She gave her dirty clothes a few spritzes with the deodorizer and closed the hamper lid tight so the competing odors of fresh sweat and artificial lavender wouldn’t escape. After she scrubbed herself clean, she patted herself dry, wrapped a towel around her waist, and headed to the kitchen to open a bottle of red wine so it would have time to breathe before Grace arrived.
When she was satisfied with both the amount and quality of her prep work, she placed her collection of takeout menus on the coffee table and returned to her bedroom so she could find something to wear. Opting for comfort rather than style, she slipped on a pair of board shorts and a T-shirt featuring the cartoon image of the Lady Chablis, the late drag performer whose antics in a best-selling true-crime novel and the Clint Eastwood–directed movie based on it had helped make Savannah a tourist mecca.
Grace rang the buzzer a few minutes before eight. “I’m sorry about this afternoon,” she said after Dakota ushered her inside.
“That thing with your father? Don’t be. It happens all the time.” Dakota closed the door and twisted the locks into place. In Richmond Hill, few people panicked if they forgot to secure the doors before they left the house. Here, things were different. In her old neighborhood, everyone looked out for each other. In New York City, it was every man for himself. An unlocked door was an open invitation for someone to rob you blind, not pay you a friendly visit.
“You weren’t offended?”
Dakota strode to the kitchen and poured two glasses of wine. “Your father made an honest mistake. No harm, no foul.”
Grace looked at her hard. “Do you really feel that way, or are you just trying to make me feel better?”
“I’ve heard worse, believe me.” Dakota handed Grace a glass of wine and settled on the couch. Grace sat next to her. Despite their relatively close proximity, Grace felt distant. Like she was a million miles away instead of only a few feet. Dakota chalked it up to the awkward encounter they’d had with Grace’s father that afternoon. No matter how young or old you were, your parents always found a way to embarrass you from time to time. Clarence Henderson was no different in that respect. Even though she had tried to assure Grace she didn’t have any hard feelings over the incident, Grace didn’t seem to be buying what she was selling. “I can usually tell when people are genuinely confused or if they’re simply trying to be confrontational. Some people get off on being assholes. Your father was trying to be a gentleman. I could probably learn a lesson or two from him.”
“I think you’re doing just fine on your own.”
“Thanks for the compliment, but I’m still mad at you.”
“What did I do?”
“It’s more like what you didn’t do. Why didn’t you warn me you hadn’t told your father about us? If you had given me a heads-up, I wouldn’t have asked you out in front of him.”
Grace grimaced. “Sorry about that.”
“Were you intentionally keeping him in the dark, or did you simply forget to clue him in?”
Grace swirled her wine glass and stared into its depths like a fortune-teller studying a set of tea leaves. “I promised him I wouldn’t see you.”
“I suspected as much.” Dakota took a sip of her wine and let the rich, oaky liquid rest on her tongue for a few seconds before she allowed it to slide down her throat. “I’m not the kind of person most women choose to take home to meet their parents. What convinced you to make me your dirty little secret?”
Grace set her glass on the coffee table. “Shortly after you and I met, one of my sisters showed my parents pictures of you and some woman in a rather compromising position.”
Dakota felt like kicking herself. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t escape her past. Though she wasn’t ashamed of the things she had done, she wasn’t necessarily proud of them either. Now her past was coming back to haunt her when all she wanted to do was give it a decent burial. “That one mistake is going to keep biting me in the ass for the rest of my life. I would say I was young and dumb, but I can’t because the incident you’re referring to wasn’t that long ago.” She carefully set her glass next to Grace’s and leaned forward as she took Grace’s hands in hers. “What I will say is the person in those pictures isn’t who I am anymore. It’s taken me a while to get to this point, but I have my priorities in order. And tonight, my only priority is pleasing you.”
“I appreciate the sentiment, but that’s not the reason I came here tonight. We need to talk.”
“I know. And we will. Later. I promise.”
Grace stared at her, her expression almost plaintive. “Dakota—”
Dakota placed a finger against Grace’s lips to still them. “At the moment, all I want to do is show you how much I care about you. How much I want you. Will you let me do that?”
“Dakota.” Grace brushed Dakota’s hand aside.
“What?”
“Shut up and kiss me.”
Dakota was more than happy to oblige. Sliding across the couch, she closed the distance between them. Then she cradled Grace’s face in her hands and gently pressed their lips together. Unlike the rigid posture she had borne when she arrived, Grace’s mouth was soft and yielding. With a soft moan of acquiescence, she parted her lips and allowed Dakota entry.
Dakota slowly slid her tongue across Grace’s, tasting the sharp tannins of the wine they had shared, along with something sweeter. Something indefinable but intoxicating. Dakota deepened the kiss. She wanted more. She wanted Grace. Just Grace and no one else. She had never been able to say that before. And now that she was able, she couldn’t say it often enough. Words didn’t matter at this point, however. It would do no good for her to tell Grace she could trust her not to walk away once the night was over. She needed to show Grace how much she wanted to stay. In her arms. In her life. In her heart. Not just tonight. For all the days to come.
“I thought there was supposed to be measuring tape involved,” Grace said after Dakota led her to the bedroom, reached into a drawer in her nightstand, and pulled out a bottle of almond-flavored massage oil.
“Not tonight. Tonight, I don’t want to measure that beautiful body of yours. I want to worship it.”
Dakota turned Grace toward the wall. Then she languidly lowered the zipper on Grace’s dress, pushed the soft material off Grace’s even softer shoulders, and allowed the dress to pool at Grace’s feet.
“These need to go, too.”
Dakota hooked her thumbs in the waistband of Grace’s black lace underwear and pulled them off. When Grace kicked off her shoes and turned to face her, Dakota’s mouth went dry. Other parts of her, however, grew very, very wet.
“You look so good I don’t know where to begin.”
“I’m sure you’ll think of something.” Grace stepped toward Dakota and pressed her body against hers. She slid her hand over the spot at the nape of Dakota’s neck that always drove Dakota wild before she threaded her fingers in Dakota’s hair. Her nails scraped lightly against Dakota’s scalp. The sensation made Dakota’s nerve endings go haywire. And that was before Grace kissed her with a passion bordering on ferocity, then lay facedown on the bed with her round hips in the air. “Does this give you any ideas?”
Dakota swallowed hard. “Several, but I think I’ll start with the first thing that comes to mind.”
She stripped off her T-shirt and shorts and straddled Grace on the bed. She reached behind her, grabbed the bottle of massage oil, and squeezed a line of it down the center of Grace’s back. The oil warmed as the user worked it into someone’s skin, but it was initially cold to the touch. Grace hissed and arched her back as the frigid liquid trickled down her spine.
Dakota set the bottle down and used the sides of her hands to spread the oil over Grace’s neck, shoulders, sides, and lower back. Then she began to knead Grace’s tense muscles. Gently at first, then with steadily increasing pressure. Grace closed her eyes and sighed as her body began to respond to Dakota’s touch. Dakota heard Grace’s breathing slow. Felt her tight muscles start
to loosen.
“Does that feel good?”
Grace didn’t open her eyes. “Mmm,” she said lazily. “That feels amazing.”
Dakota grabbed the bottle of massage oil and squeezed some into her palm. After she rubbed her hands together, she placed them on Grace’s hips. She kneaded the tender flesh, entranced by the smoothness of Grace’s skin. Grace’s breath hitched when Dakota slipped an oil-slicked finger between her ass cheeks and teased the sensitive folds. Grace groaned deep in her throat and pushed against Dakota’s hand.
“Relax,” Dakota said, turning her attention to Grace’s legs. “I’m just getting started.”
She massaged the back of Grace’s thighs before she slid down to her calves and then to the soles of her feet.
“You are so good at this,” Grace said with a sigh of contentment. “I think you missed your calling.”
“I’m glad you think so.”
Dakota rolled Grace onto her back and slowly worked her way up from Grace’s feet to her knees. By the time she reached the gentle curve of Grace’s thighs, she could tell how close Grace was to losing control. She was right there with her, but she was determined to make the moment last. It had taken them far too long to reach this point to get into a rush now.
Dakota slid her hands along Grace’s inner thighs and parted her legs. Grace gasped and lifted her hips off the bed. Dakota clenched her tongue between her teeth to keep from flicking it against Grace’s engorged clitoris.
“Dakota,” Grace said, her voice aching with desire, “I need you.”
“Soon,” Dakota promised.
Her hands felt molten as she placed them on Grace’s full breasts. Grace’s pebbled nipples were the color of dark chocolate, but they tasted much, much sweeter. Dakota worshiped them with her mouth, teased them with her tongue, then rolled them between her forefingers and thumbs, eliciting a sound halfway between a groan and a whimper.
“Dakota, please.”
Hearing the urgency in Grace’s voice, Dakota covered Grace’s body with her own. Feeling Grace’s skin against hers nearly sent her over the edge, but she was determined to allow Grace’s needs to come first. She explored Grace’s mouth with her tongue in the same fashion she had explored Grace’s body with her hands. Slowly. Reverently. Thoroughly.
Grace grabbed Dakota’s hips and pulled her closer. “I need you inside me. Now.”
Unwilling to take the time to grab her strap-on and buckle herself into the intricate harness it fit into, Dakota slid her hand through Grace’s wetness and slipped first one finger, then two inside her.
“Yes,” Grace hissed, grinding against her. She wrapped her legs around Dakota’s, drawing Dakota in even deeper.
Dakota could feel Grace’s smooth walls flexing against her fingers. Her hand was trapped between their bodies, giving her distended clit some much-needed friction.
“Don’t come yet,” Grace said. “I want to take you with my mouth.”
Dakota rubbed her thumb against Grace’s clit as she continued to thrust her fingers inside her. “Word of warning: you can’t say things like that if you expect me to hold out.”
“I’ll keep that in—Oh, God.”
As a keening cry escaped her lips, Grace arched her back so far Dakota thought it might break. Warmth flooded Dakota’s hand, mirroring the glow she felt surrounding her heart. Though she hadn’t realized it at the time, this night, this moment, and this woman were everything she had been waiting for. And they were just getting started.
* * *
Grace had expected Dakota to be a skilled and attentive lover. Practice made perfect, as the old saying went, and Dakota had had more than her fair share of opportunities to hone her technique. Even with that in mind, reality had greatly exceeded all of Grace’s lofty expectations. She felt the pressure to equal if not surpass Dakota’s performance.
She flipped Dakota onto her back and devoured her with her eyes. Dakota’s body looked as it had been carved from polished marble, but she appeared all too human as she submitted to Grace’s visual inspection. Grace trailed a finger across Dakota’s narrow hips. “What’s wrong?”
Dakota propped herself on one elbow and ran her free hand through her hair, which was still damp from the shower she had taken before Grace arrived. “I’m not used to feeling this exposed.”
“You expose your body all the time.” In some of the print ads Grace had seen, Dakota had often had more skin than clothes on display. And in the oversized photo hanging in her ex-lover’s gallery, Dakota had been wearing nothing at all. In that picture, Dakota had seemed more than happy to put herself on display. “What makes tonight different?”
“Because I’m spending it with you.”
Grace paused as she traced the lines and ridges in Dakota’s rippled stomach. “Tonight means that much to you?”
“You mean that much to me.” Dakota’s arresting eyes glowed so brightly they seemed to be lit from within. “Tonight means everything. You mean everything.”
Oh, how Grace wished she could believe her. She wished tonight could mark the beginning instead of the end, but Dakota had made it clear on more than one occasion that she wasn’t interested in anything remotely serious and definitely nothing long-term. Tonight would be the only night Grace could allow them to be together in this way. As much as Grace wanted Dakota, she couldn’t keep coming back for more knowing they could never be more.
Grace splayed her fingers and placed her hand in the center of Dakota’s chest. Dakota’s heart was beating with the desperation of a caged bird trying to break free. “Tell me how to please you. Tell me what you want.”
Dakota bit her lip as she pondered the question with the dedication of a little boy who had been asked what he wanted for Christmas and was determined not to say the wrong thing. “I want to watch you go down on me.”
Grace cupped her hand against Dakota’s cheek and gave her a reassuring smile. “It sounds like we want the same thing.”
Grace kissed her. Dakota’s lips tasted like almonds, a residual effect of the sensuous massage she had treated Grace to a few moments before. Grace still felt the effects of Dakota’s tender ministrations. Both the ones that had been applied during the massage and after. Though her skin wasn’t bruised, her soul bore the marks.
She kissed her way down Dakota’s body, taking several pit stops along the way. In the hollow of Dakota’s throat, the slight indentation above her collarbone, the undulating plain of her stomach, and the shallow well of her navel.
As Grace moved lower, Dakota’s legs fell open as if on their own accord. Grace settled between them. She took a deep breath, inhaling the musky scent of Dakota’s arousal. The act she was about to perform was as familiar to her as breathing, but she felt like she was about to do it for the first time. Because she had never done it with someone like Dakota.
Dakota stared intently at her as Grace grazed her teeth against the close-cropped hair at the apex of Dakota’s thighs. Dakota’s eyes widened the closer Grace came to her ultimate destination. Grace parted Dakota’s labia with her fingers and touched the tip of her tongue to the head of Dakota’s clit. Dakota groaned deep in her throat as Grace slid her tongue along the length of her shaft. When she took Dakota into her mouth, Dakota threw her head back and howled her approval.
As Grace continued to stroke her, Dakota grew harder and longer, filling her mouth.
“Yes,” Dakota said breathlessly. “Just like that.”
Grace dragged her tongue through Dakota’s juices, savoring the earthy taste before she turned her attention back to Dakota’s clit. Dakota growled when Grace flicked her tongue against the tip. Her cries grew even more guttural as Grace increased her pace. Dakota thrust her hips against Grace’s mouth, matching her rhythm.
As the end neared, Grace looked up. She wanted to see the effect she was having on Dakota, not just hear it. She wanted to watch her come. The sight was glorious.
Dakota’s handsome face twisted into a rictus of pleasure as her clit thr
obbed and pulsed against Grace’s lips. Grace thrust her tongue inside her, feeling Dakota’s smooth muscles spasm around it.
Her ears rang from the sweetest serenade she had ever heard. To her heart, the sound was more like a dirge. A memorial to the most memorable—and the most painful—night of her life.
* * *
Dakota kissed Grace long and hard, then drew her into her arms and held her close. “I need to go to the living room and grab the menus so we can order dinner, but I don’t want to move. Even if I did, I doubt my legs would support me. What are you in the mood for? Thai? Mexican? Chinese? Italian? Greek? Whatever you want, I think it’s safe to say I’ve got you covered. Rich and I aren’t what anyone would consider the world’s best cooks, so we’re on a first-name basis with most of the food delivery guys in the neighborhood. Which one would you like me to call?”
“Dakota, slow down.” Grace lifted her head, her expressive face a mask of almost unbearable sadness.
“Aren’t you hungry?”
“Yes, I am, but forget about dinner. We need to talk.”
Dakota felt an unwanted sense of dread. “That sounds ominous.”
Grace covered herself with the sheet as she rested her back against the headboard. “I’ve loved spending time with you the past few weeks, and tonight was amazing—”
Dakota’s heart sank even lower. “But?” she prompted her, uncertain if she really wanted to hear Grace’s answer to her question.
“But I’m about to close one business and start a brand-new one, which means I’m about to take on a slew of new responsibilities. I won’t have time to—”
Dakota drew her knees to her chest to protect herself from the verbal slings and arrows Grace was lobbing at her. “Are you dumping me?”
“I wouldn’t put it that way.”
“Then how would you put it?”
Grace sighed as if her heart was breaking. Dakota didn’t know if that was truly the case in Grace’s situation, but it definitely was in hers. “It would be pointless for us to continue whatever it is we’re doing. I’m not going to have the time to devote to a relationship, and you’re not interested in one.”
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