"I don't ever want to hurt you again, honey" Barbara said. Leaning forward, she kissed Helena's forehead. "I never meant to hurt you in the first place. I never wanted to do that."
It was Helena's turn to cover Barbara's mouth, silencing her with the index finger of her right hand. Helena's shimmering blue eyes drank in the sparkling emeralds of the woman she loved as she gazed at Barbara. A playful look danced upon Helena's features as she traced her index finger along the outline of Barbara's lips.
Never taking her eyes off Barbara's, Helena reached out with her other hand. Starting at the forehead, Helena gently traced the outline of Barbara's face with the backs of her fingers, brushing away stray strands of red hair that only seemed to annoy Barbara when she was nervous or angry.
Barbara's eyelids dropped a notch and her pulse quickened at the younger woman's touch. She reveled in the feelings that touch evoked. She felt alive for the first time in so long. She leaned forward and once again gently brushed her lips against those of Helena and Helena responded in kind, the hand that she used to caress Barbara's face moving back to entwine in her flame-touched hair.
The kisses were small at first; the caresses light, as each explored the other tentatively, neither seeking to scare off the other. But with each touch, each kiss, the electricity between them intensified. Helena found that her heart was racing in her chest as she pulled back slightly from Barbara and opened her eyes. Barbara's own hooded eyes gazed upon Helena's, now the fiery cat's eyes she experienced during moments of intense emotion.
Barbara smiled then, realizing that she had evoked this response from Helena. She had caused the raven-haired beauty's breath to quicken, her pulse to race, her face to flush. And as she gazed into Helena's eyes, she realized that she wanted more – to see more, to feel more, because the feelings Helena was evoking in her were truly liberating. She'd never felt this much love coming from someone else; a love she was so willing to return.
Barbara leaned forward again, this time crushing her lips against Helena's. A moan escaped Helena's lips, and she pulled Barbara closer to her. Barbara's lips parted, and Helena's tongue entered, gently probing and finally entwining with Barbara's own. As their kisses became more intense, Helena found she needed to have Barbara closer, needed to feel the warmth of her body against her own.
Helena pulled back from Barbara, gazing upon the red-head's dreamy features, and stood. She easily lifted Barbara from the chair and gently placed her on the couch. Kneeling before Barbara, Helena took her hands in her own, lightly kissing each palm. Barbara cupped Helena's face in her hands pulling her upward, locking her gaze with that of Helena. Their lips met with a crushing force born of passion, each glorifying in making the other breathless with desire. Helena's knees grew week and she rested her body alongside Barbara's own on the couch.
Helena's hand began to move of their own accord, lightly tracing Barbara's neck with her fingers, evoking a small moan from the fiery-haired beauty beside her. The moan excited Helena unbelievably and she replaced the touch of her fingers with that of her lips, causing Barbara to gasp with excited pleasure.
Barbara's mind was spinning with the passion and she found herself wanting more. The brush of Helena's fingers against her neck did nothing to prepare her for the ecstasy of feeling Helena's lips, and eventually her tongue on the pulse point of her neck. She gasped with pleasure at the new sensation.
The heat between them intensified and Barbara found her hands beginning to roam, seeking to bring Helena the same pleasure she was feeling. Her hand brushed Helena's breast and she felt Helena bite down on her neck, her body arching as the shock felt in Barbara's touch sent erotic chills up her spine.
Helena's heart raced with Barbara's touch. Her mind was reeling and she felt herself steadily losing control. Tasting the woman she loved, touching her, breathing her in... it was sending her maddeningly close to the edge...
And suddenly both women jumped as they heard the sound of the elevator doors opening. Helena stared questioningly into Barbara's eyes. Barbara shook her head, her eyes wide as she pictured just what kind of picture Helena and Barbara on the couch would make to whoever walked into the room. Realization hit Helena hard. She jumped up from the couch and straightened herself as she heard footprints approach. Barbara selected another route, leaning back into the couch and straightening her clothing, giving the presentment that she had fallen asleep there.
The footsteps stopped at the edge of the room and an all too cheery voice greeted them. "Miss Barbara! Miss Helena!"
"Alfred, I thought your vacation wasn't supposed to end until tomorrow." Barbara said, mimicking the cheerfulness of Alfred's voice.
"Well, technically, yes. This is just a visit of sorts. I was wondering if it would be alright to come in a tad later tomorrow. Say about noon?"
"Oh...well...sure, I don't see why not."
Helena, feeling the need to say something - anything to take her mind off of what the surprise arrival had interrupted – chimed in, "Yeah, go have fun!"
Alfred raised an eyebrow and Helena looked away, afraid that her words had somehow given herself away. He fixed his gaze on Barbara and his eyes twinkled with mischief.
"Since when does Miss Barbara lounge away the day on the couch?" he asked, turning his mischievous gaze on Helena. "Has she missed me so much as to be unable to rise from the confines of her couch until my return?"
Helena forced a chuckle out of her lips before abruptly announcing that she had to leave. Alfred noted the concern in Barbara's features as she watched the young woman quickly make her way toward the elevator.
"Did I interrupt something," he asked.
If you only knew, she thought.
"Helena caught me using the transponder and...well...let's just say it wasn't pretty." She looked down then, worried that if she said more, Alfred would see through her words. He always knew when she was lying...even when the lies she told were to herself.
Alfred sighed. "I share Miss Helena's worries about the transponder, Miss Barbara. You know that. But, I respect your wishes, however destructive they may be."
Barbara inwardly cringed at the rebuke coming from someone whose advice she cherished. She knew it had been Alfred who had told Helena the damage that Barbara could incur by using the transponder. Alfred had always been the loudest of opponents to its use.
Alfred stepped closer to Barbara, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder, and offering a wink of encouragement.
"I wouldn't worry about Miss Helena. She never seems to be able to stay angry at you for very long."
Barbara offered a weak laugh, looking away again, lest she reveal some lurid detail about the scene he had walked in on. As Alfred turned to leave, Barbara's thoughts returned to Helena. She wondered what was going through the young woman's mind at this moment. Had she left to prevent herself from making some sort of slip in Alfred's presence? Or had regret overtaken her and had she left to get as far away from the source of that pain as she could?