MARIEL

7~ Kiss ~

It was a small teardrop that trickled over her face and awoke her. Esther lay on her side, facing the window that overlooked the sparkling lights of the city. It was still dark outside and, as Esther gazed out of the window, she saw white puffs of clouds contrasting against the dark sky. The window was open a little, allowing the sheer voile curtains to flutter gently in the cool breeze. Engines rumbled in the distance. A dog barked. A distant siren sounded and, most noticeably, Esther heard the soft breathing of the woman beside her.

'Honey,' Mary Caravan had said. 'Gabe is gone. He's gone. You haven't even cried yet. Esther, please, just talk to us.'

Her body felt cold, almost immobile. Her mind felt numb. Her surroundings, the environment, everything looked grey. Colorless. Most times she'd been able to find color...even after Hawk had been struck, after Todd had been admitted to the hospital. When Mariel had died, she'd felt like this, but Gabe and Fr. Jerome had helped her through it... the color had begun to return very slowly.

Until Mariel returned.

Esther shuddered and closed her eyes again. She felt the woman behind her stir a little, and Esther realized that Tira had barely moved. Her breathing was very quiet. During several points in the night, she wondered if the woman was even alive. Very strictly, Tira had kept to her side of the bed.

Numbly, Esther shifted slightly onto her back. She turned her head towards the sleeping officer beside her, silently watching Tira's back, gazing at the golden waves of hair that fell around her pillow and back. Watching her, she suddenly felt as though she could almost understand this woman's ability to dismiss any emotion, any feeling of pain. Right now, nothing hurt. She was only aware of facts. The fact that it was a little cold in the room. The fact that she was in another person's bed. The fact that she'd ended it with Mariel Nadier. The fact that her best friend, Gabriel Donovan, was dead.

Not even one thought of alcohol.

Esther experienced only one small sensation... a soft pull in her heart and stomach as she stared at the outline of Tira Arcelin's body. The sheets contoured and accentuated her body, gently outlined the sensuous curve of her hip. The bottom of the black tank-top had risen a little, exposing the soft skin of her lower back. The sheets fell just under the waistband of Tira's black, bikini-style panties, covering the rest of her body.

How could a woman be so gorgeous and so alone? So kind, yet so heartless?

Slowly, Esther's hand moved before she could understand why. As she shakily inched her hand towards Tira's body, heat tingled through her fingertips. It was the second hint of sensation in her body, a taste of healing, like the feeling of blood returning to harshly chilled fingers in the winter.

Lightly, Esther brushed her fingers against the side of Tira's exposed neck.

Violently, Tira Arcelin's body came alive. Aggressively, the woman flipped and straddled Esther, enclosing her fingers around Esther's bare throat. Hissing, Tira squeezed harshly and raised the other hand in preparation to strike. Her long, wavy hair fell over one shoulder, tickling Esther's face... shielding her on one side, like a golden curtain of waves.

Startled, Esther's heart rate peaked. With wide eyes, she stared upwards, unable to breathe as the beautiful woman hovered over her, their faces fairly close. More sensations began to warm Esther's body as Tira's legs pinned her to the bed. The position accentuated Tira's cleavage and highlighted the taut, flexed muscles of her arms, abdomen, and hips. Slowly, the blood began to tingle Esther Caravan's nerves again, rushing into her lower stomach, pulsing into her core where Tira's groin pressed into her.