The Blush Factor

by Gun Brooke

  Eventually, and startlingly quickly, Addison pushed herself up on her elbow as they now were lying side by side. “Wow.”

  “That’s it? Wow?” Eleanor pressed a hand to her chest. “And here I thought I’d rocked your world.”

  “You did more than that. You rocked it, turned it upside down, flung it around, and crashed it, pulverized it, and then…” Addison kissed her tenderly. “Then you put it back together again. You set everything in my world back in its place, but you also made it brand new. And you made it better.”

  Nearly sobbing at the sudden onslaught of emotions that Addison’s words caused, Eleanor wiped at her wet lashes.

  “Hey, no tears. That was a compliment.” Addison slid her hand down along Eleanor’s body.

  Shivering in its wake, Eleanor placed her own hand on top of Addison’s and pushed it down between her legs. “I’m so ready for you, darling. I ache for you. Please, put my world back in a new and better way too.”

  Addison’s eyes softened and yet a new fire seemed to ignite at the same time. “My pleasure.” She pushed two fingers inside Eleanor, who couldn’t take her eyes off the determined woman hovering above her. “Yes. Mine.” Addison started a slowly escalating thrusting movement, the heel of her palm pressing and caressing her swollen, sensitive clitoris.

  Eleanor wrapped her arms around Addison’s neck, needing to hold on as her entire universe spun out of control.

  “Breathe, Ellie. You can’t keep holding your breath.”

  Right. Breathing was good. Eleanor took a deep breath and then her world exploded, starting in the middle of her belly, piercing down her legs, up through her chest, and into her brain where it sizzled for long, wonderful moments. Clinging to Addison, she wailed, simply because she’d forgotten how to use words.

  “Addie, Addie,” she whimpered when her brain finally allowed her to form syllables again. “Oh, please.”

  “I have you. I have you right here and, oh, my God, it was amazing.”

  “You think it was amazing? Imagine…how I felt.” To be honest, sex had never been that good. It had rarely even been okay. “I love you, Addie. I love you.” She tugged Addison close. “No matter what, no matter how crazy our upcoming weeks get, don’t ever doubt it. I love you, and it’s the most selfish and unselfish emotion I’ve ever had.”

  “That makes the strangest sense.” Addison laughed and pressed quick kisses across Eleanor’s forehead and down her temples. “And I love and adore you. No matter what.”

  Eleanor held on to Addison, not about to let her move. She needed the sensation of this full body contact. Instead she slid her hand down and pulled at Addison’s leg, coaxing it over her hip. “I’m not finished with you. Not yet. Not ever.”

  “What? Oh!” Addison arched as Eleanor drew one of her nipples into her mouth. She sucked in long, slow movements, making Addison whimper and moan before she let it go.

  “You have the most gorgeous breasts. So stunning.” Her mouth greedy for the other one, she latched on to it, tugging with her teeth and reveling in the puckered, velvety texture.

  Addison pushed her fingers into Eleanor’s hair, pulling gently at it, clearly wanting her even closer. “This…is fucking unbelievable,” Addison said, moaning louder with each pull of her nipple. “You sure you haven’t done this before?”

  “Positive.” Eleanor said against the supple breast, licking at the nipple. “I guess I’m a natural.”

  “Oh, God.”

  “Turn over, darling.” Eleanor nudged Addison and guided her on to her stomach. “That’s it. Very good.” Wanting to explore every square inch of Addison, she ran her fingertips, occasionally her blunt nails only, up and down Addison’s back. Flawless, satin-smooth skin, so enticing to touch, made Eleanor’s hands tingle. She rose and straddled the back of Addison’s thighs, cupping her bottom with greedy hands. Eleanor could hardly breathe, her arousal spiking again at the mere sight of Addison’s curves. She couldn’t comprehend the fact that she was allowed to touch, to taste, this gorgeous creature.

  She squeezed the firm globes and then nudged Addison’s legs apart with her knees. She could tell how turned on Addison was. She was shivering, and her body seemed to undulate by its own volition. Eleanor spread her knees, opening Addison’s legs farther. Trembling with a need to be one with Addison again, to feel her trust Eleanor with her pleasure, she bent down so she could place her lips at Addison’s ear.

  “So sexy, so beautiful,” she whispered hotly. “So wet that it will be so easy to fill you. Is that what you want too, darling?”

  “Oh, damn, yes.”

  “Yes?” She circled Addison’s entrance with her fingertips, lightly, lightly.

  “Yes! Oh, please. Go inside. Please.”

  Her own sex clenching in anticipation, Eleanor slowly entered Addison with two fingers.

  “More.”

  “More? Oh.” Carefully, Eleanor added a third finger, and this was clearly just what Addison needed. Pushing her bottom up toward Eleanor, she impaled herself completely and then rocked back and forth in the most beautifully flowing movement Eleanor had ever seen. Mesmerized by the vision of how Addison moved with abandon, Eleanor bent forward again, straddled Addison’s left thigh, and ground her swollen folds against her.

  Addison got up on hands and knees and pushed back at Eleanor. “Ellie, oh, Ellie,” she sobbed. “I love you. I love—what you—do.”

  Eleanor increased the pace and wrapped her arm around Addison’s waist. She tugged her up against her, holding Addison in place as she moved them in unison. “Reach down and touch yourself,” she murmured huskily. “Like you did that time we Skyped. You made me so horny just by squirming in front of your webcam, and I couldn’t get enough of you, watching your flushed skin and the way you looked when you came.”

  Addison whimpered and pushed her fingers in between her legs. “Oh, fuck.” She started shaking instantly. “I’m…I’m going t-to…ah! Ellie…” Bucking against the double onslaught of fingers, Addison cried out and came, flooding Eleanor’s hand.

  This made Eleanor push harder against Addison’s hip, and she couldn’t hold back the all-overpowering surge of pleasure that flooded her senses. Flames erupted, licked along her legs, up along her hips, and she convulsed over and over.

  Eleanor managed to hold on to Addison and gently remove her fingers before they tumbled down against the pillows, spent and trying to catch their breath. Settling, they tugged the covers up and created a cocoon of sorts where Addison curled up on Eleanor’s shoulder.

  “I’m not too heavy, am I?” Addison peered up at her, still looking dazed.

  “You’re fine. Stay right where you are.” Eleanor was finally relaxing, and she didn’t think she could’ve moved even if a fire engulfed the building.

  “Mmm-hmm. I was hoping you’d say that.” Addison wrapped her arm around Eleanor. “I love you.”

  “I love you too, Addie. I hope I’ll never ever give you any reason to doubt that.”

  “Same here.”

  They just lay there, holding each other, their breathing almost synchronized and, Eleanor had no doubt, their hearts in tandem as well. As passionate and filled with arousal as she’d been only moments ago, she now felt just as relaxed and safe in Addison’s arms. Closing her eyes, Eleanor knew she would finally be able to sleep—at least until her love and desire for Addison roused her again.

  *

  “The trick is to add some ice-cold mineral water to the batter.” Addison held up a bottle of Pellegrino as evidence and Eleanor looked duly impressed, at least until she started chuckling where she sat perched on a stool on the other side of the kitchen island. “I don’t think I’ll be baking waffles in the morning any time soon, darling.”

  “Why do you keep a fully stocked kitchen with all these food items, not to mention all these machines? I mean, I’m expecting a robot to show up that’s a high-end back-scratcher or something.”

  “Oh, you mean Sean the Butler 3.0? He turned out to be t
oo frisky so I had to return him to the robot store.”

  Addison burst out laughing. Leaning against the counter, she howled at this unexpected joke. And there might just be more of this now that Eleanor was starting to be more relaxed around her. “Well, good thing you have me now, then. To scratch your back, I mean.”

  “Yes.” The mischievous sparkle in Eleanor’s eyes morphed into tenderness. “It’s a very good thing.”

  Smiling at the woman she loved, Addison removed the waffles from the iron and placed them on a plate before pouring more batter on the hot surface. “Stacey can totally eat five or six of these. My limit is two or three, max.”

  “Where on earth does it go? She’s so slender.”

  “All that freaking energy. You’ve only known her since the aneurysm made itself known. No doubt you’ll get to see the full-speed-ahead Stacey once she’s fully recuperated.” Addison grinned happily. “That’s just such an awesome thing to look forward to, even if the kid can talk your ears off.”

  “So I need to prepare myself for a chatty, energetic teenager to keep me on my toes?” Eleanor didn’t look worried.

  “That sounds like a logical conclusion. Stacey adores you. She isn’t the reason I wanted to come here last night, but she helped me find the courage to face you.”

  Eleanor jumped off the stool and rounded the kitchen island. Pushing some errant tresses of hair from Addison’s face, she kissed her lightly. “About that. I shouldn’t have left it this long. I should’ve come to see you and sorted this out much sooner.”

  “I was a total ass about it though.”

  “And I wasn’t very forthcoming. No wonder you were suspicious.”

  “But we’re fine now?” The tiniest uncertainty lurked in Addison’s voice.

  “We’re fine. I feel very safe, and quite wonderful, here with you. When I came home, this penthouse felt like a cold, luxurious prison. I wanted to go to your house in Newark and forget about this place.”

  “Is that your way of saying we’re going to live our lives together in Newark? That might disappoint Stacey. I think she and Maureen are looking forward to life in the fast lane in Manhattan.”

  Eleanor had to laugh. “Oh, goodness. I can only imagine. Well, if they work hard at their respective college educations, I might be able to assist somehow regarding the Manhattan part, for instance helping with appropriate internships. I also have this strong need to be there for you and Stacey when it comes to her health situation. Now, as for life in the fast lane, I don’t know about that. I plan to spend a lot of time in Newark in this cozy little house where the love of my life resides.”

  “You—you would stay there with me? With us?” Addison knew she was gaping, but that was unexpected.

  “If you’d have me there with you, yes, absolutely. I really like your home, darling. And when we wanted, what was it? The fast lane? We would have this penthouse, or perhaps a townhouse on the Upper East Side or something. As long as we’re together, I’m happy. When it comes to us I can’t wish for anything else than that.”

  Hugging Eleanor, Addison buried her face at her neck. She understood exactly what Eleanor meant. As far as wishes went, she had what she desired right here in her arms.

  Epilogue

  Seven months later

  “Welcome, everybody!” Eleanor stood by the microphone and, next to her, arm in arm, Addison was smiling broadly at the gathered guests and members of the press. She could barely believe that the day she’d worked so hard for the last eight months was finally here. When Eleanor had suggested she create her own brand, more affordable and geared toward the drugstores and supermarkets, she’d jumped at the chance.

  “We are here to launch a new line for Face Exquisite and to launch a new makeup brand, The Blush Factor. Nothing about this would have been possible without the woman standing next to me, Addison Garr.” Eleanor kissed Addison’s cheek. “Help yourself to the gift baskets and, by all means, the buffet over there by the far wall.”

  They stepped away from the microphone while everybody applauded and walked toward Stacey and Maureen. “She looks fantastic,” Eleanor murmured in Addison’s ear, nodding toward Stacey. “Nobody can believe how sick she was only a few months ago.”

  “Thanks to you. Thanks to Dr. Stromberg and the staff at the PT clinic I could afford because I have you as a client.” Addison refused to shed any tears on such a happy day, but she was close.

  “She did far more for us, for me, than I’ll ever be able to do for her.” Eleanor’s smile wobbled some as well. “Your sister is our very own angel, isn’t she? She got us communicating again.”

  “She is and she did.” Addison wrapped her arm around Eleanor’s waist. “On the other hand, this, her first success, must’ve gone to her head. She seems to think she’s got a future in matchmaking.”

  “Any chance we can steer her toward Broadway instead, now that she impressed the women from Chicory Ariose so much?”

  “There’s hope, I suppose. I’ll never be able to thank her music teacher enough for making it possible to do half the glee-club shows as Elphaba after all. The other girl as well, who didn’t mind giving up half the part, so to speak, when Stacey made such a fast recovery.”

  “I know. She’s so talented, but I have a feeling she’s after my job rather than Broadway. Maybe that at least can keep her away from matchmaking.” Eleanor looked hopeful.

  “Or maybe not.”

  “Oh, God.” Eleanor chuckled. “Heaven help anyone single in sight. She’s going to make everyone at Face Exquisite and The Blush Factor one happy family.”

  “You’re laughing. You should know better by now. Stacey is a fighter. If she feels someone is acting against their own best interests, not to mention their heart, she’ll move in on them…like this love missile or something.”

  “Well, she has my blessing. Might keep people focused on her and keep them off our backs a little bit.”

  Addison grew serious and stopped walking. “Has it been too horrible? I mean, have people meddled or been total jerks?” Worried, Addison focused only on the woman next to her.

  “They wouldn’t dare.” Showing her teeth in a feral grin, Eleanor managed to scare off one of the board members who was on his way over with a congratulatory smile on his face. “I think by our conduct, by not apologizing or trying to hide, we’ve stumped those who rely on the shadows to dare to attack.”

  “Speaking of that,” Addison murmured, lowering her voice.

  “Of what? Attacking in the shadows?” Eleanor tilted her head.

  “Mmm-hmm. Yes.”

  “You know what you do to me when you purr like that.” Eleanor did her best to look stern.

  Addison smiled as she lowered her voice another few pitches. “Oh, but you love when you make me purr…in the shadows, or in daylight. Just about any time of day, when I think about it.”

  “You’re in for a world of trouble, darling,” Eleanor said with a growl, maintaining her polite smile as she nodded to some new guests entering the foyer.

  “Oh, babe, you say the sweetest things.”

  “And don’t—call—me—babe.”

  “If you don’t like it, I won’t do it, sugarplum.”

  “Addison.”

  Laughing now, Addison offered Eleanor her arm. “Oh, okay, I’ll be good. For now. Let’s mingle and do our jobs. If we let Stacey have the entire playing field, she’ll have them all married to each other before this year’s over.”

  “God forbid.” Eleanor glanced at Addison in a way that could only be described as adoring. “Then again, she’s a clever girl with a lot of brilliant ideas.”

  “What?” Addison asked. “Stace? About what?”

  “You said it yourself.” Eleanor squeezed Addison’s arm as they resumed walking. “Marriage.”

  About the Author

  Gun Brooke resides in the countryside in Sweden with her very patient family. A retired neonatal intensive care nurse, she now writes full time, only rarely taking a break to
create web sites for herself or others and to do computer graphics. Gun writes both romances and sci-fi.

  Web site: www.gbrooke-fiction.com

  Facebook: facebook.com/gunbach

  Twitter: twitter.com/redheadgrrl1960

  Tumblr: gunbrooke.tumblr.com/

  Live Journal: redheadgrrl1960.livejournal.com/

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