Chapter Eleven #2
Carefully, Marin slid all the way into bed and stretched out.
She needed to put Ember in her crate for the night, but right now, she couldn’t bring herself to move again or to break this connection with the puppy.
Ember stretched out beside her, keeping her body pressed against Marin’s right side, and not only was it comforting on an emotional level, but Ember’s body heat soothed her pain too.
Just a few more minutes. Usually she’d start with an ice pack to reduce inflammation before moving on to heat to relax her stiff muscles, but she’d forgotten to get a gel pack out of the freezer before she lay down. Anyway, Ember’s presence was more soothing than an ice pack at the moment.
Marin reached over and shut off the light.
She touched her cheek, remembering the way it had felt when Laura kissed her there.
Not that there had been any doubt in Marin’s mind that she was a lesbian, but that kiss surely validated all her private fantasies.
It felt right in a way nothing else in her life ever had.
Charlotte’s face flitted through her mind, and Marin’s pulse jumped. Yes, she was still powerfully attracted to her friend. It didn’t help that Charlotte was so fucking beautiful. So sweet and thoughtful and supportive. She was everything Marin wanted in a life partner, except for being straight.
Marin exhaled, and she heard Ember do the same in the darkness beside her. Maybe they could just lie here together until the next time Ember needed to go out. Marin rested a hand against Ember’s soft fur. Darkness had sometimes felt so suffocating in the past.
She’d lain beside Andrew, feeling like the night was about to swallow her whole. She’d felt so devastatingly alone despite the man sleeping a few feet away. Sometimes, it had been hard to breathe. And now . . . now she was gulping air, filling her lungs with it.
Now, she was free.
She inhaled, and as she breathed back out, a sob escaped. Hot tears spilled over her cheeks and onto the sheets as she let the emotions surface, as she acknowledged how many nights, how many years, she’d suffered alone.
Today, she’d gone on her first date with a woman.
Laura had kissed her. Somehow it had been overshadowed by Charlotte’s hand on her cheek and the way she’d looked at Marin when she got home.
Marin had no idea what any of it meant. She only knew that it was confusing and overwhelming at a time when her emotions were already out of control.
She sobbed, lying flat on her back since it hurt too much to move, until the pressure in her chest had eased.
Her eyes slid shut, one hand still pressed into Ember’s fur.
When she woke, early-morning sunlight filtered through the window.
She was still on her back with Ember snuggled against her, and without warning, her eyes filled with tears all over again.
Her puppy was so intuitive, it boggled her mind.
Ember had known what Marin needed last night and had given it to her instinctively. She’d slept in the bed instead of her crate, slept through the night even though she usually got up for a four a.m. potty trip, providing emotional and physical comfort to Marin all through the night.
Marin sat up, relieved to realize her nerve pain was gone.
As she moved her legs, she could tell she had some sore muscles from yesterday’s snowshoeing adventures, but that was to be expected.
Ember must be bursting to go outside. Marin sat up, reaching for the sweatpants and hoodie she kept beside the bed for quick overnight potty trips.
She stood, slipping them on over her sleep shorts and tank top, as Ember let out an urgent whine and trotted toward the door.
Marin followed, wincing because Ember wasn’t the only one whose bladder was bursting.
She stepped into her boots and took the puppy outside, grateful when Ember did her business quickly.
Back inside, Marin unclipped Ember’s leash and hustled to the bathroom.
Once she’d freshened up, she fixed breakfast for herself and her puppy, then put Ember in her crate while she took a quick shower.
The hot water felt like heaven on her sore muscles.
Marin smiled as she reminisced about her date with Laura.
It really couldn’t have gone any better.
Speaking of Laura . . .
Marin shut off the shower, wrapped herself in a towel, and sat on the bed with her reading glasses to check her phone. Sure enough, she had a text from Laura saying how much fun she’d had and asking Marin if she’d like to meet for dinner one night this week.
Marin responded with an enthusiastic yes but with the caveat that she’d have to coordinate with her puppysitter.
With her suddenly busy social life, she looked forward to Ember getting bigger so Marin could regain more of her independence, but at the same time she couldn’t imagine wanting to rush her puppyhood.
Already, Ember was so much bigger and more mature than she had been when Marin brought her home three weeks ago. Would it be too forward if she invited Laura to have dinner here at her apartment to accommodate Ember? If only the weather were warmer so they could eat somewhere with an outdoor patio.
Laura texted right back, mentioning a casual restaurant nearby that was dog friendly. How perfect! Marin agreed to a dinner date there on Thursday as excited butterflies flapped around in her belly. She shifted her hips. Maybe it was more than excitement . . .
Marin was still sitting on her bed, wearing only a towel.
She hadn’t managed much time for herself since Ember came into her life, and now, with all these thoughts of kissing and dates and hopefully much more happening soon .
. . well, she was feeling a little frustrated. She needed a release, preferably soon.
She glanced at Ember’s crate, relieved to see that the puppy had fallen asleep while she was in the shower.
It was Sunday. Marin had no plans. Well, now she had plans for a little self-care before the puppy woke.
She closed her eyes, focusing inward. A faint hum of arousal already buzzed through her system. Oh, she needed this so much . . .
Marin slipped a hand inside her towel, exhaling as she touched her breasts.
She cupped them, enjoying the warmth of her own skin and the ache that built between her thighs as she teased her nipples.
Unable to wait, she slid her fingers down her stomach to the part of her that was begging to be touched.
She ghosted her fingers over her neatly trimmed curls, imagining another woman’s hand on her body instead. She always imagined someone else touching her. Marin had an entire mental playlist of the hottest sex scenes from her favorite sapphic romance novels that she used to get herself in the mood.
But this morning, she found herself remembering the way Laura’s lips felt on her cheek. Her lips had been so much softer than any man’s Marin had ever kissed. Everything about sapphic sex would feel soft, she imagined, soft in the very best way.
Soft fingers, soft lips, soft, smooth skin . . .
Marin opened her eyes and darted another glance at the crate.
Ember was fast asleep. Thank god, because she’d hate to stop now.
Marin lay back in bed and removed the towel, but then she felt too exposed .
. . like if Ember woke up she might see Marin touching herself, which was ridiculous because the puppy would be clueless.
Silly or not, Marin slid beneath the sheet for privacy. She closed her eyes, circling her clit with her index finger. She inhaled sharply. Already, her core ached for release, and as she brought her fingers down to her entrance, she found that she was wet.
Soon, she would be having sex with a woman instead of lying alone in her bed, fantasizing about it.
Just the thought made her throb, and she started to stroke herself.
She imagined a lover straddling her, hips pressed against Marin’s, whispering naughty suggestions into her ear.
There was only so much Marin could do with her own hand, but her lover could surprise her, try out moves she’d never thought of.
Her lover could put her mouth on her.
Marin gasped, rubbing almost frantically.
She couldn’t wait for that. Oh, how she wanted to experience the pleasure of a woman’s mouth.
She’d had oral sex before, of course, but Andrew wasn’t very good at it, and she’d never liked the scratchy feel of his facial hair against her inner thighs. It left her feeling chafed afterward.
Soon. She’d have all the pleasure she could handle, whether it was with Laura or someone else. Marin was finished compromising. She wanted love, and affection, and companionship, and passion. She wanted it all.
Her body tensed, and her breath hitched.
Just like that, she was about to come. Wait.
She stilled her fingers. She knew from experience that if she rushed herself to a quick orgasm after not masturbating for a while, it would be underwhelming.
But if she took her time and really worked herself up, the payoff would be so worth it.
So she ignored the relentless ache in her core, skimming her fingers lightly over herself until the urge to come had passed, until her breathing had slowed and she’d regained control.
Ignoring her clit, which was begging for her attention, she slipped two fingers inside herself. Again, she summoned an imaginary lover.
In her mind’s eye, Marin saw blond curls, so soft beneath her fingers, curls that smelled vaguely of wildflowers.
She saw pink lips curved into a vibrant smile and bright-blue eyes that sparkled with laughter.
Though she tried to deny it, she had been fantasizing about the same woman for two years now, long before she’d known her name, long before she’d shared that heated moment in her kitchen when Charlotte touched her cheek.
Marin felt the warmth of Charlotte’s fingers as though they were still there.
She ached to feel those fingers elsewhere on her body, and she knew she shouldn’t fantasize about Charlotte now, but no matter how hard she tried to replace the images in her mind, to picture Laura or perhaps a hot actress instead, it was no use.
Maybe she needed to indulge in the fantasy to help herself get over it, to get Charlotte out of her system once and for all.
Been there, done that, at least in her mind.
She was getting close again. Her clit ached fiercely.
Her hips pushed against her hand. Her brain chanted an internal chorus of please please please . . .
She replayed the moment when Charlotte had cupped her cheek, but in her fantasy, Charlotte used that hand to draw her in and kiss her.
Marin imagined Charlotte’s mouth ravaging hers as her hand slid down to the front of Marin’s pants, then pushed inside.
Charlotte’s fingers against her clit, stroking as she took Marin right there in the kitchen.
Marin swallowed a moan as she rolled to her side, grinding her hips against her hand, vaguely aware that her skin was covered in a fine sheen of sweat and she was breathing heavily.
Her eyes were closed, lips pressed together to keep herself quiet so as not to wake the puppy.
She lingered in that in-between place, so close to coming she was practically there, body tense and shaking, frantic and loving every moment.
She gasped, hips bucking as everything inside her clenched.
Almost . . . so close . . . so fucking close.
Marin rolled to her stomach, grinding herself against her fingers.
Panting. Desperate. The tension inside her reached its breaking point, and oh this was going to be a good one.
She felt the beginnings of a massive orgasm building in her core, hot and tingly. A low groan escaped her throat.
Banging. Something was banging.
Marin froze. From the crate, Ember rustled and whined.
“Marin?” Charlotte’s voice called from the direction of the door.
Fuck. Marin was face down in bed, one hand between her legs, sweaty and breathless and moments from coming. And Charlotte was at the door . . .
“Marin?”
Charlotte’s voice was an echo of Marin’s fantasy, and it shot straight to her core. Her hand jerked almost involuntarily, pressing hard against her clit, and for a moment, she was in ecstasy. A blinding flash of pleasure. Of release. Of pure bliss. Charlotte . . .
It was over before she could process it because she’d lurched to her feet, heart pounding for an entirely different reason. Charlotte was at the door.
“Just a minute,” she called, hoping she sounded normal and not like she’d just been interrupted while she came. Her core tingled with the aftershocks of that tiny but mighty orgasm. God.
She blew out a shaky breath as she reached for the towel she’d discarded earlier, using it to clean herself up.
Then she dashed to the bathroom to wash her hands before sliding them through her hair, which was standing out in all directions.
Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes bright. She looked like she’d just been . . .
No time to think about it. She scrambled into the sweatpants and hoodie she’d worn to take Ember out, then rushed to the door.
She yanked it open, realizing as she locked eyes with Charlotte that Marin wasn’t wearing a bra or underwear.
Charlotte’s tongue darted out to wet her lips, and Marin’s clit throbbed as fiercely as if she hadn’t come at all.
“Hi,” Charlotte said. “I just came from a showing near here, and I decided to grab coffees and stop by to see how you were feeling after yesterday’s adventures, but . . .” A slight furrow appeared between her brows.
Marin concentrated on steadying her breathing. “I love the way you think. Sorry it took me a minute to get the door. I was just getting out of the shower when you knocked.”
Charlotte’s wide eyes suggested Marin was a terrible liar.