Thirteen Hours (19 page)

Dana arched her back and clutched at the bedsheets. “Fuck,” she gasped. “You’re going to make me come, if you’re not careful.”

Laurel drew back and revealed a smile that was shiny with Dana’s juices. “Not yet,” she murmured. “First I want to lick you until you scream.”

“Why so mean?” Dana said, groaning.

Laurel lowered her face and dragged her tongue up the length of Dana’s sex. She pulled back with her tongue still extended, showing Dana the shiny string of wetness that still connected them. “You like it when I’m mean,” she murmured, and resumed licking in earnest.

Next to a VHS tape labeled
Elevator Two—Surveillance
that sat on the nightstand beside Laurel’s bed, Dana’s cell phone came alive.

Set on a ring-and-vibrate combination, it was a buzzing, beeping distraction that proved impossible to ignore.

“Goddamn it,” Dana growled. The phone was vibrating its way toward the edge of the nightstand.

Laurel lifted her head. “Just ignore it.”

Dana gave Laurel a playful smile and pushed her face back between her legs. “Did I say you could stop?”

The cell phone continued to ring. Incessant…obnoxious…distracting… Dana snatched it up and gasped “Hello?” without looking at the display. Laurel chose that exact moment to slide a finger inside her pussy, beginning a slow thrusting in time with the sucking of her mouth.

“Dana?” A pause, and then, “Are you okay?”

“Scott.” Dana bit back another gasp as Laurel began rubbing a particularly sensitive spot somewhere inside. “Yes, okay. I am.” She tugged on Laurel’s hair and tried to back up a little, but the headboard kept her in place, and at Laurel’s mercy.

“You’re talking like Yoda,” Scott said with cautious amusement, no doubt waiting for her to snap at him for the teasing. But post-Laurel Dana was far more mellow than the Dana of old. And extremely preoccupied.

“I’m fine,” she managed.

She slid her hand down the curve of Laurel’s jaw, feeling it working beneath her fingers, and attempted to pry her lover’s mouth away from her clit. She couldn’t hold a conversation like this. She couldn’t even hold a thought in her head.

Laurel giggled into Dana’s wetness, making her toes curl at the unusual sensation.

Scott said something else, she had no idea what. She struggled to think. “Listen, um… could we do this another time?”

Scott didn’t speak for a few moments, leaving her free to concentrate on the sensual treatment she was receiving. She jerked in surprise when he finally said, “But the Web site launches tomorrow. When do you want to talk about this?”

Dana bit her lip, stifling a cry of pleasure as Laurel flicked her tongue fast over her distended clit. “I have to hang up, Scott. Let’s talk later.”

“Too busy to talk shop? Shall I send a medic?”

Dana’s toes curled as she tried desperately to stave off what promised to be a crippling orgasm. “That might not be a bad idea.” She groaned in disappointment when Laurel pulled away from her pussy and gestured for the cell phone with her free hand. One finger on the other hand remained buried deep inside Dana.

“Really?” Scott asked. “I was just kidding, but—”

The cell phone slid from her hand, extracted by Laurel. Shooting Dana a mischievous smile, she asked, “Scott?” Her voice was low and husky, and it sent chills up Dana’s spine.

She was too happy with her life to give the fact that her lover was talking to Scott a second thought. Her lover. Dana grinned and threw her arm over her eyes, content to enjoy a moment of respite. Maybe she could cool down and draw this out a little longer.

Laurel chuckled at something Scott said. “Hey, this is Laurel.”

After a moment she amended, “Venus. This is Venus, the girl you hired to dance for Dana?”

Dana shifted, feeling every inch of the finger that still rested inside her. Venus. That was kind of sexy.

“Yeah, how are you doing?” Laurel asked. She giggled, then said, “At first, yeah. Not now.”

Dana tilted her head, wishing she could listen in on the phone call. What could Scott possibly be thinking? Almost immediately, she accepted the obvious. He had known she liked women, without her ever having trusted him enough to tell him. He knew damn well what was going on.

“Listen, this really isn’t a very good time for Dana to talk. We’re…a little busy.” Impatient for the phone conversation to end, Dana reached between her thighs and gripped Laurel’s wrist. She began moving Laurel’s hand herself, thrusting inside her own pussy with deep, long strokes. Dana peeked out from beneath her arm and watched Laurel grin.

“Oh, and Scott?” Laurel met Dana’s gaze tenderly. “We need to set up a time to meet so I can return the money you paid me.”

Dana’s chest grew heavy with pleasure. She continued to work Laurel’s hand between her legs, feeling a need that was only partially about sexual release. The connection she felt with Laurel existed on so many levels and transcended anything she had ever imagined. Laurel shot her a mischievous look, raising her eyebrow. Suspecting what was about to happen, Dana nodded. Why not?

Laurel snorted, a silly noise that sent a wash of affection through Dana’s body. “Yeah, I’m sure. I don’t want to feel like I got paid for what I’m doing to Dana right now.”

Oh, to see the look on Scott’s face. Dana was surprised to find herself pleased by the disclosure, and incredibly turned on. She had been wanting to shout this from the rooftops. Telling Scott was a great start.

“He says congratulations,” Laurel said.

“I say I’ll call him back later. And thanks.”

“Hear that?” Laurel said to Scott. “Thank you. You, too. Bye.” She clicked the phone off and handed it to Dana. “There you go. Distraction eliminated.”

“You naughty little thing.” Dana took the phone from Laurel, powered it down, and tossed it back onto the nightstand. “I ought to spank you for that.”

Laurel grinned and lowered her face until the wet curls between Dana’s thighs brushed against her chin. “Not until I make you scream.”

A M
ONTH
L
ATER

L
aurel stood in the front foyer of Dana’s parents’ house as her lover extricated them from their inaugural evening as a couple with her family. Dinner had been eaten, conversation had grown forced, and Laurel was ready to escape.

“Thank you both for coming,” Dana’s father said. Zach Watts was a tall man with a reserved bearing that made him look mildly in pain.

“Thanks for inviting us.” Dana gave her mother a quick, awkward hug. “Dinner was great, Mom.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it.” Vicki Watts flashed a cautious smile full of hope at Laurel. She was a plump woman with shoulder-length auburn hair. Just like Dana’s.

“It was wonderful, Mrs. Watts.”

Zach Watts wore a wide, nervous grin as his gaze shifted between Dana and Laurel. “It was so nice to meet you, young lady.”

“Yeah, it was,” Trevor agreed from the door frame of the living room. “It’s great to finally meet Dana’s
girlfriend
.”

He gave Laurel a lazy grin, and she wondered if she’d imagined his emphasis on the word “girlfriend.” For Dana’s family, her involvement with
anyone
was obviously a novel concept, let alone her involvement with someone of the same sex. Laurel withstood another lingering appraisal from his hungry eyes. If he were not Dana’s younger brother she would probably have cut him down with a withering remark that called his manhood into question.

All night she’d felt on display, and she could sense Dana’s unease that they were both under a microscope. Laurel wasn’t surprised by the intense scrutiny and she didn’t feel that the Watts family had a negative view of her, or of Dana. It had to be strange for them to see their daughter in a completely different light.

Laurel grinned around at the three of them, trying to muster up the confidence she’d always had onstage.
Dazzle ‘em, sexpot.
“We’ll have to do this again before too long.”

She meant it. She could see why Dana would want to avoid awkward family occasions, but Laurel suspected that the Watts would chill out if she and Dana visited with them regularly.

Zach beamed at her. “You’re right, we will.” He pulled a tense Dana into a tight hug. “How about it, pumpkin pie?”

Laurel fought not to giggle at the nickname, or at the way Dana’s cheeks flooded bright red.

As Dana backed out of his arms, she said, “Sounds good to me, Dad.”

She took Laurel’s hand but they didn’t get more than two paces toward the front door before Trevor approached Dana with a mischievous smirk. Pulling her into a hard hug, throwing her off balance for a moment, he growled. “Nice to see you again, sis.” He took a step back and moved as if to haul Laurel into a similar embrace.

Oh, you’d love that, wouldn’t you, pal?
Laurel resisted the urge to shrink away. She breathed a sigh of relief when she felt Dana’s arm around her waist. Trevor gave Dana a knowing look and leaned close to her ear, murmuring, “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

“Too late,” Dana whispered, low enough that her parents couldn’t hear. She stepped past her brother and wished everyone good night.

“Thank you again, Mrs. Watts,” Laurel said as she and Dana made it through the front door.

“Call me Vicki, okay?”

Her smile was genuinely warm, but Laurel detected a lingering anxiety. She sensed Vicki Watts was as relieved as Dana that the evening was ending. “See you again soon, Vicki,” she said and felt Dana tense slightly.

Zach showed them out, and he and Vicki stood side by side at the front door to watch them walk to Dana’s car.

When Laurel climbed into the passenger seat, Dana greeted her with a tired sigh. “So how bad was it?”

“Well, I’m still crazy about you. So I guess it wasn’t too bad.”

“And my brother?” Dana gave Laurel a wry smile as they fastened their seat belts. “I’m sorry he’s such a…guy.”

Aware that Dana’s parents were still watching them, Laurel managed not to lean over and kiss her right there. “He’s fine,” she said.

“The novelty will wear off soon, don’t worry.”

“It’d better.” Dana started the car with a grumpy snort. “I wanted to slug him about forty-eight times tonight.”

“But I only caught him staring at my tits forty-six times.”

Dana growled and backed out of the driveway.

“I’m kidding.” Laurel curled her fingers around the back of Dana’s neck, giving her a tender squeeze. “It was thirty-eight times.”

“Laurel—”

“Men look at my tits all the time.” And they paid for the opportunity, a fact she didn’t state, knowing Dana preferred not to be reminded.

Trevor might have been a little creepy, but there was nothing sinister about his roving eyes. He was just a prisoner of his hormones like any other twenty-three-year-old male.

“Are you trying to make me feel better?”

“Is it working?” Laurel asked.

“Not at all. I’m jealous.”

There, Dana thought. She’d admitted it. All night she had been struggling with irrational feelings of jealousy each time she caught Trevor ogling Laurel. She knew Trevor was just being a pain-in-theass younger brother, no doubt just trying to get under her skin. And it worked, but to an extent that shocked Dana. When she thought about Trevor or any other man staring at Laurel like she was some kind of sex object, it made her blood boil. God, she really wished Laurel wasn’t still dancing at that club.

Smiling, Laurel leaned over to rest her head on Dana’s shoulder.

The fire in Dana’s voice surprised her, and she sensed the emotion she saw was about more than just Trevor. Dana really was jealous, and over such a silly thing. Though Dana was always careful with her words, Laurel knew she hated thinking about men paying to see her body.

Normally that kind of protectiveness would rankle her, but she found that with Dana, it had the strange effect of turning her on. To know that Dana felt so strongly about her was a powerful aphrodisiac, and also a comfort.

She stared at the passing houses, at the neighborhood where her lover had grown up. The thought made her feel warm inside. “Your parents are nice,” she said.

“I think they really liked you,” Dana commented.

“Yeah?”

“Oh, yeah,” Dana said. She took one hand off the steering wheel and rested it on Laurel’s thigh. “I know it may have been hard to tell, with those frozen smiles on their faces.”

“They weren’t that bad,” Laurel protested. “I was really impressed, actually. They were surprisingly cool given that you just came out to them, you know? I could tell they were really trying.”

“Well, even beyond the fact that you’re basically the most incredible person in the world—”

“That goes without saying,” Laurel interrupted. She sat up and flashed her teeth at Dana, who gave her an indulgent nod.

“Honestly, I think my parents are so happy that I finally brought someone home, the fact that it’s a woman hardly bothers them.” Dana stared out the windshield, gazing at the traffic as they merged onto the freeway. “They probably thought I was going to be alone for the rest of my life.”

Laurel’s heart pounded as she turned the words over. So many possibilities danced through her head. Dana seldom spoke about the future, and when she did she seemed cagey. Laurel had no trouble picturing them together for the rest of her life, but Dana didn’t seem to think much further than the next time they would make love. Yet her comment raised Laurel’s hopes. Maybe she was starting to give her deepest dreams room, and maybe they included Laurel. She forced herself to calm down, reminding herself that she was content to move at Dana’s pace. Clearing her throat, she said, “I can’t imagine they thought you would never have a partner. They must know what an incredible woman you are.”

“Not like you do, believe me.”

“I’m glad they liked me, though,” Laurel said. “I like them, too.”

She paused. “And I
really
like their daughter.”

“Lucky her.”

“Damn right. Don’t you forget it.”

“You won’t let me, darling,” Dana murmured. She reached out and ran her finger along Laurel’s jawline. “Like I could forget, anyway, when I think about how wonderful my life has become every single day.”