Spectrum

by MJ Duncan

  Bryn gasped and bucked against Anna’s thigh.

  “You feel so good,” Anna murmured, brushing her lips over the shell of Bryn’s ear.

  “You do,” Bryn argued breathlessly.

  She tightened her hold on the hand that was pinning both of hers in place as their bodies began rocking together in earnest. It was a whole-body grind, hands then breasts then stomachs then hips, slow and sweet and fluid, backs arching, hips rolling, again and again and again until pleasure crashed over them both in shaking, trembling waves.

  The hold on Bryn’s hands above her head loosened, but she did not move her arms as light fingers traced down her inner forearm and over the curve of her bicep. Her breath caught in her throat when she finally opened her eyes and saw the way Anna was smiling at her, and she smiled back as she lifted her chin to brush their lips together. “Good morning.”

  Anna laughed. “Good morning to you, Ms. Nakamura.” She kissed Bryn softly. “You’re incredible.” She kissed her again, slower this time, bracing her weight on her right arm as she stroked Bryn’s jaw with her left. “I’m sorry I have to go to work.”

  “I am too.” Bryn brought her hands down from above her head and rested them on Anna’s hips, stroking her thumbs over soft, warm skin. “But it’s okay.” She sighed. “I have things I need to do too, unfortunately.”

  “The harvest?”

  Bryn nodded. “It’s our busiest time of the year.”

  Anna sighed dramatically. “So I guess it’s a good thing I have to drag my ass to the hospital, huh?”

  “In a way, yes.” Bryn wrapped her arms around Anna’s waist in in light embrace. “Though I would much rather stay here with you.”

  “I know the feeling,” Anna murmured, sealing their lips together in a sweet, affectionate kiss. “Being an adult sucks.”

  Bryn chuckled and nodded. “Indeed it does, Dr. Fitzpatrick.”

  “Will you make me some coffee and a bagel or something I can eat in the car while I shower real quick?” Anna batted her lashes hopefully. “I’d ask you to shower with me, but we ran out of hot water when we tried that yesterday and—” she glanced at the glowing green numbers on Bryn’s alarm clock and groaned, “—I’m already going to be pushing it to make rounds on time.”

  “Of course. I realize I’m a bit shorter than you, but if you need to borrow a suit…”

  “I’ll be okay,” Anna assured her with a smile. “I’ll just stop by my place real fast and change before heading in.” She captured Bryn’s lips in another lingering kiss, and sighed regretfully when it finally broke. “I really hate being an adult.”

  “I know, dear.” Bryn rubbed her hands over Anna’s ass before giving both cheeks a quick smack. “But if you don’t get off of me soon…”

  “You’ll get me off soon?”

  Bryn laughed, and then rolled her eyes and nodded. “Probably.”

  “You know—” Anna smirked, “—that’s not really encouraging me to move.”

  “I know. It’s not really encouraging me to let you go, either. But—”

  “It’s time to be responsible adults.” Anna dropped one last kiss to Bryn’s lips and then rolled out of bed. She stretched her arms up over her head and leaned back for a moment before straightening and letting them fall back to her sides with a petulant slap. “Stupid job.”

  Bryn’s eyes raked over Anna’s body as she ambled into the bathroom, her gaze lingering on the luscious swell of her ass until it disappeared from sight. “Stupid job, indeed,” she muttered as she slipped out of bed.

  She pulled on her favorite robe, an exquisite silver silk number that hit just above mid-thigh, and combed her hands through her hair as she headed down the hall to the kitchen. She bumped up the thermostat as she passed to combat the chill that had settled in the house overnight, which was especially noticeable since she wore nothing beneath her robe.

  Bryn stopped just long enough in the great room to turn on her favorite playlist, and she hummed along with the melody as she crossed the kitchen to turn on the coffee machine. She pulled two bagel halves from the freezer and popped them into the toaster oven as the Keurig warmed up, and with nothing left to do, she rubbed her hands over her arms to try and keep warm as she leaned against the counter, her thoughts drifting to the woman in her bedroom.

  Having Anna at Spectrum when she arrived home had been the perfect end to a horrific week. Even though it had been late and they had both been exhausted, seeing Anna’s face and being able to kiss her lips had made everything she had dealt with in Boston seem unimportant. They had spent so little time together exploring the change in their relationship before her trip that she found herself marveling at how easy it was for her to kiss Anna whenever the urge struck—and how natural it felt to do more than just kiss. She was still surprised by how she had known just how to touch and kiss Anna to give her pleasure; and thinking about the ways Anna had touched and kissed her in return made her pulse race.

  The toaster oven dinged, and Bryn sighed as she pushed herself off the counter. Anna was leaving for the hospital, and she needed to focus on the harvest—not how much she had loved it when Anna pinned her against the glass wall of the shower, their joined hands smearing a peek-a-boo window through the steam to their lust-filled reflections in the mirror across the room as she took her from behind.

  Though, now that that particular memory had crossed her mind, she could think of little else besides that encounter as she finished prepping Anna’s bagel and making her coffee.

  “Hey, beautiful,” a sultry voice whispered against her ear.

  Bryn closed her eyes and leaned back into Anna. That voice was not helping her stop thinking about the feeling of Anna’s fingers moving inside her. “Hey.”

  Anna pressed her lips to Bryn’s cheek. “The shower just wasn’t the same without you.”

  Bryn groaned. “Really?”

  Anna laughed and spun Bryn around so they were face-to-face. Her expression softened, and she sighed as she kissed Bryn tenderly. “I’m going to miss you.”

  “I’m going to miss you too,” Bryn murmured.

  “Wanna have dinner tonight?”

  “I do.” Bryn sighed and shook her head. “But I’m probably going to be busy down at the winery.”

  Anna nodded. “Can you maybe sneak away long enough to have dinner with me on Wednesday? I have a meeting after my clinic hours, but I can pick you up at five? Take you out on a real date?”

  Bryn chewed her lip thoughtfully. She had ducked down to the production room the night before to check the progress from the first day, and while she had been pleased to see that everything was more than under control, it had also felt weird to be so distanced from it all. But, at the same time, she wanted to spend time with Anna. “How about seven? The crews in the field tend to finish around that time because it’s dark by seven thirty, so I won’t miss too much, and…”

  “Seven it is,” Anna agreed without missing a beat.

  Bryn smiled. “Thank you.”

  “Thank you.” Anna captured Bryn’s lips in a soft kiss. “Can I call you later?”

  “You better,” Bryn murmured, brushing their lips together again as Anna’s hands drifted over her ass. She laughed as Anna squeezed hard enough to lift her up onto her toes, and shook her head as she pulled away. “Stop.”

  “Fine,” Anna grumbled, stealing one last kiss. “I need to get going anyway. I’ll call you when I get a chance to breathe.”

  Bryn caressed Anna’s lower lip with her thumb and nodded. “I look forward to it, Ms. Fitzpatrick.”

  Thirty-Eight

  The last load of Pinot grapes had been transferred from field to truck to crush pad by late Wednesday afternoon, and Bryn watched with a feeling of giddy excitement as the crew Gerald had hired sorted through the clusters. Gerald always bounced back and forth between the winery and the fields during the harvest, double-checking the readiness of each section being harvested and then scurrying back to the winery to oversee the beginn
ing of the fermentation process. These were the weeks where he truly earned the generous salary Bryn paid him, and she knew he was worth every penny she paid him as she watched him run himself ragged during these busy weeks making sure that everything that went into their finished product was as good as they could possibly make it.

  Bryn spent this time solely on the production floor, however, overseeing the sorting process and making sure that only the best grapes made their way into the fermentation takes. It was a tedious process, but an important one, and she slept better at night knowing that it had been done to her and Gerald’s exacting standards.

  Movement in her periphery caught her attention, and she smiled as she spotted Gerald striding across the processing floor of the winery with a pleased look on his face.

  “Really is an excellent crop, this year,” he announced without preamble, nodding for emphasis as Bryn fell into step beside him and they began inspecting everything on the crush pad. The crew surrounding the large, square stainless steel table worked fast, sorting through the grapes and pushing the cleared clusters toward the end of the table.

  “Good.” Bryn shoved her hands in her pockets as one of the workers pulled a dead lizard from the grapes and tossed it into a nearby trash can. Had she used a crusher-destemmer like her neighbors who cared more about volume than putting out the best product possible, it would have ended up crushed with the grapes and piped into the fermenting tanks, and she was certain that this was just one of the things that made Spectrum wines so much better than the competition.

  “We should have this last batch in the tank in a couple hours,” Gerald said as a field mouse followed the lizard into the trashcan.

  She checked her watch, and smiled. She had been so busy with the harvest over the last couple days that she did not have time to dwell on the fact that her only contact with Anna was over the phone—and only then when their respective schedules found a collective lull. But now, with the minutes ticking toward that moment when she would finally get to see her again, she was filled with a different kind of excitement.

  “Perfect.”

  “I agree.” Gerald nodded in agreement as he leaned forward to point out a cluster that was spoiled and needed to be pulled from the lot.

  Bryn watched as Gerald oversaw the sorting, a feeling of pride blooming in her chest as more and more grapes were pushed toward the conveyor at the end of the table. After this first sorting, the grapes would go through the destemmer that would separate the grapes from their stems, and then they would be sorted one last time before they were transferred to the fermenting tank.

  She let her thoughts drift to the coming evening as she watched Gerald and the men work. Anna would not tell her what she had planned for their “first official date”, but she had sounded quite pleased with herself when she told Bryn that she would be at Spectrum promptly at seven to pick her up and to “wear something nice”.

  Bryn checked the time again. It was nearing five, and she still had no idea what she was going to wear. She knew that she wanted it to be something special, but she did not know if that something special should be slacks and a blouse or a dress. She was looking forward to the surprise of it all, but she wished Anna had given her at least a small clue about what they would be doing so she could dress appropriately.

  Before she could get herself too worked up about it, however, her phone rang in her hand. Kendall’s name showed on the caller-ID, and Bryn smiled as she turned away from the crush pad to take the call. “Hey, stranger.”

  “Hey, yourself,” Kendall drawled cheekily. “How’s it going?”

  “The last batch of Pinot grapes are being sorted now,” Bryn reported as she made her way outside through the open doors of the processing floor. “How’s it going there?”

  “It’s going. I just hadn’t heard from you since you got back from your trip, and I wanted to make sure everything was okay. How’s Anna?”

  “Anna is great.” Bryn lifted her face to the sun, enjoying the warmth on her skin, and sighed. “Really great.”

  Kendall chuckled. “Somebody got laid.”

  Bryn rolled her eyes. While not at all surprising, the comment still made her blush. “Must you torture me?”

  “It’s in my job description as your best friend, yes,” Kendall quipped. “So…how was it? Amazing, right?”

  “Incredible,” Bryn admitted with a smile.

  “Good,” Kendall murmured, her voice soft and warm and pleased. “I’m really happy for you, Bryn.”

  “Thanks,” Bryn whispered. “I’m actually going to see her again tonight. She’s taking me out—though she won’t tell me where.”

  “Aww, good. You deserve to be spoiled. Did she give you any hints?”

  “Just to wear something nice, like that really helps,” Bryn grumbled.

  Kendall laughed. “What are you going to wear?”

  “I don’t know. I keep going back and forth between slacks and a dress.”

  “Definitely go with the dress.”

  “You think?”

  “Oh yeah. Didn’t you see the way she looked at you when you came out in that dress for the Harvest Festival—she was practically drooling. If you want to knock her socks off, you should definitely wear a dress. And heels. Totally girl it up.”

  “Okay.” Bryn felt a little better now that she at least knew which section of her closet to restrict her outfit search. “Any other tips?”

  “Have fun,” Kendall replied seriously. “You don’t need tips from me about this. It’s Anna. Everything will be great.”

  Bryn sighed. “I know. And, thanks.”

  “My pleasure. So, you started the harvest, huh?”

  “Sunday morning,” Bryn confirmed as she wandered back inside. She leaned against the wall by the door to watch the crew work.

  “How’s it looking?”

  “Gerald seems quite pleased, so I’m hopeful it’ll be another great year.” Bryn knocked on the wooden wall behind her.

  “I’m sure it will be. How was Boston?”

  “Boston was Boston,” Bryn muttered. “My mother tried to set me up once again.”

  “Fucking hell. That woman is relentless. How’d it go?”

  “Not as bad as the other times she’s tried it,” Bryn shared. “His name is Edward. He’s running for District Attorney in Boston, and he has a boyfriend.”

  Kendall cackled gleefully. “That’s awesome.”

  Bryn grinned. “Right?”

  “So are you two like each other’s beards now? I’m assuming that since your mother tried to set you up, knowing her gossipy well of intel, that he’s not out.”

  Bryn bit her lip, the guilt she had felt that night twisting her stomach uncomfortably once again as she remembered the way she had avoided revealing Anna’s true identity to him. “He’s not out. And, maybe? I mean, we actually got along quite well, so it wasn’t hard to make my mother believe that we hit it off, but I don’t think this will be an ongoing arrangement or anything.”

  “Yeah, but if you tell your mother you two aren’t seeing each other, she’s just going to try again.”

  Bryn nodded and pinched the bridge of her nose. “I know. But I won’t worry about it until December when I have to go back for the end-of-year meetings.”

  “That sounds logical,” Kendall agreed. “No point stressing about it until you have to.”

  “Exactly. So…how’s Jen?”

  “She’s great. Busy with work, but I’ve seen her a few times since she got back from Germany.” Kendall sighed “Can you hold on? One of the associates is hovering in my doorway looking like a kid who’s been sent to the principal’s office.”

  “Of course,” Bryn murmured, pushing off the wall and wandering back toward the crush pad. There was only a narrow swath of purple grapes left on the first sorting table, and Bryn chewed her lip thoughtfully, flipping through her mental catalogue of her closet’s contents as she watched clusters of grapes make their way along the conveyor belt into the destemm
er.

  “Sorry.” Kendall came back on the line after a moment. “But I’m going to have to cut this short. I need to go put out a fire.”

  “No problem,” Bryn said, nodding. “Have fun. Don’t kill anyone.”

  Kendall chuckled darkly. “Yeah. Right. Call me tomorrow and tell me how your date went.”

  Bryn smiled. “I will.”

  “Good. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, then,” Kendall said, disconnecting the call without another word.

  Bryn smoothed her thumb over the edge of her phone as she walked around the other end of the conveyor belt to watch the grapes being sorted a second time. The occasional spoiled grape that escaped the first purge was plucked from the table and tossed, but for the most part the men seemed to be pleased with what they found. Gerald, who was on the opposite side of the table from her, his expression intent but relaxed, looked up at her and nodded once.

  They were good.

  Bryn took a deep breath and let it go slowly, and smiled as she nodded back, a feeling of calm spreading through her as the grapes began being shuttled to their designated fermenting tank. The weight of the grapes in the tank would help them crush themselves, and then it became a simple matter of chemistry. Sugars becoming alcohol, color and flavor deepening until what was left was ready to be strained and transferred to a barrel for aging. She loved watching the grapes grow and mature on the vine, but this was the part of the process that fascinated her.

  She checked the time on her phone again.

  “If there’s somewhere you need to go, I have this covered,” Gerald told her kindly.

  Bryn gave him a curious look. “Are you done in the field for the day?”

  He nodded. “Yes. Ian has everything covered out there.” Ian was a viticulture and enology student at Dickenson that was doing an internship at Spectrum as part of his required coursework. “I’m going to be here for the rest of the afternoon, checking the progress of the grapes we sorted yesterday and making sure this lot is set up correctly, so if you need to go, it’s not a big deal.”

  She did not need to go just yet, she would only need an hour to shower and get ready, but her mind was not on what was happening here, either. A part of her was frustrated with herself for being so distracted during this important time, but there was a larger part of herself that knew it was healthy for her to not be so focused on it all. Gerald was among the best in his field—smart, dedicated, and with an almost preternatural knowledge of just what needed to be done to the grapes given to him to turn them into something wonderful—and he did not need her constantly looking over his shoulder.