“Nothing to worry about. Promise.”
“It’s just…” Courtney seemed to stop and search for the right words. “Where you are right now isn’t reality, you know? It’s like you’re onThe Bacheloretteor something and you’ve been thrown together in this isolated, ideal situation where you work together during the day and share a room—and a bed—at night. But you’re gonna come home at some point. And things will be different.”
“Wow. Somebody took her Debbie Downer pills this morning.” And then Courtney gave her a look, and even over the screen of the phone, Ava knew she was being called out for pretending not to understand something that she actually got, fully. As if, in her mind, Courtney had grabbed her by the hand and hauled her out of the mansion and back to Pomp. Back to her tiny apartment. Back to her very solitary life.
She wasn’t sure how she felt about that.
Before she could analyze any further, she realized the shower had stopped. “She’s done,” she whispered. “I gotta bounce. Talk to you later.” She blew a kiss into the phone.
“Wait!” Courtney hissed, then moved her face comically close to the screen. “How’s the sex?”
“It’sspectacular. Bye!” She was hitting the red button just as the bathroom door opened and steam wafted into the room. Regan exited wearing pin-striped boxer shorts and a red tank top. Her hair was combed and still wet.
She looked good enough to fucking eat.
When Regan glanced up and met her gaze, she quirked an eyebrow. “I know that look by now.”
“Yeah? What look is that exactly?”
“That’s thewhy do you have so many clothes onlook.” She picked up her little jar of moisturizer. “And I could give it right back to you.”
Ava glanced down at her own clothes, marked with flour and various particles of food. She’d been waiting, as she had let Regan shower the day off first. “Well, allow me to shower and I’ll be right out so we can address the question of who’s wearing too many clothes, okay?”
Regan held an arm out toward the bathroom. “All yours.” God, her smile, the way it lit up the room. Corny as that sounded, it was also true. Ava smiled back at her, then pushed off the bed, and toward her. Taking her face in both hands, she kissed Regan soundly on the mouth—thoroughly, with just the tiniest touch of her tongue—then pulled away. Regan almost fell forward as she tried to follow with her mouth, a tiny whimper escaping her.
“Be right out,” Ava said, and it took everything she had to force herself to walk into the bathroom and close the door, because holy crap, had that backfired. Her intention had been to wind Regan up a little, get her worked up so she’d look forward to the end of Ava’s shower. Instead, she’d worked herself up. She shook her head as she pulled off her underwear and noted how wet it already was. Jesus. How was this possible? How was the simple act of kissing a woman—a woman she’d kissed dozens of times at this point—enough to make her want to throw her clothes off and have sex, like, immediately? She’d never been so physically in tune with somebody, and it was mind-boggling to her.
She turned the water on and let it warm up, which didn’t take long. An impressive feature of Chef Liza’s mansion was that it never seemed to run out of hot water, no matter how many of them showered. Shestepped into the enormous terrazzo-lined stall and stepped face-first into the spray, letting the water rain down on her head. Then she leaned her head forward and let it beat on the back of her neck—a spot that always ached after she worked all day, looking down at her counter.
And then there was a small rush of cool air, and Ava grinned, knowing Regan had stepped into the shower behind her. Hands ran down her wet back and around her waist, pulling her back against Regan’s naked body, her nipples hard already, making themselves known against Ava’s back.
She turned in Regan’s arms. “Excuse me, ma’am, didn’t you already have a turn?”
Regan’s hand ran up her side and cupped a breast, kneaded it, zeroed in on Ava’s nipple, and tugged lightly. “Yes, but my shower didn’t have a beautiful woman in it.”
“Mine does. You should call customer service and complain.”
And that was it for words. Regan’s mouth crushed hers and they were kissing as if starved for it, as if they hadn’t kissed in months. Years. Water poured over them, and Regan spun her in her arms so they were back-to-front again, and Regan’s hands were everywhere. Her stomach, her ass, her breasts—she felt them all over. One grasped her chin and pulled her head back, leaving her neck vulnerable to a full-on oral assault as Regan practically devoured her. The other hand was suddenly sliding between her legs. Ava was throbbing and soaked, and it had nothing to do with the shower. Regan’s fingers moved and stroked and pressed, while Ava’s hands braced against the terrazzo. And then Regan’s mouth was at her ear.
“God, you’re so wet,” she said, then a flick of her tongue sent a jolt of arousal straight down to Ava’s center. “Are you close?”
Ava swallowed hard. “Yes.”
“Yeah? Should I stop?” And Regan’s fingers ceased all movement.
Ava gasped. She couldn’t help it. “No.Please. Keep going. Don’t stop.” God, who was she? Who was this person whose entire existence seemed dependent on the fingers working between her legs? “Please.”
Regan’s fingers started up again. Thank God. And Ava pushed her ass back into Regan’s body, her arousal climbing once again. “Come on.” Regan’s voice was a whisper, barely audible above the sound of the shower spray, but Ava heard it loud and clear, as if it had been an order given over a bullhorn. “Come on, baby.”
The sounds Ava made. Again, who was she? Who was this person who whimpered and gasped and nearly cried with the pleasure Regan created?
“Come for me, Ava. Come for me.”
And she did. Hard. Long. A husky moan she hadn’t known she was capable of making issued from deep in her throat as she arched in Regan’s arms, her head against Regan’s shoulder, her muscles spasming so strongly, she wasn’t sure she could stay on her feet.
Regan held her tightly, kept her upright. “Jesus Christ, you are the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen,” she said softly, her mouth still next to Ava’s ear, her voice and her words only serving to prolong the orgasm. “Do you know that?”
Ava reached behind her and gripped the back of Regan’s neck, still catching her breath, still feeling tiny aftershocks pulsing through her body. “God” was all she could manage to say.
