Mouth dry at the vision before her, Scotch brought both hands up to caress Lainey's belly, slipping along the firm muscles there to reach the breasts above. The skin was soft and warm, nipples taut with anticipation, and Scotch wanted to taste them so badly. She squeezed their heaviness, her fingers rolling Lainey's nipples as she enjoyed the soft weight.
Lainey moaned and her hips moved again. She braced herself against the head of the bed as she rocked slowly on Scotch, her eyes half closed in concentration. "You feel so good, Scotch," she moaned.
"So do you," she said, her voice husky. Scotch pushed partway up, leaning on one elbow as her mouth found what it desired. She sighed in pleasure, echoing another moan from Lainey as her lips enveloped one of those inviting nipples. Surging upward, dislodging Lainey's grip on the bedstead, Scotch sat up, her hands now cradling her lover as she suckled.
Lainey caressed her back and shoulders, fingers digging into muscle at a particular sharp nibble. She gasped aloud, her hips bucking against Scotch. Then Scotch felt her hair being pulled, dragging her from her conquest until Lainey's lips met hers in a hard, wet kiss that made her forget all about what she was doing. The next several minutes were nothing but tongues and teeth, sighs and soft grunts of exertion, heated flesh and insistent touches.
It was the sound of rending cloth that brought Scotch back from her ecstasy enough to register what was happening. Lainey now lay on her back, one hand buried in Scotch's hair, the other gripping the headboard again. Scotch was paying homage to her firm abdomen with one of Lainey's legs hiked over her shoulder as she moved steadily down that luscious body. The torn cloth turned out to be Lainey's panties, two tattered ends gripped in Scotch's fists. The smell of Lainey's arousal was stronger with no underwear to impede it and Scotch hastened to get her fill, ruined panties forgotten.
Her first taste was intoxicating as she tongued the woman's clit. Lainey's cry was the sweetest music, matched only by the taste of her arousal. Scotch bent to her task with a purpose, exploring past the protective hood and outer lips to savor all of Lainey. In response, Lainey moaned and pressed against Scotch's mouth, her hips in constant motion. Scotch settled into place, Lainey's thighs cradling her head, one hand bracing against the bed and the other in Scotch's hair.
While she concentrated her attentions on the sensitive bundle of nerves, Scotch wanted more. Her fingers slick with Lainey's essence, she thrust deep within her lover, relishing how Lainey tasted, how she sounded, how her muscles contracted rhythmically around her fingers as she stroked the velvet skin.
The bed rocked with their exertions, the thump of the headboard against the wall interspersed with Lainey's harsh pants and demands. God! She could never get enough of this! She thrust deeper, filling Lainey as she teased the tender clitoris beneath her mouth.
Lainey's orgasm swept over Scotch, and she drew it out as long as possible, not wanting it to end. Her efforts were rewarded by another hitch in Lainey's breathing as she came again, calling Scotch's name. Only when Scotch was certain Lainey could not stand another round did she slow her attentions, pulling her fingers from the warmth of her lover.
She looked up Lainey's sweat slicked body to see very satisfied brown eyes looking back.
"Come here," Lainey rasped, weakly waving.
Scotch scooted up the bed, pulling Lainey into her arms. They lay together for several minutes in silence as her lover caught her breath. Despite a fiery need for Lainey's touch, Scotch's soul sprawled in the aftermath, a part of her hoping that perhaps her lover would decide to remain with her it Alaska.
"That was magnificent," Lainey murmured. She drew her hand along Scotch's t-shirt.
"I'll say," she agreed.
Lainey chuckled. "In a few minutes, I'm going to find out for myself."
"Take all the time you need," Scotch said. "We've got three days before the awards banquet." She caressed Lainey's cheek and closed her eyes. When would Lainey be leaving? Would she stop at the cabin only long enough to pack?
Her thoughts dumped ice into her blood, cooling her ardor. She must have stiffened because Lainey pushed up on one elbow to peer at her. Not wanting to see her lover's expression, Scotch kept her eyes closed.
It took a few moments before Lainey registered Scotch's body language. What was once warm and pliable suddenly became stone. Was it mention of the awards banquet that caused this retreat? That did not make sense; Scotch had been to many an Iditarod banquet. This one would be no different than any other for her.
She sat up, studying the blonde. "What's wrong?" she asked.
Scotch shrugged, not looking at her. "Nothing."
The expression an her face was an alien one, and it took Lainey several minutes to realize what she was seeing. When she did, her eyebrows rose to their zenith.
It was Scotch's inborn confidence that had first drawn Lainey down this trail. After a few months, she had finally figured out where it came from. By that time, Lainey wanted that self-assurance in her own right, which was why she continued to train for the race even in the face of falling in love with her coach.
But Scotch's inner sense of security did not reach into this realm. What Lainey was witnessing was uncertainty and diffidence in the normally strong young woman and it set her back on her proverbial heels.
Scotch was afraid.
Lainey's mind raced with this new information, trying to understand just what could put fear into the expression of a woman who regularly spit defiance into the teeth of the Alaskan wilderness. She pulled a little further away, though not far enough to lose physical contact. "Something's wrong," she insisted, lightly caressing Scotch's sternum through her shirt. "What is it?"
"It's stupid," Scotch mumbled.
"If it makes you feel like this, it isn't. Tell me."
Scotch reached up and took her hand, holding it tightly. With an obvious effort she forced herself to look at Lainey. "What's going to happen to us?"
Lainey blinked. In her mind, her plans for she and Scotch was already a foregone conclusion. The solution she had thought of on the trail seemed so right for both of them that she forgot she had not discussed it with Scotch. A relieved smile crossed her face and she dropped her head to rest it on Scotch's shoulder.
"I've got some ideas," she began.
EPILOGUE
LAINEY TOOK OFF her straw hat and used a kerchief to wipe the sweat from her face. Damn, spending nearly a year in Alaska certainly screwed up her inner thermostat. The mercury had not even reached eighty-five and she felt as if she were melting into a puddle. What would it be like in the full heat of summer?
Around her, villagers with yellow skin and round faces gathered, chattering in their native language with her guides. One of them, Ngawang, stood near her interpreting. They were surprised to see visitors here. That the strangers searched for a rare plant was even more bizarre. Most who came here were distant relations for the annual festival or the military searching out bandits. The women, dressed in layered skirts and scarves, smiled in their nervousness as they studied her. Men, being men, snorted at the new arrivals as if to say nothing good could be said about such craziness.
All of them, however, were far more interested in her companion than her, having rarely seen her coloring.
Scotch towered over the small people, listening to one of their guides with an intent frown. Someone made a crude joke about her golden skin and blue eyes, not realizing until the last minute that his words were being translated to the foreigner. The gathering collectively held their breath. Would the woman be offended at the rash speech of one of their people? Instead, she looked across the villagers to Lainey and smiled.
Deciding these strange women were honored visitors, the head man urged his wife forward to invite them to a feast. Since the invitation was given to Scotch, she accepted for the both of them.
Lainey grinned, seeing that ever present confidence in her partner shining forth. Next year they would return to Alaska to train for the Iditarod. Meanwhile, there was an entire world to show Sc
otch and Lainey looked forward to escorting her anywhere her heart desired.
Table of Contents
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Broken Trails Page 37
