Coalescence - SF3 (9 page)

As they drove along, Jamie could feel the restraints she had placed on her libido start to loosen. By the time they reached 17 Mile Drive, her hand was running up and down Ryan’s thigh, and both women could feel their hearts starting to beat faster. Scenes from their weeks together began to play in Jamie’s head and she could almost taste Ryan’s luscious lips as they drew closer to her home. Thinking of the rabid desire she saw radiating from Ryan’s eyes when they were at Mia’s caused her heart to skip a beat, and she turned to say something to her partner. Ryan’s head turned simultaneously and even behind the dark glasses Jamie could see that her partner’s thoughts were headed in the same direction. Suddenly speechless, both women sighed deeply as they shared a smile that promised their desires would soon be sated.

Jamie called out the turns and right after they passed the Cypress Point Country Club, she indicated that Ryan should slow down. They pulled up to a gated driveway and Jamie gave her the entry code, which just happened to be her birthday. Ryan shot her a little grin as the massive gates swung open. She drove up the curved drive, through lush landscaping, finally arriving at a lovely covered carriageway that led to a crushed gravel courtyard. Jamie curtly instructed, "Leave it right here," as she scrambled out of the car while it was still slowing to a stop.

Ryan got out and started to stretch her back, only to be stopped mid-stretch by a hand that grasped hers and pulled her insistently up to the front door. Jamie lifted the cover of a small touch pad and pressed her thumb onto the device. A disembodied voice said, "Welcome home, Jamie," and then the door latch clicked open. Ryan gasped in surprise and tried to take a look at the device but was pulled roughly forward. She stumbled a bit as she fell over the entryway, regaining her balance only to have the air knocked out of her lungs as she was thrown back against the massive oak door with an audible ‘thud!’

Before she could open her mouth to protest, Jamie was on her with a fury. She started to unbutton her linen shirt as she ground her mouth onto Ryan’s. In seconds, the shirt was hanging loosely from Ryan’s shoulders and she was frantically working on the zipper of her shorts. Ryan was still trying to catch her breath. She was well aware that a very wild woman was hidden just beneath the normally placid exterior of her partner, but she hadn’t counted on that side appearing so dramatically. She desperately needed to feel some sense of control, so she tried to slow Jamie down a bit by lightening the intensity of the kisses raining down on her. Undeterred, Jamie roughly grabbed the back of her head and held on tight, intent on maintaining the frantic pace that she had set. Now her hands dropped to grab Ryan’s rear, pulling her forward as she ground her hips against her partner's. Ryan's heart was beating loudly and she felt a little weak as Jamie so totally devoured her. She summoned every ounce of her composure to finally rasp out, "Can’t we go to a bed?"

Jamie looked up at her and paused for just a moment, a look of total confusion quickly replacing her fervid groping of moments before. Her face was flushed and her forehead was a little damp from her exertions. She looked as though that option hadn’t occurred to her, but finally nodded her approval. Ryan wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do. She had no idea where the bedrooms were, but Jamie just stood there, looking blank. She chose the only course of action that she could think of. She tossed her hat off, picked Jamie up in her arms and, after kicking off her shoes, started walking. She heard Jamie’s shoes drop as she carried her toward a winding staircase. As they climbed the lushly carpeted stairs, Jamie latched onto her mouth again, forcing her to grab onto the railing with a free hand to guide their progress. Ryan passed two bedrooms and, as she neared the third, an arm shot out to grab onto the doorjamb.
This must be the place
, she thought happily, as she softly lowered Jamie to the king-sized bed. She realized she was still wearing her sunglasses and carelessly threw them over her shoulder as she lowered herself to cover her partner with her body.

Jamie was waiting for her with a look of unbridled lust in her eyes. Ryan was actually a little tentative, not knowing what to expect and a little surprised by the suddenness and ferocity of this neophyte’s attack. Jamie rolled over onto her, straddling her hips as she sat up and ran her hands up and down her chest. Since her partner had often expressed a preference for unhindered breasts, in lieu of a bra Ryan wore a tight black cotton knit tank top with delicate straps and a small lace inset at the neckline under her linen shirt. As Jamie’s hands feverishly trailed over the nearly bare mounds, her green eyes grew wide and unfocused. Slowly her hands stilled completely and she gave Ryan a near-panicked stare.

Ryan sat up and pulled her down to the bed, embracing her tenderly while she tried to soothe her. She trailed her fingers through Jamie’s soft blonde hair as she asked, "It’s not as easy as it looks, is it?" Jamie shook her head shyly, burying her face in Ryan’s neck as her partner added, "That’s why we tell newcomers not to try this at home without an experienced member of the club to guide them along."

When she lifted her head to meet Ryan’s understanding gaze, the green eyes were still clouded by doubt. "I’m…I’m a little freaked," she whispered with a quavering voice.

"Hey," Ryan’s smooth, deep voice replied. "There’s no rush here, Jamie. Let’s just regroup a little, okay?" Even though Ryan was throbbing with desire, she didn’t mind slowing down one bit. She had been dreaming about this day for months, and she didn’t really like the idea of treating each other with the urgency of dogs in heat—at first, that is, she amended with an internal smirk. She had dreamed of making love with her partner for hours their first time and she hoped that a little break might allow them to slow the pace down considerably. She rolled off the bed and refastened her clothing, which now looked like she had slept in it for several days. Extending her hand, she pulled her partner to her feet and held her tenderly for a few minutes. "What’s your favorite room?" she asked softly.

"Umm, I have a couple, but on this floor I like my old playroom."

"Come on," Ryan suggested as she held out her hand. "Show it to me."

"Ummm…" Jamie held back, hesitation evident in her face. "Do you want to um…in there?" she asked quietly.

Ryan beamed a gentle smile and assured her, "I just want to regroup a little, Honey. Let’s take this slow."

A quick nod showed that Jamie agreed completely, and she gripped Ryan’s hand and led her down the hall.

As they walked along the thickly carpeted hallway in their bare feet, Ryan wondered about the need for a quiet, only child to have a "playroom". The O’Flaherty children could have really used a place to keep the toys and games that littered every square inch of their tiny house when they were small, but she couldn’t imagine what went on in the playroom of Jamie’s house.

At the end of the rather long hallway, they came to an exceptionally sunny room that looked more like a solarium than a playroom. The rear wall was nearly all glass, allowing a stunning view of the ocean. As Ryan looked up she saw that the majority of the sunlight came in through the narrow skylights that ringed the chamfered ceiling. The room was so big that there were 20 of them, each about three feet long by a foot wide. They allowed a great deal of light to enter but, since they were at the edge of the room, the early afternoon sun did not shine directly on them. "Boy, this must be a great place to curl up with a book on a winter afternoon," Ryan mused as she surveyed the wall of books that flanked an attractive fireplace.

"Yeah, it really is. Mother had this converted to a sun room/library combo when I was in high school. It’s one of my favorite places down here. I used it as a study room." Ryan looked around and noticed a beautiful writing desk set on an angle in the corner of the room. The very comfortable looking upholstered chair that was snugged up under the table was obviously an office chair, now that she looked closely at the casters on the bottom. A laptop computer sat on the desk and Ryan had a vision of her young lover sitting at the desk, working on some term paper for school.

"Very nice setup," she approved as Jamie showed her the printer and other various office supplies hidden in the armoire just behind the desk.

"Mother uses this as her office now," Jamie commented. Ryan couldn’t for the life of her figure out why a woman who did not work outside the home needed an office at her weekend getaway, but she didn’t think now was the time to ask.

As Ryan walked around to the front of the table, she noticed one solitary ornament besides the pencil holder--a beautifully framed picture of Jamie as a baby, no more than Caitlin’s age. She was wearing a little navy blue dress covered by a white eyelet pinafore, and she was gazing up at the photographer with the calm, interested gaze that she so often gave Ryan when she was trying to understand something. "God, this is precious." Ryan stroked baby Jamie’s face through the glass as she held the frame in her hand.

Jamie chuckled at the tone of her partner’s voice. "I’ve got a million of ‘em if you want to look at pictures," she said lightly.

"No, there’s something about this one that just captures you," she mused. "You hardly look any different than you do now. I’ve seen that look a thousand times."

"Hmm," Jamie speculated as she looked around Ryan’s shoulder to view the photo. "I don’t think I’ve seen that one before. Mother must have dug it out when she redecorated last."

Ryan placed the picture on the desk and looked around again. The room was mostly unstructured and was clearly meant to be a place to relax and read or contemplate, rather than entertain. There wasn’t much furniture, just a pair of upholstered wing chairs that flanked the fireplace and a large, wide fainting couch in a delicate looking cream colored silk that faced the wide expanse of glass.

Taking Jamie by the hand, the larger woman led her to the couch and sat down. "We can use the furniture, can’t we?" she asked a little tentatively.

"Well, sure," Jamie agreed as she flopped down beside her, puzzled that Ryan would ask such a question.

"Wow, this is awfully comfortable." Ryan bounced a little on the piece.

"Yeah, one of mother’s many indulgences," she scoffed. "This bottom cushion is made like an innerspring mattress and covered with down. And the back cushions are all down."

"Wow, I always wanted a down pillow," Ryan said rather wistfully. "Sar…my…ahh…best friend in high school had down pillows on her bed, and they just seemed so luxurious." Ryan mentally slapped herself for almost bringing up Sara’s name. The last thing she wanted was to dredge up those painful old memories, and she was sure that Jamie didn’t want the past to intrude on their honeymoon.

Jamie was struck by her partner’s wistful expression, and she briefly considered the disparity in their upbringings. "All of this stuff doesn’t bother you, does it?" she asked, gently placing a hand on Ryan’s knee.

"Huh uh, not at all," the dark head shook decisively. "It’s kinda like being in a really elegant hotel. I mean, I know it’s kinda your house, but it’s not really yours, so I can just observe rather than feel overwhelmed."

"I think I understand," Jamie agreed, as she leaned against the gracefully curved back of the couch. "It would probably bother you if my house in Berkeley was like this, and we were gonna live there, but since this is my parents' place you can be a little bit removed."

"Exactly." Ryan tossed her head back against the squooshy pillows. Sticking her arm out, she motioned for Jamie to curl up against her. "Come here, Sweetness," she demanded.

Only too happy to comply, Jamie cuddled up against her side. "Umm, better than down," she muttered as she rested her head upon Ryan’s chest.

"And hypo-allergenic," she supplied with a chuckle.

"Mmm, I don’t know about that," Jamie mused. "I think I had an adverse reaction in the bedroom."

"Hey, don’t give it another thought," Ryan insisted. "We’ve got the entire week to get comfortable with each other. There’s no rush, Jamie. I really mean that."

"Really?" she asked, in a most fragile, childlike voice.

"Honey," Ryan soothed, trailing her fingers through her soft hair. "If we go back to the city on Saturday having done nothing more erotic than this, it will be completely okay with me."
Well, that’s the biggest lie I’ve ever told her. But after going so slow these past weeks I’m not going to blow it now!
"I want you to go as slowly as you need to, Jamie. I figure we’ve got a good 60 years ahead of us. That’s 3,120 weeks. What’s the big deal about spending a few of them getting to know each other?"
Please make it not take weeks
, she silently begged.

A delighted smile beamed up at Ryan as she said these words. "Do you really mean that?" Jamie asked shyly.

"Of course I do! I’m here for you, Jamie. To love, honor, and cherish you. I wouldn’t dream of rushing you into anything you didn’t feel comfortable with." As she said that, Ryan realized that she meant every word. As much as she wanted to consume the woman in her arms, she realized that their emotional connection and the trust they shared were the most important elements of their relationship.

"I love you, Ryan," Jamie whispered. "It’s so wonderful how you constantly show how much you love me." She pulled the dark head down and spent several minutes kissing the soft pink lips.

"This is enough for me," Ryan murmured into her clean, floral scented hair. "To hold you and kiss you just makes me so happy." She gave her a strong squeeze as she felt her heart fill with the emotion that often overwhelmed her when she considered the love she felt for her partner.