by Jove Belle
“Finally,” Emma said, and then, without preamble, she lowered her mouth to KC’s breast and worked the nipple gently with her teeth. Her body pulled perfectly straight, like a puppet with a string running through its middle. She held Emma to her as the sensation traveled along an invisible cord, linking Emma’s mouth directly to her core.
“Bed, please,” she begged. It felt too good for her to remain in control of her faculties for much longer. Gravity was winning out over her ability to remain vertical.
Emma tugged harder, her teeth scraping the sensitive apex of KC’s nipple. KC’s knees buckled. “Please, Em.”
Emma kissed her way up the skin of her chest and neck, skipping the section still covered by the bunched fabric of her shirt and bra. She sucked KC’s earlobe into her mouth and worked it the same way she had KC’s nipple. “I’m never going to get enough of you.” She breathed the words like a prayer that filled KC like vapor. Her words, her love, were everywhere, yet nowhere all at the same time. KC echoed Emma’s sentiment. Her desire for Emma would never be fully satisfied. She’d always want more, more, more.
Finally, Emma released her and KC almost collapsed under her own weight without Emma’s arms around her, supporting her. She opened her eyes and saw Emma opening the button fly on her jeans. Her head was tipped down and her hair fell forward, obscuring KC’s view of her face. Light streamed around her, embracing Emma and cradling her beauty and youth. KC was struck with one clear thought—Emma was an angel.
She felt unworthy but eternally grateful that this lovely creature willingly shared herself with her. She reached for Emma to help with the rest of her clothes, only to be reminded that she was still fully dressed herself. Sort of. Her shirt hung off her arms, covering nothing but restricting her motion. She removed it hastily, then pulled her bra over her head. A splotchy red band circled her chest where the rayon material had bunched together.
She didn’t feel sexy as she stripped out of her pants, hopping from one leg to the next, but when Emma raised her head after unfastening the last button on her jeans, she met KC’s eyes with a look of such desire that KC flamed under her gaze. “We need to hurry.” She could barely speak, her words nothing more than a desperate, scratchy squeak.
“Yes.” Emma toed her boots off then shimmied out of her jeans. She stood before KC wearing only a pair of almost-not-there lace panties and white socks.
Laughter bubbled inside KC. The panties shattered every last one of her Victoria’s Secret fantasies, but the socks made Emma Emma. Suddenly Emma was human and within her reach. She pulled Emma into her arms and kissed her solidly. “God, I love you.” She spoke with carefree ease then froze when she realized which words had escaped without her knowledge or consent. The heavy weight settled into the air once again. “I mean…”
“Don’t.” Emma placed her fingers over KC’s lips. “Don’t try to take it back.” Emma’s eyes shone. She kissed KC with soft reverence, then whispered, “I love you, too.”
She nodded and swallowed, choking back the tears that threatened to spill over. She and Emma had been building toward this one perfect moment for so very long, and it felt impossibly good to give a name to her feelings, to acknowledge the way Emma possessed her down to the very fiber of her soul.
“I’m so glad.” She caressed Emma’s face—her cheeks, her lips—following the touch of her fingers with her lips. Words were not a sufficient expression of her gratitude.
Emma allowed her time to simply feel her, to touch her grace, and when she finally pulled away, her eyes were dark and heavy with emotion. “Can we go to bed now?”
“Please.” She stripped the rest of her clothes off, careful not to look at Emma as she did the same. They’d never make it all the way to the safety of Emma’s bed if she did. The temptation to touch would be too great.
They settled together beneath the cover of Emma’s blankets, and KC pressed her body fully against Emma’s for the first time, uninhibited by neither their clothing nor their long-held self-denial. The sensation of Emma’s skin against hers was glorious, a revelation.
KC took her time; she worked to memorize the landscape of Emma’s body. She added every dip, every freckle, every line, to her catalogue of Emma. Emma trembled beneath her fingers, an isolated tremor on a placid lake of smooth, creamy skin. KC pressed her lips to a quarter-sized sweet spot just above Emma’s right hip. The flesh there danced beneath KC’s mouth and she sucked it between her teeth. Emma squealed and pushed at her, but she didn’t relent. She wanted to own Emma at the source, starting with this small patch of skin. She sucked long enough for the skin to turn purple and dark. Emma grasped her head, pulling her tight against her until her entire face was buried in the smooth planes of Emma’s abdomen. She gasped for air, then smoothed her tongue over the worried skin.
Emma panted and whined, a high keening that was worlds away from the soft sighs overtaking KC from the inside out. She was home and perfectly at peace. Emma tugged her hair and guided her up until their bodies were flush and slick with sweat against each other. She kissed KC with needy desperation, her tongue invasive and insistent. With that kiss she declared herself. Emma wanted everything, and KC flayed herself open so Emma could take what she wanted. She belonged to Emma.
“KC, please.” Emma’s voice was coarse and deep with want. “I need—” Emma kissed her again, brief, but no less invasive. “God, I need you.”
Emma spread her legs and she fell into the opening between Emma’s thighs. She slotted into place like it was her destiny, like the only possible outcome for her life had always been, would always be, to live in the infinite moment that led to Emma’s ultimate happiness. She thrust her hips, a useless dry hump that gave neither of them any relief. She was desperate with wanting and pushed Emma open even wider until her pubis bumped into the wet heat at Emma’s apex. Emma groaned and her eyes rolled back into her head. KC thrust again, feeling herself slip in the abundant wetness. She wanted to feel Emma beneath her fingers.
She thrust against Emma for longer than her body accepted as possible. Her own desire trembled and whimpered with its need to reach full crescendo. Emma’s hip snapped up, over and over, rising to meet KC’s every downward stroke. Finally, blessedly, Emma’s body shook and jerked with orgasm and KC collapsed against her. She gathered Emma in her arms, stroked her hair, and comforted her as her body calmed.
“Wow,” Emma whispered. “That was…” KC shifted to her side and indulged her desire to touch Emma where she lived.
She glided her fingers through the incredible wetness coating Emma’s thighs and lower lips. She parted Emma and played in the slippery heat. She circled Emma’s clit, then rubbed firmly over the top. Emma squirmed and moaned. KC laughed and pushed two fingers inside her, deep and effortless. “I’m not done with you yet.”
“God, KC.” Emma arched against her, back bent, hips digging into the mattress. Emma thrust up to meet her on the next stroke.
She set an easy pace. She built Emma up, pushing her toward orgasm again. Emma felt so good against her, looked so perfect in ecstasy, she couldn’t imagine being satisfied after only one.
Emma dug her fingers into KC’s shoulder. KC hissed and pictured the perfect crescent moons that would be left in her flesh. She thrust harder and faster. She felt Emma draw tight and clutch around her fingers. She massaged the fleshy swelling of nerve endings high inside Emma’s vagina, coaxing all the pleasure in Emma’s body to coalesce in that one perfect moment. She worked Emma through her orgasm, drawing it out and easing her down from the high.
Emma collapsed, limp against the mattress. KC withdrew gently and kissed Emma’s temple. She settled into Emma’s side, happy to have Emma in her arms, spent and yawning. The urgency of her own need slaked with Emma’s satisfaction
“Okay?” She stroked Emma’s cheek and tucked a stray hair behind her ear.
“God.” Emma drew the word out in a long groan that turned into a yawn. “You’re amazing.”
Emma snuggled her
head into KC’s shoulder.
KC smiled. Her life was far more perfect than she ever deserved. “Sleep.”
“Uh-uh.” Emma shook her head sleepily. “I’m just catching my breath.”
“I’m okay, Em. You rest.”
Suddenly Emma’s fingers were between KC’s legs, pushing inside. Her cunt flared to life and she groaned.
Emma laughed. “You’re okay? Feels like you’re drowning.” Emma drew her fingers to her lips and licked her wetness. Her eyes were still closed and she had a lazy grin on her face.
The image of Emma with KC’s desire coating her fingers was too erotic for her to withstand. Her eyes slipped shut also. “God, Em, you’re so fucking sexy.”
“Yeah?” Emma’s fingers found her opening again. “You should see me when I’m not completely spent.”
Emma played with her clit, an arrhythmic motion that made her strain and gasp for more. Emma gently coaxed her higher and higher until she overflowed into the calmest, most fulfilling orgasm she’d ever experienced. Rather than a frantic search for more, she was overcome with the absolute knowledge that she’d arrived.
She pulled the blankets around them and held Emma as they slipped blissfully into sleep.
Chapter Nineteen
KC paced the length of her house. She should be working on the syllabus for the summer session. Instead, she was obsessing about her future with Emma.
“Sit down. You’re keeping Buddy up.” Trina had been trying to put Buddy down for a nap for the past ten minutes. The bedroom door had been closed, so KC didn’t realize he would be able to hear her.
“Sorry.” She grabbed her cell phone from the kitchen table and went out to the back porch. There she dialed Kendall’s number and hoped she’d get her sister instead of voice mail.
“This is Kendall.” She spoke with professional efficiency. During business hours, she generally picked up without checking caller ID.
“You got a minute?” KC asked.
“Give me a sec.” Kendall lowered the volume on a news commentary playing in the background. “What’s up?”
KC took a deep breath. “I want to move to Austin.” Her heart pounded against her chest with excitement from having said the words aloud.
“So move.” Kendall said it like it was the simplest thing in the world.
“That easy?”
“Why wouldn’t it be? Did Emma say she doesn’t want you or something?”
“No, she definitely wants me there.” She thought back to their date Saturday night, the way she felt holding Emma in her arms as they fell asleep. It had been different than every other time they’d shared a bed in the past. This time they were sleeping together as lovers, not just friends. It had been a defining moment for their future.
“Then I don’t understand the problem.”
“What about Trina?”
“What about her?
“Don’t you think she kind of needs me?”
“Why would she?” Kendall sounded genuinely confused. Up until that point, KC had thought Kendall was playing devil’s advocate, trying to get her to outline all the reasons why moving was a bad idea for her family.
“Kendall, she talks about Jackson all the time. She misses him. The other day she said she sometimes thinks about going back to him.”
“And if she’s going to do that, she’ll do it.”
“I can’t just let her.”
“Whether you’re here or in Austin won’t make any difference. As much as it sucks, we have to let Trina sort this out for herself.”
“And if he hits her again?”
“Then we’ll let Daddy go get her instead of us.”
“I don’t want Trina to get hurt again. And I don’t want to visit Daddy in prison.” Jackson wouldn’t survive if their daddy collected Trina.
“KC, she’s in counseling with Pastor Davis. They both are. Whatever happens next is between Trina and Jackson and God. And you can’t put off starting your life with Emma because you’re afraid of something that might happen. Trina might go back, but she might not. Only she can make that decision. You can’t do it for her.”
KC remained quiet. The thought of relocating frightened her, but not nearly as much as not being with Emma.
“You know what to do, now do it.” Kendall disconnected the call.
She listened to the dial tone for a few seconds. Kendall was right; she did know what to do. She pocketed her phone, left a note on the kitchen table for Trina, then headed out to her new SUV.
She needed to see Emma.
*
KC found Emma taping the last few boxes in her room. At a glance it looked as though all that was left were her toiletries, a book on the nightstand, and a few clothes. Everything else was boxed, taped, and labeled.
“Have you figured out which of these are critical for the trip and which you can leave behind?” She leaned against the doorframe and smiled at the small scowl on Emma’s face as she fought to unwind a crumpled section of tape.
“No. I need it all.” Emma gave up and tore off the tape and balled it up. She threw it across the room and tagged KC in the chest. “I don’t know why you won’t let me rent a goddamned U-Haul.”
“Because,” she crossed the room and pulled Emma into a loose hug, “I’ll need something to do while you’re working all those weekends. A trip home to fetch your things will keep me from missing you too bad.”
“What do you mean, a trip home?” Emma overemphasized the last three words.
She waited, the smile on her face growing with each passing second. She was helpless to stop it.
“Do you…” Emma took a deep breath. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
“Do you think I’m saying I’d like to move to Austin with you?”
Emma nodded, the movement jerky and uncertain. Her eyes shone bright with tears and hope.
“Then you’d be right.”
The tears spilled over onto Emma’s cheeks and KC was certain she was in a similar state, but she was too happy to care.
“Are you sure?” Emma’s voice trembled. She was just as nervous and eager as KC.
“Yeah.” She pressed a small kiss to Emma’s mouth. They were both shaking.
Emma dropped her arms from around her and held out both hands for KC to take. KC forced herself to breathe as she clasped Emma’s hands. They were totally going to do this, and she felt the same overwhelming excited calm that she always did when she thought of her future with Emma. Later, they would talk about the details. They’d talk about the house Emma wanted and what KC had learned about the market both in the city and farther out. They would talk about commitment and weddings and children. They would talk about forever. For now, though, she simply wanted to feel Emma, to capture the joy of this perfect moment.
She was finally saying yes to the right person.
About the Author
Jove was born and raised against a backdrop of orchards and potato fields. The youngest of four children, she was raised in a conservative, Christian home and began asking why at a very young age, much to the consternation of her mother and grandmother. At the customary age of eighteen, she fled southern Idaho in pursuit of broader minds and fewer traffic jams involving the local livestock. The road didn’t end in Portland, Oregon, but there were many confusing freeway interchanges that a girl from the sticks was ill-prepared to deal with. As a result, she has lived in the Portland metro area for over fifteen years and still can’t figure out how she manages to spend so much time in traffic when there’s not a stray sheep or cow in sight.
She lives with her partner of seventeen years. Between them, they share a collection of six children, one dog, two cats, a mortgage payment, one sedan, and a cushy SUV big enough to hold the Lesbian Brady Bunch on their family outings. One day she hopes to live in a house that doesn’t generate a never ending honey-do list.
Incidentally, she never stopped asking why, but did expand her arsenal of questions to include who, what, when, where, and
, most important of all, how. In those questions, a story is born.
Her books include Edge of Darkness, Split the Aces, Chaps, and Indelible. They are available from Bold Strokes Books.
Books Available from Bold Strokes Books
Date with Destiny by Mason Dixon. When sophisticated bank executive Rashida Ivey meets unemployed blue collar worker Destiny Jackson, will her life ever be the same? (978-1-60282-878-0)
The Devil’s Orchard by Ali Vali. Cain and Emma plan a wedding before the birth of their third child while Juan Luis is still lurking, and as Cain plans for his death, an unexpected visitor arrives and challenges her belief in her father, Dalton Casey. (978-1-60282-879-7)
Secrets and Shadows by L.T. Marie. A bodyguard and the woman she protects run from a madman and into each other’s arms. (978-1-60282-880-3)
Change Horizon: Three Novellas by Gun Brooke. Three stories of courageous women who dare to love as they fight to claim a future in a hostile universe. (978-1-60282-881-0)
Scarlett Thirst by Crin Claxton. When hot, feisty Rani meets cool, vampire Rob, one lifetime isn’t enough, and the road from human to vampire is shorter than you think… (978-1-60282-856-8)
Battle Axe by Carsen Taite. How close is too close? Bounty hunter Luca Bennett will soon find out. (978-1-60282-871-1)
Improvisation by Karis Walsh. High school geometry teacher Jan Carroll thinks she’s figured out the shape of her life and her future, until graphic artist and fiddle player Tina Nelson comes along and teaches her to improvise. (978-1-60282-872-8)
For Want of a Fiend by Barbara Ann Wright. Without her Fiendish power, can Princess Katya and her consort Starbride stop a magic-wielding madman from sparking an uprising in the kingdom of Farraday? (978-1-60282-873-5)
Broken in Soft Places by Fiona Zedde. The instant Sara Chambers meets the seductive and sinful Merille Thompson, she falls hard, but knowing the difference between love and a dangerous, all-consuming desire is just one of the lessons Sara must learn before it’s too late. (978-1-60282-876-6)