Love/Sex Warning Disclaimer: This story graphically depicts a love/sexual relationship between two consenting adult women. If you are under 18 years of age or if this type of story is illegal where you live, please do not read it.

Comments can be sent to Gaiagal@prodigy.net.

I stood at the edge of the precipice, as the wind whipped wildly through my raven tresses. I listened to the echoes of a small stone as it clattered down the sheer face of the yawning chasm and plunged into the roiling waters below. I could feel the beast within me slowly uncoiling, wakening, with a ravenous hunger, a mind searing need, demanding to be fed......and ,for the first time in ages, I prayed to the gods for the chill wind to calm my soul.

Fear clutched my heart and I was suspended, motionless, as one hot salty tear trailed down a dusky cheek. I knew I should leave soon to protect the woman who had at long last stirred the slumbering beast to life. I closed my eyes and saw her face, fair skinned, red-gold hair that sparkled in the sun as though woven through with diamonds. Blue-green eyes, deeper and more mysterious to me than Poseidon's murky depths. A soul so filled with life, with passion, and most of all with an innocence which shone bright upon her face. The curve of her lips like cupid's bow, so alluring, and soft sun-kissed cheeks. A body which had matured and grown strong over years of traveling many dusty roadways together.......her taut muscles rippled as she walked with the sinuous grace and quiet strength of a panther.

I knew if I did not leave her soon my beast would claim its due.....The scalding heat in my veins would consume her innocence, devouring her purity, with the long restrained passions of a lust maddened War Lord.....but how could I leave her and go on living, when she is my heart, my soul, the very breath I breathe...I would dissolve, be dispersed like ashes upon the wind after the fire has grown cold.

Shoulders slumped in defeat, I turned and trudged back to our camp site. Once feared as the Destroyer of Nations, now I had become a hopeless coward. I could never leave her...........

She looked up as I entered the circle of the fire and smiled at me in her naive, trusting way. My breath caught in my throat and for a brief moment my heart forgot to beat. "Xena", she inquired, with mild concern, "Are you OK?" I drew a shuddering breath and replied, " Yes, Gabrielle, it's only the wind. It cuts through you like a knife on nights like this....". She looked at me with an inquiring expression, then shrugged, and returned to preparing our dinner. I sighed, "rabbit stew" again. She deserved so much more than I could ever give her. How could I ever imagine she would want, could want.....could ever possibly be happy with an angst ridden ex-warlord like me.....

I moved to the edge of the light where the fire's glow could barely touch my eyes...and I watched her every movement...I felt the roughness of the tree against my back as its scaly bark dug into my shoulder blades. I watched her kneel by the cooking pot, my head fell back, and my eyes narrowed to slits. As she shifted the hem of her skirt climbed higher, baring a firm, sculpted thigh, the worn material drawing tight, accentuating the firmness of her muscular behind. My breath quickened as I imagined touching her, cupping a firm buttock in my hand, kissing her neck, the way she smelled of lavender, sunshine, and wildflowers overpowering my defenses......my hand began to wander along my leather clad torso, reaching the edge of my warrior's skirt and slowly creeping closer to the aching need between my thighs. I felt the moisture begin to pool and a trickle of wetness ran slowly down my leg.........burning a trail of red hot desire along the bare skin.....I quivered with anticipation......

"XENA!!!", "I said dinner was ready! Didn't you hear me calling you?". I jerked guilty fingers away from their intended target , and with a violent start the back of my head slammed into the tree trunk with a jarring thud. HADES!!! that was going to leave quite a lump.

"XENA!", she cried, "Are you OK?"....."What's wrong?".......She flowed to her feet with liquid smoothness, crossing quickly to my side and lifting her hand to tenderly touch the back of my head.

I caught her small wrist with my callused fingers and flung it away from me with a violence born of frustration....Unh...G..G..Gab..ri..elle, "NO!" "DON'T!!!"..."DON'T!!!!"....touch me.................

My eyes rolled back in my head like a panicked mare. "I".... "I have to".... "I have to"..... "go....."

Whirling madly, I rushed headlong into the darkness .......but not before I saw her jerk away quickly, cradling her bruised hand against her side......and I would have gladly slit my own throat, right then, if it would have taken the look of hurt, fear and confusion from her beautiful face.

Oh Gods! Would I never stop hurting the woman I loved above all things, the woman I would gladly lay down my sword for, would gladly spend eternity in Tartarus for if I could only hold her once, touch her once, make love to her just once.................OH GABRIELLE, MY SWEET BARD...........

I found myself once again poised on the edge of forever....Praying Poseidon would rise raging from the icy water, which pounded against the jagged boulders below, and hurl me to my death. I clinched my fists so hard, I could feel blood begin to well from the half moons carved into my palms, by the edges of my nails. A heart wrenching sob was torn from my chest and I screamed into the darkness. When had things changed. How had I never noticed before how Gabrielle had grown, had matured. She was no longer a little girl, but a nubile young woman, with the voice of a siren and the face of a goddess. Sweet Aphrodite!!!, she was beautiful. If she knew the thoughts that plagued my mind.....I knew she would leave me forever.....My base desires.....My wanton fantasies would disgust her and send her fleeing in fear from my ardor....Oh wretched, wretched Warrior!!!..........

I so longed to kiss her lush, red lips, crush her voluptuous breasts against my armor, grab her hips with battle hardened hands and grind myself against her firmly muscled stomach....As molten lava blazed a trail from my overheated crotch to my frantically pounding heart, I lifted my face to the moon and howled like a wounded animal....Ga...Bri......ELLLLLLEEEEEE! "OH, GAIA!!!", I gasped.... "Oh, Gabrielle"..................................A choked sob forced its way past lips gone suddenly dry..... "Oh, Gabri...ellllee", I groaned. "I love you so much". ARES BE DAMNED!!!!!!!! for making me the monster I was, who I may yet become again if I surrender control! Deep within the Beast shifted....and sensing my weakness began to claw its way to the surface, its mocking laughter making me cringe.

Soft footsteps approached from behind.... "Xena?", her gentle voice called out. "Xena, Please tell me what's wrong." "GO AWAY! GABRIELLE", I shouted..... "OH GODS!!!...Just.....Please...G...G...Go away..." "Xena," "You're crying"......... "Are you hurt?" fear began to creep into her voice. "Not so you could see, My love", I whispered. "What did you say!?". I clenched my teeth so tightly they cracked and growled... "I SAID! GO! AWAY!!!" "But why, Xena?", she sobbed, "What have I done?" "It's not you Gabrielle, It's me!" I wailed. "I'm afraid of what I might do if......if.....you stay.".......................

"I'm not afraid my warrior, I know you would never harm your bard." "NO! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!!!!" "Gabrielle...YOU.....JUST don't understand"....my voice trailed away to nothing. The tears now fell like rain down my cheeks, forming a stain of despair on my leathers....a sign of my shame. Artemis!, Oh!, Artemis! protect your queen from my darkness.......

A small hand touched my shoulder. I viciously shrugged it off... "I, SAID...GO AWAY!!!" The hand returned again to my shoulder and her voice rasped, "Xena, please turn around. I need to see your face."

I shrugged her hand off again inching closer to the emptiness, well prepared to throw myself over the edge, if the Beast dared threaten my love. "No, Xena." "I won't let you go, not without a fight...You'll have to take me with you." Her strong arms wrapped themselves around my waist and her cheek pressed against my shoulder. I could fell the warmth of her breath caress my bare skin, and I shuddered....releasing a pent up breath of my own, as I remembered how to exhale. My ears strained to hear the words she spoke so softly, as though fearful of my reaction. "I love you, Xena." "I've loved you for so long, and I will never, never...let you go." "Please look at me..." "I'm begging you Xena, My Love, Please let me see your face....."

I turned slowly towards the woman who held my heart in her hands and for the first time in many moons I began to hope again. I drew a deep breath and raised my eyes to meet hers. Warm, verdant green met icy blue pools in a riveting gaze, and for a heartbeat, the world stood still....and as I looked into her soul and saw the love she held for me, the passion, the need, I knew my life would never be the same.

I began to tremble violently and crashed to my knees at her feet, wrapping my arms around her trim waist and laying my head against her cool skin, I sobbed. She entwined her fingers in my mist dampened locks and pulled me more closely to her. "I love you, Gabrielle.", I said, "You are my life, you fill up the emptiness inside of me, without you I am only half a person, It is you who gives me balance , It is your love which makes me whole......"

She grasped my chin with gentle fingers and turned my face upward. The look I saw in her eyes was one of joy, of wonder, of unconditional love and complete acceptance. She stroked my silken hair with her other hand, letting her strong grip come to rest at the nape of my neck. Then with a strength I never knew she possessed pulled me up from the ground where I knelt and crushed her lips to mine in a kiss that echoed across the woodlands beyond like a crash of rolling thunder, leaving my senses reeling as though I had been struck by lightening....The Beast shrieked once more in anger, then crawled back into its lair and was still...the Beast had finally met its master, in the strength of the woman I loved.

As we came together, lips crashing into teeth, I tasted the tang of hot blood in my mouth . Our tongues circled one another, each seeking to vanquish the other as if we met on the field of battle. For many breathless moments we stood locked together in our struggle for dominance, one over the other. Xena's hands roamed frantically over my body as if trying to memorize every curve, every valley, and where her hands touched my skin, I burned...... As I leaned more fully against her, my hardened nipples pressing painfully into her armor, I groaned deeply into her mouth with a desperate need and felt an answering growl rumble through her chest. At last we broke apart gasping and panting. For a brief moment I saw something dark, something evil pass across her face and a bolt of fear lanced through my heart. Then it was gone and all I saw was raw passion and burning desire in my soon to be lover's eyes. "Gabriellllllllllle she purred in sultry tones, causing the hair to raise on the back of my neck. "Gabriellllllllle..............I need you, I want you, NOW!!! Xena swept me up into her arms as if I were a feather, I wrapped my arms around her neck and laid my head against her breast as she strode forcefully back towards the fire side. Her heart hammered as though it would burst free from her chest and I thrilled at the fact it was I who moved her to feel such great passion.

Xena halted abruptly by the fire and I slid down her torso to my feet. I strained to capture her lips once more, but she held me at arms length. "No, Gabrielle, I want to see you, all of you." "Take them off, your clothes, all of them..." My fingers flew to loosen the laces of my top..... "No, my love" Xena purred, "Take them off slowly...." I blushed, gone suddenly shy under her close scrutiny, and my hands began to tremble...... "Xena, I can't...", I breathed.. "I....I....I'm sorry." "It's OK love, I'll help you." Xena gently pressed her palm against my cheek and I leaned into her touch, suddenly taking her index finger in my mouth I suckled it greedily. Xena drew in her breath sharply.... "You little minx." she said as her eyes narrowed to slits, "You'll pay for that....", I trembled delightedly at the promise her voice held. Xena's sure fingers slowly unlaced my top, peeling the shoulder straps down and letting it fall to the ground. "Oh, Gabrielle, you are so beautiful. She raised her left hand and began to stroke my breast lightly, then began pinching and rolling the nipple between her thumb and fingers. She leaned forward taking the other breast into her mouth, trying to fit as much of it as possible inside............"Oh, Xennaaa, I moaned, Oh yes, Xena"........I pressed my breast harder against her mouth as a surge of electricity ran from the nipple she was ardently tonguing straight to the center of my groin. I had never been so wet before, as the hot juices of my womanhood streamed down my inner thighs. "Xena.....Please.....I need......I need........" "What...What is it you need Gabrielle????" "I need you....I want you.....to.....to....." "Yes, Love" she encouraged, "I want you to take me......I want to know I belong to you......that I am yours......." I gasped desperately, somewhat surprised I was able to utter anything intelligible...... "Oh, you are most definitely mine Gabrielle....Mine and Mine alone................."

Xena's capable hands quickly removed the rest of my clothing. Suddenly she lifted me up in her strong arms and turned laying my body down on our bedroll. Her eyes raked up and down my naked form like red hot coals. I felt a trail of goosebumps break out in the wake of her heated gaze. "Xena?" I inquired. "Don't you feel a bit overdressed for the occasion?" Xena chuckled lowly and then stood tearing the armor from her shoulders and flinging it across the camp site. Her breast plate thunked into the tree across the clearing and crashed to the ground. She peeled off her leathers and breeches and stood in all her natural glory before me. Gods! She was gorgeous!!! Xena knelt by my side, the firelight from behind bathing her with an ethereal glow. I sucked in my breath violently as she stretched out along side me on the blankets.

Xena leaned over and claimed my mouth with a savage need. Her strong, callused fingers trailed across my breasts and tickled their way down my stomach stopping briefly to circle my navel. As she lowered her mouth to once again claim a hardened nipple, her knee pressed my legs apart to grant her questing digits easier access. She parted my sex gently and slid two fingers deep inside. I gasped as my shoulders arched up off the ground. "Oh, Xenaaa! Yes.....I groaned." Her thumb reached up to firmly stroke my swollen nub in a circular motion as I writhed beneath her firmly muscled body. "Gabri....elllllleeeee.......she whispered, I love you so much.......?" "I love you too" I panted, nearly delirious from the sensations which radiated outward from my engorged sex. Suddenly Xena withdrew her fingers and moved slowly down my torso leaving a trail of wet, hot, kisses in her wake. I whimpered with need, "Xena, Please!!!............." "Anything for you, Love...." She growled. She wrapped her steely arms around my hips and lowered her mouth slowly towards my aching womb never allowing her eyes to lose contact with mine. Suddenly she thrust her tongue deep inside me and begun to move in and out of me in a rhythm which perfectly matched my rocking hips. My fingers dug into the blankets like daggers and my shoulders wrenched up into the air as I through back my head and howled in release. "Xennnnaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!..................." My cries echoed across the night. Breathless and spent I fell limply back to earth as vivid flashes of color danced across the inside of my eyelids. Xena moved upwards and gathered me into her arms cradling my head against her chest until the shudders eased and I could again catch my breath. "Oh, Xena" I sobbed, "I never knew anything could be so beautiful." I looked up into her Indigo gaze and saw her eyes bright with unshed tears of her own. She brushed sweaty locks of hair out of my eyes and pulled me more closely against her. I drifted to sleep listening to the steady beat of my lover's heart.

Slowly I regained consciousness and remembered what had taken place earlier. It wasn't a dream it was real. Xena and I were lovers at long last. I lifted my head and gazed at the beautiful woman sleeping beside me. I couldn't believe she was finally mine. I grazed her neck with a soft kiss and she moaned in her sleep. A wicked gleam came into my eyes and I lowered my head to place a string of soft kisses from her jaw line to her collar bone. I sucked gently on the pulse that beat in her neck. Ummm....Gabrielle...she mumbled. I giggled against her smooth skin. I decided to let my fingers do a little exploring while Xena was still asleep.

I traced rings around her nipples which immediately grew hand under the warmth of my hand. Then I gently replaced my fingers with my lips and begin to softly bathe her breasts with my tongue. Xena squirmed and wrinkled her nose. I ran the palm of my hand down her firm stomach and slipped a finger into her silky warmth. I removed my finger and brought it to my mouth. Slipping the finger in my mouth I licked the musky wetness off. It was the sweetest nectar I had ever tasted. Using my knee I gently pushed Xena's thighs apart. I could see the slick wetness that now coated her dark curly hair. I breathed in her scent deeply and my mouth watered. I traced my finger around her outer lips then spread the labia wide and dipped my tongue deep inside. I stroked her deeply and flicked my thumb back and forth against her clit. "Ohhhhhhhhhhhh....Gabri...ELLE.!!!!" Xena awoke with a start and grabbed two fistfuls of hair crushing my mouth harder against her. I moved my hungry mouth to cover her hard nub and sucked greedily as I entered her with two fingers and begin to pump. "OH, Yes! Oh Gabrielle....more...please....." she begged....I slid two more fingers in and began to move harder and faster......Xena's body was covered in a fine sheen of sweat and her legs began to tremble.....I sucked harder on her clit....."Oh, Gooodddddddddddssssssssss!!!!....Gabri....eeeellllllllllleeeeee......" she screamed out and then fell silent. I rose up and wrapped my arms around her. Xena whimpered against my shoulder.

When she could speak again, she drew a shuddering breath and said. "Gaia! Gabrielle! I never knew you could do that!" I chuckled and replied. "Well, Ephiny loaned me some scrolls to read the last time we were in Amazonia" "Gabrielle, are you telling me you planned for this!" "well, er...uh...well, Xena....a girl has to be prepared for anything these days ya know!" Xena shifted and tugged me against her side pressing my head against her chest. "Oh, Gabrielle....you never cease to amaze me!" "Let's try to get some sleep now. I want to get an early start for Athens tomorrow." Idly tracing circles on Xena's stomach, the Bard smirked. "Mmmmm......" "Sounds good Xena." "Athens....good food, an inn, a nice soft "BED" with clean sheets.............." Xena rolled her eyes. Sweet Aphrodite, she thought. I've created a monster. Lucky, lucky me! "I love you, Xena" "I love you Gabrielle, "

Up on Mt. Olympus feminine laughter floated through the clouds. "Hah! You lose the bet War Dude!", Aphrodite tittered. "I told you true love would conquer Xena's Beast" "Yeah! Ares Ya big testosterone junkie!" Artemis gloated. "I knew, my queen would one day rule the Warrior's heart!" "Bah!" the god of war spat! "Just wait! That annoying lil blonde will be Xena's ruin yet!" Aphrodite burst into fits of giggles! "Don't forget bro' you promised to lay off the chickies down below if we won the bet!" "Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!" The god of war stomped off down the hallway. The women's laughter trailing after him..................