"You're incorrigible."
"No," Grace said, releasing Carey's breasts and reaching down to unbutton the jeans that were in her way. ''I'm horny."
"You're always horny."
Grace lowered the zipper, then slipped her hand inside. "Only when I'm around you," she said, pressing against Carey's mound through the panties. "And right now I really, really need to make love with you." She smiled at the dampness her fingers found. "Then again," she said, pulling her hand free. "If you'd rather I behaved myself and made a pot of coffee..." She took two steps away before a strong arm pulled her back.
"I want something, but it isn't coffee," Carey said, her voice husky with desire. "You have no idea what you do to me."
"Show me," Grace said, sliding her hand under Carey's shirt and pinching the nipple she found.
"You want me to show you?" Carey asked, pulling Grace back against her. "I want you...right now, right here," she said, using her right arm to hold Grace still while her left rubbed the young woman's breasts.
"Oh yes," Grace hissed, reaching up to lock her fingers behind Carey's head and giving the older woman total access to anything she wanted. "Touch me."
"Mmm, Grace..." She nibbled the young woman's neck, groaning at the soft moans it produced. "I don't know how you do it," she said huskily, slipping her left hand under Grace's top. "No one has ever made me feel like this." She let go long enough to send the cotton shirt flying, then resumed holding Grace tightly against her. "You make the sexiest noises," she said when her lover sighed.
"Carey...I want..."
"Hmm?" Carey rubbed her fingertips over Grace's nipples. "What do you want?"
"I want...take me."
"I want to ask you something."
"Go ahead," Carey said, kissing the top of Grace's head.
"Earlier, you said no one ever made you feel like I do," she said, lifting her head to look at Carey. "What about Eve?"
"I don't like the idea of comparing the two of you," Carey said. "You're the one I'm with, not her. That should tell you something." She kissed the young woman's forehead. "And there is no comparison in the bedroom. Even if I wanted to use dental dams, they never would have been needed with her."
"But you like it," Grace said, snuggling into Carey's neck. "And I love doing it."
"I know you do," Carey said. "And trust me, I enjoy it, very much." She gave another kiss to Grace's forehead. "Very much."
"So if you like it, why didn't she do it?"
Carey shrugged. "She said she didn't like doing it. Our sex life was one of our bigger problems."
"It won't be one of ours," Grace said confidently. "I love making love with you."
Carey hugged her. "You are a sex addict and you're turning me into one. And I love making love with you, too."
Grace settled down, putting her head on Carey's chest. "I can tell," she said, closing her eyes and smiling happily.
Carey smiled, kissing Grace's forehead. "You can't go to sleep there."
"Not sleeping," Grace said, rubbing Carey's belly. "Just cuddling."
"Grace?"
"Hmm?"
Carey gave the young woman a soft, gentle kiss. "I love you," she said solemnly. "I should have realized it long ago."
Grace buried her face into the crook of Carey's shoulder. "It doesn't matter," she said, her voice cracking. "I love you too."
"Hey," Carey said softly, feeling the young woman's shoulders shake. "I didn't mean to make you cry."
Grace sniffled and hugged her tightly. "Happy tears," she said. "It's all your fault. I never used to cry before I met you."
Carey kissed the top of the blonde head. "I love you," she said, the words seeming as natural as breathing. Tipping Grace's face up, she kissed away a tear. "I love you."
Carey reached up and placed her grandmother's angel at the top of the Christmas tree. It was the first time it had been out of the box since Gram had died, eight years ago. She looked over at Grace, who was painstakingly placing one strand of tinsel at a time on each and every branch on the tree. She smiled at the look of sheer contentment on the younger woman's face.
Grace finished her chore and stepped back to admire her handiwork. "It's gorgeous," she said, turning and wrapping her arms around Carey and squeezing tightly. "Don't you think so?"
"Most definitely," Carey said, returning the embrace. "I haven't put up a tree in so long that I forgot how much fun it can be." She looked at the angel at the top. "And it's nice to finally be able to use Gram's angel. Eve liked a star at the top of the tree, and I didn't think it was worth arguing about."
"I love having her on the tree," Grace said. "She's so elegant."
Carey pulled Grace tightly against her. "These past four months with you here with me have been the happiest of my life." She leaned over and placed a quick kiss on Grace's upturned mouth. "Thank you for not giving up on us."
"Never." Grace took her hand and turned for the bedroom. "Come on, love. Five a.m. comes early, let's get some sleep."
Carey followed along like a lovesick puppy. Sleep was definitely not what she had in mind. Stripping out of her clothes quickly, she lay down and opened her arms, sighing when Grace snuggled in close.
"Comfortable?" Carey asked, gently stroking her hair.
"Mmm, very," Grace said, turning her head to kiss Carey's breast. "Nice soft warm pillow."
"You have a pillow. Right up here."
"I like this one better," Grace said, lifting her hand and cupping the
soft mound. "Nice and fluffy."
"Just don't treat it like you do your regular pillows," Carey said. "You have no idea how many times I came out in the morning and found your pillow on the floor."
"Oh no," Grace said, running her fingertips over the soft skin. "I worked too damn hard to get this pillow. I'm not about to let it go." She shifted and when she did, the flats of her fingers pressed down on the outer edge of Carey's breast. "What's that?"
"What?"
Grace pressed down again, this time moving her fingers in a slow circular motion. "Right there. What's that?" She rubbed over the bump again, then moved to the other breast to see if it felt the same. She remembered the doctor had told her to always check the other breast if she felt something she wasn't sure of. If it was on the other breast too, then it was normal. She frowned as her fingers worked their way over the other breast and found no matching lump.
"It's probably just a milk gland or something." Carey wrinkled her brow. "Is that what you call them?"
"I don't know what you call them, but if that's what it is there should be one on the other breast too, and there's not." Grace brought her hand back to Carey's right breast, pressing her fingers into the flesh. "Here." She took Carey's hand and placed where her fingers had been. "Feel it?"
"I feel it," Carey said. "I don't know what it is. I never noticed it before."
"You don't check?"
Carey shifted, covering Grace's body with her own. "I don't check, but that doesn't mean it's cancer." She kissed the young woman's lips, hoping to erase the concerned look in the blue eyes. "I'll call tomorrow and make an appointment." She braced herself with her arms and waited patiently as Grace continued to examine her breasts for any other irregularities. "I promise I'll have it checked."
"I love you," Grace said.
"I love you too," Carey said, giving her lover another soft kiss. "Please don't worry."
Grace blinked several times. "I can't help worrying."
"Sweetheart, I'm too young to worry about breast cancer, and besides, cancer doesn't run in my family." She kissed Grace again. Her heart ached at the pain and worry in the blue eyes. "I love you, Grace."
"Joanna?" The woman in a white lab coat entered the room. "I'm Dr. Sapiel."
"Hello," Carey said.
"I understand you've found a lump on your breast?"
"It's probably nothing," Carey said. "But I promised someone I'd come and have it checked."