Love Burns

by Adrian J. Smith

  Chapter Thirteen

  Kimberly hated not being able to touch Becca when she wanted, and she could only hope the longing looks she sent helped. It’d been two days since their talk, Michael was finally back under the roof and their separate-but-together lives had begun. She hated it.

  Putting much of her energy and focus into her cookbook and cooking with Michael, she once again cooked dish after dish. Michael would typically tire out after the first round unless she was baking something sugary and sweet, like a cake. Then he wanted to be involved from the first minute she started until the end.

  They had spent what time they’d been in the same room that day avoiding each other and keeping a wide berth. Michael, hopefully, hadn’t noticed, but if they didn’t start acting more normal around each other, he would certainly pick up on a few of the clues.

  They had spent the weekend together, gloriously together, then when Kimberly had gone to pick up Michael, a war had waged within her. Becca or Michael. It was a near-impossible decision. She wanted more time with Becca, but she missed her son dearly.

  When they had returned home in the evening, Becca had been nowhere to be found. Once Kimberly had gotten Michael down for the night, she went to Becca’s room. Hearing the shower running, she decided to take her chance and join in.

  It wasn’t long before they were both naked and wet on Becca’s bed, spending most of the rest of the night together. But when everything had calmed down and Becca had drifted off to sleep, Kimberly slipped from the warm covers and smooth skin she was becoming obsessed with and headed for her own bed, with cold sheets.

  She hadn’t been able to sleep for the rest of the night and, instead, found herself wide awake and glued to her computer screen when Michael shuffled his tired feet into her room and cuddled under her blankets. She hated it. That was the best explanation she could give. For once she wanted to be in a normal relationship, one where the other person was just as interested in her as she was them, where they could openly and freely be together without fear of consequences, where she could be herself.

  Groaning, Kimberly shut her computer. She curled around Michael’s sleeping form and closed her eyes, begging her mind to shut off so she could go to sleep and catch at least a few hours before she had to take on a twelve-hour day at work and even more of this upset she’d brought on herself.

  * * * *

  Becca woke by herself and sighed as she felt the emptiness of the bed next to her. This had not been what she’d wanted to sign up for. She turned onto her back and stared at the ceiling, trying to make sense of everything running through her brain.

  Did she like Kimberly? Yes. That was a fact. She’d had a crush on her since before she’d met her in person and only watched her on television. Coming into the house had only amplified that crush until she couldn’t resist it any longer.

  Did Kimberly like her? That one stumped her. Becca clenched her jaw tightly. Kimberly certainly liked sex with her, and it was good sex, but her? She liked her with Michael—how she interacted with him, loved him, praised him, taught him—but her?

  Shaking her head, Becca turned onto her side and buried her face in the pillow, screaming into it. She didn’t know the answer to her own question—and she had very little idea about who Kimberly was—if this was something that happened with all the nannies who came through the house or if it just happened with her. She couldn’t get a sense of it one way or the other. All she knew was that there had been a myriad of nannies in the door and out, almost a rotating list every month. Was it that when Michael was gone Kimberly would pounce on them like a hungry cougar then fire them the next week or month?

  If so, she’d already lasted longer than the best of them. Groaning, Becca shoved her hair out of her eyes and forced herself out of bed. She wasn’t going to get any answer from speculating. She would have to ask Kimberly, but asking her would seem to cross one of the many boundaries and lines the two of them had set up and agreed to—or rather Kimberly had insisted on in order for any kind of a relationship to continue.

  There was barely any time the two of them had alone together without Michael around, and if they did have it, they were usually fucking like rabbits, putting their hands anywhere they could on each other, then drifting apart as was pre-destined.

  She hopped into the shower and turned the water on cold. She needed the wakeup call, in more than one sense. Bowing her head under the spray with both hands plastered against the shower wall, Becca tried not to cry. She was caught between a rock and a hard place—her boss and the girlfriend she wanted that she couldn’t have.

  After a few more seconds, Becca turned the water on hot and showered, since her shower the previous night had been interrupted, albeit nicely. She took her time washing her hair and her body, knowing Kimberly wouldn’t dare interrupt her at this time of day, not in the morning when Michael was very likely to wake up and find them.

  When she was done, she dressed, towel-dried her hair and headed for the kitchen for some food. The kitchen and living area were dead silent. Curiously, Becca glanced at the clock on the stove. It was nearing ten in the morning. Kimberly would need to be leaving soon, and she should be in charge of Michael. They were going to work on more reading and some writing that afternoon, but there was no sign of either of them.

  She grabbed herself a bowl of the cereal she had stashed way in the back of the pantry and sat at the kitchen table, eating. When thirty minutes had passed and there was still no sign of either of them, she bit her lip and debated. She wasn’t Kimberly’s keeper, but she certainly was the reason she was probably still sleeping.

  Sighing, Becca headed down the hall for Kimberly’s room. The door was ajar, and when she peeped her head in, she could see the dark forms of Kimberly and Michael both sleeping soundlessly. Kimberly lay on her back with her arm tossed above her head. It was only the second time Becca had ever caught Kimberly sleeping, and she looked beyond peaceful, something she had never seen before on her.

  Michael was lying sideways in the bed, his head on his mom’s chest and turned toward her face, his stomach on the mattress and his feet spread out behind him. Chuckling quietly, Becca shook her head. She was glad it was Kimberly and not her who got to sleep with those acrobatics. Deciding she needed to wake them, she closed her fist and knocked on the door.

  Neither moved. This time knocking more loudly, she got Michael to stir, but Kimberly remained motionless. Rolling her eyes, Becca walked into the room. The feeling that she was violating a sacred space hit her hard, but she pushed it to the side as she moved to Michael’s side of the bed. She rubbed circles on his back with care. He rustled some more, then his eyes popped open like he was wide awake all of a sudden.

  He grinned at her. “Is it wake-up time?”

  “It’s well past wake-up time, kiddo. You need to wake up your mom.”

  He turned to look at her. “Okay.”

  While he went to town on waking his mom up, Becca slipped from the bedroom and headed to the living room. When she heard the curse echo down the hall, she knew Kimberly was awake and had looked at her clock to see the time. Michael headed down the hall toward Becca, but she stopped him with her hand held out and sent him to his room to change into day clothes before he could come back.

  She would take each day one at a time until she could figure out exactly what Kimberly had up her sleeve. But she’d be watching and waiting for an answer to her many questions in the next few short weeks, because until she had them, she wasn’t sure why she’d agreed to Kimberly’s terms at all.

  * * * *

  Kimberly got home late that night. The entire day had been stressful, mostly because she was so tired that she was struggling to focus and remember anything anyone told her. Poor Maury had needed to repeat everything to her at least four times until she gave up and just wrote it down on a sticky note so she could maybe remember it for more than twenty seconds.

  Coming through the door to the house, she about collapsed on the couch to fall asleep
. But Becca was there, sitting quietly on her computer, no doubt studying some more. The girl never stopped, and Kimberly had no idea where she found the energy to keep going every day.

  She sat down wordlessly and waited for Becca to look up and make eye contact. It seemed to take forever, but Becca finally glanced in her direction, and Kimberly smiled. “How was your day?”

  Becca nodded. “Good. We did some reading, worked on writing, went on a walk. Michael helped make dinner and insisted on taking the world’s longest bath.”

  “He loves his baths.”

  “He does.”

  Kimberly’s feet ached and exhaustion seeped through her bones. She leaned back into the couch even more and closed her eyes. “Thank you for waking me this morning.”

  “I—I didn’t.”

  Giving Becca a sideways glance, Kimberly shrugged. “Guess it was your twin who came into the room then. Didn’t know you had one.”

  Becca remained silent, but when Kimberly looked her over again, she knew she’d hit some sort of nerve she hadn’t meant to. Reaching out, she covered Becca’s hand with her own and gave a gentle squeeze. Becca didn’t return the embrace.

  “Michael told me you woke him up.”

  “Oh.”

  Taking in a deep breath, Kimberly debated what to say next. Becca was acting odd, giving her the cold shoulder, and she could not figure out why, or what she had done to cause her to react that way. Perhaps it had been leaving her bed in the middle of the night, but that had been what they’d agreed to, so she certainly couldn’t be mad about it.

  “I appreciate you teaching him to write. He’s shown me some of the letters and written them for me. He absolutely loves it.”

  “I’m glad he does,” Becca answered, still giving short, non-committal responses.

  Kimberly spun her brain in circles, trying to get Becca to talk, to even just entertain a conversation with her. The tension in the room continued to grow until Becca gathered her things and stood. Kimberly was quick to follow her move, her aching feet protesting, as she pushed to stand and gripped Becca’s arm tightly in fear.

  “Don’t go,” Kimberly whispered.

  Becca’s gaze was downcast, her lips slightly parted as her breath rushed from her lungs.

  “I don’t want you to go.”

  At that, Becca locked her eyes on Kimberly’s face. The swirling emotions Kimberly saw frightened her even more than she had been before, and she stepped forward, attempting to lessen them, to take them from Becca, to ease her discomfort. Becca drew in a deep breath and closed her eyes slowly, tilting her face back toward the ground.

  “Are you all right?” Kimberly asked, sliding her hand up and down Becca’s arm in a comforting move.

  Becca nodded. “Yeah. I am. Just tired like you are, I suppose.”

  “I meant what I said. I don’t want you to go.”

  Licking her lips, Becca set her things on the table and stepped into Kimberly’s circle. When their lips touched, Kimberly moaned. She kept the contact as much as she could, her chin tilted up as she parted her lips to accept Becca’s exploring tongue. Becca cupped her cheek and neck, tilting her farther until she had complete control. Kimberly gripped Becca’s waist to hold on as she let Becca do as she wanted.

  They stayed that way for minutes. There was no way Kimberly could count them. When Becca finally released her, Kimberly knew exactly what she wanted to happen, if only Becca would be amenable. She wanted it slow—slow and sensual. She wanted to savor every piece of Becca she could.

  “Come with me.” Kimberly took Becca’s hand in her own and moved backward away from the couch and the coffee table. Becca hesitated, not taking more than two steps before she stopped sharply. Kimberly came back to her and looked up at her. “Come only if you want. I don’t want to pressure you. I promise this time will be slow.”

  Becca seemed to contemplate her options for a few short seconds before she nodded and followed Kimberly, visibly surprised when instead of heading down Becca’s hallway, they headed down Kimberly’s. Kimberly took her into her own room, shutting the door as soon as they entered and locking it with a firm click. Immediately, she started undoing the buttons on her chef’s coat, knowing Becca did not enjoy that part of their lovemaking.

  When Becca didn’t budge, Kimberly took her by the hands again and settled her on the edge of the bed. She finished removing her chef’s coat and threw it toward the hamper. She pressed one hand firmly to Becca’s shoulder and pushed her back as she climbed on top of her and straddled her hips. Becca skimmed a hand down Kimberly’s arm to her elbow then stopped as their mouths joined again.

  Kimberly wanted this slow, and she was determined to make it as unhurried as possible. She wanted to pull up Becca’s shirt but resisted the temptation and instead pressed kisses to her cheeks, her forehead, her neck and her collarbones she could just make out through the neckline of the T-shirt she wore. Becca hummed in satisfaction, and it spurred Kimberly to keep going.

  She kissed over Becca’s clothes, her breasts heaving with each breath as Kimberly pressed her mouth to the cotton. She moved down until she got to the hemline then back up. She desperately wanted to feel Becca’s bare skin against hers, but she didn’t dare. She wanted to draw this out.

  Becca raked her fingers through Kimberly’s hair, tugging at one point to redirect Kimberly’s wandering mouth to Becca’s neck. Kimberly happily complied with the subtle demand and this time used her tongue. Becca moaned and arched her back off the bed, keeping Kimberly’s head in place, so Kimberly continued.

  It wasn’t much longer when Becca lightened her touch and drew Kimberly back to her mouth, kissing her senseless. Heat rose in Kimberly’s chest, settling there as she dared herself to breathe and break the moment. When she did, Becca’s words sent another surge of pleasure through her.

  “Take my shirt off now.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Kimberly answered with a quirk to her lips.

  Instead of responding immediately, though, she kissed her way down Becca’s body through the fabric, teasing her even more until Becca writhed under her touch. When she reached for the hem of the shirt, Kimberly only raised it a few inches, feasting on the newly exposed skin with her tongue and teeth, lightly scraping. Becca let out a guttural sound of surprise and bucked her hips with Kimberly still on top of her. Smiling to herself, Kimberly continued to tease, slowly moving Becca’s shirt up inch by inch then making sure none of the newly exposed skin was left untouched by her tongue.

  Reaching Becca’s breasts left Kimberly’s chest heaving and her underwear dampening. She ignored her body and sat back enough to skim her fingers carefully over Becca’s tender and sensitive skin. Becca whimpered and shut her eyes. Kimberly did it again, this time pleased when Becca’s nipple hardened under her bra. Keeping up the slow pace, Kimberly moved her mouth along the top edge of Becca’s beige-colored bra, peeking her tongue under the fabric then pulling away.

  This time, when Becca arched her back, Kimberly was ready for her and reached behind Becca to unhook the clasp of her bra then removed her hand and put it back against Becca’s side. When she looked up, Becca’s bright blue eyes were glued on her.

  “Take it off,” Becca ordered, her voice firm and resolute.

  Kimberly ignored her, pretending she hadn’t heard the command. She continued to tease and torture Becca’s breasts with her tongue and fingers until Becca’s hand in her hair, pulling sharply, forced her to stop.

  “I said take it off.”

  Unable to resist, Kimberly passionately locked their mouths together in a heated kiss, the complete opposite of what she’d intended, but the pain Becca had caused, plus the command and confidence in her tone, had gotten hold of her, and she couldn’t help herself.

  Growling when she pulled back, Kimberly grinned. “I love it when you talk that way.”

  She listened to what Becca had said and tugged the shirt and bra over Becca’s head and arms, clearing them from their vicinity with a flick of her wri
st. Before she could go back to her exploration of Becca’s body, Becca pressed her own hands to her chest, rubbing herself and flicking her nipples. Kimberly whimpered at the sight and bit her lip as she forced herself to stay put and watch the beautiful woman below her take control.

  She became lost in Becca—not just her body, but in her mind, in who she was, in how she loved. Distracting herself from those thoughts, Kimberly shed her own bra and kissed Becca senseless again. They explored with their hands while their mouths remained connected. She wasn’t sure when, but at some point, Becca moved her hands downward and rubbed Kimberly firmly through her clothes. Kimberly ground her hips, pleasure shooting through her core each time Becca brushed over her.

  If she wasn’t careful, she would come before they were both naked, and she certainly didn’t want that to happen, but at the same time, she couldn’t stop herself. She broke the kiss long enough to whisper, “More.”

  Kimberly closed her eyes, pressing her forehead to Becca’s as she tried to steady her breathing and get control of her body, but Becca didn’t stop her movements. Within seconds, Kimberly rocked her hips back and forth against Becca’s hand, her cheeks heating as she got closer and closer to orgasming.

  “Come for me.” Becca’s voice rang clearly through the room.

  The firm command was her undoing. Kimberly’s hips jerked unevenly as she tried to continue the motion and keep up the friction. Her nipples peaked, and she called out Becca’s name as she attempted to prevent herself from collapsing on top of her. Kimberly barely had control of her wobbly body, and Becca took advantage of that, flipping Kimberly onto her back.

  She shucked Kimberly’s pants, spread her legs and licked straight up her, humming against her. Kimberly whimpered and moved her hand down to caress the top of Becca’s head, smoothing her hair to one side. Without warning, Becca took her up again, a second orgasm washing over her before she even knew what was happening.