Chris pulled her to the bed, not bothering with the covers and Jessie settled her weight between Chris's opened thighs, pressing hard into her.
"This was the longest day of my life," Jessie whispered. Her mouth moved wetly down Chris's throat, stopping only when her lips closed over an erect nipple.
Chris arched into her, her hands cupping Jessie's hips and pulling her more firmly against her. She rolled her head back, eyes closed tightly as Jessie feasted. Crazily, she wondered how she had ever lived without this. A low moan escaped as Jessie moved to her other breast and she moved her hands lightly across Jessie's bare back before clutching her head and holding her closer against her breast. She felt Jessie take more of her breast inside and she moaned again, her hips rising again to meet Jessie's thrusts as she ground into her.
Jessie's hand slipped easily inside Chris's sweatpants and she found what she wanted. Hot wetness surrounded her fingers, and she drove them deep inside Chris, feeling her tighten around them. Oh, so wet, she thought. She wanted her mouth there but Chris's hips rose again to meet her thrusting fingers. Instead, her mouth found Chris's waiting lips, her tongue mimicking her fingers as she plunged harder and harder inside Chris, riding the wave with Chris as her hips bucked against her hand.
Chris's hips moved frantically as she met each thrust of Jessie's fingers, driving them harder into her until she simply exploded under Jessie's weight. Her scream was primal, long and hard, and she clutched Jessie to her as her tremors subsided.
Jessie felt the perspiration cool on her back as she rested against Chris, her breath still coming hard as the needs of her own body clamored to be heard. She reached down and unbuttoned her own jeans, shoving them haphazardly down her legs as she pulled Chris's sweats completely off. Cotton briefs followed and she pressed her naked body to Chris, hips grinding hard against Chris as she sought her own release.
"Let me, sweetheart," Chris whispered and her hand moved between them. She was nearly overwhelmed by the wetness she found and her fingers moved into hot fire, stroking the swollen center quickly as Jessie's hips moved against her.
It only took one touch and Jessie felt herself slipping, tumbling over the edge quickly. She came hard and fast, her cry loud to her own ears as she lay spent on top of Chris.
"I'm sorry," Jessie whispered when she found her breath. "I couldn't wait."
"Please don't tell me you're sorry. That was beautiful." She kissed Jessie's damp forehead. "We've got all the time in the world."
"There'll never be enough time," Jessie said softly as she curled next to Chris. "I could make love with you every day for the rest of my life... and it still wouldn't be enough."
Chris took a sharp breath. Those words, she was not expecting. Unconsciously, she tightened her arms.
"You know, I was a little nervous about tonight," Chris confessed. "I didn't know if last night could be repeated or if you would even want to."
"I wanted you to walk in that door tonight and drag me off to the bedroom without a single word spoken," Jessie said lightly. She stroked the smooth skin on Chris's belly, wondering at her sudden need to talk, to share her feelings... and her doubts. "Can I tell you something, Chris?"
"Of course."
"You're the first person that I've ever been with twice." She looked up, just able to see the expression on Chris's face in the darkness. It was one of sadness. "You're also the first person who's ever made love to me because they truly wanted to. It wasn't just sex. And you're the first one I've ever made love to," she finished in a whisper. "What I'm feeling is so completely new to me, I'm not sure what to call it." She swallowed hard before continuing. "I don't know what love is, Chris. But what I feel when I'm with you is complete happiness, contentment, joy. And passion. Passion I didn't even know I had. And not just when we're like this, touching. Sometimes I look into your blue eyes, and I just want to go there, go inside you, let you surround me and protect me. And I know you would. You've been the one person I could count on, the one person who hasn't let me down."
Chris quietly rubbed Jessie's back while she spoke, her words touching Chris in places no one had been before. Her heart ached for this woman who had so much pain in her life. And so little love.
"Jessie, I'll always be someone you can count on. No matter what happens here or what happens when you leave, if you need me, you just say the word."
"Why, Chris? Why would you do that?" Jessie pulled away, trying so hard to read Chris's eyes.
"Because I..." Fm in love with you. Chris's throat closed completely, stifling the words that threatened to spill out. In love? "I care about you, Jessie. What happens to you matters to me."
Chapter Thirty-Six
The pasta casserole was great for a midnight snack, which was when they finally managed to get out of bed. Chris ate quietly as she watched Jessie moving around her kitchen, refilling her wineglass as she passed by.
"Why are you watching me?" Jessie asked, her back still to Chris.
"Can't I watch you?"
Jessie wanted to tell Chris she could watch her for the rest of her life, but she didn't want to scare her off. She suspected she had already disrupted Chris's orderly life with her timid declaration earlier. Not a declaration of love, exactly. That was still a foreign concept to her. But she knew what she felt for Chris was not simply sexual attraction. Chris had come into her life and captured her very soul. But was that love? She turned around and found Chris still watching her. She met those blue eyes head on, searching for what, she wasn't sure. Love? Did Chris's feelings for her go deeper than this physical attraction? With Chris, it was hard to tell. She was affectionate in so many ways with so many different people, it was hard for Jessie to tell if her feelings ran deeper. Oh, but when they made love, the way Chris touched her, surely...
"Jessie?"
Jessie blinked, focusing again on the blue eyes staring at her. Chris arched an eyebrow.
"Sorry, McKenna. I guess I spaced out."
"Is everything okay? I mean, do you want to talk?"
"No, no, I'm fine. I was just thinking." She grinned as she sat down at the table and resumed her dinner. "I guess I'm tired. We haven't exactly gotten much sleep in the last few days."
"We can sleep in today," Chris offered.
"Well, I promised Annie I would take her to Sacramento. She wants to shop for Thanksgiving. That is, if the roads are clear."
"They should be. It stopped snowing." Chris shoved her plate away and sat with her wineglass in front of her. "You know, Jessie, I'm really glad you and Annie are taking the time to get to know one another again. I was afraid you would come here and talk to her and leave again, and just go on about your life. I'm glad you're letting Annie into your life."
"Maybe that was my intention, originally. I don't know. Honestly, I never really had a plan, McKenna." Then she laughed a little. "I never have a plan when it comes to my life."
Chapter Thirty-seven
Chris's boots crunched across the snow on the sidewalk and she scraped them off before going into the ranger station. The roads were clear and traffic was heading into tiny Sierra City. The weather was perfect for skiing and the lodge was packed when she drove past earlier. She glanced at her watch. Nearly noon. Jessie and Annie were probably on their way to Sacramento by now. She had talked to Annie on the phone, who sounded as excited as Chris had ever heard her. The meal she was planning for Thanksgiving would feed twenty, Chris was sure.
"I'm going to ask Jessie to take me to dinner at one of those fancy restaurants, Chris. It's been years since I've dined out. Oh, and we're going to the mall, too. I can't remember the last time I shopped for new clothes."