Chapter Thirteen
Skye stood frozen, blinking at the words spilling out of Lucy’s mouth like they were a language she only half understood. She had heard them, but they landed somewhere far away, like rain falling on a roof she wasn’t standing under.
She should say something. An apology. Maybe an explanation.
Something that would make Lucy’s shoulders unclench.
She should tell her that she hadn’t been ignoring her when in fact she had.
She should lie. No, she should tell her the truth.
Maybe she should tell her that she had done everything in her power not to include Lucy in any of the dates.
It was better that way, wasn’t it? It would be best to avoid the complications not only for the show, where every moment was under a microscope, but for herself too.
But before she could say any of that, before she could launch into a careful apology that might explain why she did what she did, her body moved.
Skye closed the distance between them in three quick steps. Her palm cupped Lucy’s jaw. Her thumb brushed the curve of her cheekbone. And then she was pulling her forward.
Lucy’s lips parted in a tiny gasp, but Skye didn’t give her time to protest or to spill into another desperate monologue. Instead, she kissed her, softly at first, the way she’d touch something fragile, and then deeper, hungrier, like she’d been holding herself back for too long.
Three days had been too long. But they’d also been necessary.
Skye felt Lucy freeze for half a heartbeat as her breath caught against her mouth. She melted into Skye as her hands found the back of Skye’s neck. Then her hands moved down, sliding to her waist until her fingers splayed over the fabric of the dress Skye’s stylist had chosen for tonight’s dinner.
Skye pulled back just enough to whisper against Lucy’s lips. “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that.”
Lucy frowned, her breath hot against Skye’s mouth. “You’re so confusing, Skye. Do you know that? I just can’t figure you out.”
Skye’s mouth curved, but it wasn’t quite a smile. “Good,” she said softly.
But Lucy wasn’t having any of it. Her eyes narrowed, yet her grip around Skye’s waist didn’t ease. “You kiss me like that and then you act like I’m a ghost.”
Skye tipped her head sideways. “You know I have to do that, right? For the cameras. For the other contestants. We shouldn’t even be doing this.”
Lucy blinked, clearly torn between pushing her away and pulling her closer. “Yet we are.”
“Yet we are,” Skye repeated. She brushed her lips against Lucy’s again, softly, slowly, and most certainly teasingly.
Skye wanted this. She couldn’t be happier that Lucy had shown up at her door.
Even if it was wrong. Even if they weren’t supposed to be doing what they were doing.
“And you’re still here,” she whispered against her mouth.
Lucy made a sound, the kind that set every nerve in Skye’s skin alight. It was the type of sound that snapped whatever restraint she was feeling in this moment like a cheap hair tie.
She backed Lucy toward the edge of the bed, and then her fingers slid into Lucy’s hair. Lucy’s knees bent against the mattress, and Skye followed her down. One hand braced the back of her head, and the other ran the length of her thigh.
The soft drag of fabric over Lucy’s skin made her head spin. She was drunk on whatever was happening right now. High on Lucy’s touch.
Lucy’s hands slid up Skye’s back, her fingertips catching on the fine stitching of her dress. And then, she was searching for the zipper. It took a moment, but before she could count to five in her head, Skye’s dress was slipping off her body.
She sat back with her thighs straddling Lucy’s hips.
“I’m glad to be getting rid of this thing,” she said, smiling as she slid the dress off her shoulders and tossed it back.
She didn’t need to look to know that it had landed in a wrinkled heap.
Her stylist would shit herself, but right now, she couldn’t care any less.
Her focus was on Lucy and on the way that she was staring at Skye’s tits, and at that hungry smile on her face.
“You should really walk around naked,” Lucy said, shrugging off her top to reveal a triangular bikini. “Imagine all the extra viewers the show would get.”
“That would actually be considered a porno,” Skye said. She was smiling so widely at the compliment that her cheeks ached. “And I don’t think Marla would allow it.”
Lucy laughed and released her grip on Skye’s hips.
She was about to tug at the string holding her bikini together when Skye beat her to it.
Skye took her time. Running her fingers over Lucy’s neck, down her right shoulder and when the top finally came off, she ran the tip of her thumb down the length of her sternum.
Lucy visibly shuddered. Which was all Skye needed to lower her head until her mouth wrapped around Lucy’s peaked nipple. She sucked. She nibbled. She tongued the tip. All while Lucy’s back arched and her hips drove into Skye’s.
“You really know what you’re doing,” Lucy muttered, tilting her head back against the pillow. Her eyes were closed, and her hands rested at the back of Skye’s head.
“I have a few tricks up my sleeve,” Skye said.
She wanted nothing more than to make Lucy moan, to make her come.
And so, she moved her fingers down, over her stomach, over her pelvic bone until she reached Lucy’s sex.
Lucy was wet. Very wet. Which was all Skye needed to find her clit and press slow circles against it, over and over again.
“Mmmm,” Lucy mumbled. Her eyes were still closed, head still tilted, and her hips were reaching up to maximize contact. “That…”
But she didn’t finish her sentence. Whatever she had wanted to say died on her lips when Skye slipped one finger between Lucy’s slick folds, moving it in and out, while she kept her thumb pressed against her clit. Multi-tasking at its finest.
Lucy opened her mouth, but no words came out.
Instead, she tilted her head until her mouth reached Skye’s shoulder, and her teeth grazed her skin.
Lucy’s breath was raspy and desperate. And Skye circled harder and applied more pressure until Lucy’s hips were rolling over and over with each movement.
It wasn’t long before Lucy was shouting a series of pleas to god, and her body was shivering under Skye’s.
Skye wanted to make a joke of it, something along the lines of ‘that was quick’, but before she could utter even a word, Lucy spun her onto her back and hooked Skye’s legs around her hips.
“My turn,” she said, smiling. She shuffled down the bed, moving slowly.
Her eyes locked on Skye’s, which was such a fucking turn-on that Skye felt her clit vibrate right then and there.
Whatever they were doing, whatever this was, it was worth the sneaking around.
The secrets were well worth the price they might pay.
Skye opened her legs wider and smiled when Lucy’s head came to rest between her thighs.
She braced for Lucy’s tongue the same way she braced for a wave coming her way.
The electric anticipation made her chest tighten and her pulse spike.
Her hands tangled in Lucy’s hair, guiding her just enough while soft gasps slipped from Lucy’s lips.
Skye was a mess.
Lucy’s tongue was like silk threading through her folds.
It was delicious and aching. Each lap of her tongue, every nibble of her teeth, made Skye’s hips move of their own accord.
Made them roll, move, grind against Lucy’s face until she couldn’t anymore.
And just when she thought she was reaching her end, Lucy extended an arm.
She swept her hand across Skye’s stomach to her breasts and found her nipple.
Skye didn’t think much of it, not while Lucy’s tongue was circling her clit, but then she squeezed her nipple hard between two fingers, and that was the end of Skye.
A cataclysmic explosion radiated from low between her hips, sweeping down her thighs, up her waist until she shuddered, and shivered and swore so loud she was sure someone had heard her. “Fuck!” Skye called again. “You have to stop.”
But she didn’t. Lucy kept licking. She kept twisting. She kept going until Skye gripped her shoulders and said, “You’re killing me.”
Lucy laughed. “Don’t worry, you’re still breathing,” she said, and then collapsed back onto the bed. Their limbs twisted and folded into each other like puzzle pieces that fit without forcing.
Skye yawned. She was tired. Exhausted even.
Tonight’s dinner with the nine remaining contestants seemed like an impossible task.
All she wanted was to stay here, in this bed, with Lucy.
She wanted to run the tips of her fingers over the curve of Lucy’s stomach to the sound of the fan spinning lazily overhead.
The last thing she wanted was to make small talk or to force a laugh, or to act like she hadn’t just fucked one of the contestants.
“I’m going to choose you for the next date,” Skye said, feeling sure of her decision.
“You are?” Lucy asked, looking genuinely surprised.
“Yes,” Skye replied. “You’re right. I haven’t been fair to you.
I’ve been over-correcting. I’m sure you’re not the only one who has noticed.
” She thought of Marla and their quick conversation after she’d sent Veronica home.
Marla couldn’t understand why Skye wasn’t choosing Lucy, and Skye couldn’t possibly explain to the producer that she had slept with Lucy.
It was a conundrum. One that could easily be fixed by telling the truth.
Except she wasn’t going to do that. Not if she wanted to keep her job.
“Promise me one thing,” Lucy said, trailing two fingers in a semi-circle along Skye’s stomach.
“What’s that?” Skye asked, her fingers curling in Lucy’s hair.
“That if the next date is something crazy like shark cage diving or cliff jumping and it might end in me nearly dying, I don’t want it. Pick Nova instead.”
Skye laughed, surprising even herself. The last time she’d felt this relaxed around someone—especially someone she had sex with—she couldn’t quite remember.
Dating had always been one of the other versions of a disaster movie.
Too much overthinking. Too much pretending that she actually enjoyed it.
Mostly, she preferred her own company, or a dog’s company.
Dogs didn’t ask questions. Dogs didn’t judge.
But somehow, things with Lucy were easy.
Skye shifted, curling her naked body around Lucy’s. “We should probably end this before we lose track of time.”
“Are you kicking me out again?”
“Yes, I am,” Skye said matter-of-factly.
Lucy laughed. “Fine,” she said, but she didn’t move. Not yet.