Chapter 11
Don’t sweat through your dress, Goldie. Don’t sweat through your dress.
I pulled the homemade bread from the oven and poured the sauce into the pasta as Rhea’s jeep pulled into my driveway. I liked that she didn’t park on the street but pulled all the way into the driveway to park next to my car at the back door, as if she was planning to stay awhile.
Maybe the night?
Wiping my hands on my apron before taking it off, I peeked at myself in the mirror by the front door as she knocked.
My mauve-colored dress had wooden buttons down the entire front, and my hair was pinned up into a twist. I didn’t wear shoes, that would be weird in my own home, but the outfit still felt perfect for a nice dinner in with Rhea.
Our first.
A date of sorts.
“Hi,” I said breathlessly as I opened the door and took in her appearance.
Her long dark hair was curled slightly, falling in soft waves down to her elbows.
She wore a pair of high-waisted blue jeans and a lacy white bralette with a sage green cropped cardigan buttoned once right below her bust. The smallest glimpse of her stomach showed between the two hems, and her defined abdominal muscles tightened when I got caught staring at the tanned skin there.
“Sorry,” I chuckled, forcing my eyes back to her face. “Damn.”
She smirked and came inside when I finally stepped aside. “What’s the matter, did you expect me to show up in my turnout gear?”
“I mean,” I giggled, “I wouldn’t have been surprised.”
She held out a bottle of red wine and set it on the sideboard as she let her eyes roam over my outfit. “I’m the one surprised.” She whispered, “I didn’t think you could be any sexier than you are when you’re wearing an apron with flour on your cheeks, but I stand corrected. You’re beautiful.”
“Thank you.” I smiled and tilted my head back toward the kitchen. “I’m just about ready to plate dinner.”
“Can I help you with anything?” She asked, toeing off her shoes and following me into my home, looking around as we passed through the foyer and dining room to the kitchen in the back.
“Would you like to open that wine for me?” I asked. “It will pair fantastically.”
“Hmm.” She smiled proudly, “I took a guess.”
We moved around my large kitchen like two lovers doing a synchronized dance they’d perfected years ago. It was comfortable and easy as we got our food to the dining room table.
It wasn’t fancy, pasta tossed with garlic herb sauce, fresh bread, and lemon-roasted vegetables. Yet she ate with such passion, as if she hadn’t eaten all day long, which wouldn’t have surprised me. Firehouse food was functional, but not made with love.
Halfway through our meal, she grew quiet, no longer making small talk about nonsense things like we had been doing. “There’s something I need to tell you,” she said, setting her fork down.
I wiped my mouth with a napkin and gave her my full attention.
“I took a closer look at the pipe from the sprinkler system in Honey her lips were on mine. I pulled the one button of her cardigan free and ripped it off her body before I leaned in and kissed that spot she pointed out earlier.
I dragged my tongue across her collarbone, up her neck, nibbling and kissing my way. One of her hands moved to the back of my head, the other was on my hip, and then she laid me down on the table.
I pulled my hair free of its clip as she undid the buttons on my dress, revealing my white lace panties and bare chest to her hungry eyes for the first time. “You’re breathtaking, Marigold.”
Her words were like a prayer, whispered in reverence as her finger dipped back into the chocolate. I tried to lie still but struggled as she painted it across one of my nipples, and then down below my belly button.
“Rhea.”
"Shh," she whispered, leaning down to slowly suck it from my nipple, causing me to writhe beneath her. “You promised me dessert.” Biting down on my nipple, she looked up at me. “Let me eat my dessert.”
“Fuck.” I cursed, curling my hands into fists on the hard wooden table to keep from begging her again as she licked the chocolate trail down to my panties.
“Yes.” I moaned when she started pulling them down with her teeth, and the second they were off, she pushed my thighs wide and kissed a teasing trail up from my knee toward my wet pussy.
“I’ve dreamed of you too,” She murmured as she inhaled against my skin. “I fantasized about what noises you’d make for me the first time I touched you.”
“Am I living up to the fantasy?” I tried teasing, but it sounded desperate, and a whimper left my lips when her tongue flicked directly against my clit before she sucked it into her mouth.
“Better,” she said, fingers digging into my thighs as she spread me open wider. “So much better, sweetheart.”
“I need you.” I gasped, rocking against her face when she rewarded me with her mouth on my clit again. She pushed her tongue into me and moaned, sucking and kissing me as I shook under her attention. “Rhea, don’t make me beg.”
She smirked, kissing her way up my stomach, stopping at my breasts to tease me again before ending at my lips. “Take me to bed, Goldie. Show me your toys and let’s make all your fantasies come true.”