Nora made quick work of her flannel shirt and t-shirt, spending more time than she wanted to unlace her boots, but enjoying the hungry look in 4B’s eyes as she watched, propped up on her elbows, her breath growing quicker as Nora shed her clothes. 4B idly trailed her hand over her own stomach and Nora couldn’t wait to get her hands on that expanse of flesh. Nora didn’t wear a bra and her small, firm breasts felt the chill of the air as she finally stood naked before 4B, who extended her hand to Nora. Nora moved to her, kneeling on the soft bed and crawling up so she could hover above 4B, watching her before she lowered her head to kiss her again. When their bodies touched, and Nora’s chilled skin pressed against 4B’s warm skin, the contrast was exquisite. The feel of their breasts pressed together, their bellies sliding over each other, made Nora shudder. Nora kissed 4B and groaned as 4B ran her short nails up her back, and then down, finally sliding her hands to cup her ass. 4B pulled Nora hard against her, and the wet, warm valley between 4B’s legs pressed against Nora’s thigh telling Nora just how ready her lover was for her.
They kissed and ground against each other in a rhythmic push that grew more fervent as their excitement mounted. Nora wanted to take 4B quickly, but she let her set the pace, and when 4B increased the tempo and pressure of her motions, Nora’s anticipation pulsed, the direct contact of their bodies sliding against each other sending a cascading flow of throbbing electricity through Nora’s center, bringing her so close, so fast. 4B’s hands ran over her back, pulling them tighter together, which brought her closer still.
“I’m about to come. Can you feel it?” asked 4B, breaking their kiss, breathless, her eyes pierced Nora with their intensity, so dark, the brilliant flare of desire seeming to reflect the stars that could be seen through the uncovered window beside them. Nora shifted so her wet folds pressed against 4B’s core, and her sensitive flesh felt the flutters of 4B’s excitement. In tandem, their breaths hissed inward. The sensation caused her insides to contract, signaling the tide sending her into orgasm was about to come crashing over her.
“God, yes, baby. I feel you and it’s making me…” Nora held 4B’s piercing gaze as she felt the first explosion careen through her body. Her back arched and she wanted to throw her head back, but she held 4B’s gaze, letting her see the fire shoot through her.
4B bucked beneath her as her own orgasm raged, and they moved against each other in a frantic dance, their moist centers pulsing together.
Finally, Nora felt the tension leave her body, and she collapsed against 4B, capturing her lover’s mouth again, getting lost in the soft exploration. 4B sighed into her mouth and Nora wrapped her arms around 4B holding her tightly. She rolled to her side, bringing 4B with her and they curled up with their legs entwined, slow kisses conveying the emotional depth of their feelings for one another, the ones that they had yet to express through words.
“I don’t think I have ever come that way before,” said Nora after a while, trailing kisses into the area beneath 4B’s ear. 4B shivered against her and Nora smiled.
“My only experience is you, as far as I know, so everything is pretty new for me,” said 4B, rolling her head back and pressing her neck against Nora’s mouth. “Everything you do, every touch, feels like fireworks to me.”
“Oh. I like that,” said Nora, gently biting 4B’s neck where it connected to her shoulder, causing another shiver to move through the woman she held.
“You like having that kind of power over me, don’t you,” asked 4B, slipping her hand between their bodies and stroking Nora’s flat belly. Her tone was half-teasing, half-serious.
“I don’t know who has more power over who,” replied Nora, as the strokes on her belly went lower and she felt fingers stroke her swollen center. A new gush of fluid spread over her thighs.
“You are so wet. I love that I do that to you,” said 4B skimming her fingers through the moisture coating both of their legs. She trailed her fingers back and forth and then, without hesitation, pushed them deep into the source.
Nora groaned and rolled away with 4B’s hand still inside of her. She spread her legs and shuddered at the sensation of 4B’s fingers deep within her.
“Oh, yes. I want you to make me come hard and fast.”
She was so ready, and her words in her own ears caused a deep pulse to radiate through her body, her need casting off all thought except being possessed by the woman beside her. 4B’s knowing smile spread the heat further as she rose to her knees between Nora’s legs and bent over her, her hand like a piston as she urged Nora to come.
“Come for me, Nora. I can feel how close you are. You’re so open and hot.”
Nora’s hips rose from the bed and she grabbed handfuls of the duvet in her fists as she pumped her hips beneath 4B.
“I’m so close. So close,” she panted as she felt her lower belly roll and the waves of ecstasy begin to build.
“I can feel it. Come for me, baby. Come on. Oh, that’s fucking incredible. Yes.”
4B’s mouth was on her then, and that was all it took.
Nora looked down to see 4B’s eyes watching her, her lips around her clit, the hard thrusts of 4B’s hand moving inside of her as she came. She arched dramatically, opening all the paths of sensation to let the tsunami of rolling pleasure roar through her. 4B wrapped her other arm around Nora’s waist to hold her up, causing a second round of waves to pound through her as 4B’s mouth pulled at Nora’s clit and urged the flame to grow. Explosion after explosion rocked her body and she gasped, trying to breathe, crying out, feeling 4B in every cell of her being. Nothing beyond the two of them together mattered, just 4B’s breath against her heat, the bright star of sensation erupting. Finally, the storm started to subside, and 4B slowed her motions and, keeping her fingers buried deep inside, her lips soft against her clit, she massaged the inner walls, timing her movement to the subsiding pulses of the muscles within. Nora floated in her bliss, feeling everything, aware of nothing except the woman loving her. 4B kissed her again, running the flat of her tongue through her one last time before she rose to her knees and lay along Nora’s body, which was now glistening under a veil of sweat. 4B’s fingers remained inside of her, barely moving now, while her thumb circled the swollen and sensitive knot of flesh without directly touching it. Nora moaned and tried to catch her breath as she relaxed back onto the bed. 4B slowly withdrew her hand. Nora missed it immediately, but she couldn’t take any more for the moment. She curled against 4B, smelling herself on 4B’s breath.
“Amazing,” she said, when she was able to talk again.
“You absolutely were,” agreed 4B, wrapping her arms around her. 4B placed small kisses on Nora’s neck. Goose bumps rose all over her.
“That was all you. One hundred percent you,” said Nora, feeling completely drained, but managing to wrap her arms around 4B and drawing lazy circles along her back.
“It’s a silly argument I refuse to take part in anymore, beyond the fact that it was all you, a million times no take-backs,” said 4B, the last part coming out all in a rush, as if she were trying to beat Nora to some sort of finish line. A child’s taunt.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” laughed Nora, leaning back to look at 4B. The eyes gazing back gleamed with passion and mischief and seemed to be dancing in the moonlight. Nora was almost overcome with the tenderness rising in her chest.
“When someone declares no take-backs, the other person can’t win. I know this as an irrefutable fact, but I have no idea how,” said 4B. Her words were light, but Nora could feel the weight of something more in the gaze tracing her face.
“I guess it means you win, then. But once I get my strength back I will have to reciprocate the favor.” Nora burrowed her face in 4B’s hair, breathing in the smell of her skin, the shampoo she’d used that morning, and a musk that made Nora’s pulse rise.
“You just bask. You deserve it after that.”
“I honestly don’t have a choice in the matter. My body is a marshmallow right now.”
4
B gave her a triumphant kiss and laid her head back down on Nora’s chest. Nora enjoyed the long slow caresses 4B drew up and down her belly.
“Is it weird that I kind of like not having anything to compare this to?” asked 4B. “I like thinking you are the only woman I’ve ever been with.”
“I kind of like it, too,” admitted Nora. “Even though there is no way that what you just did came without plenty of practice. You are a phenomenal lover. I’ve never been with anyone like you.”
“Wow. It’s a lie, but I’ll take it. Thank you,” said 4B, and she rose up and kissed Nora until they were both breathless again.
“I speak the truth. I wouldn’t lie about something like that,” said Nora pulling back and looking her in the eye. It was the truth, but so much more. 4B had a way about her that Nora had never experienced with another person. Not just with sex, but with everything. It was most evident during sex, though. When other people tended to bring along some sort of baggage, 4B was open and intensely present, as if there was nothing else to diminish the experience. Every touch, every look, every wordless communication between them was pure and true. There were no hidden thoughts or feelings. Everything was just laid out there bare between them, and Nora knew exactly what she was feeling and thinking. It was contagious, too, because Nora, who’d always considered herself a direct and honest person, felt even more liberated and receptive to the blend of emotional and physical connection she felt with 4B.
4B kissed her again, this time slower and deeper, and then she smiled and lay back down in the crook of Nora’s arm. They were quiet for a few minutes and Nora felt her skin tingle as 4B traced her fingers along the lines of her stomach and hips.
“Have there been many others?” asked 4B.
Nora knew the question would come up. It always did with new lovers—the sharing of pasts, the comparison of what once was to what was just beginning. Nora had had the conversation a few times before, but this time she was unprepared for it. She didn’t consider what she had with 4B to be anything like what she’d had with women before her. The conversation didn’t seem relevant.
“It depends on what you mean by many,” replied Nora, knowing she was evading an answer. She didn’t know what the notion of “many” consisted of, but she knew, even by most standards, she’d been with more than her fair share of women.
“That doesn’t answer my question,” prompted 4B.
“I guess you could say I’ve been with a lot of women,” responded Nora, truthfully, wishing 4B would ask how many of them had really mattered instead. As soon as she thought that, she cringed inside. It made her seem callous, a womanizer. She wanted to explain that what she and 4B shared was incomparable to what she had experienced before. She didn’t want to make her past encounters seem inconsequential—even though so many of them—the majority, really—had been exactly that—inconsequential. The one that had mattered hadn’t ended well, which made even that relationship feel less meaningful in hindsight than it had been during its zenith.
“Oh,” said 4B, and she sounded sorry she’d asked.
“You sound uncomfortable now.”
“Not uncomfortable, just taking it in. I shouldn’t be surprised. You’re beautiful, smart, and fun to be around. Casual sex doesn’t seem to fit your personality, but why wouldn’t women throw themselves at you?” Nora wanted to protest, but 4B, kept going. Her tone grew lighter. “Mostly, I’m just pleased that I compare well against a large group of women, though.” 4B smiled, which eased some of Nora’s apprehension.
Nora rolled over to face 4B.
“First of all, it was a long time ago. I wasn’t really a player then, and I am definitely not a player now. I think it was just the time and place more than anything else, and… well, my life was pretty chaotic.”
“You don’t have to justify anything to me,” said 4B, stroking Nora’s face.
“Yes, I do. I don’t want you to think that this is casual for me. What we have, it’s different than…” Nora found she couldn’t bring herself to say what she was feeling. She wasn’t sure why, but it seemed too much, too fast, and she wasn’t ready to say it out loud, to make it real. Besides, 4B had so much to deal with already. It wasn’t fair to saddle her with words implying commitment, when neither of them knew what waited for 4B in her real life. They were in a state of limbo, and maybe once 4B’s life caught up with her, things would be different. Nora didn’t want to think too much about it. For both of their sakes it was probably best to leave all their openness to what they shared without words. At least when they were making love Nora could be completely open. So, she settled on a partial truth. “You’re the first woman I’ve slept with in a long time—since I moved up here.”
“Are there no other lesbians up here?” asked 4B. Her expression was so sincere Nora had to laugh, easing some of the tension.
“Actually, Alaska seems to attract more than its fair share.”
“You’ve been up here how long?”
“Four years.”
“How on earth have you managed not to meet a woman in all this time?”
“I’ve met quite a few—”
“Let me be more direct, then,” said 4B settling back a few inches. The almost fierce look in her eyes made Nora’s belly flip. “You’re beautiful. You’re smart. You’re fun. You’re amazing in bed. How is it you haven’t slept with anyone in all this time?”
Nora blushed at the complements, ecstatic 4B felt that way about her.
“It’s a long story…”
“I’m not going anywhere,” said 4B settling more closely against Nora’s side, her fierceness gone. Nora lifted a strand of 4B’s silky hair and let it slide between her fingers. A little of the uneasy feeling she’d shed just minutes before came back.
“It’s so uninteresting...”
“Does it have to do with why you came up here in the first place? Were you running away from something?”
Nora marveled at 4B’s perception, though she didn’t think of it as running away, so much as getting some distance from a painful situation. She still owned an apartment in Denver, after all. She’d come to Alaska as more of a short break or a diversion, and somehow it had been extended, and thoughts about moving back had just become more infrequent over time. And once Aunt Mace had gotten sick, moving back had left her mind entirely. Maybe 4B’s observation was just a good guess. Either way, she didn’t want to bore her with the dull details of a broken heart. It had been so long ago, even she wasn’t interested in it any more.
“The guess I made earlier about you being a detective? I think I nailed it,” Nora teased, putting off discussing herself a little longer.
“That would be interesting. Oh! Or maybe I’m a cop. Some profession that requires a uniform.”
“You like uniforms, huh?”
“I guess I do.” Even though 4B’s head was resting on her shoulder with her face out of view, she knew it was scrunched up in that cute way of hers, considering the question.
“Well, be careful who you investigate up here. It’s common knowledge that criminals move to Alaska to avoid the law.”
“They do? And you know this how?”
“Without naming names, I know some people,” said Nora, intentionally sounding mysterious. In fact, she really only knew one person who’d admitted they had come to Alaska to avoid jail time for having a little over an ounce of marijuana on them when they were caught in a routine traffic stop in Nebraska. The crime had occurred a long time ago, before some states had started decriminalizing the possession of pot. The person in question wasn’t anyone Nora would have ever suspected, either. Elphie was one of Aunt Mace’s best friends, someone more easily imagined making cookies for a bake sale than toking up on a fat joint. She was hardly a hardened criminal. As a matter of fact, the confession had only come about because of a sweet wine, and before then, Nora had never even seen Elphie drink anything stronger than coffee. If truth were told, after the shock wore off, Nora liked her more because of it. The unexpecte
d facet almost even made the religion Elphie frequently pontificated upon less annoying. Nora didn’t know everyone’s story up there, and there were a few others who she wondered about. But unless it was volunteered, people didn’t snoop. It was an unwritten law in Alaska. People would give you the shirt off their back, but don’t go asking about their personal lives.
4B rose up to look at Nora. Nora stroked her cheek.
“Is that why you’re here? Are you dodging the law?”
“Me? No!” Nora laughed. “The only law I’ve ever broken is the speed limit… or maybe jaywalking. Besides, you’re the one we decided was on the lam, remember!”
“True. But it’s cool if you don’t want to tell me why you’re up here,” said 4B, wiggling closer to Nora. “I’m just being nosy.”
Nora felt bad. She and 4B had just been as intimate as they could physically get, so it was natural for her to want to know more about the woman in her arms.
“Oh, it’s not that I don’t want to tell you. It’s just not very interesting.”
“Everything about you interests me.”
“Well, prepare yourself for the first uninteresting thing, then. I was running from a broken heart. Well, kind of…”
“Yours or someone else’s?”
“Mine.”
“So, you weren’t running from a long line of broken-hearted ladies intent on revenge?” teased 4B.
“Not even close.” Nora snorted. “Well, I guess you could say I was running from a long line of ladies, but none with broken hearts. It sounds gross. It kind of was.”
“And…?” prompted 4B.
“Um, well, when I left Denver, it was because I was sick of being the kind of person I told you I wasn’t. I was sleeping with a lot of women, none more than once, and no desire to get to know any of them beyond the bedroom. I just didn’t want to be that person anymore. I needed to take a break and figure out what I wanted to do with my life.”
“Did you fall in love with someone you shouldn’t have?”
Chasing Mercury Page 19
