by Radclyffe
Kyle’s blood ran hot, starting at her heart and settling into a fiery fist in the pit of her stomach. “Are you...” She gasped when Dane pulled her shirt up and lowered her mouth to Kyle’s breast. “...surprised?”
“No,” Dane said softly as she moved to the other breast. She hesitated, trying to place the unfamiliar sensation. “Happy. Take your shirt off.”
When Dane eased back, Kyle arched away from the chair and stripped the shirt over her head. Her nipples were hard from Dane’s attentions, and she slid her hands over her breasts, rubbing the sensitive tips. Her stomach quivered with the answering echo between her thighs.
“Feel good?” Dane’s blue eyes darkened to purple, and her voice dropped to barely a growl.
“Yes.” Kyle gritted her teeth as Dane pumped a tight hard thigh against her crotch. It was so good it almost hurt.
“Keep working them, then.” Dane slid down until she was kneeling on the floor between Kyle’s spread legs. Deftly, she opened Kyle’s pants, hooked her fingers over the waistband, and yanked. “Kick off your boots...no, don’t let go of your nipples. I want you to keep them hard.”
Breathing erratically, Kyle watched through half-closed lids as Dane laid her bare. Dane was still naked from the waist up, her jeans open from the night before. Kyle wanted to touch her, wanted to stroke the soft curve of her breasts and drag her fingers down the center of her taut abdomen. The more her eyes feasted, the faster she squeezed her nipples, until the pressure was one long wave of pleasure. She moaned, back arched.
“Harder.” Dane spread her fingers over the soft, sweet skin of Kyle’s inner thighs, very near the focus of her desire. She pressed and opened her—thumbs tracing the full, ready folds already damp with arousal and fragrant with yearning. Dane’s hips jerked. No one had ever made her want to lose control so badly. All she wanted was Kyle coming in her mouth.
“I...want to come,” Kyle gasped, eyes closed now. Every muscle was so tight her back barely touched the chair.
“I know you do, baby,” Dane whispered. “But you can’t yet.”
Dane placed a palm low on Kyle’s abdomen and pressed the rigid muscles as she caught Kyle’s passion on her tongue. She held Kyle down when she would have reared up at the first touch. Then she slowly took Kyle into her mouth, sucking gently because her clitoris was already too hard, too close to going off. When Kyle thrust against Dane’s face, demanding more, Dane used her teeth to carefully back her off, controlling her steady climb to orgasm with soothing strokes of her tongue and the maddening pull of her lips. Only when Kyle began to whimper and then beg did Dane increase the tempo and pressure of her mouth on the ready-to-burst flesh.
“I’m coming,” Kyle cried, half sitting up as the first wave struck.
Dane groaned as the sharp pulsations of Kyle’s orgasm played across her lips and brought her own excitement to a fever pitch. She drove her hand against the denim between her thighs and rubbed her clitoris through the material, coming instantly.
Trembling, struggling to focus through the roar in her head, Dane kept up the teasing motion of her tongue until Kyle jerked away.
“Can’t,” Kyle gasped. “Jesus. I’m going to have a heart attack.”
Still shuddering with the last spasms that rippled down her thighs, Dane rested her forehead against Kyle’s abdomen. “I think...I already did.”
Kyle laughed shakily and dropped her hand onto the back of Dane’s head, cradling her face against her body. “Did I feel you come in there somewhere?”
“Oh man, yeah.”
“Mmm. Damn, I missed most of it.”
Dane laughed softly. “Sorry. Couldn’t wait.”
“Sounds like you could use some discipline,” Kyle said playfully.
You could use some discipline. Brad’s voice, Brad’s face, flickered through Dane’s mind, and her stomach lurched dangerously. Taking a long breath, she lifted her head and gazed at the woman regarding her with soft, sated, tender eyes. She blinked and focused on Kyle’s face. “You offering?”
“Yes.” Kyle wasn’t certain what had just happened, but Dane’s eyes were wounded, her voice raw with some old pain. She stroked Dane’s cheek. “But I won’t hurt you.”
“What if I...want you to?”
Kyle kept her fingers lightly on the side of Dane’s neck, resting on the pulse that skittered and jumped just below the skin. “Do you?”
“Sometimes I like...rough.” Getting the words out was hard. She hadn’t let anyone top her, really top her, since Brad. At least not when she wanted pleasure. What she sought in the dark moments of her despair was neither sex nor satisfaction; it was absolution.
“Rough I can handle,” Kyle murmured, trailing her fingertips over the delicate arch of Dane’s collarbone. “But I won’t make you bleed.”
“I don’t want you to.” Dane sighed and closed her eyes, feeling as if some great weight had been lifted from her heart. I don’t want you to hurt me.
“Then we don’t have a problem.” Kyle massaged the tight muscles in the back of Dane’s neck until she felt them loosen up. Until she felt Dane relax completely in her embrace. “Hungry?”
“Yeah, I think.” Dane sighed, eyes still closed. “Need a shower, too.” She raised her head. Grinned. “Wanna come?”
Kyle shook her head, grinning as well. “Yes, but I’m not going to. You go ahead, and I’ll cook something.”
Dane leaned back, still kneeling, and ran her hands briskly over her face. “You go first, then cook.”
“Deal.”
While Kyle showered, Dane wandered about the house.
“What’s in the other building out back?” Dane asked as she rejoined Kyle in the kitchen after her own shower.
“My shop.”
“Can I see?”
“Uh-huh. I’ll give you a tour after breakfast.”
Kyle carried plates into the adjoining dining area while Dane walked to the windows for another look at the view. Her hair was still damp from the shower, and she wore one of Kyle’s old shirts. Despite the fact that it was too loose on her, it didn’t conceal the fine lines of her shoulders and back. The top three buttons were open as well, and the rise of her breasts was evident with every movement.
Kyle watched her, startled to feel the swift surge of desire. She cleared her throat.
“Dane?”
Dane turned, smiling, her eyes bright. “Hmm?”
She appeared younger somehow, and only then did Kyle recognize that the dark shadows in her eyes were gone. You’re so beautiful, so much more tender than I ever imagined. Why do you hide it?
“What?” Dane raised an eyebrow, uncertain of the look in Kyle’s eyes. “Kyle?”
“Will you please come over here and eat?” Kyle’s throat was tight, her voice husky. “Because if you don’t, I’m coming over there, and I promise you, the eggs will get cold.”
“I love cold eggs.” Dane cocked her hips and crossed her arms over her chest with a defiant grin. “Your call.”
Kyle took three swift steps and drove her hands into Dane’s hair, crushing her mouth to Dane’s. While her tongue plundered the hot recesses of Dane’s mouth, she fisted her fingers in the soft cotton at Dane’s throat and wrenched the shirt open. Buttons flew, spinning off the window glass like tears. For the first time, they took one another in the sunlight, grappling furiously on the soft carpet, first one on top, then the other. Hands jerked at clothing, limbs tangled, lips devoured taut nipples and sweet flesh. Moans of pleasure, sharp cries of surprise, satisfied shouts filled the air. In what seemed like only moments, they lay gasping on their backs, staring dazedly at the ceiling, side by side.
“Fuck.”
“Uh-huh.”
Dane turned her head, the only part of her that would move. She could still feel Kyle’s weight pinning her down while she’d driven into her and driven her to a climax that had left her sobbing. “You have a nice bite on your neck.”
Kyle reached up weakly, fingered the sore spot, and
grinned. “Bet you do, too.”
“Feels like a couple.”
“You make me lose my mind.” Kyle shifted with a faint groan and regarded Dane with a grimace. “I can’t come any more. Something’s going to fall off.”
Dane laughed. “That sounds like a challenge.”
“Fact.”
“We’ll take a rest break.”
“Deal.” Kyle levered herself to a sitting position. “I’m still hungry.”
Dane grinned. “I doubt the food has had time to cool off.”
*
After breakfast, Kyle took Dane out to her shop.
“How could people cover this beautiful wood with paint?” Dane asked as she ran her hand over the dark grain of a sideboard that Kyle had just finished stripping.
“It’s easier than maintaining it naturally, I guess. I’ll never understand it.”
“So, this is what you do, huh?” Dane leaned back against the work counter, thinking about the places in her body, and far deeper, that Kyle had awakened with her touch. “You bring things back to life.”
Struck by the seriousness in Dane’s typically bantering tone, Kyle searched her face questioningly. Dane’s eyes, usually so inscrutable, appeared vulnerable and sad. For an instant, Kyle glimpsed the fragile woman beneath the impenetrable exterior. Propelled by a wave of tenderness, she put her arms around Dane’s waist and her head on Dane’s shoulder. Softly, she said, “Sometimes if I’m lucky, I find a treasure that has just been waiting for someone to look beneath its surface. It doesn’t often happen, but when it does, it’s like a gift.”
Dane kissed her hair and sighed. “What if there’s so much of a barrier built up over the years that the heart is...gone?”
Kyle didn’t raise her head but pressed her lips gently into the hollow at the base of Dane’s slender throat. “The heart may be buried, but it can always be found if you work slowly and carefully. And I’m very patient.”
“How can you be sure?” Dane lifted Kyle’s chin and softly kissed her lips.
“I can feel it.”
Dane closed her eyes and wished that she never needed to relinquish this woman, this peace.
*
Kyle hummed softly as she rubbed the coarse wire brush over the surface of the oak desk, recalling the pleasure she’d felt at having Dane in her home.
The door to the shop burst open, and Nancy flew in, shattering her reverie.
“Hi,” Nancy called, flinging her sweater over a chair.
“Hi yourself.”
“You look wonderful today.” Nancy pulled coveralls over her designer jeans and scoop-necked lycra top. “How come?”
“What, do I usually look like a troll?”
“No, you just don’t usually look...” Nancy cocked her head. “So content. Did you have a nice night?”
Kyle nodded. “Uh-huh.”
“And?”
“And it was nice,” Kyle said, returning to work.
“I hate it when you keep secrets,” Nancy pouted. She began to arrange her brushes and paints, then cast Kyle a sly grin. “I had a nice evening, too.”
“I’m glad.”
“Brad says hello.”
Kyle stopped in mid-stroke, her heart seizing. “When did you see her?”
“Last night.”
“Where, for Christ’s sake?”
“At the club, of course.” Nancy shrugged dismissively. “Did you think I had her out to the house for dinner?”
“You went to the club? Where was Roger?”
“Home. I told him I was coming over here.”
“Damn it, Nancy,” Kyle exploded, “what if he’d called here looking for you?”
Nancy smiled sweetly. “You would have thought of something.”
“I can’t believe you!” Kyle ground her teeth, half outraged and half ready to laugh. “Jesus. Why?”
“Why what?” Nancy asked, deliberately obtuse.
“Why did you go there?”
“I don’t know, really,” Nancy answered seriously. “I just wanted to. It’s different and exciting, and I felt like having fun. Brad is a lot of fun.” And I couldn’t stop thinking about the things I saw, the way she made me feel.
“Oh, sure,” Kyle said sarcastically, recalling her own encounters with Brad. “I don’t trust her, Nance.”
When Nancy didn’t respond, Kyle’s eyes narrowed with sudden suspicion. “Did you sleep with her?”
Nancy was silent for a long moment, and then she sighed. “Not exactly. We went to a party.”
“A party?”
“Uh, it was a house full of women getting it on.” She faltered, remembering the sex play, the bondage scenes, and the way that Brad had fondled her absently as they’d strolled about watching other women come. She’d wanted to be one of them, but Brad had never touched her intimately enough for that to happen. She’d been frustrated and oddly humiliated. She wasn’t used to potential lovers turning her down. Still embarrassed and unrelentingly horny, she pushed those thoughts away. “Brad’s a little hard to read. Sometimes it felt like she wanted to, but she never pushed. It’s not like with men—they’re so single-minded sometimes. So easy.”
“Nancy,” Kyle began, deeply uneasy where Brad was concerned. “I don’t think you know what you’re getting into here. You can’t toy with Brad the way you do with men. She’s into some very heavy sexual trips. I’m not so sure it’s safe.”
“Oh, come on.” Nancy snorted. “You know I can handle myself. Do you think I’ve never had any experience with kinky sex?”
“This is different, and you know it. Promise me you won’t get into anything with her without talking to me about it first, okay?” Just the thought of Nancy and Brad together made Kyle nervous.
“Yes, Mom.” Nancy acquiesced to alleviate Kyle’s obvious concern and decided that it would be wise not to mention that she’d already made another date with Brad. And this time I’m not going home until I’m satisfied.
“Thanks,” Kyle muttered, wondering why she didn’t feel reassured.
Chapter Sixteen
Without calling attention to herself, Dane slipped out the back door of the kennel. She leaned against the wall, watching Anne work with one of the dogs they were going to show soon. As the young woman took the dog smoothly through his routine, showing his good points to advantage and downplaying his few faults, Dane nodded in appreciation. Caroline’s right. You’re a natural, honey.
“Don’t stretch him out quite so much—he’s long enough as it is,” Caroline called, studying her lover’s moves with a critical eye. “And keep his head up—it shows off his shoulders more.”
Dane observed for a few more moments and then walked down to join her friends. “Hey! Who’s watching the desk?”
Anne looked over, Ramsey at her side, and smiled. “I plugged the phone in out in the back room and left a note at the front desk telling anyone who came in to walk back outside and yell.”
Dane laughed. “All bases covered. You look good, too. There’s only one problem.”
Both Caroline and Anne regarded her with concern.
“What?” Caroline appeared ready to come to her lover’s defense.
“Who’s going to take care of things around here when you both go off to a show? You know I can’t be trusted. I’ll have all of our appointments screwed up in no time.”
“Well, actually,” Anne began, “I have this friend who needs a job. I thought maybe I could teach her the desk, and she could help out cleaning the runs and things.”
Dane arched her brows and looked from Anne’s expectant face over to Caroline. “I guess she’s got it all figured out.”
Caroline shrugged. “Looks that way.”
“Tell her to come see me,” Dane said, “and we’ll talk about it.”
“Great.” Anne hurried toward the kennel, passing the dog off to Caroline. “I’ll go call her.”
As she rushed off, Dane laughed again. “Getting to be quite the businesswoman.”
&nb
sp; “Getting to be quite a woman, period.” Caroline’s face glowed as she led the dog into his run and then returned to join Dane on the rear steps. She studied Dane’s profile, noting that her friend looked more rested and relaxed than she had in a long time. “I haven’t seen much of you since the show last week.”
“I’ve been in and out. I guess we just missed each other.”
“Oh come on.” When Dane remained silent, Caroline jostled her shoulder. “Tell me what happened, damn it.”
“When?” Dane leaned back on the step and slid her hands into the pockets of her denim jacket. Frowning, she pulled out an unexpected object and stared at it. Kyle’s lighter. She must have put it there the night I spent at her place. A slow smile played over her face.
Caroline followed Dane’s gaze. “Present?”
“Nope. A souvenir.”
Caroline looked exasperated. “Dane, why are you making me beg? What happened after the show?”
“I told you. I went to Kyle’s for dinner.”
“And?”
“And we ended up having breakfast, okay?”
“Okay!” Caroline felt like dancing. “So are you seeing her again?”
“She’s coming into town this weekend.” Dane tried to keep a lid on the excitement that swelled just at the thought of seeing Kyle again, but failed. She couldn’t think of much else. “I told her I’d meet her at Leathers.”
“Progress at last.” Caroline sighed happily.
“Don’t jump to any conclusions, Caro.” Dane’s expression was solemn. “We’re just going to have a drink. I told you before—I don’t want anything serious. Besides, I don’t really know how she feels about all of this yet. She might decide it’s not right for her.”
“Dane,” Caroline began carefully, knowing how sensitive Dane was about the issue of sexual expression, “you’ve changed a lot in the last few years. We all have. You’re more flexible than you used to be.”
“What do you mean?” Dane was suddenly wary.
“I mean that none of us is wholly power oriented all the time. Sexually there’s a broader range of interest.”
