by Jade Winters
‘She’s under a lot of stress. I’ll go and see her tomorrow and take her out for lunch. You can come if you like.’
Lauren circled the rim of her glass with her fingertip. ‘I don’t think that’s a good idea. I’m infringing on her space enough as it is.’
‘In what way?’ Emma asked, unable to tear her gaze away from the slow caress of Lauren’s finger around the glass. If she could have swapped places with the wineglass, she would have in a heartbeat.
‘I don’t know. Maybe Hope doesn’t like sharing you.’
‘You make me sound like an entrée,’ Emma said, heat rising in her face.
Lauren picked up a sliced carrot, dipped it into a bowl of hummus, and took a bite. ‘You do look delicious enough to eat.’
‘You think?’ Emma’s eyes were fixated on Lauren’s mouth as she slowly chewed.
‘Most definitely.’
Emma moistened her lips. ‘Flattery will get you everywhere.’
‘That’s what I was hoping.’
Emma’s hand shook as she wiped a spot of dip from the side of Lauren’s mouth with her thumb. Holding her gaze, she said, ‘So what do you want to do now that the Scrabble party has been spoilt?’
Lauren raised her eyebrows. ‘Any suggestions?’
‘I might have one.’
A devilish look entered Lauren’s eyes as she moved her chair closer, leaving no room between them. ‘Do you want to tell me what it is?’
Emma’s heart pounded and her breath caught in the back of her throat. ‘I’d rather show you.’
This was it, the moment she had been fantasising about for fourteen years, there was no reason to hold back any longer.
Emma kissed the tip of Lauren’s nose, then her eyes, and finally her lips. A small breathless whisper escaped her when Lauren’s mouth parted and she dipped her tongue between the seams of her lips. She felt lightheaded and dizzy, but when Lauren’s tongue grazed hers in a sweet, tentative touch as if testing the waters, Emma’s inhibitions were annihilated.
Reaching over, Emma wrapped her arms around Lauren’s waist and pulled her onto her lap. Lauren straddled her, her arms encircling Emma’s neck and her perfect, trim body pressing against Emma’s longer frame.
They fit perfectly together—just like Emma had always known they would. Lauren sighed into the kiss, and a well of tears burnt Emma’s eyes.
Pulling away, she looked at Lauren. Her lips were swollen and her eyes were darker, laced with desire that heated their depths. A wild, crazy hope blazed through her, but she needed Lauren to be sure. This couldn’t be a fling. Her heart couldn’t take it.
‘Are you sure about this? I—’
‘Shh, don’t worry. I’m back for good.’
Lauren kissed her again, and this time, Emma didn’t question it. Her hands slipped underneath Lauren’s shirt and pushed it up. Lauren moaned and tugged at Emma’s t-shirt, her bare breasts greeting Lauren as she pulled the t-shirt over Emma’s head.
With a tremulous hand, Lauren cupped Emma’s breast. At the feel of her hand on her hot skin, Emma groaned into Lauren’s neck. Emma fumbled with Lauren’s bra strap but quickly removed it. Desperation and reverence mixed inside her as she took in the sight of Lauren bare before her. Beautiful, small breasts begged for her touch, and the open invitation in Lauren’s eyes was enough to make her explode. She laid Lauren on the floor, kissing her, letting her hand travel down her soft, smooth skin. Emma relished the feeling of Lauren surrounding her senses, in awe that she could actually show Lauren how much she loved her.
Without looking away, Emma stripped out of her jeans before pulling off Lauren’s. If Emma had thought Lauren was beautiful before, seeing her naked, the obvious desire blazing in her eyes as she looked at her, her arms open to her, humbled her.
Emma fell into Lauren’s embrace, ready to drown in the magnificence of her essence and show Lauren how amazing and precious she found her. She was ready to show her how she’d brought so much light and love into Emma’s dark world.
Emma kissed her neck, sucking a little on her skin and savouring the salt of her dried tears. Lauren’s heart pulsed under her tongue. Down she went, learning the topography of Lauren’s body with her hands, her mouth, and her tongue. Lauren’s body quivered under her touch. Her sighs and moans fuelled Emma’s desire. Love infused the brush against a nipple, a kiss in the navel, a lick at the back of a knee, and the worship at Lauren’s centre—all healing the years of longing and unrequited dreams and bringing them into a new reality. Together.
Chapter Twenty-Five
A ringing phone cut through the quiet stillness of the morning. Lying flat on her stomach, Lauren stirred, immediately having vivid flashbacks of their lovemaking the night before. How their entwined bodies had been slick with sweat, skin to skin, coming together as one as she lay hypnotised by Emma’s touch, tingling under her fingertips that found their way between her thighs. How Emma’s warm, moist tongue had lashed Lauren’s taut nipples, rousing a melting sweetness within her. The way Emma had kissed every inch of her body until Lauren was begging for release.
Lauren let out a sigh of contentment when she felt Emma trail her finger along her spine. She slowly opened her eyes, filled with an amazing sense of completeness.
‘Good morning, sexy,’ Lauren said, smiling lazily.
Emma inched towards her, entwining her leg around Lauren’s. ‘Morning to you too. How’re you feeling?’
‘How am I feeling? Like I’m in a dream that I never want to wake up from.’ A week ago, making love to Emma had been one of her many fantasies. Now that it was a reality, it didn’t feel real. She expected to wake up and realise she had imagined the whole thing.
‘Me too.’
‘Are you hungry?’ Lauren asked.
‘For you, yes.’ Emma crushed her face against Lauren’s chest, pressing her lips to the base of her throat.
‘I meant for food.’
Emma lowered her face to Lauren’s breast and encircled her areola with the tip of her tongue before lifting her head. ‘Are you sure?’
Lauren pressed Emma’s head back into her breast and groaned when she sucked at her nipple. ‘I suppose food can wait, if you insist.’
‘I insist. Luckily for you I’ve got no appointments today so I’ll call work and see if I can take the morning off.’
‘Oh crap.’ Lauren jerked up into a sitting position and reached for her phone. ‘I have an interview at nine.’
Frankie had arranged for her to be interviewed by Georgie Maynard, an arts journalist who had carved a name for herself by interviewing up-and-coming talents. She was often cited as discovering Rayleen Richards, a contemporary artist whose work had been featured at Tate Modern.
‘Why didn’t you say so? I would’ve set my alarm,’ Emma said.
‘I totally forgot. I had more interesting things on my mind.’ She planted a kiss on Emma’s lips then pushed the covers aside. ‘You coming with me?’
Emma was sprawled on her back, exposing her nakedness. ‘Only if I can take a shower with you first.’
‘Okay, but no naughtiness,’ Lauren said, pulling Emma from the bed and down the hallway, towards the bathroom.
Georgie would be interviewing Lauren at Frankie’s gallery, at Frankie’s insistence. As well as getting publicity for Lauren, he wanted to put his gallery on the map. What better way than having the name of the gallery printed in one of London’s most popular art magazines? Lauren had tried to get him to share the interview with her so he could plug his gallery himself, but he declined, stating it would take the attention away from her. He’d insisted he’d be happy just to have his name mentioned.
An hour later, Lauren was sitting in Frankie’s gallery. Georgie, a thin woman whose hand wouldn’t stop fidgeting with the tip of her pen, got straight down to business.
‘So, Lauren—I can call you Lauren, right?’
Noticing the glint in the woman’s eye, Lauren knew what was coming next and braced herself. She glanced at
Emma, who was sitting behind the Georgie, then nodded.
‘You’ve been working under a pseudonym for many years now. Any particular reason why you’re coming out of the shadows.’
Lauren crossed her legs and cupped her knee with her hands. ‘Yes, there is, Georgie.’ She paused. ‘I’ve been in hiding for fourteen years.’
‘In hiding.’ Georgie gave a nervous laugh. ‘Is this a breaking story?’
‘I don’t know about that, but I hope my story will help anyone who has been through a similar experience.’
‘Which is?’
Lauren took a deep breath. ‘I had a stalker when I was sixteen which led me to move to France. Every year he would still send threatening letters or revolting presents to my parents’ house on my birthday. When I finally came back to London he found out where I was staying and the threatening letters started again. I have now learnt who the person stalking me is. That’s why I’m coming out with my true identity today.’
Georgie’s eyes widened. ‘That must have been tough. Lauren, I’m sure our readers will be interested to hear how this affected you. Were you threatened?’
‘Yes, and because of that, I lived my life in fear. I thought my life was in danger, as well as the lives of my family.’ She looked at Emma again. ‘And I nearly missed out on having a relationship with Emma.’
‘Were the authorities involved in your case?’
‘Yes, yes they were.’
‘And how did they treat you? Did they take you seriously? I only ask because it’s not every day you get people going public about being stalked for fear of reprisals.’
‘That’s not surprising. It’s a difficult decision to make, because you never know if outing the person will make matters worse. I just hope that going public will shame him into stopping this madness as well as helping others who may be in a similar situation.’ Lauren’s latest experience with the police moved to the forefront of her mind. ‘But I would like to say that the police officer who dealt with my case took my concerns very seriously.’
She needed to get that point across so if anyone reading her story had any doubts about involving the police, they could take it from her that the police would help.
‘That sounds very encouraging and I hope that your years of what can only be described as terror, will finally come to an end. Thank you for sharing that with me, Lauren, it must have been tough.’ Georgie paused to consult her notes. ‘So on to the future. This is your first exhibition in London. How does it feel to be back home?’
‘Amazing.’ She glanced at Emma. ‘Absolutely amazing.’
The interview dragged on for another half an hour. Lauren talked about her parents, her life now, and her personal inspirations. When Georgie finally closed her notebook, Bev, the magazine’s photographer, snapped several shots of Lauren in front of her images and outside the gallery entrance. Finally, she took pictures of Lauren and Emma together. Lauren asked to have a look at the shots, and as she scrolled through the images, the love between her and Emma was evident for anyone to see.
Georgie left the interview bursting with excitement at her good luck to be the first reporter to run the story.
‘God, I was dreading that, but it wasn’t as bad as I’d thought,’ Lauren said to Emma as they made their way to Frankie’s office.
Molly opened Frankie’s office door when Lauren knocked.
‘Hi, Molly, is Frankie around?’ Lauren asked, looking over Molly’s shoulder.
‘He popped out for milk while Georgie was interviewing you, but he’s been gone for at least half an hour.’
‘Okay, no worries. I’ll call him on his mobile.’
‘He left it in the office. I’ll leave a note asking him to call you. I’m meeting my fiancé for brunch.’
‘Your fiancé? Oh, I thought you and Frankie …’
Molly’s hand flew to her mouth and she let out a small giggle. ‘Oh my God. Me and Frankie? You’ve got to be kidding. He’s old enough to be my granddad.’
Lauren suppressed a laugh. He wasn’t that old, but she supposed to a twenty-year-old, forty-something was pretty old.
‘Thanks, Molly. And thanks for all the hard work you’ve put into getting this place ready. It looks great.’
‘Thanks. I think it looks pretty cool,’ she said, glancing around at the framed images on the wall.
A massive table covered with crisp, white linen was pressed up against one wall, and silver and bronze statues of unisex figures holding trays were placed strategically around the room. Lauren assumed drinks would be served on them rather than having a bar. She followed Emma’s gaze to a large picture of herself, which had been hung on an otherwise blank wall. Now she had outed herself, Frankie insisted on displaying the image as part of his ‘getting to know the artist’ collection.
‘Can I have that picture when the show’s done?’ Emma asked, staring at the smiling image. ‘I’ll put it on the ceiling so you’re the first face I see when I wake up in the morning.’
‘Aww, how sweet,’ Molly gushed. ‘If Lauren agrees, I can have it wrapped for you after the show’s finished.’
‘I don’t think she’ll need my picture. Not when she has the real thing. See you soon, Molly. And thanks again.’ Lauren took Emma’s hand and led her to the door.
‘So where to now?’ Emma asked as they left the gallery.
‘Since we missed breakfast, home to feed you.’
‘You’re a woman after my own heart,’ Emma said, nudging her with her head.
The streets were teeming with people, and Lauren and Emma weaved their way through them to cross the road.
‘Do you want to take a taxi back?’ Lauren asked Emma, hoping she’d say yes. Not because she was fearful in any way. She just wanted to get home as quickly as possible. They had unfinished business to attend to in the bedroom.
‘No way. From now on, I want you to enjoy your freedom.’ Emma steered them towards a narrow lane. ‘Besides I want to wander round the book shop down there.’
‘Can we come another day? I’m starving.’ She refrained from telling her the real reason for her need to get home.
‘Hmm, you do look a little peaky, I suppose.’ Emma wiggled her eyebrows. ‘And we need our energy up for round two.’
It’s amazing that we both think alike. Lauren’s hand curved around Emma’s waist and she pulled her against her side. ‘Exactly.’
Chapter Twenty-Six
Emma’s lungs were burning, and her legs weak. She could barely put one foot in front of the other. ‘Seriously, Lauren, I think I’m gonna die.’
‘Come on, there’s only two more floors left.’
‘Only!’ Emma dropped onto the carpeted step and hung her head between her legs. Between breaths, she said, ‘How about I wait here and you go to your apartment and bring me something to eat … as well as an oxygen tank.’
Lauren laughed. ‘I did say to take the lift.’
‘And miss out on going into cardiac arrest? Where’s the fun in that?’
Lauren bent over and kissed the top of her head. ‘Do you want me to run up and get you a bottle of water?’
Emma shook her head. ‘I’ll be all right … in a few hours.’
‘I see I was wrong about you. After last night’s performance, I thought you had stacks of stamina.’
‘Oh, I do, while lying down.’ She reached up and drew Lauren’s face nearer. ‘I think I need the kiss of life.’
‘If that’s what it takes to get you up those stairs …’ Lauren traced her tongue along the outline of Emma’s lips before giving her a slow, deep kiss that sent the pit of her stomach into a wild swirl.
Lauren drew back, holding her gaze with half-hooded eyes. ‘Better?’
Emma looked upwards for a second, then glanced down again. ‘One more should do the trick.’
‘I’m afraid you’ll have to wait until we get upstairs, unless you want me to tear your clothes off right here.’
Emma’s mouth turned down in a delicate pout. �
�Spoilsport.’
‘We’re wasting time. Let’s go.’
Emma grabbed the handrail and pulled herself to her feet. She trailed behind Lauren in the hope of conserving her energy and got a perfect view of Lauren’s sexy arse in her tight jeans.
They exited the stair well and walked towards Lauren’s apartment, debating what should come first: sex or food.
‘You expecting a delivery?’ Emma asked, noticing a box sitting outside Lauren’s front door. When they came to a stop Emma bent over, resting her hands on her knees.
‘No. It’s probably for the owner—or not.’ Lauren picked up the box and opened the lid. ‘It’s addressed to me.’
‘Now you know where Frankie disappeared to. Seems a bit cloak and dagger, doesn’t it? He could have just given—’ Emma paused when she realised Lauren hadn’t moved. ‘What is it?’
‘A black rose.’
‘Who would send you a black rose?’ Emma asked.
Lauren handed the box to her with the message card. Emma scanned the message and adrenaline shot through her.
Time is running out for you Lauren.
‘That little shit hasn’t learnt his lesson,’ Emma said.
‘At least we’ve got him on camera this time.’
They stepped inside the apartment, and Lauren pushed the cable from the security camera into her phone. With Emma leaning over her shoulder, Lauren started the footage a few hours previously and they both peered at the screen as she forwarded through quickly. Emma willed Mike to appear, just to confirm she’d been right about him. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much to see, besides the odd neighbour and a cleaner hoovering the hallway.
Their breath caught when a shadow fell on her door. The atmosphere was heavy with tension as they waited for the person who’d delivered the rose to come into view. A man wearing a baseball cap stared back at her. Emma knew straight away it wasn’t Mike; the man didn’t look anything like him.
‘I can’t believe it’s not him,’ Lauren said, her disappointment obvious.
Emma took the phone from Lauren and paused the footage. ‘So he didn’t deliver the rose himself, but he wasn’t too smart either. Look at the logo on the cap.’
