Making Jules come had already brought Frankie so close to her own orgasm that it would take an embarrassingly small amount of effort from Jules to get the job done. She gave over control and allowed Jules to grip her wrists and pin her arms above her head.
Jules leaned down and kissed her, dipping her tongue into Frankie’s mouth, no doubt tasting herself on Frankie’s lips. There was something so innately sensual and sapphic about sharing this kind of intimacy with someone and Frankie melted into the kiss.
When they came up for air a minute or so later, she nipped at Jules’ bottom lip and dropped her eyes to breasts that spilled over of the top of the corset. She had a clear view of delicious cleavage and the tiniest hint of pert, pink nipples and she smirked.
“But the corset stays on.”
“Mmm, whatever you say,Coach.”
Chapter 36
“Ican’t believe it took you this long to finish the book,” Jules said, snatching the paperback copy out of Frankie’s hands. “I read it in two days!”
Frankie laughed and offered Jules a shrug. “I don’t know what you want me to say, babe. I haven’t exactly had a lot of free time.”
With a teasing grin, Jules flipped through the pages of the book she’d purchased for Frankie at the indie bookstore months earlier. The spine was cracked and Frankie had even written in some of the margins, a clear indication that she’d enjoyed what she’d read.
“And? What did you think? Keep in mind that I will be heartbroken if you hated it…”
“Considering I’ve never been much of a reader and the last book I read cover to cover was the league rule book, this was a big step up.” Frankie leaned in closer to Jules with a sly grin on her face. “I can see whyyouliked it so much. Got a thing for redheads, eh?”
Jules blushed and even though looking into Frankie’s bright green eyes was one of her favourite things to do, she had to look away from the sheer force ofher girlfriends gaze because they were in a very public place. Frankie was looking at her like she wanted to devour her.
“What other books do you think I should read?” Frankie asked. Her eyes flicked down to Jules’ mouth, lingering there for a half second before she bit her lip and smirked. “Do you find any of them…inspirational?”
“Now you’re just teasing me.” Jules gave Frankie a gentle shove but she smiled playfully.
“No, I mean it. I didn’t know sapphic romance books could be so visual.”
They were seated at a table in a quaint Halifax brunch spot three weeks after the Harbour's season had officially come to an end, sipping on lattes and sharing a plate of french toast, when Jules realized that the last time she’d been this happy was when she was thirteen and she’d gone on vacation to British Columbia with Cam and their parents.
Her parents had rented a camper and they’d driven through the rocky mountains. Sometimes Jules could still smell the freshness of the air on that trip, could still see the smiles on their faces as they posed at a viewpoint so an Australian tourist could take a photo of them. It was the last trip they’d taken as a family before everything changed but Jules felt the same deep comfort now that she’d felt back then.
She was settled, happy, and it had taken her a long time to allow herself to truly feel this way again without even realizing it.
Now she was in a city that had completely captivated her, she was in love with a woman who she’d somehow convinced to love her back, and she was building a life that she was proud of. If someone had asked her eight months ago if this is how she thought things would’ve played out when she and Cam packed up their life and headed for the east coast, she would laugh and say,yeah right. Try again.
The door to the brunch spot opened, a small bell above the door jingling to alert a new arrival and Cam walked in with Mackenzie trailing behind him, their hands clasped together. Jules spotted them and waved them over to the table.
”Hey you two.” He pulled out a chair for Mackenzie, a pretty blonde who was about his height, and then they took a seat. “Sorry we’re late.”
“I had an early client whose appointment ran long,” Mackenzie said. “And let’s just say she’s a bit of a chatty Kathy. I tried three times to wrap things up but she was convinced that I would fall in love with her son if he showed me his fishing boat.”
Cam kissed her on the cheek then flashed his trademark boyish grin. “And she only gets to see my fishing boat.”
“That sounds like a euphemism I’m not interested in understanding,” Frankie joked.
“Must be a straight person thing,” Jules added, laughing while her brother rolled his eyes.
The four of them had become locals in the cozy cafe, its regular patrons no longer phased by Cam or Frankie’s celebrity and it was nice to feel like they belonged there, like people accepted them into their small community. Having moved between hockey markets with millions of people, there was something unique about settling in a city with a much smaller population.
Life was a little slower, a little softer, the saltwater air somehow fresher every time you stepped outside. It would be cliche if Jules said she felt like she belonged here, but she’d be happy if they got to stick around for a long, long time.
Cam’s relationship had progressed quickly and when he’d told Jules one Thursday evening over a bowl of popcorn on his couch how he’d never been so captivated by a woman before, Jules could definitely relate.
“I’m going to marry her someday,” he said with a dreamy look in his eyes and Jules believed him.
Mackenzie made the move from where she was living in New Brunswick to a small apartment in Halifax just a few kilometres from the rink. She’d been running her own beautician business out of her home in Fredericton, offering brow jobs and eyebrow tints, but a former client of hers had recommended a beauty salon in town that was looking for someone to fill a job vacancy so the timing of everything worked out perfectly. Now they were all together and enjoying life in Atlantic Canada as spring lazily made way for summer.