By Design

by J. A. Armstrong

  Candace laughed. “I don’t know about that. Let’s see what the doctors say.”

  “They say I can go home as long as someone stays with me. Know anyone who might be willing?” she asked.

  Candace looked at Jameson. “I might have some connections,” she said before leaning in to kiss Jameson’s lips softly.

  “Is that one of my prescriptions? Because I might look to fall off a ladder every day, if it earns me one of those.”

  Candace pulled back and scolded Jameson with her eyes. “What do you mean you fell off a ladder?” Jameson shrugged. Candace looked to Pearl who in turn shrugged. “How did you fall off a ladder? Where were you on a ladder? Wait…why were you on a….”

  Jameson stopped Candace’s rant with a quick kiss. “Jinx.”

  “Jinx?”

  “Yeah, I guess he wanted to help me with the wallpaper.”

  “Explain.”

  “I was hanging wallpaper. I was on the ladder and he jumped off of a shelf onto my shoulder. I fell, the ladder fell on top of me; knocked me out cold,” Jameson explained in one long breath.

  “I told you! No black cat should be named Jinx! Why doesn’t anyone ever listen to me?” Candace said in exasperation.

  “I’ll change his name, just take me home,” Jameson implored the senator.

  Candace shook her head. “Is this what I have to look forward to?” she asked.

  Jameson smiled. “I’ll try not to get a concussion too often….Does that mean you’ll keep me?” she joked.

  “You, yes; the cat….”

  “Aw, it was just an accident,” Jameson said. “I survived.”

  “We’ll talk,” Candace said, knowing that Jameson could likely convince her of anything. “Keep an eye on her,” she instructed Pearl. “I’ll see about taking you home,” she promised. She leaned in and kissed Jameson’s forehead before leaving.

  “That went well,” Jameson said to Pearl.

  “Don’t be surprised if she sells that cat to the Chinese restaurant,” Pearl laughed. “And, next time you want her to kiss you, do me a favor and just ask; okay? I almost ended up in the bed next to you with a heart attack.”

  “Sorry,” Jameson apologized.

  “Kids,” Pearl groaned.

  Chapter Ten: A New Design

  Candace felt Jameson’s arms around her waist. She snuggled back into the architect’s embrace. They had spent a quiet couple of days together. Jameson had slept on and off, and Candace was content to lie beside the woman she loved. She had crept into bed a few hours earlier when Jameson was sleeping. She felt Jameson’s lips on the back of her neck. “You’re awake,” Candace observed softly. Jameson’s answer came in the form of more insistent kisses down Candace’s neck. Her hands began mapping out Candace’s hips and abdomen. Candace closed her eyes and reveled in the feel of Jameson against her. “Sweetheart, what are you doing?” she began to protest. She turned in Jameson’s arms.

  Jameson’s hands continued their methodical exploration, tracing patterns on Candace’s back. “I love you,” Jameson said.

  Candace took Jameson’s face in her hands. “We have plenty of time, Jameson. I’m not that old,” she tried to joked. Jameson answered with a tender kiss that began to deepen steadily. Her hands began moving up and down Candace’s back with more urgency and intention. “Jameson,” Candace sighed. “You need to rest.”

  Jameson kissed Candace and moved her onto her back. She hovered over the senator and shook her head. “I need to make love to you,” she said. Candace fought to breathe. Jameson’s directness was accompanied by a passionate gaze. She lifted her hands to Jameson’s face and held it tenderly. Jameson felt the trembling in Candace’s touch. “What are you afraid of?” she asked the older woman.

  “Losing you,” Candace confessed her heart.

  Jameson smiled. “Candace,” she said. “I have waited my entire life for you.” Candace closed her eyes at Jameson’s admission. “I am in love with you. Completely in love with you.” Candace opened her eyes and traced over Jameson’s eyebrows and cheeks with her fingers. Jameson kissed Candace’s forehead tenderly. “The only way you will ever lose me is if you send me away.”

  “Jameson….when I am seventy-five you will be my age now.”

  “And, I will make love to you just as slowly and passionately as I am about to now.” Candace sighed as Jameson’s hands traveled gently over her body. “Do you love me?” Jameson asked directly.

  Candace smiled at the woman above her. “You might not believe this, but I love you more than I ever thought possible.”

  Jameson kissed Candace and felt Candace’s hands drop to her back, searching and exploring. She pulled back slightly and smiled. “Let me show you,” Jameson requested.

  Candace was helpless to do anything but surrender. She could feel the truth in Jameson’s declarations and in every delicate touch of the architect’s lips and hands. Jameson’s kiss remained loving, but grew more insistent and demanding before she moved her lips to Candace’s neck. Candace threw her head back to give Jameson better access. She felt the muscles in Jameson’s back through the light T-Shirt she wore and suddenly had an overwhelming need to feel Jameson’s skin. Jameson sat up and allowed Candace to help her pull the T-Shirt over her head.

  Candace lost her breath at the sight of Jameson’s half naked form sitting above her. Her hands reached out and drifted over Jameson’s breasts. Jameson smiled at the growing desire evident in Candace’s eyes. Candace was wearing a night shirt and Jameson gave a suggestive lift of her brow as she reached down to remove it. Candace sat up at the unspoken direction and Jameson swiftly removed the offending article. Facing each other, Jameson moved in and captured Candace’s lips in an ardent kiss that caused Candace to moan.

  Jameson’s lips traveled over Candace’s throat slowly, her tongue softly tracing a line toward the senator’s cleavage. Her arms wrapped tightly around Candace’s waist. Her hands firmly taking a loving hold of Candace’s lower back and pulling her closer as her kiss traveled over Candace’s breasts. She heard Candace whisper her name and looked up to see Candace close her eyes in submission. Jameson watched as need etched the expression of the face she loved, and dropped her kiss deliberately over Candace’s right nipple. She kissed it reverently, slowly, so softly that Candace could barely detect the sensation. A small moan encouraged Jameson and she sucked the small bud into her mouth firmly.

  “Jesus!” Candace gasped. Jameson sucked harder and then pulled away, leaving faint kisses across Candace’s breasts before capturing the other nipple in the same way. Candace felt an electrical current travel straight through every nerve in her body, and settle directly south. Jameson began to pull away again and Candace grabbed hold of her to urge her continued exploration. “Please,” Candace begged.

  “Please what?” Jameson asked playfully.

  “Please, don’t stop,” Candace said.

  “Don’t stop this?” Jameson asked, taking a nipple in her mouth and sucking on it gently. “Or this?” she asked, sucking harder.

  “God!” Candace gasped.

  Jameson obeyed the unspoken request. She moved her right hand to Candace’s other nipple and pulled at it gently, careful to give equal attention to both. Candace’s breath was beginning to grow quick and shallow. Jameson could feel the arousal growing in them both. She sucked in a ragged breath when Candace’s hand cupped her breast and the senator’s palm grazed her nipple.

  Candace felt the response from her lover and squeezed Jameson’s nipple gently. Jameson’s automatic reaction was to bathe both of Candace’s breasts in a flurry of small nips and kisses. Jameson understood Candace better than Candace realized. She pushed Candace back onto the bed and lifted the senator’s hands over her head, holding them there. She kissed Candace deeply, allowing their tongues to dance and battle for dominance. She gently tugged at Candace’s bottom lip with her teeth and then pulled back to look into Candace’s eyes. “Let me make love to you, Candace,” Jameson said. Jameson wat
ched desire and confusion play across Candace’s face. “Just let me love you,” she said softly before lowering her kiss back to Candace’s breasts.

  “Jameson,” Candace moaned.

  Jameson’s hands roamed over Candace’s stomach and thighs while her lips and tongue continued to make love to each of Candace’s nipples. Jameson felt Candace’s hips rise to meet her touch when her hand reached Candace’s thigh. Jameson looked up briefly and smiled. Candace’s need and anticipation were evident in her breathing, her deep sighs, and the mixture of frustration and ecstasy that caused her eyes to close tightly.

  Jameson allowed her fingers to faintly cover the soft curls between the senator’s legs. “Oh my God,” Jameson sighed as she felt the softness beneath her touch.

  “Jameson, please,” Candace encouraged her lover. She moaned loudly when Jameson slipped a finger inside of her. “Jameson!”

  Jameson had become lost in the sensations that touching Candace produced in her body. She was beginning to crave release for herself, but she was determined to spend every ounce of her energy and effort on Candace’s pleasure. Her kisses began to wander lower; her tongue tasting the skin of Candace’s stomach and legs. Her fingers kept a steady rhythm with the grinding of Candace’s hips against them. She would pull them back as far as possible without breaking all contact and feel Candace’s hips rise in desperation. Jameson thrust deeper and harder and Candace cried out.

  Candace’s heart was thrumming so fast and hard that she could barely remember to breathe. Jameson’s exploration of her body was driving her closer and closer to the edge of sanity. She wanted to let go. She wanted Jameson to take her completely, and yet she did not want the delicious torture she was experiencing to end. She felt Jameson’s fingers move inside of her and held her breath when a soft, warm, wetness traveled the length of her need.

  Jameson dipped her tongue inside Candace for a split second, before allowing it to find Candace’s greatest need. She flicked it lightly over the small, sensitive area that seemed to grow with each kiss, then sucked gently while her fingers continued their assault. “You feel so good,” Jameson said through a small moan before tasting her lover again.

  Candace could feel her muscles gripping Jameson’s fingers. The more her body responded, the faster the pace of Jameson’s efforts became. “Oh God!” Candace screamed as she drew closer to her release. She had never made a declaration in the throes of passion before, but as she felt Jameson bring her over the final precipice she called out for the woman she loved. “Jameson….I love you….I love you,” she cried.

  Jameson was amazed at the rush of emotion that surged through her with Candace’s release. She heard Candace’s words and it compelled her to gentle her touch without stopping it. She slowed her pace and drew out Candace’s orgasm until it rolled into another wave, and then another. Jameson finally lifted herself and noted the tears that bathed Candace’s cheeks.

  “Why are you crying?” she asked in concern.

  Candace reached for Jameson and kissed her tenderly. “I love you so much,” she said.

  Jameson smiled. “I know you do,” Jameson said. She narrowed her gaze at an unfamiliar expression in her lover’s eyes. In an instant, Candace had reversed their positions and was straddling Jameson’s hips. She didn’t say another word. She claimed Jameson’s lips in a kiss that would have brought Rome to its knees. Jameson swallowed hard as that same fervent kiss found its way to her breasts. She sighed.

  Candace could tell that Jameson was aching for release. There would be time for her to make love to Jameson slowly, and she had every intention of delivering the same methodical torment she had just happily endured soon. Right now, she could sense the urgency in Jameson. Her tongue teased every inch of Jameson’s flesh and she delighted in the way the younger woman began to writhe beneath her.

  “Candace…I need you,” Jameson confessed.

  “What do you need, Jameson?”

  “You,” Jameson repeated.

  Candace found Jameson’s sudden shyness endearing. It seemed the architect’s boldness withered under the senator’s touch. Candace understood. Making love with Jameson; Jameson making love to her had been the most vulnerable she had ever felt. “I’m right here,” Candace promised as she took a nipple into her mouth. Jameson moaned. Candace pulled back and looked at her lover. “What do you need?” she asked. Jameson’s body moved against her will and Candace pressed her weight against her lover to steady her. Candace lifted her kiss to Jameson’s mouth. When Jameson’s searching became desperate, Candace pulled back and replaced the fiery battle for dominance with the most delicate kiss Jameson had ever experienced. Candace brushed the hair from Jameson’s eyes. “What do you need, Jameson?” she asked gently.

  Jameson met her lover’s reassuring gaze and closed her eyes. “I need you inside me,” she confessed.

  Candace smiled and moved her hand to comply with the request. She held Jameson’s eyes as she entered the younger woman tentatively. Jameson was so wet Candace had to fight the desire to taste her. She understood what Jameson needed. “Look at me,” she instructed the woman beneath her. Jameson complied. Candace moved gently in and out of Jameson, stroking her with her thumb at the same time. Jameson was struggling against the urge to close her eyes, but Candace’s gaze held her firmly in place. It was the most erotic thing she had ever experienced. Candace’s eyes conveyed all the love and desire that she felt for Jameson. Jameson desperately wanted to let go. That had always been difficult for her. Somehow, it seemed that Candace was aware of that.

  “Let go,” Candace told Jameson. Jameson held onto Candace tightly. Candace allowed her fingers to search deeper and she increased the pressure with her thumb, softly stoking in a circular pattern. She placed her forehead against Jameson’s and whispered. “Let go, Jameson. I’m right here.”

  Jameson’s world exploded into an array of color and light unlike she had ever seen. She could swear that Candace had become part of her somehow as her body lifted from the bed. Part of her wanted to pull away. She had no control. She screamed Candace’s name in desperation. Candace held her close and whispered continually in her ear while Jameson’s body continued to succumb to shudder after glorious shudder. “I’m right here,” Candace promised. "Right here,” she kept repeating until she felt Jameson’s body finally begin to relax.

  Candace laid down beside Jameson and pulled her into an embrace. “Candace?” Jameson whispered.

  “Hum?”

  “Is it always like this for you?” she asked.

  Candace smiled and turned to look at the woman she loved. They had never discussed their previous relationships or lovers in any detail. She did know that Jameson had never had a committed relationship. She kissed Jameson’s forehead. “No,” she said. “It’s never been that way for me until you.”

  Jameson nodded. “Me either. Do you think that’s strange?”

  Candace laughed. “No, I don’t.”

  “Really?” Jameson asked in surprise.

  Candace kissed over the small bandage on Jameson’s forehead. “Really,” she assured her lover before pulling Jameson back into her arms.

  “Still want to keep me?” Jameson asked kiddingly.

  “As long as you don’t bring home anymore cats.”

  “Deal.”

  Candace closed her eyes in contentment. Jameson nestled against her lover and followed suit. “Oh shit,” Jameson said.

  “What’s wrong?” Candace opened one eye.

  “I didn’t get you anything for Christmas. I didn’t think I’d see you and…” Candace laughed and kissed Jameson soundly. “What was that for?”

  “Jameson, sleeping next to you is the best and most unexpected Christmas present I’ve ever gotten.”

  “The best, huh?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’m in trouble next year. How am I going to top that? I’ll have to find something new to design….maybe…”

  “Go to sleep, you lunatic.”

  “Mer
ry Christmas, Candace. I love you.”

  “I love you too, even if you are a lunatic. Now go to sleep or Santa will never come,” Candace warned.

  “You really are connected,” Jameson said as she closed her eyes.

  Candace chuckled. “Good night, Jameson.” She waited for a response. A soft purring was emanating from Jameson. “Snoring already,” she laughed. Candace looked down and saw a small kitten cuddled beside her sleeping lover. “I’m watching you,” she said sternly. “Merry Christmas, Jameson. It’s going to be an interesting New Year,” she laughed before closing her eyes. “Very interesting.”

  To Be Continued in Part Two: Under Construction