The Touch of a Woman (30 page)

The next day would be even worse because she’d wake up wondering if Ellis and Rex had slept together. If she stewed on it hard enough, it might even come as a relief if they had, since she wouldn’t have to dread its eventuality. Ellis would probably tell her, and then by mutual unspoken agreement, they’d never talk about it again.

Friendship. Nothing more, nothing less.

She opened her door and froze at the sight of Ellis coming up her walk, rolling her suitcase behind.

“Were you going somewhere?” Ellis asked.

“I was…but I’m not now.” She took the bag and dragged it inside, her insides fluttering with excitement. “You changed your mind.”

“I decided I’d rather be here,” Ellis said. “I hope that’s okay.”

“You know it is.” Summer was afraid to presume too much, even with a suitcase in her foyer. “Was there something about Rex?”

“In a way, I guess. He wasn’t you.” The corner of Ellis’s mouth turned up in the start of a smile, and she held out a hand. “Why would I want to be with anyone else when I can be with someone I love?”

Summer repeated every word back to herself to be sure she understood. “Oh, my gosh.”

In the open foyer, there was no place to fall, no way to brace herself against the force of Ellis’s sudden kiss. She gave in, arching her back and trusting Ellis to support her weight. Tongues and teeth. And hands already inside her sweater snaking up her back.

“Please don’t go changing your mind again. Losing you once is more than enough.”

“I’m as sure as I know how to be.” Ellis took charge, tugging her down the hall toward the bedroom. With a wild swipe, she hurled the covers back as if the bed were her own. Presenting her back, she commanded, “Unzip me.”

Summer didn’t care that she seemed to be in a hurry. This was a whole new experience in the light of day and she intended to relish it one inch at a time. She left a trail of kisses where the skin was newly revealed. Midway down her back, she discovered a strapless bra and freed its clasp.

The dress and bra fell in a heap, followed by her slip and hose. Summer couldn’t resist cupping her bare bottom. With her chin on Ellis’s shoulder, she murmured, “I need you to stand right here until I’m naked.”

That took hardly a moment, and the next time she stepped close, she wrapped her hands around Ellis’s hips and pulled her backward. Straining for contact, she ground against the pillow-soft flesh.

“Do that to me,” Ellis rasped. She flung herself across the bed face down, and bending her knees to open herself from behind.

The sight of her pretty pink labia was nearly enough to make Summer come on the spot. She pushed herself into the cleft, twisting side to side to feel the friction. There was a toy for this and she would get it—brand new with Ellis’s name on it. But for now, nothing could feel this good. She parted the wet folds and slid a finger inside…then three.

Ellis rolled with excitement, tightening with every rise. Her brow furrowed, her eyes closed.

Resting all of her weight against her backside, Summer finally reached her other hand around and found Ellis’s fingertips already massaging the taut bundle of nerves at the top of the slippery fold. In a matter of seconds, Ellis shuddered and cried out.

Summer wanted to hear that for the rest of her life.

* * *

Ellis lay panting on the bed, relishing the feel of Summer’s smooth skin covering the length of her body. She’d come only twice before growing too sensitive, but she was sure there would be many more to follow. How could she have thought she could leave this?

Summer’s head fell against her shoulder. “I love you. I think I would have died if you hadn’t come back.”

There might be hell to pay for that decision. Rex had managed to hold his temper, but he was far from okay with how she’d broken their date. It would have been much worse to have led him on, she reasoned. Especially since there was no chance he could compete with what she felt for Summer. “I’m back for good, so I hope you’re ready for that. I’m dragging a lot of baggage.”

“That’s the great thing about there being two of us. I’m here to help you unpack it.”

Ellis wriggled out from under the weight and tipped Summer onto her back. As they kissed, she mapped every inch of Summer’s body within reach of her fingertips, including the wet hollow between her legs. Then she brought those fingers to her lips to taste the tangy essence.

The memory of what Summer had said the night they’d first made love played in her ear.
When you’re ready to show how you feel, you won’t have any doubts about what to do
.

Her mouth began the journey. From her sensitive neck to the rise of her breasts, where she lingered until Summer moved to touch herself.

“No, that’s mine,” Ellis murmured as she captured the wandering hand.

Lower…past her navel and across the smooth plane of skin that surrounded her silky curls. She knew exactly what Summer was feeling—the anticipation as she drew closer, the thrill of knowing a soft tongue would soon touch her. It was no surprise when her legs parted to invite her in.

Ellis nestled into the space and inhaled her arousal. Parting the lips with her fingers, she found the pink skin glistening. Then for the first time she tasted the softest part of a woman.

* * *

The waiter dropped off their drinks, club soda and a glass of chardonnay, and took their dinner order.

Ellis offered a toast when he left. “This was a great idea.”

“You couldn’t possibly think I was going to let you waste that lovely dress,” Summer told her with a chuckle.

After three hours of making love and dozing beneath the warm covers, they’d showered together and called The Waterboy for a reservation. Apparently it was one of Sacramento’s finest restaurants and thus a perfect place to celebrate the first night of their renewed commitment. They’d lucked into a corner table so far from the bustle of the main dining area that it gave them an aura of privacy.

Summer, having already spent her only evening dress on the night they went to the ballet, wore black slacks with a silk shirt and one of Ellis’s vibrant scarves.

“I like you in those colors,” Ellis said as she reached across the elegant linen tablecloth to finger the scarf. “Reds and blues make your eyes pop. Did you know that?”

“You make my eyes pop. The very first time I saw you, I had to find out who you were. And wouldn’t you know it? That would be the night my ex showed up after too many drinks. I was so embarrassed.”

Ellis vividly recalled her stroll along the sidewalk where she’d been retrieving something from her car.

“I thought you were so pretty,” Summer said.

“You weren’t so bad yourself, you know. Though you looked kind of pitiful limping around on your broken toe. Tell me again how you did that.”

Summer shared the tale of “game night” at her friend Courtney’s. “I want you to come with me next time. You’ll have to teach them how to play Spoons. I’ll bring the Band-Aids.”

Ellis arched one of her eyebrows to show her skepticism, a look she’d perfected over twenty-some years of raising kids. “How do you think that’ll go over? Not the Spoons…I’m talking about the part where I’m hanging out with you and all of Rita’s friends.”

“It could be a little tricky at first,” Summer conceded. “Not at Courtney’s, because Rita never goes to game night. You’ll probably meet her eventually though. The lesbian community’s too small to avoid somebody forever.”

The lesbian community
. “Am I part of that now…the lesbian community? I’m not sure I think of myself that way.”

“You don’t have to call yourself anything. Other people will though. We’re all in neat little boxes according to the sex of the people we sleep with. Didn’t you get the handbook?” There was enough cynicism in her voice to underscore that she didn’t care for labels either. “I’m a lesbian though. There’s a good chance you’ll be lumped in with us.”

“I don’t care what anyone calls me. I’ve just never tried it on before.”

Everyone Ellis knew—Roxanne, her extended family and at least two of her children—would be at a loss for words entirely, but they’d probably refer to Summer as her lesbian lover. It was amusing…the notion that she was being led astray. She had an answer for anyone who dared to criticize Summer. “Bruce.”

“I beg your pardon.”

She hadn’t realized she’d said it aloud. “I was thinking we might need a truce, your ex and me. I’m not thrilled about the prospect of meeting her. Chances are she won’t be too thrilled with meeting me either.” Had she covered up her slip?

“Word will get around pretty quick. I suppose the decent thing would be for me to call her and give her a heads-up. But don’t worry. I’ll make sure it’s a long time before the two of you cross paths.”

Ellis chuckled. “And I’ll do the same with my parents and brother.”

“Does it make you nervous to think about telling people?” Summer reached across the table for her hand.

“Not as much as I thought, to be honest.” She took a sip of her wine as she imagined her mother’s confused expression, the same one she’d displayed when she learned about Jeremy. “I mean, let’s face it—can I possibly shock them worse than Bruce did? By the time you’ve choked out, ‘Hey, my husband’s a mass murderer,’ everything else is a breeze.”

It was the first time she could recall talking about the killings without wanting to cry. In Summer, she had a chance to leave her horrible past behind.

With the lessons she’d learned, she’d make a better go of life this time around. No more handing off her financial responsibilities, no dividing their domains. They’d be partners in every sense of the word.

Summer’s eyes suddenly widened at something over her shoulder. “I don’t believe it.”

Ellis couldn’t resist turning, and saw two women striding toward a table like theirs at the other end of the restaurant. “Let me guess. One of those women is Rita.”

“The tall one with the red hair. And that’s not even the unbelievable part,” Summer said as she ducked low in her chair. “Good, they can’t see me now. The woman she’s with is Tracie Carlson, the woman I went on the blind date with.”

“The one with the drinking problem?”

Summer chuckled and shook her head. “I can’t believe I’m saying this…they might be perfect for each other. Maybe they’ll help each other quit.”

“I don’t think they saw us.”

“We could stop by on the way out and say hello. Are you up for that?”

“If you want.” From her side of the table, she had a clear view of the pair. Both were attractive, but the redhead was especially striking. “You never told me Rita was so beautiful.”

“I happen to like beautiful women. You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever dated.”

Ellis knew better than that. Love had a way of fixing perceptions, turning ordinary people into raving beauties and handsome rogues. “I could say the same about you.”

“Very funny. I’m also the richest, so you can see how far that takes you.”

She shrugged. “I’ve been rich. It was nice. But I’d have given all of it up for a partner I could trust to be honest with me, to love me enough not to hurt me. That’s better than rich.”

Summer held out both hands palms up. “I’m going to be those things for you, just like you’ll be them for me. If we’re partners, we’re equals.”

With their hands clasped in a tight grip, Ellis tried to imagine Bruce—or even Rex—saying such a thing. She couldn’t. It took a woman for that.

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