Chapter 23 Stars
Stars
Lucia loved kissing, and kissing Penelope was something she could indulge in for hours, though currently her body hummed with arousal.
Penelope broke the kiss and looked up at her. She was so achingly beautiful, Lucia’s heart fluttered, and she couldn’t help but smile.
“Do you want to move this to my bedroom?”
“Yes.” Lucia rose to her feet and held out her hand.
Penelope intertwined their fingers and stood, guiding Lucia through a hallway and into her bedroom.
Lucia was hard-pressed to take in the room when Penelope’s nude ass was in front of her.
“You know, the state of undress between us seems a bit uneven.”
“Yeah. I can help you lose the top, too.” Lucia grinned.
Penelope’s lips curved. “I have no doubt, but I’m talking about you.” She tugged at Lucia’s belt and drew her closer. “I want to feel you naked, stretched out under me, writhing in pleasure as I make you fall apart from my touch.”
Lucia’s breath stuttered, and she clenched her jaw as her body flushed. This woman would be the death of her.
“So?”
“Yes, Dr. Blackwell. That can be arranged.” She took a step back and lifted her shirt over her head before unbuckling her belt, holding Penelope’s gaze. Penelope drank in her every move.
She stepped out of her jeans, dropping them, along with her shirt, onto the floor. Now clad only in bra and panties, Lucia straightened and faced Penelope.
“Your turn?”
Penelope nodded and took off her blouse, adding it to the pile on the floor. She stepped closer to Lucia. “Take off my bra.”
Lucia swallowed hard, reaching out to unfasten the garment, slowly releasing it and uncovering Penelope’s breasts. She immediately brushed her fingers over pert nipples.
Gasping, Penelope stepped back. “Oh, no. We’re not starting that again.”
Lucia pouted. “But they’re right there! Look at them. Ignoring them would be rude.” She smiled, drawing closer. Lucia dipped her head and sucked a nipple into her mouth, tracing the furrowed skin with her tongue.
“Lucia!” Penelope whined.
She gave a hard suck then released the bud with a plop, standing straight again. “Yes?”
“You’re impossible.”
“You keep saying that, but I still think you like it.”
Penelope narrowed her eyes but reached for Lucia, removing her bra and trailing her hands over her chest, along her stiff nipples and down to her panties. She didn’t look away as she sank to her knees, sliding Lucia’s panties down inch by inch.
Lucia swallowed hard. “The bed,” she stammered. “I thought you wanted—” She broke off and groaned when Penelope licked between her thighs.
Humming, Penelope pressed a quick kiss against Lucia’s curls and stood with a smile. She intertwined their fingers and led Lucia to the bed, where she unceremoniously pushed her until she collapsed onto the mattress.
Lucia laughed. “Someone’s impatient.”
“Can you blame me?”
Lucia barely had time to scoot higher before Penelope was over her.
Penelope lowered her naked body on top of Lucia’s, and both women groaned at the sensation of soft heat pressing together.
Lucia shifted, allowing Penelope to fit right between her legs.
They kissed, slowly at first, but the thread between them thrummed too vibrantly, and the kiss turned heated quickly.
Penelope pulled back and nuzzled along Lucia’s neck, sucking her earlobe into her mouth and nipping it before drifting lower. She licked and kissed along Lucia’s collarbone, her fingers finding Lucia’s breasts and rolling her nipples.
Soon, Penelope lowered her mouth, and Lucia moaned when her lover’s hot mouth engulfed her nipple and drew the peak inside.
“Yes,” Lucia breathed, pressing her body deeper into the mattress, her eyes falling shut. She’d dreamed about this; she’d imagined how Penelope would feel inside her.
Penelope devoted equal time and attention to both breasts until Lucia’s hands found themselves in her hair, adding soft pressure to coax her lower to tend to the ache between her legs.
Penelope chuckled low in her throat. “Who’s impatient now?”
“Pen, please,” Lucia all but moaned, pressing her head deeper into the pillow as her body arched. She spread her legs wider and rocked her hips up. “Can’t you feel how wet I am for you?”
Penelope’s fingernails dug into Lucia’s hips, leaving half-moon imprints in their wake.
She moved lower and settled in the V of Lucia’s legs, licking the skin where thigh and groin met.
Lucia gasped, her hand fisting the fitted sheet.
Penelope continued her teasing, switching from one side to the next, then adding her fingers, tracing Lucia’s entrance but never pushing inside.
“Pen.” Lucia panted.
“I love how you sound when you’re aroused. Look at you—you’re gorgeous.”
Lucia moaned.
Smiling against Lucia’s inner thigh, Penelope turned her head and blew hot air against her slick center.
“Pen, I swear, if you don’t…”
“Don’t what, Ms. Rossi?”
“Just…fuck me.”
Penelope clenched her jaw. Her need to tease and torture Lucia seemed to vanish, and she lowered her head to suck Lucia into her mouth, licking along her length before focusing on her clit.
“Yes,” Lucia breathed, her grip on the sheet tightening. “Go inside.”
Penelope pushed one finger into Lucia’s wet core before pulling back out and adding another, all the while painting rapid circles over her clit.
Lucia trembled, her body covered in a sheen of sweat.
Penelope’s ministration increased in speed and intensity as the fingers of her free hand anchored Lucia’s rocking hips to the bed—the perfect counterpoint.
Lucia’s climb quickened with each stroke, her heart pounding as if it wanted to escape the delicious torment Penelope rained down on her.
Stiffening, Lucia feared she might snap when something gave. Instead of breaking, she tumbled off the cliff, shuddering as a hard climax tore through her.
Penelope continued, softer and slower, and Lucia groaned, shaking when her body moved along, willing to rise once more, to climb again.
“Shit.” Lucia grunted, pressing her hips harder, deeper against Penelope’s face.
Penelope understood and increased the speed and pressure of her fingers and tongue.
The dam broke in what seemed like seconds, and before Lucia knew it, her body locked again. This time, with a hoarse shout, she fell into a second climax that rattled her bones.
“God, stop, please.”
Penelope halted immediately and rushed back up. “Are you OK? Did I hurt you?”
“I’m good. No worries.” Lucia smiled and cupped Penelope’s cheek. “I just… I need a moment.”
“Hmm.” Penelope pressed a lingering kiss against Lucia’s lips. “You taste delicious.”
Lucia pulled Penelope close, basking in her warmth and nearness as the indolent afterglow swamped her with contentedness.
She wished time could stop here before reality caught up with them.
~ ~ ~
Two days later, the softness of Penelope’s touch still clung to her skin.
The memory felt absurd against the marble chill and glittering spectacle as Lucia stood once more where she least wanted to be: back in the spotlight, at the center of Atlanta’s most ostentatious celebration—the Luminary Ball, the Meridian Museum of Art’s grand gala in Buckhead.
The museum had spared no expense for the opening of Lost she stood rooted in place, pulse roaring in her ears.