by Fiona Riley
“More than okay.” Emerson directed Hayley’s free hand to her chest and dropped down, so her elbows settled on either side of Hayley’s face. She panted against her mouth and rocked her hips to the rhythm of Hayley’s thrusting and rubbing. “Yes, Hayley. Yes. Make me come. Please, please. Harder.”
Hayley spread her fingers on the next thrust and Emerson came hard and fast against her hand. Her cries of pleasure were swallowed by Hayley’s lips, and the tremors that echoed though her body intensified when Hayley’s tongue found hers.
Emerson enjoyed Hayley’s affections, but she didn’t wait to catch her breath. She eased Hayley out of her and shifted to her side. She could tell by the wetness on her leg that Hayley was plenty turned on, and she had no intention of letting that go to waste.
She sucked Hayley’s earlobe into her mouth as she stroked the swollen tissue of her sex and rubbed against Hayley’s clit. When Hayley moaned and bucked up against her hand, she slipped inside her, making slow and deliberate movements to draw out Hayley’s pleasure.
When Hayley’s insides tightened almost painfully around her fingers, she pressed her thumb to Hayley’s clit and whispered, “I love you,” into her ear as she came undone. And as they lay there, recovering and out of breath on the floor in front of the fire, Emerson had never felt so wanted, so needed, or so in love as she did in that moment.
She curled up next to Hayley and draped her leg across Hayley’s center. She loved the heat she felt coming off Hayley’s body. It made her sleepy and sticky at the same time.
Hayley rubbed along her arm and pressed gentle kiss after kiss to the side of her face. “Thank you for enduring the mud pits to come find me.”
Emerson laughed. That seemed an eternity ago. “Stan was no fucking help, let me tell you.”
Hayley nuzzled her cheek. “That doesn’t surprise me. He’s a bit of a stiff.”
Emerson gave her a playful shove before snuggling closer again. “You’re hilarious.”
“Hilariously in love with you. Forgive me?”
Emerson looked at her and shook her head. “No forgiveness necessary. I accept you for your flaws and encourage them.”
Hayley pecked her lips and smiled. “Good. I didn’t really have any intention of changing.”
“Don’t.” Emerson propped her head up on her hand and looked down at Hayley’s gorgeous body. She danced her fingers along Hayley’s arm and took her hand. “What have you been doing while holed up in the woods?”
Hayley smiled, and her heart melted some more. “Writing. I’ve been doing some really great angsty screenplay writing. It’s fantastically dark and romantic.”
Emerson was excited Hayley was working on her craft, but she felt bad that she might have contributed to some of those angsty feelings. “I’m sorry about you losing your job and being driven out of town by the overzealous paps. But I’m sorrier that I thought distancing myself from you would somehow make everything better. For me, it made everything much, much worse. I thought I could save you by walking away, but I couldn’t walk away, not really anyway. You deserved a more honest conversation about my fears, Hayley. I was wrong to make a decision and act on it without talking to you first. I’m sorry about that.”
Hayley seemed to consider this before she said anything. “It worked wonderfully in the inspiration department, but I much prefer this kind of motivation and muse-provoking activity.”
“Agreed on all fronts.”
“And you? What were you up to?” Hayley looked a little sheepish. “I sort of, kind of, totally deleted my entire social media existence when I became a professional woods-woman, so I’m kind of out of the loop.”
Emerson kissed her because she could. “I noticed that. It’s hard to keep tabs on you when you go dark like that, Hayley.” She brushed a lock of hair off Hayley’s forehead and tucked it behind her ear. “I spent a lot of the time thinking about you and how all the best things in my life started with you. And then I spent a lot of time thinking about myself and the person I’d become and the parts of me that felt lost or undernurtured. I spent some time with Rory and Deidre and the family, reconnecting. Oh, and I fired David because he’s a backstabbing snake.”
Hayley’s mouth dropped open in surprise. “Really?”
“Really.” Emerson nodded and sighed. “When I found out that Rachel wasn’t involved in the photo thing, I got to thinking about it: For Drake to get the shots he did in the way he did, he’d need to have some inside scoop as to my whereabouts. The only person who had that intel outside of Tremont was David. And we both know Tremont wouldn’t sell me out.”
“Most certainly not. He likes the finer things in life, and without you, there are no finer things.” Hayley winked, and Emerson loved that she knew her bestie as well as she did.
“Exactly. So out went the trash.” Emerson was glad to have David off her payroll. She’d lost respect and trust for him over the Rachel thing, but their relationship had started to unravel years before. It was time for her to move on, but she never would have guessed he’d make it so easy for her.
“So basically, I pined for you and went to work on myself and reconnected with Rory a bit, and then I booked a flight for myself to Maine, because this is my happy place. With you.”
“Naked on the floor in front of the fireplace.”
“It’s poetic, isn’t it?” Emerson let herself get lost in Hayley’s eyes, the flickering flames reflected in them. She was so, so happy in this moment.
Hayley gave her a contented smile, but it was short-lived. “What happens now?”
Emerson wrapped her arm around Hayley’s waist and hugged her. “I was hoping for a little mushy snuggling and cuddling before some less wholesome activities and maybe some role play. But I’m open to suggestions.”
Hayley chuckled and shook her head. “That’s not what I meant.”
“I know.” Emerson gave her a lingering kiss. “But you’re thinking about it now, aren’t you?”
Hayley nodded. “Yup. You got me.”
“I already had you,” Emerson replied confidently.
“That’s true, you did.” Hayley stretched.
Emerson lowered her head to Hayley’s chest and answered her previous question. “I hope this happens. Lots more of this and things like this.”
“How long until you have to leave?” Hayley’s voice sounded sad.
Emerson lifted her head and looked at her. “I don’t.”
Hayley sat up on her elbows and unceremoniously dumped Emerson on the floor in the process. “What do you mean you don’t?”
Emerson rubbed her shoulder and mirrored Hayley’s position. “I mean, I fired my manager and I canceled all my upcoming projects to focus on my family and you. So I don’t have to leave unless you want me to.”
“I don’t want that.”
“Me to leave or me to be around?” Emerson was confused.
“You to leave. I want you to stay. I want to try to make this work.” Hayley motioned between them and Emerson couldn’t agree more.
“Then I’m here to stay.”
Hayley beamed, and Emerson vowed to make her that happy forever and ever.
“And what about future work projects and your family?” Hayley gave her a concerned look.
Emerson nodded. “I’ve been spending a lot of time with Deidre and Rory, trying to figure out our new normal. And it’s work, but it’s working. I’ll have to fly out there a bit over the next months, years, whatever it takes to make sure Rory and Deidre and their family feel comfortable. But I need to respect their need for distance and space, too.” Emerson sighed. “And as far as work goes, I might have to take some meetings or be in LA for short periods, but I’m happy to work with you on a schedule or a plan if you want to stay out here permanently. I’m pretty fond of this place—and you—so it’s worth my time commuting.”
“So in other words, we’ll figure it out,” Hayley said.
“Right. We’ll figure it out. But there’s no rush.”
/> “Okay.”
“Plus, who knows? Maybe this screenplay of yours will drag you back to LA, and we can coast hop while you become Hollywood’s next media darling, and I can just sit back and bask in the awesomeness of my girlfriend.” Emerson accepted Hayley’s kiss and smiled.
“Media darling, huh?” Hayley rolled her eyes and pulled Emerson back on top of her.
Emerson bit her lip at the delightful arousal this position evoked. “Stranger things have happened.”
Hayley’s eyes sparkled as she looked up at her. “Like a movie star falling in love with a reporter from a gossip rag?”
Emerson closed her eyes as Hayley’s hands wandered back to places that still ached from their previous play. “Mm-hmm. Just like that.”
Epilogue
Six Months Later
Hayley ran her hand through her still-wet hair as she looked at the two dresses laid out on the bed in front of her. She was completely stumped as to which direction to go. The dark green one really complemented her eye color, but it was decidedly sexier than the understated yet elegant dark blue one. Either would look fabulous, and she knew she couldn’t go wrong since Tremont and Alison had chosen these options together. She loved how well they got along. It made board game night so much more fun, especially since Sebastian and Scotty bonded over fitness and a love for cage fighting, which, Hayley admitted, surprised her since they were both so mild mannered and sweet. And she was able to secretly work on her Uno skills with Scotty, in preparation for Rory staying with them in Maine for a part of the summer. She needed to up her game if she hoped to stand a chance against Emerson’s wily, if somewhat suspect, skills.
“You know my preference.” Emerson stepped up behind her and kissed the side of her neck. Her hands skimmed along Hayley’s sides and played with the lace cups along the sides of her breasts. She was grateful she hadn’t finished getting dressed, if only to feel Emerson’s fingers on her skin again.
She closed her eyes at the sensation and dropped her hands to Emerson’s, now draped around her waist. She could tell by the fabric that pressed against her back that Emerson was still in just her silk robe from earlier. “Naked isn’t an option, love.”
“Not just naked. That’s so boring.” Emerson worked her way up to her ear and sucked the lobe between her teeth. “Naked, wet, willing…”
Hayley moaned. “Em, if you keep that up, we aren’t going to make it to the red carpet at all. This is a big night for you. We don’t want to miss it.”
Emerson’s lips moved to her jaw. “There is nothing more important in my life than making you scream my name over and over again. It’s my favorite song. I could literally listen to it on loop forever and ever.”
“God, you’re good at that.” Hayley breathed out, trying to slow her heart rate.
Emerson turned her in her arms and placed a hot, lingering kiss to her mouth. “Kissing?”
“Well, yes. But I meant distracting me. You’re very good at that, too.” Hayley massaged the back of Emerson’s neck and smiled as Emerson picked her up and deposited her on the bed.
“As long as you think I’m a good kisser, then all other compliments are icing on the cake.” Emerson separated the lapels of the robe and crawled over her, looking down at her with a smile. “So, about that kissing part…”
Hayley connected their lips and marveled at the sensations Emerson provoked in her. Even after all these months, Emerson could get her from zero to sixty with that talented mouth, in no time flat. Kissing Emerson was her favorite pastime, second only to making love with and cuddling with Emerson, which were equally amazing.
“I love you,” Emerson murmured against her lips before she nibbled Hayley’s bottom lip between her own.
Hayley slid her hands greedily over the naked skin of Emerson’s back and sides, opening her mouth to deepen the kiss, and Emerson slipped in easily, her tongue dancing along Hayley’s in a practiced ease that she knew Emerson was employing to relax her nerves about tonight.
“We should really keep getting ready.” Hayley’s protests were half-hearted and foolish. They both knew they had time to play a bit, but she felt the need to voice her concerns anyway. For good measure.
Emerson pulled back and looked down at her, her eyes dark and her pupils large. “We are getting ready, Hayley. This is called foreplay. It’s the play before the play. It’s the warm-up. Some would say it’s the best part, but I would say those people have never felt your touch. Because that, my love, is the best part. The part when”—Emerson took Hayley’s hand and guided it inside the open robe, pressing her fingers into the wetness between her legs—“you touch me for the first time, after I beg for it. That’s the best part. When you can feel how wet I am for you, always.”
“Fuck.” Hayley felt her body flush as Emerson spread her legs and guided Hayley inside her. She didn’t need any direction. Emerson was everything she had said she liked best: naked, wet, willing. Hayley slipped into her and angled her fingers to hit Emerson’s favorite spots. Her favorite spots now, too.
“Yes. Hayley, mm, like that.” Emerson’s mouth was by her ear, panting and moaning as Hayley increased her thrusts. “I want you so badly. Make me come, baby. Make me come.”
Hayley arched up against Emerson and pressed her thumb against her clit, propelling Emerson into a climax that rocked them both.
Emerson rolled to her side and laughed softly, between gasps for breath.
“Oh, yeah?” Hayley turned on her side to face her, cupping Emerson’s cheek as she placed a kiss on her lips. “Something funny?”
“Not at all.” Emerson burst into another fit of giggles, and Hayley rolled on top of her, tickling her sides before pinning her hands above her head. Emerson arched her back in an attempt to get away, but Hayley was having no part of it.
“You were saying?” Hayley nipped at the skin under Emerson’s jaw and Emerson’s wiggling slowed to a stop.
“Mm.” Emerson tucked her chin to connect their lips. “I was just thinking about how incredible it is that this time last year you were catching my attention with a whistle on the red carpet. But now”—Emerson’s expression turned sincere—“you’re catching my attention with those beautiful eyes and that perfect smile and—”
“My hand between your legs?” Hayley reached down and pressed against Emerson, her actions rewarded with a deep, throaty moan.
“Well, that, yes.” Emerson inched backward, taking Hayley’s hand in hers and kissing her fingertips. “What an incredible year it has been, Hay. I never would have expected to be this happy, this blissfully in love, one year ago. I wasn’t even sure I’d make it down the carpet that night. So much has changed.”
Hayley warmed at Emerson’s words and the sensation of Emerson’s lips on her fingers. “I know what you mean.”
Emerson’s eyes sparkled, and she sucked two of Hayley’s fingers into her mouth.
“No, no way.” Hayley shook her head. “Hair and makeup are going to be here any minute. We still have to get into our dresses and get debriefed by Tremont and—”
All attempts at forming a sentence ceased when Emerson pressed Hayley on her back and licked her way down her body.
“Don’t worry, Hay.” Emerson glanced up, her mouth just millimeters from Hayley’s sex. “There will be plenty of debriefing. As much as you can take. At least a mouthful.”
Hayley would have rolled her eyes at Emerson’s joke if her eyes weren’t so busy rolling into the back of her head. The things that woman could do with her mouth…
* * *
“Hayley! Over here!” Anna Mae Teslan from LA Life called out from the spot in front of them on the red carpet, a metal barrier separating her and her camera crew from Hayley and Emerson. “Can you give us a sound bite, for old time’s sake?”
Emerson gave her a wink and stepped toward the railing to take an interview with another media outlet nearby.
Hayley took a deep breath and stepped forward. She’d known this moment would come eventuall
y.
“Hi, Anna Mae.” She flashed her best Hollywood smile that she’d been practicing for weeks. She hoped it would suffice.
“Hayley Carpenter, it’s great to see you again. Tell us, are you excited to be here today?” Anna Mae put the microphone in her face and she second-guessed herself for a moment.
“I’m thrilled. Thank you for asking.” That was safe enough, right?
“Great to hear. So your girlfriend, Emerson Sterling, is up for Best Actress tonight. That must be exciting, right?”
Hayley smiled and meant it this time. “Emerson worked very hard on Willow Path, and she deserves this win. But I’m sure she’d tell you that the nomination is honor enough. I’m biased, though. I want her to take home the little gold bald guy.”
“Oh, Hayley, you are too much.” Anna Mae laughed and clapped her hand against the microphone. “Now, this past year has been challenging for you, Hayley. We all know about the photographs and the disappearing act you pulled. Tell us, how are you doing?”
Even though Hayley was expecting the next part, she still paused when Anna Mae’s tone changed. “Truthfully? I’m grateful. I’m grateful to have learned some valuable lessons about this business and still managed to keep my sanity. It’s been a slow transition back, but I do my best to go back to my happy place as often as possible.” She stole a glance at Emerson, who was standing nearby, looking proud.
“You two are just too cute.” Anna Mae was laying it on thick, but Hayley had expected that as well. “Don’t think you’re going to get away without giving me the scoop, Hayley.”
“Oh, what scoop is that?” Hayley smiled as Emerson walked over to her and whispered something sweet in her ear.
“Well, rumor has it you left LA and wrote one hell of a screenplay. Our sources say that it’s been fast-tracked, and Kate Stanton and Paige Montgomery, who are both nominated tonight as well, have both committed to bring it to the big screen. Care to comment at all?”
Hayley laughed and shook her head. “You’ll have to wait and see on that one, Anna Mae. It was great seeing you again.”
