The Empath Cycle: 1949 In The Beginning

"You looked so lovely when I stretched beside you. I found that I love looking at you as you slept. You look like an angel. I do not know if you do it all the time, but you were smiling beatifically as you slept."

"I don't know either, but it must have something to do with the dream I had. I felt that I was lying with someone for whom I felt this immense love and I could tell that it was returned multiplied. I say 'someone' because I could not see a face or a body. I guess it must have been a memory of my dear Jacques. It's the first such vivid dream that I remember."

What she did not mention was the deep sense of arousal she had also felt. She could tell her nipples had filled with blood to their fullest hardness, almost to the point of pain. A glowing warmth had coursed through her body, raising a sheen of perspiration all over it and leaving her innermost sanctum wet and needing some fulfillment.

Thinking back on it brought heat to her cheeks.

"You look so adorable when you blush. I wonder what brought that about."

As she said it, Arianna leaned down and briefly pressed her lips to Juliette's in what could have been a thank you kiss for the earlier events of the day.

She rose from the bed. "If you want to take a shower or a bath, you are welcome to it. I will get some clean towels for you and breakfast will await you when you are done. Or would you prefer something more substantial?"

"Usually I only have coffee and toasts when I get up. That's all I ever had time for at home before the little ones got up and the habit stuck I guess. I think I will try your shower. We only had a tub when I grew up and I have a small bath in my apartment except that I now have a gas water heater so I don't have to heat it on the stove, but I have heard of those and I would like to try it out."

"You are a peach! You are welcome to use my shower whenever you like."

As she turned to leave, she picked up a robe and slipped it on. Juliette was startled to realize that the woman had been almost naked all this time and that she had taken no note of it.

'What is going on?' She mused. 'Here I am in bed with a woman, both of us near naked and I don't notice as if it is the most natural thing.'

Still uncertain at this new development in herself she got up and slipped on her work shirt in lieu of a robe.

She made her way to the bathroom where she found a soft bath towel. A brand new toothbrush, still in its wrapping, was lying on top of it. Grinning, she began by relieving herself before proceeding to brush her teeth. Turning around, she studied the shower controls and quickly discovered how to make the hot water switch from the faucet to the shower head.

As she stepped under the spray, she giggled like a kid at the unaccustomed sensation of the water falling down on her head. She found that she really loved the sensation of her body being massaged by the hot water and that it added something to the experience as she lathered and rinsed. She even surprised herself at enjoying the feeling when she rubbed soap over her chest, paying special attention to her still sensitive breasts and even going as far as tweaking her hardening nipples a little. When her hands moved lower and she soaped her sex, she was reminded of the good feelings her earlier dream had brought about.

Being a good catholic girl, Juliette had never entertained the thought of masturbating. She did not even know the word itself or its meaning. Whenever her hand had brushed her sensitive womanly parts, she had always moved them away quickly with a vague sense that she was doing something wrong.

She was timidly discovering these new feelings in her body when Arianna poked her head around the door and said "I forgot to tell you that the water heater is quite small and that if you take too long, you will have to finish under cold water."

Lost in her pleasant thoughts, Juliette was surprised and let out a frightened squeak, almost loosing her footing on the slippery floor of the shower.

Instantly, it seemed, Arianna had pulled the shower curtain aside and had her arms around her, steadying Juliette before she fell down and hurt herself.

"Easy there, sweetheart. I did not mean to startle you so."

"I'm okay." Juliette replied. "But now you are all wet and the water is spraying on the floor."

"So I am." Arianna giggled. "I suppose I am getting a head start on my own shower. Do not worry about the floor, I will get a mop and swipe it."

They stood just so for what seemed like an hour to Juliette, but could not have been more than seconds. Once again lost in each other's eyes they were also, on some level, both aware of Juliette's nudity and Arianna's robe being plastered to her body by the falling water.

If she had given any thought to it, Juliette would have been truly astonished when she leaned forward and softly kissed Arianna. It felt so natural, so much the right thing to do that her only thought was for the softness of the lips pressing against hers, of the warmth she felt for this person with whom she was sharing this intimate moment regardless of the fact that she was a woman.

She had just put her own arms around Arianna's waist, gently pulling her closer to her own body when the hot water suddenly turned to cold.

With a shout both women jumped out of the shower. Standing there, they looked at each other, mouth hanging open, startled by the shock of the freezing spray. Arianna chuckled at the situation which seemed to bring Juliette around. Soon both were laughing helplessly, again falling in each other's arms in support lest they fall to the wet floor.

As the laughter gradually gave room to the companionable silence which seemed to be so comfortable for them, Arianna reached over to grab the bath towel and wrapped it around Juliette's shivering body. She proceeded to dry her. Gently rubbing her without any movement being overtly sexual, she still sensually reached every part of the woman's body.

Juliette was now shivering for a different reason. The eroticism of the situation was affecting her innocent mind. The kiss in the shower had been instinctual, but this was deliberate and she was enjoying every second of it for all its seeming unnaturalness.

Eyes closed, not to avoid the situation, but rather in order not to miss any of these incredibly good new sensations.

As Arianna kneeled to dry her legs, she opened her eyes and looked down. She again felt this deepening sense of connection with the woman at her feet. When she put her hand on Arianna's head to caress her beautiful hair, the woman tilted her head upward. At first, all Juliette saw was the sweet smile which brought the corners of her own mouth upward. Then she was shocked to notice that Arianna's lips were white with a bluish tinge.

With a squeal of concern, she pulled the woman to her feet. "You're freezing! Why didn't you say something? Let's take this wet robe off of you." Letting it drop to the floor, she saw goose bumps raised all over Arianna's body. Stretching to reach the towel rack near the space heater, she grabbed the largest one and energetically rubbed Arianna, trying her best to bring some heat to the freezing woman.

Her eyes filled with tears of concern. "Why didn't you say something? You're gonna catch the death of you."

"I really did not feel it." Arianna replied, her teeth now chattering. "I was caught in the moment and I did not realize that..."

She could not finish as Juliette wrapped her in the towel and literally dragged her to the bed where she pulled down her wet knickers before telling her to lie down and scoot over. Without another thought, Juliette lay down beside her, pulled up all the covering available just below their chins and, spooning her to share the warmth of her own body, she resumed rubbing her to bring back circulation to the still shivering body.

In her determination to succour the woman, Juliette was oblivious to the fact that, as she was at Arianna's back, what she was rubbing were her arms, then her tummy and finally her chest.

"Hum sweetheart, I realize that your intentions are pure, but you may be warming me up a little more than you originally intended," giggled Arianna.

Juliette was shocked when she realized what she was doing. That is until she also noticed that her own nipples had hardened and were rubbing against Arianna's back. Also that she was warm all over, that her sex felt all wet and tingly and that she was grinding it on Arianna's bottom.

That is the point where embarrassment gave way to desire. "I don't know what's happening to me, but... I like it. Do you mind if I don't stop?"

"No dear heart, I do not mind at all. In fact, would you mind if I reciprocated?" Arianna replied in a husky voice.

Before Juliette could answer, Arianna turned over and put one arm between them, the other on her bed mate's ass cheek. As Juliette felt her soul would surely drown in the other's dark eyes, she felt one hand caressing her bottom and another cupping her breast.

Their lips met with a soft, gentle, tentative kiss. Pretty soon, it grew in intensity as passion took hold of the two women. When Juliette felt Arianna's tongue lick her lips gently, she parted them and her own tongue met the welcome invader, joining it in a sensuous play of thrust and parry.

Instincts took over as lust flared in their loins, taking over their minds, this ultimate of sexual organ. The fact that they were engaging in sexual congress with another woman became irrelevant as if the emotional experiences they had shared during the previous night and morning could have only one conclusion: the joining of their bodies as their hearts already were.

Arianna gently pushed the young woman on her back, her leg resting across the other's sex. She resumed the passionate kiss as her hand stroked Juliette's breast, gently at first, then with more insistence. She held the soft mass in her hand, amazed at the sensation and, as her palm brushed against the fully erect nipple, at the gasp this elicited.

Pulling back, she looked Juliette in the eyes. "Are you sure you want to do this, sweetheart? I know that I want only to bring you pleasure as a meagre repayment for all the support and love you gave me earlier, but I do not want to hurt you in any way."

Juliette's answer was direct and to the point. She cupped Arianna's face in her hands and gently pulled their mouths together. At the contact, they both let out a soft moan, expressing their sense of the rightness of their actions.

They each let their hands roam over the other's body, exploring, familiarizing themselves with it.

Juliette pulled Arianna on top of herself. The weight a familiar sensation amidst the sea of new feelings in which she willingly allowed herself to drown. Reflexively, she wrapped her legs around the thighs of her lover which brought their sexes together, sending shivers coursing through her body. Enjoying the sensation, Juliette put her hands squarely on the other's cheeks, pressing her into an even better contact for the grinding action she instinctively had begun.

Wishing to lighten the pressure on Juliette's chest, Arianna pushed herself on her elbows while her mouth drew lines of heat on the other's skin as she kissed and playfully bit her way down her jaw to her neck. As she nibbled her earlobe, Juliette moaned. When her mouth reached the tender skin at the junction of shoulder and neck, she groaned. And when Juliette felt her nipples pinched between two sets of fingers her mind went into sensory overload. Her back arched completely off the bed, her heels and the top of her head the only points of contact with its surface. Her arms tightened around Arianna in an almost painful embrace.

Already at a peak of sensitivity for the strange new experience, Juliette felt as if a torrent of increasingly stronger electrical current was raging through her every nerve. What began as coloured lights resembling fireworks flashing behind the lids of her tightly closed eyes soon became a blinding white light.

A primal scream issued from throat as she experienced the strongest orgasm of her young life by multiple orders of magnitude.

Then, all at once, her body fell limp as her consciousness was overloaded and she faded into sweet oblivion.

Arianna was taken aback by this violent reaction. Worried, she was checking Juliette's pulse when the door to her room burst open and Sarah rushed in, her latest lover on her heels.

"What is going on here? What did you do to her? It sounded as if she was being ripped apart." Genuine concern was evident in Sarah's voice.

"No, she only had an orgasm. I suppose that it was a good one."

"Only had an orgasm? A good one?" Sarah's eyes went wide in astonishment. "I would say so. Hey, since when are you playing with women? Aren't you hetero?"

"Yes, well, I guess that is in doubt at the moment."

"Hey, if that's the kind of loving you give a woman, I will take some of that any day of the week and on week-ends too for that matter. Ouch!" That last in response to her lover's not too delicate slap on her ass.

Arianna laughed. "Get out of here you pervert. Let her recuperate in peace."

As Juliette surfaced from unconsciousness, she could not think coherently and her body felt as if it was wrapped a thick layer of cotton wool. She was bewildered by her surroundings. Where was she? Why was she naked?

Gradually a gentle voice filtered through her sluggish thoughts. "Dear heart, take it easy. You are safe. How are you feeling?"

Arianna had been worried for a moment when Juliette showed no sign of quickly coming back to consciousness, so she was relieved when she felt her stir. Now she knew that time to assimilate the experience was the thing the woman needed. So she cradled Juliette in her arms, rocking her very gently while murmuring words of comfort in between delicately kissing her mouth, her nose, her cheek, her eyes, her forehead, everywhere she could reach.

"Wha... What happened? I remember kissing you, then there was this loud rushing noise in my ears and then nothing."

Confused and beginning to worry, her eyes misted and tears rolled down her cheeks.

Overwhelmed with feelings for this gentle woman, Arianna reached up and tenderly turned her head so she could lick the tears, then kiss each of her eyes.

"You had an orgasm my dear. That is all. Are you feeling better?"

"But what's that? That's never happened to me before. I don't understand."

Juliette felt that she was missing something. What was this orgasm thing? How come she had never heard of it? Was she sick? It had almost felt like she imagined dying would.

Seeing the expression of confusion of Juliette's face, Arianna was hard pressed to suppress her urge to laugh at her innocence, but she felt it would only hurt her lover's feelings. "I suppose I have more to teach you than sleep discipline. Do not worry. An orgasm is a natural thing, a good thing. It is a way for your body to let you know that you are doing something that it was meant to do."

"But... But..." Juliette went no further as her body's weariness overcame her and sleep enfolded her in its soft mantle.

Seeing her relax so peacefully, Arianna pulled the covers over them and laid down by Juliette's side, her arm wrapped protectively over her. A deep sense of rightness came upon her and she joined Juliette in slumber.

Chapter 3

As she watched the sleeping woman by her side, Arianna tried to make some sense of the last day.

Certainly she was aware of the love a woman could feel for another, whether she chose to express it physically or not. After all, she had lived with a free spirit for the last three years and had seen both men and women share Sarah's bed. Before that, she had lived four years in close quarters with fellow nurses and been exposed to same sex pairings aplenty. Yet earlier, she had spent five years in an all-girls boarding school where experimentation went from blushing kisses and light petting during truth-or-dare games to full blown sexual coupling.

Priding herself on her open mind, though she had never indulged in it, Arianna saw nothing wrong with sex between women, whether as a physical expression of love or as a relief of the extreme stress brought upon them by the horrors of war. She herself had never partaken in this relief, preferring to bury her experiences deep in her mind certain that she could handle what occasionally had come near to overwhelming her. Maybe she should have.

She was not promiscuous by any means, quite the opposite.

A self-assured independent woman, experience had taught her early in life her that the attentions she received from men were either superficial because of her physical beauty or motivated by a desire to take advantage of her father's position. So, she had endured much disillusionment following her presentation to society at her 16^th birthday cotillion as she found that she did not suffer fools or social climbers.

Arianna was not a virgin, having had her share of affairs both with doctors in the army and fellow students since returning to civilian life, but all had been temporary liaisons by mutual consent from the onset. She simply seemed unable to make emotional connections. There was always a restraint, an aloofness, in her interactions with people as she instinctively kept them at arm's length. The defensive wall she had erected around her heart as a young woman had been made thicker, then nearly impregnable by her war time experiences.

So it was with wonderment that she reflected on the ease with which this ordinary woman had penetrated these defences, seemingly effortlessly. Juliette had walked in her life and wrapped a blanket of warmth around her, bringing a deep sense of security she had not realized she so dearly craved.

'Why do I feel such unrestrained feelings for this stranger? Why do I feel like I need her nearness so much? Is this the love poets rave about?' Arianna wondered, bemused.

Her eyes misting as the well of emotions she had thought dry now burbled like a new spring of joy in her heart, she reached over and delicately brushed stray hairs from Juliette's face, lightly caressing her cheek.

Juliette became conscious of the hand gently stroking her face and leaned into it with a sigh.

"Hello dear." She said with a warm smile on her lips. "Why does it seem like every time I wake up you are there looking at me?"

"Because I am, sweetheart. I cannot get enough of the sight of your lovely face as you sleep. You look so beautiful when you are relaxed in slumber."

"Get out of here. If anybody here is beautiful, it's you. I'm plain looking and I know it. I don't mind, it's just who I am. I have no illusion about it."

"But you are beautiful! It is as if an internal light was shining through."

"Oh you! You say the nicest things." Juliette replied, giggling.

That set both in laughter. As it died down, they found themselves yet again falling deeply in each other's eyes. The connection of their hearts deepening, strengthening.

"I don't understand why, but if I feel as I've known you forever." Juliette murmured timidly. "I should be scandalized at being in bed with a woman, and both of us naked, but when I look in your eyes, I feel as if I was looking at myself, a sort of out of body experience."

"I feel the same way. I have read about this, but I always thought it was a flight of fancy."

"Well, what is it? Tell me more about this."

"The term is 'soul mate'. It means someone who completes you perfectly. It is like two souls who, having wandered aimlessly for the longest time, have found that which they had been looking for all along without knowing what they were searching for or even that they were searching at all. Poets have been writing of it forever. It is as if we were incomplete and have become whole when we met, a new purpose now directing our life."