“Oh, Son of a bitch!” The shouted exclamation woke Rose from her sleep.


“What’s wrong?”


“Nothing.” Another muffled curse, then the sound of water running.


“Ronnie?” Rose picked up her crutches and made her way to the bathroom. “You okay?”


“Yeah,” Ronnie answered from the other side of the door. Her underwear ended up in the sink with water running over them. She cleaned herself up then opened the door. “Guess what I got?” she said as she walked past, treating Rose to the sight of firm cheeks wiggling below the gray Tshirt.


“You’re kidding.”


“Nope.” She jerked a clean pair of panties out of the drawer and pulled them on. “Talk about lousy timing.” She leaned over and gave Rose a quick kiss. “But you should be done,” she whispered in a husky voice, her hands slipping under the hem of the Dartmouth shirt in search of twin mounds. The young woman backed out of reach.


“Wait a minute there, Missy…I couldn’t touch you when I had mine.”


“B-but…” The executive pouted, realizing where the conversation was headed…and she wasn’t.

“Rose…you know that just because you can’t touch me that doesn’t mean…”


“Don’t even think about trying that. It didn’t work when I tried it, remember?” The young woman’s eyes took in the athletic body before her and sighed. “I was looking forward to it too, you know.”


“But…but…” Ronnie was silenced by Rose’s fingers against her lips.


“I hope you get over it quickly, darling,” the young woman cooed. “Maybe next month you’ll reconsider when I want to touch you.”



* * *

Rose wished Ronnie could be in the room with her when Doctor Barnes removed the cast but an important meeting forced the executive to stay at work while Maria drove the young woman to the appointment. The small reciprocating saw sliced through the plaster, ticking her in the process. “Just a little more,” the doctor said. The saw was set down and a pair of scissors cut through the cotton and released the cast’s hold on Rose’s leg. The first thing she saw when looking down at her leg were the long strands of blonde hair sticking out past dried, flaky skin. She wiggled her toes, frowning at the tinge of pain that went through her ankle. She had been doing it for several weeks and the response had always been the same yet Rose had somehow believed that when the cast came off the pain would go away. After all, it didn’t take that long for her right leg to heal up and take her weight. “When can I start walking on it?” She flexed her foot, hissing at the agony it caused.


“I’m afraid walking isn’t something that’s going to happen for a while yet, Miss Grayson.”


“But…” She looked at the physician fearfully. “You said no more casts.”


“That’s right, no more casts,” the physician reassured. “But your ankle suffered a great deal of trauma and it hasn’t healed as well as I had hoped. It can’t be left unsupported. You’ll need a brace.” She crossed the room and retrieved one from the drawer. Dark blue canvas covered flat metal rods and Velcro straps held everything together. Rose looked at the object with disdain. It represented the crushing of her hope and yet another reminder of the accident. She listened quietly as the doctor explained the need for physical therapy and stressed that the ankle was too weak to support any weight yet and a dozen other things that Rose did not want to hear. Her only consolation was that she could remove it to take baths. As much as the blonde woman had been looking forward to soaking in a hot tub of water, it seemed insignificant now.


Maria’s attempts to get her to talk on the way home were met with mumbled answers or silence. Once inside, Rose announced she was tired and retreated to her room. Hoping against hope that the doctor was wrong, she set her crutches against the wall and let her left foot rest against the ground. There was a twinge of pain but nothing she could not live with. She leaned forward, putting more weight on the tender ankle. Blinding pain shot through her and she collapsed onto the floor. The pain was the catalyst as the tear ducts opened and her breath came out in wracking sobs. Maria came in and helped her into the bed where Rose quickly cried herself to sleep.


Ronnie entered a short time later, having been called home by the worried housekeeper. It took only a brief explanation of what happened at the doctor’s office for the executive to realize why her lover was so upset. Rose had been excited at breakfast about the prospect of having the cast gone completely. Drawn into the young woman’s good mood, Ronnie never gave any thought to the possibility that they might replace the cast with a brace. In fact, she had been more focused on the knowledge that her period was finally over and after a week and a half she would finally be able to make love to Rose again. Now looking at puffy eyes and the telltale wet spot on the pillow, she felt a sliver of guilt. All amorous thoughts far from her mind, Ronnie kicked her shoes off and climbed into bed beside her lover.


Rose felt a gentle rubbing on her shoulders as consciousness returned. She inhaled the scent of Ronnie’s perfume and smiled, knowing her beloved was there with her. She rolled over and winced at the pain in her ankle. “Hi.”


“Hi yourself,” Ronnie replied. Her brow was furrowed with concern. “Did they give you anything for the pain?”


“More Percocet,” she shrugged, her tone low. “I can take a bath now but not much else.” She let herself be drawn against the taller woman and buried her face into the silk blouse. “I still have to use the damn crutches.” She snuggled closer, her fingertips tracing the outline of Ronnie’s bra. “I tried to put weight on it,” she admitted. “But it hurt too much.” Her legs shifted against each other. “And now it itches.” Ronnie nodded, remembering when Rose’s right cast was removed.

“Anyway,” Rose continued. “How was Laura’s final day?”


“Good. She loved her going away slash baby shower party.”


“Good, I’m glad she enjoyed it. Sorry I wasn’t up to coming.”


“Shh, she understood. She loved the baby outfits and blankets, by the way.” Ronnie’s knuckles brushed against the softness of Rose’s cheek. “But right now I don’t want to talk about her. You’ve had a pretty rough day of it. Look, your cast is off and she said you could take baths now, right?”


“Right…”


“So how about we let Maria go home early today and you and I take advantage of that obscenely large tub I have upstairs, hmm?” Sensing Rose’s hesitation, she added, “I have a full bottle of bubble bath just waiting for you. If you’re a good girl I might even be convinced to join you.”


“Are you done with…?” Ronnie’s eyes twinkled with mischief as she nodded. Rose gulped.

“Oh.” The finger that had been tracing the bra line now ran back and forth against the back catch.

“That means that I can touch you now,” the young woman murmured, her voice a sensual whisper. “I missed that, you know. Touching you.” She lifted her head, her lips finding Ronnie’s.

“Don’t punish me like that again.”


“I won’t,” the executive vowed, knowing full well what the younger woman was feeling. “How does your ankle feel right now? Think you’re up for that bath?”


“Are you going to join me?” Rose asked brazenly, the vision of a wet, naked Ronnie causing her heart to beat faster.


“I’d love to,” the dark-haired woman replied.



* * *

Ronnie turned the dimmer, causing the bright white to mellow to a soft yellow before her lover entered her bedroom. “Sit on the bed, I’ll help you undress,” she offered. Saving time, she began to strip, getting her skirt and blouse off before realizing Rose was standing there, watching her. She turned to face the younger woman, slowly removing the rest of her clothing. She stood there naked, her dark curls standing out in contrast to her skin. Rose swallowed several times as her eyes wandered up and down the statuesque body. “So beautiful,” the young woman whispered.


“My turn to see your beauty,” Ronnie countered, leading Rose to the edge of the bed. The crutches were placed out of the way and one by one buttons opened to reveal creamy white flesh. At last all the clothes were removed, leaving only the dark blue brace to mar the image. Careful not to jar the tender ankle, Ronnie opened the Velcro straps and removed the brace. “I think a shower first to scrub off all this dead skin would be a good idea.”


“You’re going to hold me up in a shower?”


“No, there’s a bench built in to the wall and the shower head is attached to a hose. It’s one of those massager kinda ones.”


“You really do have…”


“All the toys?” Ronnie interjected. “Yup.” She grinned broadly as her eyes landed on her nightstand drawer and her mind filled with images of what was hidden inside. “You know Rose…” her voice took on a sensuous quality. “I have some toys that you haven’t seen yet.”


“What kind of…oh.” Green eyes widened in surprise, then narrowed with the thought of the possible uses. “Those kind of toys.”


“Mmm hmm.” As they kissed, Ronnie pressed her body against Rose’s, moaning when she felt the younger woman’s thigh press against her swollen center. She returned the favor, grinding her muscled thigh against Rose’s wet folds. “Keep this up and we’ll never get into that bath,” she said huskily. With great self-control she lifted herself off the smaller woman’s body and scooped her into her arms. She smiled when she felt Rose’s arms wrap around her neck. As a forethought she reached out with her fingers and hooked the edge of the blanket, tugging the corner down while still holding onto her lover.


“I like it when you hold me like this,” Rose said, planting gentle kisses all over Ronnie’s shoulder and collarbone. Far too soon they were in the bathroom and she had to release her embrace. Balancing on one foot and leaning against the wall for support, she waited while Ronnie quickly turned on the water and adjusted the temperature. Once it was ready, she let her tall lover help her into the shower. “If I’m too rough on you, let me know, okay?” Ronnie asked as she knelt down next to her.


But the executive was anything but rough. She wrapped the washcloth around her finger and gave it a generous lather before going anywhere near Rose’s skin. Bit by bit the dead skin sloughed off, leaving fresh pink behind. When that task was completed, she used her shaving gel to work up a good lather before her razor removed the itchy hair from Rose’s leg. Once finished, she walked over to the hot tub and added bubble bath before returning to the shower. “That’s a big tub. It’s going to take about ten to fifteen minutes to fill up. Do you want to wait or get in while it’s filling?”


“I think I’d rather wait and sink into it all at once. It’s been so long since I’ve had a bath.”


“Deal. Let’s get you dried off. Then you can sit on that padded bench over there until it’s ready.” She walked over to the linen closet to get more towels.


Rose leaned back and eyed the swaying hips and firm derriere appreciatively. The stack of towels blocked her view of Ronnie’s breasts when the woman returned but she knew she would see them up close and personal very soon. Her wish was granted a minute later, when strong arms picked her up and held her tight against the soft mounds. Rose took advantage of her position to nibble her lover’s neck while being carried to the tub. Not wanting Ronnie to accidentally slip, she stopped her teasing and looked down at the churning, bubble covered water. “Careful of your ankle,” the older woman reminded. “You don’t have anything protecting it in here.” Rose reached out for the sides of the tub as Ronnie knelt and lowered her in.


“Ohhhh….this is nice,” the young woman purred as the hot water swirled around her. A molded seat beckoned her to sit down and she did, surprised to find tiny jets massaging her back. She twisted to see that there were in fact several rows of tiny holes shooting out streams of water beneath the surface. “This is verrrrry nice.”


“So you like this, hmm?” Ronnie asked as she settled into the adjacent seat, the height difference causing her nipples to stand out above the water while Rose’s hid below the suds.