Jewel remained quiet, taking in all Azalea offered. This was likely the quietest Azalea had ever seen her, but even in the silence, she knew they weren’t holding anything back. Not like the rest of the day, not like any time before. This time they were each laid bare for the other. “I won’t get hurt.”
“You will.” Azalea gave her a soft, gentle look. “You will. It’s a fact. But I don’t want to be the one to hurt you.”
“Fine,” Jewel admitted. “I will get hurt, but it’ll all be worth it if you’re there with me.”
Azalea’s heart thumped. She paused, frozen on the spot as her question from before came back to haunt her.
Yes, when had they fallen in love?
It had happened so slowly, inch by agonizing inch that she hadn’t even noticed it until there was nowhere else to turn. She wondered if Jewel felt the same way, if all those years since they met, she’d ever had an inkling it would turn into this. She wondered where they would go from there.
“Take your jacket off if you’re staying,” Azalea’s voice was firm, demanding, but inside she was anything but. She was a mess of emotions, all clawing to be the strongest, the loudest, the most powerful in this moment.
Jewel stepped away, dropping her jacket onto the floor in a pool of black wool. She kicked off her shoes, and in an instant, she was pressed against Azalea, their mouths working over each other, fingers trailing and dipping and testing. Azalea lifted her shoulders from the door as Jewel pushed her shirt the rest of the way off.
Reverently, Jewel trailed fingers over Azalea’s newly exposed skin. She traced the straps of her bra, the curve over her breasts, before settling her hands at the top of Azalea’s hips. “Are you sure?”
Azalea whimpered. She wanted to be sure. Desperately, she wanted to be able to shout and say “Yes,” but it was impossible. If there was one thing she was sure of, it was that she needed Jewel in her life and she loved her. She loved Jewel West with everything she had, and Azalea wasn’t going to do a single thing to lose her.
Jewel’s lips brushed over her collar bone. Azalea arched into her, hoping that would be enough for Jewel to know, to understand what was going on in her head, in her heart. As Jewel moved up her neck, soft barely-there kisses ghosting her sensitive skin, Azalea broke. “I can’t do this if I’m going to lose you.”
Straightening, Jewel slid back enough to look into Azalea’s eyes, her palm planted firmly against Azalea’s belly. Jewel’s gaze was so sincere. “You’re not going to lose me. I promise you.”
“Then yes, I’m sure.”
Jewel’s grin was contagious. Azalea reached behind her and flicked the clasp of her bra, dropping the cotton material to the ground to join her shirt and Jewel’s coat. Jewel’s breath caught as her gaze flickered down. “So beautiful.”
Taking Jewel’s hand, Azalea moved it to her breast and left no room for doubt in terms of what she wanted. Jewel squeezed lightly before sliding her thumb to Azalea’s nipple and tracing a slow circle over the hard little nub. Azalea’s eyes fluttered shut when Jewel’s lips surrounded her other nipple, the last part of the dam finally cracked. The hope she’d felt earlier swelled back into her chest and in her heart, filling every pore of her body.
Jewel worshipped her body. Gone was the hesitation she’d had that first night, replaced with confidence and curiosity. Jewel pinched her nipple, giggling low and dangerous when Azalea grunted from the sharp pain before sighing as pleasure coursed through her again. Jewel kissed her way up to Azalea’s collar bones, trailing her tongue up her neck.
“You know, aside from your brain, I think your neckline and collar bones are my favorite part of your body.”
“Oh?” Azalea asked on a breath.
Jewel chuckled again. “You carry so much poise and weight in your shoulders. Everything you have and everything you are rests on them.”
To make her point, Jewel reached up and massaged her fingers deeply in Azalea’s tense muscles. Moaning, Azalea dropped her head forward, right onto Jewel’s shoulder. Shivers ran through her, the sweet ache from muscles being worked but also the excitement of being pressed, naked, against the rough material of Jewel’s clothes. The contrast of soft and rough held expertly in tandem. Jewel pressed delicate kisses to Azalea’s cheek, behind her ear, scraped her teeth down the long line of Azalea’s neck.
“You like to tease,” Azalea commented.
“Does that really surprise you?” Jewel’s breath was hot against the top of her chest as she moved toward Azalea’s breasts again.
“No. It shouldn’t. You’re torturing me.”
The laugh was low, and sent a race of excitement through Azalea. “Yes, I am. Very much deserved, if you ask me.”
Azalea couldn’t wait any longer. She reached for the button of her pants and pulled them open, dropping the gray slacks she’d worn all day to her ankles. She stepped out of them, pushing them to the side. Jewel’s hands immediately dropped to her thighs and hips, playing with the elastic on her panties, teasing her by moving it and then snapping it back into place.
Jewel finally slid her hand under the cotton fabric and played with the short hairs between Azalea’s legs before toying with her. She flicked her fingers rapidly. Azalea keened, pressing her shoulders hard into the door, holding her up, and curling her nails into Jewel’s hips as she held on to stay upright. Jewel hadn’t even entered her.
Her legs shook. Her eyes were half-lidded as she tried to keep her gaze locked on Jewel, the woman she loved, the woman she was pretty sure she had loved since they’d met five years ago. She would never be able to pinpoint a moment when they’d fallen in love with each other because it had been a slow and gentle slide.
“Jewel.” Her command was husky.
Lips moved along her neck again, teeth scraping as Jewel moved in even closer, her clothing scraping against Azalea’s sensitive flesh. Jewel pulled her nipple between her lips, tightening the pressure before releasing.
“J…I need more.”