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The Apple... Ch. 01

By: AnAngelReally



Author's note:

This is my first story on Literotica, so please be indulgent.

Of course, there are sex scenes, but a lot of it is story based. If you are only looking for spanking material, this may not be for you. 

Prologue

Julia Monroe leans her forehead against the window of the railroad car, her mind barely registering the scenery streaming by. As a young teenager, on her way home from the boarding school, she was fascinated by it, imagining all sorts of wonderful stories set on fantastical worlds. This time, Julia is thinking of a very different sort of story altogether.

Now eighteen, fresh out of college, it is with a heavy heart that she is on her way to spend the summer with her aging grand-mothers for what she is certain will be the last time.

Julia does not know if she can be strong for mammy Juliette and mammy Arianna as she remembers them having been all her young life.

Chapter 1 – 1949

Juliette Hébert, née Lalonde, was widowed early in her first marriage when her husband died in an industrial accident at the steel plant where he worked. As a young woman in her early twenties and with no education to speak of, life looked bleak for her as the social support network was almost non-existent in those days. She got luckier than most and found employment at the university doing maintenance, another word for scrubbing floors but with better pay and working conditions than being in the service of some rich family where she would have been considered as much of a slave as they could get away with.

Early on she was assigned to the library where her tasks included emptying the wastebaskets, sweeping the floors every night, washing them once a week and keeping ahead of the dust which accumulated everywhere. The main drawback was that she worked nights. It was hard on her. She slept poorly in the daylight hours and so was always tired, but she eventually learned the trick to sleep a few hours in the morning and in the evening, leaving her half the day to do whatever needed to be done.

In fact, it was a friend who taught her this way to manage this different circadian cycle.

**********

Arianna Monroe was a History student, working on a Masters degree, who was afflicted with a party animal for a roommate, so she made use of the university library late in the evening where she could have the peace required to complete her thesis paper.

Late one such evening, her concentration on the analysis of the early events leading to the First Anglo-Boer War of 1880-1881 was suddenly broken by an unusual noise in the silent library where she knew for a fact she was alone with the cleaning lady. Looking up, she tried to locate the origin of the sound, but, as it didn't repeat itself, she figured the woman must have dropped something. Arianna was getting back to her work when she heard a muffled groan that seemed to come from further back in the huge room.

As she was afflicted with an insatiable curiosity and such a visceral drive to help others in need she would have been called chivalrous were she a man, Arianna got up, her left knee popping, and, slightly limping at first from a foot having fallen asleep, she went in the direction of the low noise, looking left and right down the rows of bookshelves.

Almost all the way to the back of the library she was startled to see a form that could only by a body lying on the ground. With a muttered curse, she ran toward it. She kneeled beside the woman whom she recognized as the cleaning lady she had seen every night since the beginning of the semester.

Remembering her service as a WAC in WWII, at first, she did not move her since she could see a little blood where the woman had hit her head either on the ground or on something else as she fell. She checked her pulse which, to her relief, was strong if somewhat irregular.

The woman's eyes fluttered open as she regained consciousness. She seemed startled to see Arianna kneeling by her side and made to get up, but Arianna put her hands on her shoulders to keep her still.

"Easy dear, you have had a nasty bump on the head. Stay still for now." Arianna told her softly. "What happened to you?"

"I don't know," the woman answered in a tremulous voice, "I was climbing the stepladder to dust the top shelves and I began seeing sparkling lights and feeling dizzy. The next thing I know I'm on the floor."

"That sounds like a sudden drop in blood pressure. Take it easy for a moment and you should be better soon. Your eyes seem to focus on me correctly and you sound coherent enough so you probably don't have a concussion. How does your head feel?"

"My head hurts a bit, but nothing too... Ahhhh!"

Before Arianna could react, the woman sprang upright to a sitting position. Her eyes were wide with fright as she looked at the blood on her hand from when she had touched her head at Arianna's words.

"Easy, easy now." Arianna said, putting her hands on her shoulders as much to keep her there as to reassure her. "You must have hit your head when you fell. It already stopped bleeding, so it can't be too serious."

Reaching in her jacket pocket, she pulled a couple of tissues from a bunch she always kept on hand.

"Here, press this on your head for a few minutes."

That's when the shock of the experience seemed to hit the woman all at once. Looking wide eyed at Arianna, she was suddenly wracked by tremors and tears flowed down her cheeks. She seemed to want to say something, but only a whimper escaped her trembling lips.

Arianna's heart went to the sitting woman and she hugged her tightly, trying to reassure her. "Now, now, sweetheart, it's all right. You just fell down. Everything will be all right."

Feeling the woman shaking against her, she dearly wanted to be a rock for her, but she could feel tears of sympathy wet her eyes. That was the reason she had not pursued her medical career after the war. She had seen too much suffering and her sense of empathy was too strong. She never mastered the ability to distance herself from the patients and took their pain too personally. So she had gone back to school to study history where the infinite ways which men found to hurt each other would only be of academic interest, remote in the pages of books found in the safety of warm and quiet libraries.

Having cried herself out, the woman was glad for the warmth of the other's embrace which had sustained her in her moment of weakness. As she regained her composure, she became aware that her rescuer was trembling.

Surprised, she pulled away slightly, keeping her arms around the woman and looked at her. She was amazed to see the look of sadness on her face and the unshed tears that filled her eyes.

"What's wrong miss? Are you okay?" She asked, her own hurts forgotten as she was suddenly worried for someone else.

Arianna tried to smile. "Yes, I am fine. I was just worried for you and then when I felt you cry against me, it brought up painful memories."

"Well, I'm better now and there's no need for you to get upset anymore. Let me pick my things up and we can exchange this uncomfortable floor for chairs while we regain our composures."

**********

In a few minutes, they were seated in the deeply padded armchairs used by people who came to spend hours reading books.

"Thank you for your help, miss. My name is Juliette. I don't know what happened. I'm always so tired because I can't seem to ever get enough sleep since I began working nights."

Arianna had to chuckle at that. "I certainly can sympathize with your plight. I had so many problems with sleep deprivation at one point that it was getting truly unhealthy. An army doctor taught me how to manage it and now I can function with catnaps when I am unable to get a good night's sleep. And my name is Arianna. I am a student here."

"I know, I see you almost every night. I like it when you are here. It feels like you keep me company. I love my job, but it does get lonely sometimes."

Laughing, Arianna said, "I can relate. I love doing research, but even if the library is full of people, when I am working I am in my own world and I sometimes forget that life goes on around me."

As they spoke further, the women discovered a kindred spirit in each other regardless of their different backgrounds.

Arianna talked of her youth in a privileged family. As an only child, she could have enjoyed a life of leisure, married a man of her own heart and spent her days working at some charity while nannies took care of her children. Instead, an active mind and a strong sense of duty sent her to medical school on her way to becoming a doctor. In the late 30s, women were discouraged from the profession, but Arianna Monroe, daughter of self-made CEO Douglas Monroe was not to be denied.

When the country was engulfed in WWII, she put her education on hold and decided to do her part as a nurse in the army. Her parents were not happy about it but they had taught their daughter to be independent and they knew she was a strong woman, so they supported her decision, if reluctantly.

Unbeknownst to her, her father used his political influence to make sure his only child would be stationed on the home front where she would be safest. So he was dismayed when Arianna announced that she had volunteered to be posted in an army hospital on the European front and had been accepted. She would leave as soon as her basic nurse field training was completed.

While she was free with funny anecdotes about doctors, other nurses and life in the army in general, she was recalcitrant to share her experiences in the hospital to the point where Juliette could see her eyes misting and hear the catch in her voice whenever the subject came up.

Taking the other's hand in hers, she offered her support. "It's okay dear. You don't need to talk about it. I can only imagine how bad it must have been. I was too young to enlist, but I read the newspapers and we listened to the news reports on the radio every night. You made it through and it's time to leave that part of your past behind you and to look forward to a brighter future."

With a wavering smile, Arianna acknowledged the sentiment and after a few minutes, her innate good nature came back to the fore. "I know. It is hard to let go sometimes. I try very hard not to think about it. In fact, I would like very much to be able to forget the whole thing completely." With a last sniffle, she changed the subject. "Enough about me, I talk and talk and I do not know anything about you except for the fact that I have to teach you how to manage your sleep better so I do not pick you up the floor every night."

Giggling, Juliette took it upon herself to cheer her rescuer. She spoke of her large family. Of being a second mother to twelve younger brothers and sisters. Of having to quit school in ninth grade even though she would have loved to go on but having to make do with going through as many books as she was allowed at the local library. Of her frustration when many books that looked so fascinating were denied to her as a woman. "There are only so many books on family economy that I could read before becoming bored to death." She laughed at the memory. "My mother had taught me well and most of what I read was pure nonsense that had little relation to what goes on in real life."

When she spoke of her dear Jacques, her childhood sweetheart whom she had married soon after her 21st birthday, of her fondest wish to have many children and of his accidental death before she could become pregnant, Arianna could see a world of hurt in her eyes and took her hand in her turn.

"I am so sorry, sweetheart. That's why I stopped believing in God. If He exists at all, He must surely be a monster to allow such hurt in the world." And as her heart filled with sympathy for the other woman, her treacherous mind went back to her experiences in the war and all, of a sudden, she was wracked by deep sobs, tears overflowing her eyes.

Her motherly instincts shifting in high gear, Juliette jumped from her seat to kneel by Arianna. Hugging her tightly, her heart went out to the other, imagining the magnitude of the hurt she carried within, her own eyes filling with tears in resonance with Arianna's pain.

They stayed like that for long minutes until both got themselves back under some sort of control, but Juliette kept the other in her arms, gently stroking her long silky black hair, and making soft soothing sounds, trying to calm Arianna and wishing she could share some of her strength like a mother would to a child overwhelmed by some life crisis.

Arianna could feel her pain slowly drain from her as she absorbed the warmth from Juliette's body. She could almost feel the immense love pouring from the woman holding her as a physical thing enveloping her in its comforting presence. Even when she felt better and could have pulled away, she felt so well in Juliette's arms that she stayed put, enjoying the peace that seemed to flow into her.

Eventually, Juliette gently let go a little, keeping her arms around the woman, unsure if the crisis was completely past. She looked in her eyes and could see that some form of stability had been attained. With a kiss on her cheek, she let go of her embrace, but kept Arianna's hands in hers.

"I thought that I was the one who got hurt tonight, but I can see that you were hurt well before me. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Thank you. I was supposed to comfort you after your mishap, and you are the one picking up the pieces when I break down."

"Naw, it's no big deal. I'm just glad if I can help."

**********

The rest of the night went by from there, the two women talking softly of inconsequential things, holding hands in companionship.

They were surprised by the brighter light filtering through the windows.

"Hey! It's morning already!" Juliette exclaimed.

"Oh, where did the time go?" Arianna replied.

"I have to pick up my things and report to my supervisor for the end of the shift."

"I do not have to report to anybody, but I find that I am ravenous. I expected to finish working a long time ago and stop at an all-night restaurant before going to my apartment."

"And I completely forgot to take my lunch break", Juliette laughed. "I suppose it will have to do for a breakfast."

"When do you clock out?" Arianna asked. "May I invite you to a better breakfast than stale sandwiches?"

"I don't know. I don't want to put you out. I can manage. It won't be the first time I eat leftovers."

"I will hear nothing of it. I shall wait for you and we can walk together to the restaurant. My treat."

While not cheap per se, Juliette was somewhat thrifty, a child of the depression raised in a poor family, she was used to living within her means while putting some money aside for rainy days. She hesitated before answering, but the smile in Arianna's face was infectious and she found that she did not want to end the connection she felt with the woman just yet.

"Okay, count me in. I will be out in half an hour. I'll see you at the east side exit of the main building."

"Done then. I will see you soon."

Arianna could feel a sense of wellness she had not felt for what seemed like forever. It was with a light step that she put her books on the book truck for the dayshift librarian to put back on the shelves then left for the short walk to the main building where she sat on a wooden bench to wait for Juliette.

**********

That's where Juliette found her, gently snoring as she reclined, half-supported by her knapsack, in what must assuredly be a most uncomfortable position.

The sight brought feelings of affection to Juliette's heart. She sat beside Arianna and softly called her awake, not wanting to startle her.

"Wake up my dear. You would be more comfortable in your bed."

At first, Arianna was not sure where she was. She felt that she recognized the soft voice, but her mattress had never felt so hard except... With a startled cry she sat bolt upright, her eyes wild, certain she was back on her army cot.

Alarmed, Juliette took her in her arms. "It's okay dear, it's me Juliette. Everything is all right. You're safe. Nothing will hurt you."

Still caught on the edge of her recurring nightmare, Arianna was glad for the comfort of Juliette's arms. This time, it took her only seconds to get back to reality. She shook herself and sat up straighter.

"I am better. For a moment there, I was not sure where I was." Looking sheepishly at the woman still holding her, she tried to make light of the moment. "You must think me quite flaky to break down twice in a few hours."

"Not at all dear. We all have our own demons to fight and each go about it in our own way. Think nothing of it. I'm here for you as long as you need me."

With a wry grin, Arianna accepted the sentiment as it was offered. Again feeling strength flow from the other woman through the arm around her shoulder, infusing her with a welcome calm.

"I seem to be thanking you a lot lately, but I really do appreciate your kind words." With a deep sigh, she shook herself. "Well, are you still hungry? I seem to recall that I kept you from your mid-shift lunch."

"Since you so graciously offered to buy, I will follow you if not to the end of the earth, at least to the nearest diner, but I must warn you that I am known for a healthy appetite."

Laughing heartily, Arianna gave Juliette's hand a squeeze and, picking up her knapsack, pulled her to her feet.

"Off we go then to a gargantuan repast. Shall I slay a dragon to satisfy your appetite, my lady?"

"Ha! A regular breakfast of bacon and eggs will be enough for this simple girl."

"You are anything but simple, sweetheart. I may be better read, but you have the wisdom born of a good heart and an outlook on life that would make many people your seniors envious."

**********

After breakfast at a family restaurant catering to the student crowd, they walked together as Arianna's apartment was on Juliette's way to her own.

She normally would have taken the bus across the street from the university, but she enjoyed the company and she figured that she could always hop on it at the next stop after seeing Arianna home.

They walked at a leisurely pace in the cool October morning, neither in a hurry to get home, each enjoying the presence of the other.

"Well, here we are. This is where I live."

They were standing in front of an apartment building that must be assuredly classified as an historical site, thought Juliette.

"Oh, it's so beautiful. I visited a house like that years ago. It was a museum with all the furniture and everything set up as it was when people lived in it in the last century." Juliette exclaimed.

"I am certain this one could be also. It was built for a notary over a hundred years ago. It was mostly kept as it was except for a retrofit to bring it up to this century's standards with electricity and somewhat modern plumbing. Then a recent owner separated it in four individual apartments."

Arianna was happy to see Juliette's delight. To her it had only been an old house where she had lived for the last three years, its main attraction being its nearness to the university. But she found that she enjoyed looking at it through the woman's unsophisticated eyes.

"Do you want to come in for a coffee? You can see the inside. It is not a museum, but if you look closely, you can still see the bones of the house and imagine how it must have looked then."

Though enjoying Arianna's company, standing in front of this beautiful house, it suddenly dawned on Juliette that she was a simple cleaning woman and that her companion was from a different social class altogether. They lived in wholly different worlds.

Seeing Juliette fidgeting with eyes downcast, Arianna could not understand what was happening. She had been so ebullient just a moment ago. 'Surely I must have said something to upset her.' She thought. Then it dawned on her, but she felt uncertain of how to bring her around without making her feel belittled or pitied. She had worked so hard at leaving her upper-class world, with all its prejudices, behind her that she sometimes truly forgot where she came from.


The Apple... Ch. 01



"Please come in. You must see it from the inside. I make a great cup of coffee and I owe you for putting up with my neuroses for half the night. Come on sweetheart, I am still the same person and this is just an old house." Her arm around Juliette's shoulder, she gently guided her toward the short flight of stairs leading to the door.

Once through the entrance foyer, Juliette relaxed somewhat. Though reassured by the friendly attitude of Arianna, she could not entirely be rid of a whole life's worth of social conditioning so quickly. She was still weary as they climbed to the second floor to reach the woman's apartment.

Before opening the door, Arianna turned with a grin and warned Juliette. "Do not be offended by the state of the apartment, please. I share the place with a slob and each time I open the door it is an adventure in the land of Hurricane Sarah. I never know what I will find waiting for me."

Laughing, Juliette replied, "I come from a large family and it can't be worse than the mess I had to pick up every single evening after the young ones went to bed." But she was indeed surprised by the state of the living room. Glasses, some still half full, bottles of beer and wine seemed to be everywhere, food cartons and plates lay about all over. She could feel her face redden at the sight of undergarments carelessly strung about. A pair of frilly knickers even hung from a lamp shade while she could see two brassieres on the floor. Various other pieces of definitely feminine clothing defined a trail to a closed door that she assumed lead to a bedroom.

"Well, since yesterday was Friday, I guess Sarah hosted one of her famous parties for her artiste friends. As usual I will have to either get on her case when she gets up or pick everything up myself."

As she walked in the room, Arianna realized that Juliette was not following her anymore. Turning around she saw that she was in fact slowly retreating toward the door, her hand covering her mouth and her face suffused with a bright crimson that reached to the tip of her ears.

'Oh no', thought Arianna, 'Hurricane Sarah strikes again.'

Hurrying to her, she took care to stay between Juliette and the mess that was her living room. "I am so sorry, I am so used to this that I forget how it must look the most people. I did not mean to embarrass you. Do not leave, please. Follow me to my study. It is Sarah-free, I promise. She is not permitted in there."

Again, Juliette allowed herself to be persuaded to go beyond her upbringing and followed Arianna into the apartment while taking care to keep her eyes averted from the offending apparel. Once in the study, she saw that it was indeed 'normal'. A simple desk with orderly stacks of papers, a work chair, a second hand filing cabinet and an old love seat that looked very comfortable nevertheless were the only furniture, but what impressed Juliette was the wall at the back of the room. It was covered from floor to ceiling in shelves and they were filled with books.

At her squeak of delight, Arianna turned around and asked. "What is wrong? Did somebody leave their underwear in here too?"

"Not at all. I just have never seen so many books in a private home. When the job of cleaning the library opened up, I applied for it because it would give me an opportunity to read whatever book I wanted without the librarian looking down her nose at me. I even bribed another maintenance worker with a month's worth of home-made cookies to eliminate the competition for it. I work really fast at the beginning of my shift so I can set aside as much time as possible to read. I just wish I could bring some home. Oh, I could always borrow one on the sly and bring it back before anybody noticed, but it feels too much like stealing. So I take whatever time I can and enjoy them at work."

"Well, you are welcome to borrow any book of mine whenever you wish. I always thought that books were meant to be read, not to gather dust on a shelf. But did nobody tell you that all university employees get an automatic library card? You can borrow any books except the reference manuals."

At Juliette's stunned look, Arianna could only laugh. Overcoming her initial shock at this great news, the young woman could not contain herself. She had to share her happiness and the closest person to her received a great big hug.

Letting go, Juliette made to turn back out of the room. "I must go back to the university and borrow a book I have been reading so I can finish it over the week-end."

With a twinkle in her eye, Arianna replied, "There is no hurry. It will still be there Monday. In the meantime, look around here while I go make some coffee. If you find a book that you like, borrow it for however long you wish."

Chuckling to herself, she left the room and went to the kitchen.

Within seconds, Juliette was running her fingers reverently along the spines of the books in Arianna's personal library. Reading the titles, she was astonished at the variety of subjects represented there. Poetry, old and recent, novels, biographies of historical personages and theatre actors and actresses, books of classical and modern philosophy, reference treatises on medicine, psychiatry, archaeology, anthropology and that new social science: sociology, history books of all periods, technical and engineering manuals, and even some books she knew for a fact were blacklisted by the Church. All were there side by side, in no particular order that she could discern.

She was still surveying the collection, having yet to open a single book, when Arianna came back with a tray holding two cups of coffee, a creamer, a small sugar bowl and a plate of vanilla cookies. She stood at the door for a moment, looking fondly at the obvious joy of her guest, happy to have found another person who shared her love for the written word.

"You can open them too. They do not bite except your mind and then it does not hurt too much if you keep it open to new ideas."

Giggling, Juliette replied, "I don't know which to choose. As soon as I go to pick one, I see another that interests me."

"Well you can take any one. The rest will still be there later on when the first is read. When I said you can borrow any you like, I meant all of them, not just a single one. But let us sit down and drink while the coffee is still hot."

Arianna pulled the desk chair over to hold the tray and they sat on the love seat.

"Those cookies are delicious. Where did you get them? I must buy some the next time I want to treat myself."

"My roommate definitely has many faults, but she is a superb pastry-maker, possibly chef class even. It is only one of her many hobbies. She is quite the dilettante. She will whip up some delicious pastry or other whenever she wants to be forgiven for something that upset me. Let me just say that I had to join the university gym and make use of it regularly otherwise I would have expanded in all direction like a blimp"

Both women had to laugh at the silly idea of Arianna bulging with fat. They went on to share a good conversation on a variety of light topics until Juliette noticed that her companion was showing signs of fatigue. At that point, she excused herself to the lavatory, needing to relieve herself before leaving for home. When she came back, Arianna was slumped in the chair, her back to the armrest, her feet folded under her backside.

She appeared so peaceful that Juliette was almost tempted to let her enjoy her rest, but obviously, she could not do that knowing she would wake up with cramps from sleeping in this position. So she gently gathered Arianna in her arms and, holding her tenderly all the way, she walked her to her bedroom. She had long ago mastered the art of putting children to bed from wherever they fell asleep without waking them and it served her well on this occasion.

Arianna never fully woke up as Juliette sat her on the bed and gently undressed her for sleep. She was not putting her to bed fully clothed after all. It was simply too uncomfortable.

Still holding on to Arianna, She looked under the pillow for her nightgown. Not finding it there and not seeing one readily available elsewhere, she decided to let her sleep in the nude, except for her knickers which, she had noticed in passing, seemed to be of some kind of shiny and soft material. "It can't hurt just for one night", she thought as she tucked her in the soft bed, drawing the covers under her chin.

Arianna reflexively held it with both hands as she rolled over on her side. She had an expression of serenity on her face, her mouth curved in a small smile expressing an innocent sense of security. It made her look so much like a sleeping child that Juliette's motherly instincts rose to the front and as a pure reflex, she bent down to give the woman a soft kiss on the forehead and, lightly stroking her hair, she murmured a loving "good night, dear", before quietly walking out the door, closing it behind her.

Once in the living room, she pulled on her light coat. As she made ready to leave, her hand already on the door handle, she looked around at the after-party disaster surrounding her. "It's just not right", she muttered to herself.

It was not the undergarments that offended her sense of property this time, but the mess this lovely woman would have to wake up to later in the day. So set on to 'make it right'.

**********

An hour later, the various pieces of clothing were neatly folded in a pile on the chesterfield and she had just finished putting the dried dishes in the cupboards when she heard a blood curdling scream coming from Arianna's room.

Fearing the worst, she rushed over expecting the woman to be under attack from some intruder. But there was no grisly murder in progress. Arianna was sitting in her bed with a look of pure terror in her face, her arms flailing in front of her as if trying to protect herself from some monster coming for her blood, a piteous whimper escaping through tightly clenched teeth.

Recognizing the situation for what it was, Juliette was instantly at the bed, gathering the sleeping woman in a solid embrace, her presence a warm but reassuringly strong buffer against the demons of the night which were assaulting this gentle woman.

Overcoming her own tears at the sight of such suffering, she set about offering all the comfort her loving heart could deliver. Catching the now weakly trashing arms, she pulled Arianna in her arms. Gently crooning words of comfort to her, she showered her head with soft light kisses, the kind that even a new-born child will recognize as filled with the love of a mother.

"It's only a nightmare, baby. The monsters can't get to you. Mommy is here and she will protect you. Shhhhh, you can sleep now. I won't let go. You know you can trust mommy. Nobody will hurt you while I'm here. You can let go now. Sleep, baby."

The warmth of the body pressed against her and soothing presence eventually filtered through to the tortured sleeping mind and Juliette could feel the woman gradually relax in her arms. Still holding her, she laid back with her on the bed.

Arianna, arms still tightly holding on to the reassuring presence, laid down, her head on Juliette's breast, finding comfort, like any frightened young child, in the regular beat of her heart.

After a few minutes of looking down on the woman through misty eyes, Juliette recognized a familiar pattern in Arianna's movements: the woman was trying to suckle. At first, she could not believe her eyes. She surely could not let a grown woman to that to her.

Juliette was still debating with herself when Arianna began to whimper piteously. Her tortured sleeping mind having reverted to early childhood instincts, she seemed, to Juliette, to be searching for the known security of her mother's breast. 

Without further thought, acting purely out of selflessness, Juliette gently unbuttoned her shirt and unhooked her brassiere, pulling it off her breasts. As she put Arianna's head back on her ample bosom, the child/woman let out a deep sigh and began to suckle on the offered nipple with a soft gurgle of contentment.

Tears of tenderness now flowing freely down her cheeks, Juliette looked upon the woman whose mouth was now attached to her breast. She did not feel the revulsion she had expected at having a grown female touching her breast in such an intimate fashion. She did not feel any kind of sexual sensation either, only an immense joy in her heart at knowing she was providing love and security to another human being evidently very much in need of such.

It took only a few minutes for Juliette to feel the change in Arianna's breathing that signalled her passing from uneasy sleep to profound slumber.

Pulling the covers up to cover them, Juliette followed Arianna in the arms of Morpheus.



The Apple... Ch. 02



Chapter 2

Arianna slowly surfaced from the depths of a very refreshing sleep.

At first she enjoyed the feeling of restfulness, then, as her mind came further awake, she realized that she was not waking to the usual internal turmoil, but to an unaccustomed sense of peace.

She felt confused when her senses registered the raising and falling soft surface on which her head rested and the regular sound on a beating heart in her ear. Opening her eyes, she saw a nipple, not an inch from her lips.

She dimly knew she should be startled at this situation, but she felt suffused in such a primal sense of calm and security that she gave a deep sigh, extended her lips to the nipple and sank back to sleep.

**********

Juliette had come awake a few minutes before Arianna. She felt the woman partly rouse then softly latch again on her nipple and go back to sleep.

She remembered the earlier events clearly. As she relived the deep feelings she had felt, her eyes misted, but a satisfied smile stretched her lips. Juliette did not understand what demons could afflict this lovely woman so deeply, but she felt an intense need to protect her.

She tried to make sense of the situation. She had never felt like this for an adult. Yes, she felt empathic when she saw suffering and she did her level best to help where she could, but she had never felt such a deep need to involve herself personally. Neither had she ever felt such a feeling of connection to another adult, even with her beloved Jacques whom she had known most of her young life. She was doubly astonished that she felt so deeply for another woman.

Taking stock of her internal feelings, she wondered what could affect her so much in this woman who was so different from her after all.

As far as society went, they should never have even interacted except in a role as superior to inferior, but she had felt so at ease with Arianna it did not matter. This social inequality only coming to the fore when the woman spoke of her origins or when they had arrived at this beautiful place. At every other time, Arianna was so easygoing, she was just another person with whom Juliette could have grown up.

Physically they were also different.

Juliette was the epitome of the traditional housewife of her social class. Short at 5'3", she was plump without being fat. Her husband had described her as being soft in all the right places. He had loved her D cup breasts with their sensitive dark brown nipples surrounded by large aureoles. He would fondle and suckle them tirelessly for the longest time. As they walked down the street his gentle slap or pinch on her well rounded bottom would elicit a squeak and earn him a mock punch on the arm, but he could tell she enjoyed the attention. Her light brown hair fell to her shoulders in unruly curls when they were not held in a pony tail to keep them out of the way as she worked. They framed a soft expressive face that seemed made for smiling and projecting love and happiness.

She felt she was just an ordinary woman with no special physical quality or appeal while she saw Arianna as a beautiful woman who could have been a top model conquering any runway she walked and making it her own or a successful actress strolling down the red carpet with her head held high like a queen.

At 5'9", Arianna was tall for a woman of her day. She had a lean body with good muscle tone and a smooth skin free of imperfection that Juliette had seen when undressing her for bed. At the lower range of a B cup, her breasts were smaller than was fashionable but they were perky and her small pinkish nipples and aureoles fit her perfectly. As she had sometimes walked ahead of her, Juliette had noticed that her bottom was tight and muscular. Her straight silky black hair falling down to the middle of her back seemed to perfectly accentuate a face that would have been angelic if not for the haunted look in her eyes. She did not look like someone who laughed or even smiled a lot.

At 22 years of age and as a child of her culture with very little experience in adult social interaction, it never occurred to Juliette that she could be attracted to another woman as she would be a man, so she could not explain to herself the deepening sense of connection she felt for this sophisticated older woman of 30. All she could feel was an almost visceral need to hold and protect her.

So it is with this warm felling of inner peace that she fell back to sleep.

**********

When next she awoke, Juliette found that Arianna was laying down beside her with her head resting on her hand, gazing at her with a strange look that she took to be fondness.

"I almost said 'good morning dear', but since we fell asleep with the sun up, I probably should say 'good afternoon, dear'", Juliette said, grinning. "Did you sleep well?"

"I honestly cannot remember the last time I woke up felling so rested. I do not know how to thank you for what you did for me. At first I thought it had only been a wonderful dream where I was again a baby feeling safe and loved in my mother's arms. Then I woke up to realize that it was you holding me. I do not remember how it happened, but I can only offer you my most heartfelt gratitude."

"It's no big thing. I was on my way out when you had this nightmare and I just held you until it passed."

Arianna had to laugh at that. "You are definitely a mistress of the understatement. It is the first time I have woken with my head on a woman's naked breast and her nipple in my mouth."

At seeing the blush coming to Juliette's face and her lowered eyes, she felt she could not allow the other to be embarrassed at her magnificent gesture. Cupping her face in a gentle hand, she raised it so she could look in her eyes.

"This is nothing to be ashamed of. You were there for me when I needed you and you acted selflessly as dictated by your good nature. You should feel proud of yourself for being such a kind hearted person."

The moment held on for a few minutes, both women loosing themselves in the other's eyes.

With a grin, Arianna went on. "And you did not only help with my nightmare, I saw that you also took care of the aftermath of Hurricane Sarah. When I got up earlier, I found Sarah and her most recent conquest in the kitchen drinking coffee. As the living room was cleaned up, I thanked her for this. She then informed me she had not done it and had assumed that I was the one who had."

"I just couldn't leave it like that so I picked up a few things..."

That brought forth another peal of laughter from Arianna. "A few things you say! The place is spotless. You definitely went above and beyond the call. Then I came back to see if you were awake and decided to let you sleep after making you more comfortable."

That's when Juliette realized that she was almost naked under the bed sheets. Arianna had deftly striped her down to her knickers without waking her, much as she had done herself earlier. For some reason she could not have explained, that fact did not make feel embarrassed in the least.

"You looked so lovely when I stretched beside you. I found that I love looking at you as you sleep. You look like a smiling angel. I do not know if you do it all the time, but you were smiling beatifically as you slept."

"I don't know either, but it must have something to do with the dream I had. I felt that I was lying with someone for whom I felt this immense love and I could tell that it was returned multiplied. I say 'someone' because I could not see a face or a body. I guess it must have been a memory of my dear Jacques. It's the first such vivid dream that I remember."

What she did not mention was the deep sense of arousal she had also felt. She could tell her nipples had been filled with blood to their fullest hardness, almost to the point of hurting. A glowing warmth had coursed through her body, raising a sheen of perspiration all over it and leaving her innermost sanctum wet and needing some fulfillment.

Thinking back on it brought heat to her cheeks.

"You look so adorable when you blush. I wonder what brought that about."

As she said it, Arianna leaned down and briefly pressed her lips to Juliette's in what could have been a thank you kiss for the earlier events of the day.

She rose from the bed. "If you want to take a shower or a bath, you are welcome to it. I will get some clean towels for you and breakfast will await you when you are done. Or would you prefer something more substantial?"

"Usually I only have coffee and toasts when I get up. That's all I ever had time for at home before the little ones got up and the habit stuck I guess. I think I will try your shower. We only had a tub when I grew up and I have a small bath in my apartment except that I now have a gas water heater so I don't have to heat it on the stove, but I have heard of those and I would like to try it out."

"You are a peach! You are welcome to use my shower whenever you like."

As she turned to leave, she picked up a robe and slipped it on. Juliette was startled to realize that the woman had been almost naked all this time and that she had taken no note of it.

'What is going on?' She mused. 'Here I am in bed with a woman, both of us almost naked and I don't notice as if it is the most natural thing.'

Still uncertain at this new development in herself she got up and slipped on her work shirt in lieu of a robe.

She made her way to the bathroom where she found a soft bath towel. A brand new toothbrush, still in its wrapping, was lying on top of it. Grinning, she began by relieving herself before proceeding to brush her teeth. Turning around, she studied the shower controls and quickly discovered how to make the hot water switch from the faucet to the shower head.

As she stepped under the spray, she giggled like a kid at the unaccustomed sensation of the water falling down on her head. She found that she really loved the sensation of her body being massaged by the hot water and that it added something to the experience as she lathered and rinsed. She even surprised herself at enjoying the feeling when she rubbed soap over her chest, paying special attention to her breasts and even going as far as tweaking her hardening nipples a little. When her hands moved lower and she soaped her sex, she was reminded of the good feelings her earlier dream had brought about.

Being a good catholic girl, Juliette had never entertained the thought of masturbating. She did not even know the word itself or its meaning. Whenever her hand had brushed her sensitive womanly parts, she had always moved them away quickly with a vague sense that she was doing something wrong.

So it was as she was timidly discovering these new feelings in her body that Arianna poked her head in the door and said "I forgot to tell you that the water heater is quite small and that if you take too long, you will have to finish under cold water."

Lost in her pleasant thoughts, Juliette was surprised and let out a frightened squeak, almost loosing her footing on the slippery floor of the shower.

Instantly, it seemed, Arianna had pulled the shower curtain aside and had her arms around her, steadying Juliette before she fell down and hurt herself.

"Easy there, sweetheart. I did not mean to startle you so."

"I'm okay." Juliette replied. "But now you are all wet and the water is spraying on the floor."

"So I am." Arianna giggled. "I suppose I am getting a head start on my own shower. Do not worry about the floor, I will get a mop and swipe it up."

They stood just so for what seemed like an hour to Juliette, but could not have been more than seconds. Once again lost in each other's eyes, on some level, they were also both aware of Juliette's nudity and Arianna's robe being plastered to her body by the falling water.

If she had given any thought to it, Juliette would have been truly astonished when she leaned forward and softly kissed Arianna. It felt so natural, so much the right thing to do that her only thought was for the softness of the lips pressing against hers, of the warmth she felt for this person with whom she was sharing this intimate moment regardless of the fact that she was a woman.

She had just put her own arms around Arianna's waist, gently pulling her closer to her own body when the hot water suddenly turned to cold.

With a shout both women jumped out of the shower. Standing there, they looked at each other, mouth hanging open, startled by the shock of the freezing spray. Arianna chuckled at the situation which seemed to bring Juliette around. Soon both were laughing helplessly, again falling in each other's arms in support lest they fall to the wet floor.

As the laughter gradually gave room to a companionable silence, Arianna reached over to grab the bath towel and wrapped it around Juliette's shivering body. She proceeded to dry her. Gently rubbing her without any movement being overtly sexual, she still sensually reached every part of the woman's body.

Juliette was now shivering for a different reason. The eroticism of the situation was affecting her innocent mind. The kiss in the shower had been instinctual, but this was deliberate and she was enjoying every second of it for all its seeming unnaturalness.

Eyes closed, not to avoid the situation, but rather in order not to miss any of these incredibly good new sensations.

As Arianna kneeled to dry her legs, she opened her eyes and looked down. She again felt this deepening sense of connection with the woman at her feet. When she put her hand on Arianna's head to caress her beautiful hair, the woman tilted her head upward. At first, all Juliette saw was the sweet smile which brought the corners of her own mouth upward. Then she was shocked to notice that Arianna's lips were white with a bluish tinge.

With a squeal of concern, she pulled the woman to her feet. "You're freezing! Why didn't you say something? Let's take this wet robe off of you." Letting it drop to the floor, she saw goose bumps raised all over Arianna's body. Stretching to reach the towel rack near the space heater, she grabbed the largest one and energetically rubbed Arianna, trying her best to bring some heat to the freezing woman.

Her eyes filled with tears of concern. "Why didn't you say something? You're gonna catch the death of you."

"I really did not feel it." Arianna replied, her teeth now chattering. "I was caught in the moment and I did not realize that..."

She could not finish as Juliette wrapped her in the towel and literally dragged her to the bed where pulled down her wet knickers before telling her to lie down and scoot over. Without another thought, Juliette lay down beside her, pulled up all the covering available just below their chins and, spooning her to share the warmth of her own body, she resumed rubbing her to bring back circulation to the still shivering body.

In her determination to succour the woman, Juliette was oblivious to the fact that, as she was at Arianna's back, what she was rubbing were her arms, then her tummy and finally her chest.

"Hum sweetheart, I realize that your intentions are pure, but you may be warming me up a little more than you originally intended," giggled Arianna.

Juliette was shocked when she realized what she was doing. That is until she also noticed that her own nipples had hardened and were rubbing against Arianna's back. Also that she was warm all over, that her sex felt all wet and tingly and that she was grinding it on Arianna's bottom.

That is the point where embarrassment gave way to desire. "I don't know what's happening to me, but... I like it. Do you mind if I don't stop?"

"No dear heart, I do not mind at all. In fact, would you mind if I reciprocated?" Arianna replied in a husky voice.

Before Juliette could answer, Arianna turned over and put one arm between them, the other on her bed mate's ass cheek. As Juliette felt her soul would surely drown in the other's dark eyes, she felt one hand caressing her bottom and another cupping her breast.

Their lips met with a soft, gentle, tentative kiss. Pretty soon, it grew in intensity as passion took hold of the two women. When Juliette felt Arianna's tongue lick her lips gently, she parted them and her own tongue met the welcome invader, joining it in a sensuous play of thrust and parry.

Instincts took over as lust flared in their loins, taking over their minds, this ultimate of sexual organ. The fact that they were engaging in sexual congress with another woman became irrelevant as if the emotional experiences they had shared during the previous night and morning could have only one conclusion: the joining of their bodies as their hearts already were.

Arianna gently pushed her partner on her back, her leg resting across the other's sex. She resumed the passionate kiss as her hand stroked Juliette's breast, softly at first, then with more insistence. She held the soft mass in her hand, amazed at the sensation and, as her palm brushed against the fully erect nipple, at the gasp this elicited from the woman.

Pulling back, she looked Juliette in the eyes. "Are you sure you want to do this sweetheart? I know that I want only to bring you pleasure as a meagre repayment for all the support and love you gave me earlier, but I do not want to hurt you in any way."

Juliette's answer was direct and to the point. She cupped Arianna's face in her hands and gently pulled their mouths together. At the contact, they both let out a soft moan, expressing their sense of the rightness of their actions.

They each let their hands roam over the other's body, exploring, familiarizing themselves with it.

Juliette pulled Arianna squarely on top of herself. The weight a familiar sensation amidst the sea of new feelings in which she willingly allowed herself to drown. Reflexively, she wrapped her legs around the thighs of her lover which brought their sexes together, sending shivers coursing through her body. Enjoying the sensation, Juliette put her hands squarely on the other's cheeks, pressing her into an even better contact for the grinding action she instinctively had begun.

Wishing to lighten the pressure on Juliette's chest, Arianna pushed herself on her elbows while her mouth drew lines of heat on the other's skin as her mouth kissed and playfully bit its way down her jaw to her neck. As she nibbled her earlobe, Juliette moaned. When her mouth reached the tender skin at the junction of shoulder and neck, she groaned. And when Juliette felt her nipples pinched between two sets of fingers her mind went into sensory overload. Her back arched completely off the bed, her heels and the top of her head the only points of contact with its surface. Her arms tightened around Arianna in an almost painful embrace.

Already at a peak of sensitivity for the strange new experience, Juliette felt as if a torrent of increasingly stronger electrical current was raging through her every nerve. What began as coloured lights resembling fireworks flashing behind the lids of her tightly closed eyes soon became a blinding white light.

A primal scream issued from throat as she experienced the strongest orgasm of her young life by multiple orders of magnitude.

Then, all at once, her body fell limp as her consciousness was overloaded and she faded into sweet oblivion.

Arianna was taken aback by this violent reaction. Worried, she was checking Juliette's pulse when the door to her room burst open and Sarah rushed in, her latest lover on her heels.

"What is going on here? What did you do to her? It sounded as if she was being ripped apart." Genuine concern was evident in Sarah's voice.

"No, she only had an orgasm. I suppose that it was a good one."

"Only had an orgasm? A good one?" Sarah's eyes went wide in astonishment. "I would say so. Hey, since when are you playing for the home team? Aren't you straight?"




The Apple... Ch. 02



"Yes, well, I guess that is in doubt at the moment."

"Hey, if that's the kind of loving you give a woman, I will take some of that any day of the week and on week-ends too for that matter. Ouch!" That last in response to her lover's not too delicate slap on her ass.

Arianna laughed. "Get out of here you pervert. Let her recuperate in peace."

As Juliette surfaced from unconsciousness, she could not think coherently and her body felt as if it was wrapped a thick layer of cotton wool. She was bewildered by her surroundings. Where was she? Why was she naked?

Gradually a gentle voice filtered through her sluggish thoughts. "Dear heart, take it easy. You are safe. How are you feeling?"

Arianna had been worried for a moment when Juliette showed no sign of quickly coming back to consciousness, so she was relieved when she saw her stir. Now she knew that time to assimilate the experience was the thing the woman needed. So she cradled Juliette in her arms, rocking her very gently while murmuring words of comfort in between delicately kissing her mouth, her nose, her cheek, her eyes, her forehead, everywhere she could reach.

"Wha... What happened? I remember kissing you, then there was this loud rushing noise in my ears and then nothing."

Confused and beginning to worry, her eyes misted and tears rolled down her cheeks.

Overwhelmed with feelings for this gentle woman, Arianna reached up and tenderly turned her head so she could lick the tears, then kiss each of her eyes.

"You had an orgasm my dear. That is all. Are you feeling better?"

"But what's that? That's never happened to me before. I don't understand."

Juliette felt that she was missing something. What was this orgasm thing? How come she had never heard of it? Was she sick? It had almost felt like she imagined dying would.

Seeing the expression of confusion of Juliette's face, Arianna was hard pressed to suppress her urge to laugh at her innocence, but she felt it would only hurt her lover's feelings. "I suppose I have more to teach you than sleep discipline. Do not worry. An orgasm is a natural thing, a good thing. It is a way for your body to let you know that you are doing something that it was meant to do."

"But... But..." Juliette went no further as her body's weariness overcame her and sleep enfolded her in its soft mantle.

Seeing her relax so peacefully, Arianna pulled the covers over them and laid down by Juliette's side, her arm wrapped protectively over her. A deep sense of rightness came upon her and she joined Juliette in slumber.



The Apple... Ch. 03



Chapter 3

As she watched the sleeping woman by her side, Arianna tried to make some sense of the last day.

Certainly she was aware of the love a woman could feel for another, whether she chose to express it physically or not. After all, she had lived with a free spirit for the last three years and had seen both men and women share Sarah's bed. Before that, she had lived four years in close quarters with fellow nurses and been exposed to same sex pairings aplenty. Yet earlier, she had spent five years in an all-girls boarding school where experimentation went from blushing kisses and light petting during truth-or-dare games to full blown sexual coupling.

Priding herself on her open mind, though she had never indulged in it, Arianna saw nothing wrong with sex between women, whether as a physical expression of love or as a relief of the extreme stress brought upon them by the horrors of war. She herself had never partaken in this relief, preferring to bury her experiences deep in her mind certain that she could handle what occasionally had come near to overwhelming her. Maybe she should have.

She was not promiscuous by any means, quite the opposite. 

A self-assured independent woman, experience had taught her early in life her that the attentions she received from men were either superficial because of her physical beauty or motivated by a desire to take advantage of her father's position. So, she had endured much disillusionment following her presentation to society at her 16th birthday cotillion as she found that she did not suffer fools or social climbers.

Arianna was not a virgin, having had her share of affairs both with doctors in the army and fellow students since returning to civilian life, but all had been temporary liaisons by mutual consent from the onset. She simply seemed unable to make emotional connections. There was always a restraint, an aloofness, in her interactions with people as she instinctively kept them at arms length. The defensive wall she had erected around her heart as a young woman had been made thicker and nearly impregnable by her war time experiences.

So it was with wonderment that she reflected on the ease with which this ordinary woman had penetrated these defences, seemingly effortlessly. Juliette had walked in her life and wrapped a blanket of warmth around her, bringing a deep sense of security she had not realized she so dearly craved.

'Why do I feel such unrestrained feelings for this stranger? Why do I feel like I need her nearness so much? Is this the love poets rave about?' Arianna wondered, bemused.

Her eyes misting as the well of emotions she had thought dry now burbled like a new spring of joy in her heart, she reached over and delicately brushed stray hairs from Juliette's face, lightly caressing her cheek.

**********

Juliette became conscious of the hand gently stroking her face and leaned into it with a sigh.

"Hello dear." She said with a warm smile on her lips. "Why does it seem like every time I wake up you are there looking at me?"

"Because I am, sweetheart. I cannot get enough of the sight of your lovely face as you sleep. You look so beautiful when you are relaxed in slumber."

"Get out of here. If anybody here is beautiful, it's you. I'm plain looking and I know it. I don't mind, it's just who I am. I have no illusion about it."

"But you are beautiful! It is as if an internal light was shining through."

"Oh you! You say the nicest things." Juliette replied, giggling.

That set both in laughter. As it died down, they found themselves yet again falling deeply in each other's eyes. The connection of their hearts deepening, strengthening.

"I don't understand why, but if I feel as I've known you forever." Juliette murmured timidly. "I should be scandalized at being in bed with a woman, and both of us naked, but when I look in your eyes, I feel as if I was looking at myself, a sort of out of body experience."

"I feel the same way. I have read about this, but I always thought it was a flight of fancy."

"Well, what is it? Tell me more about this."

"The term is 'soul mate'. It means someone with who completes you perfectly. It is like two souls who, having wandered aimlessly for the longest time, have found that which they had been looking for all along without knowing what they were searching for or even that they were searching at all. Poets have been writing of it forever. It is as if we were incomplete and have become whole when we met, a new purpose now directing our life."

Juliette was confused. "But you are a woman! How can this be? It's impossible! A woman should love a man!"

Arianna brought her in a tender embrace, seeking to alleviate her agitation. "It has nothing to do with being man or woman; it is a joining of the spirit. It is much deeper that the love most people must be content with. Did you not feel a sense of connection between us from the moment we met last night? Do you not wonder at your acceptance of our physical nearness today? Have you ever even considered being naked in the presence of another woman? Why you are not running screaming at my sight?" This last said with a giggle.

"You must be right about the spirit thing. I would never have imagined finding myself in this situation. And you're also right, I should be running away screaming, but I like being in your arms like this. Would you mind terribly if we stayed like this for a while?"

"No, sweetheart, I do not mind at all. I find that I too like this very much. Feel free to stay here as long as you wish."

Arianna kissed the top of Juliette's head, lovingly stroking her hair. The other woman reciprocated by running her hands lightly down her back and, after a short hesitation, to her buttocks.

With a smile, Arianna pulled away slightly and lowered her lips to Juliette's.

"I don't know what to do." Juliette said almost plaintively. "I've never done this before."

"Neither have I, sweetheart. We can learn together. Just do what feels right and do not be afraid to try new things. Nature is a wonderful thing and She has built mechanisms in us to let us know the way. If something feels good, then it must be so."

"Will it be as extreme as it was earlier? That really scared me."

"I rather doubt it. You were simply unprepared for the orgasm and your mind reacted rather harshly to the surprise of it."

"I remember you saying something about this orgasm thing. What is it?"

"Did you never feel so good when making love to your husband that you felt this overwhelming physical sense of pleasure?"

"Oh, my dear Jacques was very gentle with me, more so than most if I believe complaints I've overheard from other married woman. He was very patient and seemed to want to give me pleasure before he took his own. He would kiss and caress me lovingly for a long time before putting his thing in me. I would feel like swooning when he fondled and kissed and suckled my breasts. When he would lay on me and penetrate me, it was most pleasurable, but nowhere near what I felt with you."

Arianna knew that many, if not most, women got little or no pleasure out the performance of 'marital duties'. It had always amazed her that the species had survived for so long after the appearance of religions which repressed so vehemently and sometimes violently this most wonderful aspect of human nature.

"Oh, sweetheart, you have missed out on so much. I am certain that your husband was a good man who did his level best to please you, but maybe he simply did not know how to go about it properly. Even though I am also inexperienced at loving another woman, do you trust me to teach you what I know of pleasure and show you how to apply it to our own special situation?"

"I don't know why, but I do!" Juliette exclaimed. Wrapping her arms around the other's neck, she pulled her into an enthusiastic kiss.

Arianna was swept away by her lover's energy. She responded to the kiss with gusto. He tongue invading the other's mouth as she molded her body to hers. Her hands roamed, caressing, stroking, massaging, trying to discover and interiorise every aspect of Juliette's outer being and committing all of it to memory.

From running her hands through her hair, she gently caressed her face and neck. Moving to her back, she followed her spine, then her sides, enjoying the soft fleshiness she felt there. She stroked her backside, and then grabbing it firmly, she pressed their pelvises together. She caressed the back of her thighs, reaching with her fingertips to graze her labia.

Juliette could barely make sense of what was happening to her through the rush of pleasure that threatened to overwhelm her again. Determined to hold on to consciousness and make sure she did not miss the slightest moment of this wonderful experience, she concentrated on the lips joined to hers.

She felt Arianna's hands roam all over her body and seemed to bring her skin's sensitivity to a high level. What began as a low moan deep in her throat evolved into a groan when Arianna pulled their lower bodies together. Juliette was surprised at herself when her hips began a grinding movement without conscious direction on her part.

The light contact of fingers on her most private area surprised her into a grunt. She thought she finally understood the expression 'I melted under his touch' when she had a definite sense of wetness leaking from her sex unto her thigh.

Her heart was beating at an accelerated rate, happiness growing within her as pleasure manifested itself in her body.

Feeling Juliette's response to her ministrations, Arianna also felt immense joy filling her heart. At long last, she felt the sharing of true closeness with another human being. She had long thought she would forever be alone, lonely, forlorn, never to know this most complete of expression of companionship.

Leaving the lovely mouth, she went on to kiss Juliette's chin, her cheek, her ear where she murmured softly, "Whatever happens after this moment, dear Juliette, my heart is yours."

This seemed to magnify the emotions surging through Juliette. She pulled Arianna tightly against herself. "My mind tries to tell me that we should not do this, but my heart is already yours also. How can something that feels so right can be wrong, after all?"

This mutual surge of emotions only heightened each women's desire to give pleasure to her partner.

Arianna's mouth and tongue left a trail of heat on Juliette's skin as she moved to neck, shoulder, licking on the hollow behind her clavicle, before joining the hands that were firmly fondling the ample breasts. She laved the soft skin before moving to the nipple, enjoying the presence of the turgid nugget in her mouth. Flicking her tongue lightly around it, she went on to suck on it with more vigour. Bringing her teeth into the fray, she bit it lightly, which brought a squeak of delight from Juliette.

After what felt like forever, Juliette felt a brief sense of loss as Arianna's mouth left her nipple. She was surprised as she felt the woman lick the sweat that had pooled in the valley of her chest and, to her delight, she continued her journey to her left breast, paying as much attention to it as she had done to the right mere moments before.

Juliette had always known that her breasts were sensitive, but she could hardly believe the level of sweet sensations now radiating from them to the rest of her body, finally centering on her sex where she could feel a renewed heat bringing about so much more wetness, she felt it leaking down between her cheeks. Briefly, she wondered if she was peeing, but the thought was washed away by her body's responses to this new experience in pleasure.

Juliette's hips thrust upwards, her groin seeking its natural complement. Not finding the expected presence of a man's lower body, a whimper escaped her throat. At a primal level, her body was begging for release the only it knew how. Hearing and seeing this, Arianna brought a hand to Juliette's vulva. She cupped the woman's hairy mound, feeling the heat radiating from it.

The caress brought Juliette's hips completely off the bed in her desperate need to accentuate the contact. "Yes! Yes! Love me! Take me! Make me yours!" In her confused, aroused mind, she expected the familiar thrust.

Arianna used her outer fingers to squeeze the outside of the blood gorged mound, rubbing it tenderly then more vigorously with the palm of her hand. Juliette was trashing on the bed, goose bumps raised on every inch of her skin, her pleading mostly incoherent. For the first time in her young life, her hands were on her own breasts kneading them with abandon, pinching her nipples almost savagely between her fingers.

When Arianna slipped her middle finger between the outer lips of her sex and slid it up and down its length, Juliette felt as if her whole being was on the verge of lifting off from her body to soar the wide open spaces. The feeling of the digit entering her folds brought forth a geyser of pleasure. "Pleaaaaasssssse!!!!! Don't stop! Whatever you do don't stop!"

Arianna could tell that her lover was on the cusp of orgasm. Leaning her mouth close to Juliette's ear, she urged her to the ultimate abandon. "Yes dear Heart, let go. Let yourself go! Dance to the beautiful music of your body."

She would never know if her words were the trigger or if it was her thumb strumming Juliette's clitoris as her finger penetrated the wet cavern of her sex, but the effect was immediate and spectacular.

Once again, Juliette's body arched off the bed from head to heels. A guttural scream issued from deep in her throat. Her hands clawed at the bed sheets, threatening to rip them to shreds. And, to Arianna's surprise, her sex ejected streams of clear light fluid mixed with a thicker whitish liquid.

She stayed in this extreme posture for long seconds, then fell back to the bed, unconscious for the second time in a few hours. This time, though, it lasted only a short moment.

As Juliette came back to senses, she found that her body was wracked by delicious spasms, pale ghosts of the previous explosion as if her nerves were stimulated by random firings of sexual energy. She could not remember ever being so tired, her whole body limp. Her mind felt sluggish too.

When she managed to turn her head, it took her a few tries before she could manage a coherent sentence. "When my mother explained the fact of life to me, she never mentioned this."

Arianna's laughter was heartfelt. "I am sure she did not. She probably has never felt such pleasure as you have just then. I am so happy to have helped you let this side of yourself free of its socially imposed prison." She brought Juliette in a tender embrace, pressing their bodies together and kissing the deliciously full lips before hers.

"Me too, but what about you, dear? I don't think I will ever be able to give you as much pleasure as you have just given me." Juliette said, concern in her voice at what she perceived as her inability to give back to this beautiful woman.

"Have no fear, sweetheart. You can and you will, as soon as you regain some strength. I will guide you if you wish, but you do not really need me to. Your body knows it all. You will do fine if only you trust it."

"I believe you, dear. I will be your attentive student in this." Juliette said. "But for now, please help me to my feet so I can go relieve myself and get a glass of water. I'm ready to burst and thirsty something fierce."

Laughing, Arianna got up and held her hand to Juliette. As the last moved to rise, she happened on a wet spot on the rumpled sheet. "Eeek! I've peed on your bed. That's never happened to me since I was little. I'm so sorry." She started crying in shame.

Arianna hugged her. "No dear heart that is not urine. Though I have never experienced it, I have heard and read about this. It is the female equivalent of ejaculate."

"How can that be? I am not a man."

"No, you most certainly are not, my dear. You know that your body produces its own form of lubrication?"

"Well, yes, but never that much."

"Some women express a lot more than most and it looks like you are one of the lucky few who do. It had never happened to you because you only experienced mild orgasms at best until now."

"Will it always be like that?" Juliette asked, worried.

"I don't think so, sweetheart. From what little I know of it, it only occurs infrequently when the orgasm is particularly intense. It is nothing to be worried about. Quite the opposite, it tells us that you a very sexual woman with a high libido."

"I am?" Juliette wondered, feeling that she had just been insulted. "I loved getting intimate with my husband, but I am not a loose woman."

"I did not say you are a woman of easy virtue. I meant that you have a high capacity for pleasure. Your reaction this morning and just now is eloquent testimony to that fact. Do not be ashamed of it in any way. Rather, be proud that you are going beyond the shackles of your upbringing and have entered in a wonderful journey to a life of unbridled passion."

Juliette had to laugh at the mental image of her in bed day in and day out satisfying one lover after the other. "I don't know about that. For now, let's peel the sheets and see how bad the damage is to your mattress."

It was Arianna's turn to blush furiously. "I am sure it did not get to the bed as I have a protection under the sheet. I sometimes have 'accidents' when my nightmares are particularly bad."

"Oh poor dear. I had almost forgotten the awful scream you let out this morning. I remember thinking you were surely under attack from a terrible monster before I rushed into your room."

"Not a monster, only bad memories. I would rather not talk about it if you do not mind."

"It's okay. Whatever you want, dear. Let's get these things soaking before they stain. And I still need to use the facilities."

Laughing, they proceeded to do just that.

**********

By the time they had refreshed themselves, they found that the sun was going down. 

"Are you hungry, sweetheart?" Arianna asked. "Breakfast was quite a while back and we could use some sustenance."

"Yes I am. Let me look in your cupboards and I will whip something to eat."

"They are somewhat bare, I am afraid. I usually go out for groceries on Saturday afternoon, but I was otherwise occupied earlier." Arianna giggled.

"No matter, I'm used to make do with what I have." So she did. The rationing of the war years were fresh in her memory and it was easier to put together a meal for two than for fifteen as her mother had taught her.

**********

Later, both women sat at the kitchen table, relaxing after a simple but hearty meal. Arianna had convinced Juliette to accept a glass of wine.

"You must try this, sweetheart. It makes the simplest meal go down easier and it helps in the digestion."

"My father used to make his own wine. When I got to be older, he let me try it and I didn't like it much."

Laughing, Arianna went on. "No offense to him, but this has very little to do with what your father made. I learned to appreciate wine with my parents who had it shipped specially for them from Europe. Then, I refined my palate when I was stationed overseas."

At first Juliette was reluctant to try the wine, but she succumbed to Arianna's enthusiasm. She tilted her glass wearily, barely wetting her lips. "Hey, this tastes good!"

"I told you. I will make a wine lover out of you yet."

Finding she liked the taste, Juliette swallowed a large mouthful.

"No sweetheart, you do not gulp wine, you must savor it. Try taking smaller sips. Let it flow on your tongue so you can savor its flavour."

"Okay, if you say so."

"When you pour the first glass out of a bottle, you smell it before drinking. When I am done with you, you will be able to recognize a good wine from its aroma. Sophisticated wine tasters then take a sip and swirl it in their mouth so it reaches all their taste buds. In this manner, the best of them can recognize not only the wine but also the region it comes from and even the year it was made."




The Apple... Ch. 03



"Surely that's impossible." Juliette said, wide eyed in incredulity.

"I know it sounds farfetched, but let me assure you that it is true. I myself have seen it done."

"It seems I have a lot to learn. I am only a simple girl after all while you are a woman of the world."

"Do not disparage yourself so. The only difference between us is that I have been exposed to a larger variety of knowledge and experiences. Nothing about that makes me 'better' than you. At most, I have lived a little longer and seen more. It will be my pleasure to teach you all I know about such. As for being 'simple', you have many experiences that I can only imagine. I am certain that you would thrive in circumstances that would leave me baffled and what small advantage I may have in intellect, you more than make up for thanks to your big heart."

"Well, I don't know about that, but I will be happy to learn at your knee. Speaking of your beautiful knee, I think I am ready for my first lesson in giving you some pleasure."

Arianna laughed at her lover's genuine enthusiasm. "I do not know that I have anything to teach as I am no more experienced at pleasuring a woman than you are. Nevertheless, I will be happy to guide you in letting your own body express itself naturally."

"Oh, come on! You have given me such pleasure that you must surely have done this many times before."

"I assure you that I have not. You are the first woman I have ever been attracted to sexually. If I have shared a shower with other women and been nude in their presence, I have never had the slightest desire to know them carnally."

"You are still one up on me. You are the first woman I have ever been naked with. All I was taught tells me that I should be scandalized, but instead of averting my eyes as I should, I find that I like looking at your body."

Opening her robe, Arianna asked mischievously. "This old thing?"

"Yes, this beautiful 'thing' as you call it. Looking at it and remembering how it felt when our bodies pressed together makes me tingle all over." So saying, Juliette knelt between her lover's parted knees and wrapped her arms around her warm body, pressing her cheek against her small breasts.

As she felt the nipple harden, she turned her head and kissed it lightly before taking it in her mouth.

"Hummmm. Yes, darling. That is wonderful." Arianna closed her eyes as she felt the warm wet contact.

Juliette's inner voice weakly told her that she should not do this, but it was drowned out as some deep instinct overcame all the nonsense she had been taught. She brought the hands that had been caressing Arianna's back to the front to caress, fondle and massage those perfect breasts. She was pleased at feeling the hard points under her palm and under her tongue. While she had her mouth on one, she lightly pinched the other, eliciting a moan of pleasure which told her she was doing right.

Emboldened by this realization, after a few minutes of alternating mouth and hand from one breast to the other, she lifted her head and pulled Arianna's mouth to hers.

"As much as I love being like this with you, the floor is hard on my knees. Would you mind terribly if we moved to your comfortable bed?"

Laughing, both rose and, hand in hand, sauntered to Arianna's bedroom where she unbuttoned Juliette's shirt. After sliding it down her arms and letting fall to the floor, she paused a moment to gaze lovingly at her lovers body. "I do not think I will ever get enough of drinking in your beauty."

"Come on! You are the one who is beautiful. I'm pudgy where you are lean, my big breasts will soon begin to sag as yours are perky and firm and will stay that way forever. As for my bottom, it is flabby while yours if so firm that I could bounce a coin off it."

"Sweetheart, do not let other people's standards define you. Believe me when I say you are beautiful. You radiate health and exude a sense of wellness. Nature made us all different for Her own reasons and I for one admire Her handiwork in the perfection that is you."

"Oh, I may be repeating myself, but you do say the nicest things."

Arianna bent to pull Juliette's knickers down. As her hand brushed the sex in front of her face, she could feel the heat radiating from it and see the dew already accumulating at its opening. She marvelled at the woman's easy acceptance of homosexual sex and her readiness to participate in it. As she rose to her feet, she pulled of her own underwear off.

Pressing their bodies together, their arms around each other, they kissed deeply.

Juliette moaned as their breasts pressed together. Her own nipples hardening as she rubbed them against Arianna's. "Oooohh! That feels soooo good!"

They fell to the bed in a heap, giggling. As they kept kissing, their legs entwined and Juliette found that Arianna's leg pressing against her sex felt very good indeed. She pulled the other closer and began humping the limb while bringing her own up in an effort to reciprocate the warm feeling.

As the wonderful sensations spread from her overheating sex in a wave, they met that which were radiating from her oh so sensitive breasts and their addition mutated in a multiplication. Her whole body now tingling deliciously, her movements became frenetic as she strove to maintain and accelerate the climb to this orgasm thing.

Arianna was in no less of a state of arousal than her lover. Her own sex slick to overflowing with lubrication slid on Juliette's leg, leaving behind a trail of her secretions. Tilting her pelvis slightly, she angled it so that her clitoris made better contact. She met and matched Juliette's thrusts well on her way to her own eruption of pleasure.

Opening her eyes, she gazed upon her lovers face, fascinated by the pleasure she could see etched on her features. "Open your eyes, darling. I want you to look at me as I look at you when our pleasure crests."

So it was with gazes locked, souls communing through the apertures of their eyes and hearts soaring with passion, that their orgasms hit them. Who went first and who followed was irrelevant as their bodies joined in an immense wave of pleasure.

When they regained their senses somewhat, they embraced tightly. Juliette, her head on Arianna's shoulder, whimpered happily. "Oooooohhhh! That was so wonderful. I wish we could stay in bed and do this all the time. If it makes me a trollop, so be it."

"If you are, then so am I. I love being in your arms so. I love feeling your body against mine, your breath on my skin, your hands caressing me." Arianna replied, laughing.

They stayed in this way as they caught their breath. Then Juliette pulled back and looked at her lover impishly. "Now you get to teach me how to pleasure you."

"What is there to teach dear heart? You are a wonder to behold. It is in fact you who seem to be the teacher in these matters."

"But I don't know what to do!"

"Your body does. All you have to do is listen to it. Do to me what you do to yourself when you masturbate and all will be fine."

Juliette looked confused. "What is this 'masturbate' thing? You keep coming up with new ideas though if it's as nice as the orgasm, I'm definitely willing to give it a try."

"The term is masturbation. 'Masturbate' is the verb for the action, Have you never caressed your own body? Fondled your breasts? Rubbed your sex? Given yourself pleasure?"

"Goodness no! I haven't. I was taught it is a naughty thing and that good girls don't do naughty things."

"Poor darling, this is yet another example of the wholly inadequate education given to the masses. I will endeavour to remedy this for you."

Juliette was not sure if she should feel insulted and pitied or if she should be angry with her mother and the nuns who had shorted her when it came to teaching her about her own body and the fascinating things it could do and feel.

Seeing the thoughts and emotions reflected on Juliette's face, Arianna went on. "Do not feel slighted in the least, sweetheart. It is the way for the Power That Be to control the masses: they keep them uneducated so they will not think by themselves nor ask too many questions."

"Will you teach me all of this wonderful stuff?"

"Indeed I shall. It will be my pleasure – no pun intended – to share everything that I know on any subject you wish. And if I cannot answer your questions, we will search together for the answers."

Juliette clapped her hand gleefully. "Oh goody! I so loved school. Can I be the teacher's pet this time around? I will bring you a shiny red apple every day."

Arianna could only grin at Juliette's antics. "Yes, my dear, you will most definitely be the teacher's pet. That I can assure you. You can ask whatever you wish as there are no silly questions. And I will not strike your fingers with a ruler if you do not know something or give a wrong answer. Though you may earn a swat across your lovely bottom if you misbehave in class."

At that last, Juliette covered her cheeks protectively. "I will be a good girl. I promise, ma'am."

"Not too good I hope. In my class, fun and pleasure are as important as seriousness. A happy mind learns better than an unhappy one. And who knows, you may come to like a reddened bottom now and again."

"I don't know about that. We'll see. Maybe when you're done playing teacher I can play mommy and give you a reddened bottom of your own."

"So be it, sweetheart. I will teach you what I know and you will do the same. We will both be the better for it."

On her knees, Juliette was jumping up and down on the bed in anticipation. "That will be so wonderful. What great games we will play together."

"Yes we will. Getting back to the original subject from which we got sidetracked. Let us fold this bath towel and put it on the bed. Staying on your knees, move between my legs. Yes, like that. Now, look at my body, notice the points we have in common and do as I do."

"But we don't have anything in common. You are so beautiful and I am so... common."

"Stop that right this minute! There is nothing common about you! I want you to remember this always!" She rose to a sitting position, gathered Juliette in her arms and kissed her softly to take the sting out of her comment and to let her know she was paying homage to her femininity.

"Remember what I told you a moment ago. We are all built on the same model. Only the details are different. We both have one head, two ears, two eyes, one nose, one mouth, two arms, ten fingers, two breasts, two legs, ten toes and a beautiful sex."

Juliette could only accede to the truth of those words.

Reclining on the bed, Arianna went on. "Now, close your eyes and do as I say. Run your hands in your hair. Feel its softness."

"My hair is not as soft as yours." Juliette interrupted.

"Details, I told you. Forget about me for now. Concentrate on your own body. And if you keep interrupting me, you may get your spanking sooner than you think." The smile on Arianna's lips told Juliette that she was not serious about this last. Or so she hoped.

"Back to your lesson. Close your eyes again and lightly trace the contour of your ears with your fingertips. Feel your face, your neck and your shoulders. Run your hands down your arms. Ah, I can see goose bumps on your skin."

"Yes I can feel them."

"This means your body likes what you are doing. Remember to keep the contact light. This is a journey of exploration and discovery. We will get to the real action soon enough. Run your hands on your breasts without touching your nipples. Feel the soft skin of them, the top, the sides and the underside. How does it feel?"

"It feels as if I was running a feather over my skin. It almost feels as if it should tickle, but it sends shivers up and down my spine."

"Remember the feather, we will get to that at another time."

Juliette's eyes shot open and her hands grabbed her breasts protectively at the suggestion. "You wouldn't! I'm so ticklish I would certainly die."

That brought a chuckle to Arianna. "Trust me sweetheart, you will not die. I will never do anything to hurt you in any way. Now, close your eyes again. Leave your hands on your breasts. Massage them gently. Yes like that. Continue more firmly. Squeeze them for a few minutes. Lightly run the tip of your fingernails on your aureoles. Do you notice how the little bumps are standing out?"

"Yes, I can feel them and even if I am not touching them yet, the feeling is running through my nipples."

"That is right. All the parts of your body are connected, one way or another. Run your fingernails on the sides of your nipples then at the tip."

"Oooohhhh! It feels soooo good!"

"I am sure it does. Take your nipples between your thumbs and indexes. Gently roll them between your fingers. Yes sweetheart! I can see on your face that you like it. Oh, I so love looking at you when your feel pleasure."

Juliette was panting heavily by then. "I love this feeling. I can feel it radiating through my body, all the way to my sex. And thinking of you watching me makes it even better. I can almost feel your eyes on me."

"Yes, I am caressing your delicious body with my eyes. Put more pressure on your nipples. More. More. As much as you can stand."

As she spoke the last words, Arianna was surprised to see Juliette begin to shake uncontrollably. "Aaaaahhhhh! Yeeeeesssss!" As she opened her eyes, Arianna could see they were slightly glazed.

"Blessed Mother, did you just have an orgasm?"

"I think I have. How is this possible?"

"Remember when I told you that I suspected you were a highly sexual woman despite the repressive conditioning of your education." Juliette nodded. "And I remember you telling me your breasts were sensitive. It seems they are more so than even you thought. We shall file this little tidbit for future reference."

"Isn't it 'titbit'?" Juliette replied, giggling.

"That works too. Close your eyes and let us get back to the, hum, business at hand. Caress your breasts again, but more lightly. After all, we do not want to concentrate solely on them. Leave one hand on your breast and lower the other to your abdomen which I want you to caress lightly with your fingertips. Lower both hands, but do not touch your sex for the moment. Rather, stroke your inner thighs. It is acceptable if the edge of your hand brushes your sex, but do not linger there. Replace your fingertips by your nails and scratch that sensitive skin lightly."

"That feels sooooo good. It's as if all the nerves in this area were on fire."

"You are doing well, sweetheart. Spread your legs a little bit more so your sex is more fully exposed and you can reach it easily."

"Oh dear! You will be looking at my sex directly."

"Yes I will. Your sex, or vulva, is a beautiful thing. You should be proud of it. Notice how plump it is and I see that you are leaking more and more. Do not worry, it is only a sign from your body it loves what you are doing and is ready for more. Do not worry about the bed either, we put that thick towel there for this reason precisely. Put your fingers on either side of your labia. That is your outer lips. As you can see, in your case, it looks like a plump mound of flesh separated by a slit in the middle whereas mine is flatter with flaps of skin that flare from my own slit. With your fingers, gently press the flesh inward. Move your fingers to rub it. Do not press too hard. We do not want you too excited just yet. Do you see the little nubbin at the top of your sex? It is just peeking out of its protective hood."

"I'm not sure. Is it this thing? Oooohhhhhh!"

Laughing, Arianna continued. "Yes, you put your finger on it, literally. This is called the clitoris. For most women, it is the main trigger of their orgasm. But we will get back to it. I only want you to know where it is for the moment."

"It feels so good, I'm not likely to forget it." Juliette said, shuddering from the aftershocks of even this slight contact.

"I imagine not. Now I want you to gently pull on your outer lips and expose your inner lips and the vaginal opening. That is where your husband put his penis when you made love."

As Arianna described her genitalia, Juliette blushed furiously. "Those words. They sound so naughty. Is that what dirty talking is?" She asked.

"Not at all, sweetheart, those are merely the proper words. If you want to talk dirty, it will be subject of another lesson at another time. For now, let us keep it simple. I you wish, we will look at an anatomy manual and we can go into more details."

"I would love that very much, but can we get back to my exposed sex, hum, vaginal opening for now, please? I don't know how long I can stand having my fingers there before making a mess?"

"If you insist." Both women giggled at that. "Wait until I am finished describing what I want you to do next before doing it because things may happen quickly."

"Yes ma'am. I'm all ears, so to speak."

"You will put one finger inside yourself. Depending on how tight you are, you may put two. I am told that some women use their middle finger and may add the index or ring finger. Personally, I prefer to start with the index and add more as required. As you experiment, you will find what is most comfortable for you."

"I think I will use my index like you do." Juliette said with a shy smile to her teacher.

Reaching over, Arianna caressed Juliette's cheek tenderly, returning her smile. "You are so sweet. Do it like that if you want, but remember this is not set in stone and you should experiment on your own later on."

"What do you mean on my own? Aren't we supposed to be together to have sex?"

"If you are alone and you feel the urge, there is absolutely nothing wrong with pleasuring yourself."

"Are you sure? That sounds so naughty. I was always told that sex should be only with my husband."

"Nonsense my dear. Your body is your own to do with as you wish. Of course, you do not do it in public, but feel free to indulge whenever you are in a private place where you feel confident you will not be disturbed. I always found that I good orgasm before bed induces a restful sleep."

As Juliette blushed, she lost her concentration and her fingers brushed her clitoris. The contact made her jump.

"I see that we had better get back to the lesson. When you slide your fingers into your vagina, the feeling will intensify quickly. You want to thrust then inside and out of your vagina, simulating the movement of a penis. Slowly at first, if you can resist, then faster and faster. When you feel this great rush of feelings coming, use the fingers of your other hand to strum your clitoris. Again, you will have to experiment as some women prefer a feathery touch while others like it rougher."

"Is that all? Can I try it now?" Juliette asked almost plaintively.

Arianna was tempted to make her wait some more, but she decided that the lesson in teasing and patience would be for another time as she could see the flush of excitement spread even onto Juliette's breast. "Yes, you may. Enjoy yourself."

The words were barely out of Arianna's mouth when Juliette pushed two fingers within herself. All thoughts of experimentation flying out of her mind at the rush of sexual craving that had been rising within her as he lover described the final part of this masturbation thing. There was nothing tentative either in the manner in which she thrust her fingers inside and out repeatedly, furiously. Head bowed down, eyes tightly shut, she concentrated on the wondrous sensations that rose in her body. Moans, groans and grunts escaped lips pulled back from clenched teeth in what could almost be described as a rictus.

Though she had tried to keep her tone clinical for the benefit of her attentive student. Arianna's own excitement had been rising as she watched Juliette go step by step through the act of masturbation for the first time in her life. Seeing her lover frenetically masturbate, her own hands went to her sex and she also thrust two fingers from one hand within herself while rubbing her clitoris in a lightly accentuated circular motion with the other, as she preferred.




The Apple... Ch. 03



When she saw Juliette on the verge of cresting, she gently took her hand and placed it on her clitoris where it immediately began rubbing fast and hard. She quickly mirrored the action on her own body if at a lighter pressure level.

It took only seconds for Juliette after this reminder of her instructions and addition of sensations to again feel the roar in her ears, the blinding lights behind her eyelids and the tightening of her every nerves. Her scream was as the roar of the rocket of her body shooting her out in the infinite space of orgasmic nirvana.

The sight of her lover's orgasm triggering her own, Arianna's body arched as both of her hands clutched her pulsating sex. Her scream echoing Juliette's. Tears of joy leaking at the corners of her tightly shut eyes.

Arianna had barely opened her eyes when Juliette collapsed of her. Purely by reflex, she caught her, avoiding, mostly by chance, a painful head butt. 'Note to self: It would be better if she masturbated while lying back on a bed or someone could get injured.'

Gently lowering Juliette on the bed, she used a dry corner of the towel to tenderly clean Juliette's sex, inner thighs and the crack of her bottom. Grinning she thought 'I will have to get more towels. Good thing we have one of these new-fangled washing machines.'

Dropping it to the floor, she pulled the covers over them both and, embracing her drained lover, she brushed sweat soaked stray hairs off of her brow and kissed her lovingly.



The Apple... Ch. 04



The apple doesn't fall far from the tree

Chapter 4

Juliette opened her eyes. "I so love the things you teach me." She said with a wide grin. "Will I get a gold star beside my name for a lesson well learned?"

"Though the twinkle in your eye should be recompense enough, if you wish I shall give you all the gold stars you want. Your teacher is very proud of her pupil indeed."

"This is the first time a teacher has given me such praise, or any encouragement at all. The nuns were mean to us all except their favorites. Maybe it's because you are not a nun. I promise to do my best in all your classes but this will assuredly always my favorite subject." Juliette laughed.

"I am most definitely not a nun. None would teach a class out of her habit, let alone naked as we are."

Giggling at the mental image of Sister Marie de l'Incarnation in the nude in front of her class, Juliette went on. "If you were to do it, girls would stand in line to kneel at the altar of your beauty and take vows to become part of your congregation."

"What say you we make it a congregation of two and leave it at that? Much as I relish our activities, I am not ready to join the temple of Lesbos."

"The temple of Lesbos? I've never heard of this order. Is it some sort of foreign cloister of nuns?"

"No, Lesbos is a Greek island. According to classical Greek mythology, Lesbos was the patron god of the island. Do you know the word 'lesbian'?"

"I have heard it. It's another of those naughty words isn't it?"

"Not really. The word 'lesbian' is derived from the name of the island of Lesbos. Also, one meaning of the word lesbian derives from the poems of Sappho, a Greek lyric poet, who was born on Lesbos sometime between 630 and 612 BCE and she is said to have died around 570 BCE. She wrote with powerful emotional content directed toward other women. Little is known for certain about her life, but from various ancient writings, historians have gathered that a group of young women were left in Sappho's charge for their instruction or cultural edification. The bulk of her poetry, which was well-known and greatly admired through much of antiquity, has been lost, but her immense reputation has endured through surviving fragments. So when we speak of lesbian love, that is homosexual or same sex love between women, we call it Sapphic love."

"Incredible! But what about this temple?"

"Obviously there is no such thing. It is merely a literary device used by poets."

"Okay, so we will have a Temple of Arianna and I will be the High Priestess." Juliette said with mock gravity.

Arianna burst out laughing. Juliette tried to act the offended nun. Failing miserably, she joined in the side-splitting laughter. They were rolling about the bed and if they had teary eyes, on this occasion it was for a pleasant reason.

When they pulled themselves together, they came to their knees, facing each other. "I've never looked forward to homework so much." Juliette said. Reaching over, she tenderly cupped Arianna's face in her hands and brought their lips together. Hers were already parted and her tongue licked Arianna's, seeking permission to enter.

They shared breath, saliva and moans as their tongues dueled fiercely for a long time, both women content with this oral caress.

Juliette found the contact of their breasts quite arousing. She loved the feeling of her large soft breasts pressed against Arianna's smaller firm ones. She moved her chest from side to side, mimicking the loving battle of their tongues with their erect nipples.

Her hands caressed Arianna's neck, shoulders and back. When she reached her lover's buttocks, she grabbed them firmly and pulled Arianna until she straddled her thigh. She kept herself from the same contact, wishing to keep her head clear so she could focus on providing her lover with the most pleasure possible.

As she guided Arianna's pelvic movements with her hands, she lowered her head to her breasts, laving, sucking, nibbling. As she moved from one to the next, she left behind a trail of warm wetness which turned cold in the air, adding to Arianna's excitement.

"Hummmm! Yes, sweetheart! You turn me on so much."

At these words, Juliette redoubled her efforts. She had been on the receiving end all day because of her innocence, but she was not a taker by nature. Now was the time for giving.

When she felt Arianna loose herself in the surging wave of pleasure as she was grinding on her own, she brought a hand to the front, reaching for that magical-like trigger, strumming it with her thumb.

Arianna's moans got louder as she felt this new caress. She knew she approached the apex of pleasure. Spasms coursed through her body, originating from her lower belly. In a final paroxysm, she crushed her lover in a fierce hug, the keening of release high-pitched, her grinding coming to a frenzy against the thigh clenched between her legs.

When she let herself ooze back on the bed, Juliette followed her, not wanting to loose contact and wishing to give her more pleasure yet. Their mouths connected in a passionate kiss, Juliette brought one hand to Arianna's breasts, caressing them gently as she instinctively knew the other was at a very sensitive point and that she should let her recover somewhat. Her other hand cupped her sex. Rubbing it lightly but insistently.

When she felt her lover's shudders change from spastic to reactive, she added pressure to her breasts, twirling the nipples against her palm, then between her fingers. She varied her caresses on Arianna's vulva, pinching it lightly, rubbing it from the sides with her fingers, palming the whole surface.

Her lover's moans gaining in intensity and her tongue resuming their love duel were her indications that she was again on her way to ecstasy. Pinching her nipples more firmly, she slipped one finger inside her. Finding the opening very well lubricated indeed and offering no resistance, she added a second finger, thrusting them in and out at an accelerating rhythm.

Arianna had barely begun her return to clarity of mind when she felt her body take over again. 'What is going on? I should be floating down from cloud nine and here I am soaring back on high already.' Her first ever experience of multiple orgasms was overwhelming her senses. She was losing contact with reality. Her whole universe centered on the incredible messages her body was sending to her brain. As Juliette brought her to a second climax, it seemed as if she never came down from it, but that it rolled into another and yet another without her finding, or even wanting, respite.

Juliette was unaware of this new development. She was pinching nipples harder, moving her fingers in Arianna's sex without slowing down, all of her concentration bent on giving her the most pleasure possible. When, driven by what must surely be divine inspiration, she curled her fingers upward inside Arianna's vagina and found a surface with a different texture, spongy and ribbed, she decided to explore it.

That was the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back, so to speak. Arianna went into convulsions, no more in control of her body's reactions, caught in a maelstrom of pleasure. It was her turn to eject a copious amount of secretions for the first time in her life, coating Juliette's hand and forearm. Also a first for her, the unending crescendo of sensations became too much for her mind to deal with and it sought refuge in the sweet oblivion of unconsciousness.

'What have I done? I killed her!' Juliette was out of her mind with worry until she noticed Arianna's chest rising and falling rapidly, heaving as her lungs sought to find enough oxygen to replenish her body following these extreme exertions. After picking up the towel from the floor and using it to wipe her arm, her thigh and her unconscious lover, she pulled the covers to keep her warm, wrapped her in a tender embrace and pulled her head in the crook of her shoulder. Patiently, she waited for Arianna to recover.

**********

It felt to Arianna as if she were waking from the most delicious dream where she had been soaring the heavens on a wave of joy and bliss, joining in the celestial dance of the stars, her long dark hair a comet's tail trailing her flight.

For the second time that day, she woke to a warm comforting presence. "Lovely Juliette, it is as I told you: follow your body's instincts. It knows what to do. I can teach you no more. Whatever else there is to learn, we will discover together. As for scholarly recompense, a gold star would seem paltry on you as I find you are my Northern Star, guiding my way unerringly to happiness." Arianna said, her voice catching with emotion. "For one who was so recently a virgin in Sapphic love, you take to it most admirably. You are a natural."

"I wonder about that. Just a few hour ago, I would have called it a most unnatural thing to do. Now, I'm not so sure. Could everybody have been so wrong all along? Is it possible that every woman is a lesbian waiting to discover this side of herself?"

"I do not know about every woman, but it certainly seems to be the case for us. I have known some lesbians, I even live with one, though since she also likes men, I should rather say she is bi-sexual, but I have never been attracted to women sexually at all. And you have been raised to despise this form of sexual expression and were happily married to a man. Yet here we are, sharing our bodies in this most pleasurable way. You may have a point, as far as we are concerned at least."

"Still I wonder. It is normal and acceptable in our society for women to hold hands while walking on the street, to hug when they meet or to express emotions, even to kiss... well, not as we did, but you get my point. I've even read a story, and it was in a newspaper not a fairy tale, about Arab Sheiks with dozens if not hundreds of women locked away in a seraglio. There is no way for a single man to satisfy even a fraction of them, so they must find some kind of relief for their sexual urges."

"I was right before and I hope you will now believe me when I repeat that you are definitely not 'simple'. You have the soul of a philosopher. You see patterns in everyday life that most people ignore though they are right in front of them. I am certain you will enjoy reading more about such material. You will love philosophy, anthropology, and history, I am sure."

"I don't know what anthropology is and I've only heard of philosophy and then only as theology. As for history, what we were taught was very limited. We were only girls after all. I really look forward to learning more." Juliette said with a firm nod of her head, then, giggling, she went on. "Why do you think I had so much trouble choosing a book from your collection?"

"I still have the books from high school. They will make for good primers. When you are through with them, remember where you work. You have access to some of the most advanced knowledge in the world and it is available to you if you wish."

"I don't know that I would go for the really advanced stuff, but there are enough books at the university to keep me interested for the rest of my life." Juliette rained kisses all over Arianna's face in a show of enthusiasm.

When she expanded her demonstration to her breasts, Arianna pulled her head up, laughing. "My, you are insatiable. I have created a monster."

"But you like that monster, don't you." Juliette replied with the most innocent smile she could manage.

"Indeed I do like my monster very much, but what do you say we adjourn for the other kind of physical relief and then a light supper?"

Giggling like schoolgirls, they rose from the bed. "I'll take first shift in the kitchen while you use the lavatory. When you are done, we'll switch." Juliette said.

"Done and done."

**********

Later, as they relaxed in the living room, cuddled on the chesterfield, they sipped a glass of wine while listening to soft jazz on the radio.

"Would you spend the night with me or do you prefer to go home?" Arianna asked quietly, going for a neutral tone and failing. Even though they had shared some quite intense emotions and made love passionately, she was unsure where their new relationship was leading to and she most definitely did not want to exert undue pressure, afraid to put it in jeopardy.

Snuggling closer against the woman's warm body, Juliette answered with some trepidation of her own. "If the choice is between an empty, lonely apartment and this warm, cozy nest, I suppose I can do violence to myself and stay here with you... if it's not an imposition."

Her fears alleviated, Arianna laughed. "If you are to sacrifice yourself, I can do no less." Hugging tightly, they kissed.

They spent the evening talking of things others would have found inconsequential, but which acquired deeper meaning for the new-found friends and lovers as they luxuriated in the simple company of each other.

Then they went back to bed where they made sweet love before cuddling closely and letting sleep gather them in its embrace.

**********

As luck would have it, the drapes were separated by the smallest interstice in just the right position for the first rays on the morning sun to fall square in Juliette's eyes. "And I was sleeping so well." She mumbled. Before she could shift her position to avoid the offending glare, she became aware of an arm draped over her, of a hand lightly cupping her breast. It twitched irregularly which explained her erect nipple and the nice sensations each involuntary movement brought about. She could feel the soft breeze of a breath on her neck as if someone's head was buried in her hair. And a very feminine body was moulded to hers, firm breasts and stomach pressing on her back, a prickly thatch of pubic hair on her buttocks and a leg slipped between her own.

The events of the previous day did not rush in all at once to startle her. They flowed into her mind as sweet memories to savor and cherish. 'I am in bed with a beautiful woman, we are both naked and I'm happy,' she thought, her heart suffused with an intense warm feeling. If she could not put a label to the emotion she felt, it felt good and right nonetheless. Smiling, she moved her head slightly to avoid the light, put her hand over Arianna's, pulling it closer to her breast, and went back to sleep.

**********

It would be false to say that Arianna did not do battle with her inner demons this night, but when they came for her, she felt a strong, loving, protective presence at her side and she held her head high, confronting them without fear for the first time ever. Had anyone seen her as she slept, they would have seen her brow smoothen as fast as it had tightened, tears of relief leak from her closed eyes, a tremulous smile pulling at the corners of her mouth and heard a small whimper of happiness escape her lips.

**********

When both women awoke, it was to the most pleasant feeling of being in the arms of a loved one. As they slept, Juliette had turned around and draped her arm across Arianna. So they opened their eyes to each other's gaze. A smile crossed both sets of lips and, as if they had rehearsed it in advance, they simultaneously leaned forward for their first kiss of the day.

"Good morning sweetheart. Did you sleep well?" Arianna asked as she pulled away slightly, keeping her eyes locked on her lover's.

"Good morning dear. I slept marvellously. And you?"

"I honestly do not remember the last time I woke up so refreshed. More often than not I wake tangled in sweat soaked sheets barely more rested than when I went to bed unless I exhaust myself at the gym prior to laying down."

"I'm happy to hear this, dear. Or maybe our exercises of last evening tired you enough." Juliette teased.

"They may have been part of it for certain, but I suspect that your presence at my side played an even larger role." Arianna replied seriously, a twinkle in her eye. "As much as I would love to stay in bed with you all day, I must attend to something urgent."

"What can be so important it can take you away from this warm comfortable bed and my inestimable company?"

"Mother Nature calls and She will not be denied or my bladder will explode." Laughing, Arianna rolled off the bed and headed for the lavatory.

"Don't be too long about it. Now that you mention it, I realize that my own body is making demands of its own."

**********

A little later, after a light breakfast, they sat at the kitchen with a cup of coffee.

"What do you want to do today? Not a cloud in the sky and, with any luck, the weather will be warn as it has been these last few days." Arianna asked.

"If we want to take a shower before going out, I suggest we wash and hang the dirty bed sheets that are presently in the bath. It shouldn't be too long. This afternoon, we could take a walk to the market. I seem to remember you saying that you usually shop for groceries on Saturday and I know for a fact that you were too busy to do it yesterday." Juliette told her mischievously.

"So I seem to recall. I also remember that I did not mind the reshuffling of my busy schedule." That got the both of them giggling like little girls. "You are such a peach. Let us do as you say but, if you are agreeable, I suggest we add an item to these marching orders."

From the grin on her lover's face, Juliette suspected she knew what the item would be. "I just what might that be, dear?"

"I would be remiss as your teacher if I did not take the opportunity, while the sheets are being washed, to give you a pop quiz to verify if you remember your lesson."

"How conscientious of you. It will be my pleasure to demonstrate my newfound proficiency in yesterday's subject matter." Juliette's seriousness lasted about five seconds before she collapsed in helpless laughter, immediately joined by Arianna.

"In that case, let us be quick about starting a load so we can attend to the matter at hand or lips or whatever else we can think of.

**********

So it was that they spent a glorious morning of loving bouts interspersed with the shortest breaks possible to put the laundry through the mangle and hang it on the clothesline. This last leading to a moment of embarrassment for Juliette as she almost ran out naked on the back porch, holding a basket full of wet laundry. Only Arianna's last second cry of warning saved her from scandalizing the neighborhood.

"You are such a bad influence on me." Juliette said with relief at the close call. "Here I have been going about naked or nearly so since yesterday. So much so that it now feels natural and I almost forgot to put some clothes back on before going out."

"Maybe it is not such a bad influence after all. I see at least three good things to come of it."

"And just what might those things be if I may be so bold?"

"Firstly, do you not fell freer, less constrained, being in the nude like this?"

Thinking on it for a moment, Juliette was forced to admit she was. "This is the first time in my life that I have been in the nude for longer than it took me to wash up. I'm not sure why, but I find that I like it. In fact, I like it a lot. Can we do it again at another time?"

"I do not see a problem with that. In fact, if you are still in the same frame of mind come next summer, there is a nudist colony not too far away, north of the city."

At the mere thought of being naked in front of other people, Juliette instinctively covered her breasts and sex with her hands. "Oh, dear, I could never go out in public like that! I would surely die of embarrassment."

Seeing tears coming to her eyes and hearing the quivering of her voice, Arianna leapt to her feet and went to her. Hugging Juliette reassuringly, she gave her a kiss. "I would never do anything to embarrass you, sweetheart. Should we ever go to such a place, it will be because you want to, not because I imposed it to you. I hope you will always feel absolutely free to tell me if you do not like something I propose as I dearly hope you will let me know what you do like so I can share it with you."




The Apple... Ch. 04



"I would love to share my activities with you, but I fear I live a very boring life compared to yours." Juliette said, reverting to the self-deprecation which had been instilled in her by every person in authority since childhood.

"I am quite certain it is not so boring. I will endeavour to show you otherwise if you will allow me."

"Please, endeavour all you like if it will make my life more interesting."

"Well, for starters, would you say you were bored this week-end?"

That got a good laugh out of Juliette. "I most surely would not. I haven't had this much fun since I was a child.

"There you go! Consider it your first step down the road to an interesting fun-filled life."

"I do and I will. Thank you for your patience with me. I wonder what you find in me when you could be with your friends, partying like the other students or your roommate."

Arianna hugged her fiercely, hiding her face in Juliette's hair so she would not see her pain. When she thought she had her voice under sufficient control, she replied. "I think you have an exaggerated conception of my social life. Why do you think I am at the library every day until midnight or later?"

Surprised at her reaction and hearing the slight catch in Arianna's voice, Juliette remembered her rather extreme reaction when she had asked about her wartime experiences. Without more information, she knew it was better to change the subject. "Soooo, what were the other two good things about my being naked?"

Knowing what Juliette was doing and silently thanking her for it, Arianna forced a light tone to her voice. "The second reason is that I can have access to you and take advantage of your body more easily." Which she promptly proceeded to demonstrate by slapping then grabbing Juliette's buttocks and pulling her lower body to hers.

Things would have degenerated in a most pleasant fashion had Sarah not chosen that particular moment to arrive from her night of partying.

Though by no means was she shocked, she was still surprised to find the two naked women in the kitchen, in an intimate posture that suggested love making in the near future. "What have we here? Is this a private party or can a body join in?" Without waiting for an answer she began disrobing.

Letting out a squeak, Juliette moved their bodies so Sarah could not see her nakedness. To protect herself more fully, she pulled Arianna closer to her, forgetting that doing so would bury her face in her breasts due to their height differences.

"Do not worry so, sweetheart, Sarah is almost always in the nude around the house. And so am I for that matter. When I told you about the nudist colony, I did not mention I was one because of your reaction. But while I am a nudist, Sarah is just a pervert who will get naked at the drop of a hat."

"Isn't that reason enough?" Sarah asked mock-indignantly. But she had stopped getting undressed at Juliette's reaction.

Arianna was stroking her lover's hair. Kissing the top of her head, she whispered, "The third reason is that I love seeing your body in all of its splendor. A woman's body is a beautiful thing indeed and should not be covered unless it has to... and if you do not stop kissing my breasts immediately, I will be forced to make glorious love to you right here before Sarah's eyes."

"Eeek! Please, I promise to be good. You wanted me to tell you if your suggestion embarrasses me. Well, consider yourself told." Leaning so she could look past Arianna's arm, she asked Sarah "Is it true that you both run around the apartment naked all the time?"

Nonplussed at the change of tone, the twinkle she could see in the young woman's eyes and the grin on her mouth, decided Sarah to eschew her usual flippancy in favor of honesty. "I wouldn't say there is much running around involved, but yes we are naked a lot of the time, except if company is expected."

Juliette thought about the situation for a moment and came to a decision. "Then, by all means, join the party, so to speak. Since I met Arianna, I've been doing so many new things that one more can't hurt. We were just talking about this very topic and she had me well-nigh brought over to her way of thinking. Her three reasons are good enough for me and if you do not mind looking at my plump body, I can find it in myself to look at your beautiful one. I'm told by a reliable source that my reaction was mostly due to my education rather than from being truly scandalized at the idea of seeing you in the nude. For this I apologize."

"Dear lady, there is no need to apologize over this trivial matter. I know full well that my lifestyle is not to everybody's liking and I never try to impose it. If I understand the situation correctly, we will be seeing each other on a regular basis, so I must caution you not to take me too seriously as I make silly comments or do wild things sometimes for the fun of it when I am with friends or for the shock value when around particularly snobbish folks. With those tight-assed people, I get away with it because I am an artiste and they expect me to be flaky, As for my friends, they know I mean no harm and they laugh with me most of the time and at me for the rest."

"Firstly, I'm no lady. My name is Juliette. Secondly, I'm sure your off-color jokes and pranks can't match my uncle Edouard's. I learned long ago that a good sense of humor is a survival trait... in my family, at least. I was just surprised at being naked in front of a stranger and when you started taking your clothes off..."

"Juliette is much too pedestrian a name for a lovely lady such as you. You shall be Jules henceforth." Sarah declared with a flourish. "And, just so you know, I would not have shed all my clothes without your permission or invitation. That was only a gesture meant to be funny and failing miserably."

"I get that now and thank you for your frankness and also for the lovely nickname. I like it. What do you think, dear? I will be Jules and you Ari."

Arianna was once again amazed by Juliette's adaptability and resilience when confronted with new ideas. 'What have I done to deserve meeting such an exceptional woman?' she thought. Shaking herself mentally out of her reverie, she replied, "Sweetheart, the name suits you to a 'T' and I shall be happy to be your Ari."

Jumping in glee, she pulled Arianna's face down for a celebratory kiss before turning to Sarah. "If it is your wish, then by all means joins us in the great state of nudity."

That got them all laughing uproariously.

When Sarah had shed her clothes, having thrown them in a heap on the couch, she turned to the couple. "We will get along famously, Jules. Now tell me 'Ari' where did you find this gem of a woman? She is much too fine for a stick in the mud like you."

Before Ari could respond, Jules gave Sarah a look any child would have recognized immediately as brooking no opposition. "May I ask a favor from you Sarah? Can you please take your clothes to your room where you can strew them around as you wish if you do not want to put them away properly?"

Stunned speechless, Sarah looked at Jules in confusion. When Arianna, standing behind her with her hands on her shoulder in support, nodded to her, Sarah, dredging from the depths of her memory where she had last seen such a look of gentle persuasion, finally recognized it for what it was. She slumped her shoulders and picked up her discarded clothes. As she made her way to her room, dragging her feet, she was heard to grumble, "Yes mommy. I'm doing it already. You can stop looking at me like as if I've tied a can to the cat's tail."

When Sarah was in her room, Juliette turned to Arianna, grinning mischievously. "Did you hear her?" At her nod, she went on. "Would you mind terribly if I showed her that I can have fun with the best of them?"

Arianna wondered what Juliette had in mind, but she was grinning at her infectious gaiety. "If you can get one on her, I am all for it. I will follow your lead in this."

When Sarah came out of her room, she found that the women were waiting for her. As she looked from one to the other, uncertain, Juliette pulled her face down and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "Well done baby, mommy is so proud of you."

For the second time in minutes, Sarah found herself rendered speechless. At least until both women guffawed. It took her only seconds to join the hilarity. "You had me going there for a moment."

"I'm not sure what you mean by that exactly, but yesterday I picked up the mess you left after your party because Ari had told me that she would most likely be the one to do it. Don't you find that unfair?"

Lowering her eyes, Sarah scuffed her foot on the floor. "Yes ma'am. I guess. But..."

"No but, young lady. You make a mess, it's yours to clean. It's not fair to Ari that she should have to do it for you, don't you think?"

'Lord, she should be in sales with a pitch like that.' Sarah thought. "Yes ma'am. I'll do better."

Giggling, this time Jules gave her a light kiss on the lips and a hug. But, a lanky woman of 5'10" with a swimmer's musculature and breasts easily as large a Jules', Sarah was taller even than Arianna, so Juliette ended up with her face sandwiched between Sarah's massive mammaries which did not appear to phase her in the least. Sarah's astonishment grew yet higher when she felt a light kiss at the bottom of her valley as the woman pulled away.

Turning away, Juliette caught Arianna's eye and gave her a wink and a grin. "Well, if we want to take a shower before we go shopping for groceries, I'd better get this load of laundry hung out to dry." She put on Ari's robe, her own coat over it, then her shoes, and, with a jaunty step, went out to the rear balcony to do just that.

Ari could only laugh as Sarah stared at her with a look of stupefaction. "What was that all about? How did she do that?"

"What were you thinking when she asked you to pick up your clothes and gently reprimanded you for leaving a mess for me to clean up?"

"I felt as if I was back in front of my mother and she was telling me she was disappointed in me for something I had done or failed to do."

"And you were exactly right. This young woman is motherhood personified. She was cast in that role from a very young age but now a grown woman, she cannot have children of her own because her husband died in an accident before she could get pregnant. Now, I am afraid of the effect it will have on her if we are to pursue a relationship. As much as I enjoy her company, and I would be most bereft should she prefer to remarry with a man, I worry that I may not be the right person for her."

"That does not explain how she got me, an adult and her senior by some years, to accede to her orders so effortlessly."

"Poor Sarah, you look at it as a rebellious adolescent would. You did not notice that she gave no order, did not raise her voice. All she did was gently suggest another way for you to think about things."

"Yes but..."

"This woman has a big heart with an immense reservoir of love and she gives it freely to anybody who needs it. You simply reacted as came naturally to what I can only describe as her subconscious desire to bring harmony and happiness to all the people around her. One of these days, remind me to recount what she did for me yesterday morning."

"Yes but..."

"Poor Sarah, you can't accept selflessness of this magnitude because you are a cynic and have never encountered it before. All I ask is for you to observe her before making any judgement. You will see that her fondest, if unacknowledged, wish it to bring out the best in people and the only reward she asks for is to see them happy.

"Yes but... Okay, okay, enough, I give up. If she can bring you peace, I will be happy. The Lord knows you need the help of a guardian angel and if she crossed your path for that reason, more power to her... and to you too, honey."

"She does have a positive effect on me. I cannot remember sleeping straight through like I did last night." Arianna said with a sigh. "We seem to have this strange connection. We both felt it from the moment we met. If I did not know better, I would say we are soul mates. But..." Her voice broke at that.

Sarah stepped forth, took her roommate in her arms and gently stroked her hair. While she may play the fool, it was only as a defence mechanism. She kept even lovers at arm's length because life had taught her to expect the worst from people. But for all of her cynicism, Sarah was a compassionate woman and she had never balked when Arianna had needed a shoulder to cry on or an ear in which to pour her tortured feelings. On many a night, she had rushed to her roommate's side as she was in the throes of some horrible nightmare. Sarah was the only person who knew the depth of her pain.

**********

Once the laundry load hung, Juliette came back inside where she promptly shed coat, robe and shoes. She sauntered in the apartment to find her lover in Sarah's embrace, her head on her shoulder. She took in the look of sadness on Sarah's face and the tears falling from Arianna's closed eyes as she sobbed softly. Her heart filled with an undefinable mix of emotions, love, chagrin, empathy. She knew Ari was troubled and she now knew she had a dependable friend who supported her.

She surprised both women when she made it a group hug.

'What the...' Sarah thought. 'She finds her lover in another woman's arms, both of us naked, and she hugs us. Is she into kink or what?'

Arianna shifted her arm to wrap it around Juliette and moved her head from Sarah's shoulder to her lover's. 'What have I done to deserve such friends?'

Her hand joining Sarah's in stroking Arianna's hair, Juliette caught her eye and nodded with a smile, letting her know she understood and to thank her for her support of her lover. The two women came to an unspoken understanding then and there. There was no jealousy in Juliette's heart and Sarah knew in her own heart that she had found an ally and, to her astonishment, a true friend. Bonded by their deep wish to help their friend, they became a team. 

After a few minutes, Arianna raised her head and gave Juliette a deep kiss, trying to express the depth of her feelings for the woman. If the kiss she gave Sarah in turn was less intense, her gratitude was no less heartfelt.

"Well, if we want to get some food in our cupboards, we had better be going soon." Arianna said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Yes, Ari, but I want to shower before we go. I have a lot of sweat and, hum, other stuff to clean up." Juliette said, blushing.

"Since we used some hot water for the clothes, it will have to be a quick one. You remember what happened yesterday"

"Oooooh, I do! Does this mean we get to share the remaining hot water?" Juliette asked with a sly grin.

"If we must."

So the lovers left the apartment after a quick shower where they still managed to soap each other with lingering caresses.

**********

They walked hand in hand along the commercial street, window shopping to their heart's content until Arianna, looking at her watch, said, "Those stores will still be there another day. We can come back when they are open so we can really shop. But the market will be closed by the time we get there if we do not move along."

"Oh, Ari, you are a spoilsport even if you are right."

They picked up the pace and arrived on the main street well before the farmer's market closed.

Though she was a regular patron of the market herself and so knew most of the sellers on sight, Arianna was amazed at Juliette's entregent. She walked up and engaged each with ease. She seemed to know all of their names and some of their family history. She inquired on how this one's wife was doing after her recent illness, on how this other's kids were doing in school, and so on, at each stall they visited. 'Who is this woman who is so adept at socializing, yet is so unassuming and self-deprecating? I can only imagine what she could have achieved if she had been born in a different social class.' All of Arianna's previous doubts about the effects of their relationship could have on Juliette evaporated as she vowed to herself to do all that was in her power to help this beautiful soul grow to its full potential. She would keep things to the level of friendship if she must and let her find her way on her own.

Juliette was happy to meet her friends at the market. When she first came to this neighborhood at the beginning of her marriage, she had found herself in familiar territory and soon was as close to these people as she had been to the farmers at the market near her parent's home. To her, they were just part of her extended family of friends. Many had even come to her dear Jacques' funeral to offer their condolences and she had had to insist she be allowed to pay for her fruits and vegetables in the following weeks.

Unbeknownst to both, they were the talk of the market when it closed and the farmers worked companionably to shut down for the night.

"Did you see that woman with her?"

"Yes, I've seen her before. She's nice enough, but she's not Juliette's kind of people."

"They seemed pretty close. I even saw Juliette take her hand at one point."

"I saw it too and it even looked to me as if she was going to kiss her."

"No, you don't say!"

"I tell you, if I didn't know better, I'd swear they were in love."

"Now you're going too far. Juliette Hébert is not that kind of woman."

"Don't shout at me, woman! I'm just telling you what I saw."

"Well, whatever, she looked happy and in high spirits as she has not been since 'the accident'"

"You're right. It's no business of ours who she's in love with as long as she is happy."

Self-styled sophisticated people have prejudices, city dwellers are brainwashed into believing whatever their masters dictate, but country folk know the important facts of life.



The Apple... Ch. 05



The apple doesn't fall far from the tree

Chapter 5

Belching loudly, Sarah rubbed her belly in satisfaction. "Jules honey, may I be the first to congratulate you. You've passed your audition and you're hired as our resident chef. I almost said 'cook', but this vegetable stew was so fine, chefs would kill to know your recipe."

Juliette gave her a curtsy. "Thank you for your kind words, but I have no merit. There is no recipe." She couldn't help grinning at the look of stupefaction on both women's faces. "Truly. It's a variation of my mother's perpetual soup. I call it a 'whatever stew'. You start with some basic principles and add whatever is at hand and looks good."

Arianna was proud of her lover, but Sarah was stunned at the simplicity of her explanation. "Surely there is more to it than simply throwing things together and hoping it comes out good."

"Of course there is. Remember the basic principles I mentioned. Beyond those, you trust your taste and your instincts. Also, I've had lots and lots of practice. When you cook for a poor family of fifteen where nothing gets thrown away if there is any way to avoid it, you quickly learn to avoid mistakes otherwise you end up with twelve siblings hating you for making them eat something that tasted bad."

"To think I spent two years dating a pastry chef just so he would teach me some of his skills." Sarah went on, shaking her head. "And I suppose you are as good at pastry making as you are at preparing stew."

Juliette laughed. "Even my mother says that my pie crusts are the flakiest as she's ever eaten. Once, at a family gathering, we had a contest between five of my cousins' doughs and mine. Guess who won?"

"Of course, you did." Sarah said in disgust. "Say. If you ever get tired of this grinning fool over there, I'm available."

Both women laughed at her antics, not believing her offended act for a moment. Sarah milked her performance for a minute more before joining the hilarity.

"Well, if you both will excuse me, I will retire to my den. I only had a nap this afternoon when you went to the market and the last two nights of partying with little sleep are catching up to me. Good night ladies."

"Good night Sarah!"

"Good night roomie!"

Juliette looked at Arianna. "What do you say we do the dishes and retire to your bedroom for some rest and relaxation?"

"Though the suggestion has merit, let me think on it for a moment." Arianna answered, which earned her a towel in the face and a loving kiss on the lips.

**********

After making sure the doors were locked, the women retired to Arianna's room where they embraced tenderly and kissed deeply.

When they came up for air, Arianna took Juliette's face in her hand and looked in her eyes. "Allow me to undress you, then I will show you something I hope you will enjoy."

And she did just that.

Running her hands through Juliette's hair, she kissed her tenderly on the lips. As her fingers gave her lover a gentle scalp massage, she rained light kisses all over her face, before moving to her ears, probing them with the tip of her tongue. She then laved and nibbled her neck and shoulders. At one point playfully taking her throat between her jaws and lightly closing her teeth on it as a she-wolf asserting her dominance, she elicited a whine from Juliette which surprised Arianna. 'Is she only enjoying the play or could she be a submissive?' She wondered. 'I will have to be careful or I may inadvertently crush her personality as she reacts spontaneously in a way she does not understand.'

Arianna proceeded to unbutton Juliette's shirt, kissing every inch of skin thus exposed. When she lowered the material from her shoulders, she did so slowly, following it with her caressing hands. Taking one arm in her hands, she kissed and licked her way from shoulder to fingertips, discreetly inhaling the feminine body odor from her armpit as she licked past it. She paid special attention to the inside of her elbow, stimulating the nerve bundles set in this sensitive area. As she got to Juliette's hand, she kissed, tongued and nibbled at her wrist, the palm of her hand and her fingers, finally taking each in her wet mouth and sucking it as erotically as she knew how. While she was seemingly making oral love to the digits, she kept her eyes locked with Juliette's.

Juliette had never felt so alive, so stimulated, so genuinely happy. As Arianna kissed and caressed her in such an unusual way, she could see in her face and manner that she really loved her body and found it attractive in all of its femininity. Though she could not have explained it, Juliette was having a profound paradigm shift. She went from seeing herself as an ordinary woman only meant to satisfy a man, to acknowledging the intrinsic glory of her feminine body with all the levels of pleasure it can give her. She came to see herself as a vessel of pleasure, waiting to be filled with bliss, yet recognizing that her function was also quench a lover's thirst, whomever he or she may be.

As Arianna switched to her other arm to treat it to the same loving but in reverse order, Juliette felt in inordinate level of pleasure rising in her sex and radiating through her lower body. 'How can this be? She is only sucking my fingers.' Then she remembered her lover's words. 'So, it is true. All the parts of my body are connected.'

Unlike the previous orgasms she had felt, this one did not hit her like an explosion, rather like an increasing pressure in her mind, fuelled by Arianna's caresses and her own body's passionate reaction. Her mind was not overwhelmed. It was filled to overflowing with joy, physical and emotional. She felt the roaring in her ears, but instead of a blinding white light, all she saw was her lover's eyes growing and growing as if she was falling into their bottomless depth.

Still caressing her hand, Arianna felt Juliette's body shiver, observed the flush descending from her face to color her chest almost to her fully erect nipples. She saw the ecstasy in her eyes. 'What a passionate woman this is. Can I give her the space she requires to grow when I feel my soul growing ever more intertwined with hers?'

Unlike the orgasms which had hit her like a ton of bricks and left her drained with contentment, the bliss remained at its high level, filling her with unbounded energy, until her lover's mouth returned to hers.

Most tenderly, Juliette cupped Arianna's face in slightly shaking hands and held it inches from her own, their eyes level. "I understand now. At first, it was just a new idea you talked about among many others since yesterday. I have found myself accepting them and making them my own without really understanding how or why I did it so effortlessly. Now I know. I love you Arianna Monroe. It's as if I was always meant to be in your life and you meant to be in mine. I feel as if I am now complete as I never was before. If I remember correctly, you called this being soul mates." Her eyes filled with tears of pure joy. "You are my Ari, my soul mate, my love, we are one now and forever." And she brought their lips together as their hearts and souls already were.

Arianna felt something break inside her in a resounding crash that shook her to the core. It was as if her heart was beating again after ages of being still. She felt tears flowing down her cheeks and falling on Juliette's face even as she smiled widely into the kiss. All the barriers she had erected around her inner self over years of pain and misery came down as love poured into her and her own heart reciprocated with a depth she did not know she had in her. "Juliette Hébert, I love you with all my heart. I am yours as you are mine. We are one and the Universe itself cannot deny it nor separate us. You are my Jules, my soul mate, my love, we are one now and forever."

Things degenerated from there. All thoughts of the sex game Ari had meant to play earlier gave way to the passion of two lovers applying sex as the most immediate expression of the deep love they both felt. They kissed, licked, nipped, caressed each other like there was no tomorrow, as if the present moment had to be engraved in history, or, at least, in their own history. Each wanted to express her love onto the other's body. Neither willing to relinquish her hold on the other. Which inevitably brought them head to toe, each with her face close to the other's sex.

As both were extremely aroused, their vaginas were overflowing with moisture. Jules found that she loved the sight of Ari's delicate sex. It was a dark pink, almost red with excessive blood flow, as she would later learn. For the moment, it was the most beautiful thing in the world to her. It seemed to pulsate with each beat of Ari's heart. She inhaled deeply at the scent of her womanhood, the musky aroma inflaming her already highly stimulated senses. It felt natural to her that she taste that which smelled so wonderful. Hooking her arms behind Ari's legs to tilt her pelvis so she could better reach her goal, she delicately dipped her tongue into the moist opening. Bringing it back to her mouth, she savoured the taste and found it very much to her liking, so she swung her tongue from one end of the gaping cleft to the other, licking as much of the love cream as she could.

When she found herself face to... sex with Jules, Ari also inhaled deeply of the delicious scent. She had always been secretly aroused by the various natural smells of the human body. Sweat on a lover's body was the best aphrodisiac to her. She was now discovering that it paled in comparison to Jules' feminine aroma. 'I could get addicted to this.' She thought with a grin.

Ari was still in her contemplation of Jules' vulva and salivating at her scent when her legs were pulled up, her thighs flat on her abdomen. 'What is the woman doing?' She wondered for the few seconds it took her lover to bring her tongue into action. "Oooooohhhh! Yesssssss! Hummmppphhh!" The last muffled as she applied her own mouth to her lover's quivering vulva, tasting in turn the sweet nectar copiously flowing from it. In her inflamed mind, she had a second of clarity. 'The taste is even better than the smell.' Then she was lost in lust.

The powerful feeling one felt echoed into the other's body and mind. The groans and squeals of pleasure reverberating in vulvae glued to mouths. When Jules felt Ari's tongue lash at her clitoris, she moved her mouth to Ari's own, sucking the inflamed love button, flicking her tongue over its tip.

The orgasm that had been building in both lovers soon reached a crescendo, launching both to the greatest heights of ecstasy, augmented by the love they had finally acknowledged.

When they recovered somewhat they turned around so they could again be face to face, embracing tenderly, each seeing the love and happiness in the other's eyes. Neither could later tell how long the moment lasted, but at one point, Ari lowered her eyes to Jules mouth and quietly laughed before licking her face, then her lips. "You had my love juice all over her face. I just had to clean you up."

Obviously, Jules felt it her duty to lick Ari's face clean in turn, which led to more love being demonstrated in such pedestrian fashion as the sharing of diverse body fluids, erotic physical stimulation and the ensuing ecstatic eruptions of pleasure.

**********

Much later, as they recovered from their delightful exertions, snuggling under blankets warmed by their sweating bodies, Ari said dreamingly, "Do you realize that we essentially just got married?"

"Yes my love. I've been married before, remember. I know wedding vows when I say and hear them. And what a glorious wedding night this is."

"I was just making sure you realized what we had done. I have been fighting with my sentiments for you since yesterday morning. I did not want to impose them on you because you said you wanted children and, obviously, I cannot make that happen for you."

Feeling the inner conflict in her lover, Jules looked her in the eye for a moment, expressing the depth of her love. Gently she kissed the sweet lips before returning her gaze up. "Really, my love, can you look in my eyes and believe for an instant that anything in the world would mean more to me than my love for you."

"No, but..."

"No buts about it, look into my eyes with your heart and answer me."

Tears of happiness freely flowing, Ari could not reply as a big lump had suddenly formed in her throat, so she responded the only way she could.

***********

"My love, it is you who is a bad influence on me. I am the insatiable one now. I cannot get enough of your beautiful body. Maybe I should be the high priestess to my goddess."

Giggling, Jules kissed Ari's silky hair as her head rested on her chest, pillowed on her breasts as it had been only the day before, if under different circumstances. "What would you say if we alternated the roles? It could be another fun game. One day, I am the goddess and you venerate and serve my every request. The next, I will abase myself and express my adoration in any way you may wish."

"What an imagination you have. I have a feeling that things are going to be lively around here. I think Sarah will meet her match when it comes to high jinks. Oh, I am going to love watching this unfold."

"Speaking of Sarah, what if we wake her up and tell her of our nuptials? I am bursting with the need to go out on the balcony in all my glorious nakedness and shout it to the world. Since that could be taken the wrong way by your neighbors, she is the obvious alternative."

"Let's not keep her in suspense any longer even if she does not know that she really wants to hear our good news."

Giggling at the terrible word play, they rushed to Sarah's room.

"Ari, what do you say we have a little fun with Sarah?" Jules said with a wicked grin.

"And just what do you have in that devious mind, my love?"

"Let's open the door quietly, slip under her covers without waking her and then gently bring her around before we spring the good news on her."

"Will you never cease to surprise me?"

"I most certainly hope not. I love you so and I promise to always find new and fun ways to show you just how much I do. Now, let's have some fun with Sarah."

"I love you too, my sweet Jules. Let us go for it."

**********

Though she had managed to get some sleep, Sarah had been awakened by the sounds of passion coming from down the hall. It is with a sweet feeling in her heart that she listened to the shared pleasure of the lovers. That sentiment deepened when she heard a change in the moans and cries as they took another timbre. She felt sure Jules and Ari had finally acknowledged what she had seen herself during the day. 'As improbable as their meeting was, it must have been decreed by the Fates themselves. I am so happy for Ari. She finally found the person she has been looking for all this time, even if she is not whom she expected.'

Tears of happiness for her dearest friend rolled down her cheeks.

Eventually, the sounds of love got past her warm sentiments and she felt different kind of heat take hold in her body. 'Now I'm not only going to dread her nightmares, but also their lovemaking. I'm never going to get any sleep at all.'

Without even touching herself, she could feel her nipples harden at the slight rubbing on her bed sheet as she squirmed in response to the auditory stimuli. The first touch of her hands on her ample breasts brought her unusually large nipples to full attention and sent a jolt to her sex which responded with a copious flow of lubrication. 'Ooooohhhhhh! How I wish Anita was here with me or... that I was in there with them.'

It was with this last fantasy in mind that she let her hands roam over her inflamed body. When her hand reached her vulva, she was surprised at how wet it was. 'They are turning me on something fierce.' She thought even as she inserted a finger in her dripping vagina. As the sounds of passion rose in the other room it was soon joined by a second, then a third. The fingers that had been tweaking her nipples painfully but oh so deliciously, joined the others further south and settled on her enlarged clitoris as it peaked from its hood. She played with it as she would a minuscule penis, alternating an up and down caress between her fingertips with flicking it and rubbing it furiously. All the while, her other hand was thrusting deeply within herself.

When she heard the others reach their peaks, she curled the fingers inside her vagina to hit her sweet spot, never slowing her movements for a second. An old hand at self-pleasure, she knew her body intimately and instinctively reached the apex of her orgasm as the two lovers did. Lost in her fantasy, she somehow still managed to keep her moans of pleasure down. "Yeeeesssssss! Jules, make me come! Make me your bitch, Ari! Aaaaaaahhhhhh!!!!!"

'I hope they were too engrossed in each other to hear me.' Sarah thought as she lay back, her body covered in sweat from head to toe. 'That was some powerful orgasm there. Maybe Ari is right and I am truly a pervert.' Grinning at the thought, one hand still within her, she brought the other to her mouth and licked it clean which brought her level of excitement right back up.

As she was feeling the pleasure rising in her body again, she heard the patter of feet in the corridor so she halted her ministrations. When she heard whispers and giggling at her door she quickly pulled the covers and rolled over, feigning sleep. 'Now what are they doing.' She wondered, bemused.

She heard the door open quietly and felt one person make her way around the bed while the other stayed on her side. Then slowly, sheet and blankets were lifted just enough for two bodies to slip under them and come to rest on either side of her. She then heard a voice say in what could only be described as a stage whisper. "I'm not so sure we should have bothered being so careful. I bow to your expertise in this matter, but unless I am mistaken, I smelled a powerful scent of sex when I lifted the covers." To which another voice answered. "I believe you may be right, my love. The pervert was riding the figurative coattails of our lovemaking."

Still playing the game, Sarah managed to stay still, her breathing regular. She felt both bodies snuggle to hers. Ari, being of a size with her molded herself to her back from head to toe as Jules pressed their breasts together, her hairy bush inches above her own almost hairless sex. She felt both raise their heads as if sharing a silent communication. When they laid down again, she almost jumped out of her skin when she felt Ari slip her hand over her hip and bring it firmly in contact with her sex, slipping a finger inside it as she kissed her neck and nipped at her most sensitive places. At the same time, Jules cupped her breasts, pinching her nipples as she brought her mouth to hers in a definitely more than just friendly kiss.

All thoughts of playing possum blown to the winds, she responded to the oral assault by opening her lips so the questing tongue licking them could enter her salivating mouth. Her free hand reached back to caress Ari's head while the hand trapped in front of her, snaked down to cup Jules dripping sex. 'What the hell? Is this real? And if I'm in a fantasy dreamland, please Lord, don't let me wake up.' She prayed fervently.

When they had realized Sarah was awake, but played at feigning sleep, both Ari and Jules had looked in each other's eyes and, with the ease that usually comes from long years of close association but felt as natural to them as talking aloud would to most, they reached a mutually agreed upon decision.

Sarah had been Ari's closest friend and only confidante for years, since they attended the boarding school where they had formed a mutual defence pact against the 'in' crowd when both refused to submit to their power plays. She was the only one to whom she had opened her heart and with whom she had shared her innermost secrets. Sarah had listened patiently and had never wavered in her support. She had long felt a deep affection for this woman. Now was the opportunity to show it to her and repay her many kindnesses. She would never have considered doing it in such a manner if not for the strength of the love of her Jules. Together as one they would let Sarah know how much she meant to her.




The Apple... Ch. 05



From the very first, Jules had sensed the deep bond that united Sarah and her Ari. She did not know the details, but she could tell it went far beyond mere friendship. It had been confirmed when she walked in on them as Sarah comforted her Ari. Jules could see the sadness she felt at Ari's distress. She knew she would have to talk about this with Sarah... later. Now was a time for her Ari to take a first step on the path of healing by expressing her love for this multi-faceted woman and Jules vowed to herself that she would be there for her soul mate every step of the way. Whatever was required of her, she would do with a clear head and a happy heart. And if it meant she had to join her in sharing the pleasures of the body with this magnificent amazon, well... so be it.

***********

The sun had begun to lighten the sky when they were finally satisfied that all had been said and done to their mutual satisfaction and satiation,

As Jules slept, snuggled to Ari, Sarah reflected on the events of the night. 'I know this is not my first threesome by any means, but it's the first time it felt as if I was making love to a single woman with two bodies. It's uncanny the way these two acted as one. And what about the love I saw in Jules' eyes as she watched Ari make me come with her mouth and tongue? I swear it was almost adoration. It was just as strong as that in Ari's own eyes when Jules straddled my face so I could bring her off. I swear neither ever closed her eyes but kept them on the other through the whole thing. Whatever brought them to my room, I'm glad it did.'

Ari was lost in her own thoughts as she listened to her Jules' soft snores. 'Thank you Mother, for you have blessed me beyond all I could ever have hoped or prayed for. Jules, my love, how poorly have I lived before I met you. Are you an Incarnation of blessed Mother Nature sent to fulfill me, to make me whole after having suffered so much pain, though I confess to doubts as I felt it would never end? I love you with all my heart, my Jules.'

As she felt Sarah move, she looked over and, catching her eye, silently asked that she join her with a slight shake of her eyes toward the door. Most gently, she untangled herself from Jules and, lovingly stroking her hair, kissed her forehead before slipping out of the bed as her roommate did the same on her side.

When they came to the lavatory door, Sarah hissed at Ari to get her attention and mouthed the words 'I've got to pee'. Grinning, Ari gestured to her to proceed and when she came out, motioned her to her room as she slipped by to use the facilities herself.

Once they were sitting on Ari's bed, Sarah in the lotus position while Ari made do with the more conventional one, Ari took Sarah's hands in her own. "Dear and sweet Sarah, I have never found the way to thank you properly for being such a wonderful friend all these years."

"I honestly must say this the first time anyone has ever called me sweet, but I accept the sentiment nonetheless. You must surely know by now that you are my only true friend. Oh, I have oodles of acquaintances and lovers, but only one friend."

They fell in each other's arms, tears flowing as they finally expressed their deep friendship in words which had until then been left unspoken.

Jules had felt Ari and Sarah move from the bed, had felt the deep love in the light kiss of her lover. The bond between them stronger than it had felt last night and growing ever more so with each passing moment. She sensed that both needed this moment together to come to grips with their own personal bond as the last hours' events had brought their unacknowledged love for each other to the fore.

It was with a happy heart that she let herself go back to sleep.



The Apple... Ch. 06



The apple doesn't fall far from the tree

Chapter 6

"Come on lazy bones. Time to wake up." The soft words penetrated through the fog of sleep to rouse Jules. "This is your first lesson in sleep management, my love."

Opening one eye, she saw the beautiful face of her lover. 'No, of my wife.' Jules thought. 'We exchanged vows before the Universe. We are one now and forever.' A huge smile on her face, she lunged to throw her arms around her Ari's neck and bring their lips together. "Good morning my love!"

Laughing, Ari replied, between kisses. "My love, morning has gone by while you slept. I had an early class as a Teacher's Assistant and another one as a mere student. Then I went to pick some more groceries."

"Do you think Sarah would mind if we used her bed or should we move to yours? I have this powerful urge to make love to you right this moment."

"Considering the night we have spent here with her, I am certain she would not begrudge us the use of her bed for a few minutes."

"A few minutes!" Juliette growled as she pounced on her lover, pinning her to the bed. "What little opinion you have of my love for you." Holding Ari's hands to the bed, she went on to show her just how much she did love her.

Once she had kissed, licked, nibbled and bit all she could reach in this position, she mock-growled to Ari. "Whatever I do, keep your hand there. Do not move them."

"I promise, my goddess. Your wish is my command." Ari replied with all the seriousness she could muster. It didn't look too convincing as she had a wide smile and her eyes sparkled with merriment.

Jules proceeded to demonstrate her love on Ari's body from head to toe with her hands and mouth. As she lowered herself along her lover's body, she rubbed her breasts on Ari, adding the caress of her turgid nipples. She also grinded her dripping vulva on Ari, mixing her love fluids to the sweat beading on the body beneath her. As it reached her feet, Jules surprised Ari by reaching between her legs and pulling one foot to caress her own hot sex. 

Ari was hard pressed indeed to keep her hands immobile as the rest of her body trashed, but she did, even when Jules sat up on her knees and wiggled to penetrate herself with her lover's toes, all the while maintaining eye contact. Ari stopped moving to avoid hurting her with her toenails. She was enthralled by the imagination this woman brought to their lovemaking. 'She is a force of Nature. How else can I explain this? Two days ago, Jules did not even know the concept of an orgasm or even masturbation and now she is showing the creativity of a seasoned lover. Though her body seems to loose itself in abandon to lovemaking, I can see in her eyes a mind in complete control of her actions.'

"Look at me my love. I'm making love to your body as I'm taking love from it. We are one, my Ari."

"We are one, my Jules. I see the love in your eyes and I feel it flowing into to me. I could never have imagined feeling this. As you are using my toes inside your sweet vagina, I can almost feel them inside my own. As the pleasure rises in you, so it does in me."

Their eyes locked, Ari immobilized by her lover's will, she nonetheless felt herself soar on the waves of pleasure flowing between them. As Jules raised her second foot to rub her clitoris with its heel, bringing herself ever closer to ecstasy, she went on. "Your hands do not move. You do not touch yourself and neither do I, save for your feet against my sex, yet you can feel the orgasm getting nearer. Your body is on fire. Your mind is no more in control. Your soul is one with mine. What I feel you feel. You will come with me, my love."

"Yes my Jules. My body, my mind are yours as yours are mine. Come for me. Take me with you. I looooovvvve yoooouuuuu!" This last as they both lost themselves in a paroxysm of physical, emotional and spiritual pleasure.

As she thought she would come down from this delicious high of sensuous rapture, Ari felt Jules take out her foot from her cleft. To her amazement, she proceeded to suck each toe sensuously, licking the top and sole of her foot clean also. She repeated the process with the other foot before making her way up the body under her. 'Surely, she is coming to lie with me as we recover." Ari thought. But Jules had other ideas. As she kissed her way up Ari's legs, she lifted them so she could lick and nip behind her knees, sending shivers up and down her lover's spine. She then spread her legs and made her way up one inner thigh with lips and teeth. Ari's hips bucked up seeking the ultimate contact with the loving mouth torturing her but Jules skipped to the other thigh with only a nip and a flick of the tongue on her inflamed sex. When she felt Ari of the verge of apoplexy from need, she raised her head and reaching, stroked her lover's cheek tenderly.

"Does my high priestess want something from her goddess?"

"I abase myself to your greatness and pray that you stick your lovely mouth to my sex and lick and suck me into oblivion, ô mighty and all powerful Jules."

"It is my pleasure to answer the prayer of my faithful servant." And she did without further ado. In seconds, Ari was blown away by a powerful orgasm as Jules licked and sucked all the tasty secretions flowing from her vagina. When she felt Ari's vagina walls grab her invading tongue as she reached the pinnacle of bliss, Jules attacked her clitoris and sending her in orbit, crashing from one orgasm to the next."

"Stop! I cannot take it anymore! Yes! No! Yes, like that! I love your tongue on me! Keep it up!" Delirious with pleasure, Ari did now know what she was saying, what she wanted. I was too much but she wanted more. Would it never stop? No, she did not want it to end, ever.

Holding on to the trashing hips, Jules kept raising the bar for her lover. She had already had an orgasm without touching herself as she listened, tasted, smelled, felt and looked at her beloved Ari and she was well on her way to a second even more powerful one. While she concentrated on bringing her lover to higher heights of pleasure, her mind was essentially a blank, caught in its own rapture.

**********

When Ari regained consciousness she felt a weight at the apex of her legs. Looking down, she saw Jules' head resting on her pubis. She could only look lovingly at her wife, her soul mate, the woman who brought her such joy, both physical and emotional.

Jules felt a peace with the universe. This must be heaven but it did not feel like the heaven of the priests. The wonderful smell permeating the air was not the cloying incense of the church, but a living scent, a promise of life and love. The warmth she felt against her face as all-encompassing as the sun's. Yet the tickling on her ear was off-color in the serenity of her environment. Reflexively, she batted at the offending sensation. Unfortunately, it was a hairy vulva she hit.

"Ouch! Watch where you are slapping!"

Startled she lifted her head. "Oh, Ari, I'm so sorry. I had this wonderful dream and I thought some vegetation was tickling my ear." She went to her lover and embraced her. "Hum, Ari, you can move your hands now, love."

"Oh! I had not realized! I cannot believe I did not move them through all that, even when I passed out. What did you do to me? And how did you take control of my body like that? It was astonishing, incredible, astounding..." She would have gone on, on the verge of hysteria, but Jules shut her up with a passionate kiss.

"It's all right, my love. We made love together. I don't understand it either. If that's what it feels like to be soul mates, I'm all for it."

"So am I, my love. It felt as if we were a single body and what you felt, I felt. And through the pleasure, I could feel your love enveloping me in its warmth. It was unearthly."

"I know, dear heart. It was the same last night with Sarah. You did not notice because you were so caught up in the moment."

The lovers embraced, Ari's head pillowed on Jules chest. "I love you, my Jules."

"And I love you, my Ari."

**********

"So, did I hear you say something about a lesson in sleep when you woke me up? It seems counterintuitive to me." Jules asked.

"Sleep management, my love. Let me explain. Your body is naturally tuned to the cycle of the sun. It has been programmed that way through evolution for millions of years. That's why we do not see well in the dark like cats, for instance. We are essentially a diurnal specie but the advent of artificial lighting upset the natural balance."

"Well, I can purrrrrrrr like a cat." Jules said, rubbing her head on Ari's neck in a most feline way.

"Yes, I know you can and if you will release my breast and nipple from your hand, I will continue my explanation."

"Didn't I tell you before that you're a spoilsport?"

"Indeed you did, but this is important. I will not always be there to pick you up when you faint in the library. And since you work mostly alone, it could be dangerous. What if you hit your head harder than last Friday evening?" Ari pleaded, real concern in her voice. "Please, my love. Do it for me if not for yourself."

Seeing the distress in her Ari's eyes, Jules hugged and kissed her. "You are right, my heart. Of course, I will listen to your lesson. I promised to be an attentive pupil, didn't I? I was just teasing you. I did not want to trouble you so. Teach on teacher, I'm all ears, mouth, lips, hands, breasts, sex..." Jules went on, unrepentant.

"Oh you. If I did not love you so much, I would spank your lovely bottom this very minute."

Jules affected her most innocent look as she took Ari's hands in her own. "Is that a promise, madame professor?"

"No, I would not promise to do violence to a student, but..." Pulling Jules off balance, she brought her across her legs and laid an arm across her back, pinning her in place. "I can punish an unruly child for not taking her teacher seriously." The first slap on her round bottom surprised Jules, but Ari knew she had enough padding to absorb this light blow.

"You're a brute taking advantage of an innocent child." The next slap was a bit more vigorous. "Ouch! That hurts, you meanie."

After the next few slaps, Ari rubbed the reddening cheeks tenderly. "Does my student wish to register a complaint regarding my teaching methods?" As Jules opened her mouth to respond with a cheeky comment, another slap resounded in the room, then another and another, each followed by a squeal that was replaced by a mewling sound as Ari caressed the assaulted areas.

During one of these resting interludes, Jules raised her head and looked at her tormentor through the tears filled eyes. "You're a beast. Why do you do this to me? Don't you love me anymore?"

"Of course I love you, you silly goose. Do you really think I would do anything, anything at all to hurt you?"

"What do you call beating me half to death then? Those were not love taps on my ass?"

"They were not?" Ari asked with a show of surprise. "Then why have you not moved from my lap? I have not held you since after the first few slaps. And unless my nose and eyes are playing tricks on me, I can smell your arousal and see your vagina leaking profusely."

"What?" As it was brought to her attention, Jules saw Ari's hand on the bed beside her, felt her love secretions dripping on her thigh, and, most importantly, she found that the heat in her nether regions which she had attributed to the rush of blood to her cheeks as they were beaten mercilessly by this delicious, lovely woman, was also centered on her inflamed sex. "But... But how is that possible? You were beating me. And enjoying it, I'm sure. How can it excite me? That's impossible."

"My love, you do not listen very attentively, do you? I told you to listen to your body and that every part of it is connected somehow. I'm not saying that you would like it if I really hurt you. Your body would react reflexively to protect itself. You would have no say in it. Nature built safeguards in each and every one of us." Ari went on, caressing Jules's face with love. "What I'm saying is that you know I would never hurt you. So your body interpreted this for what it was: a loving caress."

"But you were hurting me."

"Was I? Think back on what you were feeling. Did it really hurt?"

Confused, Jules searched her memory for the sensations she had felt as she was spanked. "Okay, maybe it did not hurt so much as it stung like the devil."

"So it stung a little as I slapped your cheeks, but what did you feel when I caressed them between slaps?"

"I... It was... It was extremely erotic and just before you stopped, I felt as if I was going for the biggest orgasm." Jules was amazed as she voiced those feelings like they were new to her. "But how come I didn't realize this as it was happening?"

"Because, my love, you did not expect it. Your body was reacting to the stimulus at the autonomous level. The next time, you will expect the reaction and you will be able to concentrate on it and enjoy it more fully. Remember Saturday when we spoke of my spanking your beautiful bottom and I told you we would come back to it later? Well, lesson taught and learned, I expect? Now back to sleep management..."

"You are a brute and a sadist and if you don't spank me again this very minute, I swear I will put you across my own knees and redden your ass until you beg for mercy. Now get to it, teach, and refresh my failing memory with this lesson."

Laughing as Jules resumed her position, bottom lifted to give her a better target, Ari proceeded to renew the cycle of slaps and caresses, varying the numbers and rhythm. When her lover began to squirm and grind her sex on her leg, she added another variable to the equation. Every so often, instead of a gentle stroke on the cheeks, she slipped her hand on Jules vulva, just for a stroke, or she dipped a finger between the blood engorged lips or strummed the fully erect clitoris.

"I can't take much more of this! Make me come you cruel, cruel person. What have you done with my Ari? She would never do this to meeeeeeeee!!!!" When Ari thrust two fingers in her vagina while stroking her clitoris vigorously, Jules was overcome with ecstasy.

***********

After catching her breath, Jules turned over to better hug and kiss Ari. "Ooowwwww!" She returned to her former position most quickly, rubbing her tender bottom. "You didn't have to be so enthusiastic about it. Now I will never be able to sit again."

"I admit to putting some feeling into it, but it was only to make it a better experience for you, my love."

"I heard you laugh all through it. And you are still laughing at me, you meanie."

Unable to restrain herself anymore, Ari fell back on the bed, laughing uproariously. "I am so sorry, I cannot help it. If you saw yourself pouting so, you would laugh too."

Jules held the offended victim pose as long as she could, before joining Ari in laughter.

"Where were we in the lesson on sleep management before I so rudely interrupted you by getting myself pummelled black and blue?"

"Spanked, my love, there is a distinction and your bottom is a lovely shade of red, not those ugly colors."

"Well it sure feels like it. You just wait 'til we play the mommy/daughter game."

"I look forward to it my love. Just remember that you do not play this game unless you are with somebody you trust completely."

"If you doubted it at all, let me tell you that I'm a one woman gal. I have absolutely no intention or desire to play with anybody else but you. And don't raise your eyebrow at me, missy. Sarah is the single exception to the rule and only because she means so much to you, my love."

"I know and I can assure you that I feel the same way. How can any woman be attractive to me when I have you in my life? I am not exactly sure what happened with Sarah last night. It almost feels as if I have always loved her but could never tell her and certainly not act on it like we did. It is as if when I fully accepted how much I love you and the undeniable bond between us, I felt secure enough to express my deep friendship for her because there could never be any confusion as to what the feeling was. I cannot yet explain to you what she has meant to me over the years, but I will, my love. You already give me the strength to think about it without breaking down like I did Friday. Your love will allow me to talk about it someday, soon I hope."

"I'm glad I'm helping and I can wait for the details. I will always be there for you, you know that. And between Sarah and I, we will help you heal completely. I promise." Jules said, projecting all her love through her words. "Oh, don't start crying. I didn't mean to upset you, my love."

"I am not crying because I am hurting. These are tears of happiness, my Jules."

**********

"So, explain how waking me up after only half a 'night' of sleep will help me be less tired as I work through the night." Jules asked.

"It is simple, really. How would a 24 hours day go for you if you had a day job?"

"I would get up half an hour before I had to leave for work, do the usual things we all do in the morning; I don't need more time because I don't eat a big breakfast; go to work for nine or ten hours; come back home; relax for a little while; make and eat supper; do the dishes and some chores around the apartment while listening to the radio; take a bath; then go to bed. That's about it."

"And why do you not do the same thing now that you work nights?"

"Because the noises of the street and the light, even with the drapes closed, disrupt my sleep and I wake feeling almost as tired as when I went to bed. I tried to simply displace my sleep to fit the same routine, but it doesn't work. I can sleep fairly well until noon or one, then every noise seems amplified and I keep waking up."

"When you get home after work, are you tired?

"Of course I'm tired after nine hours at work with only a half an hour break to eat lunch. That's why I manage to sleep deeply for a few hours."

"There is an experiment I want you to try this week and Saturday morning you tell me how you feel. Do you trust me, my love?"

"Do you still need to ask? You should know by now that I trust you implicitly. I let you beat me up didn't I?"

"Yes, you did and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I needed to let off some steam badly and 'beating you up' was just what the doctor ordered." Ari laughed.

"That quack must be a former Nazi who got his medical licence from the Gestapo and I'm beginning to wonder which side you were on over there." Her smile and the loving hand on Ari's arm let her appreciate the joke without reliving unpleasant memories.

"Maybe so, I never checked the degree on his wall." Ari went on with a grin of her own. "Back to the subject, I want you to get four or five hours in the morning, or as much as you can get of the deep sleep; get up; do whatever you want to do; then go back to bed roughly four or five hours before you have to get up to get ready for work. What do you say? Are you willing to try this?"

"My love, I will try anything if I can feel better rested. So now that I'm awake, I can do whatever I want?" Jules said with a wicked grin.

"Did you not get enough? I swear I will not survive your insatiable hunger. You need to go home, to..." Ari began.

"Noooooo!" With a wail, Jules threw herself at Ari, clutching at her desperately. "I am home! With you! You are my home!"

"I know, my love, I know. I meant that you have to go get some clean clothes and things like a robe, slippers, and such."

"Oh! That's okay then. Will you come with me?" Jules hid her smile at the pun, but Ari noticed a wandering hand making its way down her back and she could guess its goal.

"Yes, I will go with you to give you a hand." Ari continued, showing Jules that she could play with words too... among other things.




The Apple... Ch. 06



**********

"Now, can we take a shower and go get some clothes at your place?" Ari asked, still breathless.

"I suppose. If we must." Jules opined, snuggled closely to her Ari. "A shower is indicated. You are all sweaty after all and you could catch a chill."

"So are you, my love. And stop licking my breasts. A shower is an easier way to wash up the sweat."

"Easier, but not better, don't you think?"

Laughing, Ari disentangled herself and rose from the bed. "Do you want a coffee before or after the shower?"

"You really are a spoilsport, you know. Let's start with the shower so our hair can dry properly before we go out."

The two women went to the bathroom where Jules gave Ari a mighty slap on the bottom when she bent to turn on the water.

"Ouch! Now who is the meanie?"

"Oh, my poor baby, does your bottom hurt. Here, let mommy kiss and make it better."

"You are incorrigible. Get in here and allow me to make this beautiful body nice and clean."

They had just enough time for Ari to wash Jules' hair and body with loving and intimate caresses and for the other to reciprocate before the water turned cold.

"If we ever get our own house, we will make sure to install a bigger water heater." Ari promised.

"That's for sure, my love. I really enjoy washing your body clean so I can get it all sweaty again."

"So do I, sweetheart, but for now, you will have to content yourself with breakfast."

**********

When Sarah arrived, she found the two naked women sitting companionably side by side at the kitchen table, sipping from their coffee cups. She noticed that Jules was sitting with a pillow between her ass and the chair.

"I guess you have to get used to those hard chairs." She told her with a grin.

"Did you know your roommate is a sadist who gets her rocks off by inflicting pain on unsuspecting innocent women?" Jules replied, pouting.

"Who do you think taught her that there is a fine line between a little pain judiciously applied and pleasure?"

"You spanked her?"

"No, honey. She heard me play with a friend one day and asked what we had been doing. In fact, the friend was sitting on a similar pillow and had the same grin you have."

"So, I'm going to... Hum, Ari, we forgot to tell Sarah our great news last night before she seduced us and had her way with our bodies." Jules said as she reached and squeezed her lover's hand.

'Let me guess.' Sarah thought. 'If I interpret the silly grins on their faces correctly, I shouldn't ruin it for them. It's their news after all, even if it's not a big surprise.' She was hard pressed to supress her own silly grin at their obvious love. "What are you going to do, Jules? What's this great news that slipped your minds? And to be precise, it was you girls who jumped my bones. Not that I'm complaining, mind you."

"You tell her, my love. She is your friend and roommate, after all."

"All right, my love." Ari had trouble tearing her eyes from Jules'. "Sarah, before we came to your room last night, we essentially got married. We said our vows to each other and to the Universe."

Sarah couldn't contain herself anymore and with a shout jumped to her feet. Hugging the women, she kissed them, her eyes brimming with tears of happiness. "Congratulations to the both of you but I can't say I'm surprised. It took you long enough. I knew you would the minute I saw you two together."

Hugs and kisses went on for long minutes as all their hearts we overflowing with beautiful feelings. Finally, they settled back down, each sporting a wide smile and dabbing at misty eyes.

"I should have known it would not have gone past you even before I knew myself. You know me too well." Ari told her friend. "And you are too sharp for my own good."

"I don't know about that, but neither of you could keep her eyes from the other. There was always a pair of eyes following each move either of you made." Sarah told them. "Now, what were you saying you were going to do, Jules?"

"I started saying that I was going to be living with two sadists." Jules said as she blushed and lowered her eyes, unsure how Sarah would take to the idea of having a second roommate.

"Of course you are, honey." So saying, Sarah reached and gently raised Jules' head. "I told you I knew you two were in love since I first saw you together. I also knew you were meant to be together if only because it's been way too long since I've heard Ari laugh as often as she does now that you entered her life. You have already been my roommate since Saturday morning, silly."

"Oooohhhh! That's so sweet!" Jules hugged and kissed her new roommate, but as she sat on in her lap to wrap her arm around her neck, she jumped back up. "Ouch! Am I going to be able to sit without a pillow ever again?"

"Yes you will, honey. I'm sure it already is less tender than it was before." Sarah's eyes fell on Jules bottom. "My, Ari. You certainly gave the girl a mean spanking. Look at this beautiful red ass." She reached over and gently rubbed the tender area.

"Oh, yes, Sarah. You are so much nicer than this mean... Ouch!" The slap sounded loud to her ears and hard to her sensitive bottom. "Why did you do that? And here I thought you were such a nice person."

Sarah had to laugh at that. "That's where you were mistaken, honey. I'm not a nice person when there's fun to be had, but I love you anyway." Sarah pulled the pillow and put it on her lap. "Come here baby and give me some sugar."

Ari was grinning at the antics of her lover... her wife, she amended, and her roommate. Her future suddenly looked very bright indeed.

"Say Ari, are you going to take her to the church soon?" Sarah asked once Jules had settled with her head on her shoulder.

"What church? I never want to go back to a Church that will deny and condemn my love for my Ari." Jules said firmly.

"It is not that kind of church, my love. You have heard me talk about Nature and Sarah swear by the Lord, have you not?"

"Well, yes, but that's not the same thing as God." Jules was confused.

"No it is not. Do you trust me, my love?"

Jules sighed. "Honestly, I wish you stopped asking that silly question."

"I know. I apologize. It's a habit I shall endeavor to get rid of. I love you."

"This love thing you two have going could get to be cloying, you know. Get to the point Ari."

"Oh Sarah, you are just jealous."

"You bet your tight ass I am. Who wouldn't be?" Sarah replied with mock-exasperation.

"Jules, if you can contain your curiosity, I will get in touch with our friends and all will be explained next Sunday morning. We could do it Saturday, but you will still be working when the sun will come up."

"What does the sun have to do with going to church?"

"I know it sounds confusing, my love, but you will understand everything come Sunday morning. Please, just tr.... Oops. See, I am learning."

Jules changed lap, not forgetting the pillow, and gave her lover a deep kiss. "Of course I will wait and I promise not to pester you with questions 'til then."

"We will see about that. And if you will stop pinching my nipple, we should get dressed and go get your things."

"Sarah, did you know that your friend is a spoilsport?"

Sarah let out a dramatic sigh. "Yes I do. She has been doing it to me for what seems like forever. I'm glad she now has somebody else to pester."

Jules had to scramble to avoid getting dumped to the floor as Ari stood up. "Well, someone has to act as an adult." She said haughtily. Walking out of the kitchen, she made for her... their room.

When Jules arrived, clutching the pillow to her bosom, afraid Ari was really vexed, she found her rolling on the bed, tears flowing from her eyes she laughed so hard. Relieved, she joined her on the bed.

"Oh I so love to put one over Sarah. Usually, she is the one pulling my leg until it comes off in her hand."

"You looked so serious, you had me convinced you were truly offended. Since she likes fun so much, maybe we should gang up on her and have some of our own."

That got them laughing again until they found themselves in each other's arms, faces close. The laughter died down as they locked gazes. Love feeding lust, all thought of leaving for Jules' place vanished.



The Apple... Ch. 07



The apple doesn't fall far from the tree

Chapter 7

"That's about all we can carry." Jules said as she looked at her battered suitcase and the three bags sitting by the door. "And you know what's really sad?"

"No darling, what is?"

"One or two more loads and that will be everything I own." Jules sighed. "I gave all of Jacques things to the Salvation Army for the poor. All of the furniture and the kitchen stuff was bought second or third hand. Maybe if I leave all that, madame Tremblay will let me break the lease early."

"I am sure she will. This is a clean apartment in a good neighborhood. She will have no problem renting it. If it comes to that, we can probably find a new tenant for her." Ari told her. "And if you think you are poor because you do not own many 'things' let me ask you something. Did you see any new furniture at our place? When you made your superb stew, were the pans shiny new? Did you notice any matched sets of plates and cups or even utensils?" Ari asked.

"Well... No, but..."

"My love, it is because we are as poor as you are in material things."

"But you can't be as poor as I am. Your family..."

"My parents are rich but I am not. Oh, I suppose I will be someday, but I am definitely not in a hurry for that to happen because it would mean they were dead and I wish them a long and happy life. As things stand now, I manage with my Teacher's Assistant salary and I also tutor some students here and there. That is for my share of the rent, food and my meager expenses. My tuition is paid partly by a grant from the army and the rest by another from the university." Ari went on. "The only things I own are my books most of which are academic texts I have been accumulating since high school, some were given to me by friends who had no need for them anymore and the rest I find in second hand stores for the cheapest price possible."

"Oh my poor Ari, I didn't know. I didn't mean..."

"I know, my sweet. Aside from the books, all I have is a meager wardrobe of second-hand clothes. All our furniture and other stuff was donated by friends or picked up here and there. So you see, I am as poor in material things as you are, my love. But for all of that I am the richest woman in the world now because I have you, my Jules, my heart, my everything."

"Ah, Ari." Jules cried as she hugged Ari tightly. "I love you so. You shame me. How could I have been so concerned by such insignificant things when I have you?"

"There, there." Ari reassured her. "Do not worry about it. You have been taught all your life that 'things' are important because you never had enough. All you have to do is open your senses and let your heart show you the really important stuff all around you... such as me, for instance."

Jules had to giggle at Ari's statement. "Yes, my love, such as you! You are right, again. You have so much to teach me."

"I will teach you all that I know and you will teach me all that you know."

"That shouldn't take too long. You are the smart one." Jules looked at Ari with a surprised expression.

"My sweet Jules, please stop demeaning yourself like this. I have book knowledge, I agree, but you have practical knowledge that put me to shame for my ignorance. At every turn, I am baffled by things you do so effortlessly, so naturally."

"I do?"

"Yes you do, my love. You have such a talent for cooking that you impressed Sarah and she is not easy to impress when it comes to food. Her parents own a high class restaurant downtown. She has been helping out in the kitchen since she was a little girl and learned all she could by watching and asking questions to chefs. She still works there when they are overworked or in the high season. Why do you think she learned pastry making? You really bummed her out with your off the cuff comment about your own skills. And you were not even boasting."

"Why should I have been? Everybody knows about all that. I'm not special."

"That's exactly what I mean. You have practical knowledge and I am certain it is not limited to cooking. Also, you have incredible people skills. I saw you with the farmers at the market. I am friendly with folks, but you go far beyond that. It was as if you knew each personally and had known them all their lives, almost like you were part of their families. I cannot wait for you to meet our friends. They will love you."

"I hope so. If they're your friends, I just know I will love them."

"Enough of the mutual admiration fest. Do you think you can sit now so we can take the bus or do we have to walk all the way home loaded like pack mules?"

Affecting a dejected pose, Jules picked up her suitcase and the biggest bag of clothes. "I suppose this poor working class girl will have to put her ass on the line, or at least on the seat, and suffer so her scholar wife can take the easy way home."

"Oh, my love, I love the way you say that."

"What? You like it when I talk about my ass?"

"Yes, that too, but I meant when you spoke of me as your wife."

"Ari!" Jules exclaimed as she dropped the luggage and threw her arms around her lover. "You know, we don't have to go back right away. Since I'm never going to sleep in this bed anymore, we could at least put it to some good use before we leave."

"You would not mind making love with your wife in the same bed you used with your husband?" Ari asked solicitously.

"No, my love. My dear Jacques was a good man who would only wish me happiness. I'm sure his spirit will look upon us with benevolence." Jules said with feeling. Then her soft smile of reminiscence turned to a grin. "And who knows, if it's possible for a ghost, maybe it will turn him on to see two women making love in his bed."

"In that case, I say we give him a good show." Ari replied as she unbuttoned Jules shirt.

By the time they arrived at the bedroom, they had left a trail of clothes behind them, Ari still in her underpants and Jules completely naked. "Well, woman, aren't you a tad overdressed to make love to your wife?"

"You are such a romantic, my love. I am just an innocent newly-wed young woman. Maybe you should finish undressing me before you have you way with my virginal body." Ari said shyly, her eyes lowered.

With a growl, Jules pushed Ari against the wall, pressing their bodies firmly together. Her hand behind her head, she brought Ari's mouth down to her level. She licked her lips, ran her tongue along her gums then on and past her teeth. She thrust in and out mimicking the act of sexual penetration. She pulled Ari's tongue in her own mouth and sucked on it.

'Whatever was I thinking? This is no submissive woman.' Ari thought, moaning at Jules' oral assault. She felt deprived when the mouth left her own until it reached her neck where it continued its onslaught as it kissed, licked, bit on both sides of her neck. When Jules grabbed her hair and pulled her head back, exposing her throat which she took in her jaws, applying a gentle but definite pressure with her teeth, Ari's knees went weak and a whine escaped from deep within her. 'Goddess, does she realize what she is doing? She is marking me as her own. I was playing, but I think she actually means it.'

Seeing this gorgeous woman, her woman, her wife, her love, adopt this naive, artless attitude, brought something to the fore in Jules' mind. By nature, she was a giver, a nurturer, but some deeper, primaeval instinct seemed to take over. She already felt a deep desire to help her, a motherly imperative to protect her Ari but, in Nature's grand design, the fiercest protector is also the leader of the pack.

Still holding Ari's head with one hand in her hair as she kissed her fiercely, Jules cupped her vulva firmly with the other. The almost continuous moans reaching her ears fueled her passion. Leaving the mouth, she brought her hand down to assist in the mauling of Ari's smallish breasts. Kneading them roughly, she left bite marks on the creamy skin. Alternating hand and mouth on each nipple, she pinched, sucked, tweaked, bit them, increasing the pressure of her fingers and teeth right to the threshold of pain, gauging Ari's reaction perfectly, if instinctively, to stay just below it.

In the last days, as they experimented with lesbian sex, discovering previously unsuspected levels of pleasure, Ari had lived through many firsts. Her first multiple orgasm, her first female ejaculation, her first time giving and receiving oral sex with a woman, her first threesome, but this was something else entirely. Though she had given her heart without reservation to this woman it had only felt like she was extending its boundaries to include Jules as she felt herself absorbed within hers, a fundamental emotional bonding. A fiercely independent woman, Ari was now confused as was taken by her love, her soul mate. In all previous sexual encounters with male partners, even the most dominant, she had always been in control, giving only what she wanted to give. At this moment, she felt a desire rise from her innermost core, a need to give herself totally, unconditionally, body and soul, to Jules.

Ari was assaulted from within and from without. Her strong mind reeled at the primal reflex to submit to the alpha female and her body at the extreme sensations brought upon it. Everything seemed to have taken a new dimension as her perceptions were readjusted. She was a willing participant in the sexual act of love, but she knew she could not have denied herself to her lover had she wanted to. The caresses she was subjected to were certainly not gentle but they excited her as none had before.

Still rubbing, pinching Ari's covered sex, Jules lowered herself to her knees to explore her abdomen with her mouth, leaving a wet trail behind, linking reddish bite marks and paying special attention to the hollow at the junction of the hip.

The closer she came to the center of Ari's femininity, the more pronounced the scent wafting from it became. The palm of the hand kneading it was covered with the love fluid that had seeped through the completely soaked underwear. Jules licked this wetness before attaching her mouth to the covered sex, sucking, biting through the material as she sniffed deeply, impregnating her nostrils with the intimate smell of her woman. Soon the urge to make direct contact was too strong to deny and she literally ripped the thin material to shreds. Foregoing further foreplay, she used her hands covering and roughly kneading Ari's ass cheeks to tilt her pelvis forward as she opened her mouth wide, covered the entire vulva with it and licked it repeatedly from one end to the other, sucking in all the flow pouring out, unwilling to miss a single drop of the sweet nectar.

Ari was out of her mind, literally. She would later swear that as her body writhed in reaction to the intense pleasure/pain assault it was subjected to, jumping from one height of bliss to the next, she was floating nearby, observing what looked to her as a joining of elemental forces in creating some new form of life, the next step in evolution or some such. It was very confusing to her usually analytical mind until she was pulled back into the maelstrom of sensations so intense all conscious thought gave way to autonomous reaction. She was not sure if she was rising to the peak of an orgasm of if she was already riding an unending wave of them so overwhelmed was she.

Moans and groans had been left behind a long way back on this highway to heaven. She was whining, keening continually by then with the occasional shriek as a particularly sharp stimulation hit her.

When Jules attached her mouth to her sex and began licking and sucking, Ari lost her by then tenuous grip on reality. Her whole universe reduced to the nerve endings stimulated by the invading mouth and tongue. When the latter began its thrusting action, reaching as far within her as it could, the continuous smaller orgasms coalesced into a major one. Her body went into convulsions as it ejected massive amounts of fluids into the greedy waiting mouth. As a nurse, had she observed this physical reaction and heard the unearthly wail that accompanied it, she would have been alarmed for her patient. As it was, she only felt as if going through a sort of carnal birth canal desperately clawing her way to the waiting light where she must go so she could be reborn a different human being, a new and better human being.

Jules knew Ari had peaked when she found herself supporting her weight with her strong hands as her lover's knees gave out. She rose to be able to use her whole body's strength. She half-pulled, half-carried her lover to the bed. "Get on your hands and knees with your head on the pillows." She ordered sternly enough to penetrate the fog of Ari's recovering mind.

So it was that when Ari became somewhat aware of her environment again, she found herself in this position without any recollection whatsoever of how she had gotten there. As she took in the things external to her still vibrating self, she felt a body molded to hers. She felt legs pushing hers apart. She felt a hairy sex pressed against her bottom. She felt breasts pressed against her back. She felt kisses and little bites raining on her upper back and neck. She felt a hand caressing her breasts, pinching her hard nipples. She felt another reaching over her hip to strum her clitoris.

'What is happening to me? Where am I? How did I get to this place? Who is that caressing me in such a manner? I have never had sex with a woman before?' Befuddled, still lost in the mists of ecstasy, yet to make contact with reality again, Ari knew she should be afraid, but she felt this blanket of warm love enveloping her at an almost physical level, bringing with it a sense of absolute security.

When the unknown presence pulled back, she moaned at the loss of contact. She wanted to lift her head from the pillow to look at what was happening to so deprive her, but that impulse disappeared when she felt two strong hands knead her cheeks, pulling them apart, opening her to complete exposure, then a mouth attach itself to her sex.

Jules, also operating in near-instinctual mode, had paused for a moment to look at Ari's nether parts as she viewed them from this angle for the first time. She saw the clitoris erect as if straining to escape from its protective hood, the gaping opening of her pink vagina dripping with the continuous production of love fluids, pulsating with her every breath and beat of her heart. She noticed the tight rosy opening of her anus was quivering at the exact same rhythm. 'Could this be another instance where body parts are connected?'

Her mouth again attached to Ari's vulva, she circled the clitoris, licking it, flicking it with its tip before pressing the flat of her tongue on it, rubbing it forcefully. She repeatedly slowly licked her way along the entire length of the hot wet cleft, dipping and wiggling her tongue within its confines. She continued her journey to the sensitive skin area right below it on her way to her ultimate goal. Where a short time ago she would have seen a nasty dirty thing, she now only saw another part of her Ari's beautiful body to be pleasured, the last unexplored bastion standing between her and giving the penultimate pleasure for her soul mate.

The tongue pleasuring her was incredible. It licked, tickled, flicked, penetrated. It was her only link to physical reality. When it reached the sensitive skin of her perineum, Ari experienced a surge of pleasurable sensations at this before unfelt oral caress. But when it continued its journey, she felt vaguely uneasy. Intellectually, she knew that her anus was enervated by an inordinate quantity of nerve endings, but she would never have allowed a lover to touch it had one suggested it, nor had she done so in all her masturbatory activities. Physically, she could only moan louder in the pillow as teeth gently bit her cheeks creating a tapestry of delicious sensations getting closer and closer to her anus. The tongue circled it, pressing on the wrinkled skin. The outer muscle that had contracted when the goal of the invading tongue had become obvious, suddenly relaxed as it reached the pulsating opening.

Jules had felt Ari tense as she made her way beyond her vulva. She knew she was on her way to break a major taboo, but she was determined to pleasure this last unexplored area of Ari's body. She took her time, circling her goal with light contacts to get her used to the idea and the feeling. When she felt her body relax in abandon to her caresses, she finally licked the muscle just inside the opening, tasting the not unpleasant earthy flavor. She dipped the tip of her tongue inside the pulsating opening while caressing her vulva with the palm of her hand as her fingertips played with her clitoris.

In final surrender, Ari felt every muscle within her relax to the point where she was sure she should ooze on the bed in a puddle of flesh and bones but she managed to stay in this subservient position offering herself to the entity bringing her so much pleasure as it invaded this last and most private area of her body. The sensations were so intense she started crying with joy at them and with regret that she had deprived herself for so long.

As she became accustomed to these new feelings, they blended in with the caresses on her sex. Both areas being touched together for the first time brought the awareness of their connection. When three fingers were thrust in her vagina and their movements coincided with those of the tongue penetrating her rectum it felt to her as a single in and out sensation in an amplified sexual orifice. She felt herself getting lost in a surging sea of pleasurable erotic sensations. Its elemental power lifted her into new vistas of ecstasy. As her nether region was projecting pleasure throughout her entire body, her skin tingled and crawled along her spine with ripples spreading from it to the top of her head where she felt as if every single hair stood up. Her toes curled to the point of pain as her finger clawed the bed cover.

As she heard the high pitched keening muffled by the pillow in which Ari's face was pressed, Jules felt the muscles surrounding the vaginal opening tighten around her fingers and, at the exact same moment, the powerful anal muscle gripped her tongue. 'I was right about the connection. Score another point for my teacher and her wild ideas.' She thought with satisfaction as she watched Ari ride through what looked like an incredible orgasm.

**********

After Jules had left for work, Ari and Sarah sat at the kitchen table drinking coffee while listening to classical music on the radio.

"I tell you Sarah, something strange happened to me, to us, this afternoon." Ari told her roommate.

"Did you have a mystical revelation? Did the Mother appear in a puff of flower scented smoke to reveal the meaning of life to you?"

"Well... Not exactly, but..." Ari said, at a loss for words.

"Aw, come on. You know I was kidding. Right?" Sarah, asked, incredulous.

"Sarah, would you say I am submissive?"

"You are no more submissive than I am." Sarah said, beginning to have an inkling at what was troubling her friend.

Ari slowly unbuttoned her shirt. She hesitated before she pulled it off, revealing her naked torso and the multiple reddish teeth marks on her breasts and abdomen. Her troubled eyes sought Sarah's who grinned before taking off her own shirt and removing her brassiere. She then pulled her thick mane of dark blond hair to the front and turned around so Ari could see her back where there were identical marks between her shoulder blades and her neck.

Ari was nonplussed at the sight. "Did she do this to you too? When? How? Why?"

"Last night, obviously, but you didn't notice them when we were sitting on your bed because they're on my back and my hair covered them at other times. The first I knew about it was at the pool where some smart-aleck snickered and said 'someone sure had a good night.' What an idiot!" Sarah replied. "Now, tell me about this strange experience before I tell you what I think this means."




The Apple... Ch. 07



Ari tried to recount the afternoon's events as best she could. "She growled when she pushed me against the wall. I mean literally growled. Then she grabbed a handful of my hair and pulled my head back and..." She hesitated.

"Then she closed her jaws on your throat until you whined in submission." Sarah went on for her, nodding as if it confirmed her idea.

"Yes, how did you know?"

"Later. Continue." Sarah said succinctly.

"The only way I can describe it to say that she took me. I have bedded men with strong personalities who have tried to impose themselves on me, but I have never let any of them do it. I have always been in control, but with her, this afternoon... she was the one in control. I mean totally in control. It is as if I was there only for her pleasure but she only gave it. I do not think she even came once through the whole thing. And that is not all of it." Ari hesitated before going on as what she recalled did not make sense to her.

"That's where the really strange experience happened."

"How did you know?"

"Don't worry your pretty head, go on."

"After she gave me the most incredible orgasm as I was standing pinned to the wall... After..." Ari couldn't find the words to continue.

"You went into a fugue state. You had a blackout." Sarah prompted her.

"How did...? Sort of, I guess. The next thing I knew I was on the bed on all fours with my face buried in the pillow and someone or something was behind me and on me. I was disoriented, I did not recognize her. It is as if I had forgotten the last couple of days. I almost lost it when I realized a woman was doing things to me. I... She... Then she... She licked my asshole as she... She fucked me, Sarah, and she made me come so hard." Ari wailed, crying in her confusion as she relived the events.

"And what did she say when you recovered?" Sarah asked quietly as she gathered Ari in a reassuring embrace.

"When she saw that I was all right, she giggled and said 'Oh what fun games we play. Did you like it, my wife?' Yes her wife. That's what started it all. She called me her wife in passing and I played the frightened virgin getting ready for the wedding bed. But that is not important. When she saw the bite marks, she actually broke out crying and licked every single mark like she was trying to clean and heal it. After licking each, she kissed it repeatedly. She was inconsolable. It took me a long time to bring her down enough so we could take the bus home. She even wanted to stay at her apartment. She barely touched her food at supper and she fell asleep immediately when I put to bed for her nap before work. She hardly spoke to me at all when I woke her and would not meet my eyes. Sarah, I am worried that I broke something in her and that she will never recover. I am not even sure she will come back here tomorrow morning. What have I done? Mother, what have I done?"

Sarah held Ari in her arms, stroking her hair and murmuring soothing nonsensical words until she calmed down enough to understand her theory on the events.

Once Ari had cried herself out and stopped shaking in her arms, Sarah began gently. "Let's begin with the trigger of the whole series of events. You're wrong about your role playing being unimportant. In fact, that's exactly the continuing thread linking everything."

"How can it be? It was just a silly game." Ari asked.

"Let me finish. Then if you want to refute my take on this, at least think about it a few minutes once I'm done."

"All right, I will." Ari said, bowing as usual to Sarah's superior understanding of the complexity of human interactions.

"So, in this role playing you adopted the most submissive role possible in the situation and you gave her the dominant one, I imagine."

"I suppose I did. If I remember correctly, I said that I was just an innocent virgin ready for her to ravish me. Or something to that effect."

"Exactly! And you are aware of your bond? Of how profound it is?" Sarah asked with a grin.

"Of course I am." Ari shot back, indignant. "Yesterday, she even made me come by thinking about her as she did."

"Is this the only occasion where she exerted her will to control you?"

"Well, I don't know how to say this without sounding like a complete fool, but... in the same session, she looked me straight in the eye and growled at me to keep my hands where she had held them on the bed and... and I did. Even when I passed out for a moment, I did not move them until she told me that I could. I had forgotten about the command and I still did not move them."

"I'm not surprised. So you two are deeply bonded and as part of a game you assumed a submissive role and gave her the dominant one of your own free will. Exactly as happened yesterday when you spanked her and she willingly submitted. No, let me continue. Only this time, the bond was activated as an integral part of the role playing because your union is so important to you both. You could say you went into instinctual overdrive. What each wanted fed to the other, amplifying the response which in turn echoed back through the link again amplified. A physics professor once described a similar phenomenon to me, but I forget the term he used. It had something to do with nuclear reaction, I think. What I mean is that you both lost yourselves, your individuality and became the role. I'm sure that if we were to ask her, she was just as much in a fugue state as you were. As for her 'fucking' you instead of 'making love' as before, if you think about it, that's precisely what you wanted deep down and in fact asked her for, no?"

"What you say feels right, but she licked my asshole."

"Poor honey, you're such an innocent in so many ways. Anal sex is a perfectly natural thing. And fun too. Many species practice it. Obviously for the fun of it, the same as us humans, since it has nothing to do with procreation. If you're interested, the three of us should talk about it sometime."

"Yes, well, let us table that idea for now. What about the growling, and the throat thing, and the bites?"

"That's the easy part. Can you wrap your head around the difference between the concepts of 'dominant personality' and 'alpha female'?"

Ari thought about it for a moment before answering. "I suppose I can. There is not much of a difference, is there?"

"Of course there is, and a major one at that. You've studied enough psychology to know that the dominant personality is goal oriented and will rise to the top by asserting her will over others, sometimes with little or no regard for them. It's usually observed in a small group but it could apply even in a large one, I suppose. Who knows, there may even be a female president or prime minister someday."

"Yes, that is a simplified but fair summary of the clinical definition of a dominant personality, according to William Marston."

"If we look at last night, there were two dominant females with her but one was bonded to her and the other was an unknown quantity, so she unconsciously asserted her dominance by marking me and showing me she would protect you if I threatened you. Wait, let me finish. This afternoon, you 'wanted' her to dominate you so she playfully 'marked' you so others would know you are hers and under her protection. She didn't hurt either of us, did she? You could even say she extended her protection to me too."

"What does any of this have to do with the alpha female?"

"You said so yourself when she exerted her authority on me about my messy habits. You called her 'motherhood personified' and 'selfless at a high level'. You know that in any pack or family group, the can only be one alpha female, no matter the personalities of the members of the group. She is the mother, the ultimate protector, of course. You know the proverb 'there is no more dangerous than a mother protecting her young'."

"Let us say that I agree with everything you said, how can I make her understand it? In only a few days, she has already been exposed to so many new concepts at the total opposite end of the spectrum from all her previous experiences and education. This may have been one too many."

"Once again, your bond got in the way. Only this time, it amplified a negative emotion of guilt because you did not understand what was happening and did not counter it with a positive reinforcement of love."

"So what should I do then?"

"Not just you. Me too. I am also part of the pack, remember. Tomorrow is Tuesday, so you have an early class. I will go to the university after her shift ends and follow her to see where she goes. When you are done, we will get together and finalize the plan to hit her with all the love we can, wherever she went. We will show her that her 'marks' are a welcome thing that we are proud to be members of her family. It shouldn't be hard to sell because we are, when all is said and done."

"We are? You are?" Ari said, stunned at Sarah's statement.

"Ari, I love you like a sister. Heck, I barely like my real sister. You are my best friend, but you can be so dense sometimes." Sarah replied, shaking her head. "In your case, she is even more than family, she is totally and irrevocably bonded to you. As for me, she has already shown me she is willing to be my 'mother' to my betterment and she has given me her protection when she marked me as a member of her family/pack. Plus, I like the little woman."

"That is all well and fine, but how can we make her understand the concept of a pack as it applies to us and her role in it? And an unconscious one at that?"

"Why should we? Think about it. She is the mother. Wow! I almost put a capital 'M' there, but you get the idea. It's her natural function. Why complicate things unnecessarily? Once she is past the shock of your common fugue and what happened, we, and especially you, go about life normally and she should get over it fairly quickly, I'm sure. And, as she has repeatedly said that she wants you to teach her things, if you should happen to direct her attention to the concepts involved, more power to her."



The Apple... Ch. 08



The apple doesn't fall far from the tree

Chapter 8

Juliette was profoundly despondent as she made her way to the university.

How could she have hurt her Ari? She didn't even remember doing it. What a horrible person she must be. Maybe the priests were right and what she had done these past days was an abomination for which she must be punished or her soul would be fated to eternal damnation.

'But I was so happy! I love Ari so much! She is the other part of me! How can I live if I can't be with her? But I don't want to hurt her again. It's not fair!' She wailed within the confines of her mind, on a dangerous spiral to despair. She felt herself losing her grip on life itself. Everything that made her the woman she was, now became suspect. Could she have been so wrong about her feelings? About everything?

She made an effort to be nice to her supervisor and her co-workers when she clocked in for work because, after all, it wasn't their fault if she was such a bad person.

When Juliette got to the library, she went about her work conscientiously, if not with her customary industriousness, but she did not stint in her efforts either. She had been intrusted with this responsibility and she had accepted it. Heartsick she may be, she could not let the people down. That would be wrong.

So lost in her misery, she did not even notice that Ari had not come to study.

Around one am, Juliette felt uneasy all of a sudden. The library seemed to darken, the air thickening with a sulfurous stench. She sat on the nearest chair as she got dizzy. Some dark menace was coming for her. No, not for her. For Ari. For HER Ari! "NO!" She shouted in the empty library. "You will NOT have her!" Her eyes were flashing with fury. She paced angrily, enraged beyond reason that someone, something would dare attack HER Ari. "NO! Go away! She is MINE!" Her mind in a turmoil, she raged on for long moments, until she sensed that the danger had passed.

It took Jules a long time to calm down and when she did, she took stock of the situation. Her decision made, she went about her duties as expeditiously as she could. Once done, she got her things and went in search of her supervisor. "Sir, I have finished my work for the night and I need to go home. There is a family emergency."

Knowing his employee's dedication, he was certain that her work was indeed completed and, a family man himself, at seeing her agitation he never hesitated in giving her leave to go. "I understand. And don't worry, I'll personally punch your time card later. Well, what are you waiting for? Isn't there an emergency at home?" He laughed softly at her swiftly retreating back.

***********

Sarah was sitting in the living room reading a book of poetry by an author she particularly liked. Ari had gone to bed not long before, so she had lowered the volume of the radio to a background noise level. 'Poor thing, she was so happy at last. Lord why did you have to bring Chaos to our doorstep so soon? She doesn't deserve this.'

When she heard Ari whine piteously, she threw her book down and rushed to Ari's room. 'This is going to be a bad one.' She thought, but by the time she made it there, she couldn't hear her anymore. When she peered within, she saw her friend sleeping peacefully. She even smiled beatifically. 'Is she purring?'

Back in the living room Sarah figured she had better unlock the door and be ready to open it quickly or it would be reduced to kindling when the Mother arrived.

Sure enough, barely 90 minutes had passed when she heard footsteps pounding up the stairs. She had just enough time to open the door before Jules went through the opening without slowing down in the slightest. 'She probably wouldn't have noticed the obstacle.' Sarah thought with a grin.

She had expected cries, shouts, something, but as silence stretched, she quietly went looking. What she saw was clothes strewn everywhere. 'So much for the motherly admonition.' Jules was in the bed, Ari in her embrace, head pillowed on her breast, suckling contentedly on a nipple as the Mother gazed tenderly at her with a look of Pure Love.

'Well, that's that. Steps one through five completed successfully. No need to pussyfoot around her. She will probably understand everything better than Ari did.' Giggling to herself, Sarah made sure the doors were locked and went to bed, confident she would sleep undisturbed. 'Unless those two get frisky in the middle of the night.' She amended the thought.

**********

The three naked women were sitting on Ari's bed, sipping at coffee cups Sarah had brought.

"So you see Jules, your bond is so strong you both got caught up in the role play at a level you didn't understand and you got swept away by it." Sarah explained. "There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. You did not hurt Ari, you gave her love bites. So what? I've had worst by lovers who got carried away in the heat of the moment."

"Are you sure? I thought I was a bad person and..." Jules pulled Ari closer to her as she remembered her anxiety of the previous day.

"That's exactly what I mean. All this was because you're good person. And what happened last night is proof positive. You love her so much you interpreted this loving gesture the wrong way because you didn't understand it and felt guilty at having 'hurt' the person you love more than life itself."

"What about this alpha thing you mentioned? It sounds pretty farfetched to me."

"Only because it's a complicated way of saying a simple thing. We are a family and in a family, there can be only one mother. In our case, that's you. You are the mother figure on many levels. Look at this." Sarah turned, pulling her hair out of the way.

"Oh, no! You too!" Jules exclaimed when she saw the bite marks on Sarah's back.

"Yes, me too. It means you love me too and that I'm part of your family." Sarah leaned over to hug and kiss Jules. "I'm deeply touched that you think so highly of me to include me in your family."

The group hug that followed cemented the core unit of this unusual family with the unbreakable bonds of the heart.

**********

"Now, Jules, you should exert your motherly authority and get the adoring fool to let go of you and get ready for work. Love and devotion are well and good, but the rent won't pay itself. Life goes on."

Ari had barely said a word since waking up in Jules arms. She would not let go of her. Jules even had to insist she wait outside when she went to the lavatory. The events of the previous night had had a profound effect on Ari. She had not come to grips yet with Jules' role in them. All she knew was that her Jules had come back to her and she never wanted to come so close to losing her again.

"Sarah is right, my love. I will be right here when you come back. I'm not going anywhere. I will always be with you. I promise."

**********

Later, Jules and Sarah sat at the kitchen table and discussed their bond mate and friend.

"I don't want to go into details because they should be hers to tell, but I think we should address Ari's situation sooner rather than later." Sarah told Jules.

"She did not seem like herself this morning. What do you think happened? Is it my fault?" Jules asked, her eyes filled with unshed tears.

"It's not your fault. She has deep seated issues going back to her early adolescence and to the war years which have been festering within her because she will not address them. She's a strong willed and independent woman who thinks she can deal with things on her own, and it hasn't work all that well for her. In the last few months, she has been more and more fragile, breaking down in tears often for no reason. She's been spending days in her study staring at the walls..."

"How can I help?" Jules interrupted, worried for her Ari.

"You already have and more than I could have ever imagined possible, which may be part of this new twist on the problem. You have given her strength to face her issues, but it does not mean she has dealt with them, only that she can now face them. What happened yesterday has shaken this new found confidence. When she thought she had hurt you..."

"She did?" Jules asked, incredulous. "But I thought I had hurt her."

"You thought you had hurt her physically, where she thought she had hurt you emotionally. That's the point. She felt guilty for putting you in a position where she thought you felt conflicted between your love for her and your previous experiences and upbringing. And when she thought you may not come back to her, she reverted and left herself wide open to her inner demons. I'm afraid she was giving in and may not have wanted to fight back anymore."

"Do you mean...?"

"Yes, you had given her such hope life could be different and she could be free of the nightmares that when she thought you were gone she could see no way out and could have been lost mentally, possibly never to come back."

"Oh, my poor Ari!" Jules wailed. "How could I have done this to her? I didn't know!"

Sarah went to her and hugged her tightly. "You didn't do anything wrong. In fact, I don't know how, but you did exactly the right thing. You fought for her and won decisively. Now she's hanging on to you for dear life, because on some level, she knows what you did and is afraid to let go for fear she will get lost for good."

"How can I help? I don't know the first thing about helping with that kind of problem."

"But you do, honey. You have been doing it your whole life. When one of your brothers or sisters had nightmares or came home with some trouble with their friends, you held them and consoled them. This is same thing, but you have powerful tools you didn't have with your siblings: your love for Ari and the strength of your bond."

Jules nodded, beginning to see a way out of this predicament. "So I need to get her to confront her demons and do it with her so she knows she is not alone and will never be ever again."

"See? You know what to do. All you need is to believe in yourself and you will realize you know so much more that you think."

Jules giggled. "That's what Ari's been telling me all along."

"What do you know? The lug's not as dumb as she looks. Ouch! What was that for?" Sarah rubbed her arm where Jules had hit her with a not-so-mock punch.

"Sorry. A reflex, I guess. Just remember who's within reach when you talk about my Ari that way."

"Yes, mommy." Sarah grumbled under her breath.

**********

A few hours later, Ari had come back from the university. Immediately, her eyes has sought Jules and upon seeing her she had rushed to her, pulling a chair as close as possible and hugging her, cooing her devotion.

Jules and Sarah looked at each other and nodded in agreement. This was worse than they had thought and they must do something right away. Jules pulled Ari up and, motioning for Sarah to follow, went to their room where they undressed her, took off their robes, and got under the covers, both flanking a giggling Ari.

They took their time in expressing their love to Ari, demonstrating in a very tangible and tactile way how much she meant to them.

**********

Later, as they lay catching their breath, cuddling, Jules in front of her and Sarah at her back, their arms enfolding her protectively, Jules tenderly cupped Ari's face and held her gaze. "My love, we need to talk. Both Sarah and I are worried about you. I know you said you weren't ready to talk about what's troubling you, but we think you need to."

"Noooooo!" Ari tried to bury her face in Jules shoulder but she wouldn't let her.

"My love, baby, you need to listen to me." Jules said sternly though it nearly broke her heart when she saw the piteous expression on her Ari's face. "You are a strong girl. I know you are. Mommy is here for you and she will help you. Sarah is here too and you know she has always been there for you. Together we are stronger than anything. You need to tell me all the bad things that happened to you so we can fight and beat them. Then they won't be able to hurt you anymore. Can you do that, baby?"

"I... I will try." Ari said in a little girl's voice. "There was this man. He was nice to me. He taught me all kinds of fun things about flowers and stuff." Ari giggled at the memory, then her smile turned to a frown. "One day, he said we would play a new game. He brought me to the tool shed and... and he... he did bad things. He hurt me... down there. I cried, but he would not stop. Oh, mommy, he hurt me!" Ari wailed.

Jules didn't know if she could go on. She was on the verge of collapsing herself as she absorbed Ari's pain through their bond. Looking up through the tears flowing profusely, she saw Sarah who nodded to her with an expression of infinite sadness. She mouthed the words 'Keep going. You're doing fine'. 'But I'm not' Jules thought. 'It's breaking my heart. How can I make her relive this horror?' When Sarah squeezed her hand in support, she broke out of the unending circle of empathy and pain. She was transported to the night before, she felt this towering rage at the man who hurt her Ari. She knew she had to go on. She took a deep breath and pulled Ari in tight.

"You're doing fine, baby. The bad man is gone. He can't hurt you anymore. You're safe now. Tell me what happened after."

"He said I could not tell anyone. He said he would hurt me real bad and he said he would hurt my mommy... Nooooooo! Not mommy!" Jules let her cry all she needed before urging her gently to continue. "I did not say anything. I did not tell! I swear! But mommy found my undies where I hid them because of the blood on them and she asked me if I had hurt myself. I did not tell! I swear! She was crying and I was crying. And then daddy came and mommy told him about the dirty undies and he got angry. I was afraid. Daddy never got angry with me. I thought he was angry at me. But I had done nothing wrong! I told him it was not my fault. I said the bad man had hurt me. I said he made me bleed and that was why my underwear was dirty. I was so afraid. I am so afraid, mommy." Ari cried out.

Jules was shaking with so much with rage she could barely think straight. Sarah had to grab her chin and forcibly turn her head toward her. She whispered harshly. "Get a hold of yourself, woman. You are scaring her. You need to project reassurance and love, not anger. Even I can feel it. Imagine how it is for her." She felt as if Sarah had slapped her in the face. Hard. She opened her eyes wide as she looked at the concerned woman. 'What am I doing? I'm only thinking of myself and how I feel when I should be thinking of my Ari. My poor Ari.'

Closing her eyes, Jules reached deep within and found the strength to shift the focus of her emotions. 'You are my Ari, my soul mate, my love, we are one now and forever.' She repeated the words in her mind over and over again, projecting all of her considerable inner strength and unconditional love through their bond, hoping she had not done irreparable damage.

After a moment, Ari calmed down and she was able to continue.

"When he saw he had scared me, daddy took me in his arms and he said it was okay and that he was not angry at me and he said the bad man would not hurt me anymore. And then I was not afraid. After a while, daddy went away and mommy stayed with me until I fell asleep. Then the bad man was gone and everything was better. But mommy was always sad and daddy too, and he was angry too. I did not understand. Then after the summer vacation, mommy said I was going to a different school. I did not want to go. All my friends were at my old school. I cried a lot. I cried when they left me at the new school. They said they would visit me every week-end. I did not want to stay. I wanted to go home. But they left me there all alone."

Jules wondered how much more she could endure as she listened to this young girl recount the saddest days of her life. She steeled her resolve, finding the strength in her mantra 'You are my Ari, my soul mate, my love, we are one now and forever.'

"Then when it was time to go to bed, I was so lonely. I could not stop crying. The mean girl in the bed next to mine shouted at me to shut up and the sister came and said I was a baby and to stop crying. But I was soooo lonely. And then this other girl came and she hissed at the mean girl and she went away and the nice girl got in her bed and she took my hand and she said that I was not alone. She said that she would be my friend. And I stopped crying because I was not alone anymore."

Jules looked up at Sarah who nodded. She took her hand and held it as she mouthed. 'Thank you.'

"And she was my bestest friend forever. She said her name was Sarah like her grand-mother and she said it meant she was a princess. I giggled and I said she did not look like a princess because she was not gentle and delicate and did not wear a beautiful gown and a crown. I said my name was Arianna because my mommy said it was such a beautiful name that people had made music for me. It is true, she showed me the albums and they were all called Arianna. It was nice but I did not like them so much because I could not understand the words."

"And when the older girls were mean to me my friend Sarah would come and call them bad names and she would tell them to stop. And because she was big and strong they were not mean to me anymore. I love my friend Sarah."

"I am tired mommy. Will you take a nap with me?"

"Yes, baby. Mommy will stay with you always. Close your eyes now and sleep. I love you, baby."

"I love you too, mommy."

Within seconds, Ari's breathing settled to a regular rhythm as the catharsis she had gone through took its toll and she fell into the deep sleep of emotional exhaustion.

Sarah gently got out of the bed, leaving her friend in the loving care of her wife. She stopped in the bathroom to splash some cold water on her face, but it did nothing for the lump in her throat or the tears falling continuously on her cheeks.

She knew Ari had taken a major step forward in reliving out loud those awful memories, but would it be enough? Could she deal consciously with the pain and misery she had repressed so long?

In her room, Sarah went to the bottom drawer of her linen cupboard. She pulled a small locked steel box and opened it. She took a yellowed piece of paper and though by now she knew its content by heart and had for years, she read it. 'BODY OF A MAN FOUND IN THE WOODS – When Henri Thibodeau, a gardener in the employ of renowned industrialist Douglas Monroe failed to show up for work several days running in early July, Mr. Monroe's majordomo signaled his disappearance to the authorities. No significant search was conducted as it was thought he had gone back to the rural region where he still had some family. His body was found yesterday afternoon by a hiker. He had been severely beaten and his body cruelly mutilated. This may have occurred before his death, but the medical examiner refused to confirm the information. A police investigation is under way. The man had no criminal record and no known friends. His neighbors say he was a loner who did not socialize much..."

'Rot in hell you bastard.' Sarah though savagely. 'I would have made you suffer so much more. You were lucky I was not the one wielding the knife.'

She put the newspaper clipping back in the box, locked it and stored it back in the drawer. Then she threw herself on her bed and pressed her face on the pillow so the others wouldn't hear her cry out her agony.

**********

When Ari woke from her nap she felt especially refreshed, invigorated. She felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from her spirit. She took a few minutes to ponder the significance of this feeling of liberation.

Sitting straight up in the bed, she let out a surprised "Oh!" Then, turning to the woman by her side she exclaimed, "My Jules, my love, you are here!" And she lunged to wrap her in her arms, buried her face in her neck, sobbing. "I was afraid you would never come back. When did you get here? You should have woken me."




The Apple... Ch. 08



Confused, not knowing what to say exactly, Jules hugged and kissed her Ari, giving herself some time to come up with an answer she hoped would be the right one.

She need not have worried. Sarah had been waiting for Ari to wake and when she heard her, she came to sit on the bed. "Good afternoon, Ari. Did you sleep well?"

"Good morning, Sarah. Look, Jules is here. She came back to me. We do not have to worry anymore."

"That's good, honey, but you should let her breathe, don't you think?" Giggling, Ari let go of Jules' neck. "Now give me a kiss and let me kiss her welcome."

After kissing Jules, she brought her mouth to her ear and whispered quietly. "Smile. Show her you love her. Follow my lead." 

"Now honey, you know Jules came back last night." Sarah said in a soft voice.

"She did?" Ari turned to Jules. "You did?" To which Jules nodded.

"Yes she did and she was here before that. Do you remember?"

"But that's imposs..." Ari frowned. She felt she should remember something important, but it was just out of her reach.

"Yes, Ari. Remember the nightmare. The bad thing was coming and you were afraid." Ari nodded, afraid to remember as she always was. But why was Sarah insisting she remember? It made her feel bad. She knew that. "Remember the bad thing was coming then..." Sarah went on counting on the strength of the bond to get Ari through this time. "Then Jules was there with you and you were not afraid anymore. Remember, Ari." 

At first Ari didn't want to remember. It hurt too much. But when Sarah mentioned Jules being there, she wasn't so sure anymore. After all, if her Jules had been there, how bad could it be?

"That's it, my love. You can remember. Nothing will hurt you, my Ari. I'm here with you as I was there with you. I'll always be there for you." Taking her cue from Sarah, she used the same reassuring timbre and cadence she had when a young child had a bad nightmare.

It came back to her all of a sudden, with complete clarity. Her eyes opened wide and she put her fist to her mouth to stifle a cry. Then she looked from Sarah to Jules. "You were there! How? You were there with me. You shouted at the bad thing and it was afraid and it went away and you wrapped your arms around me and you said I was safe and the bad thing would not get to me because you would always be there and... You were there!" She fell in Jules' arms crying in great big sobs. "My Jules, you came back to me. I thought you were gone forever. I was so afraid of losing you."

Hearing Ari's voice rise in pitch, Sarah knew they must continue to push, to anchor her to the present, to keep her from retreating within herself again, maybe permanently. "Yes, honey, she chased the bad thing, then you slept and when you woke she was there for real. Do you remember?"

"I... I think I do... I was holding to her because I was af... afraid she would go away again and you were talking to her and... and she told me I had to go to work. I did not want to go but I did because she said she would always be with me and she was. I could feel her with me the whole time and I knew deep down she would be here when I came back and she was." Ari beamed at the recollection.

"Yes she was, honey. Now do you remember what you did when you came back?"

"Yes I do. I hugged and kissed her and I loved her and I will never let her go because I love her."

"I know you do, honey, and she knows you love her too. Don't you Jules?"

"Yes, my love. And I will always love you. I promise. And I will always be with you wherever you are." From the corner of her eye, she saw Sarah trying to get her attention. When she turned her head, Sarah mouthed the word 'baby'. Jules nodded. "You know that, baby. You know mommy will always be there for you." Ari nodded vigorously, a big grin on her lips.

'Here comes the tricky part.' Sarah thought. "Ari, honey, listen to me. Listen to my voice. You know Jules is there outside you, you can see her. You know she is also inside you. You can feel her there too, can't you?"

Ari frowned in concentration, then her face cleared with an amazed expression. "Yes! Yes! I can feel her. She is here inside of me. Oh, Jules!"

"Okay, Ari." 'Now for the hard part,' She thought. "I want you to remember what happened when you and Jules and me came back here and we got in the bed."

"You took off my clothes and I was naked. That is naughty." She giggled. "Then you were naked too."

"Yes honey and then what did we do." Sarah continued with the same soft hypnotic monotone.

"We got in the bed and when we were under the covers, we played naughty games. I like playing naughty games, they are fun and they make me feel good. Can we play more naughty games, Sarah? I like to play naughty games with you and mommy. You are so nice to me."

"I know you do, Ari. We like playing naughty games with you too, we will play again with you later if you're a good girl, but for now I need you to remember what we did after the naughty games."

"We... I... I took a nap?"

"Before the nap, honey. You were talking to mommy. You told her a big secret." Sarah gestured to Jules to take on from there.

"Yes, baby, after we played the naughty games that you like so much, we were under the covers. Sarah was behind you and I was in front of you and we were playing the sandwich game with you." Seeing Sarah's questioning look, Jules shrugged, silently saying 'What? Got a better idea?' At Sarah's grin she continued. "We were the bread and you were the meat and we had lots of fun. And then mommy asked you if you wanted to tell her a secret and you did."

"Noooooooooo! I cannot tell. I promised! The bad man will hurt you, mommy!" Ari wailed. Grasping Jules desperately.

Sarah took over. "Ari! Arianna honey. Listen to me. Listen to my voice. Do you know who I am?"

"Yes. You are Sarah, but your voice is different. What happened to you Sarah? Are you sick?"

"No, Arianna, I'm not sick. Listen to my voice. You know you can trust me. I am your friend."

"Yes, you are my bestest friend forever. I am not alone anymore."

"No, honey, you're not alone. I'm here with you and mommy is here with you too. The bad man is gone. Daddy made him go away. He was not angry at you. He was angry at the bad man and he made him go away. You're safe now. You can remember the secret. Nobody will hurt you. I promise."

"Daddy is not angry with me?"

"No baby. Daddy is not angry with you."

"And the bad man will not hurt you, mommy?"

"No baby, daddy made him go away and he will not come back."

"I... He... He..."

All of a sudden, Ari went rigid, every muscle in her body seizing and she let out a piercing wail.

Jules did not understand what was happening to her Ari. She grappled her. "Ari! Baby! Love! What's happening to you? Sarah! What have we done?"

Sarah rushed to lay behind Ari, Holding her tightly between them. "Arianna, honey, it's okay. You're safe. You can remember. Don't be afraid! You have to remember! We're here with you honey. You know I've never let anybody hurt you and you know Jules would never let anybody hurt you. You have to remember and come back to us. We love you too damn much. Stay with us."

Just as suddenly, Ari went limp. She lay with her head against Jules' shoulder and wept with convulsive gasps, purging herself of the pain she had repressed for so long.

Sarah let out a mighty sigh. 'The worst is over, I hope. Now we wait and see what state she's in after going through this meat grinder experience.'

Ari sobbed deeply for long minutes then was silent for another long while. The other two waited with bated breath. Finally, Ari lifted her head and said in a little girl's voice. "I like playing the sandwich, but can we play naughty games now? I've been a good girl."

Jules and Sarah looked at each other, worried they had hurt Ari. The moment lasted only a few seconds until Jules jumped as her nipple was tweaked.

"Oh Ari! My Ari! You're okay! Sarah, she's okay!"

"Of course, I am all right. But I could swear I heard somebody promise we could play naughty games if I was a good girl. And everybody knows I am a good girl so..." She kissed Jules deeply, letting her hands roam all over her body, caressing, kneading every part she could reach. Then she turned to Sarah and cupped her face with both hands. "I do not know how you knew or why you stayed my friend for so long with me so damaged, but thank you. I love you Sarah Grisholm and I shall always love you." And Sarah received the same treatment Jules had.

All three laughed and cried as they reaffirmed their love for each other in every way they could think of, Sarah surprising the other two with some imaginative moves of her own.

**********

"Before I go to the corner store and use their telephone to call in sick for tonight, we need to do something. Get on your knees girls." Jules said as seriously as she could with hand cupping her mound and a mouth attached to her nipple.

Once in position, she looked at Ari and Sarah and took their hands. "Ari, you are my Ari, my soul mate, my love, we are one now and forever. Sarah, you gave me back my Ari. My heart belong to you. I love you and I will always love you."

Ari, taking Sarah's hand and completing the circle, went on. "Jules, you are my Jules, my soul mate, my love, we are one now and forever. Sarah, you healed me. You gave me back my life and my Jules. You were always my true heart-friend. I love you and I shall always love you."

Sarah had to swallow a few times to get past of the huge lump in her throat. "Jules, I was sure you were the person Ari had been waiting for all her life the moment I met you and I was right. I prepared for this moment for long years, but I could never have done it without you, so I guess I've also been waiting for you. I love you and I will always love you. Ari, you big lug... Ouch! Okay, okay, I'm sorry, mommy. So. Ari, I said I would be your friend when I first met you and I couldn't have asked for a better heart-friend. I love you and I will always love you."

They fell in a tangle of arms and legs and hands and mouths and breasts and vulvae, laughing and crying. Then Sarah added. "And to the fiery pits of hell with the Lord of Chaos. I'm on Mother Nature's team as of now!"

**********

Ari decided she would also call to cancel her classes of the following morning and Sarah, saying she did not want to be left alone, joined them. "Heck, I'm ravenous after all those emotions and exercises. We're going out to eat and I'm buying."

Which earned her a triple 'Hurrah'.

**********

Early the next Friday evening, Sarah was sitting in a private dining room, sipping an excellent French wine as she waited for her guest to arrive.

There was a discreet knock on the door and her sister ushered in a tall, distinguished gentleman. He was dressed in an impeccably cut three-piece suit she knew was made to measure by the finest tailor in the city. The man had a well-coiffed mane of snow-white hair and was clean shaven as if fresh from the barber's chair, leaving his patrician features open. For all that he projected the image of the successful captain of the industry, he also looked like a man who had few occasions to laugh or even smile.

Sarah rose and gave him a firm handshake as was her custom every time they had met in the last eighteen years.

"Good evening, Mister Monroe." She said seriously.

"Good evening, Sarah, and I asked you to call me Douglas a long time ago." He replied with a sigh. It was also part of their ritual. Though he was always ready to meet her whenever Sarah called, it was never a truly joyous affair, even when she gave him good news about his daughter's achievements.

Sarah pulled an envelope from her handbag and pushed it across the table.

When he opened it and saw the content, he looked at Sarah with a puzzled frown. "What is this?"

"Please read it, Mr. Monroe."

Douglas Monroe blanched as he read the old newspaper clipping and he was not a man easily affected. "What? Where did you...?"

"Mr. Monroe, it's finally time to bury the past and move toward the future." Sarah told him with a deadpan expression.

"Do you mean she... that Arianna...?" He stammered, flustered for the second time in as many minutes.

Sarah couldn't keep the pretense any longer and a happy smile illuminated her face. "Yes sir, she is. All those years of auditing psychology classes while she thought I was living a life of debauchery with my artiste friends finally paid off. Heck, looking back, I probably should have taken the doctorate when they offered it."

"You really mean she is cured? When can we see her? Her mother will be so happy."

"Cured, basically yes. She still has a long way to go, but I have to tell you she has the two best therapists money can't buy."

"Yes, yes. I know you are, but who is this other specialist."

"Well, she's not exactly a specialist. More of a generalist you could say."

"But..."

"Oh, by the way, Douglas, you have either a new daughter and a new daughter or two new daughters-in-law. I'm not exactly sure how things stand, but you get my drift. Don't you?"

"What do you mean 'daughter'? Oh! And is she happy?"

"More like deliriously happy, I would say." Sarah grinned broadly.

"If she is deliriously happy, then I am deliriously happy and her mother will be too when I tell her. But when can we see her, them, you? Whatever. I mean when can we see our daughter?"

"I don't know if we should go to your house for the annual company Halloween Party. We might shock some of your board members into cardiac arrest, but I'm sure we would all be happy to be there for a quiet, well, maybe not so quiet, Thanksgiving family dinner."

"To hell with those stuffy assholes, if they don't like it, they can kiss my big hairy American ass. I'll send the first to say anything wrong about my daughter back to work production at one of the mills. I want to see my daughter." Douglas Monroe roared.

"Too much information there Douglas. And watch out, you know your working class origins are showing when you get excited."

"And what if they are. It's no bloody secret. Now I've got to go. I need to tell the good news to Lorelei. We will expect you at the Halloween Party. Call me and I will send my chauffeur. And give my regards to your mother. Tell her I will see her at the company luncheon next week."

On his way out he stopped to kiss Sarah on the mouth and give her a great big bear hug before almost literally bouncing out the door.

Sarah sat back down grinning at this most uncharacteristic demonstration of exuberance until she saw the envelope he had left on the table. She took out the yellowed paper, lit it at the candle in the middle of the table and watched it burn in the ashtray. When it was consumed, she crushed the cinders into a fine powder with exaggerated thoroughness. Heaving a great sigh, she got up. 'Time for me to move forward also. The past is dead. Long live the future.'

'You took your own sweet time, but thank you Mother.' She added sotto voce as she walked out into the sunset. 



The Apple... Ch. 09



The apple doesn't fall far from the tree

Chapter 9

Somewhere in the far east of the Aegean Sea, facing the Turkish coast, there is an island. On this island, is a small village called Petra, a most unimaginative name as it simply means 'rock' for the giant monolith located some distance inland.

As the young woman sits cross-legged on the sandy beach and warm crystal water laps at her knees, she can hear, on her far right, the local fishermen unloading the daily catch of sardines. She can smell the luxuriant odor of verdancy carried on the evening breeze from the forest, olive groves and fruit-bearing tree orchards at her back. She pays little heed to those as all of her attention is on the setting sun and the beautiful colors painting the sky and the becalmed sea.

This is her favorite place. Hardly anybody comes there at this hour and she can watch as day transitions into night while she meditates on the daily teachings of the great poetess in whose care she has been intrusted by her family. She reflects on the beauty of her writings and, if truth be told, on that of her body also because, if she admires the mind, she is in love with the flesh.

To the young woman, she is the epitome of the Greek female. Her aristocratic features reflect a towering intellect. Her slender form, graceful as she walks among her pupils, is passionate as she writhes under her caresses at night. Thinking about her beautiful mistress, she can feel heat build within her innermost sanctum.

The tide rises, slowly, inexorably, the warm sea reaches her thighs. Still she does not move. Every evening, she sits on this very spot, her naked skin exposed to the last rays of the sun as it meets the horizon. According to the lunar calendar, she is either left dry, barely touched by the water or enveloped by it to the waist. It is of no importance to her as it is part of her communion with Nature in this daily ritual.

This evening, though, she cannot attain her usual level of her serenity for the words of the poetess' most recent masterpiece resonate in her mind replacing calm with excitement for she was the object of it. The great Sappho had chosen to dedicate her rhymes to her, a lowly acolyte, only one of the many who share her attentions nightly. Though she knows she should cultivate humility, her heart fills with pride and love.

Her concentration is further disrupted by the wetness of the rising sea lapping at the apex of her thighs. Instead of mere water, she imagines the hot mouth of the poetess as she licks...

"Hummmmmm." As the dream fades, Arianna Monroe wants to struggle to recapture it but is it gone? Is she still living it? The sweet feelings are still there though soft bed sheet have replaced the caress of the dying sun on her skin. There is another difference: two hands gently knead her breasts where none had previously. She smiles. This is better than a dream. Her lovers, her wives are bringing in the new day in their own inimitable way.

Wishing to savor the moment, she keeps her eyes closed as she reaches a hand to bring a sweet mouth to her own and the other to rest on the head between her legs. 'What a way to wake up.' She sighs.

When she felt the hand on her head, Jules knew the moment for subtlety was past. Where she had wanted to gently introduce pleasure in her Ari, her soul mate, her wife's dreams, now she could put her efforts to maximise it. The hands softly caressing the creamy skin of her thighs accented their pressure. The lips gently enfolding the entirety of her sex mixing her saliva with its secretion in a heady brew of love liquid, increased their caresses. The tongue lightly laving the pink cleft from one end to the other, licking the inside of the lips, wiggling within the vagina and completing its journey on the love button rising from its hood to meet it, sped its formerly languid movements. All now brought to bear with increased energy.

Sarah had felt the slight muscle and skin tension building even before her mouth had been pulled in a loving kiss. She put her heart and considerable skill into making her heart-friend, her lover, her wife, wake in the best possible manner: by feeling the love and passion of two people who cared deeply for her.

As the pleasure built toward its inevitable conclusion, Ari felt another kind of pressure rise in her heart as it was filled with love through the powerful bond she shared with her soul mate and flowing to her in an almost palpable wave from her heart-friend.

Two sources of energy, one erotic, the other psychic, one goal.

Already well on her way even before she woke up, Ari was rapidly swept on a wave of pleasure. Her body jerking this way and that, her nerves were overstimulated, she was hyperventilating as her lungs strove for more oxygen, sweat sprang from every pore and when, in a coordinated pincer movement, teeth lightly bit on her clitoris and more forcefully on her nipple, the mother of all orgasms swept through her, transporting her to a nirvana of ecstasy.

Sarah and Jules looked at each other when Ari came hard and smiled as they continued their assault, fiercely determined to keep her to the highest peaks for as long as she could endure. But everything must come to an end, even if it's a good one, so when Sarah brought her hand to her ass, rubbed her finger around the puckered hole then pushed her first knuckle in, it was too much for Ari. Her body arched in an ultimate spasm and her wails of pleasure rose to a scream of primal intensity. She held the position for long seconds before collapsing, limp as a wet rag.

"Good morning, my love!"

"Good morning, sleepy head!"

"Mmuummd mmmmurmm!"

"You know Jules, maybe she's still asleep. Did you get that?"

"You could be right. Sounds to me like she was talking in her sleep. I think we should continue what we were doing, just in case."

"I am awake! I am awake! Good morning!" Ari went on quickly as she curled in a ball, protecting her sensitized body. "Sheesh! You girls are terrible. Can I enjoy a moment of peace before you assault me again?"

"Sorry, honey, we thought it was a good way to wake you up. Maybe next time we'll settle for making coffee and let the smell bring you around."

"My poor baby fells like she the victim of sinister aggressors. Here, let mommy hug you. It will make you feel better." 'Mommy' had particular notions when it came to hugging her wives. As she tenderly brought Ari's head to rest on her breast she just 'happened' to direct her lips to a stiff nipple. "Is my baby hungry? Look, Sarah, I think she wants breakfast in beeeeeeed!" The two fingers thrust in her wet vagina interrupted her abruptly and the dripping sex lowered on her mouth prevented her from resuming her cheeky comments as her tongue became otherwise occupied.

**********

Sarah sat at the kitchen table and fondly watched her wives do the dishes amid much playful antics. Ari had scoops of soap foam adorning her nipples and Jules a distinct red handprint on her bum.

"You girls will never be done. You should have let me take care of that."

Looking over her shoulder, Jules smiled. "After fixing this wonderful breakfast, you deserve a break. It's the least we can do. You were kidding about my vegetable stew last week, right? You are a much better cook than I could ever be. What do you call those eggs you prepared?"

"Eggs Benedict. I picked up the English muffins and the lemons for the Hollandaise sauce last evening after you went to work and miss bookworm there said she was going to the library to study. Since you two were alone in there after 10:00pm, I don't suppose she did much studying."

"Yes I did." An indignant Ari retorted, but she continued with a sheepish grim. "Well, I, hum, wanted to take a break when the librarian left, but she would not let me. She said I needed to be a good girl and work hard so I would not spend the rest of my life in school. I think she takes this den mother thing too seriously. I am not a wolf bitch after all."

"No, my love, you are more of a pussycat. All soft and cuddly."

"Yes I am and you should take me in your arms and stroke and pet me instead of bullying me." Ari pouted.

"There is a time and a place for everything, dear heart. The library is the place for you to study and for me to work. You forgot to tell Sarah about my lunch break. I didn't hear you complain when I let you sit on the table spread-eagled and ate you instead of my sandwich."

"Let me! Ah! Sarah, I was sitting quietly, studying when this sex maniac grabbed me, almost ripped my shirt off, luckily I was not wearing a brassiere, pulled my pants down, laid me on the table and proceeded to ravish me in a most brutal manner."

"Brutal manner? Those weren't cries of anguish. You grabbed my hair with both hands, rubbing my face on your sex and shouted at me to lick you and make you come. And I didn't have to rip your shirt off since it was already unbuttoned and you teased me every time I passed near you by putting your hand inside it, moaning loudly as you played with your nipples."

Sarah was laughing hard by then. "You girls are too much. Molière has nothing on you. I never have to go to the theater anymore. All I have to do is stay at home and watch the comedy play you put on." 

Both women giggled and, in unison, turned to her and curtsied. Ari declared. "Our next performance will be in an hour. Please be generous as we pass the hat around."

"Sorry, I don't have any money on me because I don't have pockets on this skin I'm wearing, but if one of you will come sit on the table, I could use some more cream for my coffee."

There ensued much friendly pushing and shoving, nipple tweaking and ass slapping, until the matter was amicably resolved and there were two vulvae stacked in front of Sarah. "Hum, so much delicious flesh. Where shall I begin?" She settled the question by licking from the bottom of the lower dripping vulva to the top of the uppermost, ending with a wiggle of the tip of her tongue on Ari's puckered hole.

Watching Ari wiggle her butt, straining for a better contact, Sarah laughed to herself. 'Not so long ago, she was scandalized when Jules licked her asshole and now look at her go. She's a regular anal fiend. I wonder how she would take to one of my toys.' She debated with herself whether she should go to her room and get the implements but she settled for reaching over to the butter plate and scooping up a glob which she liberally spread on Ari's asshole and on her fingers.

When Jules saw her go for the butter, she had a good idea of what was in store for her Ari so she grabbed her cheeks and pulled them apart.

Ari felt the cool butter as it was applied. "Yeeesssss! Jules, she is buttering me up. She is going to... Aaaaaahhhhhh!" Sarah, only had to stroke the rectal muscle for a moment before she felt Ari relax it. She knew what was coming and she wanted it. Sarah gently pushed one finger a little way in and stopped to give her wife time to get used to its presence. But Ari wanted more and she meant to have it right away. She pushed back hard to get Sarah's finger deeper. "Yes, you pervert, fuck my ass! Do it!"

Sarah laughed as she gave her cheek a stinging slap. "Who's the pervert?" She slowly pulled her finger almost all the way out.

"I am! I am the pervert! Please do not pull it out. Stick your finger in my ass and make me come, Pleeeaaaasssse!"

"Well, since you ask so nicely..." Sarah thrust her finger all the way in, to Ari's delight. Sarah rotated her hand so her finger could reach all the sensitive areas within and when she felt both rectal muscles were sufficiently relaxed, she introduced a second finger.

"Aaaaaaaaahhhhh! Jules she has two fingers in me. She is fucking me sooooo gooooood!" This new sensation was rushing into Ari like a tidal wave. She had never felt so full back there. She felt herself losing control, in thrall to the pleasure devastating her in such a powerful yet delicious way. When she felt a third digit join in her ravishing, she let out a piercing wail and her body convulsed in an orgasm of cataclysmic proportions.

While Ari was thrusting against Sarah's hand, her pubic bone was grinding on Jules' vulva, stimulating her love button. Her torso was also rubbing her breasts forcefully, pushing her nipples this way and that as if they were pinched. She could feel Ari trembling above her as pleasure took her. "Yes my love. Let yourself go. Look at me. I love watching you come. Look as I come with you. Yeeeesssss!" Jules followed her wife in ecstasy, their eyes locked.

Manhandling Ari's rosebud while she made love to her soul mate, Sarah accelerated the thrusts of the fingers in and out of her own vagina. She pressed harder on her clit with the heel of her hand. When she saw them attain their goal, she curled her fingers to stroke her sweet spot and joined them with her own earth shaking orgasm.

**********

"Aw, Sarah, do we have to do this again today? We have had those 'jawing' sessions every day after you come back from the pool. We have to prepare for tonight and we are getting 'officially' married tomorrow morning." Ari whined.

"Yes, honey, we need to and we will take the time every day as long as we have to. You've had a major breakthrough last Monday and we need to follow up. You haven't had your worst nightmare all week, but you still have bad dreams, so we need to get to the bottom of this."

Hugging her, Jules went on. "Sarah's right, my love. It's important that we continue those 'jawing' sessions as she calls them. You know how much good it did to you Monday and you want to keep getting better, don't you?"

"I do, but..."

"Exactly, so get your butt over here and let's get on with it." Sarah said, firmly but with a smile and open arms in encouragement, as she leaned on the pillows set up against the headboard of their bed.

As usual, Ari leaned on her between her spread legs so she could rest her head on Sarah's shoulder at need while Jules sat in front of her, as close as she could, her legs over both Ari's and Sara's, holding her hands. "That's it baby, now relax as Sarah showed you and no tweaking of my nipples today, okay?"

"Aw, you're no fun. All right, I will behave if it will make you both happy and we can get back to getting ready for tonight. Now, that will make me happy." Ari said, beaming at the thought of the evening to come and the ceremony that would take place at daybreak.

**********

Earlier in the week, Sarah had prepared Jules for this as best she could. "On Monday we took care of the major trauma, but something else happened toward the end of the school year that caused her to block the whole year. No, nothing bad happened to her, but she saw something and it shocked her by bringing back the memory of her own rape and she went near-catatonic for three days. She would go into hysterics if I left her side even for an instant. Imagine a thirteen years old girl having to use the chamber pot while holding her friend's hand."

"Ooooh! My poor Ari. What happened? Can you tell me?" A worried Jules asked.

"No, I think it's better if you don't know in advance. Your reaction will be more natural that way. I hope it will have a stronger positive effect on her. Remember, we are in unchartered territory here. She has repressed nearly twelve months of her life so deeply for close to twenty years that she has no conscious memory of them, at all. We've made huge progress, but we still have to get past this last point in the missing period."

"I think I understand. I trust you Sarah. You've helped her so much already. I'll do as you say."

"We have helped her. Never forget it, Jules. None of this would have been possible without you. You've provided an anchor for her. Where she was drifting if a fog she could not understand, you gave her solid ground to stand on. I've tried often enough through the years to initiate a therapy only to pull back because it upset her too much."

"How come you know so much? What do you mean you tried to initiate therapy? I remember now you saying you had prepared for years for this. What did you mean by that?"

With a grin Sarah said. "Maybe I'll tell you someday. It's not terribly important." And she went on changing the subject quite effectively by kissing Jules and fondling her breasts.

**********

"Now, honey, we've talked about the school year, about the nice girls and the mean ones, about the teachers and how good you were in class."

"Yes and I still do not believe you were jealous of my grades. We exchanged first and second place all the years we were there except at the beginning of the second when we fell back."

"Yes we did, but you were always the better student. All I did was copy on your tests while you weren't looking. Ouch! You don't get to hit me like that, only Jules does and then only on special occasions."

"Then stop saying bad things about yourself. You are the one who helped me study and forced me to do my homework when I wanted to go out and play with the other girls."

"Okay, okay. I was your guardian angel and you were a terrible brat. So there. Better?"

"Not so much, but if you give me a kiss, I might forgive you." Ari said with a sweet innocent smile.

"I'll kiss you only if we get back to our discussion. And get your hand out from between my legs. You won't distract me as easily as you do Jules."

"Ah, well, it was worth a try."

"I'll get you back for this, Sarah. I'm not distracted by her so easily... only sidetracked, sometimes."

"Girls, girls, peace, please. This is important. Ari, we need to talk about what happened in early June of our first year at school."

"I do not know what you are talking about. I do not remember anything special."

"You mean you don't want to remember." Sarah could feel Ari shiver in her arms and saw Jules was growing alarmed as she felt her growing uneasiness through their link. "Jules, steady there, mother. Your baby needs you to be calm."

"Y... Yes. I will. I mean I am. Ari, love, you need to be strong and you are not alone. We are here. You have to remember. It's for your own good. Please, my love"

"O... Okay. If you say so. Sarah, is it going to be as bad as the other thing? What happened?"

"No honey. Nothing bad happened to you. You just saw something and it brought bad memories and it made you sick, but now you're a big girl and we want to make you all better."

"All right then. Will you help me remember? Were you there?"

"Yes I was. I was always with you. We were walking the grounds with Mrs. Darby, the biology teacher. She was telling us about the different kinds of flowers and bushes and trees. Then we heard a girl crying in the woods. We all went to see if she was hurt and we saw a man molesting one of the students."

"No! I do not want to remember! It was a bad thing! He was a bad man!"

"That was a long time ago. He didn't hurt you then and he can't hurt you now. But you have to remember. It's important, Ari."

"Nooooo! He was hurting her like the bad man had hurt me and I was crying and everybody was shouting. He turned when he heard us and he looked at me. I am sure he looked at me and you... you were flying through the air and you tackled him off the girl and he hit you..."

"Yes honey. You're doing good. And what happened after that?"

"HE HIT YOU, SARAH! And you were on the ground and he kept hitting you..."

"That's right. And what happened to the bad man?"

"He hit you and I was sure he would kill you... and... and I... and I JUMPED ON HIS BACK AND I SHOUTED AT HIM TO LET YOU GO AND I SCRATCHED AT HIS EYES UNTIL HE STOPPED."

"Yes you did, honey, and that was very brave of you. Thank you Ari. You saved me. You're a strong and brave girl. Now you can remember what happened after you screamed and scratched him. He can't hurt you or anyone else."




The Apple... Ch. 09



"He grabbed me and he threw me to the ground like he threw you and I thought he would hit me too and... all of a sudden, there was this big noise and he fell on me and I screamed because... his face was close to mine... it was full of blood... and everything went black and I do not remember anymore."

Ari lurched forward in Jules' arms, burying her face in her hair as she sobbed.

Sarah rubbed her back, massaged her shoulders, stroked her hair, while Ari cried herself out. When she calmed down, she had her lean back again but this time she pulled Jules in too.

"That's it, Ari, honey. You were a very brave girl and you saved me and the other girl. Then Mrs. Darby hit him on the head with a shovel. The police came and they took him away, but you were scared very badly because your mind went back to your own assault. You were too young and it was too much for you so your mind protected you by making you forget everything from the original attack to this one. You were very sick for the whole summer, but I was there with you all the time. Your parents were very nice to me and they love you very much."

"Yes, I remember. I think. I was in my bed, but it was bigger than before and you were in it with me, you held my hand and you said I was not alone. You kept repeating 'I am your friend and you are not alone. YES, I REMEMBER! Hey, you were in bed with me. Does this mean you were a lesbian even then? Ouch! Jules tell her she cannot hit me. I am a very sick girl."

"You are no more sick than I am. And neither were you then. All you were was a scared little girl with a mind that tried desperately to protect her the only way it could: by blocking the painful memories." Sarah kissed Ari's head. "Good brain. Nice brain. You went a little overboard, but thank you for helping my friend Ari."

Jules got in the act and kissed her Ari's head and face and mouth. "Yes, good brain and brave girl. You are a hero! I knew there was something special about you. To think it thought it was your beautiful body and there was a brain in there all along. Who knew? Ouch! Why did you twist my nipple so hard? I was paying you a compliment."

"I do not know. Sarah, do you think I am suffering from a relapse?"

"Clinically speaking, I suppose it's possible. Maybe we should do a thorough examination, beginning with your reflexes."

"Hey! I am a recovering invalid. You cannot just pinch my nipples like that. I will sue for malpractice."

"Sue all you want, I'm not a doctor. No judge will rule against me when I tell him that I love you."

Things went downhill... or was it uphill... from there as doing nasty things seemed to be the recompense for successful therapy session in this happy family.

**********

"Sarah, what did you mean when you said my parents were very nice to you and that they love me very much?" Ari asked still playing with Jules' breasts as they recovered from their exertions.

"When you would not let me leave your side, they insisted I come to your home with you. They called my parents and they arranged it with them for me to come live with you for a while. My mother and father visited often and they became fast friends with your parents. They still are. And your father had this great doctor examine you and since I was always with you I heard him. He said it was hysteria and a fugue state and that you would recover by yourself or not. He even had the gall to assure your father that there was nothing to be done and if you didn't get better soon that you should be put in a private home for the mentally disturbed. What an ass!"

"That's awful! And they did not, did they?"

"No, honey. When he said that your mother started crying and your father get all red in the face. I thought he would burst a vessel or something. So I came behind the bastard and gave him a big kick in the ass and told him he didn't know what he was talking about. I told him you were a strong girl and you would get better because I would help you. I may have used stronger language, but that's the gist of it."

"Then what happened?"

"I don't know who was more shocked of the doctor or your parents. They looked at this young chit of a girl who had disputed the diagnosis of the great doctor. Then the quack started to sputter in indignation but your parents looked at each other and they laughed so hard they were crying. Your father politely told the doctor that his services were no longer required "

"Good for them! That's my kind of people." Jules opined.

"And when he was gone, they hugged me and they said since the big man had admitted he couldn't do anything to help you, what did I think we should do? Just like that! They asked me what I thought. What did I know? I was only a girl of thirteen, but that's never stopped me from giving my opinion as you know. Ari was my friend and I would do everything I could to help her. So I told your parents that rest, a quiet environment and, most important, lots and lots of love would be the best medicine."

"So you were a doctor then! Maybe I can still sue. Ouch! Okay you brute of a quasi-quack. Go on with the story. I want to know what happened." Ari said, rubbing her abused nipple.

"You know your father was not always a big shot. Right? That he came from a poor family and had to work hard to become who he is. Well, he distrusted doctors as much as I did, so he thought my idea made a lot of sense and your mother agreed. So they decided I would be your nurse. Would you believe I was made responsible for your care? Me! The rebellious kid who hated authority so much I even kicked a doctor in the ass when he said you were crazy. We talked about it and we all agreed love would win in the end. So we set about to prove it. We spent the summer there and at the chalet in the mountains up North. Eventually you came out of your shell and started playing and laughing again until you were ready to go back to school. The only problem was your mind had blocked the memory of the whole previous year to protect you. Every time someone brought it up, you cried and got very agitated. So we stopped because we didn't want to endanger your recovery."

"Nice brain. Good brain." Ari said patting herself on the head.

"Yes, well, we did not know what to do about that at the time. The scientific knowledge was not sufficiently advanced so we had no reference. Thankfully a clinical researcher with the help of a doctorate student made some breakthroughs and there was finally more information about cases such as yours."

"How do you know all that if you are not a doctor?"

"No, Ari, I'm not a doctor, but there is no law that says I can't read scientific journals, is there?"

"I guess not. Hey! Is that why you always seem to know so much about people?"

"A little information goes a long way, honey. Anyway, over the years, you grew distant with most people with few exceptions. Unfortunately, this included your parents. I was always there to slap you upside the head when it looked like you were withdrawing inside too much and clowning around to make you laugh instead of feeling sorry for yourself. Through all of that and in spite of you being a brat, we all stuck to the plan. They have never stopped loving you, caring for you and helping any way they could even if you didn't know it. I kept them in the loop all along. They know everything you did. Heck, they were there when you won awards for scholarly achievements in medicine at the university. They sat in the back of the hall. It nearly broke your mother's heart not to be able to hug you and tell you how proud she was of you."

"I did not know!" Ari wailed.

"I know honey and they know too. They understand because they love you so damn much. Maybe we could have done something earlier but then the war broke out and you just had to go play Florence Nightingale in Europe. When you came back, you had been made more fragile than ever by your experiences over there, so everything was put on hold again and we kept watching you, helping however we could. That is until the Mother decided that it was time for you to get on with your life and She sent a cleaning woman who couldn't handle working the night shift in your path. Now you're a lesbian, married to two women, and a sex addict to top if off and I would say you're cured. With a lots and lots of maintenance therapy, in other words love for you philistines, you will live a long, healthy and happy life."

"Oh Sarah! I was so mean to them! I have to go see them right away!" Ari cried.

"And you will, honey, but there is the little matter of the ceremony tomorrow morning, remember? We will see them right after. What do you say?"

**********

"Yes, everything is fine. They are taking a nap before we go out for the evening... Yes, we are going to church at sunup... I really wish you would stop laughing every time I speak of that. She takes it seriously and so do I... Well, the sun goes up just a little before seven so if you want to be there when she gets married... Don't shout... Just be there and everything will be fine... I asked mother and she will open the restaurant for us after the ceremony so we can all have a wedding breakfast... No, wait 'til I give you the signal. Let's make it a surprise... It won't kill you, I promise. Ask Lorelei to give you a backrub or something to keep your mind busy while you wait... Okay, see you then. Remember to wait for my signal... Bye!"



The Apple... Ch. 10



The apple doesn't fall far from the tree

Chapter 10

"Ari, I know it's just an excuse. You don't really have to brush her pubic hair."

"Come on, Sarah, we want Jules to make a good first impression, Do we not? Plus she likes it when I brush her hair. What do you say, my love?"

Jules had one foot on the toilet to give Ari better access and both hands on her shoulders to stay upright as her knees threatened to buckle under the loving ministration. "Yes. Yes, I just love it when she brushes my hair." She said in a husky voice. "And if you don't stop teasing me so, you won't be able to sit all night long. Get those fingers inside me right this second!"

"See, she likes it." Ari stuck out her tongue at Sarah before lowering her head to Jules' sex where she put it in action on her clitoris harmonizing with the rhythm of her deep two-finger thrusts.

Watching Ari on her knees, her firm butt swinging sideways as she licked and fucked Jules who was holding her head tightly in place, grinding her dripping vulva against Ari's mouth and hand had the predictable effect on Sarah. 'Those two clowns really turn me on something fierce.' She thought as she knelt behind Ari. Pulling her cheeks apart, she proceeded to make oral love to her without preamble. She licked around the puckered anus until Ari relaxed the muscle so she could penetrate her with a stiffened tongue. After a few moments of this, she left one cheek to dip two fingers of her own in Ari's honey pot.

The post-shower humidity-heavy air of the bathroom became saturated with the musky scent of women having sex. Moans and groans punctuated their activities, but soon their pitch rose as Jules and Ari reacted to their rising pleasure. As usual for them, it reverberated from one to the other through their bond, carrying them synchronously on a wave of ecstasy, until both shook together with their orgasms, then collapsed in a heap.

When they found the energy to look up, they saw Sarah sitting on the bath mat with her back to the door frame. She had two fingers from one hand in her mouth, licking Ari's cream off them, while her other hand was busy thrusting two fingers in her vagina and strumming her clitoris with her thumb.

The two soul mates looked at each other and said "dibs on her sex" at the same time. Still looking at each other, they tried rock-paper-scissor, but after the third pass, they knew it would never work because they kept making the same choice. "Okay, we have to be reasonable about this. You licked her this afternoon. It's your turn at her breasts." Ari pouted, but the twinkle in her eye put the lie to her mock-disappointment.

Both shot up to their feet and pulled the mat so Sarah ended on her back. Jules pushed both legs apart and dove to their junction where she lapped with gusto at the flow of love juice. When she moved her mouth to the peeking pinkish button, she replaced it with two fingers, stretching her pinky to rub her ass hole. Still unsure of herself when it came to anal sex, Jules did not take chances, afraid to hurt her lovers, but tried to give them whatever she dared of these sensation they so craved.

Ari had never admitted it to her, but she had always admired Sarah's big firm breasts. For a long time, she had also secretly wanted to suck and play with her large nipples. To make matters worse, Sarah regularly had teased her by hanging things on them, either Christmas tree ornaments or whatever was on hand when a playful mood struck her. So it was certainly no disappointment for Ari to be 'stuck' with caressing the beautiful breasts. She loved putting her head in their valley, squeezing them on both sides of her face as she licked the sweat off Sarah's breast bone. She kneaded them with abandon, excited by the feel of the flesh under her hands. She was hypnotized by the large dark nipples capping the mounds as they rose and fell under the pressure of her hands. But what she loved the most was to attach her mouth to one after the other, to feel their hardness against her lips and under her tongue. She felt she could lick, suck and nibble the hard nipples for hours.

Sarah gazed lovingly at her wives as they attacked her body with fervor and enthusiasm born of their love for her. It added greatly to her usual rapid response to erotic stimulation. A highly sexual woman, she had always reacted easily to her lovers' caresses, whether they were male or female, but with those two, her sensitivity reached another level entirely. A natural nudist and practicing hedonist, the presence of naked flesh only mildly peaked her interest by itself unless is was in a particularly esthetically pleasing package and the pursuit of pleasure in all its forms had been of special interest to her since she reached menarche and discovered the potentials of her body.

When these two women were around, naked most of the time as Jules had flowed into their naturist lifestyle as if born to it, she felt her senses unusually assaulted. Intellectually, she knew her reactions were amplified due to her deep sentiments for them. Physically, she found that their simple presence stimulated her as none had ever before. She sometimes even wondered if she could be satisfied by a mere man ever again.

So, when they ganged-up on her like this, she had to use all of her experience and will to make the pleasure last longer than minutes if not seconds. On this occasion, she had no time to steel her resolve because she was already on her way to an explosive orgasm as her nose was filled by the scent of sex permeating the air in the small room and wafting from the cream coated fingers in her mouth. Her masturbatory actions had also brought her close to her peak of ecstasy.

After a week of shared pleasure, Jules and Ari had a fair knowledge of their wife's reactions to sexual stimulation. They knew she was close so they redoubled their various caresses, eager to give her the most pleasure they could. It didn't take long for their efforts to be rewarded. Sarah's body arched in a spasm then shook from head to toe as her scream announced her paroxysm of bliss to the world.

**********

"Now we have to wash up again and you girls used all the hot water." Sarah told her lovers when she had recovered. "And what did you mean exactly when you said Jules had to make a good first impression?"

"She will meet our friends for the first time and she said she wanted to look her best. I only tried to help." Ari said with an innocent expression.

"That's nice of you, but who will see her bush?" Sarah pressed. "Did you plan to make a strip-tease, Jules?"

"Well, no." Jules said, blushing. "She said I would feel beautiful all over."

"And you bought that?" Sarah laughed. "You crack me up. Now we will all have to clean ourselves with cold water."

"I think we should ask John to give us an estimate on how much it would cost to get a larger water heater." Ari proposed. "Then we can negotiate with the landlord with more information. He is usually quite accommodating."

"Who's John?" Jules asked.

"He's one of our circle and he's the plumber for this building. You'll meet him tonight." Sarah answered. "That's a good idea, honey. He just might go for it. With three of us living here, we definitely could use more hot water."

"Since my landlady agreed to break my lease, I'll pay my share at the end of the month, so that will help." Jules said happily.

"Yes, love. It will"

**********

"You see, my love, it is not a church in any traditional sense. It is not a congregation. There are no gods, no pope, no priests, no bible or Torah or Quran. And do not look so worried, we do not worship the Devil and this is no coven of witches dancing naked around a fire in the woods, baying at the moon." Ari explained as they rode the bus.

"In fact, Jules, calling it a church is sort of an inside joke. We're a group of free thinkers with no religious affiliation whatsoever. Quite the opposite. The original group were students in a philosophy class at the university. They had this grumpy old professor who taught them about the various religions throughout history, their origins and their social significance. He challenged them to look past the obvious ideas and search for deeper meanings. He was never as happy as when he could push them to their last intellectual retreats and force them to elaborate their own philosophies, regardless of the usual philosophers like Socrates, Aristotle, Descartes and all the others. Personally, I always thought he was lazy and made you do all the work."

"Oh, Sarah, you know that is not true. He was a nice man who taught a group of argumentative young people who already thought for themselves to go beyond arguing, to find meaning and to expand on it."

"Yes, you would say that. You were this particular teacher's pet."

"Whatever." Ari continued trying for a pout, but her soft smile of remembrance spoiled the effect she was going for. "During the year he taught us, most of his classes were conducted in an informal setting, either sitting on the grass outdoors or at a nearby pub when the weather was inclement. That is where students from outside the class and other young people began joining the discussions. That is when Sarah came in. I think she came only for the beer and to hit on the cute guys. When the course was over, some of us kept meeting "

"Anything wrong with enjoying a good brew where I could get my hands on some nice piece of meat? That's why I hung around the university crowd so much."

"I still do not understand why you never registered. You were bright enough you could have gotten in any faculty you wanted."

"I was never very good at joining. I managed well enough without a degree, wouldn't you say?"

"Yes you have. That is my point exactly. Imagine what you could have done if you had applied yourself." Ari insisted. "Geez, you could probably be rich and famous by now and we could live off your fortune."

A few of the other passengers turned to look at the three uproariously laughing women.

"As I was saying, we kept the discussion going for the fun of it. Mostly, it was an excuse to get together and party. At one point, for a goof, we chose what you could call totems. Figures from myth or literature to represent each of our own approach to life. Most of us chose Mother Nature, some went for the three aspects of Fate, or whatever. Sarah and Luc chose the Lord of Chaos. In her case, I think it is because she was a contrarian and for the shock value. As for Luc, well, he is a lawyer." That got them laughing all over again.

"Eventually, we settled for a format that still stands. We meet for a late supper and a night of talking, mostly socializing really, but a few are still into the serious discussion thing. Some even take the opportunity to renew old connections and find a discreet corner for the non-verbal kind of discussion." Ari tilted her head toward Sarah with a grin. "At the end of the night, we walk to the top of the mountain and greet the new day as we watch the sun rise over the horizon. One summer, the pervert over here proposed we get naked to feel the first rays of the sun on our skin, but the idea was voted down. That is the 'church' part."

"I get it. I wondered why we brought food and those bottles of wine." Jules was pensive for moment. "Maybe we could have our own ceremony and get to the roof of our building to greet the morning sun while making love."

"I like the way you think, Jules, but we are on the other side of the mountain so we can't see the sun as it rises over the horizon. Also there are higher buildings than ours. If you don't mind putting a show for some peeping toms, I'm game, what about you Ari?"

"Oh, I didn't think about that." Jules said, her face reddening.

Ari put her arm around her shoulder. "I think it is a good idea, my love. If we cannot do it in the city, there are more discreet places we can go, out in the country. I would love to greet the new day in your arms."

"As if you needed that excuse to get in her pants." Sarah smirked.

**********

"Everybody, this is Juliette, but we re-baptized her Jules. And our Arianna has also been renamed. She is now Ari. The two of them said their vows to the Universe and then took pity on me and adopted me in their family."

"Don't listen to her. Jules and I are soul mates and we married Sarah before the Universe. We called this get together so we could dedicate our love to the Mother and we wanted to share it with our friends."

As she listened to her wives, Jules had begun to slowly retreat behind Ari, but Sarah manhandled in front of them and they both had their hands on her shoulders, grinning like fools, happy fools.

She was taken aback by the cheers that greeted the news and more than a little surprised when they were rushed by the group of gathered friends. There were well wishes and hugs and kisses, some more insistent than others. When all was said and done, she has slightly wild eyed as she retreated to the safety of the close presence of Ari and Sarah who laughed. "They are something else, aren't they? Don't be afraid, baby. You're one of us now. They won't attack you and they don't bite... much."

"I didn't expect it, is all. But maybe I shouldn't cling to you so much. I know we have to be careful in public."

Jules didn't know what to make of it when Ari and Sarah guffawed. "Jules, my love, did you not hear what we said? They know we three are married and we are here to re-affirm it in their presence."

"We told you we hold no religious affiliation, baby. Nobody will judge you or us here. We can be lesbians, bi-sexual or even marry a cow if we want to and nobody will think anything of it. Most people here are either gay or bi-sexual. Look at Pierre and Paul over there. The two guys holding hands. They were married in front of the Mother five years ago. They are perfectly happy together and I suspect they are also soul mates, but they never copped to it."

"You mean I can hold your hands and even kiss you when I feel like it." Jules asked with a beaming smile. It was particularly hard on her to refrain from expressing her love when they were in public.

"Yes, my love. They know we are in love and we do not have to hide ourselves." So saying Ari put her arms around Jules waist and pressed their hips together as she gave her a passionate kiss.

She didn't stop when she felt a warm breath on her ear and heard a soft voice. "We managed to train Sarah to go into my room when she feels frisky. Are we going to have to hose you down, little one?"

When Ari turned her head, she found herself looking at deep brown eyes at close range. She didn't have to lean far to give the full lips a kiss. "No, Catherine, we will behave. We are still new at our love and we get carried away sometimes."

Shifting her gaze to Jules, the stunningly beautiful woman went on. "Jules, you must be an exceptional woman to snag our Arianna. Mother knows I've tried often enough over the years but she always preferred, yuk, men." This last said with a delicate tinkling laugh. "Now I understand why. She was waiting for you. I'm so happy for the both of you." And she gave Jules a more-than-friendly kiss, going so far as to lick her lips.

Jules was nonplussed, not knowing how to react. This voluptuous woman was femininity incarnate and exuded sensuality to a high degree. She projected a sense of peace and the promise of happiness. Jules was conflicted between her instinctive attraction to her and the strength of her bond to her Ari. Trembling slightly, her eyes were misting when Sarah snaked her arms around this goddess and, cupping her breasts, she bit her neck.

"Easy there, Cat. You're projecting. Relax Jules, this cute chick is what we call an empath who can not only receive, but also project. It comes handy as a therapist working with mental patients. Unfortunately she doesn't always control her projections completely when she gets excited and gets into all sorts of mischief. Nothing too serious as nobody can stay angry with her. Her girlfriend is usually around to pinch her lovely bottom when she forgets herself and the people at the clinic are very protective of her. And where is Martine tonight, I don't see her?"

"She couldn't stay. Her sister is sick and she's taking care of her. And you know very well she isn't around or she would have scratched your eyes out for manhandling me so."

"You mean if I had fondled you before doing it to her first?"

"Whatever, lover. Jules, I apologize. I love this dear soul mate of yours, so I love you too and I projected it. I'm so sorry if I offended you."

"I understand, Catherine, Cat. Or I think I understand. What I mean is if you're such a close friend to my Ari and our Sarah, you are definitely a friend of mine. No apology is necessary. Except from Sarah for calling you a 'cute chick'. You are the most incredibly beautiful woman I've ever seen. I would love to get to..." Jules stopped herself, blushing when she realized she was babbling and was about to say something she shouldn't.

Ari laughed reassuringly. "That's all right, my love. She has that effect on everybody when they first meet her. In the stunning package, there is a beautiful soul and a great heart. If I wasn't spoken for already, I would jump her bones myself now that I know I am a lesbian."

When Catherine and Sarah left to mingle, Ari explained. "An empath is someone who has the ability to sense emotions. That is not uncommon. I have some small talent for it myself, which is why I was attracted to a medical career, but I think I was over-exposed in the army hospitals and I had to change orientation when I came back because I could stand people's pain no more. In extremely rare cases, he, or she, can also project emotions too. That is our Cat. In less enlightened eras, she probably would have been burned at the stake for practising sorcery. Even today, she has to be careful about revealing her talent. The Church still has much influence and she could get persecuted or at least ostracized if the wrong people knew about it."

"I understand... a little. I suppose that it's going to be another subject for my lessons. I'm never going to finish finding things I don't know, am I?"

"I hope not, my love. The day we stop finding wonder in the world surrounding us is the day we die. Sad to say, but most people let their minds die like that and go through life persuaded that the little they know is everything there is to know and look no further. I feel sorry for them."

"I will never stop learning as long as I have my teacher with me. I love you, Ari." Jules declared, hugging her bonded.

**********

"Sure, I can give you an estimate for a new water heater. I'll give you my cost price as usual. When do you want me to install it?"

The three of them were sitting on the couch with John the plumber, eating from plates on their knees. Sarah had told him about their hot water problem. To which he had laughed with a sexist comment about the amount of hot water three women living together could be expected to use.

"We will have to ask the landlord when we have your estimate." Ari told him.

John turned to Sarah and asked. "You haven't told her yet? I thought you said she was cured." At Sarah's dark look, he glanced at Ari and cleared his throat. "Sorry, Ari, I thought you knew." Then he rose and left quickly as Ari and Jules looked at their wife questioningly.

Sarah hugged Ari and said. "I was going to tell you, but with everything else going on, I didn't get around to it. It's nothing important really. A minor detail."

"Sarah Grisholm, if looks could kill, we would be burying John in the morning instead of getting married. Just what did you forget to tell me?"

"Aw, well... Hey Cat, come here for a moment, please." When the empath was seated on Ari's lap after asking Jules' permission with a look, Sarah went on. "You know you have never met our landlord in person. Did you ever wonder why?"




The Apple... Ch. 10



Cat had her arm around Ari's neck. Sensing an impending angry outburst, she pulled Jules closer and motioned to her to embrace Ari so they could both project calm and reassurance, each her own way.

"You took care of that. I never had any reason to want to meet him. Why is that important?"

"You know I was already living there when you came back from overseas and I told you I wanted a roommate because I needed help with the rent."

"Yes. And I was happy to move in with you because my pension from the army was not enough for me to find a good apartment until I found work."

Sarah took Ari's hand. "Truth be told, you have met the landlord or I should say, the landlady. In fact there are two of them. You lived with one and you saw the other every time you looked in the mirror."

Ari would have jumped up angrily if not for Cat stroking her hair gently and kissing her before pulling Jules in so she could join her in kissing Ari. When she had calmed sufficiently, Cat gave a nod to Sarah to continue.

"You see, honey, the building's ownership is in a blind trust so you could never find out by accident before you were ready. We are co-owners and have been since just after you left so you would have a place to live when you came back. Your father was certain you would and he made sure I had a place to live while we waited for you to finish your service. I told you your parents love you very much and tried to help in any way they could. This is one of them."

Ari thought about this revelation for a moment then her eyes filled with tears and she buried her face in Cat's generous cleavage, sobbing, as she held both women in her arms.

At first, Sarah was worried. Then she saw Cat's smile and tears of happiness.

When Ari lifted her head, she was also smiling through her tears. "Thank you Sarah. This another thing I will have to thank my parents for when I see then, after I have apologized for treating them so poorly over the years."

Sarah moved closer to join the group hug and if her hand happened to land on Cat's rounded bottom and squeezed it, well, it could have been an accident. "I told you, honey. There is nothing to apologize for. All you have to do is tell them how much you love them."

The tears of happiness dried up as the kisses of reassurance and love turned more passionate. Soon, the four women were kissing deeply and hands were roaming all over heated bodies. At one point, Cat was kissing Jules, their tongues dancing together to the accompaniment of moans. Jules had one hand under Cat's top, fondling her breast and twiddling her hard nipple, the other rubbing her sex through her skirt, and both of Cat's hands were kneading Jules breasts through her shirt and brassiere.

Much to Jules disappointment, Cat pulled away and, standing up, said. "You girls had better go to my room and continue this. As for myself, I will take a walk in the cold air. I don't think it would be a good idea for me to stick around with the strong emotions you are all projecting or I'm liable to rape the first woman I see. Oh, how I wish Martine was here."

Ari and Jules looked at each other in their silent communication, then they looked at Sarah pleadingly. She laughed at their wet cat expressions. Disentangling herself from Ari, she got up and slipped her arm around Cat's waist. "We wouldn't want to send such a pretty thing as you alone out into the night. As for raping an unsuspecting woman, what would you say to making love to three willing ones?"

"You are the one who will explain this to Martine?" Cat asked mischievously. "Then, lead the way. Jules and I have some unfinished business."

As the four women made their way to the back of the house they were followed by catcalls and whistles, some of them wistful.

Following the two women, Jules held Ari back a little. "Ari, are we sure we want to do this? Am I a slut to be so turned on by another woman? I love you and I don't want anything to come between us."

"Do not worry, my love. Cat would never have let things go this far if she had any doubt about the strength of our love and neither would Sarah. She knows we will be making love to her together. She knows it is the only way we would consider it at all. And you are not a slut. You are a wonderful loving woman who recognizes a fellow gentle soul. I would bet that she is as attracted to you just as you are to her and for the same reason. Look with your heart, my love. You will see what I mean."

Further down the corridor, Cat spoke quietly to Sarah. "You were right all along. When we tried to help her and failed, I cried for days. Martine was so worried and I couldn't explain it to her. How did you know?"

"All those years ago, when I said love would win, I was thinking about the love of her family and the people closest to her. Now we know there sometimes has to be more. All of our best successes happened when there was a solid anchor. In her case, we failed because it had to come from a completely unsuspected source. Wait 'til you see them in action. They are together at a level that has to be seen to be believed. A couple of days ago, Ari and I woke up in the middle of the night and made love. When Jules arrived in the morning, she was all hot and bothered. She told us she had had to sit down at one point during her shift because she had an orgasm while she was sweeping the floor. She cried because she didn't understand what had happened to her. We had to give her a couple of good ones in person to settle her before we could explain."

Wide eyed in disbelief, Cat could feel Sarah did not exaggerate as she was wont to do when recounting her sexual exploits. She was about to ask for details when she felt flushed. She had to hold on to Sarah as her heart began to race under the sudden onslaught of erotic feelings. She held on tightly to her as she moaned in pleasure. Looking up, Sarah laughed softly, then turned the empath in her arms.

Jules had Ari pinned to the wall, one hand inside her half-unbuttoned shirt and the other under her skirt. They were kissing hungrily as Jules roughly fingered her soul mate who was writhing and groaning in pleasure.

Cat could feel two waves of mounting passion, then there was only one, burning brighter to her senses than any she had ever felt. Her nipples were so hard, they hurt. Her sex was overflowing with lubrication and it demanded attention. She realized that her skirt was bunched at her waist and both of her hands were at her own overheating vulva. She was frigging herself with two fingers of one hand while the other was furiously rubbing her clitoris. 'What is happening? I've got to get control back or I risk losing myself. This is too much. Too much!' She thought, feeling panic rise at the same rate as her arousal.

The soft voice filtered to her consciousness through the rush of blood in her ears and the wildness in her mind. "Relax baby. Don't be scared. I know you feel overwhelmed, but it's a beautiful thing. Relax. You know you can trust me, Cat. Listen to my voice. Let it flow through you. Don't fight it. You won't get hurt, I promise."

The strong presence at her back brought stability to the turmoil in her mind as the contact of solid hands on her shoulders did to her shaking body. The empath still felt far off her usual control, but she was not scared by it anymore. She let herself be carried by the tsunami of feelings and emotions she received. She did not lose herself, quite the opposite. She became part of something greater. She thought her heart would certainly burst from the love pouring in. She responded instinctively, letting it flow back out to its source. As much as she had felt herself rising to it, when the orgasm hit her, it surprised her with its intensity. Her mind flared with a blinding light of joy as her body spasmed and a scream rose from deep within her.

When the five people rushed to the corridor, they saw the four women on the floor before the door to Cat's bedroom. She was slumped against Sarah while Jules and Ari were holding her. Both sobbing in worry. They could see Ari's undies pulled down to her knees as she knelt. They heard Sarah trying to reassure them.

"What the hell happened here?" Asked Frederic in a husky voice. "Sarah, she never projected like this. We were all affected one way or another. Pierre and Paul ripped each other's clothes off and they were fucking like crazy on the couch. Julie jumped Andrew and pulled his pants down before riding him to unconsciousness. They are all recuperating, but they were scared badly by the experience. And I will have to clean my underwear and I am not the only one."

Sarah laughed at their bewildered expressions. "My friends, you have witnessed and participated, if unwillingly, in something truly incredible and beautiful. Somebody should write a paper on the effect on a projecting empath when she is caught up in the passion of a pair bonded as deeply as these two over here. Now help me carry her to her bed. We will let Jules and Ari bring her around while I explain it to everybody... after I wring out my own slip."

**********

Cat felt as if every muscle in her body had turned to mush. Her relaxation was so deep she did not want to rise from it. She let her mind roam free. She felt the excitement in the living room, but there was no anxiety present, only wonder and awe. She was pulled to another source of strong emotions. No, two sources. Or was it a single one. She could not tell as it phased from multiple to single, seemingly with every beat of her heart. 'What is this? How can that be?' She thought. All at once, she was back to physical reality. There were two bodies, one on each side of her. She felt concern, love and happiness, but she couldn't tell if it was directed at her or each other. The bodies had a definite female feeling to them, but who were they? Where was she? She remembered the evening. She had been helping Sarah with something and...

Her eyes snapped open as she remembered the events in the corridor. Jules and Ari were draped over her, their arms holding each other as they enfolded her with the heat of their bodies and the tenderness of their feelings. She lifted arms that had been lying limp on the bed, her bed, to embrace them. She realized that tears were flowing on her cheeks, but she only felt a deep sense of happiness within herself.

When they felt her stir, Jules and Ari lifted their heads from Cat's chest where they had rested. Both had tear-streaked cheeks and she could feel the coolness from the drying wetness on her breasts. "Are you okay, Cat? What happened to you? We heard Sarah say we did something to you. We are so sorry. We didn't mean to hurt you." Jules said, her voice filled with the same guilt Cat could see on Ari's face.

Chuckling, she projected reassurance and love. "You did not hurt me. Sarah was right. Again. You have given me the most beautiful gift by letting me share your love if only for a little while. I will cherish the memory for the rest of my life. Thank you."

The two women looked at each other and Cat felt something pass between them. 'Could it be?' She thought, her professional interest peaked. 'I've felt this only once and they were young monozygotic twins who had not yet reached the age where this near telepathy faded. Could a bond between adults who have known each other for only a week be so deep? I must tell Sarah...' She went no further on this line of thought as Jules and Ari turned to her and kissed her fervently.

"We want to make sure..." Ari began as Jules kissed her.

"You remember us right." Jules finished when she let Ari take her place at her mouth.

Cat giggled at the artless display of almost childish joy she felt. While one was kissing her, the other unbuttoned her shirt and removed it, exposing her ample beasts pushed in a generous cleavage by a sexy brassiere. Then they exchanged places and her skirt was soon on the floor. That's when she realized her undies were gone. 'Did I remove them? Did Sarah? When did this happen?' She thought, confused.

"Look Ari, she's not wearing undies. She is such a naughty girl. And her thighs are all wet. I guess she likes us. She smell so good too. Here, tastes this." Jules dipped her index in the cream flowing from Cat's vagina and offered it to Ari who inhaled deeply and brought it to her wet mouth so she could suck it clean.

Going back to kissing Cat, Ari pulled her tongue in her mouth and sucked it sensually. "Do you like tasting yourself in my mouth, Cat? I love it when Jules does it to me. Do you?" Ari asked with a grin.

**********

Seeing the flushed faces and the fidgeting of her friends as she felt the heat rise anew in her own sex, Sarah recognized what was happening. 'I told them to only make sure she is all right and to bring her out here.' Sarah thought. "Well people, it seems like another psychic storm is brewing. Those who don't want to go through it had better get their coats quickly and take a walk for a while. The others, either pair off, or whatever combination tickles your fancy, or sit down and prepare yourselves to take care of your own needs."

'And they call me a pervert.' She laughed silently as nobody made a move for their coat.

**********

Cat could see two women making love to her body, but she could feel only one powerful source of desire. She tried her best to observe the phenomenon clinically, but the analytical part of her mind was soon submerged by her passionate side as Jules' mouth had attached itself to her vulva, sucking as her tongue ran from one end of her slit to the other so as not to miss a single drop of her nectar. Ari had left her mouth and was suckling at her nipple as she used both hand to knead her twin mounds of sensitive flesh. She increased the pressure of her hands as her teeth came into play, nibbling at first then gently biting the hard nubbins.

At one point, Cat felt the subtle flow of communication again and mewled when she was suddenly deprived of the divine caresses. "Aaaaaahhhh!!!" They were back. Everything was right with the universe again. But there was a difference. The mouth at her sex was more aggressive. Her clitoris was being sucked hard as it was flicked rapidly by the tip of a tongue. She couldn't tell how many fingers were inside her, but she felt full as they thrust fast and hard, curled to rub her sweet spot each time they went out.

Her nipples were pinched roughly by pairs of fingers and a mouth covered hers. Her lips opened wide and a tongue went in search of its counterpart. It brought it out to play and her tongue found itself trapped between teeth that gently closed around it. She moaned at the unexpected sensation. Then her trapped tongue was caressed within the hot moist mouth. 'Who are these women? They discovered they are lesbians only a week ago and they assault me like accomplished courtesans.' She mused even as she felt herself getting lost again in an immense surging wave of pleasure.

When the mouth left hers to trace a pattern of explosions of delicious sensations on her neck, Cat abandoned herself completely to the pleasure. She was not aware when she raised her shoulders to expose her throat, showing her desire to be taken by the feminine uber-presence affecting her so profoundly. Nor was she conscious of her piteous whine when jaws closed firmly on her throat with a growl. She submitted completely, body and soul. She gave herself willingly, totally. For the first time in her life, she belonged to another and she wanted it.

The finger which wormed it way gently in her anus broke the last string holding her from an earth-shattering orgasm. Mighty convulsions arched her body completely off the bed as sweat broke all over her goose bump covered skin. She let out an ear-piercing wail, expressing the intensity of her ecstasy for the whole world to hear.

When Cat came back to her senses, Jules and Ari were kneeling on each side of her. Jules had a hand on her breast, pinching her sensitized nipple and the other busy between Ari's legs as she leaned over and licked her chest, neck and face clean of the liquid glistening on her skin. Ari, for her part, had a hand on her sex, lazily thrusting two fingers in her while she strummed her clitoris. Her other hand was moving rapidly also between her soul mate's legs.

Barely regaining some control over her body, Cat felt herself losing it all over again as it was stimulated from both ends. She was also carried away by the intense pleasure shared by the two women. This time, she was conscious of feeling pulled out of herself to mesh in a maelstrom of feelings that rose in intensity as pleasure grew and grew within all of them. When they were on the verge of eruption, she literally felt it turn back and rush to and through her in a torrent of love.

Their mutual orgasm, physical and psychic, erupted in cataclysmic intensity. The three showed little of the usual outward signs as the enormous wave of feelings was almost completely turned inward, shaking them to their deepest core. After what felt like hours of this blinding intensity, Jules and Ari collapsed on the spent Cat who embraced them tenderly before following them in sweet oblivion.

**********

Laying on the warm beach, the three naked women stirred themselves. The hot sun was beating down on them and they were covered in sweat.

"Eeeeekkk! I'm going to have the worst sunburn ever." Jules cried, sitting up and scrambling for the shade of the large beach parasol.

"Don't worry." Cat said languidly. "You can never get a sunburn here and bugs don't bite either. Here, have a drink of this cold fruit juice." She added, offering Jules the glass that had suddenly appeared in her hand. It was covered in beads of condensation, attesting to its coolness.

Without missing a beat, Ari asked. "Do you have another one, please? I am parched."

"It's in your hand." Cat replied, smiling.

They sipped at their refreshing drinks for a while before Ari asked. "Where are we, Cat? I do not remember us taking a trip together. Where is Sarah? She should be here with us."

"You're right, my love. Did you have a relapse and you brought us with you?" Jules wondered.

"I can tell you where we are, but I don't understand how you can be here with me. This my special place. I come here when I meditate after a particularly harrowing session with one of the patients. Sarah taught me how to build it detail by detail over the years we've worked together. It's my refuge, my little corner of Eden."

"Was it such a bad thing making love with us that you had to escape here?" Ari asked.

"No, silly." Cat pulled Ari in a hug. "Even I shouldn't be here like this. The only way I've ever come here is through meditation. I've never spontaneously just jumped over. I will have to ask Sarah, she may have an idea."

Jules came over to make it a group hug. "That's twice you've mentioned Sarah. How could she teach you to come here and why would she know how we all came to accompany you this time?"

"I'm sorry I said that. I probably shouldn't have. It's an effect of this place. Do you notice how calm you are even in this strange place?"

The women looked at each other. "Now that you mention it. We should be scared out of our gourds. But we aren't. Why is that?" Jules spoke for both.

"This is my haven. My place to find peace and tranquility. If I remember what happened correctly, our orgasms were so very intense that we passed out and since we were so closely linked when it happened, you joined me in my subconscious. And here we are in the most beautiful place I ever imagined after the most fantastic erotic experience I could not have imagined. Again thank you both."

"You are welcome. It was our pleasure." Ari giggled. "But that does not answer our questions about Sarah."

"Again, I'm sorry. I'm not qualified to know if I should tell you. All she said was that you were cured. I wouldn't want to jeopardize your recovery in any way."




The Apple... Ch. 10



"That can't be so important if I'm here too."

"I really don't know, Jules. That's not a risk I'm willing to take."

"Okay, we can live with that for now, but how do we get back?" Ari asked.

"Good question. I usually rouse myself slowly as I attain peace. It happens all on its own. No switch to pull. No incantation to chant. I have no idea on how to go about it this time and, more importantly, I don't know if you will come with me."

"You know what? I think you hit on the magic word and I know just the ritual to make sure we come with you." Jules giggled as she moved her hand up from where it rested on Cat's thigh. 



The Apple... Ch. 11



The apple doesn't fall far from the tree

Chapter 11

"Oh Mother, do you think they will be all right, Sarah" Andrew said as he checked the women's pulse again. As a physician, he considered himself a pragmatist and even if he was aware of Catherine's talent, he had never put too much credence in it until this night. But when Sarah had explained the phenomenon, he found that his participation in it had overcome whatever doubts he had.

"I tell you. I recognize the symptoms. Cat exhibits them when she goes in her meditative trance. I taught her how to control it and they should all be safe." 'I hope.' She amended to herself. "I can only speculate they were so closely linked, that Jules and Ari followed her there."

"If you say so, Doctor." Andrew grumbled, unconvinced.

"I'm not a doctor." Sarah replied automatically.

All of a sudden, they felt a faint echo of the earlier psychic events.

Sarah laughed whole-heartedly. "They are coming back. Trust Jules and Ari to come up with this particular way to initiate the transfer of their consciousness from Cat's haven to their bodies."

The three women shuddered and opened their eyes in unison. Moans echoed through the room and Andrew jumped from the bed as if hit by a jolt of electricity. Sarah stayed sitting, Ari's hand in her own.

"Welcome back ladies. Had a restful trip to the beach?"

The women were laid side by side on the bed, holding hands, cool compresses on their brows. When they heard Sarah, they turned their heads toward her, still in unison. On seeing this, Sarah frowned inwardly.

"Catherine, Juliette, Arianna, you are back. Now I need you to do something important for me. Listen to my voice. You are safe. Everything is all right. You did good, but you need to let go of each other. I know it feels good, but you must let go. Listen to my voice. I am Sarah and you all know me. You know you can trust me. I promise I will teach you how to go back and play on the beach together if you are good girls. Now, show me how good you are."

These last words reached Ari first, then Jules recognized them too. They stirred, their eyes focusing on Sarah. Then they turned together to Cat, and embraced her, cooing reassuring nonsensical words to her, calling to her to join them again.

Sarah let out a sigh of relief when she shuddered, her eyes unglazing and she hugged her new friends with tears of happiness and love.

When they had collected themselves, though they were still a tangle of arms and legs and other parts. Sarah asked them if they were all right. Her heart skipped a beat when they turned their heads in the same movement.

"Yes Sarah, we are all right, thank you." Ari said.

"That was incredible. We were on a beach and we didn't get sunburned, but we were sad because you weren't there with us. Then Cat said it wasn't a real beach. She said we were in her head. Can you believe it?" Jules was so excited, she couldn't stop talking until Cat pulled her over and kissed her.

"Yes, I can believe it. Hum, Cat, you can stop now. I think that was enough for one night. Next time you girls want to get together again to play, we will have to find a more isolated place. There were a bunch of senseless people in the living room. The first wave was pleasurable enough, but the second overwhelmed everybody. Luckily, we were all sitting down or somebody could have gotten hurt when they fainted. And thank the blessed Mother this is the middle of the night and everybody is asleep or we would have to talk mighty fast to explain this to the neighbors. As it is, there will be a lot of soiled sheets in the morning, I'm sure."

Cat raised a finger. "Sarah, the first time, I was projecting, but the second, they were."

"What? That's impossible. They don't have a trace of empathy projection talent. I would have known after a week of playing with the both of them."

"You are wrong d... hum... Sarah. They are more closely bonded than you think. I could feel them communicating in a way similar to mine plus, when they 'play' as Jules calls it, they come together in more ways than one and you of all people should have realized it. Remember the incident you told me about earlier?"

Sarah slapped her forehead in a dramatic gesture. "Ah! You're right. That's what happens when the observer is too close to her subjects."

Jules and Ari let go of their new friend and sat bolt upright. "We remember!" Jules shouted.

"When we were on Cat's island, she said something about you." Ari continued.

"Yes, and there were also other things."

"When you cured me with the catharsis..."

"You said some things but..."

"You distracted us by saying that you read..."

"Scientific journals and that you were not..."

"A doctor!" The last sounded like a single voice emanating from two throats after the dizzying fast paced alternation.

Seeking to gain some time to come up with a satisfactory answer, Sarah laughed as she pointed to Cat's chest. "Welcome to the family, Cat"

Jules and Ari turned back to Cat and after a stunned second as they took in the telltale bite marks on her chest and breasts, they lunged at her. "We love you Cat!" they cried. "You are part of our family. The Mother says so. We will play with you all you want as soon as the hypocrite sitting there shows us how to go to your island together because we are good girls or we can ask Ari's parents to let us use their chalet so we don't bother the neighbors and, if she asks nicely, maybe we can invite the meanie to come play with us."

Laughing through the tears of happiness at the love flowing over her, Cat hugged her new friends and lovers fiercely. "I love you too. But.. I... I already have a family. I have a girlfriend. Her name is Martine and I love her very much." Her tears of joy turned to sobs when she realized the special link she shared with the two soul mates would be a one-time affair. Jules and Ari fell in her arms also crying, their hearts breaking in response to her pain.

Sarah jumped to her feet and ran to the kitchen. As she passed the living room, she saw all the sad faces and some quiet weeping. Picking up the phone she dialed and waited impatiently for someone to pick up. "Yes. Hello. May I speak to Martine, please? This is an emergency... This is Doctor Sarah Grisholm, please wake her up and put her on the phone... Martine, I need you to get dressed and come home right away... No, Cat is not hurt, but you must come over right away... I know, there's no bus at four in the morning, you can run, it's not too far or ask your brother to drive you, but once he drops you off, don't let him get out of his car. Send him back home right away... No, I told you she's not hurt, but she needs you right now... Whatever, make it quick."

She paced back and forth, trying to reassure her friends that everything would be okay, that help was on the way. When she felt a renewed wave of sadness wash over her, she rushed to the bedroom where she found the women still hugging and crying together.

Sarah heard the front door crash open and Martine shout. "Cat? Darling, what happened? Where are you?" She raced to the living room. "Sarah, why is everybody crying and why did you tell my mother you were Doctor..." That's when it hit her. Every drop of blood seemed to drain from her face as she turned unerringly toward the bedroom. She was already underway when Sarah intercepted her. She had to use all of her strength to hold her.

"Martine! Martine! Listen to me! Listen to my voice! This is important." She shook the woman out of her trance-like state. When she saw that her eyes were focused on her, she went on. "Listen carefully. Something extraordinary happened here tonight. No, I didn't see it coming. I'll explain later. For now, she needs you. You were trained with her for a reason. You are her anchor and she came to love you very much, but now, it's causing her pain. Stop struggling right now. Listen to me. You know me. You know I would never hurt either of you. Now get undressed woman. Yes, get naked and fast, there's no time to waste."

She almost ripped Martine's clothes off in her hurry to help her. "She still loves you just as much if not more and it's tearing her apart. She went through an intense experience and she has trouble re-centering herself. Yes, take off your underwear too. I said naked, didn't I, damn it! You will go in there and let her know that you love her. Don't be surprised by what you see. For the Mother's sake, remember that you love her and that she loves you. Focus on that to the exclusion of all else. Now remember the breathing exercise. This is for just such an occasion."

At those last words, Martine got really worried. A low-level receiving empath herself, she had first been paired with Catherine to establish a link that would anchor her in reality when her talent threatened to overwhelm her. Sarah herself had taught both to center themselves using breathing exercises to attain a light hypnotic trance where they could link more solidly. They hadn't needed it for months. If they did now... She expected the worst. Tears welled in her eyes and she began to shake in fear for her lover.

Sarah shook her again, hard. "Martine, listen to me. Listen to my voice. Snap out of it. You were trained for this. You need to be strong for her. Yes, breathe deep. Center yourself." Still holding the naked woman by the shoulders she turned to her friends. "Andrew, I need you to call the clinic, you know the number, right? Tell them to send the special ambulance fully fueled over here. Tell them this an omega emergency and to implement the special provisions for Ari and Jules. They will know what to do. What are you waiting for? Get to it, man."

Andrew said. "Yes, Doctor, right away." Before running to the kitchen.

It was a measure of Sarah's concentration that she didn't correct him. Instead, she spoke to her stunned friends. "Guys, things sort of got out of hand, but in a good way, don't worry. Now, we have a delicate situation on our hands, I suggest you all get dressed and make your way home. I'll be in touch to let you know how it went."

When she looked back at Martine, she could see she had followed her training and was now in the light trance. With a gentle tone, she directed her. "Listen to me Martine, listen to my voice. You will walk to your bedroom where you will hug your girlfriend and show her you love with all your heart. Don't be surprised by anything you see or hear. Concentrate on your love for Catherine."

Nodding, Martine walked calmly toward her bedroom. The closer she got, the stronger the waves of sorrow and anguish were. 'What could have happened to cause such a reaction? That's never happened before even with the patients in the worst shape. I need to be strong for her. Breathe deep Martine, she needs you. You can't fail her. You were trained for this.' She repeated to herself over and over as she had been taught.

When she entered the bedroom, she reeled at the onslaught of pain being projected at her. 'Blessed Mother, there are three of them and they are all projecting. How is it possible? There are no others as strong as Cat in the city. The nearest I know of is a thousand miles away.' Taking a deep breath, she approached the bed and sat on it quietly. Centering herself, she reached and put her hand on Cat's hip, the only piece of her easily available, so entangled was she with the other two.

"Catherine." She said quietly. "Listen to me. Listen to my voice. Do you know me, darling?"

Three heads came up, tears flowing freely on three sets of cheeks and it seemed to her like a single voice wailed. "Martine! You are here! I LOVE YOU!" And she was engulfed by an avalanche of bodies hugging her and kissing her as a flow of love, happiness, relief, rolled over her.

She felt like she was losing herself in the tidal wave of emotions threatening to submerge her when she heard Sarah's soft calm voice. "Martine, listen to my voice. Tell her you love her and that you understand. The most important thing is that you keep telling her you love her. The others' names are Jules and Ari. You remember Arianna, don't you? Tell them you love them too. Listen to me Martine. Help is on the way, but you need to be strong for Cat."

Gulping, Martine steeled her resolve and returned the hugs and kisses, cooing her love for each individually, but most specially for Cat.

Seeing that they were calming somewhat, Sarah went back to the kitchen and she dialed another number.

"Hello, Henry, this is Sarah, are they still there? ... Yes, I know they were going out later, are they awake? ... They didn't sleep at all. Ah! Why am I not surprised? Tell Douglas I need to speak to him... Yes, I call him Douglas. Now put him on, it's important... Hi Dou... Stop shouting. No, nothing happened to her, she's fine... I tell you she's okay. After all these years, are you going to start doubting me now? ... I tell you she's fine. There just won't be a wedding this morning... STOP YELLING, DAMN IT! ... Something extraordinary happened tonight and she's part of it... Listen to me. LISTEN TO ME! I need to use the chalet for a few days again... Yes, it's for my special project... No, she's not a patient, but if you let me finish... I tell you she's not a patient, but if everything works out as I think it will, she could be one of our best therapists... Shut the heck up and listen for a second! ... If I'm correct, she has been showing signs all week, but her latent talent may just have emerged tonight and I think it may be the reason she blocked that whole year. It was possibly just developing and when all that shit happened. She repressed it along with everything else and now it's come out at maximum power, all at once. I need a quiet place to train her in handling it. And on top of it, she may have blown open a channel in her bonded... No, you can't come see her for a while, she needs to be surrounded by trained people. You wouldn't want to set her back to square one, would you? ... Come on Douglas, don't cry, everything will be fine, I promise... Yes. Have I ever steered you wrong? ... Tell Lorelei not to worry. I'll call you as soon as I can. Bye."

'Phew! That went better than expected' Sarah thought. She heard tires screech and doors slam shut. Rushing to the front she opened it and was almost hit on the face by a woman in a soft blue uniform in the motion of knocking on the door. "You made good time, Karen. But what are you doing here? You don't work the night shift."

"No, Sarah, but one of my patients needed me earlier and I was getting ready to leave when you called an omega emergency, so..."

Sarah was relieved her mentor, Dr. Karen Jackson, was there. She couldn't have a better support team leader if she had asked for it. "Karen, we may have a strong projecting empath who came to her talent suddenly as an adult and you know what that can mean."

"It showed at full power and she is not trained for it so it is threatening to burn her brain out unless..." She stepped back to look at the civic address on the mantle of the door. On seeing it, she blanched.

"Yes, you're right, this is Catherine's home and get ready for another shock: the emerging talent is Arianna."

"No! Not Arianna, she's just recovered her memory."

"Yes and she may have recovered more than her memory.

Quick on the uptake as always, Karen saw the implications immediately. "You think the talent was linked to her trauma and she sublimated it by repressing any trace of the events relating to it. She was a young girl after all, approximately at the age where the talent is known to manifest."

"You've got it, teach! That's why you get the big bucks, your name is on every official piece of paper at the clinic and get invited to all the parties at the university." Sarah teased.

"Young lady, as soon as we can safely tell her, you will have no more excuse and you will have to accept the damn piece of paper. You know and I know and everybody at the clinic knows that you are the brains behind the operation. You've left me behind years ago and it's your name that should be on my door."

"Come on, Karen, you are still the best clinician psychologist in the country, if not the continent. All I do is run my special project and help here and there around the place. Plus I don't have a thousandth of the administrative skill you have. The place would flounder in a month if I was director. Oops! Let's continue this conversation when we are on the road."

Turning to the orderlies coming up the sidewalk, she said in a brisk tone. "Sorry guys, but I don't think we will need the stretcher tonight. Leave it here, but bring the mattress back in the bus. Also, take all the cushions and pillows you can find. We have three people to transport plus support therapist Martine. Yes, four! Now close your mouths and hop to it!"

"I just love it when I have the opportunity to say that."

"You take pleasure in such little things, Sarah. But you said three plus Martine. Who's the other one?"

"I told you Ari was bonded to her soul mate which is how I was able to reach her and allow her to recover her repressed memory. Well, that bond was deeper than I thought. And they were in a deep link with Catherine when she was thrown to her haven..."

"What! That's impossible! The only way she can get there is through meditation."

"You know, I'm getting pretty tired of the 'I' word. I've been hearing it far too often lately. What do you say we replace it by something else? 'Unheard of' has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"

"You may be right Sarah. With all the 'impossible' successes you've achieved with your 'special project', it's coming to sound a bit ridiculous. At least, now that you can publish, your research will be accepted in the scientific community so they will become 'possible'."

"I'm not too sure about that. Let's wait and see. But first, what do you say we take our people to a place where they won't mess with the neighbors' emotions."

"Mother! Here we are yapping and I completely forgot about them. Where are they?"

"The reason you forgot about them is that Martine is doing her job admirably and that she's calmed them or you would be hard pressed to keep from crying yourself. I don't think we'll need to sedate them, but I'm glad you're here and that you've brought the most stolid orderlies we have. They need emotional calm most of all."

**********

All they heard as they entered the room were soft cooing noises from Martine and giggles from the other three. They were in such a tangle on the bed that if it wasn't for the different skin tones, one would have been hard pressed to determine where each body began and where it ended, much less the route it took from one end to the other.

The four were hugging and kissing and caressing each other in a loving manner, no more. Sarah was glad that Martine had remembered to keep things on an even keel.

"Sarah, they are all naked. We can't take them outside like that and it's going to be even colder up North."

"I know, but there's no way we'll be able to dress them. At least, we can put some shoes on and we'll wrap them in as many blankets as we can. Please go tell the boys to back up the ambulance as close as possible to the door and to crank up the heat. Also, tell them to bring out the mattress from the other room. It's going to be more comfortable than the carpeted floor for the long ride. Come back here when everything is ready and bring their shoes, they're strewn all the way from here to the front door."

When Karen had left, Sarah sat on the bed and looked at her wives with a mixture of love, pride, and sadness. When she saw the frown appear on all three brows, she ruthlessly suppressed this last emotion as she had taught her therapists and their support staff. She gently stroked their hair and leaned until her mouth was close to Martine's ear. She was proud of her when she saw that the woman was deep in her supportive trance. It would make things easier.




The Apple... Ch. 11



She whispered softly, but clearly. "Martine, listen to me. Listen to my voice. Help is here. We will take you all up North where it's nice and quiet. You remember the place, don't you? I need you to tell them we are going to play a game. My girls like games. We will all put on some shoes and get in a warm and cosy vehicle. Then we are going to take a nice ride to Ari's chalet. Remind her that it's a nice place and that she likes it there. Nod if you understand. Good girl, keep it up, Martine, you are doing fine. Everything will be all right soon, I promise."

Rising, she kissed Jules and Ari softly on the head. She was reassured when that elicited sounds of pleasure and a gentle wave of love from the women. Unfortunately, she couldn't tell from which women they came from.

**********

"Okay boys. We are all ready out back. Jimmy, you know where we're going, don't you? Good. Now I need you to remember the special training you received. We have three of our special girls with us and they are not sedated. I believe everything will be fine, but you need to be on the lookout for extreme feelings and watch each other. If you feel that it's getting too much, pull over. No sense in killing us all for no good reason. It's early enough that there should be only minimal traffic. So get us there as fast as possible, but this is not a race. Don't jostle them unnecessarily."

Sarah went to the rear, jumped in and closed the doors. Karen knocked on the partition, signaling to the orderlies that they were ready.

Once they had gotten in the warm ambulance the three women had whined until their shoes were taken off, so Martine had followed suit. Now all four were cuddled with the thick blankets over their heads, covering them completely. Sarah and Karen could hear them giggling and Martine cooing softly as she did her best to keep the occupied in nonsensical 'games' while keeping things from heating too much. The van was psychically isolated as much as possible, but even a close-mesh Faraday cage had its limits. Parapsychology science was still in its infancy, after all.

"The omega team will come up in the morning, but I forgot to tell them that there are three girls with us. I hope they understood when I said to call to tell the university Ari and Jules would not be coming in until further notice."

"Trust your team, Sarah. You trained them well. They will understand that we need more people without leaving the clinic understaffed."

"I know. I know. I just never planned for two full blown talents to emerge at the same time and to incapacitate our best empath along the way."

Hearing the whimpers emanating from the squirming bundle, Karen looked more closely at Sarah. Seeing her shoulders shake in incipient sobs, she took her in her arms and murmured affectionately. "Sarah, center yourself. They need you. They love you as much as you love them, but you won't help them if you don't get a grip on your own feelings. Breathe with me. Yes like that. Remember who you are. They need you now more than ever."

When she felt herself sufficiently under control, Sarah squeezed her mentor to signal her readiness. "Thank you Karen. You know I need you close to me. You have been my rock when I would have crumbled under the strain in the first years. To everybody else, I am the boss, the teacher, the cold and detached scientist, but you know better, don't you? Why didn't we stay together after the war, baby? I've missed you so."

"You know why, darling. You have dedicated your life to finding a way to bring Arianna out of her repressive state. I understood that because it's a part of you and I fell in love the whole of you, not only your gorgeous body. But enough of that. You need to be the scientist for them. They need you. They need us. We are a team and don't you forget it, missy. Breathe with me. We must find our center as we always have. And no, you cannot fondle my breasts this time. We don't need to set them off and get in an accident because our driver has his hands on his partner instead of on the wheel."

They giggled as they went through their breathing exercises and centered themselves for their charges.

**********

They were met at the gates of the estate by the caretaker.

"Good morning, Miss Sarah. Mister Monroe called and told us you were coming with Miss Arianna. But you are in an ambulance. Is she sick?"

"No Gilles, she is only slightly incapacitated. You remember the girls I brought last time I was here? Well, we just found out that she is special like them, only more so."

"Of course. We always knew that Miss Arianna was special. The missus has already started the coffee and she will make breakfast whenever you wish. I have lit all the fireplaces to get the place warm until the gas heaters can catch up. If you need anything, just call and I will be over."

"Thank you, Gilles. When you go to the village later for the supplies, we should be at least ten, but more could come and go during the next week or so."

"No problem Miss Sarah, I can go back anytime if more is needed. Mister Monroe said to get whatever you asked for. He also said that if you needed something special that was not available up here to call Henry at the main house and that he would send it over."

"You are a prince, Gilles. Now we have to get them settled in. I'll see you later."

Jumping on the driver side running board, Sarah grabbed a hold of the mirror. "Take us to the back entrance, Jimmy. I don't think we will be able to get their shoes back on and at least there you can back up closer to the door. Once we are inside, you two can go to the guest house for some rest or if you want some breakfast, ask Sylvie, the cook, and she will fix you some grub. You will probably be able to go back to the city this afternoon. Come see me when you wake up and I'll let you know if we need you here."



The Apple... Ch. 12



The apple doesn't fall far from the tree

Chapter 12

"Ladies, as I see it, our first priority is to separate their personalities. They are presently meshed so close together that we can't get more that the basics through to them. If we don't manage to do something, health issues are going to be a major problem. Karen, please."

"As Sarah has said, if we don't find a way to reach them soon, their health is going to deteriorate quickly. The only way we can get them to participate in their physical well being is with childish 'games' and only because Arianna and Juliette have incorporated these in their sexual connection from the beginning. It may have been fun for them to 'go potty' together, but we have all felt the results when they got sexually stimulated by those physical sensations. As for food, the only thing of substance we have managed to get into them are protein-rich liquids. All attempts at solid foods have resulted in 'food fights'."

"So what we need are ideas, new approaches, and we need them fast. Martine will not be able to stabilize them for long. She has barely slept in two days and only for a few hours at the time because when they are asleep, their dreams invariably turn erotic and we all know what happens then. We can rotate further from their room to get some rest, but she can't. They get too agitated when she is not near them."

"Doctor Grisholm is right."

"I'm not a Doctor." Sarah grumbled under her breath to the amusement of the senior staff assembled at this meeting.

"As I was saying before I was interrupted by our grumbling leader," Karen went on with a grin, "we need you to get your teams together for a good brainstorming session. No idea is too wild, as you know. Some of our greatest breakthroughs have come from off the cuff suggestions. So, Anne, get our people started at lunch and keep at it all afternoon if you must. I would have said get them drunk if that's what it takes, but we only have a reduced staff and we may need the support staff at any time."

"Stéphanie, start our therapy team at supper when they come off shift. I would say wake the second team early, but we need them sharp so they will have to wait 'til the morning. Tomorrow, we are going to get them all together for a few hours around shift change."

""Which brings us to the other issue. You know we are short staffed because we must not deplete the personnel at the clinic too badly. As it is they are working long hours as we do here. They miss Catherine dearly. They can manage temporarily, but we have to get her up in working shape as soon as we safely can."

"That's it girls. We want at least a few ideas in the morning and we need a working plan before the end of the day tomorrow."

The four women hugged and kissed as they broke the senior staff meeting. Stéphanie, Sarah's assistant and Anne, Karen's, left already deep in conversation.

"You know those two won't sleep a wink tonight, don't you?" Sarah asked her mentor.

"Of course they won't. And neither will we." Karen laughed. "Do you think they are a couple? They've seemed to be closer these last few weeks. Whenever I see one, the other is never far away."

"They have complementary jobs after all. Stéphanie leads the therapy staff and Anne the support. If they have found each other, more power to them I say."

"I agree, Sarah, but I worry their being around each other 24/7 may cause too much of a strain and I would hate to lose Anne. She's the best assistant I've ever had."

"I know what you mean. Stéphanie takes a big load off my shoulders so I can concentrate on the research and the patients. Which reminds me. How are we coming along with the Man's nephew? Won't Cat's absence cause him to fall behind in his progress?"

"Not at all. He had a major breakthrough last week. You were so busy with Arianna that I didn't bother you with it. He is now fully aware of his surroundings and is starting to make human contact without an empath to act as a bridge. The worst is over with him. With a few months of regular psychological therapy, he should be completely cured. The Man will send one of his psychologists to the clinic in a few weeks so we can instruct her in our methods. He wanted to send this old fart of a professor, you know the one, but I got it through to him that he needed someone with an open mind. As it so happens, he has a friend who's had some success with combat fatigue patients. She knows of our research and she approached him to volunteer for the job."

"I'm sure she did." Sarah laughed. "If she knows something about our results, she must be wet at the idea of applying our methods to her own patients. It would seem tailor-made for combat stress reaction-afflicted soldiers. In fact, that's an application I've been thinking about, but I haven't had time to explore. The approach would have to be different, but I'm working on it."

"Darling, you have to follow your own advice and find some down time. You haven't taken a vacation for as long as I've known you. First it was a full study load while maintaining the facade of a dilettante so Arianna would not know what you were doing, then you dove headlong in your research when you came up with the idea for your doctoral thesis. And you haven't stopped yet. The only time off you took was when she was overseas and I managed to pull you away for a long week-end of rest and relaxation here and there."

"Yes, I remember your idea of r&r. I had to sleep twenty-four hours straight every time I came back, just to recuperate from 'resting and relaxing' with you."

"Well, it worked, didn't it? And what about me? Remember the time I walked bow legged for almost a week. My students were smirking every time I stood up in front of the class."

""Is it my fault if you insisted on riding that horse in a skirt without undies just so you get better orgasms. Heck, when you came back to the barn, you didn't smell of horse, the animal smelled of your cream. The face you made that first time when the girl took the reins from you to groom and stall the horse, then came back to hug and kiss you. And you blushed so prettily when she said 'welcome to the club' loudly enough for everybody nearby to hear."

"What can I say, I thought I was the first one to come up with the idea. How was I to know there is an actual 'horse lover women's club'? Plus she kissed very well as you found out when she came to our cabin that night."

"Yes she did and not only mouths. She had a very talented tongue. She licked us to oblivion. Have you ever been back to that ranch since then?"

Karen blushed as she answered. "I confess. I have been horse riding a few times. She introduced me to naked bareback riding. Aaaahhhhh! Heavenly, Sarah. The feel of half a ton of rippling muscle between my legs as I rub my sex on it is out of this world. When we stopped to 'let the horses rest', we had glorious sex right out in the open. I get wet just thinking about it."

"I don't weigh a thousand pounds, but if I neigh while fucking you, maybe it would bring back good memories."

"Yes, I would love nothing better than to make love to you, but it wouldn't do for the staff to know the department heads are rolling in the hay, so to speak. Bad example and all that."

"That's why I don't want to be director. You lose all spontaneity when you have to think about your people all the time. The original team knew we were a couple."

"Yes they did, but that was more than three years ago. Since then, we have been very discreet the few times we have been together and they know you are involved with Arianna and Juliette. So, let's just reminisce when we are in private and focus on our girls and on how to help them out of this mess."

"You're no fun, teach, but you're right, as usual. I'll go look in on them. Can I get a kiss for old times' sake?" Sarah said with an innocent look that didn't fool anyone for a second.

**********

When Stéphanie passed her boss on the stairs to the second floor room where their charges were housed, she stopped her and whispered. "Boss, you'd better stop in the bathroom. You have lipstick smeared on your neck. Isn't it Dr. Jackson's shade?"

"Thanks, honey. And keep it to yourself or you will eat lunch standing up, young woman."

"Promises. Promises. It's nice to see you smile, boss. You've kept yourself under such tight rein these last few days so you wouldn't affect our girls. It can't be good for you. You need to get laid and soon. If you want, come to my room tonight and I'll be happy to apply some personalized therapy."

"What will Anne think about it? Or will she join us? No need to answer that. Your blush is says it all."

"How did you know, boss? We tried so hard to be discreet. Like you and Dr. Jackson were years ago." When she saw Sarah's shoulders slump at the memory, she embraced her. "We all knew why you had to break it off. We admired your courage and dedication. You must know we all look up to you and more than a few of us actually had a crush on you at one time or another."

"You do? You did? But I always tried to keep my distance first when I developed my theories because I was sure everybody thought I was crazy then because I wanted so much to train you all to achieve your highest potential."

"We know, boss. But think about the kind of people you trained. Do you honestly think we didn't see how much you cared about each and every one of us and about our patients?" Holding her so she could look in her eyes, she went, on. "Boss, Sarah, you have such a big heart that it blinds you to some obvious things. Haven't you repeated to us over and over that love will win in the end and that we have to look with our hearts first and then with our senses before we let our brains come to any conclusions? We love you Sarah as we know you love us. And while you're washing Karen's lipstick, you may want to splash some cold water on your face. It wouldn't do for the staff to see our fearless leader with red eyes because she's been crying."

They hugged while Sarah got herself under control. If any of her people saw them, they figured she needed the release and they went on their way with a smile.

**********

The rest of the day, as she went through the myriad details that dictate the life of a dedicated researcher and department head, Sarah felt a nagging thought just at the edge of her consciousness. She knew herself well enough to know that it could be important, but, try as she might, it wouldn't come to the fore.

At supper, where she participated in the first part of the discussion with her team, it was almost distracting. When she left them to brainstorm without the boss present to inhibit their creative spirit, she decided to take a walk on the grounds to try and clear her head.

An hour later, she was sitting on a bench, looking at the stars. "All right, you damn subconscious. I've narrowed it down to this: somebody said something important to me in passing today, but I didn't notice because it's too obvious. It's something we all know so well we don't pay attention to it anymore."

She was still there when Karen joined her. "Sarah, darling, you're shivering. Why don't you come in? I'll get us a mug of mulled wine and we can sit in front of the fire. If you must spend the night thinking, at least you can do it where you are comfortable."

Sarah jumped to her feet and paced angrily in front of her mentor. "That's just it. I don't want to be comfortable when Jules and Ari are in such distress. I LOVE THEM. They are my wives and we were just about to declare ourselves to the Mother in front of our friends when this happened, damn it. Now I have to be the detached scientist to find a solution."

"You won't help them if you make yourself sick. Stéphanie and Anne came to me earlier and we all agree that you need to take a step back so you can come at the problem with a fresh mind. In other words, you need to get laid and we egoistically elected ourselves to provide this much needed distraction. If I had gotten you in front of the fire in the grand hall, we would have raped you then and there, but now that I've spilled the beans, we might as well do it in the comfort of their bed."

That got Sarah laughing. "I can just imagine the scene of us going at it in the great hall with all the staff walking by. What about the image we are supposed to maintain in front of the troops?"

"If you must know, your whole team volunteered to 'distract' you and when we asserted that rank must have its privileges, they offered to stand watch so we wouldn't be disturbed. Heck, I suspect most were looking forward to the opportunity of seeing you with your pants down."

"If I believe Stéphanie, you may be right. Okay, let's go get me 'distracted'. Mother knows I'm not achieving anything sitting in the cold. Who knows, maybe it will shake something from the cobwebs."

They walked back to the building, arms around each other's waist, uncaring of who saw them. As they came nearer, Sarah raised her eyes to the windows of her wives' room where the lights had been dimmed for the night. 'I will find a way my loves. I swear! I won't rest until we can be together again.' She sobbed softly all the way to Stéphanie's room.

When their assistants saw her crying, they rushed to her side.

"Boss, what happened, are they all right?" Stéphanie asked, misinterpreting her sadness.

"They're all right. She's worried about them and frustrated for not being able to help them which is why we brought her here in the first place." Karen explained to the worried women.

"Aw, boss, Sarah, we know and we all worry, but for now, let us show you how much we love you for a change."

They surrounded Sarah in a loving embrace and each in turn kissed her deeply, trying to show her how much they cared. While Anne was kissing her, Karen unbuttoned her shirt and Stéphanie her pants. When she was down to her underwear, Karen cupped her face and brought their gazes together.

"Darling, you've taught us that love conquers all and to look with our hearts. These two found each other because they listened to you and so did you and Arianna and Juliette. We want to..."

Sarah suddenly went rigid. She had that faraway look they had all seen before.

"That's it! How could I have been so blind? Don't you see? I got them in this mess because I was too close to recognize what was developing and now I can't fix it because I stand too far away. Come on girls! If I can see it, so can you. What have you just said to me, Karen? And you this afternoon, Stéphanie?"

"Boss, you're the brain and we're the brawn. We know that."

Taking Stéphanie's face in her hands, Sarah kissed her tenderly. "Stephie, you've just earned yourself a good spanking and I may do it in front of the whole team just so you all learn to stop saying dumb things like that. I've picked each and every one of you because you have the talent, the brain and, most importantly, the heart required to continue my research past whatever I can accomplish. And if you don't show me I was right in the next minute, I will call the team in here."

When she saw Karen's face light up, she added. "And no help from the peanut gallery. I need to know that I chose the right assistant. I gave you enough clues to make it easy."

Stéphanie thought furiously. 'It's got to be obvious from what she said. It's got to be something to do with the heart, but what?' "Boss, you're not making it easy by fondling my breasts and Dr. Jackson, Karen's hand between my legs isn't helping either"

"Why? We were only trying to give you one more clue while making sure you can think under pressure."

Anne jumped up and down. "I know! I know! We had a patient last month..."

"Stop Anne, I need her to make the connection by herself."

Stéphanie lowered her eyes, trying to hide her smile. "Does this mean you will continue giving me clues if I don't come up with the answer?"

Sarah looked at Karen over Stéphanie's shoulder. "I told you she was the right one from the start. And to think you said she was distracting the rest of the team with her well rounded ass."

"You must admit it is a beautiful ass. Eminently spankable, I might add." Karen teased.

"And she really, really, gets off on being spanked too. I hardly have to touch her clit at all for her to come like crazy." Anne added enthusiastically.

"You didn't have to tell them that, baby."

"When did you figure it out, young lady?"

"Before you started fondling me. You spoke of looking with our heart and Dr. Jackson, Karen, said Anne and I found each other because we listened to you and that the same had happened with you and Arianna and Juliette. Now, please, Karen don't stop, I'm too close."

They all laughed at Stéphanie's pleading tone, but Karen didn't stop. Soon enough, the young woman was naked and her boss was kneeling in front of her, licking and sucking her clit while her boss' boss was licking her asshole as she kneaded her fleshy rounded cheeks. She moaned loudly in her girlfriend's mouth as Anne stretched her nipples as far as they would go while pinching them hard.

She felt her knees go weak under the multi-prong assault. She had never been with more than a single sex partner at a time and she had discovered her lesbian self only a month earlier when Anne had seduced her after confessing she had been in love with her for close to a year but had been too shy to approach her. Now the two women she admired most and her lover were making love to her.

Sarah had drilled into all of her talented girls that they must learn to block their receiving talents because it is unethical and plain wrong to 'listen' to other people's emotions. Stéphanie approved of her mentor's teachings because she knew how easy it was to take advantage of people when you knew how they felt about things. She had seen enough natural talents do it, whether in sales or politics. 

Earlier, she had blocked herself to concentrate on Sarah. Now she opened her receptivity more than she usually did even when she was alone with Anne and was so amazed at what she felt that she forgot her training and let her receptivity go wide open. She felt the pride of her teacher for her; the high esteem in which her director held her, and also her admiration for her ass; but what hit her the most was the deep love that flowed to her from Anne. 'I never knew!' She wailed silently. 'Why didn't I open myself completely to her before?'

The intense emotion she received added to the stimulation of the mouth on her clit, the fingers thrusting in her vagina and those doing the same in her rectum. She brought the mouth that was biting her breasts and nipples up to hers. Looking in her lover's eyes, she told her how she felt. "I love you. I..... Aaaaaaahhhhh!!!!! Yeeeesssss! FUCK ME!!!!! I LOVE YOU BABY!"

And she collapsed in their arms.

**********

"Sarah, why did you do that sound when you were fucking Karen in the ass?" Stéphanie asked as they were all catching their breaths.

"Inside joke, honey. It appears that our director loves to... Ouch! If you keep tweaking my nipple, I will paddle you so hard you won't be able to sit on your precious horses. As I was saying, she likes to go bare back riding naked on horses." Sarah laughed.

Anne lifted her head from Karen's nipple and said. "Welcome to the club!"

All three women looked at the diminutive support staff specialist in surprise.

"What? I grew up on a horse ranch and probably learned to ride before I could walk. When I got old enough to get 'the talk' about the birds and the bees, my mother told me how good it felt to ride a horse with your naked ass and sex directly on the saddle, right after she explained to me that masturbation was a natural and perfectly acceptable activity... when done in private." Anne blushed as she continued. "She decided it was time I got 'the talk' because she caught me frigging myself in a stall. Well, she heard me first. And when I turned eighteen, she took me out naked bareback riding as a birthday present."




The Apple... Ch. 12



They all laughed at the image of the young Anne coming so loudly, her mother caught her doing it almost in public. "Any other surprises for me, baby? And when were you going to introduce me to your mother... and your horses?" Stéphanie asked.

Anne jumped on her lover and straddling her so her arms were pinned to her body, she twisted her nipples. When Stéphanie moaned, Anne turned to the other women. "What am I supposed to do to punish a masochist? That's how I discovered she likes to be spanked so much. I was trying to punish her and she kept coming on my legs."

Sarah and Karen guffawed until tears were leaking from the corner of their eyes. "What if you tickle her?" Sarah suggested. "Better, tie her down so she can't touch herself and make her look at you while you pleasure your own body." Karen added her own suggestion.

"I couldn't do that. It would be too mean." Anne said, crestfallen at the ideas.

Stéphanie had taken advantage of the distraction to free her arms. She pulled Anne to her and kissed her passionately. "I love you too, baby. I know you won't do anything to really hurt me or make me feel bad. Maybe we could make a game of it. What do you say? Want to play at teasing me and see how much I can take before I beg you to make me come?"

When she had felt the very real hurt in her lover at the thought of doing something she might not like, her heart went to her. Having changed her train of thought, she let her hands run down her back to her ass which she caressed tenderly.

"Come one, teach. It's our cue to take our bow and let the lovebirds continue their 'conversation' in private."

**********

"Thank you Karen for arranging this distraction. That was just what this doctor should have ordered if she hadn't been trapped in her own feelings of inadequacy."

"Now, who's the one who should be paddled in front of the class? And who thought about the solution first? By the way, that was all Stéphanie's idea. The girl looks up to you and if she had known she was a lesbian earlier, I bet she would have made a serious pass at you."

"It's a good thing she didn't know then. She's better off with a woman her own age instead of with an old broad like me. Ouch! What did I tell you about tweaking my nipple?"

"She's only three years younger than you and I'm ten older. What does than make me? Ancient?"

"Aw shucks, you know what I mean, teach."

Karen pulled her in a hug. "Yes I know darling and I love you for it. They are like your children and you want what's best for them. If you remember, we didn't get involved until you were as much my colleague as any of the shit for brain old farts in the department... even if you insisted for it to remain unofficial."

"I know. I know. You can stop nagging me with that and call the dean. I'll take the damn doctorate. But tell him to send it by mail. I won't attend any ceremony. The people who mean something to me, our people, will know and it's enough for me."

"Poor darling. Your Stéphanie is not the only masochist around. It's about time you stopped torturing yourself. The diploma has been in my desk drawer for years. You're the only one who would never admit it, but you've been Doctor Sarah Grisholm all along."

"You're right, Karen, but I've been at this for so long. I told her she was my friend and that she was not alone. I tried so hard, but nothing worked and when I finally found a way, I let her down and this happened..." She fell in Karen's arms as she wailed her pain.

When doors opened along the corridor, Karen silently shooed the women back inside their rooms, but when the door they had just exited slammed open and a naked and profusely crying Stéphanie rushed to them, she gently pulled Sarah back inside. After quietly reminding Stéphanie to raise her shields so she could get a grip on herself and be of help to her boss and friend, they undressed Sarah again, this time to hold her lovingly until she fell asleep.

**********

Sarah woke in a start. "What? Where? Oh! Hi there, teach! I haven't woken to your naked body beside mine in a long time. What time is it?"

"Good morning to you too, sleepy head. You're right, it's been too long. And if memory serves, you loved to have me for breakfast."

"That sounds good, but what time is it? And why isn't Stéphanie's alarm clock on the table beside her bed?"

"Because we decided that you needed to sleep as long as you could to get ready for today. You've been pushing yourself too hard lately and you needed it."

"That girl's is definitely going to get it." Sarah growled. "What time is it?"

"Don't take that tone with me, young lady. You know I don't impress easily. If you calm down and give me a kiss, I'll tell you."

Sarah grumbled something about abuse of authority and senile old people, but she did take a deep breath and give Karen a kiss. "Good morning, dear teacher. And how are you on this bright sunny day? Did you sleep well?" She said in a most insincere tone.

"That's better, but I'll have to remember to mention your opinion of your elders to your mother the next time I visit her fine establishment. Ouch! Now, who's the meanie? You know I'm sensitive there. All right, truce. It's 8:00am. STOP IT, SARAH! The girls have been up for two hours and everything will be ready when it's time. Our charges have been fed and bathed. I hear they made quite a mess in the bathroom. The two therapists who have the best shields will be ready to assist you with two support personnel with the same training. Martine has been advised of what to expect and what she needs to do. The rest will be downstairs; it should be far enough to minimize the effects on us if things get out of hand or simply too rowdy, but close enough to help if needed. The non-professional staff have been sent to the guest house for the same reason. When Anne came by earlier to tell me everything would be ready, she said Sylvie insisted she stay to help, but Stéphanie convinced her it would better if she went to her husband for a few hours. Still she won't leave before she's cooked breakfast for you."

"I did train her well, didn't I?" Sarah had the grace to look sheepish.

"Yes, you did. That's what happens when you lead by example. Now, we will walk to the bathroom and have a shower, then we will get dressed and go downstairs to eat the wonderful breakfast Sylvie has prepared for us. Then and only then, will you be allowed to assume the mantle of 'boss'. Until that time, you are Sarah, our friend who needs to be reminded that she can't take they weight of the whole world on her own shoulders and that there are people who love her and are there to share the burden."

Sarah, her head on Karen's shoulder, cried softly as they walked to the bathroom, arms around the other's naked waist, but a smile illuminated her features.



The Apple... Ch. 13



The apple doesn't fall far from the tree

Chapter 13

Breakfast lasted longer than Sarah had planned. She had gone over her strategy with Karen because it was so off the wall that she needed the reassurance. They had never dealt with such a situation and certainly not one where one of them was so personally involved. As tricky as it sounded when put in words, they had both come to the conclusion that it was also pretty straightforward.

Climbing the stairs at a measured pace, Sarah used the repetitive motion to help center herself for the first part of the approach. She knew full well that she would lose that detachment when she got in the thick of things. As she must. In fact, that was the best if not the only solution to this peculiar situation.

On the second floor landing, she met the team which would support her efforts. Stéphanie, her assistant, and Mary, each a Doctor in Psychology in her own right, but also receiving empaths with effective shields. Anne, Karen's assistant, and Judith, low level empaths and nurses who were support therapists. All met her with calm miens and postures. They were accomplished professionals who understood the importance of what was about to happen and of their role in it.

"Ladies, Stéphanie has explained to you what we are going to try and why?" At their nods, she went on. "Then I won't go over it again, but I must emphasize a few points. First, we have all referred to them as Juliette and Arianna. From now on, we will use their bonded names which are Jules and Ari. As for Catherine, some of you already call her Cat. Now you all will, at least for a while. It's the name they use in their fused mental state and we want them to recognize who we are talking about."

"Second, you know to expect strong erotic projections. Two of you have strong shields and the other two are not strong receivers, but I must caution you all not to get complacent. With the introduction of a new factor, it may level off a bit or it may be multiplied. If so, there is no way to predict by what factor or the form it will take. Stéphanie and Anne, you are already a couple, so I know you can handle it if you get pulled in. What about you two? I won't think less of you if you want to be replaced."

Judith and Mary looked at each other and nodded. Mary spoke for the both of them. "We are not lesbians and Judith is married, but that is not a problem, boss. Heck, our team leaders have been carrying on like schoolgirls in love for the first time for the last month and it doesn't bother us none." She smirked at the blushing girlfriends and, having brought the tension down a notch as she had intended, she went on. "We know what to expect and if it means smooching some girls, well, we could do worse. We love you, boss, and we want to do all we can for you and your friends."

"Thank you Mary, but they're more than friends, they're my wives. Ah! I see the grapevine is not as effective as usual. You're losing your touch, Anne." They shared a friendly grin at Anne's expense. "And that is part of the problem. I should have been in there with them, but I acted the Doctor... Wipe those smirks off your faces or there will be more than one spanking in front of the team." She glared at her people, but it had no effect, so she continued. "I will remember this. Now, don't interfere unless something goes dramatically wrong. You know what to look for." At their nods, she stepped forward to enter the room, but they closed rank in her path. Surprised, she looked at them.

Stéphanie stepped forward. "Please, allow us, boss." And the four women proceeded to undress her gently, almost tenderly, folding her clothes neatly on a nearby chair.

Touched by the gesture and by the kindliness they had showed her while doing it, she gave each a hug and a kiss before resuming her advance.

**********

When Sarah opened the door, the undercurrent of erotic feelings accompanying flow of happiness and love seemed to stir as if the psychic meld in front of her sensed her presence, if not necessarily her intentions.

As she reached the foot of the bed, she stood looking at her wives and her friends for a moment. Martine lifted her head and gave her a nod, telling her she was ready to do her part.

Sarah went to Ari's side of the bed. She was draped over Jules who was cuddled to Cat while Martine was on the far side, half on her girlfriend.

Taking a deep breath, she was about to reach for her wives when a movement at the corner of her eye, caught her attention. Turning her head, she saw the four women kneeling, two on each side at the end of the bed, on cushions they had brought over. What caught her attention was that they were all naked. 'Is it in case of what may happen or for what they want to happen? And I'm the one they call a pervert. Ah!' She thought.

She stroked Ari's and Jules' hair, calling softly to them as she nodded to Martine to do the same with Cat. "My loves, Ari, Jules, this is Sarah. Your Sarah. Listen to my voice. Hear me, please. I need you to come back to me. I miss you terribly. I miss playing nasty games with you." She lay behind Ari, pressing her body as close as she could against hers and reaching over to pull Jules in her embrace. "See, we are playing the sandwich game. I have been a good girl and so have you. Now it's time to play together. Show me that you can hear me."

She and Martine went on relentlessly for long minutes, telling their loved ones how much they loved them and how they missed them, urging them gently to come back to them.

Sarah was beginning to worry. 'Did I misread the situation that badly? Can I have been so wrong? If so, what else can I do? I don't know! Mother, I don't know! They can't be gone forever! Noooo!"

That's when she felt a familiar echo at the edge of her perceptions. Her heart leapt in hope.

Ari turned in her arms and with a grin she said. "Where have you been, Sarah? We have been calling to you, but you were too far and we could not reach you."

"ARI! JULES! YOU'RE BACK!" She shouted, forgetting all of her professional reserve and whatever instructions she may have given her team.

"Yes, our love, we never left, we just could not reach you." Jules said, sitting up behind Ari. "Now we are here and we definitely heard you say you missed playing naughty games with us and that you have been a good girl."

The two bonded women brought Sarah between them and showed her just how much they had missed her too.

Taking her in their arms, they kissed her with all the love and passion they could. Their hands caressed every single inch of her body they could reach. When they used a variant of reflexology she had taught her therapists on her hands, she started. "Cat taught us. We had lots of time to play together and she showed us many tricks." Jules answered her unspoken question. When they came up her arms, they followed the meridians, paying special attention to the nerve clusters which they stimulated, all the way to her neck.

Sarah was overwhelmed by her joy at the return of her loves, but also by their ministrations. As always, their mere presence near her inflamed her senses. Now, it went far beyond that. Just by kissing her and massaging her hands and arms, they had her so near that the brush of a feather would not only send, but catapult her over.

Ari leaned over Sarah so she could look her in the eyes. Softly, but projecting all their love for her, she said. "You are our Sarah, our heart mate, our love, we are one now and forever."

That sent Sarah's mind blazing in a magnificent orgasm. All of her senses overexcited, all of her nerves overstimulated, she would have gone into shock if not for the nova of love she felt absorbing her, anchoring her to itself. "YEEESSS!!!! I'M YOURS! TAKE MEEEEEE!!!!" With a grin, Ari put the tip of her finger to Sarah's chin and barely touched it. Immediately, reflexively, without conscious thought, her body arched to the extreme of her tendons. Jules came up from Sarah's breasts and clamped her jaws to the offered throat and growled, applying definite if gentle pressure for a second until Sarah unconsciously whined her total and absolute submission to her pack.

The two/one women/woman looked at each other and grinned before resuming making love to their heart mate, keeping her both physically and psychically at the peak of stimulation. They/she had decided that this would be a wedding bedding to be remembered, if only by the three of them.

Jules went back to Sarah's chest where she left her loving mark from neck to abdomen. She licked and kissed each, healing any minor trauma her bite may have caused. Then she went back to the heaving breasts, kneading the soft but firm flesh as her mouth made love to the nipples with lips, tongue and teeth.

Ari had gone between Sarah's legs. She licked and bit her way down one then back up the other. Stimulating every nerve along the way with her hands and her mouth, stopping for a moment at every nerve bundle and applying Sarah's own version of reflexology to her feet as she sensuously sucked one toe after the other in her wet mouth.

When she arrived back at Sarah's vulva, she was not surprised to see her vaginal opening gaping and a steady flow of cream leaking from it. She kissed the blood engorged lips as she had the others a moment earlier. Her tongue invaded the heated orifice and lapped greedily at the sweet ambrosia. When her tongue reached lower to follow the trail on the flowing love liquid, Sarah lifted her legs instinctively, tilting her hips to give Ari better access to all of her body. She licked the sensitive area between both gaping holes as Sarah had already willingly anticipated her caresses and offered a relaxed anus ready for penetration or whatever Ari wished to submit it to.

Sarah had played sex games with and fucked many partners in her life, but never had she truly made love before her wives had come to her that first evening. Now she experienced sexual love/pleasure of a much higher order of magnitude. They stimulated her body to unheard of extremes that should have burned her mind, but she could feel their careful care as they kept her bouncing from one orgasm to the next for what felt like forever. She was completely in their mental hands and she willingly submitted to their love, truly unafraid in their passionate yet tender care.

**********

"I am here, baby. I never left you. I love you."

"Oooohhhhh! Cat, darling. I was so afraid. I never left your side. I was so worried..."

Cat's tender kiss reassured her lover that she was truly there and that she would never leave her again.

"I know, baby. I know. You were the anchor that kept us from possibly losing ourselves."

"I love you so much, Cat. I was so afraid, but I was strong for you. I knew you would not leave me..."

Cat realized that Martine was going into reaction shock and that it was her turn to need an anchor. She pulled her on top of herself and hugged her fiercely as she kissed her passionately, projecting all of her love as she never had before.

When Martine relaxed, at first, she tentatively returned the embrace and kiss. Then, the love penetrated the shields she had kept tightly locked down for days lest she cause damage to what they thought was a fragile equilibrium. Wonderingly, she slowly relaxed the mental tension and opened herself to her lover. She felt Cat's deep love and with a cry of joy, she opened herself totally as when they made love.

'AAAAAAHHHHH!!!! TOO MUCH!!!!! IT HURTS!!!'

Instantly, she felt a massive force clamp down around her, protecting her from further harm, soothing her bruised mind, loving her unconditionally. As she cried in reaction, she felt like she could almost hear a gentle, loving, motherly voice softly cuddling her mind. "We apologize, little one. You opened yourself too fast. We should have anticipated this. We will shield you from our loving our other wife. One of us will explain. Be at ease, we love you."

Lifting her head to look at her lover through tear filled eyes, she began. "What? Cat? Did you talk to me? I don't understand."

"Baby, I told you that you were our anchor here. We had to hang on to you tightly when we were here. That made you more sensitive to us."

"But I could hear you!" She was on the verge of hysteria, but the strange force asserted itself gently, wrapping her in a loving blanket of reassurance. Calmer now, she asked. "What was that about 'us' and the 'other wife'? Or should I ask?"

Softly laughing, Cat tried to explain without scaring Martine. "Where should I start? Do you remember when you first came to us? I don't know how long ago, we kind of lost track of time out there on the island. No, scratch that, we will explain in detail later. But do you remember that moment?"

"Yes, you were all in pain and you all jumped on me and said you loved me."

"Well, that's because I got caught in between my love for you and our love for each other."

"Isn't that the same thing?"

"No, my love for you and the love between Jules, Ari and I. Don't go tense on me, baby. We had gone through something absolutely incredible and unexpected and I was torn because I loved you so much and it caused me pain to tear myself away from the bond we had formed. When you arrived, we reacted as the single entity we had become and we attached ourselves to you because I love you. The problem came from the missing part: Sarah. One part of the link was deeply attached to you, but the other part was missing your counterpart."

"You're not making much sense, darling."

"I know. I'm making it too complicated, I think. I've gotten too used to total communication and I need to get used to words again. Let me try another way. Jules, Ari and I had sex and it was wonderful. First because they just love sex, but also because we discovered by accident that they are just as powerful empaths as I am, if not more. Let me finish, please, baby. So, first they had sex together and I got pulled in on the periphery of it and it was incredible, then they playfully decided to show me the real thing. That's when things got a little weird. I could feel them communicating almost at the same level as my own perceptions and projections. You know, like perfect twins. Then, when we came together, we really came together. We linked so intensely it blew us to my island. I know, it's impossible, but it happened all the same. We came back because Sarah called us and Jules thought of a 'ritual' to make the transfer. Unfortunately, when we came back, we were still linked deeply. That's the 'us' part, in a very simplified way."

"It's a stretch, but I think I can understand it. We'll talk later about this having sex with strange women when I'm not there."

Cat laughed uproariously. "Baby, you have no idea how we will talk about it. You'll love it, I promise."

Martine knew her girlfriend's often twisted sense of humor. She frowned, but kept her mouth shut for the moment which gave Cat a chance to continue her explanation.

"So we were just pulling ourselves apart when the conflict with my deep love for you hit us. I loved you intensely and all would have been fine if your counterpart for them had entered the equation to balance the whole thing, but Sarah went in 'doctor' mode because she was so worried for us. So, her first thought, we guess, was to call you thinking that our training together would snap me out of it, whatever what 'it' was. The opposite happened. We all fixated on the powerful emotion of my love for you and, without the counter-balancing their love for Sarah, it caused us to temporarily lose our individuality in the mesh."

"And I love you too, darling, but what's that got to do with the 'other wife' thing?"

"I know you love me and you know I love you, but let me give you a small taste of how much we love you. Do you trust me, baby?"

"Of course, I trust you darling. Do you have to ask?"

"Yes, I do. I need you to trust me with all your heart. To know that I love you and that I would never do anything to hurt you. Please, baby, it's important."

Martine thought about Cat's words for a moment, weighing their implications. "Yes, darling. I love you and I trust you with all my heart. If there have ever been any doubts in my heart, they were burned off irrevocably these last few days. You can't scare me and you won't get rid of me. No way! No how!" She said fiercely.

"That's my baby. Tough as nails, as ever. We have no intention to scare you or get rid of you. Quite the opposite, you see. We have found that we love you just as much as I do. Remember, if you want to talk to us while you are in the mesh, all you have to do is 'think' to us."

Before Martine had time to make sense of the words, she felt the strange force assert itself on her mind. Some small part of her knew she should be afraid, but it was gently absorbed in a soft blanket of love.

"We love you Martine. We have loved you for a long time and we love you now more than ever because we have seen all that you have done for us in our time of crisis. One of us will show you just how much we love you."



The Apple... Ch. 14



The apple doesn't fall far from the tree

Chapter 14

Martine sits at her desk in the biology class of her first year nurse studies. This morning, there are two visitors in the class. One is a tall shapely woman with bright green eyes. She looks like an athlete, but she has been introduced as Doctor Sarah Grisholm. Martine is quite certain she has heard her grumble "I'm not a Doctor" under her breath before she told them to call her Sarah. Well, she definitely doesn't dress like any other Doctor or professor and she looks like she would be more at ease in a bar than in front of a class. The other is quite literally the most beautiful woman Martine has ever seen, but she doesn't hold herself arrogantly like most beautiful women she has known. Quite the opposite, she exudes friendliness and approachability. Her name is Catherine Lamoureux and she is a therapist. Her speciality is not mentioned, but she puts everyone at ease when she says "Just call me Catherine. I'm the low figure of the totem pole." Everybody laughs at that.

Sarah says that they are there to recruit support therapists for a special project in the Psychology department. She doesn't give details, but she says that it has the potential to make great good to some special patients and that she is looking for compassionate young women who are willing to add one hour a day to their current course load but that it would be worth it later on.

Martine has no intention of joining the program. She has more than enough on her plate as it is. Why should she add an extra hour a day to her workload? 

While Doctor Grisholm is making her pitch, Martine notices that Catherine is looking attentively at the students. At one point, their eyes meet and the woman smiles at her. Martine smiles politely back, but she sits straighter in her chair and the smile accompanies her the rest of the day.

**********

Martine is in the yoga class where a Hindi yogi teaches the physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines with a view to attain a state of permanent peace. Doctor Grisholm says that it's a great low impact physical training, a technique to learn about themselves and to prepare for her career as a support therapist, whatever that is exactly.

Catherine is two mats to her left. As she goes through the different postures, Martine often finds herself glancing her way. The first few times, she does not notice, then after a while, she begins to wonder what's attracting her attention her way. Yes, she is a beautiful statuesque woman, elegantly tall, graceful and attractive with her generous bust, ample feminine curves, long shapely legs, unblemished skin, graceful neck, full lips, straight nose, almond-shaped deep brown eyes of and thick long auburn hair with the most spectacular reddish highlights she has even seen outside the pages of a magazine.

'What the... Am I jealous of this beautiful woman? I never thought of myself as so superficial. Well, I'm just glad my boyfriend will never meet her.' She thinks.

**********

Martine is in a t'ai chi ch'uan class taught by an old Chinese man. Doctor Grisholm has asked him to keep to two of the five elements, neigong & qigong, which are breathing, movement and awareness exercises and meditation. What a strange course for a future therapist. She finds it pretty boring with its slow movements.

Catherine is also there, but this time she is in the row before Martine. She is so graceful. How does she do it? Martine tries to emulate her perfect forms, but she always goes too fast and is out of balance. She grits her teeth and forces herself to go at the same rhythm as Catherine.

**********

Martine is in a meditation class taught by a Tibetan man. She thinks he is a monk, but he has hair and does not dress like the monks she has seen in the National Geographic magazine. He is teaching techniques designed to promote relaxation, build internal energy or life force or ki. Doctor Grisholm says it is to teach them to center themselves.

Martine doesn't understand what she is supposed to center, but she goes along. She is comfortable enough in the lotus sitting position, but when she closes her eyes and softly chants the 'om' mantra, it makes her doze off. She leans to her right and is about to fall on the woman there when a gentle hand on her shoulder halts her movement. She snaps awake, but blushes deeply because she knows that it's Catherine who has caught her. For some reason she can't understand, she is ashamed to have shown such lack of discipline to the woman. She looks over her shoulder to smile a 'thank you' to her and gets a warm feeling in her belly when her smile is returned.

Catherine lifts her hand and clears her throat to get the attention of the teacher. She tells him that in this calm and quiet room, many people have trouble staying awake because this is such a different exercise from everything they have ever been taught, that, maybe if some of them turn around and maintain physical contact with a meditation partner, it would make things easier. The teacher is dubious about this approach, but he defers to Catherine and says that those who can't stay awake can do so.

Martine feels a tap on her shoulder and turns. Catherine asks her if she wants to partner with her as she also is dozing off. So Martine shifts around, brings her mat closer to Catherine's and resumes the lotus position. She asks Catherine how they should go about it. Catherine says that if they got closer so their knees are just about to touch, they could lightly hold hands and maybe it would work.

They shift forward and try it, but when their fingers touch, Martine feels as if a jolt of low level electricity runs up her arms and sets a buzz in her ears. She says nothing because Catherine shows no such effect. Well, she knows she certainly won't fall asleep, but how is she supposed to meditate?

**********

Martine is in the women's locker room at the pool of the university. She is there for another of Doctor Grisholm's special classes, but she doesn't mind. She likes to swim. She used to swim in the lake all summer long when she lived on her parent's farm, but, in the city, the opportunities are few and far between. She is about to undress before putting her one-piece swimsuit on. She does it every Saturday when she takes advantage of the free public hours. But something is holding her back. 

Martine is certainly not shy, in fact she is proud of her body. She has been a tom-boy all her life, playing sports and games with the boys, helping load and unload the bales of hay at harvest time, doing all sorts of physical activities that have kept her body slim and trim, muscular but more tough and wiry that the bulging kind so her abdomen is flat and hard without the muscle definition. When she developed feminine curves, she considered herself lucky that her breasts were big enough to entice boys when she chose to wear more revealing shirts but not so large that they impeded her activities like the udders some girls were so proud of and most boys salivated over. Her hips are just wide enough to make appealing curves with her tight but shapely ass when she wears tighter skirts or pants. She cuts her dirty blonde hair short to keep it out of the way and she has been told by many boys that she has beautiful blue eyes and that when she smiles, it lights her face.

So why does she hesitate before taking her clothes off this time. She stands there with her hands on the top button, but she feels like she has forgotten how to undo it. She is confused until this strange feeling of peace come over her, her confidence in herself returns and she undresses. Not one to preen in front of other girls, she quickly dons her swimsuit, closes her locker and turn toward the entrance to the pool. She comes face to face with Catherine and greets her unselfconsciously. They walk together to the pool like two classmates discussing the classes they share.

**********

Martine is running the cross-country trail on the mountain. She likes running. She gets up early every morning to run at least a mile or two, depending on the time she has available, even on days such as these when she has this last special class. Doctor Grisholm insists that all the personnel in her project do regular physical exercise. She has given them the choice between running, muscular training or one of the sports available at the university such as volleyball or badminton.

Usually they run around the football field or on the indoor running track when the weather is inclement, but today, they have gone off campus because the weather is ideal for cross-country. Not too hot, not too cold, with a light breeze to cool their sweating bodies.

Martine remembers the day at the beginning of this semester when she had overtaken the laggards group for the second time. Though she has tried often enough since then, she has never been able to understand what had come over her, but when she passed Catherine, she gave her a slap on the ass and shouted, "Come on, you can run faster than these bozos." When her brain caught up with the rest of her body, she was mortified and she started crying as she apologized profusely. When Catherine tried to diffuse the situation by laughing as she lifted her breasts in both hands and said, "When you have teats like these, if you run too hard, you risk getting two black eyes." Martine cried harder and ran off the field to the locker room where she sat for half an hour sobbing.

The next day was yoga day. She came in early so she wouldn't be in the locker room when the other students arrived. When she saw where Catherine put her mat, she went over and, eyes on the ground, silently gave her a pamphlet from the Athletic department saying they were looking for women to test sports brassieres and went to put her mat as far as she could from Catherine. She did the same thing at every class. She did her meditation by herself in the far corner of the room. She did not pass the slower runners' group again, but stayed across the field from them. When she had to go by Catherine, she kept her eyes on the ground and wouldn't speak to her.

She was unhappy and her grades suffered from it. This went on for three weeks until one day she again ran with her eyes to the ground while keeping a sidelong watch for the slower group across the field to make sure she didn't catch up to them inadvertently. All of a sudden, she felt a stinging slap on her ass and heard "Now who's the bozo?" She looked up to see Catherine leave her quickly behind. Stunned, she lost her rhythm and stumbled for a few steps. Then a great smile lit her face and she picked up the pace until she was running abreast of Catherine who said, "I've missed you. First to overtake the laggards gets a free pass to slap the biggest ass!" and sprinted ahead.

Today, they are running together as always. They pass each other as the terrain permits and they laugh. Martine is happy.

**********

Martine is on the auditorium stage, receiving her diploma. The dean congratulates her on having achieved the highest overall marks in her class. He also remarks on the extra credits she earned in Psychology and Physical Therapy. She blushes as she is not used to such public praise.

Later, when her parents have gone to get the family pick-up truck to take her out for a celebratory diner, she sees Doctor Grisholm, Sarah as she insists everyone call her, walk toward her. She is accompanied by a classy older woman whom she introduces as Doctor Karen Jackson, professor in Clinical Psychology and her mentor.

Martine is impressed by their presence at her graduation. She asks if she has passed her classes for the special project as she has never received a grade since the first year. Sarah tells her that there are no grades in those classes. Martine is confused. Doctor Jackson tells her that she has a week's vacation and that she starts working at a downtown hospital the following Monday, but she must report sometime in the previous week to fill out the required paperwork with Human Resources. She also tells her that her working hours have been arranged so she could continue her special classes. They congratulate her on her diploma and leave.

Martine watches them leave and wonders if Catherine will still be taking those classes.

**********

Martine steps out the door of the hospital. Her shoulders are slumped. She drags her feet. She is bushed. She has just come off yet another double shift and she has only eight hours before she has to be back. She leans against the lamp post as she waits for the bus home where she will get a quick supper, a quick bath and as many hours of sleep as she can. The strain of the long hours is showing. She has circles under her eyes, she rarely ever goes running in the morning anymore, she is listless though she forces herself to perk up when on the job. The only bright moment in her day is the special classes.

She is almost asleep on her feet when a gentle hand takes her arm and guides her up. "Your bus is here." 'Must be one of the other regular passengers who saw I was going to miss my bus home.' She thinks. But the hand stays at her elbow as she is guided to a seat. It is a mark of her exhaustion that she doesn't look up to the Good Samaritan and only mumbles a 'thank you' as she slumps in her seat. She is fast asleep before the next stop. She is vaguely aware that the same hand guides her off the bus and up to her apartment. When gently asked, she fumbles in her purse and hands over her keys.

She wakes up in her bed. The sun shining through her window has woken her. She looks at her alarm clock to see if she still has a few minutes more to sleep and jumps out of bed with a cry of dismay. She is late for work. How could this have happened? She never forgets to set her alarm. She runs to the bathroom and sits on the toilet before she realizes that she is completely naked. She is confused. She never sleeps in the nude. Most of the time she wears an over-large t-shirt, but she always wears undies. She must have been more tired that she had thought.

She rushes through her morning routine and is looking for her keys. She sees them on the kitchen table over a folded piece of paper. Bemused, she picks up her keys and the paper. She unfolds it. She has to read it twice before the meaning of the words sets in. 'Good morning, you can go back to bed for as long as you like. You have the next two days off. Yesterday was your last double shift. You are exempted from t'ai chi today, but I will be over late afternoon for a session of meditation. After which, I will expect a light, but filling supper. Signed C. PS: I don't know if you prefer red or white wine so I will bring one of each.'

**********

Martine has slept the morning away. She has just finished a late breakfast when there is a discreet knock at the door, as if the visitor did not want to wake her if she was still asleep. She opens the door and there is Doct... Sarah. She almost closes the door back as she tries to cover herself, afraid that her undies are showing below the hem of her large t-shirt. Sarah laughs and tells her not to worry about such a detail and that she herself is usually naked around her home.

Martine blushes as she lets her in. She shuts the door before running to her room where she puts on a pair of pants. When she comes out of her bedroom, Sarah is pouring herself a cup of coffee from the pot on the stove. She asks where she keeps her sugar. Then they sit at the table.

Sarah tells her that Catherine had come to her home yesterday evening and that she was furious. Sarah tells her that she had been afraid Catherine may have caused some traffic accident on her way there, but that she has listened to the news this morning and that there was nothing out of the ordinary. She says that she had to give her one of her special massages so she could calm down enough to tell her what had gotten her so mad.

Sarah tells her that she herself had gotten hopping mad when Catherine told her why she was so angry. That they had to give each other one of those special massages to calm themselves enough so they could sleep.

She says that she had called Dr. Jackson this morning and that they had gone to the hospital to 'kick the Director's ass.' She says they told him they had an agreement and that he couldn't burn out one of their most promising girls as he did his other nurses. To which he answered that he couldn't give preferential treatment to young nurses who 'couldn't hack it', that it would create jealousies and undermine staff morale. Sarah tells her that Dr. Jackson had gotten very angry and told him that effective immediately every one of 'their girls' were pulled out of his hospital and that he could kiss his extra grant from the university goodbye.

Martine is confused. The only clear thing that stands out is that she is out of a job. How will she pay her rent? What about food? She gets teary-eyed as she contemplates a bleak future indeed, but Sarah tells her that she starts next Monday at the external clinic at the university on a 8 to 6 shift and that since the special classes are at the university or nearby, that it will make it easier for her and their other 'girls' and here is her full last paycheck from the hospital. She says that they had refused to leave before they had gotten them for all of their 'girls'. Then Sarah has to leave because she has to go see the other 'girls' and she had been the first she had come to see. She tells her to keep her spirits up and that there was only another six months to go in the first part of her apprenticeship.

Martine sits on her couch, dazed by the whirlwind visit. She looks at the check in her hand and decides to go shopping for fresh food for her guest.

**********

Catherine starts to undress for their meditation session but she did not bring her sports bag with her usual lightweight robe. Martine tells her that one of hers might fit her, but that she doubted it. She replies that they don't need the clothing because she is going to show her a new meditation technique. She asks Martine if she is going to go all prude on her after they had been naked in front of each other so often in the last few years.

Martine says no, of course not, but that she is afraid to be distracted and not be able to attain their usual level of meditation because Catherine is the most beautiful woman she has ever seen. Catherine puts a hand on Martine's cheek, smiles and tells her that she is sweet. Then she continues disrobing telling her to do the same. She says they close their eyes anyway when they meditate but that she will show her a way to make sure she doesn't cheat and peek.

When they are naked, she takes Martine's hand and pulls her to her bedroom. When she sees where they are going. Martine wants to hold back because she says she is not like that and that she only loves men. Catherine looks at her with an expression of surprise and asks her what she is talking about. Martine stammers, afraid she has offended her friend. Catherine tells her she will teach her another technique and that it worked better if they are comfortable, so Martine follows her.

They sit on the bed. Martine assumes the lotus position, but Catherine tells her that it is not comfortable enough. But that she must first explain the new technique and that it will do for now. She goes on to ask Martine pointed questions about the three different special classes. As she answers, she begins to get a glimmer of where Catherine is guiding her.

A few minutes later, Catherine concludes by saying that if she combines the centering exercises of the meditation class with the breathing and awareness exercises of the t'ai chi class and the reaching for permanent peace of the yoga class, she will reach a higher level of meditation than any other student. She tells Martine that the students who do not make the connection by themselves will be taught this new technique when they begin the second part of their apprenticeship within the special project. She tells her that she will be six months ahead of the class. Martine is happy that her friend would help her so.




The Apple... Ch. 14



Then, Catherine props some pillows against the headboard of the bed and sits with her back comfortably against them. She spreads her legs apart and asks Martine to sit between them with her back to her. She leans forward and snaps her finger before Martine's face who starts and is mortified to realize she had been staring at Catherine's closely trimmed vulva. She lowers her eyes and is about to dissolve in tears when Catherine gently puts a hand under her chin and lifts her head so she can look into her eyes. She softly says that a woman's body is a beautiful thing and that there is absolutely nothing wrong with looking at one. She says that she often looks at Martine's naked body and that she has done so again yesterday when she put her to bed. She says that if Martine wants to look at her body, she can do it whenever she wants and that it will make happy to know that her friend finds her beautiful and wants to look at her body. Martine is unsure of her feelings about this but she tells Catherine that she can look at her body when she wants too.

When Martine leans against Catherine, she is uneasy because she feels the soft breasts against her back so she squirms a little, but Catherine tells her to stop because she is causing her to be distracted, so she stops, but now there are hard nipples poking at her. She wants to pull back, but before she can do so, her friends takes her hands and crosses her arms against her chest and puts her hands square on her own breasts saying that it will help her be aware of her breathing. Martine is dubious about the idea because she can feel her nipples harden under her palms.

Catherine crosses her arms over Martine's chest and puts her hands on Martine's. She tells her that they should breathe together as in the normal meditation exercises, but to take slightly deeper breath. She says that she would lead the respiration cadence and that Martine should follow her rhythm. Unfortunately, when she begins, her nipples trace lines of heat at her back. Martine is quite certain she will never be able to center herself and meditate.

Martine becomes aware that hands are gently squeezing hers and that she is in turn squeezing her own breasts which produce sweet sensations in them which in turn seem to echo deep within her vagina. She also becomes aware of a gentle, she would almost say loving, voice that calls to her, telling her that is has been long enough for a first time and that she must come back.

Has she fallen asleep? She feels refreshed as if she had just woken from a full night's sleep. She looks at her clock and sees that only an hour has passed. Languidly, she looks over her shoulder to ask Catherine if she has slept but finds her gaze captured by the deep brown pools. When a pair of moist full lips touch her own lightly just long enough to communicate that the gesture is deliberate but not enough to be threatening in any way, Martine feels this is the most natural gesture in the world between friends.

When the lips retreat just enough to free her own she asks Catherine if she has slept. When she says no, Martine says that she has lost an hour of her life then and wonders how it is possible. Her meditation partner tells her that she had accomplished in one fell swoop what others took years to do, if they ever did, and that she should be very proud of herself.

Martine doesn't want to disconnect from the deep brown eyes, but her body makes ever increasingly insistent demands upon her attention. Regretfully, she must break away her gaze and attend to them. As she gets up, she realizes that her sex is leaking an excess of moisture down her thighs and that she can smell her own excitation as she walks away. Once her needs attended to, she uses a washcloth to clean herself, hoping that her friend has not noticed her predicament. 'What would she think of me?' She wonders, but, for some reason, there doesn't seem to be anxiety attached to the question.

When she comes out of the bathroom, Catherine is there waiting her turn at the facilities. "Oh you should have knocked or called out, I would have hurried." She says.

"I am not in such a rush that a minute or two either way makes such a difference." Catherine answers.

As they cross path, their hands touch lightly. Martine finds that she has hesitated briefly at the contact. Almost as if she wanted to take Catherine's in her own. But, assuredly, that is a silly conception.

When Catherine comes back to the bedroom, she sees that Martine has laid out clothes and is ready to put them on. She asks her if she would mind terribly if she requested of her to stay in the nude as she would dearly love the opportunity to gaze at her beautiful body. Martine answers coquettishly that she would gladly accede if Catherine would in turn please allow her the same privilege. Both women giggle as they wordlessly arrive at a mutually agreeable resolution to the requests.

**********

While Martine prepares a succulent salad with a light vinaigrette made from a family recipe and strips of roasted chicken, Catherine openly admires her feminine attributes and forms and amicably comments on them. Martine returns the compliments each too brief time Catherine gets up for a real or imaginary forgotten implement that they simply must have in order to continue their repast until she finally asks that she stand before her so she can more fully admire her. And Catherine does just that and, in her desire to be accommodating, she slowly spins on her feet. When her back is turned, Martine discreetly leans forward a bit to breathe in a whiff of her personal scent, a mixture of sweet feminine sweat, delicate musk and a touch of a lovely fragrance reminiscent of jasmine and lavender.

Once they are retired to the tiny living room where they listen to soft music, sipping from glasses of chilled white wine, Martine asks more details on their accomplishments in their earlier exercises. Catherine explains that they have achieved a definite rapport as they entered and maintained a light trance. She goes on to specify that the latter part is the most difficult because it can only be so after long hours of practice in the technique. "You are definitely a natural at this. If you are agreeable, I propose we meet regularly to improve on our achievements. When we achieve sufficient mastery, we could attain this trance simply by holding hands and looking into each other's eyes while we do the deep breathing."

Martine thinks about this promised goal. Much as she would find real pleasure in sharing such a lofty accomplishment with her friend, she would miss the close contact of this first success. "I will do my very best so we can attain whichever goal is still within our reach as we extend our capabilities to their utmost. I promise. How often do you propose we meet?"

"Good for you. I suggest we meet once a day for the next three days since you are off-duty and we can extend our exercises over the week-end or not if you have previous engagements. Further down the road, it would depend on the constraints of our individual schedules."

"I would love very much to go on with your suggested short term timetable. As for the week-end, I am completely available to you. The last man in my life could not abide by my rigorous work schedule. I suppose he prefers a companion who is more available."

"What an ass! You are much better off without him. I say we get on earlier with the training so we have more time to paint the town red. Do you dance?"

"Sadly, I must admit that I have little talent for dancing. I am terrible at keeping a rhythm as you must have noticed in our t'ai chi classes. I rather propose that we hunt the better bargains at the various boutiques and stores of this area or those closer to your own home during the afternoon then retire indoors for our exercises, then a fine meal in good company. As for Sunday, surely, there must be a good movie playing at some theatre, then back to the grindstone and the pleasant company for a fine meal."

"I agree wholeheartedly with your ideas. I am in need of some lingerie and I would not mind finding something nice."

"What about yourself? Don't you have a boyfriend of your own or at least some male acquaintance who would love nothing better than to take you dancing or some festive occasion? Though I would really appreciate your company in those escapades, I can attempt them by myself if I can find the heart for it."

"I am almost afraid to reveal this personal trait of character for fear that you will shun my company thereafter..."

"Then don't. I value our friendship too much to endanger it over a personal quirk of character. I find that I also like your company on our own time, that is away from the context of classes."

"Yet, I think I must, in the interest of full disclosure, Otherwise I would feel like I am taking advantage of you and that is the very last thing I would do because I too have grown fond of your company and value our friendship highly."

"Then if you absolutely must, please wait until you are ready to leave later and let us enjoy these moments if indeed they are our last in such a context as you fear. That way, I will have the night and tomorrow to make my mind as to how terrible a person you are... or not."

"If you wish, let it be so. What do you propose we do until I must depart as you have an early day if you are to resume your personal training regimen of running in the morning and I have to be at work not so much later?"

"Would it be too forward of me if I said that I enjoyed our close contact during our meditation and would very much like to renew it. If it must my last opportunity, I would rather not squander it."

"I did too and neither would I. Shall we repair to your bed then?"

"No need, we are comfortable here if you lift your arm, I will slip under it, wrap my arms around your waist and rest my head on your shoulder, if you agree."

"I most definitely agree. But I have a question for you. Feel free to answer or not. It is of no consequence save to satisfy my curiosity."

"Ask away. I doubt it can be as intrusive as I have just been so forward."

"When I asked if you wanted to resume our earlier position on your bed, you came up quite quickly with a quite elaborate suggestion for a spur of the moment response to my question. Just how long have you been thinking about it?"

"I can see how hard you struggle not to laugh at me. Maybe I should keep this information to myself or I may never hear the end of it."

"Oh, please. It cannot be that bad. Here, I promise never to breathe a word of it to a soul, though I cannot promise not to tease you with it from time to time. But always in private, I swear."

"Please do not laugh, but when you were standing in front of me earlier, I took advantage of your turning around to smell you. Ah! You are laughing."

"No, my friend, I am not laughing at you. I am laughing at us."

"How so?"

"When you were leaning on me earlier, I had my nose in your hair and when I rose from the trance, I admit to waiting a few minutes before rousing you because your legs were parted and I wanted to savour the feminine scent wafting from your center without embarrassing you. So when you suggested nestling with your nose so close to my armpit, it reminded me of when I spied you doing the same to me at supper. So you see, I laughed at the congruence of our olfactory fetishes."

"Indeed, in this, it seems we are two peas from the same pod."

"Yes, and I also have noticed that when we first sat here, we were at the opposite ends of the couch and now, you are barely a foot from me. You have been squirming closer and closer as we spoke."

"I am and I have. At first, I did not notice. Then I found that I could not help myself. After our closeness during the meditation, I find that I am unaccountably attracted to you. Strange, is it not?"

"Hum..."

"Did I say something wrong? I apologize. Please forgive me!"

"No, please, do not cry. It is nothing you said. Nothing at all. It is me. I find myself quite conflicted. Come closer, dear friend, and we will cuddle as you suggested."

"Are you sure? I would not want to offend."

"Trust me. I am not offended. Are you comfortable there?"

"Yes, thank you. And I was right, you smell divine. I have to confess that I find the smell of body sweat to be most... Hum..."

"Erotic?"

"Well, yes, I am ashamed to admit it. I find that most of the natural scents of the human body are like an aphrodisiac to me. Please do not think poorly of me. Quite a few of my former lovers have been disgusted by that side of my personality and left me, calling me a pervert."

"There, there. Dry your tears. I will not judge you. Remember I told you only moments ago that I share your enthusiasm. In fact, I have a gift for you."

"You do? You should not have."

"Do not worry, it is the gift that keeps on giving. Did you notice that I sat at the end of the couch that had a blanket on it and that I folded it a few times before sitting?"

"Yes I have but I thought nothing of it. The reason it is there is that I do the same to protect my tender bottom from rebellious springs."

"Well, I had another reason in mind. You see... Hum... Since I see you already discreetly drawing as deep breaths as you can without being too obvious, allow me."

"Ooooohhh! Thank you for opening your legs so. Aaaaahhhh! You smell heavenly. As I knew you must. At the kitchen table, I got only a faint whiff, but now, you are filling my mind with desire."

"You may lean closer, my dear. I will not mind."

"I think not or I will have to leave you for a moment to take my needs in hand, so to speak."

"Why would you feel the need to leave me for this? No, do not answer, I understand. Here is my gift, then I will take my leave."

"What are you?... Oh my! You've dipped your finger in your cream and smeared it on my upper lip. Now I cannot escape your sweet smell. Why did you do this to me? My mind is ablaze with desire."

"Yes, I know and now I will leave you to pleasure yourself while thinking of me."

"Noooo!, Please. Why did you do this to me? You do not have to go now, I will wash it away. Please stop dressing."

"I must. But before I go, here is my secret. May I kiss you before I tell you?"

"Of course, you may, please. Huuummmm! Please, do not tell me. Stay with me."

"If it is to be my last memory of you, it will be a pleasant one. You see, dear friend, I do not have a boyfriend and I never have and never will because I am sexually attracted to women. I have been sitting on the blanket so I would not stain your couch with the amount of cream I knew I would produce sitting so close to you because I love you."

"I do not care about the couch. Noooo! Please do not leave!"



The Apple... Ch. 15



The apple doesn't fall far from the tree

Chapter 15

"Hum... Us?... Cat?... Can you hear me?"

"Yes we can, little one."

"I have some questions. Can we talk?"

"We think we have better communicate outside the mesh. We can feel your confusion and we fear some on it rises from our mode of communication when linked. We will come back to it later if you wish."

"Are you with me, baby?"

"Oh, Cat! Why did we wait so long? I loved you from the first time I saw you in class with Sarah." Martine wailed as she lunged in Cat's arms.

"I know, baby, I know. I did too and I could tell you did, but you know why I had to wait for you to discover it for yourself."

"Yes, I do and I'm going to kill Sarah with a blunt spoon."

"Hum, missy, I'm right here. You know it wasn't easy for us either. And Cat didn't have you to help her either. We had to find the most isolated place we could in the city for her so she had a place to let herself go and cry."

"Sarah, you're okay! I was getting worried for you and then Cat sent me in there and they showed me these memories."

"I was all right all along. My wives took their sweet time showing just how much they loved me."

"Yes, we did..." Jules said.

"Because we missed you so..." Ari continued.

"We had a lot of time..."

"To make up for. We will have..."

"To try and figure the time factor..."

"Between the island and here."

"That won't be an easy one. Do you think you two will be able to separate?"

"We are working..."

"On it. It's not easy..."

"Because we were already..."

"Bonded before this..."

"Happened."

They heard low moans coming from the foot of the bed.

"Blessed Mother, I forgot about them." Sarah shouted as she jumped off the bed. "Martine, I need help. You can feel sorry for yourself later."

"I have nurse training too, Sarah." Ari said.

"And I can help too." Jules chimed in. "Cat taught us other tricks than the naughty ones."

"Yes, I did. And if they aren't sure, we can link and they can ask." Cat finished.

"Even if you're not touching?" Sarah asked, her scientific curiosity peaked.

"Later boss, these four may be in shock. You three... Us... They need you right now. Cat, you're the best therapist we have and you have the most experience. I suggest you all link up. It's our best bet. Can you pull on Ari's trauma nurse experience?"

"Yes, baby, we can. What one knows, all know when we are linked."

"Then get to it. Sarah and I will go see how the others are faring downstairs... And if she doesn't come back up here, well, those stairs can be slippery. Ouch! Boss, haven't you has enough fun with your wives?"

"No, but that another subject. I had to assert my authority."

"By tweaking my nipple?"

"Whatever works. They teach that in administrator school. Ask Karen, she did it to me often enough."

The rest of the banter was lost as they ran down the corridor to the stairs.

**********

"Blessed Mother, it reached all the way here, but not as bad. Go back to the first floor and call them will need at least..."

"It... Us... Whatever, they know. One of them was on the way before we arrived."

Sarah turned to Martine, shocked. "You can talk to them?"

"Yes and no, boss. Later. These women need our help."

The six women were in various states of undress, from naked to shredded clothed barely hanging from bodies. Most were conscious, but two were slumped in each other's arms with blank eyes and drool dripping from their mouths.

"Sarah, run to the laundry room and get as many blankets as you can. We have to keep them from going in shock or we're really in trouble."

"We will help." Jules said as she raced down the last set of stairs. "We examined them and we will be able to help. As the little one said, we have to keep them warm and herd them upstairs. This place should have an elevator."

"I'll mention it to the owner. For now see what you can do for these two, they look the worst off."

"We already are. Have, our Sarah. Please get the blankets."

"But you didn't..."

"THE BLANKETS, BOSS!"

"Yes. Yes. I'm going."

"Can you help the others?"

"Yes, little one. We are blanketing their hurt, but we will need to help them together with the other ones. It is the same trauma and it needs to be addressed all at once."

"Can't you do it here? Why do they have to be upstairs?"

"They were linked when we were carried away when our Sarah came back to us. We expected it and we shielded ourselves, but our merge with our wife was so strong some of our love leaked. One of us says these people love our Sarah very much too and they must be together with her, touching her to get the best results."

"If these are in such bad shape, what about the people in the guest house and the caretaker and his wife? I have to go check on them."

"We have looked. The leak did not reach so strongly in those places. They only got a jolt of love for their fellow human beings. As we said, we shielded all erotic emotions. The love was stronger than anticipated and a little leaked."

"That was a little leak? Why wasn't I blasted? I was inches from you three."

"We told you, remember? We shielded you very tightly. One of us is very much in love with you and has been for a long time. So we love you and we hope you will love us. And we were with you all the time before our Sarah came back to us."

"I heard that. I'm sorry. I did what I knew best. You're sort of a new entity. We'll have so much to learn from you."

"We know. One of us guided us and we have begun to evaluate ourselves."

"Can the academic discussion wait for later, help me you two... four eggheads."

"Interesting management style, our Sarah. One of us says that your people are much like us. You function together much like we do. What one knows, all know."

"It's called teamwork, Jules. Okay, they're covered, but how will we... Hey, they're waking up."

"No, our Sarah, we are helping them. They are dreaming. We will guide them up the stairs. The more hale ones will support the weaker ones. You and the little one need to be behind so none fall back. We will go before and they will follow."

"You heard the woman... women... Here we go."

**********

The large mattress had been pulled to the floor and the blankets set on the thick carpet around it so the ten women could lie down around Sarah and touch her.

"I can understand why they have to touch me, but this is ridiculous."

"Why? I know you and Karen have loved each other for years and these two love you a lot. Heck, if Stéphanie had discovered this side of her before, she would have jumped your bones a long time ago. As for Anne, it wouldn't be fair to her if her girlfriend had all the fun."

"Cat, I always knew you had a twisted sense of humor, but I never knew you had such a mean streak."

"Mean, moi?" Cat replied with an innocent expression. "Whatever do you mean?"

Ari, Jules and Martine were supporting each other so they wouldn't fall over, they were laughing so hard.

"Hey! I felt Karen move."

"I'm not surprised. They are not in a coma, only in a loop of love for you. Maybe we should let her continue dreaming."

"Cat, I may be your wife in a weird way, but I can still take you across my knees and spank that beautiful ass of yours."

"You three still haven't explained this 'our wives' thing to me."

"We will, baby. You'll get a kick out of it. For now, we have to break these women out of their loop... We thought that it should be Ari because you have been so very close to her for so long, Sarah, but I pulled the short straw because they all have worked with me one way or another from the beginning since I was the first of your team, being the subject of your Doctorate research, which started us down the road here."

Weary of her wicked grin, Sarah asked. "What do you mean you pulled the short straw?"

"I won the privilege to be the trigger and the physical link between us and them through you, that's all."

"Ah, if that's all... Hey, what physical lmmmmpphhhhh."

Cat had lowered her wet sex on Sarah's mouth. She reached to Martine. "Come here baby, kneel in front of me and kiss me."

"Will that help?"

"No, but I love you. Isn't that enough?"

"Yes, darling. More than enough."

Ari and Jules, holding hands, stood behind Martine and each put a hand on one of her shoulders. Before them, Sarah was lying on her back, Karen had her face on her by now leaking vulva, Stéphanie and Anne each had her hands placed on a breast and her mouth on a hard nipple. The other women were arranged so they each had a hand on her body.

Sarah, aware that she was the nexus which the three empaths would use to project whatever healing they did, was still worried for her team. These women had been picked out personally by her for their empathy. For some it was a real talent at one level or another, for other the expression of a caring heart, but she was ultimately responsible for bringing them to these straits. She hoped with all her heart they would come out of it undamaged. The empaths were confident, but she still worried. It was her nature.

Sarah enjoyed Cat's taste on her tongue. She always had, but she wondered what she had meant by 'trigger'. If that girl brought her twisted sense of humor to mix with Jules imagination when it came to inventing 'naughty games' and Ari's new found enthusiasm for sex, things could get interesting.

She felt Cat shudder and a rush of love cream flowed to her mouth. It was immediately followed by the now familiar intense feeling of love from her wives. She opened herself to it, welcoming it as the nourishment her soul craved and sought. Her last conscious thought was that they were again working their magic on her body. One of them was sucking and gently biting her clitoris as she thrust however many fingers in her vagina and the other was kneading her breasts roughly and sucking, nibbling and biting both of her nipples.

"Now that we have broken the loop, we will pull out and let them reconnect in a natural way. We will ask our Sarah to keep the team here for a few days so we can observe them and see what effect the experience may have had on them.

**********

When Sarah came to, Catherine was still rubbing her leaking sex on her face, but it tasted... different. One of her wives was still using her mouth on her inflamed vulva... but she was softer, gentler. The other was still using her hands and mouth on both of her breasts... Both? She gradually became aware that her wrists were gripped so her fingers were used to fuck two hot and very wet vaginas, so were her ankles and her toes similarly used. In fact all of her body was kissed, licked, laved, nibbled and bit.

'Mother! What's happening?' A bewildered Sarah wondered as the pleasurable assault was rapidly threatening to engulf her in a major orgasm.

The mouth that was nibbling on her ear pulled back a little and its soft breath cooled the saliva it left behind. A soft, loving voice said. "I told you they love you, didn't I? Now they learned in a most intimate way how much you love them. Enjoy, darling!"

**********

"So, girls, do you think we should wait for Sarah to finish 'asserting her authority' so we can marry our other wife?" Cat asked.

"It's up to..." Jules began.

"You. We would prefer..." Ari continued.

"If she was with us, but..."

"She is your Martine..."

"After all, so it's your..."

"Call. Our Sarah can join..."

"The honeymoon later."

"Hey, ya'all! I'm here. I can hear you. And don't I get a say in this?" Martine said indignant. At least, she affected being indignant, but the earlier 'dreams' had softened her position somewhat.

"Sorry, baby. We still have to learn to communicate outside the link. We have to re-wire some mental processes, if you will. Remember that for us, it's been quite a long time and we've gotten in the habit of being alone and communicating our way."

"Speaking of that, I have some questions. First, why can I 'speak' to you and 'hear' you through your link and not Sarah?"

"As far as we can tell, each time we came back, we called to Sarah. But in our conscious moments, we were still caught in the initial conflict and we did it though you which is why we couldn't reach her."

"What do you mean 'conscious moments'?"

"Because most, and I really mean most of our time was spent on the island in my subconscious. You should see how the girls have remodeled it. Ari should have been an engineer and Jules has a delirious imagination."

"Once Cat explained more fully the..."

"Parameters of the island and..."

"Its reason for existence..."

"We had some fun."

"Fun? Yes, I would say we had fun. Ari wanted to build a medieval castle and Jules an Arabian night palace. We settled for a dream mansion Jules had seen in a magazine. We built it on the beach."

"Can I visit?"

"We aren't sure, baby, but since we've had such a close rapport for years, it may be possible. That's just one of the many things we have to study."

"Also when you showed me those dream/memories why was everything so stilted. Neither of us speak like that?"

"You have to remember that we aren't telepaths or anything of the kind. When we are meshed, we communicate in concepts because we are essentially one mind, so there is no imprecision possible and no lag. That's why we said that what one knows, all know. When one needs to know something, all of our memories are tapped as one memory. Since we were linked to you and inadvertently called through you for Sarah, it seems as if we have opened a channel we can use to send emotions in a more precise way to you. You know I can only project emotions and they're diffuse at best. Well, we can project focused emotions to you regarding some memories we share. That's why I was in every memory you 'felt/saw', or it was closely focused on us as a couple. You could say we stimulated some memories with our common emotions."

"That doesn't explain the stilted language."

"We did not send precise thoughts or any thought at all. We only brought selected memories forward. You supplied the language and details for yourself as you interpreted them."

"But I don't speak like that."

"I honestly don't know what you're talking about because we couldn't 'hear' you. We could only direct the memories/emotions and go by your emotional reactions. You provided the details yourself. We suspect that the inconsistencies such as the different language were due to your lack of familiarity with the form of communication. Maybe it will improve in time."

"One other thing, why does the over-mind keep calling me 'little one'?"

The three women looked at each other for a moment and laughed.

"It's a sort of inside joke, baby. When we were linked with you, you tried to reassure us, but we perceived it as what could best be kindly termed as 'baby talk' and when you 'speak' to us, it's the same. Ouch. That was uncalled for."

"You may be this big shot super empath now, but you're still my Cat and you don't get to tell me I talk 'baby talk'."

"Yes, I'm your Cat and you're my Martine. Does the form seem familiar?"

Martine frowned. 'This sounds important to her, but what can she mean? She knows she's my...' Her eyebrows shot up. "It's how Jules, Ari and Sarah talk about each other."

"Yes it is, baby. They have explained how their special family works to me and we would like for you to join it."

"What do you mean, join it. We are a couple. Sure, we play with a few others, such as Sarah, but always together because you are afraid to hurt them if I wasn't around to remind you not to project. Then we always went back to our own bed, just the two of us. Look where it got you to have sex with strange women behind my back."

"Sarah was there and these two were already bonded so tightly that any 'leak' from me couldn't hurt them or attach them to me. What happened did because I love you so much. Now I am irrevocably linked to them, bonded you might say, and we ask you to join our family. If you don't want to, we will understand. You and I will still be a couple and I won't love you any less. I don't think I could. But we would all be sad that we could not be a family as they love you just as much as I do because of our shared memories and of what you did for us."

"I understand, darling. I felt it each time you 'spoke' to me. I thought it was coming from you only." She turned to Jules and Ari. "Do you really feel so strongly toward me?"

"Yes, Martine. It's like..."

"We have loved you for many..."

"Years. Since you first met..."

"Cat. If you do not want to..."

"Join us, we understand and Cat..."

"Will be your only mate, but..."

"You will have to accept our bond."

"Also, you will have to remember that they will be silent participants in the part of my life that is with you."

"You mean that they will be making love with us all the time because they will be in your mind?"

"No, baby, when we separate, there is only a faint echo in our minds of our link, but each time we will mesh, it will be as if they had been with me all along because of our shared memories. That's why they love you and why I love Sarah so deeply."

'That's certainly food for thought.' Martine thought. "The sequence of memories you showed to me, was there a purpose to it?"

"Yes, baby. We wanted to remind you how you grew as a person over these first years. How you came to accept that you could be such a close friend with a person for the first time in your life, and that person a woman you had thought was so remote from you that you couldn't possibly have anything in common with her. Then, before you came to accept that friendship, how you felt so bad when you thought you had hurt my feelings. That's when you slapped me on the ass, if you remember. All the way to the day I told you I was a lesbian."

A blushing Martine replied. "It did take me a long time, didn't it? I guess I hadn't realized I was such a loner even if I had had relationships with boys, then men. I have tried very hard to forget the slap incident because I felt so bad afterwards."

"But the very next day, you brought me a solution. Not everybody would have done that. You were, and still are, a caring person always trying to find a way to help others. Sarah and Karen saw that in you and that's why we kept pushing you to realize your potential in the following years. In fact, I was feeling so bad at seeing you so miserable, I asked Karen for her help. She's the one who suggested what to do. She laughed so hard when I told her about how you had slapped my ass and your reaction to my comment about my teats and the potential for black eyes that I had to tweak her nipple hard a few times to snap her out of it. By the end of that first week, I had one of those sports brassieres and it took me three weeks of hard training to be able to match your running pace so I could smack your ass. That last part was her idea."

"I will have to thank her properly then." Martine replied with a smirk. "I suppose the next sequence was to be the next day."

"Yes, baby. It was the best day of my life and the blossoming of our love, even if it began on a sour note."

"I know. I feel the same, darling. I often think of it when we lie in bed, cuddled."

"Would you like to finish this journey and then we will ask you again, for the last time if that's you want?"

"I'd like that very much since you enhance the memory and make it so vivid, it's like I'm living it the first time."

"Then let's make us comfortable with what's left of the bed."

"And I'll show you 'baby talk'." Martine was heard to grumble under her breath. The three women looked at each other and grinned, but didn't comment to spare the feelings of their Martine.

**********

Martine is laying on the couch, her head on the folded blanket. She has barely moved from her position in close to twenty four hours.




The Apple... Ch. 15



The evening before she had cried for a long time as every breath she took reminded her of her friend and enflamed her senses. Once had she cried herself out, she fell in an exhausted sleep, at the end of her emotional rope. She remembered the vivid dream.

She was with the man of her dreams. He smelled heavenly and it excited her very much. For the very first time, she had found a man that was not repulsed by her desire to inhale deeply of his manly scents. In fact, he had felt the same. He had moved along her body, from her feet to her hair, taking deep breaths to capture her every natural emanations. He had even lifted her legs so he could better smell her anus. She had been so turned on by this action that, when he was smelling her sex, she had an orgasm when his nose lightly brushed her clitoris.

She has just finished smelling his feet and had even licked them which had him squirming. She was on her way up, stopping along the way to breathe in the sweat behind his knees and lick it to add the taste to the smell. Her hands were massaging the smooth skin of his calves, then his thighs. She loved the sensation. 'He is the perfect man.' She thought. When she came to the juncture of his legs, she thought she would surely pass out so powerful was the effect of his manly aroma to her. She was tempted to use her mouth again, but she refrained, not wanting to risk causing him to ejaculate and not be able to satisfy her needs later on. So, she only ran her hands on his blood engorged labia, scooping some of his cream on her finger and licking it clean. She rubbed her nose on his clitoris as he had done and felt him shudder. 'Is he also experiencing a sweet orgasm as I did?' She wondered.

She lifted his legs and, gripping his well-rounded plump cheeks, kneaded the soft flesh as she pulled them apart and pushed her nose on his anus. She tried to penetrate it so she could catch even more of his earthy scent. She felt empowered by his acceptance of her special desires and she dared to lick his ass hole, finding that she liked the texture of wrinkled skin and the peculiar taste.

Almost swooning by the experience, she forced herself to continue her journey. She smelled and licked the sweat that beaded on the smooth skin of his abdomen and in the crease under his big soft breasts. She noticed that his brown nipples were hard and so were the little bumps surrounding his large areolae.

When she reached his armpits, she lifted his arms so she could burrow her nose in the shaven flesh, inhaling deeply of her manly smell and licking this sweat. She did the same, on his neck, concentrating on the fold behind his ears where sebum accumulated. She took his beautiful silky auburn hair in her hands to rub it all over her face.

Straddling him, she noticed the perfect bow of his full lips, but her gaze was arrested by his deep brown eyes. 'I could lose myself in those and never want to escape.' She thought. Putting her hands on his breasts and pinching his hard nipples between her fingers, she lifted her hips and lowered herself on his manhood. She began a slow movement, rotating her pelvis, grinding her pubis bone on his to stimulate their clitorises until she could take the slow copulation any more. She accelerated the rhythm until she was riding him for all she was worth, her head thrown back, her spine arched.

As the glorious sensations coursing through her body culminated in an explosion of passion, she heard his loving voice 'I love you'.

Her eyes snap open and she finds herself on her own couch, her face is flat on the soiled blanket. Her hand reaches under her and she is furiously grinding on it as her fingers are deep in her vagina.

"Catherine!" She wails at the empty apartment. When the orgasm releases its tight grip on her body, she sobs in misery.

***********

The night has gone by. So has the day. She is still on the couch. She has barely left it and then only to attend to the demands of her body, swallowing a glass of water mechanically after she has washed her hands. She is sweaty, her hands, her thighs and the crack of her ass are sticky with her cream from the multiple orgasms she has had. She can't close her eyes without the image of the naked Catherine appearing before her, alluring, sexy, provoking her immediate arousal.

She has cried the last tears from her body, but she still sobs piteously, unable to stop as her emotions are a jumble of conflicts.

She hears banging on her door. At first, her heart soars as she thinks that her friend has come back, but she slumps back on the couch as she realizes she would not be banging and shouting at her to open the door.

Eventually, she rises and, feet dragging, she goes to open it, unmindful of her nudity. She comes face to face with a very angry Doctor Grisholm, Sarah, who shouts. "What the heck did you do to her?"

Martine is perplexed by the outburst. 'What did I do to whom?' She is standing still in front of Sarah, slack-jawed, blood-shot eyed, filthy and smelly.

Sarah takes in the woman in front of her and the smells eventually register. "What have you done? Do you have another woman here? Have you been fucking all day long while she has cried herself into near catatonia? She is projecting her pain all over the place and we can't reach her." The harangue continues as Sarah, her strong hands on her shoulders, is shaking her hard.

Eventually part of the message filters through. Her friend Catherine is in pain. But what is this 'projecting'? She is confused.

"What are you saying? Is she hurt? Was she in an accident? Is that why she didn't come back like she promised she would?" Martine asks anxious for her friend's safety.

"The 'accident' is you. What happened here yesterday? She arrived at my place in tears and I couldn't get her to make sense. She was so unhappy that she began to project and I couldn't stop her. I think she is caught in a loop of misery of her own making. I was afraid of something like that which is why we created the program to train support therapists, but we are still months away from any being up to making rapport with her."

"Wait a moment, what is this 'rapport' you are talking about? That reminds me of something she said in passing but did not elaborate on."

"We have a small cadre of empath therapists but we feared they may suffer ill effects from being so close to sick patients. So we devised a program to train support therapists to enter in a rapport with them and help stabilize them. That's the point of your special classes, but we were to start the next level of training when you all had finished your first internship and had begun working at the clinic."

"Then I can help her. She has been teaching this next level to me and she says I'm a natural. Take me to her, please."

Sarah is dubious about the idea. It's a big risk to take without even knowing if their idea would work. Yes, they had already invested years in it, but it was still untested. She weighs the pros and cons and comes to the inevitable conclusion that they must try something if they wish to help Catherine in her time of crisis and since nothing else seems to work, they might as well give this wild idea a shot.

"Okay. I'm willing to try if you are. Push comes to shove, we can sedate her and hope to break the cycle of misery. Now, go take a quick shower. You stink like a whorehouse after a Friday night of business."

Martine reacts automatically to the tone of command and is on her way to the bathroom when she halts. Her back rigid, she thinks furiously. 'What if?' She runs to her room and puts on a kaftan, her shoes and returns to the living room.

"I told you to take a shower. You stink of sex and I don't want her to know you've been playing around behind her back. She cares about you and I won't let you hurt her."

"Trust me, Doctor. I know what I'm doing. This is for the best." 'I hope.' She amends silently. "That's the reason I put this on instead of regular clothes."

She grabs her keys and pushes an angry Sarah out the door. "You trained me and pushed me hard for a reason. Trust me and let me do my job. I don't know the specifics of your work, but I know how to use all the tools available when I patient needs me. So move your ass and take me to her."

Sarah allows herself to be bullied along. She grumbles, but inwardly, she jubilates. 'I knew it. I was right with this one. Karen will owe me a diner at my mother's place.'

**********

They have driven to this mostly deserted industrial area and parked in front of a decrepit apartment building. A single light shines at a second floor window.

They rush up stairs, taking them two by two. As they near a door under which Martine can see a strip of light, Sarah pulls her up short and says. "Steel your resolve. Remember that you have a patient in there who needs you. Take deep breaths and calm your mind. Center yourself. You know how, you've been doing it for years now. It should be second nature."

She feels uneasy for no reason. It takes her a moment to find her center, but she is ready now. She steps forward, but when she touches the door handle, the uneasiness increases. Something is wrong. When she opens the door, a wave of sadness, guilt and hurt hits her. She reels and is about to retrace her steps when two strong hands grip her shoulders. A soft yet commanding voice slices through her confused thoughts. "Martine, Listen to me. Listen to my voice. You are strong. You can do this. Remember who you are. Your friend needs you."

'Catherine needs me. I've been trained for this. I can help her. I will help her.' She repeats to herself.

Her friend lies on the bed, a woman she does not know sits on a chair at the side of the bed, haggard under the onslaught of negative emotions and her impotence to be of help. Catherine is curled in a foetal position. She can smell her soiled clothes from where she stands. Her mind shifts to professional mode. She turns to Sarah and orders her to get a washcloth from the bathroom or, failing that to wet the end of a towel in hot water so she can clean her friend. She then turns to the woman who must be a nurse and snarls in low tones. "Couldn't you at least clean her? Why did you leave her like that?" Her eyes shoot sparks she is so angry.

Wild eyed, the woman answers. "I tried, but she got so agitated when I tried to remove her clothes, I was afraid she would hurt herself."

Martine pulls the woman out of her chair and pushes her away, taking her place. She leans over her friend and whispers. "I'm here, darling, everything will be all right, but first I must get those soiled clothes off you. No need to get so agitated. See, I'm also naked and I want to see your beautiful body again. Would you let me, please?" So saying she stands and removes her loose garment.

When Sarah returns with the requested items, she sees a naked Martine who is in the process of cutting away Catherine's clothes. 'Why didn't we think of that?' She muses. When the dirty clothes have been thrown to the floor, Martine turns to her, takes the wet washcloth and dry towel and snarls. "Get that useless bitch to get rid of the clothes, preferably to burn them." Then calmly, crooning softly, she proceeds to clean her friend.

Outside the apartment, Sarah gently tells the bewildered nurse to throw the clothes in the first garbage bin she sees and then go home. She thanks her for her help, assures her she has done a good job and that she will call her later. When she re-opens the door, she can feel the difference. Most of the tension is gone, but there is still a strong undercurrent of guilt and hurt in Catherine's projections. She is proud to see that none of this phases Martine. Once she has finished summarily washing her, she rolls her this way and that as she pulls the bed sheet from under her and throws it as far as she can.

That done, Sarah is surprised is see Martine first bring her sweaty armpit to Catherine's nose, then swipe a finger between her legs and deposit a coating of her cream below her friend's nose and on her lips, ending with it inside her mouth. She sees Catherine suck it reflexively and grins.

Martine stretches her body on Catherine and pulls her hands so they rest on her pert breasts, held in place between their chests. She takes her friend's cheeks and holds her head in place as she supports herself on her elbows.

"Open your eyes, darling. Look at me with those beautiful brown eyes of yours. Yes, now, breathe with me. You can feel the rhythm of my breaths in your hands, just like we did before. Keep your eyes on mine and breathe deep." Then, lowering her voice so only Catherine can hear her, she whispers. "I love you. Please come back to me."

**********

A soft but insistent voice intrudes on the peace that envelops her. "Martine, listen to me. Listen to my voice. You've done it. She is stabilized. You can come out of the trance now."

The peacefulness lingers as she still gazes in the deep pools of her friend... her love's eyes. She nods, unwilling to tear her eyes away. She says quietly. "Leave now and wait for us in the car. We will be there soon."

Sarah, has a good idea of what has just occurred and what will inevitably follow. She grins as she rises.

When she hears the door close, Martine lowers her face until her lips almost touch Catherine's and their breaths mingle. She murmurs. "I love you, darling, and I never want to be away from you again." She lowers her lips for a tender kiss. When she feels her breasts gently massaged, she smiles in the kiss and deepens it.

**********

The sun is shining down on the meadow. The morning dew is as jewels on the blades of grass.

The young female lays on her belly, her limbs folded under her. Her head rests on her front paws. She looks up at the senior females sitting on their haunches in front of her. She can see the other young female behind them. She tries to sit still, but she is restless. She would much rather be at play.

Though thoroughly impressed by the authority projected by the posture of her seniors, she cannot refrain an impudent pulling of the corners of her mouth. The alpha female rises on all four and gives her a gentle but firm swap on the snout as a reminder of her position.

As the large female looms over her, the younger one rolls on her back and exposes her throat. When she feels jaws close on it and teeth stretch the skin under her fur, she whines, acknowledging her submission to the hierarchy of the pack.

The other females lift their heads to the sky and howl their happiness. The other young female can't sit still anymore. She capers around the group, yipping her own joy.

**********

"So you see, Mr. and Mrs. Monroe, Arianna has blossomed into a powerful empath and her potential as a therapist is enormous. Her future is assured as she has finally found herself. She is still recuperating but she is anxious to meet with you. She wanted to come with me today, but we persuaded to take a few more days to acclimate herself to her talent. She can come visit on the week-end or, if you wish, you can come spend both days at the chalet. It is yours after all and the fall colors are splendid."

Doctor Karen Jackson is sitting in the salon of the Monroe's house, sipping a cup of coffee. She can see, from the corner of her eye, the whole staff crowding outside the door, trying to be inconspicuous as they listen for news of Arianna. The Monroe couple sit across her, holding hands, clearly relieved at her words.

"From what we have learned of the experience so far, we find that whole new avenues of research have opened to us. Also, they are in a position to help greatly in the formation of new therapists and support therapists both. You will remember that Sarah spoke to you at the very beginning of the project of our intention to eventually create an institute that would serve as research center and training school. We feel that now would be a good time to do so. Unfortunately, if we were to create such an institute right away, it would leave the clinic understaffed, so we will have to wait a few years while we train more personnel the old time consuming way."

"Dr. Jackson, what would you need for the clinic to be on the same grounds as the institute?" Douglas Monroe asks.

"I do not think it would be feasible, sir. If the land were available, the cost of it alone would be prohibitive. As things stand, we will leave the clinic where it is and try to find a way to acquire an existing older building in another part of the city."

"What if you had a three hundred acres property with minimal real estate taxes, an existing large main house, a decent second house, and a third smaller one beside the gate to the compound?"

"I would say that we have our work cut out for us trying to come up with the financing for it, but that it would be a challenge we are willing to face."

"That is not my question Doctor. What if you had it already? Free and clear."

""I would say that would only leave us with finding financing for the other buildings, which would still be a challenge, if a less daunting one."

"Let me refine my question then. What if you had the actual financing for the whole project and sufficient funds to furnish and equip the buildings and operate it for at least a few years?"

"I would ask 'what is the catch?' sir. As much as I appreciate the dream, that's all it is, a dream."

"The only catch is that you would have to put up with a construction project manager and his wife who would build their own residence at their own expense on your land and later propose his services as a manager under the complete authority of you and Doctor Grisholm."

"Are you proposing what I think you are proposing, sir? Please do not toy with me so."

"We understand each other perfectly, Doctor. Ever since Sarah first told me in passing of her ambitious dreams, years ago, I have been buying land around our original property. We have tripled it since then and the local notaries are all advised that a generous finder's fee awaits them for any other that comes up for sale. In recent years, I've grown bored with the business world. When is earning money enough? At first, it's a goal, but once you're rich, it becomes only a means of counting coup among other rich people. This is not my nature. My wife and I have spoken of giving a substantial part of our fortune to Arianna when she got better and to retire to the chalet. I have already been approached by a conglomerate which wishes to buy me out at a most advantageous price. We would love nothing more than to live near Arianna and if we can't have grand-children because of her choices, at least we would be near her. What do you say?"

"I say that it's probably five o'clock somewhere in the world and that we should trade these cups of coffee for something more appropriate for a celebration."

They hear cheers from outside the room. A grinning Douglas Monroe adds. "I forgot to add that the propriety comes with its own staff. I don't know what you did up there, but Gilles, the caretaker, called yesterday to tender his resignation and that of the entire staff. He said they were going to offer their services to Dr. Grisholm even if they had to do it on a voluntary basis."

"I'm not surprised. They have already approached us about this. And as for the grand-children, don't count them out yet. Yesterday evening, I overheard a conversation on that subject and you may have a surprise or two in the coming months."

Epilogue

The two young females sit on their haunches at the top of the hill with two older females flanking them. A fifth glowing figure sits on their left. They await the rising of the sun.

'It's been a long time since you visited us in dream, mammies.' 

'Yes, we've been here for a week and we only see you with others around.'

'They mean well, but they do hover too much.'




The Apple... Ch. 15



'We have been preparing for this moment since our Sarah left us last year.'

'We were surprised you did not follow her like mammy Martine did when mammy Catherine went away.'

'She made us promise to wait until you were adults. And we never refused her because she was always right.'

'Well, almost always.'

'Does this mean you think we are old enough now and that you will leave us?'

'Age has nothing to do with it, as you know.'

'You have proven yourselves capable young adults and yes, we would join our Sarah.'

'You still have so much to teach us.'

'We will miss you.'

''We can teach you no more. The rest is practice, practice, practice, as our Martine repeated to you so often. You are responsible young adults who have never abused their talents and we know you never will.'

'We have one last gift for you, then we will join our Sarah. She awaits us and we miss her very much.'

As the sun clears the horizon, a golden aura surrounds each of the three older females and two more glowing figures join them. They grow in intensity until the five forms disappear within the now single brilliant luminescence. As it touches the young females, they feel the radiance penetrate their innermost core where it leaves a deep sense of ineffable love and, on its way out, a small part of itself.

The young females watch it shrink in the distance until it reaches the sun to merge with it.

They raise their heads and howl their grief.