Chapter 16
Jane
Rosalind’s lips and fingertips were cold from the rain, but they still sent peals of fire through Jane’s body.
Everywhere Rosalind touched raised in gooseflesh and sent her spiraling into a wave of desire.
Jane was still terrified that once this was through Rosalind would try again to claim it was all a mistake, all a misunderstanding, all just the resonant emotional upheaval from her family’s situation and nothing else.
Jane knew she couldn’t handle that, but she put it out of her mind—for now she would just enjoy the moment.
She dropped her wet robe onto the ground and pulled herself deeper into Rosalind’s embrace.
She led Rosalind back into her bedroom, both naked and shivering, and they climbed beneath the covers.
Rosalind continued her bombardment of kisses, tracing her lips across Jane’s jaw, her neck, her collar.
Jane relaxed into the touch, allowing Rosalind to explore her body with her fingers and her lips.
The blankets around them were soft and inviting, warming them from the cold rain.
Thunder sounded overhead and Jane’s eyes popped open for a moment, but she quickly surrendered again.
Rosalind’s lips moved down Jane’s chest, and Rosalind cupped one of her breasts in her hand, massaging gently while she pulled the other nipple into her mouth, gently grazing her teeth against it.
Jane sucked in a sharp breath and arched her back into Rosalind’s touch as the blankets around them became warmer, almost hot.
The path of kisses left little patches of heat as Rosalind trailed down her stomach to her hips.
Rosalind pushed open Jane’s legs, where heat and desire poured from her as she anticipated Rosalind’s next touch.
Jane arched against her as Rosalind settled between Jane’s legs, kissing lower and lower until they closed around Jane’s clit.
Jane gasped as Rosalind slipped a finger inside her, then another, while her tongue swirled in lazy circles around Jane’s clit.
Jane groaned, throwing her head back in ecstasy, and Rosalind redoubled her efforts, moving her hands and tongue more quickly, pumping and thrusting Jane into higher and higher states of passion.
As Jane lingered on the edge of release, Rosalind pulled back and reached into the nightstand.
Jane’s excitement grew with anticipation.
Rosalind pulled out the shaft they’d used before and expertly clipped the straps around her hips.
Rosalind lowered herself down, pressing the shaft slowly into Jane’s opening, the stretch causing Jane to cry out in pleasure.
Rosalind laid her full weight down on top of Jane, rolling her hips to massage the shaft deeper inside of her, moaning at the friction it gave her.
She kissed Jane’s lips deeply, swirling her tongue around Jane’s while she thrust the shaft inside her.
Jane’s moans were captured in Rosalind’s lips as their bodies pressed against each other, rolling and writhing as one.
Jane could feel Rosalind tensing on top of her, and the knowledge that she was close to orgasm sent her over the edge.
Jane rolled her head back and cried out in pleasure as her muscles clamped down over the shaft and waves of euphoria washed over her.
As soon as Jane released, she could feel Rosalind wracked with the same waves of orgasm.
Rosalind continued to thrust into Jane as their orgasms climbed higher, washing over them as thoroughly as the rain pounding overhead.
As Rosalind began to slow, Jane felt a deep sensation of relaxation settle into her bones.
This was right, this was real. There was no denying it at this point, no matter how hard Rosalind might try.
Finally, their movements slowed, and stilled, Rosalind breathing heavily as she rested on top of Jane, covering her with warmth.
Jane never wanted to leave; she didn’t want this night to end.
Thunder rumbled over them again, and Rosalind rolled to her side, unhooking the shaft from her waist. She let it fall to the floor as she pulled Jane close, and Jane snuggled deep into the embrace.
Neither of them spoke; it was almost as though they both knew that words would end the perfect moment between them.
Jane closed her eyes and relaxed against Rosalind’s body, pressing her face deep into the curve of Rosalind’s neck.
She had almost drifted off to sleep when Rosalind finally stirred against her.
“Jane, I’m scared,” Rosalind whispered into the darkness.
“Of what?” Jane asked, trying to pull her closer.
“Of the future, of us,” Rosalind said, her voice seemed to catch in her throat.
“What is it that you’re afraid of?” Jane asked, her lips brushing softly against Rosalind’s shoulder.
“That this won’t last, and that I won’t be able to handle losing it,” Rosalind said.
“That’s ridiculous,” Jane whispered.
“I know,” Rosalind whispered back and kissed Jane softly on the forehead. Soon, Jane was asleep.
Jane woke up several hours later, it was still dark outside, but the sounds of the storm had abated.
She felt the bed next to her, but Rosalind wasn’t there.
Jane got up and pulled a fresh robe from her dresser before padding softly into the living room.
Rosalind was there with her clothes, freshly dried from Jane’s dryer, she must have been up for a while.
She was pulling her pants on as Jane came into the room.
“What’s going on?” Jane asked.
“Nothing,” Rosalind answered. “I just need to think.”
“About what?” Jane asked, her skin prickled in defense.
“I don’t know—about everything,” Rosalind said. “I’m sorry, it has nothing to do with you, it’s my own issues that I am trying to deal with.”
“Why can’t you let me help you?” Jane asked, quickly becoming angry.
“Because it’s not your problem, it’s mine,” Rosalind said.
“So the whole ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ nonsense?” Jane snapped.
“It’s the truth, Jane,” Rosalind said without meeting her eyes.
“So you come over, drip all over my apartment, profess your undying love, sleep with me, then just… what? Escape?”
“It’s not like that, Jane, I just…” Rosalind said.
“It’s exactly like that, Rosalind,” Jane almost shouted. She felt hurt and betrayed. She had been so certain that they’d turned a corner in their relationship, but it was the same old crap again.
“You don’t understand,” Rosalind said and lifted her eyes. The pain in them was real, even Jane couldn’t deny that, but it didn’t give Rosalind an excuse to be this much of a flake.
“I can’t understand what you’re not willing to share with me,” Jane snapped then headed to the kitchen where she started boiling some water for tea.
“Are you so self-absorbed that you can only love me in fits and spurts?” Jane immediately regretted the words as soon as they left her throat. Still, this was all too much.
“No, Jane, my feelings for you are real, I can’t deny that, but I don’t have the slightest clue what to do with them,” Rosalind said while looking at the floor. She had finished getting dressed and sat down on the couch.
“Would you like some tea?” Jane asked, though her tone was less than friendly.
“Sure,” Rosalind said, she finally lifted her eyes to Jane’s, and the pain in them was acute. It tore at Jane’s heart.
“I shouldn’t have called you self-absorbed,” Jane said, but Rosalind just waved it off.
“I understand,” Rosalind said. “I would feel like that in your position, and I wish there was some way that I could explain it that doesn’t sound like childish nonsense, but I can’t.
I just… When I start to think about anything further than right now, today, I get stuck.
I can’t see it, I can’t imagine it. I can’t imagine my life without you, now, but I also can’t figure out how to make it work.
I’m just paralyzed.” Rosalind sighed. “That’s never really happened before, I’m always going, always moving, always… ”
“Running?” Jane offered.
“Yeah,” Rosalind answered and deflated into the couch. “Did you know that my mother has the rest of her life planned?”
Jane was taken aback by the sudden shift in topic. “What?”
“Yeah, apparently she’s been planning what happens next since my father was diagnosed, he even knew about it, when he was still lucid, anyway. She’s going to travel with her friends,” Rosalind explained, but Jane was confused.
“Is that… That sounds like a good thing,” Jane said.
“It is,” Rosalind said. “It is a good thing. It takes a lot of the worries I’ve had these last few weeks off of me, but I had no idea. I don’t know; I never really thought about how much my mother did for me, maybe I really am that self-absorbed.”
Jane pressed her lips, unsure how to respond.
“Sorry, I know this doesn’t seem relevant, and I’m definitely not fishing for compliments or comforting words here, I just… I don’t know how to react,” Rosalind said.
“She probably just didn’t want you to worry and didn’t want you to feel you owed anything to her.
” Jane took two mugs from the cabinet and added the tea bags, watching Rosalind from the corner of her eye.
She had to admit that everything Rosalind was saying, was feeling, was genuine, but she wasn’t sure what it had to do with them.
“She told me to just come ask you,” Rosalind said and laid her head back against the couch. She slung an arm across her eyes.
“Ask me what?” Jane said.
“What you want,” Rosalind said without moving her arm. “What you want from this, from us.”
“You want me to plan our future?” Jane asked as she poured the steaming water into the mugs.
“Maybe not plan it, but give me an idea of what it looks like for you, what do you want?”