by Lee Winter
Oh shit. In about five seconds, Elizabeth’s hand would float between her legs and discover exactly how much Summer appreciated her.
Maybe this was normal? She’d heard stories. Men being…indisposed. Women getting wet. It could happen to anyone. Right?
Never breaking eye contact, Elizabeth slid her fingers between Summer’s thighs.
Summer fought not to tremble at the sensuous touch before remembering that’s exactly what she was supposed to do.
For a split second, Elizabeth hesitated, telling Summer exactly when her questing fingers found Summer’s wetness.
She tensed with embarrassment. The gaze that met hers, though, was without censure. It was so smoky, so convincing, that Summer simply arched her back, fluttered her eyes closed, and faked an orgasm.
Curling herself around Elizabeth’s deliciously bare body, she whispered Lucille’s line with fierceness. “You’re mine, Bess. I’m yours. We’re one and the same.”
There was a silence.
Then shaky breathing. Then a strange sort of hiss from Elizabeth.
Then…
“Cut!”
When Summer flung Elizabeth onto the bed with abandon, before kissing her like she was the most gorgeous woman on earth, Elizabeth realized two things rather quickly. One, Summer had overcome her anxiety, so they wouldn’t be getting fired anytime soon. And two, she’d unleashed a monster. A seriously alluring one.
All Elizabeth had done was given her permission. Permission to be the best Lucille she could be. To do whatever was needed. Summer had embraced the challenge with an unanticipated fierceness.
Elizabeth was taken aback at just how effective Summer’s mouth and hands were at conveying all that molten lust. As her fevered fingers mapped out Elizabeth’s tender points, it became harder and harder to divorce the sensations from reality. It didn’t feel exactly like acting, but it wasn’t real either. Perhaps something surreal floating in the chasm between.
Desire rippled inside her like a drop of ink on papyrus, spreading wider, blurring her lines and edges until all she felt was loose-limbed, warm, and aroused. That had never happened to her before at work. When faking it with Raif Benson, she’d felt like a sack of flour, pulled about for the best angles to flatter his chiseled profile. Their sex scene had been an anatomy of power and dominance, to show Dr. Mendez putting his icy boss in her place.
Not so with Summer. Elizabeth’s character here was also being dominated, but Elspeth was adored, too, wrapped in affection.
How captivating Summer was. How skilled that naughty, playful mouth. How teasing her dancing eyes that promised so much. Had Elizabeth’s breasts ever been so completely lavished before? Hell. That was a dangerous thought.
Summer’s desire-filled eyes were fixed on her again.
Who does she see? Elizabeth wondered. Me or Elspeth?
And which answer would I prefer?
Her nerve endings thrummed with excitement. Summer’s lithe body was exquisite and enticing in a way Elizabeth had never expected. She’d never before felt desire as such an insatiable hunger, something that burned. In the past, desire meant a delicate, teasing pleasure, playful and evocative. It was shocking to discover—with a co-star in front of cameras, no less—that desire could be a heady, overwhelming rush, a thing to be craved.
The music changed; this was the moment for Elspeth to assert herself. Elizabeth took over, relieved when the transition went seamlessly at last.
She feasted on Summer’s breasts, and it was no hardship to worship them. The woman was beautiful. Elizabeth’s hand fell between Summer’s legs. Oh. So wet. For me?
Does it matter?
An embarrassed hue crept across Summer’s cheeks and Elizabeth almost tsked in dismay. No. She wouldn’t stand for it. Fixing Summer with a look of pure hunger, she made sure the woman writhing beneath her felt no shame for her body’s reaction.
It seemed to work. Summer faked her orgasm with a cry of delight that made Elizabeth squirm in the most pleasant way.
“You’re mine, Bess,” Summer said heatedly, locking eyes with her. “I’m yours. We’re the same.”
Perfect delivery. So real.
Wait…Bess?
She made a strangled noise.
“Cut!”
Summer exhaled in obvious relief.
Elizabeth gave her a reassuring smile, brushing a lock of hair out of Summer’s eyes. “Lovely,” she whispered, sensing Jean-Claude drawing near.
“I am?”
She’d meant the performance, but Elizabeth couldn’t leave that vulnerable expression unchecked. “Yes, of course.”
A dazzling smile split Summer’s face. “So are you.” Her hand slid down Elizabeth’s back, leaving a trail of goosebumps in its wake before coming to rest on her arm. This touch felt very different from Lucille’s.
As Jean-Claude stepped up beside the bed, Elizabeth pulled the sheet over her and Summer. Protecting their dignity was more reflexive than practical now.
“Perfect.” Jean-Claude beamed. “I felt the love. Oh, and don’t worry about saying ‘Bess’,” he told Summer. “We can loop that to ‘Elspeth’ easily enough. Similar sounds, you see.”
Blanching, Summer shot Elizabeth a startled look as Jean-Claude retreated again, a lighting tech calling him over.
“It’s fine,” Elizabeth said, as though name mix-ups were common in sex scenes. She had no idea whether that was true, but Summer looked appalled. “The main thing is we survived.”
Bit by bit, Summer relaxed. “Yeah.” She exhaled. “Thank God. No secrets left between us now, I suppose.” She shot Elizabeth a sheepish look. “Well, you know all mine.”
A stab of guilt hit Elizabeth that she hadn’t admitted her own secret. She wasn’t ready yet. She couldn’t help her guarded personality, how hard this was for her to admit to anyone. And what if Summer was indiscreet and told someone? Dread dove into her brain and began swimming laps.
This wasn’t just a secret; it had power. The power to hurt her. Elizabeth didn’t want the attention in her safe, ordered world. She didn’t want her private life picked apart by vultures, given her public life was already subject to derision on a daily basis.
But what if…she did tell Summer? Put her faith in those trusting eyes and that guileless smile? Would such an admission make Summer more or less anxious? Would she feel betrayed? Or maybe emboldened to ask Elizabeth out?
Would that be so bad? a little voice at the back of her brain asked. Besides, when was the last time she’d been kissed like that?
She pushed the irritating questions aside. Irrelevant, anyway, given the facts: She wasn’t open about her private life and she didn’t get involved with co-stars.
“So, are you okay?” Summer whispered. “I didn’t… um.” She bit her lip. “Make you uncomfortable?”
“What? No. All fine.” She flashed a quick smile.
“Okay!” Jean-Claude called over to them. “Ladies? We’ll go again. That was excellent, but we’ll do another shot for safety before we do close-ups.”
The make-up artist reappeared and began touching up Elizabeth, a frown of concentration between her eyes. Elizabeth glanced to her left to find Summer waiting her turn, her expression distant. The sheet had fallen to her waist. Elizabeth’s pulse quickened. Summer had amazing breasts, her lower brain noted merrily.
Well, that was unprofessional. However accurate.
Elizabeth forced herself to look only at Jean-Claude, now in conversation with an assistant. But the more she focused on him, the more her thoughts wandered back to Summer’s shapely body. She had been rather delightful to touch.
Pursing her lips, Elizabeth tried to recall her lines for tomorrow, when they’d shoot Lucille’s first scene, arriving at Elspeth’s shack. Dressed in her national park ranger outfit and boots, all cocky and confident, oozing charm.
> She’d look so hot in that outfit.
If in the next take Elizabeth was a little more heated than before, using her teeth to scrape her way across Summer’s body, her tongue to lavish those plump, slippery nipples with extra attention, she chose not to dwell on what that meant.
Summer’s flared nostrils and darkened eyes told Elizabeth she had no complaints. They both surged and undulated, and pressed fingertips hard into each other’s skin, leaving crescent moon shapes down both their backs.
This time Elizabeth forgot this was a mere technical dance. She forgot everything but the emotions of the scene. She buried herself in the touch, the taste, the smell of Summer, meeting the swell of Summer’s body with her own. She shared of herself in a way she rarely did in reality.
And to her surprise, for the first time in years, she felt alive.
Chapter 17
It was past nine by the time they tumbled off set and headed back to the trailer. Elizabeth felt as if she’d been pummeled. Exhaustion was seeping in, but she was too wired to think of sleep.
Summer didn’t look much better. She’d really stepped up today. Parts of Elizabeth’s body still ached from all the ways Summer had made her feel like she’d been fucked by Lust herself.
Elizabeth was desperately looking forward to some alone time; a long shower, and probably an early night with a little…self-help…to take the edge off the arousal that had been burning between her thighs for hours.
“Gonna drown in some music,” Summer declared. “Best way to unwind after so much stress.”
“Stress?” Elizabeth teased lightly.
“You know exactly what I mean.” Summer grinned, and an adorable pinkness feathered her cheeks. “Thanks by the way. I mean it.”
They reached their trailer, pausing by Elizabeth’s door, which was closest.
“What for?” Elizabeth asked.
“Making it okay. If you hadn’t, I’d still be tied up in knots, fretting about freaking you out if I was too…convincing.” She rolled her eyes and leaned back against the trailer’s side. “You were as good as your word. You didn’t get weirded out at all.”
Elizabeth opened her door. It wasn’t locked; no one bothered to lock anything out here. Her shower awaited. And bed, with its more base pleasures. She took in Summer’s wide, sincere eyes and suddenly felt the need to extend their conversation. “Did I really strike you as such a prude that I’d react badly to you doing your role convincingly?”
Summer snorted. “Oh no, I’m not touching that. There’s no safe answer. All I’ll say is you kiss really well and leave it at that.” She froze. “Um, Elspeth does.”
Elizabeth hid her smile. How could Summer be an ingénue one moment and Lucille the next? Before she could stop herself, Elizabeth had moved off the stairs and into Summer’s personal space. With a mischievous smile, she asked, “Only Elspeth?”
This was dangerous. Co-stars? Off limits. She shouldn’t be looking at Summer’s lips. Remembering the taste of them was the next step to ruin. And she really shouldn’t be taking another step so they were only a breath apart.
Desire flared again, intense and sharp. Her body still scorched from being teased by those arousing lips. Just once today she’d like to know what it felt like to be kissed as herself, not some character.
Elizabeth should put a stop to this right now: the sway of her body, the way she was raking Summer with her gaze.
“Bess?” The desire-soaked roughness in Summer’s voice was all it took.
Elizabeth grabbed fistfuls of Summer’s denim jacket, pulling her forward, and fused their lips together. Then, with her mouth and tongue, feverish and desperate, she showed Summer just how much she’d been affected by today.
After a surprised gasp, Summer kissed her back with an urgency far more powerful than Lucille had displayed.
Dear God, she’s been holding back. In what other ways? The thought was like tumbling over a ravine. It tossed up erotic images that made Elizabeth tremble. Pressing Summer against the trailer, Elizabeth pushed a thigh between her legs and leaned in.
Summer gave a pained moan and arched into her. “Bess. Yes.”
Heaven.
Summer’s hands slid up Elizabeth’s rib cage, cupping her breasts through her clothes. The warmth of them woke up her nipples, sending flares of arousal through her. Exhilarating. She should haul Summer inside right now and have this out once and for all. The idea thrilled her. Although at this rate she’d be lucky to even get her co-star to the bed.
Co-star. The word was a splash of cold water.
They’d be back to the grindstone together soon. They had another season ahead on Choosing Hope as colleagues. Mess up that dynamic and it could be hell.
This had to stop. She broke the kiss with regret, and stepped back, head dipping. “I’m sorry.”
Confusion filled Summer’s expression, along with desire and disappointment.
With a steadying breath, Elizabeth said, “I shouldn’t have done that. We have to work together and this would complicate things. I’m sorry I overstepped. Scenes like ours today are powerful. You get…worked up. That’s what happened. I’m…really, I’m sorry.” She straightened her shirt.
“You needed an outlet and I was here,” Summer guessed. The brightness she always exuded dimmed. “I guess it helped that you knew I was willing.” Bitterness edged her words.
Was that how it had seemed? Like she’d used her? No! What a thought! Elizabeth was usually so much better at controlling herself and staying focused on the big picture. She’d never made an undisciplined lapse like this, being caught up in her own desires. She took a measured step back, appalled at herself. “This is all my fault. I didn’t think. I’m sorry I got carried away. As I said, it’s been an intense day. The rush of everything caught me off guard.”
“So you’re not…” Summer paused, the furrow in her brow deepening, “not interested in women? You’re saying you’d have kissed anyone just now if you’d been in a sex scene with them all day?”
Elizabeth sucked in a breath as the reminder of her scene with Raif hit her like an express train. She’d avoided him for two days afterward.
“Not just anyone,” she admitted. “But I-I didn’t mean to lead you on here. Nothing can come of this. It was just a kiss… and we’re colleagues, so…that’s all there can be.” She scrabbled around for something positive to say. “But thank you for today. You were wonderful to work with.”
Work with? Christ, could she make this any worse?
Unable to bear Summer’s disappointed face, or the fact that the young woman’s mouth had fallen open at her last line, Elizabeth muttered a hasty “goodnight”, and fled inside her trailer, her libido now as deflated as her sinking mood.
Summer stared at the wall inside her trailer for twenty minutes, trying to work out what had just happened.
Elizabeth Thornton had kissed her. Seriously, kissed her. No one had forced her to, no script had demanded it, and she’d just…grabbed Summer and devoured her lips. So damned hot.
But why?
She hadn’t answered Summer’s question about whether she was interested in women, either. She’d weaved all around it and finally just said she couldn’t be with Summer. That her kiss was just a kiss. Was it, though? Who kisses someone like that if they have no interest in them?
What had that kiss been about? An experiment? A little trip to Girls Town to see if she’d like it off-set as well as on? Well, if that were true, Elizabeth certainly seemed to like what she’d found, that was for sure. Summer knew desire when she saw it. And Elizabeth had kissed Summer like she’d been turned on enough to take her on the spot. Summer knew the feeling.
But…maybe it really was just a residue from their earlier calisthenics. Today had been arousing as hell. And yet, it couldn’t be all there was to it. Elizabeth’s horrified look when Summer had asked whethe
r she’d have kissed just anyone like that answered that question. No, those heated, toe-curling kisses had been just for Summer.
So…what did it mean?
Further intense wall staring provided no answers.
There was only one way to find out.
Elizabeth sank into her shower, mentally reviewing the professional part of her day…mainly to avoid the confusing end to it. Jean-Claude had been pleased. He’d also spoken at length about tomorrow’s scene. In it, Elspeth would begin unraveling and start to see all the characters she’d “met” flashing in and out of existence.
At one point, Lucille would appear beside Elspeth in bed, fully dressed in her ranger outfit, talking about bear season and orgasms, while simultaneously making a coffee with Lucas the linesman in the kitchen. Elizabeth would have to convey Elspeth’s moment of realization that, since seeing two Lucilles at once was impossible, these friends, lovers, and acquaintances she’d been clinging to couldn’t be real.
It’d be shocking, she decided, as she turned off the shower. Powerful. Unnerving.
Like the way Summer looked at you after you kissed her so thoroughly.
Sighing, Elizabeth towel dried her hair and put on a robe. As much as she regretted the kiss, she couldn’t deny it had been astonishing. She pushed that thought away in annoyance. No playing where she worked.
Even though it’d be exceptionally fun to play there.
She rolled her eyes. Infuriating brain.
Summer’s interest in Elizabeth was undeniably flattering. A smile darted to her lips at the thought before she tamped it down. Summer’s affections were another reason it had been so wrong to tease her. That kiss—that burning, exquisite, delightful kiss she’d never wanted to end—had promised more than Elizabeth was prepared to deliver. At least she’d shut it down immediately. She hoped Summer wasn’t too upset by her momentary lapse.
Exiting the bathroom, wrapped in her thin silk robe, the last thing she expected to see was clear blue eyes watching her curiously. She let out a small, startled gasp.