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“A sh?”

Asher’s head popped out of the kitchen in time to see Linden walking through her front door, using her key. She smiled wide and wiped her hands on the rag she had been using to dry dishes.

“Hey. In here,” she said.

Linden saw her and smiled back.

“Where did you have to run off to?” Asher asked.

“Oh, no way. You first,” Linden said, closing the door behind her and kicking off her shoes.

Asher walked out of the kitchen and met her at the door.

“Before we get into that, can I kiss you? I feel like now that we’re doing this, I should kiss you whenever you walk through that door.”

“Well, if you feel it, I think you should go for it,” Linden told her, appearing to be in a good mood, so, hopefully, whatever she’d had to do had been something good.

Asher wrapped her arms around Linden’s neck, pulling her in, and Linden’s arms went around her waist, doing the same.

“Was it too much, telling you that I missed you after, like, an hour? You can tell me.”

Linden shook her head and said, “No. It was nice.”

Asher leaned in and kissed her, not intending to take it any further, but when Linden’s lips stole her bottom one and sucked it into her mouth, Asher was already coming undone.

“God, you have all the moves,” she said, pulling out of the kiss.

“Want to see a few more right now?” Linden asked.

“We can’t. We need to–”

“We will,” Linden interrupted. “Everything is okay, Ash. Everything is good, okay?” She ran a hand through Asher’s hair, down her neck, and it ended up resting between her breasts. “But I missed you, too.”

Asher didn’t say anything else. She let Linden kiss her slowly as they held on to one another by the door, and when Linden’s hands moved to Asher’s shirt and pulled it off, she realized that they were about to do this in the living room. There was something extra hot about having Linden just take her right there because they couldn’t even wait to go upstairs to the bedroom, and when Linden unclasped her bra, Asher slipped it off and let it fall to the floor.

“You really want to pick that up right now, don’t you?” Linden teased as she walked Asher back to the sofa. “Like, it’s bothering you that your very expensive bra is just on your floor right by your shoes, isn’t it?”

“Shut up,” Asher said before Linden shoved her back onto the sofa.

A second later, Linden was on her knees, pushing the coffee table back to make room for herself.

“Does that bother you, too?” she asked, nodding toward the table as she undid Asher’s jeans and started pulling them off.

“Yes,” Asher replied honestly.

“It’s not in the perfect spot you made for it in your apartment,” Linden noted.

“No,” she said and watched Linden remove her own T-shirt, seeing that sexy sports bra from last night underneath.

“Should I put it back?” Linden asked about the table.

“No,” she replied.

Linden’s bra was gone soon after, and she reached for one of the four pillows Asher always had on her sofa. She tossed it to the ground, found two more, and did the same. Asher lifted herself to help as Linden pulled at her underwear next and practically tore it from her body, dropping it onto the floor before she stood, undid her own jeans, and pulled them off along with her boy shorts, leaving her completely naked in front of Asher now.

Asher thought she’d climb on top of her, but instead, Linden knelt again, spread her legs, and Asher’s hips were pulled until they were near the end of the sofa. Linden’s dark blue eyes were staring up at her as if she was about to claim her, and Asher knew that she wanted her to. She wanted to be claimed by this woman. Her hips lifted an inch on their own, causing Linden to smirk.

“What do you want, Ash?” she asked as she looked down and licked her lips.

“You.”

“Me to do what?”

“Take me,” Asher said, and she’d never said that to a lover before.

“It could get messy,” Linden replied and looked back up at her. “You’re already really wet, and we’re on your nice, neat couch.” She took her index finger, dragged it through Asher’s wetness, and then sucked that finger into her mouth. “Yes, it could get very messy.”

“Fuck,” Asher whispered.

“Tell me,” Linden said as she pulled Asher’s hips closer still. “Tell me what you want me to do.”

“God, Linden. You’re–” Asher stopped.

She wasn’t sure if she’d be able to say what she wanted out loud. She had no practice with this. No one she’d slept with had ever asked her to tell them what she wanted before. She swallowed hard and looked down at Linden, knowing what she wanted to say and just needing the courage to get it out.

“Taste me.”

“How?” Linden asked as her thumbs worked to spread Asher.

“With your tongue.”

Linden moved until she was just over Asher’s sex. Her tongue slipped out, and she licked Asher’s length.

“Like that?”

“Yes,” Asher whispered.

“Tell me what else you want.”

“You to do that… again.”

Linden repeated the move with her tongue before she stopped at the top of Asher’s clit and flicked it a few times.

“Shit,” Asher let out.

“What else?” Linden asked.

“Whatever you want,” she told her, wanting to relent control now to focus on the feeling of Linden touching her.

“I want… things to get messy sometimes,” Linden said, spreading Asher’s legs farther. “Pillows on the floor. Shoes don’t always have to go by the front door. We can make a mess in the kitchen.” She licked Asher again. “But fancy designer dresses can also go in my closet.” Another lick. “Because they are your fancy designer dresses.” Linden sucked, but only for a second before she looked up at Asher. “I want a little order sometimes, but right now, all I want is to make you scream from feeling so good and not worry about the pillows or the bra or anything else because everything is… perfect, Ash. Everything is perfect right now.”

For a split second, Asher wondered what had Linden so happy, but she didn’t have time to ask because Linden’s head was back between her legs, and she’d used her arms to toss Asher’s legs over her back, pulling Asher’s center fully against her face as she moved her lips to Asher’s clit and sucked harder than she had last night.

“Oh, fuck,” Asher said.

She leaned back into her sofa, not thinking about how much money she’d spent on it or the fact that she was definitely making a mess on it right now. She let Linden take her until she couldn’t hold on anymore. When Linden rubbed her chin up and down in time with her sucks, Asher lost control, and her head went back. Her legs went up into the air, which only gave Linden even better access, and Asher’s orgasm intensified more.

“Linden!” She knew she was yelling, but she didn’t care if anyone could hear and would know what she was doing in her living room because Linden was making her come harder than she’d ever come before in her life. “Linden, God! Don’t stop.”

Linden mumbled against her clit, and Asher held on. It felt like minutes later when Linden finally slowed and then stopped altogether. Asher’s eyes were still closed when she felt Linden move from her kneeling position to the sofa. She opened her eyes then, knowing that she looked like she’d just been completely fucked and not caring. Linden sat next to her and leaned over to kiss her, letting Asher taste herself on her lips. Linden’s hand was on her hip, and she was pulling on her. Asher figured it out, but in her post-orgasmic haze, it took her a second to realize that Linden wanted her to sit on her lap, to straddle her.

“I can’t move.”

“Yes, you can,” Linden said, nodding toward her lap.

Asher tried to be graceful but failed miserably. When she finally made it into Linden’s lap, she pressed her forehead down against Linden’s.

“That was…” She couldn’t finish the sentence. “I want the mess, Linden.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes. I want the mess with you .”

Linden’s hand moved between her legs then, and before Asher knew it, Linden was inside her.

“Oh, God,” she said when her hips reacted by moving forward without asking her permission.

“I want my mess to mix with your order,” Linden told her. “I want all of it.”

“Well, I’m about to come in your lap, so I’d say we’ve thrown… order out… for now.”

Asher rocked against Linden’s body, letting Linden’s curling and thrusting fingers work her inside until she was already almost there again. Linden’s lips moved to one of her nipples, which she sucked on, and Asher pressed her hands to the sofa behind Linden’s shoulders as she lifted and lowered herself on Linden’s long fingers. When Linden’s thumb flicked against her clit, Asher jerked forward, which let Linden’s fingers reach deeper inside.

“Come,” Linden said against her breast. “Come now.”

No one had ever told Asher to come like that, and she felt the wetness trickle down the inside of her own thigh. How had she never known that she’d needed this? She’d needed Linden.

“Oh, yes,” she said in a near whisper as she went over the edge again.

Catching her breath a minute later, she finally stopped rocking, but Linden kept her fingers inside her. Asher kissed her, tasting herself on Linden’s lips again, and knew that she was ready now.

“Linden?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you,” she said.

Linden’s eyes widened, and she asked, “And you mean that how I think you mean that, right?”

Asher nodded and replied, “Yes. I love you. I’m in love with you.”

“I love you, too,” Linden said as she reached up with her free hand and cupped Asher’s cheek. “I want everything with you, Asher.”

“Including my fancy designer dresses in your closet?” she teased.

“Well, in our closet,” Linden corrected. “One day.”

“Our closet, huh?”

“Yeah. And that can be a closet in a house that we buy together.”

“We’re buying a house now?” Asher asked through her laughter.

“Not tomorrow, but yes,” Linden replied and slid her thumb over Asher’s cheek. “And maybe sometime before or after that, we can see if Carolyn would mind planning our wedding.”

Asher hadn’t been expecting that, but after only a moment, she nodded and gave Linden a smile that she hoped conveyed that this plan was more than fine with her.

“I have to tell you something,” she said.

“What?” Linden asked as she kissed her neck.

“The errand I needed to run today was for work.”

“Oh?” Linden kissed her neck again.

“Yeah. I asked Carolyn to meet me.”

“Why?”

“Because I turned down Dallas, Linden.”

“Oh,” Linden replied and just kissed Asher’s neck again as if Asher hadn’t said the most important thing in the world a second ago.

“Oh? Just oh ?” she asked, repeating herself. “I tell you that I’m no longer moving, and your response is, ‘Oh,’ like it doesn’t even matter, when you just told me that one day, you want someone planning our wedding?”

Linden just pressed her face to Asher’s chest, though, and Asher wasn’t sure if Linden was laughing or crying.

“Babe? Linden? What’s happening? Are you–” She lifted Linden’s face up and stopped when she noticed that Linden wasn’t crying. “Why are you laughing?”

“Sorry, I tried.” Linden stopped laughing and took a deep breath. “I know.”

“You know what?”

“Well, you ran off on me this morning, and I was worried at first, but then Carolyn texted me and asked if I’d meet her at the office.”

“Carolyn asked–”

“That’s where I went earlier, Ash. I had no idea what she wanted. I assumed it was something to do with the wedding yesterday, but she sat me down and told me that you weren’t going to Dallas. Well, she didn’t give me any details, and when you talk to her, you have to pretend like I didn’t tell you what happened.”

“She told you before I could…”

“Yes. Why didn’t you, though? We were lying in bed all morning. If you weren’t going to go, why didn’t you just tell me so that I’d stop worrying about it?” Linden asked her and slowly pulled out of her then, making Asher feel a little less complete in that moment.

“Because I wanted to make sure she wasn’t going to fire me.”

“What? She’d never fire you. You’re her heir apparent and top earner.”

“I accepted the job and then told her I didn’t want it. I didn’t know how she’d react, so I wanted to talk it over with her first and then tell you, but when I got home, you weren’t here.”

“Because I was there. She was offering me your job.”

“What?” Asher asked.

“Yeah. She even had an offer letter ready for me when I walked in. She needs someone fast, and I offered to go to Dallas earlier this week.”

Asher pulled back a little and asked, “ What now?”

“When I found out you were going, I asked if I could go, too.”

Asher practically melted at that and said, “You did?”

“Yeah.” Linden pressed her face to Asher’s chest then. “I didn’t want to be here without you, but you told me you wanted the opportunity in Dallas, so I thought I could go, too. She said no because she needed me here, and when you turned her down, she asked me. I said no.”

“You did?” Asher asked.

“Obviously,” Linden replied, pulling back to look up at her. “Asher, I love you. I don’t go anywhere without you anymore.”

Asher smiled down at her and said, “It’s a good opportunity. A lot of money.”

“I don’t care about money. You know that,” Linden told her, shrugging a shoulder. “I make good enough money, and you make even more. We’re good. I just want you in New Orleans for as long as this place and our jobs make us happy.”

Asher’s smile fell, and she said, “Well, hold that thought.”

Linden’s expression changed to worried.

“No, not the part about you and me being happy in New Orleans,” she added quickly, cupping Linden’s cheeks with both hands. “That is absolutely what I want.”

“Okay. Well, which part, then?” Linden asked.

“The part where I don’t know if I want to work for Carolyn anymore,” Asher confessed.

“What?”

“Yeah…”

“You want to quit?” Linden asked.

“I wasn’t sure at first, but she told me she was planning on me being a partner one day. She’d never told me that before. It’s always been about me taking on more, but she had never told me she wanted me to take over the whole thing.”

“She does?” Linden asked as she ran her hands up and down Asher’s back.

“And when I was on my way back here, I just realized that I know for certain that I don’t want that. I don’t want to take over Carolyn’s company. I want to start my own.”

“You’re doing it? You’re going out on your own?” Linden asked, looking hopeful, which made Asher smile.

“I think so. Not tomorrow, of course. I’ll give proper notice and take care of any clients I’m working on now, but I texted Monica, who knows all about this stuff, and she and I are going to meet and talk to make sure I do this the right way.”

“Ash, that’s amazing, babe.” Linden kissed her.

“It is ?”

“Of course, it is. This has always been your plan.”

“It would mean I might have bought the last of my fancy designer dresses for a long time,” she said. “It would be a new business and in a competitive market. It might not work.”

“It will because you’re the best. You’re better than Carolyn ever was, but you’re also the hardest worker I know. If anyone can do this, it’s you.”

Asher swallowed.

“What?” Linden asked, picking up on her nervousness.

“I want you to come with me,” she said.

“What?” Linden repeated.

“I want you to come with me, Linden. Join my company, whatever we decide to call it. Be my partner.”