by C. Fonseca
In the car, Lili had told her she wanted this. Was that just a declaration of physical attraction? The chemistry between them was undeniable, and her attraction to Lili off the charts. Jess’s realisation that it was more than physical was unnerving. What was she willing to risk? The stakes were high. It wasn’t just about her fondness for Aruishi. It wasn’t just about coming back to Australia. It was Lili.
What would be the cost if they had sex and then things went pear-shaped?
Chapter 22
“I have a temperature,” Aruishi said as Jess entered the kitchen. She wiped a hand across her forehead in a sweeping motion. A dollop of yoghurt slipped off the spoon she was holding and onto the front of her bright-red top. “Mama, look. I made a mess.”
Lili reached across the table and swiftly scooped the yoghurt with her own spoon before it had a chance to soak through the cotton T-shirt. She removed the spoon from Aruishi’s hand and placed it back in the bowl of cereal. “Be a good girl and show Jess that you’re feeling better and you haven’t got a temperature anymore: finish your breakfast.”
She turned in her chair. “Good morning.” She quickly scanned Jess’s face to gauge her mood. Jess’s hand skimmed across her shoulder on the way to the table, and Lili breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
“Good morning, sweet pea. It’s nice to see you looking rested this morning.” The warmth in Jess’s eyes echoed in her voice. She pulled out a chair next to Aruishi’s and sat down.
“I’ve had a good rest. Mummy spoke to Doctor Travis, but I don’t have to see him, do I?”
“No, you’ll be fine,” Lili said.
“I’m glad you don’t have to see the doctor. Are you feeling better? No fever?” Jess leaned forward and placed her hand upon Aruishi’s forehead.
“No fever.” Aruishi grabbed Jess’s hand and held on to it. “Mama checked with a meter.”
“A thermometer?” Jess gazed at Lili steadily, lifting an eyebrow.
Lili nodded in confirmation. “Ru’s much better this morning.”
Aruishi laid her hand upon her forehead. “Gran had to bring me back to my own bed because of the temperature.”
“Yes, you came back to your own bed.” Jess kissed the top of Aruishi’s head and gave Lili a sidelong, wistful glance.
Lili smiled. “What can I get you for breakfast, Jess?”
“Don’t you know by now? Coffee. Only.” She grinned back at Lili.
“Coffee, coming up.” Lili shook her head. “Ru knows having breakfast is an important start to the day, don’t you?”
“Breakfast gives you energy for the whole day,” Aruishi said sternly, and stared at Jess.
Jess jumped to her feet and was beside Lili in a second. She reached into the cupboard above the coffee machine and brought out a bowl. “On second thought, I wouldn’t want to create a bad example. I will have cereal and fruit with my coffee.”
As Jess’s damp hair brushed against her, Lili caught her warm and inviting fragrance. She wanted to hook her thumbs into the top of Jess’s loose-fitting yoga pants, pull Jess close, and bury her face in her neck. Instead, she enjoyed simply being close to her.
“I had yoghurt with my cereal,” Aruishi advised loudly.
“Oh, and I may add some yoghurt too.” Jess walked to the fridge, and took out the yoghurt container. She slid back in her chair and helped herself to cereal and sliced strawberries from the bowls on the table. “Would you like some more yoghurt, Aruishi?”
“No, Jess.” Aruishi pushed her bowl away and grabbed the cord on Jess’s charcoal hoodie. “I want a nice top like this.”
Jess allowed herself to be pulled along. She leaned in and whispered into Aruishi’s ear, something inaudible to Lili.
Aruishi squealed and yelled, “Orange!”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Jess said, and stuck a spoonful of cereal into her mouth.
The domesticity of the scene tugged at Lili’s heartstrings. While Lili stacked the dishwasher with their breakfast dishes, she watched the pair giggle together like best friends.
Jess entertained Aruishi with her interpretation of The Secret Garden by Francis Hodgson Burnett. The multilayered story of a girl taken from her home in India to live in England after her parents died told of the healing power of nature, family, and friendship.
Lili couldn’t imagine how traumatic it must have been for eleven-year-old Jess to lose her mother and be whisked away from her brother and home by a father she hardly knew, to a country across the other side of the world. She swallowed the lump of sadness in her throat. Jess must have been so alone.
Ben’s death was heart-breaking, but maybe something could be salvaged from the tragedy. Jess was back in Australia and had discovered she had a niece.
Jess recited a line from the book. Aruishi’s eyes grew wide and she clapped her hands. Jess had certainly charmed her daughter, but it was infinitely clear that Aruishi wasn’t the only one who’d fallen under the spell of Jessica Harris. Lili was hooked, drawn to her like a honeybee to sweet nectar. Not just by her beauty—though she was gorgeous and sexy—but by how Jess balanced strength and eloquence, sensitivity, and grit with flashes of modesty and an ability to be fully engaged in the moment. Lili was falling. Hard.
“Mama, can we take Auntie Jess to our secret garden?” Aruishi jumped out of her chair and ran over to Lili.
“Whoa. I’m holding hot drinks.” Lili hoisted two cups aloft as Aruishi clung to her thigh. She carefully passed Jess her coffee and shuffled to her chair with Aruishi still attached to her leg.
“Thank you.” Jess smiled in appreciation as she accepted the coffee.
“You’re welcome.” Lili set her cup down, reached out with both arms, and lifted Aruishi onto her lap. “Now, what were you saying?” She pinched her lightly on the nose.
“Can we take Jess to the garden?” Aruishi asked in a pleading tone.
“Well, that depends,” Lili said, glancing at Jess over Aruishi’s head. “She may have other plans this morning.”
Jess tilted her head and tapped at her chin, pretending to contemplate her options. Her eyes danced with mischief. “Nothing planned. I’m all yours,” she said. “Should we go as soon as we finish our breakfast? Where is this garden?” She pushed Aruishi’s glass of apple juice within her reach.
“It’s a secret,” Lili and Aruishi called out together. Aruishi giggled, jumped off Lili’s lap, and twirled in a circle. “It’s a secret, Jess,” she repeated blissfully.
Jess raised an eyebrow playfully and was still smiling as she drained the last of her coffee.
They headed through the orchard, past an old wooden windmill near the creek before Aruishi stopped and insisted Jess’s eyes be covered for the rest of the walk.
Lili took the silk scarf from around her neck, folded it, and tied it loosely around Jess’s head, completely obscuring her vision. The captivating smell, unique to Lili, floated in the air around Jess, and for a delicious moment, her warm body pressed into Jess’s back.
“Relax. It’s only a short distance. Trust me.” Carefully guiding her along, Lili kept a firm hold around Jess’s waist. “Watch your step. Oops, I mean slow down.” Lili tightened her grip when Jess stumbled.
She squeezed Lili’s arm. “This is a first for me. I’ve never trusted anyone to lead me down a garden path, especially with my eyes covered.”
“There’s a first time for everything.”
“Don’t peek, Jess, till I tell you.” Aruishi held Jess’s other hand and tugged her along.
“I can’t see a thing, Aruishi.”
Soon after, the ground underfoot softened, and she heard a rustling like fallen leaves. There was the rattle of a metal latch, the creak of a gate’s hinges, and the tinkle of a brass bell.
“We’re here,” Lili said.
“Mama, I want to take the cloth off.”
> “Okay. Hang on a minute. I’ve got you.”
Lili must have lifted her daughter off the ground, because her small hands patted Jess’s ears and pulled the blindfold over her head. Jess blinked in the bright sunlight. Two pairs of eyes stared at her, one dusky brown and the other brilliant blue. Lili’s eyes sparkled, and her sensual mouth lifted in a half smile. She bounced Aruishi on her hip before lowering her onto the path.
“This is it,” Aruishi cried out.
Jess turned around in a full circle. They stood in an enclosed garden with a higgledy-piggledy mix of informal plantings. Cheerful orange and yellow flowers covered the ground at her feet. White daffodils and purple daisies poked out from a half ivy-covered wheelbarrow, and rambling soft-pink roses covered the tall bamboo picket fences around them. “This is special,” Jess said. “Where are we?”
Aruishi’s hands went on her hips. “It’s a secret.”
The roofline of Helen and Scott’s house was visible in the distance. “Yes, it is a complete mystery to me,” she said and winked at Lili.
“How about we let Jess in on the secret? I don’t think she’ll tell anyone,” Lili said.
Aruishi nodded solemnly. “Okay, I’ll whisper in your ear.”
Jess crouched and Aruishi cupped her hands around her ear. “This is where the secret garden is. It used to be Mama’s when she was little. Now it is mine, and it can be yours too.”
“I’ll treasure it.” Jess bit her lip, reached down, and selected a large white shell from an overflowing pile in a rusted blue bucket and held it to her ear. She smiled at the echo of waves and held it to her niece’s ear.
Aruishi gave a delighted giggle and looked up at Jess. “It’s magic. It’s the sea.”
The rest of the morning passed with a sprinkling of sunshine, a gentle breeze, a dozen secret glances, and clandestine touches. Even a brief stolen kiss when Aruishi climbed onto her treehouse platform a foot or so above Jess’s head, and left Lili and Jess alone for a moment.
They lingered at the bottom of the ladder. Lili sat perched on the treehouse step, chin in hand, watching Aruishi. The light breeze ruffled Lili’s fair hair, and her cheeks glowed with a flush of pink.
“Hey, Jess,” Lili said. Their gazes met with a flare of heat, and a tingling swept up the back of Jess’s neck. “What were you thinking?” she asked gently. “You don’t have to tell me, but you look pensive.”
“Spring’s the best time of year.”
Lili tilted her head and gave her a goofy grin.
Jess rocked back and forth on her heels before she strode the few steps to Lili’s side, leaned down, and planted a kiss on her lips.
“Catch me, Jess.” Aruishi appeared at the top of the treehouse steps and held out her arms.
“Aruishi, don’t!” Lili called and jumped to her feet.
Jess turned quickly and reached up to grab Aruishi before she launched herself off the platform. She twirled her in the air and swung her onto her hip.
“Ru can fly!” Jess said with overdone amazement.
Aruishi laughed, wrapping her legs around Jess’s waist and her arms around her neck. “Love you, Jess.”
Jess was overcome by Aruishi’s tenderness. “I love you too,” she whispered.
Lili wrapped her arms around them both and squeezed.
Tears stung Jess’s eyes as she pressed her face into the shelter of Lili’s neck.
Chapter 23
Jess raised her chin as a whoosh of water sprayed over the deck. “This is awesome,” she said, taking a gulp of salty air. She was thrilled to be out on the ocean having her first sea kayak lesson with Lili. Helen had taken Aruishi along on her shopping trip to Geelong, and she and Lili had seized the narrow window of opportunity to take advantage of the brilliant sunny morning.
Thank God Lili knew what she was doing, or Jess would have a lung full of water by now. Kayaking on open seawater was a new experience, but having Lili behind her with her feet braced in the footrests beside Jess’s hips gave her a sense of security. She followed Lili’s instructions absolutely, mindful they could be tossed into the foaming breakers at any time. For her first time in the tandem kayak, Jess was happy to let someone else be in control.
The waves were choppy enough to work her core, arms, and shoulders. Jess curled her fingers tightly around the paddle pole as a large swell came in behind the kayak.
“Hold the paddle out of the water,” Lili called out over the lapping waves and squawking seagulls. “If we start too soon, we’ll be paddling in front of the wave, and it will break on us. Don’t you paddle. I’ll guide us in.”
Jess lifted her paddle in the air and quickly turned to catch a flash of Lili’s confident grin. She’d seen that look before, when Lili greeted her guests at Ailie. She’d been attracted to her aura of self-confidence and prowess then—and, now, Jess liked it a lot.
The kayak skimmed over the water, as if weightless, while the wave surged underneath. Lili paddled and steered effortlessly towards the shore, and Jess sat back, enjoying the rush as they coasted in on the back of a large wave all the way to the beach.
“You get out first. Try and hold it steady,” Lili said.
Jess scrambled off the kayak into the shallow water and steadied it for Lili to get out. “That was amazing. Almost as good as racing. Almost.” Her adrenaline was pumping, and the words came out in a breathy gush.
“I agree, it was a blast,” Lili said, reaching out to squeeze Jess’s biceps.
They hauled the water-laden kayak out of the shallows and onto the dry sand. Jess winced as her leg muscles cramped. The discomfort in the quadriceps femoris was the result of her thigh muscles tensing during the more hair-raising moments of their morning on the water. All worth it, and nothing a few stretches wouldn’t fix.
Lili pushed her sunglasses on top of her head. “You take instructions really well.” Her eyes gleamed with amusement and shone a dazzling blue in the bright sunlight.
Jess held Lili’s gaze. “Absolutely, because this is definitely something I’d like to do again.” She followed Lili to the secluded sandy alcove, hedged with clumps of tall tussock and shrubs, where they’d stashed away their towels, shirts, and shorts. Jess pulled off her drenched flotation vest and sun visor and tugged off the half wetsuit, freeing her arms from the rubbery garment.
With the sun on her back, she adjusted her racer-back crop top and did a slow lateral neck stretch, rotated her shoulders and arms, and then bent her knee to take her left ankle in her right hand and pull back to stretch her thigh muscles. With a final straight-leg stretch, Jess touched her toes and reached up to the sky. She turned around to pick up her towel and found Lili watching her with dark, hungry eyes. Lili’s hand was paused on the half-open zipper enclosure of her skin-tight two-piece wetsuit.
“Hey, you’ve thrown your gear all over the sand. Why don’t you toss it in the wet bucket?” Lili’s voice was just above a whisper and held a raspy edge. She pointed to where the large green bucket lay in the sand.
“Oh gosh, that would have been the sensible thing to do.” It would be sensible to do it now, but sunlight glistened off the wet neoprene material and the exposed skin of Lili’s chest, and Jess couldn’t take her eyes off her.
Lili bit her lip. That little gesture made everything else fade into the background. Jess’s focus narrowed to just the two of them. She couldn’t hear anything past the thumping of her own heart.
They moved towards each other at the same time. Jess put her hand out and cursed as it trembled. Now was not the time to be nervous. She covered Lili’s fingers with her own, and together they drew the zipper all the way down to expose more of Lili’s skin.
With one hand, Jess traced a line along the damp flesh of Lili’s abdomen and skimmed her fingers within the deep cleavage of Lili’s bikini top.
Lili gasped. She grabbed Jess around her waist and
hooked her thumbs into the tops of her shorts, tugging forward until their bodies collided and their lips connected.
There was nothing teasing or apprehensive about the way Lili’s mouth matched Jess’s—hot and demanding. The intimacy, the rawness, and the friendly duel for command made Jess nearly lose her balance in the soft sand. When they surfaced for air and pressed their foreheads together, they were both panting.
“Wow,” Lili whispered.
“Not bad.” Jess let out a slow breath. She tore her gaze from Lili to quickly scan their surroundings. The dip in the sand dunes and the foliage made it private, but you couldn’t be too sure. She glanced up towards the path that led to Ben’s cottage.
Lili followed Jess’s gaze and shook her head. “Nathan or Julia could come home anytime.”
Jess sighed. “Back to your place?”
“Thirty-five minutes away?” Lili moved her fingers across Jess’s bare midriff.
Jess closed her eyes briefly as her stomach quivered.
The breeze ruffled Lili’s hair, and Jess brushed the light-gold strands out of her eyes. Lili tipped her mouth into a provocative grin, and she ran her tongue slowly over her lips.
Jess groaned. They were alone, apart from a few seagulls circling above them.
She dropped to her knees onto the towel, pulling Lili down with her, then dragged the open half-wetsuit off Lili’s shoulders and flung it into the bucket. She pulled up the bikini top as Lili helpfully raised her arms. The nipples underneath were flushed pink, Lili’s breasts full, and they rose and fell with her uneven breaths as Jess cupped her palms around their perfection. The need to taste her was so strong, Jess’s body vibrated in anticipation. “Finally,” she murmured, and buried her face in the valley, then closed her mouth over one firm peak and then the other.
A soft gasp escaped Lili’s lips, like a murmur of encouragement, and she threaded her hands through Jess’s hair, tugging firmly.
Jess lifted her head up and eased Lili sideways onto her back. She placed her knees on either side of Lili’s hips. Grasping the waistband, she urged Lili to raise her hips and drew the shorts over Lili’s knees before tossing them aside. She rested on her palms and gazed at Lili, who lay before her, completely naked, with an open expression and eyes full of desire. She was breathtakingly beautiful. An unfamiliar tenderness shot through Jess. She trailed her tongue along Lili’s slender neck and across her collarbone. She bit gently into the muscle of her freckled shoulder. Jess inhaled Lili’s fresh, natural scent. She tasted the salt on her skin. Crisp and clean, sultry and sweet.
