Aspen's Blaise

by Sarah Markel

  “Touch me the way you want me to touch you, baby,” she said as she leaned back again and rested her palms back on Aspen’s thighs.

  Aspen let out a breath. I’ve never done this before. I mean, I’ve teased her breasts loads of times, but how far does she want me to go? What if she doesn’t like what I do, or I accidentally hurt her or something?

  Lorelei saw the trepidation in Aspen’s eyes and moved to assuage it. “Sweetheart, please… You are the one person on this planet I trust enough to let touch me. I’ve never let a partner put their hands or their mouth on my body the way I am asking you to.”

  Anxiety began to pound in Aspen’s chest and she withdrew her hand from Lorelei’s breast. “I believe you, honey,” she said, averting her gaze as she felt her heart thud, “but I don’t think I can do what you’re asking me to do. Our sex life is beyond amazing, but I don’t know how to do the things you do. I’m happy letting you lead.”

  Lorelei smiled gently and cupped Aspen’s cheeks as she pulled her down for a slow, sensual kiss. “I know, baby. I knew you wouldn’t be able to do it, but I wanted you to know that I really do trust you. You have yourself convinced that I don’t, and this was the best way I knew to prove that I do.”

  Aspen breathed a heavy sigh of relief and rested her forehead against Lorelei’s. “For fuck’s sake, Lorelei… my heart damn near hopped out of my chest.”

  A smirk played over Lorelei’s lips and she brought her hands up to rub over Aspen’s bare back. “I’m sorry. I was just trying to prove a point, babe.”

  Aspen sat upright on Lorelei’s lap and placed both of her hands on the headboard on either side of Lorelei’s head. “Your point had been made,” she said, pressing her lips to Lorelei’s forehead, “but now I really want your hands on me.”

  Lorelei smirked and brought her hands around Aspen’s sides to cup her firm, perky breasts. “I love it when you tell me exactly what you want,” she said, her voice thick as she leaned to flick her tongue over each of the rock-hard nipples before her.

  “You know exactly what I want,” Aspen moaned, biting her lip when Lorelei’s teeth grazed her sensitive peaks, “now, shut up and give it to me.”

  Lorelei growled and shifted, quickly pinning Aspen beneath her on the bed. Once again moving with her usual confidence, she lowered her head and used her teeth and tongue to lay claim to the places on her wife’s body that would elicit the most beautiful sounds.

  Chapter 11

  “Well hot damn, it’s like all of my fantasies have gathered themselves in one place.”

  “Oh, Lord, please tell me we get to bid for dates!”

  “Honey, look! Don’t they look like…”

  Lorelei chuckled as Nora Price closed the door on the unashamedly thirsty crowd. “Damn, you’d think this was a single’s night or something,” Nora lamented drolly.

  “Well, all those singles better keep their hands to themselves,” Max grumbled, resting her arm possessively around Dani’s waist.

  “Hey!” Oakley grinned, taking Dani’s hand and pulling her away from Max, “Keep your hands to yourself, pal. That’s my woman!”

  Max’s eyes flashed, but the sound of unfamiliar laughter in the room stopped her from responding. Instead, she and the others turned their attention toward the sound.

  “I’m sorry!” laughed a woman standing beside Alex and Kelly Walker, the owners of the Callie Rae Baxter Center, “But, that was such a Tyler response!”

  “I guess it’s a good thing they know their characters,” Lorelei quipped, stepping forward to embrace the woman, “How are you Sherryl?”

  “I’m excited to be a part of this,” Sherryl replied, stepping back to give Lorelei a thorough once over, “You must be Quinn. You look perfect,” she added affectionately.

  “Wait a second,” Cordy said, cutting her eyes at Lorelei, “I thought you said she gave the approval on the character list.”

  Lorelei held up a hand to the Lieutenant and made the introductions. When she was through, she stepped aside to speak with Tirzah, allowing Cordy to continue her conversation with the author.

  “I did give the approval,” Sherryl answered, “but Lorelei didn’t tell me who would be dressing as whom. She only told me which ten characters would be portrayed. I’m not going to lie,” she added, beaming at the group, “I kind of want to play, too!”

  “That’s cheating,” Tirzah said, draping an arm over her wife’s shoulder, “I’m sure you’ve already figured them all out.”

  “I’m only stuck on two,” Alex Walker piped up, “Jenica and Amy; I can’t place either of you.”

  “I know who Jenica is,” Kelly Walker said, offering Jenica a conspiratorial grin, “but only because she let it slip.”

  Alex narrowed her eyes, cutting them back and forth between her wife and their favorite nurse. “That’s not fair! I wanna know, too!”

  Jenica tipped her head back and laughed. “Sorry, Mate,” she said, shaking her head at her boss, “You’ll just have to wait like everyone else.”

  Sherryl’s eyes widened and she exchanged a surprised look with her wife. Neither had been expecting such a soft, exotic, feminine voice to come floating out of the mouth of one of their butchest characters.

  “If you saw her this morning,” Cordy stage whispered to the pair, “you wouldn’t look so surprised.”

  Jenica’s blush painted her dark cheeks as she smacked at her wife warningly. “Tirohia, e taku aroha,” she growled, purposefully altering her voice to its deepest, most intimidating cadence.

  Cordy’s eyebrow inched up her forehead and she did her best not to laugh. “That, um... That was more adorable than threatening, baby,” she said, her voice cracking with the strain of trying to maintain her composure.

  Tirzah and Sherryl shared a confused look, as did Alex and Kelly. Oakley cleared her throat and stepped forward, pushing the long blonde braid off her shoulder.

  “She said ‘watch it, my love’ in Maori,” she explained, focusing her attention on the Hancock’s, “Jenica is from New Zealand. She’s also not the slightest bit butch, so you can imagine how hard it was to match her with a character, and why this is so amusing to the rest of us.”

  Jenica bared her teeth, but her intended growl was interrupted when Alex laughed and stepped between her and Oakley.

  “All right, all right,” Alex said, nodding to Nora who had been conferring with Stormie over her cell phone, “The contestants should be arriving soon. Did you all remember your lines?” Ten heads nodded at the elegantly dressed older redhead.

  “Good. My wife will be hosting the game.” Alex held her hand out to Kelly, who accepted it with an affectionate smile. “She’ll introduce the contestants, explain the rules of the game, and then bring you all out. Mrs. Hancock; you’ll accompany Kelly on stage. We want you to be a part of the whole show. You’re more than welcome to provide critical commentary if you’d like,” Alex tossed the woman a charming grin, earning a groan of protest from the group.

  Sherryl laughed. “I don’t think that’ll be necessary,” she assured, “They look like they’ve done a pretty good job of nailing the characters. Oh, wait! I know who she is!”

  Sherryl moved closer to Jenica’s ear. A smile spread across Jenica’s lips and her eyes twinkled mischievously. “Nope,” she announced, her smile morphing into a triumphant smirk. “Do I get a raise if I stump the author?” she asked, casting an inquisitive glance at Alex.

  Sherryl’s jaw dropped and her eyes narrowed as she reconsidered the dark-skinned woman. Glancing over at Max, the only other dark-haired woman in the bunch, Sherryl realized her mistake. “Got it,” she said, a knowing grin splitting her cheeks.

  “So not fair,” Alex muttered, cutting her eyes at Jenica one last time.

  “They’re here,” Nora announced, “I’ll go escort them to the stage. Good luck, ladies! Cordy; Gibson said he’s going to be taking loads of pictures, so he wants you to show off those long dancer’s legs?”

  The group lau
ghed at the look of utter confusion on Nora’s face. Even though Nora was an ally to the LGBT community, she wasn’t into lesfic. She had no idea who Sherryl Hancock was, nor did she know who any of the characters were that everyone seemed so excited to see.

  “Tell him he’ll get a great shot of my long dancer’s legs when they’re wrapped around his scrawny neck, choking the life out of him,” Cordy replied, a syrupy sweet smile doing nothing to hide the contempt in her words.

  ***

  “Okay, WeHoes, are you ready to play?” Kelly and Sherryl asked in unison. The three women nodded eagerly from their seats.

  A makeshift stage had been set up for the event, complete with catwalk for Lorelei and the others to strut the length of the room without fear of tripping over the other guests. On the main part of the stage, three podiums sat a few feet apart from one another. A tablet rested on each podium, connected wirelessly to a screen above each player’s chair.

  The rest of the party would be able to see the guess each player made as to which character was being presented to them, but the players weren’t allowed to turn around. Kelly and Sherryl were standing to the left of the players, leaving the right side of the stage open for the characters to enter from.

  “First up is a woman who might just fly you to new heights,” Kelly said, fanning herself dramatically as Max stepped out onto the stage.

  Max was dressed in a tailored black jacket, fitted black slacks, and a black silk scoop-neck tank. Silver necklaces of various lengths hung around her neck, and her sleek black hair had been carelessly brushed to one side. Max’s deep azure eyes had been heavily lined with black eyeliner, providing exquisite contrast to the already stunning feature.

  As Max sauntered casually down the center of the catwalk, cheers and whistles were hurled at her from every corner of the room. The guests had been instructed that they weren’t allowed to participate in the game, but hushed murmurs could be heard as people discussed amongst themselves who they thought she was.

  When she reached the end of the run, Max caught the eye of a pair of young women who were staring at her in awe. She let a smirk play across her face and gave them a wink, earning a shriek of elated surprise.

  “She’d better not be winking at them,” Dani muttered from her spot backstage. The women were gathered close so they could watch as each went on stage, but they weren’t able to see the end of the catwalk.

  “Relax, Dani,” Aspen said calmly, placing a hand on the shorter woman’s shoulder, “This is for charity. Besides, even if she is, it’s you that she’s going home with at the end of the night. Just remember that.”

  Max made her way back to the stage. Sherryl stepped over to meet her, and Max accepted the microphone the woman offered. The crowd quieted on Kelly’s cue, giving Max the opportunity to supply the players with her hint.

  “You can find me in book five,” she said mysteriously, “but my heart will always belong to my nurse.”

  The three players exchanged a curious glance before looking back at Max. Several quiet seconds ticked by as each woman seemed to lose themselves in thought.

  A moment went by, then two, before the woman in the middle perked up. She quickly grabbed the stylus and scribbled her answer on the tablet. A smug grin settled on her lips as her answer was displayed above her head. After another moment, the other two women entered their guesses as well.

  “Congratulations, Viv,” Kelly said, leading the room in a round of applause, “you’re correct; Max is portraying Jet Mathews.”

  The other two women grumbled good-naturedly, but each offered Viv a congratulatory handshake before Kelly moved on.

  “Our next character is sure to make you swoon,” Kelly introduced, clapping as Stormie sashayed onto the stage.

  Stormie’s long, platinum blonde curls fanned behind her as she worked the catwalk, radiating waves of confidence in a designer evening gown and sky-high heels.

  “Damn, she’s sexy,” Oakley breathed, eyes glued to her wife. The others simply nodded their approval.

  Murmurs rounded the room as she stepped next to Max and took the microphone from her. The rest of the event attendees seemed to be enjoying the game as much as the contestants did.

  “It may be your life,” Stormie said, offering the players her best smile, “but the story is mine for the telling.”

  Excited tittering immediately went through the crowd, but Kelly quickly reminded them all of the rules. One of the players seemed confident in her answer, locking it in right away before gluing her eyes to Stormie. The others took a little more time with their responses, but after a few more moments, it was Sherryl’s turn to move things along.

  “Rebecca and Heidi, you’re both correct,” Sherryl beamed and motioned to Stormie, “Ms. Stormie is portraying Riley Taylor.”

  “Up next is a woman that made me drool when I wrote her. She is modeled after my own wife, Tirzah.” Sherryl fanned herself as Oakley stepped onto the stage.

  Oakley’s blonde hair was pulled back into a braid that hung to the middle of her back. A tight black t-shirt was tucked into a pair of green army fatigues, nicely accentuating her curves. A set of silver dog tags and a pair of well-worn cowboy boots completed the look.

  Whistles and shouts floated up to her as she made the trek to the end of the catwalk, boosting her ego. Oakley smiled widely, showing off killer dimples that elicited squeals of delight from some of the girls in the crowd. When she made her way back to the front of the stage, Oakley noticed something flash in Stormie’s eyes.

  Oh shit, she’s jealous.

  Oakley accepted the microphone that Stormie offered, allowing their fingers to touch and their eyes to meet. Stormie saw the look of adoration in her wife’s eyes and allowed a contented smile to touch her lips.

  That’s better, Oakley thought. “When love wins, anything is possible,” she said, offering the players a glimpse of those amazing dimples.

  Three brilliant smiles shone back at her, before all three players scribbled their answers on their tablets.

  “Looks like Oakley made things easy for you ladies,” Kelly chuckled as the same name appeared on all three screens, “You’re all correct; she’s portraying Tyler Hancock.”

  “Let’s see if our next lovely lady will be as easy to figure out, shall we?”

  Thunderous applause echoed through the room as Lita made her way onto the stage. Dressed in a pair of black and hot pink capri leggings, a hot pink sports bra, a black tank top, and a pair of black and pink tennis shoes, the esteemed doctor was definitely a sight to behold.

  Lita had never worn such an outfit before, but she’d enjoyed Amy’s reaction to seeing her in it that afternoon. All four times she’d put it on.

  “God, I love that outfit,” Amy whimpered, much to the amusement of her friends. Her appreciation for Lita’s apparel had not gone unnoticed.

  Once she made her circuit, and to the immense appreciation of the crowd, Lita sauntered up next to Oakley and made a show of taking the microphone seductively from her hand. Sherryl and Kelly both whistled at the way Lita dragged her fingers slowly over Oakley’s hand, while Oakley and the others made a show of fanning themselves.

  “Come dance with me,” Lita said, her native Spanish accent kissing every syllable to make the simple statement provocative and alluring.

  Gasps and lusty moans rounded the room. The three players shared a pointed look, each of them blushing like mad as they fanned themselves. Lita smirked to Sherryl and the others as the players scribbled their answers.

  The group watched, sharing a surprised look when only one of the women got the correct answer. “Viv, congratulations,” Sherryl announced, “Lita is channeling Natalia Marquez.”

  Viv sat up straighter in her chair, dusting off her shoulder with a proud smile. Chuckles and shouts of encouragement sounded from the crowd, prompting the middle-aged brunette to lift her arms and pump her fists victoriously.

  “Whew,” Kelly said, turning to face the crowd. “I’m not sure I
’m going to survive this game. It’s a good thing I’ve got a sexy butch at home to keep me satisfied, isn’t that right, baby?” she purred as a spotlight lit up, illuminating Alex in the far corner of the room. Alex’s face flushed, but her green eyes sparkled with laughter as she winked at her wife.

  “Okay, how about a redheaded butch none of you will have to fight me for?” Kelly asked, receiving a burst of energetic approval from the room.

  Lorelei laughed as she stepped onto the stage. Instead of turning straight onto the catwalk, she made her way over to Kelly and took her hand. Lorelei brought the hand up to her lips, but just before she kissed it, she turned her head to meet Alex’s eyes. With a wink, she dropped Kelly’s hand and offered Alex a salute and a smirk. Alex shook her head and laughed.

  Lorelei turned and made her way back across the stage, strutting confidently and making eye contact with as many of the femmes as she could. She wore a simple tight white t-shirt that showed off her well-muscled chest beautifully. Black jeans hugged her toned legs and narrow waist, and black motorcycle boots lent to her already badass aura. A few pieces of heirloom Celtic jewelry that had been passed down through her family completed the look.

  As she prepared to say her line, Lorelei caught movement out of the corner of her eye. She glanced to her right and noticed Aspen standing just beyond the stage, out of sight of the players. Catching her wife’s eye, she decided to deviate just slightly from the game plan.

  “Nuair a bhíonn an saol deacair, beidh mé i do bhuain chiúin sa stoirm,” she said, her Irish brogue thick as she made the promise she was certain no one else would understand.

  The plan had been for Lorelei to say ‘When things get rough, I’ll be your break in the storm’ in heavily accented English. Instead, she chose a similar sentiment meant specifically for her wife. When life is difficult, I will be your calm seas in the storm. It wasn’t a drastic variation, but by speaking it in a tongue that only Aspen would understand, Lorelei knew it would make the statement special to her young wife.