“Different time, different place. Different headspace.”
Tarryn’s thumb passed back and forth over Allie’s hand. Shivers danced across her skin, and she focussed on Tarryn’s lips, on her sensual mouth that had worked such wonders. Suddenly, she didn’t want to be here in this overpriced restaurant, eating food she didn’t want. “I’m not hungry anymore.”
“I’m not hungry for food. Just for you.”
“Then let’s go home.”
* * *
The drive home was mostly silent. Tarryn watched the dark landscape slide past, the winding road through the rainforest leading back to Quandong. Sophie drove carefully, obviously aware of the likelihood of wallabies darting in front of the car. Tarryn rested her hand on Sophie’s thigh, feeling the muscles shift as she changed gear, enjoying the warmth under her hand.
At the edge of Quandong, Sophie looked across. “My place?”
Tarryn nodded. Kirra’s apartment was more comfortable than her shouse. And, a tiny voice whispered, she’d rather not be reminded of Sophie in her space. They’d agreed a clean break was best, but the niggle inside her said it would take time for Sophie to leave her head.
Strange how it had worked out. The woman who’d seemed a bit difficult at first had become…certainly someone she liked. A friend. More. Tarryn compressed her lips. That was the problem. Despite what she’d told Sophie, she wanted more than friendship. A hollowness echoed inside her, an ache, a space that could only be filled by Sophie—and Sophie was already sliding away, vacating her place in Tarryn’s chest. And there was nothing to fill it.
But they had tonight.
Last night had been wonderful. Sure, Sophie had been an enthusiastic and giving lover, but it had been more than that. Their existing relationship had been…not brushed aside, not ignored, but it had deepened. Sex had forged a new connection unlike anything Tarryn had experienced. She’d woken in the morning, and the new curling shoot of tenderness had taken her by surprise. Would it be the same tonight, or would she be able to walk away in the morning, her nights with Sophie already relegated to casual sex, stuffed in a box markedFantastic Fling?
Sophie halted the car outside the apartment. The street was quiet; only a few visitors strolled, probably on their way back from The Hollowman. In silence, they walked up the stairs. Sophie left the light off, allowing only the streetlights to filter in.
“Do you want anything?” she asked. The wordsbefore bedhung unsaid.
Tarryn licked her dry lips. “Some water would be good.”
Sophie handed her a glass of water and watched as she drank it, then refilled the glass from the tap.
“Bed?” Tarryn held out her free hand.
Sophie nodded, and together they walked to the bedroom. The bed was the same inviting space it had been last night. Tarryn had expected a clearer head to have dulled the anticipation, but instead, the thrum of longing was greater, intensified.
Inside the room, she turned to Sophie and drew her close, kissing her with her all the pent-up longing in her heart.
Sophie returned the kiss, wrapping her arms around Tarryn’s neck, her tongue seeking entrance to her mouth.
She reached down and cupped Sophie’s buttocks, urging her closer and nudging her own thigh between Sophie’s.
Their clothes disappeared in a slow, leisurely fashion, piece by piece, with kisses on each newly exposed piece of skin. Sophie spent long minutes exploring Tarryn’s breasts, feathering her fingers around their curves, sucking her nipples until Tarryn’s clit pulsated with need. And when Sophie pushed her back onto the bed, parted her thighs and settled between, Tarryn’s skin lit with flame.
“Can I taste you?” Sophie asked, her voice husky with need.
She could only nod in reply, and then, when Sophie’s tongue lapped at her lower lips and then curled around her clit, it was as if the moon and stars had fallen to Earth and landed on Sophie’s tongue. She was quicksilver in the dim light, her pale skin ethereal against the white sheets, her tongue dancing in a glorious motion, exactly as Tarryn liked. How did she know the exact thing? How could they be so perfectly compatible in bed?
Tarryn arched into her orgasm, her mind exploding with stars.
* * *
Allie lay awake long after Tarryn had fallen asleep. Her gaze traced the strong lines of Tarryn’s shoulders and arms and lingered where her breasts were covered by the sheet. This second night together had brought one thing into blinding clarity: this was no experimental one-off. Tarryn was someone she would like to see more of, to let her into her life and see where it led.
But she couldn’t. Even though Tarryn had suggested a way forward for them, Allie just couldn’t. She closed her eyes and tried to will sleep to come, but her eyes popped open again as if the ceiling was the most fascinating thing she’d seen all day.
What should she do? Her heart told her she needed to confess who she really was—but was there any point, now? She was going home tomorrow. What good would it do except to finish their time together on a sour note? She pressed her lips together. That would probably settle it once and for all; Tarryn would be angry and probably wouldn’t want anything more to do with her.
Maybe. Or maybe she’d laugh, and tease, and maybe, just maybe, they could find a way forward.
But then there was Sophie. Outing herself meant exposing Sophie as well, and that put her business on the line. Everything they’d tried hard to avoid. It might mean bad publicity for her, a demand for the return of her fee. It could be disastrous. As if Sophie didn’t have enough to deal with in her life right now.
