Rest and Relaxation (Lesbian Romance)

by Rhavensfyre

  “Yes,” Allyse moaned.

  “Do you remember what I promised yet?” Dani asked, wrapping her arms around Allyse’s hips and drawing her up to her waiting lips. She dipped her head as if drinking from a mountain spring, drawing her tongue through the promised nectar and finding it as sweet as she had anticipated. There is no wine as intoxicating as this, she thought, no vintage as sweet as drinking passion directly from another woman.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Allyse woke up the next morning in Dani’s bed. She felt different, wonderfully awake and calm and aware of parts of her body she had forgotten to feel.

  The sunlight pouring through the bedroom window sent a warming glow throughout most of the room but it hadn’t found their shared bed yet. She didn’t mind, not with Dani curled up behind her. Better than any heating blanket, her warm body fit neatly into every curve and hollow, one arm wrapped so tightly around her that Allyse had to wonder if she was afraid to wake up and find her gone.

  I could get used to this, she thought, smiling with pleasure. She stretched, reveling in the pleasant ache in muscles that felt bruised and tender, even weak from overexertion. Memories of their night together came rushing back to the surface, like warm silk sliding across her mind and spilling across sensitive skin.

  Allyse turned over on her back so she could look at Dani, expecting her to still be asleep. She was surprised to find her awake and watching her.

  “Good morning,” Allyse practically purred. The drowsy expression on Dani’s face softened the warm brown eyes gazing down at her, Allyse quickly lost herself in those dark pools, stunned by how easy it was. She couldn’t remember having ever felt this deeply about another person before, but she couldn’t deny what she felt in her heart. Despite their short time together she was falling for Dani, for a woman she had to admit she just met and barely knew, if she hadn’t fallen already. But you do know her, a little voice inside her head reminded her, and you have met her. That consoled her and made everything seem a little more respectable. Allyse didn’t believe in love at first sight and she hated those cheesy romances littering the isles of grocery stores and airports.

  One funeral years ago may not count, but years of updates and anecdotes from Erick had been a mainstay of their off-work relationship…even if he had left out a few key points along the way. She knew Dani through Erick, better than she knew most of her friends in New York, most of whom were nothing better than acquaintances or required contacts within her social circle.

  “Good morning. How are you feeling?” Dani’s lips curled into a lazy smile that managed to pull off sexy without a single ounce of effort. That smile slipped when Allyse didn’t answer right away.

  “I feel wonderful, sweetheart. Don’t worry,” Allyse lifted Dani’s wandering hand up to her lips. She had been drawing small circles on her stomach, which felt wonderful but made it incredibly hard to think. “You’re distracting me. Not that I mind, but I do need to do something else first.”

  Allyse crawled out from under the warm covers and immediately started to shiver. She rubbed her arms, trying to friction rub her goose bumps away but didn’t bother looking for her robe. She didn’t feel the need to cover up. Dani had made her feel young and beautiful last night, and if the sensation of heat running across her backside was any indication, she was obviously enjoying the impromptu show she was providing. Allyse snuck a peek on her way into the bathroom and confirmed her suspicions. Dani was busy watching her walk away, shamelessly admiring the view.

  After completing her morning necessities, Allyse returned to the bedroom to find Dani out of bed and already half dressed, pulling on a pair of halfway decent jeans.

  “Is it okay if I borrow one of your shirts today?” Allyse asked, hesitating in the doorway. She had expected to crawl back into bed when she returned. Instead, she found Dani up and moving around.

  “Sure, help yourself.”

  Allyse cocked an eyebrow at the subdued response. Even accounting for the early hour and lack of caffeine, she was behaving oddly. Dani stood in the middle of the room, silently staring out the window while Allyse rummaged through her dresser. She found a shirt and turned to look for the rest of her clothes only to find Dani had turned to face her. She was staring at her with the oddest expression on her face.

  “God, I love you,” Dani blurted. The unexpected words burst out of her explosively, filling the empty space between them as loud as a thunderclap in the silence of the night.

  Allyse froze in shock, her discarded clothing all but forgotten while she tried to process what Dani had just said. Allyse licked her lips, nervously trying to formulate the right words in her head. When Dani closed her eyes, shuttering off the pain in her gaze, Allyse realized that she hadn’t said anything at all. Every line in Dani’s body grew taut, like a drawn and ready bow. She suddenly moved, launching away from Allyse in panic fueled flight.

  “Danielle Saxon, don’t you dare run out that door,” Allyse called out to her in a harsh voice that held the taste and tones of New York City, hard and unyielding as it slashed through the air. The use of her full name stopped Dani dead in her tracks. She twisted to stare back at Allyse.

  “I shouldn’t have said anything, I don’t know why I said anything. I should have just kept it to myself.” The words just tumbled out of her. Her face burned red in embarrassment. All she had wanted to do was escape from the damning silence but Allyse wouldn’t let her.

  “You didn’t give me a chance to respond.”

  Dani trembled like a deer ready to run but too fascinated by the light to move.

  “You don’t have to say anything. I don’t expect you to feel the same way. I mean, we’ve only known each other a short time and I know I’m the first woman you’ve ever been with.” The rapid fire words ran together and over each other, reflecting the feverish expression on Dani’s face. She raised her chin defiantly and glared at her. “I know there are a dozen women out there more suited to you but I won’t apologize for feeling the way I do.”

  “Would you just let me speak?” Allyse countered. She couldn’t believe what Dani's mind was coming up with. Her thoughts were moving too fast, spilling out of her violently like rocks crashing over the rim of a storm flooded waterfall. “If you would hush for a moment you might actually hear me when I speak. It’s incredible, your mind conjures all sorts of, of…I can’t even figure out how your mind works. Did you ever stop to think that the reason you are the first woman I have been with is because I was waiting for someone like you? That I wanted more than just sex?”

  Allyse was lost in her rant now, hoping that Dani would feel and understand the emotions behind her words. “You said it yourself yesterday. I was around all those women who would have gladly fallen into bed with me. I told you that I didn’t need the drama or the risk. It would have been different if I was looking for one night stands. No strings and no commitments.”

  Allyse paused, her eyes burning as her emotional plea threatened to bring tears. She had to stop and swallow before she could continue, forcing her throat to work past the large lump that had momentarily stolen her voice. “But that wasn’t what I wanted, not then and certainly not now. Last night happened because I wanted it to, because I had finally found what I had been looking for.” Her voice cracked. “Dani, sweetheart. Love is…love is something that exists on so many levels. I believe you when you say you love me, and that’s nothing to be ashamed of. But loving somebody and being in love with them, that’s a little more complicated. You said we hardly know each other, and that’s not true. I’ve known you for years, since before I saw you standing on that hillside at your uncle’s funeral. I’ve heard about you a hundred times over, through Erick, and I’m sure he’s talked about me. Dani. We know each other, and I think that makes all of this different. I think a part of me has loved you since that day, all alone and fiercely independent in your grief.”

  Allyse stopped then, half expecting Dani to tell her that she was mistaken. She was ready for that figh
t. She would always be ready for that fight.

  “You… love me?”

  Allyse shook her head. “More than that, sweetheart. I think I’m falling in love with you.” The distinction was subtle, but it held a lot of meaning to Allyse. She knew what a rare commodity love could be. To find someone who could hold your heart as deeply and completely as this inexplicable and unusual woman did, that was even rarer. “Now kiss me good morning, dear.”

  Dani happily complied. She leaned down and kissed Allyse, washing away her fears and doubts in the taste of soft lips, then wrapped her arms around Allyse's slim waist and spun her in a circle.

  “I need coffee,” Allyse said, laughing at Dani’s enthusiasm.

  “Are you sure? We could always go back to bed and celebrate.” Dani playfully offered, finding Allyse’s neck with her lips and nibbling gently.

  As appealing as that offer sounded, Allyse was still feeling last night. Not in a bad way, but in a way that said a few more hours and maybe a soak in a tub might be in order before she would be ready for a second round.

  “Um, Dani, sweetie? I need a little more recovery time,” Allyse stuttered. Her pulse thundered beneath lips that teased and made promises based on prior knowledge. Allyse moaned, quickly losing the fight between desire and reason, then moaned again in disappointment when Dani released her.

  “That’s okay, I understand. There’s always tonight.” Dani leaned down for one more kiss before heading to the bathroom herself. “I’ll meet you in the kitchen.”

  ***

  Allyse watched the door close behind Dani, waiting for the blood thundering in her temples to calm down before heading downstairs. God, that woman could kiss.

  Allyse had made the coffee and let Callie out and Dani still hadn’t made an appearance. In fact, it was suspiciously quiet upstairs. She stood at the base of the stairs and looked up, cocking her head as if that would help her hear any better. Dead silence. Not even the sound of the old farmhouse pipes rumbling from the shower running. Allyse considered calling out for her, but some gut instinct told her to just go up and see what Dani was doing. Trouble, probably.

  Dani wasn’t in the bedroom. The bed was still disheveled, a tousled testimony to last night’s activities that no one had volunteered to straighten up. None of the lumps were human sized, but she checked anyway, then laughed at herself.

  What had she been thinking—that Dani might have crawled back in bed without her? Allyse coughed. It wasn’t often that she amused herself. It was more likely she was still in the bathroom. The door was partially ajar, and the light was on.

  “Dani?”

  “In here,” Dani answered. “Come on in, I’m decent.”

  “What are YOU doing?” she exclaimed the second she pushed the door open. Dani was leaning against the bathroom countertop, picking at her stitches with a needle and a pair of tweezers.

  “Taking these out. They’re bothering me worse than the cut. The damn things itch and keep pulling.” Dani managed to make taking out your own sutures sound like the most natural and normal thing in the world to do. With her hand at eye level, she was carefully untying each knot with a needle.

  “Oh, ick. That has got to feel weird,” Allyse said with more than a hint of revulsion. She did have to admit that Dani had probably found the most creative way to remove a suture she had ever seen, but there was a better option. “Couldn’t we just go back to see the doctor so she could remove them?”

  “Naw. I’m almost done. Look, I’ve only got one more to go.” Dani held her palm up. The skin was still red and angry looking, but it had closed up nicely without any scabbing. The remaining suture stood out even more now that it was all alone, more decorative than useful by this time.

  “I cannot believe you are taking out your own stitches.”

  Dani shrugged, brought her hand back up to eye level and started stabbing at the last resistant knot with her needle. “I’ve done it before. It’s no big deal.”

  “Your calf?” Allyse had noticed the old scar last night.

  “Yes. You should have seen the look on Erick's face when he walked in to my room to see me doing this.” Dani rolled her eyes, then grinned when she caught the horrified look on Allyse’s face. “Yep, that’s the look.”

  She finally got the last knot loose. Foregoing the tweezers, Dani just pinched the end between her fingertips and pulled. Her grin turned into a chuckle when one end of the thread disappeared from one hole and slid out of the other and Allyse shuddered.

  “You were about twelve then, weren’t you?” Allyse asked, mentally rummaging through what Erick had told her of the accident that killed Dani’s parents.

  “Almost thirteen. Uncle Jay just took it in stride, like normal. It was Erick who went insane. He was sure I was going to lose my leg or something. He came down for the weekend, realized what I had done and completely freaked out. I didn’t see any reason to have him drive me all the way into town just to pull out a couple of sutures. It seemed kind of dumb when I could do it myself.” She shrugged. “You know Erick, he’s always been such a worry wart.”

  “I do, and I can just imagine how that all played out, too,” Allyse said, laughing at the younger woman’s very astute assessment. She could actually see the whole scene. Her longtime friend having a hissy fit of epic proportions when he found Dani removing her own stitches, especially at the tender age of twelve.

  “There! All done.” Dani held her hand out again for inspection.

  “Wow, you healed pretty quickly.”

  “Yes, I always do, and now I can do this.” Dani pulled Allyse in close, slipping her hand under Allyse’s shirt until she found skin. “And they won’t snag.” And I won’t have to wear a bandage on my hand the next time we make love, she thought.

  Allyse hummed in approval and leaned into Dani’s touch.

  “Is there still coffee for me?”

  “Yes, a fresh pot. What are we up to today?” Allyse asked, hoping their day might involve something other than horse training.

  “I have to do some shopping. Do you want to come with me?”

  “Really? We’re going out?” Allyse asked excitedly. She loved to shop and if Dani was planning on doing it willingly? The day was getting better by the minute.

  “Yeah.”

  Allyse glanced down at her plain jeans and borrowed t-shirt. “I’ll go get changed.”

  “What you have on is just fine for where we are going.”

  “Okay?”

  “Just trust me,” Dani said. “You look fine just the way you are.”

  ***

  Standing around in a dusty barn the color of elephant hide while Dani chatted up the owner about an even dustier pile of furniture was not her idea of shopping. The older gentleman was actually a crotchety looking farmer as weathered and gray as the building around them. He was actually a nice man, it was his son that was getting on her nerves. Fifty something and not as lean and earthy looking as his father, he seemed eager to sell something taking up space and getting him nothing in return. Dani had spent the last thirty minutes digging around, in and over items that looked like they had been dropped off and forgotten since before the telephone was invented. In other words, Dani was having a great time.

  Any other time and Allyse might have found it fascinating, watching how Dani listened to the old man as he explained the history behind the items she had expressed an interest in, but right now she was peeved. When someone says shopping, most people assume it involves stores and climate control. Of course, she had to admit to herself Dani wasn't most people and as much as she wouldn’t have it any other way, she was still ready to go. It was hot and dusty in the old barn and she was tired and itchy. Sweat beaded down her back, making the t-shirt she had borrowed from Dani stick to her uncomfortably.

  Dani shook the older man’s hand then handed him some cash. She seemed pleased with the deal until she turned back towards Allyse—then her smile faltered.

  “Are you doing okay?” she asked the minute
they escaped the oppressive interior.

  “Are you almost done here?” Allyse snapped, feeling more than a little cranky.

  “Yeah, his son is going to help load everything up and then we can go. Here, why don’t you turn on the truck and get the A.C. going?” Dani handed Allyse the keys before going around back to help with her new furniture.

  A few minutes later, Dani climbed back into the truck and pulled out into the road, being especially careful of the potholes. Since there were a lot of them, it was a good thing the road was empty, since the top heavy box truck wove drunkenly a few times to avoid a particularly bad patch. Dani was so thrilled about her finds today that it took her several minutes to realize Allyse was ignoring her. Halfway through her description of an old armoire she had bought that was over a hundred years old that would fetch a good price once she cleaned it up, Dani stopped chatting and glanced over at her silent passenger.

  “What’s wrong? Did his son say something to upset you?”

  “No. You know, when most people say shopping, they mean indoors with air conditioning and shiny things for sale, not dusty, hot barns.” She was tired and her words came out sharper than she had intended.

  “I’m sorry,” Dani sighed, rubbing her forehead with the back of her hand. She didn’t notice the smear of barn dust left behind from that tired motion. “I guess I’m not most people.”

  Allyse’s snapped her head around. “What is that supposed to mean?”

  “I shouldn’t have asked you to go with me. I mean, why would you, of all people, want to run around in dusty barns with me?”

  “Me? Of all people?” Allyse huffed, ready to be angry but unable to find it in her. Unfortunately, Dani had gone quiet and that meant she had stopped listening.

  Allyse massaged the tight muscles along Dani’s forearm in an unspoken plea to be heard. She had to be fair. Dani had never misled her, she just had a different concept of what shopping was. Taking the lesson to heart, Allyse made another Dani note in her head. The next time Dani offered to take her shopping, she would make sure to get more details.