Page 22 of Spicy or Sweet (Wintermore #2)

SHAY

She has another Christmas tree in her bedroom, but it’s not the tree that catches my attention; it’s the ornaments.

“I could lie and say I didn’t make my bed because I was in a rush when I left yesterday morning, but I’m always in a rush, and I never make my bed, so there’s no point in pretending,” Noelle says, and I hear her fussing with the bed as I stare at the tree.

She notices my gaze and groans. “Right. That. I ordered an Advent calendar from a super sketchy website last year, and it was supposed to be a bunch of mini usable sex toy ornaments, but it ended up being just twenty-one butt plugs, a bullet vibe, and a pair of broken handcuffs—one cuff on December fifth, one on the twelfth. They don’t even clip together. What a waste.”

“Is that… The Grinch?” I ask, prodding a green plug that is definitely The Grinch.

“It is. I considered giving it to Rora, actually, since she hates Christmas, but she’s sleeping with my uncle, so it felt too weird.”

“Jesus.” Because what else do I say to that?

“Yeah.” Noelle draws the word out. “If I’d known I was having company, I would probably have moved the butt plug tree. And in the interest of giving you a crash course in getting to know me, let’s get all of my weird decor out of the way…”

She places her hands gently on either side of me, spins me until I’m facing her bed, then tilts my chin until I’m staring over the headboard.

It takes me a second to process what I’m seeing, and when I do… “Wow.”

“I thought it would be empowering, you know?” she explains as we both take in the six strap-on harnesses secured to the wall, in almost every color of the rainbow.

“I saw someone online with a similar display, and they said it inspired them to own their sexuality, but their display was a lot nicer than mine, and you’re the first woman I’ve had in here, so…

Also, the blue one kept falling off and hitting me in the middle of the night, so I just shoved it under the bed. ”

“I’m the first woman you’ve had in here?” It’s not that I’m not listening to her, it’s just that nothing registers after I hear that.

“Yep. I haven’t exactly had a lot of time for socializing since I moved in.” Noelle sits on the end of the bed with a sigh. “You probably think I’m unhinged.”

“Are you kidding me?” I take a seat beside her and grab her hand. “You’re making me reassess how fucking boring everyone else in my life is. You are, without a doubt, the coolest person I know, Noelle.”

She quirks a smile. “Damn. You’ve really got to meet some new people.”

“I don’t want to meet anyone else. I’m here, aren’t I?” I reply, nudging her foot with mine.

“Yeah.” Her smile softens. “You are.”

“I’ve never used one, you know,” I say, nodding to the display.

“A strap?”

“No, a Grinch butt plug,” I reply, rolling my eyes.

She laughs, a warm, honeyed sound that goes to my head more than the old-fashioned has. “Damn, I can’t believe it. You totally give me Grinch butt plug vibes, sweetheart. But seriously, I like toys. I like trying new things out, but I can have plenty of fun without them if you’re not into them.”

“I don’t really know what I’m into,” I reply honestly. “But I’m open to trying whatever you think I might like. I trust you.”

She sits up straighter, like she likes hearing me say I trust her. And I do.

Truthfully, I’m entirely out of my element here.

I’ve used exactly one sex toy—a trusty rabbit I’ve had for longer than I’d like to admit—and my sexual history is beyond basic.

With Philippe, it was once every couple of months at the most, usually on a special occasion, or when we were a little tipsy.

Before Philippe, I was never with anyone long enough to get comfortable and try anything new.

Noelle makes me want to try new things, though.

“Do you have a big collection?” I ask, and she nods, beckoning me over to her nightstand.

She pulls open the bottom drawer, and I’m honestly surprised she managed to get it closed; it’s so full. It’s a rainbow of pink, and purple, various nude shades, and bright blue… “Are those tentacles?”

Her cheeks turn as pink as the spiral of pink silicon sitting on top of the drawer. I couldn’t even begin to guess how it’s used.

“Technically, it’s just one tentacle. I was curious, but it’s not my thing,” Noelle explains.

“When I’m not working, which is most of the time, or with my family, I like to just stay home, and this drawer makes for the best kind of stress relief I’ve got right now.

It’s amazing what a vibrator, whatever fantasy I’m fixating on at the moment, and thirty minutes to myself will do. ”

“I get that,” I say, peering into the drawer. “Have you ever thought about me?” I don’t mean to say it; the question slips from my tongue like it demands to be heard. But I don’t regret it when Noelle’s pupils flare in response.

“After I kissed you. I tried every other way to distract myself, but nothing worked. I got the notification to say you’d matched with me right as I came.”

God. Why is that so hot?

“What one did you use?” I ask, looking back at the drawer.

Noelle leans down and pulls out a hot pink toy with what I think is a suction head. I’ve never used one, but I’m not completely naive about what’s what.

“Can you show me how it works?”

“You want me to use it on you?” Noelle asks, her voice low. The little twang she has seems to be stronger when she’s turned on, and it coils around me, squeezing the breath from my lungs.

I shake my head, and her eyes widen. “I want to watch you use it.”

“Fuck,” Noelle whispers. “Of course. Yes. But only if I get to watch you, too.”

She grabs another toy from the drawer and passes it to me. The pink toy she has is bigger, with a curved handle that I suspect means it can be used internally as well as externally. The silver one she hands me has the same suction head, but it’s smaller and more oval-shaped.

“I’ve never used suction,” I say, and by the time I look up from the toy, she’s already half undressed.

A wicked smile curves her lips. “Prepare to have your mind blown. Once you try suction, you can never go back.” She must notice my dubious expression as I look at the toy, because she adds, “Trust me. This is one of those times where size doesn’t matter.”

I turn away to get undressed, folding my clothes and setting them on her dresser.

I’m usually a ball things up in the corner of the room kind of person, but something about undressing in front of each other feels more intimate than it has the past two times, when I was so caught up in the moment, I didn’t even consider feeling self-conscious.

Now, though, I can’t help it. I wasn’t kidding when I told Noelle I felt old, and my body looks exactly like what you’d expect from the body of an almost-forty-seven-year-old who never works out and spent too much time in the sun as a teenager.

There’s a softness to my stomach, a sagginess to my breasts that I didn’t have when I was Noelle’s age.

I have a large scar that starts a couple inches below my belly button, curves around, and continues up my abdomen, from my emergency surgery after the accident.

My grays come in faster than I can dye them; I have sunspots, and stretch marks, and all kinds of things I didn’t have to think about when I was married to a man who was aging at the same time I was.

A thirty-year-old is a whole other ballgame.

But when I turn around, Noelle is lying back against her pillows with an expression that can only be described as ravenous.

“The fantasy had nothing on reality,” she says, shaking her head as she takes me in. “Look at you.”

The reverence in her voice propels me forward until I’m sitting opposite her on the bed. I could lie beside her—it would be more comfortable—but I want to see her.

She spreads her legs, pressing the back of the toy until a hidden button glows white.

“Your turn.”

It’s hard not to just sit and stare, still as a statue, but I force myself to pick up the toy, inspecting it. The buttons are on the side: a power button, an up arrow, and a down arrow. Easy enough.

I turn the toy on and press the up arrow. It buzzes lightly, but it feels like nothing in my palm.

“Press it against the back of your hand,” Noelle suggests, and I do as she says, jolting out of my skin as the suction touches me.

“Holy shit.”

“Told you,” she replies with a grin that turns me on more than the thought of the toy does.

She holds the head of her toy against her clit before turning it on, and a long breath rushes out of her when she does. She looks at me, her skin flushed. “Your turn, sweetheart.”

Sweetheart. God. That shouldn’t feel so good.

I take a deep breath before spreading my legs and moving the toy down my body. Noelle follows my hand with her eyes, and I swear I feel her gaze like a brand, running over my skin. I press the toy to my clit and immediately slam my free hand against the bed as a shock of pleasure bursts inside me.

“Holy fuck,” I cry, pulling the toy away. Jesus, how is that only the first setting? “You were right. That is… Wow.”

Noelle lets out a breathy chuckle, nudging my foot playfully with hers. “You can handle it.”

I don’t entirely believe her, but I suck in a breath and press the toy against my clit again.

I’m firmer this time, and the suction feels deeper, less fluttery.

It’s fucking incredible, though that has as much to do with the sight of Noelle sitting across from me, the feel of her foot brushing against mine, as it does the toy.

“Will you—fuck,” I groan. It’s hard to concentrate with the way the toy feels, radiating heat through my whole body. “Will you tell me what you thought about? What you imagined?”

Noelle bumps the power up on her toy before nodding.

“Mhmm. I thought about how you’d taste. Sweet, of course,” she says, and I fight to keep my eyes open, to keep them on her.

“Lemons. I thought you’d taste like sweet lemons and vanilla.

Something bright and summery. You taste”—she raises the power—“so much better,” she finishes with a moan.

“I imagined how you’d feel on top of me. I pretended it was your lips instead of the toy. I thought about you between my legs.”

I’m still on the lowest speed, but I can’t stop the pressure coiling inside me. I’m so fucking close. My eyes close whether I want them to or not, my body slipping back until I’m lying flat on the bed.

“I imagined you looking up at me as you licked my pussy.” Noelle’s voice sounds simultaneously miles away and like she’s whispering right in my ear. I feel the bed shift, but pay no attention until I feel her hand on my calf.

I open my eyes, just in time to watch Noelle straddle my thigh.

She rests the toy on my leg and lowers herself onto the head, moaning.

Her hair spills around her shoulders like purple silk.

She leans down, rolling her hips, riding the toy—riding my thigh.

Threading her fingers through my free hand, she presses it against the mattress, holding it down.

She lowers her face, brushing her lips over my jaw, my neck. I feel every little sigh as she gets closer and closer—to me, and to falling apart. All of it, all of her, just amplifies how good the toy feels.

“Guess what, sweetheart?” she murmurs in my ear. Her breath tickles me, and it’s almost enough to send me over the edge.

“What?”

“Everything about you is so much better than anything I could ever dream up,” she says, pulling my earlobe between her teeth and biting down. It’s barely a sting, but it’s my undoing.

The orgasm hits me so hard that I drop the toy, and the wave still rolls through me. Noelle follows, crying out my name and letting more of her weight fall on me.

If heaven is real, this must be what it feels like.

I don’t realize I’m practically chanting her name until she drags her lips over my jaw and captures my mouth with hers.

“Fuck, Shay,” she groans.

She pulls the toy out from under herself and turns it off, tossing it back on the bed.

I have no idea where mine is, and, even if Noelle wasn’t lying on top of me, I don’t think I’d be able to move to turn it off.

It’s barely audible, and Noelle doesn’t seem to care as she shifts her body until she’s more cuddled into me than on me.

“Noelle?” I say, clinging to her.

“Hmm?”

“If this is what going with the flow feels like, I think I like it.”

Her answering laugh makes my heart stutter.

Oh god. I am so fucked.