The Touch of a Woman (20 page)

At first she teased, her tongue dancing around the source of her wetness. Then she delved inside before parting her with a single languid stroke.

“Oh God.” Ellis squeezed her eyes tightly shut and threw her arms above her head.

Summer read her cues, her tongue swirling in response to the guttural cries and rolling of her hips. As she caressed the inner folds, she shifted her hands to cup Ellis’s bottom and lift her off the bed.

The constant stroking…the arching of her back. A faint tingle as Summer grazed the shaft of her clitoris…never quite touching it until finally she took it between her lips and sucked it in rapid, gentle bursts.

Ellis erupted, letting out an urgent moan as the waves pounded through her. Louder, not caring who heard, drowning all of her doubts.

She was still throbbing when Summer slipped a finger inside and returned to lick all around her most sensitive spot in a way that made her crave another release.

Two more…then three. Summer was relentless, backing off and teasing her around the edges before honing in to take her again. Ellis finally stopped her after number four—she was too sensitive, too spent.

Summer crawled slowly up her body, caressing with her mouth all the same places as before, as if on rewind. They finished with a long slow kiss, feathery soft and flavored with her essence.

How long had it been since she’d had four orgasms in a row…and none of them by her own hand? Not since her early years with Bruce had she felt so desired.

She shivered against the cool air when Summer moved away to pull up the comforter.

“Get under here with me.”

Feeling a touch of self-consciousness, she covered her breasts with her arms as she sat up. It was silly, she knew, but moving around exposed was different from baring herself in the heat of sex.

Summer stretched alongside her and propped her head on one elbow. With her other hand, she traced Ellis’s brow and pushed a strand of hair from her face. “I’m so glad you didn’t leave.” The blanket was pulled up underneath her arm so it covered her breasts but left her chest and shoulders exposed. With her wavy hair askew and the tender smile, she looked deceptively delicate.

Ellis knew better.

It was impossible not to recognize her experience with other women. Had she always been a tireless lover bent on pleasing her partner? Was she expressing her feelings or showing off her sexual prowess?

Another thought inched its way to the forefront, one she hadn’t allowed herself to dwell on as she’d contemplated this night. How would she return Summer’s touch?

Sex was to be shared. How many nights had Bruce left her to satisfy herself before she’d finally gotten the moxie to call him on it? She couldn’t leave Summer wanting that way.

Except her utter lack of experience pretty much guaranteed it would be a disaster. She couldn’t possibly do what Summer had done because…why? Because she didn’t know the tricks, the technique. It would frustrate both of them.

“Are you all right?” Summer asked.

Ellis had no idea how long she’d been silent. “I’m fine. I just feel drained…like all the energy that’s been building up inside of me for weeks just ran out.” It was true she was spent, but saying so was her way of lowering Summer’s expectations for more. Maybe she’d even suggest they go to sleep.

“I’m not surprised. It was intense.”

“That’s one word for it. I haven’t come four times in a night since I was twenty-two.”

“Now that’s a shame.” Summer stretched over and kissed her on the forehead. “But you better get used to it again, because I find it pretty hard to stop when every little thing I do gets such a lovely response.”

“Because you know what you’re doing.” Here was her opening. “Unlike some people.”

Summer continued her caress, a fingertip massage of her face and neck. It was serene, clearly meant to calm rather than arouse. “All I did was show you how I feel. When you’re ready to do that, you won’t have any doubts about what to do. You’ll do whatever you want, whatever your feelings tell you. I can promise you already, anything you do will feel wonderful because it’s you. And until you’re ready, you shouldn’t worry about it. I’m as happy as I can be.”

Was it really that simple? All she had to do was take what she wanted. Everything else would take care of itself.

* * *

It was all Summer could do to keep her hands from wandering below the blanket to caress and soothe Ellis as she recovered from her release. The luxurious feel of their bare skin touching from shoulder to toe was too much stimulation to allow her to relax. Surely there were more ways to make Ellis whimper with pleasure, and cry out as she came. She intended to find them all.

“Can you turn out the light?” Ellis asked softly. Her eyes were closed and her body had gone still.

Summer rolled away and stretched to click off the bedside lamp. When she returned, she was surprised to feel a hand on her shoulder urging her onto her back.

Interesting that Ellis had wanted the lights out. To avoid seeing…or being seen? Now she was the one perched above, apparently ready to take charge. Ever so lightly she raked her nails across Summer’s jaw and neck. “I’m taking you at your word. Anything I want to do.”

“I’m yours.”

Ellis closed the inches between them, nuzzling until she found Summer’s mouth. The deepest kiss, mixed with the intoxicating feel of their breasts brushing together, and the graze of soft hair against her hip.

Though burning with excitement, Summer lay as still as possible while Ellis traced the line of her collarbone with her fingertips. As her hands drifted lower, she followed with her lips. Light kisses all over her chest.

Finally Ellis touched her breast, kneading it gently and stroking the nipple. She hovered close, her silky hair heightening the sensations as it swept across her skin.

The instant Summer felt warm lips touch her nipple, she drew a deep breath that hissed between her teeth. “Oh, yes.”

As Ellis lavished her attention on one breast, Summer clutched the other. Twisting, pinching, pulling the nipple until it felt rock hard. With only a subtle shift of her torso, she directed Ellis to take it in her mouth.

She did, raking it with her teeth almost to the point of discomfort before sucking it fully between her lips. Her fingers traveled slowly downward, pausing to circle her navel, and then tickle the hair just below. The teasing continued for a couple of minutes, long enough for her to wonder if Ellis was uncertain what to do next.

Summer rolled toward her slightly, bending a knee in a way that opened her legs. An invitation that went unanswered. After several seconds, she intertwined their fingers and began to steadily stroke herself.

She was wet with desire, and together they spread it the length of her labia. And then gradually she withdrew her hand.

Ellis continued to explore, now with long, confident strokes that pressed into her crevices and coated her with moisture. Each time a finger neared her clitoris, Summer twitched with anticipation, gasping to let her know she liked it.

In the dim green light of her bedside phone, she could see Ellis’s eyes closed in concentration. Her breathing was uneven…she was focused.

Summer edged away slightly to escape too much pressure. She could take direct contact with a tongue, but not this way. She gently guided Ellis’s hand off-center, where every caress drew the hood across her clitoris and caused her to tingle.
“That…exactly that.”

As Ellis continued her touch, Summer began a slow rolling of her hips. She was feeling more intensity with every rise, and arching higher off the bed. Her moans, her grunts, her sighs sounded as though they were coming from someone else.

A sudden warmth enveloped her as the vibrations started. Thousands of contractions in a span of only a few seconds punctuated with a long, low growl of pleasure. When her climax passed its peak, she collapsed and pulled Ellis on top of her, where they both lay breathing hard.

As they nestled, she captured Ellis’s hand and moved it back to her center. “Can you feel that? Feel what you did.”

Ellis cupped her snugly while kissing her neck and ear. “I had help.”

“You didn’t need help. Touching myself…it’s something I like to do. This is the room where I let you in on my secrets and show you the real me. You can do that too.”

“I think I already have.”

“Oh, no you haven’t. Not by a long shot.” Summer drew her back down for another kiss. “We’re just getting started.”

Summer stared dismally at the contents of her refrigerator, coming to terms with what
wasn’t
there—no bacon, no pancake syrup, no lox, no melon—nothing for a special breakfast to commemorate their first morning together.

It wasn’t even daylight yet, but she’d slipped out of bed quietly so as not to disturb Ellis, who’d apparently enjoyed a restful night after their lovemaking. At some point she’d gotten up for the bathroom. Before returning to bed, she’d donned her slip again, a point Summer wasn’t going to overthink. Perhaps she’d simply been cold. At any rate, they’d slept close enough to touch throughout the night, and at one point had held hands.

There was no point in ruminating on Ellis’s reactions. She had every right to wake up doubtful or confused today. It was the first time in twenty-some years she’d been with someone other than her husband. That was more than a milestone—it was a passage.

But a larger passage was happening too. The way they’d kissed
after
making love—deep and yet tender—was all the proof Summer needed that their night together was about more than sex. They were falling in love.

The sound of the bathroom door closing signaled that Ellis was up, and she brewed a fresh cup of coffee for her.

“You look like a woman who needs her coffee in the morning,” Summer said, smiling as she presented the mug.

She’d washed away her makeup from the night before, leaving her face puffy and pink. The purloined robe from the closet barely reached her thighs, and she was wearing a pair of Summer’s fuchsia gym socks. “I should have thought this through last night.”

“It’s a bold look.”

Ellis set the coffee on the counter and backed Summer into a corner of the kitchen where she couldn’t escape if she’d wanted to. There she delivered a long minty kiss.

The moment she finished, she retrieved her mug and shuffled wordlessly into the living room.

“Wow, you keep that up and I’m really going to like you in the morning.” Summer followed and found her sitting on the couch hugging herself. “Are you cold?”

“I’ll warm up in a minute.” Ellis patted the couch beside her. “I was surprised when I woke up this morning. I mean earlier, while you were still asleep.”

“No wonder. A strange bed with someone beside you for the first time in ages.”

“That’s what surprised me. I couldn’t get over how normal it felt.”

Of course. Their apartment layouts were virtually identical, except for the extra bedroom. “Because everything’s so similar. It was like waking up in your own bed.”

Ellis groaned and rolled her eyes dramatically. “Will you stop being so practical? I’m trying to give you a compliment. I should have been freaking out, at least a little. But I didn’t because I feel so comfortable with you.”

“Ohhh.” Yes, Summer was falling in love. Any woman who could scold and flatter her at the same time was a woman after her own heart. “And I’m supposed to say I felt the same way, which happens to be true. That I was comfortable waking up with you because it felt like you belonged there.”

“And now you get to notch your bedpost.” The words were playful, but there was a hint of cynicism in her tone.

“No way, I’m not a notcher. Even if I were, last night didn’t feel much like a notch to me.” She took the mug from her hands and set it on the coffee table.
“Make a lap, woman.”

Ellis complied, and Summer straddled her so they were face to face.

“You get no more coffee until you hear this and tell me you understand. Ready?”

“We’ll see.”

“I find you gorgeous. And sexy. And…and beguiling. Don’t you love that word? I love that word.”

“Beguiling.” Ellis squinted at her with what looked like exaggerated skepticism. “It isn’t something I hear a lot.”

“That’s what makes it special. If that was all you were to me, I might just notch the bedpost.” She clasped Ellis’s hands with both of hers and pressed them against her chest. “But the best things about you are inside here. You’re kind, you care about other people. And you’re the strongest woman I’ve ever met. Being with you does something to me. When I was touching you last night…when we were kissing.” She drew in a deep breath for the courage it would take to admit this. “It wasn’t about sex, Ellis. I was making love with you.”

That
L-word. As scary as it was, she was glad to have finally put her feelings out there.

Ellis pierced her with a gaze through narrowed eyes, and wriggled her hands free to cup Summer’s cheeks. “I felt the same way.”

Summer laughed nervously. “God, what a relief!”

“For a whole night I felt like my old self, back when I was happy. Back when I didn’t have so much to worry about.” Ellis finished by pulling her in for a kiss.

Though they’d both tiptoed around the “three little words,” it was clear to Summer the feelings were there. It was only a matter of time before they confessed to more.

“So can I have my coffee back now?”

Summer vacated her lap and handed her the mug.

“Now I need you to do me a favor,” Ellis said. “Go over to my apartment and bring me back some clothes. If I walk back over there at eleven o’clock on a Saturday morning in my little black dress, everyone in the complex will think I’m a hooker.”

* * *

Summer burst through the door carrying jeans and a dress shirt, both on hangers, and a pair of brown loafers.

“What in the world? I told you to bring my yoga pants and sneakers.”

“You’re lucky you got anything. I almost got caught.”

“Caught by whom?”

“Somebody’s at your house. I think it’s Allison. There’s a backpack on the couch, and a jacket that looks like hers.” Her voice shook with excitement. “Whoever it is was in your shower with the bathroom door shut. I didn’t mess around with finding what you told me to get. This stuff was right there in your closet so I grabbed it and got the hell out of there.”