The Reunion (19 page)

“You’re not alone, you know.” Maria’s
voice soothed.

“I know.” Sarah patted Maria’s hand.
“But I’m the end of my family line, and I’ll have no children.” She winced. “So
this is it.”

“I can’t make the hurt go away. You
have a huge hole of grief that will never entirely disappear. But I am here to
remind you, you’re not alone. You have me, and you have Adam.” Maria nibbled on
her ear. “If you want us.”

“You think.” Sarah shook her head. “Didn’t
you see the fear in Adam’s eyes before he bailed for the airport? He was afraid
I’d trapped him, that the death of my parents had somehow moved him into a
level of commitment he didn’t want.”

Maria wrapped her arms around Sarah’s
mid-section and hugged her close. “You may be right. I believe it’s a matter of
readiness. Adam isn’t ready yet.” She paused and caught Sarah’s eyes reflected
in the window. “But I am.”

Sarah beamed at her lover’s image. “So
am I. You are so lovely, Maria. Why did it take so long to find you?”

“Maybe that had something to do with
readiness, too. For both of us.”

There was silence. Sarah could hear her
own heart pounding in her ears and feel Maria’s thudding against her back. They
were on the cusp of something huge. This was about much more than superior sex.

“We haven’t made love for a week,
Sarah. Would you like to come like this? We can retire to the bed later. I’d
like to love you as you stand here, if that’s okay with you.”

Sarah’s toes curled in the thick
carpet. She couldn’t contain the waves of giddiness. “Yes, please,” she
whispered, nodding her pleasure. Their relationship might be moving toward a
new level of commitment, but they weren’t about to leave that superior sex
behind. Thank God.

She inhaled watching Maria tug on
her nipple while slipping a hand lower across her belly to the juncture of hips
and tuft.

“Can you widen your stance for me?” Maria
breathed. “I need to be in you.”

“Yes,” she whimpered. “I need you in
me.”

Sarah gasped and tilted her pelvis
as Maria’s finger searched for her entrance. She rose on her toes when Maria
found it and entered, then she lowered her torso, impaling herself as Maria
probed.

“Always so hot,” Maria purred,
rubbing her crotch across Sarah’s ass.

Canting her head to greet Maria’s
lips, Sarah ground back against Maria’s loins. She swore she could feel the
love coursing between their bodies. “So good,” she murmured. “Too long.” There
was no hurry.

Her breast was left alone as Maria lowered
her other hand to cover her clit. Sarah grabbed her own nipple and pulled on
it. Her breathing had turned ragged.

“I love the way your body responds
to me.” Maria studied their reflection in the window. “Our reflection is coming
alive.

“Yes.” Sarah shook her hair. Her
hips began to undulate against Maria’s finger. “But faster, please. Help me
over. Love me.”

Maria ground her pussy harder
against Sarah’s butt, working two fingers into her vagina while stroking her
clit. “Come to me, Pepper. Come to me. I’ll always love you.”

Sarah’s mouth slackened. Her juices
flowed. “Jesus. It’s been too long.”

Maria held her up when she thought
she might fall.

Gradually, feeling returned to Sarah’s
wobbly legs and she turned to kiss her lover thoroughly. “Thank you. Thank you
for being you. Now, we should do you.” She held out her hand and Maria took it.
“I’ve never made love to a woman in my bed.”

Maria’s finger curled tighter around
hers. “I’m glad you waited for me.”

- o -

Gleefully, Maria watched Sarah’s
dark head work its way across her belly to her patch of ringlets. Sarah never
paused. She licked the edges of Maria’s pussy. She nibbled on the folds. She
separated them and pushed her tongue inward.

Raising her head, Sarah grinned
widely. “You taste so refreshing, Maria.”

Maria arched her back when Sarah’s
tongue reentered her, joined by a finger. She soared, waiting for her own
orgasm to build. It was there, tucked away in the mists. Her eyes closed as she
coaxed her response. Then she frowned, aware of the absence of the tongue and
finger that had been so pleasurable. Her eyes sprang open and she smiled.

Sarah kissed her way back up Maria’s
body and covered her lips. She probed her mouth and her crotch rubbed across
Maria’s. Soon Sarah found the critical spot, rose on her hands and worked
wonders on Maria’s clit, drawing tiny concentric circles around it with her
pussy. Sarah’s eyes rounded and she gnawed on her bottom lip.

Maria arched against her and then
Sarah settled. Breasts against breasts. Clit against pussy. Tongue against
tongue. Sarah started sliding slowly and then faster, increasing the friction
between their bodies. Maria wrapped her arms around her lover and clung on for
the ride.

Sarah had definitely found the key
to the mists—Maria felt a ball of flame building in her loins. It burned, it
scorched. “Holy mother,” she wailed, bucking under ivory flesh. Sarah did not
lose her perch.

Maria tensed. “Here I come. Oh, so
sweet. Don’t stop.”

“Me, too,” Sarah moaned. “Don’t
worry about me stopping.” Sarah tossed back her head, pressing her loins
against Maria’s as if afraid of losing her.

Maria flexed her hips to match Sarah’s
until exhaustion over took her, then Sarah calmed. Her ragged breathing echoed
in Maria’s ear. Maria held Sarah in place, not wanting to lose the contact of
pussy against pussy.

There was no telling how long they
remained like that, glued to each other. “Wow,” Maria groaned at last. “That
was inspired. You know our juices are co-mingling.”

“I know.” Sarah said, smiling. “I’m
pleased.”

Maria knew they were giggling like
new found lovers. They rolled over and cuddled, unable to keep their hands
still. Maria breathed in Sarah’s scent. She never wanted another day to go by
without breathing in that scent. But what about Sarah? Would she be willing to
consider their future? Or was it too soon?

Eventually, they quieted. Maria
closed her eyes. Moments later she opened them to see Sarah staring at her
wide-eyed. “You can’t sleep either.”

Sarah shook her head. “I don’t want
to miss a minute with you.”

Maria said a quick silent prayer
before forging ahead. “So what are you going to do about us?” Maria asked,
running a finger down Sarah’s nose.

“What do you want me to do?”

“Love me?”

“I do.” Narrowing her eyes, Sarah
added, “What about Adam?”

Maria shook her head. “We’ll deal
with Adam later. Right now we’re talking about us. I don’t want to be separated
from you. I’m not into a transcontinental relationship. I want to wake up with
you in the mornings. Will you move to California, or do I have to come to
Chicago? I will, you know.”

Shock registered in Sarah’s eyes. Maria’s
heart lurched. Had she pushed her too far, too quickly?

“You would do that? For me?” Sarah’s
voice was plaintive.

Maria grinned.
That
kind of
shock she could handle. “Yes.”

“No, you have a network of people
there. I have so few friends here I’ll hardly be missed at all. There’s nothing
keeping me in the Midwest.”

“Then you’ll move to California?”

Sarah exhaled slowly. Maria thought
she could see her lover’s brain spinning.

“It’ll take some time,” she said at
last. Maria’s heart started beating again. “Some of the accounts I’m working on
will have to be transferred to other agencies. Some I’ll be able to keep. It doesn’t
matter where I work, as long as I meet my deadlines.”

Sarah moved to sit cross-legged
beside Maria.

Maria smiled—Sarah’s pussy was still
puffy and partially open from their lovemaking. She’d never tire of the view, though
she expected lovemaking was the farthest thing from Sarah’s mind as she began
arranging a mental to do list.

“That would probably take a month,” Sarah
said, her brow furrowing. “Of course, I’d sell this condo. It’ll take time to
find a suitable place in California.”

“Why not Adam’s place?”

“Maybe I shouldn’t rush anything.” Sarah
hugged herself, obviously holding back tears. “What if Adam doesn’t want me in
his life?” Her features contorted. “What will you do then? What will happen to
us?”

“I have a lot of confidence in Adam.
I believe he’ll figure things out so we can all be together.” Maria lifted Sarah’s
chin and smiled wanly. “But, and I have given this a lot of thought, where you
go, I go. I said I’d move to Chicago if that’s what you wanted.”

Could Sarah look any more serious? “Are
you certain?” she asked. “Absolutely certain?”

Maria gave a slow nod. “Absolutely
certain.”

Sarah slanted a finger across Maria’s
lips and then brought it to her own. “Then it’s done. We’ll be together in
California. And Adam remains a mystery. But that’s hardly news.”

Climbing off the bed, Sarah paced
the bedroom floor, apparently talking to herself as much as to Maria. “I can’t
believe what I’m doing. Is it risky? Yes, but it’s worth the risk. Would my
parents approve? Pastor Emily implied they would. What will Adam do?” Sarah stopped
and whirled on Maria. “Adam will have a fit.”

“Maybe.” Maria stretched her arms
high above her head, feigning indifference. “He’ll probably accuse me of
stealing you from him.”

“He was hardly in a hurry to put his
brand on me, not that’d I’d let him.”

“But now you’re carrying my brand.”

“Right here.” Sarah smiled, placing
a palm over her breast.

“Me too.” Maria covered her heart
with her hand.

“Does that make us a couple of
cowgirls?” Sarah did a little jig. Her breasts bobbed nicely. “So, I’m actually
moving west. Come, Maria. Let’s take a shower.”

Maria stood and gave Sarah a half
smile. “Do we want to wash these co-mingled juices away?”

Sarah pulled on her hand, none too
gently. “Not to worry—I have ideas for more co-mingling. I hope you’re not
planning on sleeping tonight.”

Scrambling toward the bathroom,
Maria laughed. “What a terrible waste of time that would be.”

- o -

Four days later, Sarah sat next to
Maria on a plane headed for California—her new home. She held her lover’s hand
tight in her lap while her brain swirled. She’d put the condo up for sale. The
realtor thought it was fairly priced and would not stay on the market long. She’d
taken initial steps to transfer some of her advertising accounts. Harry would
continue to work for her as her Chicago-based liaison. She and Maria had spent
hours of hard labor packing her things. She was ready to move.

But where would she move? Her
current plan was to leave things in storage until she had a clearer idea how
Adam was going to react to this new commitment she and Maria had forged.

While she didn’t harbor a glimmer of
doubt about them, she was having doubts about Adam. Would he blow up? Would he
run? Would he kick the two of them out, or would he give them time to find a
place of their own? Would he feel betrayed by Maria, by her?

No matter how Adam reacted, she
resolved to follow her heart with Maria. She squeezed Maria’s fingers and
drifted off to sleep.

- o -

Maria scrunched around in the
passenger seat and returned her dozing partner’s squeeze. Sleep had been rare
over the last several days. They’d made time for loving in and around packing
boxes, finding a secure storage company, and interviewing realtors, but there
had been little time for sleep.

Closing her eyes, she cherished the
warmth of Sarah’s fingers intertwined with hers. She was warm-hearted and hot
as hell in bed. Maria smiled. What else could she wish for?

Adam’s dark eyes surfaced before
her. Maria sighed.
Adam
. Adam wasn’t going to be easy. He’d claim she’d
stolen Sarah away from him, but he’d had his chance to move first. He either didn’t
or couldn’t. Now things would have to shake out however they were going to.

She wanted to share her life with Sarah
and
Adam, but she wasn’t going to give up the love she shared with Sarah
for fantastic sex with Adam. There was more than sex between the two of them. She
knew that, but Adam shied away from naming it. He’d been running like hell ever
since his old classmate had arrived on the scene.

No, if he wanted in, he’d have to
open up to her
and
to Sarah. There was no turning back now. She’d
committed herself to Sarah. She’d never done that with anyone before, and she
didn’t take commitments lightly. She grinned to herself. Maybe she was a good
Catholic after all.

- o -

Adam stared blankly toward the ocean.
The women would be back today. That was good and bad. He’d missed them. He
missed their ongoing battle to include him in their budding companionship. He
grimaced. They’d been away from him for over a week. Would they even remember
he existed? Would they be ready to move out? Would he let them? Did he want
them out of his life?