Author's Note: Yeah... If anybody wondered, this wasn't planned. Feed my muse, loves. I require reviews. ; )
P.S. I hit my 100th review tonight! Thanks so much for all of the support, guys. Really. It keeps my fingers typing.
Helena had run her a bath.
Myka had called on the Farnsworth not long ago and had informed her that she and Pete had just landed at the airport, so they would be returning shortly. And, though Helena was obviously very much looking forward to her return, she knew that Myka was more than likely to be a bit out of sorts, even with the time to relax on the plane.
So Helena had run her a bath, because she knew that Myka preferred to soak in them after particularly demanding cases, when the occasion permitted.
After dropping a fair amount of bubble solution into the water, she smiled satisfactorily and moved to her room to set the bottle of wine to chill in an ice bucket that she had taken from the kitchen. Helena had asked Claudia to have Steve retrieve it before he returned from Univille, and she distinctly recalled rolling her eyes at the elated squeak that had arisen from Claudia's throat in reply.
As she waited, however, Helena found herself idle. She paced to the open window and folded her arms inward, contemplatively eyeing the barren South Dakotan plains until she could spot Myka and Pete's vehicle. When it slowed into park, Helena watched as Pete hurried around the car to give chase to a nearly sprinting Myka.
Helena's heart fluttered at the sight of her, and she only just resisted the overwhelming urge to meet her at the door.
"Mykes, you can't still be mad at me!" She heard Pete plead. "It wasn't my fault! And I wasn't that upset about the cookies, it just made me think I was, so – "
"Pete!" Myka snapped as she whirled around to face him, and then she tiredly rubbed her fingers against her forehead. Helena's head tilted to the side with concern. "I'm not mad at you. I just… I got scared, okay?" She huffed, clearly frustrated with the situation, and with herself.
Pete's next words were quieter, and she saw Myka nod and duck her head in reply. Helena recognized the motion as a struggle with tears, and was disquieted by Myka's emotion. Pete said something else that Helena couldn't clearly make out, and, with arms that hugged her own slender frame, Myka allowed Pete to pull her into a tight embrace. When he pulled away, Myka turned, and, with a minute scoff, Helena observed Pete as he reached forward and tapped her lover's rear with his palm, with a loud and flamboyant, "Get some, girl!" as he snapped his fingers and formed an arc with his hand.
Myka seemed to laugh, reluctantly, as she made her path through the entryway of the inn, and it wasn't a minute longer before Helena heard a tentative knock against her door.
"Helena?"
"You needn't knock, darling," she replied, budging toward the frame of wood to admit the agent. She smiled when she set eyes on Myka, more than powerless against that particular shift in facial muscles, and she moved her hands to encase Myka's cheeks. "You're more than welcome in my bedroom, any time you choose."
Myka smiled fondly in return, and, despite that it was small, Helena found herself pleased.
"Come," Helena murmured softly. "You've had quite a long day, haven't you, love?" She continued, taking Myka by the hand and leading her into the room.
Myka laughed derisively. "Understatement of the year," she returned quietly, but stopped Helena from moving as soon as she had crossed the threshold and closed the door behind her.
Helena waited, facing Myka, now, as the woman scoured her face meticulously. And then Myka seemed to have lost something in her, because she merely took two small steps forward and circled her arms around Helena's waist, bowing her head into Helena's neck with a heavy sigh of exhaustion.
"Sh, my love," Helena hushed, one arm reaching around Myka's back and stretching upward until Helena's hand could hold her shoulder, and the other instinctively moved to comb through Myka's lovely curls. "You're safe now."
She felt Myka nod, and she was certain that some amount of wetness coated her shoulder, but Helena simply held her tightly and welcomed the tears, with the hope that they would alleviate some of Myka's frustration.
Myka disentangled herself moments later, with a quick spurt of hot breath into Helena's neck. But before she could reach to scrub at her tears, Helena's thumbs stole them away with a tender motion that had Myka's eyes beginning to well all over again as she smiled her appreciation and fondness.
Helena leant forward and dipped her lips under Myka's, and though there was heat behind every kiss that they shared, this one was relatively mild, and solely offered to comfort. And Myka sighed into it gratefully, her fingers fisting into the sides of the blouse that Helena wore as she used the fabric to pull Helena flush against her.
"I missed you," Myka breathed against her mouth, grazing her lips against Helena's in another, briefer kiss.
"Dear Myka," Helena whispered, sweeping her thumb across Myka's cheek as another drop of mist parted from the pool in her eyes, "I missed you, as well. It would seem that I'm not fond of any greater distance between us than this," she admitted affectionately.
"This is a good distance for us," Myka decided with a warm laugh.
"I'm inclined to agree," Helena said, allowing one of her hands to cradle Myka's neck, and she gently soothed her nails down the slender column. "However, I've prepared a bath for you, darling, so just the smallest bit of separation might be necessary."
"You ran me a bath?" Myka asked.
"Mm," Helena hummed. "Yes. As I recall, you do enjoy your leisurely immersions."
"I do," Myka laughed again, nodding. But then her smile softened, and she loosened her hold on Helena's blouse so that she could tighten her fingers over Helena's hips. "Thank you," she said sincerely.
"You might like to step in before the water loses its heat," Helena advised, nodding her head in the direction of the bathroom. "I'll pour the wine, shall I?"
"Wine?" Myka asked, a playful tilt of her hips accompanying her inquiry. "What did I do to deserve all this pampering?"
"Darling woman, you nearly fell to your death today," Helena said softly, and when she found Myka's eyes, she was sure that horror rested in her own. "I was rather concerned."
Terrified. Alarmed. Panicked.
Helena had been all of those things, but 'concern' had been the one to emerge from her chest, and she found herself pleased with the weaker term. Myka didn't need to know how truly afraid she had been.
"Yeah," Myka nodded guiltily. "I was kind of picking up on that when you stole Artie's Farnsworth."
Helena scoffed. "Your safety was paramount to Artie's discontent."
"I was already safe by then," Myka pointed out, smiling knowingly.
"Then I allowed myself the indulgence of a relatively private moment with you, in the wake of my own fear," Helena murmured gently, tightening her hold on Myka's neck as her eyes fell to a swift close. "Myka, I simply couldn't stomach the notion – " She shorted herself as emotion overwhelmed her, despite that she felt positively silly for being incapable of finishing a sentence.
Myka leant inward to pin a long kiss against Helena's forehead. "Pour the wine," Myka suggested warmly. "And come meet me in the bath, okay?"
"I thought perhaps you'd like a moment alone," Helena protested.
"I'd like several moments with you, instead," Myka informed, extracting herself from Helena's hold. The agent moved toward the bath, lifting her t-shirt above her head and tossing it unceremoniously to the floor. Myka then peered back over her shoulder with a look that simply thrived on seduction, and promptly had Helena's knees threatening to buckle. "Don't take too long," Myka added, biting her lip. Then she attempted to cover her desire with a half-smile that did nothing to eradicate the sinful thoughts that abruptly obscured all reasonable thought from Helena's mind.
"Righty-ho, then," Helena breathed to herself, once the bathroom door had eased shut behind her. There was a crack left in it for when Helena would join her, and Helena had no intentions of keeping Myka at bay.
She poured two full glasses of wine, and drove herself through the opening in the door, wordlessly extending the beverage to her lover. She took a small sip of her own as she leaned back against the counter.
"Aren't you getting in?" Myka asked, bemused.
"In a moment, darling," she said softly. "The last time we found ourselves in this circumstance, it was all that I could do not to simply gawk down upon you, as I stumbled over my affections," she continued. "I'm now in a very different position, my love," she said, and she was sure that there was more than a touch of husk to her words, as she eyed the rise of Myka's breasts peeking just above a fat layer of bubbles. "And I do intend to take advantage."
"From out there?" Myka raised her brow expectantly.
Helena laughed airily. "From out here, Myka," she replied, setting her glass down and lifting her fingers to touch the top button of her blouse before she rendered it undone, "my view is, indeed, quite advantageous."
Myka blushed endearingly, and Helena fingered another button loose. She didn't miss the quick flit of Myka's eyes downward, and she offered a lazy, heated smile in return before she unclasped a third button.
Helena continued down, luxuriating in the noise of Myka's swelling arousal as her breaths shortened and picked up pace, and the other woman took a large drink from her glass to calm herself. When all of the buttons had been relieved of their duties, Helena shrugged the garment from her shoulders, and the look that Myka gave her as the blouse fell away did very little to conceal her need.
Helena didn't put on a show for the removal of her dress pants – although, one might think that she had, given the redness in Myka's cheeks when they finally slinked down her legs. Instead of moving for her bra and panties, however, Helena turned away from her lover to face the counter, where she picked up a book of matches to light two strategically placed candles around the sink. Then she moved toward the bath and bent over her lover's shoulder.
Her voice, as she spoke, was little more than a low, sultry purr that breathed hot against Myka's ear. "Excuse me, darling," she murmured, and Helena reached to the far side of the tub to light yet another candle, keeping her eyes honed on the flame of the match as Myka turned her head just slightly to the right. If she chose to, it would have been a mere inch from her lips to Helena's, but Myka appeared to be relishing in the performance that Helena was putting on for her, and she remained still, aside from the tilt of her face, and the soft pant of her breath.
After she replaced the candle to the corner it had come from, she scraped a quick, heated kiss against Myka's shoulder, and then withdrew, moving toward the foot of the bath to lean over and reach for one, final candle. The picture that she offered to Myka, however – bearing little more than scraps of black lace as lingerie, and bent over with her backend on such obvious display – had the agent's eyes darkening into a cloud of murky green.
"Are you finished?" Myka asked unevenly.
"I've yet to start, love," Helena whispered, her lips curving into a tempting smile as she bent one arm back to unclasp her bra, allowing it to slide down her arms. As it dropped to the floor, Helena hooked two fingers on either side of her panties and shimmied them down until they rested at her ankles. She stepped one foot loose of the material, and lightly kicked it away with the other.
She wallowed in Myka's rapt attention, noting her heavy gaze as she set her glass to rest at the edge of the tub, watching as Helena climbed the one step to the luxuriously sized bath, and submerged herself in the still-steaming water.
Myka shifted forward, then, immobilizing Helena as she confined her back to the foot of the tub, framing an arm around either side of her face. But Helena merely smiled up at her with a heady blend of lust and high regard, as Myka fought against every emotion that she had willed away over the past two days. It took Helena little time to acquiesce that Myka didn't need her touch, in spite of her palpable arousal; tonight, Myka needed to touch her. And Helena was powerless to Myka's needs.
"I'm yours for the taking, darling," she cooed seductively, sensing Myka's losing battle against her restraint, and seeking to weaken it further. "Do with me what you will."
And Myka's lips descended upon hers with fury, taking from Helena whatever she could unearth, and searing her tongue through Helena's mouth for more when what she found was not enough to satisfy her.
Helena drew in a sharp pant when Myka's teeth scored into her lip, but Myka's newfound passion took no notice. Her mouth closed over the lobe of Helena's ear, her tongue stretching out to flick against it recklessly, before she moved lower to tow a healthy expanse of Helena's neck between her teeth and suck hard against it.
Unable to constrain the noise, Helena moaned and arched her head against the back of the bath, exposing the full length of her neckline to Myka's greedy lips. And Myka wasted no time in taking advantage. Her mouth moved hot over Helena's flesh, and Helena nearly sobbed when she felt one of Myka's hands shift to her hips, sweeping up dangerously and palming her breast.
But Myka's hand didn't stay there. It roamed swiftly over Helena's figure as though Myka simply couldn't quench her need for the sensation, her fingers trailing hastily down Helena's toned stomach and her nails scraping over her thigh before her hand made its way back up again, travelling through the valley of her breasts and over her heart before it came to rest at Helena's throat, her thumb soothing one side of the slender column and her fingers lightly hugging the other.
And Myka's mouth found hers again, just as hot and uncompromising as before, and the possessive hold over her neck had Helena mewling her desperation in a hum of desire that vibrated against Myka's tongue.
The erotic sound provoked her lover. Helena abruptly felt Myka's full form fall against her with the removal of her opposite hand, which rapidly found a fleeting home in the curve of Helena's hip. But it didn't linger for more than a moment, because next Helena knew, Myka's fingers frayed over her aching clit, and she was abruptly suffocated by Myka's mouth as it swallowed the loud cry that endeavored to erupt.
Helena writhed under Myka's touch, and each eager shift of her hips saw Myka's fingers pick up speed. Helena drew her mouth away and her lips touched Myka's jaw as she gasped for air that had urgently been depleted from her lungs, but Myka scarcely gave her the opportunity and plunged two demanding fingers directly into Helena's soaking core.
Myka's name ripped from her throat in a hoarse cry, followed by a rasped moan of, "Fuck," as Myka's hand continued to thrust into her with little regard for rhythm, purely driven by an unseen wrath of emotion that had Helena thrashing beneath. And when Myka's teeth clamped roughly over the juncture of her neck and shoulder, Helena stilled for one, tantalizingly brief moment, her hips frozen as they surged against Myka's hand, before a gratified sob passed through her parted, swollen lips and she plummeted against the edge of the tub, trembling as Myka's motions calmed, but didn't cease, and her lover tenderly swept kisses filled of love across her forehead.
"Myka," Helena husked, breathless and drinking the air through tired lungs. "I seem to have made the rather bold presumption that I was to be your first female lover. It seems I was woefully mistaken."
"College," Myka offered, her voice nothing but a whisper as she cleared sweat-dampened hair from Helena's brow, demonstratively tucking it behind her ear with implausible care.
"Your education gave way to a delightfully gifted student," Helena murmured as her heart hammered hard in her chest, refusing to discover a calmer pattern.
Myka hummed softly as she withdrew her hand from Helena's heat, and Helena found herself groaning at the loss before both of Myka's hands sifted through her hair and pulled her in for a deep, soothing kiss. Helena sighed into her mouth, surrendering pliantly beneath Myka's tender affections.
When she drew away, Helena watched her reach for the shampoo, and pour it into her hands. She moved to the opposite end of the tub and, with a small tilt of her head, she motioned for Helena to join her. Helena waded over, and obligingly turned around when Myka's free hand touched her shoulder and urged it sideways with gentle pressure.
She moaned when Myka's fingers began to massage the product into her hair.
"Was I too rough with you?" Myka ventured hesitantly.
Helena laughed quietly. "Mm, darling, your dominance in this particular sexual encounter was incontestable," she acknowledged. "But no. You were exceptional, Myka. And your aggression was notably well-received."
Myka's hands urged her downward, so Helena slinked lower into the water until Myka could wash the soap from her hair, and when she was finished, she tugged Helena up again until her back was flush against Myka's breasts. Myka bent so that her chin rested on Helena's shoulder, and Helena leaned sideways until her head rested against her lover's.
They remained there in silence, Myka's fingers decorating Helena's stomach with nonsensical designs, and Helena resting her arms against the ones that encircled her waist. And then Helena quietly inquired, "Do you feel better, darling?"
"Yes," Myka confessed on a sigh. "Helena," she rasped, her lips tripping over Helena's ear as she spoke, "you're really the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. Watching you – " Myka began, then shook her head, and Helena could feel the flush of her skin against her neck. "You're incredible."
"Not half so much as you, darling," Helena returned, her tone soft but playful as she recalled a similar exchange from two nights before. "Your passion, Myka… it's exquisite, and you oughtn't be ashamed of it," she whispered, pivoting to face her paramour. She reached her hand up to caress Myka's face, the only sound in the room that of the water dripping from her fingers. "I've never felt so cherished," she admitted, slanting her lips across Myka's in a stroke so light, it hardly qualified as a kiss. "Nor so satisfied."
Myka smiled lovingly, and leant into Helena's touch. "You are cherished, Helena," she confirmed gently. "And so loved," she added, taking Helena's hand in hers and pressing a tender kiss against her palm.
"As are you, darling," Helena said meaningfully, nuzzling Myka's nose affectionately.
And when they stepped from the lukewarm water some twenty minutes later, Helena having washed Myka's hair and each having taken a turn to languorously brush a loofa over the other's sensitive flesh, they climbed into bed, their half-empty wine glasses forgotten.
Helena folded her emotionally spent lover into her arms, and Myka snuggled appreciatively into her chest. Helena touched her lips to the crown of Myka's head, before she warmly encouraged, "Sleep now, darling. You're safe here."
"I know," Myka breathed drowsily, draping a heavy arm over Helena's stomach and hugging her tightly against her. She burrowed deeper over Helena's heart, and Helena delicately scraped her nails over Myka's scalp, earning a soft hum of gratitude in reply.
Soft sighs of sleep met Helena's ears short moments later before she allowed herself to doze off, satiated and content, with Myka tucked securely in her hold.