Show And Tell
A story by Suzar
SuzarD@aol.com

"Stop thrashing around like that. You’re getting sand on me."

Gabrielle lay stretched out on their blanket in the sun, eyes closed and hands behind her head, listening to waves lap the shoreline a few yards away. Xena finally managed to find a comfortable spot, sat cross-legged and tossed a crust of bread-- the remains of their lunch-- at a foraging seagull.

"I don’t get it. Tell me again why we’re doing this?"

"It’s the first really warm day of spring. We’ve been sleeping on the cold, cold ground all week and this is our chance to soak up some of Helios’s rays."

"Oh, right. Sorta like those big nasty snakes that come out of hibernation and lay in the sun on the rocks, waiting to--"

"It’s a concept, alright? Call it ‘sunbathing.’"

"I thought bathing involved taking off all your clothes."

"Well, maybe my concept could do with some refining... but it’s not that warm yet. Maybe later in the afternoon."

Xena decided patience might have some benefit after all, and tried to get into the spirit of the project. She lay down beside Gabrielle and looked up at a clear expanse of Grecian blue. Drat. Not even any clouds to entertain her.

"You need some lotion?"

"No." The bard sounded quite definite on this point.

"How about something to drink? I could go get--"

"Gods, Xena! Will it kill you to lie still for five minutes? Just lie back and enjoy the feel of sun on your skin. Close your eyes and listen to those waves. Soak up some warmth. Let the sun melt way all your tension..."

Xena ran a bare toe along the side of Gab’s calf.

"I’d rather have you do that."

"Quit that.... Listen, I’ve got a deal for you. If you’ll stop fidgeting, I’ll tell you what Hereifa and I talked about while you were at those meetings in Astragulus."

Xena immediately perked up. She rolled onto her side, propped her head on her elbow and removed the toothpick she’d been gnawing on. "Great. Tell me everything she said about me."

Gab snorted. "How does Argo manage to carry you AND that enormous ego? I think Hereifa and I did manage to utter a few sentences without the words ‘warrior princess’ in them."

"Well... it’s not like you two have a whole lot in common, aside from me. You’re a bard and she’s a ship’s captain and a--"

"An incredible woman. I hope we hook up with her again soon, there’s so much we didn’t get a chance to discuss. Like her pirate days. Or those monsters she battled. And come to think of it, how did she get that scar, anyway?"

"Wait-- you spent three whole days chatting away with Hereifa and didn’t get around to discussing her career as the most feared pirate on the Mediterranean?"

"Guess that story didn’t come up."

"Or how she slew the Gorgon of Rhodes?"

"Uh, no. Not that one either."

"Surely she told you that story about the Albino Bats of--"

"Nope."

"Then what--"

Gab unleashed a glare on the Warrior Princess.

Xena answered with a meek grin and lay back on the blanket. "I know, I know-- shut up and let the bard tell the stories."

"If you don’t mind...."

Gab took a few moments to gear herself up for a good yarn-- "You’ll like this one," she assured Xena-- and then began.

"Hereifa’s adventures begin in the hills outside of Thrace. She and her sisters spent most of their days tending the family’s cattle, leading them to and from the sparse pastureland of that country. By the time she was a young woman of 16, both her sisters had been married off to boys from a neighboring village and the responsibility of caring for the herd fell to her. Well, one spring evening she discovered that one of the cows had strayed off into the forest-- it was due to calve any day and Hereifa feared a wolf or some other beast might find the newborn creature easy prey. So off she went in search of the cow. She knew the woods well, and there was a big full moon to light the way, and it was, in fact, a very pleasant spring evening-- warm, with the scent of a hundred wildflowers filling the air. She walked on, enjoying the night. In a while she came to a stream, which caught the moonlight and sparkled like liquid silver. She’d only just sat down beneath a cypress tree when she saw a deer come bounding out of the forest and across the stream, followed closely by a woman. But not just any woman. This was the lovliest, most graceful, most radiant woman Hereifa had ever seen. A short, diaphonous tunic clung to her shapely body and across her back was slung a golden bow. When she caught sight of Hereifa beneath the cypress tree, she quickly abandoned her pursuit of the deer and approached. "Have you lost something, Hereifa?" the woman asked. The girl was a bit startled at first to hear herself called by name. "Perhaps I can help you find it..." the woman said, and sat down next to her. Thus began a seduction that--"

"Artemis?" Xena gasped, sitting bolt upright. "You mean to tell me Artemis was Hereifa’s first lover?"

Gab felt a twinge of annoyance at the interuption, but it quickly passed. Xena had always been a more active audience than bardly tradition allowed for.

"Well, not necessarily her first, but that’s not really the point, is it?"

"But Artemis is supposed to be the virgin goddess of--"

"Oh, please Xena. Since when do you believe everything the gods tell you?"

"Hereifa and Artemis. This is too good to be true. I didn’t think she..."

Xena trailed off and eyed Gabrielle curiously. "How come Hereifa told you about this? She never mentioned it to me."

"I dunno. What do you two usually talk about? No-- let me guess. She tells you about some new kind of sail-rigging she thought up, and you explain the latest advances in metalwork techniques. Then you both drink a lot of ale. Am I right?"

Xena shrugged stoically. "Fine. Reduce me to a sterotype, see if I care."

"Oh, come on," Gab said, turning over on her side so she could watch the waves roll in. "I bet you know all about that Ranee who held her captive in the East Indies, and how Hereifa came up with a different way to make love to her every night for a hundred nights in a row, until the Ranee fell in love with her and finally set her free."

"Has she worked that story up to a hundred nights now? First time I heard it, it was just a weekend."

"Oh, but it’s the way she tells it-- going night by night, spending just a little longer on each one, getting more and more exquisitely detailed. Really, you’ve got to admit, she has an incredible repertoire of-- " Looking back over her shoulder at Xena, she saw the arched eyebrow and narrowing gaze. "Oh. I guess you’ve never heard that version, huh?"

Xena shook her head once and frowned. She lay down alongside the bard and slid her hand over her hip, coming to rest in on her waist. "No, I haven’t. But why don’t you tell me about it."

"Nah. I don’t think I could do it justice."

"Bet you could. You’re pretty darned creative about things like that." Xena nuzzled the back of her neck and let her hand stray up over the bard’s taut abs, running her fingertips just beneath the edge of her ragged green top. Gotta find this girl a nice leather bustierre, she thought to herself. Her hand roamed southward again, stroking the rise of her hip, then moved down to slip under the bard’s soft skirt-- ah, no underwear today, how delightful- and caressed her ass.

Gabrielle rolled over to face the warrior princess. She raked her fingers through Xena’s hair and pulled the warrior’s head toward her for a long, leisurely kiss.

"Feeling a bit more relaxed, are we?"she asked, when they’d come up for air.

"Just a tad. I think I need to hear another story, though. To help melt away the rest of that nasty tension. Like you said."

"Actually, the sun was supposed to do that." Gabrielle slid her hand along Xena’s thigh. "But I can think of another approach..."

"See, what did I tell you? So creative..." Xena began unlacing the ties at the front of Gabrielle’s top, taking her time with the process.

"So resourceful..." The two sides of the threadbare garment parted and the warrior princess carefully eased it over the bard’s shoulders and down her arms.

"So... mmmm... delicious..." She cupped Gabrielle’s breasts in both hands, marvelling for the millionth time how perfect they felt against her palms, how pink the nipples and how suddenly they tightened into erect buds, and how she must, simply must feel them against her tongue, right now... first one, then the other, and Gabrielle arching toward her, arms around her neck, pulling her closer...

"I want you--" Xena breathed, lapping her tongue against the sweet flesh, "to tell me--"

"Yes, that feels so good..." Gabrielle began.

Xena pulled away from the bard’s breasts and looked up. "I was gonna say, tell me about all the different ways."

Gabrielle squinted at her in confusion. "What?"

"Hereifa’s story--the hundred nights."

"Oh. Really, Xena, I don’t think I can remember all the details. And anyway, we never made it to the end. Hereifa seems to have turned it into a drinking game-- she passed out somewhere around the forty-seventh night. Sorry."

"That’s okay. I’m just curious. I mean, hearing her tell about all those different ways to make love-- all those wonderful details you mentioned. Surely you found a few of them ...intriguing? Hmm?" She returned her attention to Gabrielle’s breasts, licking slow circles around one nipple while she rolled the other firmly between her thumb and forefinger. "Something you’ve fantasized about, maybe? A little something you’d like to try out ... with me?"

"Well it wasn’t-- I hadn’t-- I mean, I was going to... uh..." Gabrielle stopped, realizing that her stumbling respose was getting her in much deeper than she intended.

"Oh, good." Xena grinned lasciviously. "Tell me all about it."

The bard rolled her head on the blanket and looked up at the unrelentingly blue sky, hoping for some sort of deus ex machina -- or a maybe a large flying reptile-- to extricate her from this situation.

"Whenever you’re ready," Xena said amiably. She lay her head on Gabrielle’s chest and continued stroking those luscious breasts. She could feel the bard’s heart pounding. Something was certainly going on in there. She would wait patiently, giving her as much time as necessary. She counted heartbeats, and after fifty of them raised her head to look up at Gabrielle.

"You’re blushing!" she marvelled. "Look at you!"

Gabrielle’s ears were a deep crimson and a hot flush of pink crept across her cheeks and down her neck. "Sunburn," she muttered, unconvincingly. She sat up and found some breadcrumbs that needed brushing off the blanket.

"Uh-huh," Xena said, in an equally unconvincing tone. A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, but she resisted the urge toward merciless teasing. She crawled over to position herself behind the bard and enfolded the younger woman in her arms.

"Gabrielle, it can’t be that awful," Xena whispered. She rested her chin on the bard’s shoulder. "I don’t think there’s anything you could suggest that would shock me."

"No?"

"Well, you know, I’ve been around. People get pleasure from all sorts of things. As long as nobody gets hurts--seriously hurt--" she added, careful to cover all bases, "I don’t see why ... people shouldn’t... you know, get exactly what they want."

"Really? So even if I was to suggest, say..." Gabrielle looked over her shoulder at Xena, intent on watching her reaction, "some sort of a group thing. That would be okay with you?"

Xena had to admit, this wasn’t what she’d expected. She decided to respond honestly. "Well... I guess we’d have to talk about it, get clear on some things. But sure, Gabrielle-- if that was something that appealed to you. Because I really do want you to get everything you want."

"That’s very generous of you," Gab said, smiling.

"Anyway, I trust your judgement about who the other person-- or people-- would be. I mean, it’s not like you’d suddenly want to do a three-way with Joxer or something."

"Oh. Right," Gab said,and quickly looked away.

Xena’s face froze. Oh... my... gods... she thought.

No...It wasn’t possible.

She began to feel physically ill. This couldn’t be happening-- it must be some horrible nightmare, or maybe--yeah, the Furies must be after her again and ...

Gabrielle sucked in a deep breath, bit her lower lip and turned again to meet Xena’s gaze.

"Got ya," she said solemnly.

Xena blinked at her.

Gabrielle grinned.

"Wha--" Xena remained stunned.

Gabrielle dissolved in helpless fits of laughter.

"Oh, you vile, vicious, LOATHESOME piece of-- ew!"

"Xena the Unshockable, huh? You should have seen the expression on--"

Xena grabbed the bard’s ankles, stood up and hoisted her into the air.

"Hey!"

She hauled the bard toward the water’s edge.

"I ought to--"

"Hey--I’m sorry, alright?"

"Where’s my sword? You deserve to DIE," she shouted, shaking her soundly by the ankles.

"I know, I couldn’t help myself. You were being so nice."

"Gee, I don’t know what came over me-- good thing you were there to SNAP ME OUT OF IT!"

"Come on, put me down-- I said I’m sorry." The bard grabbed for Xena’s knees but the warrior princess held her out at arm’s length, threatening to drop her into the icy seawater.

"Sorry’s nowhere near good enough."

"Xena? Really. This is making me sick."

"Now you know how I feel." Xena relented and dumped her unceremoniously onto dry sand. She trudged back to the blanket and sat down heavily, an expression of utter disgust curdling her face.

Gabrielle followed, brushing off sand. She sat down next to the warrior.

"I’m an oaf, alright? You were being very kind, and very sensitive, and I shouldn’t have pulled such a nasty stunt. Really, Xena-- I appreciate what you were doing there, trying to make me feel okay about... about that stuff."

" ‘That stuff’ ?" Xena echoed, and arched a disapproving eyebrow. She leaned back against the big driftwood log that marked the perimeter of their lunch site.

"Okay, then, if you prefer-- I appreciate you making me feel okay about my deepest, darkest, most twisted sexual desires."

Xena slipped her arm around Gabrielle’s waist and her expression softened. It was awfully hard to stay peeved at a topless bard. She kissed the crown of her head. "Yeah, that’s what I love about you. You’re so twisted."

Gab leaned into Xena’s shoulder. "I mean it. You’ve been so good to me, so patient about helping me figure this stuff out-- oh, alright, not "stuff". What I mean is, I love the way you keep helping me discover what feels right and good. And helping me learn to honor my sexual desire as much as the rest of me-- whatever that desire may look like. " She turned to kiss the warrior’s cheek. "Thanks."

Xena drew in a long breath and issued a dramatic sigh. "Yeah, it’s been quite an ordeal. Sheer torture."

The bard gave her a shoulder bump. Xena pulled the her closer and murmured,

"Gabrielle, I hope you realize-- you’re the one figuring all that stuff out. For yourself."

"Well...maybe. But you provide valuable assistance."

" My pleasure."

Gab gazed at her speculatively and smoothed a strand of raven hair back behind Xena’s ear.

"Speaking of which..." She ran her index finger along Xena’s cheek and then over the warrior’s lips. Xena caught it between her teeth, kissed the tip of it, then released it.

"I was thinking I might offer you a nice little gesture of apology. Supose you’d be receptive to that?"

"I don’t know... you really managed to kill the mood a minute ago." A genuine shudder ran through her. "I may never recover."

"How tragic. I’d hate to be responsible for that." Gab ran a her finger down the seam on Xena’s leathers, from her breast down over her ribs to where the battle skirt began. Delicately, she lifted one of the leather flaps and moved it aside, smoothing it back over Xena’s thigh. She did the same thing with its nearest neighbor, then rested a warm palm against the warior princess’s inner thigh.

"I imagine rehabilitation could be very, very... time consuming?"

Xena glanced sideways at her. Gab had worked the heel of her palm higher and her thumb began making teasing forrays beneath the edge of Xena’s undergarment.

"And very... intensive?"

Xena considered."Probably," she nodded.

Gab leaned in and just happened to graze Xena’s arm with her left nipple. Repeatedly. She pressed against the fabric of Xena’s undergarment with the fingers of her right hand, firmly tracing the warm, moistening cleft there. Her left hand moved up over Xena’s chest, where she unfastened the straps of her leather shift with practiced efficiency. Gab took a moment to press her face against her lover’s cleavage - inhaling deeply, losing herself for a moment in Xena’s scent. Meanwhile, her right hand changed tactics and began gathering up the fabric that stood between her and her goal, pulling it down and away. "This has just got to go," she declared, and Xena obligingly slid the garment off. Meanwhile, the bard peeled away the leather from Xena’s body, tugging it downward, welcoming each inch of newly exposed flesh with her lips and tongue.

Xena enjoyed several blissful minutes as the target of Gab’s attentions-- noticing, incidentally, that the bard was right, the sun on her skin was having a deliciously soothing effect, rather like a shot of ouzo. Then again, it probably had more to do with what Gabrielle was doing.

Xena wrapped her arms tightly around the bard and slowly lowered her to the ground, pinning the smaller woman beneath her.

"Gabri-elle..." she whispered. "I know what you’re up to."

"You noticed?" Gab replied. "I’m so glad..."

"Aren’t you ever going to tell me?"

"Tell you what?" Gab squirmed mildly beneath the her, using the opportunity to enjoy the pressure of Xena’s body against her own, rather than in any effort to escape.

"About this certain something that you want. That makes you blush like a schoolgirl. I guess I can’t force you to tell me ... unless, of course, that’s part of what you want."

"Uh, no. That wasn’t it."

"Oh, now I’ve got it-- you want me to list all the hundred possibilities from Hereifa’s story, and when I get to the right one you’ll paw the ground with your--"

"Stop it."

The tone in Gabrielle’s voice was unmistakable.

"Alright." Xena planted a gentle kiss on her forehead. Then, her arms still wrapped tightly around the bard, she rolled them both over so that Xena lay on her back and when she released Gab from her arms, the bard lay balanced atop her, the full length of their bodies pressed to one another. Xena took a moment to study yet again the features that were already etched indelibly on her heart: the curve of Gabrielle’s jaw, the emerald depths of her eyes, the subtle flare of nostrils that signalled her growing desire...

She took the beloved face between her hands and brought her lips to meet Gabrielle’s, exploring them as gently as if for the first time. When she felt the bard’s lips part and her tongue begin to demand entry to Xena’s mouth, she sighed with pleasure and ran her hands down over the bard’s shoulders and towards her waist. She pressed both palms flat against the small of Gab’s back-- arching upwards toward her, willing the body above her to simply... what? To melt into hers...

Gabrielle shifted on top of her, moving to straddle Xena’s waist as she deepened their kiss.

Suddenly, Xena wanted her with an intensity that threatened to take her breath away. She gripped Gabrielle’s hips, broke from their kiss and manuevered herself lower beneath her body, leaving a hot trail of kisses over her breasts and midriff as she wriggled further between the bard’s knees.

Gabrielle let out a whine of frustration and tightened her legs. She had intended to make love to Xena first, and there was no mistaking where this was headed.

Xena’s tongue traced a wet path low on her belly and she looked up at Gabrielle. She ran her palms over the thighs that pressed against her shoulders. A brief, silent debate ensued and they appeared to have reached an impasse-- until Xena whispered, "Please?"

Well... the bard thought, why not. The afternoon was young.

Xena continued her downward progress, easing her licks and kisses steadily lower, brushing her nose against the fine, damp curls between Gabrielle’s legs. She settled into the sand beneath her and drew a fingernail along the inner crease at the apex of Gab’s thigh, enjoying the way it made the bard shift her hips and move toward Xena’s mouth. The bard’s skirt, while pushed aside in front, still draped over her sides and behind her, collecting and intensifying the scent and heat of her sex. Xena drank it in, aroused still further by the perfume, and reached up to slip her tongue between Gabrielle’s moist lips, groaning as the familar taste of her lover flooded her mouth.

She could hear Gab’s sharp intake of breath, feel her legs flex as she sank against Xena’s mouth, her knees burrowing deeper into the sand on either side of Xena’s head.

Xena gripped the bard’s hips, directing her toward her tongue. Gabrielle leaned forward, resting one hand on the driftwood log, and slowly began to move-- circling, gyrating her hips, raising and then lowering herself against the sublime sensations Xena’s tongue was generating.

Intoxicated with her lover’s tastes and scents and movements, Xena focused on her clitoris with lavish determination-- first enveloping it with her lips, then bathing it with long, liquid strokes from the flat of her tongue. She looked up along the line of Gab’s body to see her-- eyes closed, lips parted, swaying--- and her heart swelled, knowing how deeply the bard was immersed in the pleasure she was giving.

But a small, hard kernel of doubt troubled her-- or was it fear? She tried to shake it off but it persisted. What was this secret desire of Gabrielle’s? Xena prided herself on being an attentive lover, quick to respond to her lover’s subtlest cues. Perhaps, after all, she wasn’t as perceptive as she liked to think?

Something old flared in her. She’d joked about it minutes before but she knew full well that she could force Gabrielle to tell her anything. With just enough pleasure, strategically applied and then denied... it would be simple. She could refuse to allow her any release until--

Gab let out a low moan and thrust her sex in pursuit of the tongue that had strayed from her center. She looked down to meet Xena’s gaze and a smouldering, radiantly sensual smile burned its way across her face.

The hard pellet of fear melted in the presence of the truth. Xena knew she never would, or could, deny this woman anything.

She moved her hand between Gabrielle’s legs and ran her finger through the silky liquid of her, drawing more of the nectar toward her mouth and washing it over the bard’s clit with her tongue. She pressed the side of her hand against her swollen labia and heard her hiss, felt her move instinctively toward the sweet pressure. Xena moved two fingers toward Gab’s slick entryway and the bard immediately lowered herself onto them, tipping forward to maintain the contact between Xena’s tongue and her clit.

"Ye-e-e-sss," she breathed.

Xena’s fingers pushed higher and the bard’s fluid movements turned to short, hard jerks. A cry began low in her thoat but seemed to implode as the tremors of a sudden, intense orgasm shook through her. She arched her back, suspended motionless for a long minute. Then she eased herself away and slid downward along Xena’s body, bending down to kiss her face. 

"You’re all wet!" she observed in mock suprise.

"So are you," Xena countered, grinning.

"And it’s all your fault..." Gab’s hand crept low across the warior princess’s belly but Xena stopped her.

"Not just yet..."

Gab gave her a questioning glance.

"I just want to lie here for a little while and enjoy... the sun. And you."

"Okay." Gabrielle dropped onto her back beside her, suddenly drowsy. She closed her eyes against the glare of the sun and listened to the shriek of distant seagulls.

"I don’t know if I’ll ever figure you out," Xena said thoughtfully.

"Um... was that supposed to be a compliment?"

"It’s just that... well, you didn’t seem particularly shy about getting what you wanted just now. You rarely do."

"I thought you liked that." Gab opened her eyes and turned her head to look at Xena.

"Of course I do-- I love that about you. But then you get all bashful over this thing from Hereifa’s story and won’t tell me--"

"Is that what’s bugging you? Stop worrying about it."

"Oh, right. You bring it up, then I’m not supposed to--"

"Anyway, it wasn’t even in Hereifa’s story."

Xena cocked her head. "No?"

"At least, I don’t think so. Like I said, she never got through the whole thing."

Xena nodded encouragement. "Go on."

"Look, this is ridiculous. Especially after you’ve made such a big deal out of it--"

"I’VE made it a big deal?? Pardon me?"

"I just didn’t..." Gab sighed, then came to a decision.

"It involves a... a sex toy, alright?"

Xena stared at her.

"Stop looking at me like that."

"Sorry." Xena tried her best to keep a straight face. She failed. "That’s ALL? You put me through this for the sake of some-- some goofy little piece of...."

"It’s not so little," Gabrielle said sullenly. She held up her hands, indicating a shifting, vaguely defined length somewhere between six and fifteen inches.

"Oh. I see," Xena nodded. She supressed a grin and willed herself to get a grip. "So this is clearly a ...a serious issue. Something you didn’t think you could talk to me about."

"I wasn’t sure how you’d feel about it. I didn’t want you to take it as a reflection on your...many skills."

"Please. Give me a little credit, will you?"

Gab shrugged. "Well, how was I supposed to know? I wasn’t sure if you’d-- oh, never mind."

"Now, did I miss the part where one day this just dawned on you, out of the blue--"

"Somehow or another Hereifa got started talking about these things, and--"

"That woman, I swear..." Xena muttered under her breath.

"--and I said I’d never seen anything like what she was describing, so she showed me hers."

"Yeah?"

"She has quite a collection, I was suprised. But she is at sea a lot, making those long voyages. So I guess..."

"Ri-ight."

"Yeah, that’s what I thought, too. Makes sense. Anyway, she showed me what to do with them--"

"She did?"

"I mean, she explained what the different toys were for-- some things were really obvious, of course, but there were a few I wasn’t sure about--like these little ball things, I wasn’t sure what they--"

"Ben-Wa balls. I know what you’re talking about."

"Yeah. Hereifa made sure I knew how to use everything, and then I tried them out--"

"She didn’t offer to help you or anything. Did she?"

Gabrielle rolled her eyes. "Xena, you are SO suspicious. No, she did not. As a matter of fact, she was going to have to be gone that afternoon-- had to go make arrangements for some provisions to be delivered-- and said it was the perfect opportunity for me to give them a try."

"Which day was that?"

"Let me think... we got to Astragulus on a Tuesday, so this was... Thursday. Why? Does it matter?"

"Not really." Thursday. She’d been sitting in on treaty negotiations all afternoon, bored out of her mind most of the time. Her thoughts had lingered over Gabrielle many times that day-- Xena had pictured her as she looked when they made love the previous night, and had also imagined what delights she might practice on her lover when she returned to the ship. But never once that day had she envisioned Gabrielle trying out an assortment of erotic playthings. The jolt of arousal that shot through her with that mental image, even now, startled her with its sudden power. She felt the pulse between her legs begin to throb harder, aching for contact.

"Interesting. I take it you found something that... pleased you?"

Gabrielle smiled and ducked her head.

"Yes," she said softly.

Amazing, Xena marvelled. Even discussing dildoes, Gabrielle remained every bit the innocent who’d first stolen her heart. Gods, how she loved this woman! She smoothed the strawberry blond hair back from the bard’s forehead, then stroked her cheek.

"What did you like most about it?" Xena asked, holding Gab’s eyes with her own.

"How it felt ...inside me."

Xena’s arousal deepened into full-fledged lust. She bent down to run her tongue along Gab’s neck, tasting the sweat-salted skin, taking her earlobe between her teeth--alternating between sucking and biting it. Then she pressed her lips to Gab’s ear and in a low, breathy purr suggested , "If you told me more about it-- described it--maybe I could find one like it for you, and we could--"

"You don’t need to do that, Xena."

"Oh, but Gabrielle, I want to--"

"I mean, Hereifa let me keep the one I liked best. As a gift."

Xena’s eyes widened. "Really?"

"Uh-huh."

This just kept getting better and better. "That was awfully nice of her."

"I thought so, too."

"Where is it?" Xena asked.

"Oh, I’ve got it. But are you sure you’d have any interest in... what did you call it? A goofy little piece of--"

"Never mind what I said. Where is it?"

"Somewhere safe. Don’t worry."

"Come on, tell me-- where did you hide it??"

"Hey, what is this? Got a little secret desire of your own, Princess? Now, I want you to tell me all about it, with sound effects and graphic detail. And don’t leave anything out."

"Gabri-ELLE..."

"Don’t be so shy, dearheart-- I won’t be shocked. Really, you can tell me..."

"Actually, I’d much rather show you..."

[Dissolve to blue. Seagulls shriek. Then letters appear. They say: To Be Continued... ]

END

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