Page 27 of Igniting Her

Cassie circled her clit with the pad of one finger, keeping the pressure exact. Ellie’s breath came in uneven bursts. When her hips tried to follow, Cassie held them in place with her free hand.

“Cassie.” The first name nearly undid her.

She pushed two fingers inside Ellie. Ellie’s head struck the wall softly. Cassie curled her fingers until Ellie’s thighs tightened around her wrist. Her thumb worked the swollen center above them. Holding still put a fine tremor through Ellie’s legs. “Please.”

“Please what?”

“Don’t make me give you a performance review.”

Cassie withdrew almost completely.

Ellie made an outraged sound. “That was cruel.”

“Use your words.”

The bravado left her face, exposing enough hunger to make Cassie’s control feel precarious. “Please let me come.”

Cassie pushed deep again. “Not yet.”

Ellie swore under her breath. Cassie kissed her, swallowing the next word while her fingers set a harder rhythm. Ellie clenched around them. Her hands remained above her head, though nothing held them there now. Cassie brought her to the edge and felt the held breath, the sudden tension, the desperate press of her heel against the floor.

She stopped moving.

Ellie stared at her. “I may actually hate you.”

“No, you don’t.” Cassie waited until Ellie’s breath shook on the way out. Then she drove her fingers back into the same place, rubbed her clit with her thumb, and said, “Now.”

Ellie came around her hand. The first contraction caught Cassie’s fingers hard. Ellie’s arms locked around her shoulders. Cassie held her upright and worked her through it until her body went loose. For several seconds, neither moved.

Rain rushed in the gutters. Ellie’s breath warmed the skin below Cassie’s ear. “Bedroom,” Cassie said.

Ellie lifted her head. Her face was flushed, eyes dark and unfocused. “That wasn’t enough?”

“Was it?”

Ellie’s grin arrived slowly. “Lead the way, Captain.”

Cassie drew her hand free. Ellie watched her bring her wet fingers to her mouth. The grin vanished. Cassie tasted her without looking away. Then she took Ellie by the wrist and led her down the hall. In the bedroom, Ellie stood in the lamplight with open jeans and bare breasts. Cassie pushed Ellie’s open jeans down with her underwear. “On the bed.” Ellie obeyed, lying back across the white sheets. Cassie undressed without hurrying, though Ellie’s gaze made precision difficult. Ellie looked at all of her: the olive skin, the faded burn scar along her forearm, the softness muscle did not erase. No hesitation entered her face. Whatever the eighteen years between them meant elsewhere, desire was not confused by it.

When Cassie stepped between her knees, Ellie reached.

Cassie caught her hand. “Ask.”

“Can I touch you?”

Every old rule answered no. Cassie put Ellie’s hand against her hip. “There.”

Cassie climbed onto the bed and kissed her again. Bare skin met bare skin. Ellie’s thigh slid between hers and pressed against Cassie, pulling a breath from her. Something tender entered Ellie’s expression. Cassie kissed it away, then moved down her body. Ellie’s hand went into her hair and her fingers threaded through it. Cassie opened Ellie’s thighs and ran her tongue from her entrance to her clit.

Ellie’s fingers tightened. “Oh, God.”

She did it again, learning the pressure that made Ellie’s hips rise and the rhythm that turned words into breath. She pushed two fingers inside and sucked her clit into her mouth. Ellie came faster the second time. Her heels dug into the mattress. She said Cassie’s name, then Captain, the title broken open around pleasure. Cassie held her through every contraction.

When Cassie rose, Ellie caught her wrist. “My turn.”

Cassie looked at the hand on her, then at Ellie’s face. “No.”

Ellie released her at once. Surprise, then hurt.