From the Boots Up

by Marquette, Andi

  She cupped Gina’s face in her hands, and stroked the lines of her cheeks with both thumbs. She heard Gina’s breathing speed up as she moved her hands to Meg’s hips, so she brought her lips closer to Gina’s, barely touching them. Heat and moisture gathered between her thighs and a growing ache spread across her nerve endings, engulfed her senses.

  Gina’s breath was hot and quick on her mouth before Meg kissed her, a slow, sultry meeting of lips that tasted like tequila and a week’s worth of longing. The first turned into a second then a third and countless more as Gina welcomed Meg’s tongue into her mouth with a soft groan and her hands journeyed across Meg’s back as she returned her kisses with increasing fervor.

  Meg worked her arms around Gina and pulled her away from the Pathfinder so she could run her hands over Gina’s back. She broke the kiss and dragged her lips along Gina’s jawline to one ear, tracing it gently with the tip of her tongue.

  “Oh, God,” Gina muttered as she buried her fingers in Meg’s hair. She moved her head and Meg tracked her lips lightly down her neck, the way she smelled bringing her blood to a boil.

  Gina kissed her again, hard, moving against her like a promise and Meg matched every motion, forgetting anything that held her to this earth. Her breath came in short bursts as she followed Gina’s lead, returned each hungry kiss, allowed what she felt to surface and wash through her like a river. She pulled Gina’s shirt from her jeans and slid her hands underneath, her fingertips reveling in the smooth warmth of Gina’s skin.

  Gina’s hands tangled in her hair again, and she blazed kisses across her lips. She pushed Meg’s hair aside to kiss her neck and Meg moaned, wondering if she had managed to soak through her jeans.

  “Take me somewhere,” she said softly against Gina’s cheek, struggling to control her pounding heart.

  “I’ll take you anywhere you want to go,” Gina whispered back. She slowly released her hold and Meg reluctantly pushed away but she leaned in again for another quick kiss that turned into several more before she finally stopped and opened the passenger door.

  “Where are you staying now?” she asked.

  “The Rustic.”

  “Then that’s where I want to go.”

  Gina smiled and brushed a lock of hair away from Meg’s eyes before she went around to the driver’s side. They didn’t speak on the short ride to the hotel, but that was okay because their shared silence was charged with expectation and desire, something that was both comfortable and exciting.

  Gina pulled into the parking lot of the hotel and she got out and came around to the passenger’s side, but she didn’t even wait for Meg to get out of her seat before she pulled Meg’s face down to hers and kissed her like she hadn’t seen her in a while. When she stopped, Meg joined her outside the Pathfinder and Gina shut the door, quietly, and kissed her again, and Meg forgot that they might be spotted, that somebody might see, but it didn’t matter because Gina held her close and danced slowly with her in the light of the waning moon, the sound of the nearby North Platte a chorus to “There’s Your Trouble,” which she sang softly in her ear. And it was heaven, swaying with Gina, feeling warmth and desire within her arms, and maybe new beginnings forge in the heat that built between them. Just like heaven.

  She finally released her with an effort and let her hands slide down Gina’s arms until she was holding both of her hands. “Let’s go in.”

  “Are you sure?”

  Meg kissed her and she groaned softly against her mouth.

  “I’ll take that as a yes,” she whispered.

  “Smart girl.” She smiled, because Gina made her feel deliciously reckless, made her feel like she wanted to cram the past week into a night, and hold on tight to whatever time she could get with her. And if this was the one night she’d get, then she wanted it now, and she wanted it to be memorable. “Which room?”

  “Upstairs.” She led her up the wooden steps, and Meg was glad she’d picked the Rustic, because all the rooms exited to the outside. Even better, she’d gotten the balcony room on the end.

  Gina had the key ready and she unlocked the door and pushed it open. She’d left one of the bedside lamps on, near the bed by the window. Her duffle bags were on the bed closest to the door.

  Meg paused on the threshold. “What about you?” she asked as she brushed a kiss across Gina’s lips. “Are you sure?”

  She smiled, a secret unveiled. “Since I first saw you.” And she pulled her into the room and closed and locked the door. The curtain whispered and fluttered in night breezes, just out of reach of the bedside lamp, and a car door slammed from the parking lot as Gina kissed her again. They ended up at the bed closest to the window, where the river’s murmur just reached.

  Meg started to unbutton Gina’s shirt from the bottom as Gina’s tongue met hers, caressing, tentative. She unbuttoned her own shirt while Gina kissed her. Gina helped her out of it then shrugged out of her own shirt as Meg buried her fingers in Gina’s thick hair and kissed her harder. Gina’s fingers swept across her back and down to the waistband of her jeans then up again to pause at her bra, where they hesitated. She pulled Gina closer, and tracked down her neck with her tongue. Gina unhooked Meg’s bra and her warm, strong hands moved to her shoulders to push the straps off, her breathing matching the pounding of Meg’s heart as she in turn undid Gina’s bra and let it slip to the floor with her own.

  She pressed herself against her and the sensation sent a surge of heat down her thighs and pushed a moan from her throat, which Gina caught on her tongue and returned. Her hands rested at Meg’s hips then abdomen, where they stopped.

  “Yes,” Meg said against her lips and Gina cupped Meg’s breasts, and gently stroked her nipples with her thumbs, making them throb in time with the ache at her core. She worked her own hands to the waistband of Gina’s jeans, and caressed her skin just above it with her fingertips, which hesitated near the button. She ended the kiss and stared into Gina’s eyes, wondering if that was too forward.

  Gina smiled and placed her hand over Meg’s, and guided it to the button. Then she kissed her again as Meg undid her jeans, and ran her fingertips along the top of her underwear, hoping that this wasn’t a dream, and that she really was here, that Gina really was gently pulling at her jeans, too. She felt the button release and Gina’s warm breath against her face. Chills shot down her back, affirmation that no, this wasn’t just a dream.

  “Not to ruin the moment,” Gina said, “but it’s gonna be mighty hard to get you out of these with your boots on.” Her lips brushed Meg’s ear, sending sparks down her thighs. “What do you say, Cowgirl? Can I talk you out of your boots?”

  “Maybe.” She slid her arms around Gina’s neck. “But you know how cowgirls are about their boots.”

  A half-smile pulled at Gina’s mouth and she started singing softly, her voice a husky, melodious growl. “Baby take off your boots.” She slowly undid Meg’s zipper, still singing softly. “You sure won’t need them, for what I want to do. . .to. . . you,” she improvised. She stopped. “Is it working?”

  “You have no idea,” she said as she moved out of Gina’s reach and sat on the edge of the bed near the window, where she quickly unlaced her ropers. She removed them and left them on the floor at the foot of the bed. Her socks quickly followed and she stood again and her jeans sagged around her hips.

  “Don’t move,” Gina said. She stepped closer and touched the side of Meg’s face, then traced a line from her cheek to her ear.

  Meg closed her eyes and leaned into her touch as Gina slid her free arm around her waist and pulled her close. She kissed Meg’s shoulder, then nuzzled her neck and goosebumps erupted all over Meg’s skin as a delicious chill rippled through her stomach. And then her hands were all over Meg’s back again, her lips on her other shoulder, her throat, the space just beneath her ear. Oh, God, that made her burn, made her run her hands down Gina’s smooth, solid back, then up again around to her chest, where she stroked patterns across her breasts and nipples.

/>   “Mmm,” came Gina’s reaction against her neck and her hands dropped to Meg’s hips, and she slowly started to push her jeans lower.

  “Uh-uh,” Meg said against her lips. She pulled away and stepped out of her jeans, gratified to hear Gina’s breath catch in her throat. She tossed them aside, near the pile of shirts and bras had already made, then pulled the covers back and slid into bed, watching Gina in the light from the lamp.

  “Your turn,” she said. “Show me what you got, city slicker.” She grinned at the expression on Gina’s face.

  “Spoken like a true cowgirl,” she said with an answering grin before she started to sing as she balanced first on one foot to pull a boot and sock off then on the other to repeat. “There’re some things I want to say. . .” she sang as she let her boots lie where she dropped them, amidst the other articles of clothing. She slowly unzipped her jeans and Meg’s mouth went dry.

  “And some things I want to do,” she continued to sing. “So just lie back, baby. . .because I want a piece of you. . .”

  Meg stared as Gina slowly worked her jeans down her thighs. How was it possible that any one person could be so damn sexy?

  “Just lie back, baby,” Gina sang as her jeans dropped lower. “I got some things I wanna do. . .” She stepped out of her jeans and approached the bed. “Can I get a piece of you. . .” Her voice faded into a delicious sigh and Meg moved over, holding the covers up so Gina could join her and when she did, she pushed Meg back against the pillows and Meg pulled her close and kissed her, gently at first then harder as Gina moved against her and it felt like nothing she’d ever known, to hold Gina like this, to feel her damp warmth against her own, even through their underwear. Like nothing she’d ever known when Gina’s tongue traced her neck and collarbone and her lips closed around Meg’s nipple, sucking until it throbbed all the way to her clit.

  And she gasped against Gina’s hair, dug her fingers into Gina’s back, and lost herself completely in the feel of Gina’s mouth and hands, and she couldn’t tell where she ended and Gina began.

  Somehow Meg ended up on top, thrusting slowly against Gina, who groaned and pulled her head down to kiss her and suck her tongue into her mouth. Another surge of moisture settled between Meg’s thighs as Gina released her, breathing hard.

  “You’re so beautiful,” Gina said softly against her neck, one hand on her lower back, holding her as they moved together. She stopped and worked her fingers under the waistband of Meg’s panties, trying to push them off. Meg helped and Gina worked hers off, as well, and pulled Meg against her again and nothing Meg had imagined all week about Gina prepared her for how that felt, for the wave of heat and current that engulfed her core.

  She pulled away slightly so she could watch Gina’s face, and let herself ride what she saw in her eyes. “You make me crazy,” she admitted. “You’ve made me crazy since I first saw you.”

  Gina smiled. “In a good way, I hope.”

  “Too good.”

  “It’s mutual.” She brushed Meg’s lips with her fingers. “I found out for sure who you were when I got my tire fixed.”

  “And?”

  “And I knew it was going to be a much more interesting week than I’d originally thought.”

  She saw heat in Gina’s eyes and bent to kiss her before answering. “So you were planning on a boring weekend at a Wyoming ranch?” she teased.

  “There is nothing remotely boring about the ranch,” she said with mock indignation. “I just hadn’t planned on you.”

  “I thought maybe you worked for the Forest Service or something and you were based here for the summer.”

  “I’m flattered. People like rangers better than reporters.”

  “Oh, I don’t know. You seem okay for a reporter.” She slowly moved her hips and Gina exhaled with pleasure.

  “Thanks,” she managed. “But I know a couple of rangers. I could probably borrow a uniform, if you’re into that.” A devilish gleam lit her eyes.

  “Don’t need it. I like you just like this.” She ran her fingers down Gina’s chest, and caught her breath as Gina arched into her touch. She adjusted her position and slid her fingers between their bodies, down Gina’s belly and lower, until she felt slick heat against her fingertips and she cupped Gina in her palm, her heart pounding like she’d been running for miles.

  Gina groaned, low and soft. “Please,” she whispered, and she gripped Meg’s shoulders and pushed against her hand.

  Meg slid her middle finger in, and her breath hitched at how wet Gina was and a new ache started between her legs as Gina closed over her finger and moved against her. She bucked and Meg stopped moving her hand, holding Gina on the edge of climax.

  Not yet.

  Not when she’d been aching for her all week.

  She carefully and gently pulled out and Gina sighed and ran her hands down Meg’s back as Meg shifted and kissed Gina’s breasts, teased her nipples with her tongue, worked her mouth down Gina’s stomach to the dark triangular patch between her legs. She tasted of musk, sweat, and need as she eased her tongue in, tasted her own desire and every thought she’d had since the first time she fell into Gina’s eyes.

  “Meg,” Gina whispered as she wrapped her fingers in her hair and moved against her mouth like she was trying to draw her in further. She stroked Gina with her tongue, felt Gina’s clit harden and throb against her lips and she ached at how Gina tasted and smelled, at how she responded to her touch. She repositioned herself and slid her middle finger in. She thrust with her hand, gently stroking Gina’s clit with her thumb, taking her time, feeling like she might detonate, as every muscle in Gina’s thighs tightened and her breath came in sharp, short gasps until it stopped momentarily and Meg used the tip of her tongue to coax Gina over whatever precipice she had reached. Gina stiffened and arched again, one hand in Meg’s hair, the other gripping the sheets, and she released against Meg’s mouth with a long, guttural groan, Meg’s name on her lips as she settled back onto the bed.

  Gina pulled her close and held on, and Meg sank into the warmth of her arms and the charged vulnerability between them for a few minutes before she gently pulled out, and listened to Gina’s breathing return to normal, the breeze from the window cool on her sweat-slicked skin. But the heat deep within was another story, and she wondered if one night would be enough, could ever be enough.

  “You give me a reason,” Gina sang softly as she stroked Meg’s back. “A reason to breathe. . .” She rolled over, bringing Meg with her. Now on top, Gina kissed her hard and deep, and drew circles around her nipples with one of her fingertips. She stopped and watched Meg’s face. “So just lie back,” she crooned, “and give me a reason. . .a reason to breathe. . .”

  Gina’s fingers dropped lightly down Meg’s abdomen to the top of her thigh, and she watched Meg’s eyes, a question in her own.

  She nodded and took Gina’s wrist and guided her hand, heart hammering her chest. Gina slid her finger into her heat and her heart nearly pounded out of her chest. She held Gina’s wrist as Gina plunged one finger slowly in and out, her thumb gently massaging Meg’s clit. Her breathing matched Gina’s rhythm and she cupped the back of Gina’s neck with her free hand, her hips meeting her strokes.

  She was close, so close, but Gina must have sensed it because she stopped and suddenly her tongue replaced her finger and Meg released her wrist and clenched her jaw, her breath hissing between her teeth as she thrust against her mouth. Every one of her senses peaked and all she knew were Gina’s lips and Gina’s tongue, and then Gina slid her middle finger in, hard and deep, and she intertwined the fingers of her free right hand with Meg’s left. She paused and thrust again, deep, and Meg ignited within and bit back a yell as she held Gina’s gaze, watching something gather in her eyes.

  “Gina,” she said with a groan, urgent.

  “I’m here,” she said softly. “Right here.”

  And then everything stopped and the only thing Meg heard was a roaring in her ears and all she could feel was G
ina, locked deep within her. She cupped Gina’s face with her free hand and stared into her eyes as she came, wanting Gina to see, wanting her to know how she made her feel. And the tide raced through her, exploded between her legs, and slammed her back against the bed, panting.

  Gina wrapped herself around her, waiting for a long time before she pulled out and Meg had never felt so safe as she snuggled into Gina’s embrace. No, this night was not going to be enough.

  “So you wanna stay over?” Gina asked, teasing.

  “There’s nowhere I’d rather be.” She nuzzled her neck. “I’m so glad you had a flat tire.”

  “Why is that?” she asked with a sigh of pleasure.

  “Because I met you before I knew you were the reporter from L.A.”

  Gina laughed. “What difference does that make?”

  “Context,” she said as she kissed her shoulder. “I was ready to deal with a city slicker reporter. Not with you.” She stopped her ministrations and instead watched Gina’s face.

  “So you’re saying that if you hadn’t met me until I showed up at the ranch Friday that things might have been different?” She pretended to pout, but the sparkle in her eyes told a different story.

  “I’m just saying that—” Meg paused. What exactly was she saying? “Thinking you were someone else let me think certain things,” she finished, not sure she’d made any sense.

  “What kinds of things?” She gave her a sultry little grin.

  “Like maybe I could go the rangers’ office and find out who you were and maybe see if I could contact you.” Meg answered with a grin of her own.

  “I see. So thinking I wasn’t the annoying reporter took some restrictions off your context.”

  “Exactly.”