A Sweet & Merry Christmas (3 page)

She felt a pressure on her side and turned
to look, seeing Jess squeezing onto the bench beside her. “Scooch
over, woman,” Jess said, pushing on her hip with her own. Tug
shifted, and Brandy moved with him, making room for Jess at the end
of the seat.

Tug complained, “There was a whole other
seat over there, girl. You didn’t have to work so hard at squishing
me.”

Wrapping her hand around Brandy’s wrist, she
pulled her hand over, threading their fingers together. “Yeah, but
then I couldn’t sit next to my hero.”

Tug nodded, “She was damned fierce in the
lot, wasn’t she? Ready to take that fucktard on all by
herself.”

“She was,” Jess agreed, her hand helping
warm Brandy’s suddenly-freezing fingers. “She got right up in that
dude’s face. Called him out for picking on little, old me.”

Brandy turned her head back and forth,
following
the conversation
with a grin on her
face.

“Not the smartest thing she could have
done,” he said, leaning forward to look across Brandy at Jess. “But
fierce.
Protecting her own.
Gotta respect
that, right?”

“Yeah, she was protecting me,” Jess said, a
note of surprise in her voice that made Brandy wonder how much
she’d had to drink so far tonight. “Does that mean—Tug, does that
mean I could be hers?”

God, I wish
, she thought, licking her
lips.

“Might do so, little one,” he said softly,
turning to look into Brandy’s face. “Might mean just that,
honey.”

Jess leaned into her
side,
and Brandy shivered at the contact, her breath
rapid and shallow and she bit her lips, closing her eyes. She felt
an absence on her other side, and opened her eyes to find Tug
extricating himself from the booth, climbing over the back of the
high-backed bench. He smiled at her and
nodded
as he swung his legs over, leaving her and Jess sitting alone in
the booth.

Resting her head on Brandy’s shoulder, Jess
wiggled in the seat, making herself more comfortable and opening
her mouth in a wide yawn. “I’m getting tired,” she complained,
“Mica had us in the office early today, getting a presentation
ready for some douche that didn’t even show for his meeting.” She
yawned
again,
and Brandy made a sympathetic
noise. She didn’t think she could speak coherently right now if
she’d tried.

“Tug said we’re staying here tonight,” Jess
rubbed her cheek up and down on Brandy’s collarbone, lightly
smacking her lips before yawning again.

Nodding in agreement, Brandy was acutely
aware of every inch of Jess’ body that was touching hers. From the
soft skin between her fingers, the pad of her thumb tracing slowly
back and forth across the sensitive inside of Brandy’s wrist, to
her strong arm draped across Brandy’s thigh. Jess’ hip, pressed
against hers where she rested on the seat, the heat from her body
where her side lay along Brandy’s ribs. Jess’ head softly resting
on her shoulder, her hair tickling the bare skin of her neck and
jaw.

“Do you know which room Tug meant?” Jess
asked quietly.

“Yeah,” she whispered. “Want me to show
you?”

Slowly peeling herself from Brandy’s side,
Jess stood but kept their hands twined together. Nodding, she said,
“Yeah, I’d like that a lot.”

Brandy looked up at her,
wondering if Jess knew what she was implying, and then the woman
smiled at her and she knew…knew that this feeling was happening on
both sides, that Jess wanted her, too.
Standing, she looked
down at Jess, raising her unencumbered hand to cup the face she’d
wanted to touch for so long,
leaning
in to dust her lips gently
across Jess’.
Pulling back to gauge the reaction, she was gratified to see Jess’
eyes closed, lashes resting on her cheeks, lips parted in a
smile.

Walking towards the door set in the wall
behind the bar, Brandy became aware of a stillness in the bar, and
she turned to see many of the men were watching them. Slate raised
two fingers to his brow, saluting her with a grin before he turned
back to the group of men he was standing
with
.
After his acknowledgment of their departure, the noise level
gradually rose to normal levels again. Then they were through the
door,
and Jess was closing it softly behind
them, shutting out the sounds from the party.

Is this really happening?
she
thought, remembering her lapse in the shop that
afternoon. Then
she felt Jess’ hand cupping
around her arm, sliding up and down slowly, sensuously touching her
and affecting her equilibrium. “Brandy?” she heard the question in
Jess’ voice and answered her softly.

“Yeah?”
I’m so off
balance
,
she thought.
I just
want to love her.

“You want this, right?” The hesitation and
uncertainty in Jess’ tone nearly broke her
heart,
and she quickly turned, dropping Jess’ hand to cup
her palms to both of the woman’s cheeks.

“Oh, yeah, I do. More than you know.” The
last syllables
were spoken
on an outrush of
breath against Jess’
lips, then
she brushed
her mouth across softly, gently. Keeping the kiss slow, exploring
the taste and feel she’d longed for, she paused to drag her nose up
Jess’ then back down
, and then
hungrily
captured that
addictive
mouth with hers again.
She smiled when the lips parted effortlessly underneath the gentle
pressure, and taking advantage of the
opening,
she dipped her tongue inside, twisting and twirling with Jess’. She
groaned at hearing now desperate gasps for breath that came from
the woman she wanted for her lover.

Stepping back, she reached down, clasping
Jess’ hand again and drew her up the hallway to the first door on
the left. “Bedroom,” she said, hearing the catch in her
own
voice.

Leaving the light off, she closed and locked
the door behind them, pulling Jess towards the bed sitting in the
middle of the room. Tugging her shirt off, she tossed it onto the
chair along the wall and reached out to grasp the hem of Jess’
shirt, pulling it up and off.

Stepping closer, she pressed her body
against Jess, gasping as the woman’s hands wrapped around her,
unfamiliar but so familiar fingers unfastening her bra so that it
fell loosely down her arms. Dropping it to the floor, she slowly
and carefully removed Jess’ bra, trailing her fingers and thumbs
across the now-exposed breasts, pulling and tugging on already
erect nipples. Moving closer again, she kissed Jess, their naked
torsos rubbing and pressing against the other.

In the low light cast underneath the door
from the hallway, Brandy could barely see Jess’ face, but could
still read the lust written
there,
and she
sighed. “Jess, baby,” she said, feeling the sudden motionlessness
as Jess
stilled
underneath her hands. “I don’t
want to lose your friendship.”

Clearing her throat, Jess said hesitantly,
“Okay.”

The single word didn’t give Brandy enough to
go on, and she repeated herself. “I can’t lose you as a friend, you
mean too much to me.”

Jess turned her head to the side, and Brandy
could only see portions of her face, the angle of her cheekbone,
the downturned edge of her mouth. Lifting her hand, she trailed her
thumb across Jess’ lips, leaning in to kiss her softly. “I want
this, so much.
God I want it
. But I want to be able to keep
you in my life more.”

“So you think this is a one-time thing?” The
words and tone were harsh, and Brandy dragged in a painful breath.
Jess continued, “Brandy if this is the alcohol
talking;
then we can just share a bed like we’ve done in
the past. Nothing has to happen, baby. Not if you don’t want
it.”

Shaking her head, Brandy rushed to reassure
her, the words stumbling off her tongue. “No, no. I want this.
I’ve wanted you for so long…wanted this.
I
just don’t want to ruin what we already have.” She wrapped her arms
around Jess, pulling their bodies close, palms slipping up and down
her back.

Jess lifted her head, looking at Brandy
steadily. “You already have me.”

Burying her head in Jess’ neck, she took a
couple of unsteady breaths, senses stolen by those four words.

Unfastening the closure on Jess’ pants,
Brandy pushed them down her thighs, taking her panties with them.
They both laughed when her legs were shackled by the jeans because
they’d forgotten the existence of her winter boots, and Brandy
knelt on the floor beside the bed, slipping them off.

Moving to sit on the edge of
the bed next to Jess, she watched as the pants were discarded, then
her own hands slowed as Jess crawled up into the bed, wagging her
naked ass back and forth temptingly.
Shaking her head in
amusement, Brandy rushed to disrobe and slid up into the bed beside
Jess, shivering as their skin met and brushed against each other
all along their bodies.

Brandy trailed her fingertips
up Jess’ stomach, looking down to see the stark contrast between
her dark and Jess’ light skin, rapt at the sight as her hand slid
up and up, the edge of her palm grazing a soft breast, fingers
spreading wide to cup and caress.
Jess moaned
softly and Brandy moved to capture her mouth again, eating down the
sounds Jess made as she touched her, discovering all the places
that made her lover crazy with desire, the things that set her
twisting underneath Brandy’s hands and mouth.

She slipped her leg between Jess’, pressing
hard against the apex of her thighs, encouraging Jess to thrust and
rub as she wanted…needed.
Brandy kept her hands and
mouth busy stroking Jess’ breasts and neck, trailing kisses up her
jaw to bite at her lips until she was breathless and crying out
from the teasing touches and the friction against her
clit.

Sliding down Jess’ body, she moved between
her legs, kissing down her chest and soft belly. Drawing a laugh
when she dipped her tongue into Jess’ bellybutton, she nipped and
bit from
hip
to hip, her hands pressing those
pale thighs apart. She shifted Jess’ legs, propping her heels on
her shoulders, pushing them
wide,
so she was
open to her.

Running her hands along Jess’
inner thighs, she trailed her fingertips from the back of her knees
up to where her legs joined her body, following every touch with a
slow lick and a soft, sucking kiss.
Using her
thumbs, she spread the bared pussy and darted her tongue just
inside the entrance, lapping and nibbling, working her way up and
down, taking her time to bring Jess to the edge of orgasm several
times.
Brandy’s fingers plunged deep, dragging the sweet
wetness she found there up to where her mouth waited,
sucking,
and nibbling on Jess’ clit.

Feeling Jess’ hands smoothing
across her forehead and cheeks, she lifted her gaze, looking up
along Jess’ body to see her face, eyes wide and unfocused, mouth
open with groaning, panting breaths and Brandy smiled.
Dropping her face back to Jess’ pussy, she buried her mouth, using
her lips, tongue, teeth, and fingers to urge Jess to that place of
stillness just before the explosion. That instant where the
chasing…the frantic seeking is over, and all that’s left is to ride
the roller coaster down.

Feeling that moment when things began to
crash in on Jess, she thrust her fingers in deep, curling and
twisting them inside her lover, her tongue stroking rapidly across
the perceptibly thrumming clit under her mouth. She heard Jess’
voice calling her name, the sound hanging on the air and without
thought she pushed one hand down underneath her
own
body, fingers finding her clit.
Tugging
and pulling, hips pumping and thrusting against the mattress, she
came hard, hand trapped between her heat and the softness of the
bed, lips and other hand still working Jess’ pussy, drawing out
both their climaxes as far as possible.

Resting her cheek against Jess’ thigh in the
aftermath, she licked her lips as she watched the tension leave her
lover’s features. In the low
light
she saw as
Jess slowly gained the loose, relaxed look of a well-loved woman,
and Brandy smiled again.
I love how she looks
right now, in
this
moment
,
she thought. Moving up
in the bed to lie beside Jess, she pulled the woman into her side,
arranging her head and rolling to press her lips against Jess’
forehead.

“That was amazing,” she whispered, her
eyelids dipping and slipping closed. Sighing, she murmured, “Merry
Christmas, Jess.”
Distantly she was aware of Jess
shifting to pull the covers up and over them both, then settling
back into her place at Brandy’s side, she felt the soft kisses Jess
placed across her shoulder and up her neck.

“Yeah, it was,” Jess whispered back. “Merry
Christmas, babe.”

In the hallway outside, Mason straightened
from where he’d paused, leaning against the wall, a soft smile on
his face. If the sounds that he’d overheard from inside the bedroom
were any indication, the two women he’d watched dancing around each
other for months had finally come together with spectacular
results.

Through the open door, he saw Mica still
circulating through the men in the
bar,
and he
sighed. Watching as she looked around the room, then smiled
brightly when she spotted him, lifting her hand in a quick wave, he
thought to himself,
Merry Fucking Christmas to all of
us.

***

THANK YOU FOR READING
A Sweet
Merry Christmas
!