The hotel room door swung open. Chahna, only her face visible around the edge of the door, gave a welcoming smile.

"Hi Bonnie. Please, come in."

The younger woman complied, then paused as she glanced around the opulently-furnished room.

"It's a very –" Bonnie began, turning back toward the Indian woman. What she saw stopped her dead in her tracks. Chahna leaned against the now closed door, her previously friendly smile turned sultry. The older woman wore only black stockings, held up by a lacy garter belt, and a thigh-length chemise so sheer that Bonnie could easily make out Chahna's nipples and the dark triangle of her pubic hair. The former cheerleader swallowed. "... wow."

"Well ..." Chahna pushed away from the door and padded slowly toward the younger woman. She stopped only a few inches from Bonnie, and slid her arms around Bonnie's neck. "... your email did say you wanted to get me naked as soon as you got here. I thought I'd give you a head start."

"This is even better than naked." Bonnie murmured, meaning every word. She slid her hands under the hem of the chemise, cupping the older woman's buttocks and drawing their bodies together. Her fingers stroked around Chahna's waist, then slipped down to encounter slick heat at the juncture of the Indian woman's thighs. Bonnie raised her eyebrows. "You've been touching yourself."

Chahna blushed. "Only a little. I wanted to be –" She broke off with a gasp as the younger woman slid two fingers inside her. "... oh god. I wanted to be ready for you."

"You are ready." Bonnie growled, slowly pressing the older woman backward until Chahna was pinned between her and the door. The brunette moved her fingers, drawing another soft groan from the older woman. "So, so ready." She leaned in and lightly scraped her teeth along the base of Chahna's throat, smiling at the Indian woman's whimpering gasp of arousal. Bonnie spoke softly, fingers still gently moving. "I'm going to take you now, right up against this door. So you need to be quiet ... unless you want everybody walking by to know exactly what's being done to you."

Chahna's reply was inarticulate.


"Have you heard from your family at all?" Chahna asked, more than an hour later. The two women were now sprawled on the bed. Bonnie lay on her back, with Chahna curled against her side, the Indian woman's head on her shoulder.

"No. I really don't expect to." The brunette gently caressed the older woman's back with her finger tips. "My father is not the type to forgive and forget."

"What about your mother?" Chahna rolled up onto one elbow and regarded her with puzzled eyes. "Will she really just sit back and let him do this to you?"

"Probably." Bonnie said it calmly, not letting any pain into her tone. There was no point entertaining faint hopes of a sudden rebellion against her father's authority. "My mother is afraid of my father. I don't think he's ever done anything physical to her ..." She bit her lip as unpleasant memories of her father's rages flittered through her mind. "But she's not a strong person, and he's very frightening when he's angry."

"And your sisters?" Chahna clearly couldn't imagine a family that wouldn't support each other. Just as well I didn't tell her about my father's stunt with the tickets or she might have flown over here just to yell at him.

"Forget about them. Connie's lost her job and left her husband. And Lonnie's never made a living wage with her acting. They need my father's money, so they'll follow his line." Despite Bonnie's determinedly calm tone, the loss of her family hurt. On the other hand, it felt good to know that there were people; Chahna and Joss, Eric and Andy, Tara and Ned; who would stand by her.

"What makes a man treat his daughter this way?" Chahna shook her head. Maybe she caught a glimpse of the pain Bonnie was feeling, because she gave an apologetic smile. "Sorry. We should talk about something more pleasant."

"It's okay." The brunette lifted her head to brush their lips together. "I know you're only asking because you care."

To Bonnie's surprise, a shadow flickered briefly in the Indian woman's eyes, but then Chahna shrugged. "It was still a foolish thing to ask. I doubt anyone could explain why he'd do this to you."

"Actually ... I think I understand." Bonnie admitted. She paused as Chahna gave her an incredulous look. "Don't get me wrong, understanding is not the same as excusing. But ... he's treating me like he was treated."

"Your grandparents disowned your father?"

The brunette shook her head. "It's a bit more complicated than that. What you need to know first is that the Rockwallers are old money, back east. They've been part of the New York social set since ... well, since it was called New Amsterdam. They're the kind of family that thinks the Kennedys are just jumped up immigrants." She paused, then shrugged. "Well, that's what I've been told. I've never met any of them."

"And that has something to do with your father?"

"My grandfather, actually. During the Second World War, he served with the navy in the Pacific. He met my grandmother in the Philippines. They fell in love. After the war, his family wanted him to come home and marry a more 'appropriate' match - by which they meant a Protestant - but he refused. He converted to Catholicism and married my grandmother. They moved back to the US after that, but the other Rockwallers made it clear they weren't welcome in New York, so they settled in Middleton, instead. A few years later they had my father."

"Oh." Chahna sat up, tucking her legs under her. Bonnie took the opportunity to savor her view of the older woman's soft curves. "I would have thought ... having seen his own parents ostracized for their love ... that your father would be more willing to support you, rather than less."

The brunette gave a rueful smile. "It would nice if it worked out that way, but it didn't. My grandmother died shortly after my father was born. I think from complications to do with the pregnancy, though my father never really talked about it ... he's never talked much about his childhood at all, actually. Anyway, he got a college scholarship, and became an executive at MacKenzie Financial. They were Middleton's biggest investment and accounting firm at the time."

"Not any more?"

Bonnie rolled over, resting her head on Chahna's thigh. The Indian woman lightly caressed her neck and shoulders as she continued her story. "They're part of the Donald Rockwaller Group, now." Her father always used the anglicized form of his name in his business dealings.

"Your father took over the business?"

"He married the boss's daughter." Bonnie sighed. "My father, the ... what's the male equivalent of a gold-digger?"

"Probably still a gold-digger." Chahna's hands drifted from Bonnie's shoulders to her head, and began gently massaging her scalp.

"Mmmm ... keep that up and I'll fall asleep on you."

"I guess you'd better keep talking, then." The older woman gently teased. "It'll help you stay awake."

"After he married my mother, my father used the resources of MacKenzie Financial to buy out other local businesses." The brunette suspected that her father had illegally used inside information gained from MacKenzie's accounting division to target vulnerable businesses. But she'd never mentioned those suspicions to anyone, and didn't intend to start now. "By the time he was in his mid-thirties he'd done everything he needed to found his own 'Rockwaller Dynasty'." She couldn't help the sour note in her voice as she spoke the last two words. "Well, except for one thing: an heir."

"Ah." Chahna's hands continued their slow, relaxing massage. "I suppose daughters do not meet his definition of a suitable heir?"

"No, they do not." Bonnie confirmed. "As far as he was concerned, I was his third strike." She paused as a question occurred to her. "You and your husband didn't have children, did you?"

"No. We did try, but without success." From Chahna's expression, it was clear that she was disappointed. She sighed, then summoned up a smile. "Fortunately, I have several nieces and nephews that I get to spoil."

"I can't imagine either of my sisters having kids."

"What about you?"

I'm definitely having one. But Chahna didn't know about her promise to Eric and Andy. Do I want kids of my own, some day? Bonnie lay silently for several seconds, considering her answer. Chahna's gentle caress of her temples was relaxing, but didn't give her any more clarity over the issue. "I don't know. I'm not even sure I can get my own life under control, right now, let alone be responsible for someone else's."

"You'd be a great mother."

The brunette snorted her disbelief. "Joss says the same thing. I'm not so sure."

"Joss?"

Bonnie realized she'd never used the Montanan's name in her emails correspondence with Chahna. "The friend I mentioned in my emails ... the one was who having relationship problems? That's Joss."

Chahna nodded. "They were going away together at Christmas, correct? Did it help them sort things out?"

"The opposite; they broke up. Horrible time of year for it to happen." Bonnie flushed, feeling the comment was inane. "Not that there's a good time for it, of course." She sighed. "I hope she's okay."

"You care about her."

"She'd my best friend."

"... just a friend?" Chahna's tone was casual, but the way her eyes flickered away was not.

"Yeah." Bonnie sat up, turning to face the older woman. She took Chahna's fingers in her hand and caressed them, waiting until the other woman met her gaze. "I had a bit of a crush on her when we first met, but she doesn't think of me that way." How could she, when she thinks I'm straight? Bonnie smiled, trying to lighten the sudden air of tension. "You're the only woman in my life."

A shadow flickered once more in the Indian woman's eyes. She broke eye contact, gazing sightlessly across the room for several seconds. When she spoke again, her voice was quiet, and strained.

"You do understand ... that you're not the only one in mine?"


Author's Note: Sorry for this chapter not hitting the usual weekly update schedule. I work on this story on two different computers, only one of which I have access to every day, and I forgot to transfer the updated document from the 'part time' access computer to the full time access computer. So I couldn't work on it for 4 days (this also means next chapter will be delayed).

I freely confess that I've deliberately ended this chapter at a place that makes Chahna looks very bad. Are these appearances warranted? You'll find out when the next chapter comes out :)

Also, a bit of Rockwaller family background in this chapter. Hope you found it interesting.