A Rock and a Heart Place (gxg)

Chapter 20

Inez spent over an hour searching the woods near their tent, calling out to Medya, and hoping she would return to her. She knew that if a Kittani who can turn invisible doesn't want to be found in the woods, then she certainly won't be found. But she had to try. But after all that time, she stumbled through the dark and back into the tent, her eyes puffy with the tears that she had shed. She collapsed on the pillows, still sobbing in a way that she was sure was not queenlike, but she didn't care. She just wanted the love of her life back. What had started out as one of the best nights of her life, had ended as one of the worst.

In the early hours of the morning, Medya finally crawled into the tent, scratches all over her body as she had gone crashing through the underbrush before putting her clothes on. Inez immediately grabbed her, pulling her into a tight embrace so she couldn't run away. Not that Medya wanted to, she hated being apart from Inez after the night they'd had. Their tears mixed together as did their lips, knowing that their love was still there even without saying it.

"I'm so sorry my queen. I'm just so anxious about that brand. I can't bear for you to think any less of me for that, and I don't want to be pitied," Medya tried to explain through hiccups that had started during her crying.

Inez only pulled her closer, rubbing her back and kissing her everywhere she could reach. "Oh, my love, I don't pity you. I am in awe of you. That you went through all of that and came out as this strong and powerful woman that I couldn't help but fall in love with. But I am terribly ashamed of my family and what they did to you and so many others. Did you know that more than half of Liana's crew has that same mark? I don't pity them either, I salute them and their tenacity to fight back. Do you understand now?"

"I do, I do!" Medya gulped, before collapsing again, exhausted onto Inez's chest. "I'm so sorry, I know I'm overreacting, but that was one of my biggest fears, that you would feel upset every time you saw that symbol on me. I don't want to cause you pain, only pleasure and happiness."

"And you do, my silly kitten," assured Inez while she wiped away Medya's tears. "Now, sleep with me. We have another long day tomorrow, and we need our rest."

"First, I'm going to pretend that you didn't just call me kitten. And then, I'm going to ask if we can we sleep naked together my queen?" Medya asked shyly. "I think I need to feel your skin on mine, I need to be as close as I can be to you right now."

Inez grinned at her love, kissing her eyes and the cute little pink nose before capturing her lips for a soft and loving kiss. "Of course, we can. I will hold you all night if you like. And after tonight, you're no longer a kitten, you're a fierce mountain lion."

"I like that better, yes." Medya quickly stripped out of her clothes, and crawled under the furs, getting comfortable as she awaited Inez.

Inez was right behind her, stripping off the tunic and pants before she crawled in as well. She'd never replaced her shredded panties, so it was a quick strip. Medya lay on her side, pushing back against her, letting her know she wanted to be spooned while being held. "I thought this made it too difficult to sleep?" Inez reminded her, thinking of the time in the tent when her tail nub had poked her.

"That was before I knew what you felt for me. Now, I'd let you do whatever you like with my tail and enjoy it while we slept," Medya pointed out.

The taller woman smiled, and then wrapped her arms around the smaller, pulling her tight against her chest. She could feel the nub pressed against her again, but this time there was no flinching, only a deep sigh of contentment from Medya, who was soon breathing deeply in her arms. Once she knew that her love was sleeping, Inez finally let herself drift off too, knowing she couldn't let anything like that happen again. Medya's past had left her too fragile, and Inez vowed to make sure she could show her just how much she had grown and blossomed despite all those trials.