Combustion (11 page)

Chapter Nineteen

When the door buzzer went off, Astrid jumped and dropped her spanner and the toy she'd been building. Who could that be? Clients usually sent her a message first. With Josian out of town, it was unusual for anyone to drop by.

The woman on the other side of the door was familiar, but it took Astrid a moment to recognize her. “Cecily?”

In the two years since Astrid had last seen Cecily Lahey, the woman had grown even more beautiful. All soft curves and impossibly long red hair, she wore a peacock-blue skirt that filled the hallway in waves, paired with a frilled tan blouse and a brown leather corset with brass ornamentation. Her face was as lovely as a painting, creamy skin dusted with freckles, mischievous green eyes framed with long, dark lashes—helped along substantially with makeup, of course, but it didn't really matter, the overall effect was mesmerizing.

“Astrid! I haven't seen you in years.” Sweeping into the room, Cecily wrapped her arms around Astrid and pulled her in for a close hug. She smelled fresh and clean, like rosewater, and the scent instantly brought Astrid back several years to the Lahey Emporium, to unsettled days and heady, pleasure-filled nights in Cecily's arms. Astrid stepped backward, escaping the hug and the memories, her throat suddenly dry. Cecily didn't seem to care, though; she looked around the room with bright interest. “You look simply fantastic. Look at this flat! A modern independent woman, yes? Like you always wanted.”

“I suppose.” Astrid stared as Cecily began to touch everything in the living room: the sofa and parlor chairs, the tables, the paintings on the walls. How fortuitous that she'd been up since six cleaning, trying to quiet her restless mind and unsettled emotions by scrubbing all surfaces with near-fanatical precision. Her flat had never looked cleaner.

When Cecily reached the display case, she stopped and smiled, tracing one finger over the bottom frame. “You've done well for yourself, Astrid. I knew you would.” She turned to smile at Astrid, who was still trying to make sense of the situation.

“Cecily, why are you here?”

Cecily brushed her ginger curls back over her shoulder. “I heard that you were the woman to see about felicitation devices.”

So this was about business? “Well, I still make them. Are these for you? Or for the emporium?”

Cecily smiled. “Some of each, but mostly for the business. My girls need variety in their escapades. I want to purchase some devices they can use on themselves and their clients.”

“I mostly design for women. I'm not sure if any of my devices will be right for men. May I get you some tea?”

“Please.”

Astrid put the kettle on. “Do you have anything particular in mind?”

Cecily tapped the glass with one perfect oval fingernail. “Open this up. Let's see what you have.”

Astrid prepared the tea service while Cecily pored over the merchandise in the display case. The woman tested each device for its range of vibrations and movements, then set each one back down again and moved on. Astrid was reminded of the similar inspection that Eli had given her work, but where Eli handled the toys with curiosity, Cecily examined each like an old friend. Thinking of Eli made Astrid's heart constrict. After their complicated encounter last night, she needed to put her thoughts of him aside.

“I hadn't expected you to have quite so many. Back at the emporium, you'd only created this one.” She turned the first model over in her hand, the basic cylindrical vibrator that had launched Astrid's entire business. “Choosing is more difficult than I thought it would be. What do you recommend?”

Astrid's reply was interrupted by the kettle. When she rejoined Cecily at the case, she examined her collection with fresh eyes. What would a man like? She considered Eli, which didn't help put him from her mind. After a moment's thought, she held up the one that had so fascinated Eli, the toy that strapped on to one's hand and turned the fingers into individual vibrators. “This one is called the Always Handy Stimulator and Felicitator. A man wouldn't mind getting some extra special attention from a woman wearing one of these, I'm sure.” She strapped it on, then touched Cecily's hand.

“Yes, that's very nice. A bit intimidating to look at, though.”

“Best used in the dark, perhaps.” Astrid replaced the device in its case. “Of course, there's always the basic one you remember. Provides constant surface vibration.”

Cecily folded her arms, thinking. “These will do for the average customer, but many of our men want something a bit more. Do you have anything that would be suitable for penetration?”

Astrid paused. It wasn't something she'd ever personally tried, not something her partners had ever brought up, either for her or for them. “I'm afraid I don't have anything specially suited for that purpose other than what you see here. Do you want me to design something? If you can tell me how it needs to be different than these, I can create something to suit your needs. Your business's needs.” She found a notepad and pen on her desk, which had been denuded of all excess machinery and paraphernalia.

Cecily tapped her lips with one finger and began giving direction as Astrid took note. “It will definitely need a flared base, else it might slip inside and get lost. Wouldn't want to consult a home physician for that sort of removal. Firmness is key, but you've got that figured out in your material construction anyway. Of course it needs to vibrate.” She continued perusing the devices. “Make two different ones, one small, one a bit larger. Make the larger one curved, if you can. Men appreciate that. They have interesting internal parts that appreciate the stimulation.”

Astrid finished scribbling the specifications in her notes. She wasn't working with Eli until Wednesday, so she had some free time. “I could have this for you by the end of the week, I think.”

“That would be lovely. If I like your work, maybe we can work out a more permanent arrangement.”

Future business with the Lahey Emporium? That could ease her financial burdens substantially. She couldn't count on that, though, until these devices were finished. Astrid looked over her notes. Funny that in her industry she hadn't yet been asked for any of these devices. “So this is popular, then?”

“Oh yes, more common than you might think, among men and women. I think they'll suitably expand your repertoire. It's quite an erogenous zone.” Cecily paused. “I could show you, if you'd like.”

Astrid hesitated. In that moment, she remembered her year with Cecily, a year free from emotional entanglements and responsibilities. Eli came to mind, unbidden. “I think maybe that's not such a good idea.”

Cecily cocked her head to the side, scrutinizing Astrid, a slight smile playing at her lips. “So who is he?”

Ten minutes later, Cecily was nodding sympathetically as Astrid finished her story over tea.

“And so we were supposed to be working together today, but he asked to put it off until Wednesday because he needed to clear his head. Says we're ‘different people'. I'm sure he means that he's the proper kind of people, and I'm the lowborn kind of people, but I'm certainly not too lowborn for him to fuck, right? I just… God, Cecily, I don't understand men. One minute he's holding me in his arms like he never wants me to leave, and the next he doesn't want to get too close.”

“Mmm.” Cecily sipped her tea, her expression difficult to read. Although enigmatic herself, she'd always been able to see through other people, cut past what they said to what they meant. That was probably what made her business so successful. When Astrid expected her to give advice, though, she only continued to sip her tea, saying nothing.

Finally, Astrid prompted her. “So what do you think?”

Cecily took another sip of tea, slowly, seeming to hold the flavor in her mouth for a long moment before swallowing. She licked a drop off the corner of her lip, her eyes still perusing Astrid's face. “Does he know that you're falling in love with him?”

Astrid's hand slipped on the cup, spilling tea over the saucer and the sofa, narrowly missing Cecily's beautiful dress. “Oh shit! Shit. I just…” She mopped at the spill with a tea towel. “I don't… Cecily, I'm not…” Even as she denied it, she felt her face flush warm. She continued to blot at the sofa long after she'd soaked up all the tea, not ready to meet the other woman's eyes yet.

Cecily didn't respond, her expression a still pool of water when Astrid finally dared to look up. Why was Cecily so certain? Falling in love with Eli made no sense whatsoever. It was ridiculous; they'd only been working together a couple of weeks. She was a grown woman, not a lovestruck maid, and they had no real future together, as he'd made abundantly clear the night before. It didn't even bother her, actually, since he was so arrogant and pretentious. All he cared about was his reputation. He didn't care about her at all, so it didn't matter what became of him, because she didn't love him. She wasn't falling in love with him. She couldn't fall in love with him.

Except she thought she might be.

Astrid sighed, her body folding in on itself like a house of cards. “Cecily, what am I going to do?”

“You could always pursue him anyway. Class is such an illusion. If two people love each other, none of that matters.” She sipped from her tea again. “Sooner or later, he's bound to realize that.”

“If he loved me, perhaps. Which he doesn't.” Astrid leaned her head on the back of the sofa, staring up at the ceiling. This whole situation was ridiculous, even laughable. So why did she feel so much like crying?

Cecily set her cup and saucer aside on the table. “If you're not going to pursue him, then you need to forget him. Distance yourself.”

“That's not so easy. We're working together on this World's Fair project.” She hadn't told Cecily the nature of the device, only that it was a joint venture.

“So see him as little as possible. Work together when you have to, but separate yourself otherwise. Focus on your business, your hobbies. Find a distraction to fill your mind and your bed. When the World's Fair is over, you probably don't ever need to see this man again.” Cecily patted Astrid's knee. “You're still young. You'll move on, like we all do.”

“I suppose.”

Cecily's hand had wandered up to Astrid's thigh, stroking her leg through the fabric of her skirt. “I can distract you, Astrid.”

Astrid let herself look into Cecily's green eyes. She had never been in love with Cecily, nor Cecily with her. Their time together had been carefree and pleasurable, a welcome distraction from the stresses of life, two friends taking refuge in each other's arms. What would it be like to experience that again? To take and give pleasure without it meaning anything else? To forget about Eli in someone else's touch?

“I don't know, Cecily. Things are so complicated right now.” Her arguments against this arrangement seemed weak, all centered around Eli.

“So let's keep it simple.” Cecily glided closer to her on the sofa, brought her hand up to stroke the back of Astrid's head. “I've missed you, Astrid. Being here with you reminds me of what lovely nights we used to have.” Her touch was gentle, drifting from Astrid's hair to the side of her face. “I can help you forget him.”

It was easy, then, to close her eyes to Cecily's sweet kiss. It had always been easy. Her kisses were familiar, but half-forgotten in the intervening years, her lips pliant and soft as they teased a response from Astrid. She tasted lovely, like the peppermint tea. Before Astrid knew exactly what she was doing, she had her arms around Cecily, one hand tangled in that long, glorious hair.

It wasn't the same, of course. Cecily's face felt smooth against her neck when she began kissing her there, no trace of a beard or stubble. Her lips were softer, her tongue more teasing. Cecily's touch felt delicate against Astrid's cheek, then her collarbone, then her breast.

Different didn't mean worse, though. In the bedroom, Cecily went to work on Astrid's clothing, thin fingers deftly undressing her as they continued to kiss. Astrid felt dizzy, her tongue tangling with Cecily's as the blood rushed through her, and before she was fully aware of what was happening, she found herself naked on the bed. Wanting to reciprocate, she reached up for Cecily, fumbling for the fastenings on her corset. Cecily lowered her lips to Astrid's breast, and Astrid's hands fell bonelessly away from their task.

Although they hadn't been lovers in nearly two years, Cecily still remembered what Astrid liked, using her teeth, biting and pinching each nipple before laving them with her tongue. Each stroke felt like a direct jolt to her clit. The long locks of Cecily's hair tumbled across Astrid's stomach, soft and silky beneath her fingers, leaving tickling trails of sensation as Cecily kissed her way down to the soft curls at the juncture of Astrid's thighs.

She blew a cool breath of air across the hot folds, and Astrid gasped, amazed at how sensitive she had become so quickly. This was good. She could forget like this. She could lose herself in the feeling. One long, slow drag of Cecily's tongue, and her mind went completely blank except for the exquisite wave of pleasure running up through her body.

“That's right. Do you like that?” Cecily looked up at her, smiling, before lowering her lips to Astrid's sex once more.

Cecily approached sex with a single-minded focus that made sense, given her profession. She didn't take her time, diving in with long licks and then sucking directly on Astrid's clit, drawing it between her teeth until her lover was moaning shamelessly beneath her ministrations. The attention was too intense, the pleasure sharp and bordering on pain, but when Astrid tried to draw away, Cecily held her there. She continued to suck without mercy until Astrid felt the first hints of orgasm, dragging her over the edge before Astrid even realized what was happening. Her climax was fast, intense and brutal, a great shuddering rush of pleasure that crashed through her and then melted away, leaving Astrid breathless and spent.