"Gracias Emiliano" Flavia sighs from the passenger seat, a tired smile on her lips and each centimetre of her body still trembling.

"Natural, no podría dejar a mi hermana en la calle y menos con este temporal" the younger man smiles.

"Relaxate ahora, tomate algo caliente yal'auto pensamos mañana, ¿te parece?"

Flavia faintly nods and grabs her bag as soon as the car stops.

"Bueno, te dejo en buenas manos" he winks "saludame a la flaca" he says and smiles at the sudden light brightening his sister's face up.

She has spent the best part of the last couple of hours wishing to go home, it's not that she doesn't love her nieces, or that she doesn't appreciate helping her brother with them, but they can be challenging at times and this damn storm doesn't make things easier, at all. When she reaches for the door she feels like an old rag, her clothes cold and wet are glued to her body, her hair is a mess, her head is hurting like it hasn't been in a while. This time she didn't even bother to try and look for a shelter under her umbrella, for after years of loyal service it succumbed to its last awful weather. The account of tonight resembles the tragedy, the woman considers, not without a pinch of irony: the umbrella didn't get through it, her phone is dead, the only way to describe the status of her car is "touch and go", not to mention her sore muscles and frozen feet. Only a miracle could save her from waking up with temperature in the morning.

Finally the key clicks in the locker and the warmth of her house holds her as she walks in.

"Hola mi amor, por fin llegaste" Javiera says to the heavy sound of her girlfriend's heels on the floor.

Flavia takes her soaked coat off and lets her bag fall on the floor next to the coffee table then sinks into the sofa with something between a deep sigh and a low moan. Only then Javiera looks away from the laptop and gazes at her.

"¿Qué te pasó?" She asks with a lopsided smile on her lips and a concerned look in her eyes "parece que te ha golpeado un huracán."

Flavia snorts, her eyes still closed, her head abandoned backward.

"No sería tan mala descripción" she lets out with a bitter laugh, she wouldn't know where to start.

"Bianca estaba bloqueada en la calle por un árbol o no sé qué y Emiliano tuvo que regresar, así que esperé con las niñas cuando regresamos de la piscina." She begins and pauses a little before continuing: "Estaba a dos cuadras de su casa cuando el auto me abandonó y con el teléfono muerto ni siquiera podía avisar a nadie. Obviamente con este clima no había un alma que pudiera ayudarme en la calle y tuve que caminar hasta la casa de mi ex cuñada bajo la lluvia para poder llamar a un camión de auxilio." She pauses again to sigh before adding: "No sabemos qué pasó con el coche, se lo llevaron y mañana me llamarán. Por suerte Bianca fue tan amable de telefonar a Emiliano y el me acompañó hasta acá".

"Chucha" Javiera snorts as she closes the laptop and stands from the table. The hell with her job, she has more important things calling for her attention.

"Vienes." she says and offers her hands to help the other woman getting up. Flavia protests a little, getting back on her feet is the last of her wishes even if she knows it's for the best.

"Yaa" the inspector says, playfully encouraging her. Flavia is just too cute when she's annoyed and tired, but the inspector isn't the one to give up so easily. She changes tactics, instead, she kneels on the floor and unfastens the clasps of her girlfriend's shoes, takes them off and sets them aside. She stands and bends forward to place a soft kiss on her lips and Flavia smiles. "Levante, mi amor, fuerza. Tienes que sacarte esas ropas mojadas y calentarte un poco, ¿ya?

Flavia thinks about it for a little longer without moving. She feels Javiera taking her hands and tries to pull her down. She hears her laughing and mirrors her. Flavia is too tired to keep the game going and surrenders soon. She stands from the couch and doesn't regret it at all. She spent the best part of the night wishing to head back home and now she is, with this woman she is. Wherever it is, "home" is the sound of her laughter, the smile in her eyes, "home" are her hands on her waist, her fingers combing her hair, "home" are her lips and the way they make the whole world disappear with just one touch.

"¿Que voy a hacer sin ti?" The older woman whispers.

"No sé, pero espero que no tengamos que descubrirlo pronto¿ Cierto?" Javiera jokes even though she means it and leads the other woman upstairs.

"Te preparo un baño caliente, ¿vale?" Javiera says and gives a soft peck on the other woman's lips before disappearing to the ensuite.

Flavia puts her phone on charge on the nightstand and turns the lamp on. She peels her clothes off and puts on her black wrap-around gown, the same she lent Javiera the first night she spent at her house. She'll never get rid of that picture, even if she tries, but why should she? She has always liked it but that day she realised that she likes it better on her girlfriend. She takes her clothes to the laundry room and hangs them to dry out, then grubs a dry towel to dab her hair.

By the time she's back the tub is filled with hot water and smells like her favourite bath salts, but what catches her eyes is the generous curve of the inspector's glutes, for she is bent forward to light a series of small candles. The sight makes her almost forget how to comb her hair as she leans on the jamb to enjoy the view.

"¿Le gusta lo que ves, señora Betancourt?" Javiera teases, feeling her partner's eyes on her. Flavia gets closer and she stands up, much to her disappointment.

"Usted sabe muy bien lo que me gusta, inspectora" the older woman purrs and it blows right down Javiera's spine.

"¿Vienes adentro conmigo?" She asks and the tone in her voice is way beyond the limits of decency. No one could ever deny anything to this voice, to these eyes, to these lips, let alone Javiera, so she nods and Flavia's hands were waiting for nothing more to go down her body. A soft kiss tastes almost electric and the next one only seems interested in getting rid of any doubt. Javiera doesn't know what sort of spell it is that lays on this woman's lips, doesn't know if she's a witch, a fairy, a nymph or a goddess, she doesn't know why she chose her but she won't stop being grateful to whatever superior being for this. She gave in a long time ago, even before she admitted it to herself, this kind of magic isn't something you can back out of, and she'd be a fool if she wanted to, if she really tried.

Flavia fingers slip under the other woman's tight tank top, lift it up, take it off, make the straps of her bra fall from her shoulders, unclasp it effortlessly, make it fall on the floor. Her velvet soft lips come to gently cover each newly naked centimetre of the inspector's skin, dangerously descend on her stomach. Elegant white nails tease the silver clasp of her belt, unfasten it, unbutton the pair of black jeans Javiera is wearing, zip it down. The vision before Javiera's eyes is unbelievably beautiful: Flavia's pale face shining like rose gold in the candlelight, the pure blue of her soft eyes seems deeper than the clearest sky and it's a sight that would make even angels' knees go weak with vertigo. Javier's jeans slowly go down and are laid on the floor as Flavia's hands run up her legs, her thighs, reach for the elastic band of her lace thong and gently pull it to weasel their way underneath it. Flavia has nothing but the purest adoration painted in her eyes. She can't believe she has the chance to do this, to kiss those hips and those amazing things, to caress the firmness of so well toned glutes, she takes her time and makes the most of it. The hell with what they say, perfection does exist and she has no idea what she did to deserve it, but she owns it, all of it. Each time she feels Javiera's warm skin against their lips, each time she feels her quiver under her touch, under her gaze, each time this incredible woman blesses her with a smile, a tender, intimate smile she has in store for no one else, Flavia is more aware of her privilege. She pulls Javiera's underwear down, finally, and no Venus could hold a candle to Javiera Cáceres, her Javiera Cáceres. She eases one last kiss down on her groyne, her fingers still cupping the back of the other woman's body, gently savouring the soft curves they adore, then it's over, Flavia pulls back and stands.

Javiera would be disappointed if she wasn't completely under the other woman's spell, if she wasn't so intrigued by everything she could do, everything she has in mind, if she wasn't shot right in her chest by the sight of this goddess undoing the ribbon on the front of her sheer black gown and releasing the gloriously naked body underneath it.

"¿Vamos?" Flavia whispers not to break the still pulsing membrane of the charged up silence around them.

Javiera can't possibly believe in such a woman, in the control she has on her, in the way she can make her do whatever she wishes without the slightest effort.

She licks her lips and bites them, she watches the blue of Flavia's eyes disappear in the black of her pupils. The hell with what they say, perfection does exist and she owns it, all of it.

The inspector is the first to step in the tub and for a second she wishes the water to be able to cool her down, but it’s not. She sits in the tub facing her lover and some overwhelming heath takes over her. Firelight and steam slowly lifting from the shimmering, scarcely rippled water only make Flavia's stunning figure more enchanting, more ethereal, a vision and a breathing effigy of solid flesh and blood at once. She smiles with a sparkle in her eyes that has nothing to do with the trembling flames that still dance between her lashes. She turns around and the light sculpts the subtle volumes of her back, streams down her spine, sinks in her waist, floods her hips, soft and moist. She bends her perfect legs one after the other to step past the porcelain border and her motions are equally flawless, naturally graceful, guided by the effortless elegance that has always distinguished her. Flavia eases herself down in the hot water, in the room set for her between her lover’s thighs, against the cosy softness of her breasts and between her arms. She isn’t able to suppress a low moan at the immediate comfort running down her legs as she stretches them in front of her.

“¿Estás mejor?” Javiera asks as if the sound she has just emitted wasn’t proof of what the answer could possibly be.

“Ay, mucho mejor. Està tan rico” Flavia softly groans and Javiera can’t take her eyes from gazing at her body, now completely relaxed, at the white skin of her chest and the whiter surface of her stomach, glowing with golden reflexes. Flavia spreads her legs and makes one knee rest against the tub wall. She outstreaches her left leg so it breaks the shining surface of the water and fully exposes itself to the public's admiration. From the harmonious proportion of her slim foot, to the fine volume of her ankle, from sharp edge of her tibia to the tonic roundness of her calf, from the well sculpted knee to the gentle curve that makes her thigh descend to her groyne, to the softness of her pubis.

“Gracias, mi amor” Flavia says and takes Javiera away from her fantasy. They have plenty of time for that, they have the whole night, if she's lucky, they have the whole life.

"Todo por mí princesita" she smiles and Flavia lets out a soft giggle. She places a soft kiss on the top of her head and uses the sponge to make hot water flow in rivulets on her chest.

Flavia could easily spend the rest of her life in this embrace, abandoned on the soft heat of Javiera's body, with her head resting on her shoulder. Her heartbeat could be her lullaby forever, playing along with her calm breathing, the sough of water and the scarce rustle of fire like in a silent, private orchestra.

The water will cool down soon, the candles will consume themselves but this will remain, this feeling inflating Flavia's chest, the easy joy of the awareness of being exactly where she needs to be. In a life she can finally call her own, Flavia is the person she wants to be, by Javiera's side she is whole like she has never dared to dream she could be. And she's the luckiest woman on Earth.