Part 3

When Devan walked into the room disheveled, sweating, and obviously in an agitated — but not frightened — state, Lauren immediately asked, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Devan replied with a wide smile. "Nothing at all."

Lauren's eyebrows arched and her brow furrowed, but at almost that exact moment, she stiffened and cocked her ear as though hearing a voice. Quickly standing up and snatching up a robe, she said, "Stay here. Don't leave the room. Trust me."

Confusion obvious in her features, Devan responded, "I trust you. I won't leave."

Lauren hurried from the room, and Devan flew into a near panic. She had heard worry in the older woman's voice, and that feeling now assaulted her as well. After a little consideration, she decided to brush out her hair in an attempt to create a distraction to calm her nerves somewhat.

The door opened again after only a couple of minutes, and the smile on Lauren's brought Devan a great sense of relief. "What happened?"

"The thief in the city struck again, and this time he was discovered. A guardsman also saw the thief's face as he took a wound. He recognized the man as a strange hermit who skulked about the outskirts of town. I do believe our time of restriction should be over."

"Finally," Devan remarked with relief.

Lauren walked over to her dresser and pulled out a small bell. She struck it with an attached clapper, but the item made no sound. Devan could feel magic filling the room, however.

Putting down the bell and then placing her hands on her hips, Lauren said, "Now that nobody can hear us, I would like to know what you know about this."

"What I know about it?"

Lauren glanced down at the hem of Devan's robe. "Grass stains and red clay. Don't worry, I'm not going to say anything, and I don't think you're involved — except by accident."

Sensing that Lauren was telling the truth, Devan answered with the same. "Aristel and I came across him accidentally. He took a shot at us, and we fought back. I used a healing stone on the guard before I came back here."

Holding up her hand in front of her, Lauren said, "Wait." She then pointed at Devan and continued, "You and Aristel?"

"It's a long story, but I knew he was up to something. I followed him when he snuck out, and we just happened to be together when the thief fired a dark fireball at us."

"So, what was he up to?"

Knowing that if she revealed what she knew that she'd lose her leverage over Aristel, Devan replied, "I'd rather not say."

Her brow furrowing, Lauren said, "I doubt you're defending him, so I'll wager that you discovered he's dallying with the Master's daughter."

Devan's mouth dropped open with that revelation. "You know?"

Lauren nodded and chuckled. "So does the Master. None of us thought he would be so foolish as to sneak out while we were under restriction, however. His two friends have been bedding two of the Master's servants as well."

When Devan sighed and wilted, thinking she'd lost her hold over Aristel, Lauren was quick to add, "Aristel doesn't know any of that, however. I think I understand the reason for your smile now. I imagine you caught him in the act?" Though she didn't say it, she assumed that if Devan had actually observed Aristel coupling that she'd seen the women engaging each other as well, because that was also well known amongst the staff.

The hints of a smile decorated Devan's face again when she realized that her hold on Aristel remained strong. This also reminded her of what she'd seen, and caused her cheeks to warm as she remembered the way her body had reacted to it. Her panties were sticky against her skin even now.

"I think you've found the way to keep Aristel from attempting to torment you. If you manage to curtail his influence, I should imagine that many will not have the courage to do so. You should change your robe and get in the bath. It wouldn't do for anyone else to discover you were outside despite the restrictions."

Devan nodded in agreement with the logic, and did exactly that. Though Lauren didn't look her way in any obvious manner as she undressed and settled into the bath, Devan couldn't help but feel that the older woman was watching her. She also noticed that she felt far less self-conscious of that scrutiny now.

Lauren removed her hastily donned robe, and Devan unconsciously drank in the sight of the older woman's body, so well displayed in the short, transparent garment beneath. After witnessing the three women with Aristel engaging each other, Devan felt an almost unsettling level of curiosity assaulting her. Those thoughts were accentuated when Lauren asked, "How did you find out what Aristel was doing, by the way? I should imagine the animal control spell had something to do with it."

"That's how I confirmed he was sneaking out. The thief's ear and clairvoyance spells are how I actually found out what he was doing."

"Oh?" Lauren said with a sultry, crooked smile. "I imagine you saw a little more than you bargained for, didn't you?"

"I was surprised," Devan answered.

"I'm sure you were. Considering your conservative upbringing, the thought of women touching each other must have been a bit of a shock."

Devan asked, "Did it shock you?"

Lauren shook her head and said, "The first time — yes. That was long ago, however."

"It doesn't bother you now?" Devan asked as she concentrated on quickly finishing her bath.

Lauren chuckled and answered, "No, not at all. The two women were very good friends of mine, and I came to realize it was just an extension of their friendship. I was able to talk to them about it that same day. I can still hear Anna telling me that another woman knows things about you that no man could ever imagine. She knows what gives her pleasure, and she knows exactly how to do the same for another woman."

Devan could hear something far more than simple reminiscence in Lauren's voice as the woman spoke. The tone of her voice told a story full of emotion, rather than of thought. The way Lauren was laying on the bed suddenly merged with an image from earlier in the evening in Devan's mind. Her temporary roommate lounged in almost the exact same position as one of the two women who had shared the bed with Aristel and his lover. Between the sound of Lauren's voice and the memory of what she'd seen, Devan suddenly became very aware of the brunette's body, barely hidden beneath her nightgown.

"Am I making you uncomfortable?" Lauren asked when she noticed a distant look in Devan's eyes.

Devan shook her head in the negative and stood up from the bath, reaching for a towel at the same time. No matter how much she wanted to deny it, she was looking at Lauren and feeling attraction — sexual attraction. Even though she tried to attribute the arousal to her victory over Aristel, knowing that she would be free to return to town soon, and any number of other excuses, each one rang false in her mind.

She continued to struggle with the new and almost frightening feeling as she toweled dry, peeking over to see the hints of worry in Lauren's features. Once dry, she realized that she hadn't brought any clothing to the tub to change into. Walking back toward the bed where her clothing was, she saw Lauren's eyes fall on her for just a second, the bright blue orbs full of undeniable longing.

Even though she'd done her best to steer Devan toward the subject, Lauren decided in the moment that she averted her eyes from the redhead's body that she couldn't pursue that course any longer. The potential consequences of a rejection, considering her position as an instructor, were simply too great to ignore. She knew that this was the moment to choose whether to reveal her feelings or not, and erred on the side of prudence.

Feeling ridiculously like a girl engaging in her first experience with a man, Devan's pride asserted itself to overshadow her uneasiness. Though she didn't understand what she was feeling, she hated the thought of surrendering control to anyone. At the moment, Lauren was in control of the situation, if Devan's guess was correct. "Are you attracted to me that way?" Even with the rush of determination flooding through her, the words still surprised Devan.

The sudden change in Devan's demeanor, coupled with the redhead standing nude just out of reach startled Lauren. As the words registered in her mind, Lauren realized there was nothing of accusation in Devan's tone, and a distinct note of curiosity. "Yes."

A rush of warmth and wetness between Devan's legs greeted that answer, even as she felt a slight tinge of shame and aversion. Those flashes of emotion once again fueled Devan, causing her to push the weak feelings away. Sitting down on the bed, she asked, "Is that why you wanted me to stay with you?"

Lauren surrendered, knowing that there was no way to turn back time now. In truth, she felt a sense of relief. "Yes, I wanted you here so I could see if you might feel as I do." Her desire surging within her, Lauren sat up and looked deep into Devan's eyes. "I ache for you. I have since the moment I first saw you."

The passion and need in Lauren's voice caused Devan to gasp. She stared into Lauren's eyes, fighting away the impulse to bolt, angered by the weakness in her. The battle proved easy, as her passions were steadily rising.

Lauren almost tentatively reached out to touch Devan's cheek. When the redhead didn't flinch, but instead drew in a deep breath, Lauren stroked Devan's cheek and drew her fingertips across the younger woman's lips. Devan's lips parted slightly, and Lauren let out a sigh as she felt the touch of wetness against her fingers.

Lauren's touch was like an electric pulse through Devan's body. Her already hot desire flared to a bonfire of need. As Lauren's fingers continued their journey down the line of Devan's neck, Devan reached out to do the same. Lauren let out a shuddering sigh and trembled.

Her fingers now tracing Devan's shoulders, Lauren sat up and leaned forward. She kept her eyes locked with Devan's until the moment their lips met. She felt resistance at first, and nearly pulled away, but then felt the redhead's lips soften and part. Her need overcoming anything else, Lauren let her tongue snake out to caress Devan's lips as they kissed.

Devan had never experienced a kiss so soft or so intimate in her life. Even the softest kiss she'd ever shared with a man had the heat of barely restrained hunger behind it. Lauren's kiss seemed to seek only the closeness the intimate contact brought, and Devan responded in kind. Their tongues slipped over each other in a sensual dance until Lauren pulled away with a soft moan.

Lauren edged closer to the redhead on the bed, sliding her right hand up Devan's neck to entwine in her red locks. Her next kiss held more passion, and she pulled Devan against her, as they once again tasted each other's lips. Their breasts pushed against each other as Lauren slid her hand down Devan's side to knead he redhead's firm buttocks.

When they broke from the kiss, Lauren ran her fingertip over Devan's nipple, once again feeling the redhead stiffen for just a second before relaxing again. Inflamed with desire, Lauren leaned down and suckled the stiff bud between her lips a moment later. Devan didn't flinch this time, but instead arched her back and gasped. As with the kiss, the touch of Lauren's lips on her nipple was gentle, intimate, and arousing beyond anything Devan had ever experienced before.

Devan stared down at the brunette suckling her breast, and stroked her fingers over the woman's back. As Lauren released her nipple with a final kiss and moved to its twin, Devan bunched up the older woman's nightgown to run her fingers over the bare skin beneath.

Even as she continued to suck and tease Devan's nipple, Lauren leaned forward, edging the redhead down toward the bed. Devan pulled her legs up from the floor onto the mattress, following Lauren's lead until prone on the bed with the brunette leaning over her.

Lauren released Devan's nipple with a high-pitched gasp and placed several feather-light kisses all over the firm globes of the redhead's breasts. Her next kiss was on Devan's tummy, with the one following just a little lower. She pulled her nightgown upward as she kissed, shrugging it away as soon as possible. She could feel Devan's breaths coming quicker by the moment beneath her lips as she kissed downward, lingering for a time at the redhead's naval to tease it with her tongue.

Devan sucked in short, deep breaths as she watched Lauren edge ever closer to her tingling sex. The scene so closely resembled the dream she'd had of this very thing that Devan found it almost surreal. When the brunette placed a kiss at the apex of the crease of her thigh, Devan instinctively parted her legs, allowing the other woman to place a second kiss lower. With every touch, Devan found it more difficult to understand what had made her feel uneasy. She realized that somewhere deep within her, she'd always found other women attractive. It was only her upbringing that had caused her to reject those feelings. She wasn't rejecting them any longer, and allowed her excitement to swell without restraint.

A long, slow sigh bathed Devan in Lauren's warm breath as the brunette drank in the scent of the redhead's arousal. Moving across Devan's body, she took a deep breath, filling her lungs with the intoxicating scent before kissing the crease on the opposite side. Devan's legs opened even wider, parting her nether lips slightly to release more of her musky perfume into the air.

Lauren rose back up over Devan's sex after a pair of kisses, letting out a sigh before looking up into the redhead's eyes to sultrily say, "So beautiful." She then sucked her fingers between her lips, smiling all the while, and brought the moist tips down to Devan's folds.

A rolling wave of bliss rippled through Devan's body and she groaned as Lauren's fingers ran over her nether lips. Her hips rocked up from the bed of their own volition, seeking more than the teasing touch.

Lauren tingled from head to toe as she caressed Devan's folds, finally feeling the satiny smoothness she'd dreamed of for so long. Her eyes still locked with the redhead's, she asked, "Does that feel good?"

"Mmm, yes."

Turning her hand over, Lauren let two fingers slip between Devan's folds into the wet heat beyond. Devan took a deep, sharp breath as Lauren wriggled her fingers, coating them in fragrant wetness. The brunette then brought her fingers to her lips again, moaning deep in her throat as she tasted Devan's nectar.

Lauren traced the lines of Devan's now widely parted legs as she moved between them, her fingers sliding from thighs to knees. She licked her lips and sultrily smiled, a smile that grew even wider when Devan purred in response.

Now intensely aroused, Devan gasped out, "Lick me," eager to see if reality would match her dream. As Lauren lowered her head, Devan gasped out, "Yes," the ache in her sex growing immediately stronger. With the first touch of the brunette's tongue, Devan's back arched and she grasped her breasts with a yelp.

Even the first faint taste of Devan's juices caused Lauren's head to swim. The taste was everything she'd dreamed of and more. The texture of the redhead's folds beneath her tongue nearly caused her to lose control — to push between them for the treat she knew waited within. She maintained control, looking up into Devan's eyes again when the tip of her tongue reached the redhead's hood, just stimulating the swollen bud beneath.

Though Devan could see the hunger in Lauren's eyes, there was nothing of it in her touch. Lauren's tongue danced in a darting caress, touching every inch of curl-adorned skin. Devan's hips wiggled and bucked from the sensations, her body begging for more even as she reveled in the feeling, so different from a man between her legs.

Lauren could at last resist no longer, and pushed her tongue deep into Devan's canal. She lapped upward, pooling the redhead's milky juices on her tongue, savoring the bittersweet flavor. When her tongue slipped free again, she suckled Devan's labia, wiggling her head back and forth, as she used her lips to massage the satiny folds. Her fingers traced the creases between the redhead's sex and her long, beautiful legs.