Page 129 of The Ampersand Effect

Tobin glanced at Grier standing at the edge of the orchard, ripening cherries framing her head, completely captivated by the picturesque scene before her. They stood beside a dilapidated boathouse, a wooden boat gently swaying against its line. Families of ducks and swans meandered along the shore, gliding quietly through the lily pads.

“I thought you might like this,” Tobin said softly. “It’s beautiful,” Grier whispered.

Tobin could feel the wonder in Grier’s words, her skin prickling with the emotion they carried. She stepped closer, pressing a light kiss to Grier’s lips—then deepening it as Grier met her, lip for lip.

But Grier pulled back, her voice low and serious. “This place is important.” Her eyes searched Tobin’s, and Tobin could feel their intensity, unlocking years of memories as a torrent of emotion flooded her chest.

This placewasimportant. It was where her dad had taught her to swim, to row, to fish. It was the backdrop for innumerable family picnics, stolen breaks during picking season, and her first kiss. It was where her father had told her about his cancer—separate from the rest of the family, their relationship requiring a more intimate, one- on-one confession.

After that day, she’d stopped coming here. She’d dared to visit only a handful of times in the years since, checking on the boathouse and the boat before promptly retreating to the main house.

How was it that Grier so casually helped her confront so many of her demons? How had this woman walked into her life and calmed so many of her storms—while igniting just as many fires along the way?

Tobin placed a steadying palm on Grier’s hip, bunching the fabric of her slouchy white tee and flexing her fingers into warm skin, grounding herself in the moment—inher.

“Yes,” Tobin finally said, pulling herself into the present. “This used to be my… spot. I spent hours here every day. It’s where I grew up. Where I came when I was happy, when I was sad…” She paused, a slow smirk curving across her lips—an overt sign of her current intentions. “When I was… aroused.”

She watched the flicker in Grier’s eyes and let her smirk deepen into a confident smile as she slowly lowered her head, brushing her lips faintly along Grier’s. Her restraint impressed even herself— having been nearly void of it moments ago. But here, with Grier and the hush of this forgotten place, she didn’t want to rush. She wanted to savor it.

Grier was practically breathless, her own desire mounting. Tobin could hear her swallow, grasping at composure, and felt the subtle tension in her torso as she prepared to steal a kiss. But Tobin evaded her at the last second, pulling her head back just a fraction.

Amber eyes darkened—lust and frustration blooming in tandem—as Grier’s carnality surged to the surface.

Tobin felt fingertips graze along her forearms, climbing to her shoulders, drawing goosebumps down her spine. Apparently, Grier wanted to play. Good. Tobin let her bodyshiver beneath the touch, a silent agreement passing between them.

Grier bent forward, planting a series of kisses along Tobin’s collarbone until she reached the soft slope of her throat. She bit— harder than Tobin expected—and murmured, “Tell me more about your arousal.”

Then her lips closed over the mark she’d made, sucking gently, her tongue stroking the tender skin with maddening precision.

Tobin’s body was weak with wanting. Grier’s tongue on her skin sent heat spiraling into her core faster than she could accommodate. She used the hand on Grier’s hip to turn them, guiding her back two slow, deliberate steps until Grier’s spine met the boathouse wall. She needed her braced, needed her there—anchored.

“This is where I learned about my body,” Tobin husked, her voice thick with memory. “Where I touched myself. Where I taught myself how to come,”

Grier gasped, her fingers tightening around Tobin’s biceps, where they’d just been softly stroking seconds before.

She reached for Tobin’s lips, but Tobin had her pinned against the boathouse, preventing her progress. When Grier relented and relaxed against the wall, Tobin cupped her jaw and stroked her thumb across her lips.

Grier darted out her tongue to taste her, and Tobin clenched in response. She dragged her thumb downward, tugging Grier’s bottom lip as she went, then laced her fingers along the delicate column of her throat, watching with satisfaction as Grier’s breath shuddered under her touch.

“This is where I came to fantasize about bringing the women I wanted to fuck.”

Grier whined beneath the light hold at her throat, the sound vibrating through Tobin’s palm. She hadn’t realized she’dpinned Grier against the wall with her hips until Grier bucked into her— delivering a delicious thrill of pressure right to her center.

Tobin pressed closer, grinding their hips together, pinning more of Grier’s body against the wall behind them. Grier gasped.

She reached her thumb up to Grier’s lip again, this time tipping it into Grier’s mouth. Grier sucked eagerly, eyes fluttering closed, and Tobin kissed the corner of her lips while she did.

“Tell me I can make my fantasies come true.” Her lips ghosted along Grier’s ear, her breath warm as she inhaled the scent of Grier’s musky perfume. Then, in a whisper that trembled with reverence and lust: “Can I fuck you, Grier?”

Grier’s breath hitched beneath her, pressing their chests together. Tobin slipped her thumb free, trailing her fingers from the soft hollow of Grier’s throat down to her breast. She palmed her firmly, grinning when she felt Grier’s nipple peak through the fabric.

She felt Grier nod against her cheek. But she wanted to hear Grier say it—to hear the want in her voice.

“Tell me, Cinderella,” Tobin murmured. “Tell me you want

me.”

She loosed a hot breath along the curve of Grier’s neck before