Side Effects

by VK Powell

  Three hours later, she’d finally spoken to everyone personally, heard the highlights of their changes, and encouraged them to keep in touch. As the waiters cleared the tables, Jordan rose from the opposite end and walked toward her. She’d been much too far away the whole evening for Neela’s liking.

  “Could I interest you in dessert?” Jordan asked.

  “I’m pretty picky about my sweets.”

  “I think you’ll like this one.”

  “Get a room,” Bex said from behind them.

  “That’s my plan exactly,” Jordan said as she took Neela’s hand and led her toward the exit. “And don’t expect to see me anytime soon. I’m still on light duty, and I intend to make the most of it.”

  Neela started to say something but Liz said, “I know. You won’t be at work either. I think the lab will survive without both of us for a few days.” She took Bex’s hand and they followed her and Jordan out.

  Jordan led Neela to her Ducati in the parking lot. “Will you do me the honor of letting me drive you home?”

  “As long and as often as you want,” Neela said.

  Jordan’s body heated as Neela’s innuendo registered. “I meant on the bike.”

  “I meant any way you want, for as long as you like. The answer is, and always will be, yes. Drive me, darling.”

  She put the spare helmet on Neela and adjusted the chinstrap, stopping only twice to kiss her before completing the task. “I’ve missed you. Sorry I couldn’t get back sooner. There were things to—”

  “Don’t apologize for doing your job. It’s one of the things I love about you. I assume everything is settled?”

  “Yep, Ramsey’s out on bail and denying everything. Younts flipped big-time and had a recording of their entire arrangement. The governor’s office is distancing from Ramsey but still getting a hard look from the attorney general. Not sure if anything will come of it, but that’s not my job.” Jordan nodded toward the soft cast below Neela’s knee. “Can you manage?”

  “No problem.” Neela lifted her restricted leg over the back of the bike, and Jordan shifted to accommodate the tightening between her legs.

  “Hang on,” she said over her shoulder as she started the bike and pulled out of the lot.

  Neela slid her hands around Jordan’s waist and she took a mental snapshot, one of the night’s first she’d file in her memory—Neela’s first ride on her Ducati, the first time Neela nuzzled her neck and whispered I love you with the wind threatening to steal her words.

  “This is fantastic,” Neela said. “But none of those daredevil stunts tonight.” She raised her hands and outlined the curves of Jordan’s torso through her jacket, hesitating briefly when she cupped her breasts. Dropping her right hand to Jordan’s thigh, she worked a fingernail along the inseam of her leather pants like a zipper. Jordan’s clit throbbed with each stitch.

  “Neela, not fair. I think what you’re doing qualifies as a daredevil stunt at the moment.”

  “Am I distracting you, darling?” She nibbled the soft spot just below Jordan’s ear and pressed a finger along the crotch of her pants where the stitching cut into Jordan’s flesh.

  She lost her grip on the throttle and the bike slowed. “Please.”

  “Please what?”

  “We’ll be home in just a second and I’ll show you.” Jordan wheeled into the driveway and pulled around to the garage. She took Neela’s hand and, without a word, led her into the house. They shucked off their helmets as they headed down the hallway toward Neela’s bedroom. “Now, Miss Roaming Hands, do you have anything to say in your defense?” She kissed Neela, her immediate rush of desire followed by heat and moisture.

  Neela’s arms encircled her neck and they merged in a fire more melting than raging. She rubbed her breasts against Neela’s and pressed their pelvises together. “I need you.”

  “I know, my darling. I’m crazy for you. Can we please go to bed?” Neela stepped back and unbuttoned her blouse, letting it fall to the floor along with her bra. “Please hurry, Jordan. This will be fast and furious. No time for leisure niceties this round.” She shucked her jeans and bikinis in one motion and stood before Jordan nude and waiting.

  “My God, you are so gorgeous.” The dark triangle between Neela’s legs shimmered with arousal, and Jordan almost lost her footing as she tried to undress without taking her eyes off her. “You’re already wet.”

  “You mean you’re not?” Neela’s hand covered the crotch of her boy shorts, and she flinched. “Sorry. Am I being too forward? Do you need me to slow down?”

  “I’m fine. You’re just so fucking amazing. You make me forget I have a problem.”

  “Because you don’t have a problem. You’re absolutely perfect, and I love you just the way you are. Come here.” She guided Jordan to sit on the foot of the bed. “May I please take your shorts off? I want to see you naked again. I’ve been thinking about this for two days.”

  Jordan nodded, and Neela shimmied the shorts down her legs and tossed them on top of the pile with the rest of their discards. “Neela, I want to tell you something.”

  “Can it wait?” She kneaded Jordan’s breasts, her brown eyes hooded with desire and her breath quickening.

  Jordan placed her hands on top of Neela’s. “No. It can’t. I need to say this before we go any further.”

  Neela sighed and rested her hands on Jordan’s thighs, looking into her eyes. “Yes, darling?”

  Jordan kissed Neela’s palms and took a deep breath. Her pulse hammered in her ears and her heart pounded painfully against her chest as Neela’s adoring stare freed her. “I’m in love with you, Neela. Totally, completely, absolutely, no doubt in love with you. I wanted to tell you now, not while making love to you or after an amazing orgasm. Do you understand?”

  Once she’d spoken the words, she knew she’d loved Neela from the beginning. She’d hungered for her since that first day, and she’d been inexplicably jealous of Rosemary and Liz because of their connections to Neela. Her feelings all made sense now; even her bad behavior had been her subconscious way of trying to deny how much she cared. Neela was hers, and she belonged to Neela mind, body, and soul.

  Neela’s eyes were wide and brimming with tears, but she hadn’t spoken.

  “Are you all right?”

  Neela nodded.

  “Would you please say something? I’m feeling a little exposed, and not just because I’m naked.”

  “Jordan, I—I’m just so beyond happy. I love you so much, but I thought it would take months, maybe years for you to feel the same way.”

  “And you were willing to wait that long?” Neela’s sincerity bathed Jordan in another layer of security and love.

  “I would’ve waited forever, my darling. You’re the love of my life.”

  “And you’re mine. I’ve never felt this way before, Neela. You’ve completely changed me, in a totally good way.”

  Neela wiggled her eyebrows and slid her hands back to Jordan’s breasts. “Does that mean we can have sex now?”

  “No. It means we can make love.” She ran her fingers through Neela’s long hair. She couldn’t wait to feel Neela on top of her with those silky tresses feathered across her body. “Come here, please. I need you.”

  “Not yet. I was wondering if I might possibly have dessert now.” She fingered Jordan’s slick folds and brought her hand to her lips. Jordan shivered from the intimacy as much as from her touch. “You did promise dessert.”

  Jordan’s thighs tensed as she imagined Neela pleasuring her with her mouth. “I’m not sure. I’ve never let anyone do that before.”

  Neela knelt between Jordan’s legs, looked into her eyes, and ran her hands up and down Jordan’s thighs. “I’m not just anyone. I’m the love of your life, and I won’t do anything you don’t want me to.”

  She lowered her head and kissed the length of Jordan’s thigh from her knee to the join of her torso. Her lips were hot, but she cooled her path with tongue licks across her skin. Jordan shudder
ed as tiny jolts of heat shot through her. She grew wetter and thought about closing her legs, but stopped as Neela moaned with pleasure.

  Jordan leaned back and watched Neela kiss her way up her legs. She was so close to her clit Jordan could feel every cool inhale and every heated exhale of her breath. Neela’s hair fanned across her lap, and the smooth strands stroked her like a thousand tiny fingers. “That feels so good, Neela.” She shifted her hips, eager for contact, as the pressure built. “So…hot.”

  Neela placed her thumbs in the joins of Jordan’s thighs and massaged, pulling away from her clit as she encircled her belly button with kisses. Jordan felt like Neela was worshipping her with her mouth, tasting and savoring every inch of her while honoring Jordan’s boundaries. When Neela buried her tongue deep in her belly button, Jordan arched off the bed. “Jeez-us.”

  Neela paused only slightly and looked up at her. “Do you like that, darling?”

  “I’m in love with your mouth right now. Don’t stop.”

  Neela massaged the top of Jordan’s hips and licked the tender inside of her thighs. Jordan looked down, and the bright-red tip of her engorged clit stuck out, begging for attention. She throbbed at the sight and clenched the muscles of her sex to stop the pain. Neela sucked and nipped the skin of her thighs and abdomen, licking and leaving fire with every pass. Jordan rocked forward, desperate for release.

  “Nee—la.”

  Neela didn’t look up or slow as she lapped Jordan’s body and moaned like she was enjoying a delicious treat.

  “Nee—la!” Jordan put her hand under Neela’s chin and raised her head from her lap.

  Neela wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, her face flushed and her brown eyes ringed with flecks of golden fire. “Yes?”

  “I need…” Her thoughts bypassed the insecurity of her exposed position, the fears of her past, and went straight to the love pulsing between her and Neela like a mutual heartbeat.

  “What do you need? What do you want right now, Jordan?” Her gaze flicked from Jordan’s eyes to her crotch, and she captured her bottom lip between her teeth.

  “I need—I want—” It was ridiculous, but she couldn’t say the words. After all the years she’d spent fucking women and saying every word in the urban dictionary for every form of sex, she felt foolish that she couldn’t ask for what she wanted so desperately from the woman she loved so completely.

  “Show me.”

  “I love you, Neela.” Jordan cupped Neela’s face and guided her to the aching between her legs. “Please, Neela, please.”

  Jordan closed her eyes and tensed in preparation for her touch, but nothing happened. When she opened her eyes, Neela was staring at her clit, so close she felt her breath. “What’s wrong?” She tried to pull back but Neela held her close.

  “You’re absolutely stunning. I’m about to come just looking at you.” Jordan’s clit twitched. “You liked hearing that, didn’t you?” Jordan nodded, and Neela blew soft breaths across her heated folds. Jordan felt another trickle of moisture. “So beautiful.” She blew again and dipped her head lower. “I’m going to lick you now, darling, and I may never stop.”

  When the tip of Neela’s tongue lightly stroked the side of her clit, Jordan jerked away. The sensation was too intense, painful almost, like an electric shock.

  “Do you want me to stop?” Neela asked. Jordan shook her head. “Jordan?”

  “N—no.”

  Neela circled the sensitive tip with her tongue in short, infrequent passes, as if she expected Jordan to stop her. The contact wasn’t enough and Jordan lifted her hips slightly. Neela’s strokes increased around and around the base of her clit. She gasped for breath, feeling light-headed.

  “Um-mmm.” Neela’s guttural moan sent another spike to Jordan’s sex.

  “More, Neela.”

  She grabbed Jordan’s thighs and pulled her securely against her mouth. When Neela’s lips closed around her folds and her tongue flattened against her clit, Jordan fisted Neela’s hair in both hands and held her in place. “Oh. My. Yes.” She fell back on her elbows and looked down, meeting Neela’s lust-glazed stare. “Oh-hhhhh, yes.”

  Neela’s tongue darted in and out, and with every stroke, Jordan rode her exquisite mouth closer and closer to orgasm. Just when she thought she couldn’t handle any more stimulation, Neela slid a finger inside her, clamped her mouth closed, and sucked.

  Jordan fell back on the bed, her limbs slack as the powerful climax claimed her and held her suspended in its grasp. Everything inside her gathered between her legs and burst free at once. She tried to scream but the energy was diverted. She emptied over and over as Neela devoured her. Her arms were weak and shaky, but she held Neela’s head tightly against her, unwilling to lose their connection.

  When the last pulse of orgasm clenched Neela’s fingers and the final vibrations drained out Jordan’s toes, she untangled her hands from Neela’s hair and covered her eyes. Her cheeks were wet and she sobbed aloud.

  Neela urged her up on the bed and joined her, bringing a sheet to cover their heated bodies. “Oh, my darling, are you all right? Please talk to me.” She wiped tears from her face with the edge of the sheet, her eyes full of concern. “I didn’t ask about entering you. I was just so carried away. Did I hurt you?”

  “No.” Her voice sounded small and uncertain.

  “Are you sure? You sound like you’re remembering something bad. I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have rushed you.”

  Jordan rolled toward her and kissed her until her lungs begged for air. “You didn’t hurt me, Neela. I’ve never felt so free and alive and loved. I guess I’m crying from the joy of it. You’ve done this for me, and I love you even more.”

  “I didn’t do it, Jordan. You took a chance. I loved every minute of it.”

  “You did?”

  Neela snuggled into the crook of her neck. “You couldn’t tell? I came twice.”

  “Just giving me head?”

  “You’re so damn sexy and responsive and just delicious. But the greatest turn-on was feeling you let go with me. I was completely swept away. Thank you.”

  Jordan hugged her and entangled their legs. “How could I have missed that all my life? No words can describe how I felt coming with your mouth on me.”

  “It’s pretty spectacular. In my book the best and most intimate way to make love—the sight of you desperate for my touch, your moans, the heady taste of you, and your smell.” She pulled back a bit. “Before we go any further, I have one question.”

  “Anything.” Jordan’s spirit soared with the knowledge she could answer any question Neela had without reservation. She’d finally found her place. Neela and Bina were her family, and nothing was more important.

  “Your smell has always baffled me. It’s the epitome of innocence, exactly the opposite of what you put out to people. What is that?”

  Jordan ducked her head and mumbled, “Baby oil.”

  “Baby oil? Seriously?”

  “It’s a good moisturizer and I like the fragrance. Is it all right?”

  “It’s perfect. Just like you, my darling.”

  “Well…maybe not perfect. I was a little hesitant at first with the whole going-down-on-me thing.”

  “I know. Maybe in time, you’ll become more comfortable.”

  She stroked Neela’s long hair. “You know I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me. The memories won’t just disappear.”

  “I know, darling, but I’ll be with you every step. You’re not alone anymore.”

  Neela kissed her again with the same patience and compassion she’d shown since the beginning. This was what love felt like. This was what Jordan had been searching for all her life—a feeling of connection to another human being and the certainty she’d do anything for Neela and their life together and vice versa.

  She rolled Neela over and tried to top her, but Neela flipped her. “I suggest lots and lots of practice, starting right now.”

  “I couldn’t agree more,” Jordan
said. Neela slid down her body and settled between her legs. This time Jordan opened to her without hesitation.

  THE END

  About the Author

  A thirty-year veteran of a midsized police department, VK was a police officer by necessity (it paid the bills) and a writer by desire (it didn’t). Her career spanned numerous positions including beat officer, homicide detective, vice/narcotics lieutenant, and assistant chief of police. Now retired, she devotes her time to writing, traveling, home decorating, and volunteer work.

  Books Available from Bold Strokes Books

  The Chameleon by Andrea Bramhall. Two old friends must work through a web of lies and deceit to find themselves again, but in the search they discover far more than they ever went looking for. (978-1-62639-363-9)

  Side Effects by VK Powell. Detective Jordan Bishop and Dr. Neela Sahjani must decide if it’s easier to trust someone with your heart or your life as they face threatening protestors, corrupt politicians, and their increasing attraction. (978-1-62639-364-6)

  Autumn Spring by Shelley Thrasher. Can Bree and Linda, two women in the autumn of their lives, put their hearts first and find the love they’ve never dared seize? (978-1-62639-365-3)

  Warm November by Kathleen Knowles. What do you do if the one woman you want is the only one you can’t have? (978-1-62639-366-0)

  In Every Cloud by Tina Michele. When she finally leaves her shattered life behind, is Bree strong enough to salvage the remaining pieces of her heart and find the place where it truly fits? (978-1-62639-413-1)

  Rise of the Gorgon by Tanai Walker. When independent Internet journalist Elle Pharell goes to Kuwait to investigate a veteran’s mysterious suicide, she hires Cassandra Hunt, an interpreter with a covert agenda. (978-1-62639-367-7)

  Crossed by Meredith Doench. Agent Luce Hansen returns home to catch a killer and risks everything to revisit the unsolved murder of her first girlfriend and confront the demons of her youth. (978-1-62639-361-5)