Cold (36 page)

She pulled Jo to the bed, and pushed her down on it, crawling onto her lover's body and lowering her head onto the dark-haired woman's chest.

They lay like that for long moments, Rocky listening to the strong heartbeat of her lover and the even rhythm of her breathing.

"Jo?"

"Yeah?"

Rocky raised her head, looking down into the blue eyes glistening in the firelight. "Thank you."

Jo raised her hand, brushing blonde hair out of her lover's eyes. "For what?"

"For saving me."

Rocky's human mattress chuckled. "You were managing pretty well without me." She was quiet for a moment. "Sometimes I wonder if I've brought you more heartache than joy…. Maybe…."

Her musings were cut short by a warm mouth silencing her words. She pulled the blonde closer, her hands tightening on the tee-shirt the smaller woman wore, pulling it from the waistband of the sweatpants and finding the soft warm skin beneath.

When the kiss ended, the blonde rested her forehead on her lover's chest. Her voice was muffled by the shirt that Jo wore. "Jo, please don't ever underestimate what you've done for me." She lifted her head, looking into aroused blue eyes. "What you mean to me."

"So much has happened." Jo pulled Rocky back down, settling the blonde on top of her.

"It has. And for a moment there, I wondered if it was worth it." She closed her eyes, listening to the rapid heartbeat beneath her ear, feeling the trembling hand that was tangled in her hair. "I'd got used to the emptiness, learned to live with nothing." She reached for Jo's free hand, which was still moving in gentle circles against her own back. She pulled the hand to her lips, brushing a kiss across the knuckles. "And it was like an explosion of feeling when you came into my life. That's the only way I can describe it."

"I'm sorry."

Rocky heard the hitch in Jo's throat, and squeezed the woman tighter. "No. Don't be sorry, Jo. You gave me back my life, gave me a purpose." She released Jo's hand and brushed ebony locks back from the bruise that surrounded the cut on Jo's head. "And you came for me." Her eyes filled with tears. "You could have been killed." She felt the arms around her tighten. "And you saved my life."

"I didn't...."

"Yes, Jo. You did. I couldn't have gone on just existing much longer. My whole aim in life was working out where the next hot meal came from. It was getting harder. All I had was the dreams." She pulled away from Jo slightly, raising herself to look into her lover's face. She smiled, looking into the moist blue eyes, knowing she would never tire of the joy of seeing them. "You’re my life now."

"You wanted to leave," Jo said, her throat closing on the words.

"Wanted is the wrong word, Jo. I thought I should." She lay down again, taking a lock of silky dark hair, winding it around her fingers. "I never want to cause you pain. I won't come between you and your family."

"You never will, because you're a part of me now." Jo rubbed her cheek against the blonde head. "If you’d gone tonight, I would just have followed you."

"You would?"

"Of course."

They were quiet for a while, then Rocky disentangled herself from Jo, and knelt on the bed.

"What will we do?" the blonde asked.

Jo put her arms behind her head, suddenly finding herself without the comfort of Rocky's body to hold. "When?"

"When all this is over, where shall we go?"

"Where do you want to go?"

"Wherever you are." She looked across, into the fire. "It's nice here."

"You want to stay here?"

Rocky shrugged. "I'm not really sure. It’s too much to think about now." She crawled to the bottom of the bed, and sat on the edge, her legs dangling.

Jo watched her for a moment, then followed her. She used the flat of her hand to brush fine blonde hair away from the back of Rocky's neck, and kissed the skin she uncovered. "What's up?" she asked, her lips warm on the blonde's neck.

Rocky let her head fall forward, enjoying the attention Jo was giving to her tense neck. "Nothing, just tired."

Jo settled herself behind Rocky, her longer legs either side of her lover. "We don't have to make any plans yet. We'll just see what the New Year brings."

Rocky felt Jo's arms surround her, and then the taller woman's hands cupped her breasts. She leaned back into Jo, and felt the hands leave her for a moment, only to return immediately, but this time on her bare flesh beneath the tee-shirt.

She tipped her head to the side when she felt soft, warm lips nip at her neck. One of Jo's hands released a breast, smoothing down across a quivering stomach. The hand eased beyond the waistband of the sweatpants Rocky was wearing, pausing there for a moment, before venturing onwards.

The blonde's hips bucked as the hand found its goal. "Easy," Jo whispered into Rocky's ear, her breath warm.

Jo smiled when a smaller hand pressed down on her own, separated by the fabric of Rocky's clothes.

"I never thought I could do this," Rocky whispered, her breathing starting to labour.

"Sssh," Jo's stroking became deeper, her hold on the blonde firmer. "Don't think, just feel. This is me. Us. No-one can take this from us."

"Oh God, Jo." Rocky threw her head back, feeling again Jo's mouth on her, taking her earlobe between her teeth and biting down gently. "Don’t let me fall."

"I won't." Jo felt the body in her arms tense, and held on as Rocky's climax built. Her knowledgeable hands drew out the blonde's pleasure, leaving Rocky limp and sated in her arms. She moved backwards across the bed, pulling her lover with her, until they were lying side by side, their heads on the plump pillows.

"He's gone," Rocky whispered.

"Who's gone?" asked Jo, moving damp hair away from the blonde's eyes.

"Shumacher." Green eyes opened, tired but smiling. "I thought he'd always be there. I didn't think I'd be able to have anyone touch me without feeling him. But he's gone."

Jo smiled. "I'm glad, Rocky."

They lay in silence for a while, Rocky's fingers smoothing across the larger hand she'd captured. "Jo?"

Jo's eyes were closed, but her mouth twitched into a smile. "Yes, Sweetheart?"

"I don't want to be Rocky anymore."

Blue eyes snapped open. "You don't?"

The blonde studied the hand she held closely. "No. Rocky was someone I became. Someone who suffered. Someone I was when I was hiding." She brushed Jo's knuckles against her lips, then raised her eyes to look into concerned blue ones. "I want to be Michelle again."

"Anything you want."

"Shelley. My family called me Shelley," she said, closing her eyes as the memory of her family caused her a sudden moment of pain.

"Do you want me to call you Shelley?"

She sniffed. "I need you to. I want my life back."

Jo gathered her into her arms. "I love you, Shelley." She smiled. "And now I'm going to show you just how much," she said, as she pushed her lover back onto the bed and began to pull her tee-shirt off.

The End.

My thanks to:-
My beta reader, Barbara Davies. The folks who mailed me throughout the posting of this story, the Cathys and the Kathys and Kays Cathy from Wales, who helped me with the Police stuff, and then I still managed to get it wrong. My good chums, Advocate and Steph, who refused to read it until complete, so ensuring its completion. And Charlie, who came up with some of the best ideas of the story. 

 
Mail Alison Carpenter (Midgit)