Tess sighed. Her hands moved again to Brooke’s head, her fingers combed through the soft wave of Brooke’s hair. She kept her eyes locked on Brooke as Brooke’s touch wandered across her chest and back down to her stomach, stopping to unbutton her jeans. Tess arched her hips to give Brooke the access she needed and felt them pulled from her legs.
Brooke’s hands traveled softly up Tess’s legs. “God,” she groaned. “You’re so beautiful, Tess.”
Despite the heat that she felt on her skin, and the trembling stirring in her core, Tess felt a tear gather in her eye. Brooke’s touch was loving and gentle, emotion and desire lit her irises. It overwhelmed Tess. She tugged at her bottom lip when Brooke’s eyes met hers again. Brooke lifted herself and kissed Tess slowly, letting her kiss fall again, over and over and over she tasted Tess’s flesh. Tess’s hands caressed Brooke’s shoulders, her back and lifted to cup Brooke’s cheek when Brooke looked back at her.
Brooke offered Tess a smile painted with promises and dreams before lowering herself further, her hands dropping to Tess’s hips to steady them both.
Tess sucked in a desperate breath and closed her eyes in submission. “Brooke,” she called out softly.
Brooke began to make love to Tess softly, tasting and exploring the softness that was uniquely Tess. It made her dizzy—the way Tess’s hips moved in time with her. She could feel the quivering in Tess’s legs steadily growing. Brooke was determined to make love to her wife slowly. She’d missed Tess. She hated the inevitability of time apart. She never grew tired of the woman who shared her life. Tess ran through her. Sometimes, Brooke wondered if she made that known as clearly as she felt it. Tess had the ability to strip away her defenses in an instant. Tonight, she wanted to remove every inhibition, every question, every stress, every thought from Tess except for the love they shared without words.
Tess arched her back to urge Brooke on. Brooke was driving her to the edge of sanity. The soft, long strokes of Brooke’s tongue stoked a simmering fire, one that Tess was desperate to drive into raging force. She wanted Brooke to take her. It took her breath away. Her thoughts spun with visions of Brooke hovering above her, of taking Brooke, of pinning Brooke beneath her.
Brooke sensed Tess’s growing frustration. It was in Tess’s nature to turn the tables on Brooke. Brooke had no intention of allowing that to happen tonight. As much as Tess trusted and loved Brooke, Brooke knew that at times, Tess’s inclination to take control of their lovemaking allowed Tess to shield herself from being completely vulnerable. And, she knew that Tess always endeavored to ensure Brooke felt loved, safe, and desired. All Brooke wanted now was to give those things to Tess.
“Brooke, please,” Tess begged. “Please let me touch you.”
Brooke replied by sucking gently on Tess.
“Brooke!” Tess thought she might pass out. “Please. I need to feel you.”
Brooke made another silent reply, slipping two fingers inside Tess in a painfully slow motion, beginning a steady rhythm.
Tess’s hips bucked slightly in response. Her hands reached out for Brooke, torn between wanting to touch Brooke, to taste her, to send her soaring, and letting Brooke carry her away. Her fingers again wove themselves in Brooke’s hair. Brooke was unrelenting. “Brooke,” Tess’s strained cry came.
Brooke fought to steady her breathing. She could feel the warmth pooling between her legs, a deep ache making itself known. Nothing drove Brooke to distraction the way watching Tess fall into the throes of passion could. She glanced up. Tess’s head moved side to side, her breathing ragged and shallow, her lips parted in passionate anticipation. Desire flushed Tess’s skin. Brooke placed her other hand on Tess’s abdomen, holding her in place firmly as the pace of her fingers and the speed of her tongue increased in unison.
“Brooke!” Tess struggled underneath Brooke. “Please, love. Please.”
Brooke understood that Tess’s plea was to release her, not to bring her over the threshold, but to allow Tess to regain some control. Not tonight. Brooke pressed down on Tess’s belly and thrust inside her deliberately.
“Fuck!” Tess screamed.
The sound of the word as it erupted from Tess flooded Brooke with excitement. Tess rarely used that word. She had tapped into the desire that Tess sometimes sought to restrain, and it was that desire that Brooke intended to unleash now. Tess had never held back when making love to Brooke. Brooke understood that Tess was often more reserved when being made love to. Her body hummed in response to Tess’s desperation, wondering what awaited her on the other side. She’d never pushed Tess this far before, not in all their time together. Brooke was putty in Tess’s hands. She relented to Tess’s will happily, loving the feel of Tess’s embrace, reveling in the sensations Tess making love to her produced in her body and her soul. She had Tess alone now. No one would walk in. No danger of prying eyes. No danger of straining ears. She let thoughts of anything and anyone else evaporate, concentrating on the sound of Tess’s breath as it came in raspy cries and moans. She inhaled the myriad of sensations and textures that greeted her senses, the softness of Tess’s skin, the warmth of her arousal, the sensuality of her movement beneath Brooke. Brooke could drown in it all and die happily.
Tess was hovering on the edge of physical release. She could feel tremors deep within her radiating out through every nerve in her body. She wanted to call out to Brooke. The words and thoughts in her mind startled her. As much as she craved the fall, she found herself endeavoring to prolong it. It felt to her as if something primal had taken over within her. She wanted Brooke. She did. More than that she wanted to test Brooke, praying that Brooke would remain unrelenting. She reached for Brooke’s hands.
Brooke pulled away. She moved to hover over Tess. “What do you want, Tess?”
“You.”
Brooke nodded. She stood and removed her clothes deliberately, allowing them to pool on the floor at her feet. She heard Tess suck in an excited breath. When Tess’s hands reached out to touch her, Brooke caught them. “No.”
Tess was confused.
“No,” Brooke repeated, again placing Tess’s hands over her head. “What do you want?” She repeated the question.
Tess couldn’t answer. Brooke’s mouth had covered her left nipple, sucking tenderly.
“What do you want?” Brooke asked again.
“Brooke, please.”
“Please, what, Tess?”
Brooke dropped her hand back to Tess’s softness and stroked her lightly. “This?”
Tess groaned. “Oh, fuck,” she whispered.
Brooke tried not to chuckle. She’d never seen Tess so frustrated. Tess often questioned Brooke, teasing her, soliciting Brooke’s desires and meeting them eagerly. “Tess,” Brooke moved to whisper in her wife’s ear. “Do you know what I want?”
“No…”
“You. I want to feel you let go of everything right here. I want you to forget about everything but this moment. I want you to take what you want.”
“I want you.”
“You have me,” Brooke replied sincerely. “I want you.”
Tess bit her lip.
“Tell me,” Brooke practically begged, needing to hear Tess speak her desires.
Tess struggled. She loved Brooke so much. She never wanted lust to cloud that. That didn’t change the fact that Brooke made her body sing. She would give Brooke anything she asked for—anything. “Brooke,” Tess’s hands directed Brooke to look at her. Brooke’s eyes told her everything. Tess closed her eyes and sighed. “I want you to take me. Just take me.”
Brooke’s fingers explored the warmth of Tess’s arousal and played. Tess moaned. Brooke kissed Tess gently. “Don’t stop me again,” Brooke directed her wife.
Tess lost her breath as Brooke’s naked body glided against hers lower, taking the time to linger in all the right places. She gripped Brooke’s shoulders when she felt the sweetness of Brooke’s tongue replace her fingers. “Oh, God.”
Brooke lost herself in Tess complete
ly. She listened for Tess’s cues, and obeyed the sway of Tess’s hips silently requesting that she continue. Brooke entered Tess gently, slowly increasing the power of her thrusts until Tess called out her name. She was tempted to touch herself, feeling Tess give over, Tess’s hips grinding against her started a faint ripple of pleasure in her core.
“Brooke,” Tess nearly cried. “Please, I need you to… I need to…”
Brooke didn’t need to hear the word. She understood. Tess was so gentle. Tess was so loving. She had never spoken a word during their lovemaking that could ever have been construed as crude by anyone. And, Brooke would never push that. She loved Tess for that too. Tess needed release. Brooke could feel the evidence of Tess’s desperation. She sucked gently on Tess and thrust deeper. The words that greeted her took her breath away.
“So good, Brooke. Please, love, please don’t stop.”
Brooke had no intention of stopping. She continued until Tess’s body lifted without warning, shuddering and quaking in ecstasy.
“Brooke,” Tess choked on the name.
Brooke lifted herself and pulled Tess into her arms, lying them both on the couch. She heard the faint sound of Tess beginning to cry and stroked Tess’s back. “I love you so much,” Brooke said. “So much, Tess. I just wanted to love you—right here. I just needed you to know how much I missed you.”
“I know,” Tess promised. She looked at Brooke.
“What is it?” Brooke asked.
“You make my head spin,” Tess admitted. “You don’t know.”
“Tell me.”
Tess closed her eyes. “Brooke, sometimes I want you so much it hurts—physically, it hurts.”
Brooke did know. She felt the same way. Life had a way of drowning passion at times. No one intended that. Competing schedules, the needs of children and parents, the demands of everyday life by their nature took precedence. Brooke pulled Tess back into her arms. “We need to make more time for us.” She heard Tess sigh. “We do,” Brooke said. “For just us, Tess. I need that too.”
Tess traced small circles on Brooke’s chest with her fingertip.
“Do you want to go upstairs?” Brooke asked.
Tess shook her head and pulled the blanket over them. “No. The monitor is on if Ethan wakes up, but he won’t.”
Brooke was grateful. She had no desire to move. She placed a kiss on Tess’s head and was stunned when she felt Tess’s hand venture between her legs. “Tess?”
“Shhh,” Tess cooed. Tess was sure that Brooke had been affected by their sensual interlude. She also knew they had reached a quiet, peaceful moment, and that is how she intended to touch Brooke. “Quiet now,” Tess said. “Let go for me, Brooke.”
Brooke held Tess close while Tess touched her softly.
Tess moaned when her hand met with Brooke’s excitement. “Jesus, love.”
“I love making love to you,” Brooke replied through a sigh.
Tess smiled. She circled Brooke’s need repeatedly, tenderly and lovingly. She lifted her lips to Brooke’s and kissed her reverently. Immediately, Brooke’s body began to tremble. “Let go, love,” Tess whispered.
Brooke fell into Tess, whispering her name and “I love you” over and over.
“I know,” Tess said. She laid her head back on Brooke’s breast and sighed. “I love you too, Brooke.”
Brooke closed her eyes. She couldn’t remember a time in recent months when she had felt so at peace. She caressed Tess’s back, feeling Tess’s breathing become deep and even. I love you, Tess. More than you will ever know.
CHAPTER THREE
Brooke stepped up behind Tess at the kitchen counter and wrapped her in an embrace. “Good morning.”
Tess let her weight fall against Brooke. “Yes, it is,” she agreed.
Brooke kissed Tess’s cheek just as Tess turned to hand her a cup of coffee. “Did you sleep okay?”
Tess placed a sweet kiss on Brooke’s lips. “Never better.”
A giggle behind them grabbed their attention. Brooke laughed when she was met with Ethan’s playful rambling. “Someone’s happy this morning,” she said.
Tess watched Brooke make her way to Ethan. She loved watching Brooke with their children. Brooke lifted Ethan from his high chair, delighting in Ethan’s laughter. Tess shook her head affectionately at the pair.
“I missed you; you know?” Brooke kissed her son’s cheek.
“He missed you too.”
“Do you think so?”
Tess grinned. Oh, Brooke, you are priceless. “I do.”
“I was thinking,” Brooke began.
“Uh-oh.”
“Cute, Diana,” Brooke scoffed at her wife.
“What were you thinking?”
“I was thinking we could go to the park later after Eli gets here. You know, and maybe feed the ducks.”
Tess bit her lip to hide her knowing smirk. Mm-hm, and maybe run into the twins fishing with your father. “I think that would be great.”
“Really?” Brooke asked.
Tess laughed. “Yes, really.” She turned back to the counter to pour herself another cup of coffee.
“You know, if you walk down to the end of the pond, Ethan there are lots of fish,” Brooke began explaining to her son.
Tess shook her head again. Brooke was transparent. She lifted the mug in her hand to her lips and peered across it at Brooke. “Why don’t you call your mom and see if they’d like to meet us there for lunch?” she suggested.
Brooke stared at Tess for a minute.
Tess chuckled. “Unless you don’t want to.”
“They probably have plans.”
“They might. You could call and ask.”
Brooke shook her head. “No, this is our weekend.”
“I didn’t suggest they come home with us afterward.” Tess winked.
“You really wouldn’t mind?”
Tess sipped her coffee. She had enjoyed her evening with Brooke. And, she was looking forward to some more alone time once Ethan and Eli went to bed. That was hours away. Brooke had missed the twins. Tess didn’t need Brooke to say a word. She understood. The house was always quiet when Davey and Dani were away. It was refreshing for a while. There were also moments when it felt so foreign it was almost unsettling. “Call Mom,” Tess said. “I’ll take the little man and get him ready for the day.”
Brooke stepped up to Tess. “I promise you; we are going to take that weekend away. I meant what I said last night.”
“Oh? Which thing?”
“All of it,” Brooke replied seriously. “I’m going to make sure we find more time for us.”
Tess patted Brooke’s cheek. “I’ll hold you to that, Dr. Banner.” She took Ethan from Brooke, and he immediately started laughing. “What is so funny?” she asked him. He laughed harder. “Do I look funny?” Tess tickled him. He belly-laughed again. “What’s Mommy putting in those bottles?” she asked suspiciously. One thing that Tess had noticed, Ethan tended to laugh hysterically when he needed to be changed. That, and when she finished changing him. For some reason, diaper time had become a game to him.
“Hey! You’re the one who fed him breakfast and his bottle!”
“You pumped it,” Tess reminded her wife. “It’s that Fukushima waste you insist on consuming.”
Brooke rolled her eyes. Tess loved to tease her about all the green things she loved. “Ha-ha.”
“Ha-ha?” Tess nodded. She lifted Ethan and sniffed his butt. “Ah-ha!” She handed him back to Brooke. “All yours, love.”
“I thought you wanted me to call Mom?”
“I have the number,” Tess said. “You get diaper duty this morning.”
“Fine with me,” Brooke said. “Poop doesn’t scare me, Ethan.”
Oh, just wait.
***
“Oh, my god,” Brooke wrinkled her nose. Ethan laughed so hard his entire body shook. “Ethan, my boy,” she shuddered.
Tess stepped into the doorway and grinned. “Thought I was joking
, huh?”
Brooke threw the diaper in her hand into the pail. “That’s funny?” she asked Ethan.
He looked up at her and made a few sounds. “Mmm buhbuh.”
“Mmm buhbuh?” Brooke repeated. He laughed. “Is that what you call it?”
“I call it nuclear waste,” Tess offered.
“You would.”
Tess laughed.
“He hasn’t stopped laughing,” Brooke chuckled as she finished dressing Ethan.
“It’s a new thing.”
“What’s that?” Brooke asked.
“Maybe it’s all the time he’s spending with Davey. Seems poop humor is his new thing.”
Brooke laughed harder than Tess would have imagined. “Is that so?” Brooke asked Ethan.
He reached out and touched her face. “Mm. Buh!”
“Now, what do you suppose mm buh means?”
Tess shrugged. “My butt?”
Brooke broke out into laughter again. Ethan reached out for Tess. “I think he wants you.”
Tess accepted the baby happily. “No more beans for you for a few days,” she said. “Squash instead.”
“Oh, because that will make it so much better.”
“At least, it won’t be green.”
“So? What did Mom say?” Brooke asked.
“She said they had planned to take the kids on a boat ride today.” Tess watched Brooke try to conceal her disappointment. “She suggested maybe we could all meet for dinner around six.”
Brooke looked up and smiled. “Did you have something you wanted to…”
“Hey, if I can avoid cooking and pizza? Bonus. Listen, I’m going to go grab a shower before Rach gets here,” Tess said. She kissed Ethan on the cheek and handed him back to Brooke. “Have fun with Mommy.”
Brooke watched Tess leave the room and then lifted her son to look at him. “Now, what do you think? I think you and me should plan something special for Momma.” Ethan grinned. “You agree, huh? Good. What do you say we go let you bang on those little bongos and I’ll look at some ideas?” Ethan patted Brooke’s cheeks and giggled. “Bongos, sweetie, not Mommy. Mommy doesn’t make as much noise” He laughed at Brooke. Brooke kissed him and cuddled him close. “I love you, Ethan.” She chuckled. “And, I love that you help me torment Momma with green. Oh! We’ll take her someplace green!” Ethan laughed harder. Yep, that’s my kid.
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