The Words Shimmer

by Jenn Matthews

  Mel looked smug again.

  “But if you insist.”

  She led Mel’s hand in circles around one of her breasts, then across to the other, giving it the same treatment. Mel’s fingers took over, rubbing at her nipple in small spirals, causing trickles of pleasure to swarm southwards. Ruby dropped her hand to the sheets, closed her eyes and moaned, her shoulders pushing into the bed as her ribs pushed upwards.

  When the caresses subsided, Ruby opened her eyes again and found a pair of green eyes shining down at her. She took Mel’s hand again and pushed it down her midline. “Touch me,” she murmured, keeping her hand on Mel’s wrist but giving her some reign over her own movements.

  Mel rested her head on Ruby’s shoulder and kissed underneath her jaw before sliding her fingers down and through Ruby’s pubic hair.

  Her whole body tensing in anticipation, Ruby felt like she was teetering on the edge of a cliff, waiting with bated breath for Mel’s fingers to make contact.

  Pushing past her hair, Mel slipped her fingers between Ruby’s outer lips, and they both gasped as she found wetness and warmth. Ruby parted her legs and took her hand away from Mel’s, lifting it to thread her fingers into Mel’s hair. She groaned when Mel found her clitoris and started to rub back and forth, very gently and very slowly.

  Ruby tugged, and their lips met again, teeth nipping and tongues sweeping. Sliding one hand down Mel’s body, she took hold of her hip and tugged her there too, hard enough to Mel to break the kiss and look down at her. “All right?” The circles stopped between her legs, and Ruby nearly cried.

  “On top of me,” she said.

  Mel nodded and knelt between her legs, lying down against her as Ruby raised her knees and tugged at her hip again.

  Yes. She feels so good. Their breasts brushed, and Ruby nearly came from that. She was glad she didn’t.

  Mel continued to look down at her, her gaze full of uncertainty.

  So Ruby took her wrist and guided her down a little. She tapped the back of her hand and Mel, thankfully got the message, sliding one, then two, fingers inside her.

  “Oh,” Ruby gasped, her body adjusting to the feeling of Mel inside her, the way her fingers curled and pressed and made her back go warm.

  Beginning a slow rhythm, Mel leant down to suck on Ruby’s shoulder as she moved her whole body with the thrusts of her hand. Ruby wrapped her legs around Mel, squeezing her with each thrust. Her heart hammered against her ribs, and her breathing was laboured. It was fantastic, brilliant, amazing, and she never wanted it to end.

  Then Mel brought her thumb forward and touched that tight bundle of nerves, and Ruby let out a sound she didn’t even recognise. Her hips surged upwards, her fingertips digging into Mel’s scalp as her orgasm overtook her and tiny pops of light erupted behind her eyelids. Her whole body felt full of electrical charge, buzzing and breaking and reconnecting as the pleasure pushed all other thoughts away.

  It was intense, and for a while her body was not her own, thrashing about beneath Mel’s. When it faded, Ruby was lying in a heap underneath Mel’s strong body, her internal muscles still contracting around Mel’s fingers.

  The puffs of air tickling her cheek were warm and quick. Ruby gave Mel a last squeeze with her thighs, and she withdrew. Ruby’s insides missed her the minute she was gone. She expected Mel to roll from her, but she didn’t; she simply stayed resting against her, between her legs, her fingers curling into the duvet cover.

  Stretching her arms above her head, Ruby let out a long hum of contentment. She blinked at the sunlight streaming through the ceiling window. The smell of sex was sweet in the air.

  Mel’s lips brushed against the skin of her shoulder before trailing up, smoothing along her jaw, up her cheek, and finally to kiss her gently on the lips. When she pulled away, she was beaming widely, her eyes full of something that resembled wonder.

  Ruby caressed her cheek and grinned back up at her, a giggle bubbling up and out of her. “Looks like you’re a quick learner.”

  “I’ve had plenty of practice,” Mel replied, pushing Ruby’s hair, still damp from the shower, back from her face.

  “Have you?”

  Mel shrugged, and Ruby patted her hip to indicate she could dismount. Mel chuckled and climbed back to Ruby’s side. “You all right?”

  “Yes.” Ruby turned to face her and snuggled her cheek into the pillow, bending her knees and curling up. “Just… give me a moment.”

  “Your wish is my command.” Mel trailed a gentle hand up and down Ruby’s side as she closed her eyes.

  Ruby was determined to stay awake but needed a few minutes to recover. The sunlight from the window warmed her skin, and her sex pulsed with aftershocks that were slowly ebbing away and being replaced with the sated feeling of calm.

  As her body relaxed, Mel’s hand slowed to come to rest against her waist. Ruby sighed and opened her eyes, reaching forward to cup Mel’s cheek. “How’re you doing?” she asked on a whisper.

  “Me? How are you doing?”

  “I’m well and truly done,” Ruby said gently. “I meant…” She flicked her eyes downwards. “How are you doing?”

  A flush crept into Mel’s cheeks. “Okay.”

  Ruby took Mel’s chin in her fingers and tilted her back up to look into her eyes. “Truly?”

  “I’m…” Mel rubbed her thumb against Ruby’s waist and furrowed her eyebrows, twisting her lips.

  “So, what do we do? What can I do to help?” Ruby pushed Mel over onto her back, and Mel lay with her legs tight together.

  “Um…I suppose the usual stuff.”

  “Maybe you should show me?” Unsure where her sudden ability to flirt had come from, Ruby batted her eyelashes at Mel in jest.

  It had the desired effect, and Mel laughed. “Why not?”

  Ruby held out a hand, flexing her fingers in preparation, which brought another chuckle from Mel’s lips. Resting her cheek on Mel’s shoulder, Ruby kissed her neck, brushing her lips in little trails across her skin, finding particularly large freckles to poke with the tip of her tongue. She spent a long time kissing Mel’s neck and then her shoulders, trying different things: running her tongue in little circles, biting gently with her lip-covered teeth, and humming against her. When her mouth moved down, to caress the swell of one small breast, Mel sighed and shifted a little.

  Encouraged, Ruby rubbed her nose and lips against Mel’s skin, the soft flesh smelling like almonds. The freckles that dusted Mel’s cleavage looked like cinnamon, and Ruby couldn’t help lapping the skin there to see how she tasted. She doesn’t taste like cinnamon, but she still tastes delicious.

  Mel lifted a hand to sink her fingers very carefully into Ruby’s hair. Her fingertips tickled her scalp in little circles.

  Ruby looked up to catch Mel’s eye. “This nice?”

  “Very,” Mel replied, and Ruby was glad to see the anxiety had all but disappeared.

  Satisfied that her cleavage tasted like heaven, Ruby honed in on a pale pink nipple, rubbing her cheek against it first, causing it to pucker, then taking it into her mouth. She’s not had kids, so I suspect she’s more sensitive than I am. She was gentle, rolling her tongue around and around.

  Mel’s hand tightened in her hair before she seemed to catch herself and relax her fingers.

  Murmuring her enjoyment, Ruby continued to lap, suck, and tease her nipple, until Mel started to fidget her hips around. She made quick work of giving the other nipple the same attention and then lifted her head to lock her gaze with Mel’s once more.

  A look passed between them, one of tentative fondness and trust. An intense desire to be even closer consumed Ruby, and she pressed her lips to Mel’s. Then she lifted her hand into the air.

  “Show me.”

  Mel complied, taking Ruby’s wrist as Ruby had taken hers, and trailing it down her midline, between her breast
s, around the soft hair surrounding her navel, and closer to her impending goal.

  Mel’s lower hair was soft; softer than Ruby’s. She traced little circles, tangling Mel’s pubic hair a little with her fingertips.

  Taking a deep breath, Mel allowed her legs to fall open and rested her feet on the bed. She swallowed, and her eyes drifted away, but she blinked hard and brought them back. The green of her irises was deep, like the leaves of Ruby’s clematis, growing steadily up the shed.

  Something was growing inside Ruby: A tight ball of dancing warmth, like a fireball in her chest. It was red and orange and wonderful. Was it love?

  Mel guided her hand between her legs and sighed, a shiver passing through her.

  A smile blossomed on Ruby’s face, and she couldn’t help shining it down into Mel’s eyes. “You’re wet,” she whispered by her ear.

  Mel shivered again and then relaxed back. “Phew.”

  Ruby pressed her lips against Mel’s ear and stayed close, her fingers resting stationary against her slick sex. “It’s nice to know I did that,” she said, and then chuckled softly. “Unless you were thinking about Ellen Page.”

  “Who’s Ellen Page?” Mel turned her head on the pillow and gazed deeply into Ruby’s eyes.

  They kissed, slowly and thoroughly, until Mel’s hips twitched a few times and her hand where it held Ruby’s wrist squeezed.

  “Okay.” Mel nodded ever so slightly.

  Ruby nodded back and then dipped her fingertips lower, gathering wetness and relishing moan that rumbled out of Mel. She made long sweeps, from top to bottom, keeping it steady in case Mel needed her to. She kissed her nose then her lips again and closed her eyes, focussing solely on kissing and touching Mel.

  Mel’s ribs started to expand more quickly, and her hips began to circle. When Ruby looked down, she took in the flush that had crept up from Mel’s ribs to her forehead, the dilation of her pupils so that the green almost disappeared, and the white of her knuckles as her free hand clutched at the duvet by her hip.

  When Mel squeezed her wrist again, Ruby took this as an indication that she wanted more, and so concentrated on Mel’s clit, circling one way, then the other. Mel moaned and pushed upwards, so Ruby caressed with more pressure.

  Mel grinned at her through her arousal. They kissed messily, until Ruby pulled back.

  “Do you want me inside you?” she breathed, needing to ask, wanting to do whatever Mel wanted her to do.

  Mel shook her head on the pillow.

  “Okay. Is this okay?”

  Squeezing her wrist, Mel slid her fingers down to cover Ruby’s hand and to press her harder. She moaned, her ribs expanding and contracting in time with her hips. Then she led Ruby to make large sweeping circles, using all her fingers, against the whole area where her clit was nestled.

  Ruby moaned too, the feeling of Mel’s wet sex against her hand almost too much. It made her dizzy; Mel’s little noises of pleasure, the way her body was so flushed, and the way her hips rocked back and forth, it was almost too much. She could barely see. She pressed her lips and nose against Mel’s neck and tongued her skin, murmuring pleased noises of her own as Mel’s hips sped up.

  She knew when Mel was close. Her voice had shifted up an octave, and her body was taught as a tourniquet. Ruby slowed her hand, kissed Mel’s cheek gently, and waited until she opened her eyes. “It’s okay,” she said. “Just relax. I’m right here.”

  And Mel did. She seemed to steel herself, and as she exhaled, her muscles softened and her hips rested back on the bed.

  Ruby started touching her again, slow circles that sped up as Mel’s moans became more frequent. Then Mel held her breath and came with a rush of renewed wetness, and Ruby pressed her hand against her sex, her lips against her neck, and held her tight.

  Mel’s head hit the pillow, and she tugged on Ruby’s wrist, pulling her arm around her waist. Her hips twitched occasionally, but otherwise her body was floppy. Her gasps slowed, and eventually her heart calmed its hammering.

  She felt sweaty and a bit achy but wonderfully sated. Her skin prickled as the cool air from the bedroom touched her skin, and she flapped a hand towards the duvet in a meagre attempt to reach for it.

  Ruby sat up, and a minute later the duvet was cuddled around them both. Ruby was back against her shoulder.

  Mel extricated an arm and slid it around her, her fingers trailing half-awake circles against Ruby’s back. Her eyes fluttered closed, and she was vaguely aware of Ruby chuckling beside her.

  When she came back to herself, she opened her eyes and found a mound of dark hair, so she sunk her nose into it and squeezed Ruby around the shoulders. She smelt wonderful, like soap and life and sex. Like Ruby.

  Ruby rolled away a little and caressed Mel’s cheek.

  Mel felt her face flush with shyness, but happiness overtook the feeling, pushing the shyness away and plastering a grin onto her face.

  Ruby made a long sighing noise in her throat, leant down to press her lips against Mel’s cheek, and then returned to looking at her, her eyes shining with affection.

  “I like this new way of learning, and teaching.” Ruby pushed her shoulders up and grinned. “Perhaps I’ll utilise these new methods in my lecture theatre.”

  Mel’s laugh was loud and throaty, and they both jumped as a knock sounded on the door. She pulled the duvet up to her chin as Ruby snorted into her shoulder.

  “Mum? I don’t want to come in if you’re naked.” Chloe’s voice was tinged with uncertainty.

  “You might have to give us twenty minutes, then,” Ruby called back, her hand pressed to her mouth as she tried not to laugh.

  “Okay. No probs. Do you want some coffee putting on?”

  “You’re an angel,” Ruby replied, and they both relaxed as footsteps on the wooden staircase faded away.

  Mel rolled her eyes and shot Ruby a look. “What the hell time is it?”

  They both looked at the large wall clock to their left, and Mel was surprised to see it was nearly midday.

  “Crumbs.” Ruby’s gaze stopped by the door before she turned back to Mel. “Well, that’s the morning gone.”

  Shrugging, Mel rolled out of bed. “That’s about right for me before a nightshift.”

  “But we weren’t sleeping. Are you going to be okay?” Ruby stood, and Mel was amused to see her legs appeared rather shaky.

  “I’ll be fine. I’ll catch a few hours when I go home.” The realisation that she would have to leave settled over her like a chilly fog, but she pushed it away. Of course I’ve got to go home. That’s where my uniform is, and Epione will be hungry. She pointed into the en suite. “Mind if I go…” She looked down at herself, noted the discomfort between her legs, and felt heat rising in her cheeks. “Clean up?”

  “You go ahead. Use whatever you like.”

  Showering quickly, and finding a folded towel obviously left for her on the side of the sink, Mel wrapped herself up and twisted her hair into a small knot. She couldn’t be bothered to dry it, and it was so thin it would dry itself in an hour. She stared at herself in the mirror above the sink and smirked. Then she moved back into the bedroom, her gaze on her feet.

  “I took a leaf out of your fashion-advice book.”

  Ruby looked up from tucking her duvet in neatly, a smirk crossing her face. “It looks better on you than it does me.”

  “I very much doubt that.” Mel stepped up to her, and Ruby stood up straight, brushing the backs of her fingers down Mel’s cheek.

  She was still naked from the waist down but had pulled her pyjama T-shirt over her head. It fell just to the tops of her thighs. Mel passed her palms over Ruby’s sides, resting her hands on her hips and leaning in to kiss her.

  Ruby patted her cheek. “We should get downstairs for that coffee.”

  “Great idea.”

  Ruby trotted off into t
he en suite, and Mel took in the way her slim waist curved into soft hips, swaying a little as she walked. Mel wondered whether it was for her own benefit. A fond warmth spread through her chest as she relived the feeling of Ruby’s skin against her own, and the noises Ruby had made as Mel had touched her. The warmth expanded into the rest of her body; even her fingertips tingled with it.

  Chapter 27

  They emerged into the kitchen with clean bodies and fresh clothes. Ruby noticed that Mel stared at the floor quite a bit, but that coy happiness tugged her lips and crinkled her eyes.

  “Did you sleep okay?” Chloe asked, pouring three mugs of coffee—her best china, Ruby observed—and then bending down to get milk.

  “Yes, thank you,” Mel answered for both of them before Ruby could chastise her daughter. Something about Chloe’s nonchalance made Ruby both amused and wary. Is she going to say something inappropriate?

  “We watched a film.”

  Chloe looked up sharply, her eyes wide as saucers, but then relaxed. “That’s nice.” Her bottom lip disappeared between her teeth, perhaps to hide a smile. “Nice first date.”

  “Not our first,” Ruby said without thinking. She blinked. “I mean, we had a picnic date.”

  “We did.” Mel was lingering by one of the kitchen chairs, her fingertips caressing the back.

  Ruby took pity on her and patted the chair. The scraping of wood on tiles seemed loud in the quiet kitchen.

  After taking the mug that Chloe handed to her, gratefully, Mel seemed to shake herself inwardly. “Did you have a nice time with…?” Her eyes flicked from side to side. “Tasha?”

  Apparently impressed, Chloe nodded. “Yeah. Had a nice time.” Then she looked back at Mel.

  Ruby considered her eldest daughter with pride. She hadn’t had many women sleep over in the years between her divorce and now, and it must seem new. But at least she’s happy for me.