“So have I. I’m glad to know it had the same effect on you.” Her eyes wandered lovingly over Kasey’s face before settling on her lips.
Softly Kasey warned, “Don’t look at me like that unless you mean it.”
“Oh, I mean it,” she whispered back, her eyes fixed on Kasey’s.
Kasey’s eyes moved to Connie’s beautiful lips, her heart racing. Softly she whispered, “Tell me what you want.”
“I want you to kiss me again. And this time don’t stop.”
Warm, slow touches of her wonderful lips awakened the ache that had started a long week ago. They tasted each other, open and wet. A low moan told of Connie’s pleasure, expressing passion never experienced with a man. Kasey pulled her lips from Connie’s. Teasingly delicate touches from the tip of her tongue sent a current from Connie’s lips to her very center. Her eyes opened into the blue intensity enveloping her. “Yes,” was all she said, short and whispery, an expression of the beginning fire of passion. Connie pressed her open mouth to Kasey and yielded to the softness.
She grabbed Kasey’s T-shirt in a silent demand for closeness. Kasey climbed onto the bed, pressed warm kisses into her neck, and gathered Connie into her arms. Their bodies, defined beneath their T-shirts by the heat they were creating, now pressed into a full embrace. They explored carefully with their hands, their mouths, their eyes. Gently nuzzling and caressing.
“This is wonderful,” murmured Connie. “I never knew it could be like this.”The slowness of their caresses nurtured not only their physical desire for each other but also a special span of time that had always been missing for Connie—a time that provided a tenderness she needed, a slowness, a crescendo of emotion. And while their eyes spoke love to each other, their physical excitement grew to an overwhelming tension.
“How do you make me ache so?” Connie whispered. “Never have I wanted anyone like this.”
Kasey met her lips again, the excitement of love and passion surging through her. She kissed Connie deeply, wanted her desperately. Her hands found the warmth of Connie’s skin beneath the loose shirt and covered her with loving touches. Sighs of appreciation became gasps of pleasure at the gentle squeezing of a hardened nipple, at teasing fingers slipping around the waistband of her panties.
Connie’s hands also explored—over the nicely muscled thighs, over the round firm buttocks, under cloth to feel the strength of her back. “Take this off, Kasey,” she whispered, pushing the shirt up.
Kasey removed her T-shirt and underwear while the fire’s red glow danced among the golden hairs and flickered across her beautiful form. There was no nervousness, no apprehension; there was only appreciation and love as Connie reached for Kasey. Her expressive hands glided freely over the warm, smooth skin. No one would ever be able to convince her now that this was wrong. Nothing this deep in her soul could ever be denied. She was sure of that now, very, very sure. She closed her arms, embracing Kasey’s strong naked body. Tantalizing touches from her lips whispered across Kasey’s shoulder and up the back of her neck. Her hands covered the soft breasts, firm rosebuds pressing into her palms. Releasing a deep slow breath, Kasey leaned her head back submissively. “You’re absolutely beautiful,” whispered Connie, squeezing the buds between her fingers.
In the dimness, Connie caught a brief glimpse of shimmering blue lifting from her body to look into her eyes. “I’ve wanted to be skin to skin with you from the first time I saw you.” Kasey’s words filled Connie with excitement as Kasey’s arms laid her gently back on the bed. Strong hands touched her, softly and carefully. Caressing, touching, loving her. And her body answered them, moving to them, wanting their caring, needing their arousal. Connie surrendered to their tenderness until her whole being belonged to her new lover.
For the first time in her life, someone was making love to her, pleasing her, giving unselfishly to her. She didn’t think it was possible to be any more in love with Kasey, but her love seemed to be growing with each new whisper, each new sensation. She closed her eyes and savored every touch as Kasey’s wonderful lips kissed her breasts, her neck. Connie’s body moved to her lover’s fervor and asked for more. Part of her wanted the sensations to go on forever; another part of her wanted this need driven to its climax. Never before had she relinquished control like this. Never before had she trusted so completely. Connie opened her eyes as Kasey moved her warm naked body up against her. There wasn’t an experience in her life that compared with the sensuousness of this woman’s body against her own. Hot wetness sliding together, the heat of her melting into Kasey, no longer separate. “I love you so much, Connie.”
Connie tasted the sweet skin, breathing in the scent of her. “You’re everything I’ve ever dreamed of,” she whispered. She felt the heat of Kasey’s desire for her and gave in to an intensity that rocked her body with sensation. Desire now electrified every nerve, clouded thought, demanded satisfaction. She rode desperately the thigh pressed between her legs. She cried out her desperation on ragged breaths, until finally a hand slid under her buttocks, cradling her gently. The other hand replaced Kasey’s thigh, and her strong skillful fingers stroked Connie wonderfully and perfectly, creating a feeling of desire so incredible that Connie could no longer tell which hand was doing what. “Oh, yes, Kasey, yes,” she gasped, “I love you ... I ... love you.” She had no control left. It was lost completely to the accomplished hands and the warm wet mouth on her breast. With a tremendous cry of release she came to her lover in a strong and powerful orgasm—the first not of her own making. She had come so easily, as easily as she had fallen in love with Kasey, as intensely as she had always known it should be.
For the next few minutes, she enjoyed being nestled in Kasey’s embrace, her body still tingling with pleasure. She welcomed the sweet kisses and delicate touch of Kasey’s fingertips as they traced imaginary lines along the contours of her body.
“I don’t think you’ll ever know how much I love you,” Connie said, following Kasey’s eyes up to her own.
“How long do you think it will take to show me?”
“I’d say at least a lifetime.”
“Then maybe you’d better start right now,” Kasey said softly. She lay back on the bed, pulling Connie with her.
“You’re such a wonderful lover.” She gently stroked Kasey’s face. “I don’t know if I can—”
“Shh,” she whispered. “You will.”
Carefully, almost reverently, Connie caressed and kissed the smooth, taut skin of Kasey’s body. She realized very soon how wonderful it was to feel the woman she loved responding to her touch, moving to her rhythm, and wanting her lips, her tongue, her love. And almost too soon Connie knew the joy of satisfying a woman. She felt the power of the orgasm she had created and drew excitement from it as she drew air into her lungs. It exhilarated her with a thrill nearing the emotional ecstasy of her own orgasm. But the emotion of it went on, past desire, past orgasm. She couldn’t stop. There was so much more she needed to give. She continued to cover Kasey’s breasts and neck and lips with kisses filled with feelings of love.
“Mmm, you’re so very good,” Kasey managed between kisses. “Have you ever given this much love before?”
Nuzzling her face into Kasey’s neck, she answered, “I’ve never felt this kind of love before. How did you do this to me?”
“I don’t know, but I’m glad I did.”
For some time after, they talked and cuddled and narrowed their world to each other. They looked into each other’s heart and found themselves there. It was the closeness Connie had always longed for, a closeness she never wanted to be without again. Kasey pulled the blanket over Connie and got up. “I’ll be right back.” Snuggling beneath the blanket, Connie watched her lover’s outline dimly lit against the darkness as she approached the fireplace.
The white ashes, still in the shape of a log, began falling away, exposing the red coals within. Kasey knelt and stirred the fading coals before adding fresh wood. A soft, warm glow momentarily illuminated
her face before she disappeared into the shadows. For a strange moment, she seemed like a vision in a dream, one that had always just eluded her awakened thought. Now, though, her vision had a face, a name, and a love for her that she could feel.
The stirred coals flickered again with renewed life. As Kasey slipped in under the blanket, the small flames grew stronger and hotter, quietly spreading their warmth. With the feel of Kasey’s skin against hers, Connie closed her eyes and whispered, “Make love to me again, so I know you’re not a dream.”
Finally consumed by the heat, the logs burst into flames, lighting up the little room. Its warmth would last until dawn.
Twenty-three
Neither of them had wanted to leave the cabin yesterday, and neither of them had wanted to part last night. Both, however, needed to prepare for work this morning, and benefited from a full night’s sleep. Kasey leaped up the front steps of the porch. Sharon and Troy were already at work, but nothing was going to bother her today. Not the traffic, not being late, not even Sharon. Not today. She felt wonderful. Today, the house could fall down around her and she’d patiently put it back together, piece by piece. She smiled to herself.
From the entranceway, she could see Sharon diligently applying mud to a joint on the dining room wall. Quietly, Kasey crept up behind her and grabbed her sides, startling Sharon so much she dropped the mud knife.
“Dammit, Kasey!” she yelled, slightly embarrassed at her sudden fright.
Kasey grabbed her around the shoulders. She hugged her as she laughed and kissed the side of her head. “I’m sorry,” she apologized with a big smile.
Sharon picked up the knife and scraped the mud off the floor. “I guess I don’t have to ask what this mood means,” she said with detectable sarcasm. “I figured as much after the first hour and you still weren’t here.”
“That part you’re wrong about,” returned Kasey on her way out of the room. “I went to the county building and picked up the deed for this place. I have to drop it off at the bank today. Otherwise,” she said, sticking her head back around the corner of the doorway, “you’re right.”
Sharon shook her head as she watched her friend disappear into the hallway. Knowing all too well how strong the impulses of love are, she had expected the situation to evolve as it had, sooner or later. Yet as happy as it seemed to make Kasey, Sharon wasn’t pleased at all. Just another heartache waiting to happen, she thought, as she went back to work.
Entering the kitchen that had frustrated her so last week, Kasey leaned over a kneeling Troy and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Hey, handsome,” she said, kissing his cheek.
“Hey, yourself,” he said as he stood. “You must have had a great weekend. You haven’t acted like this since—”
“Never mind. You ready to send this thing into the driveway?” She motioned toward the sink and counter.
“Whatever your heart desires,” he grinned.
“It’ll have to do for now.”
“Let’s do it,” he said, handing her the crowbar.
They worked hard through the rest of the morning, tearing out the old plumbing and sink and clearing the kitchen of the old cabinets in good time to break for lunch. “Nice work, Stanley,” Kasey remarked, watching Troy load the last of the rotted flooring into the construction bin.
“Why, thank you, Ollie,” he teased back, characteristically scratching the top of his head.
“Time for lunch, wouldn’t you say?” she asked, picking up the tools from the floor.
“That would be wonderful, Ollie.”
An unexpected knock directed their attention toward the side door, where Connie stood in the doorway holding a dozen long-stemmed roses. “How’s my timing?” she asked, with a captivating smile. “Is it soup yet?”
“Hey, Connie, those for me?” Troy teased.
“This one is.” She took one de-thorned rose and laid it over his ear. “And these are for you,” she said, walking toward Kasey.
“Ooh, it must have been a good weekend,” Troy beamed.
“Bye, Troy,” Kasey said, not taking her eyes from Connie’s. “Shut the door on your way out.”
He headed for the doorway, still smiling. “There isn’t one.” Then turning around he added, “Don’t forget that.”
Kasey, however, wrapped up in the moment, wasn’t thinking about anything except Connie.
In the years that he had known Kasey was gay, Troy had never seen her show that kind of affection toward another woman. He hesitated only long enough to see the beginning of a very passionate embrace. Neither had he ever seen two women kiss each other, only motherly and sisterly kisses. From the things he had heard from other guys and things he had read, he was supposed to be either disgusted, or turned on by it. Funny, he thought, walking down the hall, he was neither. Although he could clearly see their desire for each other, it didn’t excite him sexually, and it definitely didn’t disgust him. Maybe it was because of how much he cared for Kasey and that he really liked Connie; or maybe it was because he had grown up with Kasey’s influence. But for whatever reason, seeing them together like that just made him happy.
Sharon was cleaning up her tools when Troy appeared in the doorway. “You ready for lunch?”
“Close. How about Kasey?”
“She’s not coming. Connie’s here.”
“What the hell is that?” Sharon asked, looking at the rose behind his ear.
He just smiled and stuck the rose in his tool pouch and hung it on the door knob.
“Don’t tell me she brought her flowers.”
“Sure did,” he said with a big smile.
She rolled her eyes. “Let’s get out of here before I lose my appetite.”
“You should give her a chance,” Troy returned, following her out the door.
Obviously not in agreement, Sharon kept on walking and ignored the comment. He knew better than to press the subject further.
The mood, of course, was much different in the kitchen. With their kisses becoming much too intense for the situation and Connie’s hips beginning to create desire that couldn’t be satisfied during a lunch break, Kasey pulled back. “If you keep that up, neither of us is going back to work today.”
Smiling, Connie replied, “I love how you make me feel. I’ll be thinking about you all day.”
“Too bad you can’t take an executive lunch; we could go to my house for the afternoon.”
She nuzzled Kasey’s neck. “Mmm, don’t tempt me. If it weren’t for end-of-the-month reports ...”
Between soft kisses to Connie’s face and neck, Kasey whispered, “I love you.”
Connie looked into the eyes that had touched her heart from the very first day. “And I love you—more than anything.”
Unable to resist the torrent of heat flooding her body, Kasey kissed her with such intensity they lost all sense of time. Connie’s hands explored beneath Kasey’s old worn T-shirt, and Kasey pulled Connie’s trim hips tightly into the heat of her body. Time lost relevance as seemingly nothing existed beyond their desire for each other. So much love needed expressing.
Connie closed her eyes. A soft moan escaped her lips as Kasey’s mouth ravished the tender skin of her neck and chest. Buttons opened quickly, and in an instant Connie was pressing the swell of her breast through the thin material of her bra into the heat of Kasey’s mouth. “Ohhh, I want you,” she whispered, tenderly grasping Kasey’s earlobe between her teeth. “Right here—right now.”
She felt Kasey’s hands find the closure of her slacks just as the loud slam of the front door suddenly shocked them back to reality.
“Hey, Kase?” Troy yelled, as they released their embrace. “Can I come in?”
“Uh ...”
Connie hurriedly re-buttoned her blouse.
“Yeah,” Kasey called back.
Troy walked through the doorway with a big grin and a large fast-food bag. “I brought you guys some lunch,” he said, with a hint of shyness.
Subconsciously, Connie ran
her fingers over the buttons in a final check. “Thank you, Troy.”
“You’re a sweetheart,” Kasey added.
“Yeah, I know, with a minor operation,” he teased, handing the bag to Kasey.
Connie looked puzzled. “What?”
“It’s an inside joke, I’ll explain it later.”
Suddenly Connie glanced at her watch. “Ooh, I have ten minutes to get back. I’ll have to eat this on the way. Thanks, Troy, that was very thoughtful.” She redirected her attention to Kasey. “Come to my house tonight?”
Kasey nodded. She formed the words I love you silently as Connie backed out the side door, the glint of a new lover in her eyes.
“Sorry if I interrupted anything,” Troy apologized.
“It’s a good thing you did. We weren’t keeping track of time very well.”
He watched Kasey delve into her fries. “Kase, would you mind if I asked you something personal?”
“Maybe. It depends on what it is.”
“I just wondered if you two were officially together now.”
The tone of her voice was thoughtful. “I think you can safely say that.”
“I’m glad. I really like Connie. But mostly, I like how happy she makes you.”
Kasey looked adoringly at her cousin. “You know, I can’t remember the last time I told you how much I appreciate you. You’re very special. And you’re going to make some woman a wonderful partner.”
His focus never left the floor. “You’ve told me lots of times, Kase.”
“Guess I’ve embarrassed you enough today then,” she said, handing him the tape measure and grabbing her sandwich at the same time. “Let’s get back to work.”
Twenty-four
Days of happiness had turned into weeks of cohabited bliss. Whether at Kasey’s house or Connie’s, their non-working time was spent exclusively together. Life, it seemed, was wonderful.
“Wow, the porch looks great,” declared Connie, coming across the yard.
Marianne K. Martin - Love in the Balance Page 12
