by K T Grant
Konrad released her, and Vala rushed forward to hand her a stuffed puffin and a small balloon inscribed with congratulations. She embraced her friend, receiving her kiss then giving her one in return.
“It’s so good to see you!” She squeezed Vala hard. She had missed her almost as much as Konrad.
“You and the other ladies were excellent!” Vala broke away and lurched away, her eyes like saucers. “I can’t believe Corinne Simone is a few feet away. Do you think I can say hello to her?”
Svana swallowed a giggle at Vala’s excitement at the American pop princess greeting a line of people. Beside her was a darker-skinned woman her age. Anytime she was pushed to the side by someone, Corrine would grab her and keep her near. Both women would then share a smile and tender look that made Svana envious. She wished she had the type of relationship Corrine had with her girlfriend.
When Vala tapped her arm, she brought her attention back to her, and to Konrad who had a light hold around Vala’s hip. Vala covered his hand with hers. Svana shot her brother a startled look, but he ignored it.
“Many other things have changed in the months since I’ve been gone,” Svana said to Vala who still observed Corrine with unabashed enchantment.
Vala’s eyes twinkled in amusement. “We have much to discuss, especially how sexy you look in your dress, and how you’re glowing. But, first, introduce me to Corrine.”
She giggled over Vala’s childish delight. Her compliment was very welcome. She wasn’t sure she could pull off the form-fitting leather dress, and the silver highlights in her hair suited someone half her age, but she had an army of stylists, beauty technicians, and nutritionists who seemed to follow her 24/7.
“There’s an after-party, if you want to tag along?” she asked, confirming with her assistant whose arms overflowed with too many flowers to count.
Vala clapped in glee, and Konrad tucked her to his side. “I’ll stay for a short time, since I’m going to the office tomorrow.”
“But tomorrow is Sunday.” For the most part, things had remained the same with her brother, who was as dedicated to his role as CEO as when he worked in the laboratory. The only difference was an air of self-confidence and better fashion sense based on his charcoal herringbone suit, sans tie.
“I’ll be there for half the day. I haven’t forgotten our dinner,” he said. “We have a lot to catch up on.”
“I’m here until the end of the year.” Thrilled to be home, she lifted her arms to embrace Konrad and Vala again. “We have time to—”
She lowered her arms in shock.
“Kennedy?” Her breath lodged in her throat as the woman arrived at her side. “You came to my show?” She took the woman she dearly missed in her arms.
Kennedy welcomed her embrace, almost clutching her. “Omar gave me the ticket to your show. I sat in the front row. You didn’t see me?”
“No, the lights were too bright and—” The tickle in her throat made it difficult for her to speak. “Just let me hold you to make sure you’re real.”
“I’m very real.” She ran her palm down Svana’s back, leaving a nice sensation behind.
“I’m so glad you came. I had hoped you would be in Vegas with your brother.” She pressed her lips under Kennedy’s ear.
Kennedy swallowed hard enough for her to hear. “I wasn’t ready to see you then.”
“And now?”
Kennedy drew back but remained in her arms. “Now I’m ready. I’m here until December. I’ll return to California for the Christmas holiday, and then back here for six months.”
“Your schedule is going to be very busy.” She vibrated with nervous energy, first from performing, and now that she had the woman she cared for back in her life.
“Work is keeping me very busy.” Kennedy’s teasing tone helped her relax.
“I’m going to keep you very busy when you’re not working,” she replied with a soft growl, overcome with the urge to kiss her.
Kennedy swept her fingers along the side of Svana’s face before dropping her arm to her side. “I’ve missed that look.”
“What look?”
“The same one you gave me almost eight months ago when you took me to bed.” Kennedy lowered her voice to a breathy whisper.
She flexed her hands to avoid sweeping Kennedy away and finding some vacant room to become reacquainted with her taste, which would involve a lot of kissing.
“We have much to talk about.” She snagged Kennedy’s hand, needing to touch her so she wouldn’t run away. She finally lifted her gaze away from the beautiful woman in front of her, noting the crowd had diminished and Konrad and Vala now talked to Corrine and her girlfriend.
“I should say hello to Konrad and Vala. Are they…? She gave Svana an inquisitive stare that turned her on in a way she couldn’t explain. Damn, she still had it bad for this woman.
When she didn’t respond and just continued to gawk like a fool, Kennedy took her hand. “Are you okay? Do you want to sit down? Your feet must be killing you in those boots.”
She’d rather lie down, naked, with Kennedy. “I’m still surprised you’re here. I didn’t expect to see you so soon.”
“Or at all after the long note you left me the last time we were together, saying it was fun?” Hurt flashed across her face.
She cursed and dug her fingers in Kennedy’s waist. “About that…it was stupid of me to write it. I should have stayed with you and—”
Kennedy dropped a finger over her mouth. She inhaled, managing not to suck on her finger. “I’m to blame as much as you are. I pretended to be asleep while you wrote the note. I heard what you said to me before you left. I should have made you stay.”
She wanted to be angry at the entire situation and their reaction to one another. There was no way she was going to make the same mistake again. If she had to, she would make sure Kennedy didn’t. “We lost too much time when we should have been together, finding out if our attraction is the real deal.”
“It’s just attraction between us?” Kennedy nibbled on her bottom lip.
She hissed through her teeth, beyond tempted to kiss her, regardless of who saw. She caught Konrad and Vala, along with Corrine and her girlfriend staring. Corrine mouthed “party” and waved her over.
She still had one last responsibility to fulfill tonight. But she wasn’t going to do it alone. She curled an arm around Kennedy’s waist and brushed her mouth on the side of her ear, enjoying her shiver. “I have to go to an after-party hosted by my record label. Konrad and Vala will come, along with the women I performed with. Say you can come, unless you have other plans?”
“The one plan I have is a nice soak in a warm bath.” Kennedy caressed her lower back, one of her fingers stroking the curve of her ass. “It’s also a great night to see the Northern Lights. Any suggestions on where I can have a great soak and view the lights?” The proposition was more than clear based on her hitched breath.
“We’ll show our faces at the party and mingle for an hour or so and then go to my place where I’ll be more than happy to get you hot and wet, and end up not only seeing the Lights, but the stars.” Svana forced her innuendo home with flicking the tip of her tongue under Kennedy’s ear.
Kennedy cleared her throat, and a delightful blush appeared on her cheeks. “Sounds good.”
She lifted Kennedy’s hand to her lips and kissed her knuckles, not caring when a light flashed and their picture was taken by a photographer who then asked for another. When Kennedy started to move away, she pulled her to the side and agreed to the picture, almost laughing in joy at Kennedy’s stunned expression when she introduced her as her girlfriend.
***
“I’m never leaving this bath.” Kennedy sighed as she rested her head on the soft padding behind her and hung both her arms over the ledge, giving Svana a tantalizing peek of the top of her nipples. Svana slid in next to her, anxious to claim one of those pink nubs with her mouth, but first she wanted to welcome Kennedy back with a slew of kisses on h
er mouth and work her way down.
“If I had my say, you would never leave.” She left “me” unsaid and tucked Kennedy to her side.
Kennedy peered at her under her lashes and cupped the back of Svana’s neck, squeezing the muscle there gently. “I don’t plan on leaving any time soon. But what about you?”
“Ah, a trick question?” She didn’t tense up from the innocent question, but the meaning was clear. “My actions tonight prove what I want from you.”
Kennedy rubbed her nose on Svana’s cheek and squeezed her neck tight. “You don’t have to prove anything to me. I believe and trust you. Especially when you announced I was your girlfriend to the reporter, and then at the after-party to everyone we met.”
She couldn’t explain why her throat tightened and her nose tingled. Knowing Kennedy trusted her after everything they had gone through meant the world to her. “I don’t want to hide what we have, elskan.”
“Even if it might damage your career?”
“Damage my career how? Because I’m gay and in a committed relationship with a woman?” She flicked the water and snorted.
Kennedy moved closer and cupped her chin. “How committed are we?”
She tugged her onto her lap. “So committed to one another you better be free the last week in March to go with me to Los Angeles. There’s a good chance I’ll be at the Academy Awards, not only to perform but to accept an award.”
“What?” Stunned, Kennedy’s jaw dropped.
She had waited long enough for her kiss. She bracketed Kennedy’s face in her palms and kissed her with sweeps of her tongue and nibbles of her teeth. Kennedy responded by spearing her fingers in her hair and joining in with abandon.
She softened the kiss before it grew out of control and their passions got away from them. “I wrote the soundtrack and theme song for a movie releasing in a few weeks that’s already getting a lot of Oscar buzz. There’s a good chance the soundtrack or, at the very least, the theme song may get nominated. If so, I want you to come with me as my date.”
Kennedy’s strokes through her hair showed she was open to the suggestion. And when a huge smile broke across her face, Svana relaxed and delivered another hungry kiss to the woman she never wanted to let go.
When Kennedy arched back, separating their mouths, Svana peppered kisses down the long line of her throat. Kennedy gasped and clutched her arms, presenting her chest to Svana, who suckled one of her nipples.
“Oh wow, a shooting star. I’ve never seen one of those until now.” Kennedy sighed.
She lifted her gaze, elated by the combination of an almost full moon, bright twinkling stars, and the mesmerizing phantom glow above them as the night skies seemed to bless their union. An array of all the dazzling colors of the rainbow mirrored around them.
Kennedy held her hand up the sky and then curled her fingers into her palm. She set her fist on Svana’s chest then flattened her palm there.
She twined her fingers through Kennedy’s and claimed her mouth again. “Stay the night with me, and many more.”
“If most of our nights are like this one, I accept.” Kennedy nipped her bottom lip. “But only because of the incredible view and your hot tub.”
Svana snickered and proceeded to show Kennedy what incredible things they could do together in the cool Icelandic nights as they basked in the warmth of their growing love.
AVAILABLE NOW FROM KT GRANT:
All Your Love
Cassie Slazak has been living a lie for a decade.
As the secret lover of Bianca Durand, the daughter of Massachusetts’ newly elected governor, Cassie wants Bianca to tell the world about their long term affair. But when Bianca gets engaged to a respected lawyer, who’s admired by both of Bianca’s parents, Cassie’s dreams are crushed. She not only rejected her high school sweetheart, and her small town life she adored, but her Catholic faith for a woman who has controlled her for too long.
When Cassie’s grandmother has fallen gravely ill, she returns to Delpoint, Pennsylvania to pay her last respects to the woman who raised her. Not only will she confront her past, but Freddie Koeman, the woman Cassie once betrayed for a possible future with Bianca. To her surprise, Freddie has forgiven Cassie, but Cassie’s guilt keeps Freddie at a distance.
Bianca refuses to let Cassie leave her, using threats and emotional blackmail to keep Cassie under her thumb. But Cassie is finished with Bianca’s deceit, turning to her family and God to give her the strength to move on, and perhaps find salvation in Freddie’s arms, who is more than willing to share all her love.
Excerpt:
The creaking of the wooden floor under my chair as I rocked relaxed me. I zoned out as I listened to the wind in the trees and the soft tinkling of some wind chime nearby. I started to close my eyes, but the loud puttering of a motor drew me out of my meditation. A person in a dark helmet wearing a leather jacket drove a black and red motorcycle up the driveway and parked behind Aunt Lorraine’s car. I stopped rocking but didn’t rise to greet the visitor. The person shut down their bike and took off their helmet. Freddie flipped back her hair and hopped off the bike.
I gripped the arms of the chair to stop from running inside. It was better to confront her before it spiraled out of control. I didn’t understand why after so many years she wanted to talk. She had stayed away the few times I came home for Christmas. I always stuck close to the house, never venturing out to my old haunts where we might bump into one another.
She walked up the front steps, not waiting for an invitation as she sat down in the chair next to me. “Why are you sitting out here?”
I’m enjoying the crisp Pennsylvania air. It’s different in Boston.” I dropped my hands in my lap. “Nice bike. Is it new?”
Freddie rested her head on the back of the chair and rocked like she didn’t have a care in the world. “I’m giving the Sportster a test run. Parker rebuilt it basically from scratch. He’s thinking of expanding his shop to sell motorcycles and sport bikes.”
“That’s great,” I said, clearing the tickle in my throat. Parker used to dirt bike race and had dreams of racing professionally, but that came to a halt when he ended up in a car accident that left him with a bad limp.
“Yup, he’s doing great. We’re all doing quite well for ourselves.”
She sent me a mocking grin. What did she want from me? It was apparent she was angry with me still. Telling her to get over it wouldn’t go over well, so I would remain cordial and hoped it kept her animosity at bay for my time here.
“That’s great, really,” I said again, at a loss for words.
“Really?” she snorted and crossed her leg over the other.
“What do you want me to say, Freddie?”
She exhaled and a small smile appeared on her face. “I once loved how you said my name in that breathless whisper of yours.”
Always Been You
As assistant general manager of the prestigious Janus Casino in her hometown of Atlantic City, Whitney Baker’s life couldn’t be better. At twenty-seven, she’s on the fast track in her career, although her love life has stalled. But when it’s announced one of the biggest pop singers in the world will headline at the casino, Whitney’s past comes back to haunt her big time. Singing diva Corinne Simone was Whitney’s friend in high school, and her secret teenage crush. Graduation night, she lost her virginity to Corinne, who then rejected Whitney for her shot at stardom.
Corinne has returned home not only for the offer of a lifetime but to change her life. She’s sick of the secrets and lies she was forced to show the world in order to become a pop culture phenomenon.
Now is the perfect time to reveal her true self to her fans. But it might be too late to right the wrongs of the past and embrace the life she was born to live.
Excerpt:
“What do you want from me?” The honesty and longing in her voice made my legs tremble, as ridiculous as it sounded.
“I want to stop hiding.” She cupped my shoulders, her thumbs rubbin
g gently. “That means doing what I want and how I want it and not being influenced by those who use me to pad their bank accounts or take all the credit for my hard work.” She closed her eyes and inhaled through her nose. “I’m going to announce to the world who I really am.”
“And who are you?” My voice cracked and my breathing deepened.
“Someone you can love again.” She ran her fingers down my cheek, stopping to stroke my chin. “I’m going to announce I’m gay.”
A brave move on her part that could still damage her career. I curled my hand around hers where it rested on my face and squeezed, pulling it away before I kissed her. My anger over her hurtful rejection vanished. I didn’t know if we would ever be as close as we once were, but I would stop obsessing over the pain she had caused to my fragile emotions ten years prior.
“I wish you the best and hope it goes well for you.” I released her hand, but she still held on, her eyes widening and a stunned expression appearing.
“That’s all you have to say?” She shook her head.
I tried shrugging her other hand off my shoulder, but I failed and shifted back, wedged into the piano. “What do you want me to say?”
“I just admitted I love you and you act like it’s no big deal.” Her lips dropped in a scowl. “All you can say is good luck?”
“Why are you involving me in your decision? You think we can go back to what we once had when we were kids?” I pushed her away.
“Give me a chance, please. I can’t do it alone.” She reached out to grab me, but I shifted to the side, trying to escape.
“You can do it without me.” I hurried toward the door.
“You’re not walking away from me a second time.” She grabbed my arm.
“Let me go!” I struggled, digging my heels into the floor.
She hauled me to the center of the room and toward the piano. I pressed my palm on her chest to thrust her away, but she clasped the back of my head and her mouth crashed down on mine. I gasped under her lips and her flicking tongue as she tried gaining entrance to my mouth. I caged her tongue between my lips and we both moaned.