Zero Visibility (29 page)

Cassie stared at her for a beat, swallowed hard, then took in a shaky breath in and let it out slowly. She leaned in, captured Emerson’s lips with her own and kissed her unhurriedly. Emerson let herself get lost in the feeling of Cassie’s mouth on hers, of the softness of her lips, the warmth of her tongue. She slid her hand along the back of Cassie’s neck, under her ponytail, and held her close. After long moments, Cassie finally pulled away. “We have to eat and I have to get back downstairs and if I keep kissing you, neither of those things is going to happen.”

Emerson grabbed both sides of her face and kissed her again. Hard.

Long moments went by before finally, and with a reluctant groan, Cassie wrenched herself away and went back to the sandwiches, settling each onto the frying pan with a gentle sizzle. Emerson watched her work in happy silence, amazed at how comfortable she suddenly felt. She had no idea what had happened this morning, but it was kind of amazing.

Cassie dished the sandwiches onto plates, brought them to the counter, and took a seat next to Emerson. They ate quietly, occasionally smiling at one another. Her last bite of her sandwich in her hand, Emerson spoke.

“I have a favor to ask.”

Cassie nodded for her to continue, chewing.

“There’s so much to do, so much to deal with, and I just want to hide out a little while longer, enjoy some peace.” She cleared her throat. “Can I maybe stay here tonight?” Before Cassie could answer, she held up a hand. “I can sleep on the couch—as we both witnessed earlier—so there’s no pressure or anything. I just…don’t want to go back yet and face all of my new, self-imposed responsibilities.”

Cassie finished chewing and swallowed. “You can stay as long as you want. And you will
not
be sleeping on the couch.” She stood and gathered their plates. Then she leaned close to Emerson and said, “You may not even be sleeping.”

Emerson felt the heat again, felt her face redden and her palms begin to sweat, and this time, the heat moved down her body and settled as an insistent ache between her legs.

Cassie kissed Emerson’s mouth quickly, winked, and took the dishes into the kitchen.

***

Cassie was exhausted. Bone-deep, aching muscles exhausted. The first big ski sale of the season was always chaos—in a good way. But wow, she was amazed she could still stand. Her feet hurt, her eyes burned, and her brain was tired. Gordie must have felt similarly tired, as he waited quietly at her feet while she opened the door to her apartment…though that changed when he caught the scent of somebody else occupying their space. He flew through the door and beelined to the bedroom.

Cassie didn’t bother to try to stop him. She just smiled and kicked off her shoes, then followed her dog.

Emerson sat up in Cassie’s bed, remote in one hand, Gordie’s belly being scratched by the other. She wore one of Cassie’s old Buffalo Bills T-shirts. Her face looked freshly scrubbed, and her eyes were clear and smiling.

I could get used to this
, Cassie thought immediately, but dared not say it. The vision of Emerson in her jammies in Cassie’s bed was something to behold. She leaned against the doorjamb, folded her arms across her chest, and just grinned.

Emerson looked up and saw her, put down the remote. “Hi there. Your dog is vicious, by the way.”

“He is. He’s just lulling you into a false sense of security. That’s actually attack mode.”

Emerson chuckled. “I’d better be careful then. How was work? You look tired.”

“I’m beat. It was very busy.” Cassie entered the room and took a seat on the bed where she could join in on the scratching. “Lots of sales. Always a good thing.”

“Good.” Emerson looked down, picked at the T-shirt. “I hope you don’t mind. I borrowed some pajamas.”

“I don’t mind.” Their gazes held, then Cassie gestured to the bed with her eyes. “Is there room in there for me?”

“I don’t know. This shirt is pretty small.”

“Ha ha. Be right back.”

In the small bathroom, Cassie brushed her teeth and stared at her reflection. She was not only tired, she looked it, dark circles under her eyes, her skin sullen and dull. With a sigh, she washed her face and hands, put on deodorant, and spritzed a little perfume. She pulled the rubber band from her hair and let it fall around her shoulders. Then she reached for the worn Syracuse T-shirt hanging on the back of the door and pulled it over her head. Wearing only that and her panties, she turned off the bathroom light and opened the door.

Gordie had moved to his spot at the foot of the bed, where he would stay until he got too warm. Then he would jump to the floor and under the bed as soon as he was sure his pack was safe. It was the same routine every night.

Emerson turned to look at her and simply stared until Cassie shifted uncomfortably.

“You look amazing,” Emerson said softly.

Cassie gave an amused shrug as she walked forward and stopped at the edge of the bed. “This shirt is about seven years old. It’s from my college days and believe me, it has seen more than its share of beer and chicken wings.” Her chuckle died in her throat as Emerson grasped her by the wrist and looked her in the eyes.

“You look amazing,” she said again. “Come here.” She pulled Cassie to her until she’d crawled across the bed to meet Emerson’s mouth.

They kissed slowly, unhurried, like they had all the time in the world. And they did. Gordie hopped off the bed and then crawled under it as Emerson pulled Cassie closer, slid both hands up the sides of her neck, and dug her fingers into dark, loose hair.

“I rarely see you with your hair down,” she whispered. “You’re even more gorgeous, and I didn’t think that was possible.” Then she grasped Cassie’s head and pulled her in for another searing kiss. It was blissful…soft, warm, and a little bit demanding. Cassie sank into it for long moments, and when she pulled back slightly to breathe…an enormous yawn pushed out of her.

Their gazes held for a second before they both broke into laughter.

Cassie covered her eyes with her hand. “Oh, my god, I’m so sorry.” She felt her cheeks redden with heat.

“I guess I should work on my moves,” Emerson said, but she was grinning, and she pulled Cassie in close. “You’re tired. I get it. Here.” She shifted and helped Cassie settle in against her under the covers, Cassie’s head on her chest, Emerson’s fingers digging gently into Cassie’s hair, scratching her scalp. “Just relax and I’ll do the same. We’ve both had a pretty tumultuous day.”

“We have.” Cassie snuggled in closer, burrowed her head up and under Emerson’s chin, wrapped her arm around Emerson’s middle, then exhaled a long, contented breath, let herself revel in the feeling of Emerson’s fingers. “Oh, this is good.”

“Yeah?”

“It’s perfect.”

“Good. Just close your eyes.” Emerson reached for the remote and turned the volume down a couple clicks. Then she zipped through channels until she came to a rerun of
Criminal Minds
. When she looked down to ask Cassie if she minded the show, Cassie was fast asleep. Emerson smiled, pressed a kiss to the top of the dark head, and settled in.

***

Cassie didn’t know what woke her up, but she lay in her bed with the unfamiliar—and wonderful—feeling of Emerson spooned behind her. The clock on the night table said it was 1:47, and she could hear Gordie gently snuffling in his sleep under the bed. She clasped Emerson’s hand and pulled it up to her lips and kissed the knuckles, trying to remember when she’d last felt this utterly content.

To her surprise, Emerson shifted behind her. Her arm tightened a bit, then her fingers gently found Cassie’s face and turned it so she looked into eyes that were a beautiful blue even in only the moonlight. Their gazes locked for a beat before Emerson lowered her mouth to capture Cassie’s. Cassie’s entire body was suddenly awake, alive, and flooded with sensation. She turned herself fully, and Emerson slid on top of her. They kissed deeply, almost roughly, tongues doing battle as their breathing became ragged.

They moved easily together. Seamlessly. That thought crossed Cassie’s mind moments later as she lay under Emerson, stripped of her T-shirt, her painfully erect nipple in Emerson’s mouth, Emerson’s hand tugging her panties down over her backside. Seamlessly, as if they’d been making love together for years. She held Emerson’s head to her chest, Emerson’s short blonde hair like silk against her hand. She slipped it down Emerson’s back, grasped the hem of the T-shirt, and pulled it up.

“Fair is fair,” she whispered at Emerson’s arched eyebrow. Then she pulled the shirt over Emerson’s head and tossed it aside. “God, you’re beautiful,” she remarked, and meant it. Emerson’s skin glowed, her breasts small and perfect, her shoulders broad and strong. Emerson’s mouth came crashing down on hers then, and all thoughts were banished from her head, Emerson’s mouth, Emerson’s tongue, Emerson’s hands the only things she could focus on.

Cassie felt her panties pulled the rest of the way down, and she helped kick them off. An involuntary groan escaped her as Emerson used her leg to separate Cassie’s, then pressed her thigh up into Cassie’s center. Emerson gasped, and pulled back to look in Cassie’s eyes, moving her thigh very gently up and down, sliding through Cassie’s wetness. Cassie swallowed hard and clung to Emerson’s shoulders. Their eye contact never wavered. A few more moments of blissful torture, and Emerson shifted. She moved her body, spreading Cassie’s legs farther apart, and settled her hips between them. Cassie bent her legs, lifted them, squeezed her knees against Emerson, and she groaned again, her eyes drifting closed.

Emerson nuzzled Cassie’s neck, her lips and tongue finding the sensitive skin there and nibbling while at the same time, she slid her hand down Cassie’s stomach and between her thighs. Cassie was soaked; she could tell by how easily Emerson’s fingers moved, gliding against her flesh, causing waves of warmth to spread through her core, her legs trembling with it. Emerson found her mouth again and kissed her, firm and deep, as she pushed her fingers into Cassie, then slipped them out, gathering wetness before pressing back in.

Cassie felt her knees drop open, as if they had minds of their own and wanted to do everything they could to give Emerson more access. Emerson’s breasts were in her hands now, and she cupped them, kneaded them, rolled the hardened nipples between her thumbs and forefingers, but her focus was split. Every time Emerson’s fingers came out and slicked through her wetness before pushing back in, Cassie felt her orgasm draw a little bit closer. It was deliciously teasing, and shot a tingling sensation through her entire body each time. Her breath came in torn gasps whenever Emerson let her up for air, and
oh, my god, has it ever been this good before
was the only thought that she was able to comprehend. When she finally decided she could take no more, she wrenched her mouth from Emerson’s and grabbed her wrist, stopping her from pushing back into Cassie’s center. When Emerson met her gaze, Cassie simply whispered, “Please,” then let Emerson’s hand go. One side of Emerson’s lovely mouth quirked up and she kept eye contact with Cassie as she began moving her hand again. Slowly this time, pressing, sliding, circling, watching Cassie’s face, gauging her reactions.

The warm waves started up again, but Emerson kept moving, used her hips to push her hand more firmly against Cassie, and held her gaze. Cassie gasped a small breath, and her lips formed an O before Emerson gave her one more stroke, the stroke that pushed her over the precipice and pulled a guttural, surprisingly low-pitched moan from Cassie’s throat. Her muscles tensed as she arched her neck and held onto Emerson as tightly as she could while colors exploded behind her eyelids.

***

Hours later, they lay entwined like vines of the same plant, their legs tangled together, Emerson spooned behind Cassie again, her warm breasts pressed into Cassie’s back. Both of them were content, sated. Cassie could tell by the deep evenness of Emerson’s breaths that she’d fallen asleep, and she loved that Emerson was comfortable enough to do so in her bed, wrapped around her like she was. Of course, the amazing sex had played a part, she was sure. Her brain tossed her a couple images, flashes of hands and mouths and legs, the sound of Emerson’s orgasm still fresh in her head, the intake of breath and the quiet whimper. Cassie smiled. She couldn’t help it.

But now she had questions. So many questions.

She wished she was the kind of person who could simply shut off her brain for a while. Take a hiatus. Breathe. Not worry. But the truth was, she wasn’t that kind of person and never would be, and she knew this about herself. She made a mental note to make sure Emerson knew this about her. She should know going in. Vanessa had trouble with it, with Cassie rarely being able to just let something go, let it sit, leave it alone.

What happens next?

That was the big question. And she wanted to ask it so badly she had to clench her hands into fists and focus on keeping them in front of her rather than reaching back to wake up Emerson so she could ask.

She certainly wasn’t naïve enough to believe that everything was magically perfect now between her and Emerson. Cassie was an adult, after all, and she’d been through her share of bumps and curves when it came to relationships. She was understandably wary. They weren’t going to set up a house together and live happily ever after…at least not yet. Was Cassie being ridiculous to hope that one day they would? Because that’s the kind of person she was; she wanted the happily ever after. She always had. How was it that she could absolutely see herself with Emerson for the long haul? How did that happen so quickly?

It scared the bejesus out of her.

Lack of naivety aside, there was nothing she’d like more than to throw herself completely into this relationship. Wait, could she even call it that? They’d had sex. That was all. Yes, it was amazing, mind-blowing, limb-melting sex, but it was just sex. There’d been no professions of love, no promises for the future.

Although.

Emerson did say she thought they had something worth exploring. Right? That was pretty huge coming from somebody like her. It was positive. It hinted at a future. But Emerson would still have to go back to L.A. All her stuff was there. She had an apartment, belongings, a car. What if she went back to L.A. and realized she wanted to stay there? Decided not to return to Lake Henry after all?