Emma shrugged. “Nothing.” She pushed herself up and stood. “We should get going.” She was embarrassed that Dane had caught her thinking about her naked and hoped Dane couldn’t see the flush of arousal she felt creeping up her neck.
* * *
Dane could feel the wave of disappointment radiating from Emma as they pulled up to the house. Curtis’s truck wasn’t in the drive. She reached out and took Emma’s hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
Emma tightened her fingers around Dane’s.
“He’s okay. Try not to worry.”
Emma nodded.
Dane could see tears gleaming in Emma’s eyes as she turned away. She wished there was something she could do, but she had no idea where Curtis was or what he was into. She was helpless to do anything about Curtis, but she wouldn’t give up on Emma.
She lumbered out of the Jeep and made her way to the house.
Emma stopped her, placing a firm hand against Dane’s chest. “Wait. Come around here.”
“What?”
Emma grinned at Dane. “There is no way you are tracking all that mud into my house.”
Dane frowned and looked down at the dried mud caked to her boots and jeans. She sniffed. She stank of stagnant water and rancid mud.
Emma pulled out a hose and turned on the water. She bent over at the waist and rinsed the remains of frog eggs and mud out of her hair, then rinsed her arms and kicked off her boots.
“Your turn,” she said, turning to Dane. With a wicked grin Emma turned the hose on her.
Dane ducked and turned, trying to avoid the cold jet of water, but at the same time letting Emma spray the filth from her clothes and her body. The water was cold and gooseflesh pimpled her skin.
Emma laughed. “What’s wrong? I thought you were a tough girl.”
Dane kicked off her boots and tugged down her sodden jeans, exposing her bare legs. She pulled her T-shirt over her head and faced Emma.
Emma wasn’t laughing now. Her look was hungry and focused, her gaze locked on Dane’s near naked body.
Dane felt her nipples harden under Emma’s gaze, her flesh hot despite the cold spray of water washing over her. She stepped closer to Emma, placing her hand on Emma’s neck, sliding her fingers through her hair to caress the back of her head. She dropped her head, her lips barely out of reach. Dane slid her other hand around Emma’s waist, pulling her closer.
Emma froze, her gaze locked on Dane’s lips. Dane could feel her breath against her skin. In a sudden rush of urgency, she took Emma’s mouth, claiming her with her kiss. Emma answered with the same intensity, the same ravenous desire, wrapping her arms around Dane’s neck as she dug her fingers into Dane’s shoulders. Dane pressed her body against Emma’s, no longer able to control her need. She took the hem of Emma’s T-shirt in her hand and pulled it up over her head. Emma dropped the water hose, the nozzle hitting the ground and spraying water into the air around them. A rainbow arched overhead as sun hit the mist.
Dane cupped Emma’s breasts in her hands, rubbing the firm nipples beneath her thumbs as her tongue swept deep into Emma’s mouth. Emma shuddered. Dane closed the distance between them until her thigh was pressed firmly against Emma’s sex. She pressed one hand against Emma’s back, holding her as she continued to knead Emma’s breast with the other.
Emma gasped, and she closed her eyes. Dane pressed her lips to Emma’s neck, grazed her teeth along the soft pulse just beneath her flesh. She kissed Emma hungrily, feeling her melt into the kiss. Emma slid her hand into Dane’s hair, pulling her against her, deepening the kiss.
Emma’s mouth was hot, her tongue firm and demanding as she met each thrust and pull of Dane’s mouth. Emma’s skin was like sun-warmed silk sliding beneath her fingers. She wanted Emma. She needed her. Her desire swelled, and her clitoris throbbed until the ache for Emma became painful. She pressed harder against Emma, giving in to her need.
“God, Emma, please let me touch you. I want to feel you, taste you.”
Emma gasped, her breathing fast and shallow. She had fought to deny her attraction to Dane, but she was beyond reason now. Now that her desire had been set to flame, there was no turning back. She wanted Dane. She wanted to lose herself in the soft contours and strong planes of Dane’s body. She wanted to put aside all the fear, all the hurt from the past. She just wanted to feel Dane in her arms.
Emma slid her hands down Dane’s back, slowly caressing the tense muscles as she made her way down to cup Dane’s butt. She was done running. She was done hiding. No matter what happened afterward, she wanted Dane, needed her. She was drunk with the feel of Dane’s skin against her. The air was thin, and she struggled to think as her body burned with the craving for Dane’s mouth on her. Her legs threatened to give as Dane’s tongue filled her mouth, her hand cupping and working her breast. Her eyes rolled back as Dane pushed her thigh against her aching swollen clitoris. Her heart pounded, resonating in the thundering pulse of her sex.
Emma raked her fingers down Dane’s back, feeling her shudder in response to her touch. “Inside,” Emma gasped. “Shower.”
Dane relinquished her hold on Emma’s breast, then took her hand, lacing their fingers together. Emma pulled, and she followed.
Samson had taken up his spot on the porch, hardly acknowledging them as they passed. They left wet footprints across the floor as they walked, still dripping with water from the hose.
Emma turned on the water in the shower and steam quickly filled the room. She skirted her gaze across Dane’s naked breasts, her strong lean body. Emma shivered as her clitoris pulsed. She unbuttoned her shorts and pushed them to the floor. Dane watched her undress, her expression dark, hungry, her eyes half closed, her lips slightly parted. Emma moved forward and brushed a kiss against Dane’s hard nipple before lifting her lips to Dane’s mouth.
She shivered as Dane cupped her breast in her hand and squeezed before sliding her fingers beneath the thin fabric, pushing the bra up, releasing her breast. Emma discarded the last barrier between them and stepped into the shower, reaching out her hand to Dane. Dane followed.
Emma filled Dane’s hand with liquid soap before filling her own. She rubbed her hands through Dane’s hair, down her neck, across her shoulders, before finding Dane’s breast.
Dane’s hands explored her body as if tracing a map, following the curves and contours of her flesh.
Emma took Dane’s nipple into her mouth and sucked. Dane’s hands were in her hair caressing her head, holding her as she sucked and worked her tongue, feeling the nipple harden in her mouth.
Dane’s head was spinning. Emma’s mouth on her breast pulled at her clitoris with each suck as if a thread were tied between the two. Her hips pumped, seeking a connection with Emma. She rubbed her hands through Emma’s hair, down her back and up her thighs, feeling the suds slick against wet skin.
Emma released her breast, throwing her head back into the spray of the water. Soap trailed down her body, filling the room with the familiar scent of lavender and vanilla. Emma turned in her arms, bracing her hand against the wall as the spray cleansed her face. Dane pressed against Emma’s back, finding her breast with one hand. She kissed Emma’s neck as she traced eager fingers along her stomach to the short curls shielding her wet folds. Dane slid two fingers between Emma’s legs, parting her, exposing her swollen clitoris, hard and ready. Emma’s skin was like silk, delicate and warm as Dane stroked her fingers along the length of her sex, gently teasing the opening before returning to brush light circles against her clitoris.
Emma was everything she had imagined. She worked Emma’s clitoris in long sweeping strokes of her fingers, intermittently circling the swollen clitoris with the tip of her finger. Emma’s hips rocked against her making her own clitoris pulse and swell. Dane dipped her finger into Emma, deeper and deeper with each thrust. Emma pressed against Dane, her arms rigid, braced against the wall, keeping her upright as her legs shook with the early tremors of her release.
Dane held Emma’s brea
st cupped in her hand as she filled her. Emma tensed.
“Oh, please, don’t stop.” Emma threw her head back against Dane’s shoulder, her hips pumping in short burst as her orgasm erupted with wave after wave of sweet release. Emma relaxed, her body limp after the last surge of her orgasm released her. She clasped her hand over Dane’s as she slumped in her arms. Dane kissed her neck, her ear, her cheek, holding her firmly in her arms.
“You are so beautiful,” Dane whispered. “You take my breath away.”
Emma opened her eyes. Steam filled the room, blocking out everything except the sight of Dane, strong and beautiful, gazing down at her. Emma turned in Dane’s arms, brushing her hands across Dane’s chest. The muscles beneath the tender skin were tense from Dane’s need. Emma smiled up at Dane before brushing tender needy kisses against her skin. She sucked Dane’s breasts one at a time before trailing her lips down Dane’s body. Dane’s hands were in her hair, not guiding but holding her, silently encouraging her onward.
Emma kneeled on the floor, pressing her hands against Dane’s thighs, encouraging her to open her legs. Dane obeyed.
Emma spread Dane’s folds with her thumbs as she brushed her lips against Dane’s sex. Dane’s hips jerked. Emma smiled. She was going to enjoy this. She took Dane’s clitoris into her mouth, sucking the engorged flesh until Dane’s hips rocked against her face. Dane’s fingers pressed against her head, asking for more.
“Emma…” Dane’s voice was hoarse, the word barely more than a whisper.
Emma flattened her tongue and stroked up and down Dane’s clitoris.
“Please. Now, Emma. Now.”
Emma sucked hard on Dane’s clitoris as she pushed two fingers inside. Dane’s hand slapped against the wall, her legs stiffened, her body rigid with the power of her orgasm.
Dane groaned. Her hips bucked. Pleasure bloomed everywhere Emma’s mouth touched. She looked down at the beautiful woman filling her with warm sweet strokes of her tongue. A shudder ran through her, flooding her nerve endings with pure pleasure. Her muscles tensed. Her body strained to contain the building force of energy gathering beneath the tender strokes of Emma’s tongue. She pressed her hand to the back of Emma’s head, silently asking for more.
“Emma—” The name barely slipped from her lips before her orgasm crested and she was rocked by wave after wave. She pulled Emma away and fell to her knees in front of her. She pushed her hands into Emma’s hair and kissed her hard, her mouth pressing against Emma’s lips, her tongue filling her with urgent strokes. She pulled Emma against her, relishing the feel of Emma’s body against hers. She slowed the kiss as the last ripples of her orgasm subsided and she slowly regained control.
Dane held Emma’s face in her hands and brushed gentle kisses against her lips. “You are amazing.”
Emma smiled shyly, turning her head away. Dane stopped her. “Don’t. Don’t run from this. Just let it be perfect.”
Dane kissed Emma again before standing and guiding Emma to her feet. “I think we might need another shower now.”
Emma smiled. “I think I better let you have this one alone.”
“Where’s the fun in that? After what you just did to me, I won’t ever want to shower alone again.”
Emma smiled. “Don’t worry. There’s more where that came from.” Emma handed Dane the soap and kissed her tenderly. “I’ll start dinner.”
Dane watched Emma step out of the shower and wrap herself in a towel. Dane pressed her hand against the cold tile, bracing herself so she wouldn’t pull Emma back. She hoped Emma wouldn’t close herself off again the moment she stepped through the bathroom door.
* * *
Emma looked out the kitchen window out of habit, half expecting Curtis to be rambling about the yard. She frowned. His truck wasn’t there. There was no sign he had been home. She went to the fridge and pulled out some chicken and began to peel potatoes. Samson’s thundering bark made her jump, the knife slicing through her thumb. “Shit.” She grabbed a towel and peered out the window to see what had triggered the alarm. Samson stood on the edge of the porch, his hackles raised as he peered down the drive.
Emma wrapped her thumb in the towel and stepped onto the porch in her shorts and bare feet, her hair still damp from the shower. She called Samson to her as she watched a maroon Chevy Tahoe pull in front of the house. Her aunt Lily threw the door open and called out to Emma.
“Well, don’t just stand there, come and help me out of this thing.”
Emma patted Samson on the head and jogged out to the car.
“What are you doing? You shouldn’t be driving, Aunt Lily.”
“Oh, hush now, it wasn’t that far. Besides I need to practice now and then. You never know when something will come up. I need to know I can still manage on my own. I’m not that old—I just need to get up the nerve for that hip replacement. Maybe then I could show you kids a thing or two.”
Emma smiled and leaned in to kiss her aunt on the cheek. “Why didn’t you just have one of the boys drive you?”
Lily grasped Emma’s shoulder and hauled herself off the seat. She held on to the door and motioned to Emma to get the walker out of the back seat. “I like to never got that damn thing in there. I thought about throwing it in the ditch, but then I remembered I needed a way back into the house later.”
Emma retrieved the walker. Once Lily was situated, they ambled back to the house.
“Are you going to tell me what’s brought you all the way out here? You could have called, and I would have come to you.”
“Oh, shush your dithering, child. I may be old, but I can still do what I please.”
Emma tamped down a smile. Lily had always had a mind of her own. Something obviously had her feathers ruffled. She would just have to wait until the old woman got around to telling her what it was.
“I was just starting dinner. Would you like some sweet tea?”
Lily scuttled into the kitchen and plopped down into one of the chairs as if she’d just run a marathon. “Don’t you have any whiskey around?”
Emma laughed. “Of course.” She opened a cupboard and pulled out the half-empty bottle of Jack Daniel’s. She filled the glass with ice and poured the amber liquor.
“You might want to make one for yourself too.”
Emma paused, looking at her aunt, an uneasy feeling washing over her. She poured another drink and sat at the table across from Lily.
“What is it, Lily? Tell me.”
Lily sipped her drink. “What is going on with you and Curtis? He came to my house early this morning. Said you two had a fight. His face was a mess. He wasn’t making much sense.”
Emma flinched. “What? I never—”
Lily put her hand up. “Now I don’t think for one minute that you hit that boy. I’ve known you your whole life, and I know that’s not in you, even when there have been times when he could use a good skinning. But something happened. He was in a terrible mood. I tried to get him to stay with me for a while, but he said he had to go somewhere. He was awfully upset.”
Emma shook her head. “Someone came to the house yesterday while I was at work and beat Curtis up. He’s in trouble, and he won’t tell me what he’s done. I was scared, so I yelled at him. He was gone when I got up this morning.”
Lily peered at Emma the way she used to when she was a little girl and wasn’t telling the whole story. Lily could always tell when Emma was keeping something from her.
“What kind of trouble?”
It was Emma’s turn to take a drink. “You know he got arrested a few weeks back for having some drugs on him. Well, it looks like more of the same drugs have been linked to the deaths that have been in the paper. Some people he hangs out with are involved and have been coming around threatening us. I tried to get him to tell me what this is about, but he doesn’t get it. I’m not sure he even knows what’s going on.”
Lily sat back in her chair, her head bobbing slightly in a nod. “I see.” She took a drink. “Who is this person who thre
atened you?”
“Trevor.”
Lily narrowed her eyes. “That little snot that Curtis used to follow around at school that put him up to breaking in to that house?”
Emma nodded. “That’s him.”
“You sure this is about Curtis?”
Emma was confused. What else could it be? “Trevor told me Curtis owed him something. He warned me that Curtis had one week to make things right. Why? What did you think this was about?”
Lily pursed her lips in thought. “Those questions your friend Dane has been asking, you know how people are when it comes to family secrets.”
Emma shook her head. “No. It isn’t Dane. She went to the prison to see Thomas. It didn’t go very well. I’m afraid it was even worse than we thought.”
“That girl needs to leave things be. Some secrets need to stay buried.”
“Do you know more about Dane’s family than you told us? Is there something you don’t want her to know?”
Lily waved Emma off. “Of course not. I just know that family. No good can come from nosing around that bunch.”
Emma frowned. She had the feeling Lily knew more than she was letting on. “Aunt Lily, did Curtis say where he was going or when he was coming home?”
“No. He just said he had to go somewhere. Said he had stuff to do. I tried to call, but you didn’t answer your phone. I got worried something was wrong with you, so I came to see for myself.”
Emma placed a hand over Lily’s. She rubbed her fingers over the brown age spots and purple bruises coloring the frail thin skin. “I’m sorry. I was out looking for Curtis. I didn’t mean to worry you. I should have called.”
Lily’s eyes softened. “Don’t you worry. Things are going to be all right.”
Something settled in Emma’s heart. Her aunt was the one person who could always soothe her when she felt lost and out of sorts.
Lily pulled her hand away, then reached for her glass. “How about another drink, and where is that handsome girl you have staying with you, anyway?”
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