Chapter 1: Steam and Submission
Steam curled from the shower heads, softening the edges of the room and the sharp lines of their fatigue. Water sluiced over Carol’s powerful shoulders, her blonde hair dark against her scalp. She watched Rogue, who was trying to wring out her own hair with careful, gloved hands.
“Here,” Carol said, her voice cutting through the humid air. She moved closer, the heat of her body palpable even through the steam. Rogue stiffened, her green eyes wide.
“Don’t,” Rogue whispered, but Carol just shook her head, a slow, confident smile spreading across her lips.
“It’s just water,” Carol murmured, her hand closing around Rogue’s wrist, over the damp fabric of the glove. She pinned Rogue’s hand flat against the cool tile wall beside the shower stream. “See?”
Natasha watched from a few feet away, a silent smirk on her lips as she leaned back against the opposite wall. Her auburn hair was plastered to her neck, her emerald eyes tracking every shift in the dynamic.
Carol’s other hand came up to cradle Rogue’s jaw, her thumb stroking a slow arc over the mutant’s cheekbone. Rogue’s breath hitched, a shallow, quick sound lost in the spray. “Carol…”
“I know,” Carol said, her voice low. Her gaze flicked over to Natasha, a clear, commanding invitation. Natasha pushed off the wall, the movement liquid and silent. She came up behind Carol, her body not quite touching, but her presence undeniable.
“She’s trembling,” Natasha observed, her voice a husky note next to Carol’s ear.
“I’m not,” Rogue breathed, but the tremor in her voice betrayed her.
Carol leaned in, her lips a fraction from Rogue’s. “Yes, you are.” Then she closed the distance, her kiss not gentle, but not cruel—a confident, claiming pressure. Rogue melted into the tile with a soft gasp, her free hand, still gloved, coming up to clutch at Carol’s bare hip.
Natasha’s hand slid around Carol’s waist, her fingers splaying over the defined abs, her own head dipping to press a hot, open-mouthed kiss to the nape of Carol’s neck. Carol arched back into her with a low groan, the sound vibrating into Rogue’s mouth.
The steam thickened, wrapping around them like a secret.