Over the past month, she and Emerson had texted and e-mailed and talked on the phone, but the whole time, Cassie hadn’t put voice to the questions she’d had after that first night, specifically: what happens next? Was Emerson coming back? Did she want to explore what they might have together the way Cassie did? She hadn’t asked then and the more time went by, the more reasons she found for continuing to not ask. Initially, it had been because she was trying to be cognizant of all Emerson had on her plate. The last thing she’d wanted to do was add to the pressure. Now? It was simple: she was terrified of the answer.
But Emerson was here now. That had to mean something. Didn’t it?
The next few hours went by in sort of a dream-like haze. They mingled. They ate ridiculously delicious food. They drank fabulous wine. They talked to dozens of people, many of whom asked why Emerson was back in town and how long she was staying.
All her answers were vague.
But they held hands the entire time. Emerson rarely left her side. And when things finally started to wind down, when the crowd began to thin and people were saying goodbye, Emerson turned to her and said, “Can I come back to your place?” then waggled her eyebrows lasciviously.
Cassie couldn’t help but laugh. “Well, you’re awfully presumptuous, aren’t you?”
Emerson leaned close to her ear and whispered, “Not presumptuous, just desperately wanting. I’ve been imagining taking that dress off you since the moment you walked into the kitchen.”
Cassie’s heart jumped to her throat, beating like a tribal drum, and a pang of desire hit low in her belly, warming her from the inside. Tugging Emerson’s head back down to hers, she responded, “I thought the exact same thing about your dress.”
After that exchange, they couldn’t get out of there fast enough. As they made the rounds, said their goodbyes, and made it to the hall closet, Cassie said, “I hope you have a car because Frannie gave me a ride. If not, I’m afraid we’re hoofing it.”
“I have my mom’s car,” Emerson said. “Here.” She held Cassie’s coat for her, then they both changed from shoes to boots and tossed their shoes into Cassie’s tote.
“Let me know when you’re going back, and I’ll take you to the airport,” Cassie said, buttoning her coat, still slightly stung that she missed three hours alone in the car with Emerson.
Emerson hummed a noncommittal sound as she pulled on gloves. “Ready?”
The ride home was oddly silent, but not uncomfortably so. Emerson parked behind the store, waited for Cassie to come around the car, then grabbed her hand. Once inside, they began to climb the stairs. Halfway through the second flight, Emerson gave Cassie a look.
“Lotta damn steps.”
“If only the landlord would put in an elevator,” Cassie said in a dreamy voice.
“Fat chance.”
Once all the way up and inside, Gordie was a wiggling, quivering mess of love at seeing not only his mistress, but company too. Emerson squatted down to allow him access to her face, which he proceeded to bathe with kisses.
“I missed you, too, buddy boy.”
Cassie grinned at the display. “Let me take him out, and then we’ll be in for the night.” Hand on the doorknob, she turned back and arched a playful eyebrow at Emerson. “And don’t you dare take off that dress. That’s my job.”
“Ooh, bossy.”
Gordie was blissfully quick doing his business, and when Cassie returned to the apartment, Emerson was sitting on the couch obediently still in her dress.
“I made tea,” she said sipping from a mug. She set it on a coaster on the coffee table. When she looked up, Cassie had crossed the room. She took Emerson’s face in her hands, and kissed her. Deeply and thoroughly. When she finally pulled back, they were both breathless.
“Wow,” Emerson said.
“I have wanted to do that since I first laid eyes on you at the party.” Cassie held out her hand. “Come with me.”
Emerson took the hand and followed Cassie into the bedroom.
While waiting for Gordie, Cassie had formulated a plan. She needed to come clean with Emerson, talk to her about everything that had gone on in her head for the past month, find out what Emerson’s plans were, if they had any kind of a future together.
Because if they didn’t, Cassie needed to deal with that.
But first and foremost, she needed to deal with Emerson and that dress. Her mouth literally watered at the sight. Bathed in just the glow from a small lamp on the bedside table, shadows stretched across Emerson’s long form, but the green fabric caught what little light there was and made her look as though she was twinkling. Cassie stepped toward her, placed her hands on Emerson’s hips, looked in her eyes.
“You were the most beautiful woman in that house tonight,” she said softly, then slipped her hand around the back of Emerson’s neck and pulled her in for a scorching kiss. As their lips fused deliciously and their tongues battled, Cassie tugged at the zipper on the back of the dress and slid it all the way down to Emerson’s behind. Breaking free of the kiss, she reached for the neckline and pulled the dress off Emerson’s shoulders as if peeling the wrapper off a delicate gift. Emerson slipped her arms from the sleeves and Cassie let the dress drop to the floor, a puddle of emeralds at Emerson’s feet.
Cassie just stood there and absorbed the view. Emerson in a black bra, black panties, and nothing else was not a sight she would soon forget. Her long, lean form was breathtaking, all smooth skin and toned muscle. Even the scars on her knee were beautiful to Cassie.
The rest of their clothes came off quickly, and soon they were in the bed, under the thick down comforter, Cassie on top. She was determined to keep charge of this, wanting so much to have her way with Emerson, with Emerson’s body. She kissed her, pressing her into the pillow, one small breast in her hand. She rolled a nipple between her fingers and was rewarded with a guttural moan from Emerson’s throat.
“God, I missed you so much,” Cassie whispered, moving to take the other nipple into her mouth. She ravished them both, first one, then the other, with lips, tongue, teeth, until Emerson was practically writhing beneath her. Cassie could feel fingers in her hair, gripping tightly, Emerson’s breath coming in small gasps. Cassie took her time, lavishing attention on those beautiful breasts until she felt Emerson gently pushing her south. She smiled against warm skin, then let herself be directed, taking her time, using her tongue to taste every inch of softness across Emerson’s taut abdomen.
Once she reached her destination, she positioned Emerson’s legs so she had the best access possible and without preamble, she swiped Emerson’s entire center with one pass of her tongue. Emerson’s arms shot over her head and grabbed for the headboard as she gave a small cry, and Cassie smiled, then went to work in earnest.
It was just as she remembered, Emerson’s unique musky tang coating her tongue. Warm and wet, welcoming, Cassie took her time, exploring, testing different spots, varying pressure. Emerson’s hips began to rock, and Cassie clamped both hands on them, holding her as steady as she could while she tasted this exquisite creature beneath her. Eventually, she pushed Emerson higher, toward the precipice she strove for, and then tipped her over the edge. A long, soft keening came from Emerson’s throat as she arched her back and pulled at the comforter. Cassie watched in awe as muscles tensed in orgasm, and she puffed up with pride knowing she was the one who caused such a reaction.
Catching her breath, Emerson reached down and tugged weakly at Cassie’s shoulder. “Come here.”
Cassie climbed up and lay across Emerson’s flushed body so they were nose to nose. “Hi,” she said softly, then kissed Emerson’s mouth.
“Hey. Fancy meeting you here.”
“Yeah, I was just in the neighborhood.”
They smiled at one another. Cassie shifted so her full weight was no longer on Emerson, tucked her head under Emerson’s chin.
“That was amazing,” Emerson said after a few quiet moments.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“I thought so, too.”
“Well, don’t get too comfortable. As soon as my heart stops pounding and I can feel my feet again, I will be turning the tables.”
Cassie chuckled, but said nothing more, and Emerson seemed to feel the shift immediately. She moved her head so she could try to see Cassie’s face. “Hey. What’s wrong? You okay?”
Cassie nodded. “Mm hmm.”
“That was convincing.” Emerson waited, but when no more came, she turned so she was on her side and could look at Cassie directly. “Hey.” She brushed hair from Cassie’s forehead. When Cassie’s eyes brimmed with unshed tears, Emerson’s expression grew alarmed. “Cassie. What is it, honey? Talk to me.”
“I just miss you,” Cassie said in a whisper, then was immediately mortified by her own childish behavior. “Damn it.” She swiped at a tear tracking across her temple. “I’m sorry. I promised myself I wouldn’t do this.” She sat up, snatched a tissue from a box next to the bed, blew her nose. When she ventured a glance at Emerson, Emerson was grinning. “What? This is funny to you?”
Emerson furrowed her eyebrows in an obvious attempt to look serious. “No. Not at all.” Then she grew serious. “In fact, seeing you cry might be the worst thing ever.” She tucked some hair behind Cassie’s ear. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”
Cassie inhaled, blew it out. “I miss you, Em,” she said again. “And I know you still have a life in L.A., and I know you’re just here for a visit, and I am so incredibly happy to see you…” She let her voice trail off.
“But?”
“I was hoping you’d be here for good by now, but I worry you might not want to leave L.A., and I get that. Everything that needs to be dealt with here, you can do from there. And your life is there, really. I know that. I just…I’m so happy to see you and to be here in bed with you, but it’s going to hurt even more when you leave again, and I don’t know if I can take it.” Fresh tears welled up and Cassie rolled her eyes with a frustrated groan.
“What if I didn’t?”
“Didn’t what?” Cassie blew her nose again.
“What if I didn’t leave?”
Cassie blinked at her. “What does that mean?”
Emerson sat up, her back against the headboard, and pulled the covers up over her breasts. With a shrug she went on. “I don’t know. What if I sold my car in L.A. and moved out of my apartment?”
“And lived where?”
She shrugged again and made a show of thinking about it. “Maybe here? I could help run the inn…I do own it after all, and my guests pay pretty well. Maybe I could get a part-time job at one of the slopes in the winter, maybe at the rehab center off-season. I think I’d do okay there.”
Cassie blinked at her. “You’d consider doing all of that? But…why?”
Emerson studied her. “Because there happens to be a very sexy brunette in this town who helped change my point of view on things, helped me understand that it’s okay to leave my past where it belongs: in my past, and to move forward, to reach for what I want.”
“Really?”
“Mm hm.”
“Would you live in your mom’s place?” Cassie’s eyes were wide, her questions quietly tentative.
“Yeah,” Emerson said with a casual nonchalance. “I’d make a few changes, but I think I’d like it there. It’s peaceful.”
Cassie was nodding slowly. “It is.” She picked at a thread on the comforter and was quiet for a beat. “Do you really think you could live here?”
“I do.”
“When would this happen? Like, how much time would you need to do all these things?”
Emerson gazed off into the middle distance. “I don’t know. I think…Wednesday?”
Cassie’s head snapped around. “What?”
Emerson gave one nod. “Yeah. Wednesday.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I will move in on Wednesday.”
“Of next week?” Cassie was confused. “How is that possible?”
Emerson’s grin widened. “Well, there’s only one way it’s possible. If I’ve already sold my car, if I’ve already moved out of my apartment, and if a moving truck full of my stuff is on its way and will arrive on Wednesday. Then it’s possible.”
“Oh, my god,” Cassie said softly, blinking, absorbing. “Oh, my god.” Emerson gave her some time. She didn’t need much. She turned to Emerson and squealed, “Oh, my god!” then threw herself onto Emerson and kissed her as Emerson laughed.
“I wanted to surprise you, so I swore Mary and Jonathan to secrecy, but maybe that wasn’t such a great idea,” she said, her arms wrapped tightly around Cassie’s middle. “You were so forlorn and quiet. I got worried.” She made a face and poked Cassie in the ribs. “Come on, I left seventy-five degrees and sunny for you.”
Cassie playfully slapped at her. “I was forlorn and quiet because it was driving me crazy not talking to you about us. All those phone calls? When I never said anything about wanting you here? I was trying so hard not to add to your stress, but it was killing me. Killing me.”
Emerson kissed her softly. “Honey, you never add to my stress. You are my stress relief.”
“I am?”
“Definitely. Maybe we need to make a pact to be better communicators.”
Cassie snorted a laugh. “I am all for that. Also, seventy-five and sunny on a non-stop basis is very, very boring.” She kissed Emerson hard. “Variety is the spice of life, my sweet.”
Emerson clasped Cassie’s face in both hands and looked deeply into her eyes. They stayed that way for a beat before Emerson whispered, “I love you, Cassie.”
Cassie’s eyes crinkled with her grin, and she was sure she could feel her heart swell in her chest. Just as quietly, she said, “I love you, too,” and the relief at finally saying those words aloud made her feel infinitely lighter, like she was floating on a cloud. Eyes locked, the two of them reveled in the moment.
Then, without warning, Emerson grabbed Cassie, who squeaked in surprise, and spun her. A blink of an eye later, Cassie was face-down on the bed, Emerson’s weight on top of her, Emerson’s fingers moving along Cassie’s behind, then dipping between her legs and into the warm wet that waited for her.
Cassie groaned, pushed her hips up off the bed, closed the edge of the comforter in her fingers. “What are you doing?” she managed to ask around the pillow.
Emerson’s lips close to her ear told her, “Variety is the spice of life, my sweet.”
Cassie chuckled at the turnabout, but her chuckle turned into a delicious moan as Emerson’s fingers hit the perfect spot.
All coherent thought was gone after that.
THE END
By Georgia Beers
Novels
Finding Home
Mine
Fresh Tracks
Too Close to Touch
Thy Neighbor’s Wife
Turning the Page
Starting From Scratch
96 Hours
Slices of Life
Snow Globe
Olive Oil and White Bread
Anthologies
Outsiders
Georgia Beers
www.georgiabeers.com
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