A Palette for Love

by Charlotte Greene

  I was so completely surprised by her question, I could only sputter, “W-what do you mean?”

  She had tears in her eyes now, and her face was the very picture of desolation. “You probably, no, you must understand by now how I feel about you. I don’t expect you to feel the same way about me, but do you have to flaunt your indifference?”

  I flushed all over and walked closer to her. “Amelia, I—”

  “No, don’t.” She nearly jumped away. “Don’t come near me and don’t say anything.” She covered her eyes with one hand. “I can’t believe I’m acting this way. You have me completely in knots.”

  “Amelia, let me explain—”

  “There’s nothing to explain.” She removed her hand. She was crying now, the tears making a wreck of her makeup. “The only thing I see, know, is that you’d rather dance with anyone but me.” Sobbing now, she staggered over to the couch, sitting down on it heavily and covering her eyes with both hands. Completely flummoxed, I stood there, stunned, unsure what I should do.

  “Please leave me,” she said between sobs. “I’ll be all right in a minute, but I need to be alone right now.”

  Ignoring her, I walked over and sat down on the couch next to her, putting my arms around her shoulders. She resisted for a moment and then turned, pulling me into an embrace and sobbing into my shoulder. I rubbed her back as she cried, making shushing noises once in a while. Her body eventually stopped hitching against me, but we stayed like that, holding each other for a long time. Finally, she pulled back, but she was unable to meet my eyes. She riffled through her purse for a moment before pulling out a tissue and her compact, wiping at her eyes and nose while she looked in the mirror.

  “God, what a fuckup I am, Chloé,” she said finally, putting them back in her purse. She met my eyes briefly and then looked away again, clearly embarrassed. “You must think I’m a complete ass.”

  “I don’t.” Throughout the crying, I’d been pushing myself to say something, anything, to convey what I felt for her, but the thought of actually admitting it to her was too overwhelming. To admit it would be to make it once and for all real. I took her hands in mine. They were soft and small, and holding them sent a thrill through me. “Really. I don’t,” I repeated, meeting her eyes.

  She tried to laugh. “Let’s blame my behavior on lack of sleep, shall we? I didn’t sleep at all last night.”

  “I didn’t either. After you left in the taxi, I was just one big bundle of nerves. I tossed and turned all night.”

  She rolled her eyes. “I’m quite the drama queen, I guess, spreading drama everywhere I go.”

  I shook my head. “You’re not.” Steeling myself again, I went a little further. “I would rather have been dancing with you. Last night and tonight. Only you.”

  Her eyes met mine in surprise, and I could see her mind weighing my words for sympathy or truth. “Do you mean that?” she finally whispered, her voice low and hoarse.

  Before I could chicken out I nodded, and the reaction was stunning. Her face lit up from inside, and all the stress and worry that’d plagued it all day seemed to vanish in an instant. A smile spread across her features in slowly escalating stages of pure joy. She squeezed my hands in hers and then moved forward a little, looking at me with sudden shy trepidation. I met her smile and bent forward a little myself. Millimeters from kissing, so close I could smell her delicate perfume, I saw the door to the sitting room suddenly open, and we sprang apart.

  It was Daphne, and she laughed when she saw us. “I see the two of you can’t keep your hands off each other. Don’t mind me!” She disappeared into a stall.

  “Let’s get out of here,” Amelia said to me, her eyes desperate.

  Heading to the entrance and getting our coats was like walking the gauntlet. Several times people that Amelia knew or friends of people she knew who wanted to talk to her interrupted us. Throughout the ordeal, which lasted well over an hour, my body was alive with jangling, cacophonous nerves that radiated throughout my whole nervous system. Amelia presented her usual, seemingly effortless geniality to everyone we came across, but I had to force myself not to scream at them to get out of our way. Her hand, however, which was firmly on my back across the entire ballroom, conveyed an entirely different emotion. I could feel it shaking and hot against the fabric of my dress, and sometimes it traveled slightly lower on my body than was, perhaps, polite in public. At one point, when her fingers brushed the top of my ass, I nearly screamed with impatience at the woman we were talking to. I was gripping Amelia’s arm, and I gave it a particularly harsh squeeze when her fingers brushed so low. She threw me a wicked look that nearly made my legs melt. My vision darkened and my panties grew damp from my overpowering need. My hands were shaking too much to put my coat on, so I simply draped it over my arms to hide them underneath. Our limo took an eternity to reach us, both of us standing a couple of feet apart as we waited.

  Safely inside the limousine, and almost before I knew what was happening, I found myself in Amelia’s arms. She wrapped me in a passionate embrace, pulling me close, hard. When she kissed me, the kiss was warm, soft, and gentle. Her mouth was soft—softer than any man’s. Her lips were full on mine, and, after a moment, I felt her tongue part my lips and enter. I moaned into her, my body alive with barely contained fire. My moan seemed to encourage her, and our tongues caressed. I strained my body against hers, and she tightened her arms around me. Desperate need flooded me, and I grew wet with desire. I wanted those soft, beautiful hands to touch me, explore my body, and quench the growing fire burning inside me.

  I tried to move my arms away from her neck and down to her chest, to her beautiful, pert breasts, but before I could, her hands began exploring my body. Her face moved away from mine and her lips found my neck. She kissed me there, and my pleasure soared to new heights. I sighed and moaned, and her hands slipped down to my ass again.

  “Oh!” I sighed with pleasure, arching my back. She began sucking on my neck, cradling my head with one hand while the other made its way down my thigh. Her own body was flush with mine, her nipples hard and erect against my chest through the thin fabric of her gown. I longed to see her body, and, I realized in a moment of clarity, I longed to be naked with her too. The thought no longer fazed me. In fact, there was nothing I wanted more than for the two of us to be naked together with our desire.

  I moved my head to indicate that I wanted her to kiss my lips, and she obliged me. Her mouth was sweet for a moment, and then she became rougher again. She darted her tongue into me, running her nails down my back before biting down on my lower lip. The pain was minimal, but the pleasure it sent through my body was instantaneous and powerful. I moaned with pure animal desire.

  “Please,” I managed to say between kisses, not even sure I knew what I was begging for her to do, but fully aware that I wanted to her to do it to me, whatever it was.

  Pushing me back with her hands and mouth, Amelia took the top, settling me back and onto the seat and climbing over me. Her mouth broke from mine and moved back down to my neck. I gasped at the heat this action caused and clutched at her back, pulling her closer. Her hands lifted me from underneath, pulling at the zipper along my back to find my flushed and hot skin underneath. I hissed at the pleasure this contact caused, and she leered down at me before kissing me again. I arched into her body, my legs pinned beneath her, groaning in frustration.

  “Take it off!” I pleaded, clawing at my dress with shaking hands.

  She laughed and kissed me again. “We’ll be at the hotel soon, darling. We can take it off in my room.”

  Waiting seemed intolerable, and I groaned out my frustration at her words. She laughed and started kissing me again, ripping up the bottom of skirt and settling her body between my legs. My body rose to meet her hips, and I ground into her in desperation.

  “No cheating,” she said into my mouth before giving me a kiss so fierce it was almost painful. “You have to wait.”

  “Just touch me,” I pled again, m
y voice whiny and broken, “Please. Just a little. Please.”

  I felt her fingers then, lightly, on my knees. She sat up a little, holding herself up with her left arm, and traced the fingers of her right hand slowly, achingly slowly, up my thigh. I was trembling all over at this point, and watching her slow progress nearly made me scream in frustration. She stopped just shy of my underwear line and trailed her fingers back down my leg toward my knee again. I groaned and then grabbed her hand, pulling it between my legs, toward my center. She pulled it back and laughed at me again.

  “There,” I said with a boldness I hardly knew I had in me. “I want you there. Inside me.”

  She leaned down and kissed me again, slowly, softly. “All good things come to those who wait.”

  The car stopped then, and she moved away from me, giving me room to sit up. She had just enough time to pull up my zipper before the driver opened the door, but I was still blushing as we climbed out, unable to meet his eyes.

  I was breathless as we crossed the lobby of our hotel, my legs shaking so badly I could hardly walk. I felt dazed, almost drunk with desire. Once again, we stood carefully apart as we waited for the elevator to arrive. The doors opened and we stepped inside. Once the doors closed behind us, Amelia shoved me into the back wall and crushed my mouth under hers. My desire, already raging, hungrier than I’d ever experienced, escalated further, and I jerked her into me, grabbing her ass as leverage.

  The doors opened and we staggered out, Amelia clutching my hand, her color higher than I’d ever seen it. She too was trembling and had a difficult time getting the keycard out of her purse. We laughed to be so close to what we wanted, and I finally had to help her get the card in the lock. We nearly tumbled inside, our mouths attached again, both of us kicking off our heels and throwing our purses and coats on the floor.

  “Oh God,” I moaned as she unzipped my dress, almost tearing it off me. Grabbing me by the hips, she pushed me toward the bedroom, steering me backward as our mouths locked together. The back of my knees hit the edge of the bed and I fell on it, gasping with surprise. She stood there, looking down at me with almost angry, hungry eyes.

  “Take off the rest,” she said, indicating my lingerie. “I want to watch you.”

  Fingers shaking, I undid the clasp of my bra. Her eyes lit up at the sight of my freed breasts, but she remained silent, still looking at me with lust-darkened eyes. I took longer with my garter belt and hose, teasing her a little, and saw her eyes flash with anger and impatience. Finally, I was down to only my underwear.

  “Let me,” she said, stepping closer. Kneeling at the edge of the bed, she pulled them off slowly, laboring over their removal. When I was completely exposed, she gasped in pleasure, and her eyes, when she looked up at me, were deep and heated from within.

  She pulled me to the edge of the bed, and then she had one of my nipples in her mouth, sucking it fiercely. I gasped and arched into her, throwing my head back in pleasure. She moved her mouth toward my other nipple, and I thrust it at her, pulling at the back of her head once she sucked it in. Her hair came loose from its tight French braid, and she took a moment to shake it free, pins flying into the bedroom. Finally finished, she returned her attentions to my nipples, which were now rock hard and painfully aroused. I felt her teeth lightly play with one of them and tensed, waiting and wanting her to bite down.

  She continued to tease me until I groaned, “Please. Please,” which was all I could manage. I felt her lips curve in amusement, and then she bit my nipple, making me whimper in desperation.

  Her hands, all this time, had been resting on my knees, and she occasionally trailed them up and down the inside of my thighs, making my legs jump. Things were beginning to go from desperate to worse, my escalating desire starting to make me feel light-headed and weak. Almost as if sensing I could no longer wait, she moved her lips away from my nipples and started to kiss her way down my stomach. I froze, so desperate for what was coming I no longer knew how to react to what was happening. At the hairline below my belly button, she paused and looked up at me before kissing my inner thigh, making me shudder all over with pleasure. She thrust my legs apart, and then her mouth was on me.

  The cascade of pleasure that washed through me made me groan loudly. Resting heavily on my arms, I threw my head back, rocking my hips into her mouth. Her tongue explored me, first lightly, then with rising pressure and heat, circling my clit and then dancing on it. The feeling of her tongue there made me jerk with electricity, and when her fingers, which had been resting lightly on my thighs, started moving, I thought I might scream. She traced her way slowly, by inches, toward my center until I finally felt what I so desperately needed. Her tongue and mouth still toying with my clit, flicking at it, circling it, sucking it in, she sank her fingers into me, and I took her fingers with my whole body as they moved inside. My hips responded of their own accord, lifting up so that her fingers could slip deeper inside. I shuddered with pleasure, but after just a thrust or two, she pulled them out again, and I moaned in frustration.

  “Please!” I looked down and saw that she was grinning, triumphant with the power she had over my pleasure. Her joy and the teasing glint in her eyes made me hot with desire.

  “I’ve waited so long for this, my darling.” Her voice was low and husky. “I don’t want it to be over so soon.”

  With a strength I wouldn’t have thought she had, she managed to lift me momentarily and slid me farther onto the bed. She climbed onto the bed herself and lay atop me, kissing me again, long and deep on the mouth, then moving to my neck. My body arched into her, and I felt a single finger trail along my soaking-wet cleft. I gasped, and as her fingers came close to my clit, I thought I would finally come, but she pulled her fingers away again.

  “You like that, my sweet?” she whispered against the skin of my neck.

  “Yes. Yes!”

  Her finger traced lazily up and down my slit, sometimes touching my clit, sometimes stopping just before she got to it. I thought I would explode with desire at any moment, but she never let me get there. She was in control the whole time, and that made me want her even more. Finally I felt her fingers slip inside me. She pushed and pulled at me from within, and in seconds she’d found the spot inside that began to push me over the edge. Noises were emerging from my mouth in a strange, wordless jumble, my mind beyond real language. I could feel my orgasm building as she massaged me inside and out, and when it finally crashed over me, my arms lost all their strength and I collapsed onto the bed behind me, thrashing against her mouth and fingers and screaming myself hoarse.

  It was a long time before I had strength to even open my eyes. My body, after the final wave of ecstasy, had simply stopped functioning. I was completely and entirely spent. After a long, long time, and still feeling quite weak, I opened my eyes and realized tears were drying on my face. Sitting up and holding myself up on a shaky arm, I wiped at them distractedly, realizing they must have squeezed out of my eyes in pleasure. Amelia was still between my legs, resting her head on my thigh, and I stroked her hair. She seemed to come out of her own daze and looked up at me, her eyes veiled with something I couldn’t read.

  “Holy shit,” I whispered, still stroking her hair. “I didn’t know…I mean, I didn’t realize it could be like that.”

  She smiled, finally, with what I realized was relief, and I was somewhat amused to understand that she had been worried about her performance. This despite all the screaming and yelling that’d just come out of my mouth. I motioned for her to move closer, and we both climbed up and onto the bed more fully, scooting over and onto the pillows. I was completely drained and, encased in her arms, felt a sudden desperate fatigue wash through me. She was stroking my hair now and, despite the fact that my nakedness felt a little strange against her dress, within her embrace felt like the most desirable place in the universe.

  Chapter Fifteen

  When I woke, bright light was already streaming through the window. My head still sleep-muddled, I pro
pped myself up on one arm and looked around for a clock, finding nothing. The bed was also empty, but at some point Amelia must have pulled the blanket around us, as I was loosely covered with it. A silk bathrobe was lying on a chair nearby, and, glancing around shyly, I stood up and slipped into it, finding slippers under the chair. They were both a dark shade of pink—a color I would never choose for myself, but the feel of the robe on my naked skin was sensuous and slick.

  Before I opened the door to the bedroom, I waited for a second, trying to gather my nerves. I’d slept with exactly ten people before this, most of them one-night stands, and never with a woman. I wasn’t exactly experienced with the morning-after scenario, especially with someone I was beginning to care about. Somehow everything seemed more serious. I was decidedly frightened of saying or doing the wrong thing.

  Taking a deep breath, I opened the door to find Amelia sitting at the small dining table, reading a newspaper. She looked up and smiled at me. Rather than making me less nervous, seeing her there in the morning sunlight made me instantly tongue-tied. Her gorgeous dark hair was down and framing her face, making her look even younger than usual. She was already showered and dressed, and she looked fresh and comfortable—not nervous like some people.

  “Good morning,” I finally managed, making my way to the other chair. I grabbed the coffee urn and poured myself a cup.

  “Good morning. I won’t ask how you slept, since you were out like a light all night.”

  Trying to sound casual, I said, “That’s true. Something must have really tired me out.”

  We shared an amused look, and some of my nervousness dissipated. She suddenly grabbed one of my hands in hers, running her thumb up and down against the back of my hand.

  “You’re even prettier in the morning than I thought you’d be.” Her eyes were hooded and dark.

  I blushed and looked away. “I highly doubt that. My makeup’s a mess, and my hair’s completely screwed up.”