The Black Ribbon

She wasn't sure why it surprised her to find that Selka was soaking wet. The taste of the woman was slightly salty, and deep. Katerina sucked gently on the outer lips as her tongue continued to move; back and forth, up and down in steady motions. She saw Selka's fingers appear once more, rubbing over the top of her labia as Katerina continued to flick her tongue inside of the woman. Each thrust from the man behind her pushed her face against the other woman, and she used the motion. Matching the movement of her tongue to the thrusts, she licked madly. Obviously Selka was as aroused as Katerina was, because the orgasm came almost immediately. Katerina felt the woman's long legs grow tight, her hips rising slightly so that her mouth was pressed firmly against them. Selka's fingers moved in fast, steady motions just above Katerina's nose.

"Oh fuck, Silky--" the man's voice was a throaty growl from behind her, "That's fucking--" his deep voice became a groan as he came.

Katerina felt the man's penis jerk upward inside of her; once hard, and then in descending shudders as he came. His hands dug into her hips, and Katerina moaned between Selka's legs as she felt the man slowly pull himself out of her. She did not stop the movement of her tongue. If anything, she became more frantic. She gripped the ground with the tips of her fingers, under the woman's body--she was so... Selka's body tightened, until the muscles in her legs and stomach felt like they were made of stone. She gasped involuntarily, a sharp inhale from between her parted lips. It was little more than that. All of the tension left her body, and she stretched her legs around the sides of Katerina's body, heels pressed against her hips.

"Fuck--" Selka's voice was close to a sigh.

With a single smooth motion she pulled herself away from Katerina and stood. She stepped into the legs of her overalls, bringing them up around her body and tying them once more at the waist. All of this in the space of ten seconds. Katerina lay on the ground, staring up at the other woman with disbelieving eyes; it was unbelievable, how quickly she went from complete relaxation back to her cool, untouched demeanor. For all the woman's face showed, nothing at all out of the ordinary had just happened.

Suddenly, all that Katerina could feel was the desire to see the woman's face at the moment that she came--to see that indifferent face open with pleasure. No, not open--broken. She wanted to see Selka break, the way that she had broken; she wanted to see the woman writhing with pleasure. She wanted to be the one to do it. She could do it, she knew; another minute...

And then, all of a sudden, she realized that she had.

"Get her untied, boys," the woman's voice still spoke with the tone of command, but it was her usual voice once more. She knelt in the grass beside Katerina, stroking a finger through the woman's blonde hair, almost tenderly.

"You," the woman's voice was as close to laughter as Katerina had ever heard it, "were absolutely amazing."

Katerina felt the ropes loosen around her body as one of the men worked them with his fingers. She stretched her arms against the grass, and then pressed her face into the crook of her elbow. She felt Selka draw close to her, her fingers still stroking gently against the side side of her head, around the curve of her ear. She was crying, she realized suddenly--not out of sadness, or happiness, but simply as a release of pressure from inside of her body. A man's hands were holding, then. A strangers' hands, but comforting nonetheless, holding her as she wept. She felt herself picked up and cradled in a pair of strong arms, all the while Selka's hand kept touching her hair and face. Katerina felt her trembling slow, and finally stop. Her tears no longer fell, and she felt the back of Selka's finger as the woman wiped them away. She was speaking; low and soothing.

An hour later, four figures were seated around a crackling fire. Flames leaped into the dark night air, filling the clearing with the smell of woodsmoke. The logs cracked quietly. The figures were sprawled in white wicker chairs. The quiet between them was comfortable. Two of the chairs, occupied by the women, had been drawn close to one another so that the wooden armrests touched. Katerina once more wore her clothes, and Selka sat beside her with a blanket draped between both of their shoulders. Iver raised a bottle of beer, drinking deeply. There was a wooden ice-box, a few feet away from the fire, which contained more bottles.

Selka stared into the fire, lifting her own bottle unconsciously and taking a sip. Katerina studied the woman's face, in the firelight. The orange glow did nothing to soften the features of it; the beautiful, almost antique lines. What it did do was reflect in the woman's pale eyes, making them look passionate and alive.

"Did you guys really..." Katerina directed her voice to the group, "...with Lily?"

Around the fire, the two men both looked confused. Selka laughed; a tight, genuine kind of laughter that made her face look young.

"God no," Selka took another sip from her beer. Her eyes touched Katerina's face, "Would it bother you, if we had?"

"No," she shook her head, feeling her hair moving against the blanket. She meant the word, but still Selka continued to stare at her. Across the fire, Marin let out a low sigh and settled back into his armchair.

"Why would it have bothered you?" Selka asked quietly.

Katerina sat quietly for a moment, looking into the other woman's eyes. Then, instead of answering, she lifted herself up and turned so that her face was between Selka's and the fire. She had just enough time to see a flicker of surprise in the blue eyes, and then their lips touched. It was not the same as the kiss before had been--it was slow, and meaningful. Katerina felt the blanket fall away from her shoulders as she raised her hands, catching Selka's face just below either side of her chin. She felt the woman's body tense slightly, and then relax as the kiss went on.

Katerina moved her lips away for just a moment, and then touched them back down in a light, brief gesture. She did the same thing to the corner of the woman's mouth, and then her cheek, and then just in front of her ear. She leaned sideways slightly to press her lips to the skin of her neck, nudging the lobe of the woman's ear aside with her nose as she drew her mouth up.

She could feel Selka's breathing go slightly unsteady, the woman's hands working to get out from beneath the blanket. Katerina caught one of the woman's wrists, through the blanket, with her hand. She breathed against her ear, light and hot. Then in a voice that was nearly inaudible, but she knew the other woman could hear clearly, she whispered two words.

"My turn."

The Black Ribbon ---- THE END.