Best Lesbian Romance 2014 (9 page)

“Can't you see she's not interested, Gonzalo?” Another larger man came up behind me and I felt momentary relief that someone had come to offer help. That relief vanished quickly as he clamped his hand over my mouth and together they pulled me into a darkened alley. I screamed but it was muffled, and I lost my bags as I tried to pull away and kicked out, making contact with the smaller one's knee as they increased their speed. I wasn't sure if I tripped or was pushed, but the ground rushed up at me and I banged the side of my forehead hard. The larger man released my mouth to roll me over, and as he did so I was finally free to scream my lungs out. Although the first, smaller guy was startled into letting me go, the other pulled back his hand, quickly closing it into a fist as I closed my eyes in sick anticipation, but the blow never reached me. Instead, the resounding thud I heard was the large man being hauled against the side of the building before he crumpled at my feet. The smaller man slinked away, his jewelry coat jingling as he turned and ran. He didn't get very far, and in a flurry of movement too quick to understand, he was soon unconscious on the ground next to his friend.

I closed my eyes in relief but I was also stunned and confused as to what had just happened. When I finally opened them again, someone was crouching next to me. A woman with eyes that reminded me of the dark turquoise diving pools my sister was probably exploring somewhere in those caverns deep beneath us. Long, silky black hair was gathered loosely in a clip at the nape of her neck, and her bronzed skin had a burnished quality like smooth terra-cotta sculpture. Her clothes were dark and
indistinguishable except for a long leather coat that for some reason reminded me of a superhero cape.

I tried sitting up but the motion made me want to vomit, so I lay back down and blinked as she bent closer, assessing my injuries. “You're going to be okay,” the woman said as she touched my face briefly, almost longingly. She withdrew her hand and smiled.

“Who are you?” I asked.

“My name's Caliana. And you are?”

“Antonia.”

Even though she nodded, I wasn't sure if she'd heard me. She was paying particularly close attention to my bleeding temple. I had a hard time focusing because my vision wouldn't stop whiting out and her eyes kept transforming into six dancing pairs of blue. The last thing I remember was her leaning forward to cradle the back of my head with her palm, hot breath panting across my forehead as she soothingly traced her tongue across my bleeding wound with purposeful flicks.

I woke up slowly as the sounds of crashing waves and salty, moist air invaded my senses. For a moment, before I opened my eyes, I imagined I was floating out in the middle of the sea, drifting, guided only by the fickle whimsies of the wind. The feeling of letting go was peaceful and I didn't want it to end, but I knew it was time to come ashore, and since I was curious to see where I landed, I opened my eyes. I was lying in a soft bundle of blankets on some kind of raised dais. A bamboo table and matching chairs were on one side of me and a small sink and stove on the other. My shopping bags were neatly arranged against the wall. The illumination of several candles gave off an eerie glow that made shadows appear and disappear. I sat up reluctantly, not wanting to leave the comfort of the cocoon-like
bed. I remembered my head wound and tentatively touched it but there was no trace of the previous cut; no pain either, even when I rubbed my forehead harder. No anything. It was as if it had never existed.
But it did happen, didn't it?

“Hello?” I called out, unsure of anything, and my echoing voice seemed to taunt me. I realized I was in a cave.

“Hello,” my rescuer, Caliana, answered in the same instant I felt a rush of air next to me that appeared to morph into her solid form. A wave of dizziness flooded through me as I turned toward her and blinked, trying to focus. She smiled at me shyly. “It's good to see you awake.”

“You saved my life,” I said.

“Not really. Those guys were just robbing you. They weren't going to kill you. They had you targeted the moment you went to Gato's Café.”

I remembered the look on their faces and the promise of brutality in the grip of their hands. Somehow I knew she was downplaying the seriousness of the attack. “But you stopped them. I don't understand how you were able to do that.”

“I know some martial arts,” she said with a shrug. She gently touched the place on my temple where my cut had been. “How do you feel?”

My eyes widened at the coolness of her touch and the simplicity of her explanation. Her strength was something I'd never seen in anyone, let alone a woman. She'd handled those men like she was twice their size. I wondered why that didn't scare me more as I looked around, still trying to get my bearings. It was night now but her olive skin glowed as if lit by more than simple candles, and her eyes sparkled as if there was something hovering just beneath the surface of those tranquil turquoise pools, something that kept wavering as she regarded me with a deepening intensity. I wanted to sink back into the
cocoon bed.
With her.
That last thought made me light-headed again. “Thank you.”

It was all I could manage to say.

She tilted her head as if she'd never heard these words before, her lips pressed together in a slight frown, and then she brightened again. “If you really want to thank me, then stay and have dinner with me. I just caught some excellent fish.”

Had she also caught me?
“You mean you not only know martial arts but you can cook too?” I smiled mischievously at her and she chuckled.

“I can do a lot of things that might surprise you.”

I quivered with an overwhelming wish to know what those
things
might be.

“I'd love to have dinner with you,” I said.

“Good,” she replied and stood up as she offered a hand to me.

I clasped her hand, and as I got up from the bed and stepped down off its platform, I stumbled and fell clumsily into her arms. She caught me instantly, our faces inches from each other, breathing each other's breath, the warm softness of my full breasts pressed up hard against her smaller, flatter chest. As I felt her nipples contract through her thin shirt, my arms tightened around her shoulders and her hands gripped my waist. A soft moan escaped her just before she released me and stepped away.

“Careful. You might need to take it a bit easy for a while,” she said without looking at me.

“Is there somewhere I could freshen up a little?” I asked.

“In the back, to your right, there's an alcove that will have anything you need.”

She had already grabbed a small basket from the table and was busying herself with the preparations for dinner. I found my
way to the alcove and made a quick phone call to Marga, who was upset that I was not meeting her for dinner.

“I can't believe you already have a hot date,” Marga said with a tinge of jealously.

“Well, I don't know if I'd call being in a cave with a stranger a hot date.”

“You're in a cave?” There was panicky edge to her voice. “My diving guide said the caves have an unusual number of bats this season. God, they were everywhere.”

“That's strange. I haven't seen any.”

“Just be careful. Anyway, I guess I get to have a boring evening with room service. I don't feel comfortable going out by myself.”

I said good-bye, amused that for once I was the one willing to get out there and take a chance and my sister was afraid to even go down to the bar and have a drink by herself. It was actually satisfying to see our roles reversed. My attack had left me feeling a little reckless, along with a definite sense of exasperation at my sister's fear and hesitation. I supposed I finally understood the way Marga usually saw me. When I got back to the main room, Caliana was setting the table. She looked up at me, and her appreciative glance made me shiver even though I wasn't the least bit cold.

Dinner was a heady blur of shy glances and longing looks. My host was incredibly attractive. She was androgynously gorgeous in a way that surprised me, since I usually went for femmes like me, but her slim hips and boyish body were a nice counterpoint to my generous curves. I could tell by the way she kept staring at my cleavage that the attraction was mutual. There was a soothing calmness about her, a sort of sensuous ease that made me comfortable but also made me vibrate with desire. I had never felt such potent attraction. I ate every bit of my exquisitely
prepared red snapper and finished off two glasses of wine. When she was about to pour a third glass I shook my head. I noticed Caliana had barely touched her food. It seemed like she was very good at moving the food around her plate. I couldn't help but wonder what Marga would do in this situation. At the moment, I was tired of being careful. The more careful I was, the worse I seemed to do when it came to women. Maybe it was time to be bold.

“So, do you take a lot of women back here to your cave?” I asked.

She looked up sharply at the question. “No. This is actually the first time I've ever brought anyone here. It's the first time I've ever wanted to bring someone.”

“I don't do things like this either. I don't usually end up in someone's hideaway.”

“I know. That's probably why I brought you here. I couldn't help myself.”

She gazed at me with unabashed desire and my heart skipped a beat. I was overwhelmed by my own lust, by the hot ache to lose myself in her and to have her lost in me.
But just who is she, and who am I, that not knowing doesn't seem to matter
?

“I think I should go now.” The words blurted out despite my resolve and I stood up, unable to stop myself from falling back on old inhibitions. I was intimidated by her attractiveness and my own inability to withstand it. In a flurry of movement, Caliana was standing before me.

“Are you afraid of me?” There was unmistakable hurt in her eyes. “I would never let anyone harm you. Don't you know how lovely you are? You are worthy of so much more than what you've settled for. Let me show you, Antonia.”

I looked away, and with the tip of her forefinger, she guided my chin toward her and my gaze back to her own. She dipped
in close and our mouths met in a tentative kiss, her cool lips seeking out the warmth of mine as our tongues met, tangling in a rush of hot, strangely pleasant wetness. I pushed her back toward the bed until we fell into the pile of blankets. She held me tight as I landed on top of her, straddling her and grinding my pussy hard against hers. Her hands were both firm and gentle as she briefly cupped my head, her fingers buried in the silk of my cascading curls, before she explored my body, smoothing down my back and lingering on my curvy hips and ass. I couldn't compete with her strength as she maneuvered me onto my back and began to unbutton my blouse. With a sigh I closed my eyes and tilted my head back. When I opened them, I gazed absently up at the ceiling and noticed subtle movement. I blinked, trying to focus better, but the dim candlelight made it difficult to see much beyond shadows. But then I saw them. Several little eyes staring back at me. Bats. Hundreds, most likely thousands of bats. More bats than I'd ever seen in my life. More bats than I ever wanted to see in my life. I screamed and clutched at Caliana, who froze in confusion. As soon as I screamed, it was as if I'd raised an invisible gauntlet and in one stunningly coordinated action, the bats swooped down all around us, shrieking in a cacophony of fury. I could feel the soft rushing of air, of wings fluttering so close, surrounding us until all the light of the cave vanished. She covered me with her body and whispered, “Shh, they won't hurt you. You've frightened them. They think they might have to protect me.”

I frowned.
Are they pets?
She closed her eyes for a brief moment and whispered something I couldn't quite hear, and in another abrupt but precise military-style flight pattern, the bats reversed direction and returned to their prior posts on the ceiling once again, still and quiet as if their chaotic flurry had
never happened. Caliana resumed kissing my neck and exposed cleavage, my shirt now open down the front.

“Wait.” I wriggled out of her arms and sat up. “Who are you and what are you doing living in a cave full of bats?”

She laughed. “What do you think it means?”

I swallowed a dry mouthful of air and rubbed absently at my invisible head wound. Was it possible I hit my head harder than I thought and was now hallucinating? There was only one other explanation, though completely ridiculous. “Oh, come on. Don't tell me. You're a vampire?”

“Vampire? But that's so unimaginative,
mi amor.
I am a Camazotz.”

“Camazotz? What is a Camazotz?” I wasn't really sure I wanted to know the answer.

“In my Mayan culture, it means literally ‘death bat.' ”

She said this very casually as she took off her shirt and began to unbutton her pants. I didn't know what to say or do. I just gaped at her in disbelief. Right before she took off her pants, she stared back and said with a slow smile, “What are you waiting for? Take off your clothes.”

It was as if I no longer had control of my fingers or limbs and had to obey her command. I removed my shorts and sandals, peeled off my already opened blouse and unhooked my bra until I lay back on the blankets completely naked. She examined my body closely, running her icy hand up my thighs, brushing lightly across my pussy and smoothing fingers over my flat stomach. She paid special attention to my breasts, cupping their heavy fullness before squeezing each nipple firmly between her thumb and forefinger as I gasped and squirmed at her touch. Still fondling and pinching my nipples, she dipped her head and kissed me, searching out my tongue in sweet hunger. When she released my lips, I pushed her head down toward my heaving
breasts again and watched as she captured one hardened nipple, circling it with her tongue in steady licks until she lightly nipped it with sharp teeth. I cried out at the sudden pain, which disappeared just as suddenly as she began sucking hard, drawing as much of me into her mouth as she could. I grasped the back of her head as I groaned and arched my back, instinctively opening my thighs and bucking my hips. She molded her lean body into mine, spreading my legs even more and rocking her hips between them as she buried her face in the side of my neck. I tensed waiting for pain, waiting for the bite. Wasn't that what she was going to do?
Isn't that what vampires do?
Instead she kissed the velvet skin of my throat and rested her mouth there. When I had been lulled into a false sense of security that she was giving only pleasure and no pain, I felt the abrupt sharp stab of her teeth and warmth of my blood oozing out of the wound. That prior nip had been nothing compared to this, a tantalizing mix of pain and pleasure. Every time I winced in pain, the discomfort was immediately replaced with the exquisite pleasure of her now-scorching tongue and lips.