Disclaimers:Characters aren’t mine but Rob Tapert’s and USA Studios. This is just for fun. Please don’t call in the sharks.
Authors Note: This takes place after To Helicon and Back. My friend Tina asked when I was going to heat things up again in this series, so this one’s for her. If you folks enjoy it, drop me a line at cnwinters@hotmail.com
HEAT OF BATTLE
"Magnificent. Absolutely brilliant."
Gabrielle turned sharply as soon as she heard the voice behind her approach.
"What are you doing here?"
"Admiring a strong, brave leader."
Gabrielle shook her head. "Take your admiration elsewhere Ares."
"I can’t. You were so impressive out there. So decisive. So calculating. So cold when you needed to be. I have to admit I was in awe Gabrielle. Sending those amazons out to their death. Making all the right choices because Xena had failed in her task. If you froze they’d all be dead on the beach. But you didn’t. You pressed on. You kept moving – never relenting. It was inspiring to watch I must admit."
Gabrielle rose from the fallen tree she was sitting on. "Ares . . . You don’t know shit."
As she began to walk away Ares followed.
"Now tell the truth battling bard. You never felt more alive then when you were running for your life did you? You never felt anything as passionate as the heat of battle. When you chased down that young solider in the woods I cursed Xena for stopping you. He deserved to be gutted like a fish. And the look in his eyes – the fear – I know you enjoyed seeing the power you had over him."
"I did what needed to be done," Gabrielle replied, not stopping her strides.
"Like I said, brilliant. You, my dear bard, could be so much more. You could command armies. Legions would fall at your feet."
Gabrielle stopped and faced the God of War.
"First of all I’m not YOUR bard. I’ve never sang of you Ares. I never will. As for offering me the world yet again, you forget – you can’t offer me what you don’t have." The war god didn’t have a response and Gabrielle went on. "And for the record I’ve felt things far more passionate than the heat of battle. I’ve had something you’ll never have. I’ve had the warrior princess," she answered smugly. "She’s all the passion I need."
Gabrielle began to walk again but this time Ares didn’t follow. He simply watched her walk away.
"Just remember Warrior Amazon Queen, My offer will always stand!"
Gabrielle didn’t look back. She just shook her head and shooed him away with her hands. When she got back to the small camp the amazons had set up at the edge of the forest she found Xena sharpening her sword by the campfire. From the sounds around her in the various makeshift huts, which consisted of bedrolls hung from the trees, she could tell battlelust was certainly in the air tonight.
Quickly the warrior rose when she saw Gabrielle approach. Xena wasn’t quite sure what to think as Gabrielle came closer shaking her head and small grin on her lips.
"What’s going on?" Xena asked, unsure if her bard was going to laugh or cry.
"Ares," she answered.
"What’d he do this time?" Xena asked, looking around the forest behind them.
"He’s gone now," Gabrielle answered. She felt the tense warrior relax if only slightly with the news. "He’s impressed with my ‘performance’ today. He’s impressed," Gabrielle chuckled in spite of her misery. "And I feel dead inside."
Xena could feel her bottom lip quiver just slightly. She wondered silently for a moment if it would have been better if she and Gabrielle hadn’t crossed paths again. She felt responsible for her failure to stop the beach attack. But more than that she felt once more that she was leading Gabrielle down the wrong path in life. She was a beautiful, talented, creative woman. She didn’t deserve to be fated with the likes of the warrior princess.
"I’m sorry," Xena began. Before she could go further Gabrielle cut her off.
"Oh no. Not again," the bard warned. "We’ve already had this discussion once today. Get that ‘I have to leave Gabrielle for her own good’ look off your face warrior," she ordered.
She does know me well, Xena thought as a small smirk crept to her mouth. "In that case is there anything I can do to help."
"Yes," Gabrielle answered, pulling the warrior down for a searing kiss. Xena felt every nerve ending in her body erupt. "Make me feel alive again," Gabrielle cooed softly, her breath tickling Xena’s ear.
Xena looked around for some seclusion for them but all the tents were occupied with the sounds of moaning and labored breathing. The warrior looked around for some place to go but the movement of her head was stopped when she felt Gabrielle’s fingertips on her chin.
"Don’t worry about them," Gabrielle whispered.
Xena saw the look in her bard’s eyes that said take me, right here, right now. She hesitated a moment, still unsure of what the nation’s reaction might be should anyone wander out of their tent. She didn’t dwell on it too long when she felt Gabrielle unbuckling her breastplate before running her palms over her battle dress. Xena took Gabrielle by the wrist, halting her movement. She wanted to make sure that her bard was thinking clearly.
"Please," Gabrielle whimpered. "I need to touch you."
Any resistance Xena had at that point melted away in the firelight as she admired her lover. She reached down and undid the first few laces of her boots, kicking them away. Next came the laces behind her back. When Gabrielle felt the task was taking too long she briskly turned Xena around and pulled with all her might, loosening the dress. A moment later, Xena felt the leather garment puddle at her ankles.
Gabrielle reached around squeezing Xena’s breasts, her fingertips pinching around her erect nipples. The moan that Xena omitted at the contact sent Gabrielle into a frenzy. Her teeth nipped roughly between the warrior’s shoulder blades as her fingers and palms continued to claim her warrior. Xena reached back and grabbed a handful of Gabrielle’s blonde locks, egging her on. In the meantime, Xena used her other hand to lead Gabrielle down to her britches, which were soaked by this time. Soon her britches met the same fate as her dress.
The wetness Gabrielle encountered made the bard quiver, not to mention the rhythm that Xena had began against her hand. Gabrielle watched as Xena gyrated against her long digits striving for more and more pleasure. She couldn’t take it anymore. Gabrielle had to pull away. When she did, she pushed Xena down on all fours. The warrior grinned at the strength her bard had as well as the tingling feeling the bard’s show of force left in her very center. Not wasting a moment Gabrielle quickly stripped herself of her clothing, continuing to stroke the warrior’s back when she could, just so she could have some contact.
Once undressed, Gabrielle pressed her sex against the warrior’s backside making Xena moan. The wetness of her bard chilled her yet warmed her all at once. Gabrielle grabbed Xena by the hips and ground her sex against the warrior until Xena skin shinned from the trail of arousal left there by the bard’s movements. Xena heard Gabrielle’s ragged sigh over the sound of their bodies slapping against each other.
"What I wouldn’t give for our phallus right now," Gabrielle remarked, her voice strained. Xena felt the bard reach between her legs, feeling her reaction to their escapade. "I love doing you like this. I love it. I love it," the bard began to repeat over and over again, synchronizing with every thrust her body made against the warrior. Xena couldn’t take it any longer.
"That’s it," Xena whispered. She reached back and guided one of Gabrielle’s hand deep into her center. The bard slid in with ease, two fingers first and then three. Gabrielle took Xena’s long hair and threw it over one shoulder. In doing so she laid her body over the warrior as much as she could without breaking the contact her clit was feeling.
Xena could feel Gabrielle breasts brushing across her back with each grind Gabrielle made. She turned her head to try to look back at the bard when she noticed a pair of amazon eyes watching her from one of the tents. It was Cyan and her young lover who obviously were distracted by the sounds outside their tent. Xena could have stopped but she didn’t. Instead she grinned wickedly at the young women.
Take a good look ladies Xena’s mind called out. See who your queen wants? Do you see? And I’m not even part of your ‘club’.
The young women seemed hypnotized by the movements in front of them and Xena soaked it up. She looked back briefly to see if Gabrielle noticed them too but the bard was far too consumed in her desire to see. Her head was thrown back and her eyes closed tight. Her hips worked quicker and quicker. By the quivering sounds Gabrielle was making at this time Xena knew the bard was close to climax.
Watch ladies, Xena thought, her attention focusing on the amazon admirers again. Watch your queen come all over me.
Cyan’s lover had seen all she could and switched positions so she could suck on her queen’s bosom, worshiping her body again. Cyan never broke eye contact with the warrior princess and the battling bard. She watched intently and whimpered at the feel of her lover’s tongue and the sight before her. When her lover saw that Cyan was still watching the show before them she pulled back. Cyan whispered something to the young woman and she rolled on her side to face the warrior and bard again.
This time Xena watched as Cyan spread her lover’s legs. The young queen immediately shot to her lovers centered and rubbed at lightening speed. The young woman squirmed and shuddered but she never looked away from the activities of Xena and Gabrielle.
Xena’s attention quickly turned back to Gabrielle when she felt the bard release her center and grab her hips. Xena could feel Gabrielle’s nails digging into her flesh as the bard let out a deafening howl of satisfaction. The bard made a few more thrusts to insure she was well spent. The sound alone made Xena wet all over again. Without warning Xena felt herself being pushed face first into the bedroll that lay before them. The bard quickly turned her over and roughly took a place between Xena’s thighs.
At the first sensation of Gabrielle’s tongue against her clit, Xena’s hips instinctively raised to meet her mouth as her hand buried its way into Gabrielle’s hair.
"Ahh yeah," Xena sighed. The warrior knew the young amazons were still watching them but the feeling that Gabrielle was creating between her legs was far too powerful at the moment for her to care any longer.
Gabrielle pulled back and let her fingers slide over Xena’s clit at a blurring speed.
"You taste so good," Gabrielle complimented. "I have to devour you."
The world could have ended and Xena knew she couldn’t stop. She wanted this. No. She needed this. With every slurp Gabrielle made from her center, Xena moved closer and closer to the end. Her toes curled and her muscles tense.
Breathe Xena, she told herself. Breathe.
Xena had discovered that when she focused on her breathing when she came the feeling was so much more intense. She willed her body to relax as she felt the crest approaching closer. With a sound that rivaled Gabrielle’s the warrior exploded under the bard’s tongue.
"God yes Gabrielle," she sighed as wave after wave of satisfaction washed over her. Slowly and with tender kisses the bard worked her way up to Xena’s shoulder before snuggling in.
The pair held each other in silence for long moments until Gabrielle spoke.
"The power of love is much more passionate than the heat of battle," she remarked.
"Meaning?" Xena asked, kissing the bard on top of the head.
"You’ve made me feel alive again. Thank you."
Xena glanced over to see Cyan and her lover smiling. Slowly they went back into the recesses of their tent to give the warrior princess and the queen some privacy.
"You’re very welcome," Xena answered. "And if you ever need my services again don’t be afraid to ask. I’ll be happy to oblige."
Gabrielle chuckled softly and reached down to pull the covers over the two of them. "I love you Xena," the bard mumbled sleepily.
"I love you too Gabrielle. Sleep now. With any luck the amazons will sleep in and I’ll make you feel alive again in the morning."
Xena could feel the bard grin against her shoulder before slumber claimed them.