Chapter 13 Opening Night #3
Instinct took over as Theo’s hands moved across Catherine’s back, feeling the shift of muscle beneath the sweater, the curve of her spine, the way she arched into her when Theo’s touch found the places that made her shiver.
Catherine's mouth moved from Theo's lips to her jaw, trailing kisses along the line of bone before finding the pulse point in her neck and pressing there with lips and teeth that made Theo gasp loudly.
Then Catherine pulled back. Not far, just enough to create space between their mouths. She looked at Theo with pupils blown wide and lips flushed from kissing, her breathing unsteady and her expression carrying determination Theo hadn't expected.
Then she was moving, slipping out of Theo’s lap and onto her feet before Theo could process the shift.
Theo started to speak, to ask what was wrong, but Catherine had turned away, moving through the candlelit room, leaning down to blow them out. One flame extinguished, then another, then three more in rapid succession.
Catherine left only one candle burning, the pillar on the side table, its flame steady and bright enough to provide illumination.
She grabbed it carefully, protecting the flame with her cupped hand, then turned back to where Theo still sat on the couch, needy and hoping and trying not to let either show too obviously.
Catherine extended her free hand toward Theo, palm up, fingers slightly curled in invitation. "Come with me."
The words weren't a question or a command but something between, an offering wrapped in certainty that suggested Catherine knew exactly what she wanted and was done pretending otherwise.
Theo stood on legs that weren't entirely steady, her hand reaching for Catherine's without conscious thought. Their fingers interlaced, and Catherine's grip was firm and warm and absolutely certain.
She tugged gently, pulling Theo toward the hallway that led to the rest of the apartment, the candle in her other hand creating a small bubble of light that moved with them through the darkness.
They didn't speak. They didn't need to. The invitation was clear in Catherine's eyes, in the way she held Theo's hand, in the direction they were walking.
Catherine's bedroom was shadowed, the candle flame wavering as she set it on the nightstand before steadying into a low, amber glow.
Theo was aware of the room in a way she hadn't expected, the quiet of it; this was Catherine's most private territory, the place she retreated to when the world became too much, and she was inviting Theo into it.
Catherine turned to her and pressed her lips to the curve of Theo's neck, lingering there long enough that Theo felt the warmth of her breath against her skin before her fingers found the hem of her shirt.
She didn't lift it. Just let her hand rest there, warm against Theo's hip, her thumb moving in a slow arc across the strip of bare skin, back and forth, like she had all the time in the world and intended to use it.
Then she drew back just enough to look at her, her lips parting, catching the lower one between her teeth in a silent question.
Theo's answer was immediate. "Yes.
Catherine lifted the shirt over her head and let it fall. The cool air prickled across Theo's skin, and Catherine looked at her in the candlelight, taking her time with it, the want in her expression so open and unguarded that Theo's hands were trembling before Catherine had even touched her.
"Can I?" Theo asked, her voice deeper than usual.
Catherine's mouth curved as she nodded. Theo reached for her sweater, pulling it off in one fluid motion.
Underneath, Catherine wore a deep navy bra, and in the candlelight her skin looked like something painted.
Theo's breath came quicker at the sight, at the elegant line of Catherine's collarbones, the generous curve of her breasts, the flat plane of her stomach that disappeared into the waistband of her pants.
Theo moved closer, her hands finding Catherine's waist with a touch that felt reverent despite the urgency building between them.
She pressed her mouth to Catherine's shoulder and traced a path across her skin, tasting the faint trace of her perfume, and when she reached her neck, Catherine's head tipped back, and her fingers tightened in Theo's hair.
Theo's hands found the waistband of Catherine's pants and pushed them down, taking everything with them. Catherine stepped free and immediately reached for Theo, fingers working quickly, needing the last distance gone.
When it was, they both went still for just a second, bare skin and candlelight, taking each other in.
Then Catherine kissed her and kept kissing her, her hands at Theo’s waist, steering her back toward the bed without breaking contact until Theo felt the mattress behind her knees and went down.
Catherine followed without a moment between them, covering her body with her own in a way that felt both protective and possessive.
The feeling was overwhelming in the best way, every point of contact burning itself into her awareness, their breasts pressed together, stomachs flush, Catherine's weight against her exactly where she needed it.
They kissed again, deeper, and Theo felt Catherine's composure come apart piece by piece with each touch, each sound pulled from her, something rawer and more desperate rising underneath it.
Her kisses moved from Theo's lips to her jaw, down her throat, and when her mouth found the place where neck met shoulder, she paused, just for a second, and Theo knew what she was asking.
“Do it,” Theo breathed.
Catherine bit down, hard enough to bruise, and Theo's back arched off the mattress, her hands reaching to grab Catherine's ass and drag her down fully against her. Catherine made a sound low in her throat and rocked her hips in response.
Then Catherine pulled back, and the look on her face was wilder than Theo had ever seen her, something hungry and possessive as her eyes moved over the mark she'd left like she was already thinking about where else to put one.
She pressed her lips to Theo's collarbone and kissed her way down her chest, and when she found her breast, she took the nipple into her mouth and sucked like she had all night to do exactly this, moaning against her skin in a way that went straight to Theo's clit and made her gasp.
Her nails raked down Catherine's neck without thinking, which only seemed to encourage her to suck harder, and Theo ground against her thigh, chasing the friction, too wet and too far gone to care how desperate she looked.
"Catherine," Theo managed, the name coming out fractured.
Catherine released her nipple and looked up at her, lips swollen, chest heaving, desire written all over her face alongside something that made it infinitely worse, the look of someone who knew exactly what they were doing and intended to keep doing it.
She didn't speak, she just held Theo's gaze as her hand traveled down her stomach, and when her fingers combed through the patch of curls at the apex of her thighs, Theo's breath left her entirely.
Catherine's fingers found how wet she was, and her expression shifted into something that looked almost like reverence, her lips parting as she felt the full extent of what she'd done to her.
Catherine moved up her body until they were eye level, and she held herself there for a moment before leaning in and dragging her tongue slowly across Theo's lower lip.
"Tell me what you like, darling," she said, her voice low and rough. "Show me how to make you come for me."
Theo took her hand and pressed it exactly where she needed it, holding her gaze the whole time. Catherine followed without hesitation, her eyes darkening as she watched Theo's face.
"You're so wet for me,” she whispered, her breath hot against Theo's ear.
Those elegant fingers slid through slick heat, and Theo stopped trying to contain the sounds she was making. When her hips bucked up to meet her, Catherine pressed her down with her other hand, firm and deliberate. "That's it," she said, low against her ear. "Let me hear how good it feels."
"Fuck, yes, just like that,” Theo gasped as Catherine's fingers circled the edge of her clit. "Right there.”
Catherine shifted, moving lower on the bed until her breath was hot against Theo's inner thigh. "Do you have any idea what you do to me, Theodora?" she murmured, almost to herself, looking up the length of Theo's body with hungry eyes.
Theo thought distantly that this was the side of her nobody else got. This hunger, this attention, all of it undone and entirely for her.
Then Catherine lowered her head, and when her tongue circled Theo’s clit, she stopped thinking entirely.
She arched off the bed, a cry tearing from her throat as Catherine's tongue found her most sensitive spot. The wet heat was overwhelming, perfect, Catherine's hands firm on her thighs, spreading her wider.
"Fuck, Catherine," Theo breathed, one hand flying to tangle in Catherine's hair. The silky strands slipped through her fingers as Catherine worked against her relentlessly. "Your tongue feels fucking incredible.”
Catherine hummed against her, the vibration sending another wave of pleasure through Theo's body. Her tongue traced patterns that seemed to know every place that made Theo shake. When she sucked gently on Theo's clit, Theo felt her thighs begin to tremble.
The candlelight caught in Catherine's hair, turning it to liquid gold as she moved between Theo's legs. The sight of her there, eyes closed, lips and tongue working with such focus, pushed Theo closer to the edge.
Then Catherine's fingers traced slowly up her inner thigh and stopped, and Catherine looked up at her, holding her gaze, her lips glistening in the candlelight, waiting.
Theo's hips rolled upward encouragingly. “Yes, please, fuck me," she breathed, her voice breaking on the last word as she reached down to guide Catherine's hand. “I need you inside me, now. Please Ca—”
Before Theo could finish, Catherine pushed two fingers inside her, curling them forward as her mouth returned to Theo's clit, and the combined sensation hit Theo all at once, her hips bucking against Catherine's face, her body chasing more pressure, more friction, more everything.
“Harder—fuck, yes, just like that." Her hands twisted in the sheets, knuckles white with tension as pleasure built with each thrust. "Don't stop," she gasped, feeling the tension building low in her belly.
Catherine's fingers moved faster, deeper, finding a spot inside her that made stars burst behind her eyelids. "Right there, fuck, right there—"
She was aware of sounds emerging from her own throat, gasps and pleas, and Catherine's name repeated like a prayer, but she couldn't control them.
The pressure built and built until Theo couldn't bear it anymore, until she was strung so tight she couldn't breathe, couldn't think, could only feel.
Catherine curled her fingers just so and pressed her tongue flat against Theo's clit, and Theo felt herself teeter on the edge of it, her whole body pulled taut, suspended there for one long unbearable second while Catherine held her exactly where she was, not letting her fall yet, just keeping her there, trembling, until Theo was making sounds she had no control over and her thighs were shaking and she couldn't hold on any longer.
Then Catherine pressed harder, and Theo shattered.
She came with Catherine's name on her lips, her body pulsing around Catherine's fingers until she couldn't tell where one sensation ended and the next began, and for a suspended moment, there was nothing else, just Catherine against her, inside her, with her, her whole world reduced to that.
Then, gradually, the waves receded. Catherine's touch gentled with them, easing her through the aftershocks, and Theo felt herself come back into her body by degrees.
Catherine moved up her body, pressing her lips to her stomach, between her breasts, along her collarbone. When she reached Theo's ear, she paused, and said nothing for a moment, just stayed there, her breath warm against her skin.
"Darling," she said finally, quietly, like the word was enough. Like it was everything.
Theo cupped Catherine’s face and kissed her slowly, tasting herself on Catherine's mouth and finding it intimate. Catherine kissed back with matching tenderness, her free hand cupping Theo's lower back with a touch that felt almost unbearably gentle.
When they finally broke apart, Theo pressed their foreheads together, breathing the same air.
"Can I stay?" she asked.
Catherine's grip on her back tightened, and Theo wasn’t even sure if she realized she’d done it. "As if I’d let you go anywhere else."
It felt like a vow, and Theo's heart was still hammering when she kissed her again, feeling Catherine's arousal in the restless shift of her hips, the way she pressed herself against Theo's thigh with barely controlled need.
Theo pulled back just enough to look at her, and then, without a word, rolled them over so that Catherine was beneath her, hair spilling across the pillow in pale waves.
The candlelight caught the flush spreading across Catherine's chest, the rapid rise and fall of her breathing, the way her pupils had nearly swallowed the blue of her eyes.
Theo began her own exploration, learning through touch and sound what made Catherine gasp, what made her arch, what dissolved the last of her careful control into something rawer and more real.
And Catherine let her, she’d surrendered in ways that felt like trust, like the giving of something precious that had been painstakingly guarded, well, until now.