Loving the Heartland

by Marjorie Jones

  Michelle moaned under her touch and Kendra’s body ached more urgently. “Do you really want to work right now?”

  Michelle hissed when Kendra pulled the tip of one finger over the side of her neck and traced her earlobe. Such beautiful ears.

  “Not really,” she answered, her voice quivering.

  “What do you want to do?” Kendra leaned forward and nipped the side of Michelle’s neck gently with her teeth, then soothed the sting with her lips.

  Michelle’s entire body trembled.

  Gaining her feet, Michelle turned toward her. She recognized her own passion in the other woman’s eyes. A dangerous combination, if her body burned even half as hot as her own. “Are you sure?”

  Michelle nodded.

  Kendra felt like she’d just roped the wind. Powerful and urgent. Wild and untamed.

  Crushing her lips to Michelle’s, Kendra kissed her from inside herself. The more she gave to her, the fuller she felt. Her heart burst until she couldn’t breathe. Michelle kissed her back, her mouth open as her tongue probed in timeless rhythm. How long they stayed like this, she couldn’t even begin to guess. Everything was right when they held each other, when Kendra allowed herself to feel; to cherish Michelle the way she deserved.

  Kendra moaned and Michelle echoed the sound, stirring the hollow between her legs to a fever she’d never known. Moving as one, lips searching each other for some indication of surrender, they stepped toward the stairs. She’d never make it. She wanted Michelle now, right now. Right here.

  She remembered her younger brother and his girlfriend in the den, only a few feet away and down the hall.

  Stealing herself against the pain she knew would come, she stopped and parted her lips from Michelle’s greedy grasp. “Wait... wait.”

  “No, I don’t want to,” Michelle heaved with ragged breaths. “Can’t wait.”

  Panting, Kendra stared into her eyes. Her breasts rose and fell with labored breaths. She deserved so much more than Kendra could ever give her. A part of her conscience told her to stop this recklessness before it was too late. She didn’t listen, but they had to be careful. The kids...

  Instead of doing the right thing – sending Michelle to her bedroom alone – Kendra placed one extended finger over her lips and whispered, “Shh.”

  Then she led Michelle to the top of the stairs, down the hall, and through her own bedroom door. Unable to wait another moment, Kendra reclaimed Michelle’s lips, mouth, and body, kicking the door shut with the heel of her boot.

  Together, they fell onto the bed.

  Better...

  The least she could do is make love to her in a bed, when every instinct in her body wanted to take her on the dining room table. She could live with herself after this. She hoped.

  Michelle stared up at her, chewing her bottom lip in a mixture of coquettish flirtation and a hint of genuine curiosity. The amazing and beautiful woman reached for Kendra and when her hands made contact, they felt like branding irons on her stomach and hips. If she seared her this much through her shirt, she was a dead woman, for sure.

  But what a way to go.

  Like a woman possessed of something unknown and unknowable, Kendra stood and then began stripping her clothes away, piece by piece. Rising to her knees, Michelle matched Kendra’s impatient and frenzied movements. With one hand, Michelle was pulling Kendra’s shirt free of her waistband, and with the other, she worked the latch on Kendra’s belt. Impatient, Kendra sat on the edge of the bed and struggled to pull off her boots. By the time she’d kicked them to the floor and bared her chest, Kendra could no longer stand to not touch Michelle. She turned back to the bed and found Michelle had somehow managed to divest herself of the silky black dress she’d worn to the funeral. She wore only a black lace bra and matching panties. The contrast of her light skin – so light she doubted the sun had ever seen parts of her – and the dark fabric mesmerized Kendra.

  Divine.

  Nothing short of a goddess could be this beautiful...

  Full breasts strained against the cups of black lace. The slight mound of Michelle’s belly fell away to rounded hips made for a woman’s hands. Her hands. The same one’s that she hadn’t known what to do with a few moments earlier knew exactly what they wanted to do right now.

  Michelle reached behind her back and released the clasps of her bra. The black lace fell away.

  Torment washed over Kendra in waves until she slid the length of her body next to Michelle’s on the soft folds of the comforter. She palmed one breast and reveled in the exquisite weight of it in her palm. Sucking in a breath, she allowed the sensation to travel over her entire body. With awe and a bit of inspiration, Kendra leaned on one elbow and gazed at Michelle’s body as she trailed her fingertips lower; over her belly, over one hip, slowly down the outside of one smooth, silky thigh.

  Michelle’s thighs parted, inviting Kendra to explore the hidden treasures beneath the small band of black lace.

  Kendra obliged. Pushing the narrow lace aside, she moaned as her fingers slid over the slick surface beneath. Michelle arched her head back into the pillow, granting her access to her neck. Kendra snuggled closer, turning her body to partially cover Michelle’s Rubenesque perfection. She licked and teased the hollow of Michelle’s throat. She wanted to lick and tease somewhere else, and the temptation to ignore the merits of foreplay reared in the back and front of her mind.

  Michelle’s thighs tightened around Kendra’s probing fingers.

  Hot. Slick.

  Wet.

  Please, don’t stop...

  Michelle couldn’t make her brain communicate with the rest of her body. Nerve endings sizzled in anticipation of what Kendra might do to her next. Her fingers clenched the bedspread on either side of her writhing body. Kendra trailed humid fire over her neck until her lips settled on the aching peak of one breast. Kendra’s strong fingers delved deeply inside her at precisely that moment, relentless in their sweet torture. Her tongue laved over Michelle’s swollen breast and Michelle’s fingers moved to entwine themselves in Kendra’s short-cropped hair.

  She’d never believed the stories she’d heard... About how one woman’s touch could make her into a lunatic bent on only one goal; total consumption. She wanted more than Kendra inside of her. It wasn’t about sex. It was about a melding of spirits in a dance of love so basic and primal that nothing else mattered.

  Kendra’s mouth moved to Michelle’s other breast and she gasped.

  More. Stop.

  Don’t stop.

  What would happen if she died right here? Who would find her? Her breaths came in shallow gulps which did nothing to feed her blood. The only thing keeping her alive was Kendra. Kendra’s heart was her heart. Kendra’s blood was her blood. Kendra’s breath was her breath. Passion’s pressure built inside her, filling every crevice of her body with liquid fire.

  More heat. More flame.

  Until she exploded from within and her juices flowed like a dam had broken from the force of a sudden, raging storm.

  Kendra shifted her weight and a moment later, she hovered over Michelle. Leaning on her elbows, she stared down at Michelle with blazing fire in her eyes. Kendra parted Michelle’s knees further and slowly slid her body lower...

  And lower.

  When Kendra’s mouth fell onto that hot, wet place, it was all Michelle could do not to release a scream to wake the dead. She covered her mouth and allowed her body to guide her. She rocked her hips, grinding her most secret place against the instrument of torture that was hell-bent on her total destruction. In only a moment, only a few thrusts, the heat gathered in her middle, growing stronger with every movement and every silently whispered promise, until finally, a second explosion raced through her limbs, her belly, and her heart.

  Unrelenting and singularly determined, Kendra did not release her. Instead, she continued to caress that one part of Michelle’s body that screamed for mercy.

  More. More.

  More!

  Mic
helle’s breath came quickly in shallow bursts until her entire body released with an intensity she’d never experienced before. Kendra backed away, leaning on her haunches as she wiped her fingers over her Cheshire-cat grin.

  Michelle smiled, closing her eyes as she caught her breath.

  Kendra collapsed on the bed beside Michelle, collected her hand and lifted it to her mouth. She traced Michelle’s fingers with the tip of her tongue. “Yes?”

  Michelle could only nod.

  “Good.”

  A few moments of silence followed, each of them knowing they didn’t need to say anything. They had communicated on a level that surpassed words. When the energy pulsing around her diminished and her limbs began to resuscitate from their little death, Michelle turned onto her hip and gazed into Kendra’s eyes.

  What was Kendra thinking? Was she happy? Would she regret what they’d done as soon as the pleasure wore off?

  “Are you alright?” Kendra continued to place tiny kisses on the tips of Michelle’s fingers.

  “I’m perfect,” Michelle answered, her eyes dancing in the dim light that filtered through the drawn shades. “Better than perfect.”

  “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

  “Of course not,” Michelle responded with a confused smile.

  “It’s just that I’ve been known to get carried away from time to time, and I have to say, it has been a while. I’m a little out of practice, I guess.”

  Michelle’s perfectly arched brows rose slightly and her eyes widened. “You could have fooled me.” She paused. “I suppose, the question we should be asking is, was it good for you?”

  Kendra’s heart opened like the petals of a flower. None of the very few women she’d ever been with had ever asked her that before. Of course, she was fairly certain that most, perhaps all, of them were straight girls looking for a thrill. To them, she’d been nothing more than a vibrator with a pulse. Her satisfaction had meant less than nothing to them. Michelle’s question caught her completely off guard, but she couldn’t stop the smile from tugging the corners of her mouth. “I’m good. No worries.”

  “Good. You’re good?” Michelle leaned slightly forward, keeping her eyes locked on Kendra, until her lips barely grazed the flesh of her neck. The contact felt like molten rock and sent an arrow of heat coursing through her blood.

  “Well, now that you put it that way...”

  Michelle moaned quietly, sliding her naked body closer to Kendra. “Mmm hmm.” Her tongue darted from between her full, moist lips, stroking that sensitive place on Kendra’s neck where her throat met her collar bone.

  Like a crash of thunder that comes from a clear, blue sky, the enormous growl of a motorcycle’s highly-tuned engine rumbled through the room. Unable to ignore the implications of the sound, Kendra’s body froze.

  Michelle’s mouth stopped working its erotic magic and she lifted her head. “What’s wrong?”

  Kendra pushed herself upward until she could peer out the bedroom window. “Nothing, babe. Casey’s home.”

  “Oh. Okay... come back here.”

  Kendra turned back to Michelle at the sound of a playful smile in her voice. “It’s not that simple, my darling.”

  “What isn’t that simple?”

  “Lacey’s car is already in the driveway, and looks like it has been for more than a couple of minutes, if you know what I mean.”

  “Lacey’s home?”

  Kendra’s heart began to race again, but not for any promises of illicit or erotic moments stolen from her real life. None of her siblings knew she was gay. None of them knew she had avoided settling down while they were growing up not because she was dedicated to their well-being and their care, but because they gave her an excuse not to date the men in town who had asked. They had been her excuse to hide in her closet on the ranch all these years. She closed her eyes and fell back on the bed.

  How long had Lacey been home?

  Chapter Nine

  Michelle didn’t know whether she should laugh or cry. Her body still tingled with left-over heat. Every time her mind settled on the memory of Kendra’s touch, her stomach clenched and heat seared to her very center. She pulled on her bra, grabbed her panties and threw them on as quickly as she could. Her legs trembled.

  Kendra finished buttoning her shirt and pulled on her boots. Like two marathon runners in the last half mile of a Twenty-Five K, they raced to dress.

  Michelle found a tee shirt and threw it over her head and shoulders, and then grabbed a band for her hair. She made a messy-bun out of the tangled mass before tucking loose strands behind her ears.

  “How long do you think she’s been here?” Her chest tightened with the beginnings of laughter.

  “I don’t know. I was otherwise engaged, remember?”

  Michelle’s body responded with a shock of very well-placed heat and a slight tremor. Oh, yeah. She remembered.

  “Try not to blush, okay?” Kendra teased her and Michelle discovered immediately that she liked it.

  “I’m not blushing.” But she knew she was. She felt positively feverish.

  “Yes. You are.”

  She took a deep breath and headed for the door. “You ready?”

  “Yeah. But you go first. I’ll come down after a couple of minutes.”

  Michelle threw open the door and padded down the hall on bare feet. She ducked into her room to throw on a pair of jeans and tugged on another shirt over her tank and then rushed down the stairs. She reached the bottom step just as Casey opened the front door.

  “Hi, Casey!” Did she talk too loudly? Her heart raced in her ears with so much force the sound was deafening. She couldn’t tell if she whispered or screamed.

  Casey narrowed his eyes with a curious half-smile. “Hi, Michelle.”

  “You hungry? I was just going to put something on the stove.”

  Michelle swung herself around the banister and headed for the kitchen.

  “Sure, I could eat. Where’s Lace?”

  “I’m in here!” Lacey’s voice came from behind the swinging door. “And I’m none too happy, either!”

  Michelle’s pulse felt like an entire steel-drum band as she entered the kitchen to find Lacey browsing the fridge, her head buried in the cooler and her ass in the air. “What’s wrong?”

  Lacey turned and offered a faint smile. Michelle accepted a short hug and then leaned against the counter, one fingernail perched between her teeth.

  “Nothing, except I lost my damn job to come here.” She turned her attention back to the refrigerator. “And I’m going to miss two finals.”

  “I told you, Lace. It’s for your own safety. Who knows what that son-of-a-bitch is capable of.” Casey sat at the table and looked at Michelle, his lop-sided grin never faltering.

  The back door squeaked open, drawing Michelle’s attention. Kendra slid into the room and Michelle stifled a moan born of memory and the power of lust. She must have gone out through the front door to make it appear as though she’d been anywhere but upstairs.

  “Hey, baby-girl,” Kendra said, crossing immediately to her little sister.

  Lacey turned to face Kendra and burst into laughter. “I can’t... I just can’t do it for one more second.”

  Casey joined her in the secret joke; at least, Michelle hoped it was secret. She looked at Kendra for some kind of sign, and then flames seem to steal up both of her cheeks. She lowered her head and pinched her nose, her lips spreading into a wide grin.

  Crap. If only the floor would open and swallow her whole.

  Kendra cleared her throat. “What’s so funny?”

  Michelle mumbled into her hand, “Your shirt is buttoned wrong.” She glanced under her fingers as Kendra examined the front of her oxford button-down. Looking down again, Michelle noticed the satin tag of her tee shirt.

  “Hm,” Lacey hummed. “And Michelle, dear, your shirt is on inside-out. And backwards. I wonder what’s been going on here?”

  Kendra narrowed her brows and re-buttoned her
shirt. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. Nothing is ‘going on’.”

  “Oh, come off it, Sis.” Casey leaned back in his chair and laughed again. “You can’t be serious.”

  Michelle shook her head and spoke into the curled palm of her hand. “Lacey? How long have you been home?”

  “Oh, about thirty minutes.”

  Yup. Hole in floor. Now, please.

  “Who knew you were a screamer?” Lacey patted Michelle on the shoulder as she strolled by, as if they were talking about something akin to the color of the sky or the weather.

  Kendra groaned. “Okay, that’s enough. We’re all adults here, but you have to keep this quiet. Brad can’t know. He wouldn’t understand.”

  “Understand what?” Casey asked.

  “You know very well ‘what.’” Kendra wrung her hands together and Michelle couldn’t help but remember, just for a second, what they felt like on her body.

  “No, I don’t know ‘what.’ Enlighten me, please.”

  “You guys have been around a bit. In the Navy, around the world. Living in Las Vegas, for crying out loud. But Brad hasn’t. He doesn’t know how... diverse... the world is. He doesn’t know anything about lesbians or gays, or much of anything. I don’t want him to find out. Not yet. Not like this.”

  Casey and Lacey exchanged a knowing glance, then refocused their attention on Kendra.

  Lacey smiled, tilting her head in that way that could only mean, You poor dear... you poor innocent little thing...

  Her twin cleared his throat into his hand, then crossed his arms over his massive chest. “Um, Kennie... Brad knows you’re gay. We all know you’re gay.”

  Michelle closed the two or three feet separating her from Kendra and slid an arm behind her back. Kendra leaned back into the embrace as though she had lived there her entire life.

  “What was that?”

  “I said that he already knows. He’s known for quite a while, in fact. We all have. It’s really no big deal.”

  “He knows?”

  “Of course he does. He was... what, Lacey? About eight or nine when he asked us about it?”