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“Your turn.”
Melanie picked up another card from the top of the deck, adding it to those in her hand. Six of hearts.
She tapped her fingers against the table thoughtfully and discarded a ten of hearts. “Now yours,” she said to Ruth.
They sat across from each other in the dark interrogation room, the table between them only lit by the dim light from a lantern. They used up a lot of fuel speeding through Alaska and now they needed to make up for it. Melanie knew this was coming, even had given the order to have it done that evening.
Yet, she’d been in second class with Ruth on her tail, talking with the doctor about stasis medication that had been stolen again, when the lights had gone out. The doors too were sealed, converging precious power during the outages. Effectively the two were stuck in first class. There were only a thousand things to keep in mind at any given time, a thousand things for Melanie to keep in balance, and no matter how many she juggled there always seemed to be another around the corner.
“Pass,” Ruth said after a moment of contemplative silence, drawing Melanie out of her thoughts.
“Really?” She raised a brow.
On the other hand, Ruth seemed to be relaxed enough, well, really Ruth was not so much relaxed as extremely intent on the game of Rummy in front of them. They had talked about work and the train for the first three hours, then sat around pointlessly for another hour. Then, Ruth had pulled out a pack of cards stashed in her jacket, surprisingly. Though, come to think of it, maybe she had seen Ruth playing with the Folgers on occasion. Ruth was just as competitive as Melanie had thought she would be. Well, touché on that front, as Mel couldn’t help but be competitive right back at her.
On her turn, Melanie ran her fingers over the card four cards deep into the discard pile.
“You’re sure?” Ruth questioned with a raised brow, watching intently.
Melanie just hummed in response, drawing all four cards into her hand.
“I win.” Melanie set down all the cards in her hand in two successions and one group of threes, grinning at her opponent.
“Damn!” Ruth exclaimed, slapping down the cards in her hand. “I should’ve known you’d have gone for that.”
“You probably should have.”
“You’re a sly one, Melanie Cavill,” Ruth accused.
Melanie chuckled, “I’ll take that as a compliment.” This was her third game won out of five so far. Not that she was counting but… she deserved to be just slightly smug about it at least when Ruth had gone on about how good she was at the game before she’d taught Melanie the rules.
If only running the train and keeping everything in order followed any set of known rules at all…
There went those damned thoughts again, they never ceased. Leaning back in her chair, Mel closed her eyes and rolled her neck back and forth, stiff as a board.
“We should play more often, you know. You provide more of a challenge,” Ruth was saying, “I usually have to let Lilah win some rounds. You know, make sure to keep her happy, so she doesn’t chew my head off over the shortage of prime cut sirloin.”
That was just like Ruth. Mel huffed, rubbing her neck some more. “Well, I’m happy to be of service. If that means beating you repeatedly at your own game, so be it.”
“Beginner’s luck, maybe.”
“Mhm. That must be it,” Mel murmured and she found Ruth to be staring at her when she opened her eyes again. Her stare was somewhat peculiar, almost intent, giving way to goosebumps on Mel’s skin. That may just be the cold, though.
“Sore neck?” Ruth asked then.
“Yeah,” Melanie said, dropping her hands to her side. “Slept funny on it. For the time that I did manage to sleep, anyway.”
“Well, I can help you with that, if you want.”
Melanie raised a brow in silent question. That could mean quite a few, vastly different things. Mel allowed herself to imagine a few of them.
“I give a good massage,” Ruth explained after a beat which had lasted a bit too long as they’d stared across the table at each other. “Brilliant, even.”
Oh.
So that was what Ruth meant.
As Melanie was silent for a beat, Ruth hesitated slightly. “Like I said, only if you’d want that.”
“Is that an offer all your First Class patrons get, too, along with the card game?”
Ruth snorted aloud. “Oh, good God, absolutely not,” she exclaimed quickly.
Melanie smiled, licking her lips as she looked Ruth over. “In that case, I’d like that.”
“Yeah?” Ruth perked up again.
“Yes.” Melanie leaned forward, undoing the buttons of her hospitality blazer and slipping it off her shoulders, folding it quickly onto the table. Now that her neck was accessible in her hospitality undershirt, she sat back against her chair and looked over at Ruth expectantly. “Go ahead.”
“Alright then,” Ruth said and Melanie watched her get up and walk behind her chair. “Just relax then, for once, Melanie.”
Melanie was about to protest that she did relax sometimes surely (maybe she just forgot the last time she had?) but then she felt Ruth’s hands, both of them, touch the crook of her neck. She exhaled softly, Ruth’s hands were much warmer than one might expect in an apocalyptic ice age.
The hands slid up to the base of her neck and it was obvious, once Ruth started to apply pressure, that she knew what she was doing. Melanie closed her eyes as Ruth found the point which hurt the most, the muscle stiff and taut, and Melanie tensed.
“Right here?”
“Yes.”
Ruth applied more pressure to the knot slowly, and Melanie groaned softly as the pain turned into the pleasure of relief . Suddenly it felt as if the knot had been there forever, maybe since she’d first boarded this train. Now it was smoothed over, and then onto the next muscle, like each were a manifestation of another stress.
“I think you’ve more than slept on it wrong.” Ruth’s voice was gentle, and seemed to read Melanie’s thoughts. She made a quiet noise of affirmation, that was fine as long as Ruth’s hands continued their journey. They did just that, massaging the base of her skull. God, that felt good.
She was so focused on the touch that she almost missed Ruth’s next words. “Turn your head to the right side.” Her neck complied as Ruth titled it, grabbing her head on both sides firmly. “Breathe slowly.”
Ruth cracked her neck with an audible crunch, the following relief of the joint immeasurable. “How’s that?”
“Good,” Melanie responded.
“Very good,” Ruth said, and turned her head to the left to crack the joint that way too.
Her neck was sore then, but in a way that felt good . It seemed that Ruth wasn’t done here, her hands finding their way to massage Melanie’s shoulders.
“Your shoulders are very tense,” Ruth whispered and Melanie could only sigh in response as she applied just the right amount of pressure, and her shoulders relaxed themselves for the first time in a long time.
Over her shirt, Ruth smoothed her hands to the point at Melanie’s spine between her shoulder blades, and pressed down. Melanie hissed, jolting suddenly at a spark of pain.
“Sorry dear,” Ruth murmured, “That’s a tight one. It will take some time.”
Melanie nodded, and wordlessly she grabbed her pristine white undershirt and pulled it over her head, then situated the chair so she said on it sideways, exposing her back to Ruth.
Given the invitation, Ruth returned to the troublesome spot, massaging slowly around it with gently increasing pressure. Melanie closed her eyes again and focused only on the feeling of her touch.
“ Fuck ,” she moaned under her breath as the knot finally gave way under Ruth’s ministrations, shifting on the chair, and she heard Ruth’s sharp exhale in response.
She didn’t stop there, and Ruth rubbed down Melanie’s back, almost too slowly now, and it felt like her hands were everywhere. When Ruth started to massage just above her hip bone, that was when Melanie could hardly stand it anymore.
“Ruth.”
Melanie’s voice was breathless and insistent, but Ruth didn’t seem to get the urgency within it, continuing to rub maddening circles into her hip.
“ Ruth .” Melanie grabbed Ruth’s wrist, stopping her massage. She turned back to look at her, Ruth’s eyes blown wide and laced with questions.
“Mel..?”
Melanie pulled her down closer by the arm and Ruth leaned in as Melanie kissed her. Melanie’s kiss was laced with want, and Ruth’s mouth opened to let her deepen the kiss, both women gasping at the sudden intensity of it.
Melanie almost tripped over the chair’s leg as she tried to get up from it without disconnecting from Ruth’s lips. Standing up, she pushed herself closer to Ruth, pressing her up against the nearby wall.
Those damned hands roamed across her back again as Melanie ravaged the woman’s mouth, drawing a moan out of Ruth when she nipped at her lower lip.
“You think you’re going to…” She kissed Ruth’s jaw and then her throat, “Get away with just a massage, when you touched me like that?”
Ruth just groaned as Melanie sucked at her neck, not even protesting that it might leave a mark later. That probably wasn’t good, and would lead to more drama and questions in first class later that they didn’t need but for once Melanie wasn’t thinking about anything else but this.
Apparently Ruth wasn’t either and she seemed just as wanting as Melanie, suddenly, and she pushed back at Melanie until her ass hit the table in the middle of the room. “Well, then,” Ruth said, “Get up here.”
Chuckling breathlessly, Melanie wasn’t going to be told twice, and she hoisted herself up to sit on the table. Ruth’s hips settled in between her legs as they kissed again. There, Ruth made quick work of her bra clasp, throwing it aside and immediately massaging both of her breasts roughly.
“God, Ruth,” Melanie rasped, and seemingly the woman was attempting to drive her insane the longer they were alone in this room together. If she was honest, this had been coming for longer than just that, but deeper thoughts then Ruth’s hands on her were beyond her at the moment.
Then she was trying to get a hold of Ruth’s blazer, which seemed to be still on her, unacceptably, among a couple other layers. “Not fair.”
Ruth managed to help her get her teal blazer off and Melanie fumbled open most of the buttons. Impatiently, she dislodged Ruth’s bra and leaned forward to suck one of the nipples into her mouth.
Moaning loudly, Ruth gripped Melanie’s hips firmly as the woman sucked at her breast. “Melanie, you …”
Whatever Melanie was, she didn’t get to hear since the words were stifled by another moan from Ruth, when Melanie was busy mouthing at her other nipple.
Gasping, Ruth undid the buttons on Melanie’s pants and tugged at her waist band. Melanie took the hint, and reluctantly pulled back an inch in order to lift her hips and slide the pants down her legs. Ruth managed to get them off her ankles and toss them aside.
Melanie wasn’t sure she’d ever seen Ruth discard any clothing without folding it first, before. It must have been serious, and it was when Ruth slipped her talented fingers past Melanie’s panties, pushing through wet folds.
“Oh, you’re lovely,” Ruth said, and Melanie gasped at the touch.
The compliment seemed so genuine that Melanie grinned slightly and breathed, “You too.” She meant that, and kissed Ruth again.
Ruth circled her clit with purpose, fingers just as skilled in this as they were in massages. She found just the right way to touch with the right amounts of pressure that drove Melanie insane. She was grinding against Ruth’s hand and holding onto her side for support, her fingers digging in urgently.
“Ruth, ah…” She squeezed her hip. “Fuck me.”
“God, yes .” Ruth took the demand to heart, pulling Melanie’s panties down her legs and sliding them off fully. She pulled Melanie close to her, and slipped two fingers inside her, curling them at the right angle.
Melanie moaned with pleasure, and Ruth began to move her fingers in repeated thrusts. They fit together perfectly, naturally. Melanie leaned back against the hard table and wrapped her legs around Ruth’s waist, and at that particular angle, Ruth aligned the thrust of her hand to be backed by the movement of her hips.
Melanie’s knuckles were strained white as she gripped the edge of the table, and with her other hand she squeezed Ruth’s hand on her own hip tightly.
In that moment nothing existed in Melanie’s world save for her and Ruth and their bodies together, save for the push of Ruth’s fingers inside her and the squeeze of her thighs around Ruth’s waist. The sound of the train rumbled on below them, always constant, oftentimes calming (it meant her train was alive ); but now her body was alight with pleasure and the small room was filled with the sounds of her moans and the sounds of their bodies moving together.
She started to jerk her hips, the angle pushing her clit against the heel of Ruth’s hand. Ruth could feel Melanie’s body vibrate around her, knew its needs, and she added a third finger, tight and full when it entered her.
“ Fuck .” Her back arched off the table and she squeezed Ruth’s hand harder, it probably hurt. She needed that. “Yes, I—… please, more. More .”
Ruth fucked her more and more quickly after that, and Melanie fell apart in the best of ways. At some point she was aware of Ruth whispering praises at her, such as “so good” or “gorgeous” or the like in thick accent. Melanie was too far gone to say anything back, only responding with moans as she was driving closer and closer to the edge.
When she reached orgasm it was with a quiet moan of Ruth’s name. It lasted for a long time, nothing but pleasure and endorphins spreading through her body. Ruth’s fingers were hot inside her, walls clenching around them as she stroked her though the aftershocks with slower movements.
It was somewhat of a loss when Ruth pulled her fingers out but Melanie sat up on the table. “Well, that was… better than your card game.”
“I hope so,” Ruth chuckled, and pulled Melanie in for another deep kiss. This one was slow and languid. This kiss was longer than one would give to a forgotten one night stand.
Melanie wasn’t sure how long they were kissing until she’d reached for Ruth’s hand. She guided the other woman’s hand back to her crotch, and the touch on her oversensitive clit made her gasp against Ruth’s mouth, but it felt good .
“Hm,” Ruth said, almost a question.
“Hm,” Melanie repeated, pushing Ruth’s hand against herself more firmly, searching for that spark of friction.
“Greedy.” The accusation was soft, null, when she felt Ruth’s hand now smoothing over her skin with new intent.
“Well…” Melanie wouldn’t deny that. “Maybe you like that.”
Ruth didn’t affirm that but the answer to the rhetorical question was obvious as her fingers sought Melanie’s clit, slowly circling it with purpose.
This time, Melanie felt each movement more acutely in post-orgasmic tenderness, and the touch was hot and almost overwhelming so quickly.
“ Need… ” Melanie whined, “Oh.” Suddenly she could hardly speak, but Ruth’s response was only to rub faster, knowing what she needed.
She came unintelligibly this time, gasping for air. Now, Melanie pushed Ruth’s hand away from her, but instead grabbed onto the woman’s hip loosely, resting her forehead on her shoulder.
Both of them breathed heavily into the air, silence as Melanie focused on slowing her breathing to the rhythm of the train on the tracks. Her head was blissfully empty of any anxiety for the brief moment.
The moment seemed to stretch on for a while. She’d hardly ever felt this much peace in a long while, or this sated, relaxed, desired, wanted, safe.
“In a moment, it’s your turn,” Melanie declared, and they pulled apart slowly.
“Don’t worry about it,” Ruth said, as Melanie got down from the table, retrieving her underwear and pants from the floor. “That was just as good for me.”
“Mhm.” Melanie was now pulling up her pants. “But I want to taste you.”
“Well…” Ruth grinned, stepping closer to Melanie again, “In that case…”
When they kissed again, something came alive around them. It was the train, bright lights illuminating the room suddenly as the car regained all of its power systems.
“Damn,” Melanie said, resting her head against Ruth’s shoulder with a sigh. The lockdown was over, and with it left the peace of this world where Melanie could pretend the rest of the train and her responsibilities did not exist.
“It’s not often I’d wish these outages would last longer,” Ruth said, and separated from Melanie to find her blazer on the floor, so that they could get dressed again.
Melanie was quickly finishing up getting dressed too. “You can say that again.”
A loud knock at the door intruded even more insistently than the train’s bright lights, as one of the brakemen opened the door to the room, “Miss Cavill?”
Both women were fully clothed again by that point, and Melanie ran a hand through her hair, a bit too disheveled and sweaty, though her ponytail still held in place. The brakeman didn’t comment on that. “Yes?” Melanie prompted.
“Full power has been restored.” He turned to Ruth. “Miss Wardell. No complications, they’re saying. It went well.”
Melanie nodded, “Yes. Well, I’d better go make the announcement then.”
“Wait.” Melanie stopped as Ruth moved closer to her and was reaching out towards her.
Melanie didn’t have time to protest before Ruth’s hand landed on the button on her blazer, straightening it, then smoothing her hand over Melanie’s shoulder, slightly wrinkled. “There you are.”
“...Thank you,” Melanie said, raising a brow towards Ruth at the unnecessary display.
“Well, I live to serve, Miss Cavill.” She winked, conspiratorially. “You know that.”
Cheeky, almost cheesy, Melanie thought, but the words warmed her. “I do.”
“I’d better check in on First Class, while you make the announcement.” Ruth paused, seeming to hesitate a beat. “I’ll see you after that, to check in?”
Melanie knew the question was more than that. Would this happen, between them, again?
“Oh, yes, most definitely.” She nodded at Ruth, maintaining eye contact, “I’ll see you then.”