by Radclyffe
Quinn could have walked away. She could have insisted on waiting until Honor could tell her everything that she wanted to hear. Instead, she ran her thumb over the surface of Honor’s ring finger. “You’re not wearing your wedding ring.”
“No,” Honor replied softly. “I’m not.”
“How come?” Quinn’s voice was low and heavy, a languorous caress.
“Because...” Honor swallowed, her heart beating furiously in her throat. “Because I wanted tonight to be just us.”
“I promise,” Quinn leaned forward, her mouth moving gently over Honor’s as she whispered, “it will be.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Honor waited for Quinn in front of the car, then took her hand and together, they climbed the back stairs to the kitchen. Wordlessly, Honor led her down the hallway, dimly lit by a muted chandelier, to the stairs ascending to the second floor and her bedroom. At the foot of the stairs, she turned and met Quinn’s gaze.
“We could have a drink in the living room and listen to some music, or—”
“You know,” Quinn interrupted gently, “you’ve been taking all the risks lately. It’s about time I took some.”
At Honor’s questioning gaze, Quinn smiled. “You asked me out tonight, remember? And you asked me to come in just now, too. I know neither of those things was easy for you.” Skimming her fingertips through the hair at the base of Honor’s neck, she framed Honor’s face in both hands, palms lightly cupping her jaw. Carefully, she brought her mouth to Honor’s and kissed her, a slow, thorough kiss that left them both slightly breathless. “Let me be the one to say that I want to make love with you now. Right now.”
“Yes.” Honor’s voice rang with both certainty and longing. Her grip on Quinn’s hand tightened as they climbed the stairs.
In the bedroom, Honor released Quinn’s hand to cross the room and turn on a lamp in the far corner. It illuminated the room in a warm golden glow. Hesitantly, she turned to Quinn, who waited just inside the door. “Unless you’d rather not have the light?”
“It’s perfect.” The corner of Quinn’s mouth lifted. “I want to look at you as much as I want to touch you.”
Honor trembled even as heat suffused her. “I...believe it or not, this is new for me.”
“Me, too.” Quinn walked to within a foot of her and stopped. She looked into Honor’s eyes as she said, “I’ve never been with a woman I’ve wanted so much in so many ways.” She lifted her hand, rested her fingertips against the curve of Honor’s cheek. “I want to see you, touch you—know you. All of you—everywhere.”
“Quinn,” Honor murmured thickly. She slipped her hands inside Quinn’s blazer, careful not to touch Quinn’s body as she lifted the jacket up and off, enjoying the waiting as much as the wanting. Then she wrapped her arms around Quinn’s neck and melted into her.
Each time they embraced, it was as natural as breathing. With a groan, Quinn did what she’d been wanting to do for the last five hours. She slid her hands around Honor’s waist, gently pulled the blouse from the waistband of the silk slacks, and spread her hands across Honor’s naked lower back. The flesh beneath her fingers was hot, the muscles quivering. She spread her fingers lower, over Honor’s buttocks, and guided Honor against the curve of her abdomen and thighs.
Rocking her hips indolently, Honor nuzzled Quinn’s neck, then the undersurface of her jaw, then her earlobe, catching skin gently between her teeth before licking the tiny pinpoints of pain with the tip of her tongue. With a hand between their bodies, she deftly loosed the buttons on Quinn’s shirt and slipped her hand inside, pressing her palm to Quinn’s lower abdomen, fingertips barely grazing the upper edge of her briefs.
Quinn jerked at the touch and brought her lips to the hollow at the base of Honor’s throat. “I’ve wanted this so much.”
“Oh,” Honor breathed as the muscles jumped beneath her hand, “I love the way you get so tight when I touch you.” Slowly, she raked her nails up the center of Quinn’s belly as she flicked her tongue along the edge of Quinn’s ear. When Quinn shuddered and groaned again, she murmured, “You like?”
“You’re killing me.”
Honor tilted her head back and laughed, the sound throaty and deep. Delighted. “Not just yet I’m not.”
Fighting to clear her head of the haze of desire, Quinn kissed Honor’s neck, then moved her lips in a languorous trail down the center of Honor’s chest. She worked the first button on the royal blue blouse free and parted the material with her fingers so that she could press her face between Honor’s breasts. When she turned her head and kissed the swell of firm flesh, Honor’s fingers came into her hair and drew her even closer.
“Your lips are so soft,” Honor gasped as Quinn’s tongue flicked teasingly against the edge of her nipple.
The catch of excitement in Honor’s voice made Quinn’s head swim. The rush of arousal was so swift it nearly brought her to her knees. She wanted to touch Honor everywhere, with her hands, with her mouth, to be deep inside her, surrounded by her. The need was so overpowering, it terrified her. Nearly choking on the urgency, she lifted her face from Honor’s breasts and, with trembling hands, slowly released the remaining buttons on Honor’s blouse. After lifting it off, she reverently cradled her palms beneath Honor’s breasts, her thumbs stroking the hard nipples.
“Oh! I...think it’s time to lie down.” Honor’s head was thrown back, her back arched as she unconsciously thrust her breasts harder into Quinn’s hands.
“Let me undress you first.” Quinn caught a taut nipple with her teeth and tugged sharply.
A startled cry of pleasure tore from Honor’s throat, and she sagged against Quinn’s body, her legs trembling. “Baby, please.”
The endearment—so unexpected, so sweet—broke Quinn’s control. She dropped to her knees, her deft surgeon’s hands already working the zipper open on Honor’s slacks while she rested her face against Honor’s abdomen, sucking at the soft skin around her navel. With one hand she slid the fabric down to bare Honor’s legs; with the other she stroked the satin-smooth skin high on her inner thighs.
Honor, the blood draining from her head to pool and pound between her thighs, put her hands on Quinn’s shoulders to steady herself. She felt the heat of Quinn’s mouth move down her abdomen and the clever fingers teasing her. She wanted Quinn’s touch, had craved it for so long, but now the pleasure was so sharp she was close to exploding. Summoning all her willpower, she pulled Quinn’s head back until Quinn’s eyes, clouded with lust, rose to hers. “Not yet. I’ll come too soon.”
Quinn groaned, but she stilled her hand. “Tell me what you want.”
Honor smoothed her fingers over Quinn’s damp face, running a finger over her lips, then dipping the tip into her mouth. “I want you to make love to me until I scream, until you scream.”
Closing her eyes, still on her knees, Quinn sucked Honor’s finger, then bit the tip gently. As she did, she unbuckled the belt at her waist and slid down her fly. When she released Honor’s finger, she rose and swiftly stripped bare. Holding Honor’s gaze, she found Honor’s hand and lifted it with trembling fingers to her lips. “Anything.”
Honor let her gaze drift slowly over Quinn’s naked form, glorying in the sleek muscles and sweat-sheened skin. She placed both palms on Quinn’s abdomen, then slid her hands upward, massaging the dancing muscles and tracing the curve of ribs until her hands covered Quinn’s breasts. When she squeezed gently, Quinn moaned, her lids nearly closed, and dropped her head to rest her forehead against Honor’s. With a single finger, Honor tenderly traced the scar on Quinn’s chest, outlining the hard shape beneath the velvet skin.
Quinn brought her hands up to cover Honor’s. “It’s all right.”
“Oh, yes,” Honor whispered, moving Quinn’s hands aside and leaning to kiss the scar. “It’s just fine.”
“I don’t think I can wait any longer,” Quinn confessed, her lips against Honor’s neck, shivering as their bare bodies touched. “I need to touch you.�
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“I want you to.”
Together, they moved to the bed. Honor lay down, reached for Quinn, and pulled her into her arms as she spread her thighs and lifted her hips in welcome. When Quinn fit effortlessly against her, firm muscles pressing into her tender, swollen flesh, she moaned. “Oh, you feel so right.”
Quinn braced herself with her arms on either side of Honor’s shoulders and thrust gently, thrilling to the answering rise of Honor’s hips. She’d come quickly if she wasn’t careful, and careful was what she wanted to be this first time. Careful to ensure that Honor felt the depths of her desire and knew nothing but pleasure. She would have been fine if Honor hadn’t arched up and captured a nipple in her mouth. The unexpected shaft of pleasure that shot through her nearly undid her.
“Oh God,” Quinn cried. Her clitoris twitched dangerously, and she knew that orgasm was seconds away. She shifted to ease the ominous pressure between her thighs, but Honor moaned in protest at her withdrawal. Voice rasping in her throat, she pleaded, “Wait, Honor...oh please, wait.”
Through the mists of nearly overwhelming need, Honor heard the desperate edge in Quinn’s voice. Wrapping her arms around Quinn’s back, she shifted until Quinn was beneath her and she was straddling Quinn’s hips. Breathing hard, she swept the hair back from her face with one hand and rode Quinn rhythmically. “You are...so so sexy.”
It was Quinn’s turn to reach up and clasp the rose-tipped breasts that swayed above her. When she closed her fingers around the swollen flesh, Honor whimpered wildly.
“I’m going to come...on you,” Honor gasped, fingers digging into Quinn’s forearms.
“Yes, oh yes.” Quinn thumbed Honor’s nipples harder, pushing her closer to the edge with each stroke. Her own hips bucked and tossed, pumping involuntarily as she hovered close to climaxing. Honor was so beautiful, so fierce and strong, Quinn wanted to shout with the wonder of her. She would have, if she’d been able to draw a full breath, but Honor was wet against her stomach, pistoning her hips faster and faster as she rocketed toward orgasm, and all Quinn could do was marvel.
“Oh!” Honor shouted, half surprised and half ecstatic, as she stiffened and then shuddered. Head back, eyes closed, she gripped Quinn’s hands and held them to her breasts, their fingers interlacing, an anchor in the storm of sensation.
Quinn stopped breathing as Honor climaxed, too stunned by the beauty of it to even notice the wild pounding of her own heart or the churning need deep inside. When at last Honor emitted a final small whimper and collapsed, Quinn caught her with an arm around her waist and a hand cradling her head, drawing her down into a soothing embrace.
“Honor,” Quinn breathed reverently, her lips against Honor’s damp cheek. “Oh, Honor.”
Still shivering in the aftermath of her explosive release, Honor pressed her face to Quinn’s neck and clutched her strong shoulders, needing her solid presence while inside a tempest raged. Nearly overcome with the unexpected intensity of her response, she couldn’t think, couldn’t speak. It had been more than physical, more than sex—Quinn had reached inside her and touched a place that had lain barren for so long that the awakening was like rebirth. She ached with the joy of it.
“Oh my God,” Honor gasped.
Quinn stroked her back, her shoulders, her face, not with passion now, but with tenderness. She was more than a little frightened. Honor was still shaking, and she very much feared that there were tears falling on her neck. She whispered, “Honor? Are you all right?”
Honor shook her head and shifted until her cheek rested against Quinn’s chest. “Uh-uh.”
Quinn’s stomach clenched with dread. “Then what is it?”
“I didn’t expect to feel this way.”
God, what way? Sorry? Regretful? Quinn swallowed around the lump of anxiety in her throat. “Tell me.”
Honor smoothed her palm down the center of Quinn’s chest to her abdomen and slowly circled over the firm muscles. Quinn twitched, making Honor smile. “I was hoping I would feel comfortable...being physical with you.” She gave a self-conscious laugh. “I was mostly hoping I’d remember what to do.”
“Believe me, you remember just fine.” Quinn was trying hard to concentrate on what Honor was saying, but the teasing fingers, straying lower and lower, consumed all her attention. Her hips lifted in silent supplication, the blood racing once again into already oversensitive tissues, trumpeting her desire. She reached down and covered Honor’s hand, stilling the agonizingly sweet touch. “Are you upset?”
“No,” Honor said in amazement. “I feel...wonderful.”
Wonderful? The relief that followed so closely upon the fear sent Quinn’s head spinning and her heart speeding again. “Oh...that’s good. Very good.”
Honor levered up on an elbow and rested her palm against Quinn’s cheek, reveling in the darkly handsome face in the pale lamplight. “Just being close to you was enough to send me off. I can’t...that’s never happened to me before.”
“I’ve never experienced anything as incredible as being with you,” Quinn whispered, tracing trembling fingers over Honor’s face. She made a small choking sound when Honor smoothed a hand between her thighs. “Oh God.”
“Quinn, you’re so beautiful.” Honor’s lids flickered, her pupils dilating with a sudden resurgence of arousal. Slowly, reverently, she stroked the length of Quinn’s clitoris, squeezing very lightly, then dipping lower into the waiting warmth.
Quinn pressed her lips to Honor’s palm, struggling to absorb the deluge of sensation—the heat of Honor’s body, the scent of her excitement, the agonizingly slow torture of her sweet caresses. Her legs tightened, her stomach quivered, and she drew a sharp uneven breath. Desperately, she sought Honor’s eyes. “I want to come. Can I come?”
Honor’s lips curled into a tender smile while her eyes glowed with something more like triumph. She leaned over until her lips brushed Quinn’s and murmured, “Yes. Now.”
The first wave whipped through her, jerking her off the bed. The titanic contractions bent her nearly double and she curled into Honor’s arms, clinging to her as the breath was ripped from her body on a strangled shout.
Never stopping her smooth, rhythmic strokes, Honor coaxed Quinn to yet another peak when she pressed inside and thrust deeply. She was lost in the velvet heat and would have continued forever if Quinn hadn’t grasped her wrist and stilled her motion.
Gasping, Quinn croaked, “God, I’m done.” She shuddered and laughed unsteadily. “Usually, I’m only good for one.”
“Oh yeah?” Honor’s voice wavered as she kissed the tip of Quinn’s chin. “I don’t think this is the usual situation.”
“Neither do I.”
Blindly, Honor reached down, found the crisp cotton sheet she had put on the bed earlier that afternoon, and pulled it up over them. She lay on her back and pulled Quinn close, wrapping her arms around her and insinuating one thigh between Quinn’s. She couldn’t bear for any part of them not to be touching. Whatever this is, it’s new to me.
“Honor?” Quinn mumbled as she cupped Honor’s breast in her palm, fighting the lassitude that suffused her in the aftermath of pleasure.
“Mmm?”
“Sure everything’s all right?”
God, I have no idea. Honor brushed the hair back from Quinn’s brow and traced her thumb along the arch of her cheekbone and over her jaw, cradling Quinn’s face against her neck. “You feel so right here. That’s all I know.”
Quinn drifted off, knowing that it was more than right. It was everything.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Honor slowly stirred to the sensation of warm honey, thick and sweet, flowing through her limbs. Groaning with a combination of pleasure and utter contentment, she stretched, languid and graceful as a cat. Her left hand brushed a firmly muscled shoulder, and she stiffened, suddenly bewildered by the presence of another’s presence where none had been for years. In the next instant, she remembered taking Quinn to her bed and the moments of wild abandon th
at had followed. Vaguely embarrassed, she felt her stomach tighten at the memory nonetheless.
Soft lips brushed her ear, and warm breath trickled over her neck as the familiar, deep voice murmured, “Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.” At the same time, deft fingers skimmed over her breasts, bringing her nipples to painfully pleasant erection. “Yet.”
“Mmm.” Honor gazed at Quinn through half-opened lids, aware of the tingling in her skin and the heavy urgency in the pit of her stomach. “Have you been awake long?”
Quinn leaned on one elbow, drawing strands of Honor’s hair through her fingers as she smoothed the other hand over Honor’s abdomen and thighs. “Five minutes or so.”
“Have you been...touching me the whole time?” Is that what has me so aroused, so ready right now?
“Guilty.” One corner of Quinn’s mouth lifted in a satisfied grin. “Do you mind?”
Honor’s legs tensed as Quinn traced a single finger slowly along the line between her abdomen and thigh. Her words came out on a gasp. “You have...oh God...an interesting way of saying good morning.”
“Wait until you hear the rest of what I have to say,” Quinn whispered, lowering her head to catch Honor’s lower lip between her teeth. She sucked gently as she brushed her fingers between Honor’s legs, her pulse racing crazily as Honor’s hips lifted to press against her palm. As she slid her fingertips on either side of Honor’s clitoris, caressing lightly, she echoed the movements with her tongue in Honor’s mouth—long, teasing, relentless strokes. She didn’t hurry, not even when Honor shuddered and moaned. Her own arousal was coiled tight in her belly, a wild thing demanding to be let loose, but she kept a firm hold on her desire. This time, the only thing she wanted was Honor’s pleasure.
