Philippa had woken from several dreams imagining what it would be like if they could ever meet as lovers did. And here they were! She was about to discover how close her imagination had come to reality, as well as learn all the other things she hadn’t even known to imagine.
Tommy feathered kisses up Philippa’s throat to the hollow behind her ear. It tickled in the best possible way. She felt it in her toes. Tommy touched the tip of her tongue to Philippa’s neck, tasting her there. Her breath caught at the erotic sensation.
“Would you like me to remove your gown?” Tommy’s breath was soft against Philippa’s sensitive skin.
Philippa nodded. She could feel Tommy smile in response.
“Tell me.”
Thiswas something Philippa hadn’t known to imagine. Tommy’s husky insistence that Philippa state precisely what she wanted, with words,aloud. Or that the thought of doing so would increase her arousal. Center her even more in the moment.
Her breath came faster. She had yearned to be the heroine of her own story. For others to cease making decisions on her behalf without consulting or caring about her opinion. She was about to have her most secret fantasies come to life. But only if she was brave enough to put them into words.
“I want you to remove my gown.” Philippa’s voice only shook a little. “And to kiss me again afterward. On my mouth and my…neck.”
She did it.She said it.Each spoken word was terrifying and exciting and freeing.
Tommy was giving Philippa the ability to decide for herself, tobeherself, to control her own fate—if only for their lovemaking here tonight. Tommy turned Philippa toward the bed.
As far as Philippa was concerned, this would be the night she lost her virginity, technicalities be damned. She wanted it to be Tommy, not some stranger she neither knew nor liked. She wanted a first time and a second time and a third time. She wished her night with Tommy could last forever.
Philippa stepped closer to the bed, so that her fingertips could graze the indigo quilt. The material was soft and warm. The sort of down blanket that would be lovely to snuggle up inside on a cool autumn’s night. Or to lie naked atop because the low fire and her lover’s touch provided more than enough heat.
Her hair was piled atop her head in artful braids and ringlets, leaving her neck bare for Tommy’s explorations. From behind, Tommy dipped her face to the curve of Philippa’s neck and began a new onslaught of kisses.
Philippa scarcely registered the slow, deliberate descent of Tommy’s fingers at her spine. Her brain could barely process the new sensation of light, sensual kisses where there had never been kisses before. Behind her ear, along the ticklish hairline at her nape, down the back of her neck to where the top of her dressoughtto be, but no longer was.
Shivers erupted on her flesh. Tommy’s kisses continued lower down the back of Philippa’s neck until they reached the top of Philippa’s shift, an utterly ordinary article of clothing normally hidden from others’ eyes. The simple linen garment was no longer ordinary nor hidden. It felt provocative and indecent. Philippa’s hands fell from the bed to her sides.
Tommy slid down the lace-and-satin gown ever so slowly. Over Philippa’s breasts…hips…calves…A trail of kisses followed the path of Philippa’s spine, ending just above the curve of her derrière, where there was nothing between Philippa’s flesh and Tommy’s mouth save the linen of her shift.
“Step,” Tommy said softly.
Philippa gripped the bed for balance as the gown was whisked away.
“Now what?” Tommy asked, her voice rough.
“N-now what?” Philippa repeated. “Don’t you have ideas?”
She turned to face Tommy, deliciously aware that her shift barely covered her bosom. Philippa’s stays lifted her breasts to improbable heights, two plump offerings begging to be tasted.
“Mm.” Tommy ran her curved fingers lovingly down Philippa’s side. “More ideas than would fit into a single night. But I want to know about yours. You researched the subject, did you not? What did your Sapphic literature suggest might be an agreeable way for two half-naked people to pass the time?”
“The…literature,” Philippa stammered, “was not explicit enough to obtain a clear picture. The etchings, on the other hand…”
Tommy’s eyebrows shot up. “There are etchings? Did you bring them? Please tell me your valise is bursting with forbidden erotic artwork.”
Philippa shook her head. “They…I hid them…”
“Pity. If you want me to try it, you’ll have to describe to me what you saw.”
“You’re very cruel,” Philippa said. “You know what I want.”
“That’s not true.” Tommy kissed the corners of Philippa’s lips. “Everyone likes different things. The mystery is part of the pleasure. Even with acts most parties adore, each person will have their own preferences. I’m not trying to punish you. I want to grant your desires.”
Philippa could not bear to describe her forbidden images aloud. There had to be a way to turn the tables. “Then…what I want…is for you to try things, and if I like them, we shall keep doing them.”
Tommy’s slow grin melted Philippa’s knees. She suspected her desperate bargain had not been so clever after all, but rather opened the door to a new kind of sensual torment. Her blood thrummed faster.
