A Dark Horse

by Cooper, Blayne

  “There’s something I want to do.” Adele leaned forward and brushed her tongue along Natalie’s jugular, being supremely gentle in deference to her bruises and feeling the rush of hot blood beneath it. She needed to replace every mark made in anger with one given in adoration. “Please.”

  Natalie complied and lay on her stomach, groaning as Adele straddled her bare bottom, painting it with searing wetness.

  Adele swept Natalie’s hair to the side and gently nuzzled her nose into the chestnut mane. She inhaled deeply before placing hot, open-mouth kisses down Natalie’s spine. “You smell so damn good…all the time.” She ran her tongue over her spine, kissing each valley and ridge, murmuring her exaltation as she went.

  Natalie writhed beneath her.

  Nothing is as good as this. Adele allowed her bare breasts to slide down Natalie’s back, two hard tips trailing smoothly over lightly perspiring skin.

  Both women groaned at the sensation.

  “God, Ella,” Natalie whimpered when Adele’s lips and tongue hit the base of her spine and she licked one of her vertebra, then sucked on it hard enough to leave a tiny welt.

  Adele lifted her leg and scooted over to straddle one of Natalie’s thighs. It took every ounce of her considerable willpower not to grind down on it.

  Natalie showed no such restraint, and with a drawn out moan, pressed her hips into the mattress, seeking relief any way she could get it and spreading her legs in invitation.

  Adele hummed at the taste of salty skin, and drew just the very tips of her fingers through Natalie’s slick heat. Her stomach knotted pleasantly. “Jesus.”

  Natalie convulsed, and a gravelly moan exploded from her chest as she tried to open her legs even wider to coax Adele along. “Puh-please, Ella.”

  “You’re soaked.”

  Adele ran her fingers through Natalie’s wetness once more, her own center twitching in empathy when Natalie cried out. Adele’s body was ready to combust. Dear God, she was going to come, and so damn hard, just from touching Natalie. She would have been embarrassed if she weren’t too blissed-out to care.

  “El…Ella.” Natalie grabbed two fistfuls of sheet. “Ple—” A third, excruciatingly slow pass of Adele’s fingers robbed Natalie of speech completely.

  In a burst of movement, Natalie thrust her buttocks off the bed, and Adele with her. Panting, she managed to flip onto her back beneath Adele.

  Adele opened her mouth to protest, but then felt sure hands palm her breasts. She let out a ragged breath that turned into a hiss when Natalie squeezed both her nipples in tandem. She fought not to come undone in that instant, her entire body quaking, her chest flushing red and perspiration gathering at her hairline and trailing down the nape of her neck.

  Natalie’s eyes were black with desire, and her voice was honey and gravel. “Ella, sweetheart, I promise that I am going to have my mouth on, in, and around every inch of your body,” she rasped, her chest rising and falling fast. “All. Night. Long.”

  Adele moaned loudly, suddenly dizzy.

  Natalie cupped Adele’s saturated panties with one hand and pushed forward, grinding the heel of her hand where Adele was most sensitive. With her other hand, she twisted Adele’s nipple gently, but firmly.

  Adele cried out, her hips thrusting forward of their own accord.

  “But if you don’t fuck me right now, I’m going to die.”

  Her own center bursting with need, Adele lunged forward and drove two fingers into Natalie’s dripping core, burying them to the hilt. Feeling their sweat-slicked bodies pressed together as Natalie’s head thrashed from side to side, sent Adele careening to the razor’s edge where she hung on for all she was worth. How is she doing this to me?

  Adele slid her hand under one of Natalie’s trembling thighs and gave a tiny tug upward. She shook a drop of perspiration from her brow and it splashed onto Natalie’s nipple, causing Natalie to jerk and hiss at the sensation. “Nat, is this—?”

  Natalie arched her back, pushing their bodies closer. “Yes.” Her raspy voice was a cross between a command and outright begging. “Yes to everything.”

  The words landed directly between Adele’s legs, flooding her with arousal, and filling every crack and crevice inside her with molten desire. With a growl, she lifted one of Natalie’s thighs over her shoulder, opening Natalie further to the steady thrusting motion of her hand. Adele placed a hot kiss on the tender skin behind Natalie’s knee and then dragged her teeth along her pale inner thigh. She was so close to coming herself that when Natalie reached between them and lightly touched Adele just where she needed her most, Adele released a strangled shout.

  “Nat, if you…Jesus! I won’t be able…I-I’m gonna come…” It was hard to speak with her teeth gritted together and while fire consumed her.

  “Good.”

  Adele threw her head back when the maddening touch returned, but then quickly retreated. “Oh, my God!” She was on the verge of plunging headlong into insanity.

  “You are exquisite.” Natalie’s voice overflowed with lust and reverence. She lightly ran her index and middle fingers on either side of Adele’s clit once again and ever so gently squeezed.

  This time she couldn’t stop herself. Adele came. Hard. Head thrown back in pleasure, mouth opened in a silent scream, she was blasted in a volcano of pleasure. Her body shook from a gratification so intense that she, and the world around her, were enveloped in a euphoric white light. For several long seconds, the only thing holding her upright was Natalie’s thigh as she leaned against it, floating at a rarified height she’d never experienced and that had to be heaven. The hot rush of release and relief that pushed outward from her center, and extended to her fingertips and toes, was so profound she couldn’t quite wrap her mind around it. So instead, she opened her arms to it and was willingly engulfed.

  Eventually, Natalie swam into view.

  Beaming, Natalie leaned up and ran her fingers through Adele’s hair, tucking a strand of the sexily mussed locks behind Adele’s ear. She gently held Adele’s face between two warm palms. “I adore you,” she whispered breathily, unbidden tears shimmering in her eyes.

  When Adele finally came back to her senses, she grinned a little sheepishly and wiped at a few tears that had escaped with her thumb. A lump in her throat kept her from speaking, so she expressed herself in another way. She curled the fingers that were still buried deep inside Natalie.

  Natalie gasped, and her eyes widened as she was wonderfully reminded where Adele had left off.

  Outside the rain began to pour in earnest, beating loudly against the roof.

  The devouring kiss that Adele delivered next unraveled them both. Their lips clung hotly together.

  It didn’t take Adele long to reestablish a rhythm that had them both panting, her own desire rising again like the tide. Then there was a look on Natalie’s face. Jesus. Her face. I’ve never… It was wide open. Sharing her pleasure. Holding nothing back as she moaned, and whimpered, and sighed. Adele’s heart clenched with joy that bordered on pain it was so intensely beautiful.

  Hips helping her hand thrust forward, Adele increased the speed of her plunging fingers, and she added her thumb to gently caress Natalie’s slick clit with each stroke. The result was immediate. Adele’s eyes found Natalie’s, untamed but trusting, and she was sure she’d never seen anything more stunning.

  Natalie bowed her back even more, the flush on her chest darkening. “Yes, yes, yes,” she chanted brokenly. “So…fuck!”

  Adele felt the smooth walls around her fingers contract hard, as Natalie’s eyes slammed shut and she let out a loud staccato moan. Her body trembled violently, then stiffened as she came apart at the seams. She collapsed in a winded, helpless heap.

  Carefully, and with as much tenderness as she possessed, Adele lowered Natalie’s leg and snuggled up alongside her. She inhaled deeply, reveling in the light scent that was uniquely Natalie.

  Noticing she still had her own panties on, Adele pushed them off and flung them
somewhere over her shoulder. She trailed her finger down Natalie’s face and whispered soft words of devotion to the recovering woman as she tenderly kissed each eyelid, then each cheek, her chin, and finally deliciously pliant, soft lips.

  Natalie released a contented hum, and with what appeared to be an inordinate amount of effort, wrapped a limp arm around Adele’s ribs and squeezed. Tendrils of sweat-dampened, matted hair were stuck to Natalie’s face and neck, her eyes were heavily hooded, and her cheeks glowed.

  Gorgeous. Adele felt her rising desire shift from a simmer to something infinitely hotter, and deeper. “Hi there,” she crooned quietly, willing herself the patience required to keep from diving in and devouring Natalie whole. She sat up on one elbow and smiled down at Natalie with a mischievous, faintly smug smirk.

  “Hi,” Natalie whispered back, playfully rolling her eyes when she caught sight of that cocky grin.

  Adele rolled atop Natalie and laughed, her movement shaking them both. She dropped a tender kiss to Natalie’s glistening breastbone, unable to stop her tongue from darting out to taste the damp skin. “What?”

  “Happy with yourself?”

  “Yes.”

  Natalie chuckled and aimlessly waved a limp hand. “You earned it.”

  Adele kissed the very end of Natalie’s nose, then her smile. This kiss was achingly soft and sweet, and neither woman made a move to deepen it.

  A surge of affection rose up in Adele and then spilled over. The urge to drop to her knees and confess to Natalie that she loved her was nearly overwhelming. It was there on the tip of her tongue, itching so fiercely to be said that Adele had to take several calming breaths to keep from simply blurting it out into the scorching air between them. But she didn’t want to leave any room for doubt. Didn’t want the first time she said it to be in some post-coital, clichéd moment of hormonal ecstasy. That’s what she was feeling—a high so sumptuous it couldn’t be legal. Though she knew it was far more than a rush of hormones. Tomorrow, she promised herself. Tomorrow would be soon enough.

  Adele lifted her head and her eyes met Natalie’s. The air around them, once again, became electric and heat blossomed low in Adele’s belly.

  With a beaming smile, Natalie sank her hands into Adele’s hair and pulled her into a bruising kiss. Tongues dueled, savored, and conquered. They kissed long and hot enough for Adele to forget her own name and for her blood to reignite as though she hadn’t already been reduced to a nearly boneless pile of quivering flesh only moments before.

  “Flat on your back,” Natalie finally instructed, her voice smoky. She sank down on top of Adele when she complied. Both women sighed loudly as bare skin met from head to toe. They melted together, losing themselves in each other.

  “I haven’t…” Natalie’s hot breath danced over Adele’s skin, causing a riot of sensation. “God, I never want to stop kissing you.” Natalie worked her plundering kisses down Adele’s throat and sharply nipped the skin where Adele’s neck and shoulder came together. “I love…the way you taste.” Her voice quivered with want.

  “Oh, sweet baby Jesus…” Adele’s guttural groan was one of pure pleasure and a rush of wetness slicked her thighs. “You’re a b-biter?”

  Natalie laughed quietly. “Problem with that?” She punctuated her question with another sharp nip to Adele’s collarbone. At Adele’s gasp, she laved the red mark she’d made with a wet, soothing tongue.

  Adele almost came out of her skin. “Yes!”

  “Yes?” Natalie stilled, lips hovering just over Adele’s chest, hot puffs of moist air causing goose bumps to erupt on the skin below and Adele’s nipples to tighten to an almost painful degree.

  Adele was certain her brain was about to short-circuit. “I mean n-no! Don’t stop!”

  “Never,” Natalie swore, smiling. She tightened her hold on Adele and marked her territory with abandon. She drew her cheek along the top of one of Adele’s breasts, her long tresses tickling Adele’s shoulders, then chest. Adele dug her fingernails into Natalie’s back and caused her to stutter. “Mmm. I can’t…I can’t get enough of you.”

  Happiness bubbled up inside Adele and infused her every syllable. “Good thing I’m here all night.” She glanced down and found a pair of sexy, mischievous blue eyes looking back up at her through dark lashes. The women shared a smoldering look that made Adele idly wonder whether the entire world was ablaze.

  “Remember you said that.” Natalie’s voice dripped with seduction and was as sultry and hot as the steamiest New Orleans night. “Now hold onto something, love.”

  Adele immediately fisted the fitted sheet with both hands and planted the soles of her feet firmly on the bed. Her body felt like it was spinning out of control as Natalie moved lower and lower and dragged her tongue over her scar and along the sensitive crease of her inner thigh. Adele didn’t recognize the primal groan that burst from deep in her chest and throat, and she wondered for a quick second whether she’d live long enough to see the sunrise. The sound of the blood rushing in her ears was starting to drown out everything else.

  Natalie chuckled wickedly. “I’ve got a promise to keep.” She moved her mouth a few inches and a low keening sound was torn from the pit of Adele’s stomach.

  Adele’s heart slammed against her ribcage as she held on to the sheet for dear life, her body and mind thrust helplessly into free fall. Head spinning, she felt more than heard Natalie’s deep, erotic hum of pleasure and the flutter of her voice.

  “Mmm…Ella, you’re delicious.”

  Lightning flashed and thunder boomed, and the only thing they knew was each other.

  Chapter Nineteen

  The next day…

  Adele unlocked the gate to Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 and left it open. The old cemetery was founded in 1833 and located right in the heart of the Garden District. It was filled with the wall vaults and above-ground tombs that New Orleans was so famous for.

  Adele found it both peaceful and haunting in its beauty. The wind whistled through the grounds in gusts and fits, and bordered on cold. The sky was heavy with dark clouds, making it seem closer to twilight than it actually was, but so far it wasn’t raining. Adele made her way to a specific bench near the rear of the cemetery and set her cane down near her feet.

  The cemetery had officially closed to the public almost ninety minutes ago, in the middle of the afternoon, but Adele’s mother and sister were former presidents and existing board members of New Orleans’s Save Our Cemeteries Organization, so getting a key to the gates for this private meeting hadn’t been a problem. Once Sgt. Jay Morrell entered the cemetery, the gates would be locked behind him, securing them both inside and guaranteeing they wouldn’t be disturbed.

  Adele’s phone vibrated in her jacket pocket and she reviewed the text with a nod. She sent a one-letter reply before sticking the phone back in her pocket.

  He was here.

  Morrell’s shaved head came into view. He’d gained weight since she’d last seen him, had gotten soft with his new supervisory role. His neck was as thick as his head, giving him a fire hydrant-like appearance. She wrinkled her nose and wondered if he could even button the top of his shirt. She was relatively confident that he couldn’t run from her if he tried. Disgust slithered through her veins at the very sight of him.

  She would be a totally new experience for Morrell. He’d never needed to be fast or quick because he didn’t fight fair and spent his time preying on those who were weaker. Things would be different today.

  “What the hell?” Morrell spluttered when he saw Adele, and not Billy Hobson, on the bench waiting for him. He stopped dead in his tracks, his dark, narrowed eyes flitting from tomb to tomb, as though he half-expected someone to jump out and grab him.

  The cemetery was completely quiet except for the sound of the wind. Morrell tried to cover his surprise with a smug look, but he hadn’t been quick enough. She’d caught a glimpse of his confusion and worry, and knew his feeble mind was racing as he wondered why and how she was here instead
of Hobson.

  “Hello, Morrell.” Adele didn’t stand and didn’t address him by his rank. He was a disgrace to cops everywhere. She just waited, staring at a crepe myrtle tree that was particularly old and beautiful.

  “Well, well, if it isn’t Hurricane Lejeune,” Morrell sneered at her, his thin lips twisting. “Aren’t you a dark horse? Popping back up when I least expect you.”

  Adele felt a burning sensation in the pit of her stomach but refused to take the bait. “Have a seat.”

  “Gimpy bitch, I don’t—”

  “Sit!” She enunciated the word preciously, harshly, thoughts of this man in her own home, lying in wait for Natalie, and then making her scream, caused her blood to boil and her pulse to pound. Adele’s palms began to sweat.

  Her gun was tucked into the back of her pants, but she kept her hands folded casually in front of her, right where he could see them. Adele wasn’t going to persuade this pig of a man to give her what she wanted by brute physical force. She needed to appear less threatening than she was, not more. God, how she wanted to simply shove her weapon as far down his mouth as it would go and demand answers.

  “Morrell, we have something to talk about.”

  His eyes scanned the space around them again. Worried. Nervous. But curious, too. “What could you have to say that I want to hear?” Reluctantly he sat down, his gut coming to rest over his belt, his weapon visible beneath his ill-fitting navy blue suit coat. “I take it you found that sniveling shit Hobson.”

  She nodded, unwilling to disagree with his assessment of the man. “You know what I hate more than a dirty cop?” she asked conversationally.

  “Dick? I hear you’re batting for the other team now.”

  Adele couldn’t help it, she laughed. “Nope. Well, maybe your dick, yeah. But other than that, I can’t really think of a single thing I hate more than a dirty cop. They’re like cancer, and need to be cut out with a sharp knife.” Adele sat up a little straighter. Today, she was that knife. “How did you know I had a friend staying with me?”