Tender

Dahlia

***

"You look like shit. No offense, of course."

I turned my gaze over at Vincent on the couch, raising a brow. "How am I supposed not to take offense at that?" He fidgeted with the edge of his sleeve and shrugged. I turned away back to the dining table I was sitting at, ignoring him.

The problem was, I knew I looked like shit. I'd hardly gotten any sleep the night before, and my entire body hurt. Especially my slit, I was reminded thanks to the hard wooden chair pressing against it. Another throb of pain made me clench the table in front of me, and I only hoped Vincent hadn't noticed.

The small apartment's front door crashed open, slamming into the wall and nearly bouncing back shut again. Kara managed to slip in before the door closed all the way, and immediately she ran over to me. I stood up slowly, welcoming her embrace with my own arms tightly wrapped around her. 'I don't deserve her,' I realized, as we shared this quiet moment. Distantly I heard a door close as Vincent slipped away back to his room to give us some privacy.

"I'm so sorry I'm late! I'm pretty sure a couple of your students are going to fail that essay you assigned them, despite my best efforts."

I smiled, brushing my fingers against her short, spiky brown hair. "You're so beautiful," I whispered, blushing as my thoughts voiced themselves. Kara blushed suddenly, turning her head away. I lifted her chin, kissing her lips as though I didn't know how much longer we had together. In a way, given everything going on with Felicity, I didn't.

Before I knew it, she had taken my hand in hers, leading me back to her bedroom. I sat down on the edge of the bed, watching as she stripped out of her outfit. I became acutely aware of how I was dressed; I was back to my conservative, totally covered look, wearing multiple layers consisting of a sweater on top of a dress on top of some pants. At least my shoes looked nice, I mused, ripping my gaze away from Kara's naked body.

That apparently was my mistake, however. Kara immediately sat down next to me, wearing nothing more than her panties to cover her dignity. "What's going on, flower?" she whispered softly, weaving her fingers with mine to hold my hand.

I couldn't help myself from sighing and shifting about on the bed. "It's nothing..." I started, trailing off. I couldn't lie to her, but I couldn't tell her the truth. Something in between then would have to do, I figured. "Yesterday was long and hard. I missed you a lot, and I wish I could have spent the day with you instead."

Kara smiled softly, climbing onto my lap. "I felt the same way. Not seeing you for a day was rougher than I expected it to be."

She leaned forward, resting against my chest. For a moment, I became aware of how small she was, as though she had curled up within herself to take up less space. Her head rested against my chest, listening to my heart beat I assumed. One of my hands found its way to holding her around her hips, while the other gently held the side of her head and played with her hair some more.

"I, uhm, also might be a little sore down there..." I started, unsure how to explain. I didn't just want to say 'oh yeah, another student used my pussy as her own fuck hole and I'm rather broken now', but I had to say something before we started.

"Oh? Were you thinking of me?" A sly grin had spread across her face as she looked up at me. I nodded and blushed, looking away out of shame. Kara went quiet for a moment, before speaking softly. "I can tell something is up. I don't know what it is, and I don't want to pry and dig into your life more than you'll let me. But I'm here for you, ok?"

I nodded, tearing up. I really didn't deserve Kara. I thought about coming clean right then and there, telling her everything about Felicity and the blackmail and what we'd done. But it didn't feel right, ruining this intimate moment, this special connection I was sure we were both feeling.

I leaned down towards her, whispering so softly I wasn't sure if she would hear me. "Kara? Mistress? Can we... I don't know, cuddle a bit?"

A small giggle, then a full laugh rumbled out from her, and I sat awkwardly holding her. "Sweetie, we can always do that, that's not a problem!" She slid off my lap, turning to face me. "Do you want to get more comfortable? I mean, you're rather... dressed up."

"Yeah... that'd be nice..." I stood up, slowly discarding my clothes into a pile on the floor that joined Kara's. My panties would have to stay on, though, because I knew the angry red claw marks would be too visible and too concerning for Kara to dismiss. Besides, she'd kept hers on, so we matched at least. Getting into bed from opposite sides, we snuggled close on the cramped mattress together. Kara, despite being smaller than me in every way, wrapped herself around my back, holding tightly to me.

We laid there for a while, calmly and quietly. It started subtly, a small feeling in the pit of my gut. My rear seemed to wiggle on its own against her lap, and my breathing became slightly ragged. I wasn't sure what was happening, though, until Kara's hand drifted against my midsection, caressing my breasts. I shuddered and let out a long sigh, tilting my head back to join my lover's.

"I think..." I trailed, unsure how to express my desires.

Fortunately, I didn't need to. Kara whispered back to me. "You're horny, hmm? You want us to do something?"

I could hear the smirk in her voice and I whimpered quietly. "Yes please, mistress. Gently...?" She nodded against the side of my head, and within moments her fingers were gliding over my skin. She snuck an arm underneath my side, her hand reappearing by my hips and already cupping my mound from within my panties, while her arm on top of me squeezed my breasts.

"Don't move," she breathed into my ear. "That's an order." Her hands continued their play of me, and I laid there unmoving to the best of my ability. I held my breath, riding out the sensations of pleasure that were already building up through me. "My little flower likes being held, doesn't she? She likes being taken care of?" Her words teased me, making my heart flutter and skip beats as I desired more from her.

My hips moved on their own, grinding against the hand and fingers that were stroking through my wetness with a careful and light touch. It was enough movement, though, to break Kara's rule, and I felt a sharp pinch on my nipple. I squeaked, clamping my mouth shut quickly to try and stay quiet. I could feel the pressure subside on my nipple after a moment, and the pleasurable touches of my mistress began again.

We continued like this, her touches driving my body wild until I couldn't help but to squirm, only to be pinched in a random spot until I calmed down enough to stay still again. I realized the deviousness of her plan as she giggled: we were stuck in a loop, and I wouldn't be able to cum without moving! The idea of being controlled, of my orgasm being denied drove me wild. I did everything I could to stay still, even holding my breath and willing my heart to still just for a chance at release.

Kara's torment - if something as soft and gentle as that could be called torment - was unending. Seconds, minutes, hours... it all blurred together. I whimpered and whined, begging wordlessly for her permission to cum. Finally it came, as she leaned forward and whispered into my ear again. "I'll stop teasing you, you can finish, little flower."

Immediately I let out a loud moan, humping my crotch against her fingers. Despite my eager movements, she didn't slip anything inside me, my sore pussy appreciating the external stimulation. She focused her attention on my clit, and within moments I was shaking against her, my toes curling as I finally tipped over into my orgasm. Everything grew hazy and distant, my body getting harder to control until I finally passed out in Kara's arms.

By the time I woke up, it was dark - not just in the room, but outside as well. I groaned, rubbing my forehead. "What... what time is it?" Silence answered me. I looked around, letting my eyes adjust to the darkness. There was nobody here. I was completely alone in Kara's bed. Panic filled me, before I wrestled control over my emotions again. She hadn't abandoned me, I reasoned.

Not yet, anyway.

I stepped out of bed, creeping through the bedroom. The sounds of muffled talking drifted out to me, and I stood just at the doorway where the living room met the bedroom.

"Did you ask her what was wrong?" Vincent's voice.

A loud sigh, and then Kara spoke. "Yeah, I brought it up, but... she didn't want to talk about it."

"Do you think she knows about your past?"

"How the hell should I know? We haven't really talked about either of our pasts."

"Right, because talking about history with the history teacher is weird."

"Vincent, knock it off. Look, I'm going to talk with her tomorrow. We'll see if she still wants to be with me then."

"I'm just saying, something is going on with her, and you said you-know-who was talking with her? How is that a good thing?"

Kara went quiet for a long moment. "It's not, but I trust her. She wouldn't hurt me."

I had heard enough. I slunk back to the bed, getting dressed as quietly as I could. Apparently, not quietly enough, because Kara was suddenly standing in the doorway as I was finishing up. "Are you leaving?"

I gave her a smile, and nodded. "Yeah... I'm pretty tired as you noticed."

"You can spend the night here... if you want..." I blushed as much as Kara was blushing, though I immediately felt guilty.

"I think I better get home, so that I can get myself together for work tomorrow." I immediately made for the door, but Kara blocked me.

"Hey... can we talk? Tomorrow, before classes start? I'll meet you in your classroom, if that's ok."

I hesitated, before nodding. I'd come clean, I resolved. One last night of having her in my life, and then I'd tell her the truth. Her face lit up, and she leaned in to kiss me. I kissed back, hungrily, enjoying her taste.

"Hey, mis-- Kara?" I looked at her, holding her hands. "I don't deserve you..." I whispered, smiling sadly.

She chuckled, shaking her head. "No, I don't deserve you. But we'll talk about that tomorrow. Goodnight, my little flower!"

I kissed her again, softly, before slipping out of the apartment, past Vincent who only stared at me. I hurried out to the city street below, groaning loudly. How had I fucked this up? Why was everything going to fall apart? I finally found what I needed, what would make me happy, and now it was all going to be ruined in the morning.