“Your new lover, beautifully accomplished in all things sapphic. She’d be a younger woman, in her mid forties, and tall—honestlytootall—with gorgeous, sleek hair that always stayed in place. She’d wear demure and tasteful outfits, all in white, because food or drink wouldn’t dare stain her perfect clothes.You’d call her Jo. Of course, I’d pretend to be happy for you, but, inside, I’d be absolutely boiling with chartreuse jealousy.”
“I—what in God’s name does that have to do with—”
“With the two of us having sex? Because after I’d worked myself into a frenzy imagining crouching outside your bedroom window while I listened to Josephine filling you out like a job application, I had an epiphany.”
“You—while she did—what? A job applica—”
“Anne,” Sadie said.
Anne succeeded, just barely, in shutting up.
“What I’m attempting to say, very poorly, is that I know I’m ready for you in more than one way. I’d like to try trusting my body with you, if you’re in agreement. Practice over theory. And to be extremely clear: Yes, I mean sex.”
For a few seconds, Anne couldn’t speak, overwhelmed by exhilaration and something deeper, needier. “Are you completely sure?”
“If I don’t have you soon,” Sadie said hoarsely, “I think I’ll go out of my mind.”
Have you. Sadie wanted to take Anne. To claim her. For a second, Anne’s vision whitened.
“Every day, it just gets worse and worse andworse. I didn’t even know it could be like this, that I could want it this much—and now I’ve got your voice in my ear, what am I supposed to—” She gasped, and the sound was a quick and greedy hand that slipped between Anne’s thighs. “Please tell me I’m not alone. Is it like this for you, too?”
“You’re not alone. I didn’t know it could be this much either. Sadie, I can’t stop—” Somehow, it was Anne’s own ragged voice admitting that. She shifted in the desk chair, already starting to ache. This was lightning-fast, even for her newly awakened appetites. “I’ve had to—take care of myself. A lot.”
“I thought that was what you were implying earlier. How often?”
Reflexively, Anne squeezed the side of her chair’s seat cushion. It shouldn’t be arousing to admit she couldn’t control herself, should it? “At least once a day since Tuesday. Twice yesterday. And that’s not counting the dreams I’ve had.”
“Anne,” Sadie said faintly. “Good God. Do you think about me during?”
“Every second,” she confessed. “You’ve been doing it, too, haven’t you?” A swallow. “Touching yourself?”
“Mm-hmm.” It was almost a whimper. “Tell me. Please. What you’ve fantasized about.”
“You want me to—?”
“I want you to go over, in detail, what you’ve thought about while getting off this week,” Sadie whispered, “and I want to know you’re putting those pretty little hands all over yourself while you tell me.”
Anne choked out a wordless exclamation. Felt herself pulse at the moment she realized what they were about to do.
What did Sadie look like right now? What was she wearing? Her floral-print silk pajamas? Or was she in one of her oversized T-shirts, the kind that hung nearly to her knees? Was she in bed and getting started already, her fingers slipping up one thigh?
If she wasn’t yet, then Anne could make her.
Maybe she’d never done anything like this before, but Anne Lowell always excelled at anything she tried.
Unable to make herself hold off, she spread her legs in the chair and lightly pressed her palm against the warm seam of her athletic leggings. Her heartbeat raced.
“I think about your breasts,” she murmured, arousal overpowering any shyness. “The way they press against that tight, blue, silk off-shoulder blouse of yours. How there’s always a hint of cleavage, even when your tops aren’t especially low-cut.How they spilled over the edges of your bra in that motel room. I think about them all the time now. When I’m driving. When I’m washing the dishes. When I take myself on a walk. When I’m touching myself. Like right now.”
A strangled noise from Sadie.
Desire coursed through Anne’s veins, and power, too. She’d caused that sound. With one hand still between her thighs, she placed the phone on the desk and hit the speaker button.
“Got you on speaker,” she said, probably unnecessarily. “I need both hands.”
“Yes.” Nothing like Sadie’s normal voice at all, rough and shallow. “Yes, you do.”
“Let me tell you,” Anne said softly and then rubbed herself just a little, “what I want to do to you. I’ll stand right behind you and pull your hair to the side, first. Kiss your neck, in that place below your ear. I know what that does to you.”