Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience. "Unless you're announcing the end of summer or a return of the ice age, please don't touch me." It was a moan, but not the sort Diana was accustomed to hearing from Claire. Moans of pleasure and desire, absolutely. Miserable moans, rarely, and hearing them made Diana almost as distressed as her lover. The heat was finally breaking the young woman; it was something Diana really hadn't anticipated when she and Anthony planned a summer New Orleans vacation. Diana stood in the open bungalow doorway and watched her lover's chest rise and fall with each breath. There was a thin sheen of sweat covering her pale skin, and a small rivulet ran between her small breasts. Claire's eyes were closed, and her body was spread out on the bed, arms out to her sides, legs spread slightly. She was making every effort to avoid any skin-to-skin contact, even with her own skin. Claire's voice rose from the inert form on the bed. "Diana? Please tell me again why we came here?" "Music, Claire. Music, food, life, culture, the river. I'm so sorry. I didn't think that the heat would be this horrible on you. I guess Anthony and I are more accustomed to it than you are." "It's not your fault. Just let me sleep, I'll be fine." Diana sighed, flipped the pillow, and shifted uncomfortably on the cotton sheets looking for a cool spot. She knew she was ruining the vacation for the three of them, but there was little she could do about it. It had been over a hundred degrees every day since they had arrived in the Quarter, and her body refused to adjust. Glass after glass of iced sweet tea, cold showers, all of those things cooled her down temporarily, but it lasted only minutes until the water evaporated from her skin, leaving her just as hot as she was before the shower, and sweaty enough to need another one. "Diana, darling, wonderful, beautiful Diana? Please just let me lie here and melt. Go. Have fun with Anthony. Just because I'm miserable doesn't mean you have to be too." She could almost hear Diana's indecision as she answered from her spot in the doorway. Claire knew she wasn't making it easy on her lover. Diana had been looking forward to this vacation for months as part of their ongoing efforts to make themselves into a true family. Three instead of two. This vacation was part of that struggle. An attempt to meld yet another aspect of their lives. It had been "Diana and Anthony" before it was "Diana, Anthony, and Claire," and the thought that there were still parts of "Diana and Anthony" that she couldn't be a part of scared her sometimes. When she realized that Claire wasn't going to be helped by her presence, Diana's desire for good Cajun food and live zydeco won out. "Okay Chère. If you're sure. Let me bring you something before I leave? I could run down and get you a plate of begnets and a coffee." Tempting, but Claire knew she didn't have the energy to eat anything in this heat. "No food, but do you think you could check that little store on the corner for a floor fan? Then you can leave me here for the night." Had Claire been able to muster the energy to open her eyes, she might have been intrigued by the mischievous look that crossed Diana's face. As it was, she only heard the click as the door shut behind her. ~~~~~ The brush of cloth on her wrist woke Claire from her restless napping. A finger on her lips silenced her surprised protest. The soft linen strips wound around her arms held her fast to the bedposts, and before she could fully open her eyes to see which of her lovers had restrained her, a band of soft cloth was wrapped around under her head and was knotted over her eyes. As the unseen hand moved from her mouth, Claire argued weakly, "it's too hot for this." Her argument was cut off by Diane's quiet whisper in her ear. "I've brought your fan, just relax. I promise this will cool you down." She heard a click and felt the first burst of air from the fan rush over her skin. The cool air mixed with the sweat on her skin and sent a quick chill through her body. For the first time in days, Claire shivered slightly. As her body trembled, she felt the strain of linen bindings around her ankles, then she relaxed again as her body adjusted to the new sensation. She let her breathing slow to a calm, even pace as the cooled air from the fan filled her lungs. She heard Diana shuffling around the room, and the breeze intensified slightly. Claire's body stiffened as a new sensation washed over her skin. Feather-light caresses stroked her flesh, moving down her body at the same pace as the oscillation of the fan. She had a sudden mental image of streamers tied to the fan covering, as though Diana had bought the fan right off of a show-floor. Denied sight, the only sound in the room the soft whir from the fan, Claire's body focused on the touches of the cloth on her skin. Goosebumps rose on her breasts, and her nipples hardened to tiny arrow-shaft points. Her fingers gripped the rumpled bed sheet as minuscule droplets of water misted her skin. She could feel Diana's eyes searching, examining the effect the anticipation was having upon her lover's body. Claire arched her back slightly, just as far as the loose bindings would permit, as Diana continued to spray the cool water from the atomizer. The fan-cooled air over her breasts sent sparks throughout Claire's awareness. She could feel the ache starting in her nipples as it pulled her need from her sex through her body--a moving desire focused at the point where the linen streamers stroked her fiery skin. No longer was the oppressive heat smothering her from the surrounding air, now it was pushing out of her body, pulsing through her pores and heating the room. No longer was August in New Orleans the hottest thing happening. Her thighs spread eagerly at the touch of Diane's fingertips, and she moaned low as those fingers traced a moist path between her legs. Diana dipped into the moisture, feeling the heat emanating from her lover's pussy. As she lowered her lips to taste, she brought her fingertips up to Claire's mouth, growling low in her throat as her lover tasted her own juices and moaned for more. The breeze from the fan whistled in her ears and the blowing linen streamers tickled her nerve endings. Her mind struggled between the conflicting sensations--desperate longing for more between her thighs and an almost painful need to relax under the cool relief of the breeze. With a wicked smile, Diana nibbled Claire's swollen pussy lips, tugging gently as she teased at the now-dripping opening with two fingers. Claire moaned louder and struggled forward, desperately trying to force herself over the tormenting fingers. Slowly, Diana began to press into her lover's welcoming heat. She folded back the small hood and caught Claire's swollen clit with her other hand, rolling it gently, savoring the feel of the responsive clenching of her lover's thighs around her head. She added a third finger, thrusting harder, faster, as Claire began to tremble. Her tongue lapped at the wetness now glistening, dripping from her sex to the cleft between her pale buttocks. Expertly reading her lover's signals, with an ease that comes only with love and familiarity, Diane pulled back, holding Claire's shuddering pussy open with the polished tips of her fingers. She pinched harder on Claire's clit, drawing a shuddering gasp from her lips. Holding her, pulsing delicately on her throbbing clit with her fingers, Diana pulled her lover to the edge. "Talk to me, Claire. Cry out for me." She drew a shuddering breath and pleaded, her voice barely above a whisper, "Please, Diana..." The sunlight streamed through the open window, and the sweat glistened on Claire's trembling skin. Diana pulled her fingers from Claire's pussy and reached over to the fan, pulling it closer to them. As Claire trembled with the heat and the cold, Diana again began her tantalizing stroking, slow thrusting against Claire's bucking hips. "Not enough, darling Claire. Please what?" She knew Claire's reluctance to be loud; she knew Claire's unwillingness to let herself go, to release herself completely to her lover's expert touch. The streamers from the fan briefly fluttered over her hand and Claire's smoothly shaven mound, sending shivers through both of them. Her voice shook with desperate desire. "Please don't stop, Diana. Please make me cum." "Much better." Her fingers tightened around Claire's pulsing clit and she thrust deeper, harder into her sex. Claire's pussy clenched around her fingers, drawing her deeper, fighting to pull them inside. With practiced, knowing strokes Diana drew the shuddering waves of pleasure from Claire's body. Each thrust pushing her faster over the edge. Claire cried out, her voice echoing in the room, as Diana lowered her mouth to Claire's throbbing sex, savoring the sharp taste of her lover's orgasm. The oscillations brought the fan and its soft linen fingers waved over her head, stroking her hair. She briefly wished that she had waited for Anthony to return, that those were his fingers playing along her blond curls. With a soft moan, she let her lips vibrate over Claire's pulsing clit, prolonging her lover's shuddering climax, until her body sagged on the bed, spent. She could feel the tension fade from Claire's trembling muscles, and for the first time since they had arrived in New Orleans, Claire relaxed. Diana crawled between her lover's legs, drawing her lips over the soft curve of her belly, pausing only briefly to brush her wet lips across Claire's nipples before snuggling against her side, resting her head on Claire's shoulder, her arm draped across her ribs. Strains of music from the street below drifted into the room and the mingling scents of spice and heat tantalized and surrounded them. She pulled herself closer against Claire, as the fan sent its welcome breath over their bodies and they faded into sleep.