Chapter Text
General Sarah Alder was not in the habit of rushing for anyone, but she was eager to get this meeting with General Sharma over with. Still, she could hardly help but indulge the young Tally Craven when she found her path blocked while en-route to her office.
“Your empathy, as ever, shines through. You have my blessing. Thank you.”
Craven beamed at her. Alder’s chest constricted. Why have I never noticed the way the sun highlights those golden strands in her hair before? Like scarlet ribbons. A sad smile crossed her features as she recalled the old civilian folk song.
“General? The delegation from The Hague are waiting in your office.”
Alder frowned at the sudden interruption. She flicked an annoyed glance at the Lieutenant, who obligingly retreated into one of the trees which lined the cloister-like corridor.
Tally flushed and dipped her head as she bounced off, with a brief ‘thank you, General’ tossed over her shoulder.
Before she realised what she was doing, Alder about-faced. “Craven?”
Tally halted her stride, her eyes raised to heavens before she turned once more to her commanding officer. “Yes, Ma’am?”
“Would you…That is, please report to my office after your classes have finished for the day.”
Tally bit her lip and swallowed. A sudden sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach. “Ma’am, have I done something wrong?”
Alder tilted her head. “Not at all, Cadet. I… I merely wish to discuss something with you. Nothing to be concerned about.”
Craven tried her hardest to hide the grin which threatened her lips. “My last class finishes at 1800.”
“Then I shall expect to see you at 1830.”
Alder granted her a knowing smirk, then in an instant, she was gone. Swept away on a tide of Biddies.
Tally could do nothing but stare helplessly after her, the sinking in her stomach turned to a roiling jelly.
“Yes, Ma’am.” She repeated inanely, though Alder was already well out of earshot.
As Alder trooped along the hallway towards her office, she scrambled to fix her game-face back in place.
Smooth, General. Came the sardonic remark from Dylan. The newest recruit to the elite team, but already easily the most forthright of her Biddies.
Don’t make me regret bringing you on, crone. Sarah grumbled. If I had realised the ageing process meant you girls would actually think like old besoms as well as look like them, I’d would have given up centuries ago!
So what are you planning to discuss with young Cadet Craven this evening, anyway?
Nothing you need be privy to. Now focus.
The meeting with The Hague delegation was nowhere near as interesting as it should have been. Indeed, Alder found herself staring off into space while General Sharma droned on about the merits of India. It wasn’t that she necessarily disliked the woman per se. Just her supercilious demeanour and her assertion that Alder was more or less the root of all evil.
Perhaps a slight exaggeration on my part. Alder admitted to herself.
Only slight.
She darted a warning glance at Dylan, and continued to allow Sharma’s prattling to wash over her.
Carefully, she closed down the link between herself and the Biddies until it was barely ajar, and let her mind wander back to her earlier interaction with Cadet Craven.
Compassionate, yet the righteousness of youth has not been crushed by hard reality. Not yet.
She considered how happy the girl had been at being allowed to help her fellow cadet.
Poor young woman. She has no idea.
Sarah sat back in her chair and gave a sage nod.
Over centuries she had perfected the art of making it appear as though she were taking note of everything that was being said, while allowing herself the space to reflect. Yet equally, she was aware enough to still respond to any threat.
Such as General Sharma’s railroading of Khalida and Adil.
“Khalida, I wish you would reconsider. Talk to your brother. He was there, in the Tarim. He saw what the Camarilla is capable of.”
The conversation drabbled on, coming to no real resolution. As the trio filed out of her office, Sarah turned to Florrie, the most senior of her current crop of Biddies.
It galls me to admit it, old friend, but more and more in my meetings with General Sharma, I feel I do not have the upper hand.
Florrie gave a snort.
She is her mother’s daughter.
Indeed.
Florrie sauntered over to the chess table at the side of the fireplace. After perusing the board for a moment or two, she lifted her bishop, and knocked over Alder’s queen.
But that doesn’t mean you need to like it.
Sarah frowned, then glanced at the discreet brass clock on her desk.
Take the remainder of the day. And the evening.
Oh? Something special planned, General? Cora needled from behind her knitting needles, their rhythmic clickety-clack lending her an air of innocence that Sarah knew to be entirely misplaced as she raised a sardonic eyebrow.
Enjoy your dinner.
Florrie eyed her for a moment before she shooed the gaggle of cackling crones from the room.
I hope you know what you’re doing, Sarah.
Sarah gave her an arch look.
I’m sure it’ll come back to me.
Florrie huffed and stomped from the office, muttering something about ‘stubborn, triple-centurion hags…’.
“I heard that!” Sarah called after her.
Sarah sighed, and gazed about the room, then at the clock which still only read half-past four. With little better to do- or at least, nothing she felt like doing, she stalked into her adjacent private quarters and hauled out her old easel.
It took a few minutes for her to set the rickety collection of wooden rods into some semblance of order, after which, she rooted around the back of a cupboard for a clean canvas, and a wooden crate.
Bringing everything near to her favoured armchair by the fireplace, she dropped the crate to the floor and ripped the canvas from its cellophane covering. After several moments of trying to find a good balance on the somewhat wonky easel, she lifted the wooden box onto her lap. From inside, she grasped a truly ancient tin. On the slightly rusted lid was a picture which stated that ‘Boy Blue’s Finest Toffee’ was to be found within. The toffee had long-since vanished, but still, Sarah ran her fingertips across the rough, tarnished metal, before she slipped her nails beneath the rim. After a brief pop, and a hiss of escaping air, the lid, she set aside, then bent to blow the dust from her long-forgotten collection of finger paints.
*
The bright knock at the door made Sarah jump. She glowered at the clock.
It can’t be that time already.
She hopped from her chair, easing past the easel with a limberness which belied her age, and yanked open the door. The sight which greeted her gave her pause.
Tally Craven was dressed immaculately in her uniform. Not one hair was out of place. Her posture, at perfect attention. The picture of military propriety.
Her smile, however, had faltered.
“Craven.” Sarah swallowed.
“Am… am I too early, General? Or late?…oh, Goddess-“
“Not at all, Craven.” Sarah recovered her senses and shook her head. You’re going to give the poor girl a stroke, you idiot. “Please, come in.” She stepped aside, and placed her hands atop the leather wingback opposite hers, but Tally had already drifted over to stand before the easel. Sarah’s breath hitched as she caught the expression on the young woman’s face.
“Did you do this?”
Sarah hesitated. “Yes.” Her voice cracked. She cleared her throat and moved to Tally’s side. “Yes.” She raised a hand between them and the canvas.
Tally giggled at the state of Sarah’s fingers, all smudged with thick layers of multicoloured paint. Before she could stop herself, she reached, pushing her own fingertips through the gloops of colour, mixing them as though Sarah’s hand was her palette. “Messy much?”
“Goes with the territory. It’s a finger painting.”
Tally arched her neck, aware of Alder’s cool breath tickling at her cheek. “It’s beautiful.” She stared at the array of golds and browns with hints of orange and a fringe of ice blue about the edge. “I didn’t know you were a painter. You have hidden depths, General.” She suppressed a murmur of delight as Sarah’s answering chuckle vibrated in her ear.
“I haven’t done one in a very long time.”
“Would it be presumptuous of me to ask why now?” Tally shuffled backwards a mere fraction, until she could feel Sarah’s heat radiate along her spine.
The velvet rumble of Sarah’s voice, when she finally replied, shot a ripple of delight through Tally’s gut.
“I suddenly felt inspired.”
Abruptly, Sarah pulled away, an icy blast hitting Tally’s back in her wake.
“Please, have a seat. I’ll be back in a moment.” Sarah disappeared through a side door, partially obscured by the huge mahogany mantle which dominated the room.
Tally stared at the empty air. “What the hell just happened?” But the office offered no answers. “Never does.” She grumbled. She took a minute to really observe her surroundings. She had never been alone in Alder’s office before. The rest of the room was dim, with the only light coming from the blaze in the hearth. Strangely, unlike some of her fellow cadets, she had never found the space intimidating. Instead, she found the warm wood and the scents of peppermint and spiced whisky comforting.
Perhaps because, until recently, she had always found Alder herself comforting. The General would never know it, but for years, living under her mother’s strict anti-military shelter, the figure of Sarah Alder provided the promise of escape to a world full of wonder… and friendship.
At the creak of that secret door, Tally bolted into the wingback Sarah had pointed her to, her fingers gripping the armrests as she willed her heart rate to slow. This proved an exercise in futility as the elegant form of an out-of-uniform Sarah Alder swept back into the room, a mysterious cargo in her hands.
“Um, General? Not that I’m not grateful, but… what exactly am I doing here?”
Tally stared, slack-jawed, as Alder dipped her head. A most charming flush rose in the other woman’s cheeks.
“I wished for your company this evening.”
The corners of Tally’s mouth lifted and Tally had to battle to stifle her grin. Sarah’s reply was small, and just so very un-Alder like. Then she spotted what was on the board Sarah held in her hands and allowed the smile to take over her features.
“I didn’t know what you like. I thought a little charcuterie was a safe bet.”
The word charcuterie, the way Sarah had wrapped her tongue around it, it curled about her ear like mist. She took in Sarah’s appearance; her tussled black hair which cascaded halfway down her back, the plain white shirt with its satin accents which hung freely about her hips… and those black trousers that clung in all the right places, and led to a pair of finely manicured feet. But the outfit was nothing to a sight Tally never thought she would see.
Alder’s ice blue eyes were so earnest and uncertain.
“Forgive me… Tally.” Sarah tasted the young woman’s name. Suddenly, it seemed to take on a wealth of new meaning. “I’m unaccustomed to requesting the company of others. Not in this manner. Not for a long time.”
Tally immediately softened. “It’s alright, General. It looks great.”
Sarah nodded and knelt on convenient cushion before Tally’s legs. “Please call me Sarah.”
“Really?”
“In uniform, I am General Alder and you are Cadet Craven, but as of right now? I’d like to just be Sarah.”
“I’m still in my uniform.”
Sarah smirked, and the set to Tally’s shoulders immediately eased. Much better. She thought. Sarah gave her an odd look, but made no comment other than; “We can do something about that.”
Tally released her breath with a nervous laugh. “Yeah, I guess we can.”
Slowly, she slipped her hand along the seam at the front of her jacket.
Sarah watched her every movement. Scrutinised each twist of Tally’s fingers. She bit her lip as the tip of Tally’s index finger reached the base of her throat. Without hesitation, and an impressive display of quad strength, she raised herself on the balls of her feet and helped Tally ease the now offensive jacket from her shoulders.
“Better.” said Tally. Heat flooded her cheeks.
“Much.”
Both women gazed at each other for several moments, one as uncertain as the other.
“What’s the meat?” Tally pointed at the board which now sat atop the crate of Sarah’s art supplies.
Sarah blinked and fought to recover her senses. She brought the charcuterie board to Tally’s lap and pointed at the finely sliced morsels in their neat ranks. “Salami from Genoa, prosciutto di Parma, Iberian chorizo and saucisson d’Auvergne.”
Tally was helpless but to follow Sarah’s sculpted hand as it passed over every single delicacy, and the exotic words rolled from her lips.
“And here we have Gruyere, Boursin, Manchego and Muenster, with some oatcakes from Scotland, crusty bread from a wonderful little local bakery, and a selection of pickles and chutneys.”
Something swelled in Tally’s chest. A lump rose in her throat. “Sarah, I can’t believe you did all this. Just for me?”
“Well.” Sarah took a breath, and began to smooth some butter over an oatcake before gently tearing off a piece of prosciutto. “I thought, having dragged you away from an evening with your sisters, the least I could do would be to feed you.”
“That is… so unbelievably sweet.” Tally reached to tuck a swathe of black hair behind Sarah’s ear, then stroked her thumb along her cheekbone. “And you’re not dragging me away from anything. I see those two every night. This is much more special. I do feel a little guilty though. I mean, I know you don’t eat or anything.”
Sarah shook her head and offered a morsel to Tally’s lips. “You needn’t. I can derive just as much pleasure watching you partake.”
Tally chewed carefully, doing her best to savour each individual taste as befit such an extravagant offering. “Can I ask you something?”
“I think we are a little beyond asking permission.” Sarah crumbled some cheese into some awaiting saucisson, wrapping it into a tiny parcel. “Please, ask your question.”
“Do you ever miss it? Food, I mean.”
“Hmm, Anacostia recently asked me the very same question.” Sarah passed the parcel between Tally’s lips, a frizzle of electricity tingling all the way from her nails to her toes as the tip of Tally’s tongue brushed against her fingertip. “Yes, sometimes. I see wonderful produce such as this, and it saddens me.” She leaned forward conspiratorially. “Then sometimes I wish for nothing more than a giant, greasy cheeseburger.” She grinned and sat back on her heels. “Which is why I must occasionally enjoy these things vicariously.”
“When did you stop? Was it like, you just woke up one morning and said, ‘hey, I don’t need to eat anymore, I can stay skinny forever’?”
Sarah chuckled. “Not quite. It happened gradually. After I took my first biddy. At first, it was just a decrease in appetite, but as I took more and more, the less nourishment I needed until somewhere along the way, I stopped entirely.”
The rest of the meal passed in quiet conversation, with Tally fascinated with each tidbit Alder shared.
“You know you’re my hero, right?”
They were down to the final slice of bread when Tally blurted the question.
Sarah rocked back on her heels. “I see. That is unfortunate.” She said, utterly deadpan.
Tally’s face fell, along with her, now full, stomach which dropped through the floor. “What?”
“Well they say you should never meet your heroes.”
Tally gaped at her. The words she can’t be serious! flew through her mind at lightning speed. Did I just screw everything up? Oh, Goddess no! But then something odd happened to Sarah’s mouth. The corners twisted suspiciously.
“You’re teasing me!” Tally let out a burst of laughter. “Sarah Alder is teasing me!”
For the second time that evening, Sarah flushed a bright crimson, and Tally knew it had nothing whatsoever to do with the roaring fire. Goddess, she’s being so sweet. I’ve never seen her so open.
Once again, Sarah gave her an odd look.
Can she…? She can’t…she can’t really hear me. Can she?
But Sarah merely continued her warm regard.
“Sarah, I don’t know what to say, other than, thank you so much.”
“A thank you does very nicely, Tally Craven.”
Sarah removed the board from Tally’s lap, then covered the other woman’s hand with her own. The heat from Tally’s soft skin permeated her own much older bones.
Neither woman knew or cared how long they held moment, neither wishing to break the mutually contrived spell.
“I should let you sleep.” Sarah uttered the words but her voice was a mere husk of its usual conviction.
“Guess so.” Tally agreed, but interlaced their fingers.
Sarah regained her feet with a grace that made Tally’s chest constrict. She led them both to the door, and un-clicked the lock, but Tally eased herself into the narrow gap between it and Sarah.
“Sarah?”
“Hmm?”
“What if I didn’t want to go just yet?” Tally brought their joined hands before her face, and pressed her lips to each of Sarah’s knuckles.
Sarah struggled to catch her breath. “Are you quite certain, Tally?”
“So certain, Sarah. Don’t make me go.”
Sarah reached past her, and re-locked the door, before stepping away from Tally, never letting go of her hand, then led her back over to the fire.
Tally watched as Sarah glared at the dying fire in dissatisfaction. Her mouth fell open as, with a flash of her eyes, the fire blazed back into life.
Sarah returned to the cushions on the floor, this time tugging Tally to join her. Her eyes widened, pupils dilating perceptibly, as she noticed the way golden streaks of the other woman’s caught the firelight, seeming to burn just as brilliant. With her free hand, she ran her fingers down those strands with just the barest graze of her fingers before trailing them along Tally’s temple, her jaw, to her chin, which she held softly between her thumb and forefinger.
Each woman held the other’s eyes as Sarah slowly, agonisingly slowly, leaned forward. At the last second, Sarah’s gaze flickered to Tally’s waiting lips, then back to her hazel eyes. One final chance to back out.
Both women allowed their eyes to drift shut. Sarah tickled Tally’s nose with her own for just a second, then grazed her lips over hers with just the barest contact.
Tally shivered and whimpered in her desperation.
She pressed herself into Sarah’s body, slipping both arms about her shoulders, and kissed her firmly.
Sarah moaned into Tally’s mouth, and wrapped her arms about Tally’s waist in turn.
“I can’t wait for you any longer, Sarah.” Tally muttered against Sarah’s mouth. “I miss you.”
“I’m right here.” Sarah cupped Tally’s face in both hands and regarded her solemnly. “Tally, I’m right here.”
“I know.” Tally nodded, and tilted her face to kiss each of Sarah’s palms, rubbing her cheeks against Sarah’s calloused skin. “It’s just, I can’t actually believe this is happening. Goddess, I think I’ve wanted you since I was eight years old.”
Sarah laughed. “Well, there is a lot to unpack with that statement. How about instead, you just kiss me?”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
Tally smiled into their kiss, which Sarah obliged in deepening. Tally teased Sarah’s lips, dodging the other woman’s attempt to catch her with her own tongue, and instead continuing her torment of her delicate flesh, before allowing Sarah to tangle with her.
Time was meaningless. Minutes, hours, days could have passed in a tumble of kisses and touches.
Sarah tugged on Tally’s hair, encouraging her to arch her neck. Reluctantly, Sarah tore her mouth away and turned her attention to the spot at the back of Tally’s earlobe, sucking on it firmly before soothing it over with her tongue.
She trailed her lips down Tally’s throat. She paused at the dip where collar bone met neck and nipped at the skin with her teeth.
Tally arched, and grabbed at Sarah’s back, her nails finding muscle and digging in hard through the material of the white shirt. It was soft, but not what she longed to feel.
“Off.” She grunted.
Sarah backed away from Tally’s neck, her face flushed, lips swollen, and her hair wild. She pressed on Tally’s chest until the other woman lay among the cushions. She straddled Tally’s hips and squeezed. “Was that an order, Cadet?”
Tally looked up at her, a defiant set to her features. “Yes. General.” She yanked on the hem of Sarah’s shirt.
Sarah smirked, and paused before finally, with excruciating slowness, unhooked each damn silk-knotted button.
“Too slow.” Tally grumbled, and made a swipe for the buttons herself, but Sarah grabbed her wrists.
“Uh-uh.” Sarah ‘tsk’d’ and shook her head. “A good soldier understands the importance of patience in the field.”
“We’re not in the field!”
Sarah chuckled and rolled her crotch against Tally’s hips. She brought the other woman’s hands, within her own, to the remaining buttons. Under Sarah’s guidance, each one slid through their joint grasp.
Tally’s mouth ran dry. When did she get so damn sexy?
Sarah tossed her a wink and eased the shirt from her torso. It landed somewhere in the darkness beyond their little cocoon.
Tally gaped at Sarah’s full breasts, released along with the shirt. Immediately, she went to make a grab for them, but stopped herself at the last second, forcing herself to grab thin air instead.
“Very good, Cadet.” Sarah smiled in approval, then leaned down to kiss her deeply.
Propping herself on one arm, she slipped a hand beneath Tally’s black T-shirt, and met with the elasticated standard issue sports bra all cadets wore. As she edged her fingers past the tight material, Tally gripped Sarah’s back once again, scraping her short nails over her skin. Sarah cried out with each deep scratch.
Tally frowned and stilled her fingers. “Sarah? Sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you.” She made to pull her hands away but Sarah grabbed one, re-placing it on her back.
“Don’t you dare!” She bit down on Tally’s neck.
Tally laughed, and dug even harder into Sarah’s back, her thighs coming to wrap around Sarah’s waist. She yelped as, from nowhere, Sarah growled and ripped her T-shirt clean from her body. “Sarah!”
But Sarah wasn’t listening. She attacked Tally’s sternum, kissing, nibbling, licking every millimetre of newly exposed skin.
Tally strained beneath Sarah’s superior bodyweight. She tangled Sarah’s copious hair around her fingers and urged her lower.
Sarah, deciding Tally had been tormented enough, gave her black sports bra the same treatment and tore it from her in a single movement. She licked the entire length of one pert breast, while her hand repeated her actions on the other. She slid her tongue to the underside and gently teased from one corner to the other. All manner of unholy sounds and oaths issued from Tally’s throat, an incoherent plea.
Sarah took a wide circle around one rosy nipple, ignoring the perky, puckered nub entirely before switching to Tally’s other breast, giving it the same treatment.
Tally’s hips rolled into Sarah’s midriff, her entire body writhing in desperation. Fuck, Gerit never did this to me.
Sarah’s teeth bit down on one of Tally’s nipples, making the other woman yowl.
A pulse shot through Tally’s nether regions and she bucked hard into Sarah’s body. “Please, Sarah!” She cried.
“Please what?” Sarah mumbled around one nipple, before taking as much of Tally’s breast into her mouth as she could.
“Please don’t make me wait any longer, Sarah. I need you.”
Sarah raised her face to look at her. “Of course, darling. All you needed to do was ask.”
Tally huffed and threw her head back into the cushions, ignoring Sarah’s chuckles as the other woman sent ripples through her tummy once more, this time with teasing fingers.
Sarah lifted her body from the grasp of Tally’s thighs and knelt between her knees. With a silent check on Tally’s face, and the briefest thanks to the Goddess, she unhooked the young woman’s belt with a quickness borne of centuries of practice, and tugged Tally’s trousers from her legs. She arched a brow at the glistening sight before her.
“I had no idea you had designs on joining one of our commando units, Cadet.”
Tally fought to click her mind back into gear, to no avail. “Huh?”
Sarah slid a single, cool finger up the length of Tally’s slit, admiring the wetness which coated her skin. “Look at me, Tally.”
Tally struggled through the haze to actually understand Sarah’s words.
“I said look at me, Cadet.”
The clip of command cut through the fog of pleasure, and Tally snapped eyes to meet Sarah’s. “Yes, Ma’am.”
She watched, awestruck, as Sarah, her glacial eyes still looking directly into her own, licked the glob of Tally’s juices from her own finger. Her mouth fell open as Sarah dipped back to her slit and repeated the action, this time taking the single digit into her mouth and sucking it clean.
She continued to watch as Sarah crawled back up her body, and slipped an arm beneath her shoulders. When she spoke again, it came as little more than a whisper.
“I dearly wish to taste you, Tally Craven, but more than that, I want so badly to kiss you as you fall apart in my arms. Just this once.”
Tally’s eyes burned with sudden tenderness. Instead of attempting a reply which would never be anything but inadequate, she gripped Sarah’s head, and pulled her close, kissing her hard. Their bodies, slick with sweat, strained against each other with every caress.
Sarah took the invitation, and stroked her fingers up and down Tally’s lower lips.
Tally trembled and bucked as Sarah found each and every one of her secret crevasses. She wrapped Sarah’s waist once again, tight between her thighs, squeezing as Sarah found the hood of her clitoris.
Sarah, continued her teasing, swirling around the outside of Tally’s clit until her body itself begged for more pressure. She hugged Tally’s clit between her fingers and swizzled them round and round, back and forth, faster and faster until Tally was crying into her mouth. But Sarah wasn’t done yet.
Tally let out a whine as Sarah slowed her movements.
She bent to Tally’s ear, her breath hot. “I want to be inside you.”
Tally nodded, no words, only whimpers of pleading before Sarah covered her mouth once more.
Sarah slid her middle finger just inside Tally’s entrance. The tight, velvet walls instantly clamped about Sarah’s digit. She kept her finger steady, allowing the younger woman to adjust before she eased all the way in. Moving, slowly at first, she searched for that special spot she knew had to be there, her tongue matching her every tormenting motion in Tally’s mouth.
Tally caught Sarah’s tongue with her own, stroking along its length as her body tried desperately to pull her impossibly closer, deeper. She wanted Sarah so completely, wanted anything and everything Sarah was willing to give her.
Sarah found what she was looking for. She slipped her index finger inside, easily this time, Tally’s willing core happy to accommodate the extra width and length. Sarah pressed up into that roughened patch of skin which craved pressure best.
Back and forth, back and forth, Sarah’s thumb on Tally’s clit, and her fingers buried deep, worked in sync until the guttural sounds uttered into her mouth grew more and more uncontrollable.
Tally battered herself against Sarah’s body, driving herself higher and higher.
Then she was there.
Blinding flashes streamed behind her eyes. A golden energy, streaked with lightning crackled all around them, or perhaps that was just her fanciful imagination.
Her walls crushed Sarah’s fingers, but Sarah held fast, pressing with all her might as she let Tally ride the crest.
As Tally finally floated back down to Earth, her insides released Sarah’s frozen digits. But as Sarah began to gently remove them, she made a grab for her wrist.
“No.” She swallowed, trying to force her brain into some sense of functionality. “Please, stay?”
Sarah screwed her eyes shut. It was her turn to sting this time. She settled herself back down onto Tally’s exhausted body, mindful not to crush her.
“Anything you wish, my darling.”
*
Sarah lay with her back to the chill of the office, a very sleepy Tally curled in her arms toward the warmth.
“Hmm, you’re gonna get cold back there.” Tally mumbled.
Sarah placed a kiss to her shoulder. “Trust me, I’ll survive.”
Tally grinned and reached for the board which had ended up on the floor in front of Sarah’s chair, admiring the way the handle fit her grip. Huh. My first charcuterie.
“And how was it?” Sarah asked, indulgently.
Tally narrowed her eyes. “Wait!” She turned in Sarah’s embrace. “So you can hear me. I knew it!” To the young woman’s credit, there was only the slightest hint of accusation audible in her tone. “How do you do that?”
“As I mentioned, the bond we have will endure forever, in some small way. It will strengthen or fade as we choose.”
Tally set aside the board, and stroked Sarah’s cheek. “I choose you, Sarah Alder. Y’know, you never told me what inspired you to paint after all this time.”
“Is there a question somewhere in there, Cadet?”
“Yes.” Tally matched Sarah’s brow.
“You’re a clever girl. I’m sure you can figure it out.”
“Maybe I want to hear you say it.”
Sarah mirrored Tally’s caress, trailing her forefinger down the younger woman’s jaw. “You, Tally Craven, inspire me.”
Tally observed Sarah for a second or two. “I’ve never finger painted before. Not like that. Will you show me someday?”
Sarah placed a delicate kiss to Tally’s lips.
“With the greatest of pleasure, my love.”
“And you love me so very well, Sarah.”