Running From Forever Page 11

  Sarah snatched her hand away in shock, suddenly realizing the seriousness of Keller’s condition. “Don’t say that! There has to be something we can do.” She looked at her lover’s frail, weak body, completely at a loss. “How can I help you, what can I do? You’re just so weak…” She trailed off.

  Keller shook her head. “There is nothing you can do, Sarah, just go home.”

  Sarah could see something in Keller’s eyes, an untruth was ringing in her words. Not sure how she knew that Keller was lying, she confronted her on it. “No, you’re lying. There is something I can do, isn’t there?”

  Keller sighed and closed her eyes. She was very tired and didn’t want to answer the question. “I made a promise. I can’t and won’t ask this of you.”

  “Tell me!”

  Keller smiled sadly. “It’s blood, Sarah. This is one of those times that the only thing that will bring me back is fresh blood.”

  Sarah frowned. “I don’t understand. Why didn’t you just find some—?”

  “No! You know why.” She looked into the singer’s eyes and in almost a whisper said, “We’ve bonded—it can only be you. Being so weak, I couldn’t cloud someone to take blood from them and I can’t afford to reveal my secret.”

  Sarah abruptly sat up and ran a shaky hand through her hair. She let out a sigh and glanced at Keller out of the corner of her eye. She saw a mixture of fear, longing, and weariness. In a split second, she made up her mind. “How?”

  “No, I won’t do it.”

  Sarah could see Keller’s canines, they were extended with hunger. “You don’t have a choice. Now what can I do?”

  Keller looked into her eyes and saw—something unidentifiable. It was determination, concern, and—something more. For the first time, since meeting the mercurial singer, she had hope. “I’m too weak for empathy and without the pleasure of sex, it will hurt at first.”

  Sarah climbed onto the bed and lay down next to her. “That’s okay, I’ll be fine. Now, what should I do?”

  Keller looked longingly at the other woman. “First I’d like you to kiss me.”

  Sarah smiled gently. “No problem.” She kissed her slowly, languidly. Their soft lips moved together at a pace set to the rhythm of their beating hearts. Forgetting about the fangs, she slipped her tongue into Keller’s mouth. The smaller woman hissed with pleasure as the wet organ slid between ultra-sensitive teeth. Sarah pulled back immediately in alarm. “Sorry.”

  Keller raised a shaky hand and pulled her back. “Don’t apologize, it felt wonderful. More please.”

  The next kiss started where the first left off, only this time Sarah grew bold with her new knowledge. She stroked her tongue along the lengths of the fangs, careful of the needle sharp points. When she pulled away again, both women were breathing hard with excitement. Sarah’s was caused by the knowledge that such a small action from her could thoroughly arouse the other woman. Kissing again, the singer began exploring Keller’s body with her hands. Starting at her stomach and working her way up to achingly hard nipples. When Keller arched her back off the bed, Sarah leaned down and sucked one of the nubs into her mouth. She used her tongue in much the same way as she did with the fangs.

  Keller moaned weakly at the pleasurable contact. “Sarah, please—I need more!”

  Sarah stopped her ministrations and looked into blue eyes gone dark with desire. She slowly lifted her wrist toward Keller’s mouth. “Is this what you want?”

  Keller’s nostrils flared as she stared at the pale blue vein on the inside of Sarah’s wrist. Her response was a whisper. “That will do well enough.” She lifted her hands to cradle Sarah’s arm and made eye contact with her as she slowly moved the precious pulse toward her mouth. Keller was watching for any signs that her lover had changed her mind. When the wrist was close enough, she ran her tongue along the length of it. Sarah sucked in a breath, startled at how aroused the one action made her. Seeing no signs of rejection, Keller gently pierced the skin. Between the combination of needle sharp teeth and slow movements, Sarah didn’t really feel anything until Keller began sucking at the flowing blood. The minute the precious thick fluid hit Keller’s tongue, there was a flash that seemed to sizzle against their skin. Like static electricity in a lightning storm. Sarah was hit with a massive wave of arousal and the occasional glimpse of Keller’s emotions. But the only thing that scared her during the entire experience was that buried within their emotional connection, she found a steady core of love coming from Keller. In that instant, Sarah became completely aware of the depth of Keller’s emotion for her. She feared that Keller read hers in return and would know the depth of her own emotions for the bar manager.

  After only a few minutes, the singer began to whimper from the combination of emotional overload and arousal and Keller pulled away. She licked the two tiny puncture wounds gently and they closed almost immediately. Her breath caught in her throat as she watched Sarah’s eyes flutter open.

  “Are you okay?”

  Sarah looked into Keller’s eyes. It was impossible to make out the blue irises in the darkness of the room. She could only see the eerily light ring around the other woman’s pupils. Licking her lips, she answered. “That was—” Sarah sighed with a euphoric expression on her face. “—I have no words for it.”

  Keller smiled faintly. “It was amazing.” Keller sat up, feeling immediately rejuvenated. She was tired of the sickness that clung to her in the form of dried sweat and soiled bandages so she unwound the wrap from her healed arm and took it to the trash in the bathroom. While she was there, she lit a few candles and began filling the extra-large Jacuzzi tub. When she returned, Sarah was still lying in the bed with a languid smile on her face. Seeing Keller’s activity, Sarah forced herself to get up from the bed. The two women stared at each other for a few seconds, connecting in some primal level before Keller spoke. “Would you care to share a bath with me?”

  A look of raw lust flickered across Sarah’s face as she watched Keller peeling off her sweaty clothing revealing nothing but gloriously healthy flesh. She worked a suddenly dry tongue around the inside of her mouth and began taking off her own clothing. She kept her eyes focused on Keller the entire time. “It’s funny you should ask. I’m feeling kind of—hmm, dirty all the sudden.” She preceded Keller into the bathroom wearing nothing but lavender toenail polish and a smile.

  Keller could feel the emotional connection between them stronger than ever and she was desperately drawn in Sarah’s direction. The arousal from her feeding was still pulsing wildly within her and only the demanding need to be clean kept her from ravaging the other woman the instant she was healed.

  Inside the bathroom, there were vanilla candles placed all around and the golden light reflected in the mirror as well as the water. Keller walked in and saw her lover already surrounded by swirling water. Sarah looked radiant, the candles just bright enough to make out the green of her eyes. She stopped with a sudden indrawn breath. “You are so beautiful.” Her eyes fixed on Sarah as the singer massaged her own breasts as they floated in the water. She took special care of her nipples, moaning at her self-exploration. Keller quickly entered the tub and pushed Sarah’s hands out of the way. Both women groaned at the feel of skin sliding against skin. With her hands busy palming Sarah’s breasts, Keller feverishly devoured her lips and mouth. Sarah raised her leg and firmly planted a knee at the apex of the shorter woman’s legs and Keller wasted no time sliding along it to build pleasure. The overwhelming passion both women felt while Keller drank from Sarah’s wrist returned full force, sending water over the edge of the large tub with their movements. Keller slid one of her hands lower. In a move that was surprising but not uninvited, she entered her lover with two fingers. It wasn’t until her thumb grazed Sarah’s clit that the taller woman began moaning in earnest.

  “Keller, ugh—baby, I’m going to come!”

  Hearing those words caused Keller to thrust harder and faster on Sarah’s long thigh. She kne
w that if one of them went over the edge, their bond would pull the other along as well. All she could do in reply was pant into Sarah’s ear. “It’s okay, let yourself go. I’ll be right behind you.”

  As if she said the magic words, Keller could feel tremors beginning in both of them. Every bit of her concentration was focused on the way the warm walls felt as they started convulsing on her thrusting fingers. Sarah felt the molten heat begin as a tiny spark deep inside her, and then grow until it consumed them both. When her orgasm hit, she hoarsely screamed as she fell over the edge into oblivion. A split second later, Keller tumbled after her. The two women collapsed in relief into the still sloshing water, letting the Jacuzzi sooth their bodies and the afterglow ease their souls. In a moment of clarity, Sarah realized she would never be able to run from Keller again. She was both disturbed and relieved to feel the bond between them growing stronger with each intimate touch.

  The two women spent a little while longer in the tub, touching and exploring each other. The object was not to arouse, merely to physically connect. When they were out and dry again, Sarah put on a pair of her own sweats that she had left at Keller’s condo and called her sister. While she reassured Annie on the phone, Keller grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator and turned the lights up over the baby grand. Sarah watched her every move intently as she spoke into the phone. “Listen, Annie, I promise that Keller’s fine. She’ll talk to you tomorrow.” She wet her lips as Keller took a seat and started to play a hauntingly familiar melody. “Uh—do you think you can take care of Duke for me tonight? I’ll be staying here with Keller.” She listened to her sister’s affirmative reply then ended the call. Sarah shut the phone off and placed it carefully on the counter then slowly made her way over to the woman playing the piano. Unsure and a little afraid she asked, “How do you know this song? I only just finished it this past week.”

  Keller slowly stilled her fingers against the keys and captured the musician in a piercing blue gaze. “I heard it when you wrote it.”

  Knowing she was alone at the time, Sarah pushed. “How is that possible?”

  Keller took Sarah’s hand and brought it toward her heart, holding it close. “I heard it here, my love.” Keller knew she was taking a chance by pushing Sarah so soon after such an emotional upheaval. But she couldn’t stay silent about her feelings any longer, not after the connection they shared while she drank from the beautiful singer.

  Sarah gasped at Keller’s words but she didn’t pull her hand away. Instead, she moved closer and sat on the bench next to Keller. She positioned her hands on the keys and looked at her lover expectantly. “Play with me?”

  With great concentration and skill, they played the song together. Sarah’s left hand and Keller’s right, playing the song as it had been written. The music was sad and a little dark but when Sarah’s right hand reached out to play a descant in the higher keys it left both women with goose bumps. The melody was both haunting and lost. When the song came to an end, Keller carefully put the cover back over the keys. She picked up Sarah’s left hand, idly tracing the talented fingertips, and spoke softly. “I’m tired and I want to hold you, will you come to bed with me?”

  Clear green eyes met those of the weary bar manager. “Any time you need me, Keller. I won’t avoid you anymore. I promise.”

  WHEN SARAH GOT home the next afternoon, her rambunctious Husky greeted her at the door. She spent a few minutes giving him love and a few scratches. She laughed aloud as his leg started to kick when she reached a good spot. At the sound of her laughter, Annie and Jesse emerged from the kitchen. Annie was on her sister immediately. “How’s Keller?”

  Sarah spared a quick glance at Jesse. “Oh, she’s fine. She wasn’t feeling well and turned her phone off. She forgot that she was going to open on Sunday, you know how it is. She’ll be in tonight though.” The look she gave her sister indicated there was more that she would tell later, so Annie let the explanation slide.

  “Oh, all right. I’m glad she’s feeling better.”

  Sarah was still a little mentally unsteady after the previous day and she was looking for a way to burn off some excess energy. Looking at the young couple, she asked, “So what do you two lovebirds have planned for this fine Monday?”

  Both women blushed but Jesse answered. “Neither of us have work and my class was canceled so we were going to pick up some take-out and see if there’s anything on cable. Why, you want to come with?”

  Annie snickered and mumbled, “She probably already did, earlier.”

  Sarah shot her a look. “No, I thought that if none of us were busy we could tackle the basement. It shouldn’t take long for the three of us to do a little rearranging and organizing to make room for Jesse’s stuff.”

  Jesse turned red and Sarah shot a quick glance at her girlfriend before answering her sister. “Well—Jesse hasn’t actually said yes yet.” She sighed. “She said she didn’t want to impose.”

  Sarah walked over to the young woman who was fast becoming like another sister to her. She put an arm around Jesse’s shoulders. “And how do you think you’d be imposing, Jess? You’re practically part of the family already!”

  Jesse looked up at her with a smile on her face and tears in her eyes. “Thanks, Sarah, you don’t know how much that means knowing that I still have people who care about me, you know?”

  “No problem, kiddo. So is that a yes?”

  Annie waited in silence for the answer, her face hopeful. Jesse grinned and nodded. In a way, she had been waiting to be asked by both sisters. That way she could be absolutely certain that she was welcome into the Colby home. “There is no place I’d rather be!”

  At the affirmative answer, Annie gave a whoop and jumped into her girlfriend’s arms, wrapping her legs around her waist. The kiss she gave Jesse had Sarah shaking her head and heading toward the basement door, calling over her shoulder. “Come find me when you’re done, and be prepared to work!”

  After a few hours, the basement was finished and the three women had each crashed on an old, overstuffed couch. Sarah said, “I’m up for pizza.”

  Jesse sighed and nodded her head in agreement. “And breadsticks!”

  Annie wiped the back of a dirty hand across her equally dirty forehead. “And beer, I am so thirsty!”

  Sarah guffawed. “Listen to you, big drinker!” She and Jesse both burst out into rowdy laughter then proceeded to beat the younger woman with musty pillows. They were still laughing when they chased Annie up the stairs and into the bathroom where she shut and locked the door. When they heard the shower start, they looked at each other simultaneously and said, “Oh shit!”

  Sarah shook her head and made a beeline for the kitchen. “I’ll call in the pizza order. See if you can get her to hurry.” The musician chuckled to herself when she heard Jesse pleading with Annie to let her in. After she made the phone call, she walked back out of the kitchen in time to see Jesse slipping through the bathroom door with a smirk on her face. She groaned and planted herself on the couch with the TV remote. Duke jumped up next to her and put his head on her lap while she flipped through the channels. Petting the canine’s head absently, she remarked, “So much for them hurrying, huh?” Duke just whined and nudged her hand for more attention.

  Thirty-five minutes later, the doorbell rang just as the bathroom opened to a cloud of steam and giggling girls. Sarah called out, “I don’t suppose one of the clean girls would like to get the door?”

  Annie came back around the corner heading for the front door, wearing nothing but a towel. Sarah yelled, “Annie!” just as Jesse yelled, “Hey!”

  Annie turned back to them with an impish look on her face. “What?”

  Jesse covered her face with her hand and went down the hall toward the bedroom. Sarah groaned and started digging in her wallet for some cash as the impetuous younger woman opened the door. “Here, you’re going to need this.”

  “No she’s not.”

  Sarah’s
head jerked up at the sound of Keller’s voice. She had to swallow down the nervous butterflies that threatened to find their way out of her stomach. The bar manager was standing on the front porch, wearing her favorite hooded sweatshirt and a pair of sunglasses, and holding two boxes from the pizza place. Annie immediately relieved the shorter woman of the boxes and scolded her. “Get in here you shit, did you pay for those?”

  Keller grinned and came in but kept her eyes on Sarah. “Yeah, but don’t worry about it. You can get me next time.”

  Annie gave her the evil eye but capitulated. “All right, but you have to at least have dinner with us.” Giving the two older women their space, she made her way into the kitchen to drop off the pizzas, then back into her bedroom to dress.

  Keller stood just inside the door, unsure of her reception. Sarah noticed and immediately stepped forward to give her a long hug as she whispered in her ear. “I missed you.”

  Keller sighed, truly happy for the first time in months. “I missed you too. I just thought I’d stop on my way to the bar, I hope that’s okay.”

  Sarah pulled back to look at the woman that had come to mean so much to her. “First of all, I know for a fact that this house is not on your way to the bar—” Keller gave her a slightly guilty look and she continued. “—and second, you’re welcome anytime. I meant it when I said no more running.” They stared at each other in wonder at the direction their relationship was taking, and then gave in to the need for deeper connection. The kiss lasted long enough for the two younger women to emerge from the bedroom, spy them, and retreat into the kitchen with the promise of food. When the kiss slowly came to an end, they pulled back but continued to hold each other. The mood was broken for Sarah when she caught a whiff of something and realized it was her own sweat. She pulled out of Keller’s embrace and blushed. “Ew, sorry about—” She gestured to her dirty, sweaty clothes. “We were cleaning the basement and the kids stole the shower before I could get in there.”