by Jae
Slowly, she ran her hands over Rae’s strong arms and traced two small, round scars on her left shoulder. A bump rose beneath her fingertips, probably where a shotgun pellet had lodged deep beneath Rae’s skin. Steph swallowed down a wave of emotions and placed a whisperlike kiss onto the spot.
When she looked up, their gazes met, exchanging so much without either of them saying a single word.
Steph caressed Rae’s collarbone, her sides, the arc of her ribs, taking the time to learn what made her suck in a breath or groan out Steph’s name.
It stunned her how easy it was to please Rae. Everywhere she touched got her an instant reaction. Heat came off Rae’s body in waves. “God, your skin is on fire.”
“Yeah.” Rae’s voice was thick with arousal. “That’s what you do to me.”
“Let’s see what else I can do to you.”
When Steph cradled one small breast in her palm and stroked it with her thumb, Rae tilted her head back and let out an almost tortured groan.
Steph immediately took the offer, nibbling a path along her jaw and then down her neck.
A bead of sweat trickled down between Rae’s breasts, and Steph slid lower to follow its path with her mouth. God, Rae tasted delicious, of salt and passion. Steph instantly wanted more. She licked around Rae’s firm breast, making each circle smaller and smaller until she twirled her tongue over her hardened nipple.
Rae’s hips bucked up beneath her. The sheets rustled as she fisted her hands around them.
The way she fought for control was hot, but seeing her lose it would be even hotter. Steph closed her mouth over the stiff nipple and sucked gently, while she rubbed the other nipple between her fingers.
Rae muttered a string of helpless words that sounded like curses.
Smiling, Steph flicked her thumb across her nipple one last time before she teased her fingers down Rae’s belly.
Taut muscles tensed and twitched beneath her touch.
Steph took her time as she slid her hand down her hip and explored her powerful thighs, stroking down along the outside and up along the inside, where the skin was even softer. She loved the sound of Rae’s breathing getting more and more ragged as she trailed her fingers higher.
They both moaned as Steph combed through moist curls.
Rae caught her bottom lip between her teeth. The amber spots in her brown iris flickered like an all-consuming fire.
Steph kept her gaze on Rae’s face, raptly watching her expression as she slid her fingers through the heat between Rae’s legs.
Rae’s entire body jerked. “Steph. God, Steph.” She let go of the sheets and clung to Steph, her strong hands gentle.
Steph stroked her softly at first, then with slightly more pressure, following the rhythm of Rae’s hips.
All too soon, Rae’s legs began to tremble.
The sight of Rae with her head flung back, cheeks flushed, moving against her with abandon, sent a rush of heat between Steph’s thighs. She reached up with her free hand and rubbed Rae’s hard nipple between her fingers again.
A shout vaguely resembling Steph’s name tore from Rae’s throat.
The sound and feel of Rae’s climax nearly made Steph come a second time. She clenched her thighs together and watched in awe as pleasure washed over Rae’s face. Steph gentled her touch and caressed her through it until Rae covered her hand with her own.
When Rae stilled against her, Steph buried her face against the curve of her neck and gently kissed the damp skin. Rae’s pulse thudded a fast rhythm against her lips, then, eventually, slowed to a more normal pace.
Steph cuddled against her, her usual urge to get some distance completely absent.
Rae blinked and looked as if she had trouble focusing her eye. Weakly, she lifted one hand and caressed Steph’s hair. “Sorry.” Her voice was hoarse, and she cleared her throat before continuing, “I’m usually not that loud.”
“Are you kidding? Why would you apologize for that? I loved making you moan and shout.” She flashed Rae a mischievous grin. “Plus if any of our neighbors still doubted that we’re really a couple, we just convinced them otherwise.”
Rae’s chest vibrated beneath her as she burst out laughing. “God, you’re such a comic. But you’re m—” She bit her lip.
Steph’s heart started beating faster. Had Rae really been about to say what she thought she would say? She swallowed and forced herself to say it. “But I’m your comic?”
Rae stilled beneath her. A combination of hope and insecurity flitted across her flushed features. “Do you want to be?” she asked quietly.
Steph’s throat closed, and all she could do was nod. “But only,” she finally got out, “if you’ll be mine too. I mean, not my comic, obviously.” Shit, she was babbling. “Just…mine.”
“Does that mean you…?”
Denying it was futile. Her feelings were probably written all over her face. Not that Steph wanted to deny it, as scary as saying it out loud was. “Yeah,” she croaked out. “I…I love you.”
Rae closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, they gleamed with tears. She dashed the balls of her hands across them. “Damn. Sorry. I didn’t mean to—”
Steph drew her hand away. “No apologies.” She leaned down and kissed first the corner of Rae’s right eye, then, even more tenderly, the left one.
Rae wrapped both arms around her as if she didn’t intend to ever let her go. “I love you too, in case you didn’t guess already.”
Their lips met in a lingering kiss.
Steph felt incredibly light, as if she would have drifted away if not for Rae’s hold on her. Even being up on stage couldn’t compare. “How long have you felt like this?”
“I have no idea. A while, I guess, but I can’t tell you when exactly.” Rae kissed her nose, the corner of her mouth, then her lips again. “Completely blindsided me.”
“Blindsided, hm?” Steph smiled and traced Rae’s features with her fingertips. Just when she leaned down to kiss her again, a loud rumble from her stomach interrupted them.
Rae laughed, slid her hand between them, and caressed her belly, instantly causing a hunger of a different kind to flare up. Despite Steph’s protests, she rolled out of bed.
“Hey! Where are you going?”
“Getting you something to eat. You gotta keep your strength up because I’m not done with you.” On the last few words, Rae’s voice lowered to a sexy burr.
Steph shuddered and rolled onto her side so she could watch Rae walk to the door in all her naked glory. God, she had to be the hottest woman alive…and what was more, she was all Steph’s.
CHAPTER 26
Rae woke up in the wrong room—Steph’s, she realized only now—but in exactly the right spot. Steph was curled up in her arms, her bare thigh across Rae’s and one arm loosely slung across her hips. The trimmed curls between Steph’s legs tickled her skin, and her warm breath washed over Rae’s nipple with every peaceful lift and fall of Steph’s chest as she slept.
Need curled in the pit of her belly. God, how could she want her again so soon? They had made love until the sun had come up, starting the new year in the best way possible and leaving Rae pleasantly sore.
Her body buzzed with awareness at Steph’s closeness, but for the moment, she was content to just hold her.
More than content, actually. A feeling of belonging filled her—something she hadn’t felt since she had left the LAPD.
For a moment, the old guilt crept up. Did she have the right to be this happy when Kim might cry herself to sleep every night and wake up alone every morning?
She pushed that thought aside. Clinging to her misery wouldn’t bring Mike back or help Kim. Mike would want her to be happy. He would like Steph; she was sure of it. Rae smiled at the thought of the mischief those two would have gotten into had they ever met.
Steph sti
rred and then stretched against her with the cutest little sound.
The slide of her warm skin against her own sent ripples of sensation up and down Rae’s body.
“Good morning,” Steph said, her voice rough with sleep.
Rae smoothed a strand of Steph’s wildly tousled hair behind her ear. “Morning.”
“Mmm.” Steph cuddled even closer. “I like waking up like this. With you.”
“Yeah? No regrets? I mean, we went from ‘just date and see where it goes’ to ‘I love you’ pretty fast.” Being able to say it out loud still made warmth spread through Rae’s chest. “I don’t want you to get scared and…”
“Run?” Steph shook her head so firmly that her blonde hair became even more of a sexy mess. “Excuse me for breaking my own rule by mentioning an ex in bed, but…I’m not Lise, Rae. I admit that this,” she put her hand on the slope of Rae’s breast, where her heart was thudding, “still scares the living daylights out of me, but I figure that’s only because it matters so much. You matter so much to me.”
Rae kissed her gently. “Ditto.”
“Besides,” Steph added, a mischievous smile curling her lips, “as Penny pointed out, we both showed up with U-Hauls the third time we ever saw each other, so moving fast seems to be our thing.”
A belly laugh chased away the remainder of Rae’s fear. “So if I do this…” She rolled them over and trailed her fingertips down from Steph’s cheek, along her neck, to her breast, where she drew sensuous circles and watched Steph’s nipple harden, even though she hadn’t touched it yet. “You won’t think it’s too fast?”
Before Steph could answer, a phone started to ring from beneath the pile of clothes next to the bed.
Steph let out a frustrated groan. “Sorry. I think that’s mine.”
Reluctantly, Rae moved her hand away from Steph’s soft breast.
“Hey!” Steph tried to draw her hand back to where it had been. “Let it ring. I promised you twenty-four hours in bed, and I’m a woman of my word.”
It was tempting. Very tempting. Rae struggled to let reason prevail. “It could be Mr. Hicks, wanting to book you again.”
Steph’s gaze went back and forth between the floor and Rae.
The phone stopped ringing.
Steph looked up at her with a triumphant smile. “Now, where were we?”
“I think somewhere around here.” Rae stroked her thumb across her nipple, and when Steph arched up beneath her, Rae forgot about the phone and everything else for the next couple of hours.
It wasn’t until three o’clock in the afternoon that Steph finally checked her phone.
The need for food had finally made them get out of bed, and she smiled at the sounds of Rae whistling in the kitchen as she stretched out on the wrinkled sheets. She loved knowing Rae was happy—and that she was the source of her happiness. Half of her attention was still on the doorway as she lifted the phone to her ear to listen to her voice mail.
“Ms. Renshaw, this is Dwight Ribbard with Universal Television. Would you give me a call at your earliest convenience?”
Television? Oh wow! Steph scrambled for something to write with as he repeated his phone number. She tried not to expect too much. If Mr. Ribbard were someone important, he probably wouldn’t be working on New Year’s Day, right?
Still her fingers trembled as she reached for her T-shirt next to the bed and pulled it over her head. She couldn’t call a TV network rep naked. Not that he could see her. She tried to calm her breathing as she typed in the number. The phone seemed to ring forever.
“Mr. Ribbard, this is Stephanie Renshaw, returning your call,” she blurted out as soon as a male voice answered.
“Thanks for calling me back. Listen, I’m supposed to be on vacation, so I’ll keep this short. I’m an entertainment producer for The Tonight Show.”
The phone nearly slid from Steph’s grasp. Good thing she was already sitting down. “The Tonight Show?” her voice came out in a squeak.
“Yes.” Amusement colored his tone. “As I said, I’m on vacation in LA right now, and I saw you at The Fun Zone last night. I loved your routine, so I looked you up and found your YouTube channel. Long story short, we’ll be doing a week of shows at Universal in March, and we’re looking for up-and-coming local talent to mix things up a little. Would you be able to do a five-minute set on the show?”
Steph pressed her bare feet to the floor to keep herself grounded. She would be on The Tonight Show…and in March of all months, right when her self-imposed deadline ended! Was she really awake, or had she fallen into a sex-induced slumber, and this was just a dream?
“Ms. Renshaw?”
“Oh, sorry. Yes, of course I can do a set on the show.” It took all of her self-control not to shout out her elation.
“Great. My assistant will contact you next week with the details, but from what I saw on YouTube, your material is exactly what we’re looking for.”
Yes, yes, yes! She struggled to hold back a giddy laugh.
“Your roommate jokes in particular could be a hit with our audience,” Mr. Ribbard added.
A chill slid over her. She paused in her internal victory dance. Oh shit. She had totally forgotten that Gabe had posted the video on her YouTube channel. “Um, the roommate jokes?”
“Yeah. They will resonate with the younger, urban audience we want to reach. I definitely want you to do them. Is that a problem?”
“No,” she said quickly. “Not a problem, but…I have a lot of great material your audience would love. I’d be happy to send you links to—”
“That won’t be necessary. Your roommate bits were perfect. But let’s talk about it later. I’m calling from the hotel pool, and if my husband catches me working, I’ll be in the doghouse.”
Steph might have answered and politely said goodbye, but she wasn’t sure. She dropped the phone to the bed, sank back onto the mattress, and covered her eyes with her arm. God, the world was cruel.
Here it was—the breakthrough she had always wanted. She had worked for ten years to get to this point, and now her big dream was finally within reach. But it came with a price. She would have to break her promise to Rae that she would never use her up on stage again.
Cold sweat broke out along her spine as she jumped up and started to pace the room. Could she really do that? Hurt Rae that way?
Two months ago, she would have done everything for this once-in-a-lifetime chance. But now there was one thing she wasn’t willing to sacrifice for her dream. Her promise to Rae was just as important as her career, especially now that she knew why Rae had reacted so strongly to being made the butt of jokes.
Goddammit! She stopped her pacing at the shelf with her comedy books and pounded her fist against it. She wouldn’t be able to talk Mr. Ribbard into letting her use different material; she could sense that. He was used to getting what he wanted, and what he wanted was the roommate jokes.
Of course she could reject his offer, but if she did that, her career would be toast. The gatekeepers of television comedy all knew each other. Word would get around quickly, and no one would book her a second time. This was her one chance, and she wanted to grab hold of it with both hands.
But that would turn Rae and their relationship into a laughing matter, and they were everything but to her.
She leaned against the bookcase and pressed both hands to her chest, feeling as if this impossible choice was ripping her apart.
She couldn’t hurt Rae by doing the roommate jokes on national TV, but how on earth was she supposed to let go of her decade-old dream?
Rae whistled as she slid the eggs onto plates and placed them onto the tray, where coffee, toast, and jam already waited to be delivered to the bedroom. She loved being able to spoil Steph with breakfast in bed. Well, more like brunch in bed. A grin tugged on her lips as she remembered what had made them skip breakfast�
��and lunch.
Steph’s voice drifted over from the bedroom, probably as she returned that phone call from earlier.
Rae hoped it wasn’t someone about to lure Steph out of the apartment. Neither of them had to work today, and she intended to make the most of their time together.
Barefoot and dressed just in a T-shirt and a pair of boxers, she carried the tray to Steph’s room and paused in the doorway to admire Steph’s form.
But Steph wasn’t resting peacefully or greeting her with a smile. She had gotten out of bed, put her T-shirt back on, and was leaning against the bookcase, both hands pressed to her chest as if she were in pain.
Rae’s stomach twisted itself into knots. She raced over. The mugs and plates clinked as she set down the tray on the floor and gently put her hands over Steph’s. “What happened?”
Steph straightened and gave her a smile that, for the very first time, wasn’t genuine at all. “Nothing. Everything’s fine.”
“Don’t try that with me.” Rae’s gaze went to the phone that lay discarded on the bed. “Bad news?”
“No. Yes. I’m not sure. It could have been great news, but…” Steph clutched the back of Rae’s T-shirt with both hands and buried her face against her shoulder.
Rae wrapped both arms around her and held her tightly. “Tell me what happened.”
“That call earlier… That was a producer for The Tonight Show.”
Rae drew back a little to stare at her. “Are you serious?”
Steph nodded.
“Do they want to book you? For The Tonight Show?” Rae’s voice came out a little squeaky.
Again, Steph nodded.
A dozen different thoughts and emotions bounced around Rae’s mind like out-of-control billiard balls—pride and happiness for Steph, but also her own fears and doubts about what a big breakthrough would mean for them. Would Steph leave LA…leave her? Would their relationship survive if Steph toured the country for months? Few comics on the road had successful relationships; she knew that. God, she had lost so much already. She couldn’t lose Steph too.
