More Than Paradise (32 page)

“Ash.” She was standing at the connecting door. Her smile had a fuzzy half-awake quality. “I was in your bed.”

As she came stumbling across the room in her white tank and panties, her guard down, her hair messed, Ash could hardly think straight. She caught her in a Þ erce embrace and for a long while they just stood there, clinging to one another. Then she remembered to be

• 218 •

MORE THAN PARADISE

a responsible adult and asked, “How are you feeling? Has the fever gone?”

“I’m not sure.” Charlotte drew back only enough to stare up at Ash with sleepy-eyed mischief. “I just got all hot.”

“That sounds serious.” Ash couldn’t quite stop her voice from shaking. “Maybe you need to lie down.”

She did, then, what any self-respecting Romeo would do. She swept Charlotte off her feet, one arm under her knees, and strode into the next room. There, she lowered her tenderly onto the bed. At least that was the general idea.

Only she didn’t feel tender. The demure temptress sprawled against the Þ ne pale sheets had summoned a predatory passion Ash could not fully control. And she didn’t try. She wanted a home in Charlotte’s arms without having to kill off parts of herself. She wanted Charlotte to know her. Yes…she’d just spent the entire trip home planning a slow, gentle return to intimacy. Maybe just kissing and cuddling to begin with. But now, she had a whole other agenda.

Uncertain how she should handle this homecoming all of a sudden, she moved onto the bed and propped herself on an elbow, leaning over Charlotte. “You know, we could give it a day or two. I mean, we’re not going anywhere.”

“Why wait?” Charlotte shifted so their bodies were aligned. Her eyes met Ash’s. She said, “Do something for me. Please.”

“Anything you want,” Ash whispered.

“Be who you are.” Charlotte ran a Þ ngertip over Ash’s lips. “I want to know.”

Ash’s throat closed. She caught Charlotte’s hand, placed a kiss in the palm, then gently placed it on the pillow above her head. “I love you,” she said, stripping away the fabric barriers between them. Her robe. Charlotte’s tank and panties.

“I love you, too.” Charlotte dropped her other hand up on the pillow. Both nestled above her head, the posture lifting her breasts. She opened her legs, offering herself.

Ash’s breathing changed as she laid claim to the body she could not stop craving. Charlotte’s nipples bumped against her palms. She was wet, the dark hair between her thighs clumped in a single mat.

Ash had to be inside of her. She dipped her Þ ngertips. A brief pang tore across her concentration as she thought about what had almost happened, how she wasn’t there to protect the woman she cherished.

• 219 •

JENNIFER FULTON

Charlotte’s hands smoothed over her head, caressing their way down to her shoulders. “I’m yours,” she said. “No one else’s.”

Their lips met and as Charlotte took her deep inside, Ash lost herself in the kiss she had always known was waiting for her somewhere.

Their bodies rocked in wordless accord, gradually inevitably building the bridge to bliss they would soon cross together. Then all thought was consumed and they were groaning and shuddering, pushing and straining, harder and faster, until time seemed to stop entirely. Flushed and shivering, they stared at one another, eyes wide with knowing.

Ash thought,
This is how it’s meant to be.
And in that second they collapsed in shuddering release, their hearts racing together, their bodies pulsing as one. Unable to move, unable to speak, they huddled together in the conspiracy of lovers, inscribing a language of their own in the secret hallways of their twinning souls.

When Charlotte could eventually summon words, she said in wonder, “It was always you. I always thought someone was out there, just waiting for me.”

Ash nodded. “I thought that, too. And I kissed a
lot
of frogs trying to run you to ground.”

Charlotte laughed and gave her a small prod. “Those days are over.”

“Really?” Ash wanted to hear it. A promise—maybe not the ultimate promise. It was too soon for guarantees. Yet nothing about their love had happened logically so far. She ran caressing Þ ngers over the soft planes of Charlotte’s face and prompted, “Tell me what you want for this…for us.”

Her lover angled her head pensively. “I want to say yes.” She covered Ash’s hand with her own. “Whatever this chance is, I want to take it.”

Ash brushed her lips over Charlotte’s in silent afÞ rmation and once more they devoted themselves to pleasure. Hours later, when they woke from another sated sleep, Charlotte followed the tattooed jade tendrils along Ash’s left shoulder to the white lotus ß ower above her collarbone. Now that she was close enough to kiss the skin it adorned, she could Þ nally read the inscription.

No one can ß ee death or love.

• 220 •

About the Author

New Zealand born, Jennifer Fulton resides in the Midwest with her partner, Fel, and a menagerie of animals. Her vice of choice is writing; however, she is also devoted to her wonderful daughter, Sophie, and her hobbies—ß y Þ shing, cinema, and Þ ne cooking.

Jennifer started writing stories almost as soon as she could read them, and never stopped. Under pen names Jennifer Fulton, Rose Beecham, and Grace Lennox she has published Þ fteen novels and a handful of short stories. She received a 2006 Alice B. award for her body of work and is a multiple GCLS “Goldie” Award recipient.

When she is not writing or reading, she loves to explore the mountains and prairies near her home, a landscape eternally and wonderfully foreign to her.

Jennifer can be contacted at [email protected].

Books Available From Bold Strokes Books
More Than Paradise
by Jennifer Fulton. Two women battle danger, risk all, and Þ nd in each other an unexpected ally and an unforgettable love. (978-1-933110-69-1)

Flight Risk
by Kim Baldwin. For Blayne Keller, being in the wrong place at the wrong time just might turn out to be the best thing that ever happened to her. (978-1-933110-68-4)
Rebel’s Quest, Supreme Constellations: Book Two
by Gun Brooke.

On a world torn by war, two women discover a love that deÞ es all boundaries. (978-1-933110-67-7)

Punk and Zen
by JD Glass. Angst, sex, love, rock. Trace, Candace, Francesca...Samantha. Losing control—and Þ nding the truth within.

BSB Victory Editions. (1-933110-66-X)
Stellium in Scorpio
by Andrews & Austin. The passionate reuniting of two powerful women on the glitzy Las Vegas Strip, where everything is an illusion and love is a gamble. (1-933110-65-1)
When Dreams Tremble
by Radclyffe. Two women whose lives turned out far differently than they’d once imagined discover that sometimes the shape of the future can only be found in the past. (1-933110-64-3)
The Devil Unleashed
by Ali Vali. As the heat of violence rises, so does the passion. A Casey Clan crime saga. (1-933110-61-9)
Fresh Tracks
by Georgia Beers. Seven women, seven days. A lot can happen when old friends, lovers, and a new girl in town get together in the mountains. (1-933110-63-5)

The Empress and the Acolyte
by Jane Fletcher. Jemeryl and Tevi Þ ght to protect the very fabric of their world…time. Lyremouth Chronicles Book Three. (1-933110-60-0)

Erotic Interludes 4: Extreme Passions
. Thirty of today’s hottest erotica writers set the pages aß ame with love, lust, and steamy liaisons.

(1-933110-58-9)

Storms of Change
by Radclyffe. In the continuing saga of the Provincetown Tales, duty and love are at odds as Reese and Tory face their greatest challenge. (1-933110-57-0)
Sleep of Reason
by Rose Beecham. Nothing is as it seems when Detective Jude Devine Þ nds herself caught up in a small-town soap opera. And her rocky relationship with forensic pathologist Dr. Mercy Westmoreland just got a lot harder. (1-933110-53-8)
Grave Silence
by Rose Beecham. Detective Jude Devine’s investigation of a series of ritual murders is complicated by her torrid affair with the golden girl of Southwestern forensic pathology, Dr. Mercy Westmoreland. (1-933110-25-2)
Erotic Interludes 3: Lessons in Love
ed. by Radclyffe and Stacia Seaman. Sign on for a class in love…the best lesbian erotica writers take us to “school.” (1-9331100-39-2)
Justice Served
by Radclyffe. Lieutenant Rebecca Frye and her lover, Dr. Catherine Rawlings, embark on a deadly game of hide-and-seek with an underworld kingpin who trafÞ cs in human souls.

(1-933110-15-5)

Justice in the Shadows
by Radclyffe. In a shadow world of secrets and lies, Detective Sergeant Rebecca Frye and her lover, Dr. Catherine Rawlings, join forces in the elusive search for justice. (1-933110-03-1)
A Matter of Trust
by Radclyffe. JT Sloan is a cybersleuth who doesn’t like attachments. Michael Lassiter is leaving her husband, and she needs Sloan’s expertise to safeguard her company. It should just be business—but it turns into much more. (1-933110-33-3)
Chance
by Grace Lennox. At twenty-six, Chance Delaney decides her life isn’t working so she swaps it for a different one. What follows is the sexy, funny, touching story of two women who, in Þ nding themselves, also Þ nd one another. (1-933110-31-7)
Stolen Moments: Erotic Interludes 2
by Stacia Seaman and Radclyffe, eds. Love on the run, in the ofÞ ce, in the shadows…Fast, furious, and almost too hot to handle. (1-933110-16-3)

Distant Shores, Silent Thunder
by Radclyffe. Dr. Tory King—along with the women who love her—is forced to examine the boundaries of love, friendship, and the ties that transcend time. (1-933110-08-2)
Beyond the Breakwater
by Radclyffe. One Provincetown summer, three women learn the true meaning of love, friendship, and family.

(1-933110-06-6)

Safe Harbor
by Radclyffe. A mysterious newcomer, a reclusive doctor, and a troubled gay teenager learn about love, friendship, and trust during one tumultuous summer in Provincetown. (1-933110-13-9)
Honor Reclaimed
by Radclyffe. In the aftermath of 9/11, Secret Service Agent Cameron Roberts and Blair Powell close ranks with a trusted few to Þ nd the would-be assassins who nearly claimed Blair’s life.

(1-933110-18-X)

Honor Guards
by Radclyffe. In a wild ßight for their lives, the president’s daughter and those who are sworn to protect her wage a desperate struggle for survival. (1-933110-01-5)
Love & Honor
by Radclyffe. The president’s daughter and her lover are faced with difÞ cult choices as they battle a tangled web of Washington intrigue for...love and honor. (1-933110-10-4)
Honor Bound
by Radclyffe. Secret Service Agent Cameron Roberts and Blair Powell face political intrigue, a clandestine threat to Blair’s safety, and the seemingly irreconcilable personal differences that force them ever farther apart. (1-933110-20-1)
Above All, Honor
by Radclyffe. Secret Service Agent Cameron Roberts Þ ghts her desire for the one woman she can’t have—Blair Powell, the daughter of the president of the United States. (1-933110-04-X)