Entwined - SF5 (25 page)

"I saw that," she muttered.

"Just thinking that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree," Ryan said with a grin.

"We do share some personality traits," Catherine admitted as she cast a fond gaze upon her smirking daughter. "Anyway, at the end of the school year, we decided to get married. My parents were justifiably shocked that the first time they met Jim was when we went to tell them the news. But just as I expected, they were rather violently opposed to the idea."

"What happened?" Jamie asked, having never met her grandmother and having few clear memories of her grandfather, who died when she was five.

"My father acted like it was Field Marshall Cinque showing up at the door!" she laughed. When two blank faces stared at her, she explained. "More ancient history, I’m afraid. A few years before this, a radical terrorist group kidnapped the daughter of William Randolph Hearst--one of my father’s good friends, by the way."

"Was that Patty Hearst?" Ryan asked, vaguely familiar with the incident.

"Exactly," Catherine agreed. "Patty was a few years older than I, and she was a lovely young woman, very traditional and a seemingly happy girl. We actually went to the same prep school, so I knew her fairly well. Anyway, she was kidnapped from her Berkeley apartment, which was not far from your home, young lady," she said to Jamie. "This group set about brainwashing poor Patty and before long she was a ‘willing’ participant in their bank robberies and other such acts."

"Was she really a willing participant?" Jamie asked in amazement.

"Not in my opinion," Catherine said. "But the jury believed she was, and she was sent to prison. Oh, I could talk about this for days," she laughed, "but the point is that times were very turbulent, and though my parents were terribly upset that I was going to marry, I think they were more upset about my ‘rebellion’."

"Getting married doesn’t sound very rebellious to me," Jamie mused.

"Especially back then!" Catherine laughed. "A traditional marriage with a church service was almost unheard of for people my age. There were so many weddings in Golden Gate Park that you could hardly move through there on a Saturday!" she chuckled. "But I had always been a very compliant child, and this was the first, and only, decision of mine that they did not agree with."

"So when did they come around?" Jamie asked, thinking her mother’s story sounded remarkably similar to her own.

"Mother never did," Catherine said with a sharp pain of loss streaking across her face. "She died just a few months after the wedding, and I’m pained to say that we did not reconcile. She was terribly unhappy that I wasn’t going to have a life on my own. I don’t know why it was so important to her, but she was terribly invested in my finishing school and having some sort of professional life before I settled down."

"She wanted you to get a job?" Jamie asked, trying to understand the logic behind this.

"Well, not a real job," Catherine laughed. "I was an art history major, and she wanted me to work at one of the museums in Europe. She was terribly upset by the changes in the States, and she wanted me to spend more time in a ‘civilized society,’ as she referred to the Continent."

"Do you regret your decision?" Jamie asked tentatively, hoping that her mother was happy with the choices she had made.

"Regret? Look at what I got in the bargain," she said fondly as she patted her daughter’s cheek. "I’ve never regretted my decision to have you, Dear."

Warning bells went off in Ryan’s head when she realized that Catherine had completely avoided the question. Jamie, however, didn’t seem to notice. "But what if you could have had me later? Would you like to have gone to Europe and worked for a while?"

Catherine took in a deep, contemplative breath. "If I could have orchestrated my future, I would have gone to Europe after graduation and worked for a few years. I think I would have found the work very fulfilling, but the biggest reason I would have enjoyed it is that it would have made my mother so happy. I will regret every day of my life that she died when there was so much distance between us." Turning to Jamie with tears in her eyes, she begged, "Please, please don’t ever drift away from me like I did with my mother."

Jamie was stunned by this information; it was clear that she didn’t quite know how to react. She finally stuck her hand out and grasped her mother’s small hand in hers. "I won’t, Mother," she promised. "I won’t drift away from you."

Ryan was struggling with her own emotions at this tender scene, but they were interrupted by the arrival of their server, asking if they needed anything else. Catherine excused herself to dry her eyes, and Jamie stared at her partner with an amazed look on her face. "I had no idea," she murmured, as she shook her head sadly.

"It explains that little visit to your house in April," Ryan commented, referring to the time Catherine dropped in on Jamie to try to enhance their tenuous connection.

"Yeah, I guess it does," she conceded as she stared at her omelet for long minutes.

When Catherine came back, her pleasant smile was back in place, along with her normally placid attitude. She sipped at her fresh drink and asked, "You don’t remember your grandfather much, do you, Jamie?"

Jamie shook her head slightly, not wanting to reveal that nearly all she recalled was a short, slight man with a cigar in one hand and a drink in the other. "I do remember being on his boat quite often," she offered, trying to put a good spin on her memories.

"He did love to sail," Catherine agreed. "That’s what finally proved to be the bridge between him and your father."

"Really? How so?" Jamie asked.

"My father was less than impressed with Jim," Catherine revealed. "He thought I should marry one of the young men from our social circle, someone who came from money, too. Jim had no social connections at all," Catherine laughed, "And my father thought he was primarily after my money."

"A common theme," Jamie mused.

"Yes, it is," Catherine agreed. "It’s funny," she mused. "We had so much money that we couldn’t have spent it all if we had tried. It seems that the more you have, the more you worry about someone trying to take it from you."

"You don’t seem like that," Ryan observed, feeling a little embarrassed that she had spoken this thought aloud.

Catherine smiled at her and said, "Far be it from me to disclaim my wealth, but I have come to see that money does not buy happiness. A good, loving, supportive relationship is hard to come by, Ryan. Making the other person’s financial status of prime importance is just ridiculous in my opinion."

"When did Grandfather change his opinion?" Jamie wondered.

"It took a while," Catherine admitted. "But once we had you I think he realized that he was stuck with your father, and he tried to find something in common with him. That turned out to be sailing," she said with a fond smile, thinking back to that time. "Your father grew to love the water nearly as much as my father did, and they bonded during their long hours of working together on Father’s boat." Her expression grew sad as she continued. "My father was ill for much of your childhood," she recalled. "It became a comfort to him to believe that Jim would take over for him, and keep an eye on the family fortune. Obviously he grew to trust him, or he would not have named your father as a co-trustee over his estate." A flash of anger darted across Catherine’s features so quickly that Ryan almost thought she had imagined it. However, it became clear that she felt some residual anger over the arrangement when she said, "Your grandfather was the type of man who believed that a woman could not be trusted to handle complex financial issues."

"That seems like a common theme, also," Jamie muttered. "Are you sure you and Daddy weren’t switched at birth? You seem more like Poppa’s daughter."

"That’s about the nicest compliment I’ve ever heard," Catherine smiled. "I only wish I were like Charles."

"I’m confused about one thing," Jamie said as they ate their meal.
"I thought you graduated from Stanford."

"Oh, I did, Dear," she agreed. "When you were six months old, I went back full time. It was hard on all of us since your father was a first year associate at Morris & Foster at the time, but I was determined to finish. It seemed like a very small thing I could do to make my mother proud of me…even though it was too late," she mused quietly.

"I’m sure she was proud of you," Jamie insisted.

Ryan turned to Catherine and fixed her with empathetic blue eyes. "My mother died when I was very young, but I truly believe that she shares in all of my accomplishments. I’m sure yours does too, Catherine."

"I hope so, Ryan," she said softly. "I hope so."

After brunch, Jamie and Ryan spent a little time walking around the grounds of the stately old hotel, finally sitting down on a bench to watch a tennis match. "That was pretty revealing," the blonde mused.

"It was," Ryan agreed, slipping Jamie’s hand into her own. "I like your mom more every time we’re together."

Jamie turned and gazed into Ryan’s eyes for a moment. "You know, I do too, Honey.
I do too."

On Monday morning, the volleyball team made their way through the obligatory five-mile run, with even Ryan and Jordan sticking to the bare minimum. Their grueling workouts were driving them both to the brink of exhaustion, but neither could admit that to the other.

"Do you want to get breakfast afterwards?" Ryan asked as they neared the end of the loop.

"Sure. I don’t have anything scheduled for the rest of the day."

"Great. Meet me in the locker room."

After a quick shower, she and Jordan went out for a real breakfast. Normally when they grabbed a bite it was just coffee and muffins, but she was feeling generous, so she offered to take her friend to a nice little cafe on a quiet street in Berkeley.

"I’ve never asked you, Ryan, how long have you and Jamie been together?"

"Since June 15, officially."

"That’s all?" she gaped. "The way you talk, I thought you’d been joined at the hip for a year or so at least! Do you think this is permanent?"

"I’m certain of it," Ryan replied confidently. "I dated a lot, and I do mean a lot," she said emphatically. "I never even really had a girlfriend. But once I got to know Jamie, I was hooked. I couldn’t even enjoy casual sex anymore. She ruined me!" she said with a hearty laugh.

Jordan gave her a shy smile and said, "I guess I shouldn’t wait around then, huh?"

Ryan sat up very straight in her seat and looked at her slowly. "Um, if you mean..."

"It’s okay, Ryan," she replied as she patted her thigh. "I would never make a move on someone who was attached. I’ve heard of your reputation, and I was hoping that we could have a little fling someday. I’m not really interested in anything long term right now, but I thought we could have a lot of fun together. Too bad, though; you look like your reputation is well deserved," she said with a shrug.

"Um, thanks," Ryan said weakly.

"Hey, did that upset you? I certainly didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. I’m just pretty up front about sex. I like for things to be clear."

"It’s okay, really," she said as they pulled up in front of the restaurant. When they were seated they quickly perused the menus, and both ordered omelets and bagels. When the server left Ryan said, "I need some practice with how to say no and not feel awkward. I’ve spent a lot of years saying yes, and this is much harder," she admitted.

"So you’re monogamous?"

"Yes!" she said with some alarm. "I mean, I’m not sure that we’ve ever said that word, but we’re together for life, Jordan. This isn’t something I’m doing until someone better comes along." She chuckled softly, adding, "I’d have to wait several lifetimes for that to happen, and even then it would only be because of evolutionary improvements."

"Calm down, Ryan," she laughed. "I’m not coming on to you. I just didn’t know how you had structured your relationship. I know a lot of people in committed relationships who still have sex outside of it."

"That’s not for us. I want to expend my energies on both of us getting what we need from each other."

Jordan nodded as she took in this information. After a minute she shot Ryan a sly smile and asked, "So you really were a player, huh?"

Ryan sighed, deciding to reveal the truth. "I hate to think of myself like that, but to be honest, I really was."

"Hasn’t it been hard to give up the excitement of meeting someone new and having that first flush of excitement the first time you kiss?"

"I think it’s going to be a challenge for me," she admitted. "And I’m sure that we’ll have some low times in our relationship where other women will look particularly appealing. But I’m going to be 24 this year. I’ve been sleeping with everyone who caught my eye since I was 17. I think that’s enough excitement for one lifetime," she laughed.

"I don’t know," Jordan replied. "I think I get off on the thrill of the chase a lot more than the capture. I get bored with people pretty quickly."

"Hey, no one loved the chase more than I did. But I’m discovering that really opening yourself up to love has rewards that surpass the thrill of the chase. Knowing that someone loves you for more than your body or your face is a very powerful feeling. Knowing that they’ll stick by you when things are hard is really meaningful for me. I wouldn’t trade Jamie for the chance to be with every gorgeous woman in the world. She means everything to me," Ryan said fervently.

Jordan just shook her head. "Boy, are you ever in deep! I think we need to pay a visit to Telegraph after breakfast. I want to buy you a little something to commemorate your enslavement!"

Jamie fumbled for her phone, finally getting it open on the fourth ring. "Hi," came the low voice, the melodic tone so familiar, but still possessing the ability to make her smile every time she heard it..

"Hi, I’m almost there. Don’t start without me," she replied. They had planned on going to the gym for a workout, and Jamie was on her way to meet Ryan there.

"Oh, I won’t," she said innocently. "You’re an integral ingredient."

"Ryan," she said suspiciously, "what’s going on?"

"I want to change our plans a little," Ryan explained.

"Really? What do you want to do?"

"You," she replied huskily.

Jamie quickly pulled over to the curb to make sure that her cell phone wasn’t distorting the message. "What did you say?"

"I said," she enunciated precisely, "that I…want…to…do…you. I want to do you several times, as a matter of fact. I want to do you right this very minute. And I want to keep on doing you until you beg for mercy."

The startled, yet aroused woman tried to create enough moisture in her mouth to be able to respond. Finally getting out, "Where are you?"

"Our house."

"Give me five."

It actually only took four, but that was because she ran from the car to the house and took the porch stairs two at a time. The door opened before she could knock, and a hand reached out and grabbed her wrist, pulling her in forcefully. Her feet left the floor as her lover whisked her into her arms and carried her up the stairs, her determination as obvious as her desire. Jamie was kicking off her shoes as they ascended, and when Ryan tossed her down onto the bed she immediately started to unbutton her jeans.

"Uh-uh," Ryan said, her dark head shaking slowly. She placed her hands on Jamie’s and gently lifted them from her waistband, placing them onto the bed. "Let me."

A gentle, knowing smirk settled on Jamie’s face as she locked eyes with her partner. Ryan truly loved to undress her, and the smaller woman knew that a significant portion of Ryan’s arousal came from performing this act.
If I’d known we were going to do this, I would have worn something sexier than a sports bra
, she mused, acknowledging Ryan’s strong preference for her sexiest lingerie.

Ryan knelt down on the floor and began to tease the clothes off of her very willing partner. It took nearly ten minutes to render her completely nude, but none of the time was wasted. The loosening of every button was followed by gentle kisses upon each inch of newly exposed skin. Kisses rained down on her belly as her shirt was opened in an excruciatingly slow manner. Once the buttons had been opened, the kisses followed the sliding fabric down each arm until Jamie’s squirming became too intense for Ryan to concentrate. She placed her hands very firmly upon wriggling hips and held her completely still. Very serious blue eyes gazed at Jamie, fully capturing her attention. Ryan’s voice was low, and slow, and terrifically sexy, and her eyes glittered with the promise of how she planned to love her partner. "I don’t want you to move another inch. If you do, I won’t do this," she said as she abruptly bent and kissed a wet path from the base of Jamie’s belly, up her torso, around a shoulder and down to her fingertips.

Following instructions to perfection, nary a muscle twitched as the path of kisses was created. But Ryan had not forbidden moaning, groaning, or panting, and these were done with abandon. The throbbing in Ryan’s groin grew stronger as she watched her lover try to remain still, and she smiled at Jamie and placed a very gentle kiss upon her hungry lips. "You’re doing very, very well." But when Jamie tried to intensify the kiss, Ryan pulled back, needing to be in complete control this morning. "Uh-uh-uh," she chided, tapping the tip of Jamie’s nose with her finger. "Your only task is to lie back and let me love you. I’m in charge today, Baby."

A silent nod gave Ryan permission to lead the dance, and the glittering highlights in the moss green eyes indicated that Jamie was very happy with the decision.

Ryan was still fully clothed in blue jeans and a red tank top, but she did not want to waste the time to undress at the moment. She was having too much fun, and Jamie was too turned on to stop. "Now remember not to move…at all. I’m going to keep my hands on your hips. If you so much as flinch, I’m going to stop. Do you understand?"

She nodded her head only enough to signal her complete acceptance.

Climbing onto the bed again, Ryan started at the very tip of Jamie’s ear, nibbling, kissing and sucking a blazing path across her cheek and onto her moist parted lips. The gasp of pleasure accompanied by the low, sexy moan was almost too much for Ryan to take, and she had to fight to maintain her control and her pace. Consciously slowing her heartbeat, Ryan leaned in again, this time lingering on her lips until it became too hard to breathe. She sat up, panting slightly, and took a deep breath. Jamie was staring at her with hooded eyes, her face a study in desire--her lips were slightly swollen from the intense kissing mixed with her arousal, and her nostrils flared with each breath. She struggled to keep her eyes open, batting them seductively at her partner.

Still firmly holding her hips, Ryan bent her head to touch Jamie’s aching breasts for the first time. She loved each tender mound with equal intensity and dedication, lavishing soft kisses upon both, as she felt her partner’s struggle to avoid moving against her. Focusing again, she interspersed light bites with soft, wet swipes of her tongue; forceful sucks with tender mouthings; delicate suckling with firm nuzzling-- each met with a different cry or gasp. Jamie faithfully followed her admonishment and did not move, not even twitching her burning muscles. She did, however, give Ryan every instruction that she needed without using her body. The more forceful the touch, the more forceful the moan. The nibbles were rewarded with grunts. The sharp little bites received gasps of appreciation. The slow, loving suckling received low, deep sighs.

Since Jamie had proven herself to be so compliant, Ryan finally let go of her hips. She raised both hands to hold a breast firmly at the base, forcing the flesh upwards and stretching the skin taut. When she lowered her head, she began to suck the entire mound into her mouth as deeply as she could. After just a few powerful pulls Jamie cried out loudly, simultaneously breaking every rule. Her hands flew to Ryan’s head pulling her roughly against her tortured flesh. Her hips lifted off the bed and began to futilely thrust into the air. Her breathing became louder and more ragged, as a growl began low in her chest. Seconds later she screamed out her release as she held onto Ryan’s head, rolling frantically from side to side, taking Ryan’s attached head right with her. Her hold did not loosen in the least as she ground her breast against her lover in decreasingly desperate thrusts, her breathing slowing down with her increasingly weak motions. Finally spent, she released her grip and let her arms fall to the bed. Her legs were splayed open limply beneath Ryan, and her breathing was quick and shallow. A few anemic moans barely had enough force to be heard, but Ryan smiled at each, knowing a sincere, albeit weak, ovation when she heard one.

Laughing a little as she rolled off of Jamie’s sweat-drenched body, she shook her head regretfully and informed her. "You moved. I’m going to have to stop now. I hate to do it, but a promise is a promise."

"Have I ever told you how much I love your ideas?" she asked weakly, a faint laugh joining her partner’s.

"You’ve mentioned something along those lines," Ryan acknowledged, slipping an arm under Jamie’s shoulders to pull her into a warm embrace. "I have to give you some credit with inspiring my ideas though. They’re not as much fun when I act on them alone."

"You just keep talking, Honey, I’m having too much trouble getting my mouth to work."

"Ohh," Ryan pouted teasingly, "I had big plans for that mouth. Will it work again later?"

Jamie sighed heavily and affected a long-suffering sigh. "Oh, all right. I suppose you deserve some small reward for your brilliant idea."

As Jamie began to unbutton Ryan’s jeans, she noticed a large wet spot on the front of her thigh. "How did that get there?"

"You don’t remember locking your legs around my thigh and humping me with abandon?"

"Uh-uh," she said blankly, having no memory whatsoever of said act. "Are you sure you didn’t come that way?"

"Oh, I almost came that way," she admitted with a sexy grin. "And speaking of coming, may I compliment you on having your first breast orgasm?"

"You’ve always known they were my favorite erogenous zone. Now you know just how much I like them."

"I like them an awful lot too," she said fondly, tapping each pink nipple with her fingertip.

"Well, I like yours too, and I want to see them," she announced as she began to tug at Ryan’s tank top. "Ummm, I love it when you don’t wear a bra. Your breasts just look so scrumptious jiggling around under here," she said as she slid her hands under the snug top to cup the flesh.