“I’m close,” Casey managed, voice wrecked. Her fingers tightened in Stephanie’s hair. “Don’t stop. Please.”
The plea sent a fresh wave of heat through Stephanie. She thrust deeper, curling harder, thumb finding Casey’s clit on every upstroke now. Her own hips kept rolling, grinding against Casey’s thigh in the same rhythm. The pressure built fast for both of them. She could feel her own orgasm hovering just out of reach, the soreness in her legs making everything sharper and sweeter.
She pressed her open mouth to the side of Casey’s neck and sucked lightly, tasting the sweat there. “Come for me,” she whispered against wet skin. “I want to feel you. Let me feel you come.”
Casey’s whole body went tight. Her inner walls clamped down around Stephanie’s fingers in strong pulsing waves. A low broken moan vibrated against Stephanie’s cheek. Wet heat flooded her hand as Casey came hard, hips jerking up in sharp little thrusts that dragged Stephanie’s clit against her thigh just right.
The feeling pushed Stephanie over the edge right after. Pleasure crashed through her in a long rolling wave that made her vision spark at the edges. She kept her fingers buried deep inside Casey, feeling every flutter and pulse while her own body shook apart against Casey’s thigh. The dual sensation left her dizzy. Happy. So fucking happy she thought her chest might crack open with it.
She rode it out slow, hips moving in tiny exhausted circles until the last tremors faded. Then she stilled, fingers still buried inside the tight heat of Casey’s body. Their hearts hammered against each other. Sweat cooled on their skin where it touched. Stephanie kept her face pressed to Casey’s neck, breathing her in, letting the aftershocks ripple through both of them.
She felt new. Like someone had taken the careful contained version of herself and shaken her until all the old pieces fell out. Forty-six years and she had never known her body could do this. Could want this much. Could give this much. The confidence sat warm and solid in her chest now. She had made Casey come so many times today she had lost count. She had come apart herself until she couldn’t think straight. And she wanted to do it again tomorrow. And the day after that.
Stephanie withdrew her fingers with deliberate gentleness, savoring the way Casey’s body resisted, the way her muscles fluttered as though reluctant to let go. The sensation sent a fresh wave of heat through her own limbs, her skin still humming from the echoes of pleasure.
She adjusted her weight slightly, bracing on one elbow so she could study Casey’s face in the dim lighting. The blue of her eyes was darker now, hazy with satiation, her lashes heavy. Her lips were parted, still swollen from the kisses they had shared, and her breathing had not yet settled into its usual rhythm. Stephanie watched the slow rise and fall of her chest, the way the sheen of sweat caught the faint glow.
Casey looked undone in a way that sent a fresh pulse of heat through Stephanie’s veins. There was something fiercely satisfying about seeing her like this, soft and pliant and utterly at ease in the aftermath.
24
Casey stood at the foot of Stephanie’s bed, her legs still felt loose from everything that had happened yesterday, from the long slow hours wrapped up in this room where the air had smelled like them and nothing else. She could still taste Stephanie on her tongue. Still feel the way those clever fingers had learned her so fast, so completely, like she’d been waiting all this time just to figure out exactly how to unravel her.
She couldn’t believe it had happened. Not really. Not how Stephanie had come apart under her mouth in the afternoon, or how she had taken control later in the dark and pulled one more orgasm from Casey when both of them were exhausted. Last night had been mind-blowing, yes. Insane, even. But sex was only part of it.
The real thing sat heavier in Casey’s chest this morning. She had serious feelings for this woman. The kind that made her rule feel stupid and far away, the kind that whispered dangerous questions about what happened when six weeks turned into five, then four.
Stephanie leaned in the doorway of the bathroom, wearing nothing but a thin white robe that gaped at the throat and stopped high on her thighs. The sash hung loose, like she hadtied it in a hurry after their shower or maybe not bothered to tie it right at all. Water still clung in dark spots along the collar where her hair dripped. She looked soft and rumpled and so damn sexy Casey’s stomach did a slow flip.
“You’re really going to leave me like this?” Stephanie asked, voice low and teasing. A small smile played at the corner of her mouth.
Casey’s pulse kicked up. She wanted to cross the room and slide her hands inside that robe, map the warm skin she already knew by heart now. Instead she stayed where she was, fingers flexing at her sides. “I have a group of beginners at ten. I can’t exactly cancel because I’m too busy being happy in your bed.”
The word happy slipped out easy, lighter than she felt. But it was true. She was happy. Stupidly, terrifyingly happy. The kind of happy that made her wonder how she would go back to her own quiet house later and not feel the absence of Stephanie in every room.
Stephanie pushed off the doorframe and closed the distance between them. The robe shifted with each step, flashing a length of tanned leg, the curve where her hip met her thigh. Casey’s mouth went dry. This woman had spent so long married to a man who never made her feel wanted like this, and now she moved like someone who had just discovered exactly how much power she held. It did things to Casey that had nothing to do with the ache still lingering between her own legs.
Their bodies met in the middle of the room. Stephanie’s hands came up to rest on Casey’s hips, thumbs slipping under the hem of the faded blue tank top Casey had pulled on after their shower. The touch was casual and possessive at the same time, like Stephanie had already decided this was hers to touch whenever she wanted. Casey’s skin prickled where those fingers brushed.
“I suppose I can let you go,” Stephanie murmured. Her hazel-green eyes held Casey’s, warm and a little mischievous. “But only if you kiss me properly first.”
Casey laughed, the sound coming from somewhere deep inside her. God, she loved this version of Stephanie. The one who asked for what she wanted without second-guessing anymore. She leaned in, one hand sliding up to cup the side of Stephanie’s neck, thumb stroking the soft skin just under her jaw. The other hand found the loose knot of the robe’s sash and tugged it free. The fabric fell open with a whisper.
Their mouths met slow at first. A soft press of lips that quickly turned hungry. Stephanie made a small approving sound and opened for her, tongue sliding against Casey’s in a way that sent heat down her spine. The kiss tasted like every lazy minute they had stolen this morning before reality tried to intrude.
Casey pressed closer, backing Stephanie toward the wall beside the window. The robe slipped off one shoulder completely, baring the curve of her breast. Casey’s hand followed the movement, palm cupping warm skin, thumb brushing over a nipple that tightened instantly under her touch. Stephanie gasped into the kiss, back arching to push into the contact. The sound went straight between Casey’s legs.
“Fuck,” Casey breathed against her mouth. “You make it really hard to leave.”
“Good.” Stephanie’s fingers threaded into Casey’s damp hair, tugging just enough to send a pleasant shiver across her scalp. “I like knowing you’ll be thinking about me all day.”
Casey kissed her harder, tongue stroking deep, one thigh sliding between Stephanie’s legs so the heat of her pressed right against bare skin. The robe hung open now, framing Stephanie’s body like an invitation. Casey could feel how wet she still was, could feel the way her hips rolled once, seeking friction. Part of her wanted to drop to her knees right there, taste her again,make her come one more time before work. The responsible part of her brain, the one that remembered she had gear to load and clients waiting, fought a losing battle.
She broke the kiss but didn’t pull away. Their foreheads rested together, breaths mingling. Casey’s hand stayed on Stephanie’s breast, feeling the rapid beat of her heart under her palm. “I can’t believe yesterday happened,” she admitted, voice barely above a whisper. The confession slipped out before she could stop it. “All of it. You. The way you looked at me when you finally let yourself want this. The way you touched me.”
Stephanie’s fingers tightened in her hair. Her other hand slid down Casey’s back, slipping under the waistband of her shorts to rest warm against the base of her spine. “Yesterday was amazing.” Her voice stayed soft, intimate, the kind of voice people used when they were still wrapped up in sheets. “And now I don’t want to stop. So you better come back here tonight.”
Casey’s chest ached with how much she wanted exactly that. She kissed Stephanie again, softer this time, savoring the way their lips moved together like they had already learned each other’s rhythm. The robe slipped further, pooling at Stephanie’s elbows. Casey ran her hands down the newly bared skin, mapping the strong shoulders, the dip of her waist, the flare of her hips. Every inch felt like a gift she didn’t quite deserve but would fight to keep anyway.
