by Riley Scott
She watched as Raven’s lips turned up in a half smile, once again making eye contact. Her deep brown eyes sparkled with a mixture of confusion and lust as she cocked her head to the side with unspoken questions.
“That’s right,” Chris said, lowering her voice and reaching down to slide her hand into the neckline of Raven’s shirt. She walked over and locked the door. “Since the guys are out hiking and exploring the beauties of Colorado dispensaries, I’m going to fuck you until you forget about anything that’s stressing you out right now and then I’m going to fuck you more until nothing else matters but you giving into pleasure.”
Raven bit her lip and Chris could hear her breathing change. Needing no further invitation, she slid closer and moved to straddle Raven on the couch. Bringing her lips crashing down against Raven’s, she let out a moan, pent-up frustration and stress leaving her body in an instant, knowing that she wouldn’t feel complete until she ravaged Raven’s magnificent body.
Tangling her fingers in Raven’s long, dark hair she kissed her with reckless abandon, no longer caring where this might lead. Like a hungry animal, she ripped at Raven’s clothing, pulling her shirt off as quickly as her fingers would allow and set to work teasing Raven’s nipples with her tongue.
Smiling to herself, she knew what was needed in this situation. Raven was so used to being in control of everything—standing completely alone. She needed to let loose. Pulling back from their embrace, Chris stood.
“What are you doing?” Raven asked, her voice thick, clouded with lust.
“I’ll be right back,” she answered with a wink. “Until then, I want you to sit right there, and don’t move.”
She looked like she might protest so Chris shot her a stern look. “Stay,” she said, motioning for Raven to remain where she sat. Raven bit her lip, a mixture of confusion, desire and awe dancing in her eyes.
Quickly, Chris made her way into her bedroom and grabbed a scarf before returning to the main room, walking slowly and deliberately. She leaned down to kiss Raven once more, before positioning her in the middle of the couch.
“Might as well go ahead and make sure you let go of everything,” Chris said, tying Raven’s hands together and putting them behind her head. “I want you to let go, completely and just be pleased.”
Chris positioned herself over Raven’s lap, straddling her legs and grinding against her body. Pulling off her own shirt, she let her bare breasts fall in front of Raven’s face.
Knowing that Raven would want to take control and touch her, Chris grinned. Massaging her hard nipples with her own hands, she continued the tease. She could feel Raven’s hips grind and writhe beneath her, silently begging for more.
“Are you ready?” she asked, looking down, pleased to see such raw desire in Raven’s eyes.
“Yes please,” Raven said, through ragged breaths.
“Beg for it,” Chris said, feeling her own body tighten at the thought.
“Please, I need you to take me.” Her words came out as a moan as her hips continued to gyrate.
“Good,” she said in reply, standing up. “Spread your legs for me.”
She grabbed Raven’s legs and spread them for her, stretching her body out across the couch. She quickly unbuttoned Raven’s jeans and pulled them off, tossing them on the floor.
“God you’re sexy,” she said, stopping for a moment to look at Raven’s naked body, her lust showing in the ragged breathing and in her open legs. She knelt down and slid deep inside in one fluid motion, while Raven moaned in response.
“You like it?” Chris coaxed, needing to hear from Raven just how much she wanted it.
“I love it,” Raven shouted. “Harder, faster, however you want.”
As Chris took full control, Raven arched her back, biting her lip and moaning for more. When she came, she let out a loud scream. Chris reached up to untie the scarf and give her a kiss on the forehead. Raven stared at Chris with wide eyes.
“What?…Where?…What did you do to me?” Her words came out breathlessly as she regained control of her still-trembling body.
“I showed you that you don’t always have to be in control,” she answered, helping Raven sit up and sliding onto the couch beside her and kissing her lips gently. “I wanted you to feel nothing but pleasure, without any thought to anything else.”
“Holy fuck,” Raven said. “You certainly did that.”
“What do you say we go enjoy a day on the town and just goof off until time for practice this evening?”
Raven looked around the room, eyeing the pile of her clothes and nodded. “I’d like that,” she agreed. “But first, I have something I’d like to share with you.”
“What’s that?” she asked, wondering what else was left to share after that experience.
“I want to show you the new song,” she said, a smile spreading across her face, causing her dimple to show distinctly.
“I’d love that,” Chris said, giving Raven a hand up.
“I’m still a little unsteady, clearly,” she said, laughing as she gripped the side of the couch. “Good game.”
Chris laughed in response. “I didn’t even get an ass smack with that ‘good game’ remark?”
“My bad,” Raven said, reaching back and planting an open palm against Chris’s backside. “Good game.”
They both laughed as they made their way back to Raven’s room. To Chris’s surprise, Raven didn’t dress. Facing Chris, she picked up her guitar and took a seat on her bed.
“It’s a little raw still and it needs some finessing, but I promised you that you’d be the first to hear it. I want to give you that—especially after what you just gave me,” she said, raising an eyebrow, an unmistakable dirty smile playing across her face.
Chris blushed at the compliment and nodded, urging Raven to continue.
“Here it goes,” she said as she strummed her guitar.
Instead of the fast-paced rhythm that Chris had come to expect, this was a softer, slower, ballad-style tune.
“Turn out the lights,” she sang, her voice low and tender, but exuding power with each word. “Turn off the haze, turn off the glitz and glamour, just hear what I need to say.”
Chris watched as her eyes locked with Raven’s. Her lover’s expression displayed more rawness, more authenticity than ever before.
“Words I never heard,” she belted, sincerity ringing in every line. “Words for all of you, words to build up, oh these words of endless truth.”
Watching her sing, Chris wanted to reach out and place a hand on her shoulder. For the first time, she felt like she was seeing the exposed parts of Raven, the parts no one got to see. She waited, needing to hear more of the secrets being spilled out for her, for her alone.
“You’re different and you’re unique, but so are we all,” she sang, closing her eyes as the words flowed. “So just be you, be you boldly.
“With our different battles,” she sang, as the pace picked up. “Our changing scars, our dreams and our fears, our battered hearts; they say, ‘be this,’ ‘be that,’ ‘be like them all,’ but fuck what they say, you just stand proud and tall.”
Mesmerized, Chris couldn’t take her eyes off the woman. Raven, speaking through the one medium in which she bared her soul, was showing Chris a version of who she was—what she had been through. She had given glimpses. But this one was precious and unfiltered.
“No one can define it; they don’t have the right to say anything to you, so just be you today.” As she continued and sang the chorus again, Chris felt goose bumps rise on her arms.
“Some will leave, few will stay and all will say things that hurt, but pay them no mind today,” she sang the bridge with such depth that Chris could feel her pain. Nothing could have prepared her for the tear she saw slide down Raven’s cheek as she sung out what could have possibly been the truest words she’d ever sung.
“Words I never heard,” she sang, each word leaving a haunting presence in the air. Caught so off guard by Raven’
s reaction to the song, Chris felt tears sting the corners of her own eyes. She blinked them away quickly once Raven made eye contact with her.
“What do you think?” she asked, looking up at Chris, her voice still thick with emotion.
“I think it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard,” she said. “Honestly, it’s incredible.”
“Thank you,” Raven said, putting her guitar back in its case.
“No,” Chris said, shaking her hands and stepping forward to embrace Raven’s naked body. “Thank you.”
They stood in silence, clinging to each other, neither one needing to expand upon what had been unspoken between the two of them. If only one thing was clear after all of the morning’s confusion, it was the fact that they both understood what the other needed in the moment.
Right now, that was really all that mattered.
* * *
Paul paced outside the door. He had come back early while the rest of the guys had chosen to continue their daytime party. He could hear them and wished it would stop. He was angry that he couldn’t get in, yet relieved that they had been smart enough to lock the door. There was no way he wanted to walk in on them, but he still felt his blood boil, knowing that they could have been courteous enough to have sex in a bedroom. Hell, they each had one. Sighing, he felt his key in his pocket and thought about using it. If worse came to worse and they didn’t emerge before he really needed to get to work, he would use it. Until then, he would let them have their fun.
He took a seat on the ground and pulled out his phone. No doubt, they had seen the article of the day, showing them embracing warmly and kissing. They were either in there fighting or making up. Regardless, but didn’t want to be a part of it.
After debating, he knocked forcefully. When no one answered, he knocked again and then sat on the steps to wait.
Finally, he heard the door lock click open and Raven threw open the door. Within seconds, he was up and inside. Raven looked dazed. He eyed her curiously and she smiled at him.
“What’s up?” she asked, her voice lingering on each word, as if she was stoned.
“Not much,” he said, hoping his expression alone asked his question.
“Lots of sex,” she mouthed the words, pointing her finger to the bathroom, where he figured Christina must be.
He gave her a thumbs-up and sat next to her. “Are you high?” he whispered.
“No,” she said, shaking her head and letting out a low laugh. “Just satisfied…like a lot.”
He laughed. “Good,” he said. “Are you happy?” he asked, careful to keep his voice low and out of earshot of the bathroom.
She nodded and then cocked her head to the side, as if considering his question in more depth. After a second, she nodded again. “I am,” she said. “I don’t know how or why, or where anything is headed, but I’m happy.”
“Okay,” he said, accepting it at face value. It wasn’t often that she admitted to happiness, so he would take that for what it was worth. “If that ever changes, you know I’m here, right?”
She nodded again and laid her head on his shoulder. “You always have been,” she said, keeping her voice low. “I know I don’t say it often enough, but thank you.”
“Thank you too,” he said. “For everything. And my offer still stands. If you ever want to talk about things, I’m around. Hell, I’m right down the hall.”
She laughed. “I know,” she said, playfully smacking him on the arm. “I can never get rid of you. But honestly, I wouldn’t want to. I wouldn’t know what to do without you. You’re my family.”
He smiled down at her. In this moment, she wasn’t guarded or jaded. She wasn’t running. She was just here and for the most part, that’s all he ever wanted for her. Right now, she was soft and she was real. She was present—not dealing with the past or ignoring the future, just present. He threw his arm around her, knowing that if Christina truly did make her this happy, maybe there was hope.
Stroking her hair, he thought about what they’d been through together, and for the first time in a while, he thought about all that was ahead. The future could contain anything, but as he watched her sweet smile, he thought that, maybe, the future was going to be a little brighter than it had been in times past.
Chapter Twelve
“Did you see it?”
“Oh my god. It’s scandalous.”
“I wonder if she will get away with it.”
“Do you think she’ll get fired?”
The whispers had wafted through the office all day, accompanied by the circulation of the tabloid featuring Chris’s now-infamous kiss. It had provided a tiresome soundtrack to Susan’s day. Like mischievous children, every staff member had been seen holding the copy of People Magazine.
Now at home, Susan’s head was still spinning. Though she had spoken with Chris earlier in the day, little had been resolved on her end. Was she supposed to punish Chris? Fire her? Was she supposed to let it slide this one time and focus on Chris’s continued loyalty to the company? She had been at war all day, trying to figure out her plan of action.
She had deliberately left it vague with Chris. She needed time to process it all and sort out an appropriate solution. Everyone knew she ran a tight ship. There were no slipups or missteps. But they also knew how valuable Chris was to her. Hell, they used Chris as a liaison to speak with Susan when there was a problem.
Until this morning, it had only been a matter of time before she was going to name Chris her business partner. Now she wasn’t sure what she should, or even wanted to do. She craned her head side to side, hoping her neck would pop, relieving some of the tension. She had called an afternoon staff meeting and told them to all butt out and let both Chris and Susan do their jobs without the gossip.
She just needed to buy a little time. She filled the bathtub with steaming water and lavender bubble bath. She shook her head as the water rose, willing her turmoil to even out and make peace with itself. Glancing once more at the tabloid before slipping into the hot water, she noted Chris’s look of sheer and utter bliss. It was a look Susan hadn’t experienced—or even imagined—in years. It was the same look she had once worn, long before the pain of a failing, childless marriage. She closed her eyes, seeing nothing but that bliss. Chris was happy. She longed for that feeling. And she wanted it for Chris. That’s what made life enjoyable, instead of merely bearable.
Sighing heavily, Susan slid down into the water until it was just below her chin and closed her eyes, breathing in the lavender. Giving in to the relaxation, she let her mind drift back to the past.
Lively jazz filled the precinct as two young lovers drifted down the streets of New Orleans. A mix of smells lingered in the heavy swamp air—some pleasant, some not so much—but somehow wafting the scent of possibility and freedom.
“Isn’t it lovely?” she asked, turning to look at Marcus. His dark skin glowing, no doubt a result of the incredible humidity, his dark eyes sparkling with the flashing signs all around them.
“It certainly is,” he said, grabbing her hand. Her body tingled with excitement and pulsated with electricity in their connection. He spun her in a quick circle to the rhythm of the saxophone playing in the bar behind them, only to swing her back into his arms for a lingering warm kiss. Walking hand in hand she knew she was done for. This was her first vacation in years and there was no one she wanted more to share it with than the wonderful man by her side.
“I love you,” he spoke the words aloud for the first time, his voice confident and unwavering.
Each word replayed in her mind, echoing her unspoken question. “How did I get so lucky?”
“I love you too,” she responded.
Side by side and arm in arm, they journeyed through the city, taking in all of the sights, but mostly falling more in love.
Susan sat up in her tub, her heart pounding from just how real and vivid the memory had been. Instead of going down into the depths of the course their love had taken—the proposal, the weddin
g, the years trying to get pregnant, throwing herself into her work to avoid the pain, and finally the messy, brutal and heartbreaking divorce—Susan reminded herself again that it was over. She winced, replaying his last words in her memory. “We just burned out. There’s nothing more left.”
As she had come to realize, it had been worth every moment—even the ones that hurt. Just to feel that strongly in love, that connected to someone, that lost in insane, fiery passion had been worth every tear—and every sleepless night. It had been worth waking up in a panic, searching the sheets for someone on the right side of the bed. It had been worth every moment of self-doubt and despair in the aftermath.
Though it had been fleeting, as love too often was, she would do it all over again. And truthfully, she could have tried to find someone else, had she not buried herself in work. She had seen that Chris was determined to go down the same path—working too many hours and losing herself to it alone. For that reason—for the hope of Chris’s happiness and for how amazing it was to see Chris’s joy in the picture—Susan knew she didn’t have the heart to punish her. Much as she figured a mother would feel, all she could focus on was Chris’s bliss. Of course she wished it had happened differently. But Chris was happy. That’s what mattered.
Chris was being a twenty-something. She was giving love a chance—wild, unrestricted, uninhibited love like Susan was pretty sure was only a possibility in one’s twenties. She was happy and Susan was happy for her. Maybe Chris would be smarter somehow—smarter than she had been and smart enough to make it last.
Her loneliness was tangible, and she slid back into her bathwater, listening to the echo of the water droplets falling from the faucet into the tub. She reflected upon her empire and deemed it worthless. It wasn’t lasting. It wasn’t substantial. And it certainly didn’t keep her warm at night. She ducked her head under the water, holding her breath and considering what it would be like to have it all end…
