Chapter 2 Kaelee #2
A quick glance around the lobby revealed the woman she’d been messaging earlier.
The picture Marie had sent had been chest-down, and her profile picture on the app was vaguely discreet.
A glance at her made it very obvious that Marie was not hiding her face because she was unattractive in any way.
She had a face that wouldn’t be out of place on an antique doll or in an old noir movie.
A lush mouth, excessively long lashes, and apple cheeks made Marie an almost picture-perfect femme fatale.
Her hair, which was a nondescript shade of brown, was twisted up into a low bun.
At a guess, Kaelee would put her age as thirty to thirty-five or so.
So at most, six years older than Kaelee’s twenty-nine years.
She stood, and Kaelee realized that Marie’s boots ended in sharp heels that added a good three or four inches to her height.
Even so, Kaelee was certain she could lift Marie into her arms with ease.
The vision of doing just that was interrupted by the fact that this gorgeous stranger was marching forward with a sway that would charm cobras.
“Marie.” The luscious brunette held out her hand to Kaelee as she neared.
“Lee.” Kaelee took the woman’s hand in hers, pleased at the strength of her grip. “Can I buy you a drink?”
Marie gave her an unreadable look. “If you want one, sure. If not…”
“I do. It’s been a long day with terrible traffic between there and here, so I could stand a moment to …
decompress.” Kaelee paused. She wasn’t sure what precisely she wanted out of that drink and pause, but she wanted to take a beat before going upstairs.
Marie’s mouth tightened in a pout, though, so Kaelee added, “I’m not having a case of nerves.
I can’t fathom anyone changing their mind after seeing you. ”
“Thank you.” Marie nodded before gesturing toward the bar. She looked like she felt chastised. “It’s fine if you do change your mind, of course. I wouldn’t want a bed partner who wasn’t interested.”
“I’m not changing my mind. I simply don’t want a beautiful stranger to have to deal with my stressful day,” Lee said. “Lead me to the bar, and then to your room if you aren’t having cold feet by then.”
“No cold feet. No cold anything.” Marie walked across the lobby with purpose.
Whatever she did when she wasn’t here, Marie was a woman in charge.
Kaelee’s interest grew at that realization.
She liked an assertive woman more than she wanted to admit, and she liked to be the one to reduce such a woman to quivering.
“Will you be offended if I admit that I like walking behind you?” Kaelee said lightly.
A laugh was her only answer, but Marie’s sway grew a little slower, as if she was agreeing to slow things down a touch.
Kaelee followed her to a shadowed corner table. “Would you like me to go to the bar to order?”
“There’s table service.” Marie lifted a hand to the cocktail waitress, so Kaelee took the seat next to Marie rather than sitting across from her.
The petite woman’s comfort with control was alluring, and Kaelee had to wonder if she’d stay that way if they went upstairs.
Though she only rarely managed it, Kaelee appreciated a woman who could perhaps take control from her.
It’s been so long, Kaelee mused. Typically, most women saw her masculine haircut and gym-addicted body and assumed that she was only interested in giving.
She was often happy to allow that assumption, but she wasn’t a true stone top.
With the right woman, or enough alcohol, she could sometimes let go.
After they ordered—a vodka tonic for Marie and a cognac for Kaelee—there was a not-unpleasant silence. A good drink, a gorgeous woman, and a nice atmosphere, these were the things that improved any day.
“Are you here alone?” Kaelee asked, glancing toward the lobby.
“Aside from you, yes.” Marie flashed an empathetic smile. “Afraid there’s a third person?”
“It’s happened, and I don’t want to end up going upstairs to find an unwelcome surprise.”
“I’ve been there. Not my interest, so no worries.” Marie leaned forward, and the motion rather expertly drew Kaelee’s eye to the cleavage before her. “What do you do in such situations? I’ll admit to being a diva about it. I’m not someone’s unicorn to add spice to their marriage.”
“I leave. Not big on scenes or dramatics, but men aren’t of interest to me.
” Kaelee thought back to the years she’d been forced to attempt a heteronormative life, to the times that she’d forced herself to try to find a man’s awkward fumbling exciting.
She added lightly, “I tried years ago. It didn’t take. ”
“I’ve never tried, but…” She paused as the waitress dropped off their drinks. “I’m in room 212. Can you bill them to my room?”
“Flag me down to sign before you go.” The waitress smiled. “Or if you need another round.”
“No. You can close the tab,” Marie said firmly.
The waitress nodded. “I’ll grab it now.”
“So … you’re here just tonight?” Kaelee asked when they were alone again.
Marie shrugged. “Maybe tomorrow night or even the weekend. It depends.”
“On?”
“My mood, mostly.” Marie sipped her drink, and Kaelee appreciated the flirtatious way Marie paused and licked the rim of her glass when she noticed Kaelee’s attention.
A flirty smile followed, and then Marie added, “There’s no one waiting at home—by my choice—so I can stay or go back at my whim.
No pets. No work over the weekend. Why not stay here a couple days? ”
“Where’s home?”
“New York.”
“Not bad,” Kaelee murmured. “No girlfriend or boyfriend there, then?”
“I wouldn’t be planning on taking you to my room if there were.
I have never been unfaithful,” Marie said mildly, but there was a bite there.
Someone in her life had, maybe cheated on her, maybe cheated on a friend, but Marie was hostile over it.
Her tone was unflinching, as was her gaze, as she asked, “And you?”
The waitress returned, and Marie signed.
Kaelee was grateful for the interruption.
She’d almost laughed at the thought of a relationship.
She was terrified of anything even remotely commitment-shaped, personal or career.
She’d switched her academic focus from history to lit, and she’d stalled on shopping her book to the point that she already had several other books drafted and edited.
She’d had one relationship in her life, but that was honestly more platonic than relationship.
Branson had been one of her best friends, and he knew that she was not into men, but he’d mysteriously ended their faux relationship one day.
Without Bran’s protection, she’d been forced to come out.
A year later, he watched while Kyle Gray—almost ten years her senior—dropped to a knee and slid a ring on her hand while their families stood around smiling and clapping.
Those thoughts went to bad places, so all Kaelee said was, “I don’t do that.”
“Serious relationships?”
“Date,” Kaelee clarified. “Ever. I have friends, and sometimes I have one-night connections. That’s it. Once or twice I had fuck friends. But … I’m not relationship inclined.”
Marie raised a delicately shaped brow. “I see.”
“I was pretty clear on my profile, so if you’re looking for something else, I should go before this gets awkward.” Kaelee felt regret as she said it, but there would be no confusion here. She couldn’t handle getting entangled with a woman who thought a hookup was a prelude to more.
“You should stay.” Marie reached out and put a hand on Kaelee’s wrist, not gripping it but resting there with purpose. “I don’t date either. I have in the past, but it’s been years. I don’t have the time for that currently, but sometimes I want a bit of affection.”
“Same.”
“I want exactly what I said: no strings. No nonsense. Just a good night.” Marie caught her lip between her teeth briefly. “I’m cautious in writing, but make no mistake, I invited you here for sex and sex only.”
Kaelee let her gaze openly run over the curves of the woman in front of her. “Good.”
“Tell me something about you. What else do you like?”
Kaelee smirked. “Pretty women with kissable mouths.”
“Since you showed up, I’ll assume I fit the bill?” Marie reached out again and trailed her fingertips over Kaelee’s wrist, lighter now, as if she were feeling the muscles in Kaelee’s forearms.
“Yes.” Kaelee rested her hand on Marie’s leg, high enough that her thumb was almost inappropriate for public. “And you? What do you think?”
“I like a sexy woman who’s comfortable on her knees,” Marie said, her words even bolder than her appearance.
Kaelee said a silent prayer of thanks to whatever god or being put this woman in her path. “So you enjoy a little worship.…”
“Yes.” Marie sipped her drink before adding, “I’m happy to reciprocate, of course.”
And Kaelee was grateful that they had paused for this drink. Sometimes having a sense of parameters made the evening a lot more enjoyable and a lot less awkward.
“I would rather skip that,” Kaelee admitted with a twinge of regret.
Marie’s brow rose again. “Orgasms entirely or just oral?”
The level of trust that took was more than Kaelee could offer anyone. She’d tried it once. That was enough. “No receiving oral. I’ll let you know on the rest. It varies.”
“Noted,” Marie murmured.
Kaelee had the vague sense that Marie’s job involved negotiation.
She was very comfortable outlining details—and doing so at a rapid pace.
Kaelee wanted her a bit less in control, though, so she said, “At this point, I would be devastated not to have my mouth on you. Anything else on or off the table?”
When Marie drew a sharp breath and smiled, Kaelee prompted, “What else would you like?”
“I have been left to my own resources for a few months, so I want sex hard and fast, and then we can reassess.” Marie shrugged. “Ideally, I can touch you at some point—”
“Probably. I’ll let you know.”
“We’re fine, then. All my requests are met.” Marie motioned toward the lobby. “Shall we?”
“My drink is—”
“Portable.” Marie leveled a simmering look at her. “We can talk upstairs if you want, but I’d rather be more comfortable and be able to touch you.”
A twinge of discomfort made Kaelee pause. “Are you in the closet?”
Marie slid out of her seat, stepped close enough that Kaelee’s field of vision was nothing but breasts, and then said, “Stand, please.”
Mutely, Kaelee obeyed, and Marie wrapped her arms around Kaelee’s neck and guided her down for a kiss. She barely brushed her lips over Kaelee’s, pausing to catch Kaelee’s lip between her teeth in gentle nip, and then she whispered, “Kiss me like you want to fuck me.”
So Kaelee did just that. Her mouth slanted over Marie’s, her tongue demanding entrance.
All of her hesitation vanished as Marie was suddenly pressed tightly to her.
Kaelee’s left hand fell naturally to the small of Marie’s back, holding her steady, as the other hand rested at the top of her spine, just under her thick hair bun.
Pulling back, Kaelee said, “I want to see this loose and spilling all around your shoulders and chest.”
When Marie leaned back, she pulled the pin out of her bun. A mass of wavy hair dropped like a veil around her, and she said, “No closet here. I simply don’t want to wait, Lee. It’s been months, and you’re stunning. Please, come upstairs with me now?”
Kaelee took her hand and left the drink behind.