by Erin Dutton
“Good. It’s important to always know there’s room for improvement.” Maggie’s laughter echoed against Ally’s chest.
“I’ll show you improvement in the form of a second orgasm.” Ally smoothed her hands toward Maggie’s hips.
“No, you don’t. It’s my turn to be nice.” Maggie batted Ally’s hands away. She swung one leg over and straddled Ally’s midsection.
“I’m so close after touching you that you don’t have to be nice to get it done.”
Maggie tilted her hips, rotating them against Ally’s stomach. “Hm. Maybe I could manage that second orgasm myself.”
“Lord, please do. You look so damn sexy right now.” Maggie, on top of her, in control of her own pleasure was nearly enough. Ally squeezed her thighs, feeling how wet and swollen she was. She would need only a couple of strokes.
“You’re so close, aren’t you?” Maggie bent and whispered in her ear. “I could just slide my hips down—” She moved as she spoke, slipping a leg between Ally’s and rolling her hips.
“Jesus, yes.” Ally’s hips jerked reflexively as Maggie ground against her.
She had a fleeting thought about slowing down, about waiting for Maggie’s fingers, maybe even her mouth. But her body was way ahead of her mind, racing toward a peak she desperately needed.
“Let go now. And you can have my mouth for the next one.” Maggie bit lightly on her neck.
Ally’s control spiraled away, her legs clamped closed, and she rode Maggie’s thigh into a quick, sharp release. She felt like she did when she was a kid and had gone into the ocean for the first time. She’d immediately waded out too deep, lay back, and closed her eyes, letting each wave rock her.
When she opened her eyes again, Maggie was staring at her, her expression serious but unreadable.
“What are you thinking?” Ally wasn’t sure she wanted to know. If Maggie had regrets, Ally would rather have another moment to bask.
“You are absolutely gorgeous when you come.”
That wasn’t what she’d been expecting.
“I mean it.” Maggie lay down beside her and stroked her cheek. “You’re so unguarded. And I love this little flush you get right here.” She played her fingers against the heat on Ally’s neck.
“What are you doing today?” Ally caught her hand and laced their fingers together.
Maggie shrugged. “I have a million errands, laundry piled up from the week, and I need to clean my place.”
“That’s a shame.” Ally stretched, an exaggerated, full-body pull from her fingertips to her toes. “I was hoping you’d hang out here, maybe spend some more time in bed this morning. Then you could go on a field trip with me this afternoon.”
“I suppose I can stick around for a while. I could take care of my cleaning later this evening.”
“How long can that take anyway? What do you have, about eight hundred square feet?”
“Nine-fifty.”
“You know, we’ve been—friends for over a month, and I haven’t even been to your apartment.”
“Well, the garden—”
“Right. I’m not complaining. I just—I’d like to see it so I can picture you there.” She used the same phrase Maggie had used while on the phone together so many weeks ago.
She didn’t want to sound clingy, or like she just sat around all the time imagining what Maggie was doing when they weren’t together. She did—but only sometimes. “Unless you have some weird neighbors. Or maybe you love your neighbors. I’m imagining a hot widow lady who lives downstairs and you’ve always had a thing for her, so you don’t want her to think you’re off the market.”
“Wow. That was—wow.” Maggie chuckled. “No hot widow neighbors.”
“Okay.”
“How about tomorrow night, we do this again, only at my place?”
“Is my visit contingent on more sex? Not that I mind, but I need to do all those things women do to prepare for—how did you say it—intimacy.” Ally grinned, warming with Maggie’s answering smile.
“After I’ve had your hands on me, I don’t know how I could say no to more sex.” Maggie gave Ally a quick peck. “Now, down to serious business, where are we going on this field trip?”
“First things first,” Ally said as she kissed Maggie and slid her hand against Maggie’s stomach.
* * *
“Where are we going? And how did you find this place again?”
Ally laughed. “Why do you sound so nervous?” They’d been driving for about thirty minutes, and now, instead of the suburbs, the interstate they cruised down was surrounded by fields and country homes.
“I’m not. Not really. I’ve already decided you aren’t taking me out here to kill me and dump my body.”
“And how did you reach that conclusion?”
She lifted one hiking-boot-outfitted foot off the car’s floorboard. “Because you wouldn’t have told me to wear sturdy boots that I could get dirty. That wouldn’t matter if I wasn’t walking out of whatever backwoods place you’re taking me.”
“Not backwoods. Just rural. But you’re right. You’ll be making the return trip with me.” She glanced over at Maggie with a grin. “Unless something happens to both of us, of course.”
Maggie gave her shoulder a gentle shove. “Stop.”
Ten minutes later, Ally exited the interstate. A long stretch of country road later, she turned down a winding driveway.
“A farm? Are you thinking about relocating?”
“Maybe someday. But not now and not here.” Ally pulled up in front of a large red barn. “Come on.”
By the time she got out and circled the car, a white-haired gentleman in a plaid shirt and overalls exited the barn.
“Ally Becker. We spoke on the phone.”
“Yes, ma’am. Miss Becker.”
“Please, call me Ally. And this is my friend, Maggie.”
“Good afternoon, Miss Maggie.”
Ally waited while they exchanged pleasantries, but she was itching to see what she’d come here for.
“Are you ready to see the old barn?” He nodded toward the fields behind the white farmhouse nearby.
“Yes, sir.”
“It’s in the back forty. I’ll carry you there on the Gator.”
He led them around the back of the red barn to a four-door, green utility vehicle with a dump bed on the back. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped down the passenger seat, then the one in the back as well.
“She’s a little dirty.”
“No worries. I’d expect that’s because she does real farm work.” Ally waved off his apologetic tone.
Maggie jumped into the back, so Ally climbed in beside him in the front. He tried to apologize for the ruts as they bounced through the fields, but Ally wouldn’t have it.
“If you’ve got what you said out here, it’s all worth the trip.”
He nodded and smiled. “I think you’ll be pleased. And I can already tell I’m selling to the right person.”
Maggie touched Ally’s shoulder as she leaned forward. “She’s keeping our mission today under wraps.”
“You won’t be disappointed.” He chuckled, a hearty laugh that brought more color to his ruddy cheeks.
As they rounded another bend past one of the biggest oak trees Ally had ever seen, the remains of an old hay barn also came into view. The basic shape remained standing, but most of the outside boards had been removed. The roof had partially caved in. Ally’s heart rate picked up, and the anticipation had her jumping out of the Gator before it had fully stopped.
Maggie got out more slowly, and by the time she reached Ally’s side, Ally was already taking inventory of the piles of barn wood closest to her.
“My boys started pulling the boards off the outside. But I made them stop when the roof started to collapse,” their host called from the driver’s seat of the Gator.
“I can see why. Doing any demo on the main structure is going to be delicate work.” Ally walked as close as she dared
to the skeleton. The wood was gorgeous—varying shades of weathered silver-gray, dark tones, and golden hues. “I’d love to buy the whole thing. But even if I had the manpower to take it down, I don’t have the storage space.”
“Be careful.”
In her peripheral vision, Ally saw Maggie tense. Ally stepped back to a safer distance to examine the stacks in front of the barn again. As she passed Maggie, she briefly grabbed and squeezed her hand.
“Isn’t it beautiful?”
“Yeah.” Maggie met her eyes, then dipped her gaze to Ally’s lips and back.
“Behave,” Ally murmured so they couldn’t be overheard.
Maggie glanced down at the barn wood. “Are you already sketching furniture in your head?”
“Maybe.”
“I like how excited you are about this.”
“Are you kidding? This stuff is the real deal. And it has provenance. When I sell a piece, I can tell the buyer that I handpicked the wood from a barn in Smith County.” She turned toward the Gator and raised her voice. “I want as much of these front stacks as I can fit in my buddy’s enclosed trailer. Okay if we come back one day next week?”
“Sure thing. If you let me know when, I’ll get my boys out here to help you load it up.”
“How old are they?”
“Fifteen and seventeen.”
She nodded. “I’ll pay them for the labor. Can I load some of these smaller pieces in the Gator to take today?”
He nodded, and she bent to select an armload of shorter boards that would easily fit in the back of her SUV.
“Can’t leave without a taste, huh?” Maggie asked.
“You weren’t complaining when I said the same thing this morning.” Ally winked.
Maggie flushed, but her smile said she enjoyed the banter. “Shut up and load me up.” She held out her arms.
“I’m not touching that one.” Ally laughed as she carefully laid several boards across Maggie’s outstretched arms.
Chapter Sixteen
Maggie put her lasagna into the oven and closed the door. Earlier, she’d made a tossed salad, and when the pasta dish was almost done, she would throw in a loaf of frozen garlic bread. When she was certain things were under control in the kitchen, she headed for her bedroom to shower and change.
She showered quickly, taking time to run a razor over her legs. And when she got out, she moisturized with her favorite lotion, thick and satiny, and smelling of blackberries and amber. She dressed with both comfort and style in mind, pairing drawstring linen pants with a bold-printed, sleeveless cotton shirt. Though Ally had tossed the idea of visiting Maggie’s apartment out almost casually, for some reason, Maggie now thought of tonight as a real date. And she wanted Ally to think she looked pretty.
After spending most of the day with Ally yesterday, she’d returned home in the late afternoon with little desire to complete her tasks. She’d made a simple dinner, paid some bills that wouldn’t wait much longer, and went to bed early. She’d unlocked her tablet and found an ebook she’d been putting off starting, only laying it down when her tired eyes wouldn’t focus on the words.
So this morning, between loads of laundry, she’d cleaned her apartment thoroughly. She wasn’t one of those weirdos who enjoyed cleaning. Rather, she saw it as a necessary task that she made bearable by streaming her favorite station on Amazon music.
She gave her bedroom one final check before heading to the main living area to do the same there. She’d just finished lighting some candles when the doorbell rang. After counting to five, so as not to appear too eager, she opened the door. Ally waited on the landing outside her apartment holding a pie.
She’d spent more time with Ally in the last forty-eight hours than she had with anyone since her ex. Yet, looking at her now, she wanted to pull her inside and shove her up against her front door. The V-neck of Ally’s T-shirt begged for her lips against the hollow between Ally’s collarbones.
“It’s not flowers. It’s store-bought. And if you’d already planned for dessert, well, you can never have too many sweets.” She held out the pie as she stepped inside.
“It’s great. And I don’t have anything for dessert.” Maggie took the pie, kissed Ally’s mouth, then went to the kitchen and deposited it on the counter.
Ally followed, and as soon as Maggie’s hands were empty, she wrapped her arm around Maggie’s waist and drew her in for a more thorough kiss. “It’s apple,” she said between kisses.
“My favorite kind.”
“Dinner smells amazing.”
“The lasagna still has about twenty minutes. I’d planned for us to open that wine on the counter and sit on the sofa like civilized women.” She grasped the front of Ally’s shirt and tugged her even closer. “But now, I’m getting some other ideas about how we could spend that time.”
“I like spontaneity.” Ally winked, bracketed her hands on Maggie’s hips, then slid them around to her butt.
Maggie narrowed her eyes. “You want to think you do. But I suspect you prefer things to have order.” As soon as she said it, she wished she hadn’t. She didn’t want to take their conversation into a serious place just now. Given the chaotic nature Ally had described in her family, Maggie understood her need for predictability.
“I’m making strides.”
“You are. Taking time off to grow your business, for example. Have I told you how impressive that is?” Maggie clasped Ally’s hand and led her toward the bedroom.
“I’m all for you being impressed by me.” Ally pulled back with her own hand, giving token resistance, though her eyes said she was all in. “Where are you taking me?”
“Don’t you want the tour? You’ve already seen the living room and kitchen. This is my bedroom.” She stepped back and let Ally precede her into the room.
“It’s nice. Light. Airy. It suits you.”
Maggie tried to see what Ally was seeing. The walls were the same neutral shade as every other apartment in the complex. The only bit of color from the room came from the pale-yellow and gray comforter on her queen bed. She’d have preferred a king, but her apartment-sized bedroom wasn’t large enough. No photos stood on her nightstand, only a simple lamp and a wireless charging dock for her phone. But Ally saw something in this room that fit her. She wasn’t sure if that was insightful or sad—maybe both. Or maybe she should stop reading too much into polite comments when she had a beautiful woman in her bedroom.
Ally turned to face her and said, “You’ve got me in your room now. What do you plan to do with me?”
Responding to the challenge in Ally’s eyes, Maggie moved next to the bed, beside her. “Turn around.”
Ally smiled, and then, not challenging the direction, she turned away from Maggie.
Maggie placed her hand in the center of Ally’s back and pushed Ally’s upper body onto the bed, facedown. Ally’s arm splayed out instinctively, and she didn’t quite catch herself. Maggie reached around and unfastened Ally’s khaki shorts, then tugged them down, leaving them pooled at Ally’s feet.
Maggie bent, lying against her back to speak close to her ear. “Later we’ll have a drink and polite conversation over dinner. But first, I need to put my hands on you.”
“What are you waiting for?” Ally kicked one leg free from her shorts so she could spread her legs a little farther.
Ally’s willingness bumped Maggie’s arousal. Ally’s head was down, her posture both relaxed and anticipatory at the same time. Her back sloped gracefully from between her shoulders to her ass. And her legs flexed as if waiting for Maggie to lean into her. When Maggie traced the line of Ally’s spine, her fingers tingled against her warm, soft skin. Ally’s legs twitched, and she lifted her hips, inviting the next touch—practically begging for it, really.
“Maggie.”
“Are you ready for me?” She reached between Ally’s legs and laid her palm against damp cotton. Her own knees nearly buckled. She couldn’t wait much longer to touch her. “You are.”
“So
ready.”
Maggie shoved her underwear aside and entered her smoothly but firmly. Ally arched and pushed back to meet Maggie’s thrust. As Maggie hugged close to get a better angle, Ally’s hip bumped her crotch. Maggie pressed into her, seeking just a little pressure—a fraction of relief for the pounding between her legs.
“I can—” Ally swept her arm along the bed, reaching for Maggie.
“No. This is for you.” She captured Ally’s hand, then directed it underneath Ally until she cupped her own breast. “If you want to touch something, start there.” She squeezed her fingers around Ally’s, pinching her nipple. She kept her hand resting over Ally’s even when Ally took over toying with her own breast. She paced the thrusts of her other hand with Ally’s.
Ally tensed beneath her, practically chanting for her not to stop. Maggie wouldn’t—not yet. Even when Ally’s moans crescendoed, then stopped and she sagged beneath her, Maggie continued to pump her fingers, slowing only slightly. When, with a gasp and a whispered curse, Ally began to thrust against her again, Maggie circled her arm around Ally’s hip and rubbed two fingers against Ally’s clit.
The speed of Ally’s second orgasm surprised them both. She cried out and pushed back hard, seeking strong, steady pressure as she pulsed around Maggie’s fingers. Maggie obliged, sinking into her and holding her through each trembling breath. As Ally’s breathing slowed, her legs went limp, and she rested her weight more fully on the bed.
Maggie crawled up and flopped down on her back next to Ally. She tangled her fingers with Ally’s, delighting in the pull of soreness already setting into her arm muscles.
“If I had anything other than Jell-O in my body right now, I’d climb up there with you. As it is, I’m going to stay right here.” Ally’s torso lay on the bed, and her legs stretched out behind her.
A singsongy chime came from the kitchen.
“Time’s up,” Maggie said, rolling toward Ally. She nuzzled into her neck.
“Oh, thank God. I was afraid you might go for three. And I’m not sure I’d have survived that.”
“I wasn’t. But that’s an idea for after we get some carbs in you.”