5 comments/ 9746 views/ 9 favorites Lamb and Wolf Ch. 01 By: Manzi There were two constants in Mary's life: the three cars perpetually parked in line underneath her living room window, and the blank window into a blanker apartment across from her building. The cars had always been parked there and the apartment had always been uninhabited, ever since she moved in three years prior. Mary took some sort of comfort in the fact that in her unchanging lifestyle and routine, some things decided to stay the same, like a good friend moving at her pace. While her neighborhood wasn't the most fascinating part of town, life went on as usual. People moved in and out, cars came and went, but not her cars, and not that apartment. In the mornings Mary filled the silence with the morning news as she brushed her teeth, glued to her window. She hoped to see a family of four take the SUV, a married couple purr away in the sedan and maybe some bachelor pull off in the run-down Chevy. None of her fictional characters approached the car, nobody did. And the white apartment still stood empty. Her alarm screeched into her ear, 10:45. Mary tapped the pause on her phone, not as satisfying as bringing her hand down on the battered piece of plastic by the bedside table, but convenient as she sped up time by strolling through her apartment to dry her body after her shower. Work was best in the summers, she'd be on her knees, fingers deep in rich soil or curled around the rubber handles of a hedge trimmer. Landscaping paid well, but she had to provide the tools and the clothes. The smaller tools she could keep in the multitude of pockets of the work pants, heavy as anything and baggy. Mary leapt across the bare linoleum floor and into the sofa, rigidly stretching her legs and wriggling herself into her pants and a white tank top; any other garb in late July made her delirious with frustration at the heat. Ignoring breakfast as she did on days like those, she stepped into her boots, brown like earth to match her pants, and took the weight of her iron toolbox in her fingers, weighing her left side down. Down the steps of her building and down the sidewalk. The soles in her boots knocked on the pavement and a sense of empowerment entered Mary as her whole body absorbed the impact. She drove the heels into it and liked to imagine herself a soldier, or an officer, as long as they wore boots that made her feel invincible. Mary's car, an old pickup, was parked as close to the front of the sedan as possible without looking intentional. One day, Mary thought bemused, the bastard that owned it would try to pull out from between her truck and the Chevrolet: and she would have just enough time to spread a pearl of toothpaste on her brush, pad her wet feet over to the window, catch the first rays from the east bless the narrow street separating her building from the next and get a good look at just who owned that car. The suspension on her truck whined as she hopped inside and put the toolbox on the passenger seat. Mary slammed the door shut, once more to hear the sound, then drove towards the suburbs. With full knowledge of the importance of a healthy start to the day, Mary had ignored breakfast. Her schedule was packed with names of clients, some rich, some not, with gardens large and small calling on her to do the planting, the cutting and the trimming. Today said Josie, a regular with a lot of garden on her hands. Mary liked to call her a snowbunny, a woman blonde and bright, almost bleached white if she would stay out more in the sun. Mary, on the other hand, was tan and her brown hair she had in a short ponytail, the end of it bristling. She enjoyed that contrast, and Ms. Snowbunny was currently her favorite client. It first started when she had spotted her from the kitchen window, catching glances as Mary had her gloved hands around the handles of a motorized hedge trimmer that shook her entire body. With Josie staring, Mary became aware that her then loose top showed the results of those vibrations more than it should have, and so began her relationship with her most beloved client. Mary would challenge herself to invent new ways to earn her stares. The week after, she had cut the bottom of her top, and when she reached up to clip a branch, Josie's eyes fell on her midriff. She felt her attentions acutely, like a real touch, electric and tangible as it thrummed on her stomach. Josie had become an enthralling bonus, the gilded edge to a job she loved. Working with heavy tools, cutting and trimming and feeling the smell of the grass waft up from under her feet were her favorite parts of the summer. The sun caressed her skin, and a light breeze cooled the film of sweat on her back as she worked with her excess energy, and Josie's stares pushed her. As she stopped at the last traffic light before the gated community, Mary leaned back in the rugged seat and imagined herself, fanning her dripping chest and tugging the stained tank top to peel off her skin. Josie had watched and perhaps not noticed Mary looking back, so she tactfully bent over, letting the very edge of her nipple expose. Mary didn't see her after that until she knocked on the sliding doors, and she came out flushed and red, handing her twice as much as she charged. She pulled up in front of the house, as pristine and white as the rest of her. Mary knew she was married, a guy named Tom that she had only seen once during a weekend, strangely no kids. She went over the steps in her head: skip breakfast, ask for something to eat, get invited, work magic. Simple enough. She had taken the most daring step since she started working for Josie; no bra. Mary caught a glimpse of her, as quickly gone as soon as it had appeared in a window at the front of her house. Over the course of her teasing it had stopped being a game and had turned into something deeper, she wanted Josie. The thought of entering her home, her white, spotless, perfect home with her muddy self and taking her on the kitchen floor, in the shower or just about anywhere made her heart race; the challenges and the teasing all the more intense and poignantly absorbing. The realization imbued her with a longing she thought uncharacteristic, wanting only one person and not so much as let her eyes wander with Josie embedded in her mind. Josie met her, as usual, in the back. She stood and shone on her patio, hair dressed and white blouse unbuttoned at the top. Mary sat down her toolbox, making sure to bend, then shook her hand, their fingers lingering sweetly at the tips. "Josie," Mary gave a smirk, trying to will her thought into her, "I didn't think I'd be back so soon." "I have a barbecue coming up, so naturally I need you to—" She paused. Her garden looked immaculate as it was. The grass was cut as level as Mary could get it, and the nutrients had made it glossy and vibrant, and the hedges had been trimmed so many times they might as well have stopped growing completely. "—you have to cut something out of that bush there. I need a conversation piece to shut up Jenny and her feng shui bullshit." She muttered and scratched her thumb, already stripped of skin and red. "Cool down, I'll get it done." She said simply, putting her hand to Josie's shoulder and making her bounce. "Great." She said and went inside, keeping the glass door open. Mary thought she seemed irritated somehow. Someone had gotten under her skin and she didn't care for putting up the shy housewife persona anymore. She went over to the shed where she stored some of the bigger tools; no use ferrying them back and forth when she might as well keep them there. Mary hadn't even started the motor before Josie came back out with a pitcher of water, setting it down on the glass table then seating herself next to it with a paperback in hand; pretending to read it, and badly. "This is the first time I've seen you sitting outside." Mary yelled over the motor. Josie yelled back, "I need the sun." But Mary felt that familiar tingle creep up her spine still; she was being watched more intently than ever, and looking back she saw shameless glances take stabs at her from behind. Mary's toying had escalated into competition, one she would win. With an air of deliberate innocence, she moved to the side of the bush and shaved chunks of green from its top, stretching her arms and making sure Josie got her full profile, everything from the gentle swell of her hips in her work pants to her breasts and her nipples that strained through the fabric. She wished she could've seen herself, but seeing Josie was good enough. Mary caught her watching, as she had done many times to play with her, but Josie had steeled herself and focused on the established contact, almost scowling as she kept draping one leg over the other, never quite satisfied with how her thighs rubbed together. Mary felt a twitch of excitement, her snowbunny either on the offensive or close to buckling under the months of deliberate flashes of skin and curves she could no longer play off as accidents. Everything in her body, from the heat and cold flowing together through her veins and the pulsing between her legs told her to act; send one invitation that Josie would either swallow whole as the wolf she seemed, or fly back inside to the safety of her den. She took the trimmer in one hand and looked up to the sky, clear and blue with the sweetness of summer, and pulled her top away from her chest. She did this whenever she wanted Josie's full attention, but without a bra her snowbunny would get a full view of the moisture percolating on her skin, gathering and trickling down, following the curve of her breasts. She pouted her lips and sighed, mixing imbuing just the right amount of voice in her siren song. Mary knew full and well the reaction she would give Josie; after long stares at her own feminine profile in the bathroom mirror, and Mary had her ways of turning, swaying, beckoning until Josie began to approach from the corner of her eye. She let her tongue peek out as the ecstatic rush made her read spin. Mary wanted to drive her crazy, to see just how much she could unveil of her. Then she saw, Josie had a scowl, dark and determined. She grabbed Mary by the wrist and yanked her as she stormed into the kitchen with her, slamming the sliding door behind them. She pushed Mary against the wall, out of sight. "I bet you think I'm some sweet little housewife, bored and horny and just waiting for the sexy gardener to pluck her." She hissed, close enough to feel her breath lave over her exposed neck. Mary grinned wickedly from ear to ear, and snaked her body against Josie. "What ever do you mean, Josie?" The game itself had her on the brink, licking her lips with fire swelling in her eyes. While the idea of showing Josie the ropes and breaking her out of her suburban shell was enticing, trying to keep up with the fierce animal that held her in place could not compare. Her pulse rang in her ears, and a rush of wetness threatened to burst. "Shut up." She kissed Mary and wedged her thigh between her legs. She returned the crash of their lips, but was dominated into submission each time, pushed back again and nearly suffocated between her snow-wolf and the walls of her den. Josie was skilled. Skilled and incredibly strong, Mary fell into her world, indulged in it and continued her feebly fighting against it. It felt better that way. "See what you've made me do?" They came up for air, panting like mad, lips close enough to get sucked back in. "All part of my master plan." Josie jerked her leg upward, and Mary drew a sharp breath. "Ahh—are you sure you're a housewife?" "I only wear the skin of one." She captured Mary's lower lip with her teeth and snarled, then kissed her, feeding off her kill. "And what if I were to peel it back?" Mary wriggled a hand free and caught Josie's hair, fighting back with feverish kisses of her own. "What would I find?" "God, you have no idea what you're doing to me." "So tell me." She was addicted to challenging her, their banter drumming her up to a point-of-no-return she passed in one short moment. "I'll show you." Josie needed Mary's lips again, go deeper into her mouth and come apart at her very foundation. Mary knew, she felt the same. "I'll show you just how crazy you make me." "Mmm—you sure talk a lot." "Shut up. My house, my rules. You are mine." Josie's house passed by in a drunken blur as they bumped into walls and furniture on their way to their bedroom, entangled in each other and tugging at their clothes between impatient kissing. Mary fell into their king size and Josie was on top of her immediately, bringing their lips together like she had waited for her moment for months; planning, dreaming and cultivating that passion. Mary was helpless, her top had been torn off and she gasped when teeth landed on her breasts. Then they were at her neck, and Mary responded with moans and promises, craning her neck and bringing her head back into a small hill of pillows. Her lips went lower again, and the fire whipping up her body into a sweat chased after, leaving her writhing and hands looking to touch Josie but only finding her hair, dressed and silken as it sifted through her fingers. Mary felt a yank, and her pants and boots were off. Her boots. She was no longer invincible, and her panties were off with as little notice. Josie sat between her legs, keeping them spread and her wetness exposed and throbbing hard for her attentions. Opening her eyes, she saw how Josie had hidden a waist bunched with lean muscles underneath loose blouses, and wonderful, cream-colored breasts that were only for her husband to see. Her hips were lifted off the bed and Josie brought Mary's dewy lips to her mouth, breathing hotly and reveling in swollen flesh. Mary paid with a rattling groan thick with pleasure as her tongue took took like a red hot poker to her nerves. Mary came in waves that struck all the air from the lungs and shook her lower body with irresistible tremors. Her body wasn't hers anymore, Josie had taken possession of it, marking each crevice and delicate hollow with ecstasy she breathed into Mary. In that pleasure, Mary felt a trembling urgency, a starvation, and moved to pounce Josie, aiming to take her by surprise and turn the play around. But she was caught, kissed roughly then tossed back and straddled. "Believe me, one day you and I are gonna take a whole day playing." She tossed her skirt and panties to her side, and she was dripping between her dark folds as she positioned herself above Mary. "I'm about to explode and I want you right now, my way. And don't you dare stop or you might drown. Deep breath now." Her thighs closed the trap and she brought down her lips, slick and quivering to Mary's mouth. It was fast and beyond divine, her scent heady and stunning as she sucked in the last of her alloted air. Her tongue came from her mouth, lazy as Josie ground at her, rolling her hips and keeping eye contact despite them seeming glazed over; closing at every moan and sudden movement of her walls. She lurched forward and gripped the headboard, shaking the bed as she came apart to shudders and twitches as Mary's tongue prodded for more. "Oh Mary, I adore you and your wonderful mouth." She panted and raised her hips slightly, bringing away a line of wetness like a dew-soaked spider's line between her folds and Mary's tongue. Josie laid down next to her and cradled her hand between Mary's legs, sliding between her wetness with excruciating slow pressure, caressing circles around it. "What is it that you want?" A taut sign of pleasure crossed her lips, turning to a bite of her lip as Mary mirrored her hand, exposing her heat again. "I already have just what I want, the question is what to do with it." Finally Mary was free, and she could attack. Josie all but cried and convulsed as Mary's fingers penetrated, pressing her palm down as hard as she dared; and Mary's fingers went to the last knuckle as she felt herself envelop and spin around Josie's intrusion, her twisting, moving fingers. "God, that mouth of yours is good even when it's not between my legs." She gasped, mussing up her hair as she drew their lips together in hurried desire. "Tell me more." "That's gonna cost you." She murmured, then yelped as pleasure warmed and surged from her core, turning her body to cinders. "Josie—" She drawled, moving her fingers and intoxicating herself on Josie's arching body and strained features, "I'm wet every single time you watch me. You are the single biggest turn-on in my life." She bit on her ear, and Josie bit back. "Mary, Mary..." She was loud, and she seemed to love it by the way her body jumped and shivered. "Kiss me when I cum." "If I don't?" She would. Mary wanted to kiss her even then but the balance of power demanded otherwise. She was dangerously close, and felt Josie rapidly stiffening, turning to organic stone. "I'll keep you here. Oh god, I'll keep you here until you do... Mary—" Mary kissed her, and fell together into an unending spiral, they melted and merged, came apart and unraveled again, emitting rapturous moans torn from their throats. When she came to, her hand was soaked, as was her thighs and the quilt they were laying on. Save from her own heart hammering between her ears, she heard Josie's rasping breath as Mary came to her arms; Mary was quickly warming to her tender side. "You lived up to your hype, Mary." "And you weren't lying when you said you needed this." She kissed Josie, hooked on how her tongue made her float and her mind saturate with only thoughts of her. "Last thing I would lie about, but you're gonna have to get your butt back home now." She sat up, almost reluctantly, her fingers lingering on Mary's hip. "Take your money from my purse in the kitchen on your way out, and leave your tools here as usual." "I see you're not shy of paying for sex." She toyed and slid her fingernails over Josie's forearm. "Shut up. You came here to cut the grass or whatever, then you left. That's all." "And when you lawn gets unruly?" Now she sat up, shuffling into cold wet underwear and trusty workpants. "I'll call you, that's all there is to it. Now move your butt before round three starts and the Hills next door get suspicious of that rusty truck of yours. That hag Lydia got herself a telescope but I doubt she uses it to look at the stars." "Slipping into your housewife skin again?" Mary asked ruefully. "Necessity of life here." She grinned. "Also, shut up." Josie shut the bedroom door behind Mary. Just as she had said, her purse in black skin sat on the kitchen table, slightly askew after she'd bumped into it. She dipped her hand down and found her wallet, spreading it open to find several bills; quite a few hundreds, even. Mary took a 20 for gas, it made her skin crawl and the bill feel like a fistful of bugs. Josie was right about the truck. It ran but the paint was fading and rust was getting a grip near the tires, but it was her first car, bought with her own money and driven almost daily. For its sake Mary had even learned how to fix minor engine problems, but fumbling around under a hood didn't give the same satisfaction as working in nature did. The grease and metal too hard and inorganic, smelling of fumes instead of life and earth. Once on the road she thought about Josie; kissing her, talking dirty like she had always done it, and bucking her hips to meet the ardent lashing of her tongue. Mary pulled into the nearest parking lot, sunk back into her seat and slid a hand beneath the hem of her pants. She burned incredibly, sweating but not from the heat. She bit down and held her voice as she pulsated beyond control around a finger, becoming still, then shuddering her way into languor. For a moment she basked, exhaling the rest of her tension and continued on, and the quality of the homes became less and less, like seeing a steady economic fall. She got to her building, caught in limbo between fancy and destitute, and parked behind the SUV this time; but the didn't have the patience to look through the windows to see if any items were out of place, as was her routine. Mary ran up the steps to her door and slammed it shut behind her. Leaving a pile of clothes on the floor behind her she dove into her bed and reached for the drawer, taking out a thick, white rod with a smooth head connected to it. Her hands trembled as she plugged the cord in and the head of the device began to vibrate with a powerful buzz greater than any battery; it scrambled her brain for minutes each time she used it, and when she touched the head to her outer lips Mary found out just how badly she needed it. Lamb and Wolf Ch. 01 Mary lost track of time with the head pressed firm between petrified legs, imagining fingers, tongues, feet and just about anything; and they were all Josie's. Not until her sheets were bunched on the floor, spotty with dampness, did she turn it off. She would save herself for Josie, Mary decided with surprising austere resolution. No more wand and no more orgasms alone, that's the dedication she would show, only to unleash on her hungry wolf. Mary was a little lamb, fattening up and storing herself away, then tossing herself at her predator, into certain doom and abandon. She imagined their next encounter, maybe in a hotel with a backpack filled with toys or outside, next to a slow brook with reeds at its bank. The throbbing rose once more in defiance, impelling her to wander lower. Okay, just one more and that's it... But Josie would not call her for another week. Lamb and Wolf Ch. 02 Seven days. Seven days had passed since Mary's drive home from Josie's suburban home. She thought about it: one hundred and sixty-eight hours since she had last heard her voice, seen her face, touched her body, or taken in her scent as they kissed. One hundred and sixty-eight hours since her last orgasm. Mary could only wonder what she was doing at that moment, as she laid in her bed at lunchtime, passing the minutes by tossing a pillow at the ceiling or singing softly to herself. Mary smiled at the image vividly in her mind, Josie in a fancy blouse and pencil skirt, tapping down the isles of a grocery store, clean and sparkling the way Mary remembered her, and at lunchtime she probably ate salads with Tom, out of a pristine bowl, slender and manicured fingers gingerly around the stem of her silver fork. The sexual thoughts came alive at night. The need for sleep and the need for relief polarized Mary, fed off the internal conflict, the excitement, the forbidden nature. Mary pulsed around herself, her body probed her mind for weakness, a tender spot that would buckle and give in, leave her thighs damp and trembling. As Mary thought about her nights, images of Josie flooded her days, too powerful to dam. The string that held her together grew taut, lost its tune, and strained under the pressure. The day before Mary had been paid handsomely by an elderly couple unable to care for their garden. She did what she could for the yellowing lawn, and threw in a bed of flowers to distract the eyes. Planting fauna and digging were her favorite jobs, it washed her mind clean and cleansed her thoroughly through the bodily stresses. With the money she bought lingerie, laced and brilliantly white like Josie; the cups of the bra became Josie's adept hands, warm and loving, and the panties were her as well, pressing herself towards Mary's core with silken insistence. She would only wear them once she called, and not a moment before, or she feared they might consume her. Mary rolled to her bedside to wash the clammy sweat off her skin, when her phone vibrated against the wood of the night stand. It jerked her back to life, into action. Picking up the phone, she saw the name that made her gather in her stomach, 'Josie'. Mary had imagined many conversations with her, but as the phone buzzed another reminder, her plans trickled away and dissipated in the nervous heat. She didn't know if she felt excitement or nervousness as she started the call, pressing the phone to her ear, Josie's voice came through, "Mary," she said softly, a delighted tone. "Josie," she responded, "need me to come trim the lawn?" She wasn't sure why, but her teasing, cocky persona emerged whenever she knew Josie was around, tt was coaxed out. There was a quick puff of air on the other line, like a small laugh. "You know damn well my lawn is perfect, and so are the hedges and everything else that's green here." "I know that all too well, but even the lopsided bush I didn't get to finish?" Mary felt the smile spread her lips, it came as naturally as her words. "I told Tom it's art and he bought it, even the dumb housewives I had over thought it was 'refreshing'." "Give me their numbers; I'll put on a blindfold and give them some avant garde landscaping." The two women shared a laugh over the phone. Josie's bright, restrained laugh strummed in Mary's ears, she wanted to hear and see her laugh, in person. "I'd kill to see that, but no. I don't want them anywhere near you, you're too good for them." "I'll be happy to prevent a murder." They laughed again, and Mary got out of bed and started doing what she always did during a phone call, she paced around her apartment, through the kitchen, past the bathroom, through the living room and back into the kitchen. "You didn't call to give me work, so I'm lost." "I'll tell you the reason I called, but it can wait, if you have the time? You're not busy, are you?" Her voice stood out, it wasn't coy like what she had heard previously. "No—no of course not. What's up?" "I want to make some things clear with you. Last week was strange, and that wasn't really me. I wasn't lying about anything I said, but I acted like an idiot." Mary felt her heart drop with trepidation over the meaning behind her words. She sounded sincere. "So, what does that mean?" "It means I'm sorry, I want to apologize for basically dragging you into my home and screwing you like some dog in heat. Even if I barely know you I know you deserve better." "Josie..." Mary said with a low voice, nonplussed. She stopped walking by the hallway and picked at a pebble she'd dragged inside under her boots, "I don't know what to say, this is like the last thing I expected to hear from you." "Just goes to show the impression I had on you, but I promise you I'm not like that. I've felt like crap about it all week. And I saw you barely took any money at all and that tells me more than enough, Mary." "It felt wrong to take even the 20, I wish I hadn't." Mary had the bill in her wallet, untouched as something held her back from using it. "I'm sorry." Josie's voice was tense. Neither was sure what to say, there was a lull in their conversation but Mary heard her shallow breath in her ear. "I'd like to talk to you, maybe get to know you." She was tentative as if expecting the call to end; Mary resumed her walk. "I'd like that." Mary talked to Josie about her week and her clients: the old couples that would rather hire someone to do their job, the new homeowners that wanted consultation on their back yards, the lawn problems, the gardens, ponds and patios and as she talked she realized she enjoyed it, talking about her job and explaining why it drew her in; it reaffirmed her love of the profession to herself and Josie sounded as invested. "I never knew you did so much. I also realize I underestimated you." They shared a laugh that came freely, like old friends talking. Mary shared a story of a yellow lawn and an ant colony, and the client's refusal to hire anybody else. Mary heard Josie gasp, then laugh herself into a fit as the story progressed, ending with Mary not getting paid at all. As they were relaxing and the topics shifted, she noticed how different their conversation had become, they played coy games and teased in small portions, instead of hiding behind it as Mary came to realize they had been doing all along. She liked talking to Josie, everything came to her so easily, words formed without a thought and Josie shot back with something she immediately had to comment on. "Okay, okay, you gotta tell me how your week's been now." "Think you can handle it? There are a lot of intense and exciting beauty treatments and work hours." Josie's voice was filled with amusement. "I sat down, I'm ready for a major bombshell here." She sat on the kitchen floor, eating the crust off a breadslice, saving the soft part for last. "You can't believe how many of these things I go to with the other girls, and they drag on and on, kind of like me now." She jested, "It's easy to fit in with them, but I know for a fact they all talk shit about each other. That's the life right there." "I'm not sure if you like it or not yet." Mary said and left the answer in the air. "Scale of one to ten on the terrible scale, it's a 7 on the boring days and maybe a 4 the rest of the time. You get used to it and you look pretty pretty much all the time." Mary stopped herself for a moment, trying to figure out how Josie would respond. "I'd like to see you without all that make-up and polish sometime." "Oh, don't tempt me, I would take that offer so bad." She responded without hesitation. "I was hoping you would." Something else painted their voices, a deliberate flirting free from coquettish flatter. "Believe me, I will," Josie made a sound as if remembering something, "Oh, that's the whole reason I called too. Since it's a weekend tomorrow, I'd love to come over tonight. Maybe stay till Sunday?" Mary didn't understand the careful tone of the proposition, she became elated by it. "Yes, you have to come over! What time?" "I'll be over around seven, I'd like to spend time with you as it gets dark." Her voice was low, calm with her longing. "I'd love that too," she said and went past the kitchen, glancing at the analogue clock on the wall, "speaking of time, it's two now." "Oh my god, we've been talking for two hours." Josie said with rueful amusement. "I really liked talking to you, Mary. Haven't laughed that much in ages." "Same, two hours just went by like that." Mary held her phone with both hands and leaned on her coffee table. "I can't wait to see you in person again." "You'll have to," Josie's voice snaked its way into her brain, she shivered but the distortion was getting in her way, but the only voice she recalled with clarity was soaked in sexual tension. "I need to prepare for tonight, but I'll call again when I'm almost there." "Wait, Josie—" She stood up and paced into her bedroom, "I want to tell you something." "What is it?" "I—I haven't... you know, since last week. I've been thinking of you a lot." She came down almost to a whisper, imagining herself putting her lips to Josie's ear. She heard Josie's breath abruptly seize, and there was a peculiar silence. "Mary, I think you have me in a spell. It's taking me all my will not to rush over there right now." Josie husked, "I've been saving myself too, it's one of the hardest things I've ever done," she paused before she added, "and she wettest." "Waiting for you is gonna be impossible." Mary breathed. "Try. I promise you the wait is only going to make it better." She said, and hung up. Mary wobbled into the bathroom in elation. She spun and giggled and turned the knob to the shower, and listened to the spray hit the tiles like morning static. She made sure to shower early, wash the morning off her body as she sang sugary love songs that bounced off the walls. Not bothering to restrict the images forming from vagueness, she squirmed as they flooded her. Josie's lips would come down on her neck, and she would take in Mary's scent and hold her close. A tightness formed in her chest as she closed her eyes, and a spectral Josie pressed against her, melting into her, starting volcanic eruptions where her fingers traveled. Mary ached to have Josie close, to look at her and hear her voice by her ear. She had to stop to save herself, instead leaving wet footprints on the floor as she went for the vacuum. Mary passed the time preparing. She tossed old clothes in the laundry, cleared out dishes, dusted off furniture, changed sheets and even polished the windows until the hour reached three. But she couldn't settle, four hours was too long and Mary could do anything other than relax. She decided to check up on the cars below and the empty apartment to make sure they were unchanged still; when she saw boxes in the window her hands went to her mouth, and a profound sense that her live was rapidly moving forward manifested. Mary had to see what they were for, the idea of someone moving in seemed abstract to her then, about as likely as working for NASA. She slipped on a t-shirt with faded print and battered jeans and sneakers and headed across the street. She had never been inside the opposite building. Mary enjoyed imagining it as an different world to hers, even though it was just a mirrored version of her own building. She stood in front of the apartment door on the third floor, a door like the one she used to have; a thin, dark thing in due need of replacement. Mary shuddered to think of the lock and how easy it would be to break it, but she stopped when she heard someone inside. Knocking twice, the handle turned after a moment and a thin crack in the door revealed the face of the occupant inside: she was a young woman, possibly Mary's age and her face was marked with unsure suspicion. Mary smiled at the change in her life, resolute to welcome her with all the joy that whirled chaotically inside her. "Hey, I'm Mary, I live in the building opposite yours!" She reached out her hand, "I saw boxes from the window and thought you were moving in," the woman opened the door slowly, looked up and down the hallway, then shook her hand. "I just moved in, yeah. I'm Annerley but Anne or Annie is easier to say." Having opened the doorway, Mary got a good look at Annerley. She had naturally olive skin and curly, brown hair framing her face, shining with sweat and tensed into a frown. "If you'd like I'll help you move in, must be tough in this heat, and in that sweatshirt." "I'm trying to lose some weight, don't think I'm weird." Anne's frown eased up and she wiped her brow on her sleeve. "The movers got all the furniture here this morning, it's just the boxes that need unpacking so you won't have to sweat with me." Mary was gestured inside, and came across an apartment not unlike her own; but lacking all personality that little personal items brought. "You know, this apartment has been empty even since I moved here three years ago. How did you get it?" The question burned in her mind, just what had caused one of her constants, and its sudden demise? "I'm really sorry, I can't tell you. I'll just say I was going to move in here sooner or later." Her curiosity almost made her forget Josie as she sat herself on a chair in the middle of the designated living room, cutting open a box full of trinkets to line the walls. "I don't mind, you're friendlier than a lot of people here just letting me in. But still," she paused for dramatic effect, drawing Anne's attention away from the kitchenware, "I'm surprised someone would move into a neighborhood monitored by the government." She grinned, keeping her gaze steady and playful. "Government agents?" Anne shot back, "must've been in the fine print." "I've been here long enough to know, come here," Mary moved to the window, one floor lower than her own apartment, but a perfect view of the street. "See that red SUV? That's the FBI, and the crappy-looking Chevy spies for the NSA. The black sedan there in front, that's the CIA picking up the slack." "I better not be hacking into databases around here then," Anne said, amused, "what about that old pickup?" "Oh, that's just mine," they laughed and Anne came closer to the window. "You're brave, parking so close to secret agents." "I fight the system in my own way." They kept the conversation going sporadically from room to room, punctuated by Mary asking where she would like a frame or a clock. Mary learned more about Anne through her belongings than their talks, her family photos were lavish ordeals, suits, dresses and courtesy smiles. The man and woman that seemed to be her parents looked rich, but judging by her second-hand furniture, fancy clothes may be all they spend their money on. Mary could tell she liked to dress warm, and instead of classical, which she imagined all upper-crust loved, she had CD's by Bowie and plenty of 80's metal, including several bands she had never heard of. A picture of Annerley began to take shape; the rich girl rebelling against doting parents wanting her to follow their lifestyle. "Is the rent good? Where do you work?" Mary tested. "Rent is great, and I'm studying." She heard from the bathroom. "Not even part time? What about the debt?" Mary said and examined the back of a jewel case; Pleasure to Kill. She had to stop herself from laughing. "I'm not worried, I don't spend a lot and I'll have time working after my degree." Anne came out of the bathroom with a folded box squeezed under her arm. "You know that band?" Mary put the case down in a neat pile along with the other records. "Never heard of them. It's metal, right?" "Wanna listen? That one is is seriously heavy." Mary liked Anne's smile, it looked genuine with interest and appreciation. Looking at her phone at the buzzing prompt, she remembered the alarm she set for 4:30. "Sorry, I've got some plans for tonight and I gotta prepare. I can come over next week." Anne let only a hint of dejection show, dropping her shoulders and sweeping her eyes from Mary to the pile of CD's. "Alright, that's cool. Can I call you?" Anne saw Mary to the door, and then exchanged numbers, Mary also gave the number to a locksmith; she had never heard of a break-in and she would keep it that way. So a potentially rich college student named Annerley was one of the pebbles in the rockfall Mary felt her life becoming. She didn't mind, she was kind enough, but any girl soon made Mary's attentions turn to Josie, only a few hours more until she would call. She skirted down the steps, cross the street then into her car. Her flat was tidy, but understocked. Mary was a meticulous eater, shopping exactly what she knew she'd use and little else, but in line with the gradual changes she wanted to stock up; she made a list on her phone filled with fruits, snacks, wine and all kinds of ingredients that she could see Josie eating. Mary thought back on the conversation they had had hours before, how happy and invulnerable she had felt, but standing in that store trying to pick out which brand chocolate she wanted, a certain tinge of nervousness drove her heart to speed. Just how much could happen over a weekend, and how much could their perceptions of each other be changed? Josie's husband was also a part of the picture. What had she told him? Where was he? Mary pondered her new title, 'Mistress'. She knew she would be responsible if they broke apart, their idyllic suburban lifestyle with their garden and spotless house, dinner parties and barbecues. Mary didn't care in the end, her feelings were the same since before they had begun their affair; stronger even. Mary was the victim, she had been approached by Josie—she was the very willing victim. After a sweat carrying up four bags to the door, she rinsed herself off in the shower just in case and sat by the window, periodically looking at the time. 5:30, 5:35, 5:40. She checked the groceries, looked for dirt or dust on the floor and furniture, then put on some music and paced with the phone in her hand. An hour later, it urgently buzzed against her palm and everything stopped. She paused the music and picked up, straightening herself as some form of brace against her nerves. "Hey, Mary." Josie's voice crackled. "Josie. Are you coming over?" "I'm almost there, I'm free all weekend now. I'm driving so I'll be quick, expect me in about 10." Mary's heart raced. Ten more minutes, past and present ceased to exist. "I really missed you ever since you called." "Me too, talking to you was amazing, but I have to hang up now." "Wait, Josie." Mary suddenly felt like sharing some of her life. "Can you do me a favor?" "If it's a detour, no way. I want to see you right now." She argued, determined. "It's on the way, I promise. Park outside my building, there's a red SUV behind an old Chevrolet. Can you park your car behind that one?" Mary almost laughed. Some things had to remain the same. "That is the second strangest favor I've ever heard, but definitely the easiest. I'll see you soon." Mary sat glued to the living room window, looking over the street where she knew Josie's car would come from, then to Anne's now organized apartment. She had put a small plant on the window sill, and was still moving from room to room with boxes in various states of unpacking; Josie's car came with the setting sun, white and surrounded by orange light, trailed by its own shadow. Mary watched it slow down, then turn outside her building and get snug behind the SUV, and out stepped Josie. From what she could see she had a white blouse on and tight, matching pants, and under her arm she had a stylish shoulder bag. Josie went inside the building, and hurried up the last few steps as she saw Mary by the open door to her apartment. "It's so nice to hold you again, Mary." Josie sighed against Mary's neck as they locked into an embrace. Lamb and Wolf Ch. 02 "Did we do that much holding last time?" Mary said and pressed her closer, lingering perfume sweetening the air. "Oh, shut up. We'll make up for it." Mary led her inside by the hand. Josie seemed a new kind of pristine, she was open, smiling and fantastically radiant. "I figured you hated the guy so I parked as close as I could. He's not getting out anytime soon." "I have no idea who owns that car, but thank you. Believe it or not, it means a lot to me." Mary said as she watched Josie take her boots off and set down her bag. "Seriously? I'm gonna need to hear that story later." Josie walked up to Mary, cradling her face in her hands, studying her. Mary let herself be held for a moment, enjoying the warmth on her cheeks and Josie's blue eyes that stripped her bare, a blush came to her face. "Right now I just feel like looking at you. You are so beautiful. Can you give me a little tour?" "Of the apartment?" Mary put her arms on Josie's shoulders, feigning coyness. "To start with." Josie whispered, combing fingers through Mary's hair, giving her shivers. "You got a nice place. Big TV, fancy couch, and clean too." Josie pointed out as she followed Mary into the kitchen. She had done what she could to make it seem more spacious than it actually was: white cupboards, plenty of light and no clutter did help but there was no way around the fact that only two people could safely move about between the counters. "There's not much room here, but you can check the cupboards if you want. I tried to prepare a bit." Mary watched as Josie looked around, not opening anything but moving straight to a cupboard with a chrome lock under its handle. "How about this one?" Josie grinned and tested the handle, she looked curiously to Mary when she met resistance. "That one's for secrets, maybe I'll show you sometime." Mary made her way over to her, and Josie put her arms around her back. "I sit on your face and you still keep secrets? I must know, one way or another." Josie leaned in for a kiss and Mary playfully dodged her attempts, settling her lips on Josie's jawline. "You could earn it. One way or another." Mary warmed up, tender in Josie's embrace. She had planned dinner, movies, time where they would talk, yet when Josie held her, smiled as she tried to get closer and kiss her, Mary found her earlier actions pointless. "Bedroom?" Josie asked, her hands maddeningly close to slipping under the edge of Mary's jeans. "You know me already, Josie." Mary said, toying with the tension sparked when their lips almost came together and warm air moistened her skin. "We're similar." Josie finally caught Mary's lips, and held her in place as she melted into her. A trail of discarded clothing followed them into the bedroom. Josie landed over Mary, pinning her with burning kisses to her lips, her neck, her breasts. Any thought Mary could conceive was chased away by an intense, surging desire that rose from all of her. Her mind filled with Josie, her body and heart filled with Josie, very day apart something to make up for, chasing lost time by ravishing this woman in her arms until they were both bedridden. "What's so funny?" Josie said, hovering over Mary's face, watching her smile. "I'm stupid and happy, and I can't stop." Mary giggled and pulled Josie in to kiss. She laid her down and traveled the length of Josie's body with a slowness she hadn't been able to afford until now. She basked in her beauty, the simplicity of wanting her, all of her, wanting to experience her with all senses. Mary learned Josie's patterns, the spots most susceptible to tactile sensation, how she twitched when her breasts were kissed and how her hips gravitated upwards and left an urgent wetness against Mary's thigh. "Mary—Mary... I don't want this to be like last time." She whispered, even as Mary draped her breath over her weak thighs, Josie struggled not to close around her head with force. "This is nothing like last time, Josie. Nothing." Mary murmured, and planted her lips firmly and felt Josie's deep, staccato bursts of air as her tongue excited, drew forth all the passion she had held inside. Mary watched her. Her body twisted and moved, as if torn between attempts of escape and confinement. When Josie reached her peak, her thighs did close, and Mary felt the muscles move, shudder painfully against her ears as Josie grabbed a pillow to muffle her voice. Josie loosened her grip, becoming languid despite the flutter Mary's kisses sent to her thighs. She came up to meet Josie, carrying her scent on her dewy lips, Josie kissed her ravenously, and slid her hands along her favorite places on Mary's body: all of her. "I want you so much," she said, breath labored, "I want you so much." Josie's blue eyes were alive with desire, the flush on her face also evident of the energy that stirred her; Mary felt it through her hungry hands, Josie's mouth dipping into the hollows of her body, following the athletic contours of her stomach and upper legs. "On your side, I need to have you." Mary turned on her side and saw Josie's head between her legs, pressing against her wetness; and she brought her hands to Josie's hair, guiding but becoming rigid as pleasure paralyzed her. Pleasure commanded her, every wave bringing more desire for Josie, every glide of her tongue unbearable; Mary gave up control and lost herself to ecstasy. She unfurled slowly, into relaxation, and Josie came up for air, leaving a patternless trail of wet kisses to Mary's lips. Hands were in Mary's hair, comforting and perfect, she rested against Josie. She said, "it's never this good," And Josie purred, "not a believer yet?" Mary sat leaned into Josie, breasts pressed into her back and hands following Josie's as she mapped Mary's body, taking in the details of each quivering part of her, touching the unique softness of her breasts as Mary's nipples swelled against her palms. Mary's sense of time failed. She could only measure it by the kisses to her shoulder, the teeth threatening her neck as a hand snuck inside her thighs, holding her essence and turning Mary's body against her. She begged between breaths, delirious with want she moved against Josie, when in one unexpected moment she entered Mary and tightened their embrace as she twisted. Mary shook, acutely aware of her body clamping down as explosive pleasure radiated into her; she shuddered and convulsed as Josie gently kissed her, her lips severe on Mary's skin. Contemplating each other through gingerly caresses, they lay entwined in the chaos Mary's bed had become. She kissed Josie's parted lips, bringing her close to her damp face, flushed with exertion. With the arousal temporarily culled, what remained was purely Josie, the woman she knew little about and had spent a combined few hours with until that point, smiling with adoration until Mary felt her heart thump painfully. Just like their call earlier in the day, being together brought her a quiet joy. "There's that smile again." Josie put her finger to Mary's lips, and she kissed it. "You're smiling too." Mary didn't bother to mask the small laugh that escaped her, Josie followed and moved her hands to a new position, holding her with warmth. "How can't I smile when you're smiling? You're absolutely beautiful, Mary." "I'm just now discovering how easily I'm flattered, but maybe that's because it's you saying it. Beautiful." Mary sat beside Josie, locking fingers. "All week you've been all I could think about. Actually having you here is unbelievable but are you sure it's okay?" Josie cupped Mary's face in her palm, turning her head to kiss her, slow enough for Mary to feel her intentions, to ponder her feelings. "How about this? While I'm here I will tell you no lies, not a single one—" Mary interrupted her, she wanted badly to feel her lips again. "Mary, being here won't hurt my relationship with Tom in any way, I can promise you that. Do you feel guilty?" "I never even thought about guilt. Not once, I just remembered how it felt being with you, and right now I don't think I can have a single bad thought. That's what you do to me." Mary let herself be laid onto her back, Josie above her, exchanging kisses and amorous looks. "This is getting really serious," Josie shuddered against Mary's neck, unable to conceal her lust as she descended her body, "I... Mary—oh..." "Come here—please..." Mary strained her voice into normalcy and pulled Josie back up and and against a wet kiss, made of longing, her finger enveloped by the wetness of her thighs. It pulsed, quaked and shivered inside Josie; the intimacy struck Mary all at once. She found her tiny moans mingling with Josie's as stray fingers found her, yielding to their movements and opening softly. Watching with foggy vision as Josie's orgasm gripped her, flexing her hips to meet with Mary's fingers, Mary fell with her and refused to let go of the ardent fingers inside her as she curled together, trying to resist and blinding herself with pleasure. The sun had long since set, and Mary reached over for the table lamp, she looked at Josie matted with sweat and glowing radiant with profound beauty. She touched her, feeling her body shift and quiver under her fingers, following the smooth lines of her stomach and coming to cup her face gently. To think that they had the weekend to themselves started a subtle joy in her that made Mary kiss her deeply, over and over when that happiness only grew. She whispered to Josie, "Hungry?" Josie shook her head and turned to Mary, her face blissfully still and tired. "No more, I can't..." She slurred, and Mary held her close to that ache her heart suffered, "I meant food." Mary grinned, and Josie cracked open her eyes, giving her a tired, wonderful smile. "Just so you know, there's no way I'm moving from this bed tonight. Feels like I haven't been this relaxed in years, tenfold when you're here." The older woman closed her eyes again, and settled down, inseparable from Mary. "Then I won't leave either." Mary insisted. Josie slept within seconds, and the sheer difference became slowly apparent in the helpless gentleness of sleep. Mary quietly ruminated as she watched Josie's face soften and give away all her tenderness, her lips parting and revealing a glimpse of her teeth and her pink tongue resting against them. She didn't think much of it, just sensing the swell throbbing behind her ribs in an anxious but amazing swirl. Like Josie had said, there was no way she would be moving from this bed tonight. Mary stayed, loving the simple pleasures, the strokes and following shivers, and the heaviness of her body...