She sits back, her rear resting lightly on my thighs. "Where to begin?"
"I have a couple suggestions."
"Hush!" Kelsey trails a finger from the tip of my nose, across my lips, down my chin, swirls it in the hollow of my throat, before traveling down between my breasts. Arching her eyebrow, she dips the tip of her finger into my bellybutton and then tugs on my navel ring.
Oh God. Come on, Kels, get on with it.
"That was an interesting sound," Kelsey murmurs and tugs again.
I jostle my legs, attempting to dislodge her.
"Doucement, ma biche, doucement," she chides. She then takes pity on me and leans down to kiss me.
I return the kiss hungrily, glad to have her lips against mine at last. And who is she to lecture me about patience? I mean, it wasn’t ten minutes ago she was shoving me down her body.
Wait a second.
She just spoke French.
And I thought she could only do that in her kisses.
She presses her body against mine and I decide that self-restraint isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. I fold my arms around her, intent on keeping her right where she is. She feels so good, so soft. And she fits just right.
We’ll deal with that French thing later.
She’s kissing my lips, my jaw, my cheek, my throat. I tilt my head back to give her plenty of room to work. Oh yeah, right there. That’s good. More of that please.
She seems to understand my need and she continues, marking me. I don’t care. As long as she doesn’t stop. I feel her hand slide down the length of our bodies and move between us. Oh, don’t stop that either. That’s especially nice. Uh huh. Right … there.
Her lips cover mine once more and her tongue imitates her hand. We move together, slowly at first, becoming accustomed to the feel of our bodies so intertwined. Suddenly, it’s all too much. Teasing has turned to passion, which has metamorphosed to pure pleasure.
"Oh …darlin’," I exhale, as the tremors overtake me.
And then I can do nothing more than lay limply on the bed, grateful for the weight of Kelsey on me keeping me grounded. Otherwise, I would simply float away.
She nestles against me, burrowing her head under my chin, bringing the scent of rainwater to me. We hold each other gently and whisper nonsense words as sleep begins to overtake us. Kels places soft kisses on my flesh then falls asleep in my arms.
I chuckle as an old thought returns to me: Straight, my ass.
Scenes from Next Week’s Must Read TV:
Episode Eighteen: Reality Bites
It’s morning.
I know this because the sun is streaming through the blinds and hitting me right in the eye. I burrow my face deeper into Kelsey’s hair and tighten my hold around her waist. This is nice.
She reaches down to take my hand and drags it up between her breasts, kissing my knuckles. "Go back to sleep," she whispers.
"Good morning," I whisper, kissing the base of her neck. She shivers. I caused that and I am inordinately pleased.
"You going for a run?"
I tickle the base of her throat with my fingers. "I think not. I’m gonna go downstairs and fix us breakfast before Mama and Papa come home."
She groans and blushes. I watch it travel all over her body. Damn, that’s cute. "I have to face your Mama now."
I kiss her shoulder. "Chér, it’s going to be fine. I mean, it’s not like we have to wear signs telling everyone what we did last night." I didn’t think she’d already regret it. So much for a morning after.
Kelsey rolls over in my arms and inspects me carefully. "And how will you explain this?" She gently fingers the hickey she gave me last night.
"I let the bed bugs bite?"
She laughs at my unexpected joke. "I don’t think she’ll fall for that."
"Is it really that bad, Kels?" I ask before I can censure myself. God, I don’t want another Omaha fiasco on my hands.
"Is what so bad?" she echoes. Then her eyes register understanding of what I’m asking. "No, not at all, Harper. Not at all." She kisses my chin and snuggles closer. "Last night was wonderful. You were wonderful. This is wonderful."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. In fact, I say to hell with breakfast. We can always eat on the plane. But there are certain things we can’t do in the air."
Her hands cover my breasts and I let out a little sigh. "Darlin’, haven’t you ever heard of the Mile High Club?"
Kelsey blinks innocently. "Isn’t that when you fly over Denver?"
God, I love waking up with this woman. "Uh, no. But I’ll help you complete a membership application later."
We stand awkwardly by the rental car. Kelsey and I are deliberately trying to not touch each other, which is so damn hard. All I want is to touch her, hold her, caress her.
Snap out of it, Harper! Or you’ll never make it onto the plane. Flying over Denver. That’s some sense of humor you got there, Kels.
Papa catches me thinking lascivious thoughts and winks at me.
We gotta get going. I can barely make out what my mother is saying.
"You two be sure to call us when you get back to Los Angeles so we don’t worry about you."
Kelsey manages to answer since I seem to have lost my voice. "We will, Cécile."
"You call me Mama, ma petite." I watch as Mama hugs Kelsey tightly to her and kisses both cheeks. "And you come back here soon. At least for Christmas, if not before."
I don’t hear Kelsey’s reply since my Papa chooses that moment to grab me in a headlock. His knuckles brush through my hair just like they have since I barely had hair. "Don’t you be hardheaded, Harper Lee," he whispers in my ear. "And don’t you be scared. I didn’t raise you to back down from anything."
"Yes, sir."
"Thanks for coming home for Thanksgiving, sweetheart." He lets me stand up and regain some sense of dignity. "We’re always so happy when you’re here."
"Me too, Papa." I kiss his cheek. Then turn to face Mama.
She is holding her arms open to me, a wide smile on her face. I go to her, feeling very much like the little girl who once sought shelter in those same arms, knowing they could protect me from anything and everything. "Je t'aime, mon coeur. Je suis bien fier de toi."
"I love you too, mama." For some reason, my mother being proud of me is a better achievement than any other I can imagine.
"Tu prends bien soin d'elle. And go, before I start crying."
"Yes, ma’am." I will take good care of Kelsey. And I don’t want to start crying either. I kiss her cheeks then climb into the Explorer before my heart can decide to stay here at home.
As I settle into my seat I wonder why such a wonderful trip has to be ruined by flying home. I, for one, would welcome high-speed, cross-country trains.
Harper settles in next to me and I have to wonder how she copes so damn well. I feel like a sardine in one of these things, even in first class. Thank God we’re not sitting in coach.
"You okay, Little Roo?"
"Eh, you know me and planes."
"Yeah, but I have the cure this time around." She quirks a brow at me. "You just leave everything to me."
"No problem." I try to smile, but can only flinch when I hear that door close and I know I'm now officially trapped.
"You know," I laugh a little as she grabs me around the waist from behind, "this would me a little easier if I could actually get to the answering machine."
"You," she pulls me back and begins kissing the back of my neck, "don’t need to check the machine right now."
"I have messages." I turn around in her arms.
Her answer to this statement is to kiss me soundly.
What messages?
To hell with the messages. I don’t like most of the people who leave them anyway.