RoundRobin: Chapter 16 - NC-17!!! - RainbowWriters

["Jude <AmberBensonFan@xxxxxxxxxxx>" <AmberBensonFan@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

THIS CHAPTER HAS A RATING CHANGE OF NC-17

Chapter Sixteen
By: The Rainbow Writers

The entire procedure of removing Buffy's boots and shirt had
gone by with an almost clinical procedure once they'd reached
the Slayer's room and gotten the battered warrior to her bed. 
Tara had worked quickly to gather everything she needed, even
remembering towels to save the comforter from another trip to
the dry cleaners and another lame excuse about why it was
covered in blood. 

While the Wiccan moved around purposely Buffy had just laid
there on her back concentrating on her breathing. The pain in
her side wasn't pleasant by any means but she tried to
concentrate on it and ignore the lingering arousing smell that
Tara had left with her as they had shuffled through the hallway.


Opening her eyes again she was instantly blinded by the overhead
light that seemed to slice through her throbbing head and she
couldn't suppress the unhappy growl she gave as she reached her
arm up to cover her eyes.

"Let me get that." Tara was laying out the medical supplies on
the side table and noticed the move immediately. Her concern
deepened but at the same time softened as with sure movements
she moved back to her room and collected some candles. Her
brain hummed with worry for the injured Slayer and she thought
sadly of her precious dreams for their dinner that were now
destroyed. Moving back to scatter the candles around the
surfaces in Buffy's room she dimmed the light and with it
changed the atmosphere completely as she lit the votives one by
one. 

"Is that better?" She urged Buffy to lower her arm with gentle
hands.

The touch made Buffy breathe in sharply through her nose as warm
fingers landed on her skin and her eyes opened to see the gentle
dances of candle flames against the walls and ceiling. Above
her to the right Tara hovered looking down at her, the
candlelight dancing off the shiny lengths of her half braided
hair and deep blue eyes. For a long moment the Slayer was
perfectly mesmerized. She found herself studying the small
light bursts that flashed with the flickering flames next to the
dark widening pupils in Tara's eyes, traced over the shadowed
curve of her facial features and with another breath drew in the
sweet smell of the Wiccan who tended to her.

"It's great, thanks." She made herself turn away a bit trying
to swallow down the growing concentration of desire in her body.
She couldn't remember the last time someone had lit a room with
candles for her. She couldn't remember when she had ever seen
Tara look so beautiful and she most definitely couldn't remember
the last time she had felt her body feeling so full of tingling
want. Though as she had this thought her mind instantly snapped
to remind her that Tara wasn't doing this as a pretense to
romance or seduction. 

`She's worried about your side, don't be crazy.' Buffy chastised
internally as she tried to ignore the parts of her brain
remembering the short searing kiss they had shared. She
squeezed her eyes closed as she attempted to concentrate on
anything but the warm feeling of Tara's soft hands as the blonde
sat on the edge of the bed, the curve of her ass almost
painfully pressed against Buffy's thigh as she balanced there. 

For a moment the Slayer had reprieve as Tara massaged the
antiseptic ointment into the split section of bruised skin on
her side from the blunt weapon the vamp had used and the
stinging pain took over her concentration. She played out the
fight in her mind, thinking of each minor mistake she had made
and adding mental notes to work on correcting them the next time
she trained. She had to be at her best when this Beast thing
made its move.

Tara found herself blinking a bit as she worked the ointment
into the Slayer's wound. She tried to blame the added candles
in the room but she feared the sudden heat she was feeling was
being generated by her alone. 

It was something she instantly felt guilty for as her role here
was to tend to the Slayer's injuries and it wasn't something she
wanted to take lightly. After all there shouldn't be anything
intriguing about Buffy being hurt, but she had shamefully found
herself studying the blonde warrior's body as she worked in the
ointment. She'd been marveling at how the battered skin of her
stomach and side was still soft even over the areas of visible
scars which just caused simple ridges in the lightly tanned
flesh. 

With a sinful inner smile she watched as through the white nylon
lace covering Buffy's breasts harder points of arousal strained
out against the tight material. As she watched the subtle
changes in the Slayer's body a part of her mind argued that it
would be impossible for her not to notice such things, it was
what she was attuned to and more of an automatic reaction then
anything so she didn't have to feel guilt.

"Did you get thrown into something?" Tara questioned with soft
concern as she traced lines of scrapes down Buffy's stomach. 
Unable to see the end of them she took a deep breath and moved
her fingers to the buttons on Buffy's jeans, trying to make this
as normal and necessary a move as she could without giving away
her own hidden thoughts.

"Th-rown into a t-ree." Buffy's voice staggered as her eyes shot
open in response to the downward drift of Tara's hands. She
pushed up on her elbows a bit completely shocked by the hard
wave of arousal that spread down her thighs and curled up into
her stomach making her feel almost like she was on a amusement
ride stuck in a moment of full exhilaration.

"There's some little scrapes, can't hurt to put some antiseptic
on them." Tara reassured not sure when her voice had taken on
such a thick honey tone as she continued to undo the other three
buttons and spread the thicker denim back from cotton of the
Slayer's panties. 

"Can't hurt." Buffy nodded breathing in through her nose as her
body hadn't even registered the tiny injuries but did feel ever
ridge on Tara's fingers as they traced over her skin carefully
tending to the marks. Becoming more and more aware of her own
body Buffy was shamefully relieved Tara hadn't asked to take the
pants of completely because she was sure there was no way to
hide the patch of wet cotton she felt pressing back against her
skin.

"How does that feel?" Tara's voice broke the soft silence in
the room as she finished and used the end of the towel to wipe
any remnants of the ointment off her hands.

"Oh." Buffy felt an answer right away come to her lips, one that
basically outlined that without Tara's hands on her body it felt
like there was something missing but she soon cut herself off. 
"Stings." She purposely kept her words short.

"I'm sorry." Tara frowned slightly at the admission of pain, her
hands moving to curl around Buffy's as she looked down obviously
wishing she could take this and so much more from the blonde. 
She was pleased when her motion made Buffy settle back down
against the pillows, and stroking her fingers over the lines on
the Slayer's palm the reminders of her recent fight were
obvious. "Let me get some hot water and a cloth, get some of
this dirt off." 

Buffy was about to object but she'd been so distracted by the
small attention that by the time she got her lips moving Tara
was off the bed and into the small bathroom with the water
running.

In the short moments Buffy found her brain wracked by a thousand
thoughts and desires, most of which revolved around her
conversation with Giles earlier in the Magic Box. How could she
dare come between Tara and Willow? How could she put herself
first in this? Wasn't the whole point of all her recent soul
searching and the lessons she'd learned from her tryst with
Spike supposed to teach her that this lust inside her wasn't
everything? 

She kept her eyes closed even when Tara returned to her perch
pressed against her thigh and began to tenderly wash her hands
Buffy was suddenly faced with a bigger dilemma. Perhaps this
wasn't lust? If it was just that, if it was just the need she
felt to grab Tara right now and kiss her so hard that they both
wouldn't be able to think clear enough to stop this, then
wouldn't she have just done it already? 

It had been so easy with Spike, to use someone, to just think of
herself and not even consider anything else. She would have
liked to defend her actions by saying he was just a chipped
soulless vampire, but that if anything had given an excuse to
the others and not to her. She had known exactly what she was
doing to him and she knew it had just been about feeling
something, anything, even if it was shameful lust.

"Tara?" Buffy opened her eyes when she felt the Wicca finished
with her other hand and the soft edge of the cloth wiped down
around her temple. 

"It's okay, I want to do this." The blonde answered her voice a
hushed soft tone as the Slayer's had been as she brushed the wet
cloth down a smudged cheek. "To take care of you." She added
not sure that either of them was ready for the true admission
she had cryptically made.

"Have you ever heard of Socrates' three levels of love?" The
Slayer licked her lips as she tried to find some consolidation
in her own mind. The eyes looking down at Tara's hands, the
hands that tended to her, they were working with something much
bigger than just a feeling of concern or duty.

"Yes." Tara let the right side of her mouth pull into a slight
smirk. "Eros, Philia and Agape. Lust, compassionate love and
love of the soul." She summed up oversimplifying slightly as
she put the cloth aside and took Buffy's hand in hers again.

"Do you think that they are can get mixed in together?" Buffy
felt her hand move into Tara's lap and just the feel of the
fabric of the Wiccan's skirt against her wrist made another wave
of reaction roll down to tide between her legs.

"I think they aren't absolutes that should exist alone." Tara
tilted her head a little a bit surprised that the reference was
coming from Buffy, not that she considered the Slayer stupid by
any means but she didn't take Buffy as being particularly
interested in philosophy. With a smile she realized there was a
lot about the Slayer she would be surprised to share and even
more than that a lot of things about the Slayer, her thoughts
and worries that she wanted to share. "I think they are best
when they exist together. You need the passion of Eros to
balance the commitment of Agape, just as you need the compassion
that Philia gives to conquer things day to day. I think
complete love is all three."

Tara studied the Slayer for a moment as her words hung then
slowly faded from the air. She could see a struggle on Buffy's
candlelit features and she knew instantly it had nothing to do
with the pain in her side and everything to do with what had
happened when they had kissed. Of course the Slayer was now
feeling confused and overwhelmed, she had admitted that
immediately and with all this time to think Tara was sure that
confusion had only grown.

"Buffy, I know what happened?" Taking a slight breath Tara tied
down all the feelings that were overwhelming her, knowing she
had to do the right thing here and that meant giving Buffy
whatever she needed to get through this. Her words however were
cut off as Buffy leaned up and kissed her again suddenly. She
hadn't really even seen the Slayer approaching as she had been
so busy worrying about what to say.

For Buffy at that moment all of her questions were answered as
her lips pressed against the Wiccan's warmer ones. She could
feel the electricity of the contact and she was glad she was
sitting down or she was sure her weak knees would have given out
again. Purposely not letting the kiss linger or deepen Buffy
pulled her face back a few inches.

"I know I love Willow and I love you, and I know I would do
anything to keep you both safe and happy." Buffy whispered
shifting her hand out of Tara's so that her palm pressed flat to
cup around the blonde's thigh. "What scares me is that I feel
other things too and any time I've acted on those feeling things
get so messed up. Messed up in a way that I never want to have
happened so that it can ruin anything between you and Willow."

"That's where things go wrong." Tara felt her body shiver as the
Slayer's hand cupped around her leg. "If it's just Eros then
everything is lust without real love, once the lust is gone or
it dims there is nothing left to hold everyone together." She
relied on the discussion they were having as her head swam from
the short kiss. Downstairs when she'd been making dinner she
knew she had thought about this, she knew there would be
repercussions but here in this moment she wasn't sure if she
wanted to be strong enough to stop the gravitation pull between
them. 

For a moment her mind thought of Willow and worried. Would the
redhead be able to understand what this was? Understand how any
of this was happening in part because of the unconditional and
profound love they both held for her? Understand how it wasn't
happening to exclude her or to get on without her, but as a way
to struggle through the absence she had caused and even grander
than that to create a solid place for her to come back to?
Understand that it wasn't about just about desire, but about
love.

"Tara, I'm going to say this in the most controlled way I can."
Buffy swallowed her hand flexing around Tara's leg. "Because
between the pain, the post slayage build up and the fact that
right now you are probably the most beautiful thing I have ever
seen, smelled or touched I'm not exactly sure how long I'm going
to be able to stick to Philia and not just dive into Eros." She
licked her lips again feeling most of the pain melt away as her
body became completely tuned with anticipation. 

For a moment Tara couldn't say or do anything, the pure power in
the Slayer's plea had taken all response from her. Looking into
hazel eyes she saw the veils of strength and honour pulled back
to show Buffy as she really was, vulnerable as they all were
with wants and needs that didn't always translate properly with
her duty. This was just Buffy pleading to express the emotions
she had been forced to work so hard to keep hidden and secret. 
This was Buffy in her own strong way admitting that this was
bigger than her too and despite that she was struggling as hard
as Tara to `do the right thing' in the name of real love and not
just passion.

"I'm sorry." Buffy shook her head a bit hearing the pressure in
her own words and looked down at the bed when Tara didn't so
much as blink. "That wasn't fair of me, I'm not going to do
anything you don't?" She tried to explain herself fearing she
had frightened the timid Wiccan. The fact confirmed to her as
she thought of the violence she had experienced with Spike
though those moments made her sick now as she looked down at
Tara's soft alabaster hands.

"I know what it's like to be afraid Buffy." Tara finally shook
her head and moved her hands to cup around the Slayer's cheeks
as she guided her head up so their eyes met. "You don't scare
me, your passion doesn't scare me." 

With those words she pressed her lips forward, skipping over
anything tentative or hesitant as her open lips met with Buffy's
and she began actively moving her mouth over the Slayer's
decisively. Her first task seemed to be to suck the horrible
idea that Buffy could scare her right off the Slayer's lips. 
She didn't want Buffy to ever think that she could be afraid of
her, especially not for basically saying I find you so
attractive and wonderful that if you don't leave the room I'm
going to kiss you and more.

She felt for the first few moments that Buffy was sitting there
in shock just being kissed, but the change was quick when strong
arms came around her body and pulled her closer as the Slayer
began kissing her back. Almost desperately they pressed
together, warm lips giving way to a hot dance of tongues as they
created a connection between their two bodies echoed with
growing pants for air.

Before Tara really knew what was happening she was pulled down
on top of the other blonde's smaller body completely. Still
thinking with some small part of her brain she moved so that she
could brace most of her weight on her knees as she straddled one
of Buffy's legs and trying not to aggravate the Slayer's injury.
The way they settled together was so easy as Buffy's hands
moved down to untangle the prison her skirt had become and allow
her to press her own thigh up higher against Tara's body.

If the Wiccan had expected any hesitation or question in the
Slayer she got the exact opposite, Buffy felt her mind clear of
any worries as she ran her hands up with the skirt to skim over
silky thighs. Her hands were still busy exploring the soft skin
when Tara broke nearly gasping for breath out of the kiss and
dipping her head down was easily able to find the exact place to
close her lips over the silky material of Buffy's bra. Almost
instantly the feel of her wet lips and nibbling teeth caused a
deep moan to slip out of Buffy as her hands gripped and flexed
against Tara's thighs.

For the moment the Slayer's bravado was sidetracked as Tara lips
stayed busy teasing one nipple while her hands went to undo the
now unnecessary bra. Buffy felt her hips arching up with each
flick of the blonde's tongue when the material fell away and in
turn she felt Tara's hips press down over her leg as their
bodies rocked together.

For Tara the world had become an instinct that she hadn't given
freedom too in a long while. To do as she pleased, letting her
actions and reactions be guided by feel and taste rather than
thought. This was far different that anything she had ever
experienced with Willow, not that it was better than being with
her redheaded lover she briefly confided in herself, but only
that it was spiced with a different passion and expression that
indeed could only belong to the Slayer.

Reaching one hand under, she cupped the Slayer's breast drawing
more than the nipple up between her lips as she sucked harder,
her tongue twirling within. She could feel Buffy's hips
pressing against her in almost the same rhythm, screaming to
give evidence as to just how aroused the Slayer was. She could
feel the wet heat that poured out of the thick denim onto the
leg that she now had pressed into the apex of Buffy's hips for
friction. Just as she was sure her own thin panties couldn't be
managing much defense against her own arousal as she ground
against Buffy's leg with an almost desperate need.

Buffy felt a strange whimper cross her throat as the blonde
switched breasts, the trails of soft blonde hair that sprayed
out over her stomach and sides tickled enough to turn her on
just that little bit more.

"God Tara." Buffy groaned as again she felt her body surprised
as it got exactly what it wanted. Her words were timed as one
of Tara's hands slid down into the Slayer's already open jeans. 


Caressing around the small wet triangle of cotton in a quick
move, Tara easily curled her fingers into the awaiting pool of
wetness. Knowing this moment had built up enough she slipped
her fingers down low, circling around swelled inner lips before
she curled all her fingers up beginning to rub up and down the
Slayer's full wet length with the ridges of her knuckles. 

Buffy looked down again, her vision clouded with pleasure as
Tara released her breast and meshed their lips again. While
Tara controlled the pace of the Slayer's hips and the temptation
in the kiss, Buffy concentrated running one hand up the inside
of Tara's thigh to find where her own wet pants met with the
blonde's body.

So caught up in what she was feeling as she touched the Slayer,
Tara didn't catch up with the movement of Buffy's hand until
strong fingers had pushed her panties aside and pressed in to
rub gently over her throbbing centre. She could tell by the
gentle touch that the Slayer knew what she wanted to do but was
almost scared to do something wrong. That tenderness from one
that so many assumed was just an enraged warrior coursed more
pleasure into Tara's already overwhelmed body.

"Oh Buffy!" Tara was forced to break the kiss as she leaned
heavier over the Slayer, her mouth tucked by the other blonde's
ear as the rocked together faster in a hard quick pace. 

Buffy knew she probably should have said something, but more
impassioned grunts and moans won out as the soft sound of Tara's
own inhibited passion echoed in her ear in time to the spasms
that was beginning in her own body. She could feel her hips
flatten and slow in their movement but in perfect response Tara
only added a little pressure to her movement giving the bit more
that Buffy needed to sail over the edge into her hard building
release.

Hearing Buffy suddenly scream out her name, a tone of worry
edging into the Slayer's fast release made Tara bite down her
own almost flared orgasm as she tucked her other arm trying to
hug the Slayer to her body. 

"I'm here. I have you." Tara reassured her with soft whispers
and gentle kisses to Buffy's throat as their bodies rocked
together. "Oh Goddess Buffy I'm right there with you." Another
flare of the Slayer's hips made it impossible for Tara to hold
back any longer, though her release formed as a series of more
jagged movements as Buffy's hand was locked in place between
them.

"Yes, yes, yes." Buffy panted back as things cleared a bit and
settled enough for her to feel both what was happening to her
and what was happening in her lover. 

Things returned again to silent light moans and whimpers as they
collapsed together and withdrawing her hand Tara hugged tightly
onto Buffy her eyes squeezed shut. Reluctantly drawing her hand
back the Slayer closed her arms around Tara's body, trying to
find some way to deal with the flush of emotions and pleasure
that was coursing through her body.

Closing her eyes too Buffy felt a new wave of resolve settle
into her. This Beast, whatever it was, she was going to beat
it. She was going to beat it and she was going to get Willow
back to Sunnydale so that the redhead would know no matter how
far she had sunk in all this black magic there were two people
who loved her, loved her so much. These two things she vowed
silently to herself and to Tara as for along time they laid
there coupled together. 

"We have to get her back." Tara's whisper broke into Buffy's
thoughts, the stress she put onto `we' proving to the Slayer
that the blonde was having almost the exact same thoughts.

"We do." Buffy hugged Tara a bit tighter until she felt the
blonde move to sit up a bit.

"This seems somewhat backwards now but I was making you a
special dinner." Tara blushed lightly as her mouth curled into a
smirk.

"I'm definitely hungry." Buffy commented as almost on cue her
stomach growled and she went bright red. "I don't mean that the
way it sounded, I meant?" She began to backtrack worried she had
made the wonderful moment that was happening between them cheap.

"I'm hungry too." Tara smiled brighter and leaned to kiss the
Slayer on the cheek. She fast believed that there was nothing
cuter that Buffy trying to tip toe around saying the right
thing. "Why don't you get changed?" She grinned at the Slayer's
state of undress. "And I'll go toss the salad."

"Sounds like a perfect evening." Buffy smiled realizing that
Tara understood exactly what she was saying and that for the
moment at least awkwardness wasn't part of this equation.