“I know it does. It scares me too.”
Brooke nodded. “But, I swear to you, I’ve never wanted anything more in my life,” Brooke said. Tess was surprised. “I’m serious,” Brooke continued. “I don’t know what the hell I am doing. I’ve never had a real relationship. I swore I never would.”
“What changed?” Tess asked.
“You. I can’t…I don’t want to be without you, and I don’t mean just as my friend. I know what that means, at least, I think I do.”
“It isn’t just me,” Tess said apprehensively.
“Yes, I know,” Brooke smiled. She had no illusions about what loving Tess meant. It meant a ready-made family. She was a bit shocked that as frightening as the implications of that were, Brooke found the possibility of losing Tess and her family far more terrifying.
Tess smiled up at Brooke. “One day at a time,” she said. “I want this to work.”
“One day at a time,” Brooke agreed. Tess accepted Brooke’s kiss gratefully. She caressed Brooke’s neck and pulled her closer. Brooke’s tongue brushed over hers and Tess felt a deep ache surface slowly from the connection. She had to concentrate on breathing when Brooke pulled back. “So,” Brooke began. Tess looked at her curiously. “In the interest of one day at a time, could I maybe start the next one with you waking up beside me?”
Tess smiled. She understood the proposition for what it was. “You just want to use that toothbrush again,” she quipped.
Brooke shrugged. “Nah, but I missed sleeping with Wonder Woman. What can I say?” Tess lifted herself off the couch and pulled Brooke to her feet. Brooke kissed her again gently. “I just want to hold you,” she said. “One day at a time.”
Tess held out her hand and began to lead Brooke up the stairs. This will not be easy. Tess giggled.
“Something funny?” Brooke asked as they climbed the stairs.
“No,” Tess replied. “No more kissing tonight, though.”
“What? Why?”
Tess opened her bedroom door. She turned to Brooke with a sly grin. “Sweetheart,” she said affectionately. “I love you. I mean, I really love you.” Brooke smiled broadly at the declaration. “I know we are both exhausted,” Tess said. Brooke listened. “That kiss of yours could wake the dead,” Tess said. “I’m not sure I am quite ready for that yet.”
Brooke chuckled. “If I promise to be gentle?” she asked lightly. “Will you at least kiss me goodnight?”
Tess shook her head affectionately. “And here I thought I had to worry about making you angry,” she quipped.
It’s going to be okay. Brooke kissed Tess on the cheek and headed into the bathroom. Within a few seconds a hand poked through the door and handed her a familiar pair of sweats.
“Your toothbrush is in the cabinet,” Tess said with a snicker.
Brooke laughed when she emerged from the bathroom to find Tess in a similar pair of pajamas. This pair was blue and red with the same Wonder Woman motif. You are too much. “Cute,” Brooke said.
“I would hate to disappoint you. You said you missed sleeping with Wonder Woman,” Tess pointed out as she climbed into the bed.
Brooke slipped under the covers and pulled Tess into her arms. She heard Tess sigh deeply. “I missed sleeping with you,” she changed the tenor of their banter. She kissed the top of Tess’s head. “I love you, Tess.” Tess tightened her hold on Brooke’s waist. Brooke felt the slight quivering against her. “Are you okay?”
Tess was giggling. “Yeah, I was just thinking that my mom is going to freak out.” Brooke tensed. Tess laughed a bit harder. “She’s going to have an inner battle when I bring a beautiful woman home and she just happens to be a doctor.”
Brooke snickered. “Go to sleep, Diana.”
Tess nestled closer to Brooke with a yawn. “Guess I will be stocking green food a while longer.”
Brooke felt Tess’s breathing even out and closed her eyes. “One day at a time.”
Chapter Nine
Brooke looked down the beach. Her mother was fending off a splash attack from D. and Dani. Brooke rolled her eyes. She is in her glory. A voice from above startled her. “Aren’t you hot lying out here?” Tess asked. “You look pretty flushed,” she commented. She and the kids had been trying to coax Brooke into the water all afternoon. Brooke kept saying she was relaxing.
Brooke loved to swim and to play with the kids, but she was enjoying watching them more. She had no intention of telling any of them that. Her mother had surprised her by booking two small beach houses for a long weekend at Martha’s Vineyard. They had arrived late the night before. So late, that by the time everyone had gotten settled, she and Tess had barely made it into bed before falling asleep.
Brooke was also a bundle of nerves. She was pretty sure that Tess knew that. As the weeks passed, the nights she spent at her condo had grown fewer. Most nights, unless she was on call, Brooke slept at Tess’s. Slept was the operative word. They had come close a few times to giving in to their desires. It was Brooke who had made the suggestion that, in the interest of one day at a time, they wait to make love. Part of it, and Brooke did not share this with Tess, was that Brooke wanted Tess completely alone the first time they were together. She worried about Davey and Dani. The twins had already accepted Brooke as their mother’s girlfriend. That delighted Brooke. The thought of either of the kids walking in when she was making love to their mother unnerved her. She had developed a strange superstition about their first time. Tonight, they would be alone. Brooke was tired of waiting. She intended to make things perfect for Tess. She’d been doing a lot of thinking over the last month, and that led her to some concrete conclusions about where her life was headed.
Tess looked down at Brooke and wanted to laugh. Brooke was a ball of nervous energy. What surprised Tess, was how Brooke was reacting to that. She had become almost introspective in the last twenty-four hours. She suspected that Brooke was watching everything while rolling over the plans she had made in her mind for their evening together. Tess would not have believed it was possible to fall more deeply in love with Brooke than she had been the night Brooke showed up at her door unexpectedly. She had. She was not apprehensive at all about consummating what they had built. She didn’t need romantic overtures. She only needed Brooke.
Brooke was looking out at the kids with her mother when she got the shock of a lifetime. “Tess!” Tess was already off running. Brooke stood up, dripping onto her towel. Brooke’s scream caused her family to look in her direction and fall into a frenzy of laughter at the sight that greeted them. Brooke’s lips upturned into an evil grin and she took off after Tess.
“Now, Brooke,” Tess held up a hand when Brooke caught up to her by the water.
“Yes?” Brooke asked while batting her eyelashes. “I know I have warned you about making me angry,” Brooke said. In an instant she had swept Tess into her arms and was moving into deeper water.
“Brooke! Put me down!”
Brooke shrugged. “Okay.” She threw Tess into the water. Tess did not surface immediately. “Tess?” In another instant, Brooke was pulled under.
“Where did they go?” Dani asked Brooke’s mother.
“Oh, they’re fine. I think your mom is teaching Brooke an important lesson.”
Brooke broke through a crashing wave and came face to face with a gloating Tess. “Oh…I told you, you wouldn’t like me when I’m angry,” Brooke said. She moved toward Tess.
Tess took the opportunity to wrap her arms around Brooke’s neck. “You don’t scare me,” Tess laughed.
“What?”
“Nope. You are red. When you turn green, I will run.” Brooke huffed and Tess kissed her.
“Ugh,” Davey groaned. “They are always doing that.”
“I know. So gross,” Dani agreed. “Come on, let’s find some shells.”
Rebecca watched Brooke and Tess and smiled. Brooke’s eyes seemed to dance when she looked at Tess. They sparkled in a way that Rebecca had never seen. I’d get used to
it, kids. I have a feeling you are going to be dealing with it for a very long time.
***
Tess walked up the small set of stairs to the beach house Rebecca had rented for her and Brooke. The twins were hyper. She had apologized to Rebecca, and even offered to have them come back with her. Rebecca laughed and said that if she could survive Brooke for eighteen years, she most certainly could deal with a weekend of Dani and Davey. Tess was grateful for Brooke’s mother. Rebecca had not only accepted their relationship, she encouraged it. Rebecca’s words as Tess left just minutes ago had taken her by surprise.
“Tess, don’t worry. You go and spend some time with Brooke.”
“I know they can be a handful.”
Rebecca smiled. “You know, I had given up on grandchildren,” she said. Tess felt her heart skip. Rebecca chuckled. “Brooke loves you. She loves those kids too. I wish you knew how grateful I am to you.”
“To me?” Tess asked. “Why?”
“Because, Tess, Brooke is the most sensitive person I have ever known. She came out of the womb that way, I swear it.” Tess had to chuckle. It was true. Brooke had mastered bravado in front of most of the world. Underneath it, for anyone who cared to take the time to look, Brooke was a mush ball. “She’s happy. She finally has what she has always been looking for, it just took her a while to realize that,” Rebecca said.
“I hope so,” Tess replied.
“I know so,” Rebecca assured her with a hug. “Now, get out of here. I will see you tomorrow when I see you.”
“I…”
Rebecca laughed heartily. “Contrary to popular opinion, I do have experience with a few things other than surgical techniques.” Tess blushed but laughed.
Tess opened the door and lost her breath. The entire room was lit by candles. Brooke stepped into the room wearing a blue sundress. Tess smiled and felt her heart rate increase instantly. Dear God, she is beautiful. Brooke smiled nervously and closed the distance between them.
“Hi,” she said softly.
“What’s the occasion?” Tess asked lightly as she gestured to the room.
“You.”
Tess shook her head. “Brooke…”
Brooke took Tess’s hand. She started the music system in the small room and turned to Tess. “Would you dance with me?”
Tess smiled and wrapped her arms around Brooke’s neck. She didn’t recognize the song playing. It was soft and sensual. She would not have been able to concentrate on the words even if she had tried. Brooke’s arms were around her. Brooke’s hands were softly gliding up and down her back. Tess rested her head against Brooke’s chest and listened to the steady thumping of her heartbeat. I could do this forever. It was true. Tess desperately wanted to make love with Brooke, but a part of her understood that being in Brooke’s arms would always be the safest place on earth.
Brooke lifted Tess’s chin and looked into her eyes without words. She captured Tess’s lips in a sensuous, reverent kiss. Tess moaned when she felt Brooke’s hand press into the small of her back. She dropped her hands to Brooke’s chest and felt the pace of Brooke’s heart increase instantly. Brooke’s kiss dropped to Tess’s neck, her tongue tasting the flesh beneath it tentatively. “Brooke,” Tess sighed.
“I want to give you everything,” Brooke whispered in Tess’s ear. Tess lost her breath. “I want to make love to you,” Brooke said.
Tess looked up at Brooke and cupped her cheek. “Take me to bed.”
Brooke nodded. She took hold of Tess’s hand and blew out the candles in the room one by one on the way to the small bedroom. When she reached the bedroom, she stopped in the door and looked at Tess apprehensively. Tess pulled her down for a tender kiss of understanding. It did not surprise Tess that their roles were about to reverse. She gently tugged on Brooke’s hand and led her to the edge of the bed.
Two months was not an extraordinary amount of time to wait to make love. A month of knowing that you were in love, of sleeping beside one another, of tender caresses, and close calls had built up anticipation in both of them. Tess began placing a trail of delicate kisses down Brooke’s throat. Brooke threw her head back against the tender assault. “Tess,” she breathed.
Tess smiled to herself and continued to allow her kisses to fall while her hands traversed the silky fabric that covered Brooke’s hips. God, I want you. Slowly, her hands moved inward over Brooke’s stomach and gradually higher. She traced the outline of Brooke’s breasts and watched Brooke bite her lower lip. Tess took the cue and allowed the palms of her hands to graze Brooke’s already taut nipples. She immediately felt a warm tingle flow through her body and settle in her core. She wanted to explore Brooke’s body slowly and thoroughly. That was proving torturous. Tess reached for the straps of Brooke’s sundress and lowered them until the dress fell away. She looked at Brooke in wonderment. “You are so beautiful,” Tess uttered softly.
Brooke opened her eyes and saw Tess looking at her. Tess’s hands were mapping out Brooke’s body methodically, every inch of it. When her finger tips reached Brooke’s nipples, Tess was helpless not to follow with her lips. She covered one perfect pink peak and tasted it slowly. Brooke’s hand moved to the back of Tess’s head and held it in place. A deep moan escaped Brooke’s lips that urged Tess on. Tess sucked gently and Brooke called out to her.
Brooke reluctantly pulled back. She needed to feel Tess now. Her hands quivered as she reached for the buttons of Tess’s white, sleeveless blouse. Tess smiled compassionately at her, passion still lighting her eyes. She took Brooke’s hands and steadied them. “It’s just me,” Tess reminded Brooke.
Brooke leaned in and kissed Tess. “You have no idea what that means,” Brooke said.
“Show me,” Tess said.
Brooke removed Tess’s blouse and caressed the swell of her breasts before reaching back and releasing the clasp of her bra that kept them confined. “Beautiful,” she said. She lowered Tess onto the bed and hovered over her. Brooke had taken her share of lovers over the years. She had not once felt anything that compared to what she felt at this moment. It was as if she could feel Tess surrounding her completely. She felt desire, even lust, but something far deeper was driving her now. She needed Tess to understand that Tess was the most important thing in her life. She is. You are. You are the most important thing in my life. Brooke was confident in her love for Tess. As she looked down at her soon to be lover, an awareness overtook her that astounded her. If everything else disappeared in her life, her career, her friends, her possessions, it wouldn’t matter. All that really mattered were the people she loved. Brooke had never loved anyone the way she loved Tess Sinclair.
Tess watched as a multitude of emotions flickered in Brooke’s expression. She was about to speak when Brooke’s kiss stopped her. The kiss was more urgent than those that had come before it. It was loving, but insistent, as if Brooke needed to say something that she could not find the words to express. Tess’s hands moved up and down Brooke’s back and continued the motion as Brooke’s mouth traveled down her neck to her shoulder and then cautiously inward toward her throat. “Oh…my… God,” Tess panted.
Brooke’s lips covered Tess’s breast and Tess dug her fingertips into Brooke’s back. Brooke had no intention of stopping now. Tess was moaning constantly. Brooke’s hands massaged Tess’s hips and her thighs. She grabbed hold of the button on Tess’s shorts and released it in one deliberate motion. Desire and longing had replaced any apprehension that Brooke had felt when they entered this room. Tess was a part of her, not just her life. She could feel that reality coursing between them. Tess’s love was evident in the way her body moved, the way she spoke Brooke’s name, it was ever present and never changing. Brooke’s kiss moved to Tess’s abdomen and she swiftly lowered Tess’s shorts and panties together. She stopped and looked at Tess. Tess smiled lovingly. Brooke returned the expression just as Tess took Brooke’s hand and kissed her fingertips.
Tess let go of Brooke’s hand and Brooke allowed it to travel slowly down Te
ss’s body at the same time her kisses rained downward over Tess’s belly. She placed a faint kiss on Tess’s center and Tess’s hips rose slightly. Brooke moved still lower and tasted the sweetness that was Tess for the first time.
“Brooke,” Tess called helplessly. Brooke’s only response was a lustful moan. Brooke’s tongue was swirling around Tess’s center, exploring softly. Tess’s hips began to move in time with Brooke’s gentle licking. She could barely take in a breath against the sensations that were pulsing through her entire body. “Please, please….Brooke,” Tess pleaded when Brooke’s fingers tenderly brushed over her nipple. Brooke did not need Tess to explain the vague request. She moved her other hand and cautiously entered Tess. “Oh, God!” Tess cried out. Brooke slipped a second finger inside Tess and moved softly deeper. Tess bit her bottom lip hard to keep from screaming. She had never felt anything close to the sensations Brooke was evoking from her body.
Brooke was mesmerized by the way Tess was moving and the subtle changes in her expression. She could feel Tess’s muscles gripping her fingers. Brooke moaned. Tess’s hips were grinding against her and she was surprised that the twinges of pleasure that she had experienced before had moved to a steady throb. Brooke knew the continual pulsing in her core signaled a brewing storm that would lead to her release. The closer Tess came to letting go, the closer Brooke moved to that same destination. It was so powerful that she was beginning to struggle with concentrating on Tess.
Tess felt Brooke’s body beginning to tremble against her. As much as she did not want Brooke to stop what she was doing, she needed to feel Brooke fall over the edge with her. They were both standing on a ledge and Tess wanted to hold Brooke when the freefall began. She wanted Brooke to hold her. She reached down and gently directed Brooke upward.
Brooke’s heart dropped for a split second until she saw Tess’s seductive smile. Tess kissed Brooke passionately. Her hand took hold of Brooke’s hand. Brooke’s breath caught in her throat when Tess guided her fingers back to their previous task. Brooke held onto Tess as Tess moved in a circular motion around Brooke’s fingers. “You feel so good inside me,” Tess told Brooke. “I need to feel you now,” she said through a ragged breath.
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