It caught Sarah off guard and she found herself arching her back so Melissa could pull her skirt up and push her pantyhose down.

Melissa groaned and broke the kiss. "This is how a man would do it, right? Take you right now. The first time would be hard and fast and then you'd do it again, slower."

"I don't know," Sarah said shakily. It didn't sound all that bad a plan, if that's what Melissa had in mind. She was shivering with desire and Melissa's hands caressing her hips and the small of her back were making her knees buckle.

"That's not how it's going to be," Melissa said. "You tell me what you want."

"I —I want you to seduce me," Sarah said, in a low voice. "I don't usually — I mean, I'm usually in charge—" She faltered, not because she was afraid Melissa would figure out she'd been with women before, but because she didn't talk about sex easily. Most of her previous lovers had expected Sarah the athlete to be the aggressor and she was used to the role. But now she wanted to be pursued, seduced, made love to.

"We're most of the way there, don't you think?" Melissa let go of Sarah and stepped back. Her hands went to her fly and she eased the buttons open and shrugged out of her jacket.

Sarah nodded mutely and bit her lower lip as Melissa stepped out of the jeans. She was long-limbed and lightly tanned. She had the firm body of someone who exercised regularly, the kind of body Sarah used to have before five years of patents had added some round curves, especially on her hips.

"Come here," Melissa said from next to the bed.

Sarah went, stepping out of her pumps and pantyhose as she took the few steps to the bed. She abandoned herself to the unreality of the moment, wondering only briefly if this was what being swept off her feet meant. She couldn't recall ever feeling this way, so eager to surrender, not even the very first time.

It seemed like hours between each button of her blouse coming undone under Melissa's fingers. In between buttons Melissa's mouth brushed over her straining breasts, her tongue flicked over the newly exposed skin, and her fingers dipped under the edge of Sarah's bra. Sarah knew she was swaying on her feet, but she could only watch each button come undone and wait, breathless, longing for the next.

Time stretched and finally Melissa pushed Sarah's blouse off her shoulders. Sarah's mouth was dry and she was lightheaded. Melissa slipped Sarah's bra straps off her shoulders and with her hands sliding under the fabric, she moved Sarah's bra down, little by little.

"Please." Sarah moaned. Her breasts were uncovered and still Melissa teased her. "I can't stand up anymore —"

Melissa's answer was to drop to her knees, her mouth so close to the place where Sarah ached that Sarah felt the gray edges of faintness. Then Melissa pulled Sarah down, sitting her on the edge of the bed. Kneeling between Sarah's legs, Melissa brought her mouth to Sarah's breasts.

"I could spend all night like this," Melissa whispered.

Sarah barely heard her. Her brain was only processing the way Melissa's tongue caressed the soft underside of her breasts, then the sharp pleasure of Melissa's teeth on her already aching nipples. A marching band could have wandered by and Sarah wouldn't have heard them. She felt as if her skin was peeling off, her nerves like wires laid bare, sparking with heat.

She didn't feel Melissa's fingers between her legs until they were already inside her. The realization made her breath catch and she felt the first tightenings of orgasm. Melissa moaned against Sarah's breasts and tightened her grip as Sarah stretched upwards, then wrapped her legs around Melissa and ground herself toward the knowing pressure of Melissa's fingers. A moment more of stillness, only her heart hammering, and she hurtled backward onto the bed, gasping for air.

After a few minutes she was able to raise her head. Melissa hadn't moved and Sarah half-expected to see a triumphant smile. But it wasn't triumph; the naked hunger on Melissa's face made Sarah feel faint again. Then she realized Melissa's fingers were still in her... one finger moved slightly and Melissa's gaze shot upwards to Sarah's, watching the effect of that tiny movement on Sarah's face.

Sarah's lips trembled and she fell back on the bed, sinking into the delirium of Melissa's mouth on her... at last. One finger still pressed inside her. Sarah felt like water sinking into sand and she fell deep into Melissa's hungry mouth.