, as performed by the Indigo Girls on their CD, Indigo Girls, Copyright 1989, CBS Records, Inc., Manufactured by Epic Records.

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A soft ocean breeze blew across the terrace, carrying with it the fresh smell of sea water and sun-warmed sand. It was late afternoon and tourists and locals were gathering at a small open-air tavern for a daily tradition, a toast to the sunset. The low roar of happy revelers and the metal clank of wine goblets, along with the sizzle of fish cooking over the open pit in the center of the room created a party-like atmosphere.

"Room" loosely described the tavern, which rested on a cliff facing west over a beach on the island of Zakynthos, off the coast of the Greek Peloponnesian peninsula. It was really nothing more than a wall with a roof supported by pillars. The other three sides were open to the elements. Against the single wall was a bar and all around the cooking pit were tables and benches. Outside on the terrace were more tables, and taller stools sat next to the railing, that had been raised to protect any drunken guests from tumbling to their death over the edge of the sheer cliff. Next to the tavern was an inn, each room with an ocean view.

On the terrace at a corner table, Xena and Gabrielle sat, taking in the beauty of the ocean and basking in their growing love. The warrior was happily attacking a rather large lobster along with a tall mug of port, while the bard munched on a plate of dainty grilled shrimp and sipped on a fruity punch, which was laced heavily with some very potent sweet liquor.

"Xena." The bard giggled. "Slow down. The lobster isn’t going anywhere."

The warrior looked up in mid-chew, her fingers already busily extracting the next morsel of delicate flesh from the lobster’s tough claw. She dipped her prize into a small bowl of melted butter and shoved it in her mouth, washing it down with a long swig of the port. She wiped the back of her hand across her mouth and grinned broadly at her partner.

"Can’t help it Gabrielle. You’ve been nibbling on one treat after another all afternoon at that market in town. I, on the other hand, haven’t eaten since breakfast. I’m famished."

"Yeah, but if I recall, we didn’t eat that breakfast until almost noon."

"That’s true my bard, but if you will think back to the reason we didn’t eat breakfast until noon today, or any other day this week for that matter, you will understand why I have worked up such an appetite."

Gabrielle blushed. They had woken up well past sunrise, wrapped in each others’ arms, completely naked. As with every morning of the week they had been on the island, both warrior and bard had awakened with a hunger of a different sort. A smile played across the younger girl’s lips. They were so comfortable with each other now, in every way. The vacation had been a very good idea.

After the crucifixion and after they had gotten the aftermath of that straightened out, they had decided to settle in the Amazon village for a while. Gabrielle had become acting queen of the Amazons, something she hadn’t done since receiving the rite of caste from Terreis almost four summers ago. She had worked out a peace treaty between the Amazons, Amphipolis, Potadeia, the Centaurs, and the Roman government that had taken over after Caesar’s death.

It had taken a while for the Amazons to get used to their young queen’s methods of ruling their nation. She ruled from a position of intelligence and peace rather than from physical power and fighting. Amazons prided themselves on their fighting skills, and at first balked at the queen’s combination of a gentle hand with firm and certain decree. After a while though, as more and more disputes were resolved with neither party coming away with bruises and broken bones, and with the treaty in effect, and as the Amazon nation had slowly seen signs of returning prosperity, even the most skeptical Amazons had to acknowledge that it was due in no small part to the strong leadership of their queen.

Both Xena and Gabrielle had vowed to help rebuild the Amazon nation and it was actually happening. Trade agreements were in the works with outlying provinces and villages. The Amazons were planting gardens, preparing to purchase livestock, and they were mining metal and semi-precious gems from the hills that were part of their territory. Some long-needed repairs and improvements were made to the buildings and huts in the village, and an air of Amazon pride seemed to be re-kindled among the sisters in the village.

There were even plans for couplings with men from nearby towns, in hopes that several of the Amazons would become pregnant, assuring the continuance of the lineage for another generation. With some of Xena’s knowledge regarding times within a woman’s cycle of the moon, the Amazons hoped to have their couplings at times when they were most assured of having girl babies instead of boy babies. Boys were only allowed to stay in the village until they were old enough to walk. After that, they were sent to live with their fathers. Only girls and women were allowed permanent residence in the village.

Xena herself had been granted permanent alien residence within the Amazon nation. She had recently proposed to Gabrielle, and they were to be joined, and Xena would be inducted into the nation prior to the joining ceremony.

They had made a home out of the queen’s quarters, which, admittedly, were the nicest quarters in the village. Most Amazon huts were only one room in size and all the other Amazons bathed in the communal bath house. Gabrielle however, as queen, had a hut which had a main room, a comfy bedroom, and a private bathing room. It even had a small kitchen should the queen choose to cook for herself rather than eat in the main dining hall. Behind the queen’s hut was a small enclosed courtyard which the bard often sat in while she wrote in her scrolls.

Since Eli had brought them back from the dead, they had pretty much been continually busy solving one problem or another, and the stress was taking its toll on Gabrielle. She had suffered from a brief bout with writer’s block, and now the joining ceremony needed to be planned. And to make matters even more complicated, their vacation on the island was only a prelude to a trip to Egypt to settle a dispute between Octavian, Marc Antony, and Cleopatra. Xena decided that both she and the bard needed a break before the trip to Egypt, so she suggested a vacation. The bard’s green eyes had shone with a brilliance the warrior hadn’t seen since before Caesar had crucified them. "Where would we go?"

"Oh. The beach maybe or an island." The warrior had run her hand idly up and down the bard’s arm, pausing to explore the well-toned muscles that had developed from four summers of staff practice. "How about it, Gabrielle? A little sun, a little sea, dining out, shopping, some time alone. Together. My boat is docked down at Pirgos. In fact, there is a really nice island off the coast near there, Zakynthos. We could sail there in less than a day."

"You have a boat?!" Gabrielle had sat up and peered down at the warrior. "I thought Caesar captured your boat." The bard poked her partner in the ribs.

Xena smiled with an evil grin. "I captured it back. It took a lot of planning, but once my legs healed and I got back to Greece, I stole it in the middle of the night from a dock on Crete, killed the entire crew, and pirated it back up to Pirgos where my cousin re-furbished it and is keeping it for me. Caesar never knew who took it or what happened to it. "So . . ." The warrior had pulled Gabrielle back down and kissed her on top of her head. ". . . what do you think?"

The bard had rolled over on top of her tall partner and planted slow sweet kisses across one shoulder and nibbled her way up her neck, laughing under her breath as Xena threw her head back giving her better access to the salty flesh. "I think a vacation sounds like the next best thing to the Elysian Fields." The bard purred into the warrior’s ear. "Remember the Fields, Xena? Remember how it felt sitting under that willow tree?"

"Yes." The warrior melted into the contact, feeling fire trail along her skin in the wake of Gabrielle’s attentions.

It had taken about a week to plan, but now here they were, getting ready to toast the last sunset of their week on the island before they got back on the boat tomorrow to sail for Pirgos and then on to Egypt.

"Gabrielle, it’s time for the toast. Raise your goblet."

The bard started back to the present and clanked her punch goblet against the warrior’s mug. They watched as the pulsing orange liquid orb of the sun slowly slid below the sea, leaving pink and purple tendrils trailing across the low clouds in the sky. As the sun disappeared from view, a cheer rose up from the patrons of the tavern. More orders of drinks were brought to tables, and a small band set up off to one side and began playing slow music.

The warrior had moved over to the bench next to Gabrielle’s. She looked up and saw the first evening star twinkling high in the sky. She closed her eyes and made her wish. Let us always be as happy as we’ve been this week. Xena opened her eyes and looked over at her partner, who was gazing silently across the water, lost in dreams.

The bard was luminous, her skin glowing with a golden tan from a week of frolicking on the beach. And frolicking of another sort, the warrior mused. She’s so damned beautiful. She slowly took in her lover’s form and felt a familiar twitch in her belly, and immediately began to picture Gabrielle laying naked under her, as Xena made her lover squirm. The warrior shook her head slightly to clear the vision and reached over and brushed her hand across the bard’s forearm. "Hey gorgeous, would you like to dance with me?"

Gabrielle looked over and smiled. "I’d love to."

They stood up and made their way to the dance area. As they passed one of the empty tables, Xena plucked some small white flowers from a vase, twirling the stems between her long fingers. They started dancing and Gabrielle placed her small hands on the warrior’s shoulders. Xena wove the flowers into the bard’s short blonde hair, leaning close to inhale the fresh clean fragrance of her lover’s hair, mingled with the sweet smell of the flowers. She gazed into the sparkling green eyes for a long moment.

"Gabrielle, you’re so beautiful."

The bard was touched by the romantic gesture, one of many the warrior had displayed during the week. "I love you, Xena." Gabrielle wrapped her arms around the warrior’s neck and rested her head on a strong shoulder. Xena placed her hands on the tops of her lover’s hips and pulled her even closer, guiding them in a slow seductive rhythm, as the soft melody of the music enveloped them.

Gabrielle’s half-closed eyes had a very close view of a nice smooth expanse of warrior throat. She nuzzled her lips against a pulse point, nipping it with her teeth, and smiled as she felt Xena shudder slightly at the contact. The warrior ducked her head and brushed her lips softly against the bard’s, which quickly responded. Xena deepened the kiss and parted her lips slightly, running her tongue slowly across Gabrielle’s lips before she gently probed between them, asking for an invitation to enter the bard’s mouth. The bard readily opened her mouth, and the warrior’s warm tongue carefully explored, tracing the insides of cheeks and running across smooth teeth, before she gently drew her lover’s tongue across into her own mouth, and began to suck on it.

Gabrielle whimpered quietly before breaking away and taking a deep shaky breath. She looked up into the piercing blue eyes and raised her hand to gently stroke Xena’s chiseled cheekbone. The bard sighed and a single tear escaped from the corner of her eye. She quickly brushed it away and laid her head back down on a very worried warrior’s shoulder.

"What’s wrong, love?" Xena lifted the bard’s chin, forcing the young girl to look at her.

"Oh. It’s silly, really. I just wish we didn’t have to leave for Egypt tomorrow. I’ve had such a good time here. You’ve made it the most wonderful week of my life. I wish it would never end."

"That’s not silly. I feel the same way. It’s been the best week of my life too, sweetheart. But Gabrielle, what made it such a great week, huh? Was it the good food and drink?"

"That was part of it."

"The shopping?"

"That was fun." The bard had bargained for several great finds during the week, and after the first day, the local merchants were heard to let out a collective groan each time the shrewd blonde approached the market area.

"The nice scenery?"

"Yes."

"Being together?"

"Definitely."

Xena leaned close as they continued to dance, her breath tickling a bardic ear. "The sex?"

"Oh, yeah." Gabrielle turned her head for another lengthy kiss.

"I’m glad you liked that part of it, my bard." The warrior pulled her lover in close, placing her strong hands on the small of her back. "You know Gabrielle, we can have good food and shopping and nice views at home. We are together all the time, and . . ." Xena ran her hand lightly up and down her lover’s muscular back. ". . . we certainly don’t need this island to have some really great sex."

The bard giggled and tangled her fingers in the warrior’s hair. "True on all counts, Xena. It’s just that it’s been nice to be all alone with you and away from any responsibilities. I know we can’t always have it this way."

"I know, sweetheart. Duty calls. If we don’t get to Egypt and talk some sense into Cleopatra, all your hard work on the peace treaty may have been for nothing."

The bard was silent for a long moment, lost in the slow sensual movement of the dance. "You know what I miss, Xena?"

"What, love?"

"Sleeping under the stars with you."

"I miss that too." The warrior said wistfully. She thought for a moment and stopped dancing. "Gabrielle, come here. I want to show you something." She took the bard’s hand and lead her over to a far section of the railing. They leaned against it and Xena draped an arm over her lover’s shoulder, pulling her against her side.

"It’s so wild and beautiful out there, don’t you think?" Gabrielle watched the dark depths of the ocean as the beams of the rising moon played across the surface and the waves rolled toward them, breaking against the shoreline.

Xena looked down at her partner and chuckled. "You sweetheart, are wild and beautiful."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." The warrior placed a hand against the back of Gabrielle’s neck, pulling her around until her head was resting under her chin, and she could whisper into the bard’s ear. "You are very beautiful to me, always. Your spirit is so free. And you are wild in bed. It was such a surprise and I love that. I love it when you give yourself over to me. You know what I love to hear?"

Gabrielle felt her knees weakening at the warrior’s words. "What do you like to hear, love?"

Xena placed a hand on the bard’s bare stomach. It was dark where they were standing and no one was nearby. She slowly ran the hand up her lover’s toned stomach and under the edge of the red cropped top, cupping the bard’s breast and gently rubbing her thumb over a rapidly-hardening nipple. "Gabrielle, I love to hear those little noises you make when you are about to climax."

The bard took quick, shallow breaths, as her sensitive nipple reacted to the warrior’s touch. She arched against her lover’s hand, feeling the dampness begin to pool between her legs. "Xena, you’re making me wet."

"I am? Good." The warrior laid a searing kiss on Gabrielle’s lips, while moving her hand to the bard’s other breast. "I like you wet." She wedged her thigh between the bard’s legs and pressed upward into the damp warmth. "Oooh," Xena purred softly. "Sooo nice and wet." She began to move her thigh back and forth against her lover’s heated center.

A low moan escaped from Gabrielle’s throat, and with great effort she pulled away slightly. "Is this what you wanted to show me? ‘Cause if it is and we don’t stop, a whole lot of other people besides you are going to hear those little noises you were talking about."

Oops. "Oh no, um . . . sorry. Got a little distracted there."

"Uh- huh. Thought so." The bard smirked and ruffled the dark hair.

"No. Look over at that outcropping of rock. See it?" Xena pointed across the railing toward the edge of the water.

Gabrielle peered into the darkness past the long expanse of open beach. "Yeah, I see it."

"I went exploring yesterday while you were writing in your scrolls. On the other side of the outcrop is a nice little secluded cove. It’s sheltered from the wind and the ground is really soft sand. Very private. We can walk there in about a quarter candle mark. We could . . . um . . . sleep there tonight if you’d like. Would you like that?"

"You. Me. The crashing waves and the stars above. Oh twist my arm, warrior princess." She wrapped her hands around the warrior’s strong biceps. "We could pack a basket of food, a nice soft blanket, maybe a flask of wine?"

"Gabrielle, we just ate." The warrior playfully rubbed the bard’s bare stomach.

"And your point is?" The bard stuck her tongue out.

Xena laughed. "Tell you what, I’ll go into the room and get the blanket, if you will go over to the bar and arrange for the basket and the flask."

"Sounds like a plan."

They kissed briefly and then hurriedly set about their tasks.

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Gabrielle haggled over the price of the basket. "You are going to charge me eight dinars for a measly block of cheese and a small loaf of bread? And another two dinars for the wine? I don’t think so. I mean, I know this is a resort and all, but geez, with prices like that it’s a wonder your patrons come back here more than once. Besides, my partner and I have spent an ample amount of dinars in your tavern this week and you know it."

The tavern keeper shook his head. It wasn’t the first bargaining match he had had with the relentless bard during her stay at the inn. He sighed and mused to himself, It’s Friday night. The very lovely Abigail is meeting me here in another candle mark, and frankly I’m just not in the mood to argue with this little bard. He looked into the stubborn green eyes and could see he wasn’t going to win. "Tell you what blondie, seven dinars will get you the basket and the flask. I’ll even throw in a large sprig of nice plump grapes, deal?"

"Deal." Gabrielle tossed the dinars onto the bar and with great satisfaction collected the basket, tucking the flask inside. She smiled and walked out toward their room. The warrior was standing on the edge of the steps that had been cut into the side of the cliff leading down to the beach. A blanket was tucked under her arm and her back was to the bard. Gabrielle just stopped, mesmerized by the sight before her.

The breeze off the water blew Xena’s hair back and the moon shown down, creating bluish-white patterns of light in the long black tresses. She was wearing a loose white calf-length tunic and her feet were bare. Every now and then the wind whipped up, lifting the edges of the tunic and exposing a long length of smooth tanned leg.

Damn. She has no idea how stunning she is. The bard’s mouth watered. Xena sensed her lover’s presence and turned around. She gasped, the sight of the bard having a similar effect.

"By the gods, you’re beautiful." They said in unison. They both broke into laughter and Gabrielle closed the distance between them.

Xena offered her arm. "Walk with me on the beach?" The warrior relieved her partner of the basket.

"I’d love to." The bard took the arm and they made their way down the rough stone steps to the sand below.

They walked in companionable silence, enjoying the smell and sound of the pounding surf, and gazing at the moon, whose path followed them as they walked near the water’s edge. Xena, the bard thought, was an amazingly gentle and skilled lover. She took her time and she never ceased in her quest to find new and different ways to pleasure the bard. Every move, every gesture, every word from the warrior came from a place of deep and committed love. Gabrielle knew the warrior was in their relationship for the long haul. The bard had blossomed in the security of Xena’s love for her, and had gradually overcome her inhibitions and had also begun to experiment, finding all the right buttons to push to drive the warrior crazy with lust.

As for Xena, sex with Gabrielle, like everything else in life, was a sensual experience. The sights, sounds, smells, feelings, and . . . tastes that went along with love-making were to be enjoyed with gusto. Sex with her past partners had been the same. But with Gabrielle, there was an added element, one which Xena had never had with anyone else. A sixth sense. Love.

The warrior was head-over-heals in love for the first time in her life. And it was this sixth sense that made everything about sex with Gabrielle different. It heightened things. It slowed her down. It sometimes speeded her up. Even the slightest of touches, the most subtle of looks, held deep meaning. There was a part of the warrior that felt she could never give enough back to her young lover. It was no longer merely a pleasurable act, it was a joining of their souls. It took Xena further and further into a place she could never escape from. Did not want to escape from. Every time they came together she fell a little more in love with the bard, another thin layer of the warrior’s heart peeled away to rest safely in Gabrielle’s very capable hands.

It wasn’t just that Xena was able to let her guard down and be open with her lover. It was the extreme openness Gabrielle showed the warrior. Xena had spent years being hated and despised and feared by almost everyone, sometimes even by the people she shared her bed with. It melted her heart each time the bard made herself vulnerable to the warrior. When they made love, Gabrielle trusted Xena completely, even if she didn’t always know what the warrior was going to do. It had great healing power over a soul that was clouded by years of darkness and murder. The warrior knew she was loved.

Gabrielle did not have any real experience prior to her relationship with Xena, other than one night with Perdicus. After the warrior and the bard had become more comfortable with their own intimacy, Xena had gradually gotten the details of her wedding night out of her very private partner. She wanted to know partly out of simple human curiosity, and partly so she could understand her lover’s sexual past.

As it turned out, poor Perdicus, simple village boy that he was, had given the bard a basic bread and butter experience, and a rather unpleasant one at that. He hadn’t spent much time exploring or getting Gabrielle ready, and she really hadn’t enjoyed it much, other than the cuddling afterward. Xena had learned this the first time she had attempted to penetrate her lover.

It wasn’t the first time they had made love, but up until this particular time, Xena had applied a great deal of restraint, and had merely spent those first few times finding out what types of touches and actions made Gabrielle feel good. She knew the bard didn’t have a lot of experience, and she didn’t want to frighten her partner with some of her own more exotic tastes. There would be plenty of time for that. They had the rest of their lives to explore each other. She had always brought Gabrielle to climax, but she had yet to go inside her partner.

On this occasion, the warrior had spent the better part of a candle mark worshiping her lover’s body, touching and kissing almost every square inch of bare skin, before she had finally kissed the bard’s very heated center and then stroked her tongue slowly over and over the hard nub. Gabrielle had been dripping with wetness, and Xena was incredibly aroused. She ached to feel even more of that heat, and desperately wanted to push things just a little bit further. The warrior reached down with her long middle finger, touching the bard’s opening, gently probing her entrance with the bare tip of her finger.

Gabrielle’s whole body had tensed and she had reached down and grabbed the warrior’s wrist. "Don’t. Please."

"I won’t do anything you don’t want to do sweetheart, but can I ask why?" Xena had moved up to look into her lover’s eyes.

"It . . . I don’t like that. It hurts."

Comprehension crossed the warrior’s face. "Gabrielle." She asked softly. "Did Perdicus force himself on you?"

"No. I wanted him to . . . go inside . . ." The bard blushed and covered her eyes.

"It’s okay, love. I want to know. Please tell me." Xena reached up and gently removed her lover’s hands from her face so she could read her expressions.

"When . . . when he entered me. It hurt so much. I couldn’t wait for it to be over because I was afraid if he took too long I was going to cry out in pain, and I didn’t want to hurt his feelings. Thank the gods he didn’t take long at all."

If it hadn’t been for the serious expression on the bard’s face, Xena would have laughed out loud at her lover’s description of Perdicus’ abilities. I’ll bet he didn’t take long. She chuckled inwardly.

"I’m sorry, Xena. Really I am. I know you want more." The bard looked like she was about to cry. "Xena, do you think there’s something wrong with me?"

"Oh no, sweetheart. Oh Gabrielle, please don’t cry." The warrior brushed a lone tear from her lover’s cheek. "There is absolutely nothing wrong with you. You are very responsive. Very. It brings me the greatest of pleasure to make love to you. In any way you will allow me to. You make my body hum, love."

"Really?" The bard’s face brightened.

"Oh, yes. But Gabrielle, I think if we talk about this a little more we may just find a way for you to enjoy feeling me inside of you."

"Do . . . do you think so?" A faint glimmer of hope shone in the large green eyes.

"Gabrielle." She took one of the bard’s hands and lavished kisses on each knuckle. Then she ran her hand along her lover’s side, caressing the most sensitive spots. "When you were with Perdicus, did he spend time touching you like I have touched you tonight?"

"Um . . . no."

Xena moved lower and suckled on first one breast and then the other and looked up, feeling the tremors of her lover’s body. "Did he kiss you like I have kissed you tonight?"

"No. Not really. He kissed me on the lips some, but not anywhere else."

The warrior smiled and moved lower, gently spreading the bard’s legs and once again kissing her center, taking the nub between her lips and swirling her tongue around it. She looked up and smiled again, as Gabrielle whimpered at the loss of contact. "Did he pay any attention to this part of your body at all?"

"Well. No. Not until he entered me."

Xena ran a finger along the throbbing labia, collecting the ample moisture there. She crawled back up Gabrielle’s body and smeared some of it on the bard’s lips. She then slowly licked her finger clean, her eyes never leaving her lover’s, before she leaned in and kissed the bard thoroughly, probing deeply into her mouth with her tongue. The bard moaned when she tasted herself in the warrior’s mouth, and pulled Xena’s body down closer. The warrior continued in the kiss while she reached down between the bard’s legs, massaging Gabrielle’s clit with the same finger she had just licked clean.

She broke off from the kiss and stopped the massaging, but didn’t break contact with the bard’s clit. "Were you as wet with Perdicus as you are now?" Xena’s voice was husky with desire.

"I . . . I don’t think so."

"Because sweetheart, you are sooo wet. You are ready for me to go inside. That’s partly what the wetness is for. To make penetration easier." She looked deeply into the bard’s eyes. "Gabrielle, do you trust me?" Xena twitched her finger against the sensitive nub and the bard whimpered. "Do you?"

"Ye . . . Yes. Xena. Please. Don’t stop touching me like you were. Please."

The warrior smiled. "Don’t worry, I’m not even close to being finished with you." She resumed her stroking on the clit, replacing her finger with her thumb. She leaned in until her lips were even with the bard’s ear, their cheeks touching. "Gabrielle." Xena whispered soothingly, as she once again placed the tip of her middle finger at her lover’s opening. "I’m going to do this very slowly. Very slowly. If it hurts the least little bit, you tell me and I will stop. Okay?"

"Okay." Gabrielle wrapped her arms around Xena’s shoulders. She felt the finger slide in slowly up to the first knuckle. She tensed, but only for a moment, as she realized it didn’t hurt. In fact it felt good.

"Are we okay so far, love?" The warrior nipped an earlobe.

"Yes. Feels good." The bard closed her eyes and unconsciously hugged the warrior tighter, her inner muscles clenching in an attempt to draw more of Xena’s finger inside.

The warrior breathed an inner sigh of relief and then smiled at her partner’s reaction. "Okay, I’m going in a little further." Xena slowly but surely slid the finger in until she could go no further. The warrior felt a renewed throbbing and a flood of wetness between her own legs, and took a deep breath, trying to still the reaction her own body was having to being inside Gabrielle for the first time. She momentarily stopped her attentions to the bard’s clit, so as not to overwhelm her lover with too many sensations all at once. "Gabrielle, I’m all the way in."

"You are?"

"Yes." Xena raised up and looked at her lover’s face. "Is this okay?"

The sensation of Xena’s finger filling her up caused the bard’s inner muscles to clench even more tightly around it. "Xena. You feel really good inside."

"Oh no love, you feel really good inside. So incredibly soft." Xena carefully moved her finger against the velvety folds around it. "Gabrielle, you have no idea how turned on I am right now." For emphasis, the warrior rubbed her own mound against the bard’s leg, leaving a trail of wetness as she slid higher to kiss her lover.

After a lengthy contact in which an escalating series of whimpers and soft cries escaped Gabrielle’s throat, Xena pulled back on a ragged breath. "I’m going to keep going, and I’m not going to continue to describe what I’m doing. But if anything hurts, tell me. Okay?"

"Okay. Xena, I love you."

"I love you too, so very much." The warrior resumed her attentions to the bard’s nub and slowly began to pump the finger in and out of the warm wet entrance. She carefully pushed down a little, stretching the bard’s inner walls, and heard a low moan. "Was that a good moan?"

"Yes. Xena. Feels so good." Gabrielle moaned again as she felt her inner muscles twitching, and she forced herself to look up into her lover’s face.

The warrior noted her partner’s dilated pupils and flushed skin with great appreciation. "Sweetheart, that’s all I ever want from you when we make love, for you to feel good."

The bard swiftly floated away on a current of growing sensation, and found herself wanting to pull more of Xena inside. "Xena." She gasped. "More."

"More?"

"Yes. Xena. Please."

The warrior chuckled, and placed a second finger near the opening, sliding it in to join the first one. "This okay?"

"Oh gods. Yes." The bard was close to the edge and her hips began rocking in time to her lover’s movements inside her body.

Xena continued to pump in and out, steadily increasing the pace. She moved down, spreading Gabrielle’s legs with her shoulders, and replaced her thumb with her tongue, flicking it hard several times. She felt small fingers grasp the tops of her shoulders as the first waves of pleasure washed over the bard.

"Oh. Xena." It was the most intense pleasure the bard had ever felt. "Feels sooooo good inside. Xeeeeeenaaaaaa!"

It was the first time the bard screamed out the warrior’s name. It wouldn’t be the last.

"Hello, Earth to Xena. Where’d you go?" Gabrielle tugged on the warrior’s arm.

"Oh. Sorry. Just thinking."

"Xena, love, you almost walked us right into the water. What were you thinking about?"

"Oh nothing." A very sheepish look crossed the warrior’s face.

"Come on, tell me. Please." She looked up and saw a familiar glint in her lover’s eye. "Xena," she said with a smokey voice. "Was it something enjoyable?"

"Um . . ." Xena turned bright red. "Penetration."

"Huh?"

"I was thinking about penetration."

"Oh." It was the bard’s turn to blush, as she turned a pretty shade of pink that could be seen even in the faint moonlight.

The warrior laughed and draped the blanket she was carrying around her shoulders. She pulled the bard against her side, wrapping a long arm around her waist. "Getting a little warm, my bard?"

Gabrielle took a breath and regained her composure. A wicked grin crossed her face. "Xena, lean down."

Xena looked at the bard, shrugged, and complied.

"Closer, so I can whisper in your ear."

"Gabrielle, there’s no one around. You don’t have to whisper."

"Yes I do. Now do it."

"O . . . kay." She ducked her head until her ear was next to the bard’s lips."

"Know what I love, Xena?"

"No. What?"

"Xena." She flicked the earlobe with the tip of her tongue. "I love it when you put your fingers inside me. And then you . . ." The bard whispered a few more choice words, meant only for Xena’s ears to hear, and the ear in question turned bright red.

"Gabrielle!" The bard had never talked to her like that before, but it sent a giddy jolt straight to her core. She stopped for a moment, afraid she might melt into a puddle right there on the beach.

The bard moved in front of her, took the basket from her hand and the blanket from her shoulders, sitting them down on the ground, and pulling her into a tight embrace. She ran her tongue up the warrior’s cleavage and across her collar bone, nipping at her bare shoulder peeking out from the sleeveless tunic. "Do you like it, Xena? Do you like it too?" Gabrielle’s eyes were half-closed and her voice was about an octave lower than normal. "Do you like it when I put my fingers inside you?"

"Gods, Gabrielle." The warrior’s body felt like spaghetti. "Do you have any idea what you’re doing to me?"

"I have a pretty good idea."

A small hand parted the bottom of the warrior’s tunic and snaked between her legs, as one lone bardic finger slipped between her drenched folds and entered her. "Ungghh." Xena groaned deeply, pressing into the unexpected but welcome invasion. Gabrielle pulled her hand out and made a show of slowly sucking on her finger, before she claimed the warrior’s lips in a heartfelt kiss.

"We’ve never talked dirty to each other before, have we?" The bard sounded suddenly shy.

"Um. No, we haven’t." The warrior closed her eyes, her center throbbing at the loss of her partner’s finger.

"Is that okay?"

"From you love, it’s like the singing of the sirens."

"Good, because I kind of enjoyed it. And I think you did too." The bard reached down and cupped Xena’s sex outside her tunic, and pushed up a little.

"Gabrielle if you don’t stop, I’m going to throw you down and take you right here in the sand."

"And that would be a bad thing because . . . ?"

The warrior groaned loudly, snatched up the basket and blanket, and stalked purposefully down the beach. "Come on bard, we’re almost to that cove."

As they reached the outcropping, they had to climb carefully over and between some large boulders. Xena supported her partner with her free hand, and finally they made it around to the cove. It was surrounded on three sides by sheer cliffs, and the beach had a very gradual slope from the water up to another layer of boulders. Above the boulders was another expanse of beach which was too high up for the incoming tide to reach. Xena climbed up to the second beach and spread the blanket out in the soft sugar-like sand, and laid the basket on one corner to hold it securely. And found herself tackled by a very voracious bard.

Gabrielle landed on top of the warrior, and proceeded to kiss her deeply and remove her tunic. She slid her knee between the warrior’s thighs, parting them easily. The bard rocked back on her own knees, raising up enough to quickly remove her own top and skirt, revealing soft creamy skin to Xena’s appreciative eyes. As she started to lower herself again, the warrior rolled forward, scooping the bard up in her arms like a child, and stood up.

"Xena! What are you doing?"

The warrior leaned down, never letting go of the bard, and grabbed the wine flask from the picnic basket. She walked to the edge of the raised part of the beach and easily leaped down to the lower level. She kept walking, while Gabrielle muttered small protests, until they were in the water up to Xena’s shoulders.

"I’m cooling both of us off a little bit." She grinned and kissed the bard slowly on the lips, gradually working her tongue inside her partner’s mouth and smiling inwardly as she felt the bard start to relax, some of her built-up tension melting away, which was exactly what the kiss was designed to accomplish. Xena raised up and her eyes were misty. "It’s our last night here and I want to take my time with you, Gabrielle."

They continued to exchange soft kisses, and the warrior slowly lowered the bard to the water. However, water that came up to Xena’s shoulders went over the bard’s head. The warrior grasped her lover under the arms and held her head up above the water. "Wrap your legs around my waist and your arms around my neck."

Gabrielle immediately did so, settling against her lover with a quiet sigh of pleasure as their breasts made contact. Xena lifted the flask and uncapped it, holding it to the bard’s lips. She took a sip and smiled. "Yum. It’s spicy. He put cinnamon and sugar in there, I think."

The warrior took a long drink and they continued to kiss between sips from the flask, until both women were quite warm, despite the coolness of the water. Xena broke off and smiled, collecting her thoughts. "Um . . . you want to . . ."

"Yeah." The bard nipped at her nose.

Xena pulled Gabrielle tightly against her body and planted a series of kisses across her jaw and down her neck, latching onto the soft skin with her lips, and began to suck and bite, branding her lover’s throat, reasoning that they would be alone for the next day or so, and the small mark would disappear by the time they got to Pirgos.

Gabrielle whimpered and then spoke into the closest ear. "Xena I love you, and I really, really want this. But love, we’re still in the water."

"Huh? The warrior surfaced from the tasty salt-covered skin.

"Xena. The blanket. Please?"

"Oh. Sure. Sorry." The warrior grinned and carried her lover out of the water, up the beach, and over to their blanket. Gently, almost reverently, she laid the precious body in her arms down on the soft thick wool, and lowered herself until she hovered over the bard, resting her weight on her forearms next to Gabrielle’s head, her legs straddling the bard’s hips. She looked into her lover’s green eyes, which were clouded with desire, and slowly licked her lips before she descended and brushed her lips against the bard’s several times.

And the sensual dance began. Xena parted the bard’s lips with her tongue, and they played back and forth between their mouths before Gabrielle finally wrapped her lips around the warrior’s tongue, sucking rhythmically on the warm muscle. Xena groaned and slowly lowered her body down until her full weight was resting on her lover. She continued to enjoy the deep kiss, as she ran her thumb up and down the bard’s soft face, her other hand combing through the short blond hair on the bard’s head with her fingers. The bard’s hair was still damp from the water.

Xena broke their kiss. "Gabrielle, I love the way your body feels right now, pressed against mine. She nuzzled Gabrielle’s neck with a sigh. Her skin smelled pleasantly of the salty water and the lingering hint of the soap she had used during her bath that morning. It was a sensation she could never get enough of. The warrior inhaled deeply and sighed again, before she once again latched onto the exquisitely soft skin with her lips, placing a series of nips down to the pulse point in the hollow of the bard’s throat. She began to suckle the heated skin, and Gabrielle whimpered, throwing her head back to give the warrior greater access.

"I love to hear you, Gabrielle." She murmured, as she circled one of the bard’s breasts slowly with her finger, gradually moving toward the puckered nipple. Xena placed her fingers in her mouth and then resumed her attentions to her lover’s throat. At the same time, she lightly grazed the bard’s right nipple with the wet fingers, which elicited a low moan from the younger girl’s throat.

"Mmm. That was a nice sound. Let’s see if I can make you do that again." She shifted slightly and moved down until her mouth was directly above her lover’s left nipple. She blew on it softly, teasing the bard mercilessly. Gabrielle moaned again as the warm breath sent a jolt of pleasure through her body, and she arched her back, trying to push the nipple into the warrior’s mouth, but Xena raised up slightly, just out of reach.

The bard groaned louder. "Xena. Please."

"Ooo, I like the way you reacted to that. Please what, Gabrielle?" The warrior continued to pinch and stroke the right nipple, while she planted little kisses all over the outer edges of the bard’s left breast.

"Xena. Unggghh."

"What, love? Tell me what you want, Gabrielle."

"Xena. Put your mouth on me. Please."

"My mouth is on you, sweetheart." She continued with the tortuous kisses.

"Suck my nipple, Xena. Pleeeeasse." The bard’s hips began to involuntarily rock against the soft sand underneath the blanket.

The warrior chuckled and closed her lips around the rubbery flesh, alternating between flicking it lightly with her tongue and sucking on it. At the same time, she slipped a powerful thigh between the bard’s legs, pressing against her lover’s warm center, and feeling the bard’s juices coat her skin. Xena’s stomach fluttered at the sensation.

"Oooo, Gabrielle you’re all hot and wet." She ground her thigh against the bard, who cried out and began to grind her center against the warrior’s leg.

Xena moved her lips to the bard’s right nipple and slowly trailed her hand down the bard’s side, coming to rest on her lover’s right hip. The bard yelped again as the warrior began to suckle her overly-sensitized nipple, and the pace of her rocking hips increased. Afraid Gabrielle might come before she wanted her to, the warrior moved her thigh back and pressed down on the right hip with her hand to stop the bard’s movements.

"Xena . . ." The bard began to protest.

"Not yet, love. I want to enjoy you completely." She straddled the bard again, lowering her own center until it rested against her lover’s belly. Gabrielle whimpered at the warm wet contact. Xena took one of the bard’s hands and placed it between them, against her hot core. "Feel how wet I am for you?" She moved her lover’s hand from her core, up and across the bard’s lips. "Taste, Gabrielle. This is what you do to me. All I have to do is look at you, and this is what you do to me."

Xena lowered her lips to the bard’s, licking the glistening surface before she parted them with her tongue. Gabrielle moaned as she tasted the warrior on her lips. The warrior moaned back into her mouth, and finally broke away and threw her head back, her lips parted slightly. "Gabrielle, I love to taste myself in your mouth." She leaned in until her lips were against the bard’s left ear. "I’m going to taste you all over. And then . . ." Xena bit down on the earlobe. "I’m going to give you a long . . . slow . . . hard . . . wet . . . kiss. And I don’t mean on your lips."

Gabrielle swallowed hard, and her entire body shuddered at the warrior’s words. The muscles in her center spazmed several times, and she wrapped her arms around Xena tightly, biting into her shoulder. Xena growled when she felt the small teeth sink in, and began a series of slow deliberate licks and kisses down the bard’s chest and stomach, pausing to nip at her cute navel. "So soft." The warrior murmured. "So salty." She continued down and the bard whimpered as Xena bypassed her most needy spot, concentrating instead on lavishing loving attention on Gabrielle’s legs, lifting each one in turn and licking and kissing her way from the bard’s ankles to the apex of her hips.. "So incredibly beautiful."

After she had indeed tasted every inch of the bard’s torso, legs, and arms, she slowly slid her body back up until she was at eye level with the bard. "Gabrielle, roll over onto your stomach."

The bard’s eyes grew wide. "Xena, what are you going to do?"

"Gabrielle, I love you. I want nothing but to make you feel good. Am I bringing you pleasure?"

"Oh, yeah." The green eyes closed halfway, and Gabrielle turned her head to kiss the warrior’s forearm, which was resting on the blanket next to her.

"I’m just trying to draw this out for us. I want you to feel as many pleasurable sensations as I can possibly think of. You trust me, don’t you?"

"Completely."

"Please love, roll over."

The bard complied, and Xena straddled her hips again, drinking in the sight of the smooth muscular back below her. She lightly trailed her fingertips up and down her lover’s back, causing goose bumps to race across Gabrielle’s skin. She moved to the bard’s side and leaned down to plant small kisses on the back of her neck, as she continued the light contact with her fingers. She moved her fingers lower, trailing them across her lover’s buttocks and the backs of her legs, allowing her lips to follow in the wake of her fingers. She moved down further until she was on her knees next to the bard’s legs. "Gabrielle, spread your legs for me."

The bard swallowed hard and obeyed, letting out her breath as she felt the warrior kneel between her legs. Xena continued teasing the bard’s skin, and she leaned over and kissed the small of the girl’s back. She began to kiss and nip her way across Gabrielle’s buttocks and raised up, and the bard moaned low, involuntarily pressing her mound into the blanket below her.

The warrior raised up, resting a hand on each butt cheek. "You have the most perfect ass, Gabrielle. Are you enjoying me touching it?" She smiled as the bard whimpered in response, and kneaded the pliant flesh and lowered her mouth to run her tongue up and down the bard’s crack, pausing to tease the anal sphincter. She felt her lover stiffen and she stopped. "Don’t worry love, I’m not going in there. But I did promise to taste you everywhere, remember?"

Gabrielle merely nodded and whimpered again, as Xena continued to kiss and probe this most private part of her body.

"Does this feel good?"

Another whimper.

"I’ll take that as a yes." The warrior’s tongue moved lower and she carefully licked up and down the bard’s very engorged wet labia. Gabrielle’s hips bucked violently off the blanket at the touch and the warrior’s own inner muscles clenched in sympathy.

Xena took a deep breath, inhaling her lover’s musky scent, and felt wetness begin to flow down the insides of her own legs. She tenderly kissed the bard’s inner thighs. "Okay love, I’m going to roll you back over now. She moved from between the bard’s legs long enough to gently push her lover onto her back.

The warrior’s eyes roamed leisurely from the bard’s feet all the way up to her face, noting the flushed skin and uneven rise and fall of her lover’s chest. She softly kissed the bard’s stomach as she slid one hand between Gabrielle’s legs, and the bard slowly parted her thighs. Gabrielle looked up into the blue eyes that reflected nothing but love back at her. "Xena. Come here Xena. Lay down on top of me between my legs." Gabrielle’s eyes were dark green with lust, and the warrior’s breath caught sharply at the sight. The bard’s legs were spread wide, her knees slightly upraised, her glistening center clearly visible, inviting the warrior to partake of all that she saw before her. Xena almost climaxed just looking at her lover in such a vulnerable and open position.

"What you do to me, Gabrielle. What you do to me." She rested her body all along the length of the bard’s, her hips falling against the apex of the younger girl’s legs. She ground her hips into the bard and leaned in for a searing kiss. She broke away and Gabrielle reached up to take her face into her hands.

"Xena. I love you. Make love to me with your mouth, please. I want to feel your tongue on me."

The warrior growled deep in her throat and planted a series of blazing kisses down the bard’s body until she reached the damp sweaty curls. She nuzzled her nose into the bristling hairs, inhaling deeply, and kissed the bard’s mound. "Gods, you smell so good." She planted more kisses all over the insides of the bard’s thighs and on the outside of the wet lips, and then she blew on them with hot breath, causing Gabrielle to cry out and clutch the blanket with her fists. "Soon, love. Soon." Finally, finally she parted the lips with her tongue and began to slowly taste and kiss the bard’s most intimate places.

"You’re so very, very wet, Gabrielle. Do you want me?"

"Always. Xena, your tongue feels so good on me."

"My tongue is enjoying what it’s tasting, sweetheart. You taste so very good. All sweet and salty. Ambrosia has nothing on you my love. The gods don’t know what they’re missing." She grinned. "And none of them had better decide to find out."

The bard giggled briefly at the last statement and then gasped sharply, as Xena circled her pulsing clit with her tongue before taking it into her mouth and sucking on it. Gabrielle’s hips began to rock, pressing her center against the warrior’s mouth, and Xena laid one long arm across them, so as not to lose contact with the sweet flesh in her mouth. The bard’s juices began to flow freely, and Xena placed two fingers against the opening and looked up to meet her lover’s eyes.

"Can I please come in and play?" She waggled an eyebrow and grinned.

"Yes. Xena. Please. Put your fingers inside of me."

The warrior plunged the two fingers in deeply and quickly, and then slowly drew then out, only to plunge them back in again. She carefully felt all around inside, curling her fingers to take in the soft silky texture, and feeling for the bard’s g-spot. She grazed over it and the bard’s hips came off the blanket. Bingo. Gabrielle’s hips began to rock anew, and the warrior pumped her fingers to match the bard’s pace, making sure she brushed over the spot each time she pumped inward.

"Gabrielle, you feel so good."

"Xena. More."

"More? Gabrielle, I’ve never put more than two . . ."

"Please, Xena. More."

The warrior shifted, moving back up so she could watch her partner’s face as she hesitantly slid a third finger inside the bard, feeling the walls stretching to their limit. Xena’s inner muscles twitched, releasing a renewed flood between the warrior’s legs a she marveled at the tight feeling around her fingers. She leaned down and plunged her tongue between the bard’s lips, ravaging her mouth as she slowly began to pump again.

"Unggghh." Gabrielle groaned loudly and wrapped her legs around Xena, pressing her toes into the backs of the warrior’s calves. "Xena. So close. Please love, put your mouth on me."

The warrior slid further down and lovingly took the bard’s hard nub into her mouth, flicking and sucking, swirling her tongue around and around. She continued to pump in and out with her fingers, and felt the bard’s muscles begin to clench around them. "Come on love, let go." She raised her head, replacing her tongue with her thumb. "Look at me, Gabrielle, I want to watch you."

The bard raised her head until she made eye contact with her lover. She reached down to stroke the dark head and felt the convulsions begin.

"Come for me Gabrielle." Xena’s voice was thick with her own need.

"Oh. Xena. Oh. Xeeeeenaaaa!" The bard cried out her lover’s name as waves of pleasure rolled over her with an intensity she had never felt before. Xena bent down and stroked her lover’s clit with her tongue, prolonging her pleasure. As the after shocks died down, she slowly withdrew her fingers, sending Gabrielle over the edge again. Xena tenderly kissed the outside of the bard’s labia and then kissed the curly hairs before she moved up and rested on top of her lover. The warrior left a comforting hand cupped against the bard’s sex for a moment, before replacing the hand with her thigh.

Gabrielle’s face was flushed and she was completely spun. Xena slid up until she could look in her lover’s eyes. "Hi."

The bard’s eyelids fluttered before her eyes opened wide and she smiled. "Xena. Hi. Wow. Thank you. That was amazing. You are amazing."

"Gabrielle, you are so beautiful." She leaned down and their lips me in a leisurely kiss. "I love you so much. I just want to hold you all night long and watch you sleep."

"But Xena. What about you?"

"Don’t worry about me. You must be tired."

"Not that tired." The bard raised her knee that was between the warrior’s legs, pressing her thigh up into the warrior’s warm wetness. "Tell me you don’t want this, Xena." She pressed up harder, and Xena groaned deep in her throat. "Tell me you don’t need this." Gabrielle reached up and traced her fingertips lightly up and down the sides of her lover’s breasts, sending jolts of electricity straight to the warrior’s groin.

"Xena. I need to touch you. I need to love you. Please let me."

Xena could read the desire for her in Gabrielle’s eyes. "Gods, I love you." The warrior began to slide slowly up and down the bard’s upraised leg, grinding her sex into the soft flesh. She threw her head back and closed her eyes, blindly seeking her release.

The bard looked up and thought she had never seen anything more beautiful. She reached up and cupped the warrior’s breasts, pinching the nipples between her thumbs and forefingers. Xena whimpered and began to move faster up and down Gabrielle’s leg.

"Xena." The bard grasped the warrior’s hips and urged her forward. "Scoot up. Please, Xena. Higher up over me. I want to taste you."

The warrior opened her eyes and looked at her lover’s face. She reached down and tenderly traced the bard’s full lips with her thumb. She knew where those lips were going to be momentarily. Her thumb poked between the lips and the bard sucked on it, matching the throbbing in Xena’s groin. The warrior moaned deeply and began to move her hips forward.

"That’s it Xena, just a little closer. A little more."

Xena felt the bard’s hot breath on her center and shivered, lowering herself slowly onto her lover’s mouth, careful to keep most of her weight on her legs, the effort of keeping her thigh muscles tense increasing the pleasurable sensations between her legs. Gabrielle turned her head first to one side and then the other, kissing and licking the insides of the warrior’s thighs. She nipped the sensitive skin and the warrior’s hips bucked. The bard smiled. She wrapped her arms under and around her lover’s legs, and ran her tongue the full length of the warrior’s labia before plunging between the folds.

"Why Xena, I do believe you’ve been waiting for this, haven’t you?" The bard lapped at the wetness and explored all the warrior’s folds, before placing the tip of her tongue against the hard clit and flicking it once. Twice.

The feel of the bard’s tongue against her throbbing nub was exquisite. "Gabrielle. Please." Xena’s voice cracked.

The bard closed her lips over the sensitive nub and rolled it around with her tongue, and felt the warrior’s hips began to grind against her mouth in circular undulations. She reached around and grabbed Xena’s firm butt muscles, eliciting a long low growl from the warrior. The warrior felt her juices flowing down her legs.

"Inside me. Please Gabrielle. I need to feel you inside me."

"What do you want, Xena?" The bard’s mouth had stilled on the clit.

"Gabrielle, please." Inner muscles twitched almost painfully.

"Tell me Xena. What do you want me to do?"

"Pleeeeasssse."

"Tell me. Be specific."

"I want you to put your fingers inside me. Please."

The bard smiled and slid two fingers inside the warrior and stopped. Still. The warrior groaned and tried to pump up and down, desperately seeking sweet friction with her lover’s fingers. The bard pushed hard against Xena’s backside with her free hand, keeping her from moving up and down.

"Gabrielle, you’re driving me crazy. Please."

What do you want me to do, Xena?" She waggled the fingers inside a little, and squeezed the warrior’s firm rear.

"Gabrielle," the warrior’s voice was a low controlled growl. "Pump your fingers inside of me. Now. Pleeeeassse."

"You’re so cute when you’re frustrated." The bard giggled and began to thrust her fingers in and out. She felt the warrior easily riding the two digits, and she added a third and then a fourth finger. "Feels so good, Xena. All soft and warm inside."

"Gabrielle. Please. Put your mouth on me."

The bard took the clit back into her mouth and suckled on it, continuing to pump as the warrior’s juices flowed over her hand.

"Oh, Gabrielle. Feels so good. I love you so much."

"Xena." the bard’s voice was low and commanding. "I’m here. Right here with you. You’re safe with me. Let yourself go completely for me."

The warrior was so close, yet not quite close enough. She wanted to feel her lover everywhere inside. "Gabrielle. More. I need just a little bit more."

"Xena, I’ve already got all four fingers inside, love."

"You’ve still got your thumb." The warrior groaned at the thought.

The bard looked up at her partner, questioning her.

"Do it, Gabrielle." The warrior’s voice took on a pleading tone and she reached down and gently stroked the backs of her fingers against the bard’s face. "Please love, I really need you to do this for me."

It was one of the first times Xena had ever begged her to do anything while they were making love, and the bard turned and briefly kissed the fingers against her face. "Okay. But don’t let me hurt you. You say something if I need to pull back."

The warrior nodded in mute agreement as Gabrielle pulled her fingers from inside the warrior’s drenched entrance and added her thumb. With wonder, she slowly worked her entire hand inside her lover. A long primal growl escaped Xena’s lips and her whole body shuddered at the invasion. She bit her bottom lip hard and threw her head back, her long hair spilling over her shoulders, tickling the bard’s breasts as she began to move up and down on Gabrielle’s hand.

The bard began to pump, matching the warrior’s movements, while tonguing the hard clit. Xena had never felt so full. She thought she had died and gone to the Elysian Fields again. The emotional connection with her lover almost overshadowed the physical sensations, building slowly to a sweet torturing pain. The warrior looked down and locked eyes with the bard. She had never felt so loved in her whole entire life. The expression on Gabrielle’s face was so sweet and loving. Full of totally unselfish desire. For me, the warrior thought with wonder. No one had ever looked at Xena that way before.

Her inner muscles began to clench around the bard’s hand, causing Xena to continually moan low in her chest, the moans punctuated with each thrust of her hips. "Hurts so good, love." The warrior threw back her head one more time and cried out her release, as a strong orgasm exploded inside, rippling from her center outward through her body. The bard rode it out with her, until she felt the warrior’s body go still. She started to extract her hand.

"Please. Stay inside for a minute." The warrior closed her eyes as her chest heaved and she felt her partner’s free hand softly caressing the top of one of her thighs. Gradually, her breathing evened out and her heartbeat slowed to a normal pace. She opened her eyes and reached down, intertwining her fingers with those of Gabrielle’s free hand and drawing the hand up to kiss the bard’s knuckles. "Now. Slowly, sweetheart."

Gabrielle carefully removed her hand, and as she slipped out, Xena groaned deeply as several strong after shocks washed over her. "Uuhhh."

She dropped from her knees down to the bard’s side and then rolled onto her back, pulling her young lover on top of her, wrapping her long arms tightly around her. They lay together for several moments, very still, neither one saying a word.

The bard broke the silence. "Xena. Did I hurt you?"

"Oh, no." The warrior looked into her lover’s concerned eyes and stroked her soft cheek. "I needed that. Needed you to take me like that. I needed to feel you inside, filling me up totally and completely. I’m a pretty big girl. Takes a lot to reach my limits."

"That didn’t hurt?"

"Hard to describe. It was a pleasurable pain. I feel it as much in here . . ." The warrior tapped her chest over her heart. ". . . as I do . . . um . . . down there. It’s one of the most intimate things two women can do together. I have to be able to completely relax and let my guard down to accept that much inside. It takes a certain level of trust. You and I have that."

"Yeah. I guess we do."

The warrior absently ran her hand up and down her lover’s bare back and planted light kisses on top of the blonde head, until she felt the bard’s breathing deepen. "Gabrielle, I love you."

"I love you, Xena. More than anything."

"Sleep now sweetheart. I’ll hold you all night long."

The bard sighed and nestled her head against the warrior’s chest. Xena pulled the edge of the blanket over them and looked up at the moon and stars. As the waves crashed on the shore below and the gentle ocean breeze played over their skin, warrior and bard fell into a deep contented sleep.

*************************

Xena awoke to the very pleasant sensation of someone suckling on her right nipple. Her eyes flew open. It was past sunrise. She lifted the edge of the blanket to find a voracious bard feasting on her flesh. Gabrielle briefly raised her head and looked up and grinned. "Mornin’."

The warrior groaned with pleasure. It was how she had woken up every morning since they arrived on Zakynthos. There are a lot worse ways to wake up. She mused. "Morning, love." She flopped her head back down on the blanket and closed her eyes again, giving in to the sensations, as the bard had her for breakfast.

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Much later, after a brief morning snack of the grapes, bread, and cheese that they had forgotten about the night before, and after a refreshing swim in the ocean, Xena and Gabrielle walked back to their room at the inn, packed up their belongings, and checked out. They went to the docks and soon Xena was steering the boat east back toward Pirgos where they would leave Xena’s boat to board a much larger vessel bound for Egypt. The bard leaned over the rail, looking back toward Zakynthos. They both knew in their hearts that the vacation had brought them even closer together than ever before. The love was deeper. Stronger. And each held firmly yet gently onto the heart of the other, realizing what a fragile and precious gift they had been given.

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THE END

Writer’s Note (as of March 27, 2000): To return to our regularly scheduled PG-13 series, please wait patiently. I’ll be posting part one of "Cleopatra 4 A.D." in about two weeks. If you made it this far, thanks for riding along on the brief detour. And no, I have no idea where all of that came from. X & G never cease to surprise me. <G>

For a photographic tour of Zakynthos, go to http://www.greekhotel.com/greekislands/zakynthos/

I like to think of the first photo as X & G's little cove. <G>