All Things Beautiful, page 23
Casey moaned softly, her eyes dark with obvious lust as she pushed deeper with each of Leighton’s thrusts. “I like you like this.” Her voice was low and husky. “Are you ready?” Before Leighton could process the question, Casey curled her fingers and circled Leighton’s clit with her thumb.
And that changed everything. What Leighton had craved moments before she now wanted to last, but her orgasm blossomed on the horizon like shades of pink announcing a new dawn. She saw something in Casey’s expression. Lust, yes, but something more. Adoration and—no, she couldn’t admit it, couldn’t acknowledge what was so clearly written across Casey’s features. She wouldn’t, not when Casey had a transatlantic flight in her near future. Not when she’d be leaving her. Leighton closed her eyes against it.
Casey caressed her side. “I can feel it. Stop fighting it, and let go.”
Leighton’s core tightened around Casey’s fingers.
Casey moaned and reclaimed Leighton’s nipple with her mouth, and Leighton surrendered. She let her head fall back and gripped Casey’s shoulders. Her body went rigid as the waves of pleasure crested, one after another. She continued to rock as her breaths escaped in small sobs.
Casey stilled but let Leighton take the time she needed.
At length, Leighton collapsed on top of her, her face buried in Casey’s neck. She had a faint awareness of Casey’s rapid breathing and the pounding of her pulse against her cheek.
Casey kissed her shoulder and smoothed a hand down her back. “You feel so good.”
It was Casey who rocked her hips now, slow and lazy. She hadn’t removed her fingers from between Leighton’s legs, and the small movements made Leighton twitch. Casey brushed back damp strands of her hair.
Leighton hadn’t opened her eyes. She focused on enjoying the moment, nothing more.
Casey licked her neck. “Can you do that again?”
“What?” Leighton lifted her head enough to look into the bottomless wells of Casey’s eyes.
“One more time? For me?” Casey raised her eyebrows and curled her fingers again into that sensitive place that made Leighton’s vision waver.
She gasped. Her answer would’ve been no a few seconds ago, based on how her first orgasm had wrecked her, but Casey’s small movements had somehow flipped the switch on her libido. She moaned, the sound guttural and primal.
“So, that’s a yes.” Casey turned them and rolled Leighton onto her back, her fingers still inside her.
Leighton shifted, so the armrest supported her head. How could Casey make her want like this, to be had over and again? Utterly helpless to resist, Leighton took what was offered. She bent one leg and rested it against the back of the couch and planted the other foot on the floor, opening herself fully to anything Casey wanted. She briefly wondered if anyone was in the studio below, if she should check the cameras. The way Casey’s fingers drove her toward the next orgasm, she doubted she could be quiet.
“Yes, spread your legs for me.” She added another finger.
Leighton grabbed the edge of the sofa cushion and jerked her hips upward to take more. “Casey!”
“This.” Casey trailed her mouth across Leighton’s breasts and ribs. “This is what I’ve wanted for months.” She moved lower, sucking and leaving light kisses along her stomach. Then lower still. She licked from her fingers upward, the stroke firm and deliberate.
Leighton lost all thought.
“Mmm. You taste so good. I’ll be gentle.”
Leighton wasn’t sure gentle was what she wanted.
But Casey was tender in a way that brought tears to Leighton’s eyes while still stoking the need that burned inside her. Casey’s lips and tongue stirred and soothed in licks and swirls until Leighton begged. For mercy or for more? Casey gave her neither. The closer Leighton got, the softer and sweeter Casey pleasured her, holding her right on the edge.
“Oh, God. Casey, please.” Leighton raised up and gathered Casey’s hair so she could watch.
Casey gave her a satisfied smile even as her tongue flicked out and made her legs quiver uncontrollably.
“Please.” She ran her fingers through Casey’s hair. “I need you.”
“I know you do, sweetheart.”
Leighton fell back, though she continued to watch. She had to ignore the endearment, especially when uttered during sex. She couldn’t contemplate what it might mean right now. Casey looked so lovely, so flushed and glowing like she was born to do this.
She drew Leighton into her mouth, sucking gently.
And Leighton came. What Casey gave, she took. She arched into the sofa and drove her heel into the floor as her orgasm shot through her, bright and blinding, then morphed into a rhythmic pulse.
Slowly, the world seemed to right itself, and Casey moved to lie beside her.
“No more, no more.” She played with Casey’s hair. “At least not if you have any expectations of me returning the favor.”
Casey curled against her. “I’m in no hurry.” She trailed her fingertips over the swell of Leighton’s breast and entwined their legs. “This is nice.”
It was indeed. So nice Leighton feared it was a dream from which she’d wake, and in some ways it was. What awakened instead was her need for Casey as she rested her hand where her gown had ridden up her thigh. Leighton plucked at the sexy black dress crumpled around her belly. “Get rid of this.”
With a sultry smile, Casey stood and shimmied out of it in a series of movements that had Leighton entranced. Her underwear went with it.
In the dim fluorescent light spilling from the kitchen, Casey looked like one of Prud’hon’s masterful sketches in chalk on blue paper. Leighton admired her pert breasts and small pink nipples, her contrapposto stance, and rounded hips. Hips into which Leighton wanted to press her fingers and lips.
She shot off the sofa. “The bedroom. Now.” She grabbed Casey by the hand and pulled her into the hall.
As they passed the guest room, she saw Casey glance in. Casey was about to see Leighton had been sleeping with the pillow Casey used the night she and Andy had stayed over. It’d held her scent, though it’d faded, but Leighton still found it comforting.
Leighton didn’t bother turning on the lamp. Enough moonlight fell across the bed to make it unnecessary.
Casey touched the pillow and gave Leighton a warm, understanding smile.
Leighton pulled her into her arms and curled her fingers around the back of her neck.
Casey rested her hands on Leighton’s hips as though waiting for her to lead.
It occurred to Leighton she didn’t know how to do this, how to separate her sexual desire for Casey from the feelings she’d developed. Did she need to? She’d already told Casey her heart would be shattered when she went to Florence. Did it matter if she couldn’t conceal all the emotions threatening to overwhelm her?
Tenderly, she brushed Casey’s hair from her face and caressed her cheek with her thumb. Then she kissed her, intending to take it slowly and let the passion between them build again, but her desire had ideas of its own, even after two orgasms. The simple, soft press of their breasts against each other’s, of Casey’s hands caressing her sides, and the sudden heat between them sent her prior intentions spiraling away.
Casey moaned into her mouth.
She’d been waiting long enough. Leighton slid her hands over Casey’s back, feeling her muscles and ribs and the way her breaths came shallow and fast.
An urgency existed between them that Leighton had never experienced. With a soft push, she sent Casey backward onto the bed, then lowered herself onto the full length of her. There could be no doubt of her intention now, for either of them. Leighton claimed her with a slow, deep kiss and groaned when Casey wrapped her legs around her hips and pulled her hard against her center.
Leighton paused to catch her breath. She slid her mouth along Casey’s supple neck where heat emanated from her skin and her pulse jumped under the surface. As she kissed her way down her torso, Leighton drank in the soft slope of her breasts with their hardened peaks. She licked up and over a nipple, then took it in her mouth. She swirled her tongue around it, unable to get enough, and squeezed the other in her hand. At the press of Casey’s hands on her shoulders, she placed quick kisses down her stomach and along her hip.
Casey let her legs fall open.
Leighton had desired Casey for some time, but it didn’t stop at the physical nature of their connection. It’d never been quite so simple for her. She found so many aspects of Casey appealing. Maybe her fate had been determined since that morning she’d stepped off the elevator and spotted Casey looking at her painting. Since then, her estimation and admiration of her had grown with each passing day. No, it certainly wasn’t just sex. Her feelings for Casey, which had begun as a flicker, had become a full-blown conflagration.
“Do you know how hard it’s been to be around you when I’m not able to touch you?” She trailed her fingers up Casey’s thigh. “I’ve often wondered if you could feel me watching you.”
The sound of Casey’s panting filled the room.
“Your easel in front of my office has been a blessing and a curse. I’ve spent way too much time enjoying the gorgeous view and neglecting my work.” She ran her hands up Casey’s thighs until her thumbs brushed through her wet heat.
Casey arched her hips into the touch.
Leighton licked a slow path through her wetness. Casey’s scent made her want in ways she didn’t know she could. “Do you even know the things I’ve imagined doing to you?”
Casey whimpered.
Leighton licked her swollen folds and reveled in her divine taste. “Or the places I’ve imagined doing them?” She pushed her tongue inside her.
Casey gasped. She rested a steady hand on Leighton’s head, but her legs trembled.
Leighton replaced her tongue with two fingers. The sweet sound that emanated from Casey made her do it again. Oh, how she wanted to discover just how many sounds she could draw from her. Desire clouded Leighton’s thinking. One night would never be enough, yet it had to be. They couldn’t continue to have sex until Casey left. Therefore, she’d drag as much pleasure out of this one evening as possible. There was no mistaking the pleasure Casey derived from Leighton’s fingers sliding in and out of her slick warmth.
“Yes, again. Just like that.” Casey rolled her hips to meet her thrusts. “Leighton.” Desire laced her voice. “Leighton, please.”
Leighton had an idea of what she wanted, but she had to hear her say it. “Yes?” And as much as she wanted to see her come undone, she wasn’t quite ready for this moment to end.
Casey seemed to struggle with the question. She writhed on the bed and grasped at the covers. “Leighton.” It came out hoarse.
Leighton kissed where her leg met her body. “Tell me what you want.”
Casey blinked several times, then found Leighton, her eyes glassy and pleading.
She was gorgeous—muscles tense, nipples swollen, her neck and chest flushed with evident arousal. Leighton was certain she looked at Casey with too much wonder, too much adoration, too much lo—
No, she wasn’t going there.
A sheen of perspiration covered Casey’s skin. “Put your mouth on me again. Please.”
She’d made her wait long enough. Leighton slipped her tongue through her folds and took her between her lips. She sucked and lapped with gentle strokes until Casey’s fingers dug into her shoulder.
“Yes. Oh, God, yes.”
Leighton crooked her fingers, and Casey’s moans increased. Then she went silent, her entire body tensing. Leighton increased the pressure of her tongue as she stroked her.
“Oh, God, I’m…”
Leighton didn’t need the announcement. She already knew, could feel. Casey grabbed Leighton’s hand, and her body bowed. She went rigid for a few seconds, then crashed to the bed amidst a chorus of gasps and mumbled words, most of which Leighton couldn’t make out.
Leighton nuzzled her skin and pressed random kisses to her thighs.
Casey sighed and stroked Leighton’s hair. At length, she urged her upward. “Come here, you amazing woman.”
Leighton rested her head on Casey’s chest. Tired and sated, she simply enjoyed the softness of the woman beneath her. Something suffused her, like morning sunlight, its warmth flowing over all it touched. Was this happiness? How long had it been since she’d known the sensation? These days, she found herself dealing with all kinds of emotions she hadn’t experienced in a while, if ever.
Leighton caressed the edge of Casey’s nipple with her thumb. She listened to Casey’s heart thumping beneath her ear. It seemed to be racing. Was a heart supposed to beat that fast?
Leighton had no idea. She’d never been well-versed in the workings of her own heart, let alone someone else’s. And least of all this woman who could make her feel so many things she didn’t understand.
Chapter Thirty
Casey watched the sheer curtains in Leighton’s bedroom breathe in and out in the semi-darkness. Leighton had let some of the cool night air in to combat the radiant heat they’d generated during their lovemaking. Considering her stance on open windows, Leighton was breaking all her rules tonight.
Right now, however, there were more pressing matters, like the warm body against her back and Leighton’s hand that rested upon her hip. She covered it to keep it there and shifted onto her back. After her last orgasm, she’d said she couldn’t take any more, but here she was, already aroused after a restorative nap, turning to Leighton once again.
Something caught her eye, and she blinked a few times. A painting hung across from Leighton’s bed. Casey sat up. It was an unfinished vignette of a female nude. In the dim light, she discerned a long gash running from one corner to the other, although someone had repaired it from the back. She knew it was there because she’d slashed it.
Leighton had saved her painting.
Her heart swelled, and she turned to her. Leighton had thrown an arm above her head, her hair disheveled. Casey brushed her lips over her cheekbone, and Leighton pulled her closer, but didn’t open her eyes.
Casey placed a kiss on her temple. “You little thief.”
Leighton’s only response was an amused, upturned corner of her mouth like she’d been expecting it. Casey traced the curve of Leighton’s ear with her nose and kissed the corner of her jaw.
“It’s not stealing if it’s in the garbage.” Leighton’s voice was heavy with sleep.
Casey had always enjoyed listening to her, but this sultry version was even better, even more arousing. She lowered her mouth to Leighton’s breast and kissed it.
Leighton pulled Casey atop her.
“Dumpster diver.” Casey grinned against Leighton’s cheek and strummed her nipple.
Leighton opened her eyes, and pushed Casey so she straddled her. Her gaze wandered over Casey’s breasts. “What do they say? Reduce, reuse, recycle?” The corners of her mouth seemed to twitch with mischief as she rolled Casey’s nipple into a hard point. “I care about the environment. What can I say?” She slipped a hand between them.
Casey gasped. Neither spoke for a few moments as Leighton caressed her.
“That’s why…” With her pleasure threatening to consume her, Casey struggled to speak. “You saved it?”
“Is that a problem?” Leighton’s voice sounded calm though her fingers weren’t.
Casey dropped her chin to her chest and her hair fell forward. Her hands remained on Leighton’s breasts, but they’d stilled. “No, I just thought…” She struggled to speak under the barrage of wonderful sensations.
“What did you think?” Leighton touched her chin to lift her head.
Leighton’s piercing eyes made Casey suddenly feel exposed and more than a bit embarrassed. She looked away. “I just thought…” She rocked back and forth, her body thrumming with anticipation. “I thought, maybe…there was another reason.” Her hips moved in erratic, desperate motions, her climax moments away.
“Casey, look at me.”
She did. With her hair a mess and her eye makeup smudged, Leighton was still so beautiful. And she was touching her and gazing at her as if she was the only thing that existed in the universe.
Leighton’s expression softened into the tenderest of smiles. “Of course, there was another reason.”
Casey’s orgasm swept through her.
* * *
Casey didn’t need to turn on the kitchen lights to make coffee. The early morning glow of sunrise washed the room in warm yellows. She pressed the button on the Keurig to heat the water. Based on the empty spaces in the spinning holder beside it, she guessed at Leighton’s favorite brew. She chose a Nantucket Blend for herself.
While she waited, she rubbed her bare legs together and danced in place to stay warm. She’d thrown on one of Leighton’s Oxford shirts to make her foray into the kitchen.
Leighton had been asleep when she’d awakened. At some point, Leighton had wrapped an arm and leg around her. Something pleasant stirred in Casey at the possessiveness of the embrace. The thought of sleeping alone in Florence popped into her head, and she didn’t look forward to it.
They’d been up most of the night, and Casey wasn’t sure she’d even managed to doze for multiple hours. Soft kisses sprinkled between whispered conversations kept turning into something more. For hours, they explored unfamiliar terrain and found as much pleasure in the journey as the destination, or at least she had.
Casey pressed a button, and a hiss of steam and gurgle of hot liquid greeted her.
At first, she hadn’t wanted to move from the bed. Leighton’s warm embrace was too tempting to leave, and being so close, Casey could admire the tiny details of her delicate features. Feathery eyelashes, just a shade lighter than her hair, fluttered now and then. The elegant bones that defined her cheeks and jaw made Casey want to trace them with her finger. Three silver hairs near her temple sprouted like brave weeds in an otherwise immaculate garden. Casey didn’t touch her. She held her breath and admired Leighton like she might the most captivating painting in a museum, with quiet reverence. No complaints would come from her if she woke like this every morning.
