The Librarian and the Assassin, a Sapphic Romance at the End of the World - 46. Chapter 46 - Coffee

The trio did not speak for several minutes as they ate.

Tawni was the first to comment. “Xylda, I like your tattoos.”

Xylda set down her fork and held up her hands, wiggling her fingers at Tawni and Bix. “Knuckle tattoos hurt.”

“Do you have other tattoos?” Tawni asked.

“Yeah, I’ve got a tardigrade on one of my thighs and an axolotl on the other.” Xylda gave the pair a flirty wink. “Thighs are one of the sluttiest places to get tattooed.”

Tawni gasped in embarrassment, and Bix snorted a laugh.

Xylda flashed the pair a toothy grin, but then she gave Tawni a conspiratorial look. She glanced to both sides, and Tawni and Bix leaned close to her. “Can you tell me who’s given you these jobs?”

Tawni and Bix made eye contact, and Bix shrugged.

Tawni leaned close to Xylda and whispered, “Duke Kentonworth is my contact.”

“That slippery old toad!” Xylda hissed under her breath. “I talked to him, and he was ruder and more dismissive than almost anyone else among those rich folks who I talked to.”

“Yeah, I’m not a fan of his,” Bix added.

“He’s the one who initially tried to find me,” Tawni explained, “after I killed all those nobles who were hunting Bix.”

Xylda gently took one of Tawni’s hands in hers. “Thank you for saving Bix. Thank you for preventing her from being taken back to Falland.”

Tawni looked timid. “I had to stop them. I couldn’t let them take her.”

The three finished eating and settled up with the barwoman before making their way out into the morning sun.

“Coffee?” Tawni recommended.

“I’d love one,” Bix replied.

“Count me in, too,” Xylda added. She grabbed one of Tawni’s hands. “So how does Toady Kentonworth get ahold of you?”

Tawni snickered at Xylda’s mocking name, but she was also feeling a prickle like static electricity running up her arm from Xylda’s fingers interlaced with hers. “We’ll show you. I set up systems for him to use for contacting and paying me,” she answered. “I am trying to have as little connection and interaction with him as possible.”

“Smart,” Xylda replied.

“Yeah, I agree,” Bix added, and she casually took Tawni’s other hand. “I don’t want Tawni anywhere near him.”

Bix’s fingers tangled with her own felt like coming home to Tawni. She felt like everything was always going to be okay when Bix was holding her hand, and it felt like the act was an acceptance of Tawni’s abounding love.

“I get why he had you take out the two Grondsens,” Xylda stated. “The other rich folks told me about that, but they also mentioned the woman from Family White. Why do you suppose she was targeted?”

“We’ve been wondering the same thing,” Bix replied.

Tawni was very much enjoying being between the two women. “Duke Kentonworth…” she began, but Xylda interrupted her.

“It’s pronounced Toady, Toady Kentonworth.”

Bix let out a cackle that made Tawni and Xylda laugh as well.

“Toady Kentonworth,” Tawni dutifully repeated, “paid me two-thousand old world dollars for the Gria job.”

Xylda choked on her next breath. “How much?” she managed between coughs.

“I know,” Tawni replied. “That’s what made us wonder why she was so seemingly important.”

“Two-thousand dollars,” Xylda said weakly.

Bix smirked past Tawni at Xylda. “But you don’t know what Tawni here has been doing with the money she’s made.”

Xylda was curious. “What do you mean? You haven’t been spending it?”

Tawni bit her lip. “Yeah, I’ve spent some of it, but me and Bix gave a bunch of it away to our friends and neighbors to help them.”

Xylda’s jaw dropped. “You ride in like knights and deliver treasures to the peasants?” She laughed, but Tawni shook her head.

“No, we didn’t let anyone know where the money came from,” she replied. “We don’t want to draw attention to ourselves; we just want to help people.”

Bix was smiling. “Tawni has made anonymous gifts to many folks.”

“Tawni,” Xylda cooed, “stop being so magnificent right now, or I’m not gonna be able to help but fall in love with you!”

Tawni’s breath caught, and Bix squeezed her hand.

The café was ahead, and a moment later, Bix pulled open the door for them to enter. The three women’s hands separated, and even though Tawni desperately wanted to keep holding both their hands, she was feeling loved and accepted. She suspected that she would be holding both of their hands again soon.

Bix stepped up to the counter. “May I please have a palm syrup latte?”

“Comin’ right up,” the barista replied.

“I’d like the same,” Tawni added, and she turned to Xylda. “What about you, kitten?”

The endearment had just slipped out, like the first time she had called Bix sugar, and it was clear that both Bix and Xylda very much liked what Tawni had just said.

“What did you call her?!” Bix playfully whined. “I really like that!”

Xylda’s lips were wet and pouty, and her eyelids were low in arousal again. “I really liked that too.”

Tawni giggled. “Come here, kitten!” She grabbed both of Xylda’s hands and pulled her close. Xylda was almost a foot taller than Tawni, who looked up at her with desire. “I want to kiss you,” she breathed.

To Tawni’s surprise, Bix repeated Tawni’s sentiment. “I want to watch you kiss her.”

Xylda did not say a word, but her hand gently came to Tawni’s chin, and the transgender woman leaned down and pressed her lips against Tawni’s.

Bix felt a rush of emotions at their display of affection. She could not deny the twinge of jealousy that Tawni was not kissing her, but at the same time, she was also aroused at watching Tawni being so turned on, and Bix was feeling a swell of love in her heart. She could tell that Tawni’s emotions were an overflowing ocean of affection and passion, and Bix remembered the words Pan Cakes and Celestial Openings had shared with her. Bix knew that Tawni kissing Xylda was going to make Tawni love her even more deeply.

A moment later, the three women were back out in the sunshine with their coffees.

Tawni’s head was spinning. She did not remember Xylda ordering a drink. She was feeling high feelings, like how she sometimes felt with Bix when their intimacy overtook them. Tawni loved the way her two women made her feel.

“Bix, I…” Tawni began, but the words seemed to stick in her mind.

“What is it, babe?”

Tawni looked from Bix to Xylda and back again. “Bix, I love you.”

Bix smiled. “I know.”

Tawni stopped walking. “No, Bix, you don’t understand. I love you so much that it feels like my heart is exploding.” She turned to Xylda. “And I want to learn everything about you, Xylda. I want to fall in love with you too. I’ve never met women like either of you, and I want to know both of you more than I know myself. Bix, I already feel like the best version of myself with you, but having your permission or blessing or whatever for me to be with Xylda…” Tawni trailed off, and Xylda finished Tawni’s thought for her.

“Is incredibly understanding of you. Bix, your heart is a beautiful thing, and Tawni, you’re lucky to have such a loving woman.”

“I am lucky!” Tawni confirmed. “Bix, you’re perfect, and you make me perfect, but you also make me more than I’ve ever been before.” She turned to Xylda. “I want you to fall in love with me, Xylda.”

Xylda laughed. “I don’t think there’s any stopping that!”

“She is very lovable, isn’t she, Xylda?” Bix asked with a flirty smile, and the three continued walking.