A Matter of Trust

by Radclyffe

  Sloan laughed, a wild victorious laugh, and moved Michael effortlessly to the bed. She urged her down on the edge and knelt before her. She cupped Michael's breasts, raised them for her lips, and drank of her - sucking and biting, one to the other, back and forth, guided only by Michael's sharp cries of pleasure. Michael's hands were in her hair, rocking Sloan's face into the hot yielding flesh.

  "Sloan, Sloan, Sloan," she intoned, her neck arched, head flung back, hips thrusting forward against Sloan's body. She tugged at Sloan's shirt, crazed for the feel of her skin. She gasped at the first unfamiliar yet oh so familiar softness of smooth skin over tight muscles, awed by the tender strength under her fingers. Dimly, she heard Sloan groan.

  Sloan stood, pushed Michael back onto the bed and lay beside her, leaning on one elbow so that she could look down the length of Michael's body. She ran her hands and then her tongue over the curves and prominences and flesh and muscle and bone of her. It was a landscape as known to her as her own body, and yet a world so new she felt the wonder of first discovery all over again. She could not get enough of her, and might have been happy simply to caress her if it hadn't been for Michael's escalating whimpers accompanying each stroke of her fingers. Michael's excitement nearly drove reason from her mind. Then Michael's fingers were on Sloan's fly, pulling at the buttons, searching for her clit through the wear-softened material, and her own need twitched relentlessly closer to explosion.

  "Careful," Sloan said through gritted teeth, pulling her hips back. "Not yet."

  Michael grasped Sloan's hand, her pupils so large her eyes seemed to be dark lakes of molten fire. She drew Sloan's fingers down to the place she most desperately needed her, crying out at the first light contact. "yesohyes"

  Sloan convulsed with a chest-grating groan, the sweet wet warmth of Michael's welcome so intense her heart nearly stopped. That simple sign of Michael's need was more precious than anything she had ever known. All Sloan felt was the desire to please her, and in an instant the flame in her stilled to pure crimson embers, all the more hot for its containment. With gentle fingers she parted swollen tissues, stroking along, beside, and under the pulsating prominence, but never quite touching the heart of the fire.

  "Inside, please inside," Michael begged, her fingers boring into Sloan's shoulders as every muscle strained toward the release of the terrible sweet tension.

  Sloan lowered her forehead to Michael's, her eyes closed, gasping. She drew Michael close to her chest with one arm behind her back, and eased into her. She withdrew almost completely only to return another finger and another until she filled her. Then she remained motionless, and let Michael lead them to the summit.

  Michael sought Sloan's mouth, alternately kissing and sucking at her lower lip. Her hips rocked in time to the surge of her blood and the hum in her nerves and the coiling ache in her belly, and she rode Sloan's fingers in a steadily faster rhythm. Sloan's arm ached with the effort of holding back her own overpowering urge to thrust into her, but she ignored the pain of her rigid muscles and clenched her jaws against the thundering pressure deep in her belly. This was for Michael, and she would follow her wherever she needed to go.

  "almostalmost," Michael whimpered frantically, her movements erratic, shorter and harder, her hips thrusting wildly. "Need --yourfingers -- on me."

  "Soonsoonlove," Sloan murmured, sensing Michael's muscles tightening for the last final surge, and as she waited for the peak, she circled the flat of her hand over Michael's clit. When she felt Michael's breath stop and her body poise on that timeless edge of abandon, she stroked the shaft once, twice and drove her over.

  Michael cried out and gripped Sloan so hard that there would be bruises in the morning. The force of the contractions drew her body bowstring tight and she arched in Sloan's arms, shuddering.

  "Oh god, Michael," Sloan moaned, completely lost. Too beautiful, you are too exquisitely beautiful to bear.

  Michael was beyond words, floating somewhere, deaf and blind, reduced to only quivering flesh and spasming muscle. How long she hung suspended on that crest of sensation escaped her, but eventually she was aware of her body again. She could feel the air moving in her lungs and her heart pounding in her chest and her blood coursing in her skin. She felt more alive than she had ever been, and more supremely content than she ever thought possible. She released her hold on Sloan's shoulders and collapsed back against the pillows. With effort she opened her eyes, and found Sloan's face. Sloan's look was one of tenderness, wonder, and something else. Something feral seethed in her hazy eyes and flickered just beneath the surface of her fierce expression.

  "You are exquisite," Sloan declared, her voice hoarse and choked.

  Michael heard the hunger in her voice and felt Sloan shudder violently against her. She sensed Sloan's need, and suddenly Michael wanted her more than she had wanted anything in her life.

  "Take off your clothes! Quickly," Michael gasped, frantically tugging at the buttons on Sloan's jeans.

  Michael's unexpected and undeniable lust drove Sloan to abandon her formidable control. She was suddenly burning and tore off her shirt, raising her hips as Michael pulled at her constraining jeans.

  "Tell me what to do," Michael cried urgently. "Tell me what you need!" Her hands were running over Sloan's back, her chest, her abdomen, trying to feel all of her at once.

  "Just touch me," Sloan groaned. "I'll come. God, I'm close!"

  Michael's fingers found her clit, sliding under and over and back again and Sloan was gone, beyond reason or control. "So-so closesoclosesolongso - oh jesusgodMichaelMichael --"

  Michael struggled to hold Sloan as she bucked and gasped, helpless, and so beautiful. Michael thought she had known power in the competitive world of business, but that had been nothing to compare to this. This, this was power so sweet her throat closed around tears of gratitude and wonder. "Sloan," she whispered, almost a prayer. "Oh, Sloan."

  Sloan sighed as the first spasms quieted, resting her head on Michael's shoulder. "God," she mumbled, "that was so good."

  "Uh huh," Michael laughed softly, stroking Sloan's sweat soaked hair off her face. "You okay?"

  "Mmm," Sloan responded, trying valiantly to rouse herself. It wouldn't do to fall asleep on her. Very déclassé. She pushed up on an elbow and smiled a bit dazedly at Michael. "Beyond, okay. Excellent. You?"

  Michael's smile sparkled all the way to her eyes. "I have never been better in my life."

  "I'm glad," Sloan whispered, kissing her lightly. "Are you tired?"

  "I could sleep," Michael admitted, suddenly aware that it was late. She did not know what the morning would bring. All she knew was that she did not want the night to end. "But I don't want to."

  Sloan grinned, slow, easy and just a bit dangerously, and kissed her again. "Good."

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  AT 10:45 AM THE next morning, Michael turned from her drawing board as a soft knock at the door interrupted her. "Come in," she called.

  The door swung open and Sarah peeked around the corner. "Hey," she called, a wide smile on her face. "Are you holding up okay?"

  Michael leaned back from the table and sighed. "Seem to be. I have a million things to do before tomorrow's meeting, but everything is working at the moment." She watched as Sarah crossed the room and sat down on one of the sofas.

  "Thank god," Sarah said. "I just talked to Jason, and he said it's looking good. Sometimes these things can take forever to get straightened out. This time you were lucky."

  "I know," Michael agreed, moving over to join Sarah. "And I know how much I owe Jason and Sloan. They've been incredible."

  "No, they're just doing the job they love to do. You shouldn't feel like you put them out, because you merely provided them with an interesting game to play. I'm amazed that either of them stopped long enough to sleep last night." She didn't add that she had noticed both Michael and Sloan were absent at the same time, nor did she volunteer that Jason had spent a good part of the evening with her.

&nb
sp; "Have you seen Sloan this morning?" Michael asked, trying to sound nonchalant. Unfortunately her heart was pounding just from saying her name. They had parted only a short time before, but it seemed to Michael it had been days.

  "She's in the communications center with Jason, supervising the final system checks and satisfying herself that everything is running okay. Did you need her?" Sarah asked innocently.

  Michael almost laughed out loud at the question, thinking, Need her? Oh yes, that seems to be the word for it all right!

  She couldn't stop herself from thinking that only a few hours before she had awakened from a light doze, startled in the first moments of awareness to feel Sloan beside her. Then in the next instant she knew where she was and remembered every second of the incredible night in Technicolor detail. An avalanche of desire coursed through her on the coattails of memory, and she was immediately completely aroused. It was such a foreign sensation, she didn't know what to do. When she opened her eyes she found Sloan lying quietly beside her, gazing at her with a look that melted Michael's heart. She could recall every word they had said and every emotion she had experienced as if it had been etched on her skin and burned into her soul.

  "I'm sorry, I fell asleep," she whispered.

  Sloan smiled, a tender gentle smile. "I think that's supposed to happen when you've been awake all night, especially when you've been awake all night making love."

  Michael blushed, partly because it was all so new to her, and partly because she wanted to do it all again - immediately. She asked quietly, "Did you sleep?"

  Sloan shook her head. "No, I didn't want to miss a moment with you."

  "I can't decide if your words or your touch are more beautiful," Michael whispered, leaning close to find Sloan's lips with her own. Her physical arousal had seemed so powerful just a moment ago, but the feelings Sloan's tenderness evoked were even more compelling. Michael's kiss was part wonder, part gratitude, and part simple appreciation for the affectionate attention and careful way Sloan had loved her over the past hours. She couldn't imagine a more sensitive lover, or a more thoughtful one.

  "Thank you so much for last night," Michael murmured, unconsciously pressing closer until her breasts nestled against Sloan's, and her thigh rested on Sloan's leg.

  Sloan stopped kissing her long enough to respond, "Michael, please don't thank me. This night has been special to me, and you have been wonderful."

  Michael thought only to continue kissing her, but as the kiss deepened and they sought each other with their lips and their tongues and their hands, Sloan rolled on top of her, straddling Michael's hips, rising up on her elbows to look into Michael's face. Sloan's voice was raspy with urgency as she said, "Michael, I want you again, so much. I can't seem to get enough."

  Michael knew only that she wanted her close, and guided by instinct, she reached for Sloan's hips, pulling her down hard onto her own tensed thigh, watching in wonder as Sloan arched her back and groaned. Michael pressed upward, thrilling to the sensation of Sloan thrusting back, and the rhythm began as naturally as breathing. Michael kept one hand on Sloan's hips as she explored Sloan's breasts with the other, cupping each one, losing herself in the soft flesh and firm muscles, glorying in the heat of her.

  Sloan's movements became erratic, harder, just a bit frantic, and she braced herself on her arms to look into Michael's eyes. Her voice was tight as if she were straining to form each word. It was an image of such intensity, and such intimacy, that Michael ached.

  "Michael," Sloan managed, her face intent, her eyes cloudy with urgency, "I'm going to come."

  Michael's heart surged with something as close to ecstasy as she had ever known. She gripped Sloan's hips tighter, and she pushed into Sloan's hard hot wetness. She shouted, triumphant. "Yes! Yesyesyes!"

  Sloan's lids fluttered closed and she groaned, her arms stiff and her legs tight around Michael's thigh. She held herself upright through sheer strength as her body rippled with tension and then convulsed, wrenching one sharp cry from her.

  Michael forgot to breathe for long minutes as she gazed in absolute wonder at Sloan's face. She was dimly aware of her own passion surging through her belly and her legs, but nothing she was feeling could equal what she saw.

  At last, Sloan dropped her head, her arms finally relaxing, and she lowered herself to lie on Michael's body, trembling, heartbreakingly helpless. Michael held her, stroked her damp hair and her neck and her back, suddenly experiencing a fierce protectiveness she had never before imagined. She understood in that moment what it meant to want someone more than life. She understood in that moment what it meant to need someone in the deepest reaches of her being.

  Need her? The words echoed in her mind. Oh yes, I need her.

  "Michael?"

  Michael jumped, and suddenly was aware of her surroundings again. Sarah was looking at her with an expression of perplexity and mild concern.

  "Are you okay?" Sarah asked gently.

  Michael laughed shakily, running a hand through her hair. "God, I have no idea. I have only the faintest idea of who I am or what I'm doing these days."

  Sarah studied her, thinking that she looked tired but somehow she didn't think Michael's distraction and disorientation were due to fatigue. This was something else, something powerfully emotional. And then she remembered the question she had asked just before Michael drifted away. Sloan.

  "It's Sloan, isn't it?"

  "Yes, it's Sloan, and me. It's me, too."

  "What's happened now?" Sarah asked, immediately protective, thinking that if Sloan had done something to hurt Michael's feelings, she would have to kill her. Michael was too kind and too innocent for Sloan to treat her in the casual way she did most women. Not that she believed for a minute that Sloan was cold-hearted or indifferent about her romantic partners, but she knew that Sloan studiously avoided any real emotional attachments, and Michael deserved much more than that.

  "She hasn't done anything," Michael said quickly, recognizing the edge of concern in Sarah's voice. "It's just that so many things have changed so quickly lately."

  "You slept with her, didn't you?" Sarah said, suddenly realizing that Michael was manifesting all the signs of a woman totally lost in love.

  Michael colored, but nodded affirmatively.

  Sarah groaned faintly "Oh god, I guess I don't have to ask you how it was."

  Michael laughed and blushed even deeper. "No, there wouldn't be any point to it. I don't even have the words to describe it."

  Great," Sarah said with resignation. "Things are even worse than I thought."

  "Sarah," Michaels said, suddenly serious. "Sloan was not responsible. In fact, I think if I hadn't literally chased her down, she would have done anything to avoid sleeping with me. I just wanted her so much."

  Sarah didn't think Michael understood how significant her words were. If Sloan had been avoiding a sexual relationship with Michael, it could only be because Sloan had real feelings for her. Sarah had no idea how Sloan was going to react to a woman who she cared about, but she had a feeling that it wasn't going to be simple.

  "Are you okay with that?" Sarah asked. "Sleeping with her, I mean?"

  "Am I okay with that?" Michaels said, her voice pensive. "I'm as okay as I can be I guess. I had an incredible experience with her. I've felt things I've never felt in my life. I can’t stop thinking about her, I can't stop wanting to be with her again. I have no idea what this means for me or what it means to her."

  "I'm certainly the last one to give advice," Sarah said quietly, thinking that she had been the one surprised when Jason had whispered not yet last night when she had reached for him. "I know in her heart Sloan is a good and honorable person. I love her, and I would trust her with my life. Be patient with her, Michael. This might be hard for her, too."

  Michael remembered the look on Sloan's face when they had parted that morning, standing once again in Michael's office. For a moment, she thought Sloan had been about to say something, and the look on her face had be
en one of longing and desire. Instead, Sloan had reached out and stroked Michael's cheek, leaning finally to kiss her lips in a soft caress. Only then did she whisper, "No matter what happens, last night will always be precious to me."

  Michael had merely nodded, afraid that what Sloan had really meant was good-bye.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  SLOAN FOUND JASON in the communication center in very nearly the same place she had left him twenty-four hours previously. He did seem to have showered and changed his clothes and still managed to look fresh after what couldn't have been much sleep. She avoided contemplating where he had spent the night.

  "Have we got it fixed?" she asked as she crossed the room and pulled a chair over next to him.

  "As much as we possibly can, short of installing voice or fingerprint-recognition devices," he muttered without taking his eyes off the symbols on the screen.

  Sloan looked at him with interest. "Do we have that?"

  "No, but the Pentagon does," he answered with a grin.

  Sloan grinned too. "We still have some friends in that neighborhood, don't we?"

  Jason turned, giving her a stern look. "We do, and I think we should work on keeping them for a while. Trying to pirate national security level toys probably isn't the best way to do it - not until we really need them at least."

  She sighed, nodding in agreement. "Probably a good point. I've told Michael she can go ahead and start working. She has to get into the system to finish what she needs before her deadline tomorrow."

  "She should be all right. I'm just giving it a final run through. I think everything is as clean and tight as we can make it. I still have back checking on the virus origins to do, but that shouldn't interfere with what she's doing. I made copies of the code to analyze on the guinea pig machine back at the office."