Tamsin Beech Ch. 13: Bath

Suddenly embarrassed, Phoebe realised that she couldn't unsay what she'd just said. Like it or not she was going to have to continue, "Uh, just before Yeonmi kidnapped Angus, we ... um, slept together."

Leonid regarded her intently with bleary eyes, "What d'you mean you slept together?"

"We had sex."

Leonid sat back, astounded, "Bozhe moi. With Yeonmi? I ... I'm sorry, I had no idea. I didn't even know you liked girls."

Phoebe continued, "I've ... only had two lovers. B-both women. I've never ... been with a man."

"Wow. I'm sorry if I sound surprised but I always thought a beautiful young woman like you would be ..."

"What?" Phoebe asked defensively.

Now it was Leonid's turn to sound embarassed, "Well ... i-it just seems such a waste. I know there are dozens of decent young men here at the fort who'd ..."

"Yes I know," Phoebe responded, "I ... I like men too. But I'm not interested in those 'dozens of decent young men' as you put it."

Leonid spread his hands, "Well there must be someone. Someone you've had your eye on?"

Phoebe focused intently on a particular spot on the stained wall behind Leonid Denisovich, not trusting herself to look him in the eye, "There ... is one. But he's already attached. Until very recently I wasn't sure if he'd even noticed I exist."

Unsteadily, Leonid reached forward and clasped Phoebe's hand in both of his own, "Well tell him. Phoebe, the world we live in is dangerous. None of us know how much longer we have to live. The Baekdusan could drop one of their ICBMs on our heads tomorrow. Or even tonight. And all of this ..." he gestured with one hand, "would be gone forever. Carpe diem, Phoebe ... seize the day."

Phoebe took a deep breath and slowly released it, "Alright then. I ... I will."

With heart pounding and trembling lips, Phoebe Beech leaned forward and kissed Leonid on the mouth.

. . .

The weather worsened into a full blown blizzard. Tamsin Beech wondered if it was affecting the entire country. It certainly seemed that way as it had done nothing but rain or snow since they'd left Fort George.

Her and Yeonmi found sheltered spots in opposite corners of the old museum part of the Roman baths to spread out blankets and sleeping bags, clearing the floor of debris and sealing up draughts as best they could. For the first time in days Tamsin felt clean and more importantly warm after her soak in the hot, mineral infused water of the baths. The North Korean woman grudgingly allowed her to help build a fire but they prepared their own food and ate in silence.

"How long do you think this will last?" Yeonmi asked suddenly.

Sitting in her boots and thermal underwear, Tamsin was running a finger around the rim of her battered mess tin to catch every single morsel of the freeze dried vegetable soup she'd just eaten. It took a second for her to realise she was being spoken to, "What?"

"The weather."

Tamsin peered at Yeonmi across the glowing embers of their fire and shrugged, "We get cold winters but I've never seen it this bad. My parents told me that after Thanatos the sky went dark for years and it snowed even in summer."

Yeonmi pointedly shrugged off the sleeping bag she'd had draped about her shoulders and shook her head in disgust as she sat cross-legged in vest and shorts, "Believe me, this isn't cold. You British are soft. That's how the Russians were able to invade your country so easily."

"In case you hadn't noticed, our country had a few problems of its own."

Yeonmi scoffed, "What like? A disorganised rabble of savages? A lunatic with a stolen warship? In North Korea we had millions of Chinese refugees flooding across the River Amrok into our country. Trying to take our land away from us."

"So you thought you'd come and steal someone else's?"

"Eoriseogeun am kae!" Yeonmi shouted, "dangsin eun ihae haji mot hal geot ipnida."

Tamsin furiously threw her mess tin down and stood up, "Oh that's right! Resort to your own language because you know you're losing the argument."

Yeonmi rose to her own feet, hands balled into fists at her sides, "At least I know more than one language. Meongcheonghan," she hissed, "you British are stupid. Ignorant. And lazy."

"Ya govoryu po Russki," Tamsin spat in Russian, "shlyukha!"

Yeonmi's eyes blazed, "Who are you calling a whore?"

Tamsin raised an eyebrow as she took a step forward, "You slept with my fucking grandfather!"

"You slept with a fucking traitor!" Yeonmi countered.

Tamsin felt the muscles in her arms tensing, heat rising into her face as she snarled, "I wish to fuck ... that when I'd beheaded your brother ... I'd had the time to piss on his corpse."

With a howl of rage and hands outstretched like claws, Yeonmi launched herself over their small campfire at Tamsin ...

. . .

At Fort George, Leonid pulled back, shocked, "What ... do you think you're doing?"

Phoebe gazed into the handsome Russian's deep blue eyes, "Ye told me to seize the day. I'm seizin' it."

Leonid slowly shook his head, "But Pheebs. Phoebe. I'm in a relationship with your cousin. I can't just ..."

Phoebe moved forward and straddled Leonid's lap, wrapping her arms about his neck, "Tamsin ne'er needs to know. Ye're miserable Leonid. Let me do somethin' to make ye feel better."

Beneath her thick woollen jumper Phoebe's breasts ached for the touch of Leonid's hands. With a shock she realised that between her thighs his cock was already stirring, lifting all by itself to nudge against her leg. His mind might be saying no but his body was most definitely saying otherwise.

"I really ..."

She kissed him again, slipping the tip of her tongue between Leonid's lips to taste the lingering flavour of Finlayson's vile, but powerfully strong vodka.

Leonid gripped her hips, but still shaking his head in denial. It was clear his protestations were becoming weaker as his resolve melted. Phoebe reached down between them to press her fingers against him, "I told ye I've n-never had sex wi' a man before. I want you ... to be my first."

"Pheebs. I like you but this really isn't ..."

Exasperated, she decided it was time to show just what was on offer. Phoebe gripped the neckline of both her jumper and t-shirt and with a swift movement pulled them off over her head, flinging them aside into a corner of the room. The flickering light from the woodburner created an undulating chiaroscuro of her half-naked body.

"Bozhe moi," Leonid whispered in appreciation.

"Ye donnae think I'm skinny?"

In response, Leonid caught Phoebe by both arms and pulled her towards him. Her head fell back as he buried his lips against her throat. She cried out, shuddering.

"This is so wrong," Leonid mumbled. But his mouth travelled up her throat, found her lips and kissed her again with such ferocity that she could hardly breathe.

"S-so why are ye doin' it?" Phoebe gasped. The Russian's lips crushed urgently against her own and his tongue swirled within her open mouth.

Leonid pulled off his own faded shirt and hugged her to him. So that Phoebe's half naked body was pressed close against his. Pale limbs against his muscular torso, taut nipples against warm bare skin, "I can't answer that," he squeezed a hand awkwardly down between them to unfasten her jeans, her thighs still straddling his lap.

"W-wouldn't we be more comfortable in the bed?" Phoebe breathed.

His hands held her buttocks and lifted her, swaying slightly as he carried her over to the bed as if she weighed no more than a child. He lowered her gently onto the lumpy mattress.

"So, what did Yeonmi do to you?" Leonid hastily tugged off Phoebe's mukluks, then watched as she pushed her jeans down her smooth legs, "did she kiss you?"

Phoebe nodded. She turned her head helplessly and whispered, "Aye."

Despite the woodburner, the room wasn't particularly warm. Phoebe tugged the covers over herself - partly to keep warm but also to cover her nakedness. She'd never been nude in front of a man before. Weeks and months of fantasising hadn't prepared her for the reality.

Leonid pushed down his own patched canvas trousers and underwear as he climbed onto the bed, "Do you always keep your socks on?"

Phoebe smiled. She'd been trying to catch a glimpse of what Leonid himself had to offer but in the shadowy corner of the room it was difficult to make out anything. With the Russian's flippant remark, some of the tension she'd been feeling evaporated, "Cold feet."

Leonid nodded, "Believe me, it's a woman thing. So what else did Yeonmi do? This?" he moved one hand to cup her left breast and took her nipple in his mouth, licking, sucking, biting, making her utter desperate little cries.

"Did Yeonmi suck your breasts like that?" Leonid asked her again, looking straight into her wide eyes.

Phoebe nodded, now nervous. What she'd been dreaming of for so long was finally going to happen, "Aye she did. I ... I d-didn't think ye were too sure about this."

Leonid grinned, "I love Tamsin with all my heart. But like you said, she doesn't need to know."

By now Phoebe's whole body quivered with a combination of need, fear of the unknown and guilt, for betraying her cousin. Kissing her again, Leonid turned Phoebe towards him and gently pushed a knee between her thighs. He shuffled down the bed between her legs, being careful not to pull the covers off her, "Did Yeonmi do this?"

Leonid seized Phoebe's buttocks in his hands and suddenly pressed his mouth to her vulva.

"Ohmy!" Phoebe cried out. Leonid's tongue slid between her labia, parting them while his lips kissed and caressed the little delicate button of flesh above. With his hands he pressed her thighs wider apart, exposing her. She lay panting, helpless and shuddering as beat after beat of ecstasy pulsed through her.

Leonid licked her with as much skill as Yeonmi had, and his strong fingers squeezed and stroked at the tender flesh of her inner thighs. Phoebe arched her back, touching her own breasts, gripping them tightly in her hands and pinching at her own swollen nipples.

Then the Russian began to tease her with his fingers, tracing the slippery rim of her entrance.

"Ohshit!" Phoebe moaned. She tried to examine the sensations coursing through her body. How what she was feeling with Leonid was subtly different to how she'd felt with Yeonmi. But she gave up. Trying to pinpoint the less obvious differences between sex with a woman and sex with a man was growing more and more difficult as she felt the sharp tingling in her thighs and belly that signalled her approaching orgasm.

She cried aloud - a wordless, animalistic sound. But all of a sudden Leonid pulled away from her, panting. Phoebe whimpered with loss, feeling cheated and unsatisfied. She opened her eyes and looked up at the Russian, "Please. Why'd ye stop Leo? I was almost there," she whispered.

Leonid knelt above her, still breathing hard. Now she could see it clearly. His cock so swollen and erect that it brushed against his toned belly - a transparent tear oozing from the tip. She noticed the scar from the bullet wound he'd sustained in Ayr.

A smile touched Leonid's lips, "What do you want, Phoebe?"

Phoebe lifted her hands and cautiously touched the smooth warm skin of the Russian's arms. She wanted to feel him inside her, feel his weight bearing down on her and holding her in place. But she felt too damned embarassed to say so. Instead of replying, she mutely spread her thighs wider and lifted her hips towards him.

"Please," she whispered again.

"If you want it, Phoebe, take it."

Phoebe's breathing was quick and shallow. She reached down tentatively with one shaking hand and touched Leonid's cock. Smooth, hot and hard. She hesitantly explored the length, feeling it throb in her fingers as Leonid closed his eyes to enjoy the sensation.

Timidly, because she did not know quite what she was doing, she guided the broad, glistening head to her labia and pushed it in where she felt emptiest. It nudged at her, twitching with a life of its own, and she moaned.

Leonid opened his eyes. "Tell me what you want."

"Fuck me," Phoebe whispered, "just fuck me the way ye do wi' Tamsin."

Leonid's hips tensed as he thrust, slowly and deliberately. Finally. Phoebe gasped as his cock gradually slid up inside her, filling her. It was everything she'd dreamed and hoped for. Everything she'd expected and so much more.

"Okay?" hissed Leonid. He withdrew from her, then slowly, steadily lunged again. There was no pain. After years experimenting with everything from candles to smooth pieces of driftwood, Phoebe was no novice when it came to having things inside her.

She cried out, burying her face in the pillow to muffle the sound as she seized hold of Leonid's ass, pulling him closer against her, "Don't stop this time," she moaned. Phoebe writhed beneath him and tried to lift her head to kiss him, but the sensations of being fucked properly for the first time in her life were too strong.

When her orgasm came it was like nothing else she'd ever experienced. Even with Yeonmi. Even with Tamsin. She yelled out, a lonely wail, as Leonid surged again and again into her tense, quivering body. Even through the crashing wave of her orgasm she felt him throbbing powerfully inside her ...

Panting, Leonid rested his hands lightly on Phoebe's breasts and looked down into her face. Shining with sweat, his body stuck to hers, "Was ... that okay ... for your first time?" his eyebrows were lifted quizzically.

Phoebe couldn't speak. So she simply smiled and pulled him down for a kiss.

She'd gotten what she'd wanted. She'd taken advantage of Leonid Denisovich while he was in a vulnerable and slightly inebriated state and most certainly didn't feel proud of it. But the fact that her cousin Tamsin had already cheated by having sex with her behind Leonid's back made her feel somewhat better.

. . .

In Bath, Tamsin found herself slammed back against the wall by the fury of Yeonmi's attack, dislodging chunks of loose plaster cascading to the dusty floor. The petite North Korean seemed a lot stronger than she looked.

A fist cracked against Tamsin's jaw.

Instinctively she ducked and stabbed a knee up into Yeonmi's abdomen. As the North Korean staggered back, winded for a second, Tamsin rubbed her bruised face. Wondering if it was too soon to draw out the Royal Marines Commando knife secreted in her boot.

No. This was a disagreement, nothing more. Introducing a knife would mean a permanent solution to a temporary problem. If Yeonmi died, who would lead her to the Baekdusan? Regrettably she was more use alive. Dropping low Tamsin charged into Yeonmi, her shoulder knocking the North Korean off her feet.

"Thought ... you were some kind of shit hot special forces," Tamsin taunted as she quickly straddled Yeonmi's squirming body and tried to seize her flailing wrists.

Too late. Yeonmi snatched a handful of Tamsin's long red hair and yanked her head back, "Neomu neulin, amachueo!"

Tears of pain blurred Tamsin's vision as she felt hair being torn free from her scalp. She threw a punch at where she thought Yeonmi's head might be. And missed ...

Her opponent was luckier. The North Korean slammed a fist into Tamsin's cheekbone, splitting the skin and sending her toppling sideways onto the filthy floor. In an instant Yeonmi was on her, holding Tamsin's legs with her own and grabbing her arms.

"If you kill me you'll never see your daughter again!" Tamsin warned, struggling against Yeonmi's vicelike grip. She'd bitten the inside of her cheek and could taste blood.

With wild hair, Yeonmi glared down at her, panting from the exertion, "I've decided."

"What?"

"That I'm not going to kill you."

Tamsin was confused, "You're not? But I killed your brother. Isn't that what all this is about?"

Yeonmi laughed. A sour, humourless sound, "My brother was a ... hangmun. How do you say in English? Asshole? He wouldn't have made a very good husband for you."

Tamsin turned her head to one side and spat blood, "So why've you got a bee up your ass about me killing him?"

For a second, Yeonmi's eyes lost their focus, seeing something that only she could see, "Because I wanted to do it myself."

She'd wanted to do it herself. Now it all made sense. What Tamsin had seen purely as an act of self defence had actually been unwittingly stopping Yeonmi committing fratricide, "So I did you a favour," she sneered.

For long seconds, Yeonmi silently studied Tamsin Beech's face, her expression unreadable. Her dark brown eyes staring intently into the resistance leader's blue green ones. Then she lowered her face and softly, delicately kissed the corner of Tamsin's bloodied mouth.

Disgusted, Tamsin tried to wriggle free of the North Korean's hold, "What the fuck are you doing you crazy bitch?"

But Yeonmi kissed her again, her tiny pointed tongue worming its way between Tamsin's lips.

With renewed effort, Tamsin managed to wrest a hand free. But Yeonmi simply grabbed it again and banged it firmly down against the floor. Tamsin yelped as pain shot through her wrist.

Yeonmi instantly clamped her lips over Tamsin's open mouth, her tongue probing, exploring and tasting.

She's the fucking enemy, Tamsin's mind screamed. The cold hearted bitch who'd kidnapped her and Leonid's son! But she had to admit that it felt good. As Yeonmi's attentions continued, another facet of her consciousness began to stir. The part that had awoken fully only once before. On Kerrera when she'd been alone with Phoebe at the boatyard.

They were alone now. Her and Yeonmi. In an empty building in an abandoned city. Who would know? They could return to hating one another in the morning. But for now, why not just enjoy whatever base pleasure each other had to offer? Slowly, tentatively, Tamsin allowed her own tongue to reach out and entwine with Yeonmi's.

"Mmm," Yeonmi purred into Tamsin's mouth. She momentarily loosened her grip on Tamsin's arms, allowing her to slide her hands free.

Tempted to squeeze the other woman's throat, Tamsin instead roamed her hands down Yeonmi's flanks to clutch at her hips, "You're still ... a fucking bitch. This ... doesn't change anything."

"Shut up ... and kiss me," Yeonmi whispered.

But with a smooth movement, Tamsin hooked a leg up between Yeonmi's thighs and pushed her over onto her back, pinning her to the floor instead. The North Korean laughed, her mouth and lips smeared with Tamsin's blood, "Ha! So you DO have some skill!"

Tamsin clenched her jaw. She was in no mood for games, "What's this about Yeonmi? Is this another one of your tricks?"

"I want sex," Yeonmi stated without emotion. Held securely in place under Tamsin, she shrugged as best she could, "and as you're the only one here, I want it with you. Oh, and ..."

Tamsin raised an eyebrow, "What?"

Yeonmi indicated with a nod of her head, "You're leaking."

Tamsin glanced down. Both her painfully swollen nipples strained against the soaked fabric of her thermals, "Oh for fuck's sake."

Using Tamsin's distraction, Yeonmi pulled free of the hands holding her down and levered herself up to a sitting position. Without a word, she reached forward and cupped Tamsin's right breast, testing the full weight of it in her hand. She massaged it, feeling the oozing nipple poke her palm, "You want this. Don't you?"

Tamsin was mortified by her own body's betrayal. Embarrassed. But at the same time so very deliciously turned on. Before she could change her mind, she lifted her thermal top off over her head, exposing her breasts - full, with nipples just begging to be sucked.

Yeonmi took hold of Tamsin's naked breast again for a moment, studying it. Then abruptly took the whole nipple into her mouth and sucked, moving her tongue over the puckered skin.

"Fuck," Tamsin moaned. In response Yeonmi delivered a stinging slap to Tamsin's thigh. Perhaps to remind her they were still mortal enemies.