Turning Point

by Lara Zielinsky

  Tenderly she held Brenna’s face above hers, bringing their mouths together from the faintest to the deepest of kisses. When Brenna’s arms shook, unable to hold her weight steady any longer, Cassidy welcomed the soft curves against her own and moved her attention to Brenna’s face and throat, bringing their bodies into fuller contact.

  They both gasped as hardened, sensitive nipples brushed against the inside of fabric. “Take it off now,” Cassidy growled, pulling at Brenna’s shirt. When the blue eyes widened at the rough huskiness of her demand, she swallowed down the keenest edge of her passion and added softly, “Please?”

  With a grin, Brenna sat up, straddling Cassidy’s abdomen as she pulled her shirt off over her head. Before she could lower her arms, Cassidy was on her, kissing hard against her throat and shoulders and across the swell of her breasts where she covered a nipple with her hot, wet mouth.

  “Ah,” Brenna gasped.

  Cassidy felt soothing arms come around her shoulders and massage over them and down her spine. She pressed Brenna down, trapping her between the cool sheets and her own heated body, then tugging Brenna’s shorts from her hips. She slid them off her legs and tossed them to the floor. “I’m glad I came home early.” Her voice thrummed with a low growl, as she undressed herself. She pulled Brenna sharply against her body, surging skin on skin. She sighed at the feel of the down between Brenna’s thighs brushing against her stomach.

  Her mouth moved from Brenna’s breasts down the firm plane of her abdomen. The muscles quivered. Brenna’s hips surged beneath Cassidy, and she spread her hands wide across the peaks and planes of Brenna’s chest.

  “My parents are nuts if they think I’m ever going to give this up.” Cassidy’s voice was harsh, firm in its defiance of the parental disapproval that had hit her so hard.

  Brenna’s heart ached. She understood Cassidy’s instinct to distance herself from the hurt, but family was so important. How could they treat you like a child? Only wanting to soothe, she drew Cassidy up and swirled her tongue in the woman’s mouth as they kissed.

  “Don’t…don’t think about it,” Brenna murmured against her lips, then treated Cassidy’s face to tender kisses from chin to temple to nose and back again. Her voice hummed against Cassidy’s throat at the juncture of her shoulder. “I’m glad you came home early, too. It wasn’t right without you and Ryan here.”

  “I feel the same.”

  Cassidy’s head fell back, and her hands encouraged Brenna down with her. Skimming her touch down Cassidy’s sides, Brenna felt the stomach muscles contract pleasurably with each kiss she placed down the woman’s chest. When she swirled her tongue in the slight depression of belly button, Cassidy arched her hips. Brenna did not linger there, instead returning to the full-lipped mouth, letting her hands smooth over throbbing muscles. They sat up again, kissing devotedly with patience not present in their first joining.

  “I love you.” Breathing the words across Brenna’s shoulders, Cassidy turned her in her arms until the lean back was pillowed on her chest and rounded hips rested between her thighs. Brenna’s heart thrummed a rapid tattoo under her palms. We are one body, Cassidy thought wildly, as their heartbeats matched and sped up together. Strong fingers pressed into her thighs as her hand skimmed down Brenna’s stomach and soft wiry hairs met her fingertips. “Let me show you how much.” As they experiŹenced the first feel of silky wetness, their sighs mingled and combined into one voice.

  “Cass.”

  “Bren.”

  To still her own voice and listen to her lover, Cassidy closed her mouth over Brenna’s shoulder, sucking lightly on the velvet soft skin. With a reverent devotion that she mirrored in her strokes below, she swirled her tongue over salt-sweet skin.

  Brenna turned her head and lifted Cassidy’s face, inhaling as she climaxed on warm fingers. When Cassidy subsided and rested her hand on the inside of the damp thigh, Brenna turned around and held Cassidy close for a lingering kiss. Embraced in a tight hug, Cassidy felt Brenna’s hands splayed on her lower back. Cassidy’s quivŹering rocked through both of them.

  Brenna rolled them over until she lay on her back on the sheets. Cassidy gazed down as the fine-boned hands guided her hips until their mounds were pressed tightly together. The sensation of hairs tangling made Brenna’s back arch in an ach-

  ing sensuality. She kept her eyes locked on Cassidy’s to witness every emotion playŹing across her features.

  All Brenna’s love seemed poured into their connection; tears pooled In her eyes. “So beautiful,” Brenna said.

  Her voice filled Cassidy with so much emotion, much as Brenna’s fingers filled and satisfied her ache and longing inside. At the feather-light touches, like capturing a live wire, an almost electrical feeling passed between them. Cassidy arched as Brenna’s fingertips pressed between their bodies. Her climax engulfed them both in its flashpoint heat. Tearfully biting her lip to keep little more than a whimper from escaping, Cassidy bonelessly collapsed. Brenna welcomed her into a sheltering embrace. Soft fingertips brushed over Cassidy’s cheeks, drying her tears.

  As Cassidy’s heartbeat slowed, her lips moved reverently over the breast pilŹlowed under her cheek. She heard Brenna’s heartbeat slow, too. That was…so differŹent, she thought dazedly.

  Arms tightened around her shoulders when she would have moved off. “No. Don’t go,” Brenna murmured with noticeable hesitance in her voice. “Stay.”

  Cassidy’s whispered reply came against Brenna’s lips. “I’m not going anywhere.” She moved only enough to settle her weight mostly on the bed and intertwine their legs, then her head fell back to the curve of Brenna’s shoulder.

  The auburn-haired woman looked down into Cassidy’s face as she looked up. They both spoke softly at the same moment, the same words. Their hands interŹtwined, and they kissed their joined fists at the same instant. “Thank you.”

  Bemused, they moved their hands aside and drank wonderingly of the sight of one another, combing fingers through locks of soft hair — dark and light. With light touches they explored damp bodies, not out of arousal, but for contact.

  “I need you so much,” Cassidy whispered. “You make me whole.” She soothed her palm over Brenna’s breast, cherishing the heart beating so strongly within. “You were wonderful,” Cassidy commented softly. “So different.” She nuzzled Brenna’s throat and reveled in the strong arms moving over her back in a secure hug. Sure hands moved to her nape and coaxed her head back up for a leisurely kiss which went on for several minutes.

  When Brenna bent her knees, Cassidy rested naturally in the cradle formed by her hips. They floated in the daydreaming world of mutual heat and, for the moment, completion. Her eyes were almost closed, her body lulled, when Brenna’s voice wrapped around her, strong and soft.

  “With everything I am, I love you,” she said.

  To Cassidy, the inflection was clear in a way she had not heard before…from anyone. You. The totality of who she was. Friend. Lover. Daughter. Mother. Here, in this woman’s arms, she felt, for the first time wholly Woman as well. Nothing ever will or could be wrong with that.

  “Hey, are you awake?”

  James vaguely registered the whispered question before rough hands were shaking his shoulder. “Go away,” he grumbled.

  “Come on. I need to talk.” More insistent shaking followed.

  “Is the house on fire?” James pushed the hands off his arm, then pulled the covŹers around his head. “No? Then leave me alone.”

  A pleading whisper came back. “You can’t leave me to face them alone.”

  He furrowed his brow. “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “Mom and Cassidy.”

  Rolling onto his back, tucking the covers under his arms, James stared up into the shadows. His brother loomed over his bed, hands on his hips, fully expecting him to get up and participate in this conversation. “What about them?”

  “Do you think they’re out there?”

  James glanced at his beds
ide table and the LCD clock. “At five o’clock in the morning? Not unless there’s some emergency…like this is not” he grumbled, turning away and pulling his pillow over his head. His muffled voice issued up from beneath the pillow. “Besides, it’s a holiday. You know how much Mom likes to sleep in when she gets the chance.”

  “Yeah, but what about Cassidy?”

  “She doesn’t strike me as a morning person. She’s probably still asleep, too.”

  There was a long moment of silence and James hoped that Thomas had left, though he hadn’t heard the door closing. His brother’s voice broke the silence.

  “Do you suppose they’re sleeping together?”

  Damn. From beneath the pillow, James bit out, “I. Don’t. Care.”

  Thomas’ voice became agitated. “Why are you taking this so calmly?”

  James rolled toward his brother again and answered sarcastically, “Maybe because it’s five o’clock in the morning?” He sighed. “Just go back to bed.”

  “I can’t. I had to go to the bathroom, and then I…”

  Groaning, James pulled the covers over his head, blocking out the rest of whatŹever his brother was saying. What is it lately with people sharing much more than I really need to know about their personal lives? First Mom, now this. Firmly, to be heard over his brother’s rambling, he bit out, “Shut. The Fuck. Up.”

  His brother did fall silent, but instead of leaving, he dropped to the end of James’ bed. The mattress jostled. James groaned. Thomas moaned, “I don’t know if I can go out there.”

  “I’m not sharing the bed,” he said dryly.

  “You saw how they were last night.”

  True, James acknowledged silently, then muttered, “Mom is more sensible than that.” When Thomas asked him to repeat it, he did, adding a few choice words for effect. “They are not fucking on the damn couch.”

  “But…” Thomas paused; James could imagine him shaking his head. “What if I-“

  “Go and look?” James threw off the pillow and rolled to his feet enthusiastiŹcally. “Great idea. You go look and report back. Later. Much later. Like after noon, okay?” He pushed his brother toward the door. Thomas pushed back.

  “This only gets more complicated if you make it that way. Frankly, I’d rather you not upset the balance by getting into a pissing match with our mother.” He opened the door and pushed Thomas out. “Go. Do whatever. Just leave me alone.” He firmly closed the door in Thomas’ face.

  Turning around, Thomas realized he was stranded in the hallway, in nothing but shorts. What do I do now?

  Too keyed up to go back to sleep and uncomfortable about possibly encounterŹing their houseguest, who would undoubtedly be tousled and painfully beautiful fresh from sleep, Thomas retreated to the only safe haven he could think of — the game room. Too late he recalled that was where Ryan had been put to sleep. The five-year-old stirred even as Thomas was closing the door as quietly as possible.

  James returned to his bed and flopped down, pillowing his head on his hands as he tried to empty his mind and return to sleep. Thomas’ visit bothered him. Even though James had ribbed Thomas about it, apparently his brother really had fallen for the blond actress who, it now appeared, had been gradually becoming involved with their mother.

  While James did wonder how his mom had come to the conclusion that she returned those feelings, the explanation made sense of many things he had been observing over the last several months. That was really the only thing he required, since emotionally he had no attachment one way or the other to anyone other than his mother in this little drama. Considering his mother in a lesbian relationship was only slightly more unsettling than considering her as any kind of sexual being at all. Definitely it all fell into the category of “too much information”, and he preferred to ignore it, so long as the situation was ignorable.

  Thomas however was reacting out of his emotions concerning Ms. Hyland, which meant he was jealous of their mother. When the relationship had been revealed, Thomas had even asked, “Why you?” making their mother defensive with her “What’s wrong with me?” James recalled the camping trip and what he’d heard about the challenge climb between Thomas and their mother. Now he realized it had been a competition for love, like Romeo and Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet, which they’d been reading in English class.

  James sighed. As a matter of fact, Marcie had dropped him because he wouldn’t become jealous over her. She had told him that another guy had asked her out. James had shrugged and said if she wanted to go, she should. He had thought that giving her the space to do as she needed was most important. That’s what his mother had said she had most wanted from Mr. Shea.

  Marcie had wanted him to react more possessively. He didn’t see the intelliŹgence in fighting a football player who could easily pound him into the turf. So, Marcie told him they didn’t need to see each other at all. Why wasn’t she pleased that I left the choice up to her? Isn’t that what they all want — no man making all their choices for them? He frowned and closed his eyes, admitting it was all too confusing to be unraveled at five-thirty in the morning.

  “I should go.”

  The whisper in the dark lured Brenna from her half-dream state. She was feelŹing content with her choices, wrapped up pleasantly in the circle of Cassidy’s arms as they languidly stroked each other’s skin. “You don’t have to,” she murmured back, lifting her chin. Unerringly, Cassidy found her lips with the kiss she had sensed coming. She purred into the contact and turned until their breasts touched when the kiss became deeply arousing.

  Cassidy’s chuckle tickled her lips, voiceless as it was. “I think I had better not be coming out of their mother’s bedroom when I first see your sons today. I didn’t really think how it would complicate things for you when I came straight here from the airport instead of going home.” She indulged them both by stroking down Brenna’s hip and then over her buttocks, tugging until they were perfectly fitted together, breasts to breasts, stomach to stomach, and hips to hips.

  A knee nudged between Brenna’s thighs, and the slight pressure against her center made her want their interlude to continue. “It had to happen eventually,” Brenna pointed out. “I needed to tell them.” She reminded Cassidy of her words the night before. “We told them. Together. That was right to do.”

  “Ryan had already guessed.” Cassidy sounded pleased.

  “I’m not surprised. He’s seen us together a little more often than Thomas or James.” Brenna sighed. “And clearly Thomas still thinks he’s in love with you.”

  “There is at least one thing we can do,” Cassidy said solemnly, withdrawing from Brenna slowly. “Give him time. I really should go to the guest room.” She sat up and slipped her legs off the bed.

  Brenna studied the long lean line of the other woman’s back and moved a hand over the muscled surface. She nodded. Cassidy was right. Their children’s acceptance was important. Brenna’s sons would need time to adjust, and, because they both cared deeply about those affected by their decisions as well as each other, they would have to take things slowly in making a family together.

  “It wouldn’t hurt to shower first,” she said, moving across the mattress to press herself indulgently against Cassidy’s back and place a kiss behind her ear. At the touch the woman’s back arched in a sensual shudder. Brenna reached around and filled her palms with the soft fullness of warm breasts. She squeezed lightly. “What would you say to that?” she whispered hotly.

  “I…could do that.” Cassidy’s voice was halting, the woman clearly and quickly affected by the sexual play. She turned her head slightly and inhaled Brenna’s breath before sealing their lips together in a hard kiss. “You so don’t play fair,” she said breathlessly when she tore herself away. “Come on, before we lose any more time.”

  Brenna’s small smile turned into a confident grin as Cassidy pulled her to her feet. Already nude, they stepped into the master bathroom together. After letting the water warm, Brenna switched the flow over to the s
howerhead, then drew the sprayer off its mount, and they soaped and washed one another.

  Cassidy knelt in the tub and soaped down Brenna’s thighs, then rinsed them by directing the sprayer. Brenna shuddered when the spray hit her center. She reached out to steady herself on Cassidy’s shoulder. The blonde set down the showerhead, leaving its water spraying up slightly around their ankles, then she leaned forward.

  Brenna thought Cassidy was going to wrap herself around her waist, but then full lips trailed quickly over her stomach and— She gasped when the grip firmed on her butt, and Cassidy nuzzled through the hair covering her mound. “You shouldn’t…Oh…God…” she groaned. She threw her head back as Cassidy used her mouth to pleasure her. Kevin never did this at all, she thought wildly, and Tom was never this good at it.

  She felt every little movement of Cassidy’s tongue and lips, as if the area were sensitized tenfold; the sensations consumed her. Her fingers moved through Cassidy’s wet hair, which grounded her and steadied her nerves. She was panting and groaning with the pleasure rapidly spiraling out of control. She shifted her feet to remain upright. Her hands found the towel rack over her head. Cassidy’s hands moved to steady her as well, spreading wide to support her back. As the waves overŹtook her, her essence pulsed into Cassidy’s avid mouth and her entire chest vibrated with a cry of ecstasy.

  Almost instantly, Cassidy’s mouth retreated. She rose to muffle Brenna’s cry of frustration with a kiss, but her fingers deliciously drove Brenna through the orgasm until she was panting and spent. “Shh,” Cassidy murmured quickly. “You don’t want to wake the boys.”

  The hell with that, Brenna thought rebelliously when Cassidy’s touch continued to ignite small fires throughout her body. When the sensations ebbed and she was wrapped up in Cassidy’s strong grasp, Brenna sighed. Cassidy was right, though. Had she done as she wanted, the screams would have awakened their sons. The kisses that