Page 23 of Curious Hearts (The Healing Hearts #2)

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Empress jumped onto the nightstand, breaking the moment with a feline haughtiness.

A laugh escaped Ali—quick, surprised—but her eyes never left Jessica’s face. Empress displaced a pen, sending it falling to the floor, the soft clatter emphasizing the silence between them.

“Your cat has terrible timing,” Ali murmured, still standing beside the bed where Jessica knelt among rumpled sheets.

Jessica didn’t respond. Instead, she brushed her thumb across Ali’s lower lip. The pad of her thumb caught on the slight chap, texture against texture. Ali’s lip yielded under the pressure, sending a spark of desire straight to her core.

“Does she?” Jessica asked, voice low and rough. Her fingers curled around the worn cotton of Ali’s T-shirt, bunching the fabric. “I think she’s done enough for one night.”

Jessica tugged, not gently. Ali stumbled forward, knees hitting the mattress edge. Jessica’s hands slid to Ali’s hips, pulling until Ali collapsed on top of her, Jessica falling backward onto the bed, thighs parting to accommodate her weight.

As their bodies pressed together, Jessica released a soft exhale that brushed warm against her neck, sending goosebumps cascading across her skin.

Ali breathed in jasmine-scented shampoo mingled with sleep-warmed skin and the lingering mint tang of recently brushed teeth.

Jessica’s silk camisole cooled Ali’s forearms while heat radiated through the thin fabric covering her chest.

“I’m going to kiss you now,” Jessica said, nothing tentative in the declaration.

It wasn’t a question, but Ali nodded anyway, the motion small and desperate. When Jessica’s mouth met hers, the contact set Ali’s system alight—not cautious as she might have expected, but decisive. Jessica tasted faintly of mint, the flavor deepening as her tongue slipped past Ali’s lips.

The kiss pulled a sound from Ali’s throat—half sigh, half groan. Jessica swallowed it, hands sliding beneath Ali’s shirt, fingernails scraping lightly down her back, raising goosebumps in their wake. Each contact point between them generated heat, stomachs flat against each other.

A painting tilted on the wall when the headboard knocked against it. A glass of water wobbled on the nightstand. Empress fled, insulted by the sudden chaos.

The subtle brush of Jessica’s nipples against her own, rigid even through two layers of fabric, sent a shudder down Ali’s spine. Jessica’s breath came in short gasps that dampened Ali’s neck, the gentle exhales tickling the fine hairs by her ear.

“This is one way to deal with a rat emergency,” Ali said, voice unsteady.

Jessica’s smile transformed her face—not the measured expression Ali had grown accustomed to, but now displaying uninhibited desire, joy, creating fine lines at the corners. “I could have called an exterminator, but this seemed more effective.”

“It was an elaborate plan—” Ali’s breath caught as Jessica’s free hand moved to her waist, fingers curling into the fabric of her waistband. “Are you sure?” she asked, needing to hear it.

Jessica answered by roughly pulling her down and pressing her lips to Ali’s with increased urgency.

Ali’s body responded immediately, weeks of restraint dissolving in an instant.

Jessica’s lips were soft but insistent, coaxing Ali’s mouth open, deepening the kiss with a boldness that made her knees weak.

Ali responded in kind, pushing her weight down against Jessica’s center. The contact drew a small sound from Jessica’s throat that vibrated against Ali’s lips, igniting something primal within her.

When they broke from the kiss Ali braced herself, adjusting her weight, to look down at Jessica—hair spread across the pillows, lips swollen, eyes dark brimming with desire.

“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted this,” Ali confessed, lowering her head to trail kisses along Jessica’s jaw, down the column of her throat.

“From the that first day, with the magpie, the way you laughed.” She twisted her hips just enough to increase the friction, feeling the heat through the thin material of the sweatpants.

Jessica arched beneath her, hands tugging at Ali’s shirt. “Show me. Show me how much you want me.”

Ali sat back, kneeling between Jessica’s hips, and pulled her T-shirt over her head. Jessica’s sharp intake of breath as she took in Ali’s bare torso sent a driving heat between her thighs. Jessica reached up, hands hovering just above Ali’s skin as if afraid to touch.

“Touch me,” Ali whispered, taking Jessica’s hands and placing them on her stomach.

Jessica needed no further encouragement. Her hands slid upward, cupping Ali’s breasts, brushing across her nipples. Ali closed her eyes, losing herself in the sensation, in the gentle pressure of Jessica’s fingers learning her body.

Ali leaned down to recapture Jessica’s mouth, hair falling around them like a curtain. The kiss deepened, tongues meeting in a dance that promised more. Jessica’s hands continued their exploration, mapping the planes of Ali’s back, the curve of her waist, pulling her ever closer.

Ali’s hands found the hem of Jessica’s camisole, slipping beneath to touch warm skin. “Can I take this off?”

Jessica nodded, lifting her arms to allow Ali to draw the silk garment over her head. The sight of Jessica half-naked beneath her sent a fresh surge of need to Ali’s center, her clit twitching in anticipation. Her breasts were perfect—full with dark nipples pebbling under Ali’s gaze.

“Beautiful,” Ali breathed, lowering her head to press kisses to the newly exposed skin. She traced a path between Jessica’s breasts with her tongue, savoring the salt-sweet taste of her skin before taking one nipple into her mouth.

Jessica gasped, back arching off the bed, hands threading through Ali’s hair to hold her in place. “Ali?—”

The sound of her name spurred Ali on. She lavished attention on both breasts, alternating between gentle suction and featherlight circles with her tongue. Jessica writhed beneath her, making small, desperate sounds that Ali wanted to catalog and cherish.

Ali shifted position to continue her exploration, allowing her hand to trail down Jessica’s stomach to the waistband of her silk shorts. As she settled against the mattress, something hard pressed into her hip.

“Ouch,” she said, shifting to reach beneath her. Her fingers closed around something smooth and curved. She pulled it out, blinking in momentary confusion before realizing what it was: a small black vibrator.

Jessica’s expression transformed from desire to mortification in an instant. “Oh god,” she breathed, reaching for the device. “I forgot that was— I didn’t think?—”

Ali held it just out of reach, a slow smile spreading across her face. “Were you using this earlier?”

Jessica covered her face with her hands, the slight flush spreading down her neck to her chest. “This is so embarrassing.”

“Hey,” Ali said, her voice dropping to a lower register as she examined the device in her hand. “Don’t be embarrassed. It’s actually incredibly hot.” She turned the vibrator over, studying it with deliberate slowness. “Especially since now I can show you how I’d use it.”

Jessica met her eyes, uncertainty giving way to renewed desire. “You would?”

“Mm,” Ali hummed, brushing the smooth tip of the device lightly across Jessica’s collarbone. “I’ve always wondered what you’d look like when you orgasmed.”

The sharp intake of Jessica’s breath told Ali everything she needed to know.

“You were thinking about me when you used this,” Ali said, not a question this time. “Weren’t you?”

Jessica nodded, her composure completely shattered. “Yes,” she admitted, voice barely above a whisper.

Ali felt a surge of heat at the confession. “Tell me,” she said, trailing the device down Jessica’s stomach in a featherlight touch that made the muscles beneath tense with anticipation. “What exactly was I doing in your fantasy?”

Jessica’s eyes darkened, pupils blown wide. “You were...” she began, then hesitated.

“I want to know,” Ali encouraged, pressing the still-inactive vibrator against Jessica’s silk-covered center, watching her hips rise instinctively to meet the pressure. “I want to make your fantasy real. But better.”

Jessica took a shuddering breath. “You were kissing me. Everywhere. And then... your mouth... between my legs.”

Ali smiled, slowly moving down Jessica’s body, taking the vibrator with her. “Like this?” she asked, pressing open-mouthed kisses to Jessica’s neck, collarbone, the swell of her breast, while her hand traced lazy circles with the device against Jessica’s inner thigh.

“Yes,” Jessica breathed, watching Ali’s descent, her body trembling with each press of lips and brush of the vibrator.

“And then?” Ali prompted, her free hand sliding to Jessica’s hips, fingers hooking into the silk shorts.

“You used your tongue,” Jessica said, lifting her hips to allow Ali to draw the shorts down her legs.

Ali settled between Jessica’s thighs, looking up the length of her body. “What else did I do to you?”

“Your fingers,” Jessica managed, visibly struggling to maintain her composure. “Inside me.”

Ali leaned forward, pressing a kiss to Jessica’s inner thigh. “And did I use this?” she asked, twisting the base of the vibrator until it hummed to life, the sound low and promising in the quiet room.

Jessica’s eyes widened, her breath catching. “No, I didn’t— I hadn’t thought?—”

“Then we’re already improving on your fantasy,” Ali said, her smile turning wicked as she gently pressed the vibrating tip against Jessica’s center, watching her back arch at the contact.

Ali drew the vibrator in slow, teasing circles, carefully gauging Jessica’s reactions—the hitching of her breath, the tension in her thighs, the way her fingers clutched at the sheets.

She varied the pressure and speed, learning what made Jessica gasp, what made her whimper, what made her hips rise desperately off the bed.