“I’m glad you’re here.” She spoke softly, the breeze blowing her hair off her shoulder.
I took her in—wearing an ivory cashmere sweater with a V-neck, and skinny jeans. Knee-high boots with a heel made me want to take her standing up right here on the deck. I was pretty sure Frank wouldn’t be happy with that…
“It means a lot,” she said. “I know you took time from your patients.”
“We get time off,” I said, sliding my hand over her cheekbone.
She let her head rest on my palm. “Well, it still means something. Especially you staying in tonight. I had Petey arrange for a bicycle rental for you tomorrow. It’s going to be delivered in the morning. You can take it to the hills, if you want, for a ride.”
I didn’t know what to say in response so I kissed her. It was the nicest gesture anyone had ever done for me.
She broke the kiss off before it got too intimate. “Let’s go inside,” she said, taking my hand. We strode back into the kitchen, Billy leaving the door open, the fresh air filling the condo and cooling my hormones.
“I’m glad I came too,” I said, leading Billy toward the foyer. “Show me your room, so we can have a private moment.”
She closed the patio door before we started walking down the hall, laughing.
“Are you sure no one is going to pop out and offer me food or threaten my life if I leave this apartment?”
“I’m sure. Once I’m in my little room with a view, Frank leaves me alone. And Glory is always happy to go home and catch up on her TV shows. They put a tiny patch of grass in the corner of the patio for Chip so at night I can just run him out there.”
We crossed a threshold into an all-white space. The carpet, bedspread, furniture, all in shades of white.
“This is my retreat.” Billy waved her free arm around the room, not letting go of my hand.
“Feels like a little sliver of heaven.”
“It is.”
She spun to face me. “Are you sure you’re not starving? Jet-lagged?”
I shook my head. “I came from Northern Cal, remember? I’m on the right time and I ate breakfast and some kale salad from your fridge. Helped myself. Happy?”
“Yes.” The one word came out throaty and hoarse.
I let go of her fingers and brought both my hands up to cup her face. My lips found their way to hers. “If it’s okay, this is all I want right now.”
I felt Billy nod against my forehead. “Dinner later,” she mumbled.
My mouth caressed along hers, and when she opened on a moan, my tongue entered. I swept against her own and we continued to make love with our lips for a while. The world floated away, and we were a man and woman in a bedroom. Not a Hollywood celebrity and a boring doctor. After several weeks of FaceTimes and calls laced with innuendo or even mundane chatter about our days, we were primed to touch and feel. Our hips ground into one another seeking friction, and I walked Billy back toward the bed.
As I sat her down backward, I asked again, “Is this okay?” I wanted to explore every inch of her, but I’d also just arrived and was ravaging her, and I didn’t want to take liberties—
“More than,” she said, assuring me in a way I didn’t even know I needed. Her chest hummed as she spoke, and I helped her move up the bed before slipping down in between her legs and yanking off the boots. I slid back up Billy’s body, my palm catching fire as it grazed her bare skin where her sweater had risen.
Lying on my side, next to the most gorgeous woman I’d ever known, I kissed her cheek and found my way to her ear. After sucking on her earlobe, I whispered, “I’m so hot for you, Willa.”
I watched her intake of breath before she turned on her side and looked into my eyes. “It’s mutual.”
I didn’t know when this happened.Thisbeing a rush of attraction, of feelings so consuming I wasn’t sure what to do.
I assumed it wasn’t meant to last, but when Billy said, “I want you in the worst way,” I decided to savor it.
I took my time with gentle kissing turning into more assertive. My hand tugged her sweater off and let it fall to the floor as I traveled back down her body, leaving a wet trail of nips. Her lace bra was transparent and did little to deter me from yanking down the cups and latching on to her nipples. Again, I didn’t rush on either side.
When Billy was squirming, hips gyrating, I continued to make my way down, finding her navel and then the button to her jeans. I made fast work of getting them off, my mouth securing what it’d been after.
To say I went slowly was putting it mildly. I started out loving on Billy’s most sensitive areas, using the tip of my tongue and lightest of pressure. As she demanded more with her body language, I picked up speed until she fell apart. Watching was my favorite part, until she grabbed a handful of my hair and guided me up to her face. She kissed me with reckless abandon, paying no mind to her scent on my mouth.
