It's so quiet that not even the occasional cough or creak of a restless patient turning and tossing disturbs the hush of the small hours. The ward's in darkness apart from the soft-edged beam of a single desktop lamp. The pallid yellow beam falls on a sleepy nurse sitting at an old grey painted steel desk cluttered with books and folders. It illuminates her uniform dress, casting indigo shadows on the royal blue material; gives her bare brown arms a dark-golden glow. It gleams and glints on the plastic of the nametag pinned to her breast and the lenses of her glasses but hides the dark smudges of weariness beneath her eyes. She yawns, stretches, feeling her breasts shift inside the fabric of her bra, a pleasant kiss of satin against half-risen nipples.
She squeezes her eyes shut and clenches her fists, straightens her back slowly savouring the feeling of her muscles tensing. Her mind follows the sensations from her balled fists up through her arms, shoulders, and down into her back enjoying the feel of her body. She peers hazily at the swell of her out-thrust breasts and slowly, wantonly lifts her pelvic floor. She holds the tension until a small shudder of pleasure licks at her womb. She glances over the top of the desk and sees only still and silent shadows against the gloom. She smiles to herself; it's a quiet Thursday night and her last shift of the week, better still she's just given her notice in. Leaning back she closes her eyes, slowly crossing her legs, feeling the warmth and the slinky slide of nylon on nylon, she begins to rock gently to 'n' fro, wishing herself into her lover's arms.
Leyla Imagines tiger-stripes of silvery moonlight and charcoal-grey shadow falling across a carelessly draped bed, warping over the curled body of a woman dreaming nude beneath a thin satin sheet. She lies on her side, a raven's wing of black hair laid across her face. Leyla's hand stretches out stroking it away like a cobweb to gaze lovingly on her face, which nestles in the angle of her elbow. Jinni's naked shoulders are wide, sculpted and sleek, her arms slim and smoothly muscled. The rest of her is subtly flowing curves swathed in a cocoon of pooling satin that rises and falls, shimmering with each breath. Leyla's own breath catches in her throat. Soft fluttering things detach themselves from her insides and begin to tug at her womb as she lets her eyes and fingertips glide and swirl, tracing the warm hollows and contours of her lover's flanks and haunches. Jinni's warm fluid curves melt into her fingertips, flow under her palms then rise between her spread fingers as she writhes like a wisp of smoke from her dreams. Her eyelids flutter, her mouth stretches into a sleepy yawn as she raises her arms to draw Leyla down. Leyla lightly kisses her nose and then as their lips brush and cling, she lets herself be drawn into the bed and wrapped snugly in the sleepy warmth of honey-gold limbs and swift seeping desire.
Their arms enfold each other, fingers stroking and fluttering across upper arms and flanks as Jinni's hand slips under the hem of her lover's uniform dress, caressing the exquisitely soft skin of her inner thighs. Her body awakening, lips swelling and parting, she returns the kiss, letting her tongue probe and play for a few seconds. Her palms stroking lightly over belly and breasts, she begins to breathe quicker as her lips trace the curves of Leyla's cheek and neck. She can smell Leyla's excitement, feel the little shudders of pleasure crawl over her skin and warmth of her breasts pressing against her shoulder. She runs her tongue around the shell of her ear; takes the lobe between her teeth nipping it delicately as her slender fingers tug at the buttons of the dress. In seconds, it's off her shoulders and the weight of those warm curves spills them from her bra. They're beautiful, Leyla's breasts; just right; somewhere between unobtrusive and a nice cleavage, they're fine tight cones of tawny-gold silk with scratchy- stiff nipples the colour of milk chocolate. Jinni bites lovingly.
Hours later, against a backdrop of cracked and missing wall tiles and flaking paint, the two drowsy women lie huddled together in their peacock blue bath. Between islands of drifting, clinging foam, the steamy scented water laps at their throats and shoulders. Jinni's curled up at the end furthest from the taps, legs drawn up against her breasts. Leyla rests her chin on her lover's knees, gazing up at her languidly. Her fingertips caress Jinni's mouth with the same circular smearing touch that she uses to coax her pearl from its swelling liquefying grotto. The pointed tip of Jinni's tongue flicks at one of Leyla's fingertips. She takes it delicately between finger and thumb and presses her nail into it just hard enough that Jinni shudders convulsively. Leyla grasps one of her lover's small perfect breasts and after an affectionate lingering squeeze, begins to stroke at it rhythmically. Her fingertips working lightly into the fullness then trailing away toward the swollen nipple to pluck the stiff little teat between finger and thumb with each stroke. Jinni makes a soft noise in her throat and her fingernails dig hard into Leyla's shoulder leaving four dull red semi-circular marks set in a rough crescent.
"The water's getting cold and you haven't surrendered to me yet." Jinni whispers.
Leyla looks down at the vivid nail marks on her shoulder and says slowly, "I love you." She looks into Jinni's half closed eyes and says it again.
"I don't think I care today." Jinni says, pouting theatrically and pushing her away. They stare longingly at each other from opposite ends of the bath. From outside the window, the rising sound of Hanifa's voice distracts them. She calls loudly to their cat in Turkish. Their friend the widow lives in the flat downstairs and looks after Rafi during the day. As her garden door shuts with a bang, they turn their attention to each other again.
"Apologise." Leyla demands, looking fierce as she caresses Jinni's calves and thighs with her toes. Jinni wrinkles her nose then begins to giggle and splash water at her lover. Leyla lunges for her and they slide beneath the surface of the water sending a tidal wave over the edge of the bath.
Under the rippling, lapping water they wreathe together, tracing the contours of each other's necks and backs and haunches in small smooth circles, oil-smooth curves flowing beneath their fingers as they kiss with slow determined passion. Leyla's tongue flows smoothly into Jinni's open mouth flickering gently as she tries to wedge her knee between Jinni's thighs.
"We'd better get out of here before we wrinkle up and freeze to death." Jinni says.
