Page 67 of The Ampersand Effect
Grier held her breath, anticipation blooming with every passing second.
“How do you feel about an old-fashioned make-out session?” Tobin asked, that mischievous smile cocking slightly to one side.
Grier’s libido raged inside her, her center clenching in anticipation.Fuck, yes!her mind screamed internally.
Tobin understood the acceptance in her eyes and offered her hand.
“Boundaries?” Grier asked. They’d need them if they were going to have any chance of stopping this before it went too far, too soon. She refused to grant her carnal urges power in a situation that could very well be emotionally damning. She desperately wanted to avoid Tobin regretting their growing entanglement.
Tobin’s eyes flitted to the ceiling as she considered. “Clothes stay on.”
“Fair. Groping allowed?” Grier pressed, knowing full well her hunger was obvious.
Tobin’s eyes returned, locking onto hers with laser precision. “Under the shirt, over the bra. Above the waist… We stay upright.”
Grier stood in front of her, pretending to contemplate. Tobin could have told her no tongue, and she would have agreed if it meant she got to taste her again.
“I accept your terms. Where—”
Tobin grinned, full and wide. “Let’s move to the fire pit downstairs.” She started to lead the way.
Grier acted before she could overthink it. She grabbed Tobin’s hand, spun her around, and pressed the tips of her fingers into her sternum. She walked her backward two steps to the wall and heard Tobin’s lighthumphwhen her head made contact. But she couldn’t stop her own momentum. She reached up to run her fingers along Tobin’s neck and into her hair, pulling her head down to meet hers. She closed the gap between them—the one they’d been fighting for hours.
Tobin met her, lip for lip, and—eagerly—tongue to tongue. When she tickled Tobin’s palate with the tip of her tongue and elicited a clit-clenching moan from her throat, she pulled away, breathless and aroused. And not the least bit sated—which was exactly what she wanted. She could play the long game. She’d enjoy this slow, sultry tease.
She watched Tobin’s face as she opened her eyes, disbelieving that the kiss had ended as quickly as it had started.
In her most wickedly seductive voice, Grier leaned forward and whispered into Tobin’s ear, “Thought I’d put both of us out of our misery and set the tone.” She internalized a little giggle as she watched Tobin try to unstupify herself. She moved toward the stairs, stopped, and looked over her shoulder at Tobin, whose back and hands were still plastered to the wall.
“And, Tobin?” She waited for Tobin’s eyes to find hers. “I’m gonna need you to use your hands.”
She could no longer contain her giggle as she watched Tobin look at her hands and groan, flinging her head back in frustration.
Tobin peeled herself from the wall and hurriedly trotted to catch up with her.
Grier couldn’t wipe the smug grin off her face. She realized she had missed this—the ceaseless want for another woman. The desire to explore her mind along with every inch of her body. She wanted Tobin, wanted to feel their skin collide, to alight together at the contact, descending into a mutual conflagration of need. And this slow burn of a romance they’d agreed to only increased her want for Tobin—her need to know her, what made her tick, what made her body hum. She swallowed an arousing hum of pleasure deep in her throat at the thought of learning all the ways Tobin’s body could respond to hers.
Tobin led them down the stairs and outside to a cozy circular couch surrounding the fire pit. She guided Grier to a seat and watched with tender bemusement as Tobin fumbled for something, clearly flustered. Her frazzled searching was adorable, filling Grier with a growing sense of affection that cozied deep in her chest. Finally, Tobin found the lighter she’d been looking for and reached into the fire pit to ignite the wood.
The patio was dark except for the firelight and the soft glow of twinkling filament lightbulbs hung in diagonal strips above them. Soft instrumental music played through the speakers, and Grier recognized the station she had played for Tobin in her basement— Taylor Swift’s Instrumental Radio. The atmosphere was whimsical and cozy, and Grier allowed herself the indulgence of realizing that her life had, somehow, become so fantastical.
Tobin disappeared behind her. Moments later, she was engulfed in a blanket that Tobin quickly cozied under as well. Tobin found her hand and interlaced their fingers, resting them gently across her chest while wrapping her other arm around Grier, drawing them closer. Grier snuggled into the crook of Tobin’s arm, her head on her chest. “I recall you mentioning that you’re a blanket thief,” Tobin crooned. “Consider this one freely given, but the terms of use include snuggling.”
Grier sighed contentedly—it was all she could offer in the moment.
She felt a gentle caress of Tobin’s fingers along her arm as they nestled into each other. Once again, Grier found herself suspending her disbelief—how could their bodies fit so perfectly, so naturally, as if they’d been following these same motions for years? Her edges blended seamlessly into Tobin’s, and she struggled to remember where hers ended and Tobin’s began.
She closed her eyes, wondering if that same seamlessness would apply to the bedroom—if their unspoken connection would be as explosive as her fantasies.
“I have to admit I’m rather impressed by the rapt attention you seemed to pay me at the gala. I don’t even remember the blanket comment.”
“It’s not difficult for me to pay attention to you Grier. You’re rather bewitching,” she said, continuing to stroke Grier’s arm.
They rested on each other in comfortable silence. Grier listened to the steady beat of Tobin’s heart through her chest, far too steady for her liking—but she knew that would change. For now, she was content to listen to the crackle of the fire, the background crash of waves against the cliffs, and feel the gentle rise and fall of Tobin’s chest beneath her head.
Tucked into the crook of Tobin’s shoulder, her eyes fell on Tobin’s collarbone and the gentle swell of her breast. She felt the stirrings of desire return and inhaled a steadying breath that didnothing but heighten her arousal, carrying Tobin’s intoxicating cologne with it.
Grier gently untangled their blanketed fingers and began running her fingertips along Tobin’s arms. She felt Tobin’s skin pebble under her touch, and her own heartbeat picked up in reply. She closed her eyes, taking her time, using her voluntary blindness to heighten her other senses and to learn Tobin’s subtle reactions to her strokes. They were supposed to be taking things slow, and as much as she wanted to lay this woman bare, she reveled in these quiet, tentative moments of exploration.