Where the Light Glows

by Dena Blake

  Izzy had called Mel earlier and asked her to stop by the restaurant after work so she could come clean about the basketball game. Educated and cultured, with an elegant sophistication, Mel had politely declined. She never forgot her manners. From the very beginning, Izzy had recognized that they were from two different worlds. It was a long shot Mel would be interested in the chef at a family-owned restaurant.

  Mel had told her she already had plans for dinner with Jack but said she would stop by her house afterward. Jealousy had ripped through Izzy. The shield she’d lowered had rocketed right back up again. She’d fucked it up again. She should’ve been straight with Mel about her feelings last night.

  She couldn’t stand the thought of Mel being in the same room with a man who’d touched her intimately in ways she hadn’t, who’d felt her breath hitch with his caress, experienced her body wet with arousal, made her moan with pleasure. A man who’d felt her body stiffen as she’d launched into orgasm.

  She heard the front door creak open and rolled over to look at the clock. Midnight. Her stomach knotted. Mel had been with Jack for four hours. Izzy had lost her before she’d even had her, and it was her own fault. A tear rolled across the bridge of her nose, and she wiped it clean before turning back toward the window and squeezing her eyes shut. She heard Mel’s footsteps as she came to the open bedroom door.

  “Izzy, you awake?” Mel whispered.

  Izzy didn’t answer. She couldn’t let her see how much it hurt.

  She heard her go across the hallway to the guest room, only it wasn’t the guest room anymore. It was Mel’s room now. She was no longer just a visitor in Izzy’s house or in her heart.

  Izzy had managed to drift off for a few hours before waking again around six o’clock. She’d lain there listening but heard no movement in the house. Izzy wasn’t sure she wanted to see Mel this morning. Her anger still outweighed her sadness at this point. She was pissed at herself for putting her feelings out there too soon, and she was pissed at Mel for rejecting her. After dragging herself out of bed, she brushed her teeth, splashed some water on her face, and wandered to the kitchen for a cup of coffee. She was going to need a lot of caffeine if she was going to function today.

  As she headed down the hallway, she took in the aroma of fresh coffee and stopped. Mel was up already. She sucked in a deep breath and braced herself for the confrontation she’d been dreading all night. Rounding the corner, she found Mel dressed and ready for work. Apparently, she hadn’t even thought her dinner with Jack last night was worth a discussion.

  “Good morning,” Mel said, as though nothing happened.

  “Good?” Izzy rubbed her eyes. “I wouldn’t call it good.”

  “Coffee’s almost ready.”

  After swiping a cup from the dish rack, Izzy pulled the decanter from the brewer and slid her cup under the stream of black liquid, letting it splash into the cup.

  “That’s going to be awfully strong.”

  “I’m gonna need it today.”

  “Izzy.” Mel moved closer, then stopped when Izzy shot her an unrelenting stare. “Can we talk about the other night at the basketball game?”

  “What’s to talk about?” Izzy glanced out the kitchen window. She couldn’t look into Mel’s piercing green eyes any longer. “I guess you’ve finally made up your mind and gone back to your cheating husband.”

  “Somewhere in the mix you forgot I—”

  Izzy zipped her gaze back to Mel. She hadn’t denied going back to him. She tried to hold her tongue, but her temper got the best of her again. “Did you fuck him last night?” Izzy slid her cup out and slammed the decanter back into its slot.

  “Jesus, Izzy!” She dropped back against the counter. “Do you have to be so crude?”

  “That’s who I am. I’m not going to change for anyone.” Her voice softened. “Not even you.”

  “Oh, Izzy,” She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. “I don’t want you to change. I…” She reached for her, but Izzy batted her hand away.

  “You should leave before I say something I’m gonna regret.”

  Mel’s eyes widened. “There’s more?”

  Izzy continued to glare at her, prompting Mel to cross her arms. “Go ahead. Give me all you’ve got.”

  “Just go home to your perfect little life. Then you can fuck your husband until you can’t stand it anymore.”

  “There’s certainly no reason to stay around here.” She grabbed her purse and keys from the table on the way out.

  Izzy saw some papers float to the floor. She picked them up and flipped through them. Divorce papers—signed divorce papers. She saw the bottle on the table. And champagne. “Shit!” She took off out the door after her.

  The car was running, but Mel hadn’t left. She sat slumped over the wheel. Izzy pulled the door open. The sight of Mel’s body heaving in sobs nearly killed her. “I’m an idiot.” When Mel stared up at her with those glassy green eyes, Izzy sank to her knees. “The biggest fucking idiot in the world.”

  “Yes, you are,” Mel whispered, her voice cracking. “If you’d just listen to what I’ve been trying to tell you.”

  “What, baby?” Izzy pushed a strand of hair from her face and stroked her cheek. “Tell me now.”

  “I don’t…want to…fuck him.” She choked the words out between sobs.

  “Oh, God, Mel. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean it. Any of it. It just makes me crazy to think about you with him.” She’d never felt jealousy like this before.

  “I don’t know if I can do this, Izzy.”

  “Do what?” Panic swept through her.

  “This, us.” She waved her hands between them. “In my whole life…you’re the only one I’ve ever thought about being with forever, and it scares the hell out of me.”

  “You’ve thought about it?”

  Mel studied her for a minute and wiped her palm across her cheek. “Yes. I’ve thought about it. I’ve thought about it a lot, but you sure as hell don’t make it easy.”

  Izzy took Mel’s face in her hands and kissed her gently, covering her mouth with slow, soft kisses.

  “I have to go to work,” Mel murmured.

  “Come back inside,” she said, finding the key and turning the ignition off. “Please?” She kissed her again, urgently this time. Mel’s response was slow at first, but as Izzy deepened the kiss, she thrust her tongue deep into Izzy’s mouth, returning the kiss fully.

  Mel groaned, dragging her mouth away. “I can’t miss this meeting.” She plucked a tissue from the box on the floorboard and dabbed it under her nose.

  “Okay.” Izzy took the tissue from her hand and blotted the tears from her cheeks. “Then we’ll just wait a few minutes until you calm down,” she said, regretting everything she’d just spewed at her in the house. She was totally in love with this woman, and the thought of never seeing her again scared the crap out of her. “Listen. I’ll make dinner tonight—shit.” She rubbed her forehead. “I forgot I’ve got to work late.” She took Mel’s hand and rubbed her thumb nervously across the back of it. “Tell you what. I’ll make you something and leave it in the fridge. You get a good night’s sleep, and we can talk in the morning.”

  “You don’t have to do that.”

  Izzy’s voice softened. “I want to.”

  “You take such good care of me.”

  “Because I—” She stopped herself. “Someone has to.” Izzy gave her a soft smile and thought she saw a glimmer of hope in her eyes. “If you let me, I’ll always take care of you.” She stroked her cheek lightly with the back of her fingers.

  “You will?” Mel’s eyes were huge, searching, Heat filled Izzy’s body.

  “Uh-huh.” Izzy shifted slightly at the burning tingle flooding her body. How could she have let herself get in this deep?

  Mel seemed as though she was just about to say something, but her cell phone rang. She jerked it from her purse and checked the caller ID. “That’s work. I’ve got to go.”

  “Okay.” She k
issed her on the forehead before she stood up and closed the door. “I’ll see you tonight?”

  Mel nodded.

  “You don’t have to wait up.” As she watched her back out of the driveway, it felt like her universe had gone full circle.

  *

  It had been a miserable day at the restaurant. When Izzy had said good-bye to Mel this morning she saw promise in her eyes even through the tears. Mel had every right to haul ass out of there and never come back. Izzy hoped to God she was there when she got home. She didn’t honestly know how she would survive without her, if she could survive without her.

  Izzy’s stomach jumped when she drove down the street and saw the beams from her headlights bounce off Mel’s shiny blue BMW. Relief washed through her. Mel had come back, even though Izzy had been an unforgivable ass.

  Izzy called her name softly when she came through the front door, but Mel didn’t answer. She checked the guest room—empty. She pushed open the door to her room and found Mel snuggled in under the covers, asleep in her bed. Izzy fell back against the doorjamb. She wasn’t expecting Mel in her bed tonight. She stood for a minute watching her take in long slow breaths. Maybe these feelings of insecurity Izzy had weren’t as one-sided as she’d thought. Maybe Mel needed some reassurance Izzy wasn’t going anywhere either.

  She showered, dried her hair, and crawled into bed next to her. Mel didn’t move. Her back was to the middle of the bed, and Izzy didn’t know exactly what she should do. She painfully knew what she wanted to do. She rolled over, back to back with her, and focused on the moonlight shining through the window. Mel shifted, and Izzy felt her warm body close in against her backside. Mel pulled her closer, and the heat of her soft breasts pressed against her back nearly sent Izzy over the edge. Mel’s hand brushed across Izzy’s hip as it searched for hers. When she found it, she intertwined their fingers and pressed them to Izzy’s stomach. The feeling was a mixture of utter pleasure and pure torture. She was in for a long, sleepless night.

  “Long day?” Mel whispered.

  “Very. How did your meeting go?” Izzy had managed to get all the dishes correct but hadn’t been successful in keeping Mel from her thoughts all day.

  “Really well.”

  “Good.” Izzy released her hand, reached back, and patted Mel’s thigh. “Is this okay?”

  “Uh-huh.” Mel pressed her lips to Izzy’s back and sighed. Then her hand was on Izzy’s breast, teasing the nipple through the cotton. With that, a gush of liquid rushed her panties, and Izzy let out a soft groan. She’d never been so aroused.

  Mel propped herself up on one elbow. “Is patience still a virtue?”

  “Maybe, but you should know by now there’s nothing virtuous about me.” Izzy twisted to gaze into Mel’s eyes. Her lip jerked up to one side, and Izzy suddenly wanted to suck it between her own.

  “Me neither,” Mel whispered.

  Izzy indulged in the softness of Mel’s lips, nipping at their sweetness. The kiss began slowly at first, almost tentative. Izzy rolled to her back, letting Mel set the pace. She felt Mel’s hand slip under her shirt and cup her breast. She let out a groan, and Mel pushed her tongue into Izzy’s mouth, which was what Izzy was waiting for. She grasped Mel’s face with both hands and kissed her deeply. She tried to take her time, to let Mel take the lead, but all rational thought was gone. She’d wanted this for too long. Mel pulled away slightly, leaving them both breathing hard.

  Izzy sensed Mel’s apprehension. “It’s all right to be nervous.”

  “You’re not.”

  She took Mel’s hand and pressed it to her chest. Her heart hammered against Mel’s palm, and she kissed her gently. Izzy pulled Mel on top of her, pressing her firmly to her body. She was amazed at how soft she felt.

  She let her hand creep up Mel’s shirt to cup her breast, and Mel tore her lips away, sucking in a ragged breath. Izzy saw what she thought was a flash of hesitation in her eyes and thought maybe she should stop. Then Mel’s eyes darkened and she let out a slow growl. “I want you,” she said in a breathless whisper. “I want you now.”

  Izzy shuddered. “Are you sure?”

  Mel reassured her with another deep kiss. “I’ve never been so sure about anything.”

  Mel knelt between Izzy’s thighs, slipped her hands up Izzy’s shirt, and slid it over her head. Watching Mel’s eyes survey her, Izzy suddenly felt very vulnerable, a little scared even, something she’d never experienced before or during sex. Izzy was always very much in control, and that didn’t change in the bedroom.

  “You’re beautiful,” Mel whispered as her mouth trailed down her neck across the ridge of her collarbone. She ventured farther until she found a nipple and sucked it into her mouth. She took her time exploring one and then the other before moving her lips down across Izzy’s stomach, producing a tremor on the taut plain. She kissed the spot again, and Izzy felt her lips smile against her stomach as it quaked.

  When Mel slipped a finger into the wet heat of her center, Izzy grabbed a fistful of sheet and let out a whimper of pleasure. “Oh, my God, Izzy. I have to taste you.”

  A guttural moan erupted from Izzy’s throat as Mel trailed her tongue down the valley of her thigh, navigating around her center, coaxing the pleasure out of her. She couldn’t contain the cry that escaped her lips when Mel slipped her tongue between the hot, wet folds and took her into her mouth. When she slipped her fingers inside, Izzy’s stomach jerked, and she was sure her body was going to explode. Lifting her hips, she pressed hard against Mel, wanting more, so much more. Mel braced an arm across her belly, holding her in place as she teased the perfect spot. Izzy groaned and shoved her fingers into Mel’s hair as her orgasm peaked and warm, wonderful heat spiraled through her.

  Her breathing still labored, Izzy reached down for Mel and said, “Come here.”

  Mel crawled up Izzy’s body, wrapped herself around her. “I guess that was okay, huh?”

  “I’m not sure okay is the word I’d use.” Izzy took Mel’s face in her hands and brushed her thumb across her cheek.

  “How about amazing? Spectacular? Earthshattering?” Mel grinned.

  “All of the above.”

  “Then maybe I should do it again.”

  “Uh-uh. My turn.”

  “But I want to—”

  “My turn.” Izzy wrapped her arms around her and flipped their positions.

  “God, I love it when you take charge.”

  Slipping her thigh between Mel’s legs, she eased them apart. She lifted her thigh to meet the warm space between Mel’s legs and moaned. “God, you’re so wet.”

  “You did that.”

  Mel pulled her down and kissed her deeply. Izzy slipped her hand down between them, her fingers sliding through Mel’s wet folds. She moaned, and Izzy’s body reacted to the primal sound. She’d never felt anything so wonderful. When she slipped her fingers inside, Mel ripped her lips away and let out a soft growl. Izzy circled her thumb in her folds in rhythm with her fingers, and Mel flew into a staggering orgasm. Her hips rose, pressing hard against Izzy as the spasms rippled through her again and again. When they finally subsided, Mel dropped back to the bed and slapped her hand to her chest.

  “Jesus, Izzy. I didn’t think anything like that was possible.” Her body jerked as Izzy stroked her inside again.

  “Amazing? Spectacular? Earthshattering?”

  “Oh yeah.”

  Izzy raised a brow, lowered her head, and rolled her tongue around a nipple.

  “Izzy, I can’t…not again.”

  Izzy slipped down between Mel’s legs and went right to work. She never gave up a challenge.

  “Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God.”

  Izzy glanced up to see Mel’s hands gripping the pillow behind her head. “You like that?”

  “Yes, please…don’t stop.”

  Izzy slipped a finger inside and pulled the wetness up into the swollen flesh, watching as Mel’s stomach surged up and down with each stroke. She felt Mel grab a fistful of
her hair and knew it was time.

  “Okay. Come for me, baby.” She lowered her mouth to the soft folds and slipped her fingers inside. Mel let out a long cry and tightened her thighs as the orgasm tore through her.

  Izzy laid her cheek against Mel’s thigh. She couldn’t take her eyes off her. She was absolutely beautiful as she recovered from the most breathtaking sight Izzy had ever seen.

  Mel tugged at a loose strand of hair on Izzy’s forehead. “Come up here so I can kiss you.”

  Izzy crawled up Mel’s body and pressed a soft kiss to her lips before she pulled her into the crook of her arm.

  “Amazing. Spectacular. Earthshattering,” Izzy repeated, knowing the words were right on spot.

  “Who knew?” Mel chuckled and settled into the crook of Izzy’s arm, laying her head on her shoulder. She let out a sigh Izzy took as contentment. Soon Izzy could tell by her rhythmic breathing that she was asleep.

  *

  It was late when Mel woke in the morning, not really late, almost nine, but late by Mel’s standards, having always been an early riser. She still lay nestled into the crook of Izzy’s shoulder, with her head resting on her chest and their legs tangled together. Her arm was draped lazily across Izzy’s stomach, and it felt like the most natural thing in the world. She was so warm and soft that Mel didn’t want to move—ever.

  She’d been so nervous the night before when she’d suddenly realized she had no idea if she could satisfy her. It had been a very long time since she’d made love to a woman. Then when she’d seen Izzy’s dark eyes, filled with desire, the anxiety had vanished. She’d never been so aroused. She’d wanted to touch Izzy all over, and she’d wanted her to touch her back, which they had done several times during the night.