Liz’s legs began to tighten around Dani’s head, but before they tightened completely, Dani slipped her fingers inside of Liz until she felt Liz pulse around her.
“Oh yes. There,” Liz cried. “Don’t stop!”
Dani didn’t know which “there” Liz was referring to, but she knew she wasn’t going to stop either movement. She pressed her tongue hard into Liz’s wet folds and plunged her fingers deep inside. Liz cried out and tightened her legs around Dani’s head even more. The spasms fluttered against Dani’s fingertips. The muscles in Liz’s thighs trembled, and Dani was lost. Lost in the sensation of knowing the pleasure she’d given Liz.
Liz’s legs went limp. Dani withdrew slowly from her. Liz grabbed Dani’s hair as she tensed up again and then relaxed back onto the bed. Dani kissed the inside of each of Liz’s thighs and lifted herself up onto the bed to lie beside Liz. Liz rested her head on Dani’s shoulder.
“Please hold me,” Liz whispered.
“You don’t have to say please.” Dani pulled Liz close to lie face to face. She wrapped one arm around Liz’s waist and draped her leg possessively over Liz’s. Dani’s eyes grew heavy and she heard Liz’s soft, even breathing beside her as they both fell into a deep sleep.
Dani woke first in the same position as when she fell asleep. Liz’s hair spilled onto Dani’s bare chest. Pushing her hand through it, she was amazed at how sensual it felt as she let the silky strands fall through her fingers.
Liz stirred awake. She looked up at Dani and smiled. “Hi,” she said in a soft voice.
“Hi.” Dani kissed her forehead.
Liz lightly touched Dani’s nipple until it hardened beneath her fingertips. “God, I can feel how wet you are on my thigh.”
Dani started to pull her leg away, but Liz grabbed it and tugged it up even higher onto her hip. “Don’t go away from me,” she said in a hoarse whisper. Liz lowered her hand between Dani’s legs. She pressed her palm into Dani’s wetness and moaned. She dragged her fingers through Dani’s lips. Dani pushed her hips up to meet them.
Liz lowered her body enough to lick Dani’s nipple as she began a rhythm with her right hand.
“Go inside,” Dani said through ragged breaths. “Please go inside.” She felt Liz smile against her nipple as she plunged two fingers into her slick center. Dani gasped. “Oh God, Liz. Please.” Liz thrust deeper inside and pressed her palm against Dani’s lips. Dani rocked with her, and Liz stayed in perfect rhythm. Dani tightened her leg around Liz until she felt like she’d explode. Liz licked faster, and her hand kept pace. “Yes!” Dani exploded into her orgasm.
Liz kept her hand between Dani’s legs and raised her head to kiss Dani. Liz had stilled, but as soon as she kissed Dani, she started moving again.
Dani gasped. “Oh, God, Liz, I don’t think I can—”
“Yes, you can, Dani. Do it for me.” Liz’s voice was a hushed whisper. Dani fell into Liz’s eyes as Liz’s desire swallowed her. “You can do it. You can do it.” With each word, Liz pushed her hand harder. Her thumb found Dani’s clit. She tweaked and probed until Dani cried out. “There? It’s there isn’t it, baby?” Her green eyes darkened even more. “Come for me, Dani. Let go. Just let go.” Liz’s thrusts deepened, and she rubbed Dani’s clit faster and faster. Dani closed her eyes tight, and she literally saw stars.
She surrendered her last shred of self-control. She trusted Liz with her heart, with everything that Dani was. The pleasure built until Dani screamed out into the night. Liz lowered her lips back to Dani’s nipple and thrust in and out of her. Dani’s whole body shook as she climaxed for the second time.
Liz slowly removed her hand. Tears streamed down Dani’s cheeks, but she didn’t have the strength to wipe them away. Liz pulled her close.
“I could get used to this,” Dani choked out. Liz smiled against her cheek.
“I could, too.” Liz wiped away Dani’s tears, Dani’s scent still on her hand.
Dani’s whole world had shifted. What they shared this night was something holy. Something pure. Something she could never relinquish. She could spend the rest of her life in the arms of this woman, safe in her warm and loving cocoon. With that knowledge, Dani fell asleep with a smile.
Chapter 25
“What is it that they say? Read ’em and weep, suckers.” Tina spread out her cards.
Dani threw her cards into the middle of the table when she saw the four aces. “Damn it.”
“And y’all thought I was losing my touch.” Tina raked the chips toward her.
Liz reached over and grabbed her hands. “Wait. I’m not sure, but doesn’t this beat four of a kind?” Liz, who now accompanied Dani to poker nights, laid down her hand. A straight flush.
The women at the table laughed.
Barb snickered. “Uh, I think Liz has you there, hon.”
“Yeah, Tina, I think you spoke too soon,” Monica said. Alice, the woman she’d been dating steady for several months, laughed. It was great to see Monica so happy and with someone who treated her right.
At the sound of loud laughter, Frodo rose from his spot in the living room and trotted into the dining room. He sat down by Barb and pawed at her leg.
“What’s wrong, my little nephew? Are Dani and Liz not giving you enough treats?” Barb headed to the top of the refrigerator where she pulled down a jar of doggie biscuits. Frodo was right on her heels. “Hear you go, my poor starved and mistreated Frodo.”
“Oh, good Lord, Barb. He has you so whipped.”
“Don’t tell him that, Dani. He thinks he’s fooling me each time he visits. I have to continue the ruse.”
Frodo had healed even more in the weeks since the surgery, and Dani could leave him home alone, but she felt more at ease if he was close by. She and Liz took turns on whose house they stayed in overnight. Except for that first night when Liz had her sister check in on Melanie, she’d bring Melanie over to Dani’s house if she stayed all night. Dani did the same with Frodo when she stayed with Liz. They’d established a rhythm to their relationship. Dani had even met Liz’s family at several outings. But she’d been scared to say the words “I love you,” although she felt them deep in her heart. Liz seemed to be hesitant, too. Ghosts from the past haunted their present. Dani hoped to banish those ghosts... soon.
Barb sat down again. “Let’s get back to business.”
Tina shuffled the cards and dealt them out with a flourish. Liz won yet another hand.
Tina smacked the table with an open palm. “Liz, you cannot tell me that you’ve never played poker before. That’s bullshit.”
“My dad might have taught me a thing or two. He was a dealer at a Las Vegas casino in his younger years.”
Tina had just taken a sip of her beer. She sputtered. “What?” She stared at Liz. “You’re telling me your dad was a dealer in Vegas?”
“Yeah,” Liz said with a sly grin.
“Well, shit.”
Barb laughed. “Way to go, Liz. Way to go.”
The evening ended with Liz the big winner. Tina, shoulders slumped, walked to her mantel as if she were walking to the guillotine. She picked up the trophy, kissed it once, and handed it to Liz.
“Thank you, Tina. I know that was extremely hard for you,” Liz said in a solemn voice, but the corners of her mouth twitched in amusement.
“Oh shut the fuck up.” Tina was obviously trying to look upset, but her playful expression gave her away. “Come here and give me a hug.” Liz embraced her.
Dani hugged Barb and Tina and waved to the others. Everyone else decided to stay and watch a movie. Dani clipped on Frodo’s leash. “Say goodbye to Aunt Barb, Aunt Tina, and everybody.”
Barb patted his head. “You be a good boy.”
Tina walked them to the door. “You three stay out of trouble, you hear?”
“We’ll try,” Dani said as she led Frodo outside. She took Liz’s hand and squeezed it tight.
They didn’t say anything for a while. The night air was perfect. It was the last week of A
ugust. They had been enjoying unusually cool nights for that time of year.
Liz broke the silence. “You know you keep telling me this is the happiest you’ve ever been, Dani,” Liz said in a soft voice. Dani glanced over at her, but Liz kept her head lowered as she walked. “I’ve never felt anything like this before, and sometimes it scares me. I’m almost afraid it’s a dream.”
Dani stopped. She waited until Liz looked up. Even in the moonlight, Dani could see the green depths of her eyes.
“I’m sometimes scared, too, Liz. But the more time that passes, the more it sinks in that I’ve started living the best years of my life. And nothing is going to happen to change that.”
Liz pulled Dani in for a quick, gentle kiss. “I know,” she whispered. “Just keep reminding me.”
Dani kissed her again. “I will. Every day. But how about I remind you even more when we get home?”
“Sounds like a perfect plan.”
Frodo interrupted their embrace by tugging them toward a tree.
“All right, all right, I get the message, Frodo,” Dani said. They chuckled.
Liz linked her fingers through Dani’s hand again as they continued on home.
Chapter 26
“Where do you want me to put this shit again, Dani?”
Dani tried to hold in her laughter as she watched Tina struggle with a display. With a huff, she staggered and carried it to the center of the store. Displays were never Tina’s favorite thing to do, but Dani needed to work in the office to place some orders.
Dani led her to a table of bargain books. A lesbian group from Biloxi, Mississippi, that arrived in town on a tour bus had almost wiped out the entire stock. Dani wouldn’t have known their hometown, but they all wore denim shirts with “Butches from Biloxi” stitched on the pocket. After their visit, the stock of bargain books went from three tables to one table with a row of two.
“Here,” Dani said as she removed the books. “I want it to be at the front of the store.”
Tina picked up one end of the table while Dani lifted the other. They set the table down by the entrance. Dani headed back to the office after showing Tina how she wanted the display to look.
“I hate doing this shit,” Tina mumbled under her breath.
“What?” Dani asked as she continued walking. She’d heard Tina but wanted to give her a hard time.
“I said I hate doing this shit!” Tina shouted.
Dani laughed.
“It’s not funny.”
Dani sat down at the desk and clicked onto the website. She scrolled through the listings and began ordering what she needed. She was at it for about an hour when she felt someone watching her. Without looking up, she said, “Tina, just bite the bullet and finish the damn job.” She didn’t get a response. “What? No colorful retort?” Dani looked up. Her stomach did a quick turn when she saw who stood in the doorway.
C.J. James.
Dani sat back in her chair. She didn’t know what she was feeling, but it wasn’t good. For one thing, she couldn’t speak.
“Hello, Dani,” C.J. said softly. She looked great as always—even in torn jeans and a paint-stained, blue T-shirt. Her eyes were still the mesmerizing crystal blue that Dani remembered.
“Hello, C.J.” Her own voice sounded so far away—like drifting up from a deep abandoned well.
C.J. moved closer to Dani’s desk. “I’m sure I’m the last person you were expecting and that you don’t even want to talk to me.”
Dani nodded her head in agreement.
“But I came here to apologize. I’m sorry. There’s nothing I can say except I’m sorry. I made a mistake in Nashville. A big one. I know that—believe me I do.” She paused. “It’s taken me these last months to realize what a fool I’ve been.”
Dani sat there for a few seconds before she could find her voice again. “C.J., it’s over.”
“Please know I didn’t mean to hurt you—”
Dani couldn’t help it as she laughed sarcastically. “Wait. Let me get this straight. Fucking a teenager on your dressing room table wasn’t meant to hurt me?”
C.J.’s face reddened. “She wasn’t a teenager.”
“You’re going with that? She wasn’t a teenager?” Dani tamped down on her anger. “It doesn’t matter. Don’t even try to justify it because it does not matter.”
C.J. stepped closer to Dani’s chair. Dani stood up. C.J. tried to touch her, but Dani yanked her hand out of reach.
“I always fuck stuff up, Dani. When I let someone inside, I—”
“I don’t want to talk, okay? I’m in a very happy relationship now. What we had is over. It was probably over before it even had a chance to get started. You’ve said what you needed to say. I’m asking you to leave.”
C.J. took a step back. “I didn’t know.”
“Well, now you do. So please go.”
As Dani moved forward to show C.J. the door, C.J. suddenly pulled Dani to her and kissed her. Her lips felt cold against Dani’s. What the hell did I ever see in her? flashed through Dani’s mind. She grabbed C.J.’s arms to shove her away. Before she made the move, she heard a gasp from the doorway. She caught a quick glimpse of Liz as she hurriedly left.
“Liz! Liz!” Dani shouted. She roughly pushed her way past C.J. Liz ran out the door. Dani chased her toward her car. “Liz. Stop.” Before Dani could reach the car, Liz pulled away. And she was crying. “Liz!” Dani shouted after the car.
Dani stood in the middle of the street. She felt like she’d been sucker punched. She stood there watching Liz’s car until a horn blared behind her.
“What are you doing?” the driver yelled.
“Sorry.” Dani moved out of the way. She walked back to her shop, her blood boiling a degree higher with each step she took.
She pushed open the door. Tina’s eyes were wide with shock. “Dani, man, I’m so sorry. I was in the backroom getting the books for the display. I didn’t hear the door when either one of them came in.”
“You don’t need to apologize, Tina. It’s okay.” Dani turned her attention to C.J. who still stood in the doorway of her office. “You.” Dani hurried toward C.J. Tina moved fast to jump in front of Dani.
“What the hell is the matter with you?” Dani shouted. “What part of ‘I’m in a relationship’ didn’t you get?”
“Dani, I’m sorry—”
“You’re sorry? Sorry?” Dani made a move toward C.J. She wasn’t sure what she wanted to do. Shake her until she came to her senses? Hit her? She wanted to do something, and none of it was good. Tina kept her hand pressed against Dani’s chest.
Tina looked at C.J. “You need to go. Now,” she said in an even tone.
C.J. opened her mouth to say something but must have thought better of it. She moved past them to the front door.
“And you know what, C.J.?” Dani shouted at her back. “You can take that song and shove it up your ass.”
C.J. stiffened at the words. She turned to give Dani a long look before leaving.
Dani suddenly felt weak. Letting loose all of the anger bottled up inside of her had siphoned off her strength.
“Come here, Dani.” Tina led her to the office chair and helped Dani sit down. “Take some deep breaths.”
Dani took her advice. After the third deep breath, she said, “Liz didn’t see me shove her away. She just saw me kissing her, and I wasn’t even returning the kiss.”
Tina knelt and placed her hands on Dani’s knees. “You need to explain what happened. Liz is a smart lady. She’ll understand.”
“I’m not so sure about that, T. She was just telling me how she was having a hard time accepting how great everything is going for us. We’ve both had something like this happen. And now?” Dani shook her head trying to rid herself of the cold fear that shot through her gut. “Now I’m sure she’s thinking that—” Dani ran her fingers through her hair in desperate exasperation. “Fuck.”
“You have to go to her, Dani.”
Dani drew in a brea
th and blew it out. She tried to will her heart to stop racing and her insides to stop roiling. “You’re right. I’m not waiting. I’m going after her right now.”
Tina rose and patted her on the shoulder. “Good girl.”
“T?” Dani said as Tina reached the door.
Tina stopped and turned back at Dani. “Yeah?”
“Thanks.” Dani managed a weak smile.
“No problem, boss.”
After Tina left the office, Dani hurried out to her car, punched in Liz’s cell number, and started the engine. Liz didn’t pick up, which was rare. She usually answered after the second ring. Dani hung up and tried it again as she pulled out onto Main Street. When she didn’t get an answer this time, she left a message to explain what happened.
“Where would she go?” Dani wondered out loud. Her eyes darted back and forth as she approached each intersection. As she drove, she began to get angry again. Why would C.J. think she could just march into her bookstore, say she was sorry, and everything would be okay? Dani’s first thought was that maybe that tack had worked before. Her second thought was that C.J. was truly sorry and knew what she had lost. “I don’t care about that. I only care about Liz,” she whispered.
She drove past Liz’s house but didn’t see her Subaru. She searched each street but had no luck so she turned her car onto the state road. I’ll try the vet’s office. When she got there, she again didn’t see Liz’s car. As she drove back into town to her own home, thinking Liz may be there, she spotted the Subaru in the lot at the park. Dani searched the grassy, tree-lined area and saw Liz walking with her head down at the far end of the park. Dani pulled into the lot next to Liz’s car and headed toward her.
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