Defective

by Maria Jackson

  Sweat beaded on her forehead, and she looked back at Yolanda with desperate eyes. Her clit throbbed under Yolanda’s tongue, and Yolanda guessed she was close to her peak.

  Yolanda moved her hand faster as she caressed Whitney’s clit with her tongue. Whitney let out a strangled cry, and when she spoke, her words were so garbled that Yolanda struggled to understand them.

  “I’m coming for you,” Whitney gasped out.

  The way her walls were clenching Yolanda’s fingers couldn’t be mistaken for anything else. It was like nothing Yolanda had felt before. She gasped as well, pushing her fingers deeper, licking her clit harder.

  “Oh fuck, Yolanda!”

  Whitney’s voice rose to a scream and she collapsed, her legs trembling and her wetness dripping.

  And as proud satisfaction overtook Yolanda, she knew this was exactly where she was meant to be.

  Thirty

  Whitney counted down the minutes to closing time. There was only an hour left, and she was eager to get back into Yolanda’s arms.

  The past month had been the happiest of her life. Not only did she have the most amazing new girlfriend she could have imagined, Yolanda had also helped her come to terms with her injury and the role that she had played in the military.

  Even if she was still angry with herself for getting injured so quickly, she had accepted that someone could love her anyway. Where her therapist had failed to convince her with words, Yolanda had proven it with her actions. Now Whitney’s only regret was wasting so much time hating herself. Luckily, she was too happy to dwell on it.

  At last, the night wound down. Whitney finished counting the cash in the register just as Yolanda arrived at the bar. Yolanda gave her a mischievous smile as she opened the divider.

  “How are you?” Yolanda asked, grabbing the jar of maraschino cherries. She opened the lid and pulled one out, trailing it over her tongue.

  The sight of it made Whitney instantly salivate. She knew exactly what Yolanda could do with that tongue. The two of them barely left the bedroom when they were together. Now that they had both gotten over their insecurities and issues, they had so much to try and to discover.

  “Did you know I can tie those stems in a knot with my tongue?” Whitney said.

  “Show me.”

  After giving Yolanda a kiss on the cheek, Whitney grabbed one from the jar. The sweetness of the cherry inside her mouth was nothing compared to how she felt when she was with her woman. She expertly used her tongue to knot the cherry’s stem.

  Yolanda looked sufficiently impressed when she was finished. Whitney leaned in, passing the cherry to Yolanda with her mouth. Yolanda’s eyes closed, and she chewed in evident bliss.

  Once again, Ron walked by, throwing the keys on the bar as he passed. “Good night,” he said, snapping Whitney and Yolanda out of their embrace.

  They headed outside, where Maxwell was still at the door.

  “How was your night?” he asked as they locked up.

  “Great,” Whitney said. “I got my prosthetic adjusted and my leg is feeling so much better than before. I had this crazy blister for weeks, and it’s already gone.”

  Instead of looking repulsed or shocked, Maxwell just nodded. Whitney would never have believed that anyone could be so calm about her disability, but now she saw she had been underestimating the people around her. Yolanda didn’t care at all, and it seemed like no one else did either.

  “That’s great to hear,” Maxwell said.

  “It’s only one of the wonderful things happening in my life right now,” Whitney said with a small smile, putting an arm around Yolanda.

  “What’s it like dating an amputee?” Maxwell asked as they headed for their cars.

  Whitney tensed up, but she realized there was no malice in the bouncer’s question. He was genuinely curious.

  And Yolanda definitely had nothing bad to say. “It’s great. Spooning is much easier.”

  “Yeah,” Whitney said, surprisingly comfortable enough to make a joke about it. “I really fell for this girl.”

  Maxwell shook his head. “Hey, are you going to Selena’s place tomorrow? Apparently there’s going to be a dinner party.”

  Yolanda and Whitney looked at each other. “I haven’t looked at the group chat yet,” Whitney said, “but it sounds good. We would love to.”

  Whitney took Yolanda home with her, which she had been doing a lot lately. Yolanda spent more time at her apartment than at her house these days. Soon they were going to have to discuss what they were going to do long-term. It was clear that this was no brief fling. They were in this for the long haul.

  In the morning, Yolanda was the one to bring it up. “I do need to spend some time with my family,” she said gently, running her hands over every part of Whitney’s body.

  “Alone?”

  “Not necessarily. I would love for you to meet them.”

  Although Whitney nodded, she was nervous. She might be jealous when she met Yolanda’s ex. And did he and his wife even want to meet her?

  When Yolanda called Truman, Whitney could hear his excited squawk clear through the phone. It was loud enough to make Yolanda hold the cell away from her ear.

  “Are you kidding?” he shouted. “We’ve been waiting years for this. Of course we would love to meet her.”

  Yolanda hung up, looking sheepishly at Whitney. “I guess you’re going to meet my family.” She lay down again. Her grimace made Whitney worry, until she realized it was because Yolanda’s ponytail had gotten caught behind her back.

  “That really does get in your way, doesn’t it?”

  “Always,” Yolanda said, rolling her eyes as she sat back up. “I’m sick of it.”

  “Do you want to cut it?”

  Yolanda gave her a sharp look. “What, now?”

  “Why not?” Whitney rolled onto her back and attached her prosthetic. “I have scissors. If it annoys you that much, we could chop it right off. You can always clean it up later.” She heaved herself out of bed and dragged Yolanda to stand in front of the mirror.

  “I don’t know. I do want to cut it, but…”

  Whitney pulled the ponytail holder out of Yolanda’s hair, caressing the silky strands. “The only ‘but’ is inertia. You told me that yourself. It’s been this way for so long that you don’t want to change it. But that’s no way to live.” She combed through the long locks with her fingers. “Lately you’ve been letting go of a lot of things that you’ve been holding onto for no reason.”

  “I suppose it would be symbolic,” Yolanda said uncertainly. “Shedding the weight of the past, moving unencumbered into the future…”

  “Exactly.” Whitney twisted the hair up and held it above Yolanda’s neck. “Plus I’d be able to see your back without anything in the way.”

  The deep breath Yolanda took was audible. “Let’s do this,” she finally said.

  Whitney half-expected Yolanda to change her mind in the time it took Whitney to find the scissors. But when she returned, Yolanda was just standing there, staring at her reflection as she fingered the black strands.

  Getting behind her, Whitney gathered her hair into one hand. She listened to Yolanda’s breathing, looking at both of their faces in the mirror.

  Yolanda’s lips tightened, then turned up slightly. “I can’t believe we’re doing this.”

  “Last chance to back out,” Whitney warned. She held the scissors at the nape of Yolanda’s neck.

  Now Yolanda’s eyebrows shot up. “That short?”

  “It’ll grow back.”

  Before cutting, Whitney looked at her reflection one more time. Yolanda gave her a small, scared smile. And then Whitney’s fingers squeezed together, cutting through ten years’ worth of hair in a single second.

  When it was over, Yolanda let out a gasp. “Fuck…”

  Fear crept over Whitney. “Not regretting it, are you?”

  “Not at all.” Yolanda smoothed back her shortened locks. “I feel lighter already.”

>   They arrived at Yolanda’s place a few hours later, Valentine in tow. The dog snuffled around the house. After a quick marvel over her mom’s haircut, Jessie followed the pup, scratching her head and tugging her tail.

  Truman was a brown-haired man with a kind smile. Even Ella, who must have found the situation strange, appeared to be used to it by now. They welcomed Whitney and Valentine with open arms.

  “About time you cut that,” Ella said once they were all inside. “I’ve been wondering when you’d do that for a while now!”

  “Whitney talked me into it.” Yolanda ran her fingers through her hair.

  “It looks great,” she said. “Maybe you can donate what you cut to a cancer charity.”

  Yolanda moved through to the kitchen. “That sounds good.” The too-loud music she put on made Whitney and Truman give each other a sympathetic look.

  “It’s great to meet you,” Truman said, shaking Whitney’s hand with surprising warmth. “Sometimes I couldn’t tell if Yolanda would ever find someone. She seemed so determined to keep herself alone.”

  Whitney hadn’t expected him to bring up the subject so directly. She’d wondered if she might feel jealous when she met him, but he was too nice to dislike. “I’m very happy for her, too, but for selfish reasons.” She looked through to the kitchen, where Yolanda was playing with Jessie and Valentine, and smiled.

  “From everything she tells me, she found herself a good one,” Truman said, letting go of her hand. “If you ever hurt her, though…”

  “You have nothing to worry about. I would never dream of that.”

  Food was already on the table, and Whitney tried to make herself useful by putting out plates and glasses. She didn’t know where anything was, though, and Yolanda pulled her away from the cupboards with a shake of her head.

  “You’re in my house. Sit down and relax.”

  Her words brought back memories of their first time together. Whitney sat down, leaned her elbows on the table, and watched Yolanda bustle around the kitchen.

  Once they were all seated and the meal was underway, they found themselves chatting like old friends. Truman was warm and compassionate, Ella was more reserved but still open, and Jessie was just plain adorable.

  “So, what do your parents think of this?” Truman asked Yolanda as they ate.

  Yolanda looked embarrassed. “I was a bit nervous to tell them, but all they said was ‘finally.’ I’m still annoyed that they never believed me before, but it worked out since they were right.”

  “No kidding, they were right.” Truman shook his head as he got up to clear the plates. “We should probably tell Jessie at some point, by the way.”

  The four-year-old sat up straight. “Tell me what?” she asked, looking from one adult to the next.

  “Tell you nothing, Princess,” Yolanda said. “She can figure it out on her own.”

  “But why should she have to?” Truman asked, sliding back into his chair. “You already saw she doesn’t care. Kids never have an issue with these things. It’s only when they get older that they learn intolerance and hate.”

  Whitney’s chest tightened as she realized what they were talking about. She had finally come to terms with the loss of her leg, but winning the affection of a four-year-old girl seemed like an even bigger challenge. What if she objected to their relationship? Would Yolanda leave her to make her daughter happy?

  “What, Mama?” Jessie demanded, her little fists resting on the table.

  Yolanda looked down, the somberness of her expression making Whitney even more worried. “You remember how Daddy told you that sometimes girls love girls, right?”

  Jessie nodded seriously.

  “Well, Mama is one of those girls.” She put her hand on Whitney’s. “I love Whitney.”

  Whitney’s cheeks went hot. They hadn’t used that word together yet. They’d been together such a short time. She knew how she felt, though—she had known it for a while already.

  “And I love your mama,” she told Jessie. She looked at Yolanda and whispered it again. “I love you.”

  Now Jessie sat up straight, her eyes lighting up. “So I get to play with the doggy all the time?”

  Whitney looked at Yolanda, and the two of them began to laugh. Jessie had her priorities straight. She doubted if she would care once they told her about her leg, either. Both of them clearly had a lot to learn from this wise little girl.

  As Whitney clutched Yolanda’s hand and stared into her love’s eyes, their future seemed bright. They had good friends, who were only going to get better. This new family they were forming was already a delight. And they were becoming more and more content with themselves with every passing day.

  Whitney squeezed Yolanda’s hand, cherishing every square inch of her skin.

  She just knew the two of them were going to last forever.

  Thank you for reading Defective!

  Please sign up to my newsletter at http://eepurl.com/cWFEjz so you won’t miss any new releases.

  Turn the page for a look at my other novels.

  Love,

  Maria Jackson

  Seeing Her

  Chloe is smart, witty, motivated... and too scared to let the world see any of those qualities. Interacting with her restaurant coworkers makes her want to melt into the floor. They're all beautiful, outgoing, and confident - terrifying to a shy lesbian. When Chloe somehow catches the most intimidating girl's eye, she wonders if their mutual attraction could develop into more.

  Waitressing isn't Jennie's passion, but then neither is anything else. Adrift in life, the tattooed beauty only cares about weed and her motorcycle. At least this job's paying the bills until she can move on to better things. Fooling around with coworkers isn't in her plans - but once she notices the resident wallflower is drop-dead gorgeous, those plans change. Falling for Chloe, though? That's another matter.

  Will Jennie chew Chloe up and spit her out? Or could Jennie be the first person to see Chloe for who she really is?

  Dream Girl

  For Flora, love seems impossible. Women look right past timid engineering interns like her. Luckily, a new matchmaking service promises to take the heartache out of dating. Finding The One is guaranteed, so Flora signs up and doesn't look back.

  Gayle has her eyes on the new intern from day one. Flora's big eyes and sweet smile are right up Gayle's alley. As they get to know each other, Gayle finds herself enjoying Flora's company. She's always been free-spirited, but Flora makes her want to settle down.

  At last Flora has captured a beautiful woman's interest - just as she's waiting to get matched with her soul mate. But could her dream girl be closer than she thinks?

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to the website and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Table of Contents

  One

  Two

  Three

  Four

  Five

  Six

  Seven

  Eight

  Nine

  Ten

  Eleven

  Twelve

  Thirteen

  Fourteen

  Fifteen

  Sixteen

  Seventeen

  Eighteen

  Nineteen

  Twenty

  Twenty-One

  Twenty-Two

  Twenty-Three

  Twenty-Four

  Twenty-Five

  Twenty-Six

  Twenty-Seven

  Twenty-Eight

  Twenty-Nine

  Thirty

  (Untitled)