The Cat Burglar

By DK Ward

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Uber/Alt F/F

Adult Content 18 or older please

Rhiannon Murphy was trying to stretch her five foot five frame up into the dryer to get one stubborn sock out when she felt a pair of hands grasp her blue-jeaned bottom. After a grunt from the person in back, she was lifted higher into the machine. Rhiannon grabbed the sock triumphantly.

"Got it!" she called out and felt herself slowly descending until her sneakered feet touched bottom again. She said a shy, "Thank you, Loren," before she turned to face the taller woman behind.

Loren Johnson stared down at Rhiannon with curious, light blue eyes. "How'd you know it was me?"

"Isn't it always you?" A full, bright smile spread itself across Rhiannon's lips despite her efforts to still its progress.

"Lucky guess," Loren said, breaking into an open, friendly smile matching Rhiannon's. She picked up her basket, walking around Rhiannon to an empty washer.

Watching her dumping the whole batch into one machine, Rhiannon started to slowly shake her head. "I see you've waited until you didn't have any more clothes to wear before deciding to wash them."

Loren looked up at her, noticed the shaking head. "I hate washing clothes."

"Well, that's blaringly obvious." Rhiannon's brows furrowed. "You're supposed to separate them, remember?" She moved from her spot against the folding table to Loren's side. "You do this every time. I swear you must follow me down here." She gave Loren's slick smile a glance, adding, "Funny how I'm always here when your clothes need cleaning."

"What would you ever do without me?" Loren's grin spread. She let Rhiannon take over and leaned back against the table, closing her eyes.

"You should find a day job; you look half dead."

Loren's eyes opened slowly, catching Rhiannon's flick away from her. "The cat burglar got Brenda last night."

Nice segue, Rhiannon mused. She let her get away with it, waving her hand to dismiss any further talk of the cat burglar, and changed the subject herself, "You still seeing Samantha," she asked casually.

"I'm doing my own clothes, that should tell you something."

"More like I'm doing your clothes," she reminded her, feeling sympathetic for Loren's loss, but also a giddy excitement because of it. There was no denying her relief at this new opportunity. Maybe this time she wouldn't let Loren slip from her grasp. She was a beautiful woman; tall, athletic, tanned, light eyes, and dark hair. Her single status wouldn't last long, Rhiannon knew.

"You free?" Loren glanced at the washroom door then back.

"Free? In what way?" Rhiannon felt her hands tremble and almost spilled the soap as she measured it into the cap.

"As in no one in that big bed upstairs waiting for you?" She chuckled when Rhiannon's face colored crimson at her words.

Rhiannon busied herself with the washer controls for something to do. "I've been single two months now. You haven't noticed?" She turned on her heel, heading to the washer that contained a load of her own clothes.

Loren had noticed. She wanted some signs from Rhiannon that she was interested. Finding none, she presumed Rhiannon wasn't interested in her. She hopped up onto a washer, her look nonchalant.

"Why are you asking anyway?" Rhiannon asked, not realizing she was holding her breath.

"Just being nosy." Her eyes spanned the length of Rhiannon's smaller body. She had wanted her for five years now. Rhiannon never seemed to return the feelings. Rhiannon wanted friendship, which Loren gave in untold amounts. She would give more, but she got the impression Rhiannon wasn't the marrying type. She had been witness to several brokenhearted women over the years that had wanted more than friendship from Rhiannon, and when they got too close, Rhiannon would toss them away. She found herself always comparing herself to Rhiannon's other conquests. She wanted the marriage, the house, and joint bank accounts. But unlike all Rhiannon's other suitors, she wasn't about to tell her. Maybe that's why their friendship had held for so many years; they each didn't expect anything from the other. And that was fine. For a while.

Just being nosy, Rhiannon thought. She wanted to be held by arms of understanding; of deep, shared love, to move back into someone and out from meaninglessness. It was the pain of being alone, of having been alone, even while a lot of women had spoken the words, had performed the deeds, had shared their lives, she hadn't truly believed; had always known better, and had loved the many others without reciprocity. With Loren, all that would change. She would dive into her and not look back.

"So, what happened to Brenda?"

"Same as all the other women in the building." Loren jumped down and stood behind Rhiannon. She ached to run her hands through her soft, blonde locks, wanted to lift Rhiannon's hair and kiss her neck. She moved closer, drawn to Rhiannon's body heat. A desire to hold the smaller woman again for any reason almost overcame her, but she stifled it. Admitting her love just might have been thrown back in her face, and she wasn't ready for that rejection. No words were uttered from her lips.

Rhiannon shifted her weight from foot to foot nervously and prayed Loren didn't notice. They wrestled around sometimes, staying up into all hours on Loren's nights off, but this closeness was pushing it. They were both free and looking. She turned slowly and lifted her eyes to meet Loren's. There was an unfamiliar look in those smokey-blue eyes.

"Brenda says she wants the burglar to come back. She's going to leave her diamonds by the window to entice her." Lauren laughed, picturing the cat burglar out there crawling around when she just happens to notice Brenda's baubles.

Guess the moment's broken. Rhiannon scowled. "I presume she isn't going to report it either?" She hated that all the women in the building let that woman get away with her crimes- burglary, rape. It was sick.

Loren touched Rhiannon's cheek gently, noticing the anger rising. "Hey, she'll get what's coming to her, don't get yourself worked up over it."

They swayed closer, Rhiannon's eyes falling shut, her head tilting back a bit, ready for Loren's kiss.

"Rhiannon! I've been looking all over for you! Guess what?" Brenda broke the moment, noting Loren step away from Rhiannon, hop back up onto one of the washers close by. Excitement coursed through her body, and Brenda knew it was because she was seeing Loren again. That made twice in one day. The gods were smiling upon her. As she drew closer she could smell Loren's intoxicating aroma. Give me strength, Brenda prayed.

"She burgled you too, I heard," Rhiannon couldn't hide the sour note in her tone.

"Wait till she gets you," Brenda warned with a knowing look. She leaned against the washer on which Loren was seated and gazed up at her in a way Rhiannon hated.

Rhiannon reeled in her anger. It wouldn't do any of them any good. "So, what did she take from you?" She would be sympathetic if it killed her. Didn't mean she wasn't yearning to stuff Brenda into the dryer for gawking at Loren in that manner. Had the woman no self-respect?

"That's not what matters, Nannon!" Rhiannon cringed, hating that shortening of her name. "I was paid a visit by the cat burglar! And I hope she returns. She's only visited each woman in this building once, but she hasn't come across me before." She puffed her chest out.

Rhiannon rolled her eyes and turned to fold her clothes. She could take only so much of Brenda's dramatic act.

Loren's eyes met Rhiannon's and she wondered if Rhiannon was thinking about the moment Brenda had interrupted. She couldn't get it from her mind. "Think she'll hit one of us tonight? We are the only two women in this building she hasn't gotten yet." Rhiannon had a flash of memory, moments before Brenda came in, when she actually felt them connecting, knew something was about to happen, maybe a hug, or better, a kiss… It was probably a long gone memory to Loren now. She wondered what Loren felt having an ex-lover right there staring so openly at her. They had been lovers a few years back and whenever she got the chance, Brenda would always make it a known fact to everyone in the vicinity.

"I know one thing, she steps her ass through my window and she'll be one sorry cat." Rhiannon put the remaining folded clothes in her basket. "I guess you can finish your clothes," she tossed at Loren, hefting the basket into her arms. "I'm splitting."

"Gee thanks!" Loren was sour. She wanted to push Brenda away and pull Rhiannon between her legs. She stared after Rhiannon, her eyes darkening.

Brenda, acting as if Loren would rely on her for help, said, "Sorry, but Lizzette's the one that does the clothes in the family. And she's probably wondering where I've gone off to." She patted Loren's legs and beamed as she looked back up at her. "Sorry sexy, you have to go it alone." She chucked Loren under the chin and was gone.

Loren was mulling in her depression when she heard footsteps and looked up to see Rhiannon reentering.

"Ok, I'll finish them, but you have to suffer another loss at Monopoly tonight. Deal?" She struggled with her heavy load.

Loren wiggled her eyebrows, thinking. "I guess so," she grumbled, but Rhiannon saw the grin coming and looked away, knowing it would be a whopper.

"That's if I'm not working," Loren added seriously. "I'll have to call Lace and see if she needs me."

I need you, Rhiannon thought. She clamped her mouth shut for fear she'd tell Loren how badly.

"Sure you don't want the burglar paying you a visit tonight instead of having me sprawled all over your floor beating you at the game?" With a jovial laugh, she slid from the washer.

"Why I remain friends with you is a mystery to me." Rhiannon put her basket down, smirking at Loren.

"Because I'm always there when you need me," Loren said simply.

"And why are you there, Loren? Every time I'm having trouble I can count on you being close by. Why's that?" Rhiannon averted her eyes, didn't want to reveal the hope in them for a positive answer from Loren.

Because I love you, passed through Loren's mind, not reaching her lips. And I'm always following you around to keep you safe. "Because you're always in trouble," she whispered instead and touched Rhiannon's shoulder gently. She ran a finger down Rhiannon's arm, wanting to continue the moment before Brenda had barged in, but she worried someone else would come. She snatched her hand away, stuffing it into her back pocket. Maybe tonight, she thought, when we're alone and there's no chance of anyone bugging us.

"You really don't mind finishing these?" she gestured towards the washer. "And I'll pick them up when I come over? I have to call Lace and check in."

"Go," Rhiannon said, shoving Loren towards the door. She was being tormented by yearning and thought it better Loren left. "Make your call and I'll see you in a little while, and be ready to get your ass whipped." She wallowed in Loren's laugh as it trailed behind her down the cement hallway.

"I can't come tonight," Loren said regretfully into the phone a while later that evening. "I'll make it up to you," she promised.

Rhiannon felt her heart pounding. She had had everything planned. Shit. "That's all right. We'll make it another time." She dropped the phone into its cradle. She felt as hollow as her voice had sounded.

Feeling lonely and dejected, Rhiannon passed by the living room, not even bothering to glance inside. She knew what she would see; the game all set up on the circular coffee table. She set her course for the bedroom and there she found herself silently sobbing, her mind refusing to keep thoughts of Loren out. She fell asleep after a while, hugging her pillow, huddled naked under the comforter.

Rhiannon awoke around three a.m., something, a noise, had jarred her from a deep sleep. She sat up in bed, staring across the room at the shadows. She didn't know why her gaze was drawn there, but there she found herself looking. A gasp escaped her when from that corner came a tall dark form. From its outline in front of the windows, she could tell it was female. Rhiannon clutched the comforter closely, feeling her heart slamming against her hand through the thick fabric.

The woman wore a mask, concealing her features, hooding her eyes so Rhiannon couldn't even make out their color. She stepped closer to the bed, not saying a word, just lifting her hand to her lips, motioning to Rhiannon to be silent.

Just as Rhiannon opened her mouth to release the scream, the woman lunged at her, clamping a strong hand over her parted lips. With the other hand, she clutched Rhiannon's wrist, working the handcuff securely around it. She reached to the bedpost, slapping the dangling cuff around the metal. She quickly switched hands over Rhiannon's mouth, securing her other hand.

Rhiannon felt as if her heart was about to pound itself right through her skin. She couldn't see her, she didn't hear her speak yet, but in her soul, Rhiannon knew who the cat burglar was.

Should she let on she knew? How embarrassed would the woman be if faced with the realization her game was up and she'd been found out? Or, should she not say anything and just let her have her way? Was this what they all thought? she wondered. Did every one of her victims know it was Loren Johnson?

She inhaled deeply, taking in Loren's one of a kind scent, her eyes watching Loren's masked face, trying to see her eyes. Loren was busy securing her to the bed, or maybe she was avoiding looking at Rhiannon? Maybe she knew Rhiannon already knew who she was?

Once she was satisfied that Rhiannon was unable to make her escape, Loren climbed into the bed and straddled the restrained woman's hips and then sat. She took in a deep breath when she pulled the comforter down and was met by Rhiannon's full naked breasts. Slowly, she extended both her arms, hands meeting the flesh, squeezing. She watched the nipples rise, a beam of moonlight was slicing through the shadows, lying across Rhiannon's chest, revealing her excitement to Loren.

So much for fighting back, Loren mused, moving her legs down Rhiannon's so she was lying belly to belly against her. Her mask afforded three holes, two eyes, and one for the mouth. Her lips came at Rhiannon's, found them open, waiting, glinting wet already.

Loren fought with herself not to reveal who she was, what she was feeling. She wanted to just open up and let the floods come; hoping Rhiannon had the strength to handle it. Maybe after, when she had loved Rhiannon senseless, she would tell her.

Rhiannon tugged at the handcuffs. She wanted to feel Loren's body, wind her fingers through her hair after she tore that mask off. She couldn't even grip Loren's body with her knees. She was spread wide open for Loren's taking.

Loren took. Slowly at first, and then with a fever after the first orgasm hit Rhiannon and rocked her over the bed with it's force. She lay panting, heart hammering, legs twitching, staring down at the dark head between her thighs, at the gloved hands gripping her legs, releasing, and gripping again. She could hear Loren moaning into her, a deep whine of anguish, of longing. What could she be longing? Rhiannon wondered, she's between my legs, taking my essence, pulling it from me right this minute. What more could she possibly want?

"Take off your mask." Rhiannon nudged her with a gentle lift of her pelvis into Loren's mouth. She felt the head shake back and forth, and then the lips were on her again, sucking, the tongue entering her, pumping in that delicious way.

Hours. Days. Years passed. Rhiannon couldn't ascertain the difference, didn't really care. She was floating out there, tethered to reality by Loren's mouth, her insistent sucking at her neck. Rhiannon nudged her chin, moving her own mouth to Loren's sweaty skin. With relish, she started sucking, her intent lost on Loren.

When she had gone, after releasing Rhiannon while she slept, Rhiannon walked around her apartment noting everything still in its place. Her grandfather clock, which had been given to her by her mother a couple years ago. It was an heirloom, hundreds of years old, very valuable. All her gold was still in its tray, her necklaces, her chains, and her Rolex watch. Very unusual. Rhiannon had one word in mind while she locked the door. Why?

Rhiannon was sitting on the terrace behind the building with Brenda when they saw Loren come from the parking lot. Her cheeks were flushed from the cold outside and she was almost on top of them before she noticed them seated there. She stopped in her tracks, looking at Rhiannon. She hoped her cheeks didn't get any redder.

Smiling, Rhiannon said hello, watching as Loren returned the smile and greeting, then a frown took over her mouth as Brenda grabbed her arm and pulled Loren down to sit with them.

"I can't stay," Loren said, flushing hotter. She had said the same thing to Rhiannon just before the smaller woman had fallen asleep. She looked at Rhiannon now, wondering if she could tell it had been the same person who voiced the whisper that morning.

Rhiannon's eyes were glued for the moment to the turtleneck Loren wore. Her mind was putting together bits and pieces of the previous night's lovemaking. She had known it was Loren, had felt it all over inside her body that it was Loren, but until that moment, seeing the turtleneck and knowing why, Rhiannon had held a small doubt. She didn't want Loren to be a thief. She didn't mind so much that she made love to all those other women, but that she also stole from them was unacceptable.

Brenda felt Loren shaking; thought she must be cold; didn't realize what it was Loren was really afraid of.

"I had a visitor last night," Rhiannon broke the moment with a burst of impatience. Watching Brenda fawn over Loren was almost too much to bear.

Loren's eyes lifted to Rhiannon's. "Going to report it?" She felt her heart thumping in her ears.

Rhiannon shrugged. "She didn't steal anything," she said softly -- adding in her mind, only my heart.

"Sure it was the real one?" Brenda asked, lips formed in a sneer.

"She was what every other woman in this building said, and more…" Rhiannon looked at Loren quickly, then away.

"Did she…. Did you two . . ." she couldn't get it past her lips. She pulled at her turtleneck to let some air cool her heated body. Rhiannon caught sight of the reddish brown mark she'd left on Loren and she smiled. Gotcha!

"We made love, yes." She looked directly into Loren's eyes.

"I'll see you later," Brenda said and stood. She strolled back into the building, glancing at them again, seeing their gazes still locked.

When Rhiannon was sure Brenda had gone, she stood, her eyes staying locked on Loren's. "She did take one thing," she said softly, digging into her pocket, "but she got that five years ago." She pulled out the spare key to her apartment and tossed it at Loren.

Catching it, Loren looked down at the key, then back to Rhiannon. Her face colored quickly.

"Use the door next time," Rhiannon said and walked away. Loren watched her, and then looked back at the key. She smiled.

Around one a.m. a black form slipped inside Rhiannon's kitchen window. The being in the black suit didn't hear the sleeping Rhiannon in the room down the hall come instantly awake, fully aware of this new danger about her.

Something was different, wrong. Breathlessly, feeling her heart hammering in her chest, Rhiannon snuck down the hall. She knew who was there, and she was scared to death despite her bravado that day in the washroom. Her nudity made her feel even more helpless, and she cursed herself for not getting dressed. She especially chastised herself for not grabbing the bat she'd taken to keeping next to her bed. She checked three of the eight rooms that made up her penthouse apartment.

The rooms were clear, and she was just about to check the guest bedroom when the black form jumped out at her. Rhiannon screamed and turned to run. She made two steps and felt a vice-like grip on her forearm. A hand was placed over her mouth as she was drawn back against a woman's body.

Alone, Rhiannon sat at her window in the dark, staring blankly, grasping at the ends of herself, trying to bring them back to normal thought, normal hope or expectations of faith in tomorrows that hold promise.

She didn't want the pain to come, and fighting it only strained the pressure to a final, aching burst. Her face recognized the turmoil, turned repression into a grimace of rolling sobs, allowing loss to finally fulfill its need of her.

The night moved on in its perfect blackness, holding Rhiannon hostage at her window. The final raping of her body was a slap of punishment she couldn't justify. It wasn't anything like all those women claimed. It was brutal, punishing, and hurtful. A total raping not just of her body but also of her mind and spirit. Her body felt bruised, broken, and not just from the blows or words.

A knock at her door slammed her heart into sudden violence. She wiped at her face with the bottom of her tee shirt, trying to quickly dry it and hide her current state.

Loren didn't wait for the answer and went in, silently closing the door behind. She saw the shambles the rooms were in, knew she was too late. Too late… Oh God, that bastard of a burglar had gotten to Rhiannon and she, Loren, hadn't been there the one time she needed her most.

Rhiannon raced internally, searching her defenses for a place of safety inside herself. She felt stripped, far too exposed to accept anything Loren was there to offer her.

Seating herself on the sill next to Rhiannon's stiffening form, Loren slowly circled her arms around Rhiannon, offering herself as comfort, wordless and soothing, she thought, something Rhiannon would need more than to be alone in the dark.

Rhiannon felt herself ready to scream from the tenderness of Loren's embrace. She couldn't hold herself from splitting into pieces if Loren remained there, doing the act of comfort, again. It just brought her predicament into clearer focus. She must get out, get away. She couldn't accept Loren's caring, would no longer accept the transient emotions of the well meaning; they were eating her mind and soul in sharp, tearing increments. These bits of love flung at her felt to Rhiannon like scraps to a pathetically starved animal. It was no longer acceptable food.

Rhiannon was about to burst from the room like the madwoman she felt she was becoming. She couldn't handle Loren's body pressed so tenderly to her. She had craved it too often, never being able to have it, and then she had, and the next night a violation had erased every loving imprint of Loren from her. The remembering made that particular instance unbearable. She would surely snap.

"I'm not the real cat burglar," Loren whispered.

Stroking her hand across Loren's, she allowed herself one tiny moment to marvel in the revelation, then suddenly unlatching Loren's arms. "I know."

Loren couldn't deal with her failure. She stood, moving away. In the center of the room, far enough into the shadows, she turned, steadying her voice from the threatening tremor, said, "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you when you needed me most." Then stiffly, purposefully, she strode from her room, leaving Rhiannon staring after her.

Rhiannon honed in on Loren, who could have been anywhere in the building, anywhere in the world. This did not matter; she had to find her, needed to find her, she knew. Once out of her own mind and room, she felt Loren's internal screams and outrage. The anguish was pounding them both into a desperate hole, and if anything could, Loren's pain would bring Rhiannon running to Loren's side.

She approached the washroom, slowing her pace. Rhiannon could feel herself shaking, vibrating with the horror that must be searing through Loren, expunging any formable words in their minds. They were raging demon feelings, and some were focused squarely on Loren's detested self. Rhiannon's trembling turned violent as she crept into the dark room, knowing all too clearly Loren was seething somewhere in the deep shadows.

Rhiannon was afraid. There was murder in the room, hiding in the corner, hiding in Loren, feeding on her.

"Loren?" The word squeaked from her, a whisper of fear afraid to come forth.

Loren rustled in the easy chair at the far end of the room -- the darkest, least lit section of space.

Rhiannon reached inside herself for any composure, any strength remaining in her. Loren was being swallowed whole in her own malice, and every fiber of Rhiannon strained to run like a trapped, blind animal.

"Loren, come out of the dark where I can see you." Rhiannon said it with forceful resolve, with strength she was far from feeling.

Loren stepped from the blackness. Her body seemed to have grown since Rhiannon had last seen her a few hours ago, but when she saw Loren's face she was no longer afraid.

The connection of their eyes broke Loren's fierceness, and her expression crumpled upon itself. She approached Rhiannon with extended hands in a gesture of asking, a gesture of pleading. She needed Rhiannon as much as Rhiannon needed her. They came together sobbing and shaking into each other's arms.

Nothing could console Rhiannon like Loren's hurt and relief in her arms. Loren's scent alone helped to quell her sobbing, working to fill her with renewed meaning. Loren held her until their breathing together was cathartic and warm with respite.

"Do you want to sit down?" Loren asked quietly, trying not to disturb their peace.

Rhiannon shook her head against Loren's chest, answered, "Can we go upstairs? Will you stay with me a while?"

Loren flushed, her heart full with the need to hold Rhiannon through an eternity of nights. She never wanted to release her again; had no idea, no courage in how to tell her.

"You couldn't pry me from you tonight." And with that said, she bent and lifted Rhiannon, walking them to the stairs.

As they approached Rhiannon's apartment, she stiffened in Loren's arms. "Can we go to yours?"

Loren felt Rhiannon's body tense, heard some small plea in the question, and she understood what the danger was that Rhiannon tried to avoid in her rooms, Loren continued to her own apartment, only relaxing her hold after she'd closed the door behind them.

Rhiannon stood completely still in the spot in which she was set down, and she let the feeling of Loren's possession surround her. This was the only place of comfort for her.

"Do you want to sleep?" Loren asked, not knowing or wanting to pressure Rhiannon into anything. She watched Rhiannon's eyes dart around the room, lingering on the darkest corners, and then continuing on their diligent surveillance. She wondered if Rhiannon was searching for possible places to hide. Again her thoughts came in a fury of shame at herself for not knowing, not being there to stop what the gods had obviously ignored. She'd promised Rhiannon to always be there for her, to keep her safe. Loren flared at herself. She cringed at seeing Rhiannon's swollen lips, her face and neck already distorted by bruises. She knew every time she looked at Rhiannon's swollen face and broken skin, she would see her own failure.

"Can I sit over there?" Rhiannon was pointing to Loren's drafting table, where Loren did all of her thinking before finalizing her work.

Loren's expression was one of gentle love, wondering why Rhiannon felt she had to ask in such a shy, almost embarrassed way.

"Sure you can, Sweetie. You can do anything you want in here." She touched Rhiannon's head, stroking a gentle hand down her hair. "What's mine is yours; don't you know that yet?"

Rhiannon looked up at her slowly, eyes puffed pink from too much crying. She stared at Loren blankly.

Realizing then that she was still in shock, Loren gently smiled and led her over to the place she'd indicated, pulled out the wheeled high chair, and released the lever with a deflating 'whoosh.' The chair dropped to accommodate Rhiannon's much shorter height.

"Wouldn't you like to sleep?" Loren's voice was low and quiet.

"Sleep? Where could I sleep?" Rhiannon answered, looking perplexed, as if there were no place in the vast world to hold her in sleep.

"You could sleep anywhere you want to. Just tell me where and I'll see it's done," Loren answered with a calm she didn't feel in touch with.

Rhiannon didn't look like she was going to answer, or add any thought; didn't look like she was having any thoughts. Loren fidgeted with the lint hiding in the corner of her pocket.

Restless, feeling Loren's unease, Rhiannon suggested, "Maybe I could lay down now?"

The fragile way she said it, the soft tone of voice, the impression she was just a small girl too afraid to hardly talk at all brought a tear to Loren's eyes. Without words, she took Rhiannon's hands, lifted her into her mighty embrace, and carried her to the day bed across the room. And like a fragile piece of glass, Loren lay her down gently, pulling the cover aside and then over Rhiannon. She sat beside her, stroking Rhiannon's perfect face, into her hair. Rhiannon murmured pleasurably and Loren didn't dare stop, didn't want to, and would caress Rhiannon forever if she wanted.

"Would you lay with me, Loren?"

Loren lay with her, on top of the cover, found this disturbing, and rolled under with Rhiannon. She clasped Rhiannon to her closely, strong hands comforting as they stroked Rhiannon's back and face, lulling her into a semiconscious state of mind. There was a shaft of light falling directly across Rhiannon's eyes, and Loren stared at them, saw them flickering, the long lashes brushing Rhiannon's cheeks like wispy feathers ruffling in the wind. Loren bent, brushed her lips over Rhiannon's eyes, pulled back and saw them flicker open, then close. The action was brief, but Loren had seen the look of calm in Rhiannon's eyes, the look of coming peace, and to continue that feeling in them both, she kissed Rhiannon's eyes again, nuzzling her bottom lip on the long lashes, feeling a slight tickling that was like a caress. She moved to Rhiannon's eyebrows, smoothed her lip across one and then the other, kissed Rhiannon's forehead.

"I love you," Loren whispered, finally resting her head above Rhiannon's, feeling the soft caress of Rhiannon's fine hair under her chin. She rocked Rhiannon easily, just enough to keep her in sleep and comforted. Her rocking continued even when she herself closed her eyes and joined Rhiannon in the blissful place where every day's pains could be released in dreams.

Find out what happens to "The Cat Burglar" in "The Call" coming soon…