Ravendorf

The sun broke over Ravendorf Manor and glistened on the far mountains. The sound of morning birds flittered into Margaret's bedroom. She inhaled deeply and nestled closer to the warm body next to her, a smile on her face. Their legs and arms were intertwined, a knot of love tangled in the blankets of the featherbed. Margaret rubbed her cheek on her lover's chest, feeling a nipple harden beneath her face. She turned her head to kiss the nipple, closing her lips around the bud. She sucked lightly, gliding her fingertips down her mate's stomach.

Her fingers touched the juncture of her partner's legs and stroked lightly for a moment with the tips of her digits. A soft, sleepy moan escaped her lover's throat and Margaret smiled, increasing the speed of her caress. "You are going to wear it out," a groggy voice chuckled.

"I can't help it. I love the way it feels." Margaret shifted to smile up the dark body as she slipped her fingers between the folds of skin. She blew across the wet nipple, watching it respond as her fingers glided along the damp layers. Her fingers found the little bud and began stroking it. Her finger slid back and forth over the bud, flicking it lightly and pausing to rotate and massage it.

A groan escaped Lila's throat as she combed her fingers through Margaret's hair. Margaret curled her fingers and slid them into Lila's canal, pumping lightly. Lila began rocking her hips, meeting Margaret's caress and encouraging her young lover. She moaned in pleasure, her body starting to quiver. Margaret wrapped her lips around the large breast near her cheek, her teeth scraping the nipple.

Lila's whole body was involved in the action of lovemaking now. She was lifting her hips in time with Margaret's fingers, her breath becoming short as Margaret quickened the pace. Her head tossed on the pillow and she bit her lip, aware of Elaine sleeping in the next room. She barked through her clenched teeth as Margaret pushed her higher, the girl's mouth suckling harder. Her tongue swept over the nipple again and again.

Lila's body slammed up and down, her feet giving her leverage as Margaret worked her magic. She bit down hard enough to draw blood as her body exploded in waves of pleasure. She collapsed slowly, feeling Margaret's fingers return to their gentle massage of her smooth mound. She relinquished the nipple she had captured and returned to snuggling against the gypsy.

"You've gotten very good at that," Lila laughed huskily when she was able to trust her voice.

"I had a good teacher," Margaret replied, hugging close to Lila. Her fingers trailed lightly up and down her lover's smooth side. They lay in a thoughtful silence as the sun continued to push to the sky. Lila would slip from the blankets in a few minutes and hurry down the trellis. She would not risk being caught when Elaine entered into the chamber to wake the Lady of Ravendorf. Neither one wanted to think about the fact that this was their last morning together. The preparations were ready. Tonight, Margaret would be legally in Phillip's bed and the gypsy band would be departing from Ravendorf grounds. "How different will it be?"

"Hmmmm?" Lila asked, roused from a light, sated doze.

"How different will it be with a man?"

Lila sighed, her fingers stroking up and down Margaret's shoulder and arm. "It will hurt the first time, my little love. There will be blood. You've told me many times that Phillip is a good man. I'm sure that he will be as gentle as he can be."

Margaret shook her head. "But will the pleasure be the same?"

"It's different for everyone. I have never enjoyed being with a man. He will enjoy you being brave and exploring with your hands and mouth, as you have done with me." Lila slipped away from Margaret's arms and climbed out of the bed. She began dressing while Margaret watched quietly from the bed.

"Lila," Margaret whispered. Lila sat down on the edge of the bed, looking at her young lover. She tried not to show the sadness in her eyes. The Lady of Ravendorf had become a passionate lover, eager to know how to pleasure her partner. Margaret had responded ardently to Lila's every touch and kiss and caress. However, Lila knew the ache in her heart did not come from losing a sexual partner.

They had spent every moment available together since Margaret had crept into her tent. They had gone riding together, Margaret showing her new friend all her favorite places in Bavaria. They had gone swimming in the cool water of Ravendorf Lake, dunking and splashing each other and laughing merrily. Lila grinned as she thought of the way that Margaret's chemise had clung to her small curves and her cold, hard nipples. Their play had turned to love. They had lain in a field, staring at the stars, talking about the things that they wanted from life. There had been nothing sexual about the grass scratching their bare skin and the cool breeze sweeping off the Zugpitz. They had held hands but they had not made love.

The sorrow that Lila felt now, the grief that was threatening to tear her apart, stemmed from those moments together. There would be other lovers. Lila had no doubt about that. She would miss Margaret terribly, but she had finally forgotten Aidan. She was finally ready to move beyond the spoiled merchant's daughter. She wouldn't be ready to start a new relationship in the next town, but for the first time in a long while, she felt whole. There would never be a companion like Margaret, though. Aidan's friendship had not been like Margaret's. Aidan had only been interested in the physical side of their relationship. Margaret had wanted to know the person. Lila was going to miss her friend.

"The part that is going to hurt . . . I know that you would be gentle . . . can you do that for me?"

Lila paused, rubbing her fingertips over Margaret's pale stomach and breasts. She sat thoughtfully as she made circles and other designs lightly with her nails. She dropped her eyes. Every part of her wanted to grant the noblewoman's request. She would love to fully take Margaret, to break the girl and claim her as her own. Despite what her heart and body wanted, though, Lila shook her head no.

"Please!" Margaret begged. "I am so scared an so frightened and nervous. I wouldn't be with you."

"When Phillip didn't draw blood tonight, it would be your downfall, my sweet darling. There are ways that I could do it. I have tools made for that purpose. I've used them on lovers who are no longer virgins. If Phillip doesn't break you tonight, then he will think that you have been unfaithful. He'll divorce you or worse, he'll stay married to you and treat you like a servant. I won't leave you to a life of shame."

"But I'm asking you to do it. It's my choice."

"You don't realize what you are asking. You are expected to be a virgin tonight. If you are not, it will haunt you for the rest of your life. Please, my love, don't ask me again. I'm not strong enough to keep resisting your request."

"Then stop."

Lila whimpered, her resistance weakening, and bent her body over Margaret. She curled her tongue around each nipple, dipped her tongue in Lady Ravendorf's navel before she inched lower. The tip of her tongue danced along the slit of Margaret's lips, feeling the bristly hairs tickle her cheeks. A soft, sad moan escaped Margaret's throat and she lifted her hips, offering her body as a sacrifice to Lila.

Lila's tongue glided along the outside of Margaret's eager swollen lips, tasting the girl's anticipation. She dipped a little deeper and Margaret groaned enthusiastically, parting her thighs. Lila glided inside her partner, curling her tongue to scrape the walls and capture as much of Margaret's sweetness as she could. She savored the tasted of her lover, wanting to be able to recall it on the long nights in the future when her heart would ache for the girl.

She lapped harder, finding Margaret's button of pleasure with the tip of her tongue. She circled and flicked it. Margaret moaned and thrust upward, keeping her hips raised off the bed. Lila reached around and grabbed Margaret's rump, holding the girl to her as she rubbed against the nub. Margaret bit her lip, leaving dents in her skin as she tried to hold her sounds of pleasure inside. Lila's tongue stiffened as she found Margaret's hole, thrusting in and out of there, her eyes watching the girl's face. Again, she curled her tongue, scraping the walls and pushing as deep as she could.

The Lady of Ravendorf writhed on her bed, a prisoner to the pleasure and love that the gypsy bestowed upon her. She gripped the sheets in her hands as her body strained toward Lila's thrusting, dancing, diving, flicking, moving tongue. Lila's tongue twisted and curved, pumping in and out faster as Margaret's body and voice exhibited encouragement.

She dove deep, sucking at Margaret's inner being as her partner's body showed the now familiar and glorious signs of release. Margaret bucked violently, but Lila's hands on her rear did not allow the seeking hungry mouth to escape.

Margaret's body melted and Lila's tongue continued to work, cleaning the results of her mouth away from her lover's body. She tasted and drank every drop she could find, knowing it would be the last that she would ever taste. As she sat up, she saw a tears racing down Margaret's cheek. She lay across Margaret, resting her head against the girl's breast. "We knew it would be this way," the dancer said.

"I know." Margaret stroked her fingers through Lila's long, dark hair. Her mind tried to search for the right words to say.

There were no words. After a moment, Lila stood, finished dressing, and slipped over the balcony. Margaret rolled to her side, putting her back to the window, the German Alps, and the rest of the world. She covered her head with the pillow and prayed that the tears would stop before Elaine emerged.