Page 30 of Curious Hearts (The Healing Hearts #2)

Jessica laughed softly but removed her hand, clasping it with her other in her lap. “We wouldn’t want that.”

When they finally pulled into Jessica’s driveway, Ali had never been more grateful to arrive somewhere in her life.

They made it through the front door with surprising composure.

Jessica hung her jacket in the coat closet while Ali greeted Mr. Darcy, who had appointed himself the welcoming committee.

It was all very civilized until Jessica turned from closing the door and caught Ali’s gaze across the foyer.

All restraint between them dissolved as if it had never existed.

One moment they were standing three feet apart, the next Ali had Jessica pressed against the wall beside the coat closet, their mouths finding each other with desperate intensity.

Jessica’s hands were immediately in Ali’s hair, on her shoulders, at her waist, touching everywhere at once as if making up for the hours of controlled contact on the dance floor.

Ali’s fingers found the buttons of Jessica’s silk blouse, fumbling in their haste. Jessica reached down to help, their hands tangling in shared urgency. When the blouse finally fell open, revealing an ivory lace bra that made Ali’s heart stop momentarily, Jessica took advantage of her distraction.

With surprising strength, Jessica reversed their positions, pressing Ali against the wall. Her height advantage allowed her to bracket Ali completely, one hand beside Ali’s head, the other tilting her chin upward.

“I’ve been waiting for this all night,” Jessica confessed, her voice dropping to a register that sent shivers down Ali’s spine. “Since that first moment on the dance floor when you looked at me like?—”

“Like what?” Ali asked, suddenly breathless under Jessica’s intense gaze.

“Like you wanted me to devour you,” Jessica finished, the roughness in her voice unlike anything Ali had heard from her before.

“I did,” Ali admitted. “I do.”

“Good.” The single word carried unmistakable intent.

Jessica leaned down, claiming Ali’s mouth with a hunger that left no room for hesitation. Her body pressed Ali firmly against the wall, the pressure creating exquisite friction everywhere they connected. When she finally broke the kiss, Ali was light-headed from more than just lack of oxygen.

“Bedroom,” Jessica said, not a question but an instruction.

Before Ali could respond, Jessica’s hands slid beneath her thighs, lifting her with smooth confidence that caught Ali completely off guard. Instinctively, she wrapped her legs around Jessica’s waist, their new position bringing them into an alignment that drew matching gasps from both women.

“You’re stronger than you look,” Ali managed, arms looped around Jessica’s neck.

Jessica’s smile turned wolfish. “Dance training builds unexpected muscles.”

She carried Ali through the hallway with impressive ease, their mouths never separating for more than a moment, Ali’s weight balanced perfectly against her tall frame.

They collided with the wall once, then the doorframe, each impact drawing breathless laughter that quickly transformed back into hunger.

By the time they reached the bed, Jessica’s blouse had been discarded somewhere in the hallway, and Ali’s shirt hung open, several buttons missing in their haste. Jessica set Ali down at the edge of the mattress, then stepped back, just out of reach.

With deliberate slowness, she unfastened her jeans, sliding them down legs that seemed endless in the dim light filtering through the curtains, until she stood in nothing but ivory lace lingerie that contrasted beautifully with her rich brown skin.

“Your turn,” Jessica said, her tone firm. “Strip.”

Ali attempted to remove her own clothes with similar grace, but her fingers fumbled with fastenings, too eager to match Jessica’s deliberate pace.

When she finally kicked off her jeans and lay back against the pillows in just her underwear, Jessica crawled onto the bed, moving up Ali’s body with the same fluid moves she’d displayed on the dance floor.

“I’m going to make you come so hard,” Jessica confessed, settling her weight above Ali, her hands finding Ali’s wrists and pinning them above her head. She used her height advantage to stretch Ali’s arms fully, creating a delicious vulnerability that made Ali’s breath catch. “You’re mine now.”

“Only now?” Ali asked, arching upward to bring their bodies into fuller contact.

Jessica smiled, leaning down to brush her lips against Ali’s jaw. “Anticipation. I’ve discovered I enjoy the waiting almost as much as the having.”

“Almost?” Ali challenged, testing Jessica’s grip on her wrists, not to break free but to get the rush from being restrained.

“Almost,” Jessica confirmed, her smile taking on an edge that sent heat rushing between Ali’s legs. “But not quite. Don’t move, or else I will have to tie you to the headboard.”

She released Ali’s wrists, trailing her fingers down her arms, across her collarbone, to the clasp of her bra.

It came apart with ease, and was discarded just as quickly, drawing the straps down Ali’s arms and tossing it aside.

Her hands cupped Ali’s breasts, thumbs brushing across already-tight nipples in a way that drew a sharp gasp from Ali’s throat.

“Mine,” Jessica murmured, lowering her head to replace one hand with her mouth.

The wet heat of Jessica’s tongue against her sensitive flesh sent desire coursing through Ali’s body.

Her back arched off the mattress, seeking more contact, more pressure, more of everything Jessica was offering.

One of Jessica’s hands slid lower, tracing patterns across Ali’s stomach, drawing ever closer to where Ali needed her most without ever quite reaching it.

“Jessica,” Ali gasped, frustration and plea combined in the single word.

“Patience,” Jessica replied, her voice a warm caress against Ali’s skin. “We have all night.”

“I don’t have that kind of patience,” Ali protested, her hips lifting in silent entreaty.

Jessica laughed, the sound vibrating against Ali’s breast where her mouth still worked. “Then it’s fortunate that I do.”

She continued her exploration of Ali’s body, finding sensitive spots that drew increasingly desperate sounds from Ali’s throat. When her fingers finally, finally slipped beneath the waistband of Ali’s underwear, Ali couldn’t suppress the moan that escaped her.

“Please,” she whispered, beyond pride, beyond games, beyond everything but the need for Jessica’s touch.

Jessica obliged, sliding Ali’s underwear down her legs and settling between her thighs.

Her first touch was gentle, exploratory, mapping Ali with the same precision she’d shown during their dance.

Each stroke, each circle was perfectly calibrated to build Ali’s arousal without tipping her over the edge.

She was the master of slow, beautiful torture.

“Look at me,” Jessica commanded, her eyes meeting Ali’s from between her thighs.

Ali obeyed, the visual connection intensifying everything—the physical sensations, yes, but also the emotional weight of the moment. This was Jessica, stripped of her professional armor, her control redirected into giving pleasure rather than maintaining defenses.

When Jessica’s mouth joined her fingers, Ali had to fight to keep her eyes open, to maintain that connection despite the overwhelming sensation threatening to shatter her focus. Jessica’s tongue traced patterns that seemed designed specifically to unravel her completely.

“Jessica,” Ali gasped, her hands finding Jessica’s shoulders, needing an anchor as sensation threatened to overwhelm her. “Please, I need?—”

“I know what you need,” Jessica interrupted, her voice steady despite their activities. She didn’t pause her ministrations, her fingers curling inside Ali with perfect pressure. “I decide what you get, and when.”

Ali let out a long, guttural moan. “I’m going?—”

“You’ll come when I tell you to, and not before.”

Ali swallowed, wondering how the hell she was going to hold back the inevitable wave of pleasure threatening to suck her under. Jessica had always been the one in control during intimacy, the one setting the pace, the one giving pleasure and only surrendering to it on her terms.

“Tell me how much you want me to let you come,” Jessica commanded, adding a third finger with a deliberate slowness that had Ali clutching at the sheets.

“So… badly,” Ali managed, her tone begging.

“Ask me nicely.”

Ali gasped as Jessica fingers curled forward, her vision blurring as she tried so hard to hang on.

“I want to hear you say it.”

“Please, Jessica,” Ali gasped, hips lifting involuntarily. “Oh god, Jessica, make me come hard.”

Jessica’s breath was warm against her clit, and then her lips sucked her in, her fingers never breaking tempo.

There was no holding back now. Resistance was futile.

She belonged to this woman, mind, body, and heart—and if this was how she went out, at least her obituary would read “Died mid-orgasm, smiling so hard they couldn’t close the casket. ”

“Now,” Jessica commanded.

Ali’s release crashed through her with an intensity that tore a cry from her throat.

Wave after wave of pleasure radiated outward from her core, her body convulsing around Jessica’s fingers.

Jessica stayed with her, fingers still, until her body relaxed.

When she withdrew, Ali shuddered, already mourning the loss.

Jessica moved up beside her, gathering Ali against her chest. She buried her face in the curve of Jessica’s neck, breathing in the scent of her skin mingled with the evidence of their activities.

She felt utterly undone, exposed in a way that would have terrified her with anyone else. But with Jessica…

“I need you to keep holding me…” Ali trailed off, words failing her.

Jessica pulled back and looked at her. “Ali?” The thumb that wiped away the first tear was gentle. “I’m here and I’m not going anywhere, my love.”