DISCLAIMER: This is an Otalia-Uber fiction. The characters in this story portrays the physical and some personality attributes of the characters Olivia Spencer and Natalia Rivera from Guiding Light but they belong to me.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks to Blue for her great beta-ing skills!
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.


By damnation

 

71

Frances felt around the bed for Kristen before she even opened her eyes. Her nose twitched; something was cooking and it smelled wonderful. A faint smile played on her lips and she fell asleep again.

The next time she was coaxed into consciousness, it was by the feel of a very warm body pressed up against hers and soft lips on her own. Frances brought a hand to her face to rub the sleep out of her eyes before opening them. She snuggled closer to Kristen and nuzzled her neck. "Mm... you smell like kitchen grease," she mumbled before nipping at the exposed flesh.

"You sure know how to compliment a girl," Kristen said laughingly.

"Only the best for my girl," Frances murmured before slipping a hand up Kristen's shirt. She frowned when her hand was waylaid.

"I made you breakfast," Kristen said, peering down at Frances. She pulled Frances' meandering hand to her lips and placed a firm kiss on her fingers.

"I know, but..." Frances slipped a leg between Kristen's, effectively bringing their bodies tight against each other's. "...I want you first." She lifted her face to place a soft kiss on Kristen's chin. "I love you."

Kristen felt her breath catch in her throat the way it always did when Frances told her that. "And I love you. But the food'll turn cold. I won't."

Frances smirked, revealing her dimples. Kristen traced the indentation on one cheek with her finger. "I don't care. You first, food later." She lowered her face and nipped at an unsuspecting breast, causing Kristen to squirm, arousing her even more. "Don't you want me too?" Frances asked playfully. She dislodged herself from a surprised Kristen, sat herself up, and proceeded to rip her top off, knowing that the move would do all the persuading for her.

Kristen's eyes darkened. "You know I do." Her voice dropped at the sight of a half naked Frances, shaking her hair loose from the shirt.

Frances smiled as she pulled Kristen's hand towards her naked torso. She placed a kiss in the middle of the palm, then slid it down her body. Kristen's pulse sped up. She trailed her hand back up Frances' body and cupped a breast, smiling faintly when Frances' head lolled back. Kristen gave a low growl and pulled Frances down onto her, loving her soft, warm weight and the tickle of long, dark hair against her face. "Tease," she rumbled.

"You love it." Frances pulled her hair over one shoulder and gazed down at Kristen, trailing her eyes over arched brows, darkening eyes and full lips.

"You got me," Kristen said with an air of resignation. "I do." She raised her head slightly to capture Frances' lips with her own, loving the soft texture of the perfectly shaped anatomy. Her head fell back onto the pillow when Frances became a willing participant. She moaned low in her throat when Frances lightly tangled their tongues together, pulling back when she wanted more. Her eyes opened in frustration when Frances fully pulled her face away. "Come back here." Her voice was husky and her body was warm. She smiled when Frances lightly touched her lips to her nose, then her brow.

"What did you make for me?" Frances asked as she dipped her face to kiss Kristen's neck. She touched her tongue to Kristen's pulse point before biting down on it gently.

"Vegemite and toast," Kristen said breathlessly. She smirked when Frances' head came back up to shoot her an amused glance. "Gotcha. You'll have to find out yourself," she murmured.

"Mm. I love surprises. Now let's see, what do we have here?" Frances said, scrambling down Kristen's body. She lifted Kristen's shirt, biting and licking Kristen's waist, then her lower back. She scraped her teeth up the wide expanse of flesh, sighing at the soft whimpers that emanated from Kristen. She came to a rest at Kristen's nape and slipped her other hand under the yielding body, cupping Kristen's breasts from behind.

Kristen's mouth was dry and her breath was coming out in spurts. Her eyes fell shut when Frances began toying with her nipples. She placed a hand on Frances'; heat rushed down her body to settle between her legs. "Stop playing with me," she rasped out.

"Okay."

Frances' simple response made Kristen moan. She almost protested when one of Frances' hands left her breast, but when she felt it snake down the waistband of her shorts, she let out a sigh of anticipation. The feel of Frances at the core of her, touching her intimately, made Kristen's head reel. Then Frances bit down on her neck, ripping another moan from her. Kristen wrapped her hand around the back of Frances' head, holding it in place as pleasurable sensations shot through her body. She rocked herself against Frances' hand--the delicious friction was almost unbearable.

"That good?"

Frances' words were so soft that Kristen almost didn't catch them. "Mm hm," she managed out, half panting, half moaning. Then she felt Frances' fingers make contact with her most intimate spot and all coherent thought flew out of her head. The need in her rose to almost breaking point; she was sure she screamed when she came apart in Frances' arms.


They exchanged shy smiles across the table as they dug into the food. It thrilled Kristen that every second spent with Frances felt like something new, something wonderful.

"You like?" Kristen asked around a mouthful of food. Her smile deepened at the enthusiastic nod from Frances.

"I love burrito," Frances said when she swallowed. "This sausage, though, I don't think I've ever had this before." Frances pierced a slice of sausage and squinted at it.

"It's chicken, with Vegemite," Kristen informed Frances, making her eyes round.

"True! Will wonders never cease," Frances said, looking impressed. She popped the morsel of food into her mouth and chewed it slowly. "Oh, I like."

Pleased that her efforts were appreciated, Kristen grinned. "We'll set off after this?" she asked. They were going camping for Frances' birthday, as per Frances' request. She had never gone camping before herself, and was looking forward to it.

"Oh, wait!" Frances exclaimed, jumping off the stool in the direction of the bedroom. She returned with a camera and stood beside Kristen, fiddling with its buttons. "Can I have a photo of us?" she asked.

Kristen could not help the smile that spread across her face. "I don't know. Is it going on any online porn sites?"

Frances chuckled. "How did you guess?"

Instead of answering, Kristen pulled Frances to her and kissed her cheek. Frances leaned her temple against Kristen's and took their first picture together.

 

72

Benjamin Cameron did not have much time. All his deadlines were closing in on him and he had no way of paying his debtors. He needed Kristen's share of C&C to make the sale but the chances of Kristen willingly signing the shares over to him were lesser than naught. He had to do something, and quick. He picked up the phone and made a call. He would have to pay his sister another visit soon.


The drive to their intended camping spot didn't take too long. Kristen kept sneaking peeks at Frances, who looked radiant and, in all honesty, quite beautiful. In Kristen's opinion, the day could not have gone better. Whenever she was with Frances, all her doubts and insecurities didn't exist; it was only when they were apart that other insidious feelings would sneak up on her.

Frances snapped another photo of Kristen driving, laughing when Kristen rolled her eyes. "What?"

"You didn't have any photos of me before today. Now you have what, ten billion?" Kristen said, quirking a brow.

"Are you complaining? I'll just stick to the view then," Frances said with an aggrieved sigh. She felt a hand caressing her cheek and smiled, turning her face to Kristen. "What?" she asked again, this time softly, coyly.

Kristen's lips twitched. "Nothing." She shrugged, then smiled when Frances brought her hand to rest in her lap. She loved how their hands fitted together, how Frances would stroke the back of her hand absently, like it was the most natural thing to do. It made her feel... safe.

They had to trek a little with their tent and supplies but the ground was mostly level, so Kristen wasn't too fussed. As long as Frances did not expect her to perform acrobatics on rocks, she had no qualms about hiking.

They found a spot a few hundred metres from the M5 motorway; it was beside a lovely sandy beach with river frontage and looked amazing. Kristen placed the bags she was carrying on the ground as she looked around with her hands stuck in her jeans pockets. If she didn't know better, she would have thought they were hours away from Sydney.

"You like?" Frances asked, dark eyes shining, dimples fully showing, looking for all the world like a proud parent showing off her child for the first time.

Kristen's eyes were fixed on Frances' face when she replied, "Very much. The spot doesn't look too shabby either."

It took Frances a moment to get Kristen's meaning, but when she did, she blushed and rolled her eyes. "Okay, Romeo, let's put our tent up."

Kristen chuckled. "Don't you mean Juliet?" She reached for the tent and began unpacking it. Nothing looked familiar to her but she was confident that she could figure it out. Frances did say it was a simple two-man tent.

"Well no, actually. Romeo's a colloquialism for a player or a womaniser whereas Juliet..." Frances stopped for a moment, then shrugged. "...died." Kristen let out a short bark of laughter at that. "Oops. Did I reveal the plot to 'Romeo and Juliet'?" she asked cheekily, making Kristen pause in what she was doing to sigh loudly. Frances laughed.

"Why? Why me?" Kristen asked no one in particular.

Frances gave Kristen's behind a light slap as she went past her for the tent poles. "Move it, woman. There's a reason why you're here and standing around talking to the sky is not it."

Kristen narrowed her eyes and made a grab for Frances, wrestling her to the ground and tickling her middle, ignoring her loud yelps and pleas for mercy.


Frances sighed contentedly with a cup of warm chocolate beverage in her hand. She wasn't one for birthdays but as birthdays went, this was shaping up to be an excellent one. She glanced behind her, smiling at the sound of rummaging in the tent. Night had fallen and it was getting a little chilly. Frances pulled her legs up against her chest as she sipped from a stainless steel camping cup.

Her thoughts went to the night before and she bit her lower lip. It wasn't the first time that Kristen had expressed displeasure over her closeness to Nell and it bothered her. She had never had to evaluate her relationship with Nell; no one had ever gotten close enough to warrant that. But now, it seemed like she had to draw some boundaries. This was new territory and she wasn't sure how to proceed, only that she must.

The zipping sound that signalled Kristen's exit of the tent broke her reverie and Frances turned to greet her with a faint smile, only to widen her eyes at the sight of sparklers burning merrily on what looked to be a very small cake. She placed her cup on the mat beside her.

A few strides took Kristen next to Frances and she lowered herself down onto the mat. "Happy birthday, Frances," she said in a soft, almost reverent voice. The look on Frances' face just moments before the sparklers finished burning made her heart flip in her chest.

"Thank you." Frances took Kristen's face in both her hands, stroking the soft skin gently.

"I made this myself," Kristen supplied helpfully. It was crazy what she would do for that smile, that look, that touch. "It's burnt sugar cake. Takes finesse," she rambled, unsure why she was feeling nervous.

Frances let out a short, breathy laugh. "Looks good," she said, slightly appalled at the moisture that leaked from one eye. She hurriedly wiped it off, breaking their contact.

"Hey..." Kristen placed the cake on the mat betwen them and touched a hand to Frances' cheek. "What? Why? Don't."

Frances shook her head lightly and let out a watery laugh. "You make me so happy," she managed to choke out, her voice sounding thick and funny to her own ears.

Kristen relaxed and smiled, reassured. "I'm glad." She shifted on the mat and handed a knife to Frances. "Make a wish? Cut the cake?" she suggested. She watched Frances' eyes fall shut, knife clutched in both hands against her chest, as she made her wish. The backdrop of a dark sky, tree silhouettes and stars completed the moment Kristen knew she would hold close to her heart for all time.

Suddenly it all became clear to her, sitting there beside the person she loved, bathed in moonlight. What happened to Jack, Benjamin or Liam was inconsequential, as long as Frances, Taters and its crew were safe and well.

"You know you're doing all the cooking in this relationship from now on, right?" Frances' voice floated to her ears. Kristen turned her face, casting Frances an amused glance. "I'll have to pick out an apron for you. Pink and frilly, I think," Frances continued, tapping her lips with a finger.

"You're weird," Kristen said finally, shaking her head.

"We can travel the world, it'll be awesome. You, in your pink frilly apron, and me... with a tub of Vegemite. We could be Pinky and the Veg," Frances said with a nod and a smirk. She brought another portion of cake to her lips and licked her fingers happily.

Kristen snorted, touched the back of her fingers to Frances' forehead, and asked, "Is the cake making you delirious?"

Frances fell silent for a moment. Then she shifted closer to Kristen, sighing when Kristen's arm went around her in obvious familiarity. "In all seriousness, what do you think of the idea?"

Kristen froze. "I don't like pink. Or frills," she said slowly, wondering if Frances was really okay.

Frances giggled nervously. "No, I meant the travel the world bit. With me," she said in a hesitant voice.

Kristen could not help the upward curving of her lips. "Huh. It sounds like fun."

"You would... would you? You'd have to quit your job..." Frances trailed off, trying to gauge Kristen's true feelings with regards to her sudden suggestion. She did not want Kristen to feel obliged to uproot her life for her but when she had closed her eyes to make a birthday wish, going on an adventure with Kristen was the first thing that came to mind.

Kristen met her eyes to Frances', a little amazed at how bright the moon was when they were away from city lights. She could see Frances' features quite clearly and the sight filled her with happiness. "I would love to see the world with you," she said honestly, studying the way Frances' lips twitched upward when she was pleased, and the resulting indentation in her cheek.

"We could go when my contract ends," Frances said. "Is that too soon?" She would have a substantial amount of money saved up by then.

Kristen shook her head. "That's in a few months' time, isn't it?" At Frances' nod, Kristen shrugged. "It's a good amount of time to find someone to replace me in the kitchen. I have to vacate the flat anyways, since your Dad is selling the place." It was possible. Anything was possible, she had since learnt.

Frances sucked in a breath as a smile spread across her face. "You would," she said in wonder. "Oh my God, you would!" she repeated herself, this time excitedly. Kristen watched in amusement when Frances jumped up from the mat and paced around, rattling off country names in a feverish voice.

"Baby, relax. Take a deep breath for me," Kristen said, standing up herself. She almost lost her footing when Frances jumped towards her, wrapping her arms around her tightly. She began chuckling softly, her lips pressed against a dark crown as she inhaled the scent that was Frances' and Frances' alone.

In that moment, she knew that if she had to do everything over again--make the same choices, commit the same mistakes--she would do so gladly, if in doing so, it would lead her to Frances.

Part 73

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