"Pop guns! And bicycles! Roller skates! Drums! Checkerboards! Tricycles! Popcorn! And plums!" The deep, somehow mocking voice from the television filtered through the living room. Faith smiled. This was her favorite part of the movie.
Except…The movie would play again. A million times, probably, in the final days before Christmas. She had something more important than the Grinch stealing the hopes and dreams from Whoville.
A glimmer of light caught her eye as Tara's fingers trailed lightly over her arms. Faith shivered as goosebumps sprang up in their wake. "Something you like, my Slayer?" Tara asked.
Faith's snort-turned-cough was less than convincing.
The poorly hidden laughter didn't derail Tara. "You are so responsive. So beautiful." The words weren't unexpected. Tara wasn't shy about saying them. About telling Faith what she thought of her.
They still surprised Faith every time.
Arching against Tara, Faith chased the barely-there caress. "Easy, Faith." Tara's whisper brushed Faith's ear. "Relax. There's no hurry. I want to enjoy our time together."
Relax. Sure. Faith could do that. She dragged in a breath as Tara began to hum tunelessly. The sound was nothing special. Faith barely paid attention. She was more focused on the tickle tease of Tara's touch.
Little by little, though, the husky, off-key hum wrapped around her. It invaded her mind. Faith forgot about what had prefaced this lovefest or how long she'd been curled in Tara's arms. Stopped trying to convince Tara to touch her more, harder, in just the right place to push her over the edge into orgasm.
"That's right, Faith." Tara kissed along the column of Faith's neck. Her lips were so soft. Warm. Faith's body buzzed as if she'd stuck her tongue to the top of a battery. She floated on that tiny current; Tara was her tether.
"I was so proud of you today." Another layer of warmth separated Faith from the world at the compliment. "I'm proud of you every day," Tara continued.
Faith's cheeks heated even as a new tingle joined the warmth circulating under her skin.
Tara's sliding fingers stopped. Her lips brushed Faith's cheek once before pulling away. "I love you, Faith. I love the way you make me better. Stronger."
The pink-tinged heat in her cheeks slid down Faith's neck to her chest. It soaked through her skin and into a hollow spot in her soul. It sparked an addition to the current started by Tara's fingers. Her hips rose and fell restlessly. Seeking. Searching.
Tara hummed again. "I love seeing you like this. I love knowing you're here, in my arms, offering yourself to me. Because I asked, and you want to please me. You're my good girl, aren't you, Faith?"
"Yes, Tara," Faith mumbled. The words were unwieldy. Her tongue was too uncoordinated to form them clearly.
"Look at how ready you are." Faith didn't need to look at anything. Not even at Tara's fingers ghosting around her nipples. Almost touching without actually making contact. "Your nipples are pointing so sweetly."
Faith did look then. Sweet? The Girls were rock hard and ready to rumble. When Tara's fingers completed another non-touching lap, Faith swore she could feel an invisible brush over the sensitive bumps littering the flesh surrounding her nipples. A broken whine caught in her throat. "Please!"
Fuck! She couldn't wait much longer.
"What happened to waiting, my Faith? Hmm?" Tara's grin slid across Faith's bare shoulder – followed by a sharp nip.
Faith jerked at the unexpected sting then wanted to hide when Tara giggled.
"Such a poor, abused Slayer. Her mean girlfriend just wants to ear her up," Tara continued.
Of course, Faith had to go there. Damn her lust-soaked mind. All she could see now were images of Tara leaving her position behind Faith. Sliding between Faith's thighs with laughter in her darkened blue eyes…
Another nip shocked her back to reality. Tara was most definitely not about to eat her out; although, Faith might find teeth marks and bruising on her shoulders later. A little of the hurt eased when Tara dragged her tongue over both spots.
"You make me feel like I'm not some stuttering idiot." Tara somehow scooted closer to Faith. She pressed against every inch of Faith's back. "Every time you beg or make that cute, husky growling sound, my stutter goes away and I don't hide behind my hair. Because you want me."
Faith's reputation as a bad ass was officially screwed because the second Tara mentioned The Sound it burst from Faith's throat.
"Goddess, yes!" Faith didn't fight the second growl in response to Tara's hoarse prayer. Tara's voice did more for Faith than all the tools and toys of previous partners.
Tara knew it, too. She was always talking to Faith. Praising her. Complementing her. Acting as if Faith was the most perfect person and partner on the planet.
Like now. "All those baby Slayer listened to you today." Tara didn't whisper or hide the words. They were shockingly loud in the room. They slipped under Faith's skin like smoke, pushing her in and down, spiraling into a swirl of heat and need and shy pleasure. Until she grew limp and pliant in Tara's arms. Waiting. Listening. For more of the sweet drug Tara offered. "They didn't care about Giles' lecture."
No one did. Ever.
"They wanted to meet you. Hear you tell them what it really means to be a Slayer." Faith's mind…split. She was there in Tara's arms and standing awkwardly on the stupid platform thing Giles insisted they needed. Like a fucked-up version of talent night at Sunnydale High. Only the kids in the cheap folding chairs in front of her hadn't laughed or been disgusted when Faith talked. "You don't baby them, my Faith."
Fuck no! If Faith babied the Junior Slayers they'd be dead the first time they met a vampire.
"You tell them how to survive. But you also show them how to be a Slayer." The gentle flow of words never stopped. "You are a good leader, my Faith."
As Tara talked, she touched Faith. This time in all the right places. No more teasing. Faith couldn't remain still as skilled fingers gripped her nipples and pinched. Pulled and twisted. Tightened until Faith couldn't tell the difference between pleasure or pain. Until she pressed her chest into the punishing fingers while trying to cringe away.
Tara held her there on that thin line. "You're beautiful. Always. But on that stage? Being so official? All I could think about was getting you home and into my arms like this. Did you think it was an accident my speech on the Magic Crew is before yours? I'd be reduced to Willow's Vowel Sounds if I had to wait."
Waiting. Fuck. Faith didn't know if she could wait. "Please, Tara." Stop. More. Harder. Now. Her thoughts bounced like ping pong balls in a bingo cage desperate for Tara to snatch one up and call Faith's number.
Faith sagged when Tara released her nipples. The ache and burn stayed behind as Tara's nails dragged in hot trails along Faith's stomach and sides. Too hard to tickle. Not quite enough to break the skin. Red lines painted the path Tara took as Faith glanced down, willing Tara to reach farther.
A cry of disbelief and frustration tore from Faith. Tara stopped. One fucking inch. Just one fucking inch away from Faith's clit. Resting on the swell of her pelvis.
"Thank you for being so good for me," Tara said to Faith's utter disbelief. "I know you want more. I know you want me as much as I want you."
Faith wanted to thrash in Tara's hold. Wanted to force those fingers down one inch so the ache would stop.
She remained quiet and still in Tara's arms, instead. Tara kept whispering. "You always give me what I want and need, don't you, my Faith?" Faith's bones turned to warm, unset Jell-O.
"I…I try," Faith stammered. The heat from the crackling fire, from Tara's sultry skin pressed to hers, from the molten need in her veins threatened to crash over Faith in an uncontrolled wave.
Tara's fingers swept across and back again. "I love you, Faith. I thank the Goddess every day she sent you to me." The words. Tara's fingers.
Faith lost the world. The stupid flashing Christmas lights on the their tiny, battered tree. The fire Tara had insisted they light against the "chill" in the house. As the world faded, though, her awareness of Tara expanded.
She heard Tara's breath as it rushed out and then in.
"Every day, you make me better," Tara said.
The room shrank until only Tara remained.
Tara's fingers slid. Down. Stopped again at the edge of Faith's carefully trimmed pubic hair.
Faith wasn't sure she was breathing. She hung. Muscles taut. Trembling.
"You, Faith. You are the reason I'm happy." A kiss on the back of Faith's neck. Another tiny glide of fingers. "You're mine, Faith. My heart."
The tension in Faith's muscles threatened to snap. To break her into pieces of need. Of mind-blowing emotion. Pleasepleasepleaseplease!
"My soul." Something wet hit Faith's shoulder. Ran slowly down. "I'm never letting you go. So…yes."
Yes. Tara…yes… It was everything. More. Faith barely heard the rest of Tara's litany of praise and love and support. That single word. That yes. It was a white-hot, burning light cracking open Faith's heart and soul. It ripped away the latent fears in the recesses of her psyche where insecurity sat like a tiny devil, whispering in her mind.
"Yes, my Faith. Yes, I'll marry you!" Tara's fingers slid that final bit.
With a cry, Faith drowned as everything came together in a single blinding explosion. The soft fleece blanket under her scraped against overstimulated nerves when the world came back into focus. Her muscles fired in sporadic jumps as the pleasure ran its course. "Holy…fuck."
Faith couldn't move. Her entire body felt dragged down and glued into Tara's embrace.
"Should I reconsider?" Tara asked. "Normally it's all 'Goddess, Tara'. I just accepted your proposal and I've lost my status as a deity."
"Soon as I can do more than suck wind, I'll show you just how 'lost' you are." Faith grinned as her back vibrated with Tara's giggle. She managed to sit up with a grunt of effort before raising Tara's hand to her lips. She kissed the tiny diamond chip mounted into a simple silver band that she'd slipped onto Tara's fingers less than an hour ago. "'Bout gave me a heart attack when you didn't answer my question."
Tara pulled her hand away and cupped Faith's chin. "Silly Slayer. Did you really need to hear me say yes?"