Undisclosed Desires (High Rise Novella Two) (7 page)

“No, that’s fine.” Nat squeezed Cindy’s thigh. “I’m sorry for dragging you all the way up here.”

“It’s okay. I just want you to feel better.”

“I will. I just…” Nat stretched herself upward. Why did she do this to herself? This is why Isabella had insisted on her abandoning her antics of picking up and swiftly abandoning girls. To shield her from even more emptiness.

“I’ll go now.” Cindy rose from the sofa. “Please rest.”

“I will.” Nat accompanied her to the door. “See you at The Bean this week.”

“Yeah.” All hope had left Cindy’s eyes. She might be young but she wasn’t stupid.

Nat let the door fall shut behind her and leaned against it, banging her head into the wood a few times. Cindy was gone, but Isabella was still sharing her bed with Sophie two floors above. If only Alex were here. They’d watch a stupid movie together, shoulder to shoulder, and Nat would give her hell about it. Alex, who had only moved in two months ago and who Nat missed as if she’d lived in the flat for two years before she started seeing Maddie.
 

Nat knew Alex’s absence wasn’t the real issue.
 

This would make an excellent black comedy, Nat thought as she wandered to the liquor cabinet. She poured herself another drink, but only sniffed it. It didn’t taste as good as before.

A soft knock on the door startled her. She checked the wall clock. It was almost eleven. Either Cindy had forgotten something or Alex had had her first row with Maddie. She secretly hoped for the latter, then immediately felt guilty for doing so.

For the second time that day, Isabella appeared in her doorframe. A crushing weight seemed to lift from Nat’s shoulders at the sight of her.

“You have to stop showing up like this, Doc.” Nat couldn’t suppress a wide beaming smile. “You may put thoughts in my head.”

“And what if I do?” Isabella fiddled with her fingers and a blush crept up her cheeks. “I don’t mean to intrude on you and Cindy, but—”

“Cindy left.”

“Oh.” Isabella pinched her eyebrows together. “So did Sophie.”

“Did she get sick of you running down to scold me?” Nat opened the door wide to invite Isabella in.

“Something like that.” Isabella entered and eyed the open bottle of Scotch. Nat took the hint and poured her a glass. They both settled in the sofa. “What a day.”

Nat found Isabella’s eyes. “Crazy.” Her throat seemed to constrict around the word. She took a quick sip to hide her nerves. “I shouldn’t have pushed you into Sophie’s arms. It was a mistake.”
 

“Why was it a mistake?” Isabella didn’t take her eyes off Nat when she drank.

“I think you know why.”

Isabella shook her head. “Too much has been left unsaid between us. We need to change that.”

“It’s not that I disagree, but the written word is more my field of expertise.” Nat’s heart jumped in her chest.
 

“I noticed.” A small smile played around Isabella’s lips. “But it’s as much my fault as any. I just… thought I didn’t stand a chance.” Isabella’s voice trembled. “Which is a pretty lame excuse, I know.”

“Is that really your definition of clearing the air?” It was Nat’s turn to smile now. “I believe I asked you once before, after which you took the cowardly way out and completely shut down.” Nat inched closer until their hands almost touched. “Here’s your second chance to give it to me straight, Doc.”
 

Isabella adjusted her posture and swallowed before speaking. “I believe I may be falling for your charms.”

Butterflies rose in Nat’s stomach. She set her glass aside. “I’m fairly certain the feeling is entirely mutual.”

They both giggled like Hello Kitty girls.

“Are you going to kiss me or what?” Isabella got rid of her glass as well.

“Patience, Doc. You’ve waited this long.” If Nat inched any closer she’d be on top of Isabella—which wouldn’t be a bad place to be.

“True and I’ve run out of patience.” Isabella put one hand on Nat’s neck and drew her near. She brushed her lips against Nat’s lightly then retracted. “Before this goes any further.” She gave Nat a crooked smile. “You’re not the first woman I’ve kissed today, but the only one I’ve wanted to kiss for weeks.”

Then, at last, she surrendered. Their lips met and, instead of the usual frenzy taking over, that unstoppable drive to almost literally take the other, to pin them down and drive out her demons, Nat let herself drift off into the soft caresses of Isabella’s lips. She let them carry her to a place of gentle bliss she hadn’t visited in years.

ISABELLA

Isabella was struck by the difference in emotions coursing through her when Nat kissed her. Earlier that day, when Sophie had pushed her against the tree, it had been exciting but more because of the circumstances than because of the woman. Now, it felt like a life-changing event.

Nat broke free from their embrace and hoisted herself out of the sofa. She extended her hand and Isabella eagerly accepted it. They rushed to Nat’s bedroom at the end of the hallway.

“Did you do it?” Nat asked as she dragged her onto the bed. It was unmade, a pile of books on either side.
 

“Do what?” Isabella’s brain had stopped performing anything but basic functions.

“You and Sophie. Did you hook up?”

Isabella scanned Nat’s eyes for signs of jealousy. All she saw was an amused smile and big blue eyes glinting with desire. “Yes.”

Nat stretched her grin a little further. “And now you’re about to jump into bed with me. How promiscuous for a woman your age.”

Isabella ran her fingers down Nat’s neck. “Oh yeah, I sure am the promiscuous one here.”
 

Nat pushed herself up and toppled Isabella off her. “My days of promiscuity might be over, but I am still a top.” She slid her body over Isabella’s, her knee hitching up her skirt.
 

Isabella noticed Nat casting her glance to the side of the bed. She followed Nat’s line of vision and her eyes met with a sizeable purple strap-on. She wanted Nat, but not like this. Not as if she was just one of her girls.

“Why don’t we go to my place?”

Nat stared down at her. She drew her lips into a pout before speaking. “I don’t suppose you want me to take that thing?” She nodded at the toy. She was more than smart enough to get it.

* * *

“I think it’s only fair I shower first before inviting you into my boudoir.” Isabella needed to wash the day—and Sophie—off her.

“I hope that’s an invitation.” Nat responded by pulling her t-shirt over her head.

A tingle crept up Isabella’s spine. “I can hardly leave you alone with my Scotch collection.” Nat stood in front of her, with only a bra covering her breasts and her hands on her hips. Isabella reached for her, hooked three fingers in the waistband of her jeans and pulled her close. She dragged her nails over Nat’s naked skin while finding her lips. If they didn’t make it to the shower soon she’d be a lost cause. “Come on.”

They left a trail of discarded clothes on their way to the bathroom. Isabella hesitated to take her underwear off. Gym sessions and subsequent locker room encounters aside, she hadn’t taken it all off for someone in a long time.
 

Lust brimmed in Nat’s eyes as she took the final step towards Isabella. She curled a hand around Isabella’s neck and drew her in for another kiss, while her other hand crept up her back and, with one quick snap of the fingers, undid her bra. Years of practice, Isabella guessed, but abandoned the thought as soon as the back of Nat’s hand flitted along the side of her left breast.

Isabella stepped out of her panties and opened the glass door of the walk-in shower. She turned the tab to steamy hot, eager for some clouds of fog to rise between them now that the differences between a late forty-year-old and an early thirty-year-old body became clear.
 

The skin that stretched tautly over Nat’s abs glistened as the first drops of water rained down on her and Isabella had to question her motives again. Was this more than a subconscious desire to flirt with youth now she was approaching fifty? Nat didn’t give her time to process. She pressed her against the tiled shower wall, taking control, no doubt because that’s what she always did. Isabella would let her for now, but she had other plans for later.

“I believe someone needs a thorough scrub.” Nat’s words were hot in her ear, her fingers gripping her waist. She reached for the soap while pushing her pelvis into Isabella’s, the crash of skin on skin swirling through Isabella’s bones the way steam was slowly swirling toward the ceiling—moist and lingering.

While rubbing the soap to white foam between her hands, Nat pinned her eyes on Isabella, her crooked grin baring more teeth than usual. Her dark hair clung to her forehead in short wet strands, drops of water streaming down her face. A sight so sexy Isabella was glad she had the support of the wall against her back.

Nat brought her hands to Isabella’s shoulders and started applying the bubbly soap in downward circles. Isabella’s skin turned to gooseflesh under Nat’s prolonged caresses. Her nipples puckered up as Nat’s hands zoned in. The circles reached her breasts and Isabella became acutely aware of not just the wetness surrounding her, but, even more so, the juices drizzling from between her legs.

When Nat’s fingers encircled her nipples, both of them at the same time being stroked to rock hard peaks, a deep throaty moan escaped her. Nat’s breath came quicker as well, short puffs of air floating between them. Their lips, slippery and wet, found each other again and just as Nat bit down on Isabella’s bottom lip she pinched both her nipples between soapy fingers.

“Mmm,” Isabella groaned and spread her legs. Whatever this was—inevitable signs of a midlife crisis, a creative way of helping a friend or the beginning of something beautiful—Isabella was ready for Nat’s fingers inside her.

Nat transported the foam to Isabella’s abdomen, drawing more circles there, before letting her hands dip down slightly—but nowhere near low enough.

“Turn around,” she hissed into Isabella’s ear. “It’s so easy to neglect the back when you’re in the shower.”

Despite an overwhelming desire to grab Nat’s hand and guide it to where she wanted it—inside—Isabella did as she was told. The touch of the tiles on her nipples stiffened them even more, or maybe it was the way Nat scratched her nails along her spine.

“More soap.” Nat squirted more liquid into her hands and Isabella shut her eyes and surrendered to Nat’s will. Her hand’s floated like feathers over Isabella’s back, slithering the soap over her skin in long, fluid motions. The first contact with her behind made Isabella’s pussy throb so violently, so desperately, it made her knees buckle.

Isabella hadn’t allowed herself this kind of desire for years, this kind of all-engulfing, all-encompassing lust that soared through her flesh and crushed her sanity.

Nat’s hands kneaded her butt cheeks in ever-expanding circles. Soon her fingers dived between her legs, always halting just before touching too much. Wetness oozed out of Isabella. She pressed her entire torso against the wall for support, leaving her butt to stick out.

Nat moved the action of her hands to Isabella’s inner thighs, stroking them again and again with the fingers of one hand while the other rested on Isabella’s left cheek, nails digging deep, her thumb pointing to Isabella’s moistening pussy.

Then, at last, Nat’s fingers inched closer.
 

“Aah,” Isabella cried out, just because of the long-awaited connection of fingers on lips. They tickled the length of her pussy.
 

“I think your back is clean now.” Nat hunched over her and slid the tip of her finger inside briefly. “Turn around.”

Isabella stood panting against the wall. She took a deep breath before spinning her body around to face Nat. The look in Nat’s eyes had shifted from lustful to determined. This is what she does, Isabella concluded. This is her comfort zone. She had every intention of crashing through the walls around it later, but first, her own pleasure needed tending to.

Nat kissed her full on the mouth with soaking wet lips. Their bodies slicked against each other, lubricated by soap and water. Isabella spread her legs wide. Nat started circling again, around Isabella’s clit this time. It swelled and pulsed and Isabella dug her hands into Nat’s hair, threading a few strands around her fingers, and held on for dear life.

A fire started in her belly as Nat entered. Isabella had no idea how many fingers Nat was pushing inside of her. She was only aware of the pleasure sparking through her flesh and the way the fingers drew groan after groan from her throat.

Something came alive inside of Isabella, exactly in the spot where Nat kept touching her. It tingled its way through her blood, up her spine, all across the planes of her skin. As if Nat’s fingers knocked on a long closed door, awakening a slumbering joy inside of her.

Then she knew it had nothing to do with her age or her will to free Nat from that crushing weight on her shoulders. This was emotion connecting with physicality, feelings colliding with hot, sweaty flesh. This was why this time, as opposed to this afternoon with Sophie, the stars came crashing down more with each of Nat’s thrusts.
 

Nat flicked the thumb of her other hand over Isabella’s clit while she kept digging her fingers inside. Isabella grabbed Nat’s head with two hands and held it in position in front of her face, panting and moaning. She wanted to see Nat’s eyes when it happened, needed to be as close to her as possible.

The expression on Nat’s face was deadly serious—as if this was a matter of life and death for her. Water spilled down from above, raining on their skin, intensifying everything. Nat quickened the pace of both her thumb on Isabella’s clit and her fingers inside of her. She bored her blue eyes, lashes dripping, into Isabella’s.

Isabella dragged her thumb over Nat’s lips, hard, before allowing herself to tip over the edge. It spread from her cunt to her fingertips and toes in jerky waves, slapping her senseless in the process. It beat through her blood to the rhythm of Nat’s fingers, insistent and confident. Warmth gathered in her belly and exploded before collapsing all over her.