by Jae
Claire returned and put a martini glass in front of Lana.
Lana eyed the pink drink. “That’s not a Cold Shower, is it?” Was there even a cocktail with that name on the menu?
“No. It’s the fling you wanted.”
The first sip of the cocktail nearly went down the wrong pipe. The pomegranate juice burned in her throat, making her cough. “And what are you drinking?”
Claire swirled her straw through her rose-colored cocktail. “A Princess Charming.”
Yeah. That was more Claire’s style. She wanted a Princess Charming—a perfect partner for her perfect life, not a fling, and Lana had never been anyone’s Princess Charming. She could barely take care of herself, much less rescue any damsels in distress. Besides, Claire was too much of a control freak to let herself be rescued.
Let’s face it. We might have convinced everyone that we’re a great couple, but it’s all just for show. In real life, we’d never make it.
Claire had never liked that feeling of losing control that came with being tipsy, but somehow it felt different tonight. The constant background buzz of her thoughts—evaluating, analyzing, planning—was starting to fade, allowing her to enjoy the evening without reservation: the lights of New York City below them, the fresh, sweet taste of the prickly pear juice in her cocktail, and the sound of Lana’s laughter.
Lana was still wearing the white wrap top but had now paired it with her beloved capri jeans that were worn in all the right places and looked soft to the touch. Her Roman-style sandals with the straps crisscrossing her calves drew Claire’s gaze whenever Lana put one leg over the other.
She could imagine Lana wearing this very outfit on a date—and her date then slowly taking each article of clothing off her at the end of the night, revealing soft skin. In her imagination, it wasn’t some stranger with Lana; her own hands were undressing her with confidence, as if Lana was hers for real.
Claire shook her head, but it did little to get rid of the mental image. Maybe being tipsy wasn’t such a good thing after all. It made her thoughts head in directions where they had no business going.
She had no idea how late it was, but little by little the other guests left the bar until they were almost alone up on the rooftop.
“I think we should go before they throw us out,” Claire said.
Lana chuckled and pointed to the street twenty-two stories below. “That could be painful, so yeah, let’s go.”
Claire couldn’t remember moving her arm, but somehow her hand ended up on the small of Lana’s back, guiding her to the elevator. This was their last night in New York, maybe even their last night together, so she allowed herself to keep her hand where it was.
Lana made no move to pull away from the contact either; quite the opposite, she seemed to lean in to the touch.
Two other guests, obviously a couple, stepped into the elevator right before they did.
Claire didn’t know if she should be angry or relieved to not be alone with Lana in the enclosed space of the elevator.
“Which floor?” Lana asked them.
“Sixteen,” the man answered.
Lana pressed button number sixteen and number eleven.
As the elevator carried them down six stories, Claire tried to keep her gaze on the illuminated floor numbers but couldn’t help peeking at Lana’s reflection in the mirrored walls. The greenish flecks in her hazel eyes glittered, and her light brown hair was attractively windblown. She seemed to glow with the success of the day.
Claire felt as if she had never fully appreciated how beautiful Lana was before this very moment. How stupid to compare her to thin, sophisticated women in cocktail dresses and makeup when Lana looked stunning in worn capris and with wind-flushed cheeks.
With a ding, the elevator doors opened on the sixteenth floor.
Claire had almost forgotten that they weren’t alone. Quickly, she stepped to the side to let the couple get off the elevator. In the cramped space, she bumped into Lana, who wrapped her arms around her to keep her from falling, just the way she had at the roller-skating rink.
The elevator doors slid shut, but Claire barely noticed. She was too busy staring into Lana’s eyes from only inches away. Her body heat seemed to draw her in.
She wasn’t sure how it happened or who had moved first. All she knew was that her lips were on Lana’s and they were kissing. Lana tasted of pomegranate juice and carefree laughter. Claire put both hands on Lana’s shoulders, planning to push her away, to end this craziness, but instead her arms slipped around to pull her even closer.
For a second, both paused and moved back a few inches.
Claire stared into Lana’s eyes, searching for any indication that Lana wanted to stop, but only saw her own desire reflected back at her.
With both hands on Claire’s hips, Lana jerked her back into another kiss.
Urgency ignited deep within Claire. When Lana grazed her lower lip with her teeth, Claire gasped and tangled her hands in Lana’s hair, needing her closer.
Their bodies molded together in a perfect fit. A slow burn started low in her belly and quickly began to spread.
One of Lana’s hands slid down her back, leaving a trail of fire even through the thin silk of her top, and then squeezed her ass.
Claire groaned into Lana’s mouth. Without breaking the kiss, she pressed her against the back wall of the elevator. It was almost as if she were no longer in control of her body, but she didn’t care.
The ding of the elevator doors opening jolted her back to reality.
Both breathing heavily, they moved apart.
Claire licked her lips. She could still taste Lana. “Oh God. I’m sor—”
“If you say sorry, I’m going to slap you.” Lana pierced her with a heated gaze that made Claire want to kiss her again. “We’re both adults, and we both obviously want this, so stop apologizing and take me to bed.”
A groan escaped Claire. She wanted nothing more, but sleeping with Lana would only complicate an already complicated situation even more. “But…but the contract specifically states…”
“Forget the contract. Like you said earlier: some things are worth breaking the rules for.”
She had also said something about making a one-time exception for carbs and alcohol. Maybe they could make one for this too. She smiled tentatively. “So, you do want that Manhattan Fling?”
“Why not? If it’s what we both want…” Lana grinned, but her gaze was serious, searching Claire’s face for something. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to insist you marry me for real just because you sleep with me once.”
Claire was pretty sure that this was a bad idea, but for once, she didn’t want to do the reasonable thing. She would deal with the consequences later.
Much later.
Without allowing herself time to reconsider, she grasped Lana’s hand and pulled her out of the elevator and down the hall toward their room. Her fingers shook with both nervousness and desire as she slid the key card through the lock, and it took her three tries to open the door.
A smooth Princess Charming she was not.
But Lana didn’t seem to care. She kicked the door shut behind them and drew Claire into her arms.
“I can’t believe we’re doing this,” Claire whispered.
“Stop overthinking it, okay?” She brushed a strand of hair back behind Claire’s ear and gazed deeply into her eyes. “Stop thinking at all, and just feel for once.” And then, as if to help Claire with that goal, she kissed her.
Her lips were warm and soft, and when Lana traced the shape of Claire’s lips with her tongue, Claire’s knees went weak. She urged Lana over to the bed and pressed her down on it into a sitting position, which gave her back a bit of control.
Neither of them took the time to flick on the lamp on the bedside table, but the light from the Empire State Building illum
inated the room.
Claire stepped closer, between Lana’s legs, and cupped her face with both hands, trailing her thumbs along her cheekbones before she lowered her mouth to Lana’s once more.
Their tongues probed and twisted together. Claire let her hands roam over Lana’s shoulders, down her back, and up along her sides, brushing her fingers over the outer curve of her breasts. Heat rose beneath her fingertips, even through the fabric of Lana’s wrap top, and she suddenly couldn’t wait to feel her bare skin. She tore her lips from Lana’s only for the second it took her to pull the top over her head, followed by her own.
Quickly, she folded both articles of clothing and set them on the bedside table.
Lana watched her with a mix of disbelief and affection. “What are you doing?”
“Undressing you.” Claire touched her fingertips to the slope of Lana’s full breasts and then slid them up along the straps of her simple, white cotton bra. She looked into Lana’s eyes. “Is that okay?”
“Very okay. But you don’t need to fold them.”
“I know.” Claire slid one of the bra straps down and kissed the soft skin of her shoulder, then trailed her lips down over Lana’s flushed upper chest to her cleavage. God, so incredibly soft.
Shuddering, Lana buried her fingers in Claire’s hair and guided her closer.
With Lana sitting and Claire standing, the angle was awkward, so Claire urged her to move back on the bed. She slid those sexy sandals off Lana’s feet and set them aside. Her own shoes ended up neatly lined up next to them. After a moment’s hesitation, Claire also took off her glasses and set them on the bedside table.
Lana watched, her hazel eyes more of a deep brown in the low light. “What would it take to get you to toss the rest of our clothes on the floor in a crumpled heap?”
A little smirk tugged on Claire’s lips. “Feel free to try and find out.”
“Ooh, a challenge! I like that.” Lana knelt, tugged Claire closer, unbuckled the thin leather belt around Claire’s hips, and pulled it from her belt loops. With a sexy grin, she dropped it to the floor.
Claire was tempted to pick it up—for exactly one second. Then she forgot all about the belt when Lana reached for her cotton shorts and undid the button.
Click, click, click, click.
Lana’s fingertips grazed the silk of Claire’s panties as she slowly slid the zipper down, one tooth at a time.
That ghost of a touch sent a jolt straight to Claire’s center. She swayed on her feet and took half a step back. If she didn’t take back some control, this would be over fast, and she didn’t want that. Since this was supposed to be a one-time thing, she wanted it to last.
Very aware of Lana’s gaze on her, she stepped out of her shorts, folded them, and blindly set them on the bedside table. Her bra and her panties followed until she stood in front of Lana completely naked. Cool air hit her overheated skin, making her nipples harden. She had never been shy about her body, nor particularly proud of it, but the way Lana looked at her—as if she wanted to devour her alive—made her tremble with a mix of desire and nerves.
Somehow, this didn’t feel like an easy-to-control fling.
“God,” Lana whispered. “You’re amazing. Come here.”
Claire longed to sink on top of her and lose herself in her, but she shook her head. She wanted—needed—to feel Lana’s skin on hers. “First, we need to undress you.”
Lana arched her hips and allowed Claire to drag her capris down and off. When Claire folded them and set them on top of the growing stack of clothes, Lana unhooked her bra, slid down her panties, and provocatively tossed them to the floor on the other side of the bed, where Claire couldn’t get them.
Not that she wanted to.
She was too busy staring at Lana’s ample curves and the light brown curls at the junction of her soft thighs. Her breasts were bigger than her own, with darker nipples. Instantly, Claire wanted to map every inch of her with her hands and her mouth and find all the spots that made her shiver or cry out in pleasure.
Lana let her look her share without attempting to cover herself, but for a moment, Claire thought she saw a flicker of insecurity in her eyes.
Claire wasn’t sure what it was about—her scars, her more womanly body, or something else—but she immediately wanted to kiss that look of nervousness away. “You are the amazing one,” she murmured and crawled onto the bed like a tigress stalking her prey. But her heart was hammering as if she were the one being hunted.
Part of her wondered what she was doing. This was Lana, not some one-night stand she had picked up at the hotel bar. Not that picking up strangers had ever been her style.
“You’re thinking again,” Lana whispered. “Stop it. The only thing you’re allowed to think tonight is oh God and more.”
“Oh yeah?” Claire’s voice came out husky.
“Yeah.” Lana lay back against the pillow, the colorful phoenix tattoo on her arm and her flushed cheeks a stark contrast against the white sheets. She looked so beautiful, so trusting, that it took Claire’s breath away.
Claire hovered over Lana on her elbows, and they looked into each other’s eyes. “Are you…?”
“Yes,” Lana whispered before Claire could even decide how to finish her question. She wrapped her arms around Claire’s shoulders and tugged.
Claire relaxed her arms and sank down on top of her. Her eyes fluttered shut at the feel of Lana’s bare skin against her own and the softness of her breasts beneath her chest. She stopped thinking, stopped trying to make sense of what they were doing and where it would go. Instead, she lifted one hand and smoothed it along the curve of Lana’s breast, marveling at the silkiness of her skin. “You feel so good.”
“So do you.” Lana trailed her fingers down both sides of Claire’s spine and over her butt, lingering at the dip where her ass met her upper thighs.
The muscles in Claire’s belly quivered. God, she was already wet. The self-control she prided herself on felt as if it was hanging by a thread. She buried her face against Lana’s neck and moaned against her skin.
Lana’s pulse pounded beneath her lips, so she gave it a lick, thrilled when it sped up even more.
With a raspy groan, Lana threw her head back, and Claire immediately took advantage by exploring the line of her throat, down to the slope of her breasts. “I feel like a kid in a candy store,” she whispered against Lana’s skin. She wanted to touch her everywhere at once, kiss her everywhere, even trace her scars with her tongue, but she wasn’t sure if it would hurt Lana. Besides, it seemed too intimate somehow. “I don’t know where to start.”
Lana threaded her fingers through Claire’s hair and guided her mouth to her breast. “This seems like a good place.”
Mmm, a woman who knew what she wanted. Claire liked that. She dipped her head, nuzzled her face against Lana’s breasts, and began to worship them. She cupped both of them, letting the soft flesh fill her hands.
Lana arched into her touch.
When Claire drew sensual circles around one nipple with her tongue, a throaty murmur of approval answered her.
I wonder what noises she’ll make if I… She swiped her tongue directly across the nipple, then sucked it into her mouth.
“God!” Lana rolled her hips beneath her, bringing their bodies into even closer contact.
Her little gasps and moans spurred Claire on. She licked and suckled, trying to judge what Lana liked best from the way she arched up against her. Fool. There wouldn’t be a next time, so she hardly needed to catalog Lana’s reactions. But she couldn’t help herself. The way Lana felt was too addictive. Lightly, she raked her teeth over the hardened nipple.
A long groan tore from Lana’s throat. “You’re killing me!”
Claire let go of her nipple to look up at her.
Lana’s pulse visibly pounded at the hollow of her throat, and she grip
ped the sheet with both hands as if anchoring herself.
“Want me to stop?” Claire asked, half teasing, half giving her one last chance to back out, because if they continued, she wasn’t sure she would be able to stop.
Instead of an answer, Lana let go of the sheet, clutched Claire’s shoulders, and guided their mouths together. The kiss started out slow, almost tender, just their lips caressing each other. Then Lana slid her tongue across hers with a flutter that sent hot, piercing pleasure spiraling down Claire’s body.
Their hearts thumped against each other, and they kissed until Claire had to pull her mouth away to draw in a ragged breath.
Lana used the opportunity to kiss and nibble along her jaw, then her neck.
Groaning, Claire tipped her head to the side to give her space.
Lana’s warm breath caressed her ear, making her shiver. Then Lana took Claire’s earlobe between her teeth and gave it a nip.
A shudder went through Claire. Her hips rocked down against Lana’s in an instinctive rhythm. Lana’s answering moan skyrocketed her own arousal. She pressed her thighs together in a struggle for control. Focus on her, or this’ll be over in three point five seconds.
When Claire slid to the side so she was lying next to her, Lana let out a groan of protest and tried to pull her back on top of her. Her protest was cut short when Claire trailed her right hand down her body, pausing to caress the curve of her belly. Mmm, so soft. Eager to feel more of her, Claire slid her fingertips lower, into Lana’s damp curls.
Both of them sucked in a breath at the same time.
“This okay?” Claire asked. She hardly recognized her own voice.
Lana nodded and opened her legs wider in a silent invitation.
Claire started a slow rhythm, keeping her touch light, sliding a finger to either side of Lana’s clit but never directly across it.
“Claire!” Lana groaned out her name. She rocked against her touch, seeking more contact. Her breath came in short spurts already.