Sky Pirates of the Rio Grande - Chapter 7

Chapter 7

It was late afternoon before they fully emerged from the clouds and got on course. Zenobia watched, bemused, as Eden carefully checked and re-checked instruments and set them on a southwesterly tack with much fussing and nudging of controls. The ground below looked like nothing so much as a patchwork that was almost close enough to touch. Zenobia had never been so high up, and found it exhilarating.

The wind up here was steady and cool, wiping away the muggy heat of the Washington river-bottoms. Once they cleared the rain, the sky was clear and blue, with only fleecy clouds drifting here and there like wisps of spiderweb. The rain had not wet them down too badly, and once the wheel was set Zenobia jogged down to the deck to see what they had in the way of stores. She was ravenously hungry, and eagerly ripped open a tin of beef and ate it.

Eden came down from the quarterdeck, looking exhausted. "There. We are on course. I shall have to keep watch so we do not drift too far, but it should not be difficult." She sniffed. "Is that beef?"

"Used to be," Zenobia said. She tossed her a tin. "Here, those are biscuits I think."

"Oh, do you want some?" Eden turned the tin around and over, trying to see how it opened.

"No, I only eat meat. Can't have anything else. Fresh is better, but this is better than nothing."

Eden sat on the wet deck and opened a tin of beef, then the biscuits, and used them to scoop out the chunks of fatty meat. It tasted terrible and her mouth watered so hard it was actually painful. She ate quickly, trying not to taste it.

"How long is the journey from here?" Zenobia said. "It does not feel like we are moving fast."

"We are, though. It's an illusion caused by how high we are. We are over a mile up, so the ground appears to move slowly." She chewed. "We should reach Bagdad in no more than three days at this speed, so long as the weather holds."

Zenobia threw the empty tin over the rail and opened another. "No cause to ration food then. So quick. It would take weeks to ride all that way. Even a train would be a long journey."

"We don't have to follow a track, we can just fly as a bird does, over any obstacles: rivers, mountains - anything. The ship won't get tired or hungry, so we will go all day and all night." Eden finished her food and wiped her mouth on her sleeve, glancing to make sure Zenobia didn't see her do it. She was still hungry, but worried her stomach would rebel if she ate too much at once.

She was exhausted, too, but her mind was thrumming along and she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep anytime soon. She looked at the dirt and blood smeared on Zenobia and then down at herself. Her dress was a tattered disaster, smudged and torn.  Her shoes were scuffed and caked with earth. Her stockings were twisted and riddled with holes, grass-stained and almost gray with soot and dirt.  She touched her hair tentatively and felt it like a single matted mass instead of her orderly coif. Her face was likely just as dirty as the rest of her.

Well, at least a ship that ran on steam had plenty of hot water. It was an almost universal amenity on airships, a byproduct of the steam reaction. She got to her feet, feeling every ache and bruise. "I'm for a bath, and then sleep. God, I could sleep for a year."

"Bath?" Zenobia's head came up. "You mean there is washing on this ship?"

"It's a steamship," Eden said. "It runs on hot water. Of course there is a bath."

"Santa Maria," Zenobia clasped her hands and looked up to the sky. "Thank you!" She stood up and stretched. "I have not had even a half bath in two years. Two years!" She shook out her streaked mane of hair.

"Oh," Eden said. "Well then, you can go first." She could endure a while longer. Years without washing? It made her itch just thinking about it.

"Nonsense little mouse," Zenobia said, taking her arm. "I am sure we can both fit in the washtub, yes? It will be good to have someone to scrub my stripes."

---

The washroom on board the Jackson was much bigger and more well-appointed than Eden had dared to hope for. It was spacious enough for the two of them without seeming cramped, and the washtub was as well. It was a big porcelain tub up on clawed feet which were, of course, screwed down into the floor as was almost everything else on the ship. The fixtures and knobs were brass that was only a bit faded, and whoever had last used the ship had obviously gone to some care with them.

Intoxicating to just pull a lever and have hot, steaming water pour out of a spout and start filling the tub. Just breathing the steam felt divine, and it helped Eden not think about the fact that she was getting undressed with a complete stranger. She had not been naked in the presence of another person since she was a child, and she found it made her extremely self-conscious. It didn't help that she was fussing with her buttons and laces and fastenings while trying to alternate the spigots and make sure the water wasn't literally going to boil them.

And then there was Zenobia, who simply grabbed her battered shift in both hands and ripped it apart, letting her thick-hipped, full-breasted body come spilling out without the slightest hint of embarrassment. Eden felt like a stick in comparison, as she was slight even next to less heroically-built girls - alongside Zenobia, she felt like a twig, and she half-decided to call the whole thing off and just wait her turn.

But the very act of loosening her clothes made her even more aware of just how filthy they were and thus even more unbearable to remain in them for so much as a moment longer. When she finally shut off the water and looked down at it steaming there in the dim light she almost flung herself in clothes and all. Instead she set to unpinning her poor hair while gesturing to Zenobia. "Go on," she said. "I'll... I'll be right in."  She was still half-dressed, her dress loosened but still on, and she wondered if maybe she could just delay until Zenobia was done.

The tiger-woman was having none of it. She stepped behind Eden and grabbed the back of her dress. Eden squeaked as the fabric yanked tight, then a horrible ripping sound signaled that her companion had simply torn it open.

Eden clutched at the halves of her dress as it started to slip off her shoulders. Zenobia grunted and yanked the ruined garment down off her shoulders, gave her a slight shove that sent her stumbling against the basin.

"Stop fussing and get in. The water is hot enough." She stepped past Eden and climbed into the tub, sank down in the water with a long sigh of pleasure.

Eden looked at her, those big breasts bobbing in the water, and then quickly looked away. She went about the business of undressing mechanically, shrugging out of her tattered dress and then unpinning her hair. Her shoes were almost completely wrecked, with the seams coming undone and the soles splitting. She kicked them off and then slid out of her shredded stockings, which were absolutely festooned with needle-sharp burrs.

She unpinned her hair, still not looking at Zenobia, and gingerly climbed over the slippery rim of the tub. The water was very hot, and it was a delicious combination of painful and pleasurable to lower herself into it. The steam felt good in her throat, soaking into her skin.

There was plenty of room for the both of them, even with Zenobia's long frame. The tiger-woman ducked under and came up, slicking her hair back with her hands and scratching ruthlessly at her scalp. Eden likewise leaned back and got her hair wet, grabbed it under the water and wrung at it, scrubbing the dirt from it. She suddenly itched all over, and she grabbed for the cake of soap, not caring what kind it was, and lathered herself vigorously. God, it felt good to be clean.

Zenobia hooked a leg around her thigh and pulled her in closer. "Help me wash my hair," she said.

Eden spluttered. "Look, I've had about enough of you ordering me around and pushing and shoving me. You could have killed me back there on the lift - in fact you almost did kill me!  I have a mind to--"

Zenobia grabbed her by her wet hair, hauled up against her in the hot water, and kissed her on the mouth. Eden was so shocked it never occurred to her to close her mouth, and in a moment she felt the other woman's long, rough tongue sliding against her own, tasted her breath and felt her long teeth.

There was no possibility of pulling away, not with Zenobia being so much stronger. Everything - the hot water, the exhaustion, the strain and terror of the last day - all of it gathered together in a knot inside her, and the warm contact of another body was like a balm on a wound. Eden stiffened, then melted against her companion, leaned into the kiss. Her hands knotted into fists, then slid up and caressed that tawny skin which she realized she had been aching to touch.

Zenobia pressed her back against the side of the tub, devouring her lips with her hungry mouth, her hands slipping over Eden's soapy skin, sliding up and down over her slim waist, sampling her small, upthrust breasts. Her fingers squeezed down hard on Eden's nipples, making her moan and twist, but she never pulled away from their kiss, and Zenobia made a deep guttural growl when she felt the other girl's sweet tongue lick shyly at her own.

They kissed feverishly in the steaming water, and Zenobia slid a hand down Eden's white belly and between her thighs, felt the downy fuzz there and then went lower. Eden jerked and moaned when Zenobia's questing fingers found her slippery folds, pushed roughly in between them and up inside her.

Eden jerked back, eyes wide with surprise as Zenobia pressed two fingers up inside her pussy, slid them back and forth as if testing her depth. She stared into those golden, animal eyes and felt a little afraid - more than a little. Zenobia probed deeper, rubbing her fingers against a place inside that was like sparks going off and Eden closed her eyes and groaned, hunched her hips up against her.

"Ahhh, a virgin," Zenobia growled, licking her neck. "I love the feel of a virgin."

Eden shivered as those strong fingers slid in and out of her, pressing and pulling at places inside her she hadn't even guessed at. She felt Zenobia's teeth on her neck, nipping playfully, and then the rough tongue sliding up and down, flicking over her neck and ear. She turned her head and kissed her, her arm stealing up to hold the other woman close. Their tongues slid together and Eden moaned deep in her throat.

Heat was rising in her belly, stoked higher with each stroke of the fingers inside her. She felt herself growing wetter by the moment, opened her legs wider to allow Zenobia deeper access to her body. The tiger-woman found the slight bite on her lip and sucked at it, drawing a bit of blood keenly from the tiny wound. Eden shuddered and clutched at her, hands sliding on her wet skin. She groped those big, heavy breasts, curled her legs around Zenobia's hips and pulled her in closer.

Zenobia leaned in between Eden's legs, thrusting herself in like a lover, her fingers going deeper and harder as she ravished the smaller girl's mouth with her own. She could feel Eden's inner muscles squeezing and pulling at her, her pussy growing slicker by the moment. She smelled the desire on her skin, wanted to taste her between her sweet, pale thighs but held back, kissing her while her fingers did the work.

She bit Eden's lip and held her there, looked her in the face while she fucked her with her fingers. "I'm going to watch you come," she growled, biting the girl's soft white chin. "And then I'm going to eat you alive."

Eden whimpered and threw her head back, mouth open, eyes hooded as she panted for breath. Zenobia watched her, savoring every moment as she felt the girl's desire mount and tighten, her pussy squeezing and twitching. She watched and felt to gauge just how close she was, drew it out to a knife's edge until Eden's half-closed eyes were begging.

"Oh God!" Eden wailed, clutching at Zenobia's powerful arms.  Oh God, please!"

"Please?" Zenobia teased her, slowing the strokes of her fingers. She watched Eden's face turn red and smiled. "Please what, little mouse?"

"I don't... I don't know!" Eden ground her teeth in frustration and drew in great shuddering breaths. "Please don't stop!" Her eyes rolled up and Zenobia felt her tip over the point of return.

There was no stopping her now, and Zenobia went to work, pushing her fingers in deep and dragging them down the front inside Eden's clutching pussy, feeling the slick hot folds quiver and squeeze at her. All at once Eden's eyes pinched closed and her face went red clear to her delicate little ears. Every muscle in her body went rigid and she stopped breathing. Zenobia felt her muscles inside go still and then suddenly go into spasms, twitching around her fingers.

Eden squealed like a snared rabbit and shuddered all over, squealed again, louder and then fell to gasping and panting for breath, her whole body squirming and twitching in every muscle. Zenobia felt a flow of sticky fluid around her fingers and smiled, twisted them just so to wring out another soft cry and a few more little spasms. At last she drew her fingers out of the girl's body and brought them dripping to her lips, sucked the salty juices off them and purred.

Now the steamy air was heady and too thick in Eden's lungs, and the hot water felt cool compared to her skin. She struggled to catch her breath and had none to even yelp when Zenobia hoisted her out of the water and carried her out of the washroom and into the captain's cabin.

She grunted when the tiger-woman unceremoniously threw her down on the bed and then pressed down on top of her, one wet muscular thigh pressing up between her legs, parting them until it was hard against her mound. Eden opened her mouth to groan and found it covered by Zenobia's, tasted a salty tang that she realized with a flush was her own juices on the other woman's tongue.

Zenobia broke the kiss and nipped at her lip, making a low, rumbling sound that was almost a purr. "Now little mouse, we shall have some real fun."

Continued in Chapter 8...

---