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The startled whimpers and moans, the
shudders that rippled through her body, the abrupt flush that
covered her torso, the voluptuous sighs of satisfaction told me
clearly how new and unexpected these feelings were to her.
    I used my mouth and fingers, taking my cues
from her, taking her higher and higher, and before she realized it
she was flying, and I was there to catch her when she came
down.
    We showered, taking care not to get our hair
wet, and made love in the tiny shower. She pushed me against the
damp tile of the wall and kissed her way down my body, then dropped
to her knees and parted the curls that shielded my femininity, and
licked and nuzzled and tormented that nub until I shattered into a
million pieces, held upright only by her body as she surged up and
leaned into me, her thigh pressed high against my heated core.
    I could taste myself on her lips.
Open-mouthed, she absorbed my gasps and moans.
    We staggered back to the bedroom and tumbled
down onto the bed to make love again.
    Finally, between kisses, we fell asleep.
    I woke to Folana trailing her fingertips
over the indentation of my waist, up to the curve of my breast. My
nipples peaked, and her soft sound of pleasure echoed mine. She
dragged her tongue across first one, then the other, and blew a
warm puff of breath over each of them.
    “I never dreamed it could be like that.”
    I stroked her black hair. “Now you just need
to find a man who will help you realize how good it can be between
a man and a woman.”
    “Why?” She sounded shocked.
    “Why limit yourself? The realm of sensuality
should be boundless.”
    “Would you be jealous, Portia?”
    “Would you want me to be?”
    She hesitated a moment, then shook her head.
“I’m…I’m terribly fond of you, you know, but I don’t love you. I’m
sorry.”
    “Don’t be.” I was glad she wasn’t in love
with me. I would have hated myself if she were, especially since
nothing could ever come of it. She had the Complex and the work she
did for Sir Joseph, and I…I had what was expected of me.
    “I’ve heard about Sebrings.”
    “What have you heard?” I stroked my
fingertips over her high cheekbones.
    “You only love once.”
    “That’s a fairy story.”
    “Is it?”
    “What are you asking, Folana?”
    “Do you…Am I…”
    The light was fading, and I sighed. “I’d
better get dressed.”
    “I imagine that’s answer enough.”
    “I’m sorry.” My purse was on the dresser. I
rolled off the bed and crossed to it, aware of her eyes on my nude
body.
    “Don’t be.” She echoed my words of just
moments earlier. “I’d like to think of you as my friend. I…don’t
have many.”
    “I’d like that.” I held the red pack of Pall
Malls toward her. “Cigarette?”
    “No, thanks. I prefer Gauloises.” The
shoulder bag she seemed to favor was beside my purse. I tossed it
to her, and she caught it in midair. “You could have looked in my
bag for them.”
    “That would be the height of rudeness, sweet
girl.” I put my Pall Mall between my lips and lit it, then returned
to the bed.
    Folana was just taking her French cigarette
out of the gold case. “A gift from Sir Joseph,” she said softly
when she saw me staring at the case. It was very ostentatious.
    I stopped her from reaching for a book of
matches. Before I’d gone to The Best of Times, I’d found a little
antique shop and purchased a small token for her to remember me by.
Perhaps I should have gotten her a cigarette lighter as a farewell
gift. Perhaps another time…
    I tipped my head toward hers, cupped my hand
around the strong fingers that had worked such magic on my body,
and lit her cigarette with the glowing end of mine. The smoke we
exhaled simultaneously intermingled and then dissipated.
    “It’s getting late, and Lady Portia will
worry.”
    “And no doubt you need to finish
packing.”
    “Mmm,” I murmured noncommittally. I drew in
another lungful of smoke and swallowed it, letting it dribbled out
through