Liz had spent the afternoon shopping, cooking, and preparing for a romantic dinner. She half expected Isabel to cancel at the last minute, but she hadn’t. She’d called Liz at noon to say she’d just gotten home from the shelter and would need to shower and stop by the office for a couple of hours. She told Liz to expect her by five, and no sooner had Liz finished dressing than Isabel arrived right on time, wearing a business pantsuit fit for summer and holding two bottles of wine: a Barolo, which she said would be perfect with the pasta dish Liz had prepared, and a nice port to enjoy after dinner.
They finished eating with a second glass of wine, and Liz suspected Isabel would need another just to keep her anticipatory anxiety at a tolerable level. She’d seemed awkward at first, as though wondering when that first kiss would catch her off guard, but once Liz got her talking about the arrival of the dogs that morning, she relaxed and ended up eating a second helping.
“You’re a wonderful cook,” she said. And when she noticed Liz just sitting back and smiling at her, she nervously picked up the bottle of wine and found it empty.
“I’ll tell you what. Why don’t you open that port for us and we can relax in the living room,” Liz said, although she wasn’t planning on spending much time with Isabel on the sofa.
Isabel helped her clear the table, and after Liz loaded the dishwasher she left Isabel to open the bottle. “I just have to make a really quick business call,” she said. “Why don’t you pour that and bring our glasses into the living room.” And with that, Liz grabbed her cell phone, slipped into the bedroom, and dialed Sam’s number. They’d spoken earlier in the day about yesterday’s drama with Isabel, and Liz knew Sam intended to see Gwen tonight. She stood by the air conditioner so Isabel wouldn’t overhear her conversation. “Hey, are you at Gwen’s?” she said when Sam answered.
“Nope. Change of plans. I’m in Red Hook, waiting in the parking lot of a supposedly popular farm-to-table restaurant, and—in fact, here she comes now, her car just pulled in,” Sam said. “She seemed hesitant about me going there for some reason, so I offered to make dinner at my place, but she suggested we meet halfway.” After a pause, Sam added, “Gwen says she wants to talk. You know ‘a talk’ is never good. I know she’s scared, and I know I screwed up with this…this ghost situation…but I’m hoping to put her mind at ease.”
“So she’s not spending the night with you?”
“Doesn’t look that way.”
“I’m guessing she knows Isabel came here for dinner?”
“That she does. And she’s walking over to my car now.”
“Would you ask her if it’s okay if I keep Isabel with me tonight? Tell her Isabel’s on her second bottle of wine and I don’t want her driving.”
“Ah…so the lioness finally has Isabel in her lair.” Sam snickered. “Hold on a sec.”
Liz heard Sam open her car door and listened to the sound of muffled voices, and then Sam came back on the phone. “Gwen says thank you for not letting her drive and to keep her overnight, or for as long as you like. She’ll take care of the dogs and have Rosa feed all the cats.” She closed her car door again. “So go have fun seducing your prey. It took a long time to lure her in, and I’m sure the lioness is quite hungry,” she whispered. “Just don’t eat her alive.”
“That I can’t promise. I’m starving for her, as you well know.” Liz laughed. “Hey, tell Gwen thank you…and tell her I love her. I love you, too. We’ll talk tomorrow.”
Liz hung up and smiled with deep satisfaction. Game, set, match! Isabel was hers tonight. All night. She shut off the air conditioner, turned the ceiling fan on low, and lit a few big candles: one on each night table and one on the dresser beside the mixed bouquet of fresh flowers she’d picked up today. She could smell the freesia in the bouquet. It mixed well with the light scent of lavender that laced the fresh sheets. She stopped in the doorway and gave the room a sweeping glance. Perfect.
Isabel was looking through some CDs when Liz came out. “Put on whatever you like,” she said. She took her glass, drew her legs underneath her, and sat waiting for Isabel with her arm stretched along the back of the sofa.
“I like what’s playing—’Pretty Thoughts,’ right?”
“I’m surprised you know it.” She and Isabel had such different personalities, yet they couldn’t have had more in common.
“I love Alina Baraz. I have a lot of her music,” Isabel said as she wandered around the room and glanced at the wall over the sofa. She smiled up at the Icart print hanging there. “I saw that when I came in. That’s a perfect place for it.”
“I’ve been waiting for you to notice.” Liz patted the cushion beside her and grinned. “And this is the perfect place for you, so stop pacing and come here to me.”
Isabel sat down with her glass, and Liz shifted so she could face her. She stretched her arm out along the back of the couch, just behind Isabel. “Are you okay, comfortable being here with me?”
Isabel nodded and sipped her port.
She was absolutely beautiful, Liz decided. Maybe not the flashy type of beautiful that turns heads at a distance. Isabel’s was a quiet, breathtaking beauty best savored up close. Every feature was fine, perfectly sculpted, and that dark hair fell so straight and shiny along the smooth skin of her high cheekbones. Her lips were perfectly shaped, her pretty little nose was just the slightest bit upturned, and the color of those sexy eyes reminded Liz of a bottle of dark tequila held up to the sunlight.
Liz took the port from Isabel’s hand and set both glasses on the coffee table. How many women had she seduced? She’d lost count. But it didn’t matter. This was the one that mattered, and she found it almost amusing that she herself was feeling a little nervous. She took Isabel’s chin and turned her face. “So about that long-overdue kiss…”
Isabel just stared at her, her lips parted the slightest bit as Liz coaxed them to her mouth. They were soft, supple, sweetened with wine. But, God, was she tense, her mouth so tight. Liz moved in, softly trailing the tip of her tongue between those lips, nibbling the upper one, sucking the bottom one and trying to gently pry Isabel’s mouth open with her own. She stopped, let her lips roam over to Isabel’s cheek and up to her temple. “Now kiss me back…and kiss like you mean it.”
Liz returned to her mouth, applying more pressure, until Isabel finally surrendered. Her mouth relaxed then, and she responded by awkwardly mirroring Liz’s moves. Little by little a curious tongue came out to daintily explore Liz’s mouth.
“That’s more like it,” Liz whispered against Isabel’s teeth, and leaned even closer to deepen their kiss. She felt Isabel’s pulse quicken, and when she heard a soft moan come from Isabel’s throat, she knew it was time. If she left things up to Isabel they’d be sitting here in kissing-kindergarten all night. Liz pulled back and looked at her. She’d never wanted someone so much.
Isabel was too self-conscious to hold her gaze. She blinked a few times, looked down, and tucked her hair around her ear, but it only fell forward and covered her face.
Liz got up and held out a hand. “Come on…let’s go relax in the bedroom.”
Mention of the bedroom made Isabel’s eyes widen. “Oh, I…I can’t, Liz, not tonight.”
“Why not?”
“I have to get home. I haven’t even taken care of the cats in the barn and I—”
“Rosa’s taking care of them. I already spoke to Sam.”
Isabel began to flounder. “But there’s the dogs and…”
“It’s all taken care of. Gwen said not to worry. And she said for you to spend the night with me. You’re drinking and she doesn’t want you driving.”
“I’ll be fine in a little while. I’d like to stay, really, but I…I promised a TNR group I’d help set traps for some feral…” Isabel’s voice dwindled out. She was fresh out of excuses.
Liz wanted to laugh, but she didn’t. Instead, she waited patiently for Isabel to take her hand. “Come with me…I have a cat for you to trap. It’s in the bedroom.”
Isabel downed half her port, almost choking on the big gulp, and stared at the floor.
“Come on…bring your glass with you.” Liz waited with an outstretched hand, but Isabel just sat there, looking up with eyes filled with both fear and desire.
“Isabel…come on. You’re mine tonight. There’s nothing to worry about. I don’t bite,” she reassured her, but then she grinned. “Actually, I take that back, I do bite. But not hard. I promise.”
Isabel took her glass and stood, her head hung in resignation. Finally she grasped Liz’s hand and stiffly followed her, as if being led off to the gallows. But when she saw the bedroom her eyes lit up. Liz took the glass from her hand and set it on the night table beside her own.
“It’s beautiful in here,” Isabel commented, then moseyed across to the lit candles and vase of freesia, daisies, and roses. “I love the flowers,” she said, trying to make small talk.
“Good. I got them for you while I was out today.” While Isabel smelled them, probably stalling for time, Liz quickly removed the throw pillows from the bed, turned back the covers, and came up behind her. She pushed Isabel’s hair to one side, placing soft kisses along her neck.
Isabel scrunched her shoulders, as if the caresses tickled her. She turned in Liz’s arms and tried to smile, but her lips only quivered. She was scared, clearly out of her element, and Liz felt bad for her. But not bad enough to stop. If she let Isabel leave tonight, she couldn’t imagine how long it would be before Isabel agreed to come back. She took her hands and slowly walked backward, drawing Isabel with her until they stood against the side of the bed. “Have you been with anyone?”
“No.”
Has anything bad ever happened that you didn’t want to?”
Isabel shook her head. “I…I just never had feelings for anyone…not the feelings I have for you.” She reached with tentative fingers and touched the hollow of Liz’s neck, fiddled nervously with the gold chain that hung from it. “I know. You think something’s wrong with me.”
“Because you’re a virgin?”
“Well…technically I’m not. I think I lost my virginity when I crashed and hit myself on the bar of a boy’s bike when I was six.”
“Ouch.”
“I’ll say.” Isabel gave a comic snort. “When I went home and saw blood I was too afraid to tell anyone. But then Rosa was doing laundry and got hysterical. She knew I was too young to get my period. Gwen tried to take me to the doctor, but I refused to get in the car. I was too embarrassed to let anyone examine me down there…except for my aunt. She couldn’t find anything wrong, no cuts or anything, so she decided I’d just…”
“Popped your cherry?”
Isabel nodded and Liz laughed. “Oh, Isabel,” she said and cupped her cheek. “Nothing’s wrong with you. Everything about you is so right.”
“But you’re experienced, and I…”
“Just like you’re an experienced dancer and I’m not. I didn’t know how to samba…but you taught me, didn’t you?”
“You caught on fast.”
“You will, too.” She put her arms around Isabel’s waist, moving slowly to the music wafting in from the living room. “Making love is just like dancing…and you’re a wonderful dancer. You’ll catch on as fast as I did.”
Isabel looked at her with almost pleading eyes, and in them was a potent mixture of emotion that stirred in Liz an adoration and tenderness deeper than anything she’d ever felt for a woman. The initial panic had disappeared from Isabel’s face, and heated desire burned in those tequila eyes.
“I’m afraid I wouldn’t know…” Isabel stopped and swallowed. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do,” she said in a timid voice that Liz could barely hear.
Liz softly kissed the side of her mouth, trailed her lips up to her ear. “You can start by undressing me,” she whispered, and brought both of Isabel’s hands to her blouse. Student drivers didn’t learn to drive by sitting in the passenger seat, did they? They got behind the wheel, and that’s where she intended to put Isabel—in the driver’s seat.
Isabel did as she was told, opening the first button and then the next. And when she was done she pushed the blouse over Liz’s shoulders just enough that gravity took it from there, and the silky fabric slid to the floor.
“That wasn’t too hard, was it?” Liz lifted her chin and gave an encouraging smile. There was something so fragile, yet so magical about her.
“No…” Isabel said, her breathing now rapid.
Liz placed Isabel’s hands on her breasts, delighting in the feel of Isabel moving them against the fabric of her pale blue bra. And under Liz’s skillful hands and expert maneuvers, Isabel’s clothes were gone before Isabel even realized she was naked. She smoothed her own hands over Isabel’s small, firm breasts, ran them down her stomach, around to her back, exploring her petite form that was well-toned from wrestling shelter dogs and all those other outdoor activities she enjoyed.
Liz slowly wriggled out of the rest of her own clothes then, gently kissing her as pulled Isabel into bed and on top of her. The initial feel of Isabel’s naked body aligned with her was exquisite, and she took a few minutes to luxuriate in that first moment of contact. Any other woman and she wouldn’t have wasted time. Quick, fun, casual, and it would’ve been over, with Liz hoping the woman wouldn’t hang around for long. But she wanted to take her time with Isabel, hold her for an eternity if she could. And if Isabel suddenly had a change of heart, Liz decided she’d be content to just lie with her like this, naked and kissing. But Isabel was ready. When Liz slid her hand between their bodies and moved it between Isabel’s legs, her fingers slipped right in. She stroked her a few times. “Does that feel good?”
“Uh-huh,” Isabel said, her breathing heavy, her eyes half-closed and glazing over.
Desire gushed from Liz’s body. She wanted to flip Isabel over, taste her, take her. Instead, she took her hand away and guided Isabel’s hand between her own legs.
Isabel drew in a sharp breath as her fingers slipped into the familiar yet strangely unfamiliar labyrinth of another woman. Her hand navigated tentatively at first, then stopped and rested over Liz’s engorged sex. “What should I…how do you want me to touch you?”
“Touch me like you touch yourself,” Liz whispered. She lifted herself to Isabel’s hand. “A little harder…yeah…just like that, baby…that feels so good.”
Despite Isabel’s lack of experience and somewhat amateurish moves, she had surprisingly talented hands. Liz had waited so long to feel them that she could have climaxed right away. She held back though, wanting to build Isabel’s confidence, wanting Isabel to see and hear and feel the pleasure she was giving. “I love how you touch me. If you keep doing that you’re going to make me come,” she murmured.
Liz felt Isabel’s pulse quicken in response, her breathing becoming heavy. That was all Liz needed to know that her own arousal was exciting Isabel. Their kiss in the living room had evidently improved Isabel’s prowess, because now her mouth was full on Liz’s, claiming it with wild urgency. Liz writhed under the weight of her, loving the feel of Isabel’s hot body pinning, melting into her. She couldn’t hold back any longer. Withdrawing her mouth, she ran her fingers through that dark, silky hair, grabbed a fistful, and gently tilted Isabel’s head back just enough to drunkenly stare into those tequila-brown eyes as she let go. “Now, Isabel…make me come for you.”
Isabel inhaled sharply at her words and held Liz’s gaze, seemingly amazed, bewitched, transfixed by Liz’s sudden climax. “Oh…” she groaned as Liz let out a cry of ecstasy. She began moving herself on Liz’s thigh, as though about to climax herself, but Liz wrapped her arms around Isabel and held her still.
“Oh, no, baby…not yet.” Liz smiled. “I’ve got plans for you.” She rested for a moment, and then with renewed energy she rolled Isabel onto her back and covered her with wild kisses and wet bites. When she parted and settled between her legs, Isabel gasped, arching her back. “Just relax…” Liz said, enjoying herself, loving Isabel slowly until she knew she was peaking. She slipped inside her, mouth and hands working in unison to create a perfect, pulsating rhythm that matched the changing cadence of Isabel’s moans.
Isabel’s hips moved smoothly, sensuously. Watching her dance the other night, Liz had known she would be a wonderful lover once she learned to trust and let go. Now finally she had let go, and they moved beautifully together. Liz gently rocked with her, attuned to the rise and fall of her hips as Isabel climaxed. She stayed with it, kept up with her, riding out Isabel’s orgasm until waves of spasms subsided.
“You’re so fucking incredible,” Liz said as she kissed her way up Isabel’s body.
Isabel grabbed Liz and held her tightly, burying a laugh, a muffled cry in Liz’s neck. And just when Liz thought they might rest, Isabel was turning her over, teasing her nipples, kissing her stomach, working her way down.
“Isabel, if you’re not ready you don’t have to—”
“I want to” was all she said.
Liz was disinclined to refuse and in no position to argue.
* * *
“You’re a wonderful lover,” Liz said to her as they lay together quietly in a tangle of sheets. Liz was exhausted, hot, and happy to sprawl out on top of them, but Isabel modestly drew up the sheet to cover them both.
Liz ran a hand up and down her thigh. “Why are you hiding this beautiful body?”
Isabel shrugged on the pillow and drew closer to her.
The candles still burned, the Tiffany lamps casting colorful patches of soft light, and the scent of fresh flowers was heavenly. Liz felt as though she’d found her own heaven. “I’m so crazy for you,” she said as they lay together quietly. I’ve been crazy for you since day one.”
Isabel stroked her chest. “Really?”
“Really. The day Sam and I came for lunch and I saw you in that sexy, preppy blue skirt suit…oh, my God.”
Isabel blew out a little laugh. “Hardly a sexy outfit.”
“On you it was.” Liz gently ran her fingers through Isabel’s hair. “Then I saw your face…snuck a peek at those beautiful legs when you weren’t looking…and when we spent the afternoon together I enjoyed your company so much. When I got home that night I knew I had met the woman of my dreams. Almost overnight you became my best friend…and then I found myself falling madly in love. I’m sorry it came out the way it did yesterday, but I do love you.”
“I love you, too,” Isabel whispered. “And I felt the same way the first day I met you.”
“Oh, really?” Liz made an exaggerated frown. “You certainly did a bad job of showing it. You had me convinced you were just a very prudish straight girl.”
Isabel cuddled close. “I didn’t know how to show you. I was embarrassed that I’d never…you know…and I didn’t think I could please you the way other woman do.”
“Those other women have nothing on you, baby doll.”
Isabel was silent for a minute. “Did you love her, that other one from yesterday?” she asked.
“Isabel, I told you, there is no her. There never has been. Don’t you get it?”
“Then why…I mean, how could you make love with them?”
“I don’t make love, Isabel. I mean, I haven’t until now.” Liz smiled at her. “So tonight was a first for me, too. All the other times were just…practice.”
“I don’t understand that. Yesterday was too upsetting for me. It made me jealous and I…I hated the thought of you being with anyone else…having sex for the sake of sex.”
“Are you telling me I can’t have any more casual sex?” Liz enjoyed teasing her.
“You can have all you want…but don’t come back to me. I couldn’t handle it…I could never accept that.”
“Oooh! Laying down the rules already, huh?” Liz laughed, reached over, and started tickling her. “I’ll play by your rules. In fact, I sort of liked seeing you jealous. It was the first time I thought you might actually want me. It turned me on.”
Isabel seemed to be thinking and then, “I don’t like this bed,” she said, the statement coming out of nowhere.
Liz propped herself up on an elbow and looked at her with concern. “What’s wrong, baby? You’re not comfortable? It’s a really good…” She stopped short, realizing what bothered Isabel about it—the other woman who’d been in it. “Oh, okay…I understand. I’ll get us a new one if it’s that important to you.”
“I’ll buy it for you,” Isabel said. “Any bed you want.”
The heiress had spoken. “You don’t have to do that.” Liz smiled and shook her head in wonder. “How about we pick out a bed together? Maybe I’ll upgrade from a queen to king…something bigger so the dogs have room.”
“That would be nice,” Isabel said. “They’ll like that.” Liz lowered herself, and Isabel rested her head on Liz’s chest, her long eyelashes tickling Liz’s breast as they fluttered.
“Are you falling asleep on me?” Sex seemed to make everyone go to sleep, but it always woke Liz up. She could have sex, then get up and clean the whole house. She felt wired now, wonderfully alive.
“I’m just thinking how much I love being with you,” Isabel said.
“Would you love being with me and dessert? I have Italian pastries for us.”
“Yes!”
Liz laughed. “Is it too late for cappuccino?”
“Yes. But I don’t mind staying up with you all night long.”
“Good. We can have dessert and cappuccino in bed…and then some.” Liz got up, put on a robe, and laid another out in case Isabel needed it. “Dessert coming right up.” She paused in the doorway to look at the beautiful and amazing young woman in her bed. It was a good bed, and she’d miss it. But not as much as she’d miss not having Isabel in it.