Uncommon Romance (3 page)

June gathered herself. She knew Ash wanted to work, but now that her own desire was slaked, the need to take care of Ash grew to the point where she couldn’t ignore her body’s plea. “Yeah? How about I watch you this time instead?”

She wasn’t sure Ash would agree. She knew Ash had her creative muse tugging at her brain, pulling her back to her workshop, but she really,
really
hoped she’d say yes.

Ashlyn hesitated for a moment and glanced over June’s shoulder to the backyard. She wore a smile when she returned her focus to June. “I think I can manage that.”

June led Ash down the hall to their bedroom, ready to make sure her wife didn’t regret her choice.

June waited until the last possible minute to enter the meeting. She reasoned that she’d been first last time, leaving plenty of room for Kat to sit next to her. This way she could settle quietly in the corner, where she could listen in peace without worrying about her body’s reaction to Kat’s obvious interest.

She opened the conference room door at three fifty-eight. If she could have made herself wait the extra two minutes, she would have entered at four on the nose, but her work ethic was too firmly engrained for her to push that far.

As she hoped, the chairs surrounding the table were full, and a few people had already selected seating around the perimeter of the room. All the chairs, except one. Kat sat in the same location as last time, and the seat next to her, June’s seat, was empty.

Kat smiled and beckoned her over. “June, I saved you a seat.” Kat stretched her name out into a long seductive purr that was better suited for the bedroom.

June clutched her folder to her chest and forced her legs to work. To select another place at this point would create a scene and possibly get her fired.

“Thanks.” She eased into the chair, careful not to brush against Kat. She slid the chair a few inches away from Kat, far enough to give her a little room to breathe, but not so far as to crowd the other person.

Kat matched her movement seamlessly, aligning her chair with June’s. “I was afraid you weren’t going to make it.” She spoke quietly, just to June rather than the room. She touched June’s arm lightly and leaned in slightly.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to make you worry.” June searched for a believable reason for her late appearance, but couldn’t think with Kat’s fingers lingering on her skin. She considered it a win that she didn’t blurt out, “I was avoiding you.”

The statement would have been only partially true anyway. Since their last meeting, June hadn’t been able to clear her mind. Images of Kat, the smell of her perfume, the smoky seduction in her voice, all of it, haunted her throughout the day. Yes, it’d resulted in some amazingly dirty sex with Ash. God, the words that came out of Ash’s mouth. She’d been absolutely filthy as she talked June through orgasm after orgasm featuring Kat as inspiration.

But there was a thick, solid line between fantasy and reality, and June knew better than to step over it. As fascinated as she was with the temptation, there was no way she would act upon it. Arriving late was her effort to avoid a divorce. Kat just happened to play a key role in that.

Without anything better to offer, June left the apology for arriving last hanging in the air with no further explanation.

“No matter. You’re here now.” Kat removed her hand and turned her attention toward the rest of the room. “We can begin whenever you’re ready.”

June sagged with relieve and regret at the loss of Kat’s touch. She wasn’t young and idealistic enough to believe that her body shouldn’t react when she was attracted to another woman. She knew the biology of sex just didn’t work that way. But that didn’t erase the vows she’d shared with her wife. As much as she enjoyed Kat’s attention, and oh how she enjoyed it, she valued her life with Ash more. She would do anything to protect that, including deny her own libido, despite the fact that it went into overdrive when Kat so much as smiled in her direction.

Midway through Simmons’s opening remarks, Kat angled her body slightly and pressed her leg against June’s. She kept her attention focused on Simmons, her face calm and interested.

During the last meeting, June had worn a skirt, but Kat had on slacks. While the touch of her leg had been distracting, it hadn’t been catastrophic. Today, they were both wearing skirts. June cursed the warm weather as she felt an electric impulse surge up her leg where Kat’s bare skin touched hers, ankle to knee. Her brain fizzled out and stopped working completely. So much for making a better showing at this meeting.

Thankfully, she wasn’t asked to contribute. She was left to suffer through her own private version of torment, to be tempted by a fruit she could never actually taste. She wondered if that was the appeal for Kat, if she got off on the power dynamics of hitting on the one woman in the room who was clearly off limits.

God knew she wasn’t the only lesbian in the room. There were at least two others, and one self-designated straight girl who had a reputation for experimenting. And, to top it off, they were all single. Still, Kat had singled her out, and as much as June wanted to be left alone, she also didn’t want to share. Kat was intoxicatingly sexy and June luxuriated in her presence.

The meeting ended with celebrations. Kat agreed to sign the contract but asked for some time for her legal team to review the language contained in it. Simmons brought in two bottles of chilled champagne, and before she could protest, Kat placed a glass in her hands. She cupped her hands around June’s to hold them in place on the glass.

Kat smiled and said, “I insist.”

June thought of cheesy lines about Kat trying to get her drunk, but all she said was, “Thank you.” She had to remind herself to drink slowly three different times. When Simmons finished his first glass, she took that as a sign she could down the remaining swallows left in hers.

“Another?” Kat’s eyes crinkled with encouragement that didn’t quite muster a full smile. She reached for the bottle, but June placed her hand over the top of her glass.

“No, I have to drive home.”

Kat eased her hand out of the way and filled the glass anyway. “I’ll give you a ride. I have a driver.”

“I don’t think my wife would like that very much.”

“Ah yes, your wife. Ashlyn.” Kat sipped her champagne. Her first glass was still mostly full.

June tried to recall if she’d mentioned Ash by name the last time she met with Kat. She didn’t think so but couldn’t remember for certain. She pushed the full glass of champagne away, the physical distance to keep her from drinking any more. She was a slight woman. Another glass would affect her judgment, and Kat was doing a pretty good job of that without adding any more alcohol.

“It’s time for me to excuse myself.” June stood. “My wife is expecting me at home.” She was uncertain if she kept using the term “my wife” for Kat’s benefit or her own.

“I’ll walk out with you.” Kat rose gracefully and tucked her hand into the crook of June’s arm. “Lead the way.”

Stunned by the sudden, blatant public contact, June stood immobile. She stared at Kat’s hand on her arm but couldn’t bring herself to speak.

Kat gave her arm a playful squeeze. “You okay?”

June blinked and shook her head. When she opened her eyes, Kat was still there, hanging from her arm like she belonged. Rather than cause a scene, she nodded and led Kat out of the room. As before, she stopped at her office before heading to her car. This time, however, she closed the door behind them. She didn’t want to be overheard. Simmons would frown upon the things she needed to say to Katerina.

As soon as the door clicked shut, she pulled Kat’s hand from her arm and dropped it. “What are you doing?”

Kat smiled, slow and sexy. She traced a finger along the inside edge of June’s open V-neck, barely brushing the skin there. “What do you mean?”

June took a step back. Kat took a step forward. They continued like that until June’s backside hit the edge of her desk and she could go no farther. Kat stepped into the opening between June’s legs and placed her hands on June’s hips. The combination of Kat’s perfume, the champagne, and her hands upon her hips made June’s head spin. She stared at the picture of her and Ash over Kat’s shoulder.

“I can’t do this.” Her voice came out weak and uncertain. If she were Kat, she wouldn’t have believed her.

Kat flexed her grip, her fingers digging in slightly at June’s waist. “Do what?” She angled her head as she spoke until their mouths lined up perfectly for a kiss. June could feel Kat’s breath puff against her lips.

June closed her eyes and counted. She had seconds to get herself out of a potentially divorce-inspiring situation, and she couldn’t clear her head enough to think. Everything she did, everywhere she looked, appeared layered in clouds. The only thing she could focus on was the desire in Kat’s eyes and the temptation of her full, red lips.

Kat shifted closer, bringing her mouth close enough for June to feel the exchange of static pulse that happens the moment before two opposite forces connect. She thought of the moment when Ash first kissed her. They’d been kids, still in college, and they’d stayed suspended in that perfect moment seemingly forever before Ash finally pressed close enough to touch. It was the one moment of absolute pure perfection in June’s life.

June snapped her eyes open and gasped. Kat was
so
close, ready to snatch away the only thing June ever truly valued, her love for Ash and the sanctity of their vows. She spun to the side, freeing herself from Kat’s embrace just as Kat moved in to complete the kiss.

Kat stumbled forward with a curse. She hit the desk and opened her eyes. The desire was gone, replaced with a flash of anger. “What the hell?”

June wrapped her arms around her middle and took a deep breath. She focused on the rise and fall of her chest and refused to acknowledge Kat. The picture of Ash was just out of her line of sight, and she was strangely relieved to not have to look at it right then. She took one last deep breath and straightened to her full height.

“I’m going to ask again, what are you doing?” The question came out level, almost stern, and June was proud of herself.

Kat adjusted her clothes and brushed her hands over her skirt. “I thought that was rather obvious.”

“I’m married.”

“Yes.”

“That means something to me.”

“Good. A couple shouldn’t enter into a marriage unless it means a great deal to both parties.” She stepped close to June again and lightly rubbed her hand over June’s arm.

June stared at Kat’s lips and lost her train of thought. She licked her own as said, “I love Ashlyn.”

“Good.” Kat’s touch on her arm became bolder, and her hand moved up to her shoulder. She played with the strands of June’s hair. “That’s very good.” The sentence came out as a distracted whisper as she moved closer. She attempted to kiss June a second time.

June pressed her palm flat against Kat’s chest and pushed. She held her hand there, feeling the heavy pounding of Kat’s heart, to keep her from closing in on her again. “You can’t do that.” It would have sounded more convincing if she’d been able to stop staring at Kat’s lips and imagining how they would feel if she could just give in. One kiss. Such a small thing. Her hold on Kat slackened and Kat moved closer again.

“So beautiful.” Kat swept her hair out of the way and caressed her throat with the backs of her fingers. The touch was soft and sent tingles through her body.

“No.” June pushed her away again. It was a small thing that could ruin everything.

“I can feel the way your body reacts when I’m near. I’m not imagining this.”

June let Kat’s hand linger for half a beat too long, then stepped away from her completely. “What do you want me to say? Of course I feel it. You’re a beautiful, sexy woman. I’d have to be dead not to recognize that. But it doesn’t change anything. I love my wife.”

Kat blew a snort out her nostrils. It was the first unattractive thing June had seen her do. “Why do you keep telling me that? You obviously aren’t thinking of her when I touch you.”

That was close enough to the truth to make June’s face flush with embarrassment. “I love her. Nothing you say will change that.”

“And nothing you say will change the fact that you want me. And I want you.” Kat reached out for her again. This time she cupped her hand around June’s cheek and brushed her thumb over the skin.

“Stop it.” She jerked her head away.

“Would it make you feel better if she was here? Based on her picture, I have to say I’m not opposed to that.”

The invitation for Kat to come home with her, to spend the night with both of them, hovered in June’s mind. Everything Kat said was right. She wanted Kat very badly, just not at the expense of her relationship with Ashlyn. She wouldn’t sacrifice her marriage for a fuck, not even an incredibly seductive, rich fuck.

As much as she wanted to indulge the fantasy, to believe that Ash would respond favorably if she brought Kat to their home, she knew that wasn’t the case. They’d explored June’s attraction for Kat to exhaustion. Ash enjoyed the role play. She would not, however, enjoy having her sanctuary invaded by a predator. She might welcome an encounter with Kat, but she would not welcome being left out of the decision-making part of the fun.

“Excuse me.” June scooped her keys from the desk. “You’ll understand if I leave you to find your own way out.”

For the first time since she’d started, June went home without a stack of files to review. All she cared about was getting home to Ash and tilting her world back to center.

June found Ash still in her workshop. She stood in front of a canvas that was at least two feet taller than Ash and even wider across. For the moment, she stood back evaluating her progress, seemingly unaware of June’s presence. She held a broad paintbrush in her hand, one better suited to house painting than fine art. At her feet stood an open gallon container of bright-red acrylic paint.

“Hi, baby.” Before they graduated from college, June would spend hours watching Ash. She missed that time in their lives and could have stayed there, leaning against the doorframe, just watching. Eventually, though, Ash would realize she was there, and if that happened before she said hello, it would startle her. June didn’t want that.

“Hey there.” Ash set the brush on top of the paint can and crossed the room to stand before June. “I missed you today.”

“Yeah?” The front of Ash’s overalls was covered in red and yellow paint. There was a little bit of blue toward the bottom of one leg, but that looked more like an out-of-control splash had caught Ash than her usual practice of using her pants as a towel.

“Yeah.” Ash kissed June, careful to keep their bodies from touching. June’s workday clothes wouldn’t survive being pressure-washed with a hose and draped over the line to dry.

When Ash pulled back, June studied her. She had her hair pulled up in a hasty bun that was half undone. She doubted Ash had done more than comb her fingers through it before putting it up that morning. She had brushstrokes of paint on her face—one on her cheek and the other just above her eyebrow. The knees of her overalls were worn to thread, and skin showed through in places.

“We should get you a new pair of these.” June fingered the strap of fabric over Ash’s shoulder that held the overalls on her body. She wondered if Ash had remembered underwear that morning. More often than not, she didn’t.

Ash looked down at herself, registering for the first time, June guessed, how beat-up her clothes were. She shrugged. “They’ll last awhile longer.”

June nodded. “They will.” She popped the button on one side free and the overalls drooped from one shoulder. She smiled, kissed Ash carefully, then popped the button on the other side. The overalls fell to the ground and pooled around Ash’s feet. “I still like you better without them.”

“Oh?”

Avoiding the few stray blotches of paint on the front of her smock, June deliberately opened button after button. She stared into Ash’s eyes the entire time, and by the time it fell open in the front, Ash’s pupils were dilated so much she could see only the slightest outline of blue around the rim.

“Definitely.” June laid her palm flat against Ash’s abdomen, her muscles rigid and hard beneath June’s fingers. The skin twitched and flexed, and June smiled.

She eased her hand down and urged Ash to spread her legs. She shuffled her feet as wide as they would go with the material around them. It was far enough for her to slip her fingers between Ash’s lips and feel the moisture pooling at the opening of her cunt.

Normally June would take her time. She’d kiss Ash’s body and suck her nipples until Ash threatened to fall apart just from that stimulation alone. She’d tease her clit and drop to her knees to taste Ash on her tongue. Not tonight. This time she needed to feel Ash from the inside, to get lost inside her and remember the way she felt wrapped up in her wife. She needed to feel Ash as she tightened around her. She needed to immerse herself in Ash as she cried out in orgasm.

Most of all, she needed to forget the way her body had reacted to Katerina’s touch, to her almost-kiss earlier that afternoon inside June’s office. She’d closed the door, locked it, with the intention of talking without interruption, and it’d taken every bit of her strength to walk away when all she’d wanted to do was fall into Kat. She wanted to see if the fire Kat brought to the surface with even the slightest touch ran deeper than surface level.

June sank her fingers knuckle-deep into Ash and held them there. Ash stared into her eyes and gripped her forearm tight enough for her fingers to indent June’s skin.

She let Ash grow accustomed to the feel of her, pulsing her fingers occasionally just to watch Ash gasp silently and grip her arm a little tighter before relaxing her hold.

“Ready?” June pulled out even as she asked the question. She wanted to fuck Ash and she’d never been denied before. She didn’t expect her to start now.

Ash sucked her bottom lip into her mouth and worried it between her teeth, then nodded slowly. June thrust in hard and fast, then did it again without pausing. She wasn’t interested in the slow build, the careful buildup. She wanted to feel Ash come now. Right now.

Ash whimpered, a sweet, needy noise that said she wanted more, that she could take more. June added another finger and kept thrusting as hard and as fast as her body would allow. Ash’s cunt grew sloppy and wet, and she felt the familiar tug as Ash flexed and released deep inside. She was very close.

“Touch yourself.” June rarely asked Ash to participate in the creation of her own orgasm. She wanted the thrill of doing it all on her own. But the position was awkward, and it was taking longer than June liked. She’d wanted Ash’s orgasm before she ever even touched her. That it’d only been a few minutes was irrelevant. She wanted it all now.

Ash kept her grip on June’s forearm, adding pressure and urgency to her thrusts, but she moved her other hand from June’s shoulder to her clit. She groaned at first contact, then set a fast pace to match June thrusting inside her.

“Yes, baby, let me see you come. Let me feel it.”

Ash’s eyes squeezed shut and her head arched back. Her whole body drew tight and then shook as she came. She held June’s hand immobile, her fingers buried deep inside, until her body finally went slack and June slipped free.

“Not done yet.” June dropped to her knees like she’d wanted, but hadn’t been allowed, and separated Ash’s folds until her clit stood exposed, hard, and glistening with arousal.

She licked carefully around the tip, and Ash slipped her hands into her hair, twisting her fingers until the hair pulled tight at June’s scalp. Her body hadn’t had enough time to recover. June knew this from years spent learning the planes and contours of her body. Still, she felt her growing tight again, the muscles in her legs becoming rigid and hard. June smiled, then flicked her tongue over Ash’s clit.

Ash cried out and held June tight against her. Already she was close to the edge of release again. June brought Ash into her mouth and worked her with the flat of her tongue, circling and flicking and just enjoying the taste and feel of this woman, this perfect woman who loved her.

“God, June…” Ash tensed, then orgasmed hot and wet onto June’s tongue. June kept licking as Ash slumped over her body and didn’t stop until Ash pulled her head away. “No more, God, I can’t take any more.”

June sat back on her heels and wiped her mouth on the back of her hand. This wasn’t their most eloquent or romantic encounter, but it’d given her exactly what she needed.

Ash tugged on her until she stood. She looked into Ash’s eyes and smiled at the satisfaction reflected back at her. She kissed Ash then, slow and sweet. She let her tongue explore, slipping it into Ash’s mouth and simply feeling her.

When the kiss ended naturally, Ash pulled her into a hug. “I guess you missed me, too.”

Ash pulled her close and inhaled deeply until she forgot everything except the scent of her wife’s body after orgasm, mixed with the chemical tang of acrylic paint. “You have no idea,” she whispered into Ash’s hair.

“Does this mean your meeting went well?”

June sighed and pulled back. They had to talk about the events of that afternoon, but she wasn’t at all happy about it. “I have no idea.”

“What do you mean?” Ash cupped June’s cheek, her palm burning an impression over the one Kat had left earlier. “You did have the meeting, right?”

June buttoned up Ash’s smock. The bare expanse of skin distracted her, and she was tempted to work a third orgasm from Ash. There would be time for that later.

“We had the meeting. I just couldn’t focus.”

Ash led her over to a wicker couch in the corner. It was left over from a patio set long ago discarded. It was piled with soft pillows and a patchwork quilt that Ash had made during a crafty phase. June wanted to keep it in the house, but Ash insisted it belonged in her studio. She wrapped up in it on the nights when she was too tired, and too overcome with a project, to make it inside. It kept the wicker weave from leaving indentations on Ash’s bare skin because she slept naked more often than not.

“Did she sit next to you again?” Ash released June’s hair from the tight bun and smoothed her hand over it. The motion was comforting and arousing at the same time.

June nodded, then leaned into Ash’s touch.

“I thought you had a plan.”

“I did. I entered the meeting last, thinking I could slip into a perimeter chair unnoticed. But she saved a seat for me.”

“And you had to take it. You can’t be blatantly rude to a client in the middle of a meeting.” Ash’s voice was soothing. She spoke softly, carefully, and released her words like caresses over June’s skin. June never knew if Ash did it on purpose, if she knew how deeply it affected June when she adopted that tone, or if that was just her natural response when someone was distressed. Thank God she’d never seen her do it with anyone else. She’d have been arrested for assault after she punched the person out. This time with Ash wasn’t something she was willing to share.

“Right.”

“Did she touch you again?” Ash’s voice took on an edge, but was still low and melodious.

“She pressed her leg against mine again, yes. This time she was wearing a skirt.”

Ash’s breath hitched, but she kept stroking June’s hair. “Bare skin?”

June’s eyes slipped shut and she nodded. The sense memory was too much to ignore.

“What else?” Ash rested one hand on June’s thigh and teased the edge of her skirt.

“I couldn’t focus again. I have no idea what was said, but she agreed to sign the contract, so my boss is happy. They served champagne.”

Ash pushed the fabric up and urged June to lift her hips. She inched it up until it bunched around June’s waist.

“Champagne?”

“Mmm…It was good stuff, too. I should have paid attention to the brand. You would like it.”

“You were a little distracted.” Ash moved her hand restlessly over June’s thighs, marking a random pattern with her fingers that occasionally dipped between her legs and pressed against the juncture of her thighs. She kissed June’s throat, her lips delicate and hot against her skin. “How many glasses did you have?”

“Just one.” June eased her legs apart slightly. She knew Ash would let her know when she wanted greater access, but she’d been so frustrated, for so long, she couldn’t help but offer encouragement. “She poured me a second, but I didn’t drink it.”

“Why not?”

“I wanted to be able to drive, to come home to you.”

“And two glasses would have prevented that?”

“Two glasses would have led to three and three would have led to four.”

Ash pressed her lips close to June’s but didn’t kiss her. “And four would have led to?”

Ash slipped her fingers beneath the fabric of June’s panties but didn’t move. June moaned. “She offered to give me a ride home. She has a driver.”

“So four glasses would have landed you in her backseat.” Ash massaged a slow circle over June’s clit one time, then stopped again.

“Yes.” June barely kept herself from begging.

“Why didn’t you?”

“You wouldn’t have liked it.”

Ash pulled her hand free and brought her fingers to June’s lips. She pushed them into June’s mouth and said, “I wouldn’t? Why not?”

June licked and sucked Ash’s fingers but couldn’t track the conversation properly. Ash sounded disappointed that she hadn’t brought Kat home with her that night. “You want me to bring her here? To our house?”

“Don’t you want to?” Ash replaced her fingers with her tongue. She kissed June deeply, deep enough, June thought, to find the answer to her question.

They were off track. There was more she needed to tell Ash, and instead they were getting lost in the fantasy. She wrenched her mouth away. “She tried to kiss me.”

Ash’s hand stilled, the tips of her fingers barely inside the lace of her panties. “What?”

June looked into Ash’s eyes. “She tried to kiss me.”

“Tried? As in didn’t succeed?”

“Right. I didn’t let her.”

“Good.” Ash started moving again. Her fingers brushed against June’s clit and slipped lower until they rested at the opening of her pussy. They glided easily through the moisture gathered there. “Did you want her to? Kiss you.” She rolled her knuckles through June’s desire, then over her clit.

June bucked against her. “God, yes.”

“Yes, you wanted to kiss her?”

June gulped and nodded. “Yes.”

Ash slipped her fingers inside June and curved them until she touched June’s G-spot. “Is that what made you this wet?”

June shook her head and said, “No…yes…I don’t know.” She bucked her hips against Ash’s hand.

Ash withdrew. “You don’t know? You don’t know if you want her? If she turns you on?”

“She does, yes.”

Ash slipped back inside and pushed until she bottomed out. “Good girl.”

June groaned. “But not as much as you do.”

“No?” Ash slipped out again and teased the tip of her finger over June’s clit. “Are you sure? You’re really wet.”

June held perfectly still and whimpered as Ash fingered her clit until she was hard and balancing on the edge of orgasm.

When Ash pressed her lips to her ear and whispered, “Next time bring her home with you,” June came with a shout. Her body drew tight and flew apart as Ash’s words traveled from her brain to her cunt with a visceral jolt.

“God.” She curled up in Ash’s arms. “The things you do to me.”

“I’m serious, June.” Ash pulled back until June was able to look into her eyes. “Bring her home.”

“Are you sure?” They’d played in the past, but never quite like this. June stared hard into Ash’s eyes for some sign that this wasn’t what she really wanted. She found nothing but open, honest desire.