by Tina Michele
Bree brushed the palm of her hand down Carson’s belly to the button of her jeans. She released the button and slipped her hand down into Carson’s panties. Carson’s hips jerked upward at the contact. Bree wanted to feel Carson move like that under her. She sat up and slid her leg over Carson, and she could feel their heat combine. The seam of her jeans rubbed her clit as she pressed herself down onto Carson. It wasn’t enough. Bree needed to feel Carson’s skin on hers. She stripped away her shirt and bra and tossed them onto the floor. She slipped off her jeans and panties as Carson also kicked out of her own offending clothes.
Bree leaned over Carson and braced herself up with one arm as she slid the other between them and into the smooth slick folds between Carson’s legs. She closed her eyes and reveled in the warm wetness. When Bree applied firm fingers to Carson’s clit, she bucked beneath her. It was the reaction she wanted. Bree wanted Carson to come for her. She was wild and desperate as Bree claimed Carson’s mouth with her own. She slipped two fingers into Carson while she circled the firm peak with her thumb. Carson gasped.
“Do you like that?”
“Oh, yes,” Carson replied breathlessly. “Please don’t stop.”
“Not until you come for me,” Bree assured her.
Bree pulsed her fingers in and out of Carson, who thrust her hips in rhythm. Bree dipped her head and sucked hard on a nipple.
“Yes!” Carson cried out. “I’m so close, baby.”
Bree inserted another finger and pressed deeper. She was close. Bree could feel her begin to tighten around her fingers, and she filled Carson.
“Come for me. I want to feel you in my hand.”
Bree quickened her pace as Carson begged. “Please. Oh God. Yes.” Carson tightened around Bree’s hand, and her entire body jerked and stiffened. Bree stilled her hand and felt the contractions pulse around her fingers. Carson’s breath slowed as her body relaxed. Bree laid herself alongside her, content to bask in Carson’s afterglow. But Carson had other plans.
Suddenly, Bree was on her back. She watched as Carson kissed and licked her way down over her breasts and stomach before she settled between Bree’s legs. Carson looked into Bree’s eyes as she stuck out her tongue and flicked Bree’s swollen and sensitive clit. Bree’s head fell back as Carson took her into her mouth. Bree’s hips bucked and jerked as Carson sucked and licked her into a frenzy. Bree didn’t have to beg, but she did. She wanted to come for Carson and she was going to. She weaved her fingers through Carson’s short hair and pressed herself deeper into her mouth. When Carson slid her finger inside Bree, she went over the edge. Bree’s body shuddered, and she cried out in ecstasy before falling limp and satisfied. Carson crawled up to Bree’s side and cradled her close against her throbbing body. She held her long after their breathing slowed and pulses returned to normal.
Bree had no idea how long they’d been asleep when her phone rang. She fumbled with her pants to get them to release the phone from the pocket. She looked at the time before she answered her uncle’s call. “I’m so sorry. We’re leaving now.”
“You are lucky you answered on the first ring, young lady.”
Bree knew he would have blown up her phone had she not answered, so she was lucky. “We’re on our way.”
“All right, drive safe, kiddo.”
“Busted!” Carson joked as she rolled off the bed and tossed Bree the rest of her clothes.
Bree put her shirt on and reached for her pants. “Whose idea was it to invite them over for dinner and a movie at my place?”
“That was all you, my love,” Carson said as she held up Bree’s forgotten bra.
Chapter Twenty-six
Carson opened her eyes and pulled Bree closer. She sighed in utter contentment. Carson couldn’t imagine a better way to wake up in the morning than spooned naked against Bree’s sensuous body.
“Good morning,” Bree murmured.
Carson hadn’t meant to wake her. “I’m sorry for waking you.”
“You didn’t. I’ve just been lying here listening to you breathe and thinking about how good you feel in my bed.”
“I like how I feel in your bed, especially like this.” Carson kissed Bree’s neck. “How did you sleep?”
“Perfectly. I don’t think I’ve slept all the way through the night in years.” Bree caressed the arms that held her. “I think you were just what I needed.”
Carson smiled at the thought of being what Bree needed to be happy. “Are you hungry?”
“For you or for bacon?”
Carson laughed. Bree loved her bacon, and Carson adored her pork addiction. “At the moment I was thinking for bacon, but I could be persuaded.”
“Then, yes. First you and then bacon.” Bree rolled onto her back and looked at Carson.
“How about this, I’ll go down and make breakfast. Then bring it back up here where you can have your bacon and eat it, too.” Carson wagged her eyebrows.
Bree chuckled. “I see what you did there. And while it was a terrible pun, it’s an excellent idea.”
“I tried.”
Bree laughed. “Hardly.”
“True. But it made you laugh. Stay here, I’ll be back.” Carson kissed Bree and rolled out of bed. She slipped on a tank top and her pig jammies and trotted downstairs to the kitchen.
Carson gathered the items for pancakes, fried eggs, and of course, bacon and began preparing breakfast for her and Bree. She flipped on the kitchen radio and sang along to the music as she danced in front of the stove. Carson couldn’t remember when she had ever woken up with a woman, let alone stayed to make her breakfast. She liked it, a lot. She fantasized about waking up early on the weekends to make breakfast for Bree while she sat at the table sipping her coffee and reading the morning paper. For the first time, Carson could see a piece of her future and it was all about Bree.
As she shimmied to a P!nk song and flipped the bacon, the doorbell rang. She hollered up to Bree, “Don’t move. I’ll get it.”
Bree shouted back, “I’m not. I’m sure it’s Jim. He probably smelled the bacon. Tell him he can’t have any.”
“I will,” Carson replied as she opened the door. Bree was right; it was Jim. “Hey, Jimbo. Bree says no bacon for you.”
“Well, hey, Car. I didn’t see your truck.”
“I’m on the bike. It’s in the garage in case it rained. Come in.”
Jim followed Carson back to the kitchen. “Oh, okay. So, I came to see if Bree wanted to come meet Barb and me for some breakfast and then hit a few of the antique shops. But never mind.”
“Oh. Well, I don’t know if she had anything planned for today, but she’s still in bed. I told her I’d make her bacon and bring it up.”
“You’ve figured out the way to her heart.” Jim reached for a piece as Carson laid the crispy strips onto the paper towel–covered plate.
“Ah, Bree said no bacon for you, mister.” Carson pointed her spatula at him.
“Aww, how can you deny an old man one little slice of salty heaven?”
“Give me a break. You’re in your fifties.” Jim pouted his lip at her. “Seriously? Now I know where she gets it from. Although I must say, it’s much cuter when she does it.” Carson winked. “Take it. But if she asks, I’m telling her you stole it.”
Jim stuck the whole piece in his mouth at once. “Can’t prove anything without evidence,” he said from greasy lips. “Ask Bree if she’s interested in antiques. I’ll stop back over before I head out.” He reached back for the bacon, but Carson jerked the plate away from him.
Jim smiled and patted Carson’s cheek. “You’re a good kid, Car. And no more stalling, tell her about Dayton.” He let himself out and Carson took the food up to Bree.
Bree sat up when she saw Carson come through the door. “How many pieces did he con you out of with his sad puppy-dog pout?”
Carson handed Bree her plate. “Just one, almost two, but I was faster than he was.”
“Good thing. He loves bacon more than I do.”
>
“He wanted to know if we wanted to go antiquing with him and Barbara. I told him I didn’t know what, if anything, you had planned. He said he’d come back in a little bit.”
“I’ve got nothing planned except finishing this delicious breakfast and then forcing you into taking a long, hot shower with me.”
“Oh. Well, I don’t think force will be necessary.” Carson would’ve thrown out her breakfast had Bree said she wanted her in the shower right then.
“Good to know.”
*
After they finished eating, Carson got out of bed and gathered the empty plates together. She could’ve stayed in bed all day with Bree, but she did want a hot shower in every way possible. Carson leaned over Bree, who sat on the edge of the bed. “I’ll take these downstairs. You get in that shower and get it warm for me.”
“Ooh, yes, ma’am. Anything you say.” Bree pulled Carson in close by her shirt. “I don’t know how I’ve lived so long without waking up beside you. There isn’t a morning that goes by that I don’t want you right here with me, just like this.”
Carson took the plates from Bree’s hands and set them on the nightstand next to her. She watched as Bree hooked her thumbs under the hem of her tank and slipped her soft hands over her smooth abdomen. Bree pinched one of Carson’s bare nipples into a tight bud as she worked the other one to a peak in her mouth. Carson would move heaven and earth to feel Bree’s touch every day. But there was something she needed to do in order to make sure in full confidence that her dream would last forever. Carson grabbed Bree’s hands and gripped them. “Bree. I have something to tell you.”
The look on Bree’s face was indescribable. It was awash with fear, anxiety, and surprise. She pulled her hands away and set them in her lap. “What…what is it?”
The trepidation in Bree’s face caused Carson to panic. Carson sat down and stared at her beautiful Bree. She was the sweetest, most caring woman Carson had ever met. Even as the pain of losing her hung over her head, she couldn’t help but smile at the beauty that was Bree. “You are gorgeous.” Carson’s heart filled with happiness, but it was followed by a sudden twist of sadness. Carson couldn’t have hid her emotions even if she had expected them, and Bree noticed immediately.
Bree stared, her face stricken white with apprehension. “Carson? What’s wrong? Please don’t say you’re leaving me.” Bree’s smile was forced in an attempt to make the statement a joke.
A knot tied in her throat, and Carson didn’t know how to say what she needed to. She was so adept at thinking on her feet even in awkward or uncomfortable situations, yet this time it was beyond her experience. “No. I…When…Okay…” Carson inhaled deeply.
“Carson, you’re freaking me out, love. What’s wrong?” Bree grabbed Carson’s hand and pulled in close. “Look at me.”
She called her love, and it wrenched Carson’s gut. Carson looked at Bree’s warm brown eyes and reached out to her face. “All I want is for you to be happy.”
“Oh, Carson, I know. And you make me so happy.” Bree leaned in to kiss her, but Carson moved back. Bree looked wounded. “Um, Carson. What is going on? Tell me, now. Please.”
“I want you to be happy. I want us to be happy, together. But in order to do that I have to make sure that this is where I need to be.”
Bree cut her off. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“I’ve had a job opportunity come to me. It’s sort of a no-brainer. A simple, ‘thanks, but no thanks.’ But…”
Bree looked shocked but said nothing.
“But then I thought about the future and the regrets and what-ifs.”
“Regrets? What-ifs? You mean like ‘What if you regret giving up your life and future for me?’” The tears hung in Bree’s eyes as she spoke.
“Something like that, I guess.” Carson pressed Bree’s hand over her heart. “Bree, I know here that this is where I want to be.” Her heart broke as she watched the tears streak down Bree’s cheeks. “But I need to know in my head, that I’m making the right and rational decision. I would never forgive myself if I hurt you.”
“Where is the position?” Bree asked.
“The Dayton Art Institute. I got a recruitment package a couple weeks ago for their new preservation director. I have no idea where they got my name because I know I didn’t apply for it.”
Bree pulled back her hand and set it in her lap. “When is the interview?” Her voice now void of emotion.
“It’s spread out over two days next week. Listen to me, sweetheart.” Carson grabbed Bree’s hand and kissed her palm. “I told you, I want to be with you. I just have to do this. I’ll be back, I promise.”
Bree felt the nausea rise up inside her. Bree clutched the sheets to her chest. Bree ripped her hand back and stood up.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart. I didn’t mean to keep it from you. I don’t want to lose you.”
“It’s fine.” She reached for her robe that hung on the bedpost. She wrapped herself in the robe before she walked toward the door without another word. Carson followed her.
Bree headed down to the kitchen for a drink. She wanted beer or wine, but it wasn’t even eleven a.m. She opted for water and sat at the kitchen table without drinking it. Bree pushed her palms into her eyes and rubbed. I’ll be back, I promise. She stood up from the table and hit her elbow on the glass.
Bree stared as she watched it tumble and shatter on the tile floor. “Son of a bitch!” Bree crouched down to pick up the shards.
“Bree.” Carson barreled into the kitchen at the sound of the breaking glass. “Are you okay?”
Bree didn’t look up at Carson. “I’m fine. Dropped a glass.”
Carson reached down for Bree. “Come sit. I’ll get that.”
Bree drew back from Carson’s touch. “I’m fine. I just need to get the broom and some paper towels.”
Carson was taken aback by Bree’s snappish withdrawal but retrieved the broom and towels for Bree. As Bree wiped the water from the floor, Carson swept the surrounding area for glass. She waited for Bree to get up before she finished. Carson filled the dustpan with the glass remnants and emptied it into the trash bin. Bree stood at the kitchen sink and stared out the window as the wet towels dripped into the growing puddle on the floor. Carson took them from her hands and set them in the sink, and Bree never moved. “Would you like another glass of water?”
Bree shook her head and walked out of the kitchen. She didn’t know where she was headed; she just wandered into the living room. She stood spiritlessly at the base of the staircase.
Carson stood behind her for a moment before she spoke. “Will you talk to me, please? Are you all right?”
Bree wasn’t all right, and it was apparent that she didn’t want to talk about it. Bree went to the bedroom door and opened it. “I’m fine, Carson. Please, stop asking me,” Bree demanded, and Carson looked stunned by her brashness. “I’m sorry. I just…I think maybe I should be alone right now.”
“Oh, okay. Well, then I should go. Will you be o—” Carson stopped mid-sentence when Bree raised her eyebrows as she anticipated the question. “Right. I’m gonna go.”
Bree walked Carson downstairs to the garage door and pressed the automatic opener. Sadness and concern covered Carson’s face, and it wrenched at Bree’s heart. She didn’t know what she was doing or why she was sending Carson away. She just didn’t know what else to do while she struggled to stop her world as it spiraled out of control.
Carson stood in front of Bree. “I’ll call you later?”
Bree responded with a single nod. Carson pulled Bree in close and kissed her on the forehead. Bree said nothing. She stepped back and watched Carson ease the bike out of the garage before she threw her leg over and kicked it to life. Bree lifelessly pressed the button for the door and stared as Carson drove away with her heart.
*
When Carson pulled out of the driveway, she spotted Jim in the front yard and pulled over onto the shoulder. He walked over to her wit
h a confused expression.
“Where are you going?” Jim asked as he wiped his dirty hands on his jeans.
“Home.”
“What? Why?”
“Just giving her some space. I told her about the interview, and to say she doesn’t want to talk about it right now is an understatement. She didn’t want me there.”
“She made you leave? What did she say?”
“There weren’t a lot of words, but she’s hurt, Jim. Will you please check in on her a few times? I need to know she’s okay.”
“Absolutely, Car. You go home. I’ll call you in a little bit and let you know how she’s doing. Okay?” Jim patted Carson on the arm. “Don’t worry. She’ll be fine, kiddo.”
“Thanks. I hope so.” Carson started her bike and rode off down the street.
Jim watched Carson leave and then headed up the hill to Bree’s house, but there was no answer. He decided to leave her be.
Chapter Twenty-seven
Bree poured the batter onto the hot skillet. She stared at the bubbles that rose and popped on the surface of her dinner-plate-sized pancake. It was just before noon, and Bree was still in her robe. Bree hadn’t seen or spoken to Carson since she rode away on her bike days before, but she was all Bree could think about—asleep or awake. She’d called in sick for the first few days of the week in order to avoid the awkwardness of seeing her at work but not knowing what to say. Bree missed Carson more than she wanted to, but she needed time to think.
Things had moved so naturally between them over the last few weeks that Bree never would have expected the bomb that Carson dropped on her, even though she should have. She had spent years building up the protective walls around her heart to ensure she would never again feel the pain of losing someone she cared about. Bree knew it was an irrational precaution, but it made her feel like she had some semblance of control over her heart. Carson had somehow scaled those walls undetected, and it left Bree in the rubble. I’ll be back, I promise. She’d heard those same words before, and they were a lie. How could she trust that Carson would fulfill the promise that Marion hadn’t?